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THE  HISTORY  i 


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CONSULATE  &  THE 


vFRANI 


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Ik  Libris 
C.  K.  OGDEN 


THE    HISTORY 

Of   THE 

CONSULATE    &   THE    EMPIRE 
OF   FRANCE 

UNDER 

NAPOLEON. 


M.    A.    THIERS. 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  LAST  PARIS  EDITION,    WITH  NOTES. 


%  0  n  D  0  It : 

CHATTO     AND     WINDUS,    PICCADILLY. 

1875. 


Uniform  with  the  present  volume,royal  %vo,  cloth  extra,price  1 5^. 

THIERS' 
HISTORY  OF  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION. 

Translated  from  the  last  Paris  Edition,  -with  Notes. 


v^ 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSI 1  V  OF  CALIFORNU 

SAATA  BAHBAKA 


1  _> 

CONTENTS. 

VOL.  L 

PAGE 

l 

Book  I. 

Constitution  of  the  Year  viii.  '  .            .            .            ,            ,            .1 

II. 

Govemment  of  the  Interior 

27 

III. 

Ulm  and  Genoa  . 

55 

IV. 

Marengo 

85 

V. 

Heliopolis 

119  ' 

VI. 

The  Armistice     . 

136 

VII. 

Hohenlinden 

171 

VIII. 

The  Infernal  Machine    . 

193 

IX. 

The  Neutral  Powei-s      . 

207 

X. 

Evacuation  of  Egypt 

231 

XI. 

The  General  Peace 

260 

XII. 

The  Concordat    . 

282 

XIII. 

The  Tribunate    . 

305 

XIV. 

The  Consulate  for  Life  . 

.     336 

XV. 

The  Secularizations 

.    377 

XVI. 

Rupture  of  the  Peace  of  Amien 

8 

.    418 

XVII. 

The  Camp  of  Boulogne  . 

466 

XVIII. 

The  Conspiracy  of  Georges 

506 

XIX. 

The  Empire 

.     536 

XX. 

Tiie  Coronation  . 

.     575 

XXI. 

The  Third  Coalition 

604 

VOL  IL 

XXII. 

Uln.  and  Trafalgar          f 1 

XXIII. 

Austerlitz 

46 

XXIV. 

Confederation  of  the  Rhine 

.      93 

XXV. 

Jena 

143 

XXVI. 

Eyiau 

194 

XXVII. 

Friedland  and  Tilsit 

251 

A  'i 

HISTORY   OF   THE   CONSULATE   AND  EMPIRE. 


BOOK   I. 

CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  YEAR  VIII. 


ENTRANCE  OF  THE  t'ROVlSIONAL  CONSULS  UPON  THEIR  FUNCTIONS. — DIVISION  OF  DUTY  BETWEEN  SIEVES  AND 
BONAPARTE. — BONAPARTE  TAKES  UPON  HIMSELF  THE  ACTIVE  ADMINISTRATION,  AND  LEAVES  SIEVES  TO 
PLAN  THE  CONSTITUTION. — STATE  OP  FRANCE  IN  BRUMAIRE,  VEAR  VIII. — DISORDER  IN  THE  FINANCES — DESTI- 
TUTION OP  THE  ARMIES. — TROUBLES  IN  LA  VENDEE. — MOVEMENTS  OF  THE  REVOLUTIONISTS  IN  SOME  OF  THE 
SOUTHERN  TOW.NS. — FIRST  STEPS  OF  THE  PROVISIONAL  CONSULS  FOR  RESTORING  ORDER  IN  THE  VARIOUS 
DEPARTMENTS  OP  THE  GOVERNMENT. — NOMINATION  OF  CAMBACERES  TO  THE  MINISTRY  OF  JUSTICE  ;  LA  PLACE 
TO  THE  HOME  OFFICE;  FOUCHE  TO  THE  POLICE;  TALLEYRAND  TO  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS;  BERTHIER  TO  WAR; 
PORFAIT  TO  THE  MARINE,  AND  GAUDIN  TO  THE  FINANCES. — FIRST  FINANCIAL  MEASURES. — THE  PROGRESSIVE 
FORCED  LOAN  SUPPRESSED.— CREATION  OF  AN  AGENCY  OF  DIRECT  CONTRIBUTIONS,  AND  COMPLETION  OF  THE 
LISTS  OP  ASSESSMENT  LEFT  IN  ARREAR. — INSTITUTION  OF  THE  BILLS  OP  THE  RECEIVER-GENERAL. — CONFIDENCE 
BEGINS  TO  BI  RE-ESTABLISHED:  THE  BANKERS  OP  PARIS  ADVANCE  A  LOAN  TO  THE  STATE. — SUCCOUR  SENT  TO 
THE  ARMIES. — POLITICAL  ACTS  OF  THE  tONSDLS.— REVOCATION  OF  THE  HOSTAGE  LAW;  DISCHARGE  OF  THE 
IMPRISONED  PRIESTS,  AND  OF  THOSE  SHIPWRECKED  AT  CALAIS. — COMMUNICATIONS  WITH  THE  CHIEFS  OF  THE 
KOYAIIST  PARTY.— A  SUSPENSION  OP  ARMS  IN  LA  VENDEE  AGREED  UPON  WITH  BOURMONT,  AUTICHAMP,  AND 
CHATILLON.— COMMENCEMENT  OP  RELATIONS  WITH  FOREIGN  CABINETS.— STATE  OF  EUROPE. — AUSTRIA  AND 
ENGLAND  RESOLVE  TO  CONTINUE  THE  WAR — PAUL  OF  RUSSIA,  IRRITATED  AGAINST  HIS  ALLIES,  SHOWS  AN 
INCLINATION  TO  WITHDRAW  FROM  THE  COALITION,  AND  ATTACH  HIMSELF  TO  THE  SYSTEM  OF  NEUTRALITY 
ADOPTED  BY  PRUSSIA. — IMPORTANCE  OP  PRUSSIA  AT  THAT  MOMENT. — BONAPARTE  SENDS  HIS  AID-DE-CAMP 
DUROC  TO  BERLIN. — RU.MOURS  OF  A  PEACE.— SENSIBLE  AMELIORATION  IN  THE  MATERIAL  AND  MORAL  STATE 
OF  FRANCE,  IN  CONSEQUENCE  OF  THE  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  PROVISIONAL  CONSULS. — THE  FORMATION  OP  THE 
NEW  CONSTITUTION  TAKEN  IN  HAND.— PROJECT  OF  SIEVES  LONG  MEDITATED. — LISTS  OP  NOTABILITY,  THE  CON- 
SERVATIVE SENATE,  THE  LEGISLATIVE  BODY,  THE  TRIBUNATE,  THE  GRAND  ELECTOR. — DISAGREEMENT  BETWEEN 
SIEYES  AND  BOtlAPARTE,  RELATIVE  TO  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  EXECUTIVE  POWER.— DANGER  OF  A  RUPTURE 
BETWEEN  THE  TWO  CONSULS. — RECONCILEMENT  THROUGH  THEIR  TRIENDS.— THE  GRAND  ELECTOR  IS  REPLACED 
BY  THE  THREE  CONSULS. — ADOPTION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  YEAR  VIII.,  AND  ITS  OPERATION  FIXED 
POR    THE    4th    NIVOSE,  IN   THE   YEAR   VIII. 


TiiK  18tli  of  Brumaire  had  terminated  the  existence 
of  the  Directory. 

The  men  who,  after  the  stomiy  times  of  the 
Convention,  had  conceived  a  republic  of  this  nature 
were  not  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  solidity  and 
excellence  of  their  work  ;  but  in  the  transition  from 
the  sanguinary  path  they  had  traversed,  it  was 
difiicultfor  them  to  have  done  otherwise  or  better. 
Tlius  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  have  looked 
towards  the  Hourbons,  who  were  repudiated  by 
the  universal  feeling  ;  it  was  equally  impossible  for 
tiiem  to  have  Hung  themselves  into  the  arms  of  a 
great  general;  because  at  that  epoch,  none  of  our 
I  soldiers  had  acquired  sufficient  glory  to  lead  cap- 
j  tive  the  popular  mind.  Besides  this,  all  illusions 
were  not  yet  dissipated  by  experience.  After 
escaping  from  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety,  no- 
thing had  been  tried  but  the  ferocious  I'cpublic  of 
1793,  consi.sting  of  a  single  a-ssembly,  exercising  at 
once  every  sjiecies  of  authority.  It  remained  to 
make  a  last  attempt,  that  of  a  moderate  republic, 
the  -(Hiwers  of  which  should  bo  wisely  separated, 
and    the   administration    confided    to    new    men. 


strangers  to  tlie  excesses  that  had  filled  France 
with  dismay.  Under  these  circumstances  the  Di- 
rectory was  conceived. 

This  new  essay  at  forming  a  republic  lasted  four 
years,  from  the  13th  Brumaire,  year  iv.  to  the 
18th  Brumaire,  in  tlie  year  viii.  It  was  under- 
taken with  good  faith  and  a  hearty  will,  by  men  of 
whom  the  greater  part  were  honest,  and  animated 
by  right  intentions.  Some  men  of  a  violent  charac- 
ter or  of  suspected  probitj',  as  the  director  Barras, 
had  managed  to  mingle  in  the  list  of  rulers,  who 
during  these  four  years  transmitted  the  authority 
to  each  other  ;  but  Rewbell,  La  Reveillicre-Le- 
ipeaux,  Le  Tourneur,  Carnot,  Barthe'leniy,  Roger- 
iDucos,  Sieycs,  wore  upright  citizens,  all  men  of 
/ability,  and  the  last,  Sieycs,  possessed  of  a  very 
superior  intellect.  Notwithstanding  this,  the  dic- 
tatorial republic  soon  exhibited  grievous  confusion; 
less  of  cniclty,  but  more  of  anarchy  : — such  bad 
been  the  character  of  the  new  government.  The 
Directoi-y  did  not  guillotine, but  it  transported.  It 
did  not  oblige  assignats  to  be  received  as  currency 
under  the  penalty  of  death  ;  but  it  paid  nobody. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Sieyes. — Public  notions      1799. 
about  the  constitution.      Nov. 


Our  soldiers,  without  arms  and  without  bread,  were 
vanquished  in  place  of  being  victorious.  To  terror 
'had  succeeded  intolerable  public  uneasiness  ;  and 
as  feebleness  has  its  j)assions,  this  republic  of  mild 
intentions  had  finished  by  two  measures  altogether 
tyrannical,  the  progressive  forced  loan,  and  the  law  of 
the  iiostages.  This  last  measure,  abuve  all,  although 
it  carried  nothing  sanguinary  in  its  character,  was 
one  of  the  most  odious  vexations  invented  under  the 
cruel  and  fertile  imagination  of  parties. 

Is  it  astonishing  that  I- ranee,  to  which  the  Bour- 
|bons  could  not  be  presented  hi  1709^  alter  the  ill  suc- 
(cess  of  the  directorial  constitution,  began  to  have  no 
faith  in  a  republic  ?  Is  it  astonishing  that  Franco 
flung  itself  into  the  arms  of  a  young  general,  the 
conciuci'or  of  It;ily  and  Egypt,  a  stranger  to  every 
party,  affecting  to  disdain  all,  endowed  with  an 
energetic  will,  exhibiting  for  both  military  and 
civil  business  an  equal  aptitude,  and  leaving  to 
conjecture  an  ambition  which,  far  from  inspiring 
people  with  apprehension,  was  greeted  then  as  a 
hope  ?  Less  glory  than  he  had  acquii'cd  might  have 
sufficed  any  one  to  seize  the  government,  since 
some  time  before  General  Joubcrt  had  been  sent 
to  Novj,  that  he  might  acquire  the  titles  he  wanted 
for  operating  the  revolution,  now  called  in  our 
annals  the  18th  Brumaire.  The  unfortunate  Jou- 
bert  was  conquered  and  slain  at  Novi ;  but  young 
Bonaparte,  then  always  fortunate  :in<l  victorious, 
not  less  so  in  escaping  the  dangers  of  the  sea  than 
those  of  battle,  had  returned  from  Egypt  to  France  I 
in  a  maimer  almost  miraculous;  and  at  his  first  [ 
appearance  the  Directory  had  succumbed.  Every 
party  ran  to  meet  him,  and  demanded  from  him 
order,  victory,  and  peace. 

Still  it  was  not  in  one  day  that  the  authority  of 
a  single  man  could  replace  that  demagogue  rule  in 
whi.h  all  the  world,  alternately  the  oppressors  or 
the  oppressed,  had  possessed  for  a  time  the  chief 
authority.  It  was  necessary  to  regard  appearances, 
and  in  order  to  bring  fatigued  France  beneath 
absolute  power,  to  make  her  pass,  by  regular  gra- 
datiim,  through  a  government  of  glory,  reparative 
and  demi-republican.  It  wanted,  in  one  word,  the 
Consulate,  to  lead  the  way  to  the  Empire. 

It  is  tliis  jmrtion  of  our  contemporary  history 
that  I  enter  upon  at  present.  Fifteen  years  are 
rolled  away  since  I  traced  the  annals  of  our  first 
revolution.  These  fifteen  years  I  have  passed  in  the 
bustle  of  imlilic  life  ;  I  have  seen  an  ancient  throne 
fall  and  a  new  throiu;  elevated;  I  have  seen  the 
French  revolution  parsue  its  invincible  career. 
Although  the  scenes  in  which  I  have  borne  a  part 
have  wirpriscd  me  little,  1  have  not  the  presump- 
tion to  believe  that  Hiy  experiences  of  men  and 
public  affairs  have  taught  me  nothing.  On  the 
contrary,  I  believe  I  have  acquired  much,  and 
that  I  am  thus  perhaps  better  qualified  to  seize 
and  delineate  the  great  things  wliich  our  fathers 
performed  during  those  heroic  times.  I  am  sure 
that  expeiience  has  not  cooled  the  generous  sen- 
timents of  my  youth;  I  am  certaiji  I  love,  as  1 
have  ev.r  loved,  the  liberty  and  glory  of  France. 

I  resume  my  narration  at  the  lath  Brumaire,  in 
the  year  viti.  (November  9,  1799.) 

The  law  of  the  19th  Brumaire,  which  established 
the  nrovisional  consulate,  being  perfected,  the 
three  new  Consuls,  Bonaparte,  Sieyes,  and  Iloger- 
Ducob,  quitted  St.   Cloud  for  Paris.     Sieyes  and 


Roger-Ducos,  former  members  of  the  Du'ectory, 
were  already  inhabitants  of  the  palace  of  the 
Luxembourg.  Bonaparte  left  his  house  in  the 
street  de  la  Victoiro,  and  with  his  wife,  his  adopted 
children,  and  his  aids-de-camp,  took  up  his  resi- 
dence in  the  little  Luxembourg.  There  surrounded 
by  the  fragments  of  the  last  government,  and  the 
elements  of  the  new,  and  approximating  to  his  two 
colleagues,  he  set  his  hand  at  work,  with  that  just 
and  rapid  intelligence,  that  wonderful  activity, 
which  signalized  his  mode  of  action  in  war. 

With  him  were  associated  as  his  colleagues 
Ducos  and  Sieyes,  both  formerly  of  the  Directory; 
both  had  been  busily  employed  in  destroying  the 
government  they  contemned.  Sieyes  particularly 
had  been  placed  at  the  side  of  Bonaparte,  because 
he  was  the  second  personage  of  the  republic,  au- 
thor of  the  greatest  and  best  conceptivms  of  the 
revolution,  such  as  the  union  of  the  three  orders, 
the  division  of  France  into  (lei)artments,and  the  in- 
stitution of  the  national  guard.  Sieyes,  destitute  of 
eloquence,  had  rivalled  Mirabeau  in  the  first  days 
of  our  revolution,  at  the  time  that  oratory  was 
esteemed  the  highest  endowment ;  and  now  when 
universal  war  assigned  the  first  place  to  military 
genius,  Sieyes,  who  never  had  borne  a  sword,  was 
nearly  the  equal  of  Bonaparte  himself ;  so  great  is 
the  power  of  mind,  even  without  the  talents  that 
render  it  useful  or  applicable.  But  now  that  he 
must  put  his  hand  to  business,  Sieyes,  who  was 
idle,  morose,  imperious  in  his  notions,  irritated  or 
upset  by  the  slightest  contradiction,  was  not  able 
long  to  rival  in  influence  his  young  colleague,  who 
could  work  day  and  night,  who  was  annoyed  by  no 
contradiction,  who  was  blunt,  but  not  morose  ; 
who  knew  how  to  succeed  by  pleasing  when  he  was 
inclined,  and  when  he  did  not  see  fit  to  give  him- 
self that  trouble,  had  always  the  resource  left  of 
carrying  his  object  by  force. 

There  was  still  one  function  appropriated  in  the 
general  way  to  Sieyes.  This  was  the  preparing 
the  new  constitution,  which  the  provisional  consuls 
had  been  charged  to  frame  and  to  propose  to  the 
country  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  People 
were  at  this  time  still  somewhat  imbued  with  the 
notions  of  the  eighteenth  century  ;  they  believed 
less,  generally,  but  they  still  believed,  that  human 
institutions  might  be  i)urely  an  operation  of  the 
mind,  and  that  a  constitution,  adapted  for  thei)ublic 
rule,  might  start  i-eady-niade  from  the  head  of  the 
legislator.  Most  assuredly  if  the  French  revo- 
lution had  required  a  Solon  or  Lycurgus,  Sieyes 
was  worthy  of  being  the  man  ;  but  in  modern 
times  there  is  but  one  real  legislator,  and  that  is 
exi)erience.  They  did  not  think  so  then,  though  we 
think  so  now ;  and  it  was  universally  agreed  that 
Sieyes  should  be  the  maker  of  the  new  constitu- 
tion. This  was  hoped,  and  reported.  It  was  pre- 
tended that  he  was  in  possession  of  a  plan  long 
reflected  upon,  a  profound  and  admirable  work  ; 
that,  disembarrassed  from  the  obstacles  which 
revolutionary  passions  had  opposed  to  him  before, 
he  would  now  be  able  to  bring  it  forward  ;  that  he 
would  be  the  legi-slator,  Bonaparte  the  adminis- 
trator of  the  new  government,  and  that  between 
the  two,  France  would  be  made  powerful  and  happy. 
Every  epoch  of  the  revolution  had  its  illusions  ; 
the  present  is  not  without  its  own  ;  it  is  true,  these 
will  probably  be  the  last. 


1799. 
Nov. 


Different  factions. 
State  of  La  Vendee. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  YEAR  VIII. 


Wants  of  the  armies.— 
Financial  position  of 
France. 


It  wa-s  agreed,  tlien,  by  common  accord,  that 
Sieyes  sliduid  be  employed  in  framing  the  consti- 
tution, aiul  Bonaparte  m  the  government.  It  was 
urgent,  in  effect,  that  the  country  should  be  go- 
verned by  some  one,  because  tnider  every  aspect 
its  situation  was  deplorable.  Moral  and  material 
disorder  was  at  its  height. 

The  ardent  revolutionists,  beaten  at  St.  Cloud, 
had  still  partizans  in  the  society  called  the  Jl/a- 
ne<je^,  &nd  in  analogous  societies  scattered  abroad 
throughout  France.  They  had  at  their  head  few 
noted  leaders  fi'om  the  two  assemblies,  but  they  num- 
bered among  them  several  officers  who  were  much 
esteemed  by  their  brethren  in  arms.  Bernadotte, 
an  ambitious  man,  who  can'ied  pretensions  which 
his  standing  in  the  army  did  not  justify  ;  Augereau, 
a  ti'ue  soldier,  very  unreasonable,  brave,  but  with- 
out influence  ;  lastly.  Jourdan,  a  good  citizen,  and 
a  good  general,  whom  his  military  disasters  had 
soured  and  flung  into  increased  opposition.  It  was 
to  be  feared  that  the  fugitives  from  the  Council  of 
Five  Hundred  would  unite  together  in  some  con- 
siderable place,  form  there  a  legislative  body  and 
directory,  and  rally  around  them  the  individaals 
who  still  preserved  all  their  fervour  of  attachment 
to  revolutionary  sentiments  ;  the  first,  because 
they  were  compromised  by  excesses,  or  were  pos- 
sessed of  national  property  ;  the  last,  because  they 
loved  republican  system  on  its  own  account,  and 
feared  to  see  it  fall  under  the  power  of  a  new- 
Cromwell.  Such  a  movement  would  have  been  a 
great  embarrassment  in  a  situation  already  full  of 
difficulty  ;  and  some  inquietude  was  felt  lest  it 
should  be  attem|)ted  in  Paris  itself. 

On  the  part  of  the  opposite  faction,  it  was  also 
natural  to  feel  serious  fears,  because  La  Vendue 
was  on  fire  anew.  Chatillon  was  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Loire,  Autichamp  on  the  left,  Georges  Ca- 
doudal  in  tlie  Morbihan,  Bourmont  in  the  Maine, 
Frottd  on  the  coast  of  Normandy  ;  all  these  were 
excited  and  sustained  by  the  English,  thus  renew- 
ing the  civil  war.  The  law  of  hostages,  the  feeble- 
ness of  the  government,  the  defeats  of  the  armies, 
were  the  motives  that  again  urged  them  to  take 
u])  arms.  Chatillon  suddenly  occupied  Nantes  ; 
he  had  not  fixed  his  quarters  there,  but  entered  it 
and  retired.  This  sufficed  to  make  the  larger  com- 
m.unes  in  the  disturbed  country  cover  themselves 
with  entrenchments  hastily  constructed,  or  sur- 
round themselves  with  palisades  when  they  were 
unable  to  construct  walls.  Some  of  them,  in  order 
to  provide  for  their  own  defence,  retained  the  scanty 
funds  that  the  insurgent  provinces  had  paid  into 
the  public  coffers,  saying  that  when  the  govern- 
ment did  not  think  of  protecting  them,  they  were 
biiund  to  take  that  care  upon  themselves. 

The  Directory,  although  resolved  to  guard  against 
the  exc<  ssesof  the  Convention,  had  not  been  able  to 
resist  all  the  violent  propositions  that  the  renewed 
war  in  La  Vendde  might  naturally  inspire  in  the  re- 
volutionary party.  IJrawn  in  by  the  movement  of 
these  feelings,  the  Directory  had  made  the  law  of 
hostagiH,  in  virtue  of  which  all  those  who  were  rela- 
tions or  supposed  aecomplicrs  of  the  Venddans, 
were  confined  and  rendered  liable  to  certain  pen- 
alties for  th<;  suppression  of  the  acts  of  the  insur- 
rectionists committed  in  the  localities  for  which  they 

»  The  "  Society  of  llic  It  id  ini;  House." 


had  been  thus  made  answerable.  This  unjust  and 
violent  law  had  only  in-itated  the  passions  without 
disarming  a  single  hand  in  La  Vendee,  and  it  had 
roused  agaiust  the  Directory  unappeasable  incense- 
ment. 

The  war  beyond  the  borders  had  been  a  little 
less  unfortunate  towards  the  close  of  the  last  cam- 
paign. The  victory  of  Mass^na  at  Zurich,  and  that 
of  Brune  at  the  Texel,  had  repulsed  the  enemy 
from  the  frontiers,  but  our  soldiers  found  them- 
selves in  a  state  of  utter  destitution.  They  we^-e 
neither  paid,  clothed,  nor  fed.  The  army  in  Hol- 
land which  had  vanquished  the  Anglo-Russians, 
having  the  advantage  of  being  supported  by  the 
Batavian  Republic,  was  less  unfortunate  than  the 
others.  The  army  of  the  Rhine,  which  had  lost  the 
battle  of  Stokach,  and  that  of  Helvetia,  which  had 
gained  the  battle  of  Zurich,  were  in  the  deepest 
misery.  The  army  of  the  Rhine,  on  the  soil  of 
France,  practised  without  limit  and  without  suc- 
cei-s  the  system  of  requisitions.  That  of  Helvetia 
lived  by  means  of  war  contributions  upon  Bale, 
Zurich,  and  Berne  ;  contributions  badly  received, 
badly  employed,  insufficient  for  the  nourishment  of 
the  soldiery,  and  mortifying  to  the  independence 
and  spirit  of  economy  remarkable  among  the  Swiss. 
The  army  of  Italy,  smce  the  disasters  of  Novi  and 
the  Trebia,  had  fallen  back  upon  the  Apennines, 
on  a  sterile  country,  ravaged  by  war,  and  was  a 
prey  to  disease  and  the  most  dreadful  suffering. 
Those  soldiers,  who  had  sustained  the  greatest  re- 
verses with  unshrinking  heroism  ;  they  who  had 
shown  amidst  misfortune  unshaken  constancy,  co- 
vered with  rags,  consumed  by  fever  and  hunger, 
demanded  alms  upon  the  roads  in  the  Apennines, 
and  were  reduced  so  low  as  to  devour  the  indiges- 
tible (ruits  which  are  borne  by  the  arid  soil  of  that 
sterile  I'egion.  Many  deserted,  or  swelled  the  bands 
of  robbers  that  in  the  south  and  west  of  France 
infcstid  the  high  roads.  Entire  corps  were  seen 
quitting  their  posts  without  the  orders  of  their 
generals,  to  occupy  others  where  they  hoped  to 
sustain  life  with  less  misery.  The  sea,  guarded  by 
the  English,  showed  no  flag  but  that  of  an  enemy  ; 
in  this  mode  they  received  no  resources.  Cer- 
tain divisions  were  deprived  of  all  pay  for  eighteen 
months.  Some  requisitions  were  levied  in  the  way 
of  food;  but  of  muskets,  cannon,  and  munitions  of 
war,  which  could  not  be  pj-ocured  in  this  way,  the 
soldiers  were  in  total  want.  The  horses,  already 
insufficient  for  the  cavalry  and  artillery  services, 
were  marly  all  destroyed  by  famine  and  disease. 

Suih  were  the  results  of  a  feeble,  disordered,  and 
frightful  financial  derangement.  The  armies  of 
the  republic  liad  been  sustained  upon  a.ssignats  and 
victory  for  several  years.  The  assigiiats  were 
now  no  more,  and  victory  having  all  at  once  aban- 
doned us,  came  just  to  show  itself  to  our  legions, 
without  opening  to  them  again  the  abundant  plains 
of  Germany  and  Italy. 

It  is  here  necessary  to  give  an  idea  of  our  finan- 
cial position,  the  principal  c.iuse  of  the  suflering  in 
our  ainiies.  The  i)res4nt  ill  situation  of  the  finances 
far  surpassed  any  that  had  been  witnessed  at  an 
anierior  epoch.  The  constituent  assembly  iiad  com- 
mitted two  faults,  which  had  been  mendid  as  far  as 
a  certain  point  by  means  of  assignats  ;  but  for  wiiich 
there  remained  no  palliative  alter  the  depreciation 
of  that  paper  nionev.  These  two  faults  were,  fii-slJy, 
n2 


Deficiency  of  taxes  and 
assessments. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Revenue  abuses. 
Paper  currency. 


the  suppression  of  the  indirect  taxes  imposed  upon 
hquoi^,  salt,  and  articles  of  general  consumption  ; 
secondly,  the  leaving  to  the  municipal  administra- 
tions the  power  to  assess  the  contributions  upon 
lands,  houses,  and  objects  of  direct  taxation. 

By  the  suppression  of  the  indirect  contributions 
the  treasury  lost,  without  compensation,  a  third  of 
its  revenues.  The  j)roduce  of  the  state  domains 
being  nearly  destroyed  by  bad  management,  that 
of  the  registration  through  a  deficiency  in  px-ivate 
transactions,  and  that  of  the  customs  owing  to  the 
war,  the  direct  contributions  formed  nearly  the  sole 
resource  of  the  treasury  ;  but  their  receipts,  which 
represented  about  300,000,000f.  in  a  budget  of 
500,000,000f.,  were  in  an  extraordinary  state  of 
arrear.  There  were  debts  outstanding  for  the  years 
v.,  VI.,  and  vii.  The  assessments  for  the  year  vi. 
were  not  perfected  ;  for  the  year  vii.  there  re- 
mained a  third  to  be  completed ;  and  for  the 
current  year,  that  is  to  say,  for  the  year  viii.  (1799), 
they  were  scarcely  begun.  Owing  to  this  delay  in 
the  completion  of  the  assessments,  it  was  not  pos- 
sible to  collect  the  current  taxes,  and  the  accumu- 
lation of  those  in  arrear  gave  birth  to  new  diffi- 
culties in  collecting,  because  the  taxes  of  successive 
years  must  too  often  be  demanded  of  the  payei-s  at 
the  same  time.  This  state  of  things  arose  from  the 
adoption  of  a  principle,  just  in  appearance,  but  in 
reality  unfortunate, — the  conceding  to  the  local  ad- 
nnnistrations  the  imposition  of  the  public  bm-dens, 
and  to  a  certain  extent  permitting  them  to  assess 
themselves.  The  departmental  and  municipal  ad- 
ministrations were  at  that  time  united,  as  is  well 
known.  In  the  place  of  i)refects,  sub-prefects,  and 
mayors,  who  were  instituted  at  a  later  period,  there 
were  joined  with  all  these  administrations,  commis- 
sioner of  the  government,  having  a  consulting 
voice,  directed  to  request  and  urge  the  acceleration 
of  the  labours  of  the  administrations,  but  not  to 
execute  these  labours  themselves.  The  system  of 
cantonal  municipalities,  imiting  the  44,000  com- 
munes of  France  into  SOOO  collective  communes, 
had  added  to  the  disorder.  Every  local  business 
was  abandoned,  while  that  which  made  the  misfor- 
tune the  greater  was,  that  the  two  main  objects, 
the  recniiting  of  the  army  and  the  tax  collections, 
were  wholly  neglected.  To  remedy  this  defect  in 
the  administrative  action,  5000  commissioners  were 
attached  to  the  municipalities  of  the  cantons,  whose 
bu-siness  was  to  hasten  the  completion  of  the  lists 
of  assessment  ;  but  they  did  not  possess  the  power 
which  could  have  alone  made  them  efficient,  that  of 
acting  themselves.  Besides,  divided  between  vari- 
ous occupations,  they  only  gave  a  slight  degree  of 
attention  to  the  completion  of  the  lists  of  assess- 
ment. The  sum  paid  them  for  their  labours,  much 
more  expensive  than  it  has  been  since  the  estjiblish- 
ment  of  the  administration  of  direct  contributions, 
w;i.s  a  heavy  drain  upon  the  treasury,  without  any 
corresponding  return. 

Thus  the  direct  taxes,  the  pi-incipal  branch  of 
the  state  revenue,  were  not  received.  Besides  this 
permanent  deficiency,  proceeding  from  a  default 
in  the  receipts,  there  was  another,  which  arose  from 
the  extent  of  the  expenditure  at  this  time  being 
greater  than  the  revenue  :  the  ordinary  expenses 
were  cilculatorl  to  cover  the  return  of  a  revenue  of 
about  r.OO.OOO.OOOf.,  but  the  war  had  carried  them 
to  700,000,000f.     There  remained  as  a  resource 


nothing  but  the  national  property,  the  larger  part  of 
which  was  already  absorbed  ;  besides,  it  was  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  sell  this  property  to  advantage, 
because  the  definitive  triumph  of  the  revolution  was 
still  very  doubtful. 

This  state  of  things  had  caused  revolting  abuses, 
and  led  to  a  situation  which  ought  to  be  known  for 
the  instruction  of  every  people  and  government. 

The  assignats,  we  have  said,  had  ceased  to  be  in 
existence  for  a  good  while.  The  notes  which  re- 
placed them  had  also  disappeared.  The  paper 
money  was  thus  completely  abandoned,  and  how- 
ever  great  the  void  might  be,  it  was  still 
better  not  to  fill  it  yet,  than  to  fill  it  as  be- 
fore with  a  forced  paper  issue,  barely  admitted 
even  in  forced  payments,  and  thus  give  place 
uselessly  for  the  rigors  of  the  law  in  order  to 
enforce  its  being  circulated  at  all.  The  paper 
money  thus  suppressed  was  replaced  in  the  following 
manner  :  First,  the  payment  was  dispensed  with, 
even  in  paper,  of  the  public  functionaries,  so  that 
in  Brumaire  in  the  year  vni.  they  had  not  re- 
ceived anything  for  ten  months.  Still  something 
must  be  given  to  the  fundholders,  and  to  the 
pensioners  of  the  state ;  and  these  received  "  bills  of 
arrear  ^,"  of  which  the  only  value  was  that  they 
wei"e  always  received  in  payment  of  the  taxes. 
They  did  not  pay  the  troops  at  all,  but  they  ac- 
quitted the  value  of  what  the  armies  took  on  the 
spot  for  subsistence,  by  means  of  "  bills  of  requisi- 
tion," which  were  equally  receivable  in  payment  of 
taxes.  The  companies  charged  to  provide  for  the 
wants  of  the  soldiers,  executed  their  duty  ill,  and 
sometimes  not  at  all;  and  they  received,  in  place 
of  cash,  orders  upon  the  first  I'eceipts  of  the 
treasury,  under  this  species  of  claim,  given  very 
ai'bitrarily,  obtaining  nearly  all  the  money  which 
got  into  the  public  exchequer.  Finally,  "  rescrip- 
tions"  or  orders  on  the  national  domains,  receivable 
in  payment  for  the  same,  werer  another  kind  of 
pajjcr  added  to  those  which  have  been  enumerated, 
and  contributed  to  the  most  fearful  stockjobbing. 

These  various  notes  had  not  in  effect  a  forced 
currency,  as  the  assignats  had  before  them  ;  but 
thrown  into  circulation,  and  endlessly  bought  and 
sold  in  the  Paris  market,  they  became  elevated  or 
depressed  in  value  upon  every  good  or  bad  rumour, 
and  were  thus  the  subject  of  a  ruinous  speculation 
for  the  state,  and  of  lamentable  demoralization  with 
the  public.  The  men  of  business,  the  depositories  of 
all  the  wealth  in  specie,  were  able  to  procure  them  at 
a  very  advantageous  rate.  They  purchased  them  from 
the  fundholders,  the  contractors,  and  others,  at  the 
lowest  cost,  and  got  them  presented  at  the  treasury 
in  payment  of  the  t;ixes,  turning  for  a  hundred 
francs  what  had  cost  them  eighty,  or  sometimes 
only  fifty  or  sixty.  The  collectors  gave  themselves 
to  this  kind  of  speculation ;  and  while  they  received 
money  from  one  part  of  the  tax-i)ayers,  they  turned 
at  par  into  the  state-coffei-s  the  paper  which  they 
had  acquired  at  the  lower  price.  Therefore  few 
])ayed  tiieir  taxes  in  specie  ;  there  was  a  much 
greater  advantage  in  acquitting  them  with  paper. 
In  this  mode  the  treasury  did  not  receive  the  real 
value  to  which  it  was  entitled,  and  its  distress  daily 
augmented. 

In  the  same  way  that  anger  against  the  Vendeaus 

-  Bons  d'arrtrage. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  YEAR  VIII. 


France  still  stronsr. 
Military  resources. 


produced  the  hostage  law,  that  against  the  dealers 
ia  money  gave  the  idea  of  the  progressive  forced 
loan,  designed  to  reach  the  larger  capitalists,  and 
make  them  bear  a  pai-t  in  the  expenses  of  the  war. 
This  tax  was  called  in  France  during  the  days  of 
terror,  the  tax  upon  the  rich,  being  analogous  to 
that  called  the  '•  income-tax  "  in  England— imposed 
by  Pitt  in  order  to  sustain  the  remorseless  war 
which  he  was  waging  against  France.  This  tax, 
not  proportioned  to  the  extent  of  fixed  property, 
which  affords  a  certain  basis,  but  to  the  supposed 
wealth  of  individuals,  was  practicable  in  England, 
although  under  much  discontent — a  state  where 
order  prevailed,  and  where  the  fury  of  pai'ty  did  not 
make  the  estimate  of  incomes  an  instiiiment  of  venge- 
ance. But  it  was  impracticable  in  France,  because 
in  the  midst  of  the  disorders  of  the  time  the  assess- 
ing jury  was  a  species  of  revolutionary  committee, 
imposing  wealth  or  poverty  upon  individuals  as 
its  caprices  or  its  passions  inclined;  and  never 
credited  to  be  just  even  when  it  was  so,  which 
is  nearly  equivalent  to  its  not  being  just  at  any 
time.  They  did  not  dare  to  present  this  measui-e 
to  the  country  as  formerly,  mider  the  simple  shape 
of  a  tax;  dissimulating  its  true  nature;  it  bore  the 
name  of  a  "  forced  loan  ^,"  repayable,  it  was  said, 
in  national  property,  and  imposed,  according  to  the 
supposed  ability  of  those  who  were  to  pay,  by  a 
jury  of  assessors.  Thus  the  measure  became  one 
of  the  calamities  of  the  day,  and  formed  with  the 
hostage  law  the  two  heavy  grievances  afterwards 
alleged  against  the  Directory.  This  was  not  the 
cause,  as  some  asserted,  of  the  sti-aitness  of  the 
treasury,  an  evil  owing  to  a  complexity  of  circum- 
stances; it  drove  away  the  wealthy  speculatoi's, 
whose  help  was  indispensable  to  the  government, 
and  through  whom  it  should  have  aided  itself,  if 
only  for  tlie  moment,  in  order  to  be  able  to  do 
without  them  at  a  later  period. 

This  financial  situation  was,  as  already  said,  the 
principal  cause  of  the  distress  and  the  reverses 
of  our  armies.  Perfectly  well  understood  by  foreign 
powers,  it  filled  them  with  the  confidence  of  van- 
quishing us  by  a  little  perseverance.  Without  doubt 
the  two  victories  of  the  Texel  and  Zurich  re- 
moved further  off  the  object  which  they  sought, 
but  it  did  not  turn  them  aside  from  the  pur- 
suit. Austria,  proud  to  have  reconquered  Italy, 
decided  to  combat  to  the  uttermost  sooner  than 
resign  it  again.  She  already  conducted  herself 
there  a.s  an  absolut(!  sovereign.  Occu])ying  Pied- 
mont, Tuscany,  and  the  Roman  statis,  she  nei- 
ther recalled  the  king  of  Sardinia  to  Turin,  the 
grand-duke  of  Tuscany  to  Florence,  nor  the  ponti- 
fical government  to  Rome.  The  defeat  of  Korsakoff 
and  Suwaroff  at  Zurich  affected  her  less  than  might 
be  believed.  It  was  in  her  view  a  check  for  the 
Russian  arms,  not  for  those  of  Austria;  a  fault  of 
the  generals  Korsakoff  and  Suwaroff ;  a  military 
mischief  easily  reparable,  and  only  vexatious  in 
case  it  disgusted  the  Russians  with  the  war.  But 
she  hojied,  with  the  influence  of  British  subsi- 
dies, to  recal  them  again  to  the  field  of  battle.  As 
.  to  Englan<l,  enriched  by  the  income-tax,  which 
'  jiroduccd  already  more  than  200,00(»,()00f.  a-year; 
blockading  Malta,  which  she  soon  hoped  to  take 
by  famine;  intercepting    the    conveyance   of  suc- 

Hinprunt  forci-. 


eour  to  our  anny  in  Egypt,  that  she  hoped  soon  to 
subdue  by  privation  and  by  force — England  was 
resolved  to  follow  out  all  these  results,  which  her 
policy  flattered  itself  with  gaining,  before  she  laid 
down  her  arms.  Moreover  she  counted  upon  a 
sort  of  social  dissolution  in  France,  which  would 
soon  change -it  into  an  open  eountiy,  accessible  to 
whoever  might  choose  to  enter  it.  Prussia,  the 
only  one  of  tlie  northern  powers  that  had  taken  no 
jiart  in  the  war,  observed  a  cold  reserve  in  regard 
to  the  French  government.  Spain,  obliged  by  the 
treaty  of  alliance  of  St.  Ildefonzo  to  make  common 
cause  with  France,  appeared  to  be  mortified  at  their 
community  of  interests.  None  seemed  to  care  much 
about  keeping  up  relations  with  a  government 
ready  to  fall.  The  victories  of  Zurich  and  the 
Texel  had  conferred  upon  it  the  show  of  external 
respect,  but  not  the  confidence  of  the  cabinets  with 
wliiidi  it  was  at  peace  or  in  alli:ince. 

Thus  at  home  La  Vendue  anew  in  insurrection, 
and  abroad  the  principal  powers  of  Em'ope  in 
arms,  made  the  peril  of  the  war  doubly  pressing 
and  onerous.  It  was  necessary,  by  the  creation  of 
some  financial  means,  to  supply  the  first  neces- 
sities of  the  famished  armies.  It  was  necessary  to 
re-organize  them,  to  can-y  them  in  advance,  to 
command  them  ably,  to  add  new  victories  to  those 
which  had  been  gained  at  the  end  of  the  last  cam- 
paign ;  above  all,  it  was  necessary  to  take  a\vay 
from  foreign  cabinets  the  idea  of  the  approaching 
social  dissolution  of  France,  which  rendered  some 
so  confident  in  the  result  of  the  wax-,  others  so 
guarded  m  their  relations  with  her.  All  this  could 
only  be  obtained  through  a  strong  government, 
perfectly  able  to  restrain  jiarty,  and  impress  upon 
the  general  mind  that  oneness  of  impulse,  without 
which,  in  its  efforts  to  save  itself,  there  could 
neither  be  unity,  energy,  nor  success. 

The  disease  had  arrived  at  that  point  of  access 
which  often  brings  the  return  of  health,  on  the  con- 
dition, it  is  true,  that  the  strength  of  the  sick  man 
is  sufficient  to  last  out  the  cure.  Hajipily  the 
strength  of  France  was  still  great.  The  revolution, 
although  decried  by  those  that  it  had  wounded,  or 
whose  illusions  it  had  not  realized,  was  not  the  less 
after  all  the  cause  of  justice  and  reason,  and  it  still 
inspired  that  attachment  which  a  grand  cause  is 
always  sure  to  do.  It  had,  besides,  numerous  in- 
terests bound  up  in  its  fate,  in  all  those  who  had 
acquired  new  situations,  purchased  the  property 
of  emigrants,  or  played  any  character  in  it  that 
compromised  them.  Finally,  the  nation  was  not 
so  exhausted,  morally  and  physically,  as  to  see 
with  resignation  the  Austrians  and  Russians  in- 
vade its  territory  :  on  the  contrai'y,  it  was  indig- 
nant at  the  idea.'  Its  armies  abounded  with  good 
soldiei"s,  experienced  officers,  and  excellent  gene- 
rals, who  had  only  need  of  a  good  directiini.  All 
these  forces  were  ready  to  unite  spontaneously  in 
the  grasp  of  a  single  hand,  if  that  hand  were  ca- 
pable of  directing  them.  These  circumstances 
favoured  the  man  of  genius  who  was  about  to  pre- 
sent him.self,  for  even  genius  itself  has  need  of 
the  aid  of  circumstances. 

Had  young  Bonaparte,  in  1789,  for  example,  of- 
fered himself  with  his  talents  and  glory  to  seize 
ujjon  social  France,  then  tending  in  all  parts  to 
dissolve,  because  its  elements  were  become  incom- 
patible, and  had  he  attempted  to  restraui  it  with 


6         Powers  of  the  Consuls.        THIERS' CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Qualifications  of  Bona- 
parte for  governing. 


1799. 
Nov. 


his  powerful  arm,  a  human  arm  could  hare  ef- 
fected nothing  against  the  power  of  nature.  At 
this  time,  on  the  contrary,  when  an  old  society, 
broken  up,  as  it  was  necessary  it  should  be,  before 
it  was  reconstructed  upon  a  new  model,  presented 
no  more  than  scattered  elements,  but  tending  in 
themselves  to  approximate,  it  was  ready  to  lend 
itself  to  the  cflbrts  of  the  able  hand  that  knew  how 
to  grasp  it.  Bonaparte  had  with  him,  then,  both 
liis  genius  and  the  favour  of  circumstances.  He 
had  an  entire  society  to  organize,  a  society  that 
was  willing  to  be  organized,  and  willing  it  should 
be  done  by  him,  because  in  him  it  had  the  limitless 
confidence  inspired  by  unequalled  success. 

The  law  which  decreed  the  provisionary  consul- 
ship, conferred  great  powers  on  the  three  consuls. 
This  law  invested  them  with  the  plenitude  of  the 
"  directorial  power  ;"  especially  charging  tliem  to 
"  re-establisli  order  in  all  branches  of  the  adminis- 
ti-ation;  to  re-estalilish  interior  tranquillity,  and  to 
procure  for  France  a  peace  soHd  and  honourable." 
This  law  also  joined  with  them  two  legislative  com- 
missions, of  twenty-five  members  each,  chosen  out 
of  the  Council  of  the  Ancients  and  that  of  the  Five 
Hundred,  in  order  to  replace  the  legislative  body, 
and  give  a  legal  character  to  the  acts  of  the 
consuls.  It  authorized  these  two  commissions  to 
decree  all  needful  measures  on  the  proposition  of 
the  executive  authority.  It  confided  to  them,  be- 
sides, the  important  duty  of  preparing  the  new 
constitution.  Nevertheless,  as  it  was  not  possible 
to  confer  such  powei's  for  an  unlimited  time,  the 
same  law  enacted  that  on  the  1st  of  Ventose  next, 
the  two  councils  of  the  Ancients  and  of  the  Five 
Hundred  should  in  full  right  meet  togetlier 
again,  if  a  new  constitution  were  not  promulgated 
and  accepted  in  the  mean  time.  In  this  case  the 
members  of  the  actual  legislative  body  should  be 
considered  re-invested  with  their  powers,  save 
sixty  of  their  number  erased  from  the  list  of  the 
councils  by  an  extraordinary  provision.  The  re- 
a.s.sembling  eventually  being  fixed  for  the  1st  Ven- 
tose, the  dictati'i-fihip  confided  to  the  provisional 
consuls  was  limited  to  three  months.  It  was  in  effect 
a  ti-ue  dicta toi-ship  which  had  been  conceded,  be- 
cause these  commissions  deliberated  with  eh)Sed 
doors;  divided  into  difFerent  sections  of  finances,  of 
legislation,  of  the  couhtitution  ;  only  meeting  to 
legalize  what  the  government  propc.sed  to  them  ; 
they  were  the  surest  and  most  facile  instruments 
for  acting  with  promptitude.  There  was  no  ground 
to  fear  that  they  would  abuse  these  powers,  because 
when  there  is  nuich  good  to  be  done  quickly,  people 
do  not  lose  time  in  doing  evil. 

The  day  of  their  entry  into  the  Luxembourg,  the 
three  pmvisional  consuls  assembled  to  delibe- 
rate on  the  mure  pressing  affairs  of  the  state.  It 
was  tlio  11th  of  November  1799  (the  20th  liru- 
mairc).  It  hecamc  necessary  to  clmose  a  jjresi- 
dent,  and  the  age  and  situatitm  of  Sieyea  seenied 
to  demand  that  distinction.  Ducos,  although  his 
friend,  as  if  operated  upon  by  the  feeling  of  the 
moment,  said  to  Bonaparte,  "  Take  the  chair,  and 
let  us  deliberate."  Bonaparte  took  the  chair  at 
the  moment.  Still  the  appointment  of  the  pro- 
visional consuls  made  no  mention  of  a  president. 
A  first  examination,  in  sununary,  of  the  situation  of 
the  country  was  then  made.  Young  Bonaparte 
wa«  ignomnt  of  many  things,  but  he  readily  divined 


what  he  did  not  before  know.  He  had  made  war, 
provided  for  numerous  armies,  governed  conquered 
provinces,  negociated  with  Europe  :  his  was  the 
best  apprenticeship  in  the  art  of  government.  For 
superior  minds,  but  for  superior  minds  alone,  war  is 
an  excellent  school  :  command  is  learned  there, 
decision,  and  above  all,  government.  Thus  the  new 
consul  appeared  to  have  in  all  things  an  opinion 
ready-formed,  or  an  opinion  that  was  formed  with 
the  rapidity  of  lightning  ;  particularly  after  having 
heard  practical  men,  who  were  the  only  men  he 
would  liear,and  those  upon  the  subject  alone  which 
was  connected  with  their  special  calling. 

A  species  of  knowledge,  the  deficiency  of  which 
is  to  be  regretted  in  one  who  exercises  the  supreme 
authority,  was  at  this  time  wanting  to  him — not  the 
knowledge  of  men,  but  of  individuals.  As  to  men 
in  genei-al,  Bonaparte  knew  them  profoundly  ;  but 
having  always  lived  with  the  armies,  he  was  a 
stranger  to  those  who  had  figured  in  the  revolution. 
He  therefore  asked  and  was  aided  by  the  testimony 
of  his  colleagues ;  and  owing  to  his  quick  penetration 
and  prodigious  memory,  he  soon  came  to  know  the 
individuals  belonging  to  govei-nmeut  offices  as  well 
as  he  knew  those  of  his  army. 

At  this  first  conference,  the  parts  were  chosen 
and  accepted.  The  young  general,  with(;ut  attend- 
ing to  the  opinions  of  his  colleagues,  gave  his  own 
at  the  moment,  taking  up  and  regulating  every 
point  of  business  with  the  decision  of  a  man  of 
action.  It  was  evident  the  impulse  would  come 
from  himself.  They  retired  after  having  settled 
on  the  things  most  urgent  to  be  done.  Sieyes, 
with  a  resignation  which  did  honour  to  his  sense 
and  pati-iotism,  said  in  the  evening  to  Talleyrand 
and  to  Roedercr,  "  We  have  a  master  who  knows 
how  to  do  every  thing,  is  able  to  do  every 
thing,  and  who  will  do  every  thing."  He  there- 
fore wisely  concluded  that  it  was  better  to  per- 
mit him  to  act,  because  at  that  moment  personal 
rivalry  in  the  consuls  would  have  ruined  France. 
It  was  agreed  anew  by  a  kind  of  voluntary  division 
of  duty,  that  during  the  dictatorship,  which  must 
be  .short  and  busy,  Bonaparte  should  govern,  and 
Sieyes  employ  himself  in  preparing  the  constitution. 
This  was,  as  has  been  already  said,  a  duty  that 
public  opinion  adjudged  to  Sieyes,  and  in  the  ac- 
complishment of  which  his  colleague  was  not  dis- 
posed to  give  him  much  contradiction, — one  point 
excepted,  the  organization  of  the  executive  power. 

The  most  urgent  object  was  the  composition  of 
the  ministry.  In  a  monarchy  the  first  men  of  the 
country  are  called  to  office  :  in  a  republic  the 
chief  men  having  themselves  become  the  heads  of 
the  government,  there  remains  for  the  ministry 
only  men  of  the  second  class  in  ability,  mere 
clerks  ;  officials  without  responsibility,  because  the 
real  responsibility  is  seated  higher.  When  such 
jiersons  as  Sieyes  and  Bonaparte  were  consuls,  a 
class  of  persons  very  distinguished  for  talent  like 
Fouchd,  Cambac(-res,  Reinliart,  and  Talleyrand, 
could  not  be  real  ministers.  Their  choice  had  no 
other  weight  attached  to  it  than  a  certain  public 
effect  and  a  good  despatch  of  official  business.  In 
this  light  only  the  ch<.ice  offered  an  interest. 

The  lawyer  Canibac^res,  a  learned  and  philoso- 
phic man,  as  will  be  seen  hereafter,  was  retained 
witJiout  opposition  as  minister  of  justice.  Fouch^, 
after  a   lively  discussion  among   the  consuls,  re- 


Miuistorial  appoint- 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  YEAR  VIII. 


The  secretary  of  state. 
Military  changes. 


mained  minister  of  police.     Sieyes  was  against  him,  I 
because  lie  said  Fouche  was  a  man  not  to  be  relied  | 
upon   and   the   creature   of  the   director  Barras.  | 
Bonaparte  supported   his  cause  and  kept  him  in  I 
his   post.      He  engaged  thus  in  his  behalf  from  | 
a  regard    to  services   Fouche'  had   rendered   him 
during  the  events  of  the  18th  Brumaire.     Jlorc 
than  tliis,  Fouche'  joined  to  an  acute  mind  a  pro- 
found knowledge  of  men  and  things  connected  with 
the  revolution.     He  was  marked  out  for  minister 
of  police  ;   as  Talleyrand,   with   his  court-habits,  ! 
practised    in   important   state-business,   his   mind  ' 
subtle  and  conciliatory,  was  the  minister  indicated  ! 
as  best  fitted  for  foreign  affairs.     Though  Fouche  i 
continued  iu  his  office,  the  anger  of  the  z-evolutiou- 
ists   was    so   great   against    Talleyrand,    whether 
because   of  his   connexions    among  the  moderate 
party,  or  on  account  of  the  part  he  had  played  in 
the  late  events,  that  he  was  obliged  to  defer  for 
some  weeks  his  return  to  the  ministry  for  foreign 
affairs.     Reinhart  was  for  a  fortnight  longer  con- 
tinued in  his  post.     General  Berihier,  the  faithful 
companion  of  the  conqueror  of  Italy  and  of  Egypt, 
his   inseparable   chief  of  the   staff,   who   so   well 
understood  and  delivered  his  orders,  received  the 
war  portfolio,  in  place  of  Dubois-Crance',  who  was 
judged  to  be  too  strong  in  his  opinions.     In  the 
ministry  of  the  interior,  Quinette  was  replaced  by 
an  illustrious  man  of  science,  De  la  Place.     This 
was  a  great  and  just  homage  paid  to  science,  but  it 
was  of  no  service  to  the  government ;  his  noble 
and  elevated  genius  being  little  fitted  for  the  petty 
details  of  state  business.    Forfait,  an  able  engineer, 
well  skilled  in  naval  construction,  replaced  Bom*- 
don,  of  the  Oise,  as  minister  of  the  marine. 

At  this  time,  perhaps,  the  most  important  selec- 
tion to  be  made  was  that  of  the  minister  of 
finance.  To  the  departments  already  indicated,  the 
conhuls  were  able  to  supply  by  themselves  two  of  the 
most  considerable,  those  of  war  and  ibroign  affairs. 
Bonaparte  himself  could  perform  the  duties  both 
of  Berthier  and  Reinhart.  It  was  not  so  with  the 
finances.  This  was  a  department  of  the  state  in 
which  experience  and  knowledge  were  indispensa- 
ble. There  had  not  been  in  the  late  Directory 
any  person  who  was  able  to  labour  usefully  at  the 
re-organization  of  the  finances,  though  so  urgent 
anil  neces.sary.  There  wius,  however,  a  first  clerk, 
with  a  mind  not  so  brilliant  as  solid,  and  of  long 
experience,  who  had  rendered  under  the  old  go- 
vernment, and  during  the  enrly  days  of  the  revo- 
lution, tliose  administrative  services  little  known, 
but  extremely  valuable,  which  the  heads  of  affairs 
cannot  do  without,  and  consider  of  great  im- 
portance. The  first  clerk,  of  whom  mention  is 
thus  made,  was  Gaudin,  afterwards  Duke  of  Gaete. 
SieycH,  well  able  to  judge  of  men,  although  little 
capable  of  comrolling  ihem,  had  known  Gaudin 
before,  and  had  willingly  offered  him  the  portfolio 
of  finance  towards  the  end  of  the  Directory. 
Gaudin,  an  excellent  financier,  but  a  timid  citizen, 
was  unwilling  to  accept  the  office  thus  tendered 
to  him  under  an  expiring  government,  wanting 
the  joint  conditions  of  credit,  sirength,  and  the 
aspect  of  stedfastness.  But  when  power  a|)peared, 
without  contist  or  opposiiioii,  to  fall  into  able  and 
strong  hanilH,  he  no  longer  felt  the  same  repug- 
nance to  office.  JJonaparte,  having  a  decided  jiredi- 
lection  for  practical  men,  piirtook  at  once  in  the 


opinion  of  his  colleague  Sieyes,  and  offered  to 
Gaudin  the  administration  of  the  finances;  which 
he  accepted,  and  in  which  office  for  fifteen  years 
he  rendered  the  state  the  most  important  ser- 
vices. 

The  ministry  was  thus  complete.  One  only 
nomination  was  added  to  those  already  recorded, 
it  was  that  of  Maret,  afterwards  Duke  of  Bassano, 
who  became  secretary  to  the  consuls  under  the 
title  of  "  Secretary  of  State."  Ordered  to  pre[)are 
for  the  consuls  the  elements  of  their  labours,  often 
to  put  in  order  their  resolutions,  to  communicate 
them  to  the  heads  of  the  different  departments, 
and  to  keep  all  the  state  secrets,  he  held  a  species 
of  ministry,  destined  at  times  to  supply,  complete, 
and  control  all  the  others.  A  cultivated  mind, 
a  certain  know  ledge  of  Europe,  with  which  he  had 
already  conducted  negociations,  principally  at  Lille 
with  Lord  Malmesbury,  an  accurate  memory,  a 
fidelity  above  ail  proof,  foi-med  him  to  become 
near  Bonaparte,  one  of  his  companions  in  labour 
the  most  serviceable,  and  the  most  constantly  em- 
ployed. Bonaparte  preferred  near  him  those  who 
displayed  in  service  exactness  and  intelligence, 
rather  than  brilliancy  of  mind.  This  is  the  taste 
of  superior  genius,  ever  desiring  to  be  compre- 
hended and  obeyed,  not  to  be  supplanted.  Such 
was  the  cause  of  the  great  favour  of  Berthier 
during  twenty  years.  Maret,  not  equalling  Berthier 
on  the  whole,  had,  in  the  civil  line  of  duty,  most  of 
the  merits  of  that  illustrious  chief  of  the  staff  in 
the  military  career. 

General  Lefebvre  was  placed  in  command  of  the 
seventeenth  military  division.  It  will  be  recol- 
lected that  at  first  he  had  shown  hesitation  on  the 
morning  of  the  18th  Brumaii'e,  and  that  afterwards 
he  blindly  threw  himself  into  the  arms  of  the 
new  dictator.  He  was  recompensed  by  the  seven- 
teenth military  division,  and  by  the  government  of 
Paris.  His  fidelity  might  afterwards  be  safely 
counted  upon. 

Members  of  the  two  councils,  who  were  sig- 
nalized by  their  co-operation  on  the  18th  Bru- 
maire, were  sent  into  the  provinces,  to  explain  and 
justify  that  event ;  and  in  case  of  ncscessity,  to  re- 
place those  agents  in  authority  who  might  show 
themselves  refractory  or  inefficient.  The  result  of 
the  18th  Brumaire  was  every  where  received  with 
joy  ;  still  the  revolutionary  party  had,  iu  men 
compx'omised  by  their  excesses,  friends  that  might 
become  dangerous  ;  above  all,  in  the  directic)n  of 
the  southern  provinces.  There  when  they  showed 
themselves,  the  youth  who  were  styled  the  "  gilded 
youth,"  or  done,  were  ready  to  come  to  blows  with 
them.  The  defeat  or  victory  of  one  or  the  other 
party  would  have  produced  serious  inconveniences. 
Certain  clianges  were  brought  about  in  the 
distribution  of  the  great  military  commands.  Mo- 
reau,  dee])ly  angry  at  the  Directory,  which  had  so 
ill  recompensed  his  patriotic  devotion  during  the 
campaign  of  1/09,  had  consented  to  act  as  the  lieu- 
tenant of  Bonaparte,  in  aiding  him  to  consuunnatc 
the  revolution  of  the  18th  Brumaire.  At  the  head 
of  three  hundred  men,  ho  descended  to  the  cha- 
racter of  guardian  of  the  Luxembourg,  in  which 
palace  the  directors  found  themselves  prisoners, 
whilst  their  doom  was  decided  at  St.  Cloutl.  Bona- 
l):irte,  who,  in  Mattering  with  skill  the  luido  and 
resentment  of  Moreau,  thus  led  him  to  accept  so 


Moreau  and  Massina  ex- 
change commands. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Conduct  of  M.  Gaudin.       .--„ 
Loan    to    the    govern-       ^     ' 


singular  a  part,  owed  him  an  indemnity.  He, 
the'refore,  united  the  two  armies  of  the  Rhine  and 
of  Helvetia  in  one,  and  conferred  upon  Moreaii  the 
command.  It  was  the  most  numerous  and  finest 
army  of  tlie  republic,  and  it  was  impossible  to 
be  placed  in  better  hands.  Moreau  had  gained  little 
fame  in  the  last  campaign.  His  sterling  services, 
above  all,  when  with  a  handful  of  men  he  stopped 
the  victorious  march  of  Suwaroff,  were,  notwith- 
standing, deenud  no  victories,  and  had  not  been 
appreciated  at  their  just  value.  At  this  epoch  the 
battle  of  Zurich  effaced  every  other  deed.  Again, 
the  political  conduct  of  Moreau  in  the  affair  of  the 
18th  Fructidor,  when  he  denounced  Pichegru, 
either  too  soon  or  too  late,  had  cast  a  cloud  upon 
him  in  the  general  opinion,  and  caused  him  to  be 
esteemed  a  feeble  character  every  way  unworthy  of 
himself,  when  he  was  absent  from  the  field  of  bat- 
tle. Bonaparte  re-elevated  him  in  giving  him  so 
extensive  a  command,  which  besides  involved 
another  very  wise  detemiination.  The  legions  of 
the  Rhine  and  of  Helvetia  comprehended  in  their 
ranks  the  warmest  republicans  of  the  whole  army, 
very  jealous  of  the  glory  acquired  in  Italy  and 
Egypt.  Massc-na,  who  commanded  tliem,had  little 
love  for  Bonaparte,  although  he  was  subdued  by 
his  gtnius.  He  passed  by  turns  from  admiration 
to  ill  humour  in  regarding  him.  Some  vexatious 
demonstration  too  was  to  be  feared  on  the  part  of 
Massdna,  in  consequence  of  the  18th  Brumaire. 
The  choice  of  Moreau  cut  short  every  possible 
chance  of  this  nature,  and  took  from  a  discon- 
tented army  an  ill-disposed  general.  The  choice 
was  equally  good  in  a  military  sense,  because  this 
army  of  the  Rhine  and  Helvetia  was  destined,  in 
case  of  the  renewal  of  hostilities,  to  operate  in 
Germany,  and  no  one  had  so  well  studied  as  Jloreau 
that  part  of  the  theatre  of  the  war. 

Massdna  was  sent  to  the  army  of  Italy,  to  the 
places  and  among  the  soldiers  that  were  perfectly 
well  known  to  him.  It  was  also  honourable  to 
himself  that  he  .should  be  chosen  to  repair  the 
faults  committed  in  179!),  and  be  the  continuator  of 
the  exploits  of  Bonaparte  in  179C.  Separated  from 
the  army  iff  the  midst  of  which  he  had  conquered 
and  obtained  supporters,  he  was  now  transported 
to  the  midst  of  a  new  army,  to  which  the  Directory 
was  odious,  and  where  none  were  found  who  did 
not  approve  of  the  18th  Brumaire.  This  selection, 
like  the  preceding,  was  perfectly  wise  in  a  military 
point  of  view.  The  Apennines  were  to  be  disputed 
with  the  Austrians,  and  for  a  war  of  such  a  nature 
on  this  theatre  of  operations  Massdna  had  no  w  here 
his  equal. 

After  having  agreed  upon  these  indispensable 
appointments,  the  consuls  continued  to  apply  them- 
selves to  a  business  not  less  urgent,  that  of  the 
finances.  Before  obbiining  money  from  capitalists, 
it  was  necessary  to  afford  them  satisfaction,  by  sup- 
pressing the  forced  progressive  loan,  which,  like  the 
hostigc  law,  had  incurred  universal  reprobation. 
The  forced  loan,  as  well  as  the  hostage  law,  was 
far  fn)in  having  produced  all  the  evil  attributed  to 
it.  But  these  two  measures,  scanty  in  utility,  bore 
th(!  miscliicf,  under  a  moral  sense,  that  they  re- 
called the  most  odious  recollections  of  the  reign  of 
terror.  Every  body  agreed  in  condemning  them. 
The  revolutionists  themselves,  who  in  their  pa- 
1  triotic  ardour  had  demanded  them  of  the  Dii-ectory, 
I 


by  a  reaction,  very  common  to  party,  suddenly  de- 
nounced the  measures  of  which  they  saw  the  bad 
success  in  the  unpopularity. 

Only  just  installed  in  office,  the  rainister  Gaudin, 
at  the  command  of  the  consuls,  presented  to  the 
legislative  commissions  a  resolution,  the  object  of 
wliieh  was  the  suppression  of  the  law  of  the  forced 
progressive  loan.  This  suppression  gave  rise  to 
universal  plaudits.  The  loan  law  was  replaced  by 
a  war  tax,  consisting  of  an  addition  of  25  centimes 
to  the  principal  of  the  "  foucial  "  taxes,  or  those  on 
land,  moveable,  and  personal  property.  This  was 
payable  in  the  same  way  as  the  other  taxes,  in 
money  or  paper  of  any  kind  ;  but  in  consequence 
of  the  exigency  of  the  moment,  it  was  settled 
that  half  the  amount  should  be  paid  in  specie. 

The  war  tax,  thus  substituted  for  the  forced  pro- 
gressive loan,  could  not  yield  immediate  returns,  be- 
cause it  could  not  be  collected  but  through  the  lists 
of  assessment  of  the  direct  contributions,  to  which 
contributions,  at  the  same  time,  it  was  in  reality  no 
other  than  an  augmentation  of  one-fourth.  For 
the  current  service — above  all,  for  the  use  of  the 
armies — it  was  necessary  to  have  fimds  in  the 
treasury  immediately.  Gaudin,  under  the  new 
measures,  that  pleased  in  a  particular  manner  the 
great  capitalists,  made  an  appeal  to  the  principal 
bankers  of  Paris,  soliciting  that  aid,  the  necessity 
of  which  struck  every  body.  Bonaparte  himself, 
too,  intervened  with  them  directly,  and  the  sum 
of  12,000,000f.  in  specie  was  immediately  advanced 
to  the  government.  The  debt  was  to  be  repaid 
out  of  the  first  receipts  of  the  war  tax. 

This  aid  was  a  great  advantage,  and  did  honour 
to  the  public  spirit  of  the  bankers  of  the  capital ; 
but  it  was  no  more  than  a  subsistence  for  a  few 
days  ;  more  durable  resources  were  necessary. 

It  has  been  seen  at  the  commencement  of  this 
chapter,  how  the  suppression  of  the  indirect  con- 
tributions, decided  upon  at  the  beginnuig  of  the 
revolution,  had  reduced  the  treasury  to  the  sole 
revenue  derived  from  the  direct  taxes ;  how  this 
revenue  was  itself  nearly  annulled  by  the  retarda- 
tion of  the  completion  of  the  lists  of  assessment ; 
how,  in  fine,  the  assignats,  the  ordinary  means 
adopted  to  cover  all  deficiencies,  having  totally 
disappeared,  their  service  was  replaced  with  paper 
of  different  kinds,  which,  though  not  having  in 
cuiToncy  the  power  of  money,  did  not  straiten  pri- 
vate transactions  more  than  the  paper  which  was 
in  use  before,  but  left  the  government  without 
resources,  and  gave  birth  to  the  most  hideous 
stock-jobbing.  It  was  necessary  to  get  out  of  such 
a  state  of  things,  and  to  reorganize  the  collection,  or, 
what  is  the  same  thing,  to  re-open  with  the  sources 
of  the  revenue  those  of  public  credit. 

In  every  country  where  taxes  exist  on  property 
and  person,  named  in  France  "direct  contribu- 
tions," there  must  be  a  list  of  property  returned 
with  an  estimate  of  its  product,  and  a  list  nominat- 
ing individuals,  with  the  value  of  their  pecuniary 
ability.  Every  year  this  list  or  statement  must  be 
modified,  according  to  the  transmission  of  pro- 
perty from  hand  to  hand,  or  according  to  accidents 
in  birth,  death,  or  removal.  Every  year  there 
must  be  repartitioned  between  property  and  per- 
son the  amount  decreed  as  the  impost ;  and  lastly, 
there  must  be  a  collection  made  exact  and  prudent 
at  the  same  time;  exact  to  insure  the  receipts. 


1799, 
Nov. 


Disorders  in  collec- 
tion. —  Vingtiimes 
re-established. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  YEAR  VIII. 


Mode  of  receiving  and 
paying  in  the  taxes. 


prudent  to  spare  the  pei-sons  taxed.  Nothing  of  all 
thLs  existed  in  the  year  viii.  (17!)9) 

The  cadastre,  or  register  of  property,  the  labour 
of  forty  yeai-s,  had  not  then  been  conimonced.  There 
were  in  some  communes  old  roll-books,  and  a 
general  statement  of  their  property,  undertaken 
in  the  time  of  the  Constituent  Assembly.  These, 
given  with  little  correctness,  were  still  turned  to 
some  account.  But  the  (liberations,  which  consist 
in  revising  the  lists  of  property  and  of  i)ersons  fol- 
lowing their  incessant  changes,  and  in  repartition- 
ing  annually  between  them  the  taxation  decreed 
under  each  impost — these  operations,  which  pro- 
perly constitute  that  which  is  denominated  the 
making  up  of  the  assessment  lists,  were  delivered 
over  to  the  municipal  administrations,  of  which  the 
disorganization  and  inefficiency  have  been  already 
explained. 

The  collection  was  not  in  less  disorder.  The 
office  was  adjudged  by  abatement  of  the  charge, 
that  is,  to  those  who  would  collect  at  the  .smallest  ex- 
pense. The  pei"sons  appointed  gave  the  money  col- 
lected into  the  hands  of  receivers,  who  acted 
intermediately  between  tliem  and  the  receiver- 
general.  They  were  both  one  and  another  in 
.arrear.  The  disorder  that  governed  every  thing, 
at  the  time,  permitted  but  a  slight  examination 
into  their  accounts.  Moreover,  the  non-comple- 
tion of  the  lists  of  assessment  always  furnished  a 
plausible  excuse  for  retarding  the  payments,  and 
stock-jobbing  gave  a  means  of  acquitting  them 
in  depreciated  paper.  In  a  word,  they  received 
little  and  paid  in  less. 

On  the  advice  of  Gaudin  the  consuls  were  not 
fearful  of  returning  tocertain  practices  under  the  old 
system,  which  experience  had  proved  to  be  sound 
and  useful.  Upon  an  ameliorated  model  of  the  old 
administration  of  the  twentieths  (  Vlwjtiemes),  there 
was  an  agency  for  direct  taxes  formed,  a  plan  al- 
ways rntil  now  rejected,  from  the  unhappy  idea  of 
leaving  to  the  local  administrations  the  care  of 
taxing  themselves.  A  director  and  inspector  in 
each  department,  eight  hundred  and  fifty  comp- 
trollers spread  in  a  larger  or  smaller  number 
over  the  arrondissements,  were  themselves  to 
frame  the  lists  of  a.ssessment,  or,  in  other  words, 
draw  up  the  lists  of  properties  and  persons,  stating 
the  changes  occurring  annually,  and  charging  the 
proper  proportions  of  the  imi)ost.  Thus  in  place 
of  five  thou.sand  cantonal  commissioners,  who  were 
obliged  to  solicit  from  the  communes  the  perfect- 
ing of  the  assessments,  there  were  to  be  ninety-nine 
directors,  ninety-nine  inspectors,  and  eight  hundred 
and  forty  comptrollers,  doing  the  duty  themselves, 
ami  costing  the  state  but  3,000,000  f.  in  place  of 
5,000,000  f.  It  was  hoped  that  in  six  weeks  this 
administration  would  be  perfectly  organized,  and 
that  in  two  or  tiiree  months  it  would  achieve 
the  remaining  third,  yet  umnade,  of  the  lists  of  the 
year  VI I.,  or  the  past  year,  all  those  of  the  year  viii., 
the  current  year,  and  lastly  all  those  of  the  year  ix., 
the  next  year. 

Courage  was  flcmanded  to  overcome  certain  pre- 
judices ;  Bonaparte  was  not  a  man  to  stand  still 
before  any  prejudices.  The  legislative  commis- 
sioners, debating  with  closed  doors,  adopted  the 
proposed  scheme  after  a  few  observations.  Guaran- 
tees were  granted  to  those  of  the  tax-payers  who 
had  reclamations  to  urge,— guarantees  since  ren- 


dered more  secure  by  means  of  the  institution  of 
the  councils  of  the  prefecture.  The  base  of  every 
regular  constitution  being  thus  well  re-established, 
and  this  task  completed,  it  was  required  to  organize 
the  collection,  and  to  can-y  the  product  into  the 
treasury. 

Now,  thanks  to  the  perfect  order  that  the  em- 
pire and  the  subsequent  governments  have  suc- 
cessfully introduced  into  the  finances,  the  collection 
of  the  treasury  funds  is  executed  with  a  facility 
and  regularity  which  leave  nothing  to  wish.  The 
collectors  receive,  month  by  month,  the  "direct" 
contributions,  that  is,  the  taxes  levied  upon  lands, 
houses,  and  persons.  They  hand  them  over  to  the 
particular  receiver  in  each  chief  place  of  the  ar- 
rondissement,  and  he  to  the  receiver-general  in  the 
chief  town  of  the  department.  The  collectors  of 
"  indirect"  taxes,  composed  of  the  produce  of  the 
customs  established  on  the  frontiers,  arising  out  of 
foreign  merchandise,  the  duties  of  registry  on  the 
transfer  of  property  or  on  judicial  acts,  lastly,  the 
dues  payable  upon  articles  of  consumption  of  all 
kinds,  such  as  liquoi-s,  tobacco,  salt,  &c. — the 
collectors  of  these  pay,  as  fast  as  they  are  taken, 
to  the  particular  receiver,  and  this  last  into  the 
hands  of  the  receiver-general,  who  is  the  real  state 
banker.  It  is  his  office  to  centralize  the  public 
money,  and  set  it  in  movement,  according  to  the 
orders  he  receives  from  the  treasury. 

The  equal  re-partitions  of  public  duties,  and  the 
general  prosperity,  have  rendered  the  acquittance 
of  the  taxes  easy  at  the  present  time ;  and  still 
more  the  accountability,  which  is  but  the  sum- 
mary of  the  operations  of  receipt  and  disbursement. 
The  last  are  become  so  clear,  that  the  taxes  are 
paid  on  the  given  day,  often  sooner,  and  besides 
this  the  ])recise  date  of  the  receipt  and  appropria- 
I'tion  is  known.  It  was  time  to  establish  a  system 
I  founded  on  the  truth  of  facts,  as  they  are  them- 
' selves  accomplished.  It  is  in  the  nature  of  the 
"  direct  taxes,"  raised  upon  property  and  person, 
to  be  as  a  species  of  rent,  fixablo  in  advance  both 
in  amount  and  term  of  jiaynient.  They  are  de- 
manded in  monthly  twelfths.  The  collectors  or 
receivers  arc  debited  or  made  debtors  for  them 
every  month.  But  it  is  presumed  that  they  have 
not  received  the  amounts  due  for  two  or  three 
months  after  each  twelfth  payment  thus  due  has 
expired,  in  order  to  leave  the  collectors  a  means 
to  spare  the  payers,  and  also  to  create  in  them- 
selves a  motive  for  getting  the  impost  paid  early. 
Thus,  if  they  received  it  before  the  term  when  the 
tax  was  due,  they  gathered  by  interest  a  profit  pro- 
l)ortioned  to  the  celerity  of  the  payment.  It  is  on 
the  contrary  in  the  nature  of  the  "  indirect"  taxes, 
that  they  are  known  and  paid  as  fast,  and  in  the 
same  projjortion,  as  the  entry  into  France  of  fox-eign 
productions,  and  the  amount  of  the  duties  on  the 
j>roperty,  or  on  the  goods  of  all  kinds  for  consump- 
tion that  arrive  irregularly  ;  and  they  follow  the 
movement  of  that  on  which  they  are  dependent. 
The  receivers  are  debited  ;  that  is  to  say,  they  are 
constituted  debtors,  accountable  at  the  moment 
when  the  goods  arrive,  and  not  by  twelfth  payments 
monthly,  as  is  practised  in  case  of  the  "  direct" 
taxes.  Every  ten  days  the  receiver-general  is 
constituted  debtor  for  the  amount  entered  in  tho 
ten  days  just  expired. 

From  the  time  that  he  is  debited,  DO  matter  for 


Bills  of  the  receiver- 
general,  and  their 
operation. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Securities  and  credit 

system. 


what  kind  of  contribution,  the  receiver-general  pays 
interest  upon  the  sums  for  which  he  is  debited, 
until  the  day  when  he  converts  them  for  the  ac- 
quittal of  the  public  service.  The  day  when  he 
pays,  on  the  contrary,  any  sum  whatever  on  ac- 
count of  the  state,  and  before  he  is  in  debt  to  it, 
the  state  in  turn  allows  a  credit  for  the  interest. 
The  interests  due  by  the  receiver-general  and 
treasury  are  afterwards  balanced  upon  the  sums 
left  in  his  hands  beyond  the  time  prescribed,  and 
the  interest  due  by  the  treasury  on  the  sums  which 
have  been  advanced  to  it  by  him.  This  is  done 
in  such  a  mode  as  that  not  a  day's  interest  is  lost 
either  by  one  or  the  otiier;  and  the  receiver-gene- 
ral becomes  a  real  banker,  in  account  cuiTent  with 
the  treasury,  obliged  to  keep  always  at  the  disposal 
of  the  government  the  funds  which  the  necessities 
of  the  state  may  require,  no  matter  to  what  amount. 
Such  is  the  system  that  experience  on  one  part, 
and  growing  ease  among  the  tax-payers  on  the 
other,  have  successively  wrought  out  in  collecting 
and  applying  the  money  of  the  public. 

But  at  tlie  period  of  which  tlie  history  is  now 
narrating,  the  imports  were  most  irregular  in  re- 
turn, and  the  accounts  obscure.  The  collector  who 
had  not  ])aid  up,  was  able  to  allege  delay  in  per- 
fecting the  lists  of  assessment,  or  the  distresses  of 
the  tax-p.ayers  ;  he  could  deceive  in  the  amount  of 
his  receipts,  owing  to  the  confusion  in  the  returns 

I    of  the  operations.     The  government  never  knew 

1  then,  as  it  knows  now,  what  passes  every  hour  in 
the  coffers  of  several  thousand  receivers  composing 

!    the  great  excliequer  of  the  nation. 

I  Gaudin  proposed,  and  Bonaparte  adopted,  an  in- 
genious system,  in  a  great  part  borrowed  from  that 
under  the  old  monarchy,  which  led  almost  in- 
sensibly to  the  organization  actually  in  existence. 
This  system  was  that  of  the  bills  of  the  receivers- 
general.  The  receivers,  the  real  bankers  of  the 
treasury,  as  we  have  already  styled  them,  were 
bound  ti»  give  bills,  which  fell  due  monthly,  for  the 
entire  value  of  tlie  direct  taxes,  or  for  300,000,000  f. 
upon  500,000,000  f.,  which  then  composed  the  state 
budget.  When  tiiese  bills  became  due  tiiey  were  paid 
at  the  receiver-general's  office.  In  order  to  meet  the 
delay  conceded  to  the  tax-payer,  each  twelfth  part 
was  supposed  to  be  paid  about  four  months  after  it 
became  due.  Thus  the  bills  for  the  taxes  due 
January  31,  were  drawn  payable  on  May  31,  in 
such  a  way  that  the  receiver-general,  having  before 
him  a  term  of  four  montiis,  had  at  tlie  same  time  a 
means  to  indulge  the  payer,  while  he  was  himself 
stimulated,  for  tlie  sake  of  the  interest,  to  collect  it 
in  earlier.  Tims  if  he  could  get  in  the  tax  at  the 
end  of  two  months,  he  secured  the  two  additional 
months'  interest. 

This  system  had  not  only  the  merit  of  sparing 
the  i)ayer  and  interesting  the  collector  in  obtain- 
ing tiie  payment ;  but  it  had  the  advantage  of  pre- 
venting tlie  receiver-general  from  delaying  the 
payment  t<j  the  state,  because  the  treasury  had  iti 
its  chests  the  bills  of  exchange  to  be  paid  at  a 
fixed  period,  obliging  them  to  be  taken  up  under 
the  penalty  of  being  protested,  if  not  regularly 
met.  Such  a  combination  as  this  was  not  to  be 
contemplated,  it  is  true,  until  after  the  lists  of 
assessment  were  rendered  perfect  as  well  as  the 
collection.  The  receivers-general  could  not  pay 
with  exactitude  if  they  did  not  receive.  That  being 


done  in  the  mode  already  stated,  the  system  of 
giving  bills  was  of  easy  fulfilment,  and  had  the 
advantage,  independently  of  those  already  enu- 
merated, of  putting,  on  the  first  day  of  the  year,  at 
the  disposal  of  the  treasury  300,000,000  f.  in  bills 
from  the  direct  taxes,  which  it  was  not  difficult  to 
get  discounted. 

To  establish  credit  tfor  this  paper,  designed  to 
fulfil  the  office  of  the  royal  notes  in  France  and  the 
exchequer  bills  in  England,  the  sinking  fund*  was 
invented.  This,  which  was  before  long  to  receive  the 
contents  of  the  whole  of  the  public  debt,  had  at 
first  no  other  object  to  answer  than  to  guarantee 
the  bills  of  the  receivers-general.  It  was  thus 
managed.  The  collectors  of  taxes,  as  a  security 
for  their  trust,  gave  it  in  immoveable  property. 
Tliis  sort  of  guarantee,  in  case  of  default,  placing 
the  state  in  the  difficulties  of  enforcing  an  eject- 
ment, when  it  was  obliged  to  come  upon  the  security, 
was  found  not  to  fulfil  satisfactorily  the  object  of 
its  institution.  Security  in  money  was  therefore 
required  to  be  given.  The  receivers-general  were 
making  so  great  a  profit  by  jobbing  with  the  tax 
itself,  that  they  submitted  most  willingly  to  the 
condition  rather  than  lose  their  posts. 

These  securities  paid  into  the  sinking  fund  were 
devoted  as  a  guarantee  to  the  bills  of  the  receivers- 
general.  Every  bill  on  falling  due  was  to  be  paid 
at  his  office,  or,  in  case  of  non-payment  there,  at 
the  office  of  the  sinking  fund,  the  moment  it  was  pro- 
tested, and  paid  out  of  the  security  of  the  defaulter. 
Such  a  bill,  therefore,  was  rendered,  in  this  way,  as 
valuable  as  the  best  commercial  paper.  This  was  not 
the  sole  advantage  of  the  plan.  It  was  probable 
that  a  very  small  amount  of  the  security  monies 
would  suffice  to  support  the  credit  of  the  bills, 
because  few  indeed  of  the  recei\-ers-general  would 
ever  suffer  their  paper  to  be  protested;  the  surplus, 
thei-efore,  would  remain  at  the  disposal  of  the  trea- 
sury, which  might  ari-ange  for  its  use  with  the 
sinking  fund,  by  ceding  to  it  immoveable  or  funded 
property. 

By  this  institution  the  advantage  was  obtained 
of  giving  a  secure  currency  to  the  bills,  and  of 
realizing  at  any  moment  a  certain  sum  of  money, — 
a  resource  at  that  period  most  seasonable. 

Such  was  the  mode  of  collection  and  payment 
which  placed  the  treasury  in  a  short  time  at  i)er- 
fect  ease.  It  consisted,  as  shown  above,  in  perfect- 
ing the  lists  of  assessment  and  putting  them  in 
collection  with  rapidity  and  exactness  ;  next,  in 
drawing  upon  the  principal  receivers  for  the  total 
amount  of  the  tax  bills  easily  discounted  through 
the  means  devised  to  enable  the  receivers-general 
to  discharge  their  responsibilities  themselves,  or 
which  the  sinking  fund  would  discharge  for  them. 

We  have  only  spoken  of  the  direct  taxes.  As  to 
the  indirect,  which  neither  came  in  regularly  nor 
by  twelfths,  the  receivers-general,  after  their  re- 
ceipt, but  not  until  then,  were  to  forward  to  the 
treasury  bills  payable  at  sight  at  their  office.  Thus 
the  indirect  taxes  were  not  available  until  the 
amounts  had  been  received.  This  part  of  the  service, 
which  left  in  the  receivex'-generals'  hands  too  large 
an  enjoyment  of  the  funds,  was  afterwards  ren- 
dered more  perfect. 

There  are  natui-ally,  upon  the  introduction  of  any 

■•  Caisse  d  ainortissement. 


1799.       Jlodes  of  paying  the 
Nov.  debts  c  the  state. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  YEAR  VIII. 


Council  of  finances  held         ,  , 
weekly.  •!  1 


new  system,  difficulties  of  transition,  arising  from 
the  labour  of  adjusting  the  present  state  of  things 
to  that  which  is  about  be  created.  Thus  the  bills 
of  aiTear  delivered  to  the  fundholders,  those  of 
requisition  to  the  farmers,  from  whom  their  goods 
had  beentakenotf  the  premises,  and,  lastly,  the  com- 
mission on  the  funds  to  be  paid  into  the  coft'ers, 
delivered  with  culpable  license  to  contractors,  it 
was  possible  might  derange  all  the  calculations. 
Different  modes  were  taken  to  meet  such  incon- 
veniences as  might  result  from  the  pressure  of  all 
these  kinds  of  paper  in  circulation.  The  bills  of 
arrear  paid  to  the  fundholders  had  alone  the  favour 
to  be  received  still  in  payment  of  the  taxes;  but 
the  amount  of  them  for  the  current  year  being 
ascertjiined,  by  that  amount  the  sum  which  the 
receivers-general  were  to  pay  was  diminished. 

The  bills  of  requisition  and  of  commission,  paper 
of  doubtful  origin  and  unknown  amount,  were  ail 
submitted  to  a  peculiar  liquidation.  They  were 
paid  later  than  the  former,  part  out  of  the  national 
property,  and  part  in  value  received  of  a  different 
nature,  but  with  a  proper  regard  to  equity. 

In  paying  the  fundholders  in  money,  as  it  was 
proposed  to  do  as  soon  as  the  receipt  of  the  taxes 
was  secured  ;  in  providing  for  the  army  and  dis- 
pensing with  the  system  of  requisitions  ;  in  firmly 
refusing  to  contractors  the  irregular  commissions 
which  they  had  received  on  the  treasury  receijjts  ; 
the  sources  of  the  paper  issues  could  not  fail  to  be 
quickly  dried  up,  and  the  collection  of  the  taxes  to 
be  every  where  re-established  in  specie. 

To  these  means,  thus  had  recourse  to  for  se- 
curing the  state  revenues,  were  joined  certain 
measures,  some  legitimate  at  all  times,  but  others 
carrying  only  the  character  of  expediency  or  the 
excuse  of  neces.sity.  Those  who  iiad  acquired  any 
of  the  national  domains,  doing  what  every  body 
did  at  that  time,  namely,  without  regarding  the 
law,  holding  back  the  price  at  which  they  had  made 
their  purchases,  were  compelled  to  pay  up  in  four 
months  under  the  penalty  of  forfeiture.  This  ne- 
cessity could  not  fail  to  bring  in  a  great  part  of 
the  out-standing  paper  which  was  specially  re- 
ceivable in  payment  for  the  national  domains. 
There  were  classes  of  purchasers  who  were  bound 
to  acquit  their  debts  in  specie,  who  for  this  pur- 
pose were  forced  to  subscribe  negotiable  obliga- 
tions. Such  paper  was  good  and  ea.sy  to  dispose 
of,  because  it  was  issued  by  persons  who  were  me- 
naced with  the  loss  of  their  purchases  in  case  of 
their  paper  being  protested. 

There  still  exi.sted  unsold  national  domains  to  the 
value  of  300,000,000f.  or  400,000,000f.  This  value 
was  founded  hypotlictically  on  the  estimates  made 
in  IT.tO,  and  woidd,  if  more  flourishing  times  were 
awaited,  bo  doubled,  tripled,  and  still  more  aug- 
mented in  value.  It  would  have  been  better  not 
to  dispose  of  them,  had  not  the  necessities  of  the 
moment  obliged  that  step  to  be  taken.  It  was 
settled  that  bills  of  rescription,  representing  the 
sum  at  which  it  was  projjosed  to  tender  the  sale  of 
the  property,  should  be  negotiated  among  those 
inclined  to  speculate  in  them  to  the  extent  of 
150,000,000  f.  It  was  fortunate  that  only  a  small 
pait  of  this  amount  was  put  into  circulation. 

A  plan  was  conceived,  lastly,  to  represent  by  paper 
of  the  same  nature,  the  capital  of  certain  ground- 
rents  belonging  to  the  public,  of  which  the  former 


laws  had  permitted  the  redemption  by  the  debtor. 
This  resource  amounted  to  about  40^000,000  f.  in 
value.  The  holders  of  the  property  still  owing 
the  rents,  had  left  off  paying  them,  although  they 
had  not  effected  their  redemption.  There  was 
made,  in  consequence,  a  paper  issue  representing 
this  capital  of  40,000,000f.,  negotiable,  like  that 
upon  the  national  domains,  through  the  agency  of 
money-brokers. 

These  creations  of  artificial  wealth  were  the  last 
concessions  to  the  necessities  of  the  hour.  Cir- 
culated among  speculators,  they  were  applied  to 
l)rocuring  resources  until  the  re-establishment  of 
the  finances,  which  there  was  reason  to  hope  would 
take  place  upon  the  accurate  completion  of  the 
lists  of  assessment  and  the  bill  system  of  the  re- 
ceivers-general. This  paper  was  issued  with  great 
caution,  and  had  not,  as  we  shall  see,  the  common 
inconvenience  of  depreciation  and  the  alienation  at 
a  low  value  of  the  state  resources. 

These  different  schemes,  although  good  in  them- 
selves, depended  for  their  benefit  upon  the  strength 
of  the  government  itself.  Established  upon  the 
supposed  return  of  order,  they  could  only  answer 
tlieir  expected  end,  if  order  were  really  restored ; 
if  the  executive  displayed  vigour  and  constancy  in 
following  out  its  plans ;  if  it  organized  quickly  and 
well  the  new  administration  of  the  direct  taxes ;  if 
it  directed  constant  care  to  the  accuracy  of  the 
assessment  lists  within  the  time  prescribed  for  the 
collection,  in  order  that  the  bills  of  the  receivers- 
general  might  be  subscribed  and  paid  when  they 
fell  due;  if  the  securities  promptly  paid  in  should 
bo  deposited  in  the  sinking  fund  coflers  in  sums 
pufficient  to  sustain  the  credit  of  the  bills ;  if,  finally, 
it  for  ever  abandoned  those  ruinous  expedients, 
the  bills  of  arrear,  bills  of  requisition  and  com- 
missions, which  it  now  proposed  to  renounce — if 
all  this  were  realized  the  state  was  certain  of  a 
happy  result  awaiting  the  new  financial  system. 
It  was  further  reasonable  to  hope  much  from  the 
personal  intelligence  and  firnniess  of  Bonaparte. 
All  the  foregoing  plans  ho  had  himself  discussed, 
approved,  and  frequently  modified  and  ameliorated ; 
he  was  sensible  of  their  merit  and  importance,  and 
was  fully  determined  to  watch  over  their  strict 
execution.  As  soon  as  they  were  agreed  upon 
they  were  sent  to  the  legislative  commissions, 
which  formed  them  into  laws  without  the  loss  of 
a  moment.  Twenty  days  sufficed  to  project,  con- 
sider, and  give  tiiem  the  full  legal  character,  so  as 
that  they  might  conmience  to  bo  in  force.  Bona- 
parte himself  worked  with  the  nnnister  of  the 
finances  several  times  a  week,  thus  taking  the  best 
inctliod  of  putting  an  end  to  those  mischievous 
commissions  which  were  too  often  granted  at  the 
instance  or  through  the  corrupt  influence  of  the 
contractors.  Every  week  he  made  the  ministers 
bring  him  a  statement  of  their  required  exjiendi- 
tnre,  which  he  compared  himself  with  the  jnobablo 
receipts  of  the  treasury,  and  made  in  proportion  to 
the  necessities  of  each  a  distribution  of  the  actual 
assets.  He  thus  disposeil  of  that  only  which  was 
certain  to  be  received,  and  by  this  firmness  of  pur- 
jjose,  the  principal  abuse,  that  tf  the  contractors' 
commissions,  was  soon  seen  to  disappear. 

In  awaiting  the  completion  of  the  asscssmentB, 
the  time  of  their  collection,  and  until  the  bills 
of  the  receivers-general  could  be  remitted  to  the 


Results  of  new  system. 
12         Succours  to  the  army. 


Law  of  hostages  abrogated,    j  jgg 
THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE,   ^"p'^i^^^^d'^lergy.  ^^^  '"'"  ^<"- 


treasury  and  discounted,  tlie  {joverament  had  for 
present  use,  besides  the  1 2,000,000  f.  lent  by  the 
bankers,  the  payment  of  tlie  new  securities,  the 
ne-^otiation  in  the  market  of  the  resources  recently 
created,  and  the  current  collection  of  the  taxes, 
which  last,  imperfect  as  it  was,  had  sufficed  the 
state  until  that  time.  The  confidence  imparted  by 
the  provisional  consuls  satisfied  the  men  of  busi- 
ness; and  means  were  taken  to  negotiate  among 
them  new  securities,  at  which  a  few  days  before 
nobody  would  have  looked. 

Uy  the  union  of  such  means  it  was  that  the  go- 
vernment was  able  to  relieve  the  naked  and  starv- 
ing armies,  and  to  procure  them  the  first  supplies, 
of  which  they  were  in  such  urgent  need.  The  dis- 
order that  reigned  was  so  great  in  the  office  of  the 
minister-at-war,  that  he  had  no  returns  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  soldiers,  their  number,  or  quarters. 
Tlie  artillery  alone  possessed  such  returns  as  far  as 
related  to  its  own  particular  corps.  As  the  army 
was  neither  clothed  nor  fed ;  as  the  battalions  of 
conscripts,  raised  in  the  departments  and  fitted  out 
by  means  of  bills  of  equipment,  had  been  often 
organized  without  the  intervention  of  the  principal 
authority,  the  last  knew  next  to  nothing  about  them. 
Bonaparte  was  obliged  to  send  staff-officers  to  the 
different  armies  to  procure  the  documents  which 
he  required.  At  the  same  time  he  sent  a  few 
supplies  to  the  suffering  corps,  but  too  small  in  the 
aggregate  to  meet  their  great  necessities;  and  he 
addressed  them  in  a  proclamation,  couched  in  those 
terms  which  he  so  well  knew  how  to  render  im- 
pressive to  the  soldiers,  conjuring  them  to  have 
jiatience  but  for  a  few  days  longer,  and  to  display 
amid  their  sufferings  the.  same  fortitude  which  they 
had  shown  in  battle.     He  said  to  them : — 

"  Soldiers,  your  necessities  are  great — measures 
are  taken  to  supply  them.  The  first  quality  of  a 
soldier  is  fortitude  in  supporting  fatigue  and  pri- 
vation ;  valour  is  but  the  second.  Cori)S  have 
quitted  their  posts;  they  have  been  deaf  to  the 
voices  of  their  officers.'  The  17th  light  infantry 
is  of  the  number.  Are  they  then  all  dead !  the 
heroes  of  Castiglione,  of  llivoli,  of  Newmarck? 
They  would  have  jjcrished  sooner  than  quit  their 
colours  —  the>/  would  have  recalled  their  young 
comrades  to  lionour  and  duty.  Soldiers  !  Say  you 
your  rations  are  not  regular?  What  would  you 
have  done,  if,  like  the  4th  and  22nd  light,  and  the 
18th  and  32nd  of  the  line,  you  found  yourselves  in 
a  desert,  without  bread  and  water,  feeding  upon 
horses  and  mules  ?  '  Victory  will  give  us  bread,' 
they  exclaimed  ;  but  you — you  quit  your  colours! 

"  Soldiers  of  Italy  !  a  new  general  commands 
you;  he  was  ever,  in  the  brighter  days  of  your 
glory,  in  the  vanguard.  Surround  him  with  your 
confidence  ;  he  will  restore  you  to  victory  ! 

"  A  daily  account  will  be  sent  me  of  the  conduct 
of  eacii  corps,  and  more  especially  of  that  of  the 
17th  light,  and  of  the  CSrd  of  the  line  ;  they  will 
remember  the  confidence  I  once  had  in  them  !" 

The  administration  of  the  finances  and  also  of  the 
army  were  not  the  only  branches  of  the  govern- 
ment which  pressingly  demanded  the  attention  of  the 
new  consuls.  It  was  necessary  to  recal  the  severe 
measures,  so  unworthy  a  wise  and  humane  adminis- 
tration, which  had  been  snatched  by  the  violence 
of  party-feeling  from  the  weakness  of  the  expiring 
directory.      It  was  also  needful   to   maintain  the 


order  threatened  by  the  armed  Vende'ans  here,— 
there  by  the  revolutionists  exasperated  at  the  affair 
of  the  i8th  Brumaire. 

The  first  political  measure  of  the  new  consuls  re- 
lated to  the  law  of  the  hostages.  This  law,  which 
'made  the  relations  of  the  Vend^ans  and  of  the 
Chouans  responsible  for  the  deeds  committed  in 
the  revolted  provinces,  inflicted  on  some  imprison- 
ment, on  others  transportation.  It  partook  of  the 
public  censure,  with  the  law  of  the  forced  progres- 
sive loan,  though  with  a  better  title.  It  could  only 
be  under  the  influence  of  the  blind  passions  of  the 
time,  that  men  could  have  dared  to  render  the  re- 
lations  of  revolters  responsible  for  acts  of  which 
they  had  not  been  guilty,  even  if  they  had  wished 
tlie'm  success.  The  consuls  treated  this  law  as 
they  treated  that  of  the  forced  loan;  they  proposed 
its  repeal  to  the  legislative  commissionei-s,  and  it 
was  directly  decreed.  Bonaparte  went  himself  to  the 
prison  of  the  Temple,  where  many  of  the  hostages 
were  in  captivity,  to  break  their  chains  with  his 
own  glorious  hands,  and  to  receive  those  reiterated 
benedictions  which  the  healing  acts  of  the  consul- 
ship so  constantly  and  so  justly  effected. 

To  this  measure  were  joined  others  of  the  same 
kind,  which  marked  with  a  parallel  character  the 
policy  of  the  provisional  consuls.  !Many  priests, 
although  they  had  taken  the  oath  required  to  their 
civil  constitution,  which  became  the  cause  of  the 
schism,  had  neverthelef?s  been  persecuted.  These 
priests,  who  were  distinguished  by  the  epithet  of 
"sworn,"  were  some  of  them  fugitives  or  con- 
cealed, others  were  imprisoned  in  the  islands  of 
Re'  and  Ole'ron.  The  consuls  ordered  the  enlarge- 
ment of  all  that  remained  in  custody.  This  step 
caused  the  return  to  France  or  the  re-appearance 
in  open  day  of  all  the  priests  of  that  class  who  had 
sought  security  in  flight  or  concealment. 

Certain  emigrants,  shipwrecked  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Calais,  had  been  for  some  time  past  objects 
of  lively  public  interest.  These  unfortunate  men, 
placed  between  the  horrors  of  shipwreck  and  those 
of  the  law  of  emigration,  had  flung  themselves 
upon  their  native  shore,  little  thinking  that  their 
country  could  be  less  merciful  to  them  than  the 
tempest.  The  supporters  of  rigorous  measures 
said,  that  these  emigrants  were  going  into  La 
Vendue  to  take  a  part  in  the  renewal  of  the  civil 
war, — the  fact  was  nearly  certain, — and  that  thence 
it  was  perfectly  right  to  enforce  against  them  the 
tei-rible  emigration  laws.  Public  humanity,  happily 
revealed  at  that  moment,  opposed  this  mode  of 
reasoning.  The  question  had  been  several  times 
reversely  decided.  The  new  consuls  determined 
that  these  emigrants  should  be  enlarged,  and  con- 
veyed out  of  the  territory  of  the  republic.  Among 
them  were  members  of  the  greatest  families  in 
France ;  one  was  the  Duke  de  Choiseul,  whom  we 
have  always  found  since  in  the  number  of  those 
attached  to  a  rational  freedom,  the  only  freedom 
that  good  men  can  love  and  uphold. 

These  acts  were  universally  applauded.  Let 
us  admire  the  difference  between  one  government 
and  another.  Had  such  acts  as  these  emanated 
from  the  directory,  they  would  have  been  esteemed 
unworthy  concessions  to  the  emigrant  party. 
Emanating  from  the  new  consulate,  at  the  head  of 
which  stood  a  great  general,  whose  presence, 
wherever   he   appeared,  indicated    strength    and 


The  Manep:e.— Errors  of  the 
consulate  towards  the  re-  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE   YEAR  VIII. 

volutionary  party. 


Prompt  submission  of  the 
revolutionists.  —  Their       13 
sentence  revoked. 


power ;  such  actions  were  taken  for  symptoms  of 
a  strong,  but  moderate  policy.  Tlius  true  is  it,  that 
to  be  moderate  with  honour  and  good  effect,  it  is 
neces.'^ry  to  be  powerful. 

At  the  first  moment  it  was  alone  in  regard  to  the 
revolutionary  party,  that  the  policy  of  the  pro- 
visional consuls  was  wanting  in  moderation.  It 
was  with  this  ])arty  that  the  contest  had  occurred 
on  the  18th  and  19th  of  Brumaire.  Against  it 
very  naturally  a  degree  of  mistrust  and  anger  might 
be  felt  ;  still  amidst  acts  of  conciliation  and  i-epa- 
ration,  that  only  was  destined  to  feel  the  severity 
of  the  new  rulers.  The  news  of  the  18th  Bru- 
maire struck  into  the  patriots  of  the  south  a  deep 
sensation.  The  societies  affiliated  to  the  mother 
society  in  Paris,  or  the  J/rtKt/e,  exhibited  still 
stronger  indignation.  It  was  reported  that  the 
deputies,  deprived  by  tl.o  law  of  the  19th  Bru- 
maire of  the  rank  cf  members  of  the  legislative 
body,  had  determined  to  meet  at  Toulouse,  there 
to  reinstall  a  species  of  directury.  Bonapai-te,  now 
lie  had  the  supreme  command  of  the  army,  was  not 
afraid  of  any  thing.  He  had  shown  on  the  13th 
Vende'miaire,  that  he  knew  how  to  suppress  an  in- 
surrtcti(m  ;  and  he  did  not  trouble  himself  about 
all  that  a  few  hot-headed  patriots  were  able  to  do 
without  soldiers.  But  his  colleagues,  Sieyes  and 
Roger-Ducos,  did  not  feel  his  confidence.  Several 
of  the  ministers  joined  them  in  opinion,  and  per- 
suaded the  first  consul  to  adopt  precautions.  In- 
clined himself,  for  that  matter,  to  energetic  mea- 
sures, although  moderate  from  motives  of  policy, 
he  consented  to  pronounce  a  decree  of  banisliment 
against  thirty-eight  members  of  the  revolutionary 
j)arty,  and  to  the  detention  at  Rochelle  of  eighteen 
othei-s.  Among  this  number  there  were  some  vile 
wretches ;  one  of  them  had  been  heard  to  boast  of 
having  been  the  assassin  of  the  Princess  de  Lam- 
balle  :  but  in  the  number  there  were  good  men  as 
well,  members  of  the  two  councils,  and  above  all  a 
distinguished  and  respectable  personage  in  General 
Jourdan.  His  ])ublie  opposition  to  the  18lh  Bru- 
maire had,  at  the  moment,  inspired  some  degree 
of  fear.  To  include  the  name  of  such  a  man  in 
bucli  a  list  was  a  fault  upon  a  fault. 

Public  opinion,  although  not  well  disposed  to- 
wards the  revolutionists,  received  this  proceeding 
with  coldness,  almost  with  censure.  It  feared 
so  nmch  rigour  and  re-action  ;  the  step  was  dis- 
ap|)i'oved  even  when  exerted  against  those  who 
had  been  guilty  of  the  same  rigour.  Remonstrances 
were  sent  from  all  parts,  some  of  them  in  a  very 
high  tone,  in  favour  of  names  that  were  found  on 
the  list  of  the  pro.scribed.  The  Court  of  Cassation 
remonstrated  regarding  one  of  its  members,  named 
Xavicr  .\rdouin,  who  had  not  deserved  that  sucli  a 
precaution  should  be  taken  against  him.  Talley- 
rand, always  mild  in  character,  always  adroit  in 
his  conduct — Talleyrand,  whom  the  revolutionary 
party  had,  from  its  aversion,  contributed  to  kec|i 
out  of  the  ministry  for  foreign  affairs,  had  tlu; 
good  feeling  to  remonstrate  in  favour  of  one  Jorry, 
who  had  publicly  insulted  him.  He  did  it,  he  said, 
for  fear  they  should  attribute  to  his  own  revengeful 
motives  the  insertion  of  this  vulgar  man's  name 
upon  the  jjroscribed  list.  His  published  letter  on 
the  subject  did  him  high  honour,  ami  saved  the 
individual  from  the  sentence.  In  compliance  with 
the  public  feeling,  the  name  of  General  Jourdan 


was  also  erased.  Fortunately  the  turn  taken  by 
public  affairs  permitted  the  revocation  of  an  act, 
which  was  but  an  accidental  deviation  from  a 
march  otherwise  just  and  straightforward. 

Bonaparte  had  sent  General  Lannes,  his  most 
devoted  lieutenant,  to  Toulouse.  At  the  simple 
appearance  there  of  tliis  officer,  all  the  prepara- 
tions for  re-action  disappeared  at  once.  Toulouse 
was  tranquillized,  and  the  societies  attached  to  that 
of  the  Maneije  in  the  capital,  were  silenced  in  the 
south.  The  ardent  revolutionists  saw  that  public 
opinion  was  in  opposition  to  them,  having  ceased  to 
favour  their  views  ;  and  they  saw  too  at  the  head 
of  the  government  one  whom  nobody  had  the  means 
to  resist.  The  most  reasonable  among  them  could 
not  forget  that  he  was  the  same  man  who,  on  the 
13th  Vende'miaire,  had  dispersed  the  royalists  of 
the  Paris  sections,  who  wei-e  armed  against  the 
convention,  and  who,  under  the  directory,  in  lend- 
ing his  strong  hand  to  the  government,  had  fur- 
nished it  with  the  means  to  bring  about  the  18th 
Fructidor.  They,  therefore,  submitted  :  the  more 
violent,  venting  their  rage  in  exclamations,  were 
soon  silenced  ;  the  others  hoping  that  at  least  under 
the  military  government  of  the  new  Cromwell,  as 
they  styled  him,  the  revolution  and  France  would 
not  be  vanquished  for  the  gain  of  the  Bourbons, 
the  English,  the  Austrians,  and  the  Russians. 

One  act  of  resistance,  not  by  force,  but  by  legal 
means,  was  offered  to  the  18th  Brumaire.  The 
president  of  the  criminal  tribunal  of  the  Yomie, 
named  Barnabas,  imitated  the  example  of  the  old 
parliaments,  and  refused  to  register  the  law  of  the 
19th  Brumaire,  constituting  the  provisional  govern- 
ment. This  president's  audacity  was  brought  be- 
fore the  legislative  commisioners  ;  he  was  accused 
of  having  refused  to  execute  his  duty,  suspended, 
and  then  removed.  He  submitted  to  his  sentence 
with  resignation  and  dignity. 

The  speedy  end  of  every  attempt  at  resistance 
enabled  the  government  to  abrogate  a  measure 
which  was  in  oi)position  to  its  prudent  course  of 
policy.  Upon  the  report  of  Cambace'res,  the  minis- 
ter of  justice,  that  order  was  I'e-est.ablished  in  the 
de]iartments,  and  that  the  laws  were  every  where 
executed  without  any  obstacle,  the  sentence  of 
transportation  pronounced  against  the  thirly-eight 
revolutionists,  and  the  detention  of  the  eighteen 
others  at  Rochelle,  was  altered  to  a  simple  sur- 
veillance. Soon  afterwards  this  surveillance  was 
removed. 

This  act  of  indulgence  was  speedily  eclipsed  by  a 
series  of  others,  wise,  able,  and  vigorous,  sig- 
nalizing in  a  particular  manner  the  bias  of  the 
new  government.  La  Vendue  had,  in  turn,  at- 
tracted its  whole  attention.  A  rising  had  been 
lately  attempted,  just  at  the  close  of  the  reign  of 
the  directory.  The  elevation  of  Bonaparte  to 
jfower  changed  the  face  of  things  there  altttgether, 
as  well  as  th«  direction  of  the  public  mind  in  every 
part  of  the  rei)ubric.  The  chiefs  of  the  new  royalist 
insurrections  had  been  excited  to  take  up  arms  as 
much  by  the  later  severity  of  the  directory,  as  by 
the  hope  of  the  approaching  overtures  of  the 
government :  but  on  one  side  the  revocation  of  the 
hosUge  law,  the  setting  tlie  priests  at  liberty,  the 
grant  of  their  lives  to  the  shipwrecked  emigrants  at 
Calais,  tended  to  cause  a  rcconciliatory  spirit ;  while 
on  the  other  side,  the  presence  and  power  of  Bona- 


14 


state  of  La  Vendee. 
Overtures  of  the  chiefs. 


Their  interview  with  Bo- 
TIIIERS'  CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE.  naparte.  -  Suspension 

of  arms  m  La  Vendee. 


parte  tended  more  than  ever  to  stifle  all  hope 
of  seeing  the  dissolution  of  that  order  of  things 
effected  which  had  been  caused  by  tlie  revolution. 
The  18th  Bi-umaire  had  modified  the  ideas  in  La 
Vendee,  as  well  as  elsewhere,  and  given  birth  to 
new  inclinations. 

The  royalist  party,  some  of  whom  combated  in 
La  Vendue,  while  others  were  jn  Paris  occupying 
themselves  with  political  intrigues,  delivered  itself, 
like  every  party  which  seeks  to  overturn  a  govern- 
ment, to  continual  mental  activity,  and,  without 
cessation,  went  in  quest  of  new  combinations  to 
ensure  the  triumph  of  their  cause  ;  it  now  imagined 
that  perhaps  there  was  some  means  in  its  power  of 
coniing  to  an  understanding  witli  Sonaparte.  Its 
chiefs  thought  that  one  so  eminent  had  no  great 
taste  for  figuring  for  a  few  days  in  the  changing 
scenes  of  the  French  revolution,  to  disappear,  like 
his  predecessors,  in  the  abyss  opened  before  their 
steps  ;  and  that  he  would  prefer  to  take  his  place 
under  a  peaceable  and  regularly  constituted  mon- 
archy, of  which  he  might  be  both  the  support  and 
ornament.  They  were,  in  one  word,  credulous 
enough  to  imagine  that  the  character  of  Monk 
suited  a  pei*sonage  who  did  not  thiidi  the  character 
of  Cromwell  great  enough  for  his  ambition.  Tliey 
in  consequence  obtained  the  mediation  of  one 
of  those  ministers  of  the  foreign  diplomacy,  who, 
under  the  pretext  of  studying  the  country  where 
they  are  accredited,  have  a  hand  in  every  I'arty 
inirigne,  and  they  thus  obtained  an  introduction  to 
Bonaparte.  Hyde  de  Neuville  and  D'Andigne 
were  the  parties  that  took  this  step. 

It  is  not  needful  to  show  how  very  erroneous  was 
the  judgment  thus  formed  of  Bonaparte.  This  won- 
derful man,  sensible  now  of  his  own  power  and 
greatness,  would  not  be  servant  to  any  party.  If  he 
had  no  love  for  disorder,  he  loved  the  revolution  ; 
if  he  did  not  credit  freedom  to  its  full  extent 
for  all  it  had  jiromised,  he  desired  in  entirety 
that  social  reform,  which  it  was  his  object  to  ac- 
complish. Therefore  he  desired  to  see  the  revolu- 
tion triumphant ;  he  desired  the  glory  of  terminat- 
ing it,  and  to  make  it  lead  to  a  quiet  and  regular 
course  of  things  ;  he  desired  to  be  its  head,  no 
matter  under  what  name  nor  what  form  of  govern- 
ment— but  he  did  not  desire  to  be  the  instrument  of 
any  other  power  save  Providence  ;  he  had  already 
too  much  glory  and  too  much  conscious  strength 
to  consent  to  that  ! 

He  received  Do  Neuville  and  D'Andign^,  hoard 
their  insinuations,  more  or  less  clear,  and  declared 
to  tiiem  frankly  his  intentions,  which  wore  to  put 
an  end  to  persecution,  to  rally  all  parties  around 
the  goverimient,  but  to  suffer  none  save  that  of 
tlie  revolution,  to  be  master — of  the  revolution  un- 
derstood in  its  better  sense.  He  declared  to  them 
his  willingness  to  treat  with  the  VcndeJan  chiefs  on 
reasonable  terms,  or  his  determination  to  exter- 
min  ite  them  to  a  man.  This  interview  effected 
nothing,  except  that  it  made  the  royalist  party 
better  instructed  in  the  character  of  Bonaparte. 

Whilst  these  negotiations  were  proceeding  in 
Paris  between  Bonaparte  and  the  friends  of  the 
Bourbons,  there  were  others  begun  in  La  Vend(?e 
itself,  between  the  chiefs  of  the  revolt  and  those  of 
the  republic.  Towards  the  end  of  the  directory, 
when  nobody  knew  who  they  were  to  obey,  a  kind 
of  relaxation,  very  closely  ai)proximating  to  treason, 


bad  crept  into  the  army  occu])ying  that  country. 
Moi'e  than  one  officer  of  the  republican  forces, 
imagining  the  republic  could  not  much  longer 
exist,  had  turned  his  eyes  towards  the  party  of 
the  royalists.  The  elevation  of  Bonaparte  to  the 
state  changed  this  position  of  things,  which  was 
about  to  become  very  dangerous  ;  but  now,  upon 
the  contrary,  the  communications  to  which  they 
gave  rise,  and  the  interchanges  between  parties, 
took  a  new  direction.  The  royalist  chiefs,  who  drew 
to  tliem  at  first  the  officers  of  the  republican  army, 
were  themselves  attracted  in  their  tui-n  to  the  side 
of  the  republican  officers  and  their  government. 
It  was  represented  to  them  how  slight  a  chance 
they  had  of  overcoming  the  conqueror  of  Ituly  and 
of  Egypt,  and  the  hope  they  might  indulge  of  ob- 
taining under  the  first  consul  a  mild  and  restora- 
tive system  of  government,  which  would  render  the 
condition  of  every  party  agreeable  and  iieaceable. 
This  language  was  not  destitute  of  use.  There  was 
at  that  moment  at  the  head  of  the  army  of  the 
wcHt,  a  conciliatory,  judicious,  and  trustworthy 
office!',  general  Hedouville,  who  had  seen  much 
service  under  general  Hoche,  at  the  time  when  the 
fii'st  peace  was  brought  about  in  La  Vendee.  He 
mastered  all  that  was  proceeding  between  the  two 
parties,  saw  its  worth,  and  offered  to  send  the  re- 
sult to  the  new  consul. 

Bonaparte  instantly  availed  himself  of  this  open- 
ing for  a  negotiation,  confiding  full  powers  to 
general  Hddouville  f(jr  treating  with  the  chiefs  of 
the  insurgents.  These  chiefs  felt  the  strength  of 
Bonaparte  in  office,  and  showed  a  disposition  to 
come  to  terms.  It  was  not  easy  to  sign  a  capitula- 
tion at  once,  and  to  agree  in  a  moment  uijon  ar- 
ticles for  such  a  purpose;  but  a  suspension  of  arms 
did  not  include  the  same  obstacles.  The  insurgent 
chiefs  offered  to  sign  one  immediately.  The  t.ffer 
was  accepted  on  the  part  of  the  government,  and  in 
a  few  days,  De  Chatillon,  D'Autichamp,  and  De 
Bourmont,  signed  a  suspension  of  arms  for  La 
Vcnde'e  and  a  jiart  of  Brittany.  It  was  settled  that 
Georges  Cadoudal  and  De  Frott^  should  be  invited 
to  adopt  the  same  course  in  the  Morbihan  and  in 
Normandy. 

This  act  of  the  new  government  was  not  long 
delayed,  for  it  was  accomplished  at  the  com- 
mencement of  Frimaire,  in  twenty  days  after  the 
installment  of  the  provisionary  consuls.  It  in- 
spired general  satisfaction,  and  made  the  entire 
pacification  of  La  Vendee  be  thought  nearer  than 
it  was  jjossible  to  be. 

Humours  of  the  same  kind,  relative  to  foreign 
powers,  led  to  the  hope  that,  under  the  fortunate 
star  of  Bonaparte,  there  would  be  seen  the  jxronipt 
re-establishment  of  European  peace. 

As  before  observed,  at  the  commencement  of 
this  book,  T'russia  and  Spain  alone  were  in  bonds 
of  .amity  with  France  ;  the  first  always  showing 
coolness,  the  second  embarrassed  by  its  comnui- 
nity  of  interests  with  her.  Russia,  Austria,  Eng- 
land, and  all  the  little  powers  in  their  train,  whe- 
ther in  Italy  or  in  Germany,  sustained  an  unre- 
lenting contest  with  the  Republic  of  France.  Kng- 
land,  with  whom  the  war  was  merely  a  question  of 
fiv.ance,  had  resolved  that  question  for  herself  in 
the  establishment  of  the  income-tax,  which  already 
produced  a  great  revenue.  She  wished  for  tlie  con- 
tinuance of  hostilities,  in  order  to  have  time  to  gain 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  YEAR  VIII. 


Importance  of  Prussia. 
Fretlerick-Williaiii. 


Malta,  which  she  had  blockaded,  and  also  to  re- 
duce the  French  army  of  Egypt  to  surrender  by 
the  same  means.  Austria,  in  possession  of  all  Italy, 
was  determined  to  risk  everything  rather  than  re- 
sign the  conquest  ;  but  the  chivalrous  Paul  I. 
who  had  thrown  himself  into  the  war  under  the 
impulse  of  a  foolish  enthusiasm,  saw  liis  arms 
humbled  at  Zurich,  and  from  thence  imbibed  a 
feeling  of  lively  resentment  against  everybody,  \>ut 
above  all  against  Austria.  He  had  been  persuaded 
that  this  power  was  the  sole  cause  of  his  misfor- 
tune; because  the  Austrian  army,  bound,  in  virtue 
of  a  concerted  movement,  to  advance  to  the  Rhine, 
and  cede  Switzerland  to  the  Russians,  had  too 
quickly  abandoned  the  position  of  Zurich,  leaving 
Korsakoff  exposed  to  Masse'na's  attack,  who  having 
beaten  him,  had  afterwards  given  a  good  account 
of  Suwaroff.  Paul  I.  saw  in  this  as  he  imagined 
an  act  of  treachery  on  the  part  of  a  faithless 
ally,  and  suspicion  being  once  excited,  every  thing 
appeared  in  a  mistrustful  light.  He  had  ov.iy 
taken  up  arms,  he  said,  to  protect  the  feeble 
against  the  strong,  and  to  replace  on  their  thrones 
thiise  princes  who  had  been  hurled  fi'om  them  by 
the  French  republic.  Austria  too  had  kept  her  flag 
every  where  flying  in  Italy,  and  had  not  recalled 
to  their  places  any  of  the  dethroned  princes.  He 
asserted,  that  having  acted  out  of  pure  gene- 
rosity he  was  made  the  dupe  of  the  allied  powers, 
who  were  moved  solely  by  self-interest.  Fickle  in 
the  extreme,  he  gave  himself  up  entirely  to  his 
new  opinions  as  violently  as  he  had  before  delivered 
liiniself  to  those  opposite.  A  recent  occurrence  ex- 
asperated him  to  the  highest  i)itch:  this  was  the 
pulling  down  the  Russian  flag  at  Ancona,  and  its 
replacement  by  that  of  Austria.  The  circumstance 
arose  from  the  ci-rorof  an  inferior  officer:  but  that 
did  not  matter,  the  act  was  keenly  felt,  however  it 
originated. 

'Ihe  sentiments  of  absolute  sovereigns,  despite 
their  efforts  at  secresy,  explode  as  quickly  as  those 
of  a  free  people ;  the  one  will  not  be  nuicli  longer 
repressed  than  the  other.  This  new  consequence 
of  the  battle  of  Zurich  got  wind  all  over  Europe, 
and  was  not  unfortunate  for  France. 

Austria  and  England  at  the  news  redoubled 
their  attentions  to  Paul  I.  They  loaded  Suwaroff, 
the  "  invincible  Suwarofl,"  as  he  was  called  before 
lie  was  encountered  by  Masse'na,  with  all  sorts  of 
distinctions.  But  they  had  no  more  soothed  the 
grief  of  the  Russian  general  than  they  had  dis- 
armed the  czar's  resentment.  An  entirely  new 
incident  on  the  part  of  Paul  I.  gave  reason  for 
the  apprehension  that  he  would  soon  abandon  the 
coalition. 

In  the  first  glance  of  his  zeal  for  the  coalition 
he  had  declared  war  against  Spain,  because  she 
made  a  common  cause  with  France,  and  he  had 
Very  nearly  declared  against  Sweden,  Denmark, 
and  Prussia,  because  those  powers  had  roniaiii(;(l 
neuter.  He  liad  broken  off  his  relations  with 
Prussia  entirely.  Since  the  recent  events  he  ap- 
peared to  be  much  mollified  in  his  disposition 
towards  the  courts  against  which  lie  so  lati  ly  felt 
a  bitter  animosity  ;  and  he  now  sent  M.  Krudener 
to  Berlin,  an  envoy  in  whom  ho  had  great  con- 
fidence. Krudener  was  desired  to  |)roceed  thither 
aa  a  simple  traveller,  but  liad  a  secret  missiou  to 
re-establish  relations  between  the  two  courts. 


Fi'ance  had  then  at  Berlin  an  able  and  clever 
agent  in  M.  Otto,  who  was  subsequently  connected 
with  the  more  important  proceedings  of  that  pe- 
riod. He  apprised  his  government  of  the  new 
state  of  affairs.  It  was  evident,  that  if  we  were 
inclined  to  peace  rather  than  war,  the  key  of  the 
position  for  that  end  was  Berlin.  Spain,  flung 
to  the  extremity  of  Europe  by  her  geographical 
])osition,  and  to  that  of  politics  by  the  feebleness 
of  her  government,  could  be  of  no  utility.  But 
Prussia,  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  belligerent 
powers,  remained  neuter  in  spite  of  their  liveliest 
solicitude:  thought  ill  of  at  first  by  all  the  cabinets 
in  the  heat  of  the  coalition,  but  thought  better  of 
when  that  became  cooler,  Prussia  grew  into  a 
centre  of  influence,  above  all  when  Russia  appeared 
to  court  her  alliance.  That  which  had  been  denomi- 
nated jjusillanimity  on  her  part  now  a])peared  to 
be  wisdom.  If  she  were  to  adopt  energetically 
the  character  which  events  seemed  to  assign  her, 
she  might  serve  ibr  the  link  connecting  France 
and  Europe  ;  she  might  be  able  to  appear  in 
season  among  weary  opponents  intermediately ; 
a  method  subsequently  employed  with  great  suc- 
cess, and  thus  to  gather  the  fruits  of  the  war  which 
one  party  had  not  made,  and  of  the  peace  which 
the  other  had  dictated.  If  Prussia  had  ventured 
to  do  this,  the  character  she  would  have  played 
would  have  been  the  most  important  since  the  time 
of  the  great  Frederick. 

There  was  then  upon  the  throne  of  Prussia  a 
young  king,  sincere,  and  possessing  good  intentions, 
loving  peace  as  a  passion,  and  never  ceasing  to 
lament  the  fault  which  his  father  had  committed 
in  scattering  upon  a  foolish  war  against  the  French 
republic,  the  militai'v  fame  and  treasures  accumu- 
lated by  the  great  Frederick.  Replaced  at  this 
tmie  in  pacific  relations  with  the  French  republic, 
the  king  availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  to  re- 
lieve by  economy  the  losses  of  the  treasure  left  by 
iiis  great  uncle  and  squandered  by  his  father.  He 
l)ossessed  near  his  person  an  able  and  wise  minister, 
experienced  in  a  high  degree,  with  the  skill  of 
evading  difficulties;  a  partisan,  like  his  master,  of  a 
])..?iHc  ]iolicy,  but  more  ambitious  than  he  was^in 
believing  that  a  neutrality  well  directed  would  ob- 
tain /or  Prussia  greater  aggrandisements  than  war 
itself.  At  that  time  this  might  have  been  correct. 
He  urged  on  his  sovereign,  therefore,  to  take  upon 
hiniseir  the  character  of  an  active  mediator  vmd 
pacificator  of  the  continent.  To  play  this  part  was 
no  doubt  a  very  grand  one  for  the  young  and  timid 
Fi-ederick-William :  but  this  prince  was  able  to 
fill,  more  or  less,  a  portion  of  the  character,  if  he 
were  unequal  to  the  whole. 

Bonaparte,  perceiving  all  this,  immediately  di- 
rected his  attention  to  i)lease  the  court  of  Prussia. 
It  had  formerly  been  convenient  for  him  to  be  a 
member  of  the  "institute,  that  he  might  appear  by 
that  title  at  some  particular  ceremonies  where  he 
could  not  be  seen  in  his  jHilitical  character,  more 
especially  at  the  fetes  given  on  the  2lHt  of  Ja- 
nuary :  it  was  now  equally  convenient  for  him  to  be 
a  giiieral,  and  to  have  aids-de-c.mip  to  send  wher- 
ever he  saw  it  was  required.  This  idea  was  de- 
rived from  tile  example  of  princes,  who  on  mounting 
the  tlirono  announced  the  event  by  sending  dig- 
nitaiies  as  envoys  for  that  purpose,  lie  did  the 
same  thing,  tiiougli  with  lesa  parade,  and  <lispatehcd 


Duroc  sent  to  Berlin. 
IQ  Talleyrand  takes  ac- 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.    ^o7MTua"^l*th?Dlfes' 


to  Berlin  one  of  his  aids-de-camp,  wliicli,  as  mili- 
tary Ilea  J  of  a  state,  most  assuredly  was  a  ])roper 
act  without  going  out  of  his  character.  Among 
tliose  who  bore  the  title  there  was  one,  Avise,  dis- 
creet, and  prudent,  joining  to  an  agreeable  exterior 
of  person  perfectly  good  manners ;  this  was  Duroc, 
who  returned  from  Egypt  with  his  general,  and 
bore  a  reflection  around  his  brow  of  the  glory  of 
the  Pyramids.  The  first  consul  ordered  him  to 
proceed  immediately  to  Berlin,  to  compliment  the 
king  aiid  queen  of  Prussia,  and  present  hiiuself  as 
bearing  a  mission  of  respect  and  compliment ;  while 
at  the  same  time  he  was  to  profit  by  the  occasion 
to  explain  the  result  of  the  last  revolution  in 
France,  to  i-epresent  it  as  a  return  to  order,  to  a 
healthy  state  of  things,  and,  above  all,  to  pacific 
ideas.  Duroc  was  directed  to  flatter  the  young 
king,  and  to  show  him,  that  if  he  pleased  he  might 
become  the  arbitrator  of  peace.  The  republic,  re- 
posing upon  the  victories  of  the  Texel  and  Zurich, 
and  on  all  those  for  which  the  name  of  Bonaparte 
was  a  pledge  in  future,  was  well  able,  without 
wounding  her  dignity,  to  present  herself  with  the 
olive-branch  of  peace  in  her  hand. 

While  he  dispatched  Duroc  to  Berlin,  Bonaparte 
performed  several  acts  under  the  provisionary 
consulship  calculated  to  produce  an  eff"ect  abroad. 
Having  for  some  time  delayed  the  entry  of  Talley- 
rand upon  the  ministry  for  foreign  affairs,  he  at 
length  jilaced  him  in  that  office.  It  was  impossible  to 
place  there  a  more  conciliatory  person,  more  ]i roper 
to  treat  with  the  European  powers,  more  willing  to 
please,  even  to  flatter  them,  without  depressing  the 
dignity  of  the  French  cabinet.  We  shall  have 
other  opportunities  for  painting  this  singular  and 
remai'kable  character  ;  it  suffices  to  say  now,  that 
the  choice  of  this  minister  alone  clearly  proves, 
without  passing  from  strength  to  weakness,  that 
the  policy  of  the  passions  was  moving  into  that  of 
calculation.  There  was  nothing,  down  to  that 
elegance  of  manners  peculiar  to  Talleyrand,  which 
was  not  of  some  advantage  in  the  new  aspect 
which  the  government  \Vlshed  to  assume  towards 
foreign  powers. 

Bonaparte  made  other  diplomatic  arrangements, 
conceived  in  the  same  spirit.  Although  M.  Otto, 
chargd  d'affaires  at  Berlin,  after  Sieyes  had  quitted 
that  post,  was  an  excellent  envoy,  he  was  no  more 
than  a  simple  chargd  d'affaires  in  rank.  To  him 
was  assigned  another  destination,  in  which  he  soon 
made  himself  very  useful.  The  appointment  of 
minister  at  Berlin  was  given  to  General  Beurnon- 
ville,  the  old  friend  of  La  Fayette,  hmg  imprisoned 
in  Austria,  and  one  of  those  members  of  the  mi- 
nority of  French  nobles,  who  had  in  17559  embraced 
with  sincerity  the  side  of  the  revolution.  General 
Beurnonville  was  a  frank  soldier,  loyal,  above  all 
disguise,  of  moderate  ojjinions,  and  perfectly  well 
adapted  to  represent  the  new  government.  Austria, 
where  lie  liad  been  so  long  detained  a  prisoner, 
filled  him  with  the  hatred  which  was  a  sort  of 
passport  to  Berlin,  wheie,  towards  that  power, 
there  was  the  .same  feeling  prevalent  which  had 
existed  in  the  time  of  the  great  Frederick. 

The  representative  of  France  at  Madrid  was  an 
old  demagogue,  destitute  of  all  influence,  and  wlio 
having  no  name  in  the  diplomatic  career,  had  been 
flung  where  he  was  by  the  chance  of  events.  He 
was  replaced  by  one  of  the  Constituent  Assembly, 


M.  Alquier,  a  clever  man,  lively  and  intelligent, 
who  had  begun  with  credit  in  the  diplomacy  of 
that  time.  Finally,  at  Copenhagen,  where  the 
principles  of  maritime  neutrality,  openly  violated 
by  England,  were  likely  to  work  out  our  advan- 
tage upon  being  cultivated,  M.  Bourgoing  was 
nominated  in  place  of  a  creatui-e  of  the  directory, 
named  Grouvelle.  Each  of  these  selections  was 
excellent,  and  perfectly  indicative  of  that  spirit  of 
moderation  and  prudence  which  had  begun  to  pre- 
vail in  the  relations  of  France  with  foreign  powers. 

To  the  choice  of  these  individuals  the  consuls 
wished  to  make  the  addition  of  some  acts  which 
might  serve  as  an  answer  to  a  reproach  widely 
circulated  throughout  Europe,  that  the  French 
republic  violated  incessantly  the  rights  of  nations 
and  the  treaties  they  concluded  with  them.  Most 
assuredly  France  had  been  guilty  of  less  violation 
of  the  rights  of  nations  than  the  Austi-ians,  the 
English,  and  all  the  courts  at  war  with  her.  It 
was  the  custom  to  pretend  that  it  was  not  possible 
to  have  any  relations  with  an  unstable,  passionate 
government,  rejjresented  continually  by  new  men, 
who  never  regarded  themselves  as  bound  by  any 
treaty  or  by  the  traditions  of  European  public  law. 
This  reproach  might  have  been  returned  with 
more  justice  upon  the  cabinets  of  Europe,  that 
had  done  so  much  worse,  without  the  excuse  either 
of  revolutionary  jiassions  or  of  continual  changes 
in  government.  To  give  a  better  idea  of  the  policy 
of  the  consuls,  Bonaparte  performed  a  first  act  of 
justice  towards  the  unfortunate  knights  of  Malta, 
to  whom  he  promised,  on  taking  possession  of  the 
island,  that  they  should  not  be  treated  in  France 
as  emigrants,  at  least  those  among  them  who  be- 
longed to  the  French  language.  They  had  not 
until  now  been  benefited  by  this  article  in  their 
capitulation,  neither  in  respect  of  goods  nor  person. 
Bonaparte  gave  to  them  the  full  and  entire  terms 
to  which  they  were  entitled. 

In  respect  to  Denmark,  the  first  consul  adopted 
a  measure  both  excellent  in  itself,  kind,  and  equit- 
able. There  were  in  the  ports  of  France  a  num- 
ber of  Danish  vessels,  stopped  by  the  directory 
in  consequence  of  reprisals  under  the  law  of  neu- 
trals. They  were  accused  of  not  respecting  the 
law  of  maritime  neutrality,  of  submitting  to  be 
searched  by  the  English,  and  of  permitting  goods 
that  were  French  property  to  be  seized  on  board 
of  them.  The  directoi-y  h:id  declai-ed  that  it  would 
make  them  subject  to  the  same  violence  which 
they  suffered  from  the  English,  in  order  that  they 
might  uphold  with  more  energy  the  principles  of 
the  rights  of  nations,  under  virtue  of  which  they 
navigated.  This  would  have  been  but  just,  if  they, 
having  the  power  to  make  themselves  respected, 
submitted  to  it ;  but  these  unfortunate  men  did  all 
they  could  do,  and  it  was  hard  to  punish  the 
violence  of  one  party  by  the  violence  of  another. 
In  consequence  of  this  system,  a  number  of  their 
merchant-vessels  being  detained,  Bonaparte  re- 
leased them,  in  order  to  exhibit  the  sign  of  a  more 
equitable  and  moderate  policy. 

Duroc  an-ived  promptly  at  Berlin,  and  was  pre- 
sented by  M.  Otto,  who  was  still  there.  According 
to  I'igorous  etiquette,  Dm-oc,  a  simple  aid-de-camp, 
could  not  be  put  in  immediate  communication  w  ith 
the  court,  but  these  regalations  were  laid  aside  to 
receive  an  officer  attached  to  the  person  of  Bona- 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  YEAR  VIII. 


Bonaparte's  influence 
upon  tliose  around  17 

him. 


parte.  He  was  well  received  bv  the  king  and  queen, 
and  immediately  invited  to  Potsdam.  Curiosity 
had  as  much  to  do  as  policy  with  these  attentions, 
since  glory  has,  in  addition  to  its  own  brilliancy, 
a  considerable  advantage  in  affairs  of  state.  To  see 
and  hear  the  aid-decamp  Duroc,  resembled  an 
approach,  though  distant,  to  the  extraordinary  man 
of  whom  the  world  was  full.  Duroc  had  taken 
a  part  in  the  battles  of  the  Pyramids,  Mount 
Tabor,  and  Aboukir.  A  thousand  questions  were 
addressed  to  him,  which  he  answered  without  ex- 
aggeration, in  truth  and  simplicity.  He  appeared 
polished,  mild,  modest ;  profoundly  submissive  to 
his  superior,  and  gave  a  most  advantageous  idea  of 
the  manner  of  bearing  which  that  ofticer  imposed 
upon  those  nearest  him.  The  success  of  Dui-oe  at 
Berlin  was  complete.  The  queen  testified  for  him 
the  greatest  kuulness;  and  people  began  to  talk 
afterwards  in  a  much  better  strain  of  the  Fnmch 
republic.  Duroc  found  the  young  king  was  jileased 
to  discover  that  a  strong  and  moderate  government 
was  at  last  established  in  Paris,  and  felt  flattered  to 
be  at  the  same  time  courted  both  by  Russia  and 
Finance.  He  desired  much  to  act  the  part  of  a 
mediator,  but  had  more  the  wish  than  the  talent 
for  such  a  purpose,  without  being  at  all  dcHcient  in 
the  ardour  and  zeal  requisite  for  its  perform'ance. 

The  success  of  Duroc  engaged  the  attention  of 
Europe,  and  was  re-echoed  to  Paris  itself.  The 
idea  of  an  approaching  peace  soon  took  posses- 
sion of  every  mind.  A  specious  circumstance,  in 
itself  of  small  moment,  singularly  contributed  to 
propagate  this  idea.  The  French  and  Austrian 
armies  were  in  presence  of  each  other  along  the 
Rhine  and  on  the  coasts  of  the  Alps  and  Apen-' 
nines.  On  the  Rhine  they  were  stayed  by  an| 
obstacle  sufficient  to  hinder  any  serious  operations,! 
since  the  passage  of  that  river  was  a  task  too  greati 
for  either  army  unless  for  the  purpose  of  opening; 
the  campaign.  It  was  now  Friraaire  or  December,' 
the  passage  could  not  therefore  be  contemplated;/ 
skirmishes  along  the  river  became  under  such  cir-  ] 
cumstances  a  useless  effusion  of  blood,  and  there- 
fore on  that  frontier  an  armistice  was  agreed 
upon.  In  the  Alps  and  Apennines  circumstances 
were  different;  there,  where  the  country  was  so 
varied,  a  movement  well  combined  might  procure 
to  the  successful  party  a  good  position  for  the 
commencement  of  operations.  The  belligerents, 
therefore,  would  not  bind  themselves  there  in  a 
similar  manner,  and  no  armistice  took  place.  Hut 
the  jmblic  attention  was  directed  to  that  signed 
upon  the  Rhine ;  and  among  the  number  of  for- 
tunate changes  which  atteniled  the  course  of  the 
new  government,  people  classed  the  possibility  and 
even  probability  of  an  approaching  peace. 

There  are  always  in  public  evils  one  that  is  real 
and  one  that  is  imaginary,  while  one  contributes  to 
render  the  other  insupportJible.  It  is  a  main  j)oint 
to  do  away  with  the  imaginary  evil,  because  by 
that  means  the  Hentimcnt  of  the  real  evil  is  di- 
minished, and  he  who  suffers  from  it  is  inspired 
with  the  liope  of  a  cure,  or,  above  all,  with  the  dis- 
position to  accept  it.  Under  the  directory,  it  was 
decided  that  tli'-re  was  nothing  to  be  expected  of 
a  feeble,  disreputable  govenunent,  which  to  repress 
faction  adojited  violence  without  attaining  any  of 
the  effects  of  energy.  Evi-ry  thing  it  did  was  n.-- 
garded  as  bad ;  nobody  would  credit  good  of  it, 


nor  believe  it  when  by  chance  some  little  good  was 
done.  Even  victory,  which  seemed  to  return  to 
it  near  the  close  of  its  existence — victory,  which 
to  others  would  have  brought  glory,  conferred  no 
honour  upon  it. 

'I'he  elevation  of  Bonaparte,  of  whom  the  world 
was  in  the  habit  of  expecting  every  thing  suc- 
cessful, changed  this  disposition.  The  evil  in 
imagination  had  ceased ;  confidence  was  abroad ; 
every  thing  was  understood  in  good  part.  Most 
assuredly  the  things  performed  were  good  in  them- 
selves, since  it  was  good  to  release  the  hostages,  to 
set  the  priests  free,  to  show  pacific  dispositions  to 
Europe  ;  but  people,  above  all,  were  inclined  to 
consider  that  tliey  were  good.  A  token  of  apjiroach 
in  feeling,  such  as  the  welcome  given  to  an  aid-de- 
camp, an  armistice  signed  that  really  meant  no- 
thing, such  as  that  upon  the  Rhine,  passed  already 
as  pledges  of  peace.  8uch  is  the  prestige  of  con- 
fidence !  It  is  every  thing  with  a  beginning  go- 
vernment, and  to  that  of  the  consuls  it  was  of 
immense  advantage.  Thus  money  came  into  the 
treasury,  from  the  treasury  it  went  to  the  armies, 
that,  content  with  the  first  succours,  waited  with 
patience  for  those  that  were  to  come  afterwards. 
In  presence  of  a  power,  the  strength  of  which  was 
reputed  superior  to  all  resistance, parties  submitted: 
the  oppressor  party  without  any  power  to  oppress 
again ;  the  party  oppressed,  with  the  confidence 
that  oppi'essiou  would  no  more  be  exercised  upon 
it.  The  good  accomplished  was  thus  great,  and 
hope  added  all  that  time  had  not  yet  permitted  to 
be  done. 

One  thing  was  already  rumoured  in  all  quarters, 
on  the  daily  report  of  those  who  transacted  bush)ess 
with  the  young  consul.  It  was  said  that  this 
soldier,  above  whom  no  geiieral  of  modern  times 
can  be  ranked,  and  but  few  in  those  which  are 
passed,  was  a  consummate  ruler,  a  iirofound  poli- 
tician. All  the  practical  men  by  whom  he  was  sur- 
rounded, whom  he  heard  with  attention,  whom  he 
even  enlightened  by  the  justness  and  promptitude 
of  his  views,  and  whom  he  protected  from  opposi- 
tion of  all  kinds,  never  left  him  without  being 
subdued  and  filled  with  admiration.  They  said 
this  the  more  willingly,  because  it  became  the 
fashion  to  think  and  say  so.  Sometimes  false 
merit  is  seen  to  captivate  the  public  for  a  time, 
and  conunand  extravagant  praise ;  but  it  also  some- 
times happens  that  true  merit,  even  genius  itself, 
inspires  this  sort  of  popular  caprice,  and  then  the 
caprice  becomes  a  passion.  It  was  only  a  month 
since  Bonaparte  had  taken  the  direction  of  .affairs, 
and  the  impression  around  him,  )>roduced  by  his 
powerful  intellect,  was  deep  and  general.  The 
good-tempt-red  Rogcr-Ducos  spoke  of  nothing  else; 
the  himioursome  Sieyes,  little  inclined  to  stoop  to 
the  fashion  of  the  hour,  especially  when  he  was  not 
its  favourite,  acknowledging  the  superiority,  the 
universality  of  the  governing  genius,  paid  it  the 
l>niH!st  homage,  by  conceding  to  it  the  entire  power 
<)f  action.  Those  who  were  panegyrists  from  con- 
j  viction  joined  those  who  were  such  only  from  in- 
I  terest,  and  all  seeing  in  Bonajiartc  the  evident  head 
of  the  new  rei)ublie,  set  no  limit  to  the  measure  of 
their  enthusiasm.  Boniijjartc  had  among  his  ad- 
mirers, and  in  truth  very  sincere  admirers,  Talley- 
rand, Kcgiiault  de  St.  Jean  d'Angely,  Ra'derer, 
.  Bouliiy  (de  laMeurthe),  Defennon,  Real,  Dufrcsne, 
C 


Sieyiis.'  long- meditated 
IG  project  of  tlie  coiisti- 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE,     it 


and  others,  who  evei-y  where  said  that  they  had 
never  seen  any  one  of  such  promptitude,  such 
decision,  such  extent  of  mind,  such  prodigious 
activity.  It  is  true,  the  business  he  had  accom- 
plished in  one  month  in  every  brancli  of  the 
government  was  enormous,  and,  which  seldom  bap- 
pens,  that  the  flattery  bestowed  did  not,  in  this 
instance,  exceed  the  reality. 

It  was  every  where  considered  that  he  was  the 
man  on  wjiom  the  new  constitution  must  bestow 
the  larger  part  of  the  executive  power.  A  Crom- 
well was  not  desired  by  the  people,  for  this  niust 
be  conceded  in  honour  of  the  men  of  that  time. 
The  friends  of  B^aiaparte  said  aloud  that  the 
parts  of  Ctesar  and  Cromwell  were  wholly  "  played 
out,"  and  were  not  worthy  of  the  genius  and 
virtues  of  the  young  saviour  of  France.  Still,  they 
desired  that  there  should  be  a  sufficient  autho- 
rity placed  in  his  hands,  to  secure  their  heads,  or 
the  national  property  which  they  had  obtained  : 
and  that  be  might  have  time  enough  left  him  to 
repel  the  Bourbons  and  Austrians.  The  royalists 
hoped  he  would  save  them  from  the  revolutionists, 
and  re-instate  the  old  absolute  power,  with  a  wild 
wish  that  after  he  bad  reinstated  it,  he  would  hand 
it  over  tothcni;  iu  which  case  they  were  disposed  to 
make  hipi  a  good  bargain  for  the  restitution ;  they 
would  even  go  so  far  as  to  confer  upon  him  the 
dignity  of  constable  to  Louis  XVIIL,  if  it  were 
positively  necessary. 

Tims,  every  body  awarded  to  him  the  supreme 
power,  in  more  or  less  of  integrity,  for  a  longer  or 
shorter  ti-rm,  though  with  different  object-.  The 
new  legislator,  Sieves,  thus  had  to  make  a  place  for 
bini  in  the  new  constitution  which  he  was  preparing; 
but  Sieyes  was  a  dogmatical  legislator,  working  on 
behalf  of  the  nature  of  things,  at  least  he  conceived 
so,  and  not  according  to  existing  circumstances, 
still  less  for  any  single  man,  no  matter  whom.  This 
may  ea.sily  be  judged  from  what  followed. 

Sieyes,  while  his  indefatigable  colleague  governed, 
was  occupied  with  his  own  assigned  task.  To  give 
to  France  not  one  of  those  e|ihenieral  constitutions, 
provoking  ridicule  from  ignorance  of  passions  and 
parties,  but  a  wise  constitution,  founded  on  obser- 
vations 9f  society,  and  on  the  lessons  of  past  expe- 
rience ;  this  had  been  the  waking  dream  of  his 
whole  existence.  Amid  his  solitary  and  morose 
meditations  he  laboured  without  cessation.  He 
bad  weighed  it  in  the  midst  of  the  sincere  and 
inconsiderate  proceedings  of  the  constituent  as- 
sembly, in  the  midst  of  the  frantic  gloom  of  the 
convention,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  feebleness  of  the 
direct^ory.  At  each  period  he  had  new-modelled  his 
labour ;  at  last  it  w;i3  fixed,  and  once  fixed  he 
would  not  alter  his  plan.  He  would  sacrifice  nothing 
to  the  circumstances  of  the  moment,  to  the  prin- 
cipal of  tliese  circumstances,  to  Bonaparte,  for 
wlioni'it' was  evidently  necessary  to  find  a  post, 
adapteil*  to  the  genius  and  character  of  him  who 
was  to  fill  it. 

This  singular  legislator,  always  meditating,  al- 
ways writing,  but  not  writing  much  more  than 
acting,  had  never  yet  written  out  the  scheme  of  his 
consiiiution.  It  was  in  his  head,  and  he  must  now 
bring  it  out.  This  was  to  him  a  task  by  no  means 
easy,  l^Qwever  much  he  wished  to  see  it  produced 
and  eiybodied  as  a  law.  He  was  much  pressed 
to  make  it  known,   and  at  last  decided  to  com- 


municate his  ideas  to  one  of  his  friends,  M.  Boulay 
de  la  Meurthe,  who  took  upon  himself  the  trouble 
of  transcribing  it  as  fast  as  it  was  delivered  in  the 
conversations  they  might  have  with  each  other. 
>  It  was  thus  that  this  remarkable  conception  was 
1  correctly  obtained,  and  preserved  for  that  posterity 
I  of  which  it  was  worthy. 

1  Sieyes  made  a  powerful  mental  exertion  to  unite 
I  the  republican  and  the  monarchical  principles,  in 
I  order  to  borrow  what  was  useful  or  necessary  from 
each  ;  but  in  borrowing  he  showed  a  strong  distrust 
'  of  both.  He  had  taken  great  precautions  against 
the  demagogue  spirit  on  one  hand,  and  against  the 
1  power  of  the  crown  on  the  other.  He  had  thus 
])roduced  a  clever  and  complicated  work,  but  one 
in  which  every  thing  was  balanced  ;  so  that  if  this 
constitution,  modified  by  and  for  Bonaparte,  were 
deprived  of  one  or  the  other  of  its  counterpoises, 
it  might,  against  the  intentions  of  its  framer,  lead 
on  to  despotism. 

The  first  care  of  Sieyes  was,  amid  his  combina- 
tions, to  guai'd  against  tlie  influence  of  demagogue 
passions.  Without  denuding  the  nation  of  that  large 
.  participation  in  public  affairs,  which  unhappily  for 
I  itself  it  had  before  enjoyed,  he  wished  to  leave  it  a 
power  which  it  could  not  abuse.  A  phrase,  which, 
ibr  the  first  time,  perhaps,  was  in  every  body's 
mouth,  that  of  "a  representative  government," 
gives  an  exact  idea  of  the  state  of  the  public  mind 
at  the  moment.  By  that  word  was  understood 
that  the  nation  ought  to  have  a  share  in  its  own 
government,  only  through  intermediate  means, 
that  is  to  say,  that  it  should  be  represented  ;  and, 
as  we  shall  see,  it  was,  indeed,  very  indirectly  that 
such  a  representation  was  intended. 

The  elections  imder  the  directory  had  been 
drawn  by  degrees  into  the  hands  of  the  royalists  at 
one  time,  and  of  the  Jacobins  at  another,  and 
violence  had  been  deemed  expedient  to  exclude  the 
first  of  these  on  the  18th  Fructidor,  the  second,  on 
the  22nd  Flordal.  Thus  the  election  system,  and, 
above  all,  that  of  the  direct  elections,  had  become 
highly  suspicious  in  the  public  view.  Perhaps,  had 
they  dared  to  reduce  the  number  of  the  electors  to 
a  hundred  and  fifty  or  two  hundred  thousand,  the 
attemjit  to  meet  again  the  agitation  of  the  elections 
might  have  been  ventured  upon  ;  but  the  electoral 
body,  reduced  to  about  the  present  proportion, 
would  have  imparted  oflenco  rather  than  security. 
Two  hundred  tliousand  electors  only  attached  to  a 
nation,  which  so  recently  possessed  universal  suf- 
frage, would  have  ap])eared  an  aristocratic  allow- 
ance; at  the  same  time  that  the  electors,  however 
small  their  number,  nominating  directly  their  repre- 
sentatives, with  the  power  to  yield  to  the  passions 
of  the  hour,  would  have  borne  the  appearance  of 
being  but  the  renewal  of  the  continual  reactions 
which  had  been  witnessed  under  the  directory. 
Direct  election  restricted,  such  as  exists  at  present 
was  thus  out  of  all  the  combinations.  Sieyes,  with 
his  liabitual  tlogmatism,  had  made  the  maxim  for 
himself,  that  "confidence  should  come  from  below, 
and  power  from  above."  He  therefore  conceived, 
in  order  to  realize  this  maxim,  the  system  of 
national  representation  which  is  about  to  be  de- 
■  scribed. 

Every  individual  of  the  age  of  twenty-one,  having 
a  French  birthright,  was  obliged,  if  he  desired  to 
enjoy  his  rights,  to  inscribe  his  name  in  a  register 


I79y. 
Dec. 


List  of  notables. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  YEAR  VIII. 


called  the  "  civic  register."  This  list  niij;ht  hold 
five  or  six  millions  of  citizens'  names  admitted  to 
the  exercise  of  political  riglits.  The  i)ersons  thus 
inscribed  were  to  meet  in  their  arrondisscmcnts  ; 
this  limit,  which  did  not  then  exist,  was  to  be  pro- 
posed ;  they  were  then  to  choose  a  tenth  of  their 
number.  This  tenth  would  produce  a  primary  list 
of  five  or  six  hundred  thousand;  and  these  numbers, 
meeting  in  turn  iii  their  departments,  and  again 
choosing  a  tenth  among  themselves,  would  form  a 
second  list  of  fifty  or  sixty  thousand.  These  last 
proceeded  to  a  tiiird  and  hust  list  limited  to  five  or 
six  thousand,  and  the  three  lists  were  denominated 
the  "  lists  of  notability." 

The  first  list  of  five  or  six  hundred  thousand 
individuals  was  called  that  of  the  communal  nota- 
bility ;  from  it  were  to  be  taken  the  members  of 
the  municipal  bodies,  those  of  the  councils  of  the 
arrondissements,  and  others  on  a  par  in  equality 
with  them ;  such  were  the  mayors,  the  officers 
since  styled  sub-prefects,  the  judges  of  tlie  first 
instance,  and  others.  The  second  list  of  fifty  or 
sixty  thousand  citizens,  was  denominated  the  list 
of  the  departmental  notability ;  and  it  was  from 
it  that  the  members  of  the  councils  of  the  depart- 
ments, the  functionaries  since  styled  prefects,  the 
judges  of  appeal,  and  similar  officials,  were  taken; 
in  a  word,  all  of  that  class.  Finally,  the  last  and 
third  list  of  five  or  six  thousand  persons,  con- 
stituted the  list  of  national  notability,  from  whence 
all  the  raembei-s  of  the  legislative  body  must  be 
taken,  all  the  higher  functionaries,  counsellors  of 
state,  ministers,  judges  of  the  tribunal  of  cassation, 
and  the  like.  Sieyes,  borrowing  a  geometrical 
figure  to  give  an  idea  of  the  national  represen- 
tation, called  it  a  pjrainid,  broad  at  the  base, 
and  narrow  at  the  apex. 

It  is  thus  seen,  that  without  conceding  to  the 
nation  the  right  to  select  itself  the  national  dele- 
gates, or  the  government  functionaries,  Sieyes  re- 
duced himself  to  the  formation  of  a  list  of  candi- 
dati.-s,  from  which  were  to  be  selected  tiie  repre- 
sentatives of  the  nation  and  the  agents  of  govern- 
ment. Every  year  the  mass  of  citizens  was  to 
meet  for  the  purpose  of  excluding  fronv  the  lists 
the  names  which  were  not  deemed  worthy  to  con- 
tinue there,  and  to  replace  them  with  others.  It 
is  observable,  that  if,  on  one  part,  the  power  of 
designation  was  very  indirect ;  on  the  other  it  em- 
braced not  only  the  members  of  the  deliberative 
assemblies,  but  the  functionaries  of  the  executive 
themsilves.  It  was  at  once  more  and  less  than 
ordinarily  exists  in  the  systena  of  a  representative 
monarchy.  The  agents  designed  for  special  offices, 
and  who  were  not  supposed  to  possess  any  of  the 
jmblic  confidence,  such  as  tiiose  belonging  to  the 
finances,  for  example,  or  persona  called  to  fulfil 
offices  HO  difficult,  that  merit,  when  it  could  be 
met  with,  ought  to  be  chosen,  no  matter  where 
found — such  as  giMXjrals  or  ainl)assadors  ;  such 
agents  it  was  not  obligatory  to  select  from  the  lists 
of  notability. 

We  have  shown  how  Sieyes  realized  his  maxim 
of  making  "ciinfid(Mico  come  from  below,"  we  will 
now  show  how  he  nia<lo  "  power  come  from  above." 

lie  dreaded  cleclioiiH,  under  the  influence  of  the 

I  feeling  of  tin;  time?,  Ijecauso  he  had  witnesKcd  how 

the  electors  chose  repreHeiitalives  as  headstrong  aa 

tiiemsclvcs.    lie  tiiorcforc  renounced  elections,  and 


decided,  that  out  of  those  on  the  lists  of  notability 
fnimtd  by  juiblic  confidence,  the  legislative  and 
executive  powers  should  be  enabled  to  choose  their 
own  membei's,  and  thus  to  constitute  themselves. 
Me  laid  no  other  obligation  upon  tliem,thiin  that  they 
should  select  from  the  lists  of  notability.  But  before 
stating  the  mode  in  which  the  jjowers  were  formed, 
it  is  necessary  to  describe  their  organization. 

The  legislative  power  was  to  be  organized  thus  : 
First,  the  legislative  body,  pro[)erly  speaking,  placed 
between  the  tribunal  and  the  council  of  state  :  se- 
condly, above  and  apart,  the  conservative  senate. 

The  legislative  body  was  to  be  composed  of  three 
hundred  members,  designed  to  hear  the  discussion 
of  the  laws,  not  to  discuss  them  itself,  and  to  vote 
silently.  How  and  among  whom  the  discussion 
was  to  take  place,  will  be  here  shown. 

A  body  of  one  hundred  members,  styled  the 
tribunate,  empowered  to  represent  in  this  consti- 
tution the  spirit  of  free,  innovating  examination, 
received  the  communication  of  the  laws,  discussed 
them  publicly,  and  i)ut  them  to  the  vote,  merely  to 
decide  whether  or  not  it  should  sunport  their 
a<ioption  or  rejection.  It  then  api)omted  three 
members  of  its  number  to  support  its  private 
opinion  befm-e  the  legislative  body. 

The  council  of  state,  the  origin  of  that  which 
now  exists,  but  more  considerable  in  its  importance 
and  duties,  was  connected  with  the  government 
for  the  purpose  of  embodying  proposed  laws  ;  it 
was  to  present  them  to  the  legislative  body,  and  to 
send  three  of  its  number  to  discuss  them  in  oppo- 
siti<jn  to  the  speakers  in  the  tribunate.  Thus  the 
council  of  state  pleaded  for,  the  tribunate  against, 
the  proposed  law,  if  the  last  disapproved  it.  The 
legislative  body  then  voted  silently  either  on  one 
side  or  the  other,  as  to  the  rejection  or  acceptance 
of  the  measure.  Its  vote  alone  gave  the  cha- 
racter of  a  law  to  the  pi'oposition  of  the  govern- 
ment. The  council  of  state  besid(^s  had  the  duty 
of  completing  the  laws  by  attaching  to  them  the 
regulations  necessary  for  their  execution. 

Last  of  all  came  the  senate,  composed  of  one 
hundred  members,  that  took  no  part  in  the  legis- 
lative labour.  It  was  deputed  on  the  denunciation 
of  the  tribunate,  or  of  its  own  accord,  to  cancel 
every  law  or  act  of  the  government  to  which,  in  its 
own  view,  any  thing  unconstitutional  might  be  at- 
tached. It  was  on  this  account  that  it  bore  the 
Jianie  of  the  "conservative  senate."  It  was  to  be 
composed  of  individuals  who  were  of  ripe  years, 
deprived  from  the  circumstance  of  belonging  to  the 
senate  of  all  active  functions,  being  exclusively  con- 
fined to  their  character  of  conservators,  and  being 
interested  in  attending  well  to  their  tluties,  because 
Sieyes  intended  that  a  good  income  should  bo 
attached  to  the  place. 

Such  were  the  offices  of  the  deliberative  func- 
tionaries. The  mode  of  their  formation  was  as  fol- 
lows:— 

The  senate  completed  itself  by  electing  its  own 
membcrH,  out  of  the  list  of  notability  formed  by  the 
nation.  Itnamcd  also  the  membere  of  the  tribunate, 
of  the  legislative  body,  and  of  the  tribunal  of  cas- 
sation, choosing  them  by  tho  scrutiny  or  ballot 
from  the  same  list  of  national  notability. 

The  executive  power  was  thus  the  author  of  its 
I  own  fVirmation,  from  choosing  all  its  agents  out  of 
I  the  three  lists  of  notability,  which  corresponded  to 


20 


The  grand  elector. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


1799. 
Dec 


the  functions  which  were  to  be  executed.  It  took 
the  ministers,  tlie  councillors  of  state,  and  all  the 
superior  officers  from  the  list  of  national  notability. 
It  took  from  the  list  of  the  departmental  notability, 
first,  the  councillors  of  the  department,  who,  the 
same  as  with  the  council  of  state,  were  considered 
purely  administrative  authorities ;  it  took  from  them, 
besides  these,  the  prefects  and  all  the  functionaries 
of  the  same  particular  order;  and  lastly  it  searched 
in  the  list  of  communal  notability  for  the  municipal 
councillors,  the  mayors,  and  the  functionaries  be- 
longing to  their  class. 

Thus,  as  Sieyes  would  have  it,  "  Confidence  came 
from  below,  power  came  from  above." 

But  as  above  the  legislative  power  there  was  a 
head  or  creator  in  the  senate,  so  there  was  wanting 
above  the  executive  power  a  supreme  creator  to 
name  the  ministers  of  state,  who  were  then  to  no- 
minate the  subordinate  officials  down  to  the  lowest 
in  the  hierarchy.  At  the  head  of  the  executive 
power  there  must  also  be  a  generative  power. 
Sieyes  had  given  the  holder  of  this  power  a  name 
analogous  to  his  function,  he  had  entitled  him  the 
grand  elector.  This  supreme  magistrate's  duty  was 
reduced  to  one  single  exclusive  act;  he  was  to  elect 
two  superior  agents,  alone  in  their  species  and  rank, 
one  called  the  peace,  the  other  the  war  consul.  These 
nominated  the  ministers  immediately;  they,  under 
their  personal  responsibility,  selected  from  the  list  of 
notability  all  the  agents  of  power,  governed,  admi- 
nistered, directed  in  a  word  all  the  affairs  of  state. 

A  great  and  brilliant  career  was  destined  for  the 
grand  elector.  He  was  the  generative  principle  of 
the  government,  and  he  was  also  its  external  re- 
presentative. That  inaction,  to  which  Sieyes  desired 
to  confine  the  senators  in  order  to  secure  the  just 
and  impartial  fulfilment  of  their  duties,  and  to  whom 
he  assigned  an  annual  i-evenue  of  100,000f.  from 
the  national  domains  ;  that  inaction  imposed  also 
upon  tlie  grand  elector  from  a  similar  motive,  was 
yet  more  richly  endowed,  because  he  i-epresented 
the  entire  republic.  Sieyes,  therefoi-e,  assigned  to 
i  him  a  revenue  of  C,00O,000fs.  and  sumptuous 
I  palaces,  such  as  those  of  the  Tuileries  at  Paris, 
and  Vei"sailles  in  the  country,  with  a  guard  of  three 
thousand  men.  In  his  name  justice  was  to  be  ad- 
ministered, the  taxes  promulgated,  and  the  acts  of 
the  government  executed.  To  him  the  foreign  mi- 
nisters were  to  be  accredited,  and  the  signatures  to 
all  treaties  between  France  and  foreign  states  were 
to  be  his  execution.  In  a  word,  he  joined  to  the 
important  act  of  observing  tlie  two  more  active 
heads  of  the  government,  the  ^clat,  vain  thougli  it 
might  be,  of  external  pomp.  In  him  was  to  glitter 
personified  all  the  luxury  of  an  elegant,  polished, 
and  magnificent  people. 

The  grand  elector  himself,  was  he  to  be  an  elected 
or  an  hereditary  potentate  ?  In  the  last  case  he 
must  be  in  every  sense  a  king,  and  thus  would 
monarchy  be  re-established  in  France.  This,  whe- 
ther or  not  he  wished  it,  Sieyes  would  not  dare 
openly  to  propose.  He,  therefore,  assigned  to  the 
senate,  the  most  impartial  of  the  public  bodies  in 
the  government,  the  choice  of  that  supreme  magis- 
trate, who  was  himself  thus  elevated  that  he  might 
be  as  impartial  as  possible  in  his  selection  of  the 
two  heads  whom  he  was  to  appoint. 

A  last  and  most  extraordinary  provision  finished 
this  complex  labour. 


The  senate,  which  had  the  power  of  abrogating 
any  unconstitutional  act  or  law  of  the  government, 
received,  besides,  the  power  to  deprive  the  grand 
elector  of  his  functions  by  nominating  him  a  senator 
in  despite  of  his  own  will.  This  Sieyes  denominated 
"absorption."  The  senate  had  the  power  to  do  the 
same  thing  in  respect  of  any  citizen,  of  whom  the 
talents  might  cause  a  jealousy  in  the  republic. 
Thus  there  was  given  to  the  citizen,  that  had  been 
reduced  to  foi'cible  inactivity  by  absorbing  him  into 
the  senate,  the  penalty  of  the  importance,  of  the  rich 
idleness,  of  the  members  of  a  body,  which  could 
not  act  by  itself,  but  still  was  able,  by  its  veto,  to 

.  -«top  every  kind  of  action  in  others. 

I  In  this  singular  but  profound  idea,  who  does  not 
recognise  the  image  in  design,  obscure  and  indis- 
tinct as  it  may  be,  of  a  representative  monarchy? 
The  legislative  body,  the  senate,  the  grand  elector, 
are  but  commons,  peers,  and  king  ;  all  reposing 
upon  a  sort  of  universal  suffrage,  but  with  such 
precautions,  that  democracy,  aristocracy,  and 
royalty,  admitted  into  the  constitution,  are  ad- 
.mitted,  then  annulled  by  its  operation.  The  lists 
of  notability,  from  which  the  deliberative  bodies 
and  the  executive  functionaries  are  to  be  chosen, 
are  universal  suffrage,  nullified,  because  they 
formed  a  circle  of  candidateship  so  extensive  that 
the  obligation  to  choose  in  such  a  circle  is  an 
absolute  power  of  election  conferred  upon  the 
government  and  senate.  The  dumb  legislative 
body,  listening  to  the  discussion  of  the  law,  and  not 
discussing  the  law  itself,  having  by  its  side  the 
tribunate,  that  is  to  oppose  it  in  the  council  of 
state,  is  but  a  species  of  house  of  commons  cut 
in  two,  one-half  having  the  vote,  the  other  half  the 
debate,  and  both  annulled  by  the  separation  ;  for 
the  first  is  exposed  to  the  chance  of  falling 
asleep  amid  its  own  silence,  the  second  to  waste 
itself  in  a  useless  agitation  of  the  question.  The 
senate  nominating  itself  and  all  the  deliberative 
bodies,  appointing  the  head  of  the  executive  power, 
and,  when  necessai-y,  absorbing  him  into  its  bosom  ; 
the  senate  being  able  to  do  this,  but  deprived  of 
active  functions,  taking  no  part  iu  making  a  law, 
but  bound  to  cancel  it  if  unconstitutional;  the 
senate  reduced  thus  to  a  sort  of  in.action,  that  it 
may  be  more  disinterested,  and  solely  animated 
with  the  idea  of  conservatism,  this  senate  is 
but  a  clever  exaggerated  imitation  of  an  aristo- 
cratical  peerage,  taking  little  part  in  the  progress 
of  affairs,  stopping  it  sometimes  by  its  veto,  and 
receiving  into  its  bosom  those  who,  after  a  wild 
career,  come  voluntarily  to  repose  in  the  midst  of 
a  grave,  infiuential,  and  honoured  body  of  men. 
The  grand  elector,  lastly,  is  no  more  than  royalty 
reduced  to  the  inactive,  but  considerable  office,  of 
choosing  the  chief  actors  in  the  government ;  it 
is  royalty,  but  with  wonderful  j)recautions  against 
its  origin  and  dui'ation,  since  it  issued  from  the 
senatorial  urn,  into  which,  upon  occasions,  it  may 
be  rLturncd.  In  a  word,  this  universal  suff'rage, 
this  legislative  body,  this  tribunate,  this  senate, 
this  grand  elector,  thus  constituted,  weakened, 
neutralized  the  one  by  the  other,  attested  a  pro- 
digious labour  of  the  human  mind,  to  unite  in  one 
constitution  all  the  known  forms  of  government, 
only  to  annul  them  all  afterwards  by  the  energy  of 
its  precautions. 

It  nmst  be  admitted  that  representative  mon- 


D^^;      ^"JlfnsSon."^^'^*"''    CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  YEAR  VIII. 


The  plan  communicated 
to  the  legislative  com- 
mission!.. 


archy,  with  less  trouble  and  effort,  by  trusting 
more  to  human  nature,  has  procured  for  two  cen- 
turies a  lively  liberty,  not  subversive,  for  one  of  the 
first  nations  in  the  world.  Simple  and  natural  in 
its  means,  the  British  constitution  admits  of 
royalty,  aristocracy,  and  democracy ;  and  these  being 
admitted,  leaves  tiiem  to  act  freely,  imposing  upon 
them  no  other  condition  than  to  act  in  unison  with 
the  common  will.  It  does  not  limit  the  king  to 
such  and  such  an  act  ;  it  docs  not  advance  him  by 
election  to  swallow  him  up  afterwards  ;  it  does  not 
interdict  to  the  peerage  its  active  functions,  nor 
does  it  deprive  of  sj>eech  the  elective  assembly  ;  it 
does  not  grant  universal  suffrage  to  annul  it  by 
rendering  it  indirect ;  it  permits  royalty  and  aris- 
tocracy to  take  their  natural  hereditary  course ;  it 
admits  of  a  king,  and  of  a  succession  in  the  peer- 
ago,  but  it  leaves  the  nation,  in  return,  the  care  of 
selecting  directly,  according  to  its  own  taste  and 
tlie  feelings  of  the  day,  an  assembly,  that,  master  of 
the  power  of  giving  or  refusing  to  royalty  the 
means  of  governing,  obHges  it  to  take  for  ministers 
the  men  who  possess  the  public  confidence.  All 
that  the  legislator  Sieyes  sought  was  here  almost 
infallibly  accomplished.  Royalty  and  aristocracy 
do  no  more  than  he  wished  them  to  do  ;  they  are 
merely  the  moderators  of  a  too  rapid  progress  ; 
the  elective  assembly,  full  of  the  feeling  of  the 
country,  but  restrained  by  the  other  two  powers,  in 
reality  chooses  the  heads  of  the  government,  car- 
ries them  into  their  post,  maintains  them  there,  or 
overturns  them,  if  they  cease  to  respond  to  its 
sentiments.  Here  is  a  simple,  true  constitution, 
because  it  Ls  the  product  of  nature  and  time  ;  and 
I  not,  like  that  of  Sieyes,  the  clever  artificial  work  of 
la  mind  disgusted  at  monarchy  from  the  reign 
'  of  the  later  Bourbons,  and  fearful  of  a  republican 
government  from  ten  years  of  storms. 

But  supposing  a  period  more  calm,  and  imagining 
the  constitution  of  Sieyes  to  be  put  quickly  into 
practice  at  a  time  when  a  powerful  hand,  such  as 
that  of  Bonaparte,  was  not  wanted,  and  therefore 
did  not  overrule  all  other  motives  ;  supposing  that 
enormous  notability  established,  the  senate  freely 
giving  out  from  its  own  body  the  other  governing 
bodies  and  the  head  of  the  state,  what  would  then 
happen  ?  Before  long  the  nation  would  get  to  feel 
little  interest  in  the  renewal  of  tlie  lists,  which 
could  very  inefficiently  express  its  sentiments  ;  the 
lists  would  become  nearly  permanent  ;  the  senate 
would  have  chosen  from  them  the  state  bodies,  and 
the  grand  elector,  and  naming  the  chief  of  the 
executive  power,being  able  at  any  moment  to  remove 
him,  would  keep  him  in  dependence  :  the  senate 
would  be  every  thing — it  would  be  wliat  ? — the 
aristocracy  of  Venice,  with  its  book  of  gold,  its  weak 
and  pompous  doge,  every  year  bade  to  marry  the 
Adriatic — a  curious  sight,  and  worthy  of  being  con- 
templated !  Sieyes,  with  an  elevated  and  deeply 
reflective  mind,  sincerely  attached  to  his  country's 
freedom,  had,  in  ten  years,  run  round  the  entire 
circle  of  political  agitation,  of  terror,  and  disgust, 
which  led  most  of  the  republics  of  the  middle  ages, 
and  that  of  Venice,  the  more  celebrated  of  them,  to 
the  golden  book  and  the  nominal  chief.  lie  had  at 
last  arrived  at  the  Venetian  aristocracy,  consti- 
tuted for  the  advant'igc  of  the  men  of  the  revo- 
lution, as  it  gave  for  ten  years  to  those,  who  hail 
exercised  political  functions  since  17UD,  the  privi- 


lege and  right  of  being  upon  the  lists  of  notability  ; 
and  he  proposed  to  keep  for  himself,  and  the  three 
or  four  of  the  more  noted  individuals  of  the  day, 
the  power  of  making,  for  the  first  time,  all  the 
bodies  that  were  to  e.xercise  the  state  govern- 
ment. 

An  aristocracy  is  not  to  be  made  off-hand;  des- 
potism alone  is  to  be  improvised.  The  tortured 
social  state  could  only  find  ease  in  the  arms  of  a 
powerful  man.  Every  thing  was  admired,  and  every 
thing  admitted  iu  this  excellent  constitution, — 
every  thing  except  the  grand  elector,  so  richly 
endowed  and  so  idle  in  his  post.  The  grand  elec- 
tor's place  was  supplied  by  one  sufficiently  energetic 
and  active  in  Bonajiarte ;  and  by  a  single  change  this 
constitution  was  docmied,  without  any  participation 
iin  the  result  on  the  ]);irt  of  its  author,  to  lead  to 
■the  imperial  despotism,  that,  with  a  conservative 
;senate  and  a  dumb  legislative  body,  we  saw  govern 
i  France  for  fifteen  years  in  a  glorious  but  despotic 
'manner. 

When  Sieyes,  with  great  effort  on  his  part,  had 
drawn  these  combinations  from  the  profound  of  his 
mind,  where  they  had  long  lain  buried,  he  ex- 
plained them  to  his  friend  M.  Boulay  de  la 
Meurthe,  who  wrote  them  down,  and  to  members 
of  the  two  legislative  commissions;  they  communi- 
cated them  to  others  around.  The  two  legislative 
commissions  were  divided  into  sections,  and  in 
each  of  the  two  there  was  a  constitutional  section. 
It  was  to  these  sections  in  union  that  Sieyes,  when 
he  had  become  master  of  his  idea,  explained  his 
system.  It  seized  upon  every  mind  by  its  novelty, 
its  singularity,  and  the  infinite  art  of  its  combi- 
nations. 

In  the  first  place,  the  interests  of  the  auditors 
of  Sieyes  were  fully  met ;  for  he  had,  as  will  be 
seen,  adopted  a  transitory  disposition  of  things 
which  was  in  every  respect  necessary.  With  the 
object  of  preserving  the  i-evolution,  by  keeping  in 
power  those  who  had  been  its  actors,  he  proposed 
a  resolution,  much  i-esembling  that  by  which  the 
national  convention  had  perpetuated  itself  in  the 
two  councils  of  the  ancients  and  of  the  five 
hundred.  He  desired  that  all  who  since  1789  had 
exercised  public  functions,  who  had  been  members 
of  different  assemblies,  legislative,  departmental, 
or  municipal,  should  have  a  right  to  inscription  on 
the  lists  of  notability ;  and  that  these  lists  should 
not  be  made  up  for  ten  years.  Further,  that  Sieyes, 
Roger-Ducos,  and  Bonaparte,  were  to  nominate 
for  the  fii-st  time  the  various  members  of  the  state 
bodies,  in  virtue  of  the  right  which  they  attached 
to  themselves  of  framing  the  new  constitution. 
This  was  a  bold  but  i-equisite  juovision,  because  it 
nmst  be  remarked,  that  all  the  new  men  who  would 
come  in  through  the  elections,  moved  by  the  spirit 
of  reaction  then  abroad,  and  yielding  to  the  com- 
mon inclination  to  blame  that  which  they  had  not 
done  themselves,  would  openly  exhibit  hatred  both 
against  the  acts  and  actors  in  the  revolution,  even 
wlien  they  partook  of  the  same  sentiments.  Sieyes, 
therefore,  had  taken  these  precautions  against  the 
necessity  for  any  renewal  of  the  IHth  Fructidor, 
by  thus  for  ten  years  keeping  the  working  of  his 
constitution  in  hands  of  which  he  was  sure.  The 
ide!i.s  of  Sieyes  were  thus  suited  to  every  interest. 
I  Every  body  thought  that  lie  was  himself  certain  of 
being  a  senator,  legislator,  counsellor  of  state,  or 


Praises  bestowed  upon 
Sieyes'  constilution. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Disapprobation  of 
Bonaparte. 


1799. 
Dec. 


of  the  tribun.ite,  for  to  these  duties  liberal  appoint- 
ments were  attached. 

Leaving  out  interest,  the  combinations  appeared 
to  be  .skilful  as  well  as  new.  Men  enthusiasti- 
cally imbued  with  admiration  for  military  genius, 
discover  an  enthusiasm  with  equal  readiness  for 
what  seems  to  arise  from  profound  mental  re- 
search. Sieyes  had  his  enthusiasts  as  well  as 
Bonaparte  his.  The  lists  of  notability  appeared 
the  happiest  of  all  combinations,  and  yet  more  from 
the  state  of  discredit  into  which  the  elective  sys- 
tem had  fallen  since  the  elections  in  which  the 
"  Clichyens  ^  "  were  returned,  who  were  excluded 
by  the  revolution  of  Fruetidor,  and  the  Jacobins 
excluded  by  means  of  the  "  scissions  "  (sections  of 
Paris).  The  counsel  of  state  and  the  tribunate 
pleading  ijro  and  con  before  a  dumb  legislative 
body,  were  amusing  to  those  whose  minds  were 
fatigued  with  discussions  and  pressingly  in  need  of 
repose.  The  senate,  placed  so  high  and  so  useful 
for  the  pi-eservation  of  unity,  getting  rid  by  ostra- 
cism of  eminent  or  dangerous  citizens, — all  these 
things  found  admirers. 

The  grand  elector  alone  appeared  a  singularity 
to  the  men  who,  not  having  reflected  much  on  the 
English  constitution,  could  not  comprehend  a  ma- 
gistracy reduced  to  the  single  function  of  choosing 
the  superior  agents  of  the  government.  They 
found  he  possessed  too  little  power  for  a  king,  and 
too  much  state  for  the  simple  president  of  a  re- 
public. Nobody  in  fact  could  find  the  place 
adapted  for  him  who  should  fill  it,  or  in  other  words, 
for  Bonaparte.  The  elector  had  too  much  of  the 
appearance  without  the  reality  of  power :  too  much 
of  appearance,  because  it  was  necessary  to  avoid 
awaking  public  apprehension,  and  rendering  too 
manifest  the  return  to  monarchy  :  not  enough  of 
real  power,  because  an  authority  almost  without 
limit  was  required  by  the  man  who  had  the  task  of 
re-organizing  France.  Some  persons, — incapable 
of  comprehending  the  impartiiility  of  a  profound 
thinker,  who  never  dreamed  but  of  making  his 
ideas  accord  with  themselves,  not  binding  up  the 
objects  of  a  constitution  in  personal  interest, — some 
affii-med  that  the  grand  elector  could  never  have 
been  invented  to  suit  a  character  .so  active  as 
Bonaparte,  and  that  therefore  Sieyes  had  invented 
it  for  himself,  and  that  he  reserved  the  place  of 
war  consul  for  his  young  colleague.  This  was  a 
malevolent  and  pitiful  conjecture.  Sieyes  joined 
to  gi'eat  strength  of  thought  a  remarkable  acute- 
ness  of  observation,  and  he  too  well  judged  his 
own  personal  position  and  that  of  the  conqueror 
of  Italy,  to  believe  that  ho  was  able  to  be,  himself, 
this  sjiecies  of  elective  king,  and  Bonaparte  simply 
his  minister.  He  had  obeyed  merely  the  spirit 
of  his  system.  Other  interpreters,  less  malevo- 
lent, believed  in  their  turn,  that  Sieyes  destined 
the  place  of  grand  elector  for  Bonai)arte,  with  the 
view  of  tying  up  his  Iiands,  and  above  all  making 
him  8peedilybeci>me"absorbed"in  the  conservative 
senate.  The  friends  of  freedom  did  not  on  that 
account  regard  him  with  ill  will.  The  partisans 
of  Bonaparte  were  unable  to  speak  of  the  charac- 
ter of  the  grand  elector  without  crying  ont  loudly 
against  it,  and  among  them  was  Liicicn  Bonaparte, 
who  by  turns  served  or  opposed  the  head  of  his 

•  The  members  of  the  club  of  that  name. 


family,  as  he  was  prompted  by  caprice,  without 
discretion  or  measure  ;  placing  at  one  time  the 
brother,  passionately  anxious  for  the  aggrandise- 
ment of  his  relative,  at  another  the  citizen  who 
was  opposed  to  all  despotism.  Lucien  declaimed 
violently  against  the  project  of  Sieyes.  He  de- 
clared loudly  that  a  president  of  the  republic  was 
wanted,  with  a  council  of  state,  and  very  little 
besides  ;  that  the  country  was  tired  of  vain  talkers, 
and  wanted  men  of  action  alone.  These  incon- 
siderate speeches  were  of  a  nature  to  produce  a 
very  ill  effect ;  but  happily  few  attached  any  im- 
portance to  the  sayings  of  Lucien. 

Bonaparte,  in  the  midst  of  incessant  toils,  ga- 
thered up  the  rumours  circulated  around  respect- 
ing the  project  of  Sieyes.  He  had  left  his  colleague 
to  proceed,  according  to  a  species  of  division  of 
their  duties  between  them,  declining  to  interfere 
with  the  constitutional  scheme,  until  the  time  should 
arrive  when  it  came  to  be  definitively  considered, 
no  doubt,  promising  himself  to  adapt  his  taste  to 
the  place  it  assigned  him.  Nevertheless  the  ru- 
mours which  reached  him  from  every  side  at 
length  irritated  him,  and  he  expressed  his  dis- 
pleasure with  Ilia  ordinary  warmtli  of  language,  a 
warmth  to  be  lamented,  but  of  which  he  was  not 
always  the  master. 

The  disapprobation  he  expressed  at  some  parts 
of  the  constitutional  scheme  reached  its  author, 
who  was  much  hurt  by  it.  He  was  afraid,  in  fact, 
that  having  lost,  by  the  ignorance  and  violence  of 
past  times,  the  occasion  of  being  the  legislator  of 
France,  he  should  again  lose  it  through  the  despotic 
humour  of  the  colleague  he  had  given  himself  in 
effecting  the  18tli  Brumaire.  Although  destitute 
of  intrigue,  and  inactive,  he  made  himself  busy  to 
gain  over  one  by  one  the  membei-s  of  the  two 
legislative  sections. 

In  the  interim,  his  friend  Boulay  de  la  Meurthe, 
:\nd  two  intimate  friends  of  Bonai>arte,  Roederer 
and  Talleyrand,  were  desirous  of  maintaining 
harmony  between  men  of  such  importance,  and 
employed  themselves  actively  to  bring  about  ac- 
cord. Boulay  de  la  Meurthe  had  accepted  the 
office  of  transcriber  of  the  ideas  of  Sieyes,  and 
he  was  thus  become  the  confidant  of  his  scheme. 
Roederer  was  one  of  the  old  constituent  assembly, 
a  man  of  sound  mind,  a  true  politician  after  the 
fashion  of  the  eighteenth  century,  f(jnd  of  reasoning 
on  the  organization  of  social  bodies,  and  of  framing 
j)rojects  of  constitutional  government,  joined  to 
very  decided  monarchical  i)rcdilections.  Talley- 
rand, capable  of  comprehending  and  judging  of 
minds  the  most  opposite  to  his  own,  was  equally 
affected  by  the  genius  of  young  Bonaparte  for 
action,  and  the  .speculative  mind  of  the  philosophic 
Sieyes,  and  he  had  a  great  regard  for  both.  He 
besides  believed  that  each  had  need  of  the  other; 
all  three  strove  with  sincerity  to  promote  the 
success  of  the  new  govei-nment.  All  three,  there- 
fore, employed  themselves  in  reconciling  the  soldier 
and  the  legislator.  An  interview  was  planned  to 
take  place  at  the  residence  of  Bonaparte,  in  pre- 
sence of  Roederer  and  Talleyi'and.  It  took  place, 
but  did  not  at  first  succeed.  Bonaparte  was  under 
the  influence  of  the  reports  which  had  been  made 
to  him  of  a  grand  elector,  inactive,  and  liable  to  be 
absorbed  by  the  senate.  Sieyes  was  full  of  the  ex- 
pressions attributed  to  Bonaparte,  condemning  his 


1799. 
Dec. 


Vexatious  differences 
between  Sieyi's  and 
Bonaparte. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  YEAR  YIII. 


The    legislative   sections 

cieteriniiie  to  make  the        23 
constitution. 


plan — expressions  no  doubt  greatly  exaggerated. 
They  parted  in  bad  humour,  using  bitter  language. 
Sieyes,  who  required  calmness  to  express  his  ideas, 
did  not  explain  them  in  the  lucid  manner  and 
order  of  delivery  which  was  most  adapted  to  his 
purpose.  Bonaparte  was,  on  the  other  side,  im- 
patient and  blunt.  They  inveighed  against  each 
other,  and  parted  very  nearly  enemies. 

The  mediators  were  alarmed,  and  now  set  to 
work  to  remedy  the  ill  success  of  this  interview. 
They  told  Sieyes  that  he  ought  to  have  had  patience 
iu  the  discussion,  and  taken  some  trouble  to  con- 
vince Bonaparte,  and  above  all,  made  him  some 
concessions.  Tiioy  told  Bonaparte  that  he  wanted 
in  the  matter  more  caution  than  he  had  shown ; 
that  without  the  support  of  Sieyes  and  his  authority 
in  the  Council  of  the  Ancients,  he  would  not  have 
obtained,  on  the  18ch  of  Brumaire,  the  decree 
which  had  placed  the  power  in  his  hand  ;  that 
Sieyes,  as  a  political  character,  had  an  amazing 
influence  over  the  public  feeling ;  and  that  in  case 
of  a  conflict  between  the  legislator  and  himself,  a 
great  many  persons  would  pronounce  themselves 
for  the  legislator,  as  the  representative  of  the  revo- 
lution, and  of  iiljerty  endangered  by  the  man  of  the 
sword.  The  first  moment  was  not  favourable  for 
effecting  a  reconciliation ;  it  was  better  to  wait  a 
little.  Boulay  de  la  Meurthe  and  Roederer  planned 
fresh  schemes  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  executive 
power,  that  might  remove  the  two  difficulties 
upon  which  Bonaparte  appeared  inflexible — the 
inaction  of  the  grand  elector,  and  the  menace  of 
ostracism  suspended  over  his  head.  They  first 
imagined  a  consul  with  two  colleagues  for  his  as- 
sistance ;  then  a  grand  elector,  as  Sieyes  wished, 
who  named  the  peace  and  war-consuls,  assisted  at 
their  deliberations,  and  decided  between  them. 
This  was  not  enough  for  Bonaparte's  satisfaction, 
and  it  was  too  much  for  Sieyes,  whose  plan  was 
thus  reversed.  Every  time  it  was  proposed  to 
Sieyes  to  make  the  chief  of  the  executive  par- 
ticipate in  the  government,  he  said,  "That  is  the 
old  monarchy  which  you  would  give, — I  won't 
have  it."  Ho  would  hear  of  no  royalty  but  that  of 
England  without  the  title  of  king,  immobility,  and 
hereditary  succession.  This  was  not  the  thing; 
and  Sieyes,  with  tliat  promptitude  of  discourage- 
ment attached  to  speculative  minds  when  they 
encounter  obstacles  which  are  placed  in  their  way 
by  the  very  course  of  things,  Sieyes  said  he  would 
give  up  the  whole,  quit  Paris  for  the  country,  and 
leave  young  Bonaparte  with'his  budding  despotism 
bare  to  every  eye.  "  He  means  to  go,"  said  Bo- 
naparte; "  let  him  ;  I  will  go  and  get  a  constitution 
planned  by  lUjcderer,  propose  it  to  the  two  legis- 
lative sections,  and  satisfy  public  opinion  that 
demands  the  HCttlement  of  the  question."  Here 
he  deceived  himself  by  speaking  in  such  a  mode, 
for  it  was  yet  too  early  to  exhibit  his  drawn  sword 
to  Franco  ;  he  would  have  met  on  every  side  an 
unforeseen  resistance. 

Nevertheless  these  two  men,  who,  despite  their 
instinctive  repugnance,  had  agfed  for  a  moment, 
in  order  to  consummate  the  lUih  Brumaire,  were 
still  designed  to  meet  again  to  draw  up  a  constitu- 
tion. The  reports  in  circulation  had  awakened  the 
legislative  commission  ;  they  knew  well  what  doc- 
trine Lucien  held,  what  a  decided  tone  Bonaparte 
took  in  the  matter,  and  what  a  disposition  Sieyes 


showed  to  abandon  the  whole  affair.  They  said 
with  reason  that,  after  all,  the  care  of  framing  a 
constitution  belonged  to  them  definitively,  being 
specially  confided  to  them  ;  that  they  woidd  accom- 
plish their  duty,  prepare  the  i)lan,  present  it  to  the 
consuls,  and  force  them  to  agree,  after  bringing 
about  a  rational  c<mipromise  between  them. 

They  set  to  work  in  consequence  ;  and  many  of 
the  mcmbere  composing  their  body  having  had 
communicated  to  them  the  ideas  of  Sieyes,  they 
adopted  his  scheme  as  the  basis  of  their  plan.  The 
man  who  works  upon  a  .system,  feels  that  the 
adoption  of  all  his  ideas  save  one,  occasions  him  as 
much  vexation  as  if  the  entire  system  were  re- 
jected. The  adoption  of  the  scheme  of  Sieyes  for  a 
basis  of  the  new  constitution  was  still  aii  import- 
ant point  gained  by  himself.  He  grew  a  little 
calmer,  and  Bonaparte,  seeing  the  commissions 
proceed  right  earnestly  and  resolutely,  became 
sensibly  milder  in  his  expressions  upon  the  sub- 
ject. The  moment  was  seized  in  order  to  attempt 
a  reconciliation  between  the  two  great  men. 
A  second  interview  took  place  between  Bona- 
parte and  Sieyes,  iu  presence  of  Boulay  de  la 
Meurthe,  Roederer,  and  Talleyrand.  This  time 
the  two  interlocutors  were  less  passionate  and 
more  disposed  to  mutual  comprehension.  In  place 
of  annoying  each  other  by  dwelling  upon  tliose 
points  on  which  they  disagreed,  and  placing  their 
differences  foremost,  they  tried,  on  the  contrary,  to 
reconcile  their  diff'erences,  and  to  show  where  they 
agreed  in  their  opinions.  Sieyes  was  moderate  and 
full  of  tact  ;  Bonaparte  displayed  his  great  good 
sense,  and  his  ordinary  originality  of  mind.  The 
subjects  of  the  conversation  were  the  state  of 
France,  views  of  the  former  constitutions,  and  the 
precautions  to  be  taken  in  a  new  constitution,  to 
l)revent  the  recurrence  of  the  disordei-s  of  the  past. 
On  all  this  they  could  not  fail  to  be  in  accord. 
They  retired  satisfied,  and  promised,  as  soon  as  the 
sections  had  completed  their  labours,  to  unite  their 
own,  and  adopt  or  modify  the  pi'opositions,  and  to 
abandon,  as  soon  as  possible,  the  provisionary  sys- 
tem, which  began  to  displease  the  public.  Sieyes 
had  from  that  time  the  certain  knowledge,  that  ex- 
cept the  grand  elector,  and  some  attributes  attached 
to  the  conservative  senate,  his  constitution  would 
be  adopted  in  entirety. 

In  the  ten  first  days  of  Frimaire,  or  between  the 
20tli  of  November  and  the  first  of  December,  the 
sections  had  finished  their  project.  Bonaparte  then 
summoned  them  to  his  house,  to  a  meeting  at  which 
all  the  consuls  were  present.  Some  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  .sections  thought  this  proceeding  was 
little  in  conformity  with  their  dignity  ;  and  yet, 
having  determined  to  overlook  many  difficulties, 
and  to  concede  much  to  ^  man  who  was  ^  neces- 
sary to  them,  they  attended  on  the  occasion. 

The  sittings  immediately  commenced.  Sieyes 
was  in  the  first  instance  requested  to  disclose  his 
])lan,  as  that  was  the  foundation  of  what  had  been 
done  by  the  comniissions.  He  did  this  with  a 
.strength  of  thought  and  of  language,  which  pro- 
duced a  strong  impression  on  his  hearers.  "  All  this 
is  very  fine  and  very  profound,"  .said  Bonaparte, 
"yet  there  are  some  points  which  deserve  very 
serious  disctission.  Let  us  proceed  in  an  orderly 
manner,  and  treat  each  part  of  the  jiroject  conse- 
cutively, first  choosing  a  secretary.  Citizen  Daunou, 


24      State  power*  designated.       THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Discussions  on  the 
constitution. 


1799. 
Dec. 


take  the  pen  !"  Thus  it  happened  that  M.  Daunou 
became  the  drawer  up  of  the  new  constitution. 
Tlie  work  was  continued  for  numerous  sittings,  and 
the  resolutions  following  were  immediately  agreed 
upon. 

The  lists  of  notability,  communal,  departmental, 
and  national,  were  adopted  successively.  They  were 
but  too  well  fitted  to  suit  the  apprehensions  of  the 
moment  and  the  ideas  of  Bonaparte,  by  negativing 
the  popular  influence,  from  rendering  it  indirect. 
Two  accessory  resolutions,  one  agreeable  to,  the 
other  contrary  to  the  ideas  of  Sieyes,  were  agreed 
upon.  It  was  settled  that  the  functionaries  of  all 
kinds  should  not  be  necessarily  chosen  from  the 
lists  of  notability,  save  when  the  constitution  should 
have  nomuially  designated  them.  No  objection  was 
made  to  the  selection  of  the  deliberative  bodies,  of  the 
consuls,  ministers,  judges,  and  administrators,  from 
the  lists,  but  that  of  tlie  generals  and  ambassadors 
seemed  to  be  going  too  far.  This  point  was  con- 
ceded. The  second  provision  or  resolution  bore  re- 
lation, not  to  the  main  ground  of  the  plan,  but  to 
the  necessity  of  its  adaptation  to  the  present  state  of 
things.  In  place  of  putting  ofiF  the  reformation  of 
the  hsts  for  ten  years,  it  was  postponed  to  the  year 
IX.  or  only  for  one  year,  and  it  was  resolved  that  all 
the  members  of  the  great  bodies  of  the  state  should, 
by  an  act  of  constituent  power,  be  nominated  at 
once,  and  that  those  who  were  so  nominated  should 
have  the  right  of  being  entered  upon  the  lists.  The 
revision  of  the  lists,  instead  of  being  annual,  was  to 
be  triennial. 

The  organization  of  the  great  powers  came  next 
to  be  considered.  Sieyes'  maxim,  "  that  confidence 
ought  to  come  from  below,  power  from  above,"  pre- 
vailed evei7  way.  On  high  was  placed  the  right 
to  elect,  but  with  the  obligation  to  choose  from  the 
lists  of  notability.  The  senate  of  Sieyes  was  adopted, 
as  well  as  the  legislative  body  placed  between  the 
council  of  state  and  the  tribunate.  The  senate  was 
to  choose  from  the  lists  of  notability  ;  first  the  se- 
nators themselves,  next  the  members  of  the  legis- 
lative body,  of  the  tribunate,  of  the  court  of  cas- 
sation, of  tlie  commission  of  accounts,  since  called 
the  court  of  accounts,  and  finally  the  head  or  heads 
of  the  executive  power.  The  senate  was  to  nomi- 
nate the  members  of  its  own  body  only  upon  the 
presentation  of  three  candidates,  presented  respec- 
tively by  the  consuls,  the  legislative  body,  and  the 
tribunate  ;  this  was  a  considerable  limitation  of  its 
attributes.  The  council  of  state,  being  a  part  of  the 
executive  power,  waste  be  nominated  by  that  power. 
Independently  of  possessing  the  right  to  make  the 
more  important  nominations,  the  senate  received 
the  supreme  attribute  of  abrogating  any  laws  or 
acts  of  the  government  that  might  be  deemed  un- 
constitutional. In  no  respect  was  it  to  have  any 
part  in  making  the  laws,  nor  could  its  members 
exercise  any  active  function. 

The  duty  of  the  legislative  body,  silent,  agreeably 
to  the  i)lan  of  Sieyes,  was  to  listen  to  the  opposing 
arguments  of  the  three  councillore  of  state  and 
three  tribunes,  and  to  vote  afterwards,  without 
debate,  upon  the  propositions  of  the  government. 

The  tribunate  alone  had  the  faculty  of  publicly 
discussing  the  laws,  but  it  could  only  vote  for  the 
purpose  of  deciding  what  opinion  it  should  sustain 
iiefore  the  legislative  body.  In  case  of  its  nega- 
tive vote,  it  could  not  prevent  the  passing  of  a  law 


if  it  were  adopted  by  the  legislature.  The  tribunate 
had  not  the  power  of  initiating  any  legal  propo- 
sition, but  might  express  its  desires,  and  receive 
petitions,  which  it  might  transmit  to  the  different 
authorities  with  which  they  were  more  imme- 
diately connected.  The  members  of  the  senate 
were  to  be  eighty,  in  place  of  one  hundred,  as 
Sieyes  had  at  first  designed  ;  and  sixty  were  to  be 
immediately  nominated,  the  otlier  twenty  in  the 
course  of  tlie  following  ten  years.  The  legislative 
body  was  to  consist  of  three  hundred  members, 
and  the  tribunate  of  one  hundred.  The  senatoi-s 
were  to  have  a  fixed  salary  of  25,000  f.  each,  the 
legislators  10,000f.,  and  the  members  of  the  tri- 
bunate 1 5,000  f.  Thus  far,  therefore,  the  original 
plan  of  Sieyes  might  be  considered,  with  a  trifling 
difference,  respecting  the  more  limited  power  of 
the  senate,  as  having  been  adopted.  In  the  or- 
ganization of  the  executive  power,  the  alteration 
made  w-as,  on  the  other  hand,  very  considerable. 

Here  was  the  great  point  upon  which  Bonaparte 
was  inflexible.  Sieyes,  who  was  fully  prepared  to 
meet  the  rejection  of  this  part  of  his  plan,  was 
asked  nevertheless  to  state  his  ideas.  He  in  con- 
sequence proposed  the  institution  of  the  grand 
elector.  Nobody,  it  must  be  granted,  not  even 
Bonaparte  himself,  had  at  that  time  sufHciently 
reflected  on  the  nomination  and  organization  of 
the  head  or  chief  power  in  a  free  govei-nment,  to 
understand  the  depth  of  the  character  conceived, 
or  to  discover  the  analogy  it  exhibited  with  the 
king  at  the  head  of  the  English  monarchy.  Bona- 
parte, had  he  considered  and  perfectly  understood 
the  character  thus  conceived,  would  on  no  account 
have  assented  to  its  adoption,  from  motives  easy 
to  be  comprehended,  and  altogether  personal.  He 
criticised  the  grand  elector  severely.  He  said  of  his 
wealthy  idleness  as  all  kings  would  say,  only  with 
less  wit  than  he  spoke  and  less  ground  to  go  upon, 
because  amid  an  upturned  society  to  be  organized, 
sanguinary  factions  to  subdue,  and  a  world  to  con- 
quer, the  wish  was  perhaps  excusable  to  have  the 
exercise  of  his  talents  and  genius  unfettered.  But 
if  in  those  first  days  of  the  consulate  he  were  right 
when  he  had  reason  to  wish  his  genius  unfettered, 
there  being  so  much  to  be  done ;  afterwards,  the 
sublime  victim  of  St.  Helena,  he  might  have  re- 
gretted the  power  that  was  thus  conceded  to  him 
to  exercise  it  so  freely.  More  confined  in  the 
employment  of  his  faculties,  he  might  not  have 
accomplished  such  great  things ;  but  he  would 
have  been  prevented  from  attempting  those  of  so 
much  extravagance,  and  his  sceptre  and  his  sword 
would  have  most  probably  rested  in  his  own 
glorious  hands  until  his  death.  "  Your  grand 
elector,"  he  said  to  Sieyes,  "  is  a  lazy  king,  and 
the  time  for  lazy  kings  has  passed  away.  What 
man  of  spirit  and  intellect  would  submit  to  a  do- 
nothing  life  for  6,000,000f.  and  a  habitation  in  the 
Tuileriesi  What,  nominate  those  who  act,  and  do 
nothing  oneself  !  It  is  inadmissible.  Then  you 
imagine  by  this  means  that  your  grand  elector  will 
be  prevented  from  interfering  in  the  government. 
Were  I  your  grand  elector,  I  would  be  bound,  not- 
withstanding, to  do  all  you  desired  me  not  to  do. 
I  would  say  to  the  consuls  of  peace  and  war,  '  If 
you  do  not  choose  such  a  person,  or  if  you  do  not 
perform  such  or  such  an  act,  I  will  turn  you  out !' 
I  would  soon  oblige  them  to  act  as  I  desired.     I 


1799. 
Dec. 


First  co-^iil  agreed 
upon.  His  func- 
tions. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  YEAR  VIII. 


Arrondiss«ment  divi- 
sions. —  Council  of 
state. 


would  make  myself  master  again  only  by  going 
roundabout  to  my  end." 

Bonaparte,  with  his  wonted  sagacity,  penetrated 
here  into  the  truth,  discovering  as  lie  did  that 
the  grand  elector  was  not  an  absolute  nonentity, 
since,  as  supreme  magistrate,  he  liad  the  power 
and  means,  at  certain  times,  of  appearing  again  all 
potent  upon  the  arena,  where  party  was  squabbling 
for  power,  and  of  taking  it  from  one  that  he 
might  confer  it  upon  anotiier.  This  lofty  surveil- 
lance of  English  royalty  over  the  administration 
was  not  adapted  for  the  ardour  of  young  Bonaparte  ; 
he  may  be  pardoned  for  it,  because  this  was  neither 
the  time  nor  place  for  constitutional  royalty. 

Thus  the  grand  elector  fell  inider  the  sarcasm 
of  the  young  general,  and  under  a  power  still 
greater  than  that  of  his  sarcasm  ;  that  of  the 
existing  necessity,  f^i.  dictatorship  was  at  the 
time  really  required,  and  the  authority  to  be  con- 
ferred upon  a  grand  elector  was  very  inadequate  to 
meet  the  necessities  of  the  moment. 

Another  part  of  the  plan  of  Sieyes  was  objected 
to  by  Bonaparte  in  the  most  decided  manner,  be- 
cause he  regarded  it  as  a  snare,  it  was  the  power 
of  "absorption"  attached  to  the  senate,  not  only 
as  it  affected  the  grand  elector,  but  every  citizen 
of  note,  whose  greatness  might  give  offence. 

Bonaparte  would  not  consent  that,  after  years  of 
toil  and  service,  any  one  should  have  the  right  to 
bury  him  alive  in  the  senate,  and  for  a  pension  of 
25,000  f.  constrain  him  to  idleness.  This  point  was 
conceded,  and  the  executive  power  was  oi'ganized 
in  the  following  manner  : 

The  adoption  of  a  first  consul  was  decided 
upon,  and  he  was  to  be  accompanied  by  two  others; 
in  order  to  conceal  somewhat  the  great  power  of 
the  first  functionary.  The  first  consul  had  the 
direct  and  only  nomination  of  the  members  of  the 
republican  administration  generally  ;  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  councils  of  departments  and  munici- 
palities ;  of  the  official  persons  since  called  pre- 
fects, sub-prefects,  municipal  agents,  and  the  like. 
He  nominated  all  the  officers  in  the  naval  and 
military  services,  the  counsellors  of  state,  and  the 
amba.ssadors,  the  judges,  civil  and  criminal,  except 
the  justices  of  the  peace,  and  those  of  the  court  of 
cassation.  He  could  not  remove  the  judges  who 
were  once  appointed  ;  their  immutability  being 
substituted  in  place  of  election  as  a  guarantee  for 
their  independence. 

Besides  the  iiornination  of  the  administrative 
offices,  judicial  and  military,  the  first  consul  held 
the  full  and  entire  government  of  the  country,  the 
direction  of  war  and  of  diplomacy  ;  he  signed 
treaties,  without  prejudice  to  their  discussion  and 
adoption  by  the  legislative  body,  according  to  the 
legal  forms.  In  his  various  functions  he  was  to  be 
aided  l)y  the  other  two  consuls,  who  had  only  a 
consulting  voice  in  the  matter,  but  who  could 
place  their  o])inion8  in  a  register  kejjt  for  the  i)ur- 
pose  of  recording  their  deliberations.  The  othir 
two  consids  were  clearly  ai)pointed  for  the  purpose 
of  masking  the  enormous  authority  confided  to 
Bonaparte.  This  authority,  given  for  a  term  of 
considerable  duration,  it  was  possible  might  become 
perpetual  after  the  ten  yoarw,  for  which  the  consul 
was  at  fil-st  elected,  should  expire  ;  the  consuls,  too, 
were  all  perpetually  re-eligilde.  One  vestige  alone 
of  the    "absorption"  of   Sicycs  remained.     The 


first  consul,  on  vacating  qfiice,  from  whatever 
cause,  became  a  senator  in  plenitude,  and  was 
thenceforward  excluded  from  public  functions. 
The  other  two  consuls,  not  having  attained  the 
highest  office  in  the  state,  were  free  to  accept,  on 
retiring,  this  well-endowed  neutralizing  appointment, 
but  they  were  not  obliged  to  become  senators 
against  their  inclinations. 

The  allowance  made  to  the  first  consul  was 
500,000  f.,  and  to  each  of  the  others  150,000  f. 
They  were  all  to  reside  in  the  Tuileries,  and  to 
have  a  consular  guard. 

Such  were  the  principal  provisions  of  the  cele- 
brated constitution  of  the  year  viii.  Thus  Sieyes 
saw  the  attributes  of  the  senate  abridged,  and  a 
powerful  head  of  the  state  substituted  for  his  idle 
grand  elector,  a  circumstance  which  a  few  years 
afterwards  caused  his  constitution,  in  place  of 
leading  to  the  rule  of  an  aristocracy,  to  become  the 
instrument  of  a  despotism. 

No  declaration  of  rights  distinguished  this  consti- 
tution, although  by  means  of  certain  provisions  of 
a  general  character  it  guaranteed  individual  liberty, 
the  inviolability  of  the  citizen's  house,  the  respon- 
sibility of  ministers,  and  that  of  their  inferior 
agents,  except,  without  prejudice  in  the  case  of  the 
last,  to  the  previous  approbation  of  the  council  of 
state.  The  constitution  stipulated  that  a  law  in 
any  department,  under  extraordinary  circum- 
stances, might  suspend  the  constitution  in  its  re- 
gard, a  proceeding  now  denominated  "  putting  in  a 
state  of  siege."  Pensions  were  secured  to  the 
widows  and  children  of  soldiers ;  and  finally,  by  a 
species  of  return  to  ideas  for  a  long  time  pro- 
scribed, it  acknowledged  as  a  principle  that  national 
rewards  might  be  accorded  to  those  who  had  ren- 
dered eminent  services  to  their  country.  This 
was  the  dawn  of  the  institution  once  so  celebrated 
— the  legion  of  honour. 

The  constitution  of  Sieyes  contained  two  strong 
and  excellent  ideas,  which  have  been  both  retiiined 
in  our  administration,  namely,  the  division  of  the 
country  into  arroudissements,  and  the  council  of 
state. 

Sieyes  was  thus  the  author  of  all  the  boundaries 
adopted  in  France  for  the  purposes  of  the  gi>vern- 
ment.  He  had  before  invented  the  departmental 
divisions,  and  obtained  their  adoption  ;  and  on  the 
present  occasion  he  desired  that  the  cantonal 
governments,  which  were  no  less  in  number  than 
five  thousand,  should  be  superseded  by  those  of 
arroudissements,  which,  less  numerous,  were  far 
more  convenient,  from  being  intermediate  between 
the  commune  and  the  department.  No  more  than 
the  principle  of  this  change  was  to  be  traced  in  the 
constitution  ;  but  it  was  agreed  that  before  long 
a  refonn  of  the  existing  law  in  the  administrative 
I)rincij)le  of  Franco  should  take  place  upon  this 
point,  and  terminate  the  anarchy  of  the  communes, 
of  which  a  ]iainful  i)icture  has  been  given  above. 
A  tribunal  of  the  first  instance  was  to  be  fixed  in 
each  arrondissement,  and  for  a  certain  number  of 
iniited  departments  there  was  to  be  a  tribunal  of 
appeal. 

The  second  of  Sieyes'  creations,  and  belonging 
to  himself  exclusively,  w.ts  the  council  of  state, 
a  deliberative  body  attached  to  the  executive 
jwwer,  preparing  the  laws,  and  sustaining  them 
before   the   legislature,  adding  to  them   the  regu- 


Bonaparte  first   consul. 
2(J         Canibacerfes  and  Lebrun 
second  consuls. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Constitutional  arrange- 
ments submitted  to 
the  public. 


lationti  that  must  accompany  the  hiws,  and  render- 
hig  t]i.\  laws  administrative.  It  is  the  most  practi- 
cal of  his  inventions,  and  with  the  preceding  just 
described,  must  survive  the  present  and  pass  into 
future  times.  To  the  honour  of  this  legis'.ator,  be 
it  spoken,  time  ha.s  swept  away  all  the  ephemeral 
revolutionary  constitutions,  and  the  only  fragments 
of  tho.se  constitutions  which  have  survived  have 
been  the  work  of  his  hands. 

But  to  settle  the  distribution  of  the  new  consti- 
tution was  not  enough,  it  was  indispensable  to  add 
to  it  those  who  were  to  wield  its  powers,  to  seek 
for  them  in  the  men  of  the  revolution,  and  to 
designate  the  whole  in  the  constitutional  act.  It 
was  necessary  also,  after  completing  all  the  dispo- 
sitions that  iiave  been  stated,  to  direct  attention  to 
the  selection  of  the  individuals. 

Bonaparte  was  nominated  consul  for  ten  years. 
It  was  impossible  to  say  that  he  was  chosen,  so 
forcibly  did  the  situation  indicate  the  person  who 
was  best  fitted  to  fill  it  ;  he  was  accepted  from  the 
hands  of  victory  and  necessity.  His  appointment 
fixed,  the  next  thing  to  do  was  to  find  one  for 
Sieyes.  This  great  personage  had  not  much  love 
for  business,  and  still  less  for  playing  a  secondary 
part.  He  did  not  feel  himself  inclined  to  become 
the  assistant  of  young  Bonaparte,  and  he  in  conse- 
quence refused  to  be  the  second  consul.  It  will  be 
seen  presently  what  place  more  suitable  to  his  cha- 
racter was  assigned  to  him.  Canibaceres  was 
chosen  second  consul,  a  lawyer  of  eminence,  who 
had  acquired  great  importance  among  the  political 
personages  of  the  time  by  his  deep  knowledge, 
prudence,  and  tact.  Ho  was  at  that  moment 
minister  of  justice.  Lebrun,  a  distinguished  writer, 
who  was  editor  of  the  Maupeou  edicts,  and  be- 
longed under  the  old  government  to  the  party  that 
was  disposed  to  reform  ;  attached  to  the  cause  of 
moderate  revolutions,  well  versed  in  matters  of 
finance,  and  too  mild  to  contradict  in  any  trouble- 
some degree,  Lebrun  was  made  third  consul. 
Cambace'res  was  an  able  assistant  to  Bonaparte  in 
the  administration  of  justice,  and  Lebrun  was 
equally  useful  in  the  administration  of  the  finances, 
both  being  of  essential  aid  to  him  without  crossing 
any  of  his  intentions.  The  men  intended  to  form 
tlio  new  government  could  not  have  been  better 
associated,  while  from  these  appointments  all  others 
in  the  organization  of  the  executive  were  neces- 
sarily to  How. 

Proceeding  next  to  tlio  appointment  of  the  de- 
liberative bodies,  the  part  for  Sieyes  indicated  it- 
self. It  was  written  down  in  the  constitution  that 
the  members  of  all  the  deliberative  bodies  were  to 
be  elected  by  the  senate.  The  point  now  to  be 
arranged  was  who  should  compose  the  senate  for  the 
first  time.  It  was  settled  by  a  particular  article  of 
the  constitution,  that  Sieyes  and  Roger-Ducos,  who 
were  about  to  cease  from  being  consuls,  unitedly 
with  Cambac^res  and  Lebrun,  who  were  about  to 
become  so,  should  nominate  the  absolute  majority 
of  the  senate,  or  thirty-one  members  of  the  sixty 
of  wiiich  it  was  composed.  The  thirty  one  senators 
elected  in  this  mode  were  afterwanls  to  elect  by 
ballot  the  twenty-nine  .senators  wanting  to  comi)lete 
the  total  number.  The  senate,  when  completed, 
was  to  nominate  the  legislative  body,  the  tribunate, 
and  the  court  of  cassation. 

By  these  various  combinations  Bonaparte  found 


himself  at  the  liead  of  the  executive  power,  while 
at  that  moment  a  proper  delicacy  was  observed,  by 
his  exclusion  from  the  formation  of  the  deliberative 
bodies  called  upon  to  control  his  acts.  This  care 
was  left  mainly  to  the  legislator  of  Fiance,  Sieyes, 
whose  active  duties  then  ceasing,  he  would  receive 
the  presidency  of  the  senate  as  his  retiring  post. 
Appearances  were  thus  preserved,  and  the  re- 
spective positions  of  each  individual  conveniently 
arranged. 

It  was  decided  that  the  constitution  should  be 
submitted  to  the  national  sentiment,  through  re- 
gisters opened  at  the  mayoralties,  at  the  ofiiccs  of 
justices  of  peace,  the  notaries'  offices,  and  those  of 
the  registers  of  the  tribunals;  and  that  till  its  ac- 
ceptance, which  was  not  doubted,  the  first  consul, 
the  consuls  going  out  of  office,  and  the  two  coming 
in,  should  proceed  to  make  the  required  appoint- 
ments, in  order  that,  on  the  1st  Niv6se,  the  great 
powers  of  the  state  might  be  ready  to  put  in  force 
the  new  constitution.  It  had  become  absolutely 
needful  to  put  a  termination  to  the  dictatorship  of 
the  provisional  consuls,  which  began  to  cloud  the 
minds  of  some  persons,  and  also  in  order  to  satisfy 
the  general  impatience  to  see  a  definitive  govern- 
ment. In  fact,  every  body  now  wished  to  see  a 
just  and  stable  administr:itive  system  established, 
which  might  insure  strength  and  unity  of  power 
without  extinguisliing  all  freedom,  and  under 
which  honest  and  capable  men  of  every  rank  and 
party  might  find  the  place  which  was  their  due. 
Those  desires,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  it  was 
not  impossible  to  gratify  under  the  constitution  of 
the  year  viii.  That  constitution  might  even  have 
given  them  perfect  satisfaction,  but  for  the  violence 
which  was  done  to  it  at  a  later  period  by  an  extra- 
ordinary genius,  that,  favoured  as  it  was  by  circum- 
stances, could  have  overturned  far  stronger  barriers 
than  those  which  the  labour  of  Sieyes  could  oppose 
to  it,  or  any  other  which  it  was  possible  to  imagine 
fur  such  a  purpose. 

This  constitution,  decreed  in  the  night  of  the 
12th  and  13th  of  December  (21  and  22  Frimaire), 
was  promulgated  on  the  15th  of  December,  1799 
(24  Frimaire,  year  viii.),  to  the  high  satisfaction 
of  its  framers  and  of  the  imblic. 

It  charmed  the  nnnds  of  all  by  the  novelty  of 
the  conceptions  and  the  artificial  skill  it  displayed. 
Every  body  began  to  feel  confidence  in  it,  and  in 
those  who  were  about  to  carry  it  into  execution. 

It  was  preceded  by  the  following  preamble : — 

"  Citizens  !  A  constitution  is  now  presented  to 
you.  It  terminates  the  uncertainty  caused  by  the 
provisional  government  in  regard  to  foreign  rela- 
tions, and  the  interior  and  military  situation  of  the 
rej)ublic. 

"  It  places  in  the  institutions  which  it  establishes 
the  first  magistrates,  of  whom  the  devotedness  has 
appeared  necessary  to  its  activity. 

"  The  coun.stitution  is  founded  on  the  three 
principles  of  repi-esentative  government,  on  the 
sacred  rights  of  property,  equality,  and  liberty. 

"  The  powers  which  it  establishes  will  be  strong 
and  durable,  as  they  must  be,  in  order  to  guarantee 
the  rights  of  the  citizens  and  the  interests  of  the 
state. 

"  Citizens  !  The  revolution  is  fixed  to  the  prin- 
ciples which  commenced  it;  it  is  finished!" 

Men  like  Bonaparte  and  Sieyes  proclaiming  in 


1799. 
Dec. 


Establishment  of  the 
constitution. 


GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR. 


Honour  conferred  on 
Sieyes. 


i;7 


1800,  "  the  revolution  is  finished  !"  What  a  sin- 
gukir  proof  does  it  disclose  of  the  illusions  of  the 
human  mind  !  Still  it  must  be  acknowledged  that 
something  was  finished,  and  that  was  anarchy. 

The  pleasure  felt  by  all  those  who  had  a  hand 
in  that  work,  when  they  saw  it  terminated,  was  in- 
deed great.  It  is  true  some  of  the  ideas  of  Sieyes 
had  been  rejected,  yet  nearly  his  entire  constitu- 
tion had  been  adopted.  Without  absolute  power, 
Buch  as  Solon,  Lycurgus,  or  Mahomet  possessed, 
a  power  that  in  our  times  of  distrust,  by  which 
every  individual  prestige  is  destroyed,  no  man  can 
obtain — without  absolute  power,  it  was  hardly  pos- 
sible to  infuse  a  larger  part  of  any  individual  con- 
ception into  the  constitution  of  a  great  people.  If 
the  victor  of  Marengo  had  not  subsequently  made 
two  very  considerable  changes  in  it,  the  imperial 
hereditary  accession,  in  addition,  and  the  excision 
of  the  tribunate,  such  as  it  was,  this  constitution 
would  have  had  a  career  which  might  not  have 
ended  in  the  triumph  of  absolute  power. 

Sieyes  having  put  the  sword  which  had  over- 
thrown the  directory  into  the  hands  of  Bouai)arte, 


and  having  framed  a  constitution,  was  about  to 
deliver  France  to  the  activity  of  the  young  consul, 
and,  as  far  as  ho  was  liimself  concerned,  to  retire 
into  that  meditative  state  of  idleness,  which  he 
])referred  before  the  tmnnoil  and  stir  of  business. 
The  new  first  consul,  wishing  to  confer  on  the 
legislator  of  France  some  testimonial  of  the  na- 
tional gratitude,  the  consideration  of  the  estate  of 
Crosne  as  a  gift,  was,  by  his  proposition,  laid 
before  the  legislative  commissions  for  their  sanc- 
tion. The  estate  was  decreed,  and  the  an- 
nouncement of  the  gift  made  to  Sieyes  with  noble 
e.vpressions  of  the  naticihal  gratitude.  Sieyes  ex- 
pressed high  gratification,  for,  despite  incontestable 
probity,  he  had  a  regard  for  the  enjoyments  of 
fortune,  and  he  could  not  but  be  affected  with  the 
delicate  and  dignified  way  in  which  this  national 
recompense  was  awarded  to  him. 

Every  thing  was  now  disposed  so  as  to  put  the 
constitution  in  the  full  vigour  of  activity  during 
the  first  days  of  January,  1800  (Nivose,  yearviii.), 
that  is,  in  the  first  days  of  the  year  which  wivs 
about  to  close  that  wonderful  century. 


BOOK  II. 

GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR. 


THE  COXSULAR  COVERVMENT  DEFIXITIVELT  ESTABLISHED.— COMPOSITIOX  OF  THE  SEXATE,  OF  THE  LEGISLATIVE  BODY, 
OF  THE  ThIBUXATE,  AXD  OF  THE  COUXCIL  OF  STATE. — MANIFESTO  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  TO  THE  EUROPEAN 
POWERS. — PUBLIC  TENDERS  OF  PEACE  TO  ENGLAND  AND  AUSTRIA. — PROCLAMATIONS  ADDRESSED  TO  LA  VENDEE. 
— OPENING  OF  THE  FIRST  SESSION. — RISING  OPPOSITION  IN  THE  TRIBUNATE. — SPEECHES  OP  THE  TRIBUNES 
DUVETRIER  AND  BENJAMIN  CONSTANT. — A  CONSIDERABLE  MAJORITY  APPROVES  THE  MEASURES  OF  THE  CONSULS. 
— NUMEROUS  LAWS  FOR  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  PUBLIC  BODIES. — INSTITUTION  OF  PREFECTURES  AND  SUBPRE- 
PECTURES. — CREATION  OP  TRIBUNALS  OF  THE  FIRST  INSTANCE,  AND  OF  APPEAL.— CLOSE  OF  THE  LIST  OF  EMI- 
ORANTS.— ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  BIGHT  OF  MAKING  WILLS  MID  DISPOSING  OF  PROPERTY.— LAW  OF  IXCO.ME 
AND  EXPENDITURE.— BANK  OF  FRANCE. — SEQUEL  TO  THE  NEGOTIATIONS  WITH  EUROPE. — REFUSAL  OF  ENGLAND 
TO  LISTEN  TO  NEGOTIATIONS  FOR  PEACE. — WARM  DISCUSSION  ON  THE  SUBJECT  IN  THE  BRITISH  PARLIAMENT. 
— AUSTRIA  REFUSES  IN  MILDER  BUT  NOT  LESS  POSITIVE  TERMS  THAN  THOSE  OP  ENGLAND.— NECESSITY  FOR 
RECOMMENCING  HOSTILITIES.— UN  ABLE  TO  SUCCEED  WITH  THE  BELLIGERENT  POWERS  IN  BRINGING  ABOUT 
PEACE,  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  ENDEAVOURS  TO  ATTACH  PRUSSI.A  TO  FRANCE,  AND  EXPLAINS  HIS  VIEWS  TO  HER 
IN  A  FRANK  MANNER. — HE  APPLIES  HIMSELF  TO  TERMINATE  THE  WAR  IN  LA  VENDEE  BEFORE  OPENING  THE 
CAMPAIGN  OF  1800. —  SITUATION  OP  PARTIES  IN  LA  VENDEE. — CONDUCT  OP  THE  ABBE  BERN  lER.  — PEACE  OF 
MONTPAUCON.— AUTKHAMP,  CHATILLON,  BOUBMONT,  AND  GEORGES  CADOUDAL,  PROCEED  TO  PARIS  AND  SEE 
THE  FIRST  CONSUL. — DF,  PROTTE  IS  SHOT. — FINAL  SUBMISSION  OF  LA  VENDEE. — TROOPS  PUT  JN  MOTION  FOR 
THE  FRONTIERS.- THE  SESSION  OP  THE  YEAR  VIII.  CLOSES  IN  TRANOUILLITY.- REGULATION.S  OP  THE  POLICE 
IN  REGARD  TO  THE  PRESS. — FUNERAL  CEREiMOXY  ON  THE  OCCASION  OP  THE  DEATH  OF  WASHINGTON. — THE 
FIRST   CONSUL   TAKES    UP    HIS    RESIDENCE    IN    THE    PALACE    OF   THE   TUILERIES. 


Tin;  day  appointed  for  the  entrance  of  the  consuls 
upon  their  functions,  and  for  the  first  sitting  of  the 
conservative  senate,  was  the  4th  Nivose  in  the 
year  viii.,  or  the  25th  of  December,  179f).  It 
being  necessary  to  organize  both  the  executive 
power  and  the  senate  b.forc  they  could  perform 
their  duties,  numeious  public  appointments  neces- 
sarily took  place  before  that  day. 

Bona[)arte,  whose  business  it  was  to  nominate  the 
agents  of  the  executive  power,  and  Sieyes,  Roger- 
Ducos,  Cambac(?ies,  and  Lebrun,  entrusted  with 
the  choice  of  the  ineinbci*s  of  the  senate,  that  in  its 
own  turn  had  to  select  the  meinbei-s  of  the  legis- 
lative body  and  of  the  tribunate,  were  besieged 
with  solicitations  from  all  quarters.  Appointments 
were  sought  to  the  senate,  to  the  legislative  body, 


the  tribunate,  the  council  of  state,  and  the  pre- 
fecture. It  nuist  be  confessed  that  such  offices, 
yielding  no  slight  emoluments,  all  to  be  filled  up  at 
one  time,  were  well  calculated  to  tempt  ambition. 
Many  of  the  more  ardent  revolutionists,  enemies 
of  the  18th  Brumaire,  were  already  become  won- 
ilerfully  reconciled  to  the  new  state  of  things. 
Wavercrs,  of  whom  there  were  many  that  took 
this  side  as  soon  as  success  had  declared  itself, 
began  to  express  their  opinions  aloud.  An  expres- 
sion at  that  time  current,  as  particular  expressions 
at  such  times  are  certiiin  to  be,  depicted  perfectly 
the  state  of  the  public  mind.  "  Wc  nmst  sliow 
ourselves,"  wius  the  ])hrase  in  every  mouth.  "  Wo 
must  prove,  that  far  from  desiring  to  create  ob- 
stacles in  the  way  of  the  new  govci-nmcnt,  wo  are 


Ambitious  candidates  for 
office. — Censures  of  the 
Monileur. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Composition  of  the  dif-       1799. 
ferent  orders.  Dec. 


ready  to  assist  in  overcoming  those  which  encircle 
it  ;"  thus  signifiying  how  much  they  wished  to 
attract  towards  themselves  the  attention  of  the 
five  personages  wlio  possessed  the  power  of  nomi- 
nation to  the  good  things  of  the  state.  There  were 
some  among  the  applicants  who,  in  order  to  obtain 
an  appointment  to  the  tribunate,  promised  their 
devoted  sui)i)ort  to  the  coii.sular  government, 
having  ah-eady  resolved  to  direct  towards  it  the 
most  annoying  opposition. 

When  in  a  revolution  the  flame  of  the  passions 
begins  to  lower  itself,  cupidity  succeeds  to  vio- 
lence, and  fear  is  suddenly  metamorphosed  into 
disgust.  If  actions  of  the  greatest  virtue,  and  if 
heroic  deeds,  did  not  cover  by  their  brightness  the 
melancholy  details,— above  all,  if  tlie  great  and 
beneficial  results  which  nations  obtain  from  social 
revolutions,  did  not  compensate  the  present  evil  by 
the  immensity  of  the  future  good,  it  would  become 
us  to  turn  away  our  eyes  from  the  spectacle  they 
offer  to  mankind.  They  are  the  trials  to  which 
providence  submits  human  society  in  order  to 
effect  its  regeneration.  It  is,  therefore,  our  duty 
to  study  with  care,  profitably  if  we  can,  the  picture, 
repulsive  and  sublime  by  turns,  which  is  thus  pre- 
sented to  us. 

The  impulse  at  this  moment  imparted  to  the 
ambition  of  all  classes  was,  it  appeai-s,  very  con- 
siderable indeed,  fully  strong  enough  to  attract  the 
attention  of  the  writers  of  the  day,  and  to  afford  a 
subject  for  their  animadversion.  The  Monitciir, 
not  at  that  moment  the  official  organ,  though  in  a 
few  days  afterwards,  on  the  7th  Niv6.se,  it  became 
such,  stigmatized  the  baseness  of  the  period.  It 
said  ;  "  Since  the  constitution  has  created  a  num- 
ber of  well-paid  places,  how  people  bestir  them- 
selves !  How  many  imfamiliar  visages  are  now 
forward  in  showing  them.selves  !  How  many  for- 
gotten newly-revived  names  bustle  about  amid  the 
dust  of  the  revolution  !  How  many  fierce  republi- 
cans of  the  year  vii.  humiliate  themselves,  that 
they  may  be  heard  by  the  man  of  power,  who  can 
bestow  places  upon  them  !  How  many  Bruti  are 
begging  appointments  !  How  many  men  of  small 
abilities  are  extolled  to  the  skies  I  What  trivial 
services  are  exaggerated  !  What  stains  of  blood 
are  concealed  from  view  !  This  astonishing  shift 
of  scenery  has  hiippencd  in  an  instant.  It  is  to  be 
lioped  that  the  hero  of  liberty,  who  has  been 
hitherto  marked  in  the  revolution  by  the  benefits 
which  he  has  conferred,  will  see  these  manoeuvres 
with  the  disgust  they  must  excite  in  every  lofty 
mind,  and  that  he  will  not  tolerate,  in  a  crowd  of 
obscure  or  disreputable  persons,  their  envclope- 
ment  in  the  rays  of  liis  glory  *." 

But  let  the  good  be  sepai-ated  from  the  evil  ;  let 
us  not  believe  that  such  a  picture  was  exhibited  by 
the  wliole  nation.  If  there  were  pei-sons  who  de- 
graded themselves,  there  were  others  who,  without 
self-degradation,  came  forward,  waiting  not  un- 
worthily the  appeal  that  the  government  would 
make  to  their  zeal  and  intelligence.  If  Benjamin 
Constant,  for  instance,  sought  admission  to  the 
tribunate,  witli  groat  earnestness  and  assurances  of 
devotion  to  the  family  of  Bonaparte,  De  Tracy, 
Volney,  Monge,  Carnot,  Ginguene',  and  Ducis 
made  no  such  applications,  but  left  to  the  free  will 

1  Monileur,  3d  Nivosc.  I 


of  the  constituent  power  the  act  of  including  them 
or  not  in  that  extended  nomination  of  public 
functionaries. 

On  the  24th  of  December,  being  the  3rd  Nivose, 
the  new  consuls  met  for  the  purpose  of  proceeding 
to  the  composition  of  the  council  of  state,  so  that 
the  installation  of  the  government  might  be  effected 
on  the  day  following,  or  on  the  25th  of  December, 
the  4th  Niv6.se.  Sieyes,  Roger- Duces,  the  retiring 
consuls,  with  Cambacdres  and  Lebrun,  who  were 
about  to  enter  upon  office,  proceeded  to  the  Luxem- 
bourg in  order  to  nominate  the  half,  and  an  addi- 
tional one  of  the  members  of  the  senate,  so  as  to 
constitute  the  majority  ;  this  being  done,  it  enabled 
the  portion  of  the  senate  elected  to  complete  itself 
on  the  morrow,  and  proceed  to  the  composition  of 
the  great  deliberative  bodies  of  the  state. 

The  council  of  state  was  divided  into  five 
sections,  namely,  those  of  the  finances,  of  civil  and 
criminal  legislation,  of  war,  of  the  marine,  and  of 
the  interior.  Each  section  had  a  councillor  of 
state  for  president,  and  over  all  the  first  consul 
presided  in  person,  or  when  absent,  one  of  his 
colleagues,  Cambace'rcs  or  Lebrun,  took  his  place. 

Each  of  the  sections  was  to  draw  up  the  pro- 
posed bills  and  the  regulations  which  might  belong 
to  matters  within  its  own  competency.  These  bills 
and  regulations  were  to  be  afterwards  discussed  in 
a  general  assembly  of  the  united  sections.  The 
council  of  state  was  charged  besides  with  the  de- 
cision of  all  the  points  in  those  administrations 
which  might  chance  to  be  contested,  and  also  was 
to  settle  questions  of  competency,  whether  between 
the  civil  tribunals  and  the  administration,  or  among 
the  tribunals  themselves.  These  are  the  self-same 
powers  which  it  exercises  at  the  present  time, 
but  it  then  possessed  alone  the  privilege  of  drawing 
up  the  laws,  as  well  as  the  exclusive  right  to  dis- 
cuss them  before  the  legislative  body  ;  and  still 
further,  the  great  questions  that  arose  in  the 
government  were  communicated  to  it,  sometimes 
even  to  the  extent  of  those  involving  foreign 
policy,  of  which  instances  will  appear  hereafter. 
At  this  time,  therefore,  the  council  of  state  was  not 
merely  a  council  of  administration,  but,  in  the  full 
sense  of  the  term,  a  council  of  government. 

Some  of  the  members  of  the  council  were  charged 
in  the  different  departments  of  the  ministry  with 
any  special  services  to  which  more  than  common 
importance  was  attributed,  or  that  requii-ed  moi'e 
than  extraordinary  attention.  These  departments 
were  those  of  public  instruction,  of  the  national 
domains,  the  treasury,  the  colonics,  and  the  public 
works.  The  counsellors  of  state,  to  ^^hom  the 
charge  was  committed  of  the  management  of  these 
different  branches,  were  placed  under  the  control 
of  the  proper  minister.  The  members  of  the 
council  of  state  were  %vell  paid,  receiving  each 
25,000  f.  annually,  and  their  president  35,000  f. 
These  sums,  it  should  be  recollected,  were  more 
considerable  at  that  time  than  they  would  be  now. 
The  post  of  a  councillor  of  state  was  an  object  of 
higlier  ambition  than  a  senatorial  seat,  because, 
with  emoluments  equal  to  those  of  senators,  and 
with  equal  public  consideration,  the  members  of 
that  body  were  admitted  as  fully  as  the  ministers 
themselves  to  the  management  of  the  most  im- 
portant public  business. 

TIk;  iirincipal  members  of  the  council  of  state 


Election  of  the  senate.         GOVERNMENT  OF  THE   INTERIOR. 


Lejrislative  body  and  tri- 
bunate elected. — Places 
of  meeting. 


were,  for  tlie  section  or  department  of  war  :  Bruno, 
Laeue'e,  and  Marniont ;  for  that  of  the  marine, 
De  Clianipagny,  Ganteaume,  and  Fleurieu;  that  of 
finances,  Uefermon,  Duchatel,  Dufresne;  of  justice, 
Boulay  de  la  Meurthe,  Berlicr,  Real ;  of  tlie  in- 
terior, Roederer,  Cretet,  Chaptal,  Regnault  St.  Jean 
d'Angely,  Fourcroy.  The  five  jiresidents  were : 
Brune,  Gauteaume,  Defei-mon,  Boulay  de  la  lleurthe, 
and  Roederer.  It  would  not  have  been  possible 
to  select  individuals  of  greater  note,  nor  possessing 
more  various  and  sterling  talents.  Here  it  is  but 
just  to  remark,  that  the  French  revolution  showed 
itself  wonderfully  prolific  in  men  of  ability  of 
every  kind ;  and  that  if  no  attention  were  paid 
to  exclusions  dictated  by  i^arty  feeling,  either  ok 
one  side  or  on  the  other,  there  were  the  means  at 
hand  for  composing  a  most  able,  varied,  and  it 
may  be  said,  glorious  government,  as  far  as  con- 
cerned individual  talent.  The  course  jiursued  by 
the  first  consul  was  marked  by  this  feeling.  M. 
Devaisnes,  censured  loudly  for  his  x'oyalism,  but 
professionally  a  man  of  practical  knowledge  in 
finance,  was  appointed  to  office,  in  which  he 
proved  himself  afterwards  liighly  useful. 

On  the  same  day,  December  24th,  or  3d  Nivose, 
Sieyes,  Roger-Ducos,  Cambaceres,  and  Lcbrun, 
met  together  in  order  to  nominate  the  twenty-nine 
senators,  who,  with  the  consuls  about  to  vacate 
office,  should  number  in  all  thirty-one  of  the  mem- 
bers. As  may  be  supposed,  the  list  had  been 
drawn  out  previously,  and  contiiined  names  of 
high  repute,  such  as  those  of  Berthollet,  Laplace, 
who  had  recently  quitted  the  ministry  of  the  in- 
terior, Monge,  Tracy,  Volney,  Cabanis,  Kellerman, 
Garat,  Lacdpede,  and  Ducis,  but  the  last  declined 
accepting  the  honour. 

Upon  the  morrow,  December  25th,  or  Nivose  4th, 
the  council  of  state  mot  for  the  first  time,  the  con- 
suls being  present,  accompanied  by  the  ministers. 
The  subject  of  their  deliberations  was  a  proposed 
law  to  settle  the  relations  of  the  great  bodies  of 
the  state  towards  each  other.  Various  projected 
measures  to  be  presented  to  the  legislative  body 
in  the  approaching  session  were  also  agreed  upon. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  senate  met  at  the  palace 
of  the  Lu.xembourg,  and  elected  twenty-nine  new 
members,  which  carried  up  the  senators  to  sixty. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  this  number  was  after- 
wards to  be  increased  to  eighty.  In  this  additional 
list  were  comprehended  very  distinguished  names: 
Lagrange,  Darcet,  Fran9ois  de  Neufcbateau,  Dau- 
benton,  Bougainville,  PerrcJgaux,  the  banker,  and 
De  Choiseul-Praslin,  an  individual  of  very  ancient 
family. 

The  formation  of  the  legislative  body  and  of  the 
tribunate  by  the  senate,  occupied  several  successive 
days.  The  men  of  the  most  moderate  character 
were  preferred  for  the  legislative  body,  out  of 
those  who  had  been  so  distinguished  in  the  con- 
stituent and  legislative  assemblies,  in  the  national 
convention,  and  council  of  five  Iiundrcd.  Care 
was  taken  to  choose  from  these  different  bodies 
men  who  liad  been  regardless  of  making  a  stir  in 
public  affairs,  who  had  not  sought  popularity  too 
much,  and  had  shown  little  inclination  to  be  distin- 
guished ;  thoHC  of  a  contrary  character  were  re- 
served for  the  tribunate.  In  consequence,  the 
names  that  were  enrolled  in  the  legislative  body 
were    not    remarkable    for    brilliancy,   so    that    it 


would  be  a  difficult  task  to  point  out  in  the  three 
hundred  of  which  that  body  consisted,  only  two  or 
three  names  known  at  the  present  time.  The 
modest  and  bravo  Latour  d'Auvergne  was,  it  is 
true,  one  of  them,  a  hero  worthy  of  antiquity  for 
his  virtues,  his  actions,  and  his  noble  end. 

The  hundred  indivichials  of  the  tribunate  wei-e 
selected  with  the  natural  object  of  affording  active, 
stirring  minds,  emulous  of  renown,  an  opjiortunit}' 
for  the  display  of  thpir  abilities,  an  object  after- 
wards bitterly  repented  of.  Some  of  their  names 
may  be  faded  a  little  in  remembrance,  but  are  not 
forgotten  at  the  pi-escnt  time.  Among  them  were 
Che'nier,  Andrieux,  Cliauvelin,  Stanislas  de  Girar- 
din,  Benjamin  Constant,  Daunou,  Riouffe,  Beren- 
ger,  Ganilh,  Ginguene,  Laromiguiere,  Jean-Baptiste 
Say,  and  others. 

As  soon  as  the  formation  of  these  bodies  had 
terminated,  the  places  for  their  meeting  were  as- 
signed. The  Tuileries  was  resei'ved  for  the  three 
consuls  ;  the  Luxembourg  was  appropriated  to  the 
senate  ;  the  Palais  Bourbon  to  the  legislative  body, 
and  the  Palais  Royale  to  the  tribunate. 

The  Tuileries  was  rendered  habitable  at  the 
expense  of  some  hundred  thousand  francs;  and 
while  this  was  achieving,  the  consuls  lived  in  the 
Petit-Luxembourg. 

Since  his  return  from  Egypt,  Bonaparte  had  al- 
ready effected  a  good  deal.  He  had  overthrown 
the  directory,  and  had  acquired  an  authority  infe- 
rior in  appearance,  but  in  reality  superior  to  a  con- 
stitutional monarchy.  But  scarcely  was  he  in  pos- 
session of  this  authority  before  it  was  necessary  for 
him  to  legitimatize  its  possession  by  useful  labours, 
and  the  performance  of  great  actions.  He  had 
still  a  vast  deal  to  accomplish;  his  first  essays  at 
re-organization  were  but  as  a  single  efiort,  beyond 
doubt  fortunate  so  far,  but  they  left  the  nation  gtill 
in  great  disorder,  suffering  grievously  with  a  strait- 
ened treasury,  misery  in  the  armies,  and  the  flame 
of  civil  war  in  La  Vendee,  hesitation  among  the 
neuti-al  powers,  and  a  relentless  struggle  determined 
upon  on  the  part  of  the  belligerent  powers.  Never- 
theless, the  possession  of  authority,  coming  after 
his  first  labours,  and  preceding  the  mighty  task 
w  liich  he  felt  a  confidence  ut  very  soon  performing, 
gratifioil  his  amliitious  spirit. 

In  order  to  celebrate  his  installation  in  the  govern- 
ment, he  performed  a  series  of  acts  accumulated 
with  that  design,  in  which  deep  policy  may  be  per- 
ceived, heartfelt  j)leasure,  and  that  generous  feel- 
ing which  satisfaction  affords  to  every  benevolent 
and  sensitive  mind.  These  were  made  known  in 
succession,  between  the  25th  of  December,  the 
4th  of  Nivose,  the  ilay  of  the  installation  of  the 
consular  government,  and  January  1st,  1800,  the 
nth  Nivose,  the  day  of  the  opening  of  the  firet 
legislative  session. 

A  judgment  of  the  council  of  state  in  the  first 
place,  under  date  of  the  27th  December,  or  Glh  Ni- 
vose, decreed  that  the  laws  which  excluded  the 
iH'lations  of  emigrants  and  the  former  nobility  from 
public  functions,  should  die  as  a  thing  of  coui-se,  be- 
cause they  were  contrary  to  the  principles  of  the 
new  constitution. 

A  number  of  persons  attachec^  to  the  revolution- 
ary party,  had  been  sentenced,  as  already  stated,  to 
transportation  or  imi)risonnient,  in  consequence  of 
a  step  taken  under  too  little  reflection,  shortly  after 


Diwrtorial  victims  re- 
;{0  called.— The  priests' 

oath  niodilied. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Obsequies  of  Pius  V[. 
Revolutionary  festival 

abolished. 


tlu  18tli  Bruniaire.  The  transportation  and  iin- 
prisonment  had  been  before  changed  to  a  surveil- 
lance of  the  hi^'h  or  political  police.  A  decree  was 
now  issued,  dated  the  5th  of  Nivose,  for  the  termi- 
nation even  of  this  surveillance.  Having  made  re- 
paration thus  far  to  those  who  were  so  near  expe- 
riencing his  severity,  the  first  consul  fulfilled  a 
more  important  and  necessary  act  of  justice  to- 
wards the  victims  of  the  directory  and  the  govern- 
ments which  preceded  it.  These  unfortunate  per- 
sons, who  had  been  sent  off  without  a  trial,  were 
permitted  to  return  home  under  the  obligation  of 
residing  in  the  places  assigned  to  them.  This  permis- 
sion included  individuals  proscribed  at  every  period, 
but  in  a  jjarticular  manner  those  banished  on  the 
18tli  Fructidor.  Boissy  d'Anglas,  Dumolard,  and 
Pastoret,  thus  recalled,  were  authorized  to  reside, 
the  first  at  Annonay,  tlie  second  at  Grenoble,  and 
the  third  at  Dijon.'  Carnot,  Portalis,  Quatremere- 
Quincey,  Sime'on,  Villaret-Joyeuse,  Barbe-Marbois, 
and  Barrere,  were  also  recalled,  and  ordered  to  re- 
side in  Paris.  The  care  to  place  in  the  capital,  which 
was  not  their  native  place,  such  men  as  Carnot, 
Simeon,  and  Portalis,  plainly  showed  that  the 
government  had  its  eyes  upon  them,  and  intended 
to  make  use  of  their  talents. 

Other  measures  were  taken  relative  to  public 
worship  and  its  free  exercise.  On  the  28th  of  De- 
cember, or  7tli  Nivose,  it  was  decreed  that  the 
buildings  devoted  to  the  ceremonies  of  religion 
should  continue  to  be  set  apart  for  that  purpose,  or 
should  be  again  appropriated  to  that  use,  in  case 
they  had  not  been  restored  already  to  the  minis- 
ters of  the  various  persuasions.  Some  of  the  local 
authorities  having  a  desire  too))striict  the  Catholic 
worsliip,  forbade  the  opening  of  the  churches  ex- 
cept upon  the  "decadi"  in  place  of  the  Sunday. 
The  consuls  reversed  these  decisions  of  the  munici- 
palities, and  in  addition  to  the  free  use  of  the  re- 
ligious edifices,  they  added  the  right  oF  opening 
them  on  the  days  customary  in  the  particular  form 
of  woi-ship  to  which  they  belonged.  They  did  not 
yet  venture  to  interdict  the  ceremonies  of  the  Theo- 
philaiitiiropists,  which  took  place  in  the  churches 
on  particular  days  of  the  week,  and  were  regarded 
by  the  Catholics  as  profanations. 

The  form  of  the  civil  engagement  required  from 
the  priesthood  or  clergy,  was  modified  by  the  con- 
suls. They  jiad  been  compelled  before  to  take  an 
especial  oath  to  a  civil  constitution  of  the  jiriesthood, 
an  oath  which  obliged  them  to  acknowledge  a  le- 
gislation at  variance,  as  some  of  them  contended, 
with  the  laws  of  their  churcli.  It  was  conceived 
best  to  impose  upon  them  only  a  simple  assevera- 
tion of  obedience  to  the  state,  which  could  not  raise 
a  just  scru))le  in  any  of  them,  unless  indeed  they 
refused  that  "obedience  to  Ciesar,"  whicii  is  so  ri- 
gorously commanded  by  the  Catholic  religion.  Tiiis 
was  afterwards  styled,  "  the  promise,"  as  contra- 
distinguished from  "  tlie  oath,"  and  it  recalled  to 
their  religious  duties,  almost  immediately,  a  great 
number  of  the  priesthood.  Those  who  had  taken 
the  oath  before,  styled  the  "sworn',"  were  already 
reconciled  with  tlie  government ;  the  othei-s  wjio 
were  styled  "unsworn',"  wei"c  now  in  their  turn 
received  into  favour. 

To  measures  similar   with  the  preceding,   the 

'  Assenncnt6s.  2  Kon-assermentes. 


first  consul  added  one  which  in  a  peculiar  manner 
attached  to  himself,  because  it  recalled  things  which 
were  in  some  sort  personal  to  him.  He  had  nego- 
ciated  with  the  defunct  Pope  Pius  VI.,  and  signed 
the  treaty  of  Tolentino,  at  the  gates  of  Rome.  From 
the  year  l?!)?,  he  had  affected  to  show  great  regard 
for  the  head  of  the  Catholic  church,  having  re- 
ceived marked  testimonies  of  the  kindness  of  his 
holiness.  Pius  VI.  died  at  Valence,  in  Dauphine, 
but  had  not  at  that  time  received  the  rites  of  se- 
pulture. His  mortal  remains  were  deposited  in  a 
sacristy.  Bonajiarte,  on  his  return  from  Egypt, 
met  Cardinal  Spina,  at  Valence,  became  acquainted 
with  the  circumstances,  and  determined  to  make 
early  compensation  for  the  unseemly  neglect  which 
had  occurred. 

On  the  30th  of  December,  9tli  Nivose,  he  got 
the  consuls  to  join  in  a  decree  founded  on  the  higli- 
est  considerations. 

The  decree  was  as  follows  : — 

"  The  consuls  reflecting  that  the  body  of  Pius  VI. 
has  been  left  in  the  city  of  Valence  without  having 
had  granted  to  it  the  rites  of  sepulture  : — 

"  That  though  this  old  man  may  have  been  the 
enemy  of  France  for  a  moment,  from  being  misled 
by  the  counsels  of  those  who  were  around  him  in 
liis  advanced  age  : — 

"  That  it  is  worthy  the  dignity  of  the  French  na- 
tion, and  in  conformity  with  its  character,  that  re- 
s])cct  should  be  sliown  to  him  who  occupied  one 
of  the  first  offices  upon  earth  :  the  consuls  there- 
fore decree,"  &c.  Then  followed  the  provisions, 
ordering  at  the  same  time  funeral  honours  to  the 
pontiff,  and  that  a  monument  should  be  erected  as 
a  record  of  the  dignity  and  rank  of  the  deceased. 

This  demonstration  of  respect  for  the  mortal 
remains  of  the  Pope,  produced,  perhaps,  a  greater 
effect  than  the  most  humane  measures  would  have 
done,  because  it  struck  the  public  mind  habituated 
to  different  spectacles.  A  vast  number  of  persons 
flocked  in  consequence  to  Valence,  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  authority  thus  given  for  a  manifestation 
of  a  religious  character. 

The  catalogue  of  the  revolutionary  festivals  con- 
tained one  conceived  in  the  worst  possible  spirit, 
celebrated  on  the  2!st  of  January^.  Whatever 
might  bo  the  opinions  of  men  of  every  party  in  re- 
gard to  the  tragical  event  which  connected  itself 
with  that  date,  it  was  a  barbarous  festival,  kept  to 
commemorate  a  sanguinary  catasti-ophe.  Bonaparte 
had  exhibited  a  great  dislike  to  attend  it  in  the 
time  of  the  directory,  not  that  by  doing  so  he  had 
any  notion  of  paying  honours  to  the  royalty  he  was 
afterwards  to  establish  for  his  ov;n  advantage,  but 
because  he  was  fond  of  ]iublicly  defying  similar 
feelings  in  which  he  did  not  share.  Now  become 
the  head  of  the  government,  he  obtained  the  deci- 
sion of  the  legislative  commission,  that  there  should 
be  no  more  than  two  festivals,  tlitit  of  the  first  day 
of  the  revolution  kept  on  the  14tli  of  July,  and  the 
fesiival  of  the  1st  Vend^miairc,  the  anniversary  of 
the  first  day  of  the  republic.  '•  These  days,"  said 
he,  "  are  imperishable  in  the  minds  of  the  citizens  ; 
they  have  been  greeted  by  every  Frenchman  with 
unanimous  transports,  and  arouse  no  rccollectiomi 
tending  to  carry  divisions  among  the  friends  of  the 
republic." 

'  Death  of  Louis  XVI. 


,--.        Marsiial  Augereau  sent 
l/"^-  to  Holland.— Veiidean 


GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR. 


Army  sent  to  La  Vendee. 
Consular  proclamatiou. 


It  required  all  tlie  power  and  resolution  of  the 
chief  of  the  new  government  to  liazai'd  a  series  of 
measures,  which,  though  in  themselves  just,  moral, 
and  politic,  appeared  to  iiot-headed  persons  but  as 
so  many  preciu"sory  acts  to  a  counter-revolution. 
But,  in  effecting  all  this,  Bonaparte  took  care  to 
give  himself  the  foremost  example  of  the  forgetful- 
ness  of  political  animosity,  to  awaken  at  times  with 
eclat  that  sentiment  of  glory  by  which  he  led  cap- 
tive the  men  of  that  time,  and  snatched  them  away 
from  the  base  fury  of  party  feeling.  Thus  he  ap- 
pointed general  Augereau,  who  had  offended  him 
by  his  conduct  on  the  18th  Brumaire,  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  army  in  Holland.  "Show,"  he  wrote 
him  in  a  letter,  which  was  published,  "  show  in  all 
the  acts  that  your  command  will  give  you  occasion 
to  perform,  that  you  are  above  all  these  wretched 
party  dissensions,  the  recoil  of  which  has  been  so 
unfortunate  for  ten  years  past  in  tearing  France  to 
pieces.  *  «  *  *  »  If  circumstances  force  me  to  take 
the  field  in  person,  you  may  rest  assured  that  I 
shall  not  leave  you  in  Holland,  and  that  I  can 
never  forget  the  glorious  day  of  Castiglione." 

At  the  s;inie  time  he  instituted  the  presentation 
of  "  arms  of  honour,"  the  prelude  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  legion  of  honour.  French  democfacy, 
after  having  displayed  a  horror  of  personal  dis- 
tinctions, could  barely  tolerate  at  that  time  rewards 
for  military  exploits.  In  consequence  of  an  article 
of  the  constitution,  the  first  consul  caused  a  reso- 
lution to  be  ])assed,  that  for  every  distinguished  ac- 
tion, a  musket  of  honour  should  be  presented  to  the 
infantry  soldier,  a  carabine  of  honour  to  the  ca- 
valry, grenades  of  honour  to  the  artillery,  and 
swords  of  honour  to  the  officers  of  all  ranks.  The 
first  consul  carried  out  this  resolution,  which  was 
decreed  on  the  2oth  December,  or  4th  Nivosc,  by 
positive  acts.  On  the  following  day  he  presented  a 
sword  to  general  St.  Cyr,  for  a  brilliant  afRiir  by 
which  that  general  distinguished  himself  in  the 
Apennines;  "Receive,"  said  he,  "as  a  testimony 
of  my  satisfaction,  a  handsome  sabre,  whieh  you 
will  wear  on  the  day  of  battle.  Make  known  to  the 
soldiers  under  youi"  command,  that  I  am  satisfied 
with  them,  and  tliat  1  hope  to  be  so  still  more." 

By  these  acts  that  announced  the  taking  posses- 
sion of  power,  he  marked  the  character  of  his 
government,  and  showed  his  determination  to  be 
above  the  feelings  of  party.  The  first  consul  added 
inmiediately  to  tliese,  proceedings  of  still  more  im- 
portance in  regard  to  La  Vendue  and  the  foreign 
powers  of  Europe. 

A  truce  had  been  signed  with  the  Vendeans, 
conferences  had  conmieiicod,  and  yet  i)eace  had 
not  been  conclud'-d.  Boiiajiarte  had  left  no  doubt 
ill  the  minds  of  the  royalists,  who  had  applied  to 
him  with  the  view  of  discovering  his  intentions  as 
to  whether  he  would  bo  satished  with  being  the 
restorer  and  supporter  of  the  house  of  Bourbon. 
He  li:id  undeceived  them  by  showing  himself  irre- 
vocably attJiehed  to  tliu  cause  of  the  revolutiun, 
and  this  frankness  in  iiis  declarations  had  not 
tended  to  aid  the  work  of  conciliation  wliich  had 
been  begun.  The  Vend^an  chiefs  hesitated,  being 
placed  between  the  fear  inspired  by  tiie  rigour  of 
the  new  goviTmneiit  and  tlie  instances  of  the 
emigrants  in  London,  aiithoi-izcd  by  i'itt  to  promise 
them  arms,  m>ney,  and  men. 

It  was  on  a  new  insurrection  in  La  Vendt-o  that 


England  particularly  calculated.  She  proposed 
making  upon  this  part  of  our  coast  an  attempt 
similar  to  that  which  she  had  attempted  in  Hol- 
land. The  ill  success  of  the  last  attempt  did  not 
discourage  her,  and  she  requested,  with  great 
earnestness,  of  the  emperor  Paul,  the  assistance 
of  his  troops,  though  without  much  chance  of  ob- 
taining it.  Prussia,  which  began  to  testify  a 
species  of  interest  for  the  consular  government, 
never  ceased  repeating  to  the  aid-de-camp  Duroc, 
and  M.  Otto,  charge  d'affaires  of  France,  "  Finish 
the  business  of  La  Vendee,  for  it  is  there  that  you 
will  receive  the  most  serious  blow." 

Bonaparte  was  well  aware  of  this.  Independ- 
ently of  the  mischief  that  was  done  by  La  Vende'e 
occupying  a  part  of  the  military  force  of  the 
republic,  a  civil  war  seemed  in  his  view  not  only 
a  misfortune,  but  a  species  of  dishonour  to  the 
government,  as  it  bespoke  a  dejjlorable  internal 
condition  of  the  country.  He  had  therefore  taken 
the  most  effectual  measures  to  put  an  end  to  it. 
lie  had  recalled  from  Holland  a  part  of  the  army, 
that  under  general  Brune  had  beaten  the  Aiiglo- 
llussiuns,  and  had  joined  to  that  force  a  part  of 
the  garrison  of  Paris,  which  he  was  able  to  di- 
minish considerably  without  any  apprehension, 
supplying  the  diminution  by  the  influence  of  his 
own  name.  By  this  means  he  was  able  to  assemble 
in  the  west  an  army  of  60,000  men.  General 
Brune  was  placed  at  its  head,  with  the  recommen- 
dation to  retain  as  his  principal  lieutenant  the 
wise  and  conciliatory  He'douville,  who  held  all 
the  threads  of  the  negociation  with  the  royalists. 
The  name  of  general  Brune  was  a  reply  to  those 
who  counted  upon  a  new  Anglo-Russian  descent. 
But  before  striking  the  decisive  blow,  if  the  con- 
ditions of  the  jiacification  were  not  finally  accepted, 
the  first  consul  believed  it  his  duty  to  address  the 
Venddans  on  the  very  day  of  his  installation. 

On  the  29th  of  December,  8th  Nivose,  head- 
dressed  to  the  departments  of  the  west  a  deci'ce  of 
the  consuls,  accompanied  by  a  proclamation,  to  the 
following  effect: — 

"  An  impious  war  threatens  for  the  second  time 
to  set  the  western  departments  on  fire.  The  duty 
of  the  supreme  magistrates  of  the  republic  is  to 
hinder  the  spreading  of  the  conflagration,  and  to 
extinguish  it  in  its  focus  ;  but  they  arc  unwilling 
to  use  force  until  they  have  exhausted  the  means 
of  persuasion  and  justice." 

Distinguishing  between  guilty  men  sold  to  the 
foreigner,  for  ever  irreclaimable  with  the  republic, 
and  the  misguided  who  had  joined  in  the  civil  war 
to  resist  cruel  i)crsecution,  the  first  consul  recalled 
every  thing  which  was  likely  to  gain  the  confidence 
of  the  last,  and  bring  them  beneath  the  rule  of  the 
new  government;  such  as  the  revocation  of  the 
law  of  the  hostages,  the  restoration  of  the  churches 
to  the  ])riesthood,  the  liberty  granted  to  all  for  tho 
observation  of  Sunday  ;  he  promised,  lastly,  a  full 
and  entire  amnesty  to  those  who  submitted,  and 
delivered  up  tho  arms  furnished  them  by  England. 
He  added,  that  the  most  severe  measures  would 
bo  taken  against  those?  who  persisted  in  the  insur- 
rection, lie  announced  the  suspension  of  tho 
constitution  ;  in  other  words,  tho  employment  of 
extraordinary  jurisdictions  in  those  ])laces  where 
insurgent  bodies  continued  to  show  themselves  in 
arms.     "  The  government,"  said  the  conclusion  of 


32 


Foreign  relations  of  France. 

Mission  of  envoys  to  foreign    THIERS'  CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE. 

states. 


Letter  of  Bonaparte  to 
George  III. 


the  proclamation  of  the  consuls,  "  will  pardon,  it 
will  show  favour  to  the  repentant ;  its  forgiveness 
shall  be  entire  and  absolute;  but  it  will  strike 
down  whoever  after  this  proclamation  shall  dare 
to  resist  the  national  sovereignty.  But  no,  we  will 
acknowledge  only  the  sentiment — the  love  of  our 
country.  The  ministers  of  a  God  of  peace  will  be 
the  first  means  of  conciliation  and  concord.  Let 
them  speak  to  all  hearts  the  language  which  they 
learned  in  the  school  of  their  Master ;  let  them 
visit  those  temples  which  are  re-opened  for  them 
to  offer  the  sacrifice  which  shall  expiate  the  crimes 
of  the  war  and  the  blood  which  has  been  spilled  !" 

This  manifesto,  having  at  its  back  a  formidable 
force,  was  calculated  to  produce  an  effect,  above 
all,  as  proceeding  from  a  new  government,  a  per- 
fect stranger  to  the  faults  and  excesses  which  had 
served  as  the  pretext  for  civil  war. 

Having  acted  thus  in  regard  to  the  enemy  within, 
the  first  consul  next  addressed  himself  to  the 
enemy  without  the  frontiers,  fully  resolved  to  take 
a  formal  step  towards  the  only  two  powers  that 
had  not  shown  any  sign  of  desiring  amicable 
relations  with  France,  but,  on  the  contrary,  were 
obstinately  bent  upon  war,  namely,  Austria  and 
Great  Britain. 

Prussia,  it  has  been  seen,  had  received  Duroc  in  a 
very  flattering  manner,  and  daily  gave  fresh  testi- 
monies of  her  sympathy  with  the  first  consul.  Satis- 
fied as  to  her  existing  relations  with  his  government, 
Prussia  wished  him  success  against  anarchy,  suc- 
cess against  the  forces  of  Austria.  As  to  offering 
herself  as  a  mediatrix,  she  still  nourished  the 
thought,  but  dreaded  to  take  the  first  step,  think- 
ing that  peace  was  yet  far  off",  and  unwilling  too 
soon  to  engage  herself  in  a  course  of  which  it  was 
impossible  to  foresee  the  tendency.  In  fact,  who- 
ever at  that  time  observed  closely  the  state  of 
things  in  Europe,  might  easily  see  that  to  unloose 
the  ties  between  England  and  Austria  would  re- 
quire another  campaign.  The  court  of  Madrid 
had  seen  with  equal  satisfaction  the  acce.ssion  of 
Bonaparte  to  the  consulship,  since  with  him  the 
alliance  between  Spain  and  France  seemed  both 
more  honourable,  as  well  as  more  profitable.  But 
the  horizon  was  not  completely  clear.  Bonaparte 
resolved,  therefore,  on  the  same  day  that  the  con- 
stitution invested  him  officially  with  new  authority, 
to  address  himself  to  those  powers  who  were  de- 
cided enemies,  to  offer  them  peace,  and  thus  to 
place  them  in  the  wrong  if  they  rel'u.sed  it.  After 
that  he  could  appeal  to  arms,  with  the  opinion  of 
the  world  upon  his  side. 

First  he  gave  orders  to  all  the  agents  of  France, 
already  api)ointed,  who  had  not  quitted  Paris, 
because  it  was  deemed  right  they  should  be  ac- 
credited from  the  government  definitively  consti- 
tuted ;  General  Beuinonville  to  set  out  for  Berlin, 
M.  Alquier  for  Madrid,  M.  de  S(;monvillo  for  the 
Hague,  M.  Bourgoing  for  Copenhagen.  General 
Beurnonville  was  ordered  to  compliment  adroitly 
the  king  of  Prussia,  by  requesting  from  him  a  bust 
of  the  great  Frederick  to  place  in  the  grand  gal- 
lery of  Diana  in  the  Tuileries.  The  first  consul 
was  at  this  time  arranging  there  the  busts  of  the 
great  characters  whom  he  held  in  particular  admi- 
ration. M.  Alquier,  in  bearing  to  Madrid  the 
kindest  assurances  to  the  king  and  queen,  was 
cJiarged  to  add  to  them  a  present  for  the  Prince  of 


Peace,  who  exercised  considerable  influence  in  the 
court,  although  he  was  no  more  minister.  The 
present  consisted  of  some  beautiful  arms  from  the 
manufactory  of  Versailles,  then  noted  all  over 
Europe  for  the  perfection  to  which  the  manu- 
facture there  was  carried. 

This  being  done,  the  first  consul  took  the  step  he 
had  projected  in  regard  to  the  two  courts  of  Eng- 
land and  Austria.  It  is  the  general  custom  to  dis- 
guise such  proceedings  by  previously  making  side- 
long overtures,  in  order  to  spai-e  the  humiliation  of 
a  refusal.  Bonaparte,  in  communicating  thus  with 
England  and  Austria,  intended  to  address  the 
Avhole  world  ;  for  which  purpose  he  wanted  a 
serious  overture  out  of  the  way  of  accustomed 
forms,  addressed  to  the  hearts  of  the  sovereigns 
themselves,  and  thus  either  to  flatter  or  embarrass 
them.  In  consequence,  he  did  not  transmit  a  note 
to  Lord  Grenville  or  M.  Thugut,  but  he  wrote  two 
letters  directly  to  the  king  of  England  and  the 
emperor  of  Germany,  which  the  ministers  at  those 
courts  were  requested  to  present  to  their  respective 
sovereigns.  That  addressed  to  the  king  of  England 
was  as  follows  : — 

Paris,  5th  Nivose,  year  vni. 
(Dec.  26,  1790.) 

"  Sire, — Called  by  the  desire  of  the  French  nation 
to  fill  the  chief  magistracy  of  the  republic,  I  think 
it  fitting,  on  entering  upon  office,  to  make  a  dix-ect 
communication  on  the  subject  to  your  majesty. 

"  Is  the  war  which,  for  eight  years,  has  ravaged 
the  four  quarters  of  the  globe,  to  be  etei-nal  ?  Is 
there,  then,  no  mode  of  coming  to  au  under- 
standing ? 

"  How  can  the  two  most  enlightened  nations  of 
Europe,  stronger  and  more  powerful  than  their 
safety  and  independence  require,  sacrifice  to  ideas 
of  vain  greatness  the  blessings  of  commerce,  in- 
ternal prosperity,  and  domestic  happiness  ?  How 
can  they  help  feeling  that  peace  is  the  first  of 
wants,  as  well  as  of  glories  ? 

"  These  sentiments  cannot  be  strange  to  your 
majesty,  who  governs  a  free  nation,  with  the  sole 
aim  to  render  it  happy. 

"  In  this  overture,  your  majesty  will  discover 
only  my  sincere  desire  to  contribute  efficaciously, 
for  the  second  time,  to  the  general  pacification  by 
a  i)r(impt  procedure,  entii-ely  confidential,  and  di- 
vested of  those  forms  which,  necessary  perhaps 
for  disguising  the  dependence  of  weak  states,  be- 
tray only  in  strong  states  a  mutual  desire  to  deceive 
each  other. 

"  France,  England,  by  the  abuse  of  their  strength, 
may,  for  a  long  time  to  come,  to  the  misfortune  of 
all  nations,  retard  its  exhaustion  ;  but  I  dare  as- 
sert, the  lot  of  all  civilized  nations  is  attached  to 
the  termination  of  a  war  which  has  thi'own  the 
whole  world  into  a  conflagration. 

(Signed)  "  Bonaparte, 

"  First  consul  of  the  French  republic." 

On  the  same  day  the  first  consul  addressed  the 
following  letter  to  the  emperor  of  Germany  : — 

"On  returning  to  Europe,  after  an  absence  of 
eighteen  months,  I  find  the  war  rekindled  between 
the  French  republic  and  your  majesty. 

"  The  French  nation  calls  me  to  occupy  the 
chief  magistracy. 


.  The  opposition  in  the  tribu- 

1800.      Meeting  of  legislatiTe  and    GOVERNMENT   OF  THE  INTERIOR.  nate.-Madame  de   Stael    33 

Ion  «.»»,  ..»,VP  h..rt...s.  gjjij  jljg  jjjgj  consul. 


executive  bodies. 


"  A  stranger  to  every  feeling  of  vain-glory,  the 
first  of  my  wishes  is  to  stop  the  eft'usioii  of  the 
blood  that  is  about  to  be  spilt.  Every  thing  pro- 
claims that,  in  the  next  campaign,  numerous  and 
ably  directed  annies  will  triple  the  number  of  the 
victims  hitherto  sacrificed,  by  the  resumption  of 
hostilities.  The  known  chai-acter  of  your  majesty 
leaves  me  no  doubt  respecting  the  wish  of  your 
heart.  If  that  wish  alone  is  consulted,  I  perceive 
a  possibility  of  reconciling  the  interests  of  the  two 
nations. 

"  In  the  communications  which  I  have  pre- 
viously had  with  your  majesty,  you  have  pei-sonally 
testified  some  regard  for  me.  I  request  you  to 
consider  the  step  which  I  am  taking  as  proceeding 
from  a  wish  to  make  a  return  for  it,  and  to  con- 
vince you  moi-e  and  more  of  the  very  high  respect 
which  I  entertain  for  your  majesty. 

(Signed)  "Bonaparte, 

"  First  consul  of  the  French  republic." 

Such  was  the  mode  in  which  the  first  consul 
announced  his  accession,  both  to  the  domestic 
parties  that  divided  France,  and  to  the  foreign 
cabinets  which  coalesced  against  her.  In  offering 
to  make  peace,  he  was  prepared  to  secure  it  by  con- 
quest if  it  could  not  be  got  by  amicable  negociation. 
His  intention  was  to  employ  the  winter  in  making 
a  short  and  decisive  campaign  in  La  Vendue,  that 
in  the  following  spring  he  might  be  able  to  send 
over  the  Rhine  and  Alps  the  troops  which  at  the 
termination  of  the  war  at  home  might  become  dis- 
posable for  foreign  operations. 

While  awaiting  the  result  of  these  proceedings, 
ho  opened  the  legislative  session  on  the  1st  of 
January,  1800,  the  llth  Nivose,  year  viii.,  r,nd  he 
determined  to  devote  this  session  of  four  months  to 
perfect  the  administrative  organization  of  France, 
which  had  scarcely  commenced,  by  means  of  whole- 
some legislation.  He  substituted  his  brother  Lucieii 
for  the  scientific  La  Place,  in  the  ministry  of  the 
interior  ;  and  M.  Abrial  for  the  ministry  of  justice, 
in  place  of  Cambacc^res,  now  become  consul.  The 
new  minister  of  justice  was  an  upright  man,  much 
attached  to  business. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1800,  the  senate,  legis- 
lative body,  and  tribunate  assembled.  The  senate 
elected  Sieyes  president ;  the  legislative  body  Per- 
riu  des  Vosges  ;  the  tribunate  Daunou.  Nume- 
rous outlines  of  proposed  laws  were  immediately 
laid  before  the  legislative  body. 

A  sort  of  anxiety  was  exhibited  to  witness  the 
new  meeting  of  these  deliberative  assemblages.  The 
I)coj)le  were  tired  of  agitation,  and  desired  repose  ; 
they  possessed  no  more  that  strong  love  for  politi- 
cal oratory  whicii  they  showed  in  llii'J,  when 
Mirabeau,  Barnave,  Maury,  and  Cazales,  opened 
a  new  career  of  glory — that  of  the  tribune.  The 
animosity  against  tiie  bar  was  universal,  and  men 
of  action  alone  found  favour,  who  were  capable  of 
procuring  victory  and  peace  for  the  country.  Still 
the  jiublic  had  not  yet  decided  upon  tiie  establisii- 
ment  of  absolute  power,  nor  did  tliey  desire  that  all 
freedom,  all  rational  discussion,  should  cease.  If 
the  ])Owcr  of  action  wliich  a  new  leijislator  had 
planted  in  the  constitution  by  creating  the  first 
consul,  and  by  ciioosing  for  the  niagistracy  the 
greatest  captain  of  the  age,  if  this  power  were  in- 
compatible with  freedom,  tliey  were  ready  to  sacri- 


fice it  ;  although  every  body  would  have  been 
pleased  at  the  reconciliation  of  freedom  with  sub- 
stantial strength,  if  it  were  possible.  Those  who 
thought  so  were  not  the  vulgar  agitators  and  obsti- 
nate republicans  ;  for  there  were  eminent  men,  of 
enlightened,  sober  minds,  who  would  have  felt  pain 
to  see  the  revolution  belie  itself  so  soon,  and  so 
completely. 

Meanwhile  the  neutral  party  inquired  with 
curiosity, — the  well-disposed  with  real  anxiety, — 
how  the  tribunate,  the  only  body  which  had  the 
power  of  speaking,  would  conduct  itself  towards 
the  government,  and  how  the  government  would 
bear  an  opposition,  if  any  resulted  from  it. 

When  a  reaction  comes  on,  however  general  it 
may  be,  it  cannot  carry  every  one  along  with  it ; 
while  it  irritates  as  well  as  annoys  those  whom  it 
docs  not.  Ch<5nier,  Andrieux,  Ginguene,  Daunou, 
and  Benjamin  Constant,  who  had  seats  in  the 
tribunate,  De  Tracy,  Volney,  and  Cabanis,  who 
were  members  of  the  senate,  while  they  all  de- 
plored the  crimes  of  the  reign  of  terror,  were 
not  disposed  to  think  that  the  Frencli  revolu- 
tion was  wrong  in  its  conduct  towards  its  adver- 
saries. 

The  monarchical  and  religious  doctrines,  which 
were  beginning  to  show  themselves  once  more, 
nettled  them,  the  more  especially  from  the  pre- 
cipitancy and  want  of  moderation  with  which  this 
return  to  ancient  ideas  was  coming  into  action ; 
and  they  felt  a  discontent  which  they  were  at  no 
pains  to  conceal.  The  majority  of  them  were 
sincere.  Strongly  attached  to  the  revolution,  they 
desired  to  preserve  it  nearly  entire,  save  its  blood 
and  rapine ;  and  they  by  no  means  desired  what 
they  tliought  they  could  discover  in  the  secret 
intentions  of  the  first  consul.  To  stop  the  per- 
secution of  the  priests  was  well ;  but  to  favour 
them  to  the  extent  of  restoring  them  to  their  altars, 
was  too  much  for  these  faithful  followers  of  the 
philosophy  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Again,  it 
was  good  to  give  greater  unity  and  strength  to  the 
government ;  but  to  push  the  wish  for  this  to  the 
extent  of  re-establishing  a  monax'chieal  unity  for 
the  advantage  of  a  soldier,  was  also,  in  their 
eyes,  going  too  far.  For  the  rest,  as  always  hap- 
pens, their  motives  were  difl'ei'ent.  If  these  were 
the  opinions  of  Clie'nier,  Ginguend,  Daunou, 
Tracy,  and  Cabanis,  such  could  not  be  those  of  M. 
Constant,  who  certainly,  in  the  society  of  the 
Necker  family,  in  which  he  lived,  had  imbibed 
neither  an  aversion  to  religion,  or  a  special  taste  for 
the  French  revolution.  Placed  in  the  tribunate 
at  the  solicitation  of  his  friends,  he  became  in  a 
few  days  the  most  active  and  talented  of  the  new 
opposition,  a  coui'se  to  which  he  was  inclined  by 
the  natural  bent  of  his  disposition  towards  railler}', 
but  more  especially  by  the  discontent  of  the 
Necker  family,  of  which  he  himsc^lf  partook.  Ma- 
dame de  Stael,  who  then  represented  in  herself 
alone  that  illustrious  family,  had  been  a  great 
admirer  of  Bonaparte ;  nor  would  it  have  cost 
him  much  trouble  to  make  a  con(iuest  of  one, 
whose  imagination  was  sensibly  alive  to  all  tiint 
was  great;  but,  though  endowed  l)y  nature  with  a 
mind  as  noble  as  his  genius,  by  some  expression 
not  too  delicate,  lie  had  oft'ended  a  woman,  whose 
])r(!tensions  beyond  her  sex  displeased  him  ;  and 
had  thus  excited  in  her  heart  an  angry  feeling 
1) 


First  sittings  of  the 
tribunate.  —  lt3 
effects. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


First  sittings  of  the 
tribunate.  —  Its 


1800. 
Jan. 


against  himself,  wliicli,  even  if  not  foi'midable, 
might  be  annoying.  Every  fault,  however  slight, 
has  its  fruits;  and  the  first  consul  was  soon  to  reap 
the  fruits  of  his,  in  meeting  with  an  inconvenient 
opposition  from  those  who  were  placed  under  the 
attractive  influence  of  Madame  de  Stael — of  this 
number  was  Benjamin  Constant, 

The  tribunate  had  been  located  at  the  Palais 
Royal,  certainly  without  any  intention,  and  solely 
from  necessity  ;  the  Tuileries  had  been  restored  to 
the  head  of  the  government ;  the  Luxembourg,  in 
former  times  belonging  to  the  council  of  ancients, 
had  naturally  been  given  to  the  senate  ;  the  Palais 
Bourbon  was  set  aside  for  the  legislative  body  ; 
there  remained  then  only  the  Palais  Koyal  to  be  ap- 
propriated to  the  tribunate.  Such  was  the  disposition 
in  certain  minds  to  take  in  bad  part,  acts  the  most 
simple,  that  they  complained  bitterly  of  a  wish  to 
depreciate  the  tribunate,  by.placing  it  in  this  gene- 
ral haunt  of  disorder  and  debauchery.  In  the  dis- 
cussion of  some  formal  matters  on  the  2nd  and 
3rd  of  January,  one  of  the  members,  M.  Duveyrier, 
suddenly  rose  to  speak,  and  complained  of  certain 
measures,  which  he  said  were  injurious  to  many 
proprietors  of  establishments  that  had  for  years 
existed  in  the  Palais  Royal.  Now  the  interest  of 
these  claimants  was  but  trifling,  and  more  than 
this,  they  had  already  been  indemnified;  neverthe- 
less, the  tribune,  Duveyrier,  eagerly  inveighed 
against  this  pretended  injustice,  and  said  that  the 
national  represeriUitives  ought  not  to  be  rendered 
unpopular  by  being  made  responsible  for  acts  of 
severity  committed  in  their  name.  Then  passing  on 
to  the  choice  of  situation,  "  I  am  not,"  he  said,  "  of 
the  number  of  those  who  are  offended  that  it  has 
been  chosen  to  place  the  tribunate  here,  in  a  place 
usually  the  theatre  of  disorders  and  excesses  of 
every  kind.  I  see  in  this  neither  danger  nor  dis- 
respect to  us;  on  the  contrary,  I  give  its  due  to  the 
patriotic  intention  of  those  who  desire  that  the 
tribunes  of  the  peii])le  should  hold  their  sittings  in 
the  midst  of  the  i)eople ;  that  the  defenders  of  li- 
berty .should  be  placed  in  a  jilace  which  witnessed 
the  first  triumph  of  that  liberty.  I  thank  them 
that  they  have  given  us  to  see  from  this  very  tri- 
bune, the  .spot  where  the  noble-spirited  Camille 
Desmoulins  gave  the  signal  for  our  glorious  move- 
ment, and  displayed  the  national  cockade,  that 
most  glorious  of  our  trophies  and  our  rallying  sign 
for  ever  ;  that  cockade  which  has  given  birth  to  so 
many  prodigies,  to  which  so  many  heroes  owe  the 
honour  of  their  arms,  and  which  we  never  will  lay 
down  but  with  life.  I  thank  them  that  we  can  see 
that  spot,  where,  if  we  wished  to  raise  an  idol  of 
fifteen  days,  we  could  call  to  mind  the  fall  of  an 
idol  of  fifteen  centuries.'' 

So  rough  an  attack  naturally  created  a  lively 
sensation  in  the  assembly,  and  quickly  after  in 
Paris.  The  tribunate  passed  on  to  the  order  of  the 
day,  the  mtijority  of  the  members  diHapi>roving 
such  a  Hiilly,  but  its  effect  was  not  thereby  lessened. 
It  was  a  bad  beginning  for  an  assembly,  which, 
if  desirous  of  preserving  liberty  from  the  dangers 
by  which  it  was  menaced  in  so  general  a  re- 
action, needed  to  use  much  circumspection,  both 
in  regard  to  the  readiness  of  many  minds  to  take 
alarm,  and  to  the  head  of  a  government  easily 
irritated. 

A  scene  like  this  could  not  fail  of  consequences. 


The  first  consul  was  much  enraged,  and  the  humble 
worshippers  of  his  rising  power  were  loud  in 
their  exclamations.  Stanislas  de  Girardin,  de 
Chauvelin,  and  some  others,  who,  without  wishing 
to  surrender  their  independence  to  the  new  govern- 
ment, yet  disapproved  of  so  ill-timed  an  opposition, 
spoke  at  the  next  sitting;  and,  to  correct  the  effect 
of  the  discourse  of  the  tribune  Duveyrier,  they  pro- 
posed the  taking  a  kind  of  oath  to  the  constitution. 
"  Before  we  proceed  to  our  labours,"  said  M.  de 
Girardin,  "  I  think  that  we  ought  to  give  the  nation 
some  striking  evidence  of  our  attachment  to  the 
constitution.  I  do  not  propose  to  you  that  we 
swear  to  maintain  it;  I  know,  and  so  do  you,  the 
inutility  of  oaths;  but  I  believe  it  to  be  useful  that, 
when  we  assume  duties,  a  promise  should  be  given 
to  perform  them  faithfully.  Let  us  follow  the  ex- 
ample of  the  conservative  senate,  and  of  the  council 
of  state  :  in  so  doing,  we  shall  confirm  the  opinion 
that  should  be  entertained  of  us,  and  silence  the 
malevolence  which  now  gives  out  that  the  tribunate 
makes  an  organized  resistance  to  the  government. 
No !  the  tribunal  is  no  focus  of  opposition,  it  is  a  focus 
of  intelligence.  No  !  it  is  not  the  wish  of  the  tri- 
bunate to  be  ever  attacking  the  measures  of  the 
government;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  ready  to  wel- 
come with  pleasure  whatever  may  be  conformable 
to  the  interests  of  the  public.  The  tribunate  will 
apply  itself  rather  to  calm  jiassions  than  seek  to 
irritate  them.  Its  modei-alion  will  place  itbetween 
all  the  factions,  to  reunite  and  break  them  up.  It 
was  the  moderate  party-  who  brought  about  the 
18th  Brumaire,  that  day  of  safety  and  of  glory 
which  preserved  France  from  domestic  anarchy 
and  foreign  invasion.  Let  us  return,  in  order  to 
save  the  republic,  to  the  principles  on  which  it  was 
founded;  but  let  us  avoid  a  return  to  those  excesses 
which  have  too  often  brought  it  to  the  verge  of 
destruction.  If  we  can  see  from  this  place  the  spot 
where,  for  the  first  time,  was  displayed  the  signal 
of  liberty,  from  hence,  too,  we  can  equally  see  the 
place  in  which  wei'e  conceived  those  crimes  which 
have  fixed  the  stain  of  blood  on  our  Revolution. 
Myself,  I  am  far  from  applauding  the  choice  that 
has  been  made  of  this  palace  for  our  sittings;  on 
the  contrary,  I  regret  it;  but,  for  the  rest,  the  me- 
mories which  it  recalls  are  happily  far  away  from 
us.  The  time  has  gone  by  for  vehement  harangues 
or  appeals  to  the  seditious  groups  of  the  Palais 
Royal ;  nevcrtheles.^!,  if  a  certain  style  of  declamation 
can  no  longer  destroy  us,  it  may  retard  our  pro- 
gress towards  prosperity  ;  resounding  from  this 
tribunate  through  Paris,  from  Paris  through  all 
Europe,  it  may  awaken  alarm,  and  furnish  a 
pretext  for  delaying  that  peace  which  we  all  de- 
sire  Peace,"  added  M.  de  Girardin,  "  peace 

should  occupy  our  minds  unceasingly;  and  when 
this  great  interest  .shall  be  always  present,  we  shall 
not  permit  ourselves  any  more  expressions  such 
as  the  other  day  escaped  one  of  our  colleagues, 
and  which  none  of  us  took  up,  since  there  was  no 
one  to  apply  them  to,  for  we  know  of  no  idol  in 
France." 

The  speaker  concluded  by  moving,  that  each  tri- 
bune should  make  a  declaration  as  follows  :  "  I 
promise  to  perform  with  fidelity  the  functions  which 
the  constitution  has  assigned  to  me." 

This  proposition  was  adopted  ;  and  M.  Duveyrier, 
annoyed  at  the  scandal  his  speech  had  excited. 


.,u\    The  government  plan  .or  the 

^-      method  01  discussing  the  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR. 


Jan. 


laws. — Attacks  on  the  plan. 


Speeches  of  M.  Con- 
.stant  and  the  tri- 
bune lUouffe. 


attempted  to  excuse  it,  e.xpressing  his  wish  to  be 
the  fii-st  to  make  tlie  declaratiou  suggested  by  M. 
de  Girai'diii.  All  the  membei'S  of  the  tribunate 
lia.<!teiied  to  repeat  it  after  him. 

Tlie  effect,  tiien,  of  the  first  scene,  was  some- 
wliat  remedied  ;  neveitheles.s,  the  first  consul  con- 
ceived an  insurmountable  aversion  to  the  tribunate, 
which,  indeed,  he  would  liave  equally  felt  for  any 
free  assembly  using  and  abusing  the  liberty  of 
speech  :  he  caused,  therefore,  the  insertion  in  the 
Monileur  of  some  very  bitter  i-emarks  on  the  tri- 
bunes of  France  and  Rome. 

The  sittings  that  followed  were  distinguished  by 
fresh  manifestations,  as  much  to  be  regretted  as 
the  preceding.  The  first  measure  proposed  by  the 
government  had  for  its  object  the  regulation  of  tlie 
formstobefollowedon  the  iutroiluction,  the  debating, 
and  the  passing  of  the  laws.  This  iiad  been  one  of 
the  sulijects  neglected  in  the  cimstitutiim  of  the  year 
Till.,  and  had  been  left  to  the  legislature.  In  the 
proposed  arrangement,  not  much  regard  was  had 
t<j  the  tribunate.  The  plan  of  the  government 
settled  that  the  laws  were  to  be  brougiit  iu  to  the 
legislative  body  by  three  counsellors  of  state  ;  that 
they  Were  to  be  thence  commimicated  to  the  tri- 
bunate ;  and  that,  on  a  day  fixed  by  the  govern- 
ment, tlie  tribunate  was  to  be  prepared  to  discuss 
them  by  its  three  orators  before  the  legislative 
body  :  the  tribunate,  however,  might  recjuire  a 
delay  from  the  legislative  body,  whose  duty  it  was 
to  decide  whether  such  delay  should  be  accorded. 
It  must  be  confessed,  that  a  great  slight  was  here 
shown  towards  the  tribunate,  since  the  government 
wished  it  to  fulfil  its  task  by  a  day  fixed,  a  thing 
which  it  dared  not  have  required  of  a  section  of  the 
council  of  state  or  a  ministerial  department.  No 
one,  at  this  day,  would  venture  to  fix  a  day  for  a 
deliberative  assembly  so  as  to  limit  its  discussion; 
this  is  a  point  which  is  left  to  its  own  understand- 
ing, and  in  case  of  urgency  to  its  zeal.  But  the 
courtesies  of  parliament,  like  politeness,  are  the 
growth  of  usage,  and  could  not  with  us  precede  the 
actual  practice  of  representative  government.  From 
the  violence  of  the  revolution  we  passed  almost 
without  transition  to  military  roughness.  The  com- 
missions which,  during  a  month,  exercised  the 
legislative  power,  by  their  discussions  with  closed 
do<»rs,  and  their  carrying  laws  through  in  four  and 
twenty  hours,  had  fully  shown  the  taste  of  the  first 
consul,  which  desired  to  be  served  and  .satisfied  at 
once.  This  may  suffice  to  explain,  though  not  to 
excuse,  the  otherwise  singular  details  of  the  go- 
vernment plan. 

The  new-born  opposition  in  the  tribunate  was 
right,  ihfU,  in  combating  this  proposition  ;  but  it 
was  unC.irtunate,  after  its  indecorous  commence- 
ment, that  it  should  have  to  oppose  the  first  pro- 
position emanating  from  the  consuls,  as  it  gave 
rise  to  a  untiou  thai  it  was  ever  on  the  watch  to 
atUck  ;  while  to  this  misfortune  was  ad<ltd  the 
defect  of  the  vexatious  manner  of  the  opp'isition. 
The  most  violent  attack  came  from  Constant, 
who,  in  one  of  those  witty  and  ironical  speeches 
for  which  he  wiis  famous,  demanded  that  the  in- 
hunate  should  have  some  time  allowed  it  for  an 
examination  of  what  laws  wore  subuiitted  to  it, 
nor  be  expected  to  go  through  thoni  at  a  gallop. 
He  recalled  t<»  the  considi-ration  of  this  subject, 
the  memory  of  those  "  laws  of  urgency  "  which  were 


brought  in  during  the  revolution,  and  which  had 
always  led  to  most  disastrous  results :  he  demanded 
why  there  was  such  an  an.\iety  to  have  done  with 
the  tribunate ;  why  was  it  already  considered  as  so 
hostile,  that  the  passage  of  the  laws  through  it  must 
be  cut  as  short  as  possible  ?  "  All  this,"  added  he, 
"  is  in  accordance  with  the  false  idea  that  the  tri- 
bunate is  only  a  body  in  opposition,  destined  to 
do  nothing  more  than  unceasingly  run  contrary  to 
the  government ;  this  is  what  it  is  not,  this  is  what 
it  shall  not  be,  this  it  is  which  lowers  us  in  the 
opinion  of  the  public.  This  false  idea  has  stamped 
on  everj'  article  of  this  bill  a  restless  and  un- 
reasonable impatience  ;  we  shall  have  bills  pre- 
sented to  us,  as  it  were,  on  the  wing,  in  the  hope 
that  we  may  not  catch  them ;  they  will  traverse 
our  examination  like  an  enemy's  army,  to  be 
made  into  laws  before  we  can  come  up  with 
them." 

Many  such  cutting  reflections  were  in  this  long 
speech  ;  and  it  produced  a  sufficiently  great  sen- 
sation. Constant  took  great  pains  to  maintain 
that  the  tribunate  was  not  a  body  especially  de- 
voted to  contradiction,  and  that  it  only  opposed 
when  compelled  to  do  so  by  the  public  interest ; 
but  these  protestations  were  delivered  in  a  manner 
and  a  tone  which  gave  them  little  credit,  and  ren- 
dered it  evident  that  he  all  the  while  intended  that 
systematic  opposition  which  he  took  such  pains  to 
dei;v. 

TiiO  tribune  Riouffe,  conspicuous  for  his  faithful 
and  generous  friendship  to  the  proscribed  Girond- 
ists, was  one  of  those  whom  t!ie  horrors  of  1793 
had  so  powerfully  affected,  that  they  were  ready  to 
throw  themselves  blindly  into  the  arms  of  a  new 
government,  whatever  that  government  might  do. 
He  was,  therefore,  desirous  of  repelling  the  attacks 
of  Benjamin  Constant,  which,  in  his  opinion,  were 
indecorous. 

"Suspicions,"  said  he,  "so  injurious  as  those 
shown  here  yesterday,  would  be  enough  to  break 
off"  all  further  communication  in  the  relations  be- 
tween man  and  man  ;  and  it  will  be  impossible  for 
authorities,  destined  to  live  and  act  together,  long 
to  have  intercourse  with  each  other,  if  mutual 
respect  be  not  regarded  as  a  sacred  duty  with 
wliii-h  they  must  never  dispense." 

He  went  on  to  say  that  he  had,  as  far  as  he  was 
concerned,  an  absolute  confidence  in  the  govern- 
ment ;  and  here  he  undertook  to  deliver  an  eulo- 
gium  on  the  first  consul,  which,  though  true,  was  too 
long,  and  couched  in  too  strong  terms:  "  When  this 
orator,"  said  he,  "  praises  Camille  Desmoulins,  and 
that,  the  national  convention,  I  will  not  shut  myself 
up  in  the  silence  of  conspiracy  ;  I,  too,  will  praise 
him,  whom  the  whole  world  praises  ;  and  having 
hitherto  confined  myself  in  this  place  to  celebrating 
proscribed  virtue,  I  will  assume  a  boldness  of  a 
diff'erent  kind,  and  speaking  the  praises  of  genius 
in  the  bosom  of  power  and  victory,  I  will  con- 
gratulate myself  on  seeing  at  the  head  of  the  re- 
public the  man  who  has  ohtained  for  the  French 
nation  the  title  of  the  Great  Nation  ;  I  will  pro- 
claim him  grand,  clement,  just."  M.  Riouffo  went 
on  to  compare  Bonaparte  to  Caesar  and  Hannibal ; 
and  by  these  expressions  of  an  admiration,  just, 
but  unreasonable,  provoked  a  manifestation  suf- 
ficiently vexatious.  He  was  frequently  interrupted 
by    cries   of  "  question." — "  I    wish,"   replied    M. 


Speech  of  M.  de  Chauvelin. 
35     Majorities  in  the  tribunate 
and  legislative  bodies. 


The  bills  for  the  adminis- 
THIERS'  CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE.      trative  and  judicial  or- 
ganization of  France. 


1800. 
Jan. 


Kiouffe,  "  to  speak  of  the  man  whom  all  the  world 
admires." — "  Speak  of  the  law,"  repeated  his  in- 
terruptei's ;  and  he  was  compelled  to  return  to  the 
subject. 

Whether  this  lengthy  and  ill-timed,  though  sin- 
cere, expression  of  Riouft'e's  sentiments  provoked 
the  impatience  of  his  interrupters,  or  whether 
the  admiration  he  showed,  was  not  shared  in  the 
same  degree  by  the  tribunate,  the  effect  of  this 
speech  was  by  no  means  happy.  Chauvelin  en- 
deavoured to  remove  it,  by  a  speech  in  favour  of 
the  bill  before  them. 

He  confessed  its  faults,  but  "  the  circumstances," 
said  he,  "the  circumstances  which  surround  us, 
the  condition  of  many  of  the  departments,  which 
require  prompt  as  well  as  urgent  measm-es;  power- 
ful political  considerations ;  the  calumny  which 
watches  our  every  action  ;  the  divisions  which  it  is 
pleased  to  find  amongst  us  ;  the  pressing  need  of 
union  between  the  powers  of  the  state  ;  all  call 
upon  us  to  pass  the  bill  which  is  brought  before  us." 

The  bill  was,  in  fact,  put  to  the  vote,  and  passed 
by  a  majority,  which  ought  to  have  assured  and 
tranquillized  the  government :  a  majority  of  fifty- 
four  against  twenty-six,  decided  that  the  orators  of 
the  tribunate  should  be  commissioned  to  speak  in 
the  legislative  body,  in  support  of  the  proposed 
law.  The  legislative  body  receired  it  with  still 
greater  favour,  and  passed  it  by  a  majority  of  two 
himdred  and  tliree  against  twenty-three.  Nothing 
more  could  be  wished,  since,  after  all,  a  majority  of 
two-thirds  of  the  tribunate  (a  body  whose  oppo- 
sition decided  nothing,  as  they  did  not  pass  the 
laws),  and  a  majority  of  nine-tenths  of  the  legis- 
lative body,  the  only  body  whose  vote  was  decisive, 
ought  to  have  satisfied  the  first  consul  and  his 
adherents,  and  have  inclined  them,  by  this  ex- 
hibition of  a  spirit  of  liberty,  to  look  with  in- 
dulgence on  these  faults  of  maimer,  which,  after 
all,  were  merely  a  right  of  that  same  liberty.  But 
the  first  consul,  though  he  could  not  be  seriously 
alarmed,  seemed,  nevertheless,  sorely  mortified, 
and  expressed  himself  in  no  measured  terms.  He 
began  to  make  a  frequent  use  of  the  press,  which 
though  by  no  means  partial  to,  he  yet  knew  how 
to  turn  to  his  own  advantage.  He  caused  to  be 
inserted  in  the  Monlteur  of  the  8th  of  January,  the 
18th  Nivose,  a  highly  impi'oper  article,  in  which 
he  undertook  to  show  the  little  weight  of  this  oppo- 
sition, and  to  make  it  appear  as  no  part  of  a 
settled  plan  to  run  counter  to  the  government; 
imputing  it  to  that  desire,  in  some  minds,  of  a 
perfection    impossible   in   human   laws,    and  to  a 


wish  in  others  to  make  a  noise.     "  Thus,"  added  .  ^business  is  badly  done 


These  impressions,  however,  soon  gave  place  to 
others.  The  vast  labours  of  the  government,  in 
which  the  legislative  body  and  the  tribunate  were 
called  upon  to  take  their  share,  soon  attracted  the 
attention  of  all  minds,  and  occupied  them  to  the 
exclusion  of  all  other  considerations.  The  first 
consul  caused  two  bills  of  the  greatest  importance 
to  be  brought  into  the  legislative  body.  One  had 
for  its  object  the  departmental  and  municipal  ad- 
ministration, and  became  the  famous  law  of  the 
28th  Nivose,  year  viii.,  which  established  an  ad- 
ministrative centralization  in  France  ;  the  object 
of  the  other  was  an  organization  of  justice,  an 
organization  which  exists  to  the  present  time.  To 
these  two  bills  others  were  added — on  the  emi- 
grants, whose  condition  it  was  pressing  to  settle  ; 
on  the  right  of  bequeathing  by  will,  of  which  all 
families  called  for  the  re-establishment  ;  on  the 
tribunal  of  prizes,  which  it  was  necessary  to  erect 
from  our  relations  with  the  neutral  powers  ;  on  the 
creation  of  new  officers  of  account,  who  were  known 
to  be  required  ;  and,  lastly,  on  the  receipts  and 
expenses  of  the  year  viit. 

The  administration  of  France,  as  we  have  shown 
above,  found  itself,  in  the  year  1799,  in  a  state  of 
frightful  disorder.  There  are  in  all  countries  two 
kinds  of  business  to  be  dispatched  :  that  of  the 
state,  which  consists  in  recruiting,  taxation,  works 
of  general  utility,  and  the  application  of  the  laws  ; 
that  of  the  provinces  and  communes,  which  consists 
in  the  management  of  the  local  interests  of  all 
fkinds.  If  a  country  be  left  to  itself,  that  is  to  say, 
if  it  be  not  ruled  by  a  general  administration  at 
once  strong  and  intelligent,  the  first  part  of  this 
business,  that  of  the  state,  is  not  done  at  all  ;  the 
second  meets  with,  in  the  provincial  or  communal 
interest,  a  pruiciple  of  zeal,  but  of  a  zeal  capricious, 
unequal,  unjust,  and  seldom  intelligent.  The  pro- 
vincial or  communal  administrations,  assuredly,  sel- 
dom fail  in  inclination  to  busy  themselves  in  what 
concerns  them  particularly  ;  but  they  are  extra- 
vagant, meddling,  and  always  opposed  to  the  com- 
mon rule.  The  tyrannical  peculiarities  of  the  middle 
age  in  Europe,  had  no  other  origin.  From  the  time 
that  the  central  authority  withdraws  itself  from  a 
country,  there  is  no  kind  of  disorder  to  which  the 
local  interests  will  not  give  themselves  up,  even  to 
their  own  i-uin.  In  1789,  wherever  the  communes 
enjoyed  any  liberty,  they  were  in  a  state  of  bank- 
ruptcy; and  most  of  the  free  cities  of  Germany, 
when  suppressed  in  1803,  were  completely  ruined  ; 
thus,  without  a  strong  general  administration,  the 
business  of  the  state  is  not  done  at  all,  and  local 


the  official  journal,  "  every  thing  allows  us  to  con- 
clude that  there  does  not  exist  in  the  tribunate  an 
opposition  combined  and  systematic ;  in  a  word,  a 
real  opposition.  But  every  one  has  his  thirst  for 
glory ;  every  one  wishes  to  commit  his  name  to  the 
hundred  tongues  of  fame  ;  and  some  persons  have 
yet  to  learn  that  they  aiTive  less  surely  at  dis- 
tinction by  an  ambition  of  fine  speeches,  than  by  a 
perseverance  in  duties  useful,  though  obscure, 
which  the  public  applauds  and  values." 

This  manner  of  treating  a  great  body  of  the 
state  was  by  no  means  decorous,  and  evinced,  on 
the  part  of  the  first  consul,  an  intention  to  do  as  he 
pleased  ;  while,  on  the  part  of  France,  it  showed 
an  inclination  to  put  up  with  it. 


The  constituent  assembly  and  the  national  conven- 
tion, after  they  had  successively  re-modelled  the 
administrative  organization  of  France,  arrived  at  a 
state  of  things  which  was  anarchy  itself.  Collective 
administi-ations,  at  every  step,  perpetually  delibera- 
ting and  never  acting,  having  at  their  side  commis- 
sioners of  the  central  government,  charged  to  urge 
them,  cither  to  the  dispatch  of  the  business  of  the 
state,  or  the  execution  of  the  laws,  but  deprived  of  the 
power  of  acting  themselves, — such  was  the  depart- 
mental and  municipal  regime  on  the  18th  Brumaire. 
As  to  the  municipal  regime  in  particular,  there  had 
been  devised  a  kind  of  cantonal  municipahties,  which 
added  still  further  to  this  administrative  confusion. 
The  number  of  the   cantonal  municipalities  was 


Ill  success  of  the  cantonal 
municipalities.  —  Insti- 
tution of  prefects,  sub- 


GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR. 


prefects,  and  mayors. — Sup- 
pression of  the  cantonal  mu-    3^ 
nicipalities. 


found  to  be  too  lai*ge,  as  it  amounted  to  forty 
thousand  ;  and  certainly  the  superintendence  of 
such  a  number  of  small  local  governments,  in  itself 
sufficiently  difficult  at  all  times,  became  impossible 
for  authorities  constituted  as  they  were  at  that 
time.  At  present,  the  prefects,  with  the  assistance 
of  the  sub-prefects,  are  adequate  to  it,  pi'ovided 
they  be  sufficiently  assiduous.  But  let  any  one  sup- 
pose the  prefects  without  sub-prefects,  and  in  their 
place  petty  deliberative  assemblies,  and  it  will  be 
easy  to  see  the  disorder  which  must  reign  in  such 
administrations.  These  forty  and  odd  thousand 
communes  were  reduced  to  five  thousand  cantonal 
municipalities,  composed  of  a  re-union  of  several 
communes  into  one.  It  was  thought  that  this 
uniting  several  communes  under  the  same  govern- 
ment would,  besides  giving  them  a  governing  power, 
place  them  nearer  to  the  central  authority,  and  more 
under  its  superintendence  ;  but  it  resulted  in  a 
disorder  even  moi-e  frightful  than  that  to  which  it 
sought  to  j)ut  an  end.  These  five  thousand  can- 
tonal municipalities  were  too  numerous,  and  too  far 
removed  from  the  central  authority,  to  be  under 
its  eye,  and  were  ve.vatiously  placed  at  a  distance 
from  the  population  they  were  intended  to  rule, 
without  being  bi'ought  sufficiently  near  to  the  go- 
vernment. A  communal  admiuisti'atiou  is  made  to 
be  placed  as  near  as  possible  on  the  spot :  the  ma- 
gistrate who  takes  account  of  the  births,  deaths, 
and  marriages,  who  watches  the  police  and  the 
health  of  a  city,  who  has  the  care  of  the  fountains, 
the  church,  the  hospital  of  a  village,  should  reside 
in  the  viJJ;^ge  or  the  town  itself;  in  short,  live  in  the 
midst  of  hiS-Xcllow-citizens.  These  cantonal  muni- 
cipalities, then,  liad  resulted  in  uselessly  displacing 
the  domestic  authority,  without  bringing  the  local 
affairs  sufficiently  near  for  the  eye  of  the  govern- 
ment to  observe  them  :  add  to  this,  (thanks  to 
the  disorder  of  the  times,)  that  nothing  was  done 
properly,  and  it  will  be  understood  how  much  con- 
fusion was  brought  about  by  the  vice  of  the  institu- 
tion, added  to  the  vice  of  circumstances. 

A  last  cause  of  disorder  was  added  to  all  the 
others.  There  is  not  only  a  necessity  for  an  ad- 
ministration on  account  of  the  state  and  the  com- 
munes, but  also  of  a  court  for  judgment;  since  the 
citizens  may  have  reason  for  complaint,  either  that 
tl»eir  property  has  been  encroached  upon  in  mark- 
ing out  a  road  or  way,  or  that  in  rating  them  to 
the  taxes,  the  rating  has  been  made  unjustly. 
Under  the  old  regime,  the  ordinary  justice",  then 
the  only  restraint  on  the  executive  authority — 
which  well  explains  the  resistance  of  the  parlia- 
ments to  the  court — the  ordinary  had  claimed  for 
itself  authority  in  all  cases  that  are  called  disputes 
with  the  administrative  justice^.  This  was  a  gi'ave 
inconvenience;  as  civil  judges,  from  their  want  of 
knowledge  on  the  subject,  arc  bad  dispensers  of 
administrative  juiitice.  Our  first  legislators  of  the 
revolution,  rightly  appreciating  this  inconvenience, 
thought  they. could  re8<jlve  the  difficulty  by  aban- 
doning all  administrative  disputes  to  the  petty  local 
assemljlies,  to  which  they  liad  handed  over  the 
administration.  When  we  imagine,  then,  these 
collective  admhiistrutions  in  the  place  of  those  whom 
we  now  call  prefects,   sub-prefects,  and   mayors, 

'''  Justice  ordinaire. 

"  (onttnticux  administrative!. 


and  charged  with  the  duties  of  all  these,  with  the 
jurisdiction  besides  of  the  councils  of  prefecture, 
we  can  form  an  idea  of  something  approaching  to 
the  confusion  which  then  reigned.  Even  with  the 
spirit  of  order  which  prevails  at  this  day,  the  result 
would  be  a  chaos  ;  add  to  this  the  passions  of  the 
revolution,  and  what  an  exti-a  chaos  would  ensue  ! 
It  was  thus  that  the  retm-ns  of  the  cojitributions 
were  never  completed,  that  the  receipt  of  the  taxes 
was  many  years  in  arrear,  that  the  finances  were 
in  ruin,  and  the  armies  in  misery.  The  recruiting 
alone  was  occasionally  carried  out, — thanks  to  the 
passions  of  the  revolution,  which,  having  done  the 
mischief,  contributed  in  part  to  repair  it ;  for 
having  as  its  principle  a  love,  disorderly  but  ar- 
dent, of  France,  its  greatness,  and  its  liberty,  it 
forcibly  urged  on  the  population  to  arms. 

It  was  in  such  a  state  of  things  that  the  first 
consul  was,  it  may  be  said  in  truth,  an  envoy  from 
Providence.  His  mind,  simple  and  just,  imder  the 
guidance  of  a  character  active  and  resolute,  was 
formed  to  lead  him  to  the  right  solution  of  these 
difficulties.  The  constitution  had  placed  at  the 
head  of  the  state  a  legislative  power  and  an 
executive  power  ;  the  executive  concentered  almost 
in  a  single  chief,  and  the  legislative,  divided 
amongst  many  deliberative  assemblies.  It  was 
only  following  the  natural  order  of  things,  to  place 
at  each  degree  of  the  administrative  scale  one  wlio 
should  represent  the  executive  power,  specially 
charged  to  act,  and  at  his  side,  to  control  or  to  furnish 
him  with  information  only, — not  to  act  in  his  place, 
— a  small  deliberative  assembly,  such  as  the  council 
of  the  department,  of  the  arrondissement,  or  of  the 
commune.  We  have  in  this  simple,  clear,  fruitful 
idea, — the  excellent  administration  which  exists 
to  this  day  in  France.  It  was  the  wish  of  the  first 
consul  to  have  in  each  department  a  prefect 
charged,  not  with  urging  on  a  collective  adminis- 
tration to  despatch  the  business  of  the  state,  but  to 
do  it  himself ;  he  was  also  to  be  charged  with  car- 
rying on  the  departmental  business,  but  jointly 
with  the  council  of  the  department,  and  with  re- 
sources to  be  voted  by  that  council.  As  the 
system  of  cantonal  municipalities  was  universally 
condemned,  and  as  Sieyes,  the  author  of  all  the 
local  divisions  of  France,  had  in  the  new  con- 
stitution laid  down  the  principle  of  the  division 
by  arrondissement,  the  first  consul  determined  to 
eniploy  it  as  a  means  of  doing  away  with  the  can- 
tonal administrations.  The  communal  adminis- 
tration was  first  of  all  replaced  where  it  ought  to 
be,  that  is,  in  the  commune  itself,  town,  or  village  ; 
and  between  the  ccmimune  and  the  department,  an 
intei-mediate  administrative  degree,  that  is  to  say, 
the  arrondissement.  Between  the  prefect  and  the 
mayor  it  was  thought  necessary  to  have  the  sub- 
prefect,  charged,  under  the  superintendence  of  the 
prefect,  with  the  direction  of  a  certain  number  of 
communes,  sixty,  eighty,  or  a  hundred,  more  or 
less,  in  jtroportion  to  the  importance  of  the  depart- 
ment. Lastly,  in  the  commune  itself,  there  was  to 
be  a  mayor,  who  was  also  an  executive  power, 
having  at  his  side  a  deliberative  power  in  a  nm- 
nicipal  council, — a  mayor,  the  agent  for  the  de- 
spatch of  the  business  of  the  state,  directly  dependent 
on  the  general  authority, — an  agent  of  the  com- 
mune as  regarded  its  local  affairs,  managing  its 
interests  in  conjunctiou  with  it,  under  the  super- 


I 


Councils  of  the  prefecture  es-  administration,  and  all  the   ,-„ 

S8       tablished.  -  The  nomina-    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE,  members  of  the  local  courts,    """• 
tion  of  all  the  agents   of  is  left  to  the  first  consul. 


intendence,  however,  of  the  prefect  and  the  sub- 
prefect,  and  by  consequence  of  the  state. 

Such  is  this  admirable  hiei-archy  to  which  France 
is  indebted  for  an  administration  incomparable  for 
its  energy,  the  precision  of  its  working,  and  the 
exactness  of  its  accounts,  and  which  is  so  excellent, 
that  it  was  sufficient,  in  six  months,  as  we  shall 
soon  see,  to  restore  order  in  France,  under  the  im- 
pulse, it  is  true,  of  the  extraordinary  genius  of  the 
first  consul,  and  favoured  by  circumstances  as  ex- 
traordinary; for  there  was  every  wliere  a  horror 
of  disorder,  a  thirsting  after  order,  a  disgust  with 
idle  babbling*,  a  taste  for  prompt  and  positive 
results. 

There  remained  still  the  question  of  the  admi- 
nistrative disputes, — that  is  to  say,  the  administra- 
tive justice",  charged  with  the  care,  that  those 
liable  to  be  taxed  should  not  be  rated  beyond  their 
means;  that  those  holding  property  on  a  river-bank 
or  on  the  side  of  a  street,  should  not  be  exposed 
to  encroachments,  and  that  the  contractor  for  the 
works  of  a  town  or  of  the  state  might  not  find  a 
judge  of  his  contract  with  the  commune  or  the 
government  a  difficult  question,  as  the  ordinary 
tribunals  were  known  to  be  improper  for  dispens- 
ing justice  of  this  kind.  The  principle  of  a  wise 
division  of  power  was  again  employed  here  with 
great  advantage.  The  prefect,  the  sub-prefect, 
and  the  mayor,  charged  with  the  actual  admi- 
nistration, were  open  to  the  suspicion  of  partiality, 
as  if  inclined  to  enforce  their  own  will,  for  it  was 
usually  of  their  own  acts  that  those  seeking  justice 
would  have  to  make  complaint ;  the  councils  of  the 
department,  the  arrondissement,  and  the  commune, 
were  also  properly  lial)le  to  suspicion  of  the  same 
kind,  as  their  interest  too  often  ran  contrary  to 
that  of  the  complainant.  The  administration  of 
justice  is,  besides,  a  long  and  continuous  operation, 
and  there  was  no  desire  to  see  the  councils  either 
of  the  department  or  the  commune  made  perma- 
nent, since  the  first  consul  only  required  their  attend- 
ance for  fifteen  days  in  the  year,  just  time  enough 
for  them  to  go  through  their  business,  give  their 
advice,  and  vote  their  expenses.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  was  need  of  a  tribun.il  to  sit  without 
interruption.  A  special  court  of  justice  was  there- 
fore established,  a  tribunal  of  four  or  five  judges, 
having  their  seats  by  the  side  of  the  prefect,  and 
judging  conjointly  with  him  ;  a  species  of  council 
of  State  assisting  the  administration  of  the  laws 
by  the  prefect,  as  the  council  of  state  enlightens 
and  supervises  that  of  the  ministei's;  and  subject, 
moreover,  by  way  of  ai)peal,  to  this  supreme 
council.  These  are  the  tribunals  now  called  the 
councils  of  prefecture,  whose  equity  has  never  been 
disputed. 

Such  was  the  principal  and  communal  govern- 
ment of  France — a  single  head,  in  a  prefect,  a  sub- 
prefect,  or  mayor,  for  the  despatch  of  all  business ; 
a  deliberative  council,  in  the  council  of  the  depart- 
ment, of  the  arrondissement,  or  of  the  commune, 
to  vote  the  local  expenses;  next,  a  small  judicial 
body,  placed  by  the  side  of  the  prefect  only  to 
carry  on  tlie  administrative  justice ;  a  government 
entirely  subordinate  to  the  general  government  in 
all  matters  of  state,  and  under  its  supervision  and 
direction,  but  having  its  own  proper  views,  in  the 


«  Bavardage. 


9  Justice  administrative. 


management  of  the  affairs  of  the  departments  and 
the  communes.  Order  has  never  ceased  to  reign, 
as  well  as  justice,  during  the  time  this  excellent 
institution  has  existed  among  us,  that  is  to  say,  for 
nearly  half  a  century ;  it  being  well  underetood 
that  the  expressions  order  and  justice,  like  all  other 
words  of  human  language,  have  only  a  relative 
meaning,  and  signify  that  there  lias  been  in  France, 
in  the  administrative  department,  as  little  of  dis- 
order, and  as  little  of  injustice,  as  it  is  possible  to 
hope  for  in  a  great  state. 

It  was  naturally  the  wish  of  the  first  consul  that 
the  nomination  of  the  prefects,  sub-prefects,  and 
mayors,  should  rest  with  the  executive  power ;  for 
since  they  were  its  direct  agents,  they  ought  to  be 
endowed  with  its  spirit;  and  as  regarded  local  mat- 
ters, which  they  had  to  conduct  according  to  local 
views,  that  they  should  conduct  them  in  accord- 
ance with  the  general  spirit  of  the  state.  But  it 
would  not  have  been  in  due  course  of  the  nature 
of  things  for  the  executive  to  name  the  members 
of  the  councils  of  departments,  of  arrondissements, 
and  of  communes,  whose  duty  it  was  to  control 
the  agents  of  administration,  and  to  vote  their 
expenses.  The  constitution  led  to  this  preten- 
sion, and  also  justified  it.  "  Confidence  must  come 
from  below,"  said  Sieyes;  "power  must  come  from 
above."  According  to  this  maxim,  the  nation 
showed  its  confidence  by  the  inscription  on  the 
lists  of  notability;  the  superior  authority  conferred 
the  power,  by  choosing  its  agents  from  these  lists. 
The  senate  was  charged  with  the  election  of  all  the 
political  deliberative  bodies;  but  as  the  councils 
engaged  in  the  conduct  of  local  interests  were 
reckoned  part  of  the  general  administration  of  the 
republic,  it  devolved  upon  the  executive  power, 
according  to  the  constitution,  to  nominate  them  by 
a  choice  from  the  lists  of  notability.  By  virtue, 
then,  of  the  spirit  as  well  as  of  the  letter  of  the  con- 
stitution, it  devolved  upon  the  first  consul  to  choose, 
from  the  lists  of  notabihty  of  the  departments, 
the  members  of  the  councils  of  the  departments; 
from^he  lists  of  the  notability  of  the  arrondisse- 
ment?, the  members  of  the  councils  of  the  arrondisse- 
ments ;  and,  lastly,  from  the  lists  of  the  notability 
of  the  communes,  the  members  of  the  municipal 
councils.  This  power,  in  ordinary  times  excessive, 
was  at  that  moment  necessary.  An  election,  in 
fact,  for  the  formation  of  these  local  councils  was 
altogether  as  impossible  as  for  the  formation  of 
great  political  assemblies.  It  would  only  have 
given  rise  to  the  most  dangerous  agitations,  to 
petty  triumphs  to  the  extreme  parties,  alternately, 
on  one  side  or  the  other,  in  place  of  a  peaceable 
and  hopeful  fusion  of  all  moderate  parties — a  fusion 
which  was  indispensable  in  thus  founding  a  new 
society  from  the  reunited  fragments  of  the  old. 

The  judicial  organization  was  equally  well- 
planned.  It  had  the  double  object  of  placing 
justice  near  those  who  required  it,  and  of  giving 
them  an  assurance,  nevertheless,  beyond  the  local 
justice,  if  they  desired  to  have  recourse  to  it,  of  a 
court  of  appeal,  at  some  distance  certainly,  but  in 
a  high  position,  and  possessed  of  enlightenment 
and  impartiality  by  reason  of  that  very  height  of 
position. 

Our  first  legislators  of  the  revolution,  from  the 
aversion  they  were  inspired  with  against  parlia- 
ments, suppi'csseu  all  the  tribunals  of  appeal,  and 


The  tribunals  of  the  first 
instance  and  of  appeal 
are  established. 


GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR. 


Passiner  of  the  laws  for  the 
administrative  and  judi-      39 
cial  organization. 


placed  one  tribunal  only  in  a  department,  to  afford 
the  first  de<Tree  of  jurisdiction  to  complainants  in 
the  department;  and  a  second  degree  of  jurisdiction, 
a  tribimal  of  appeal  for  the  neighbouring  depart- 
ments. This  appeal  took  place,  then,  not  from  an 
inferior  tribunal  to  one  superior,  but  from  one 
neighbouring  tribunal  to  another.  Below  werq 
the  justices  of  the  peace,  the  tribunal  of  cassation 
above.  The  single  tribunal  for  each  department 
being  found  to  be  too  far  from  those  seeking 
redress,  the  jurisdiction  of  the  justices  of  the  peace 
had  been  extended  so  as  to  dispense  with  tlie 
citizens  having  to  travel  too  often  to  the  chief 
town.  There  had  also  been  created  three  or  four 
hundred  correctional  tribunals,  charged  to  repress 
small  crimes.  The  criminal  jury  held  its  sittings 
at  the  principal  town  near  the  central  tribunal. 

This  judicial  organization  had  very  slight  success 
in  the  municipal  cant mments.  The  justices  of  tlie 
peace,  whose  jurisdiction  had  been  extended,  were 
not  competent  to  the  task.  The  justice  of  the  first 
degree  found  itself  placed  too  far  off  by  i-esiding  in 
the  chief  town  ;  the  justice  of  appeal  had  become 
nearly  illusory  ;  for  appeal  docs  not  hold,  unless  it 
be  made  to  men  of  superior  minds.  The  supreme 
courts,  like  the  parliaments  formerly,  and  like  tlie 
royal  courts  of  our  day,  numbering  amongst  them 
eminent  magistrates,  and  about  tliem  a  renowned 
bar,  exhibit  a  superiority  of  knowledge,  to  which  a 
man  might  be  tempted  to  have  recourse  ;  but  no 
one  would  think  of  appealing  from  one  tribunal  of 
the  first  instance  to  another  tribunal  of  the  first 
instance.  The  tribunals  of  correctional  police  were 
also  too  numerous,  and  limited,  moreover,  to  a  sin- 
gle object.  It  was  nc(  ;ssary  to  reform  this  judicial 
organizatiim.  The  1  .st  consul,  adopting  the  ideas 
of  his  colleague  Canibaci-res,  to  which  he  gave  the 
support  of  his  own  good  sense  and  courage,  caused 
that  organization  to  be  adopted,  which  exists  to 
this  day. 

The  limit  of  the  arrondissement  planned  for 
the  departmental  administration,  offered  great  con- 
venience for  the  judicial  administration.  It  pre- 
sented a  means  of  establishing  a  primary  local 
justice,  placed  sufficiently  near  to  litigants,  without 
interfering  with  the  recourse  to  tribunals  of  appeal 
placed  far  fro;  :  it,  aud  much  higher.  There  was 
established,  tliurefore,  a  tribunal  of  the  first  in- 
stance for  the  arrondissement,  forming  the  first 
step  of  jurisdiction  ;  next,  without  the  dread  of 
seeming  to  re-establish  the  old  parliaments,  it  was 
resolved  to  establish  a  tribunal  of  appeal.  One 
for  each  department  would  be  too  many  in  number, 
twi  little  for  th«  importance  and  elevation  of  the 
jurisdiction.  Twenty-nine  were  established,  which 
gave  them  nearly  the  importjince  of  the  old  parlia- 
ments ;  and  they  were  placed  in  spots  which  had 
formerly  enjoyed  the  j)re8ence  of  those  supreme 
courts.  There  was  an  advantage  in  restoring 
them  to  places  which  had  been  thus  deprived  :  they 
were  the  old  dei)ositorius  of  judicial  traditions,  the 
ruins  of  which  deserved  to  be  collected.  The  bars 
of  Aix,  of  Dijon,  of  Toulouse,  of  Bordeaux,  of 
Rennes,  and  of  i'aris,  were  the  hearths  of  science 
and  of  talent  which  it  was  necessary  once  more  to 
kindle. 

The  tribunals  of  the  first  instance,  already  es- 
tablished in  each  arrondissement,  were  charged, 
at  the  same  time,  with  the  correctional  police;  a 


plan  which,  while  it  doubled  their  usefulness,  placed 
in  the  arrondissement  the  administration  of  civil 
justice,  and  that  of  the  repressive  in  the  first 
degree.  The  criminal  justice  was  always  to  be 
confided  to  a  jury,  and  have  its  seat  only  in  the 
chief  town  of  the  department,  by  means  of  judges 
coming  from  the  tribunals  of  appeal,  whose  office 
it  was  to  direct  the  jury  ;  in  a  word,  to  hold 
assizes.     This  part  it  took  some  time  to  complete. 

In  accordance  with  these  arrangements,  it  be- 
came necess;vry  to  reduce  within  more  restricted 
limits  the  department  known  as  the  justice  of  the 
peace  ;  but,  as  it  was  impossible  to  do  all  at  once, 
the  law  for  the  remodelling  of  these  courts  was 
postponed  until  the  following  session.  The  wish  of 
the  legislature,  however,  was  to  preserve,  while 
it  improved,  the  paternal  spirit  of  a  system,  so 
especially  popular,  so  expeditious,  and  so  cheap. 

As  the  crown  and  coping-stone  of  this  e4ifice 
of  justice,  there  was  maintaiued,  witli  some 
modifications,  and  a  restraining  jurisdiction  over 
all  the  magistrates,  the  tribunal  of  cassation, 
one  of  the  finest  institutions  of  the  French  revo- 
lution ;  a  tribunal,  whose  scope  is  not  the  judging 
a  third  time  wiiat  the  tribunals  of  the  first  instance 
and  of  appeal  have  already  twice  given  their 
judgments  upon,  but  which,  putting  on  one  side 
the  facts  of  the  case,  interposes  only  when  a  doubt 
has  been  raised  in  the  meaning  of  the  law,  de- 
termines that  meaning  by  precedents,  and  thus 
adds  to  the  unity  of  the  text  as  emanating  from  the 
legislature,  a  unity  of  interpretation  as  issuing 
from  the  supreme  jurisdiction,  and  so  common  to 
the  whole  country. 

It  is,  therefore,  from  this  year  1800,  a  year  so 
fruitful  in  events,  that  we  date  our  judicial  organi- 
zation ;  since  which  time  it  lias  consisted  of  nearly 
two  thousand  justices  of  the  peace',  a  magistracy 
for  tlie  people,  rendering  justice,  at  a  small  expense, 
to  the  poor ;  of  nearly  three  hundred  tribunals 
of  the  first  instance,  one  for  each  arrondissement, 
that  administer  civil  and  correctional  2  justice,  in 
the  first  degree  ;  of  twenty-nine  suj)reme'  tribu- 
nals* administering  the  department  of  civil  justice 
as  courts  of  appeal  and  criminal  justice  by  judges 
sent  out  from  it  who  hold  assizes  at  the  chief  town 
of  each  department  ;  lastly,  (.f  a  supreme  tribunal, 
placed  at  the  head  of  this  judicial  hierarchy,  to  in- 
terpret the  laws,  and  complete  the  unity  of  the 
legislature  by  the  unity  of  jurisprudence; 

The  two  la\xs  for  these  purposes  were  of  too 
pressing  a  necessity,  and  too  complete  in  their 
plan,  to  meet  with  any  serious  obstacles  ;  yet 
they  nevertheless  had  to  sustain  more  than  one 
attack  in  the  tribunal.  Objections  the  most  trifling 
we.-e  raised  against  the  projiosed  system  of  admi- 
nistration. There  was  not  much  complaint  of  the 
authority  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  prefects,  sub- 
prefects,  or  mayor8,.as  that  was  in  accordance  with 
the  notions  of  the  time,  and  was  in  imitation  of  the 
constitution,  which  placed  one  i)erson  as  chief  at 
the  head  of  the  state;  but  a  grievance  was  found  in 

'  Juecs  de  paix.  2  Police.  3  Souvcrains. 

*  We  give  here  only  round  numbers,  as  tlie  number  of  (he 
tribunals  has  constantly  varied,  in  accordance  with  the  dif- 
ferent changes  of  territory  which  France  has  undergone;  at 
present,  for  instance,  there  are  no  more  than  twenty-seven 
cuiirs  rni/alei,  or  tribunals  of  appeal. 


Appointment  of  the  i 
40  ininistrative  and  , 

djcial  officers. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


The  closing  of  the  pro- 
scription list. 


the  creation  of  three  degrees  in  the  scale  of  admi- 
nistration— the  department,  the  arrondissement,and 
the  commune.  The  opposition  went  so  far  as  to  assert 
that  the  communes  must  he  reconstituted,  as  it 
would  not  be  possible  to  find  men  of  sufficient  eu- 
Hghtenment  for  mayors.  It  was,  however,  a  resto- 
ration of  self-government,  of  domestic  authority, 
and  in  this  view  tlie  plan  was  more  popular  than 
can  even  be  imagined.  As  regarded  the  judicial 
organization,  some  cried  out  against  it  as  a  resto- 
i-ation  of  the  parliaments;  others  complained  of  the 
jurisdiction  over  the  inferior  magistrates  which  was 
given  to  the  tribunal  of  cassation,  with  other  such 
objections;  all  of  the  mnot  worthy  of  mention,  since, 
in  spite  of  all,  the  two  proposed  laws  were  passed. 

Twenty  or  thirty  votes,  the  main  body  of  the 
opposition  in  the  tribunate,  w^ere  given  against 
those  laws,  but  three-fourths  voted  in  their  favour. 
The  legislative  body  adopted  them  almost  unani- 
mously. The  law  relating  to  the  departmental  admi-  * 
nistration  bore  the  date  since  celebrated,  of  28th 
Pluviose,  year  viii.,  that  relating  to  the  judicial 
organization  was  dated  27th  Ventose,  year  viii. 

The  first  consul,  determining  not  to  leave  them  a 
dead  letter  in  the  list  of  laws,  appointed  forthwith 
the  prefects,  sub-prefects,  and  mayors. 

He  was  liable  of  course  to  many  mistakes,  as 
generally  happens  where  a  number  of  functionaries 
have  to  be  appointed  at  once ;  but  an  enlightened 
and  vigorous  government  can  speedily  rectify  any 
en-or  of  its  first  choice.  It  is  enough  that  the 
general  intention  of  it  be  good,  and  in  this  instance 
the  intention  shown  in  the  choice  was  excellent;  it 
was  at  once  firm,  impartial,  and  conciliatory.  The 
first  consul  sought  out  m  all  parties  men  of  reputed 
honour  and  capacity,  excluding  none  but  the  vio- 
lent, and  even  adopting  some  of  these  last,  if  expe- 
rience and  time  had  reduced  them  to  such  a  mo- 
derate tone  as  then  formed  the  essential  charac- 
teristic of  his  policy. 

To  the  prefectures,  offices  of  importance  and 
high  salary, — the  prefects  then  received  12,000, 
15,000,  and  up  to  even  24,000f.  of  income,  being  in 
value  double  what  these  amounts  now  are, — he  ap- 
pointed personages  who  had  figured  witli  honour  in 
the  great  political  assemblies,  and  whose  appoint- 
ment would  most  cleai-ly  show  the  intention  of  his 
choice;  for  men,  though  they  be  neither  actions  nor 
principles,  yet  represent  them  in  the  eyes  of  the 
people.  To  Itlarseilles,  for  instance,  the  first  consul 
named  M.  Charles  Lacroix,  ex-minister  of  foreign 
affairs  ;  to  Saintes,  M.  Fran9ais,  of  Nantes  ;  to 
Lyons,  M.  Verninhac,  foi-merly  an  ambassador;  to 
Nantes,  M.  Lctourneur,  formerly  a  member  of  the 
Directory  ;  to  Brussels,  M.  de  PontCicoulant ;  to 
Rouen,  M.  Bcugnot ;  to  Amiens,  M.  Quinette  ;  to 
Ghent,  M.  Faypoult,  formerly  minister  of  finance. 
All  these  men,  and  others,  who  were  found  in  the 
Constituent  Assembly,  the  Legislative  Assembly,  the 
Convention,  and  the  Five  Hundred,  and  who  wei-e 
taken  from  amongst  the  ministei-s,  the  directors, 
and  the  ambassadors  of  the  republic,  wei'e  ready  to 
give  a  fair  start  to  the  new  administrative  func- 
tions, and -to  confer  on  the  government  of  the  pro- 
vinces the  importance  which  it  deserved.  The 
greater  part  of  them  retained  their  offices  during 
the  reign  of  the  first  consul  and  of  the  emperor.  One 
of  them,  M.  de  Jessaint,  was  a  prefect  witliin  -the 
last  four  years.     For  the  prefecture  of  Paris,  the 


first  consul  made  choice  of  Frochot,  and  gave 
him  for  a  colleague  at  the  prefecture  of  police,  M. 
Dubois,  a  magistrate  whose  energy  was  useful  in 
purging  the  capital  of  those  ill-doers  whom  fac- 
tion had  thrown  within  its  bosom. 

The  judicial  appointments  were  made  in  the 
same  spirit.  Men  of  honoured  name,  acquired  in 
the  former  bar  and  the  former  magistracy,  were  as- 
sociated, wherever  it  could  be  done,  with  new  men 
of  renown  and  probity.  Wherever  he  could  throw 
a  lustre  on  these  offices  by  noble  names,  the  first 
consul  failed  not  to  do  so,  for  he  liked  eclat  in  all 
things  ;  and  the  time  had  come  when,  without 
danger,  something  might  be  boiTowed  from  the 
past.  A  magistrate  named  Aguesseau  headed  the 
list  of  judicial  appointments,  as  the  chief  of  the 
tribunal  of  appeal  of  Paris,  now  the  "  Royal  Court." 
These  functionaries  received  instructions,  imme- 
diately on  their  appointment,  to  depart  on  the 
instant,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  possession  of 
their  seats,  and  of  contributing  their  part  to  that 
work  of  re-organization  which  formed  the  constant 
occupation  of  the  young  general,  out  of  which  he 
wished  to  create  his  fame,  and  which,  after  so 
many  prodigies  of  victory,  has  remained,  in  fact, 
the  most  stable  of  his  glories 

Where  society  had  been  turned  so  completely 
topsy-turvy,  it  became  necessary  to  handle  every 
matter  at  the  same  time.  The  emigration,  at 
once  so  blameable  and  so  pitiable, — a  just  object 
alike  of  sympathy  and  aversion,  since  in  its  ranks 
were  to  be  found  men  cruelly  persecuted,  and 
bad  Frenchmen  who  had  conspired  against  their 
country,  —  the  emigration  required  the  earnest 
attention  of  the  government.  According  to  the 
last  law,  a  decree,  either  of  the  directory  or  of 
the  administration  of  the  department,  was  in  itself 
sufficient  to  place  any  absent  individual  on  the  list 
of  emigrants,  from  which  moment  his  goods  be- 
came confiscated,  and  the  law  pronounced  his 
death  if  he  were  again  found  on  the  territory  of 
the  republic.  A  great  numher  of  individuals,  who 
were  actually  emigrants,  or  had  only  secreted 
themselves,  and  who  had  not  been  inscribed  on  the 
fatal  list,  either  because  they  had  escaped  notice, 
or  no  one  had  been  found  to  denounce  them,  were, 
however,  still  liable  to  be  placed  upon  it ;  and  thus 
there  were  numbers  of  Fi-enchmen  who  were  living 
in  a  continual  anxiety.  It  wanted  but  an  enemy 
to  meet  them,  and  they  might  be  instantly  on  the 
list,  and  subject  to  the  laws  and  penalties  of  pro- 
scription. As  regards  those  who  had  been  already 
placed  on  the  list,  justly  or  not,  they  were  arriving 
in  great  numbers  to  have  their  names  struck  ofiT. 
Their  eagerness,  and  their  very  rashness,  showed 
their  confidence  in  the  humanity  of  the  govern- 
ment ;  but  was  rather  annoying  to  certain  of  the 
revolutionists,  some  of  whom  were  conscious  of 
excesses  committed  against  the  returning  emi- 
grants, others  of  having  obtained  possession  of  their 
property.  This  was  a  new  source  of  difficulty  in 
the  arrangements ;  for  while  it  was  necessary  that 
proscription  should  cease,  it  was  also  necessary  not 
to  expose  to  continual  uneasiness  those  who  liad 
taken  a  part,  especially  a  violent  one,  in  the  con- 
flicts of  the  revolution,  which  owed  to  those  who 
had  compromised  themselves  for  it  a  complete 
security  ;  since,  unfortunately,  men  in  general  are 
either  cold  and  selfish,  or  passionate  partisans  of 


Some  emigrants  still 
proscribed. 


GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR. 


the  cause  tlicy  take  up  ;  in  which  latter  case  they 
can  ordinarily  claim  little  merit  for  their  mode- 
ration. 

To  such  a  state  of  tilings  it  was  urgent  to  apply 
a  remedy  ;  and  the  government  introduced  a  bill, 
whose  tirst  enactment  was  to  close  the  famous  list 
of  emigrants.  On  and  after  the  4tli  Nivose, 
year  viii.,  or  December  25,  1799,  the  day  on  which 
the  constitution  came  in  force,  the  list  of  emigrants 
was  declared  to  be  closed  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  fact  of 
absence  posterior  to  that  date  was  no  longer  to  be 
construed  as  emigration,  or  to  be  liable  to  the  same 
punishment :  liberty  was  granted  to  come  and  go, 
to  travel  from  France  to  a  foreign  country,  and 
from  a  foreign  country  to  France,  without  com- 
mitting a  punishable  offence  ;  for  it  is  a  fact,  that 
for  tea  years  absence  had  been  a  crime.  The 
liberty,  then,  of  comnig  and  going  was  thus  restored 
to  every  citizen. 

To  this  first  enactment  a  second  was  added  : 
individuals  more  or  less  liable  to  the  charge  of 
emigration,  whether  from  having  left  the  country 
for  a  short  time,  or  simply  concealed  themselves,  to 
keep  out  of  the  way  of  persecution,  and  who  by  good 
fortune  had  been  omitted  in  the  pi-oscription  Hst, — 
were  now  no  longer  to  be  placed  upon  it  but  by  au- 
thority of  a  decision  of  the  ordinary  tribunals  ;  that 
is  to  say,  of  a  jury.  This  was  tantamount,  in  some 
measure,  to  closing  the  list  for  them  also,  as  there 
was  little  risk  that  many  names  would  be  added 
to  it  in  the  then  spirit  of  the  tribunals. 

Lastly,  while  the  handing  them  over  to  the  tri- 
bunals insured  to  those  whose  names  had  not  been 
inscribed,  the  guarantees  of  the  common  law,  those 
who  had  been  unjustly  placed  on  the  list,  or  who 
pretended  to  be  so,  in  their  wish  to  have  their 
names  stnick  off,  were  referred  to  the  administra- 
tive authority.  The  intended  indulgence  of  the 
new  government  in  favour  of  these  parties  was 
evident  in  this ;  for  the  new  administrative  autho- 
rities, created  by  it,  and  imbued  with  its  spirit, 
could  not  fail  to  lend  a  ready  ear  to  claims  of  this 
nature  :  the  presenting  a  certificate  of  residence 
in  any  part  of  France  (and  there  was  no  difficulty 
about  false  certificates)  was  all  that  was  necessary 
to  prove  that  the  party  had  been  wrongfully  de- 
clared absent,  and  to  cause  him  to  be  erased  from 
the  list  of  emigrants.  With  the  general  good- 
natured  inclination  to  violate  tyrannical  laws,  this 
means  of  ol)taining  their  erasure  seldom  failed 
those  who  sought  it.  More  than  this,  emigrants 
who  wisiied  to  procure  their  erasure,  were  allowed 
to  re-enter  France  "under  surveillance "  of  the 
chief  police;  in  the  language  of  the  times,  this  was 
called  "obtjiining  surveillances;"  they  were  given 
in  great  numbers,  so  that  those  of  the  emigrants 
who  had  most  need  of  it,  were  enabled  thus  to  an- 
tici|>ate  the  moment  of  their  erasure;  and,  indeed, 
many  of  th<nn  went  no  further,  but  made  use  of 
these  "  surveillances"  as  a  definitive  recall. 

Emigrants,  however,  there  were,  whose  names 
could  not  l>e  cut  out  from  that  fatal  list,  because  of 
the  notorious  scandal  of  their  emigration.  In 
respect  of  these  the  existing  laws  were  still  main- 
tained. The  spirit  of  the  times  was  such,  that  it 
was  not  possible  to  do  otherwise.  For  the  unfor- 
tunate tliere  was  pity;  but  anger  only  for  the 
guilty  who  had  quitted  the  territory  of  France  to 
bear  arms  against  tiieir  country,  or  invite  against 


her  the  arms  of  the  foreigner.  For  the  rest,  whether 
erased  or  not,  no  man  could  recover  his  property 
if  sold.  All  sales  were  irrevocable,  both  by  virtue 
of  the  constitution,  and  the  enactments  of  the  new 
hiw  ;  those  only  who,  after  their  erasure,  found 
their  property  had  not  been  sold,  though  seques- 
tered, wei-e  enabled  to  indulge  the  hope  of  recover- 
uig  it  for  themselves. 

Such  was  the  law  as  pi'oposed  and  adopted  by 
an  immense  majority,  despite  objections  made  in 
the  tribunate,  on  the  part  of  some,  who  found  shown 
ill  it  either  too  much  or  too  little  favour  towards 
the  emigrants. 

Among  the  legal  enactments  then  in  force,  there 
was  one  which  appears  insupportably  tyrannical — 
a  restraint  on  the  power  of  bequeathing  by  will. 
As  the  laws  stood,  no  man  at  his  death  could  dis- 
pose of  more  by  will  than  a  tenth  portion  of  his 
property  if  he  had  children ;  of  a  sixth  if  he  had 
none.  These  enactments  resulted  fnmi  the  first 
indignation  of  the  revolution  against  the  abuses 
of  the  old  state  of  French  aristocratic  society, 
where  paternal  vanity,  sometimes  from  a  desire 
to  aggrandize  an  elder  son,  sometimes  to  force 
the  affections  of  children  to  ill-assorted  mar- 
riages, would  despoil  some  for  the  benefit  of  others. 
Under  the  natural  influence  of  anger  thus  aroused, 
in  place  of  reduchig  the  power  of  a  father  within 
due  limits,  the  revolution  completely  fettered  it. 
It  was  no  longer  in  the  power  of  a  parent  to  re- 
ward or  punish.  If  he  had  children,  there  was 
nothing,  or  little  more  than  nothing,  which  he 
could  leave  in  favour  of  the  child  that  merited  all 
his  affection;  and,  what  is  more  extraordinary,  if 
he  had  only  nephews,  whether  nearly  or  distantly 
related  to  him,  he  could  only  leave  them  a  portion 
of  his  property  the  most  insignificant,  that  is  to 
say,  a  sixteenth.  This  was  in  truth  an  attack  on 
the  rights  of  property,  and,  of  all  the  rigorous  en- 
actments of  the  revolution,  the  one  most  keenly 
felt;  for  the  hand  of  death  strikes  down  every  day 
its  victims;  and  thousands  who  died,  breathed  their 
last  sigh  in  regret  at  an  inability  to  obey  the  last 
dictates  of  their  hearts  towards  those  who  had 
served  them,  cared  for  them,  and  consoled  them 
in  their  old  age.  A  reform  like  this  could  not 
possibly  wait  the  drawing  up  of  the  civil  code.  A 
law  to  re-establish  the  right  of  bequeathing  by  will, 
within  certain  restrictions,  was  at  once  brought  in. 
By  virtue  of  this  law,  a  father  who  had  less  than 
four  children  was  empowered  at  his  death  to  be- 
queath a  fourth  of  his  property;  if  less  than  five, 
a  fifth  ;  and  so  on  in  the  same  proportion.  He 
might  dispose  of  a  half  if  he  had  neither  ascending 
nor  collateral  relations,  and  of  the  whole  when  he 
had  no  kindred  qualified  to  succeed  him. 

This  measure  was  much  attacked  in  the  tri- 
bunate ;  above  all,  by  the  tribune  Andrieux,  a 
man  of  honesty  and  sincerity,  but  with  more  en- 
thusiasm than  judgment.  He  spoke  of  it  as  a  return 
to  the  abuses  of  primogeniture,  to  the  violent  in- 
justice of  the  anc'ien  rajime,  in  the  case  of  the  chil- 
dren of  men  of  rank;  but  this  law,  like  the  others, 
was  passed  by  an  immense  majority. 

By  another  law  the  government  instituted  a 
tribunal  of  prizes,  which  had  become  indispensable 
for  rendering  impartial  justice  to  the  neutral 
powers,  and  conciliating  them  towards  Franco  by 
better  treatment.     Tlie  attention  of  the  two  assera- 


42      ^Stof"f80°o"°'"'^"       THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.    'Pa"p^\ntef"'' ''' '""    '11 


blies   was,   lastly,  invited   to  the  laws  respecting 
the  finances. 

The  government  had  but  little  to  address  to  the 
legislative  body  on  this  subject,  as  the  two  legis- 
lative commissioners  had  ah-eady  returned  the 
necessary  laws.  What  had  been  done  by  the 
government  in  working  out  the  administration  of 
those  laws,  was  scarcely  a  matter  for  discussion. 
It  was,  however,  necessary  to  decree,  if  only  as  a 
matter  of  form,  the  budget  of  the  year  vni.  Had 
the  taxes  been  regularly  collected,  had  the  regu- 
lar imposts  been  exactly  paid,  and  not  only  regu- 
larly paid  by  the  contributors,  but  duly  hauded 
over  by  those  who  received  the  public  monies,  the 
finances  of  the  state  would  have  been  in  a  tolerable 
condition.  The  ordinai-y  taxes  would  give  about 
430,000,000  f.,  to  which  amount  the  government 
hoped  to  reduce  the  public  expenses  in  time  of 
peace  ;  indeed  they  promised  themselves  to  bring 
them  down  still  lower.  Experience  soon  proved 
that  this  was  not  possible  even  in  time  of  peace,  but 
it  has  also  shown  that  it  was  easy  to  bring  up  the 
receipts  from  the  taxes  to  this  amount,  without  in- 
creasing the  i-ate  of  taxation.  We  exclude  from 
this  calculation  the  expense  of  collection,  and  local 
expenses,  which,  reckoning  them  as  they  are  reck- 
oned now,  w(ndd  brins  the  budget  of  this  date  up 
to  600,000,000  f.  or  620,000,000  f. 

The  great  and  certain  insufficiency  of  the  re- 
ceipts was  only  a]iparent  in  the  expenses  of  the  war 
— a  result  not  to  be  wondered  at,  as  it  always  must 
be  the  case.  In  no  country  can  a  war  be  supported 
on  the  ordinary  revenues  of  peace.  If  this  were 
the  case,  it  would  sufficiently  prove  that  the  taxes 
were  too  gi-eat  in  a  time  of  tranquillity.  But, 
thanks  to  the  disorder  of  the  past,  no  one  could 
tell,  whether  with  a  war  the  budget  would  i-isc  to 
600,000,000  f.,  700,000.000  f ,  or  800  000.000  f. 
One  party  said  G00,000,000f.,  the  other  800,000,000f. 
Every  one  had  a  different  conjecture  on  this  sub- 
ject. Experience  here  also  proves  that  about 
1 50,000,000  f.  added  to  the  ordinary  budget,  are 
enough  to  furnish  the  expenses  of  a  war,  especially 
with  an  army  always  victorious,  and  living  on  the 
enemies'  country.  The  budget  for  the  year  was, 
therefore,  made  out  at  600,000,000f.  of  expences  and 
receipts;  and  as  the  ordinary  revenues  amounted 
to  43it,000,000f.,  there  was,  therefore,  a  deficiency 
of  170,000,000  f.  This,  however,  was  not  the  real 
difficulty.  It  would  have  been  too  much  to  pre- 
tend, on  just  emerging  from  a  financial  chaos,  to 
aim  at  an  immediate  equalization  of  the  receipts 
with  the  expenditure.  What  was  first  necessiiry 
was  to  get  in  the  ordinary  taxes.  If  this  first 
result  could  be  reached,  tlie  government  was  sure 
to  have  resources  soon  to  meet  the  most  pressing 
wants  ;  for  credit  would  quickly  feel  the  effect ; 
and  with  the  different  bills  and  securities,  the 
creation  of  which  we  have  elsewhere  enumerated, 
it  would  have,  in  its  hands,  means  of  obtaining  from 
capitalists  tiie  necessary  funds  for  every  dejjart- 
ment.  For  this  M.  Gaudin  worked  unremittingly; 
seconded,  in  all  the  difficulties  which  he  met,  by 
the  firm  and  sustained  purpose  of  the  first  consul. 
The  board  of  direct  constitution,  recently  esta- 
blished, displayed  the  greatest  activity.  The  as- 
sessment papers  were  well  sent  out,  and  already  in 
course  of  collection.  The  bills  of  the  receiver.-!- 
general  began  to  find  their  way  into  the  treasury. 


and  were  discounted  at  a  rate  of  interest  not  too 
usurious.  The  difficulty  in  establishing  this  sys- 
tem of  bills  consisted  always  in  the  amount  of 
paper  in  circulation,  which  it  is  difficult  to  fix, 
especially  as  regarded  each  general  receipt.  A  re- 
ceiver, for  instance,  who  should  collect  20,000,000  f, 
could  not  sign  bills  for  that  amount,  if  he  was 
liable  to  be  called  upon  for  six  or  eight  millions  of 
dead  securities,  either  bonds  of  arrearage,  bonds 
of  requisition,  or  similar  obligations. 

The  minister  applied  himself  to  retiring  these 
obligations,  and  when  he  had  made  an  estimate  how 
much  they  would  enter  into  of  each  general  receipt, 
he  drew  upon  the  receivers-general  for  the  amount 
which  he  calculated  would  come  into  their  coffei-s. 
There  were  created,  in  the  same  session,  a  new 
class  of  accountable  officers,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
bring  about  greater  exactness  in  the  transmission 
of  monies  to  the  treasury;  these  were  the  receivers 
for  the  arrondissement.  Hitherto  there  had  been 
no  intermediate  officer  between  those  who  collected 
from  the  tax-payers,  and  the  receiver-general  placed 
in  each  chief  town,  than  the  clerk  of  the  receipts, 
the  receiver-general's  own  agent,  dependent  upon 
him,  and  telling  the  truth  to  him  alone.  This  was 
exactly  one  of  the  points  at  which  the  entry  of  the 
money  into  the  public  coffers  could  be  best  noted 
and  ascertained,  and  this  very  point  was  miserably 
neglected.  Special  receivers  were  now  appointed 
to  each  arrondissement,  who  were  dependent  on 
the  state,  owing  to  it  an  account  of  what  they  re- 
ceived and  handed  over  to  the  receivers -general; 
they  were  thus  well-informed  and  disinterested 
witnesses  as  to  the  progress  of  the  sums  collected, 
since  to  them  no  advantage  could  arise  from  a  stag- 
nation of  the  public  monies  in  the  coffers  of  the 
accountable  officers.  By  these  appointments  the 
govei'nment  obtained  the  advantage  of  knowing  the 
exact  state  of  the  receipts,  and  of  having  in  its 
hands  new  securities  in  cash ;  a  matter  of  indif- 
ference now,  but  not  so  just  then  ;  it  had,  lastly, 
the  advantage  of  finding  a  new  employment  for  the 
lately  devised  division  into  the  arrondissements. 
The  courts  of  civil  and  correctional  justice,  and 
a  great  portion  of  the  communal  administration, 
had  already  been  established  in  the  centre  of  the 
arrondi.'-sement;  by  fixing  also  a  part  of  the  financial 
administration  in  the  same  place,  a  still  further 
usefulness  would  be  given  to  this  division,  which 
the  malicious  were  attempting  to  disparage  as 
being  only  an  arbitrary  subdivision  of  the  country. 
And  since  for  particular  reasons  it  had  been  con- 
sidered a  necessary  step,  there  could  be  nothing 
better  than  to  multiply  its  uses,  and  so  render  real 
what  was  charged  with  being  artificial.  The  prefects 
and  sub-prefects  received  ordci-s  to  visit  the  re- 
ceivei-s,  and  themselves  to  watch,  by  an  inspection 
of  the  books,  over  the  exactitude  of  their  trans- 
actions. Fortunately  it  is  not  so  in  our  time ;  but  at 
that  moment,  when  the  whole  plan  was  but  as  it 
were  a  rough  sketch,  the  sending  a  prelect  and 
sub-prefect  to  inspect  their  accounts,  was  by  no 
means  a  useless  stimulant  to  employ  with  account- 
able officers. 

The  re-organization  of  the  finances  thus  went  on 
with  all  possible  rapidity  ;  but  assemblies  can  only 
understand  results  when  they  are  realized.  They 
could  not  perceive  how  much  that  was  actually 
useful  was  doing  in  the  interior  of  the  administra- 


The  bank  of  France 
established. 


GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR. 


Reply  of  the  British  ca- 
binet to  the  first  con- 
sul's letter. 


tion.  In  the  tribunate  they  were  eloquent  without 
end  ou  the  great  question  of  the  equaUzation  of 
receipts  with  e.\pcnses  ;  they  complained  of  the 
di- licit ;  they  brought  forward  a  thousand  plans ; 
and  there  were  some  persons  so  senseless  as  to 
iucline  to  a  rejection  of  the  finance  laws  until  the 
government  should  propose  some  means  of  bringing 
the  expenses  and  i-eceipts  to  a  balance.  But  all 
these  propositions  led  to  no  I'esult ;  the  proposed 
laws  were  passed  by  a  great  majority  in  the  tri- 
bunate, and  almost  vinauimously  by  the  legislative 
body. 

An  institution,  worthy  of  mention  in  history, 
was  added  next  to  those  of  which  we  have  just 
recounted  the  foundaticm;  this  was  the  bank  of 
France.  The  old  establishments  for  discount  had 
fallen  in  the  midst  of  the  disorders  of  the  revo- 
lution ;  it  was  impossible,  however,  that  Paris 
could  remain  without  a  bank.  In  every  centre  of 
commerce,  where  any  activity  exists,  there  must 
be  a  money  convenient  for  payments,  or,  in  other 
words,  a  paper-money,  and  an  estaljlishmcnt  to 
discount  on  a  large  scale  the  drafts  of  commerce. 
These  two  branches  afford  to  each  other  a  nmtual 
assistance  ;  for  the  funds  deposited  against  bills 
in  circulation,  serve  at  the  same  time  to  aid  com- 
mercial transactions  in  the  way  of  discount.  In 
fact,  where  any  business  is  stirring,  however  in- 
considerable, a  bank  cannot  fail  to  make  a  profit, 
if  it  discount  good  bills  only,  and  do  not  issue 
more  notes  than  are  required ;  in  a  word,  if  it  pro- 
portion its  opei-ations  to  the  true  wants  of  the 
place  where  it  is  established.  This  is  what  was 
wanted  in  Paris,  and  its  success  was  certain  if  it 
were  properly  constituted.  The  new  bank,  be- 
sides transactions  with  private  individuals,  was  to 
have  transactions  with  the  treasury,  and  conse- 
quently, while  making  profits,  it  had  to  give  ser- 
vices in  return.  The  government  consulted  the 
principal  bankers  of  the  capital,  at  the  head  of 
whom  M.  Perrcgaux  placed  himself,  a  financier 
whose  name  connects  itself  with  all  the  great  ser- 
vices rendered  at  that  time  to  the  state  ;  and  there 
was  soon  formed  an  association  of  rich  capitalists 
for  the  creation  of  a  bank,  called  the  bank  of 
France,  the  same  which  is  in  existence  at  this  day. 
Its  capital  was  settled  at  30,000,000 f.  ;  it  was  to 
be  governed  by  fifteen  directors  and  a  managing 
committee  of  three  persons,  which  committee  after- 
wards gave  place  to  a  governor.  It  was,  by  its 
statutes,  to  discount  commercial  bills  representing 
legitimate  not  fictitious  transactions,  to  issue  notes 
circulating  as  money,  and  was  interdicted  from 
engaging  in  any  business  foreign  to  discounts  and 
dealing  in  bullion.  Faithful  to  its  statutes,  it 
has  grown  up  into  the  finest  establishment  of  this 
kind  in  the  world.  It  will  be  seen  presently  what 
was  done  by  the  government  to  push  on  the  ope- 
rations of  this  bank  with  a  speed  which  made  it 
prosperous  in  the  carhcst  days  of  its  existence. 

Pending  these  great  operations  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  internal  administration,  to  which  the 
consular  government,  in  concert  with  the  legis- 
lative body,  sedulously  applied  itself,  negotiations 
with  foreign  powers,  friendly  or  belligerent,  were 
carried  on  without  interruption.  The  letter  of  the 
first  consul  to  the  king  of  England  wiis  followed 
by  an  immediate  answer.  The  first  consul  had 
written  on  the  2(ith  December,  the  6tii  Nivoso  ;  ho 


was  answered  on  tlie  4th  January,  the  14th  Ni- 
vose :  indeed,  the  i-esolution  of  the  English  cabinet 
had  been  taken  beforehand,  and  it  had  no  neces- 
sity for  deliberation.  England,  in  1797>  when  her 
finances  were  in  a  state  of  embaiTassment,  and  when 
Austria  had  been  compelled  to  sign  the  treaty 
of  Campo  Formio,  had  been  inclined  to  think  of 
treating,  and  sent  Lord  Malmesbury  to  Lille  ;  but 
now  that  the  income-tax  had  restored  ease  to  her 
exchequer, — now  that  Austria,  placed  again  in  a 
state  of  war  with  us,  had  carried  her  arms  to  our 
very  frontiers, — now  that  England  was  strenuously 
occupied  in  wresting  from  us  our  important  positions 
in  Malta  and  Egypt,  and  in  avenging  the  affront  of 
the  Texel, — peace  was  but  little  to  the  taste  of  that 
power.  She  had,  besides,  another  reason  for  this 
I'cfusal,  which  was,  that  war  was  suited  to  the 
passions  and  the  interests  of  Mr.  Pitt.  This  illus- 
trious head  of  the  British  cabinet  had  made  a  war 
with  France  his  object,  his  glory,  and  the  basis  of 
his  ])olitical  existence.  If  peace  were  necessary, 
possibly  he  must  retire.  lie  brought  to  the  con- 
flict that  firmness  of  character,  which,  united  to  his 
talent  as  an  orator,  had  made  him  a  statesman, 
powei'ful,  though  not  enlightened.  The  answer 
could  not  be  a  matter  of  doubt ;  it  was  dis- 
courteous, and  in  the  negative.  The  English  cabinet 
did  not  do  the  first  consul  the  honour  of  addressing 
the  answer  directly  to  him,  but  keeping  up  the 
custom,  in  most  i-espects  an  excellent  one,  of  com- 
municating from  minister  to  minister,  they  replied 
in  a  note  addressed  by  Lord  Grenville  to  M.  de 
Talleyrand. 

In  this  note,  with  some  want  of  skill,  the  chagrin 
was  allowed  to  be  seen  which  this  challenge  to 
peace,  not  to  war,  addressed  to  England  by  the  first 
consul,  had  occasioned  to  Mr.  Pitt.  It  contained  a 
recapitulation  of  the  original  causes  of  the  war,  eter- 
nally reproduced,  year  after  year.  It  imputed  the 
first  aggression  to  the  French  republic ;  reproached 
it  in  violent  terms  for  the  ravages  committed  in 
Germany,  Holland,  Switzerland,  and  Italy,  making 
especial  mention  of  the  rapine  carried  on  by  the 
generals  in  the  latter  country;  it  added  to  this 
charge  that  of  a  desire  to  overthrow  the  throne 
and  the  altar  every  where  ;  and  then,  coming  to 
the  last  overtures  of  the  French  consul,  the  English 
minister  said  that  these  feigned  demonstrations  of 
pacific  intentions  were  not  the  first  of  the  same 
kind,  for  that  the  different  revolutionary  govern- 
ments, successively  raised  up  and  pulled  down 
within  ten  jears,  had  more  than  once  made  similar 
l)roposals;  that  his  majesty  the  king  of  Great  Bri- 
tain could  not  yet  observe,  in  what  was  passing  in 
France,  any  change  of  princii)les  capable  of  giving 
.satisfaction  and  tranquillity  to  Europe  ;  that  the 
only  change  which  could  thoroughly  re-assure  it, 
would  be  the  restoration  of  the  house  of  Bourbon, 
since  then  only  would  social  order  appear  to  be  no 
I  longer  endangered;  that,  nevertheless,  the  re-esta- 
I  blishment  of  that  family  was  not  made  an  absolute 
condition  of  peace  with  the  republic  of  France;  but 
that  until  there  were  new  symptoms  more  signifi- 
cant and  more  satisfactory,  England  would  continue 
the  contest,  as  well  for  her  own  safety  as  that  of 
her  allies. 

This  discourteous  note  was  disapproved  of  by  sen- 
sible men  in  all  countries, and  reflected  little  lionour 
on  Mr.  Pitt,  as  showing  him  more  in  anger  than 


Fruitless  correspondence  be- 
44       tween  the  first  consul  and    THIERS'   CONSULATE  AND   EMPIRE. 
Lord  Grenville. 


he  was  wise.  It  showed  that  many  indeed  are 
the  victories  required  by  a  new  government  before 
it  cau  be  respected;  since,  though  the  government 
then  existing  had  ah-eady  won  victories  both  nu- 
merous and  brilHant,  it  was  evident  that  more 
were  still  wanted.  The  first  consul  was  not  dis- 
concerted, and  in  his  desire  to  profit  by  the  good 
position  which  the  moderation  of  his  conduct  gave 
him  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  he  prepared  an  an- 
swer at  once  mild  and  firm,  not  in  the  form  of  a 
letter  to  the  king,  but  as  a  despatch  addressed  to 
the  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  Lord  Grenville. 
Recapitulating  in  a  few  words  the  first  events  of 
the  war,  he  proved,  in  very  guarded  language,  that 
the  sole  object  of  France  in  taking  up  arms  had 
been  to  resist  an  European  conspiracy  directed 
agamst  her  safety  ;  granting  the  misfortunes  which 
the  revolution  had  brought  upon  the  whole  world, 
he  insinuated,  in  a  passing  way,  that  those  who  had 
persecuted  the  French  republic  with  sucli  eager 
hate,  might  possibly  reproach  themselves  de- 
servedly with  being  the  true  causes  of  the  vio- 
lences so  often  deplored.  "  But,"  added  he,  "  to 
what  good  are  these  remembrances  ?  Behold,  now, 
a  government  disposed  that  war  should  cease.^ 
Shall  this  war  have  no  end,  because  the  one  party 
or  the  other  was  the  aggressor  ?  and  if  it  be  not 
to  endure  for  ever,  should  we  not  put  an  end  to 
these  incessant  recriminations  ?  Surely  there  can 
be  no  hope  of  obtaining  from  France  the  re-esta- 
blishment of  the  Bourbons ;  is  it  then  suitable  to 
the  purpose  to  throw  out  hints  such  as  those  which 
have  been  allowed  ?  Nay,  what  would  be  said  if 
France  in  her  communications  were  to  call  upon 
England  to  re-establish  on  the  throne  that  family 
of  the  Stuarts,  which  only  left  it  in  the  last  cen- 
tury ?  But  to  pass  over  such  irritating  questions," 
added  the  note  dictated  by  the  first  consul,  "  if  you 
deplore,  as  we  do,  the  evils  of  war,  let  us  agree  to 
a  suspension  of  arms;  let  us  fix  a  town,  Dunkirk 
for  instance,  or  any  other  of  your  own  choice, 
where  negotiations  may  be  carried  on;  the  French 
government  will  place  at  the  disposal  of  Great 
Britain  passports  for  the  ministers  she  may  uivest 
with  proper  powei's." 

The  very  calmness  of  this  attitude  produced  the 
usual  effect  which  coolness  has  upon  angry  men. 
It  provoked  a  reply  from  Lord  Grenville,  more 
angry,  more  bitter,  and  even  worse  in  reason  than 
his  first  note.  In  this  answer,  the  English  mi- 
nister, seeking  to  palliate  the  fault  which  he  had 
committed  in  speaking  of  the  house  of  Bourbon, 
responded,  that  it  was  not  for  that  family  the 
war  was  carried  on,  but  for  the  safety  of  all  go- 
vernments ;  and  he  declared  anew  that  hostilities 
would  be  continued  without  relaxation.  This  last 
communication  bore  the  date  of  the  20th  January 
or  30th  Nivose.  Nothing  more  could  be  said.  Bo- 
naparte had  done  enough  ;  confiding  in  his  glory, 
he  had  not  feared  to  ofi'er  peace  ;  he  had  made  the 
offer  with  not  much  of  hope,  but  in  good  faith; 
and  had  gained  by  this  step  the  double  advantage 
of  unveiling  to  the  eyes  of  France,  as  well  as  to 
those  of  the  English  opposition,  the  unreasonable 
passion  of  Mr.  Pitt.  Fortunate  would  it  have  been, 
if  at  all  times  he  had  united  with  his  power,  so  skil- 
fully calculated,  the  same  moderation  of  conduct. 

The  communications  of  Austria  were  more  cour- 
teous, but  gave  no  greater  hope  of  peace.    This 


power,  convinced  that  the  intentions  of  the  first 
consul,  however  pacific,  would  not  go  to  the  extent 
of  abandoning  Italy  in  her  favour,  was  resolved  to 
continue  the  war  ;  but,  having  some  experience  of 
the  conqueror  of  Castiglione  and  of  Rivoli,  and 
knowing  that  with  such  an  antagonist  victory  could 
not  altogether  be  considered  a  certainty,  she  was 
desirous  of  not  closing  every  path  to  ulterior  nego- 
tiation. 

As  if  Austria  and  England  had  an  understand- 
ing about  formalities,  the  answer  of  the  emperor  to 
the  first  consul  was  by  a  despatch  from  M.  de  Thugut 
to  M.  de  Talleyrand,  dated  15th  January,  1800,  or 
25  Nivose.  In  substance  it  was  the  same  as  the 
English  notes.  Both  only  made  war,  they  said, 
to  guaranty  Europe  against  a  general  overturn; 
there  was  nothing  they  more  desired  than  to  see 
France  disposed  towards  peace  :  but  what  gua- 
rantee could  be  given  of  this  new  disposition  ?  The 
cabinet  of  Vienna  admitted  that  there  was  hope, 
under  the  first  consul,  of  greater  moderation  at 
home  and  abroad,  more  stability  in  purpose,  and 
greater  fidelity  to  engagements  entered  into,  and 
that  from  these  might  m  time  i-esult  the  chance  of 
a  solid  and  lasting  peace.  This  happy  change  they 
expected  from  his  great  talents;  but  without  sajang 
it  in  words,  they  gave  him  to  understand  that  when 
the  change  was  completely  brought  about,  it  would 
be  time  enough  to  negotiate. 

Dealing  with  Austria  as  he  had  done  with  Eng- 
land, the  first  consul  did  not  let  the  matter  rest 
with  this  evasive  exposition.  Not  discouraged  by 
the  vagueness  of  the  answer,  he  felt  inclined  to 
put  the  cabinet  of  Vienna  under  the  necessity  of 
explaining  itself  positively,  and  of  either  refusing 
or  accepting  peace  in  a  categorical  manner.  On 
the  28th  February,  or  9th  Vent6se,  Talleyrand  was 
instructed  to  write  to  M.  Thugut,  and  to  ofi'er 
him  the  adoption,  as  the  basis  of  a  negotiation,  of 
the  treaty  of  Campo  Formio.  This  treaty,  he 
observed,  Avas  an  act  of  great  moderation  on 
the  part  of  Bonaparte  towards  the  emperor  of 
Austria,  since — when  in  1797  he  had  it  in  his 
power,  from  the  menacing  position  of  the  French 
army  at  the  gate  of  Vienna,  to  require  from  that 
prince  great  sacrifices— he  had,  in  the  hope  of  a 
lasting  peace,  preferred  moderate  advantages  to 
those  of  a  more  extensive  nature  ;  he  had  even, 
added  the  French  minister,  incurred,  by  liis  con- 
duct to  the  imperial  court,  the  blame  of  the  direc- 
tory. Lastly,  M.  de  Talleyrand  declared  that  the 
house  of  Austria  should  receive  in  Italy  the  in- 
demnification which,  by  the  treaty  of  Campo  For- 
mio, had  been  promised  to  it  in  Germany. 

To  comprehend  the  bearing  of  these  proposals 
of  the  first  consul,  we  must  recal^  to  mind  that 
the  treaty  of  Campo  Formio  ceded  to  France, 
Belgium  and  Luxemburgh  ;  to  the  Cisalpine  Re- 
public, Lombardy,  Mantua,  and  the  Legations ; 
and  that  Austria  received  as  an  indemnification, 
Venice  and  a  great  portion  of  the  Venetian  states. 
As  regards  the  line  of  the  Rhine,  embracing  be- 
tween Belgium  and  Luxemburgh  the  country  com- 
prised within  the  Meuse,  the  Moselle,  and  the 
Rhine, — in  a  word,  those  we  now  call  the  Rhenish 
Provinces, — Austria  was  to  use  her  mediation  to 
have  them  ceded  to  France  by  the  Germanic  em- 
pire. Austria,  at  the  time,  ceded,  on  her  own 
part,  the  countship  of  Falkenstein,  lying  between 


Reply  of  Austria  to  the 
first  consul's  proposals. 


GOVERNMENT  OF  THE   INTERIOR.        Further  correspondence.         45 


Lon-ain  and  Alsace,  and  engaged  to  open  to  the 
French  ti-oops  the  gates  of  Mayence,  which  she 
occupied  as  a  count  of  the  empire.  As  a  com- 
pensation, Austria  was  to  receive  tlie  bishopric  of 
Saltzburg,  contiguous  to  Bavaria,  as  soon  as  the 
ecclesiastical  provmces  were  secularized.  These 
diflerent  arrangements  formed  the  subject  of  ne- 
gotiations at  the  congress  of  Riistadt,  which  ter- 
minated so  tragically  in  171)9,  by  the  assassination 
of  the  French  plenipotentiaries.  Such  was  the 
treaty  of  Campo  Forniio. 

In  offering  this  treaty  as  the  basis  of  a  new  ne- 
gotiation, the  first  consul  did  not  surrender  the 
question  of  the  frontier  of  the  Rhine,  as  far  as 
concerned  the  Rhenish  provinces  :  he  only  decided 
the  question  of  Belgium,  which  had  been  irre- 
vocably conceded  to  France,  while  he  left  that 
of  the  Rhenish  Provinces  to  ulterior  negotiation 
with  the  empire  ;  and  by  offering  in  Italy  the  in- 
demnification formerly  stipulated  for  in  Germany, 
he  insinuated  that  the  success  obtained  in  Italy  by 
Austria  might  be  taken  into  consideration,  and 
place  her  in  a  more  advantageous  position  in  that 
country.  He  added,  that  for  the  secondary  powei-s 
of  Europe  there  should  be  stipulated  a  system  of 
guarantees,  proper  to  re-establish  in  all  its  force  that 
law  of  nations  on  which  the  security  and  well-doing 
of  nations  so  essentially  depend.  This  was  an  allu- 
sion to  the  invasion  of  Switzerland,  of  Piedmont,  of 
Tuscany,  the  Papal  States,  and  Naples,  which  had 
afforded  matter  for  a  heavy  charge  against  the 
directory,  and  had  been  taken  as  the  pretext  for  the 
second  coalition  ;  it  was  a  sufficiently  clear  offer  to 
re-establish  those  states,  and  to  give  Europe  an 
assurance  against  the  pretended  usurpations  of  the 
French  republic.  To  such  offers  no  addition  could 
be  made  ;  and  the  necessity  of  peace  for  France 
could  have  alone  induced  the  first  consul  to  make 
them.  Not  to  do  things  by  halves,  he  addressed  to 
Austria,  as  well  as  to  England,  a  formal  proposal 
for  a  suspension  of  arms,  not  only  on  the  Rhine, 
where  such  a  suspension  already  existed,  but  also 
on  the  Alps  and  the  Apennines,  where  it  was  not 
yet  in  being. 

On  tlie  24tli  of  March,  the  3rd  Germinal,  M. 
Thugut  replied  in  tflrms,  otherwise  very  moderate, 
that  the  treaty  of  Campo  Formio,  which  had  been 
violated  a.s  soon  as  concluded,  did  not  comprise  a 
system  of  pacification,  which  could  give  assurance 
to  the  belligerent  parties  ;  that  the  true  principle 
adopted  in  all  negotiations  was  to  take  as  a  basis 
the  position  in  wliich  the  success  of  their  arms  had 
left  each  power,  and  this  was  the  sole  basis  to 
which  Austria  could  agree.  M.  Thugut  added,  that 
previous  to  going  any  further,  he  had  to  demand  an 
explanation  relative  to  the  form  of  the  negotiation  ; 
that  it  behoved  him  to  know  if  France  were  willing 
to  admit  negotiations  from  all  the  states  engaged 
in  the  war,  for  the  purpose  of  arriving  at  a  general 
peace, — tiie  only  peace  which  would  be  fair  and 
prudent,  and  to  which  alone  Austria  would  accede. 

This  languag(!  proved  two  things.  Firstly,  that 
Austria,  by  wisiiing  to  Uikc  as  a  starting-point 
the  actual  position  ',  that  is  to  say,  the  situation  in 
which  the  last  campaign  had  left  each  power,  fos- 
tered great  pretensions  in  regard  to  Italy.  Secondly, 
that  she  would  not  separate  herself  from  England, 


to  whom  treaties  of  subsidy  ©losely  bound  her. 
This  fidelity  to  England  was,  on  her  part,  a  duty 
made  necessary  by  her  position;  and  influenced, 
as  will  be  seen  before  long,  the  fate  of  the  nego- 
tiations and  the  war. 

Such  an  answer,  however  civil  its  terms,  left 
little  hope  of  an  understanding,  especially  as  it 
made  the  conduct  of  a  power  disposed  to  listen  to 
some  mention  of  peace,  dependent  on  that  of  an- 
other, i-esolved  not  to  listen  to  any.  Neverthe- 
less, IBouaparte  sent  a  new  reply,  in  which,  while 
offering  in  Italy  the  compensation  before  stipu- 
lated in  Germany,  he  proposed  implicitly  to  take 
the  starting-point  of  the  treaty,  not  from  the  status 
ante  helium,  but  from  the  status  jjost  bellum;  that 
is  to  say,  to  take  into  account  the  success  of  Austria 
in  Italy.  He  further  observed,  that  the  overtures 
he  had  made  to  England  showed  his  desire  for  a 
general  peace  ;  that  there  was  little  to  be  hoped 
from  a  negotiation  common  to  all  the  belligerent 
powers,  since  England  would  not  hear  of  an  accom- 
modation; that  he  had  admitted  plainly  and  simply 
the  proposals  of  Austria ;  that  he  waited,  in  con- 
sequence, the  fixing  a  place  where  they  might 
treat ;  but  that,  as  they  wished  to  go  on  fighting, 
it  must  be  settled  for  some  place  beyond  the  theatre 
of  war. 

Austria  declared,  that  as  such  were  the  inten- 
tions of  the  French  cabinet,  she  must  communi- 
cate with  her  allies,  but  that,  until  she  had  consulted 
them,  it  was  impossible  for  her  to  name  any  place 
positively.  This  was  postponing  the  negotiations  to 
an  indefinite  period. 

In  making  these  overtures  to  England  and  Aus- 
tria, the  first  consul  never  deceived  himself  as  to 
the  result ;  but  he  was  inclined  to  try  pacific  steps, 
firstly,  because  he  had  a  desire  for  peace,  regard- 
ing it  as  necessary  to  the  oi-ganization  of  his  new 
government ;  secondly,  because  he  judged  such  a 
step  would  place  him  better  in  tlie  public  mind  of 
France  and  Europe. 

His  calculations  were  completely  justified  by 
what  passed  in  the  parliament  of  England.  Mr.  Pitt, 
by  his  brutaP  manner  of  replying  to  the  overtures 
of  France,  had  brought  upon  himself  attacks  the 
most  vehement,  as  well  as  justly  gi-ounded.  The 
opposition  of  Fox  and  Sheridan  had  never  felt  a 
nobler  inspiration,  never  had  shed  such  glory,  or 
more  justly  deserved  the  esteem  of  honourable 
men  in  all  countries. 

There  was,  in  fact,  a  great  dearth  of  motives  for 
the  continuance  of  the  war;  since  England  was  then 
in  a  position  to  obtain  all  she  could  reasonably  desire. 
She  would  certainly  not  have  obtained  the  abandon- 
ment of  Egypt ;  but  as  she,  four  months  later,  offered 
to  resign  it  altogether  and  leave  us  to  do  as  we  liked 
with  it,  as  the  subsequent  negotiations  will  pi'ove, 
she  might  have  con.sented  to  this  at  once,  and  at 
that  price  have  preserved  her  conquests,  the  Indies 
included.  She  would  thus  have  been  spared  the 
immense  danger  to  which  her  obstinacy  after- 
wards exposed  her.  It  was  therefore,  at  bottom, 
nothing  but  the  interest  of  the  ministers  which 
induced  the  British  cabinet  to  support  the  war  with 
such  eagerness.  The  remonstrances  of  the  opposi- 
tion w(!re  strong  and  unceasing.  They  demanded 
and  obtained  the  papers  relating   to  the  ncgotia- 

=  Urutale. 


4G 


Vehement  debates  in  the 
British  parliament  on 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.   lUSf rac"' ''' '''"■ 


tiiins,  and  these  led  to  the  most  violent  debates. 
The  ministers  maintained  that  it  was  not  in  their 
power  to  negotiate  with  the  French  government, 
since  there  could  be  no  certainty  in  entering  into  a 
treaty  with  it ;  that  it  had  drawn  upon  itself,  by 
its  breach  of  faith,  a  war  with  the  whole  world, 
Denmark  and  Sweden  alone  excepted,  and  that 
even  with  the  latter  of  these  two  countries  its 
relations  were  mucli  impaired  ;  that  peace  with 
such  a  government  would  be  treacherous  and  fatal, 
as  evidenced  in  the  Italian  States;  that,  after  having 
been  the  aggressor  against  every  sovereign  in 
Europe,  it  desired  to  dethrone  them  all,  devoured 
as  it  was  by  an  incessant  craving  after  destruction 
and  conquesr. ;  that  Bonaparte  offered  no  more 
guarantees  than  his  predecessors ;  that  if  the  new 
French  government  were  no  longer  terrorist,  it 
was  equally  rev<dutionary,  and  that  with  the  French 
revolution  neither  truce  nor  peace  could  be  hoped 
for;  and  that  if  it  could  not  be  totally  annihi- 
lated, it  might  at  least  be  so  worn  out,  as  to  be- 
come at  last,  from  il.s  weakness,  no  longer  an  ob- 
ject of  terror.  In  regard  to  the  first  consul  the 
English  ministers,  and  especially  lord  Grenville, 
made  use  of  language  the  most  outrageous;  indeed 
they  spoke  of  iiim  as  tliey  might  of  Robespierre. 

Fox,  Sheridan,  Tierney,  the  duke  of  Bedford, 
and  Lord  Holland,  replied  with  much  reason  to  all 
these  allegations, — "  Do  you  ask  who  was  the 
aggressor  ?"  said  they ;  "  of  what  importance  is 
that?  You  say  France  ;  France  says  England. 
Must  we  go  on  destroying  each  other  until  this 
historical  point  is  settled  ?  And  what  matters  it 
who  was  tlie  aggressor,  if  he,  whom  you  call  so, 
offers  first  to  lay  down  his  arms?  You  say  it 
is  impossible  to  treat  with  the  French  govern- 
ment ;  you  sent,  yourselves,  Lord  Malmesbury  to 
Lille,  to  treat  with  the  directory !  Prussia  and 
Spain  have  had  treaties  witii  the  French  republic, 
and  make  no  complaint  of  it.  You  talk  of  the 
crimes  of  this  government  ;  but  your  ally,  the 
court  of  Naides,  commits  crimes  which  are  more 
atrocious  than  those  of  the  convention,  while  it  has 
not  the  excuse  of  popular  fury.  You  talk  of  am- 
bition ;  but  Russia,  Prussia,  and  Austria  have 
shared  Poland  amongst  them,  and  Austria  is 
aiming  to  reconquer  Italy,  without  restoring  their 
states  to  the  princes  whom  France  has  disjws- 
sessed  of  them;  for  yourselves, — you  have  made 
yourselves  masters  of  India,  of  a  ])art  of  the  colo- 
nies of  Spain,  and  of  all  the  Dutch  colonies.  Who 
will  have  the  audacity  to  proclaim  himself  more 
disinterested  tlian  the  rc.it  in  the  struggle  of 
anger  and  greediness,  in  which  all  the  states  are 
engaged?  Either  you  will  never  treat  with  the 
French  republic,  or  you  will  never  find  a  nioment 
more  favouralile  than  the  present,  since  a  man  of 
power  and  authority  h.is  tikrii  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment, and  seems  disjiosc.l  to  use  it  with  justice 
and  moderation.  Is  it  worthy  of  the  English  go- 
vernment to  heap  abuse  on  an  illustrious  personage, 
the  head  of  one  of  the  first  nations  of  the  world, 
and  who,  at  least,  is  a  great  soldier,  whatever  may 
be  the  vices  or  virtues  wliich  time  may  bring  to 
light  in  him  ?  Unless  we  are  prepared  to  say  that 
we  will  exhaust  Great  Britain,  her  blood,  her 
treasures,  her  most  precious  resources,  in  re- 
establishing the  house  of  Bourbon,  it  will  not  be 
easy  to  assign  a  good  reason  for  refusing  to  treat 


at  this  time."  To  arguments  so  pressing  and  so 
true  there  was  no  replying.  Mr.  Tierney,  taking 
advantage  of  the  fatdt  committed  by  the  English 
minister,  in  speaking,  in  his  note,  of  the  re- 
establishment  of  the  house  of  Bourbon,  tnade  a 
special  motion  against  that  family.  He  proposed 
the  adoption  of  a  formal  resolution,  declaring  that 
the  cause  of  England  was  distinct  from  that  of  the 
Bourbons, — a  family  so  fatal  to  the  two  countries, 
"  to  Great  Britain,"  exclaimed  he,  "  as  well  as  to 
France."  "I  have  heard,"  he  continued,  "many 
partisans  of  the  administration  of  Mr.  Pitt  say, 
that  as  the  French  govei-nment  had  not  proposed  a 
joint  negotiation,  there  was  good  reason  for  re- 
fusing to  negotiate  separately,  as  it  would  weaken 
us,  by  alienating  our  allies ;  but  I  have  not 
seen  the  man  who  has  not  severely  blaVned  thus 
fixing  the  termination  of  the  war  at  the  date 
of  the  re-establishment  of  the  Bourbons  on  the 
thnme ! "  It  is  true,  as  ]\Ir.  Tierney  said,  that 
every  one  blamed  this  error;  and  that  the  cabinet 
of  Vienna,  less  actuated  by  passion  than  that  of 
Great  Britain,  took  care  not  to  follow  its  example. 
The  English  ministers  replied,  that  they  had  never 
proposed  this  condition  as  one  absolute  and  indis- 
pensable; but  they  were  met  with  the  rejoinder, 
that  the  very  mention  of  it  was  a  sufficient  viola- 
tion of  the  rights  of  nations,  and  an  outrage  on 
their  freedom.  "  And  what  would  you  say,"  ex- 
claimed Mr.  Tierney,  repeating  here  the  argu- 
ment of  the  French  cabinet,  "  what  would  you 
say,  if  general  Bonaparte,  in  an  hour  of  victory, 
were  to  declare  to  you,  that  he  would  not  treat  but 
with  the  Stuarts?  Moreover,''  added  he,  "is  it 
from  gratitude  to  the  house  of  Bourbon  that  you 
are  thus  prodigal  of  our  blood  and  treasures  ?  Do 
you  remember  the  American  war  ?  Or  rather,  is  it 
for  the  principle  which  that  house  represents  ?  Are 
you  then  about  to  let  loose  against  yourselves  those 
passions  which  raised  up  all  France  against  the 
Bourbons?  Are  you  about  to  have  upon  your 
hands  all  those  who  desire  no  more  nobles,  who 
wish  for  no  more  tithes  nor  feudal  rights;  all 
those  who  have  purchased  national  property  ;  all 
those  who  for  ten  year.s  have  borne  arms  for  the 
French  revolution?  Do  you  then  wish  to  drain 
France  of  her  blood  to  the  very  last  drop,  before 
you  think  of  ])eace  ?  I  make  a  formal  motion,"' 
said  Mr.  Tierney,  in  conclusion,  "  that  England  do 
sei)arate  her  cause  from  that  of  the  house  of 
Bourbqn/' 

On  another  motion,  the  celebrated  Sheridan, 
always  the  boldest  and  most  sarcastic  of  orators, 
turned  the  debate  on  a  very  tender  point  for  the 
British  cabinet,  the  expedition  to  Holland,  at  the 
close  of  which  the  English  and  Russians,  after  a 
defeat  by  general  Brune,  had  been  reduced  to 
capitulate. 

"  It  would  seem,"  said  Siieridan,  "  that  our  go- 
vernment, if  it  cannot  conclude  treaties  of  peace 
with  the  French  republic,  can  at  any  rate  conclude 
capitulations.  I  ask  it  to  explain  to  us  the  motives 
of  that  which  it  has  signed  for  the  evacuation  of 
Holland."  Mr.  Dimdas,  thus  called  upon,  assigned 
three  reasons  for  the  expedition  to  Ilolhind.  The 
first,  to  detach  the  united  provinces  from  France  ; 
the  second,  to  diminish  the  maritime  rescuirces  of 
France  and  to  increase  those  of  England,  by  taking 
the  Dutch  fleet ;  the  third,  to  create  a  diversion 


Sheridan's  speech. — 
Pitt  obtains  ample 
■  sujiplies. 


GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR. 


France  and  Prussia. 


47 


which  might  be  useful  to  the  allies  ;  and  he  added, 
that  the  British  cabinet  had  succeeded  in  two 
objects  out  of  three,  as  it  had  taken  the  fleet,  and 
had  contributed  to  tlie  gaining  the  battle  of  Novi, 
by  drawing  upon  Holland  the  forces  destined  for 
Italy.  The  minister  had  scai-cely  ended,  when 
Sheridan,  rushinj;  to  the  attack,  retorted  with  un- 
equalled point,  *•  Yes,  you  have  listened  to  the  ac- 
counts of  emigrants,  and  you  risked  on  the  conti- 
nent an  Engli.-^h  army  to  cover  it  with  disgrace  ; 
you  wished  to  detach  Holland  from  France,  and 
you  have  attached  it  just  so  much  the  more,  by 
filling  the  whole  country  with  indignation  at  your 
iniquitous  robbery  of  its  fleet  and  its  colonies.  You 
have  seized,  as  you  say,  the  Dutch  fleet,  but  by 
what  unheard  of,  by  what  odious  proceedings  ?  by 
exciting  their  crews  to  revolt,  and  jjresenting  the 
most  terrible  of  all  spectacles,  that  of  sailors  in 
mutiny  against  their  officers,  in  violation  of  that 
discipline  which  cimstitutes  the  strength  of  naval 
l)Ower  and  the  gi'eatness  of  our  own  nation.  You 
liave  carried  off  this  fleet,  to  the  disgrace  of  the 
name  of  Britain  ;  not  for  England,  but  in  any 
case  for  the  stiidtholder  ;  fur  you  were  obliged  to 
declare  it  was  for  him,  and  not  for  England. 
Lastly,  you  rendered  a  service  to  the  Austrian  army 
in  Italy.  It  may  be  so;  but  do  you,  the  minis- 
tei-s  of  the  king  of  Great  Britain,  boast  of  having 
saved  an  Austrian  army  by  giving  up  an  English 
army  to  shiughter  ?" 

These  attacks,  however  virulent,  did  not  prevent 
Pitt  from  olitaining  immense  financial  resources, 
about  1100,000,000  f.',  or  nearly  double  the  budget 
of  France  at  that  period;  with  an  authorization  fur 
subsidizing  Austria  and  the  states  of  the  south 
of  Germany  ;  important  additions  to  the  income- 
tix,  which  already  produced  180,000,000  f.^  a 
year ;  a  new  suspension  of  the  habeas  corpus 
act ;  and,  lastly,  the  grand  measure  of  a  union 
with  Ireland.  But  the  public  mind  of  Eng- 
land was  deeply  excited  by  so  much  reason  and 
elo(|uence.  All  reasoning  men  throughout  Europe 
were  struck  with  the  wrong  done  towards  France ; 
and  victory  ere  long  siding  with  justice,  Pitt 
was  destined  to  ex])iate,  by  cruel  humiliations, 
the  haughtiness  of  his  ])olicy  towards  the  flrst 
consul.  Meanwhile  Pitt  had  to  furnish  the  coali- 
tion with  means  for  a  new  camjiaign, — the  last 
campaign,  it  is  true,  for  all  the  parties  were 
exhausted  ;  but  the  more  fiercely  fought,  for  the 
very  reason  that  it  was  the  last. 

In  this  grave  conjuncture,  the  first  consul  was 
desirous  of  making  a.s  much  u.sc  of  the  court  of 
Prussia  as  was  to  be  expected  at  the  moment.  It 
was  not  in  the  power  of  this  court,  in  the  face  of 
such  powei-fid  adversaries,  to  bring  about  a  peace, 
unletsH  through  an  anncd  intervention  ;  a  i)art  not 
impoKsibIc  for  it  to  play,  but  at  present  unsuited 
to  the  views  of  the  young  king,  who  applied  himself 
to  recruiting  his  treasury  and  his  army,  while  all 
the  nations  around  him  were  exhausting  themselves. 
This  prince  had  already  sounded  the  belligerent 
powers,  antl,  as  he  found  them  so  out  of  reason, 
had  given  up  all  idea  of  interposing  between  them. 
The  Prussian  cabinet  itsilf,  moreover,  had  its  own 
interested  views.  It  had  a  great  desire  to  see 
Austria  weakened  by  France,  and  that  she  should 

'  £«4,000,000.  '  £7,500,000. 


exhaust  herself  in  the  long  struggle ;  it  also 
wished  that  France  should  renounce  a  ])art  of  the 
frontier  of  the  Rhine,  and  that,  contenting  lierself 
with  Belgium  and  the  Luxemburgh  on  that  side,  she 
should  not  require  the  Rhenish  provinces.  Prussia 
strongly  pressed  this  advice  upon  the  first  consul, 
dropping  a  hint,  that  France  and  Prussia  would 
agree  the  better  for  not  being  too  close  to  each 
other  ;  and  that  the  caMnets  of  Europe,  feeling 
re-assured  by  this  moderation,  would  be  the  more 
inclined  towards  peace.  But  though  the  first  con- 
sul was  very  reserved  in  explaining  his  intentions 
on  this  point,  there  was  at  the  bottom  but  little 
hope  of  inclining  him  to  such  a  sacrifice  ;  and  the 
Prussian  cabinet  could  not  sec,  in  all  this,  a  peace 
which  would  satisfy  it  for  meddling  too  much  in 
the  question.  It  continued,  therefore,  to  give  a 
quantity  of  advice,  clothed  in  a  dogmatic  style, 
yet  in  a  very  friendly  manner  ;  but  it  did  nothing. 

But  still  this  cabinet  might  be  useful  in  main- 
taining the  neutrality  of  the  north  of  Germany, 
in  obttiining  the  association  of  as  great  a  number 
pos.sible  of  the  German  princes  iii  that  neutrality  ; 
lastly,  in  entirely  detaching  the  emperor  Paul  from 
the  coalition.  As  far  as  this,  it  acted  with  zeal, 
es[)ecially  as  its  own  wish  was  to  preserve  and 
aggrandize  the  neutrality  of  northern  Germany; 
and,  above  all,  bring  over  Russia  to  this  system. 
Paul,  who  carried  every  feeling  to  excess,  grew 
more  irritated  every  day  against  Austria  and 
England  ;  he  declared  loudly  that  he  would  compel 
Austria  to  replace  the  Italian  princes  on  their 
thrones  in  Italy,  which  she  had  reconquered  with 
the  arms  of  Russia  ;  and  oblige  England  to  replace 
the  order  of  Malta  on  that  island  fortress,  of  which 
she  was  just  about  to  make  herself  master :  he 
showed  a  remarkable  affection  for  this  ancient 
order,  and  caused  himself  to  be  made  grand  mas- 
ter. He  blamed  the  manner  in  which  the  over- 
tures of  the  first  consul  had  been  received  in  Vienna 
and  London  ;  and  in  his  despatches  to  Prussia, 
now  grown  confidential,  he  allowed  it  to  be  seen 
that  he  wished  similar  overtures  had  been  ad- 
dressed to  himself.  The  first  con.5ul,  in  fact,  had 
not  ventured  to  do  so,  from  distrust  of  the  conse- 
quences with  such  a  character  as  the  czar.  Prus- 
sia, advised  of  all  these  particulars,  gave  informa- 
tion to  the  French  cabinet,  which  made  advan- 
tageous use  of  them. 

Before  opening  the  campaign,  as  the  season  for 
military  operations  was  approaching,  the  first  con- 
sul sent  for  M.  de  Sandon,  the  minister  of  Prussia, 
and  had  with  him,  on  the  5th  March,  or  I4th  Ven- 
tose,  a  positive  and  complete  cxi)lanation.  After 
recapitulating  at  length  all  that  he  had  done  to 
re-establish  peace,  and  the  discourtesy  and  in- 
vincible obstacles  thai  had  been  brought  to  hoar 
against  him,  he  stated  in  their  full  extent  his 
military  preparations,  and,  without  disclosing  the 
secret  of  his  profound  omibinations,  lie  suHcred 
the  Prussitin  minister  to  obtain  an  insight  into  the 
greatness  of  the  resources  yet  remaining  to  France. 
The  fii-st  consul  iilso  told  M.de  Sandon  that  he  had 
full  confidence  in  Prussia,  and  ex|)ccted  it  to  nitike 
new  cttiirls  to  reconcile  the  belligerent  powers,  while 
they  should  be  engaged  in  fighting  ;  that  in  default 
of  a  general  peace,  of  which  there  was  little  pro- 
bability before  a  new  campaign,  he  hoped  for  two 
services   from    King    Frederic- William, —  the   re- 


^"/nnTrn'Jf ""'"""  ^'*''"'    THIERS'   CONSULATE   AND  EMPIRE.       Affairs  of  La  Vendee. 


conciliation  of  the  republic  with  Paul  I.,  and  an 
effort  made  in  regard  to  the  elector  of  Bavaria 
to  break  away  that  prince  from  the  coaUtion. 
"  Bring  about  an  accommodation  between  us  and 
Paul,"  said  Bonaparte  ;  "  decide,  at  the  same  time, 
the  elector  of  Bavaria  to  refuse  his  soldiers  and 
liis  territory  to  the  coalition,  and  you  will  render 
us  two  services  which  we  will  not  forget.  If  the 
elector  accede  to  our  proposals,  you  may  promise 
him  that  all  the  consideration  he  desires  shall  be 
shown  him  during  the  war,  and  the  best  treatment 
at  the  peace." 

Tlie  first  consul  now  laid  before  the  Prussian 
envoy  his  ulterior  views.  He  told  him  that  as  the 
treaty  of  Campo  Formio  was  offered  as  the  basis  of 
future  negotiation,  the  Rhenish  frontier  would 
afterwards  form  a  question  for  a  treaty  with  the 
empire  ;  and  that  the  independence  of  Holland,  of 
Switzerland,  and  of  the  Italian  states,  should  be 
formally  guarantied.  Without  entering  into  ex- 
planations as  to  the  point  where  the  Rhine  would 
cease  to  be  the  French  frontier,  he  only  said,  that 
no  person  could  imagine  that  France  would  require 
less  than  as  far  up  as  Mayence  ;  but  that  down  from 
Mayence,  the  Moselle  or  the  Meuse  might  possibly 
serve  her  as  a  boundary.  Belgium  and  Luxem- 
burg]! he  considered  as  beyond  all  question.  He 
added,  in  conclusion,  that  if  Pi-ussia  rendered 
France  the  services  which  she  was  in  a  position 
to  render,  he  would  pledge  himself  that  the  cabinet 
of  Berlin  should  exei'cise  a  considerable  influence 
in  the  negotiations  for  peace.  This,  in  fact,  was 
the  point  which  Prussia  held  most  in  regard,  as 
she  was  desirous  of  taking  a  part  in  any  such  ne- 
gotiations, for  the  purpose  of  having  the  German 
frontiers  defined  in  the  manner  which  best  agreed 
with  her  own  views. 

A  communication,  so  frank  and  well-timed,  liad 
the  best  effect  at  Berlin.  The  king  replied,  that  as 
respected  the  emperor  Paul,  he  had  already  em- 
ployed his  good  offices,  and  would  do  so  still  to 
reconcile  him  to  France  ;  that  as  regai-ded  Ba- 
varia, surrounded  as  it  was  on  every  side  by  Aus- 
tria, he  could  do  nothing  ;  but  that  if  the  emperor 
Paul  should  declare  himself,  it  might  be  possible, 
with  the  double  assistance  of  Prussia  and  Russia, 
to  withdraw  the  elector  from  the  coalition. 

After  these  prudently  concerted  ste])S,  there 
remained  nothing  but  to  commence  hostilities  with 
all  possible  promptitude.  However,  as  the  season 
for  them  had  not  yet  arrived,  and  was  likely  to 
be  later  than  usual,  since  France  had  to  re-organ- 
ize her  armies,  in  part  disbanded,  and  Austria  to 
fill  up  the  chasm  left  by  Russia,  in  the  ranks  of  the 
coalition,  the  first  consul  thought  the  time  had 
arrived  when  the  war  in  La  Vendue  was  to  be 
finished  :  in  order,  firstly,  to  put  an  end  to  the 
odious  spectacle  of  a  civil  war;  secondly,  to  render 
disposable,  and  transport  upon  the  Rhine  and  the 
Alps,  those  excellent  troops  which  La  Vendfe  de- 
tained in  the  interior  of  the  republic. 

The  intimations  which  he  had  caused  to  be  ad- 
addressed  to  the  insurgent  provinces,  concurrently 
with  his  overtures  for  peace  to  the  foreign  powers, 
had  produced  amongst  them  a  very  great  effect, 
supported  as  they  were  by  an  imposing  force  of 
nearly  sixty  thousand  men  brought  together  from 
Holland,  from  the  interior,  and  from  Paris  itself. 
The  fii-at  consul  ventured  so  far  as  to  leave  Paris, 


which  at  that  moment  was  crowded  by  the  refuse 
of  all  the  factions,  with  a  garrison  of  two  thousand 
three  hundred  men  ;  and  he  even  went  to  the  ex- 
tent of  making  this  fact  public.  As  an  answer  to 
the  EngHsh  ministers,  who  pretended  that  the  con- 
sular government  was  not  more  stable  than  those 
which  preceded  it,  he  caused  a  comparative  state- 
ment of  the  forces  in  London  and  Paris  to  be 
printed,  the  result  of  which  showed  that  London 
was  guarded  by  fourteen  thousand  six  hundred 
men,  Paris  by  two  thousand  three  hiuidred, — a 
number  scarcely  sufficient  to  furnish  the  guards, 
which  for  merely  police  purposes  are  stationed  at 
the  great  public  establishments,  and  the  residences 
of  the  chief  officers  of  the  state.  It  could  be  plainly 
seen  that  in  Paris  the  name  of  Bonaparte  was  suf- 
ficient guard. 

But  however  this  was,  the  insurgent  provinces 
found  themselves  on  a  sudden  sui'rounded  by  a  for- 
midable army,  and  placed  between  the  option  of  a 
peace  immediate  and  generous,  or  a  war  of  exter- 
mination. In  such  a  choice  there  could  be  no 
delaj'.  D'Andigne'  and  Hyde  de  Neuville,  after 
an  interview  Avith  the  first  consul,  had  entirely 
got  rid  of  their  illusions,  and  no  longer  believed 
that  he  had  any  inclination  to  restore  the  Bom'- 
bons,  or  supposed  any  more  that  they  could  con- 
quer such  a  man.  Hyde  de  Neuville,  who  had  been 
commissioned  by  the  Count  d'Artois  to  give  an 
opinion  on  the  state  of  affaii's,  decided  on  return- 
ing to  Loudon ;  not  that  he  wished  to  abandon  the 
cause  of  the  Bourbons,  but  that  he  saw  the  impos- 
sibility of  continuing  the  war.  He  left  his  advice 
with  the  chiefs  to  do  what  the  necessity  of  time  or 
place  might  urge  them.  D'Andign^  returned  to 
La  Vende'e,  to  report  what  he  had  seen. 

The  duration  of  the  cessation  of  arms  was  on  the 
pouit  of  expiring,  and  it  became  incumbent  on  the 
royalist  chiefs  either  to  sign  a  definitive  peace,  or 
at  once  to  enter  upon  a  war  to  the  death,  against  a 
formidable  army.  In  1793,  in  the  first  enthusiasm 
of  the  insui'rection,  they  had  not  been  able  to 
conquer  sixteen  thousand  men  of  the  garrison  of 
Mayence,  nor  had  they  obtained  any  results  save 
those  of  engaging  in  combats,  cex'tainly  heroic,  but 
bloody,  only  to  succumb  at  last.  What,  then,  could 
they  effect  at  this  period  against  sixty  thousand  of 
the  first  troops  in  Europe,  one-half  of  whom  had 
sufficed  to  drive  the  Russians  and  the  English 
into  the  sea  ?  Clearly  nothing  ;  and  this  opinion 
was  general  in  the  insurgent  jn-ovinces,  or  in  any 
case,  more  or  less,  in  each  of  them.  On  the  left 
bank  of  the  Loire,  between  Saumur,  Nantes,  and 
Sables, — in  a  word,  in  old  La  Vendue, — they  felt 
wearied  of  the  war,  from  the  exhaustion  of  men 
and  means;  while  they  regarded  as  a  folly,  its 
right  value,  the  late  taking  up  arms,  which  never 
would  have  happened  but  for  the  weakness  and 
severity  of  the  directory.  On  the  right  bank, 
about  Mans,  which  had  been  the  theatre  of  a 
desperate  struggle,  these  sentiments  predominated. 
In  Lower  Normandy,  where  the  insurrection  was 
of  recent  date,  and  where  de  Frotte',  a  young  chief, 
active,  subtle,  and  ambitious,  was  the  leader  of 
the  royalists,  they  showed  more  disposition  to  con- 
tinue the  war.  This  was  the  case  also  in  Mor- 
bihan,  where  the  distance  from  Paris,  the  vicinity 
of  the  sea,  and  the  nature  of  the  country,  gave 
them  greater  resources,  and  where   Georges  Ca- 


1800. 
Jan. 


State  of  opinion  in  La 
Vendee. 


GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR. 


The  abbe  Bemier,  cure  of 
Saint-Laud. — The  peace        49 
of  Montfaucon. 


doudal,  a  chief  of  a  ferocious  and  indomitable 
enerfry,  kept  up  their  courage.  In  these  two  last 
countries  a  very  frequent  communication  with  the 
English  conti'ibuted  to  render  their  resistance  more 
obstinate. 

From  one  end  of  La  Vende'e  and  Britany  to  the 
other,  they  were  discussing  what  part  they  should 
take.  The  emigrants  in  the  pay  of  England,  whose 
devotion  consisted  in  continually  coming  and  going, 
and  who  had  not  to  suffer  all  "the  consequences  of 
the  insurrection,  wei-e  in  angry  dispute  with  the 
people  of  the  country,  on  whom  the  burden  of  the 
civil  war  fell  without  relief.  The  former  contended 
that  the  struggle  must  be  continued ;  the  latter,  on 
the  contrary,  that  it  must  be  brought  to  a  close. 
These  representatives  of  an  interest  rather  English 
than  royalist,  declared  that  the  consular  govern- 
ment would  come  to  an  end  like  all  the  other 
revolutionai-y  governments  after  some  days  of 
imposing  appearance  ;  that  it  would  fail  from  the 
disorder  of  the  funds  and  the  administration  ;  that 
detachments  of  the  Russian  and  English  armies 
would  be  sent  to  La  Vende'e  to  give  a  helping  hand 
to  the  French  royalists  ;  that  it  only  required  a 
few  days'  patience  to  reap  the  fruits  of  eight  years' 
labour  and  fighting  ;  and  that  by  holding  out  they 
would  probably  have  the  honour  of  conducting  the 
Bourbons  in  victory  to  Paris.  The  insurgents, 
men  who  did  not  go  habitually  to  seek  refuge  in 
London  and  live  there  upon  English  pay,  who  re- 
mained in  the  country  with  their  peasantry,  who 
beheld  their  lands  ravaged,  their  houses  bui-nt, 
their  wives  and  children  exposed  to  famine  and 
hunger, — these  said  that  Bonaparte  had  never 
yet  failed  in  what  he  had  undertaken ;  that  at 
Paris,  in  place  of  thinking  that  all  was  going  to 
pieces,  they  believed  all  was  i-eorganizing  under 
the  fortunate  hand  of  the  new  chief  of  the  re- 
public, the  consul  Bonaparte  ;  that  this  republic, 
which  was  said  to  be  exhausted,  had  just  sent  them 
an  army  of  00,000  men  ;  that  the  Russians  and  the 
English,  of  whom  there  was  so  much  boasting,  had 
just  laid  down  their  arms  before  the  half  of  this  very 
army;  that  it  was  easy  for  the  emigrants  in  London 
to  lay  down  fine  plans,  and  talk  of  devotion  and  of 
constancy,  when  tiiey  were  far  from  the  country, 
from  events  and  their  consequences  ;  that  on  this 
account  they  should  use  some  restraint  in  what 
they  said  before  men,  who,  for  eight  years,  had  en- 
dured alone  tiie  ills  of  civil  war  in  all  their  horrors. 
Amongst  the  worn-out  royalists,  there  were  some 
who  went  bo  far  as  to  insinuate,  that  Bona- 
parte, in  his  inclination  towards  the  good  cause, 
would,  after  1;(;  had  re-established  peace,  put 
an  end  to  jicrswution,  and  restored  their  altiirs, 
raise  up  the  throne  again.  They  repeated  these 
fabulous  tales,  which  after  the  interviews  of 
Andignc;  and  Hyde  de  Neuville  with  the  first  con- 
sul no  lon;;er  fcjund  admission  amongst  the  prin- 
cipal royalist.s,  but  wliich  still  had  some  credit  in 
the  lower  ranks  of  the  insurgent  populace,  and 
contributed  to  draw  them  towards  the  government. 

There  lived  in  the  heart  of  old  La  Vendue,  a 
simple  priest,  the  abbe  Bemier,  cure  of  Saint- 
Laud,  destined  ere  long  to  tiikc  a  part  in  the  affairs 
of  tlie  repul)lic  and  the  emjiire.  The  abb<;,  from 
his  great  intelligence  and  natural  capacity,  had  ac- 
quired a  powerful  influence  over  the  royalist  chiefs. 
From  attentive  observation  of  that  protracted  in- 


sun-ection,  which  had  resulted  only  in  calamities, 
he  regarded  the  cause  of  the  Bourbons  as  lost,  for 
a  time  at  least,  and  was  of  opinion  that  out  of  the 
general  confusion  of  the  French  revolution,  nothing 
more  could  be  saved  than  the  ancient  altar  of 
Christianity.  Feeling  clear  on  this  point  from  the 
acts  of  the  first  consul  and  frequent  communica- 
tions with  general  H^douville ;  he  no  longer 
hesitated,  but  calculated  that  by  submission  they 
would  obtain  peace,  an  end  to  their  persecutions, 
and  toleration  at  least,  if  not  protection,  for  public 
worship.  He  advised,  therefore,  all  the  chiefs  on 
the  left  bank  to  submit,  and  he  silenced  by  his  in- 
fluence the  harangues  of  those  who  came  back- 
wards and  forwards  between  London  and  La 
Vende'e.  A  meeting  took  place  at  Montfaucon,  at 
which  in  a  council  of  the  officere  the  abbe  Bemier 
decided  M.  D'Autichamp,  a  gentleman  young 
and  full  of  bravery,  but  open  to  conviction  from 
superior  minds,  to  lay  down  his  arms  on  the  part 
of  the  province.  The  capitulation  was  signed  on 
the  18th  January,  or  the  28th  Nivosc.  The  republic 
promised  an  entire  amnesty,  respect  for  religious 
worship,  an  abandonment  of  taxation  on  the  ravaged 
provinces  for  some  years,  and  that  the  names  of 
the  chiefs  should  be  ei-ased  from  the  list  of  pro- 
scriptions ;  the  royalists  on  their  part  undertook 
for  a  complete  submission,  and  an  immediate  sur- 
render of  their  arms. 

On  the  same  day,  the  1 8th  January,  the  abbe 
Bernier  wrote  to  general  He'douville  :  "  Your  wishes 
and  mine  are  accomplished.  At  two  o'clock  this 
day  the  peace  has  been  accepted  at  Montfaucon 
with  thankful  acknowledgment  by  all  the  chiefs 
and  officers  of  the  left  bank  of  the  Loii-e.  The 
right  bank  without  doubt  will  follow  this  example  ; 
and  the  olive  of  peace  will  replace  on  both  sides  of 
the  Loire  the  mournful  cypress,  planted  there  by 
war.  I  charge  MM.  de  Baurollier,  Duboucher, 
and  Renou,  with  the  bringing  to  you  these  happy 
tidings,  and  recommend  them  to  the  kindness  of 
youi-self  and  of  the  government.  Falsely  inscribed 
on  the  fatal  list  of  1793,  they  have  seen  themselves 
despoiled  of  all  their  property.  They  make  this 
sacrifice  to  the  necessity  of  circumstances,  and  are 
not  the  less  desirous  of  peace.  This  peace  is  your 
work  :  maintain  it  then,  general,  by  justice  and 
good  deeds  ;  your  gloi-y  and  your  happiness  are 
combined  with  it.  I  will  do  all  in  my  power  to 
carry  out  your  excellent  views  ;  prudence  com- 
mands it,  humanity  wills  it :  my  heart  is  with  the 
country  in  which  1  dwell,  and  its  happiness  is  the 
first  of  my  wishes.  Bermek." 

This  example  produced  its  effect.  Two  days 
afterwards,  the  insurgents  on  the  right  bank,  who 
were  commanded  by  an  old  and  brave  gentleman, 
M.  de  Chatillon,  and  disgusted,  like  him,  with 
serving  England  more  than  the  cause  of  royalisni, 
suiTendcred.  All  of  the  old  La  Vendue  was  thus 
in  a  state  of  peace.  The  joy  was  extreme,  whether 
in  the  country  places  where  royalism  reigned,  or 
in  the  towns  where  reigned,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  spirit  of  the  revolution.  In  many  towns,  such 
as  Nantes  and  Angers,  the  royalist  chiefs,  bearing 
the  tricolor  cockade,  were  received  in  triumph, 
and  feasted  as  brothers.  On  all  sides  they  began  to 
give  up  their  arms,  and  to  submit  in  good  faith, 
under  the  influence  of  an  opinion,  which  was  gra- 
dually becoming  general,  that  the  war,  without 
K 


The  war  still  carried  on 
"O  in  Britany. 


Surrender  of  Georges  Ca- 
THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND   EMPIRE.         doudal.  -  Arrest    and 

death  of  M.  de  Frotte. 


1800. 
Feb. 


bringing  back  the  Bourbons,  would  have  no  other 
end  than  bloodshed,  and  the  ravaging  of  the  coun- 
try, while  submission,  on  the  contrary,  would 
procure  for  them  repose,  security,  and  the  re- 
establishment  of  their  religion,  which,  beyond  all 
other  things,  they  desired. 

The  oljstacles  to  pacification  were  greater  in 
Britany  and  Normandy.  In  these  places  the 
war,  as  we  lately  observed,  was  more  recent,  and 
had  less  exhausted  their  courage ;  moreover,  in 
these  parts,  it  brought  with  it  certain  infamous 
emoluments,  while  in  La  Vende'e  it  produced 
nothing  but  suffering.  The  Chouans,  a  set  of 
scoundrels  whom  insurrection  had  accustomed  to 
robbery,  and  who  knew  no  other  method  of  getting 
a  living,  had  all  of  them  taken  refuge  in  the  centre 
of  Britany,  and  towards  Normandy.  These  men 
always  made  war  on  the  tax-gatherer's  chest,  on 
the  diligences,  or  on  those  who  had  possessed 
themselves  of  the  national  domains,  and  were  in 
communication  with  a  party  of  bad  characters  at 
Paris,  receiving  from  them  intelligence  which 
served  to  guide  them  in  their  expeditions.  In 
Morbihan,  lastly,  where  the  insurrection  had  the 
most  obstinate  hold,  Georges,  the  only  implacable 
chief  of  the  Vendeans,  received  money  and  supplies 
from  the  English,  which  seconded  his  resistance, 
and  he  was  thus  little  disposed  to  submission. 

But  preparations  were  made  to  crush  the  chiefs 
who  still  held  out.  On  the  24th  of  January  or  1st 
Pluviose,  general  Chabot  broke  the  suspension  of 
arms,  and  marched  upon  the  bands  in  the  centre 
of  Britany,  under  the  command  of  Bouriiiont 
and  De  la  Prevalaye.  Near  the  comnmne  of  Me'- 
lay  he  came  up  with  Bourmont,  who,  at  the  head 
of  a  thousand  Chouans,  defended  himself  vigorously, 
but  was  nevertheless  compelled  to  give  way  to 
the  republican  soldiers,  accustomed  to  cimquer 
far  different  troops  to  peasantry.  He  himself 
escaped  with  great  difficulty,  after  incurring  the 
greatest  danger  ;  and  being  soon  after  obliged  to 
acknowledge  that  he  could  do  no  more  for  his 
cause,  he  gave  up  his  arms  on  the  24th  of  January 
or  4th  Pluviose. 

General  Chabot  next  marched  upon  Rennes,  on 
his  way  thence  to  the  extremity  of  Britany,  where 
General  Brune  was  concentrating  a  great  force. 
On  the  25th  January  or  5th  Pluviose,  a  number  of 
columns,  despatched  from  Vannes,  D'Auray,  and 
D'Elven,  under  generals  Harty  and  Gency,  met 
with  the  bands  of  Georges  at  Grandehamp.  The 
two  republican  generals  were  escorting  to  Vannes 
convoys  of  grain  and  cattle,  raised  in  the  insurgent 
country  ;  and  the  Chouans,  while  endeavouring  to 
retake  these  convoys,  were  surrounded  by  the  co- 
lumns of  the  escort,  who,  in  spite  of  their  vigorous 
resistance,  slew  four  hundred  men  and  many  of 
the  chiefs,  putting  them  completely  to  the  rout. 
Two  days  after,  on  the  27th,  a  very  smart  engage- 
ment at  Hennebon  caused  the  slaughter  of  three 
hundred  Chouans,  and  served  completely  to  destroy 
all  the  hopes  of  the  insurgents.  Off  the  coast  were 
lying  an  English  eighty-gun  ship  and  some  frigates, 
which  could  see  how  chimericiil  were  all  those 
hopes  with  which  the  British  government  had  been 
deluded.  As  far  as  this,  both  parties  had  mutually 
cheated  each  other  ;  the  British  government  in 
promising  another  new  expedition  like  that  to  Hol- 
land, the  Bretons  in  announcing  a  general  rising. 


The  royalists,  so  recently  landed,  had  much  trouble 
in  getting  back  to  the  English  squadron  in  a  small 
vessel,  where  they  met  with  the  reception  of  emi- 
grants who  have  promised  much  and  performed 
little.  Georges  found  himself  reduced  to  lay  down 
his  arms,  and  delivered  up  twenty  thousand  mus- 
kets and  twenty  pieces  of  artillery,  which  he  had 
just  received  from  the  English. 

In  Lower  Normandy,  De  Frotte,  a  young  chief 
strongly  devoted  to  his  cause,  had  been,  like 
Georges,  very  resolute  in  continuing  the  war.  He 
was  followed  uj)  by  generals  Gardanne  and  Cham- 
barlhac,  with  detachments  from  the  garrison  at 
Paris.  Many  sharp  engagements  took  place  be- 
tween them  on  different  points.  On  tlie  25th  Ja- 
nuary, or  the  5th  Pluviose,  general  Gardanne  came 
up  with  De  Frottd  at  the  forges  of  Coss^,  near  De 
la  Motte-Fouquet,  and  destroyed  great  part  of  his 
force.  On  the  26tli  or  6th  Pluviose,  one  of  the 
chiefs,  named  Duboisgny,  was  attacked  at  his 
chateau  of  Duboisgny,  near  Fougeres,  and  sus- 
tained, like  De  Frotte',  a  considerable  loss.  Lastly, 
on  the  27th,  or  the  7th  Pluviose,  general  Cham- 
barlhac,  in  the  environs  of  Saint  Christophe,  nol 
far  from  Alen9on,  surrounded  some  companies  of 
Chouans,  and  put  them  to  the  sword. 

De  Frottd  saw,  like  the  others,  but  unfortu- 
nately too  late,  that  all  resistance  v,:;s  vain  against 
the  numerous  columns  which  were  thrown  upon 
the  country,  and  thought  it  time  to  surrender.  He 
wrote  to  general  Hedouville  to  ask  for  peace,  and 
proposed,  while  awaiting  an  answer,  a  suspension 
of  arms  to  general  Chambarlhac.  This  officer 
replied,  that  as  he  had  no  power  to  treat,  he  would 
apply  to  the  government  for  them,  but  that  he 
could  not  take  upon  himself  to  suspend  hostilities 
in  the  interval,  unless  De  Frotte'  would  consent 
immediately  to  deliver  up  the  arms  of  his  troops. 
This  was  exactly  what  De  Frottd  most  dreaded. 
He  readily  consented  to  submit,  and  to  sign  a  pacifi- 
cation for  the  moment,  but  on  condition  of  remaining 
armed,  so  as  to  seize  without  delay  the  first  favour- 
able occasion  for  recommencing  the  war.  He  even 
wrote  to  his  lieutenants  letters,  in  which,  Avhile 
enjoining  them  to  surrender,  he  advised  them  to 
keep  their  muskets.  In  the  mean  while,  irritated 
liy  the  obstinacy  of  De  Frotte',  the  first  consul 
had  given  orders  that  no  quarter  should  be  shown 
him,  and  that  an  example  should  be  made  in  his 
person.  De  Frotte,  luieasy  at  not  receiving  an 
answer  to  his  proposals,  was  desix'ous  of  placing 
himself  in  conniuinication  with  general  Guidal, 
who  was  in  command  of  the  department  of  the 
Orne ;  and,  while  seeking  an  interview  with  him, 
was  arrested  with  six  of  his  companions.  The 
letters  found  upon  him,  containing  the  order  to  his 
officers  to  surrender  but  to  preserve  their  arms, 
sufficed  for  a  charge  of  treason.  He  was  con- 
ducted to  Verneuil,  and  handed  over  to  a  military 
commission. 

When  the  news  of  his  arrest  reached  Paris,  a 
crowd  of  intercessors  surrounded  the  first  consul, 
and  obtained  from  him  a  suspension  of  the  pro- 
ceedings, which  was  equivalent  to  a  pardon.  But 
the  courier  who  earned  the  order  of  the  govern- 
ment, arrived  too  late  :  for,  as  the  constitution 
was  suspended  in  the  insurgent  departments,  De 
Frottd  had  been  tried  summarily,  and  by  the  time 
the  order  to  suspend  the  proceedings  had  arrived. 


1800. 
Feb. 


End  of  the  civil  war. 

The  cliiefs'  interview 

with  Bonaparte. 


GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR, 


Close  of  the  session  ot  th» 
year  vni. 


this  young  chief  had  already  suffered  the  penalty  of 
his  obstinacy.  The  duplicity  of  his  conduct,  how- 
ever clearly  proved,  nevertheless  is  not  sufHciently 
culpable  to  prevent  our  deeply  regretting  such  an 
execution, — the  only  one,  it  must  be  stated,  which 
stained  with  blood  that  fortunate  termination  of 
the  civil  war. 

By  this  time  the  departments  of  the  west  were 
entirely  pacified.  The  prudence  of  general  H^- 
duuville,  the  vigour  and  promptitude  of  the  means 
employed,  the  exhausted  condition  of  the  insur- 
gents, the  mixture  of  confidence  and  fear  which 
the  first  consul  inspired,  ettected  this  rapid  pacifi- 
cation. It  was  brought  to  a  perfect  termination 
by  the  end  of  February  1800  or  1st  Ventose.  The 
disarming  was  complete ;  there  remained  only 
highway  robbers,  whom  justice,  active,  and  without 
mercy,  would  quickly  overtake.  The  troops  wlio 
had  been  employed  in  the  west,  began  their  march 
towards  Paris,  to  take  their  part  in  the  great 
designs  of  the  first  consul. 

The  constitution,  which  had  been  suspended  in 
four  departments,  the  Loire- Inf^rieure,  the  Ille-et- 
Vilaine,  Morbihan,  and  the  C6tes-du-Nord,  was 
again  put  in  force ;  and  the  majority  of  the  chiefs, 
who  had  just  laid  down  their  arms,  were,  in  suc- 
cession, induced  to  visit  Paris,  and  report  them- 
selves to  the  first  consul.  He  well  knew  that 
it  was  not  enough  to  pluck  arms  from  their  hands, 
but  that  he  must  make  himself  master  of  minds  so 
enthusiastic,  and  direct  them  towards  some  noble 
object.  He  desired  to  carry  these  royalist  chiefs 
along  with  him,  in  the  extensive  career  at  that 
moment  opened  to  all  Frenchmen  ;  to  lead  them  to 
fortune,  and  to  glory,  by  that  path  of  danger  which 
they  were  accustomed  to  tread.  He  invited  them 
to  an  interview.  His  renown,  which  made  all, 
who  had  an  opportunity,  desirous  of  approaching 
him,  and  his  beneficence,  so  celebrated  at  that 
time  throughout  La  Vendee,  which  they  had  to 
invoke  in  favour  of  many  victims  of  the  civil  war, 
were  honourable  motives  for  the  royalist  chiefs  to 
pay  him  this  visit.  The  first  consul  graciously 
received,  first,  the  Abbe  Bernier,  next  Bour- 
mont,  D'Autichamp,  and  Chatillon,  and,  lastly, 
Georges  Cadoudal  himself.  He  paid  marked  at- 
tentiini  to  the  Abb^  Bernier,  and  determined  to 
attach  him  to  him.self,  and  employ  him  in  difficult 
affairs  connected  with  the  church.  He  held  fre- 
•liient  conversations  with  the  military  chiefs,  whom 
his  lofty  language  affected,  and  some  of  them  he 
decided  to  serve  in  the  armies  of  Franco.  He  suc- 
ceeded even  in  gaining  the  heart  of  Chatillon, 
who  i*etired  from  public  life,  took  to  himself  a 
wife,  and  became  the  ordinary  and  successful 
mediator  for  iiis  fellow-citir.ens,  whenever  they 
had  any  act  of  justice  or  humanity  to  solicit  from 
the  first  consul.  Thus  it  is  by  gloi-y,  clemency,  and 
beneficence,  that  men  must  put  an  end  to  revo- 
lutions. 

Georges  alono  bore  up  against  this  high  influence. 
When  he  was  conducted  to  the  Tuileries,  the  aid- 
dc-canip,  who  had  to  introduce  him,  conceived 
such  alarm  at  liis  looks,  tlut  In;  would  not  close 
the  door  of  the  first  consul's  cabinet,  and  went  in 
every  now  and  then  to  steal  a  glance  at  what  was 
|):isiing.  The  intcrvic^w  was  a  long  ntw.  The  consul 
IJoiiaparte  tried  vainly  on  the  ears  of  Gi-orges 
Cadoudal  the  words  "  coimtry  "  and  "  glory  ;"  in 


vain  he  essayed  even  the  bait  of  ambition  on  the 
heart  of  this  savage  soldier  of  the  civil  war;  he 
made  no  impression,  and  felt  himself  convinced 
that  he  had  not,  when  he  looked  on  the  counte- 
jiance  of  him  whom  ho  addressed.  On  quitting 
him,  Georges  departed  for  England  with  Hyde  de 
Ncuville,  and  often,  while  i-ecounting  this  inter- 
view to  his  travelling  companion,  he  held  out  his 
vigorous  arms,  exclaiming,  "  What  a  blunder  I 
made  in  not  strangling  the  fellow  vithin  these 
arms  !" 

This  prompt  pacification  of  La  Vendue  produced 
a  great  ettVct  on  the  public  mind.  Certain  of  the 
evil-disposed,  who  did  not  wish  to  explain  it  by 
natural  causes,  the  energetic  physical  means  em- 
ployed, the  prudence  of  the  policy,  and,  above  all, 
the  influence  of  the  great  name  of  the  fix'st  consul, 
pretended  that  there  was  a  secret  connexion  with 
the  Vendeans,  in  which  a  promise  was  given  them 
of  some  important  satisfaction.  They  did  not  say 
pla'nly,  but  insinuated,  that  there  might  possi- 
bly be  something,  even  more  than  a  restoration  of 
the  principle  of  the  old  regime,  than  even  of  the 
Bourbons  themselves.  These  ridiculous  fables  were 
spread  about  by  the  newsmongers  of  the  revolu- 
ti(mary  party.  But  men  of  sense,  with  a  better  ap- 
preciation of  the  acts  of  ^onaparte,  said  that  no 
man  would  do  such  great  deeds  for  another  to 
reaj)  the  fruits;  and  expressed  their  belief,  that  if 
his  labours  were  not  solely  for  France,  they  were 
at  least  for  himself,  and  not  for  the  Bourbons. 
For  the  rest,  the  pacification  of  La  Vende'e  was, 
in  the  eyes  of  all,  a  very  fortunate  event,  as  pre- 
saging that  peace,  the  most  important  and  difficult 
— a  peroe  with  Europe. 

Before  opening  the  campaign  of  this  year  the 
consul,  in  his  haste  to  close  the  session  of  the 
legislative  body,  pressed  on  the  passing  of  the 
numerous  bills  which  iiad  been  introduced.  Some 
of  the  members  of  the  tribunate  complained  of  the 
rapidity  with  which  they  were  called  upon  to  dis- 
cuss and  vote.  "  We  are,"  said  the  tribune  Sedil- 
lez,  a  man  of  impartiality  and  moderation — "  we 
are  carried  along  in  a  whirlwind  of  hurry,  which 
moves  rapidly  in  the  direction  of  our  wishes.  Is  it 
not  better  to  yield  to  the  impetuosity  of  this  move- 
ment, than  to  I'isk  impeding  its  progress  ?  We  can 
next  examine  with  more  mature  deliberation  the 
bills  presented  to  us,  and  correct  them  where  it 
may  be  necessary."  In  fact,  all  went  I'apidly  on, 
as  the  first  consul  wished.  The  laws  wei-e  pnt 
into  operation  as  soon  as  passed  ;  the  functionaries 
a])]iointed  repaired  to  their  posts.  The  new  pre- 
fects entered  on  their  charge,  and  the  administra- 
tion assumed,  in  every  part,  a  unison  of  action  and 
an  activity Jiithcrto  unseen.  The  taxes  in  arrears 
came  into  the  treasury,  since  the  completion  of 
the  assessment  enabled  the  collectors  to  call  ujion 
the  tax-i)ayers  with  a  legal  right.  Every  day 
some  new  measure  gave  clearer  evidence  of  the 
direction  of  the  government  ])olicy.  A  second  list 
of  the  ])r()scribed  obtained  the  benefit  of  a  recall. 
A  groat  number  of  writers  who  figured  on  this  list. 
Do  Fontanes,  Do  la  Ilarpo,  Suard,  Sicard,  Mi- 
chaud,  and  I'iiivtJe,  were  either  recalled  from  their 
exile,  or  authorized  to  come  forth  from  their  re- 
treats. The  meiuLei's  of  the  constituent  asscinlily, 
known  for  having  voted  the  abolition  of  feudal 
rights,  were  exempted  from  all  the  severities  which 


Carnot  becomes  minister  of 

52        war.-Last  opposition  in    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 

the  tribunate. 


Regulations  regarding        1800. 
the  periodical  press.     March, 


had  been  inflicted  on  tliera  by  the  convention  :ind 
the  dii'ectory.  A  famous  prescript  of  the  18th 
Fructidor,  Barth^lemy,  tlie  ex-director,  who  nego- 
tiated and  signed  the  first  treaty  of  peace  for  the 
repubhc,  was  named  a  senator  at  the  instance  of 
the  consuls  ;  and,  lastly,  another  of  the  proscribed 
of  the  same  date,  Carnot,  but  recently  brought 
back  from  exile,  and  appointed  inspector  of  re- 
views, was  called  to  the  office  of  minister  of  war, 
in  place  of  general  Berthier,  then  on  the  point  of 
departing  to  take  the  command  of  one  of  the 
armies  of  the  republic.  The  name  of  Carnot  was, 
at  that  day,  one  of  great  military  reputation,  to 
which  attached  the  recollection  of  the  victories 
under  the  convention  in  1793  ;  and  while  the  name 
of  general  Bonaparte  was  sufficient  alone  to  make 
the  coalition  tremble,  the  addition  to  it  of  that  of 
Carnot  produced,  in  truth,  a  remarkable  sensation 
in  the  foreign  staffs. 

As  the  session  was  tending  to  ite  close,  the  op- 
position in  the  tribunate  made  a  last  effort,  which 
created  some  excitement,  though  defeated  by  a 
large  majority.  The  legislative  body  sat  for  four 
months  only,  but  no  term  had  been  assigned  to  the 
sittings  of  the  tribunate.  The  latter  might  thus 
assemble,  though  the  vacation  of  the  legislative 
body  left  it  without  business.  It  was  proposed 
that  it  should  make  some  employment  for  itself 
out  of  the  petitions,  which  it  was  alone  empowered 
to  receive,  and  the  expression  of  its  wishes  on 
matters  of  public  interest,  for  which  it  had  au- 
thority. Benjamin  Constant  moved  that  the 
petitions  should  be  handed  over  to  separate  com- 
mittees, that  they  should  be  kept  constantly  at 
work,  and  should  contrive  by  this  means,  not  only 
a  discussion  of  all  the  acts  of  the  government  (a 
thing  in  itself  legitimate),  but  their  permanent  dis- 
cussion through  the  twelve  months  of  the  year. 
All  that  was  really  important  in  this  proposition 
was  negatived.  It  was  decided  that  the  tribunate 
should  meet  once  a  fortnight  to  receive  petitions, 
and  that  tliis  should  be  done  through  a  bureau  of 
the  assembly,  composed  of  a  president  and  secre- 
taries. Reduced  within  these  limits,  the  propo- 
sition no  longer  gave  occasion  for  uneasiness. 

Saving  this  last  effort,  the  end  of  the  session  was 
perfectly  peaceable,  even  in  the  tribunate.  So 
large  had  been  the  majority  in  favour  of  the  go- 
vernment, that  it  required  some  touchiness  to  be 
displeased  with  an  opposition  not  numbering  more 
than  twenty  membei-s.  Tlie  first  consul,  though 
little  disposed  to  put  up  with  it,  determined  to 
make  no  account  of  it ;  and  thus  this  first  session 
of  the  year  viii.  by  no  means  coi-rcsponded  with 
the  fears  to  which  certain  propagators  of  bad  news 
affected  to  give  utterance.  If,  at  a  latter  period, 
matters  had  remained  in  this  state,  people  would 
have  accommodated  themselves  to  this  last  sem- 
blance of  a  deliberative  assembly,  and  it  would 
have  been  supported  equally  by  that  alarmed  gene- 
ration, and  the  chief  whom  it  had  chosen. 

A  sliort  time  before  the  closing  of  the  session,  the 
first  consul  adopted  a  measure  in  regard  to  the 
periodical  press,  wliich  at  present  would  be  little 
else  than  an  impossible  phenomenon,  but  which,  at 
that  time,  from  the  silence  of  the  constitution,  was 
a  measure  perfectly  legal,  and,  from  the  spirit  of 
the  time,  was  almost  insignificant.  The  constitu- 
tion, in  fact,  said  nothing  of  the  press.     It  may 


seem  surprising  that  so  important  a  point  of  hberty 
as  that  of  writing  was  not  even  specially  men- 
tioned in  the  fundamental  laws  of  the  state ;  but  at 
that  time  the  tribune,  as  well  of  the  assemblies  as 
of  the  clubs,  was,  owing  to  the  passions  of  the 
revolution,  the  favourite  means  of  publishing  opi- 
nion ;  and  there  had  been  so  much  use  made  of 
the  right  of  speaking,  that  there  was  no  thought  of 
that  of  writing.  At  the  epoch  of  the  18th  Fruc- 
tidor, the  press  had  been  rather  more  made  use  of, 
but  as  it  was  so  by  the  royalists  in  particular,  it 
created  an  irritation  against  itself  among  the  revo- 
lutionists, which  afterwards  sunk  into  indifference. 
They  suffered  it,  therefore,  to  be  proscribed  at  the 
18th  Fructidor  ;  and  when  the  constitution  was 
framed  in  the  year  viii.,  it  was  omitted,  and 
thenceforth  left  to  the  pleasure  of  the  government. 

The  first  consul,  who  had  endured  with  much  im- 
patience the  attacks  of  the  royalist  journals,  while 
he  was  merely  a  general  of  the  anny  of  Italy, 
began  now  to  feel  annoyed  at  the  indiscretions 
committed  by  the  press  respecting  his  military 
operations,  and  the  virulent  attacks  which  it 
permitted  itself  to  make  on  some  foreign  govern- 
ments. Applying  himself  specially  to  reconcile 
the  republic  with  Europe,  he  feared  that  the  bitter 
invectives  of  the  republican  press  against  the 
cabinets,  particularly  since  the  refusal  of  the  over- 
tures made  by  France,  would  render  vain  all  his 
efforts  for  an  arrangement.  The  king  of  Prussia,  in 
particular,  had  made  a  complaint  against  some  of 
the  French  journals,  and  expressed  his  displeasure 
at  their  attacks.  The  first  consul,  in  his  desire 
to  efface  completely  all  traces  of  violence,  and, 
moreover,  unrestrained  in  regai'd  to  the  liberty  of 
the  press  by  a  firm  and  established  public  opinion, 
such  as  at  this  day  exists,  came  to  a  resolution  by 
which  he  suppressed  a  great  number  of  journals, 
and  pointed  out  those  which  should  have  the  privi- 
lege of  appearing.  The  journals  allowed  to  remain 
were  thirteen  in  number.  These  were,  the  Moni- 
teur  Universd,  the  Journal  des  Debats,  the  Journal 
de  Paris,  the  Bkn-informe,  the  FuUkute,  the 
Ami  des  IjOis,  the  Clef  du  Cabinet,  the  Citoyen 
Fra7ifais,  the  Gazette  de  France,  the  Journal  des 
Jlommes  Libres,  the  Journal  du  Soir,  the  Journal 
des  DCfenseurs  de  la  Fatrie,  the  Decade  PJiiloso- 
phivjue. 

These  favoured  journals  moreover  received 
notice,  that  whichever  of  them  should  publish 
articles  against  the  constitution,  or  the  armies, 
their  glory  or  their  interests,  or  promulgate  in- 
vectives against  foreign  governments,  the  friends  or 
allies  of  France,  would  be  immediately  suppressed. 

This  measure,  which  now-a  days  would  appear 
so  extraordinary,  was  received  without  murmur  or 
surprise,  so  true  is  it  that  the  value  of  things 
dcjjends  on  the  spirit  of  the  times. 

The  votes  required  from  the  citizens  on  the 
subject  of  the  new  constitution  were  taken  and 
counted,  and  the  result  of  the  casting  up  com- 
municated to  the  senate,  the  legislative  body,  and 
the  tribunate  by  a  message  from  the  consuls.  No 
one  of  the  former  constitutions  had  been  accepted 
by  so  gi-eat  a  number  of  suffrages. 

In  1703,  for  the  constitution  of  that  epoch,  there 
had  been  given  one  thousand  eight  hundred  suf- 
frages in  its  favour,  eleven  thousand  against  it ;  in 
1 705,  for  the  constitution  under  the  directoi-y,  one 


Funeral  ceremony 
ill  honour  of 
Washington. 


GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR.     Eulogium  by  De  Fontancs.     53 


million  fifty-seven  thousand  suffrages  in  its  favour, 
and  forty-nine  tliousand  against  it.  On  this  occa- 
STon  more  than  three  millions  of  votei-s  presented 
themselves,  of  whom  three  millions  voted  in  favour 
of  the  constitution,  and  only  one  thousand  five 
hundred  opposed  it'. 

It  is  true,  that  such  empty  fonnalities  have  no  im- 
port with  thinking  men :  it  is  not  from  such  vulgar 
and  often  counterfeited  demonstrations,  but  from 
its  moral  aspect,  that  we  form  a  judgment  of  the 
feeling  of  society ;  yet  the  difference  in  the  number 
of  the  voters  bore,  in  this  instance,  an  incontes- 
table signification,  and  proved,  at  least,  how  general 
was  the  sentiment  which  called  for  a  strong  and 
restorative  government,  competent  to  give  assu- 
rance of  order,  victory,  and  peace. 

Before  departing  for  the  army,  the  first  consul 
decided  upon  an  important  step :  he  established 
himself  at  the  Tuileries.  With  the  disposition  of 
some  minds  to  see  in  him  a  Ctesar  or  a  Cromwell, 
whose  destiny  it  was  to  terminate  a  reign  of 
anarchy  by  one  of  absolute  power,  this  taking  up 
his  abode  in  the  palace  of  the  kings,  was  a  step  of 
boldness  and  delicacy,  not  because  of  the  resistance 
it  might  provoke,  but  from  the  moral  effect  which 
it  might  perhaps  produce. 

The  first  consul  caused  this  to  be  preceded  by 
an  imposing  and  well-imagined  ceremony.  Wash- 
ington had  just  died  ;  and  the  decease  of  this  illus- 
trious pei-sonage,  who  had  filled  with  his  glory  the 
close  of  the  last  century,  formed  a  subject  of  regret 
to  all  the  friends  of  liberty  in  Europe.  Tlie  first 
consul,  judging  that  some  manifestation  on  this 
subject  would  be  opportune,  addressed  to  the  army 
the  following  order  of  the  day  : — 

"  Washington  is  dead !  That  great  man  fought 
against  tyranny,  and  consolidated  the  independence 
of  his  country.  His  name  will  be  always  dear  to 
the  people  of  France,  as  well  as  to  all  free  men  of 
the  two  worlds,  and  especially  to  the  soldiers  of 
France,  who  are  fighting,  like  him  and  the  soldiers 
of  America,  for  cijuality  and  liberty." 

Ten  days  of  mourning  were  directed  in  conse- 
quence, which  consi-sted  in  all  the  colours  of  the 
republic  being  hung  with  black  crape ;  nor  did 
the  first  consul  stop  here.  He  directed  a  fete,  at 
once  simple  and  noble,  to  be  got  up  in  the  church 
of  the  Invalides,  a  church  named,  in  the  fugitive 
nomenclature  of  the  time,  the  temple  of  Mars. 
The  colours  taken  in  Egypt  had  not  yet  been  pre- 
sented to  .the  government.  General  Lannes  was 
charged  to  receive  them  on  this  occasion,  by  direc- 
tion of  the  minister  of  war,  under  the  magnificent 
dome  raised  by  the  great  king  for  his  aged  warriors. 

On  the  9th  of  February  or  20th  Phiviose  all  the 
autlioriticH  being  asisembled  at  the  Invalides,  gene- 
nera!  Lannes  presented  to  the  minister  of  war, 
Bcrthier,  ninety-six  Hags,  taken  at  the  Pyramids, 
at  Mount  Tabor,  and  at  Aboukir ;  and  j)ronounccd 
a  brief  and  martial  liarangue,  to  which  Bcrtiiier 
responded  in  the  same  style.  The  latter  was  seated 
between  two  invaliils,  each  a  hundred  years  old, 
and  had  in  front  of  liim  a  bust  of  Washington, 


•  The  exact  numbers  were  :  In  1703,  1,801,918  in  favour, 
and  1I,C10  against;  in  1795,  1,057,300  in  favour,  and  49,955 
against,  in  1800,  of  3,012,589  voteri,  3,011,007  in  favour, 
and  I5C2  against. 


over-shadowed  by  a  thousand  flags,  won  from 
Europe  by  the  armies  of  republican  France. 

Not  far  from  this  spot  a  tribune  was  erected, 
and  this  was  aseeJided  by  one  of  the  proscribed, 
who  owed  his  liberty  to  the  policy  of  the  first 
consul.  This  was  De  Fontanes,  a  pure  and  bril- 
liant writei',  the  last  who  made  use  of  that  French 
language,  once  so  perfect,  but  which  in  the 
eighteenth  century  has  gone  into  the  abyss  of  the 
jiast.  De  Fontanes,  in  studied  and  profound  lan- 
guage, pronounced  the  funeral  oration  of  the  liero 
of  America.  He  celebrated  the  warlike  virtues 
of  Washington,  his  valour,  his  wisdom,  his  disin- 
terestedness; he  placed  far  above  the  military  genius, 
whose  knowledge  is  that  of  gaining  victories,  the 
genius  which  can  restore,  which  knows  how  to  put 
an  end  to  civil  war,  to  close  the  wounds  of  a 
country,  and  give  peace  to  the  world.  By  the 
side  of  the  shade  of  Washington  he  evoked  those 
of  Tnrenne,  of  Catinat,  and  of  Cond^  ;  and  speak- 
ing after  a  figure,  in  the  names  of  these  great 
men,  he  gave  utterance  to  encomiums  which  were 
as  full  of  noble  spirit,  as  they  were  replete  with 
lessons  of  wisdom  and  prudence. 

"  Yes,"  he  exclaimed  at  the  close  of  liis  speech, 
"yes,  thy  counsels  shall  be  attended  to,  O  Wash- 
ington, O  warrior,  O  legislator,  O  citizen  without 
reproach  !  He  who,  while  yet  young,  surpasses  thee 
in  war,  like  thee,  shall  close,  with  his  triumphant 
hands,  the  wounds  of  his  country  ;  soon — we  have 
assurance  in  his  will,  and  his  genius  for  war,  should 
it  unhappily  be  necessary,— soon  shall  the  hymn  of 
peace  resound  in  this  temple  of  war  ;  then  shall 
one  universal  sentiment  of  joy  efface  the  memory 
of  all  injustice  and  oppression,  then  may  even  the 
oppressed  forget  their  wrongs,  a)ul  look  forward 
with  confidence  to  the  future.  The  applause  of 
every  age  will  accompany  the  hero  who  confers 
this  blessing  upon  France,  and  upon  that  world 
which  she  has_  too  long  thi-own  into  commotion." 

At  the  close  of  this  discourse,  black  crape  was 
attached  to  all  the  colours,  and  the  French  repub- 
lic was  considered  to  be  in  mourning  for  the  founder 
of  the  American  republic,  as  mouarchs  put  them- 
selves in  mourning  for  each  other. 

And  what  was  there  wanting  in  this  ceremony 
that  was  present  to  those  funeral  scenes  where 
Louis  XIV.  came  to  listen  to  an  eulogium  on  one 
of  his  warriors,  from  the  lips  of  Fiddlier  or  of 
Bossuet  ?  Certainly  not  the  grandeur  of  the  oc- 
casion or  the  men,  for  the  speech  was  of  Wash- 
ington, in  the  presence  of  Bonaparte,  and  delivered 
in  the  midst  of  men  who  had  seen  a  Charles  I. 
ascend  tlie  scaffold,  and  even  crowned  women  fol- 
lowuig  him  there.  The  words  Fleurus,  Areola,  Ri- 
voli,  Zurich,  the  Pyramids,  C(mld  at  that  time  be 
pronounced  ;  and  tiiose  magnificent  words  would 
assuredly  shed  as  great  a  lustre  on  the  discourse  as 
those  of  Dunes  and  Rocroy  !  What  then  was  want- 
ing in  this  ceremony  to  make  it  completely  great  I 
There  wanted  what  the  greatest  of  men  could  not 
bring  there,  there  wanted  especially  religion  ;  not 
such  as  men  labour  to  affect,  but  what  they  really 
feel,  and  without  wiiicli  a  funeral  is  but  a  cold 
solemnity:  there  wanted  also  the  genius  of  Bossuet; 
for  there  is  a  greatness  which  comes  not  again  in 
nations,  and  if  Turcnno  and  Cond(f  have  iiad  their 
Buccessoi'H,  Bossuet  has  not:  there  wanted,  lastly, 
a   certain  sincerity ;  for  tiiis    homage   to  a  hero, 


54 


The  consuls  resolve 
to  occupy  the  Tui- 
leries. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Their  installation. 
Household  of  the 
palace. 


renowned  especially  for  the  disinterestedness  of 
his  ambition,  was  too  visibly  an  affectation  ;  yet  let 
us  not  believe,  with  the  vulgar  crowd  of  thinkers, 
that  all  in  this  instance  was  mere  hypocrisy ; 
doubtless  there  was  some,  but  there  were  also  the 
ordinary  illusions  of  the  time,  ay,  and  of  all  times  ! 
Men  cheat  themselves  oftener  than  they  cheat 
others.  There  were  many  Frenchmen,  who,  like 
tne  Romans  under  Augustus,  believed  still  in  the 
republic,  because  they  heard  its  name  diligently 
pronounced  ;  and  it  is  by  no  means  certain,  that 
he  who  directed  this  funeral  ceremonial,  that  even 
Bonaparte  did  not  deceive  himself  in  celebrating 
Washuigton,  and  that  he  did  not  imagine,  that 
it  was  possible  to  be  the  first  man  in  France 
as  in  America,  without  becoming  a  king  or  an 
emperor 

This  ceremony  was  the  prelude  to  the  installa- 
tion of  the  three  consuls  at  the  Tuileries.  The 
necessary  repairs  had  been  for  some  time  going  on 
at  this  palace  ;  the  traces  left  there  by  the  con- 
vention were  effaced,  and  the  red  caps,  which  it 
had  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  gilded  ceilings, 
removed.  The  first  consul  was  to  occupy  the 
apartments  on  the  first  floor,  the  same  as  the  royal 
family,  now  reigning,  occupy  for  evening  parties. 
His  wife  and  her  children  were  to  be  lodged  over 
him,  in  the  entresol.  The  gallery  of  Diana  was,  as 
now,  the  vestibule  which  leads  to  the  apartment  of 
the  head  of  the  state.  The  first  consul  caused  it 
to  be  decorated  with  busts,  representing  a  suc- 
cession of  great  men,  and  endeavoured  to  mark  in 
his  choice  of  tliese  busts  the  bent  of  Ids  own 
genius  ;  there  were  Demosthenes,  Alexander,  Han- 
nibal, Scipio,  Brutus,  Cicero,  Cato,  Caesar,  Gustavus 
Adolphus,  Tureime,  Cond^,  Duguai-Trouin,  Marl- 
borough, Eugene,  Marshal  Sa.xe,  Washini;ton,  Fre- 
derick the  Great,  Mirabeau, Dugommier, Dampierre, 
Marceau,  Joubert, — in  a  word,  warriors  and  orators, 
the  defenders  of  liberty  and  conquerors,  heroes  of 
the  ancient  monarchy  and  of  the  republic, — lastly, 
four  generals  of  the  revolution,  who  had  fallen  on 
the  field.  To  assemble  round  him  the  glories  of 
every  time,  of  every  country,  in  the  same  manner 
as  he  desired  to  assemble  round  his  government 
men  of  all  parties,  such  was  on  every  occasion  the 
inclination  he  loved  to  manifest. 

But  he  was  not  to  occupy  the  Tuileries  alone. 
His  two  colleagues  were  to  reside  thei-e  with 
him.  The  consul  Lebrun  was  lodged  in  the  pa- 
vilion of  Flora.  As  for  the  consul  O.mibaceres, 
who  ranked  with  the  consul  Lebrun,  he  refused  to 
take  up  his  quarters  in  the  palace  of  the  kings. 
This  personage,  a  man  of  consummate  prudence, 
possibly  the  only  man  of  his  time  who  did  not  give 
himself  up  to  any  illusion,  remarked  to  his  col- 
league Lebrun,  "  We  nuist  not  go  and  settle  our- 
selves in  the  Tuileries  ;  it  is  not  at  all  suitable  foi* 
us  ;  and,  as  for  me,  I  shall  not  go.  Bonaparte 
will  soon  want  to  live  there  by  himself,  and  we 
shall  have  to  go  out ;  it  is  better  not  to  go  in  at 
all."  N'lr  did  he  go,  but  had  a  handsome  house 
given  him  in  the  Place  du  Carrousel,  which  he 
kept  as  long  as  Napoleon  kept  the  empire. 

When  Jill  wasyn  order,  and  some  days  after  the 
funeral  ceremony  at  the  Invalides,  the  first  consul 
resolved  to  take  possession  publicly  of  the  Tuileries, 
and  did  so  in  great  state. 

On  the  19th  February,  the  30th  Pluviose,  he  left 


the  Luxembourg  to  repair  to  his  new  palace,  pre" 
ceded  and  followed  by  an  imposing  cortege.  The 
fine  regiments  which  had  passed  from  Holland  to 
La  Vendee,  from  La  Vende'e  to  Paris,  and  which 
were  about  to  render  themselves  illustrious  for  the 
hundredth  time  on  the  plains  of  Germany  and 
Italy,  led  the  way  under  the  command  of  Lannes, 
Murat,  and  Bessieres.  Next  came,  in  carriages 
(almost  all  of  them  hired),  the  ministers,  the  coun- 
cil of  stite,  and  the  public  authorities  ;  lastly,  in  a 
splendid  carriage,  drawn  by  six  white  horses,  the 
three  consuls  themselves.  These  horses  were  es- 
pecially appropriate,  from  the  circumstance  of  their 
having  been  presented  to  Bonaparte  by  the  em- 
peror of  Germany,  on  the  occasion  of  the  peace  of 
Campo-Formio.  He  had  also  received  from  the 
same  prince  a  magnificent  sabre,  which  he  took 
care  to  wear  on  this  day.  He  had  thus  about  him 
all  that  recalled  to  mind  the  wai-rior  and  peace- 
maker. The  crowd  collected  in  the  streets  and  on 
the  quays  leading  to  the  Tuileries  greeted  his  pre- 
sence with  loud  cheers.  These  acclamations  were 
sincere,  for  in  him  they  hailed  the  glory  of  France 
and  the  commencement  of  her  prosperity.  On  its 
arrival  at  the  Carrousel,  the  carriage  of  the  consuls 
was  received  by  the  consular  guard,  and  had  to 
pass  between  the  two  guard-houses,  erected  the 
one  on  the  right,  the  other  on  the  left  of  the  court- 
yard of  the  palace.  On  one  of  these  yet  remained 
this  inscription,  "Royalty  is  abolished  in  France, 

AND  SHALL  rise  UP  >0  MORE." 

On  entering  the  court-yard,  the  first  consul 
mounted  a  horse,  and  passed  in  review  the  troops 
drawn  up  in  front  of  the  palace.  When  he  came 
in  front  of  the  colours  of  the  96th,  the  43rd,  and 
the  30th  demibrigades,  all  blackened  as  they  were 
with  smoke,  and  torn  by  balls,  he  saluted  them, 
and  was  saluted  in  his  turn  by  loud  huzzas  from 
the  soldiers.  Having  gone  through  the  ranks,  he 
took  up  a  position  in  front  of  the  pavilion  of  Flora, 
and  saw  them  defile  before  him.  Over  his  head, 
in  the  balcony  of  the  palace,  were  the  consuls,  the 
principal  authorities,  and,  lastly,  his  own  family, 
who  now  began  to  hold  a  rank  in  the  state.  The 
review  over,  he  proceeded  to  his  apartments,  where 
the  minister  of  the  interior  presented  to  him  the 
civil  authorities  ;  the  minister  of  war,  the  mili- 
tary authorities  ;  and  the  minister  of  marine,  all 
the  officers  of  the  navy  then  in  Paris.  In  the 
course  of  the  day  entertainments  were  given  at  the 
Tuileries  and  at  the  houses  of  the  ministers. 

The  service  of  the  consular  palace  was  regulated 
as  follows  :  Be'nezech,  a  councillor  of  state,  and 
formerly  minibter  of  the  interior,  was  charged 
with  the  general  administration  of  this  palace. 
The  aids-de-camp,  and  especially  Duroc,  were 
to  do  the  honours,  in  place  of  that  multitude  of 
officers  of  every  kind,  who  ordinarily  throng  the 
vast  apartments  of  European  royalty.  Every  fort- 
night, on  the  2nd  and  17th  of  each  month,  the  first 
consul  received  the  diplomatic  corps.  Once  in  the 
decade  en  different  days  but  at  certain  fixed  hours, 
he  received  the  senators,  the  members  of  the 
legislative  corps,  the  tribunate,  and  the  tribunal  of 
cassation.  Functionaries  desirous  of  an  audience 
had  to  address  themselves  to  the  ministers  of  their 
department,  to  be  presented.  On  the  2nd  Ventose 
or  24th  February,  two  days  after  his  installation  at 
the  Tuileries,  he  gave  audience  to  the  diplomatic 


Preparations  tor  war. 


ULM  AND  GENOA. 


Errors  of  the  Austrian  government. 
The  archduke  Charles. 


body.  Sun'ounded  by  a  numerous  staff,  and  with 
the  two  consuls  at  his  side,  he  received  the  envoys 
of  the  states  who  were  not  at  war  with  the  republic: 
having  been  introduced  by  Be'nezech,  and  pre- 
sented by  the  minister  for  foreiu;n  affairs,  they 
delivered  tlieir  credentials  to  the  first  consul,  who 
handed  them  to  the  minister,  somewhat  in  the 
maimer  of  a  sovereign  in  a  monarchical  government. 
The  foreign  agents  who  figured  in  this  audience 
were  M.  de  Musquiz,  ambassador  of  Spain  ;  M.  de 
Sandoz-RoUin,  minister  of  Prussia  ;  M.  de  Schim- 
melpenninck,  ambassador  from  Holland  ;  M.  do 
Serbelloni,  the  envoy  of  the  Cisalpine  republic  ;  and 
lastly  the  cfuiiyes  d'affaires  of  Denmark,  of  Sweden, 
of  Switzerland,  of  Hessc-Cassel,  of  Rome,  of  Genoa, 
and  others.     {Mutiitetir,  4  Ventose,  year  viii.) 

After  tliis  presentation  the  different  ministci*s 
were  presented  to  madame  Bonaparte. 

Every  five  days  tlie  first  consul  passed  in  review 
the  regiments  marching  through  Paris  on  the  route 
to  the  frontiers.  It  was  here  that  he  could  be 
seen  by  the  troops  and  the  multitude,  who  were 
ever  eager  to  run  after  him.  Thin,  pale,  stooping 
on  his  horse,  he  impressed  and  interested  them  by 
a  SLvere  and  melancholy  beauty,  and  by  an  ap- 


jiearance  of  ill-health,  which  began  to  occasion 
much  anxiety;  for  never  was  the  preservation  of 
any  existence  so  much  to  be  desired  as  his. 

After  these  reviews  the  officers  of  the  troops 
were  admitted  to  his  table.  To  these  repasts,  where 
reigned  a  decent  luxury,  were  invited  also  the 
foreign  ministers,  the  members  of  the  assemblies, 
the  magistrates,  and  the  functionaries.  There  were 
not  yet  at  this  nascent  court  either  ladies  of  honour 
or  chamberlains.  The  tone  of  it  was  severe,  but 
yet  somewhat  refined :  it  purposely  avoided  the 
usages  of  the  director^-,  luuler  which  a  ridiculous 
imitation  of  antique  costume,  united  to  a  disso- 
luteness of  manners,  had  banished  all  dignity  from 
the  external  representation  of  the  government. 
Silence  was  observed,  and  men  regarded  and  fol- 
lowed w  ith  their  eyes  the  extraordinary  personage 
who  had  done  such  great  things,  and  who  gave 
hope  of  still  greater.  They  waited  his  questions, 
and  replied  to  them  with  deference. 

The  day  which  followed  his  establishment  at  the 
Tuileries,  Bonaparte,  while  going  over  the  palace 
with  his  secretary  Do  Bourrienne,  said  to  him, 
"  Well,  Bourrienne,  here  we  are  at  the  Tuileries  1 
and  we  must  now  stop  here." 


BOOK  III. 

ULM  AND  GENOA. 

PREPARATIOKS  FOR  WAR — FORCES  OP  THE  COALITrON  IW  1800. — ARMIES  OP  THE  BARON  DE  MELAS  IN  LIOCRIA, 
OF  MARSHAL  KRAY  IX  SWABIA. — AUSTRIAN  PLAN  OF  CAMPAIGN. — IMPORTANCE  OF  SWITZERLAND  IN  THIS 
WAR. — PLAN  OP  BONAPARTE. — HE  RESOLVES  TO  MAKE  USE  OF  SWITZERLAND  TO  COME  DOWN  ON  THE  FLANK  OF 
KRAy,  AND  IN  THE  REAR  OP  MELAS.— WHAT  PART  HE  INTENDED  FOR  MOREAU,  AND  WHAT  FOR  HIMSELF. 
—CREATION  OP  THE  ARMY  OF  RESERVE.— INSTRUCTIONS  TO  MASSENA. — COMMENCEMENT  OF  HOSTILITIES.— THE 
BARON  MELAS  ATTACKS  THE  ARMY  OF  LIGURIA  ON  THE  APENNINES,  AND  DIVIDES  IT  INTO  TWO  PARTS, 
THE  ONE  OF  WHICH  IS  DRIVEN  BACK  ON  THE  VAR,  THE  OTHER  ON  GENOA. — MASSENA  BEING  SHUT  UP  IN 
GENOA  PREPARES  FOR  AN  OBSTINATE  DEFENCE  THERE.— A  DESCRIPTION  OF  GENOA.— HEROIC  ENGAGEMENTS 
OP  MASSENA. — THE  FIRST  CONSUL  URGES  MOREAU  TO  SET  ABOUT  COMMENCING  OPERATIONS  IN  GERMANY,  TO 
BE  ABLE  THE  SOONER  TO  SUCCOUR  MASSENA.— PASSAGE  OP  THE  RHINE  AT  FOUR  POINTS.— MOREAU  SUCCEEDS 
IN  UNITING  TIIRKE  DIVISIONS  OF  HIS  ARMY  OUT  OP  FOUR,  AND  FALLS  UPON  THE  AUSTRIANS  AT  ENGEN  AND 
STOCKACH.— BATTLES  OF  ENGEN  AND  SHESSKIBCH.— RETREAT  OF  THE  AUSTRIANS  ON  THE  DANUBE.— AFFAIR 
OP  8T.  CYR  AT  BIBERACH. — KRAY  ESTABLISHES  HIMSELF  IN  AN  ENTRENCHED  CAMP  AT  ULM.— MOREAU 
MAKCEUVRF.S  TO  DISLODGE  HIM. — MANY  FALSE  MOVEMENTS  OP  MOREAU,  WHICH  HAPPILY  ARE  ATTENDED  BY 
NO  BAD  RESULTS.— MOREAU  SHUTS  UP  MELAS  IN  ULM,  AND  TAKES  UP  A  STRONG  POSITION  IN  ADVANCE  OF 
AUGSBURG,  INTENDING  TO  AWAIT  THE  EVENTS  IN  ITALY. — A  BRIEF  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  ACTIONS  OF  MOREAU. — 
CHARACTER   OF   THAT   GENERAL. 


A  ITER  all  the  earnest  solicitations  he  had  ad- 
dressed to  Europe  for  peace — solicitations  hardly 
to  be  expected  from  a  general  covered  as  he  was 
with  glory,  nothing  was  left  to  the  first  consul  but 
to  make  war,  for  which  he  had  been  jireparing 
during  ti)o  whole  of  the  winter  of  1790— 1«00 
(year  viii).  This  war  was  at  once  the  mo.st  legiti- 
mate, and  the  most  glorious  of  all  in  tho.se  heroic 
times. 

Austria,  all  the  while  she  observed  in  matters 
of  form  more  modemtion  than  England,  had  never- 
theless arrived  at  the  same  conclusion,  and  refused 
I)eace.  The  vain  hope  of  preserving  in  Italy  the 
advantageous  position  which  she  owed  to  the 
victories  of  Suwarrow,  the  English  subsidies,  the 
erroneous  im[)reasion  tliat  France  was  exhausted  of 
men  and  money,  and  could  not  fui-niah  means  for 


another  campaign,  but,  above  all,  the  fatal  obsti- 
nacy of  Thugut,  who  represented  the  war  party  at 
Vienna  with  as  great  a  degree  of  prejudice  as  Pitt 
did  in  London,  and  wiio  brought  to  this  question 
much  more  of  personal  feeling  than  of  true  patri- 
otism ;  all  these  causes  combined,  led  the  Austrian 
cabinet  into  committing  one  of  the  gravest  political 
faults,— that  of  not  profiting  by  a  good  position  to 
negotiate.  It  required  a  great  degree  of  blindness 
to  exjicct  that  the  successes  which  it  owed  to  the 
incapacity  of  the  directory,  it  could  again  obtain 
in  tlie  face  of  a  new  government,  already  completely 
reorganized,  active  to  a  prodigy,  and  under  the 
direction  of  the  first  captain  of  the  age. 

The  archduke  Charles,  who  united  with  his  true 
military  talents  mnch  moderation  and  modesty, 
had   pointed   out  the    danger  attached  to  a   con- 


German  princes  subsi- 
5(;  dized— The  imperial 

armies. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Distribution  of  the 
troops  of  the  coali- 
tion.— Their  plan. 


tinuance  of  the  war,  and  the  difficulty  of  making 
head  against  the  celebrated  adversary  who  was 
about  to  enter  the  lists.  His  only  answer  was  the 
withdrawal  of  the  command  of  the  Austrian 
armies,  by  which  they  deprived  themselves  of  the 
only  general  who  was  able  to  direct  them  with  any 
chance  of  success.  His  disgrace  was  masked  under 
the  title  of  governor  of  Bohemia.  The  imperial 
army  bitterly  regretted  this  pi-ince,  even  though 
there  was  given  them  as  his  successor  haron  Kray, 
who  had  greatly  distinguished  himself  in  the  last 
Italian  campaign.  Kray  was  an  officer  of  bravery, 
competency,  and  experience,  and  showed  himself 
not  unworthy  of  the  command  with  which  he  was 
entrusted. 

To  fill  up  the  void  left  by  the  Russians  in  the 
ranks  of  the  coalition,  Austria,  by  the  aid  of  sub- 
sidies from  England,  obtained  a  sufficiently  large 
supply  of  forces  from  the  states  of  the  empire.  A 
special  treaty,  signed  on  the  ICth  of  March,  by  Mr. 
Wickham  the  British  minister,  with  the  elector  of 
Bavaria,  bound  that  prince  to  furnish  a  supple- 
mentary corps  of  twelve  thousand  Bavarians  Ije- 
yond  his  legal  contingent  as  a  member  of  the 
empire.  A  treaty  of  the  same  kind,  signed  on  the 
20th  of  April,  with  the  duke  of  Wurtemberg, 
procured  another  corps  of  six  thousand  Wurteni- 
bergers  for  the  ai-ray  of  the  coalition.  Lastly,  on 
the  30  th  April,  the  same  negotiator  obtained  from 
the  elector  of  Mayence  a  corps  of  from  four  to 
six  thousand  Mayencais  on  the  same  financial 
conditions.  Beyond  the  expenses  of  recruiting, 
equipping,  and  maintaining  their  troops,  England 
guarantied  to  the  princes  of  the  German  coalition, 
not  to  treat  with  France  without  them,  and  pledged 
herself  that  their  states  should  be  restored  to  them, 
whatever  might  be  the  result  of  the  war,  making 
them  promise  in  retm-n  not  to  listen  to  any  pi-o- 
posal  for  a  separate  peace. 

Of  these  German  troops  the  best  were  the 
Bavarians ;  next  to  those  came  the  Wurtem- 
bergers ;  but  the  troops  of  Mayence  were  militia, 
without  discipline  or  valour.  Independently  of 
these  regular  contingents,  the  peasantry  of  the 
Black  Forest  had  been  roused  to  arms  by  the  terrible 
accounts  of  the  ravages  committed  by  the  French, 
who  at  that  time  caused  much  less  devastation 
than  did  the  imperial  armies,  on  the  cultivated 
plains  of  unhappy  Germany. 

The  imperial  army  of  Suabia,  all  the  auxiliaries 
included,  amomited  very  neax'ly  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  men,  of  whom  thirty  thousand 
were  in  garrison,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  present  on  active  service.  It  was  pro- 
vided with  a  numerous  artillery,  good,  though  in- 
ferior to  that  of  France  ;  and,  above  all,  with 
a  superb  cavalry,  as  is  usual  in  the  armies  of 
Austria.  The  emperor  had  above  one  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand  men  in  Lombardy  under 
Mdlas.  A  great  number  of  English  ships  assem- 
bled in  the  Mediterranean,  and,  cruising  incessantly 
in  the  gulf  of  Genoa,  supported  all  the  operations 
of  the  Austrians  in  Italy.  They  were  to  transport 
an  auxiliary  corps  consisting  of  English  and  emi- 
grants, already  assembled  at  Mahon,  and  amount- 
ing, as  was  said,  to  twenty  thousand  men  ;  it 
was  arranged  that  this  corps  should  even  be 
landed  at  Toulon,  in  case  the  imperial  army, 
charged  with  the  operations  against  the  Apennine 


frontier,  should  succeed  in  forcing  the  line  of  the 
Var. 

There  had  been  a  hope  of  a  junction  of  some 
Russian  troops  with  those  of  England,  to  be 
landed  on  the  coast  of  France,  for  tlie  puqiose  of 
exciting  insurrections  in  Belgium,  Britany,  and 
La  Vendee;  but  an  inaction  on  the  part  of  Russia, 
beyond  doubt  voluntary,  and  the  pacification  of  La 
Vendee,  caused  a  failure  of  this  plan,  on  which  the 
allies  had  greatly  counted. 

It  was,  then,  a  mass  of  three  hundred  thousand 
men,  or  thereabouts  ;  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand in  Suabia,  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
ua  Italy,  and  twenty  thousand  at  Mahon,  seconded 
by  the  marine  power  of  England,  which  was  to 
prosecute  the  war  against  France.  Such  a  force, 
it  must  be  confessed,  would  have  been  exceedingly 
insufficient  against  France,  reorganized,  and  in 
possession  of  all  her  resom-ces  :  but  against  France 
just  emerging  from  the  chaos  into  which  she  had 
been  cast  by  the  weakness  of  the  directory,  it  was 
a  considerable  force,  and  one  with  which  great 
results  might  have  been  achieved,  had  the  enemy 
known  how  to  use  it.  It  must  be  added,  that  this 
was  the  actual  force,  liable  to  very  little  deduction, 
since  the  three  hundred  thousand  men  who  com- 
posed it  were  inured  to  hardships,  and  were  al- 
ready upon  the  very  frontier  they  were  to  attack ; 
a  circumstance  of  importance,  inasmuch  as  every 
army,  at  its  first  campaign,  can  with  difficulty 
endure  the  early  trials  of  war ;  and  if  it  has  a  long 
march  to  make  before  joining  battle,  grows  less  in 
number,  in  proportion  to  the  distance  it  has  to 
traverse. 

We  have  now  to  ascertain  the  distribution  of  the 
troops  of  the  coalition,  and  the  plan  on  which  they 
were  about  to  act. 

Kray,  at  the  head  of  the  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  men  imder  his  command,  occupied 
Suabia,  taking  up  a  position  in  the  middle  of  the 
angle  formed  by  the  Rhine  in  that  country,  when 
after  running  from  east  to  west,  from  Constance 
down  to  Basle,  it  turns  sharply  towards  the  north, 
numing  fi-om  Basle  to  Strasburg.  In  this  position 
Kray,  having  Switzerland  on  his  left  flank,  and 
Alsace  on  his  right,  could  watch  all  the  passes 
of  the  Rhine  by  which  the  French  army  might 
penetrate  into  Germany.  He  made  no  show  of 
forcing  the  line  of  this  river,  and  invadmg  the 
territory  of  the  rei)ublic ;  the  part  he  had  to  play  in 
opening  the  campaign,  was  to  be  of  a  less  active 
kind.  The  commencing  operations  was  reserved 
for  the  ai'my  of  Italy,  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  strong,  and  already,  in  consequence  of 
the  advantages  which  it  gained  in  1799,  almost  at 
the  foot  of  the  Apennines.  It  was  to  blockade 
Genoa,  to  carry  it  if  possible,  then  cross  the  Apen- 
nines and  the  Var,  and  show  itself  before  Toulon, 
where  the  English  and  the  emigrants  of  the  south, 
under  the  command  of  general  Willot,  one  of  those 
proscribed  in  Fructidor,  had  arranged  to  meet 
the  Austrians.  Another  invasion  of  that  province 
of  France  whicli  contained  our  greatest  marine 
establishment,  was  so  especially  agreeable  to  the 
English,  that  it  is  to  them  we  must,  in  great  part, 
attribute  this  plan,  that  was  afterwards  so  severely 
criticised.  When  the  Austrian  army  of  Italy, 
which,  owing  to  the  climate  of  Liguria,  could  com- 
mence the  campaign  before  that  of  Suabia,  should 


1800. 
March. 


Description  of  the  Alps. 


ULM  AND  GENOA. 


Importance  of  the  neutrality 
of  Switzerland. 


57 


have  penetrated  into  Provence  it  was  supposed 
that  the  fii-st  consul  would  withdraw  liis  troops 
from  the  Rhine  to  cover  the  Var,  and  tliat  Kray 
would  then  have  an  opportunity  for  action.  Switzer- 
land, when  she  founa  herself  thus  outflanked,  and, 
as  it  were,  strangled  between  two  victorious  armies, 
would  fall,  as  a  matter  of  course,  without  there 
being  any  necessity  to  renew  against  her  the  fruit- 
less efforts  of  the  preceding  campaign.  The  ex- 
ploits of  Lecourbe  and  Massena  in  the  Alps  had 
given  Austria  a  strong  distaste  for  any  great  ope- 
ration specially  directed  against  Switzerland,  and 
they  were  desirous  to  confine  themselves  to  a  mere 
observation  as  regarded  that  country.  The  ex- 
treme left  of  Xray  was  charged  with  this  duty 
in  Suabia;  the  cavalry  of  Mdas,  useless  in  the 
Apennines,  was  to  undertake  the  same  duty  in 
Lombardy.  The  plan  of  the  Austrians  consisted, 
then,  of  temporizing  in  Suabia,  and  carrying  on  the 
operations  with  all  speed  in  Italy;  to  advance  on 
this  side  as  far  as  the  Var,  and  then,  as  soon  as  tlie 
French  being  drawn  upon  the  Var  sliould  leave  the 
Rhine  unprotected,  to  cross  the  river,  and  thence 
advance  in  two  great  divisions,  the  one  upon  Basle, 
the  other  to  the  south  by  Nice,  and  so  reduce,  with- 
out attack,  the  formidable  barrier  of  Switzerland. 

Practical  judges  of  mihtary  operations  have 
greatly  blamed  Austria  for  its  neglect  of  Switzer- 
land, 'which  allowed  Bonaparte  to  open  a  way 
there  for  himself,  and  fall  on  the  tianic  of  Kray, 
and  on  the  rear  of  Me'las.  We  believe,  as  will 
soon  appear  from  the  facts,  that  it  was  impossible 
for  any  plan  to  be  quite  certain  in  the  presence  of 
Bonaparte,  and  with  the  irreparable  inconvenience 
of  Switzerland  being  in  the  hands  of  the  French. 

To  form  a  just  comprehension  of  this  memorable 
campaign,  and  a  sound  judgment  on  the  plans  of 
the  belligerents,  we  must  figure  to  ourselves  ex- 
actly the  position  of  Switzerland,  and  the  influence 
which  it  must  have  on  the  military  operations, 
especially  at  the  point  to  which  they  had  arrived. 

Towards  the  eastern  frontier  of  France,  and  in 
the  centre  of  the  European  continent,  tlae  Alps 
take  their  rise;  whence  stretching  towards  the  east, 
they  separate  Germany  and  Italy,  throwing  from 
the  one  side  the  Danube  and  its  tributaries,  from 
the  other  the  Po  and  all  the  rivers  of  which  that 
noble  stream  is  composed.  That  part  of  the  Alps 
nearest  to  France  forms  Switzerland  ;  further  on 
they  constitute  the  Tyrol,  which  for  ages  has  be- 
longed to  Austria. 

When  the  Austrian  armies  are  advancing  to- 
wards France,  they  are  compelled  to  ascend  the 
valley  of  the  Danube  on  one  side,  the  valley  of  the 
Po  on  the  other,  being  separated  in  two  masses, 
acting  on  the  long  chain  of  the  Alps.  So  long  as 
they  are  in  Bavaria  and  in  Lombardy,  these  two 
masses  can  communicate  across  the  Alps,  by  the 
Tyrol,  which  belongs  to  the  emperor  ;  but  when 
they  reach  Suabia,  on  the  upper  Danube,  and 
Piedmont,  on  the  upper  Po,  they  find  themselves 
separated  one  from  the  other,  without  the  power 
of  connnunication  across  the  Alps;  since  Switzer- 
land, being  indipeiident  and  neuter,  is  usually  to 
them  forbidden  ground. 

This  neutrality  of  Switzerland  in  an  obstacle 
which  tlie  policy  of  Europe  has  wisely  ])laced  be- 
tween France  and  Austria,  to  diminish  the  points 
of  attack   between  those  two  formidable  powers. 


Thus,  if  Switzerland  be  open  to  Austria,  the  latter 
can  advance  her  armies,  with  a  free  comnmnica- 
tion  between  them  from  the  valley  of  the  Danube 
to  the  valley  of  the  Po,  and  menace  the  frontiers 
of  France  from  Basle  as  far  as  Nice.  This,  a 
serious  danger  for  France,  would  oblige  her  to 
be  always  in  readiness  from  the  mouths  of  the 
Rhine  to  those  of  the  Rhone ;  whereas,  whilst  the 
Swiss  Alps  are  closed,  she  may  concentrate  all  her 
forces  on  the  Rhine,  careless  of  attack  from  the 
south,  seeing  that  no  operation  on  the  Var  has 
ever  been  successful  with  the  Imperialists,  because 
of  the  length  of  the  circuit.  There  is,  then,  a  great 
advantage  to  France  in  the  neutrality  of  Switzer- 
land. But  it  is  not  the  less  important  to  Austria, 
perhaps  even  more  so  ;  in  fact,  if  Switzerland  be- 
came the  theatre  of  hostilities,  the  French  army 
can  invade  it  the  first ;  and  as  its  foot-soldiers  are 
intelligent,  agile,  and  brave,  and  as  well  adapted 
to  a  mountain  warfare  as  to  that  of  plains,  it 
has  every  chance  of  being  able  to  maintain  itself 
there,  as  was  proved  in  the  campaign  of  1799. 
If,  in  fact,  the  Alps  are  attacked  by  the  great 
chain  from  the  side  of  Italy,  they  oppose  a  resist- 
ance such  as  Lecourbe  showed  to  Suwarow  in 
the  passes  of  St.  Gothard;  if  attacked  on  the  side  of 
Germany,  by  the  lower  ridge,  they  oppose,  behind 
their  lakes  and  rivers,  a  resistance  such  as  that  of 
Masse'na  behind  the  lake  of  Zurich,  which  ended 
in  the  famous  battle  of  that  name.  Thus,  when- 
ever the  French  army  is  master  of  Sv.itzerland, 
it  commands  a  very  threatening  position,  and  one  of 
which  it  can  take  advantage  to  bring  about  results 
the  most  extraordinary,  as  we  shall  soon  see  in 
reciting  the  operations  of  Bonaparte.  In  fact, 
when  two  Austrian  armies  are  the  one  in  Suabia, 
the  other  in  Piedmont,  separated  by  the  massive 
rocks  of  Switzerland,  they  have  no  means  of  com- 
munication between  them;  while  the  French,  mak- 
ing their  way  by  the  lake  of  Constance  on  the  one 
side,  and  the  great  Alps  on  the  other,  can  throw 
themselves  either  on  the  flank  of  the  army  of 
Suabia,  or  the  rear  of  the  army  of  Italy.  This 
danger  it  is  impossible  to  avoid,  whatever  be  the 
plan  adopted,  without  going  back  for  fifty  leagues, 
by  retrograding  as  far  as  Bavaria  on  the  one  side, 
and,  on  the  other,  to  Lombardy. 

It  was,  then,  necessary  for  the  Austrians  to  do 
one  of  these  things;  cither  that,  losing  their  advan- 
tages in  their  last  campaign,  they  should  abandon 
to  us  at  one  time  both  Suabia  and  Piedmont ;  or 
that,  refusing  to  make  such  sacrifices,  they  should 
endeavour  to  carry  Switzerland  by  a  main  attack — 
in  which  they  could  not  hope  for  success,  as  it  was 
to  attack  in  front  an  obstacle  almost  insurmount- 
able, before  which  they  had  already  been  baftled ; 
or,  lastly,  that  they  should  divide  themselves  into 
two  grand  armies,  as  they  did,  being  separated  by 
Switzerland,  which  was  thus  placed  on  their  flank 
and  rear.  They  were  thus  enabled,  it  is  true,  by 
following  this  last  course,  to  diminish  to  some 
extent  one  of  their  two  armies  for  the  purpose 
of  increasing  tl.e  other;  to  leave,  for  instance, 
Mdlas  with  but  small  means,  sufficient  merely  to 
keej)  Massdna  in  check,  and  to  raise  the  army  of 
Suabia  to  two  hundred  thousand  men ;  or  to  do 
the  contrary,  by  uniting  their  principal  forces  in 
Piedmont.  But,  in  the  one  case,  this  was  to  desert 
Italy — Italy,  the  only  object  and  the  so  ardently 


I 


Erroneous  views  of  the 

58  Aubtrians  concerning 

the  French  resources. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.    Vast  plans  of  Bonaparte,    ^l^^^' 


desired  prize  of  the  war ; — in  the  other,  it  was  to 
abandon,  without  a  battle,  the  Rhine,  the  Black 
Forest,  and  the  sources  of  the  Danube,  and  to 
shorten,  besides,  the  road  of  the  French  to  Vienna: 
it  was,  Listly,  in  both  cases,  to  do  that  which  was 
most  to  our  advantage;  since,  by  bringing  up  either 
one  of  the  two  armies  to  the  number  of  two  hun- 
dred thousand  men,  the  victory  was  given  to  that 
one  of  the  two  powers  which  had  Bonaparte  on 
its  side ;  for  he  was,  in  fact,  the  only  general  who 
could,  at  that  day,  commajid  two  hundred  thousand 
men  at  one  time. 

There  was  then  no  plan  for  Austria  which  could 
be  perfectly  sure  of  success,  so  long  as  the  French 
were  masters  of  Switzerland,  which,  to  speak  in 
passing,  is  a  proof  that  the  Swiss  neutrality  is  a 
most  important  device  for  the  interest  of  these  two 
powers.  It  adds,  in  fact,  to  their  means  of  defence, 
while  it  diminishes  their  means  of  oft'ence  ;  that  is, 
it  gives  to  their  safety  what  it  takes  from  their 
powers  of  aggression.  Nothing  could  be  better 
conceived  for  the  interests  of  a  general  peace. 

The  Austrians  then  had  little  choice  in  taking 
their  course;  and  whatever  may  be  said,  they  took 
perhaps  the  only  possible  one,  of  deciding  to  tem- 
porize in  Suabia,  and  carry  on  active  operations  in 
Italy,  remaining  separated  by  the  obstacle  of  Swit- 
zerland, which  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  dis- 
place. But  there  was  even  in  this  position,  more 
than  one  manner  of  conducting  their  operations, 
and  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  they  did  not 
adopt  the  best,  nor  even  cast  a  glance  before  them 
at  the  dangers  with  which  they  were  menaced. 
Obstinate  in  believing  the  French  armies  ex- 
hausted ;  not  supposing  that  of  Germany  was 
capable  of  assuming  the  offensive  and  passing  the 
Rhine  in  the  face  of  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand Austrians  posted  in  the  Black  Forest;  think- 
ing still  less  that  they  could  cross  the  Alps,  without 
a  road,  and  in  the  season  of  snow-storms  ;  not  see- 
ing, moreover,  the  third  army  which  might  be 
tempted  to  cross  them  ;  they  gave  themselves  up 
to  a  confidence  which  proved  fatal.  In  jus- 
tice to  them,  it  must  still  be  acknowledged,  that 
most  men  would  have  been  deceived  as  they  were, 
since  their  security  was  based  on  obstacles  appa- 
rently insurmountable.  But  experience  soon  dis- 
closed to  them,  that  before  such  an  adversary  as 
Bonaparte,  all  security,  though  founded  on  barriers 
insurmountable,  rivers,  or  mountains  of  ice,  was 
deceitful,  and  might  become  fatal. 

France  had  two  armies;  that  of  Germany,  which 
amounted,  by  the  junction  of  the  armies  of  the 
Rhine  and  Helvetia,  to  one  hundred  and  thirty 
thousand  men  ;  and  that  of  Liguria,  reduced  to 
forty  thousand  at  most.  In  the  troops  of  Holland 
and  La  Vendue  she  had  the  scattered  and  disjointed 
elements  of  a  third  army.  None  but  a  capacity 
for  administration  of  the  very  liighest  order  could 
bring  this  together  in  time,  and, above  all,  unexpect- 
edly, at  the  point  where  its  presence  was  required. 
These  were  the  means  which  it  was  the  plan  of 
Bonaparte  to  employ  as  follows  :  — 

Massdna,  with  the  army  of  Liguria,  not  aug- 
mented, but  with  fresh  stores  only  of  provision  and 
ammunition,  was  ordered  to  maintain  liis  position 
on  the  Apennines,  between  Genoa  and  Nice,  and 
to  maintain  it  like  a  Thermopylae.  The  army  of 
Germany,  under  Moreau,  augmented  as  much  as 


possible,  was  to  make  pretended  demonstrations  on 
the  banks  of  the  Rhine  from  Strasburg  to  Basle, 
from  Basle  to  Constance,  as  if  about  to  pass  over  ; 
then  to  march  rapidly  forward  in  a  parallel  course 
with  tlie  river,  ascend  it  to  Schaffhausen,  throw 
over  it  four  bridges  at  the  same  moment,  open  at 
once  on  the  flank  of  Kray,  take  him  by  surprise, 
drive  him  back  in  disorder  on  the  upper  Danube, 
outstrip  him  if  possible,  cut  liim  off'  his  road  to 
Vienna,  surround  him  if  practicable,  and  cause  him 
to  suffer  one  of  those  memorable  disasters  of  which 
there  is  not  moi"e  than  one  example  in  the  present 
age.  If  the  army  of  Moreau  did  not  succeed  so  far 
as  this,  it  would  at  any  rate  drive  Kray  upon  Uim 
and  Ratisbon,  constrain  him  thus  to  descend  the 
Danube,  and  separate  him  from  the  Alps,  so  that  it 
would  be  out  of  his  power  to  send  succours  in  that 
direction.  This  done,  it  was  ordered  to  detach  its 
right  wing  towards  Switzerland,  to  second  there  the 
perilous  operation,  the  execution  of  which  Bona- 
parte reserved  for  himself.  The  third  army,  called 
the  reserve,  the  very  elements  of  which  could  scarce- 
ly be  said  to  exist,  was  to  form  itself  between  Geneva 
and  Dijon,  and  await  the  issue  of  these  first  events, 
in  readiness  to  succour  Moreau  if  there  was  ne- 
cessity. But  if  Moreau  succeeded,  in  one  part  at 
least  of  his  plan,  this  army  of  reserve,  marching 
under  Bonaparte  to  Geneva,  fi'om  Geneva  to  the 
Valais,  joining  there  the  detachment  taken  from 
the  army  of  Germany,  and  next  passing  the  St.  Ber- 
nard over  the  ice  and  snow,  was  by  a  prodigy 
greater  than  that  of  Hannibal,  to  fall  on  Piedmont, 
take  Mdlas  in  the  rear,  while  he  was  occupied 
with  the  siege  of  Genoa,  surround  him,  engage  him 
in  a  decisive  battle,  and,  if  it  won  the  victory,  com- 
pel him  to  lay  down  his  arms. 

Assuredly,  if  the  execution  did  but  correspond 
with  such  a  plan,  nevi.r  had  a  finer  conception  re- 
flected honour  on  the  genius  of  a  soldier  of  ancient 
or  modern  days.  But  it  is  the  execution  only 
which  gives  their  value  to  grand  military  combi- 
nations; for,  deprived  of  this  merit,  they  are  no- 
thing but  vain  chimeras. 

The  execution  here  lay  in  conquering  an  infinity 
of  difficulties,  in  the  reorganization  of  the  armies 
of  the  Riiiuc  and  Liguria,  in  the  creation  of  the 
army  of  reserve,  in  keeping  the  secret  of  its  crea- 
tion and  destination  ;  finally,  in  the  double  passage 
of  the  Rhine  and  the  Alps,  the  second  equal  to  tlie 
most  extraordinary  efforts  ever  attempted  in  the 
art  of  war. 

The  first  care  of  Bonaparte  was  especially  to 
recruit  the  army.  Deseition  to  the  interior,  sick- 
ness, and  battle  had  reduced  it  to  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  men,  a  number  scarcely  credible  at  a 
time  when  France  had  to  make  head  against  a 
general  coalition,  were  it  not  proved  by  authentic 
documents.  Happily,  these  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  men  were  seasoned  waiTiors,  all  of  them 
able  to  contend  against  an  enemy  double  their 
number.  The  first  consul  had  demanded  one  hun- 
dred thousand  conscripts  from  the  legislative  body, 
and  it  had  granted  them  with  an  enthusiasm  truly 
])atriotic.  The  war  was  so  legitimate,  so  evidently 
necessary,  after  the  rejection  of  the  offers  of  peace, 
that  merely  to  hesit;ite  would  have  been  criminal. 

But  there  was  nothing  of  this  kind  to  fear,  and 
the  eager  haste  of  the  legislative  body  and  the 
tribunate  amotmted    to  enthusiasm.      These  one 


1800. 
March. 


His  appeal  to  the  volunteers. 
Imporlaiu  mJitary  reforms. 


ULM  AND  GENOA. 


Unfortunate  state  of  the  aimy  of 
Liguria. 


59 


hundred  thousand  young  conscripts,  combined  with 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  old  soldiers,  would 
fomi  the  materials  of  an  excellent  army.  The  pre- 
fects newly  appointed,  and  fii-st  arrived  at  their 
posts,  impressed  an  activity  on  the  recruiting 
department  hitherto  unseen.  But  these  conscripts 
could  not  be  with  their  regiments,  drilled  and 
ready  to  serve  under  the  period  of  six  months.  The 
first  consul  adopted  the  plan  of  retaining  in  the  in- 
terior the  regiments  which  had  been  exhausted, 
and  employing  them  as  skeletons,  which  he  filled 
up  with  the  new  levy.  '  He  moved,  on  the  other 
hand,  towards  the  frontier  the  regiments  which 
were  competent  to  the  field,  taking  care  to  transfer, 
from  the  i*anks  of  those  which  were  to  stop  in  the 
interior,  to  the  ranks  of  those  which  were  about  to 
march  to  the  field  all  the  soldiers  who  were  in  a 
fit  state  for  service.  By  so  doing,  he  could  scarcely 
muster  two  hundred  thousand  men  to  place  im- 
mediately in  line.  But  in  powerful  and  competent 
hands  these  were  sufficient. 

He  appealed  at  the  same  time  to  the  patriotic 
sentiment  of  France.  Applying  himself  to  the 
soldiers  of  the  first  requisition,  whom  the  general 
discouragement,  consequent  on  our  reverses,  had 
drawn  back  to  their  homes,  he  compelled  by  force 
to  rejoin  their  regiments  all  those  who  had  left 
them  without  permission;  he  laboured  besides  to  re- 
awaken the  zeal  of  those  v.ho  had  regular  furloughs. 
He  tasked  himself  to  arouse  a  military  spirit  among 
the  young,  whose  imagination  was  inflamed  by  the 
name  of  Bonaparte.  Greatly  as  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  first  days  of  the  revolution  had  cooled  down, 
the  sight  of  the  enemy  on  our  frontiers  reanimated 
all  hearts;  and  the  succour  which  might  possibly 
be  again  procured  from  the  devotion  of  the  volun- 
teers was  by  no  means  to  be  despised. 

To  the  attention  bestowed  on  recruiting,  Bona- 
parte added  other  useful  reforms  in  respect  to 
the  administration  and  composition  of  the  army. 
He  first  created  inspectors  of  reviews,  whose 
duty  it  was  to  keep  account  of  the  number  of 
men  present  under  arms,  and  to  take  care  that  the 
treasury  did  not  pay  for  soldiers  who  were  only 
present  upon  paper.  In  the  artillery  he  made  a 
change  of  very  great  importance.  The  carriages 
of  the  artillery  were  at  tliat  day  under  the  conduct 
of  drivers  belonging  to  tiie  waggon  train,  who  not 
being  under  any  restraint  from  a  feeling  of  honour, 
like  the  other  soldiers,  cut  the  traces  of  their 
horses,  at  the  very  first  danger,  and  fled,  leaving 
tiieir  guns  in  the  hands  of  tiie  enemy.  The  first 
consul  considered,  that  the  ccjnductor  charged  to 
bring  a  piece  to  the  place  of  battle,  w.os  rendering 
a  service  as  great  as  tlio  cannoneer  charged  to  fire  it 
off;  that  he  ran  the  same  danger,  and  stood  in  need 
of  the  same  moral  motive — the  same  honour.  Ho 
therefore  converted  the  drivers  of  the  artillery  in- 
to soldiers,  wearing  the  uniform,  and  forming  a 
portion  of  that  arm.  There  were  thus  ten  or 
twelve  tliouHiind  horhcnien  who  wero  to  show  as 
much  zeal  in  bringing  their  guns  uji  to  the 
enemy,  or  ra]»idly  carrying  them  off,  as  those  whoso 
duty  it  was  to  load,  jjoint,  and  fire  them.  This  re- 
form had  been  only  just  made,  and  all  its  useful 
consequences  were  not  developed  until  a  later 
period. 

The  artillery  and  the  cavalry  were  thus  in  want 
jf  horses.     The  first  consul  having  neither  time 


nor  means  to  make  purchases,  decreed  a  forced 
and  extraordinary  levy  of  every  thirteenth  horse. 
This  was  a  hard  but  inevitable  necessity.  The 
armies  were  to  provide  themselves  from  their 
own  vicinity  in  the  first  instance,  and  then,  go 
further  and  further,  from  the  surrounding  pro- 
vinces. 

The  first  consul  had  sent  to  Masse'na  what  funds 
he  had  at  his  disposal,  to  succour  the  unhappy 
army  of  Liguria.  From  sixty  thousand  men,  of 
which  it  was  composed  by  the  junction  of  the 
army  of  Lombardy  with  that  of  Naples,  after  the 
bloody  battle  of  Trebia,  it  was  reduced,  by  pri- 
vation, to  forty  thousand  at  the  most,  not  muster- 
ing more  than  about  thirty  thousand  fighting  men. 
Corn,  as  it  could  not  come  either  from  Piedmont, 
which  the  Austrians  occupied,  or  by  the  sea,  which 
the  English  guarded,  was  very  scarce.  The  un- 
happy soldiers  had  nothing  for  their  support  but 
the  crops  of  the  Alps,  which,  as  every  body  knows, 
are  next  to  nothing.  They  would  not  go  into  the 
hospitals  where  there  was  a  want  of  the  chief  articles 
of  food,  and  were  to  be  seen  along  the  road  from 
Nice  to  Genoa,  devoured  by  famine  and  fever,  pre- 
senting the  most  pitiable  of  all  spectacles,  that  of 
brave  men  left  to  die  of  want  by  the  country  they 
itre  defending. 

Masseua,  when  furnished  with  the  fundc  sent 
him  by  the  government,  made  some  purchases  at 
Marseilles,  bought  up  all  the  corn  in  that  town, 
and  sent  it  to  Genoa.  Unluckily,  during  this 
winter,  the  winds,  as  rigorous  as  the  enemy,  blowing 
contrary  without  cessation,  prevented  their  arrival 
at  Marseilles,  and  replaced  in  some  sort  the  block- 
ade which  the  English  could  not  keep  up  at  that 
bad  season.  Nevertheless,  as  some  cargoes  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  in,  the  troops  of  Liguria  had 
bread  once  more  dealt  out  to  them.  Arms,  shoes, 
some  clothing,  and — hopes  were  sent  to  them.  As 
for  military  energy,  there  was  no  need  to  inspire 
them  with  that ;  for  never  had  France  seen  her 
soldiers  endure  such  reverses  with  so  much  firmness. 
These  conquerors  of  Castiglione,  of  Areola,  and  of 
Rivoli  had  borne,  without  being  staggered,  the 
defeats  of  Cassano,  of  Novi,  and  of  Trebia  ;  the 
temper  they  had  acquired  could  not  be  changed 
by  the  strokes  of  fortune.  Moreover,  the  presence 
of  Bonaparte  at  the  head  of  the  government,  and 
of  Mass(;na  at  the  head  of  the  army,  would  have  put 
them  in  heart  again,  if  there  had  been  necessity. 
They  wanted  but  food,  clothing,  and  arms,  to  per- 
form the  greatest  services.  In  this  respect  the 
best  that  was  in  their  power  was  done  by  (he 
government.  Mass^na,  by  some  acts  of  severity, 
re-established  discii)line,  which  was  shaken  amongst 
then),  and  assembled  above  thirty  thousand  men, 
impatient  to  march  once  more  under  his  order's 
on  the  road  to  fertile  Italy. 

The  fii-st  consul  prescribed  to  this  general  an 
ably  conceived  plan  for  the  conduct  of  his  ope- 
rations. Three  narrow  passes  lead  across  the  Apen- 
nine  from  the  inland  side  to  the  maritime:  tliese 
are  that  of  the  Bocchetta,  opening  upon  Genoa; 
that  of  Cadibona,  upon  hjavona;  that  of  Tende, 
u|)on  Nice.  The  first  consul  enjoined  Massdna  to 
leave  only  weak  detachments  in  the  \mHs  of  Tende, 
and  that  of  Cadibona — altogether  just  enough  to 
watch  them — and  to  concentrate  his  force  of  twenty- 
five  thousand  or  thirty  thousand  men  upon  Genoa. 


60        The  army  of  the  Rhine.        THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND   EMPIRE.    Character  of  its  generals.   j^^»^^- 


This  town  being  strongly  occupied,  an  invasion  of 
the  south  of  France  became  less  probable,  and  in 
any  case  less  to  be  feared ;  since  the  Austrians 
would  not  be  so  rash  as  to  advance  beyond  the 
Var  upon  Toulon  and  the  mouth  of  the  Rhone, 
with  lilassdna  left  hi  their  rear.  Besides,  Masse'na 
could,  with  his  thirty  thousand  men  in  one  body, 
fall  upon  any  corps  which  was  crossing  the  defiles 
of  the  Apennines.  It  would  be  difficult  for  him, 
seeing  the  narrow  and  steep  nature  of  the  country, 
to  meet  with  more  than  thirty  thousand  at  one 
time.  He  had,  then,  the  means  of  making  head 
every  where  against  the  enemy.  This  excellent 
plan  was  unhappily  not  capable  of  execution  but 
by  a  general  who  had  the  prodigious  dexterity  of 
the  conqueror  of  Montenotte.  For  the  rest,  the 
first  consul  felt  assured  of  having  in  Masse'na  an 
obstinate  defender  of  the  heights  of  the  Apennine, 
and  of  preparing  employment  for  Melas,  which 
would  detain  him  in  Liguria  during  all  the  time 
necessary  for  the  skilful  combinations  of  his  plan 
for  the  campaign. 

Nevertheless,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  that  the 
army  of  Liguria  was  in  some  little  degree  treated 
as  a  sacrificed  army  ;  not  one  man  more  was  sent 
to  it,  only  supplies,  and,  as  respects  these,  no  more 
than  was  just  necessary.  The  principal  efforts  of 
the  government  were  directed  to  another  quarter, 
for  it  was  in  another  quarter  that  the  grand  blow 
was  to  be  struck.  The  army  of  Liguria  was  ex- 
posed to  the  risk  of  perishing,  that  others  might 
gam  time  to  be  victorious.  Such  is  the  stern  fatality 
of  war,  which  passes  from  one  head  to  another, 
compelling  these  to  die  that  those  may  live  and 
triumph. 

The  army  to  which  the  most  special  care  was 
devoted  was  that,  which,  under  the  orders  of 
Moreau,  was  destined  to  act  in  Suabia.  All  the 
men  and  materiel  possible  were  sent  there.  The 
greatest  efforts  were  made  to  ensure  it  a  complete 
artillery,  and  large  means  of  passage,  that  it 
might  find  itself  in  full  possession  of  resources  for 
crossing  the  Rhine  on  a  sudden,  and,  if  possible, 
at  one  point.  Moreau,  of  whom  men  said  the  first 
consul  was  so  jealous,  was  to  have  under  his 
orders  the  finest  and  most  numerous  army  of  the 
republic,  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand 
men,  while  ^Masse'na  was  to  have  thirty-six  thousand, 
and  the  first  consul  forty  thousand  at  the  most. 
This  was  not,  however,  an  empty  comjiliment  ad- 
dressed to  the  pride  of  Moreau.  Such  a  distribu- 
tion of  the  forces  had  been  decided  upon  the  most 
serious  motives.  The  operation,  whose  object 
was  to  drive  Kray  upon  Ulm  and  Ratisbon,  was 
of  the  very  highest  importance  to  the  general 
success  of  the  campaign  ;  since,  in  the  presence  of 
the  two  powerful  armies  of  Austria  which  were 
advancing  upon  our  frontiers,  it  was  necessary  first 
to  drive  one  off,  before  bemg  able  to  cross  the  Alps 
to  fall  upon  the  rear  of  the  other.  The  first  ope- 
ration, then,  must  be  can-ied  out  by  decisive  means, 
which  placed  its  success  beyond  doubt.  The  first 
consul,  with  all  his  estimation  of  Moreau,  esteemed 
himself  still  higher ;  and  if  one  of  the  two  could 
dispense  with  great  means,  he  thought  that  he 
could  do  better  without  them  than  Moreau.  The 
feeling  that  actuated  him  on  this  occasion  is  better 
in  great  affairs  of  state  than  generosity  itself,  it 
was  a  love  of  the  public  weal ;  this  he  placed 


above  all  private  interest,  whether  that  of  others 
or  his  own. 

This  army  of  the  Rhine  was  a  superb  one, 
though,  like  the  other  armies  of  the  republic,  it 
wore  the  tatters  of  privation.  The  few  conscripts 
who  had  joined  were  just  enough  to  give  it  the 
spirit  of  youth.  It  was  composed  of  an  immense 
number  of  veterans,  who,  under  the  orders  of 
Pichegru,  Kle'ber,  Hoche,  and  Moreau,  had  con- 
quered Holland  and  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  had 
crossed  full  many  a  time  this  river,  and  had  shown 
themselves  on  the  Danube.  It  would  be  an  in- 
justice to  say  that  they  were  braver  men  than 
tho.se  of  the  army  of  Italy  ;  but  they  exhibited  all 
the  qualities  of  accomplislied  troops.  They  were 
prudent,  sober,  observant  of  discipline,  well-drilled, 
and  intrepid.  The  chiefs  were  worthy  of  the 
soldiers.  The  formation  of  this  army  into  detach- 
ments, complete  in  every  branch  of  the  service, 
and  acting  in  separate  corps,  had,  by  that  means, 
developed  in  a  greater  degree  the  talents  of  the 
generals  of  division.  These  generals  were  men 
of  a  merit  equal,  yet  different.  There  was  Le- 
courbe,  the  most  able  officer  of  his  time  in  moun- 
tain warfare — Lecourbe,  whose  glorious  name  the 
echos  of  the  Alps  still  repeat;  there  was  Riche- 
panse,  who  united  with  an  audacious  bravery  a 
rare  intelligence,  and  who  to  Moreau,  soon  after, 
rendered  on  the  field  of  Hohenlinden  the  greatest 
service  that  a  lieutenant  ever  rendered  to  his  gene- 
ral ;  there  was  St.  Cyr,  cold  in  disposition,  but 
profound,  a  chai-acter  of  little  social  feeling,  but 
endowed  with  all  the  qualities  of  a  general-in- 
chief;  there  was,  lastly,  the  youthful  Ney,  whom 
his  heroic  courage,  directed  by  a  happy  instinct  of 
war,  afterwards  rendered  popular  in  all  the  armies 
of  the  republic.  At  the  head  of  these  lieutenants 
was  Moreau,  a  man  of  a  slow  mind,  occasionally 
indecisive,  but  solid,  and  one  whose  indecisions 
ended  in  a  wise  and  firm  resolution  as  soon  as  he 
was  face  to  face  with  danger.  Practice  had,  to  a 
singular  extent,  formed  and  extended  his  military 
glance.  But  while  his  warlike  genius  every  day 
grew  greater  under  the  trials  of  war,  his  civil 
character  weak,  and  open  to  every  influence,  had 
already  succumbed,  and  would  yet  succumb  still 
more,  to  the  trials  of  politics,  which  minds  tnily 
elevated  alone  soar  above.  For  the  rest,  the  un- 
happy passion  of  jealousy  had  not  yet  altered  the 
purity  of  his  heart,  and  corrupted  his  patriotism. 
From  his  experience,  from  his  habit  of  command, 
his  high  renown,  he  was,  after  Bonaparte,  the  only 
man  then  competent  to  the  command  of  one  hun- 
dred thousand  men. 

The  details  of  the  plan  which  the  first  consul 
had  prescribed  for  him,  consisted  in  entering 
into  Suabia  at  a  point  which  would  allow  him 
best  to  act  on  the  extreme  left  of  Kray,  so  as  to 
outflank  him,  to  cut  him  off"  from  Bavaria,  and  to 
enclose  him  between  the  Upper  Danube  and  the 
Rhine;  in  whicli  case  the  Austrian  army  in  Suabia 
was  destroyed.  To  succeed  in  this,  the  Rhine  was  to 
be  crossed,  not  at  two  or  three  points,  but  at  one 
only,  as  near  as  possible  to  Constance  ;  an  operation 
of  singular  boldness  and  difficulty,  since  it  con- 
sisted in  transporting  across  a  river,  and  in  the 
presence  of  an  enemy,  one  hundred  thousand  men 
at  one  time  with  all  their  materiel:  and  it  must  be 
granted  that,  previous  to  Wagram,  no  general  bad 


Creation  of  the  army  of  reserve. 


ULM  AND  GENOA. 


Its  organization. 


passed  a  river  under  such  an  assemblage  of  circum- 
stances and  with  such  resolution.  It  wanted  also 
much  address  to  deceive  the  Austrians  as  to  the 
place  chosen  ;  with  great  address,  much  bold- 
ness in  the  execution  of  the  passage  over;  and, 
lastly,  what  is  always  necessary,  great  good  for- 
tune. The  first  consul  had  directed  the  collecting 
together  on  the  rivers  flowing  into  the  Rhine,  es- 
jiecially  on  the  Aar,  of  a  great  quantity  of  boats, 
that  three  or  four  bridges  might  be  thrown  across 
at  once,  at  a  distance  of  a  hundred  fathoms  from 
each  other.  It  remained  to  find  admission  for 
these  combinations  into  the  cold  and  cautious  mmd 
of  Moreau. 

After  this  attention  to  the  troops  of  Liguria  and 
Germany  bestowed  with  unremitting  zeal,  the  first 
consul  applied  himself  to  form,  almost  out  of  no- 
thing, an  army  which,  under  the  title  of  the  "army 
of  reserve,"  afterwards  accomplished  the  greatest 
achievements. 

That  it  might  fulfil  its  object,  it  was  necessary  not 
only  to  create  this  force,  but  to  do  so  without  any 
one  crediting  the  possibility  of  its  being  effected. 
It  will  be  shown  what  mode  Bonaparte  took  to 
obtain  that  double  result. 

The  first  consul  had  found  in  Holland,  and  in  the 
troops  accumulated  in  Paris  by  the  directory,  the 
means  to  pacify  La  Vendde  in  good  season  :  and  he 
also  contrived  to  discover  in  La  Vendue,  as  soon  as 
it  was  restored  to  peace,  the  necessary  resources 
for  creating  an  army,  which,  thrown  on  a  sudden 
upon  the  theatre  of  military  operations,  might 
change  the  destiny  of  the  campaign.  In  writing  to 
genei-al  Brunc,  who  had  the  chief  command  in  the 
west,  he  addressed  him  in  these  beautiful  words,  so 
well  expressing  his  own  manner  of  operating,  and 
that  of  other  gi-and  masters  in  the  art  of  adminis- 
tration and  of  war  :  "  Let  me  know  if,  indepen- 
dently of  those  five  demi-brigades  which  I  linve 
requested  from  you  by  my  last  courier,  you  will  be 
able  to  di.spose  of  one  or  two  more,  on  the  condition 
of  their  being  sent  back  in  three  months.  We  must 
resolve  to  stride  over  France  as  we  did  formerly 
over  the  valley  of  the  Adige  ;  it  is  only  bringing 
the  decade  into  a  day'." 

Although  the  English  must  liave  felt  a  distaste 
for  new  expeditions  upon  the  continent,  since  their 
adventure  at  the  Texel,  and  more  than  all  since 
the  separation  of  the  Russians  from  the  coalition, 
the  vast  extent  of  our  coasts,  from  the  Zuyder-Zee 
to  the  gulf  of  Gascony,  could  not  be  abandoned 
without  some  means  of  defence;  the  pacification  of 
La  Vendde  had  been  too  recent.  The  first  consul 
left  in  Holland  a  force,  half  French,  half  Dutch,  to 
guard  this  valuable  country,  and  gave  the  com- 
mand of  it  to  Augereau.  It  was  formed  into  divi- 
sions  for  active  service,  ready-armed  and  prepared 
to  march.  When  it  soemed  cerUiin  that  by  the 
course  of  operations  there  was  no  descent  to  be 
feared,  thin  force  under  Augereau's  conmiand  was 
to  march  u])  the  Rhine,  and  cover  the  i-ear  of 
Moreau  in  (iei-many.  Out  of  the  sixty  thousand 
men  drawn  from  the  coasts  of  Normandy  and 
Uritany,  the  fii-st  consul  ciiosc  the  weakest  dcmi- 
hi-igades,  and  h-ft  them  to  watch  the  country  of  the 
insurrection.   He  reduced  their  strength  yet  further 

'  From  the  Dipot  de  la  Secrttairerie  d'Etat,  14  Ventose, 
an  VIII.  (Sth  March,  1800  ) 


by  sending  to  the  army  m  actual  service  the  sol- 
diers best  capable  of  duty;  thus  rendering  them 
fitter  for  receiving  conscripts,  whom  they  were  to 
instruct,  while  they  guarded  the  coast.  He  formed 
of  these  men  five  small  encampments,  uniting  ca- 
valry, infantry,  and  artillery,  ready  to  march  at 
the  first  signal,  and  commanded  by  good  officers. 
There  were  two  of  those  encampments  in  Belgium, 
one  at  Liege,  another  at  Maestricht,  both  designed 
to  secure  the  country  kept  in  disturbance  by  the 
priests,  and,  if  required,  to  aid  in  the  defence  of 
Holland,  Another  of  those  camps  was  formed  at 
Lisle,  ready  to  fling  itself  upon  the  Somme  and 
Normandy,  a  second  at  St.  Lo,  and  a  third  at 
Rennes.  The  last  was  the  most  numerous,  and 
numbered  from  seven  thousand  to  eight  thousand 
men  ;  the  otliers  from  four  thousand  to  five  thou- 
sand, and  all  the  camps  together  about  tlui-ty 
thousand.  These  would  soon  be  doubled,  at  least, 
by  the  arrival  of  the  conscripts,  and  all  were  in- 
tended to  do  the  duty  of  police  in  the  countries 
recently  subdued,  such  as  Belgium,  and  the  pro- 
vinces of  Normandy,  Britany,  and  Poitou.  The  first 
consul  ordered  a  search  to  be  made  for  arms  con- 
cealed in  the  woods,  and  began  to  form,  through  the 
attraction  of  high  pay,  three  or  four  battalions  out  of 
the  men  who  had  contracted  adventurous  habits  in 
the  civil  war,  intending  them  for  the  army  in  Egypt. 
Their  leaders  had  residences  assigned  them  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  scene  of  civil  war,  and  received  pen- 
sions amply  sufficient  to  maintain  them  in  comfort. 

The  arrangements  completed,  there  i-emained 
about  thirty  thousand  excellent  soldiers  out  of 
sixty  thousand,  collected  for  the  pacification  of  the 
interior  of  the  country  ;  they  were  embodied,  in 
the  demi-brigades  which  had  suftered  least.  Some 
had  returned  to  Paris  after  the  operations  were 
completed  in  Normandy  against  De  Frotte  ;  others 
were  in  Britany  and  La  Vende'e.  They  Avere  formed 
by  the  first  consul  into  three  fine  war- divisions,  two 
in  Britany,  at  Rennes  and  Nantes,  and  one  in 
Paris.  These  divisions  were  to  prepare  them- 
selves for  service  with  the  utmost  speed,  providing 
themselves  with  such  appointments  as  were  at 
hand,  and  procuring  the  rest  on  their  march,  by 
means  which  will  be  presently  explained.  They 
had  orders  to  repair  to  the  eastern  frontier,  with 
rapid  "  strides,"  to  use  the  words  of  the  fii-st  con- 
sul "as  the  army  of  Italy  once  strode  over  the 
Adige."  Their  arrival  in  Switzerland  in  the  month 
of  April  was  certain. 

There  was  yet  another  resource  in  the  depots  of 
the  army  of  Egypt  stationed  in  the  south  of  France, 
which  had  never  been  able  to  forward  recruits  to 
their  corps,  it  having  been  impossible  for  them 
to  pass  the  sea  in  consequence  of  its  being  conti- 
nually watched  by  the  English.  Fourteen  fine  bat- 
talions ready  for  service  were  drawn  from  those 
depots  by  adding  a  few  conscripts  to  them.  The 
order  was  given  for  them  to  march  to  Lyons,  where 
they  would  be  completed.  This  was  a  fourth  and  a 
capital  division,  capable  of  performing  good  service. 

The  most  difficult  and  longest  task  in  the  form- 
ation of  an  army  is  the  organization  of  the  ar- 
tillery. The  first  consul  having  resolved  to  form 
the  army  of  reserve  in  the  east,  had  in  the  depots 
of  Auxerrc,  IJosaufon,  and  Brian5on,  the  means 
of  collecting  in  men  and  apjwintments  a  force 
equal  to  sixty  pieces  of  cannon.     Two  able  artillery 


Measures  taken  by  the 
b^  first  consul  to  con- 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


ceal  the  object  of  the 
army  of  reserve. 


1800. 
March. 


officers,  who  were  greatly  attached  to  him,  Mar- 
mont  and  Gassendi,  were  sent  from  Paris,  with 
ordei-s  to  get  ready  sixty  pieces  of  cannon  in  the 
different  depots,  without  saying  where  they  were 
to  be  united  or  concentrated. 

It  was  necessary  to  point  out  some  place  where 
all  tiiese  corps  were  to  be  collected  tugether.  If 
an  attempt  had  been  made  to  conceal  the  pre- 
parations by  silence  about  them,  it  would  have 
had  a  wrong  effect,  and  spread  an  alarm.  The 
first  consul  deceived  the  enemy  by  the  very  bustle 
of  his  preparations.  In  the  Moniteur,  a  decree  of 
the  consuls  was  inserted  by  his  orders,  for  the 
foi-mation  of  an  army  of  reserve  at  Dijon,  to  be 
composed  of  sixty  thousand  men.  Bertliier  went 
post-haste  to  Dijon,  for  the  purpose  of  commen- 
cing its  organization,  his  duty  now  drawing  less 
upon  his  time  by  the  entry  of  Carnot  upon  the 
ministry  of  war.  An  exciting  appeal  was  made 
to  the  old  volunteers  of  the  revolution  who  after 
one  or  two  campaigns  had  retired  to  their  homes, 
beseeching  them  to  repair  to  Dijon.  A  small 
quantity  of  the  munitions  of  war,  and  a  few  con- 
scripts, were  sent  there  with  much  parade.  The 
old  officers  despatched  to  that  city  gave  the  idea 
of  being  sent  to  commence  the  instruction  of  the 
skeleton  battalions  of  conscripts.  The  newspaper 
writers,  who  were  only  permitted  to  interfere  with 
military  matters  in  the  most  circumspect  mode, 
had  full  liberty  to  write  what  they  pleased  about 
the  army  at  Dijon,  and  to  detail  in  their  columns 
whatever  concerned  it.  This  was  enough  to  attract 
all  the  European  spies  to  that  quarter,  where 
there  was  no  want  of  them,  since  they  repaired 
thither  in  great  numbers. 

If  the  divisions  formed  at  Nantes,  Rennes,  and 
Paris,  and  the  troops  drawn  from  La  Vende'e;  and 
if  the  division  formed  at  Toulon,  Marseilles,  and 
Avignon,  with  the  depots  of  the  army  of  Egypt; 
and  the  artillery  prepared  at  Besan9on,  Auxerre, 
and  Brian5on,  with  the  materials  in  their  arsenals, 
had  been  united  at  Dijon,  the  secret  of  the  first 
consul  would  have  been  out  ;  all  the  world  would 
have  believed  in  tlie  existence  of  the  army  of 
reserve.  But  he  took  good  care  not  to  act  in  that 
manner.  The  divisions  were  sent  towai-ds  Lau- 
sanne and  Geneva  by  different  roads,  in  such  a 
way  that  the  public  attention  was  not  particularly 
attracted  to  any  p6int.  They  passed  for  reinforce- 
ments going  to  the  army  of  the  Rhine,  which, 
being  spread  over  the  country  from  Strasburg 
to  Constance,  might  well  ai)pear  to  be  the  point 
to  which  they  were  all  proceeding.  The  muni- 
tions for  the  war,  ordered  from  the  arsenals  of 
Auxerre  and  Besan9on,  passed  for  supplemental 
artillery  destined  for  the  same  army.  Tliose  col- 
lecting at  Brianfon  were  in  the  same  way  supposed 
to  be  for  the  army  of  Liguria.  The  first  consul  sent 
a  quantity  of  spirits  to  Geneva;  but  this  did  not 
indicate  its  real  destination,  since  the  German 
army  of  France  had  its  base  of  operations  in  Swit- 
zerland. Four  millions  of  rations  of  biscuit  were 
ordered  to  be  made  in  the  departments  on  the 
banks  of  the  Rhone,  destined  to  feed  the  army  of 
reserve,  amid  the  sterility  of  the  Alps  ;  and  one 
million  eight  hundred  thousand  were  secretly  sent 
up  the  Rhone  to  Geneva,  while  two  hundred  thou- 
sand were  ostentatiously  sent  down  to  Toulon,  in 
order  that  it  might  be  supposed  they  were  intended 


for  the  naval  service  at  that  port.  Lastly,  the  di- 
visions were  marched  slowly,  and  without  fatiguing 
them,  in  the  direction  of  Gene\a  and  Lausanne. 
They  had  the  half  of  March  and  the  whole  of 
April  to  complete  the  distance,  receiving  as  they 
proceeded  shoes,  clothes,  muskets,  horses,  and 
the  necessaries  of  which  they  might  stand  in  need. 
The  first  consul  having  arranged  in  his  own  mind 
the  route  which  the  troops  were  to  follow,  and 
having  carefully  made  himself  acquainted  with 
the  nature  of  whatever  they  wanted,  sent  to 
every  place  through  which  they  were  to  march, 
sometimes  one  thing,  and  sometimes  another,  of 
such  kinds  as  were  necessary,  taking  care  not  to 
raise  suspicion  by  too  large  a  collection  of  stores 
at  one  place.  The  correspondence  relating  to 
these  preparations  was  kept  bade  from  the  war 
office,  and  confined  between  himself  and  the  com- 
mander of  the  troops,  being  sent  by  trustworthy 
aids-de-camp,  who  travelled  backwards  and  for- 
wards by  post,  saw  every  thing  themselves,  and 
did  every  thing  immediately,  possessing  the  irre- 
sistible order  of  the  first  consul,  ignorant  them- 
selves all  the  time  of  the  general  plan  which  they 
were  carrying  out. 

The  real  object,  confined  to  the  first  consul, 
Berthier,  and  two  or  three  generals  of  engineers 
and  artillery,  to  whom  it  was  absolutely  needful  to 
communicate  the  plan  of  the  campaign,  was  kept  a 
profound  secret.  None  of  them  would  betray  it, 
because  secrecy  is  an  act  of  obedience  that  govern- 
ments obtain  in  proportion  to  the  ascendancy  which 
they  possess.  Upon  this  ground  the  first  consul 
had  no  indiscretion  to  fear.  The  foreign  spies  who 
flocked  to  Dijon,  seeing  only  a  few  conscripts, 
volunteers,  and  old  officers,  thought  themselves 
wonderfully  acute  in  discovering  that  there  was 
nothing  serious  to  be  apprehended  ;  that  the  first 
consul  evidently  made  all  the  stir  to  terrify  M^las, 
and  prevent  him  from  penetrating  the  Jura  by  the 
mouths  of  the  Rhone,  under  the  belief  that  he 
would  find  in  the  south  an  army  of  reserve  capable 
of  stojjping  him.  This  was  the  comprehension  of 
the  business  by  such  as  deemed  themselves  ex- 
cellent judges ;  and  the  English  newspapers  were 
soon  filled  with  thousands  and  thousands  of  jests 
upon  the  subject.  Among  the  caiicatures  designed 
on  the  occasion,  was  the  army  of  reserve  repre- 
sented by  a  child  leading.a  wooden-legged  invalid. 

Tlie  first  consul  desired  nothing  better  than  to 
be  jested  upon  at  such  a  moment.  In  the  mean 
time  his  divisions  were  marching,  and  his  warlike 
stores  were  preparing  on  the  eastern  frontier.  In 
the  beginning  of  May,  an  army  formed  in  a  mo- 
ment would  be  ready  either  to  second  Moreau,  or 
to  throw  itself  over  the  Alps,  and  change  the  face 
of  events  in  that  quarter. 

The  first  consul  had  not  neglected  the  navy. 
After  the  cruise  which  had  been  made,  during  the 
preceding  year,  in  the  Mediterranean  by  Admiral 
Bruix,  with  the  combined  fleets  of  France  and 
Spain,  this  fleet  had  entered  Brest.  It  was  com- 
posed of  fifteen  Spanish  and  about  twenty  French, 
in  all,  nearly  forty  sail.  Twenty  English  men-of- 
war  blockaded  it  at  the  moment.  The  first  consul 
availed  himself  of  the  first  financial  resources 
which  he  had  succeeded  in  creating,  to  send  some 
provisions  and  a  part  of  the  pay  that  was  in  arrear 
to  this  fleet.     He  urged  it  not  to  suffer  itself  to  be 


1800. 
March. 


Rrslstance  of  Moreaa  to  th« 
plan  proposed. 


ULM  AND  GENOA. 


His  own  plan.— Mediation  of 
general  Dessoles. 


blockaded,  but  if  it  had  only  thirty  sail  against 
twenty,  to  put  to  sea  at  the  first  moment,  even  if  it 
were  forced  to  give  battle;  and,  if  unable  to  keep  at 
sea,  to  puss  the  straits,  sail  to  Toulon,  assemble 
there  some  vessels  charged  with  stores  for  Egypt, 
and  then  go  and  raise  the  blockade  of  Malta  and 
Alexandria.  The  way  thus  cleared,  commerce 
would  of  itself  victual  the  French  gai-risous  ou  the 
coasts  of  the  Mediterranean. 

Such  were  the  attentions  he  directed  to  military 
affairs,  at  the  same  time  tliat  with  Cambaceres, 
Sieyes,  Talleyrand,  Gaudin,  and  others,  who  shared 
in  his  labours,  he  was  employed  in  the  reorganiza- 
tion of  the  government,  in  re-establisliiiig  the 
finances,  in  creating  a  civil  and  judicial  adminis- 
tration, and  ill  negotiating  with  Europe.  But  it 
was  not  sufficient  to  conceive  plans  and  prepare 
for  their  due  execution  ;  it  was  necessary  to  im- 
print his  own  ideas  on  the  minds  of  his  lieutenants, 
who,  though  answerable  to  his  consular  authority, 
were  not  then  so  perfectly  subordinate  as  they 
afterwards  became,  when  under  the  title  of  "mar- 
shals of  the  empire  "  they  obeyed  him  as  emperor. 
The  plan  prescribed  to  Moreau  more  particularly, 
had  upset  his  cold  and  timid  head  ;  he  was  alarmed 
at  the  boldness  of  the  operations  he  was  ordered  to 
perform.  The  country  has  been  spoken  of  already 
in  which  he  was  about  to  operate.  The  Rhine, 
we  have  said,  runs  east  and  west  from  Constance 
to  Basle,  and  turns  to  the  north  at  Basle,  jiassing 
by  Brisach,  Strasburg,  and  Jlayence.  In  the 
angle  which  it  thus  describes,  is  situated  the  tract 
called  the  Black  Forest, — a  woody  and  mountainous 
region,  intersected  by  defiles,  which  lead  from  the 
valley  of  the  Rhine  to  that  of  the  Danube.  The 
French  and  .Vustrian  army  occupied,  to  a  certain  de- 
gree, the  three  sides  of  a  triangle.  The  French  army 
held  two  sides,  from  Strasburg  to  Basle,  and  from 
Basle  to  Schaff  hausen.  The  Austrian  army  occu- 
pied one  side  only,  or  from  Strasburg  to  Constance. 
'I'he  la-it  had  therefore  the  advantage  of  a  more 
easy  concentration.  General  Kray  had  his  left, 
under  the  prince  de  Reuss,  in  the  environs  of 
Constance,  his  right  in  the  defiles  of  the  Black 
Forest,  nearly  as  far  as  Strasburg,  his  centre  at 
Donau-Eschingen,  at  the  point  where  all  the  roads 
intui-sect,  and  thus  could  concentrate  his  army 
nipidly  before  the  very  spot  where  Moreau  wish(;d 
to  cross  the  Rhine,  either  between  Strasburg  and 
Basle,  or  between  Basle  and  Constance.  This 
position  was  the  subject  of  uneasiness  to  the  French 
geiiL-ral.  He  feared  that  Kray,  ju'esenting  Iiis 
whole  force  at  the  place  where  he  crossed,  would 
reiider  the  passage  impossible,  perhaps  disastrous. 

The  first  con.sul  thought  nothing  of  the  kind, 
believing,  on  the  contraiy,  that  the  French  army 
would  be  able  to  concentrate  itself  with  case  on  the 
left  flank  of  Kray  and  overwhelm  it.  To  that  end 
he  wished,  a«  we  liavc  already  seen,  that  profiting 
by  the  river-curtain, or  in  other  words,  by  the  llhine, 
which  covered  the  French  army,  he  should  jwcend 
that  river  on  a  sudden,  should  unite  his  forces  be- 
tween Basle  and  .Schaffliauscn,  and  with  boats  pro- 
vided secretly  in  the  tributary  waters  of  that  river, 
throw  over  four  bridges  the  same  morning,  by  which 
he  might  pass  across  eighty  thousand  or  one  hun- 
dred liiousand  men  between  Stockach  and  Donau- 
Eschingen,  coming  upon  the  flank  of  Kray,  cut- 
ting him  off  from  his  rcservea  and  his  left  wing,  and 


driving  him  in  confusion  upon  the  upper  Danube. 
The  first  consul  thouglit  that  by  this  operation, 
executed  with  vigor  and  promptitude,  the  Austrian 
army  of  Gernumy  might  be  destroyed.  That 
which  he  proposed  at  a  later  period  around  Ulm, 
and  that  which  he  did  the  same  year,  by  Mount  St. 
Bernard,  showed  that  this  j)lan  had  nothing  in  it 
but  what  was  practicable.  He  thought  that  the 
French  army  not  having  to  move  in  an  enemy's 
country,  as  it  would  ascend  the  Rhine  by  the  left 
bank,  having  only  to  move  without  fighting,  might 
steal  two  or  three  mai-chcs  upon  Kray,  and  be  at 
the  ])oint  of  crossing  before  that  genei'al  could 
assemble  means  sufficient  to  jirevent  it. 

This  was  the  plan  that  troubled  so  mucli  the 
mind  of  M(U-eau,  little  habituated  to  such  bold 
combinations.  He  was  fearful  that  Kray,  learning 
his  object  time  enough,  would  bring  down  the  mass 
of  the  Austrian  army  to  encounter  him,  and  drive 
the  French  into  the  Rhine.  Moreau  pi'eferred  to 
avail  himself  of  the  bridges  already  existing  at 
Strasburg,  Brisach,  and  Basle,  to  pass  in  several 
columns  over  to  the  right  bank.  In  this  manner 
he  should  divide  the  attention  of  the  Austrians, 
and  drive  them  principally  towards  those  defiles  of 
the  Black  Forest  which  were  correspondent  to  the 
bridges  of  Strasburg  and  Brisach  ;  then,  after 
having  lured  them  into  the  defiles,  he  proposed  to 
steal  away  of  a  sudden,  pass  parallel  with  the 
Rhine  those  of  his  columns  that  had  crossed  the 
river,  and  post  himself  before  Schaffhauseu  to 
cover  the  passage  of  the  rest  of  the  army. 

This  plan  of  Moreau  was  not  destitute  of  merit, 
nor  was  it  without  serious  inconveniences.  Although 
it  might  tend  to  the  escape  of  the  danger  following 
a  passage  in  one  place  executed  wi.h  the  whole 
body  ot  the  army,  it  had,  by  dividing  the  operation, 
the  inconvenience  of  dividing  his  foi'ces,  of  throw- 
ing upon  an  enemy's  territoi-y  two  or  three  de- 
tached columns,  and  of  making  them  perform  a 
hazardous  flank  march  as  far  as  Schaffhausen, 
where  they  would  have  to  cover  the  last  and  most 
dangerous  passage  of  the  river.  Lastly,  the  plan 
had  the  disadvantage  of  giving  few  or  no  results, 
because  it  did  not  throw  the  French  army  entire 
and  at  one  time  upon  the  left  fiank  of  Kray,  which 
would  have  been  the  only  means  to  overthrow  the 
Austrian  general  and  cut  him  oft'  from  Bavaria. 

It  is  a  spectacle  well  worthy  of  historical  regard, 
to  see  two  men,  thus  opposed  to  each  other  on 
a  question  of  great  moment,  bringing  out  so  well 
their  differences  in  spirit  and  character.  The  plan 
of  Moreau,  as  it  often  happens  with  the  phuis  of 
second  rate  men,  had  only  the  appearance  of  pru- 
dence. It  might  succeed  in  the  execution  ;  for  it 
is  right  to  repeat  continually  that  the  execution 
redeems  all— sometimes  causing  the  best  combina- 
tions to  fail,  and  the  worst  to  succeed.  Moreau 
persisted  in  his  own  idea.  The  first  consul  wishing 
to  act  upon  him  by  persuasion,  through  an  inter- 
mediate agent,  carefully  selected,  summoned  gene- 
ral Dessoles  to  Paris.  This  ottieer  was  chief  of 
the  staff  in  the  army  of  Germany,  and  po.ssessed 
an  acute,  penetrating  intellect,  well  worthy  of 
serving  as  a  link  between  two  susceptible  and 
powerful  men,  having  that  desire  to  conciliate  his 
superiors  not  always  found  in  subordinate  officers. 
The  first  consul  sent  for  him  to  I'aris  about  the 
middle  of  March,  the  end  of  Ventdse,  and  kept 


The  first  consul  yields 
to  Moreau. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Positions  of  the  army         1800. 
in  Liguria.  April. 


him  there  some  days.  Having  explained  his  ideas 
to  general  Dessoles,  he  made  him  perfectly  under- 
stand them,  and  prefer  them  even  to  those  of 
Moreau.  The  general  did  not  in  consequence  less 
persist  in  advising  the  first  consul  to  adopt  the  plan 
of  Moreau ;  because,  in  his  opinion,  it  was  better  to 
leave  the  genei-al  who  was  to  act,  to  do  so  agreeably 
to  his  own  character  and  ideas,  especially  when  he 
is  worthy  of  the  command  with  which  he  is  entrusted. 
"  Your  plan,"  said  general  Dessoles  to  the  first 
consul,  "  is  grander,  more  decisive,  probably  more 
certain  ;  but  it  is  not  adapted  to  the  genius  of 
him  who  is  to  execute  it.  You  have  a  mode  of 
making  war  which  is  superior  to  any  other,  and 
Moreau  has  liis,  which,  without  doubt,  is  inferior 
to  yours,  but  yet  excellent.  Let  him  act;  he  will 
act  well  ;  slowly,  perhaps,  but  surely ;  and  he  will 
obtain  all  the  results  which  you  will  require  for  the 
success  of  your  general  combinations.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  you  impose  your  ideas  upon  him,  you 
will  annoy  him ;  you  will  offend  him,  and  will 
obtain  nothing  from  him  by  the  desire  of  obtaining 
too  much'." 

The  first  consul,  as  deeply  versed  in  the  know- 
ledge of  men  as  in  his  own  profession,  appreciated 
the  soundness  of  the  advice  given  by  general 
Dessoles,  and  yielded.  "  You  are  in  the  right,"  he 
observed;  "  Moreau  is  not  capable  of  catching  and 
executing  the  plan  which  I  have  conceived.  He  may 
do  as  he  sees  fit,  provided  he  will  throw  Kray 
upon  Ulm  and  Ratisbon,  and  then  send  back  his 
left  wing  in  seasonable  time  upon  Switzerland. 
The  plan  which  he  does  not  undei-stand,  and  dares 
not  execute,  I  will  carry  into  effect  in  another 
part  of  the  theatre  of  war.  What  he  will  not  dare 
on  the  Rhine,  I  will  do  on  the  Alps.  He  may 
possibly,  bj'-and-by,  regret  the  glory  which  he 
abandons  to  me."  Proud  words,  of  deep  meaning, 
containing  a  whole  military  prophecy,  as  it  will 
soon  be  easy  to  discover. 

The  mode  of  crossing  the  Rhine  thus  left  to 
Moreau  himself,  there  still  remained  another  point 
to  arrange.  The  first  consul  had  a  strong  desire 
that  the  right  wing,  commanded  by  Lecourbe, 
should  remain  in  reserve  on  the  Swiss  territory, 
ready  to  second  Moreau  if  he  i-equired  it,  but  not 
to  penetrate  into  Germany  unless  its  presence  thei-e 
was  indispensable,  in  order  that  it  should  not  have 
to  retrograde  for  the  purpose  of  co-operating  in  the 
Alps.  Still  he  knew  how  difficult  it  is  to  take 
from  a  general-in-chief  a  detachment  of  his  army, 
when  operations  have  commenced.  Moreau  in- 
sisted on  having  Lecourbe,  engaging  to  send  him 
back  to  Bonaparte  as  soon  as  he  had  driven  Kray 
upon  Ulm.  The  first  consul  agreed  to  his  request, 
determined  to  concede  every  thing  to  promote 
harmony  ;  but  he  requested  that  Moreau  should 
sign  an  agreement,  by  which  he  promised,  after 
driving  back  the  Austrians  upon  Ulm,  to  detach 
Lecourbe,  with  twenty  thousand  or  twenty-five 
thousand  men,  towards  the  Alps.  This  agreement 
was  signed  at  Basle  between  Moreau  and  Berthier, 
the  last  being  considered  as  acting  officially  in  his 
character  of  general-in-chief  of  the  army  of  reserve. 

General  Dessoles  left  Paris,  after  having  settled 
completely  every  point  of  discussion  with  the  first 

1  In  my  youth  I  had  the  honour  to  receive  this  recital 
from  the  mouth  of  general  Dessoles  himself. 


consul.  All  was  in  accord,  and  every  thing  ready 
to  open  the  campaign,  and  it  was  of  importance  to 
commence  operations  immediately,  in  order  that 
Moreau  having  executed  as  early  as  possible  that 
part  of  the  plan  arranged  in  which  he  was  con- 
cerned, the  first  consul  might  be  able  to  throw 
himself  on  the  other  side  of  the  Alps,  and  disen- 
gage Masse'na  before  he  was  crushed,  fighting  with 
only  thirty-six  thousand  men  against  one  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand.  The  first  consul  wished 
that  Moreau  should  commence  operations  by  the 
middle  of  April,  or  at  the  latest  by  the  end  of  that 
month.  His  wishes  were  vain ;  Moreau  was  not 
ready ;  he  had  neither  the  activity  nor  the  mind 
capable,  out  of  its  own  resources,  of  supplying  the 
insufficiency  of  his  means.  While  he  thus  deferred 
commencing  operations,  the  Austrians,  faithful  to 
their  plan  of  taking  the  initiative  in  Italy,  flung 
themselves  upon  Massena,  and  commenced  a  strug- 
gle with  that  general,  which  the  disproportion  of 
strength  between  the  two  renders .  worthy  of  im- 
mortal I'emembrance. 

The  army  of  Liguria  at  most  numbered  about 
thirty-six  thousand  men,  in  a  fit  state  for  active 
service,  distributed  in  the  following  manner  : — 

Thirteen  or  fourteen  thousand  men  under  gene- 
ral Suchet  formed  the  left  of  that  army,  occupying 
the  Col  de  Tende,  Nice,  and  the  line  of  the  Var.  A 
detached  corps  from  this  wing,  of  about  four  thou- 
sand men,  under  the  orders  of  general  Thureau, 
was  posted  on  Mount  Cenis.  Consequently  there 
were  eighteen  thousand  men  engaged  in  guarding 
the  French  frontier,  from  Mount  Cenis  to  the  Col 
de  Tende. 

Ten  or  twelve  thousand  men  under  general  Soult, 
forming  the  centre  of  the  army,  defended  the  two 
principal  passes  of  the  Apennines, — that  which 
coming  down  from  the  Upper  Bormida,  descends 
on  Savona  and  Finale,  and  that  of  the  Bocchetta, 
which  comes  down  upon  Genoa. 

About  seven  or  eight  thousand  men,  under  the 
intrepid  ]\Iiollis,  kept  Genoa,  and  a  pass  which 
opens  near  that  city  on  the  side  opposite  to  that  of 
the  Bocchetta.  Thus  the  second  moiety  of  this  army, 
in  number  about  eighteen  thousand  men  or  nearly, 
under  the  generals  Soult  and  MioUis,  defended  the 
Apennines  and  Liguria.  The  danger  of  a  separa- 
tion between  these  two  portions  of  the  army,  that 
occupying  Nice,  and  that  which  held  Genoa,  was 
very  evident. 

These  thirty-six  thousand  French  had  opposed 
to  them  Me'las,  the  Austrian  general,  with  one 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men,  i*efreshed,  well- 
fed,  and  re-victualled,  owing  to  the  abundance  of 
everything  in  Italy,  and  to  the  subsidies  which  Aus- 
tria received  from  England.  General  Kaim,  with 
the  heavy  artillery,  the  cavalry,  and  a  body  of  in- 
fantry, in  all  thirty  thousand  men,  had  been  left  in 
Piedmont  to  serve  as  a  rear-guard  and  watch  the 
approaches  from  Switzerland.  Me'las,  with  seventy 
thousand  men,  the  greater  part  consisting  of  infan- 
try, had  advanced  towards  the  openings  in  the 
Apennines.  Besides  his  superiority  in  numbers,  he 
had  the  advantage  of  a  concentrical  position ;  Mas- 
S(?na  was  obliged  to  occupy  thirty  thousand  men  in 
guarding  the  semicircle,  forty  leagues  in  extent, 
formed  by  the  maritime  Alps  and  the  Apennines, 
from  Nice  to  Genoa,  the  surplus  of  his  force  occu- 
pying Jlount  Cenis.  Me'las,  on  the  contrary,  placed 


1800. 
April. 


Bonaparte's  instructions  to 
Massena. 


ULM  AND  GENOA. 


on  the  other  side  of  the  mountains,  in  the  centre 
of  this  semicircle,  between  Coni,  Ceva,  and  Gavi, 
had  but  a  short  distance  to  go  before  he  could 
reach  any  point  of  his  opponent's  Une  which  he 
might  choose  to  attack.  He  was  also  able  to  make 
false  demonstrations  upon  any  one  of  these  points, 
and  then,  i-apidly  moving  upon  another,  act  against 
it  with  his  whole  force.  Masse'na,  menaced  in  this 
wav,  had  no  less  than  forty  leagues  to  march  from 
Nice  to  the  succour  of  Genoa,  or  from  Genoa  to 
succour  Nice. 

It  was  upon  considering  all  these  circumstances 
that  the  first  consul  grounded  the  instructions  he 
had  given  to  Mass^na, — instructions  already  alluded 
to  in  a  general  manner,  but  which  it  is  now  neces- 
sary to  re-state  in  a  more  particular  way.  Three 
roads,  adapted  for  artillery,  led  from  one  side  of  the 
mountains  to  the  other  :  that  ivhich  by  Turin, 
Coni,  and  Tende,  opened  upon  Nice  and  the  Var  ; 
that  whii-h  ascending  the  valley  of  the  Borniida 
conducted  by  the  defile  of  Cadibona  to  Savona  ; 
lastly,  that  of  the  Boechetta,  which  by  Tortona  and 
Gavi  descended  on  the  left  of  Genoa  into  the 
valley  of  Polcevera.  The  danger  to  be  apju-e- 
hended  was,  lest  M(5!as  should  be  seen  bringing 
down  his  whole  force  by  the  second  of  these  o[)en- 
ings,  and  thus,  by  cutting  the  French  army  in  two 
parts,  fling  one  half  upon  Nice,  and  the  other  half 
upon  Genoa.  Seeing  this  hazard,  the  first  consul 
wrote  Masse'na  instructions  in  a  correspondence 
displaying  admirable  foresight,  imder  date  of  the 
5th  and  12th  of  March,  instructions  of  which  the 
following  is  the  substance  :  "'  Take  care  not  to 
have  a  line  too  extended.  Keep  few  men  upon  the 
Alps  and  the  Col  de  Tendc;  the  snow  will  defend 
you  there.  Leave  detachments  near  Nice  and  in 
the  surrounding  forts.  Have  four-fifths  of  your 
troops  at  Genoa  and  its  environs.  The  enemy  will 
march  upon  your  right  towards  Genoa,  upon  your 
centre  towards  Savona,  very  probably  upon  both 
points  at  once.  Refuse  one  of  the  two  attacks,  and 
fling  yourself  with  your  whole  force  upon  one  of 
the  enemy's  columns.  The  ground  will  not  allow 
him  to  avail  himself  of  his  superiority  in  cavalry 
and  artillery  ;  he  can  only  attack  you  with  his  in- 
fantry ;  yours  is  infinitely  superior  to  his,  and, 
favoured  by  the  nature  of  the  ground,  that  will 
supply  the  place  of  numbers  on  your  side.  In  this 
rugged  country,  if  you  manoeuvre  well,  you  will  be 
able  with  thirty  thousand  men  to  beat  sixty  thou- 
sand. To  carry  into  Liguria  sixty  thousand  infan- 
try, M^las  must  have  ninety  thousand,  which  sup- 
poses a  total  army  of  at  least  one  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  ;  Melas  has  neither  your  activity 
nor  your  tab  nts  ;  you  have  no  reason  to  fear  him. 
If  he  appear  to Aanls  Nice,  while  you  are  at  Genoa, 
let  him  march  on  ;  he  will  not  dare  to  advance, 
while  yo\i  are  in  Liguria,  ready  to  fall  upon  his 
rear,  or  upon  the  forces  he  will  have  left  behind  in 
Piedmont. " 

More  tlian  one  cause  operated  to  prevent  Mas- 
B^na  from  following  this  sagacious  advice.  First, 
he  wa-s  surprised  by  a  sudden  irruption  of  the  Aus- 
trians,  before  he  had  time  t*)  perfect  the  disposal  of 
his  troops  and  effect  his  definitive  arrangements  ; 
secondly,  he  had  not  sufficient  provisions  in  Genoa, 
to  concentrate  his  whole  army  there.  Fearful  of 
consuming  those  of  which  the  city  stood  in  ncd  in 
case  of  a  siege,  he  rather  desired  to  secure  the  re- 


sources of  Nice,  which  were  much  more  abundant. 
Finally,  Masse'na  did  not  appreciate  sufficiently 
the  deep  wisdom  of  the  instructions  of  his  superior, 
to  disregard  the  real  inconveniences  of  a  concen- 
tration upon  Genoa.  Masse'na,  on  the  field  of  battle, 
was,  perhaps,  the  fii"st  of  his  contemporary  gene- 
rals ;  in  character  e<|ual  to  the  most  resolute  sol- 
dier of  any  age  :  but  though  he  had  a  great  deal 
of  natural  talent,  the  extent  of  his  viev.s  by  no 
means  equalled  his  mental  energy  and  the  promp- 
titude of  his  visual  glance. 

Thus,  for  want  of  time,  provisions,  and  a  suffi- 
cient impression  of  the  importance  of  the  measure, 
he  did  not  concentrate  h.is  forces  upon  Genoa  with 
sufficient  rapidity,  and  he  was  suri)rised  by  the 
Austrians.  Melas  opened  the  campaign  on  the 
5th  of  April,  or  loth  Germinal,  which  was  much 
earlier  than  it  was  expected  active  hostilities  would 
be  resumed.  Melas  advanced  with  seventy  thou- 
sand or  seventy-five  thousand  men,  in  order  to 
force  the  chain  of  the  Apennines.  His  lieutenants, 
Ott  and  Hohenzollern,  directed  twenty-five  thou- 
sand men  upon  Genoa.  Ott,  with  fifteen  thousand 
ascending  the  Trebia,  approached  by  the  defiles  of 
Scoffera  and  Monte-Creto,  which  open  upon  the 
right  of  Genoa.  Hohenzollern,  with  ten  thousand 
men,  threatened  the  Boechetta.  Mdlas  himself,  with 
fifty  thousand,  ascended  the  Borniida,  and  attacked 
simultaneously  all  the  positions  of  what  has  been 
called  above  the  "middle  I'oad,"  which  led  by  Cadi- 
bona to  Savona.  His  intention,  as  the  first  consul 
had  foreseen  it  would  be,  was  to  force  the  French 
centre  and  separate  general  Suchet  from  Soult,  who 
were  in  communication  at  this  point.  A  violent 
struggle  ensued,  from  the  sources  of  the  Tanaro  and 
of  the  Bormida,  as  far  as  the  scarped  hill-summits 
that  overlook  Genoa.  The  Austrian  generals,  Mdas 
and  Elsnitz,  carried  on  a  fierce  encounter  with 
Suchet  at  Rocca-Barbena,  Sette-Pani,  Melogno,  and 
Santo- Jacobo;  and  with  Soult  at  Montelegino,  Stella, 
Cadibona,  and  Savona.  The  republican  forces, 
profiting  by  the  mountainous  nature  of  the  country, 
and  covering  themselves  well  by  the  rugged  and 
broken  character  of  the  ground,  combated  with 
incomparable  courage,  and  caused  to  the  enemy  a 
loss  three  times  greater  than  they  themselves  sus- 
tained, by  reason  that  their  fire  plunged  into  dense 
and  deep  masses  of  men  ;  but  they  were  obliged  to 
fight  ceaselessly  against  numbers  continually  re- 
newed, and  were  worn  out  bj'  fatigue  at  last, 
rather  than  Ijeaten  by  the  Austrians.  Suchet  and 
Soult  were  constrilined  to  separate,  the  first  re- 
tiring upon  Borghetto,  the  second  upon  Savona. 
As  was  easy  to  be  foreseen,  the  French  line  was 
broken,  one  half  of  the  Ligurian  army  being  thrown 
upon  Nice,  the  other  half  compelled  to  shut  itself 
up  in  Genoa. 

On  the  side  of  Genoa  the  success  had  been  ba- 
lanced with  tolerable  equality.  The  attack  of  Ho- 
henzollern on  the  Boechetta  was  made  with  too  few 
troops  to  overcome  the  French,  there  being  but  ten 
thousand  Austrians  against  five  thousand  French. 
The  Austrians  were  repulsed  by  Gazan's  division. 
On  the  right  of  Genoa,  towards  the  positions  of 
Monte-Creto  and  ScoH'era,  which  afford  access  to 
the  valley  of  Bisagno,  general  Ott,  having  beaten 
the  division  of  Miollis,  who  had  but  four  thousand 
men  to  oppose  to  his  fifteen  thousand,  descended 
the  reverse  side  of  the  Apennines,  and  surrounding 
I' 


Description  of  Genoa.        THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIBE. 


Its  defences.— Measures      1800. 
of  Massena.  April. 


all  the  forts  which  cover  the  city,  displayed  the 
Austrian  colours  to  the  terrified  Genoese.  The 
English  squadron  at  the  same  time  hoisted  the 
British  fla^.  If  the  inhabitants  of  Genoa  itself  were 
patriots  and  partisans  of  the  French,  tlie  peasantry 
of  the  valleys,  attached  to  the  aristocratic  party, 
like  the  Calahrians  of  Naples  were  to  queen  Caroline, 
or  the  Vendeans  in  Fi-ance  to  tiie  Bourbons,  rose 
at  once  at  the  sight  of  tiie  soldiers  of  the  coalition. 
The  alarm-bell  was  rung  in  the  villages.  A  certain 
baron,  named  D'Aspres,  attached  to  the  imperial 
service,  and  having  some  influence  in  the  country, 
excited  the  revolt.  In  the  evening  of  the  6th  of 
April,  the  unfortimate  peoi)le  of  Genoa,  seeing  the 
Austrian  fires  on  the  hills  around  them,  and  on  the 
sea  the  flag  of  England,  began  to  fear  lest  the  oli- 
garchy, alreaily  full  of  joy,  should  again  quickly 
establish  its  detestable  power. 

But  the  intrepid  Massena  was  among  them.  Se- 
parated from  Suchet  by  tiie  attack  directed  upon 
his  centre  he  had  still  from  fifteen  thousand  to 
eighteen  thousand  men  ;  and  witii  such  a  force  he 
could  defy  any  enemy  whatever  to  force  the  gates 
of  Genoa  in  his  presence. 

In  order  to  understand  perfectly  the  operations 
of  the  French  genei-al  during  this  memorable  siege, 
it  is  needful  to  describe  the  theatre  where  it  hap- 
pened. 

Genoa  is  situated  at  the  bottom  of  a  beautiful 
bay,  which  bears  its  name,  at  the  foot  of  a  spur 
of  tlie  Apenuine  mountains.  This  spur  projecting 
from  north  to  south  down  to  the  sea,  before  it 
plunges  in,  separates  into  two  ridges,  one  turning 
to  the  east,  the  other  to  the  west,  and  thus  forming 
an  inclined  triangle,  of  which  the  summit  is  in 
connexion  with  the  Apennines,  while  the  base 
rests  upon  the  sea.  It  is  at  the  base  of  this  tri- 
angle, anil  be  it  undei-stood,  with  the  usual  natural 
irregularity,  that  Genoa  displ.iys  itself  in  long 
streets,  lined  v.ith  magnificent  ])alaces.  Both 
nature  and  art  have  done  much  to  aid  in  its  de- 
fence. On  the  side  next  the  sea,  two  moles  carriid 
out  in  a  direction  that  nearly  cro.ss  the  one  with 
the  other,  form  the  port,  and  defend  it  against  a 
naval  attack.  On  the  side  of  the  land,  a  rampart 
with  bastions  surrounds  the  p:irt  of  the  city  which 
is  built  upon  and  peopled.  An  outer  rampart  of 
great  extent,  and  bastioned  like  tiie  first,  is  carried 
along  the  heights,  which,  as  before  observed,  de- 
scribes a  triangular  figure  around  the  city.  Two 
forts,  disposed  in  terraces,  one  al>ove  the  other, 
called  the  Spur  and  the  Diamond  forts,  are  placed 
at  the  apex  of  this  triangular  configuration  of  the 
hill  summits,  and  cover  with  their  fire  the  centre 
of  tlie  fortified  works. 

But  this  was  not  all  that  had  been  done  to  keep 
an  enemy  at  a  distance.  On  turning  'he  back  to 
the  sea,  and  regarding  Genoa,  the  east  will  be  on 
the  right  hand,  and  the  west  on  the  left.  Two 
small  rivers,  the  Bisagno  on  the  right  hand  or 
east,  and  that  of  Polcevei-a  on  the  left  or  west, 
bathe  the  two  sides  of  the  exterior  lamparfs.  The 
Bisagno  descends  from  the  mountain  heights  of 
the  Monte-Creto  and  of  Scoffera,  which  must  be 
passed  when  coming  from  the  back  of  the  Apen- 
nines in  ascending  the  Trebia.  The  side  of  the 
valley  of  the  Bisagno  which  is  opposite  to  the  city 
is  called  Moiite-Ratli,  and  presents  several  posi- 
tious  from  which  much  injury  might  be  inflicted 


upon  Genoa,  if  they  were  not  occupied.  Care 
had  been  taken,  therefore,  to  crown  them  with 
three  forts,  namely,  those  of  Quezzi,  Richelieu, 
and  St.  Tecle.  The  valley  of  Polcevera,  on  the 
contrary,  lying  on  the  left  of  Genoa,  offered  no 
dominant  position  which  it  was  necessary  to  oc- 
cupy in  order  to  i>rotect  tl;e  city.  A  large  suburb 
on  the  sea-shore,  that  of  San  Pietro  d' Arena,  pre- 
sented a  mass  of  building  useful  and  easy  to  defend. 

The  fortifications  of  Genoa  thus  presented  a  tri- 
angle, inclined  to  the  horizon  about  15°,  being 
about  nine  thousand  fathoms  in  extent,  connected 
by  its  summit  with  the  Ai)emiines,  its  base  washed 
by  the  sea,  and  bordered  upon  its  two  sides  by  the 
Bisagno  on  the  east,  and  the  Polcevera  on  the 
west.  The  Spur  fort,  and  above  that  Fort  Diamond, 
covered  the  summit.  The  forts  of  Richelieu,  St. 
Tecle,  and  Quezzi  prevented  a  destructive  fire 
being  poured  from  Monte-Ratti  on  this  city  of 
marble  palaces. 

Such  was  Genoa  then,  and  such  were  its  de- 
fences, which  art,  time,  and  contributions  imposed 
upon  France  have  since  greatly  improved. 

Massena  had  still  under  his  command  about 
eighteen  thousand  men.  If  with  such  a  garrison, 
in  so  strong  a  place,  he  had  possessed  a  sufficiency 
of  provisions,  he  would  have  been  impregnable. 
It  will  be  seen  how  much  characti  r  can  <  fi  ■ct  in 
warfare  to^^■ards  repairing  a  fault  in  foresight  and 
combination. 

Massdiia  was  resolved  to  oppose  to  the  enemy  a 
most  energetic  resistance,  and  he  proposed  imme- 
diately to  execute  two  very  important  things ;  the 
first  was  to  drive  back  the  Aiisirians  who  had 
])rcssed  too  closely  upon  Genoa  beyond  the  Apen- 
nines ;  the  second  was  to  effect  a  junction  with 
Suchet  by  a  combined  movement  with  that  general 
along  the  line  of  the  Coniiche. 

To  execute  his  fir.st  design  it  was  necessary  that 
he  should  drive  the  Austrians  from  the  Bisagno 
on  the  one  hand,  and  fioiii  the  Polcevei'a  on  the 
other,  and  that  he  should  drive  them  by  the  Monte- 
Creto  and  the  Bocchetta  to  the  other  side  of  the 
mountains,  from  whence  they  had  come.  Without 
the  loss  of  a  day,  on  the  very  morrow  of  their  first 
ajipearance,  being  the  7th  of  April,  or  IJih  Ger- 
minal, Massena  sallied  forth  from  Genoa,  and 
traversed  the  valley  of  the  Bisagno,  followed  by 
the  brave  divisions  of  Miollis,  which  ten  days  be- 
fore had  been  obliged  to  retire  before  the  very 
superior  force  of  general  Ott.  He  was  now  re- 
inforced with  a  part  of  the  reserve,  and  marched 
in  two  colunms.  That  of  the  right,  under  general 
Arnaud,  marched  by  the  sea  towards  Quinto;  that 
of  the  left,  under  Miollis,  directed  itself  towards 
the  declivities  of  Monte  Ratti.  A  third  column, 
under  general  Petitot,  followed,  marching  up  the 
bottom  of  the  valley  of  Bisagno,  which  winds  at 
the  foot  of  Monte  Ratti.  The  jn-ecision  in  move- 
ment of  the  three  columns  was  such,  that  the  fire 
of  all  three  was  heard  upon  every  point  at  the 
same  moment.  General  Arnaud  by  one  slope,  and 
general  Miollis  by  another,  forced  their  way  with 
great  vigour  to  the  heights  of  Mfnite-Ratti.  The 
presence  of  Masse'iia  liimself,  and  the  desire  to 
revenge  the  surprise  of  the  preceding  day,  ani- 
mated the  soldiers.  The  Austrians  were  driven 
into  the  torrents,  and  lost  all  their  positions.  Ge- 
neral Arnaud  marched  on,  following  the  mountain 


1800. 
April. 


His  success. — He  endearoors  to 
unite  with  Suchet. 


ULM  AND  GENOA. 


Soult's  struggle  with  M61as. 


67 


crest,  and  reached  the  extreme  summit  of  the 
Apennines  at  the  pass  of  ScofTera.  JIasse'na  fol- 
lowed with  some  reserve  companies,  and  descended 
into  the  valley  of  Bisagno,  to  join  the  column  of 
general  Petitot.  The  last  thus  reinforced  repulsed 
the  enemy  upon  every  point,  and,  remounting  the 
river,  seconded  the  movement  of  Arnaud  upon 
Scoftera.  Precipitated  into  these  tortuous  valleys, 
the  Austrians  left  Ma.sse'na  one  thousand  five  hun- 
dred prisoners,  and  at  their  head  the  instigator  of 
the  revolt  of  the  peasantry  at  Fonte-Buona,  the 
baron  d'Aspres.  On  entering  Genoa  in  the  evening, 
Masse'na  was  heartily  welcomed  by  the  patriotic 
Genoese,  whom  he  had  delivered  from  the  sight  of 
the  enemy.  Bringing  with  him  a.*!  a  prisoner  the 
very  officer  whose  speedy  triumphant  announce- 
ment had  been  before  made  to  the  population,  it 
could  not  conceal  its  joy,  and  the  commander  of 
the  French  was  rec.ived  with  loud  aeclamation.s, 
while  the  inhabitants  provided  litters  to  carry  the 
wounded,  and  wine  and  broth  for  their  refresh- 
ment, the  citizens  disputing  the  honour  of  receiving 
them  into  their  houses. 

After  this  energetic  action  on  the  left,  by  far  the 
most  important  to  be  performed,  because  upon 
that  side  alone  the  city  was  closely  pressed  by  the 
enemy,  M;isse'tia  determined,  after  the  respite  he 
liad  obtained  by  his  reient  success,  to  make  an 
effort  on  the  left  towards  Savona,  and  thus  to  re- 
establish his  communication  with  Suchet.  In  order 
to  secure  Genoa  from  attack  during  his  absence, 
he  divided  his  forces  into  two  bodies,  the  one  on 
the  right  under  Miollis,  the  other  on  the  left  under 
Soult.  The  corps  of  Miollis  was  to  guard  Genoa 
ill  two  divisions.  The  division  of  Arnaud  was  to 
defend  the  east  facing  Bisagno,  and  that  of  Spitiil 
the  west,  facing  Polcevera.  The  corps  upon  the 
left  under  Soult  was  ordered  to  take  the  field  w  itii 
the  two  divisions  of  Gardaimc  and  Guzan.  With 
this  last  force  of  about  ten  thousand  men,  Mass^na 
proposed  to  approach  Savona,  to  open  his  eominu- 
nication  with  Suchet,  to  whom  he  had  secretly  sent 
notice  of  his  intention,  with  orders  to  attempt  a 
similar  movement  simultaneously  upon  the  same 
point.  Gardanne's  division  proceeded  by  the  sea 
t-hore,  and  that  of  Gazan  along  the  crests  of  the 
Apennines,  with  the  intention  to  induce  the  enemy, 
at  the  sij;lit  of  the  two  separate  columns,  to  divide 
his  own  forces.  Manoeuvring  with  great  rapidity 
directly  afterwards  upon  ground  of  which  he  had 
a  perfect  knowledge,  Mass^iia  intended,  according 
to  circumstances,  to  unite  his  two  divisions  in  such 
a  manner  a»  todestr<iy,  either  on  the  heights  of  the 
Apennines  or  by  the  sea-sliore,  that  divi.sion  of  the 
enemy  which  mi^it  be  most  exposed  to  his  attack. 
Masstiia  was  in  person  with  Gardanne's  division, 
and  confiiled  that  of  Gazan  to  Soult.  His  design 
was  to  follow  the  coast  by  Voltri,  Varaggio,  and 
Savf)na  ;  his  lieutenant  Soult  had  ordci-s  to  ascena 
by  Aipia-Bianca  and  San  Pietro  del  Alba,  upon 
Sass4;llo. 

On  the  9th  of  April,  in  the  morning,  the  troops 
commenced  their  march.  MiJlas,  after  divitling 
the  PVencIi  army  into  two  i)art8,  intended  to  shut 
up  Massdna  in  Genoa,  and  contiact  his  own  line, 
which  was  too  extended.  It  embraced  from  the 
valley  of  the  Tanaro  to  that  of  the  Trebia,  a  space 
•>f  no  less  than  fifteen  leagues  at  least.  The 
two   armies   met  in    their   respective   movemunta 


upon  ground  very  rugged  and  broken ;  a  des- 
perate but  confused  conflict  ensued.  Massdua  had 
marched  in  two  columns,  M^las  in  three,  while 
Hohenzollern,  with  a  fourth,  made  an  attack  upon 
the  Bocchetta,  ten  thousand  French  being  opposed 
to  above  forty  thousand  Austrians.  Soult,  filing 
by  Voltri,  perceived  the  Austrians  upon  his  right. 
They  had  passed  the  Bocchetta,  and  crowned  the 
surrounding  heights.  On  reaching  a  place  called 
Aqua  Santa,  it  was  in  their  power  to  threaten  the 
rear  of  the  French  columns,  and  cut  off  their 
return  to  Genoa.  Soult  thouuht  it  would  be  the 
most  prudent  step  to  drive  them  back  ;  a  brilliant 
combat  ensued,  in  which  Colonel  Mouton,  since  a 
marshal,  and  count  Lobau,  commanding  the  third 
demi-brigade,  were  greiitly  distinguished.  Soult 
took  some  cannon  and  prisoners ;  and,  despite  his 
numerous  enemies,  gained  the  mountain-road  to 
Sassello.  The  time  consumed  in  this  action,  which 
could  not  prevent  the  advance  of  the  Austrians 
upon  the  rear  of  the  French  columns,  prevented 
Soult  from  arriving  at  Sassello,  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Apennines,  at  the  moment  that  Massena 
Wiiited  for  his  junction.  The  last  had  marched  by 
the  sea-side,  and  on  the  following  day,  April  10, 
he  WHS  at  Varaggio,  in  two  columns,  endeavouring 
to  form  a  communication  with  Soult,  whom  he  sup- 
jiosed  to  be  at  Sassello.  The  Austrians,  whose 
force  was  ten  times  as  great  as  his,  endeavoured  to 
envelope  his  two  little  columns,  particularly  the 
left,  which  he  commanded  in  person.  Mass(5na, 
trusting  to  his  right  column  and  the  movement 
of  Soult  towards  Sassello,  resisted  for  a  good 
while  a  corps  of  eight  or  ten  thousand  men  with 
no  more  than  twelve  hundred,  displaying  extra- 
ordinary firnmess.  He  was,  at  last,  obliged  to 
retreat,  having  lost  sight  of  his  right  column,  which 
had  fallen  beliind  in  consequence  of  a  tardy  de- 
liverance of  provisions ;  but  he  went  in  search  of  it 
among  fearful  precipices  and  bands  of  peasants  in 
revolt.  He  found  it,  and,  ordering  it  back,  united 
it  with  the  rest  of  Gardanne's  division,  which  had 
not  quitted  the  sea-side  by  Varaggio  and  Cogo- 
Ictto.  The  difficulty  of  combining  movements  in 
thti  midst  of  such  a  crowd  of  enemies  in  so  rugged 
a  country,  having  hindered  the  junction  in  time 
with  Soult,  Massena  resolved  to  rally  his  troops,  to 
ascend  the  crest  of  the  Apennines,  rejoin  his  lieu- 
tenants, and  fall  upon  the  Austrian  corps  dispersed 
about  the  valleys.  But  the  harassed  troojjs  had 
dispersed  upon  the  roads,  ami  coulti  not  be  collected 
in  time.  Massena  then  resolved  to  send  to  Soult 
such  of  his  forces  as  were  able  to  march,  to  serve 
him  as  a  reinforcement,  and  with  the  i-emainder, 
composed  of  wounded  and  exhausted  men,  to  re- 
gain, by  following  the  seaside,  the  ajjproaches  to 
Genoa,  in  order  to  cover  the  retreat  of  the  corps, 
and  insure  an  entrance  into  the  jilace.  With  only 
a  liandfiil  men  he  had  to  sustain  several  most  dis- 
proportioned  actions,  and  in  one  of  them,  a  French 
l)attalion  having  given  way  before  a  charge  of  tlio 
hussars  of  Seckler,  he  charged  the  hussars  with 
only  thirty  hoi-se,  and  drove  them  off.  He  posted 
himself  at  last  in  Voltri,  to  await  the  return  of 
Soult.  This  officer  was  in  th«  mountains  among 
the  enemy's  detachments  five  or  six  times  superior 
in  nundjcr  to  himself.  He  there  encountered  groat 
hazards,  and  nuist  have  finally  surrendered  but 
for  the  help  so  seasonably  sent  to  him  by  Massena. 
t  2 


Massena's  preparations  to 
defend  Genoa. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Sufferings  of  the  gar- 
rison.— Austrian  at- 
tack repulsed. 


Being  thus  reinforced  at  the  critical  moment,  he 
was  able  to  regain  the  road  to  Genoa,  having  main- 
tained, without  disadvantage,  an  arduous  and  most 
unequal  contest.  Rejoining  the  commander-in- 
chief,  they  both  entered  Genoa,  bringing  in  four 
thousand  prisoners.  Suchet  had  on  his  part  en- 
deavoured to  rejoin  his  commander,  but  found  it 
impossible  to  force  his  way  through  the  enormous 
mass  of  the  Austrian  army. 

The  Genoese  were  delighted  to  see  the  French 
general  enter  the  city  again,  preceded  by  columns 
of  prisoners.  The  ascendency  of  Mass^na  became 
all-powerful,  both  the  army  and  population  obeying 
him  with  perfect  submission. 

From  this  moment,  Massena  might  consider 
himself  shut  up  in  Genoa,  but  he  had  no  intention 
to  suffer  the  enemy  to  press  him  too  closely.  His 
intention  was  to  keep  Me'las  at  a  distance  from  tlie 
walls,  to  fatigue  him  with  continued  combats,  and 
so  to  occupy  his  attention  that  he  should  not  force 
the  Var,  enter  Lombardy,  nor  oppose  the  march  of 
the  first  consul  over  the  Alps. 

No  sooner  had  he  entered  the  city,  on  the  18th 
April  or  28th  Germinal,  than  he  organized  a  police 
for  the  purpose  of  provisioning  the  place.  Appre- 
hensive of  treachery  from  the  Genoese  nobles,  he 
took  his  measures  so  as  to  guard  against  a  surprise 
from  them.  The  national  guard,  composed  of  Li- 
gurian  patriots,  supported  by  a  French  force,  was 
encamped  in  the  principal  square  of  the  city,  with 
matches  ready  lighted  at  their  guns.  The  national 
guard  was  to  assemble  whenever  the  drums  should 
beat  to  ai'ms.  Such  of  the  inhabitants  as  did  not 
belong  to  it  were  ordered  at  the  signal  to  return 
to  their  homes.  Armed  troops  alone  were  per- 
mitted to  traverse  the  streets.  At  ordinary  times 
the  inhabitants  were  commanded  to  be  at  home  by 
ten  o'clock  at  night ;  and  assemblages  at  any  hour 
were  strictly  forbidden. 

Massena  gathered  together  all  the  corn  to  be 
found  in  the  city,  promising  to  pay  for  it  when  it 
was  brought  voluntarily,  and  paying  on  such  occa- 
sions. When  it  was  only  obtained  by  domiciliary 
visits,  the  owners  refusing  to  give  it  up,  it  was  seized. 
The  corn  being  ail  secured,  both  the  population 
and  army  were  supported  upon  rations ;  and  what 
was  thus  procured  was  sufficient  to  sustain  the 
army  and  poor  inhabitants  during  the  first  fifteen 
days  of  the  siege.  These  fifteen  days  being  nearly 
passed,  provisions  were  still  left,  which  many  of 
the  rich  procured  for  themselves,  at  a  high  rate 
of  payment,  from  stores  that  had  been  concealed 
for  their  sole  use.  By  order  of  Massena  a  second 
search  was  made,  and  enough  of  the  common  kind 
of  grain,  such  as  rye  and  oats,  were  found  for  a 
fortnight's  supply  more  of  coarse  bread  to  the  army 
and  population.  It  was  hoped  that  a  gale  of  wind 
might  arise  and  drive  off  the  English  fleet,  and 
thus  a  few  cargoes  of  pi'ovisions  niiglit  enter  the 
harbour.  Assistance  was  expected  from  Corsican 
and  Ligurian  privateers,  which  had  received  letters 
of  marque  for  the  capture  of  vessels  laden  with 
corn.  In  the  mean  while,  Mass<;na  was  resolved  to 
hold  out  to  the  last  extremity.  It  was  determined, 
rather  than  submit,  to  feed  the  troops  with  cacao, 
with  which  the  warehouses  of  Genoa  were  well 
provided.  Having  at  his  command  some  money 
sent  him  by  the  first  consul,  Masstjna  hoarded  it 
for  extreme  cases,  or  made  use  of  it  for  affording 


occasional  relief  to  his  unfortunate  soldiers  under 
their  cruel  sufferings.  Already,  in  the  different 
encounters,  several  thousand  men  had  been  killed 
or  disabled,  and  a  great  number  were  in  the  hos- 
pitals. In  the  forts,  upon  the  two  ramparts,  and 
in  the  reserve,  there  was  an  active  force  of  about 
twelve  thousand  men  still  left. 

In  this  horrible  position  Massena  exhibited  every 
day  a  calm  and  serene  countenance,  communicating 
to  others  that  courage  which  animated  himself. 
His  aid-de-camp,  Franceschi,  embarked  in  a  small 
boat  to  proceed  by  the  coast  to  Nice,  in  order  to 
repair  to  the  first  consul  and  make  known  to  him 
the  hardships,  exploits,  and  danger  of  the  Ligurian 
anny. 

On  the  morning  of  the  30th  of  April  or  10th 
Floreal,  a  general  cannonade  was  heard  on  all 
points  at  the  same  time ;  on  the  east  towards  the 
Bisagno,  on  the  west  in  the  direction  of  the  Pol- 
cevera,  and,  lastly,  along  the  coast  itself,  from  a 
division  of  gun-boats,  all  announcing  some  general 
attempt  of  the  enemy.  The  Austrians  on  that  day 
displayed  themselves  in  great  force.  Count  Hohen- 
zollern  attacked  the  little  plain  of  the  Two  Brothers, 
on  which  fort  Diamond  stood.  After  a  fierce 
struggle  the  Austrians  gained  the  ground,  and  sum- 
moned the  fort.  The  officer  in  command  replied, 
that  he  would  not  surrender  a  post  entrusted  to 
his  honour  until  compelled  by  main  force.  This 
fort  was  of  great  importance,  since  it  commanded 
that  of  the  Spur,  and,  in  consequence,  the  entire 
ramparts.  The  Austrian  camp  of  Coronata,  si- 
tuated on  the  banks  of  the  Polcevera  towards  the 
west,  opened  a  heavy  fire  upon  the  suburb  of  San 
Pietro  d'Arena,  and  several  attacks  were  at  the 
same  time  made  for  the  purpose  of  narrowing  the 
space  which  the  French  still  possessed  in  that 
quarter.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  city,  towards 
the  Bisagno,  the  enemy  surrounded  fort  Richelieu, 
and  unfortunately  took  fort  Quezzi,  which  was  not 
completely  finished  when  the  siege  commenced.  In 
the  last  place,  he  took  the  village  of  San  Martino 
d'Albaro,  under  the  fort  of  Mount  Tecle,  and  was 
very  near  getting  that  formidable  position  the  Ma- 
dona  del  Monte,  from  which  Genoa  might  be  com- 
manded. The  soldiers  of  general  d'Arnaud  had 
already  quitted  the  last  houses  of  the  village  of 
Albaro  ;  they  scarcely  any  of  them  kept  in  their 
ranks,  many  having  dispersed  in  ])arties,  and  some 
were  scattered  like  tirailleurs.  Massena  hastened 
to  the  spot,  rallied  them,  renewed  the  fight,  and 
dispersed  the  enemy. 

Half  the  day  had  gone  by  ;  it  was  high  time  to 
repair  the  mischief.  Masse'na  entered  Genoa  in- 
stantly and  made  proper  dispositions.  He  confided 
to  Soult  the  73rd  and  lOfith  demi-brigrades,  and 
ordered  him  to  retake  the  plain  of  the  Two  Brothei-s; 
but  first  wishing  to  recapture  fort  Q,uezzi  and 
force  the  enemy  to  evacuate  the  village  of  Albai'o, 
ho  himself  led  the  division  of  Miollis  against  those 
points,  after  it  was  reinforced  by  battalions  bor- 
rowed from  the  2nd  and  3rd  of  the  line. 

D'Arnaud's  division  coming  to  the  charge  turned 
San  Martino  d'Albaro,  and  i-epulsed  the  enemy 
who  had  occupied  it  into  the  ravine  of  Sturla,  took 
some  prisoners,  and  thus  covered  the  right  of  tlie 
Frcncli  columns  advancing  from  fort  Quezzi,  while 
the  brave  colonel  Mouton,  at  the  head  of  two 
battalions  of  the  3rd,  attacked  fort  Quezzi  in  front. 


1800. 
April. 


Great  exertions  of  the  garrison. 
Sucliet  retreats  to  the  Var. 


Bonaparte   strongly    urges   Moreau  to 
ULM   AND   GENOA.        commence  hostilities.— Reasons  for 
Jloieau's  delay. 


Adjutant-general  Hector  was  directed  to  turn  the 
Monte-Ratti  by  the  heights  of  fort  RicheHeu. 
But,  despite  every  effort,  colonel  Mouton  was  re- 
pulsed ;  though  he  did  not  yield  until  a  ball  pierced 
thi-ou"h  his  chest,  and  he  was  left  for  dead  on  the 
field  of  battle.  Mas.se'na,  who  had  only  two  bat- 
talions remaining,  pushed  one  on  the  right  flank  of 
the  position  of  the  enemy,  and  directed  the  other 
upon  the  left.  A  fiei'ce  combat  now  took  place  round 
fort  Quezzi.  Too  near  one  another  to  fire,  the 
combatants  fought  with  stones  and  the  butt-ends  of 
their  muskets.  The  French  were  on  the  point  of 
giving  ground  before  numbers,  when  Massena  led 
up  a  demi-battalion  that  remained  with  him,  and 
decided  the  victory  ;  the  fort  was  captured.  The 
Austrians,  driven  from  position  to  position,  left  a 
great  number  of  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners.  At 
this  moment  Masse'na,  who  had  deferred  the  attack 
on  the  little  plain  of  the  Two  Brothers,  profiting 
by  the  effect  of  tliis  success,  connnandcd  Soult  to 
take  it.  General  Spital  was  induced  to  make  the 
attack ;  the  ground  was  warmly  disputed,  but  taken 
by  the  French  at  last. 

'Thus  after  a  whole  day's  fighting  the  fort  of 
Quezzi  was  taken,  the  posts  of  San  Jlartino  and  of 
the  xMadonna  del  Monte,  as  well  as  the  plain  of  the 
Two  Brothers,  in  fine,  all  the  decisive  positions, 
without  wjiicli  the  siege  of  the  city  by  the  Austrians 
could  never  be  successful.  jNIass^na  entered  the 
city  in  the  evening,  bringing  in  with  him  the 
scaling-ladders  which  the  enemy  had  prepared  for 
mounting  the  walls.  The  Austrians  lost  in  that 
day  one  thousand  six  hundred  prisoners,  and  two 
thousjind  four  hundred  killed  or  wounded, — about 
four  thousand  men,  in  all.  Including  these  last, 
Mass^na  had  killed  or  taken  from  twelve  thousand 
to  fifteen  thousand  men  subsequent  to  the  opening 
f)f  hostilities,  and,  what  was  of  far  more  consequence, 
ho  had  depressed  the  nmi-al  courage  of  their  army 
by  the  great  efforts  which  he  forced  them  to  make. 

Not  a  moment  was  lost  in  putting  fort  Quezzi 
into  repair.  The  work  which  seemed  likely  to 
occupy  a  month,  was  finished  in  three  days,  by 
means  of  five  or  six  hundred  barrels  of  earth 
which  were  brought  by  the  soldiers,  and  served  for 
the  formation  of  the  intrenchments.  On  the  5th  of 
May,  or  I5th  Flor<?al,  a  small  vessel  entered  the 
port  with  a  supply  of  grain  for  five  days.  This 
was  a  valuable  addition  to  the  stock  of  provisions, 
which  had  become  very  low.  Still  it  was  necessary 
to  relieve  the  city,  otherwise  it  could  not  hold  out 
nnicli  longer,  for  it  was  likely  in  a  short  time  to  be 
entirely  destitute  of  bread. 

(jeneral  Suchet  on  his  side  finding  himself  over- 
powered from  the  crests  of  the  Apennines,  was 
obliged  to  quit  his  position  at  Borghetto,  to  abandon 
even  the  Roya.  no  longer  tenable,  as  the  enemy 
marched  freely  by  the  Col  do  Tende  and  threatened 
Nice  and  the  Var.  Even  Nice  was  occupied  by 
Mdas,  will)  eiiteied  the  place  in  triumph,  proud  to 
tread  the  soil  which  had  been  declared  a  part  of  the 
French  territory  by  the  republic.  Suchet  rallied 
behind  the  Var,  in  a  position  long  studied  by  the 
French  officers  of  engineers.  The  bridge  of  St. 
Laurent  over  the  Var,  covered  by  a  fortified  work, 
presented  a  defile  of  four  hundred  fathoms  to  be 
traversed,  and  was  considered  an  insunnountable 
obstacle  to  an  enemy.  The  whole  ri(;ht  bank  was 
covered  with  battalions,  and  guarded  by  the  French 


from  the  mouth  of  the  river  to  the  mountains.  The 
forts  of  Montalban  and  of  Vintimille,  placed  in 
advance  of  the  Var,  had  been  garrisoned  by  French 
at  the  moment  Nice  was  evacuated.  The  fort  of 
Jlontalban,  situated  in  the  rear  of  the  Austrians,  at 
such  an  elevation  that  it  was  visible  from  the 
French  camp,  was  surmounted  by  a  telegraph, 
through  which  means  Suchet  was  made  acquainted 
with  every  movement  of  the  Austrians.  All  the 
disposable  troops  from  the  neighbouring  depart- 
ments had  been  concentrated  niidor  Suchet,  so 
that  his  army  numbered  fourteen  thousand  men, 
sheltered  behind  good  entrenchments,  in  a  position 
very  difficult  to  be  taken  by  storm. 

On  receiving  intelligence  of  what  was  going  on  in 
Liguria,  the  first  consul  addressed  the  most  pressing 
communications  to  Moi'eau,  urging  him  to  com- 
mence active  hostilities.  A  month  had  passed 
since  every  thing  had  been  settled  between  them, 
and  no  further  difficulties  attaching  to  the  French 
government  impeded  the  movements  of  Moreau  in 
that  quarter.  But  tliis  general  was  by  nature 
somewhat  slow,  and  would  not  compromise  himself 
on  an  enemy's  territory  without  a  certainty  of  suc- 
cess ;  thus  delaying,  until  it  was  mischievous,  the 
commencement  of  operations.  Every  delay  in  his 
commencing  the  campaign  was  a  delay  in  the 
entry  of  the  army  of  reserve  upon  another  cam- 
paign, and  a  cruel  prolongation  of  the  suflerings  of 
Masse'na  and  his  brave  soldiers.  "  Hasten,  hasten," 
wrote  the  first  consul  to  Moreau  from  Paris, 
"  hasten,  that  by  your  success  the  moment  may 
arrive  when  Masse'na  may  bo  relieved.  That 
general  wants  provisions  ;  for  fifteen  days  he  has 
sustained  with  his  exhausted  soldiers  a  despairing 
conflict.  I  address  myself  to  your  patriotism,  to 
your  own  self-interest ;  because  if  Mass^na  sur- 
renders, it  would  be  necessary  to  take  from  you  a 
part  of  your  army,  and  hurry  to  the  Rhone,  to  the 
aid  of  the  southern  departments."  At  last  a  formal 
telegraphic  order  was  given  him  to  pass  the 
Rhine. 

Tlie  reasons  which  hindered  Moreau  from  enter- 
ing upon  action  had  been  valid  in  circumstances 
less  urgent.  Alsace  was  exliausted,  Switzerland, 
as  badly  off,  had  been  for  two  years  crowded  with 
the  armies  of  all  Europe,  and  was  entirely  destitute 
of  resources.  The  inhabitants,  unable  to  feed  their 
children,  were  obliged  to  emigrate  with  them  in 
troops  from  the  jmor  into  the  rich  cantons  ;  and 
the  ruined  fatnilies  there  delivered  them  over  to 
the  charity  of  the  families  that  had  still  some  means 
of  subsistence  left.  Nothing  in  the  way  of  pro- 
visions could  be  got  out  of  such  a  country,  of 
which  to  make  an  enemy  would  not  be  provident, 
because  it  was  the  point  of  supjiort  to  two  of  the 
French  armies.  Moreau,  as  we  have  before  said, 
lived  upon  tho  stores  pi'ovided  in  the  French  for- 
tresses of  the  Rhine  for  use  in  case  of  siege.  This 
was,  however,  not  tho  real  motive  of  iiis  delay  ;  it 
might  have  been  a  motive,  on  the  contrary,  to 
hasten  as  soon  as  possible  into  an  enemy's  country, 
that  he  might  sujiport  himself  upon  it ;  the  truth 
was,  both  his  artillery  and  eavalry  were  in  want  of 
horses.  He  had  no  canq)  e(piipages,  no  imple- 
ments ;  if  he  had  enough  materials  to  throw  a 
bridgt!  over  a  river,  it  was  the  utmost.  Still,  con- 
sidering how  urgent  circumstances  at  that  moment 
were,  he  at  last  consented  to  do  the  best  lie  could 


__       Moreau  begins  his  march. 
*  "       Division  of  his  army. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Strength  of  the  Aus- 
triaiis. —  Tlieir  posi- 
tion.—Moreau's  plan. 


1800. 
April. 


with  what  he  possessed,  in  the  hope  of  procuring 
what  he  wanted  as  he  proceeded.  His  ai-my  was  so 
well  composed,  that  it  would  be  able  to  supjjly  itself 
with  what  it  required  as  it  passed  along,  or  else  to 
do  so  by  conquest.  By  the  end  of  April,  the  first 
days  of  Flore'al,  the  general  had  decided  to  com- 
mence the  campaign,  the  finest  in  his  life,  and  one 
of  the  most  memorable  in  the  annals  of  France. 

Moreau  had  at  his  disposal,  as  we  have  seen, 
about  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  men, 
rather  more  than  less  :  of  these,  thirty  thousand 
were  occupied  as  garrisons  in  Strasburg,  Landau, 
Mayence,  at  the  bridge-forts  of  Basle,  Brisach, 
Kehl,  and  Cassel.  Of  these  thirty  thousand,  ton,  six 
or  seven  under  general  Moncey  guarded  the  village 
of  the  St.  Gothard  and  the  Simplon  in  order  to  close 
them  against  the  Austrians.  With  Moreau  there- 
fore there  remained  one  hundred  thousand  men  fit 
for  the  field.  Tlie  infantry,  above  all,  was  sujierb, 
numbering  eighty-two  thousand  ;  the  artillery 
mustered  five  thousand,  having  one  hundred  and 
sixteen  pieces  of  cannon  ;  the  cavalry  was  thirteen 
thousand.  As  will  be  seen,  the  artillery  and  the 
cavalry  were  below  the  usual  proportions  ;  but  tliey 
were  excellent  of  their  kind,  and  the  character  of 
the  infantry  enabled  the  commander  the  better  to 
accommodate  himself  to  his  deficiency  in  the 
auxiliary  services. 

Moreau  divided  his  army  into  four  corps. 
Lecourbe  commanded  the  right,  twenty-five  thou- 
sand strong.  It  was  stationed  from  tlie  lake  of 
Constance  as  far  as  Schaffhaiisen.  The  second 
corps,  denominated  the  reserve,  consisted  of  thirty 
thousand  men,  or  nearly  that  number.  It  was 
directly  under  the  conunand  of  Moreau  himself,  and 
occupied  the  territory  of  Basle.  Tlie  third,  con- 
sisting of  twenty  five  thousand  men,fornnng  the 
centre  under  St.  Cyr,  was  quartered  about  Old  and 
New  Brisach.  Lastly,  general  St.  Suzanne,  at  the 
head  of  about  twenty  thousand,  after  ascending 
from  Mayence  nearly  to  Strasburg,  occupying 
Strasburg  and  Kehl,  formed  the  left  of  the 
army. 

Moreau  had  a  long  while  before  adopted  this 
kind  of  arrangement,  dividing  his  army  into  sepa- 
rate corps,  each  complete  in  infantry,  cavalry,  and 
artillery.  Thus  each  corps  was  able  to  act  by 
itself,  under  whatever  circumstances  it  migiit  be. 
This  mode  of  formation  had  the  inconvenience,  as 
experience  soon  demonstrated,  of  leading  the  corps 
to  separate  too  readily,  and  to  act  by  tiieniselves, 
more  especially  when  the  commander-in-chier  did 
not  exercise  a  sufficient  authority,  so  as  at  all  times 
to  enforce  their  co-operation  in  one  common  end. 
This  inconvenience  was  yet  more  Jtggravated  by  a 
l)articular  step  which  Moreau  adopted  in  this  cam- 
paign. This  was  the  assuming  to  himself  the 
immediate  command  of  one  of  the  corps  of  the 
army,  under  the  appellation  of  "the  reserve."  St. 
Cyr,  who  had  served  with  Moreau  a  good  while, 
and  who  possessed  nmch  influence  over  him, 
strongly  opposed  this  combination '.  St.  Cyr  al- 
leged that  it  absorbed  the  attention  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief, and  made  him  lower  himself  to  a 
duty  foreign  to  his  post ;  more  than  all,  that  it  was 
an  injury  to  the  other  corps  of  the  army,  who 
were  seldom  so  well  treated  as  those  more  im- 

'  See  the  Memoirs  of  St.  Cyr,  Campaign  of  1800. 


mediately  under  the  general  staffs  These  objections, 
the  justice  of  which  was  proved  more  than  once  in 
the  course  of  this  campaign,  had  no  weiglit,  Mo- 
reau continuing  to  persist  in  his  resolution  out  of 
complaisance  to  the  interests  of  a  party.  Having 
already  conferred  the  direction  of  his  staff  upon 
general  Dessoles,  and  still  desirous  of  making  an 
appointment  for  general  Lahorie,  one  of  the  dan- 
gerous friends  who  subsequently  contributed  to  his 
ruin,  he  gave  him  the  second  command  of  the 
reserve.  This  circumstance  caused  a  coolness  be- 
tween Moreau  and  St.  Cyr,  which  at  length  came 
to  an  open  quarrel. 

Kray,  the  Austrian  general,  opposed  to  Moreau, 
had,  as  we  have  before  said,  one  Imndred  and  fifty 
thousand  men  under  his  command,  of  which  num- 
ber forty  thousand  were  in  fortresses  upon  the 
Rhine  and  Danube,  and  one  hundred  and  ten 
thousand  in  the  field.  The  infantry,  mingled  with 
Bavarians,  Wurtembergers,  and  Mayen^ais,  was 
ordinary ;  the  cavalry  was  fine,  and  numbered 
twenty-six  thousand  ;  the  artillery,  numerous 
and  well-appointed,  numbered  three  hundred 
pieces  of  cannon.  The  right  of  the  Austrians, 
which  was  commanded  by  general  Sztarray,  ob- 
served the  course  of  the  Rhine,  between  Mayence 
and  Rastadt,  connecting  itself  with  the  levies  of 
the  Mayence  peasantry,  under  the  baron  d'Albini. 
General  Kienmayer  covered  the  opening  upon 
Strasburg  in  advance  of  Kinzig.  Major  Giulay, 
with  one  brigade,  held  the  Val  d'Enfer,  and  ob- 
served Old  Brisiicli.  The  main  body  of  the  Aus- 
trian army  was  encamped  behind  the  defiles  of  the 
Black  Forest,  at  Donau-Eschlngen  and  Willingen, 
at  the  junction  of  the  roads  conducting  from  the 
Rhine  to  the  Danube.  On  this  point  forty  thou- 
sand men  were  collected.  Kray  had  placed  in  the 
forest-towns  a  strong  advance-guard  under  the 
archduke  Ferdinand,  with  orders  to  watch  the 
Basle  road  ;  and  he  left  a  numerous  rearguard, 
under  ])rince  Joseph  of  Lorraine  at  Stockach,  to 
cover  his  magazines  established  in  that  town,  to 
guard  the  roa(ls  of  Uhn  and  Munich,  and  to  keep 
up  his  communication  with  the  Lake  of  Constance, 
where  Williams,  an  Englishman,  commanded  a 
flotilla.  In  the  last  place,  prince  de  Reuss,  at  the 
head  of  thirty  thousand  men,  partly  Austrians,  and 
partly  Tyrolese  militia,  were  in  occupation  of  the 
Rlieinthal,  from  the  Gri.sons  to  the  Lake  of  Con- 
stance. This  was  considered  the  left  of  the  im- 
perial army.  Kr.iy,  in  the  centre  of  this  web 
extending  around  him,  flattered  himself  that  he 
should  be  informed  of  the  least  movement  ou  the 
part  of  the  French. 

The  jilan  of  Moreau,  before  stated,  consisted  in 
passing  over  the  three  bridges  of  Strasburg,  Bri- 
sach, and  Basle,  and  then  in  stealing  away  and  as- 
cending the  Rhine  as  far  as  Schaff'hausen;  headopted 
it  without  modification  ^.  Moreau  set  his  troops  in 
motion  on  the  25th  of  April.  He  proceeded  him- 
self to  Strasburg,  where  he  joined  the  corps  of 
St.  Suzanne,  in  order  to  make  it  more  readily  be 
supposed,  by  his  presence  there,  that  his  intention 
was  to  act  by  the   direct  road  from  Strasburg 

»  Here  St.  Cyr  in  his  Memoirs  seems  to  be  in  error.  The 
first  con>ul  adopted  the  plan  entire.  This  is  attested  by  a 
letier  of  general  Des.soles,  contained  in  the  Memoiret  de  la 
Guerre,  and  by  manuscriiit  correspondence. 


1800. 
April. 


The  false  movements 
of  Moreau's  army. 


ULM  AND  GENOA. 


by  which  he  deceives  the 
Austrian  general. 


71 


across  the  Biack  Forest.  He  took  anotlier  pre- 
caution for  masking  his  objects  still  further,  for  he 
did  not  unite  his  forces  beforehand.  The  demi- 
brigades  marched  out  of  their  cantonments  to  the 
place  where  they  were  to  cross  the  Rhine,  joining 
in  their  march  the  corps  of  which  they  formed  a 
part.  Every  thing  being  thus  arranged,  three  im- 
posing heads  of  columns,  acting  simultaneously, 
over  a  space  of  thirty  leagues,  passed  the  bi-idges 
of  Strasburg,  Old  Brisach,  and  Basle  at  the  same 
moment,  on  the  25tli  of  April. 

General  St.  Suzanne,  who  commanded  the  ex- 
treme left  at  Strasburg,  drove  all  before  him  that 
he  found  in  his  way.  Here  and  there  he  fell  in 
with  deUched  cori)S  ;  they  made  hut  a  slight  re- 
sistance. Not  wishing  to  involve  himself  in  any 
serious  affairs,  he  halted  between  Renchen  and 
Offenburg,  menacing,  at  the  same  time,  the  two 
valleys  of  Renchen  and  of  Kiiizig,  but  endeavouring 
to  make  the  .\ustriaiis  believe  that  he  was  trying 
to  reach  the  Daimbe  by  the  Black  Forest  in  follow- 
ing the  valley  of  the  Kinzig.  At  the  same  time  as 
St.  Suzanne  had  advanced  from  Strasburg,  St.  Cyr 
marched  from  Old  Brisach  upon  Friburg,  driving 
the  enemies'  detachments  rapidly  before  him  ;  but, 
like  St.  Suzanne,  taking  care  not  to  push  on  too  far 
in  advance.  He  met  some  resistance  before  Fri- 
burg. The  Austrians  had  entrenched  the  heights 
surrounding  the  town,  and  placed  behind  them  a 
great  number  of  the  peasantry  raised  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Suabia,  under  the  plea  of  defending  tlieir 
homes  against  the  ravages  of  the  French.  They 
could  not  maintain  their  ground,  and  Friburg  was 
taken  possession  of  in  a  moment.  Some  of  the  un- 
fortunate peasantry  were  sabred,  and  no  more  was 
seen  of  any  of  tliem  during  the  remainder  of  the 
campaign.  St.  Cyr  tools,  up  his  ground  hi  such 
a  manner  as  to  induce  a  belief  that  he  intended  to 
engage  in  the  Val  d'Enfer,  or,  as  the  Gemians 
call  it,  the  Hollengrund. 

The  reserve  oa  the  same  day  passed  over  the 
bridge  of  Basle  without  meeting  any  obstacle,  and 
sent  a  division,  that  of  Richepanse,  towards  Schlien- 
gen  and  Kandern,  to  communicate  with  St.  Cyr's 
corp.s,  which  was  to  ascend  the  Rhine  in  two  days' 
time. 

During  the  whole  of  the  2Cth  of  April,  or  6th 
Flor^aljSt.  Suzanne  remained  in  his  position  before 
Strasburg,  and  St.  Cyr  in  advance  of  Brisach. 
The  reserve,  which  had  passed  over  the  Rhine  at 
Basle,  completed  its  development ;  awaiting  the 
movement  of  the  two  corps,  intended  to  a.scend  the 
Rhine  until  they  were  in  a  line  with  itself.  Moreau 
quitted  Stra.sburg  to  reach  the  head-quarters,  which 
was  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  reserve. 

The  27th  of  April  was  still  employed  in  deceiving 
the  enemy  as  to  the  direction  of  the  French 
columns.  The  Austrians  might  well  oxpict  a 
decided  movement  by  the  Val  d'Knfer  and  Kinzig. 
These  defiles  arc  the  most  direct  road  for  an  army 
marching  on  the  Danube  from  the  Rhine,  wince 
they  open  at  some  distance  one  from  the  other, 
running  in  the  same  direction,  and  at  length  uniting 
between  Donau-Eschingeii  and  Hlifingeii,  not  far 
from  Schaffhausen,  at  which  point  was  the  corps 
of  general  Lecourbo.  It  was  natural  to  suppose 
that  these  two  strong  coltnniis,  from  twenty  thou- 
Kind  to  twenty-five  thousand  men  each,  present- 
ing themselves   at  the   entrance  of  those  defiles. 


were  going  in  reality  to  communicate  with  Le- 
conrbe.  In  order,  therefore,  to  guard  them  more 
securely,  Kray  detached  twelve  squadrons  and  nine 
battalions  from  Willingen,  as  a  reinforcement  for 
general  Kienmayer.  He  was  thus  obliged  to  weaken 
Stockach,  to  i-eplace  in  Willingen  the  troops  he  had 
sent  away  from  that  place. 

In  the  night  of  the  27th  and  on  the  28th  of 
April,  while  Kray  was  thus  ensnaring,  the  di- 
rection of  the  French  columns  was  suddenly 
changed.  St.  Suzanne  fell  back  upon  Strasburg, 
rejiassing  the  Rhine  with  his  entire  corps,  and 
ascending  the  river  by  the  left  bank,  in  order  not 
to  expose  himself  on  an  enemy's  ground  by  a  flank 
movement  too  much  prolonged.  Upon  reaching 
New  Brisach,  he  crossed  again  to  tlic  right  bank, 
and  occupied  the  position  of  St.  Cyr  before  Fri- 
burg, as  if  with  the  intention  of  entering  the  Val 
d'Enfer.  St.  Cyr,  on  his  part,  turned  off  to  the 
right  without  quitting  the  German  side  of  the  river, 
which  he  coasted  with  his  artillery,  cavalry,  and 
baggage ;  and  thus,  as  his  heavy  materiel  followed 
the  level  country,  a  large  pi-oportion  of  his  infantry 
marched  along  the  flank  of  the  mountains,  by  St. 
Hubert,  Neuhof,  Todnau,  and  St.  Blaise.  By  this 
course  Moreau  avoided  encumbering  the  banks  of 
the  Rhine,  cleared  the  heights  of  the  Black 
Forest,  full  of  Austrian  detachments,  and  was  able 
to  pass  the  rivers  nearer  their  sources,  that  from 
these  heights  descending  into  the  Rhine  traverse 
the  territory  of  the  forest  towns.  These  rivers 
are  called  the  Wie.sen,  the  Alb,  and  the  Wutach. 
Unfortunately  roads  wore  supposed  to  exist  where 
there  were  none.  St.  Cyr  was  obliged  to  traverse 
a  horrible  country,  without  artillery,  and  almost 
always  near  the  enemy.  Still  his  delay  was  not  so 
great  as  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  his  arrival  at 
St.  Blaise,  on  the  Alb,  upon  the  ajipointed  day. 

Moreau,  at  the  same  time,  ascended  the  Rhine 
with  the  reserve,  remaining,  like  St.  Cyr,  on  the 
German  side.  Richejianse,  who  commanded  the 
advance-guard,  after  he  had  seen  the  artillery 
and  cavalry  of  St.  Cyr  pass  by,  which  had  followed 
the  bank  of  the  Rhine,  set  out  himself  for  St. 
Blaise,  in  order  to  connect  himself  with  the  in- 
fantry of  the  same  corps.  Generals  Delinas  and 
Leclerc,  who  commamled  the  two  extreme  divisions 
of  the  reserve,  were  marched  upon  Sockingen,  and 
then  upon  the  Alb,  before  the  bridge  of  Albruck. 
This  bridge  was  covered  by  entrenchments.  The 
adjutant-general  Cohorn,  at  the  head  of  a  battalion 
of  the  14th  light,  and  two  battalions  of  the  50th 
and  the  4th  hussars,  advanced  in  columns  upon  the 
entrenchments,  and  carried  them,  Cohorn  jumped 
upon  the  shoulders  of  a  grenadier,  and  crossed  the 
Alb,  not  leaving  the  enemy  time  to  destroy  the 
bridge.  Some  cannon  and  prisoners  were  cap- 
tured. 

On  the  29th  of  April,  or  9th  Flor^al,  the  centre 
under  St.  Cyr,  and  tlie  reserve  under  Moreau,  were 
in  lino  on  the  Alb,  from  the  abbey  of  St.  Blaise  a.s 
far  as  the  union  of  the  Alb  and  Rhine.  St.  Suzanne 
arrived  at  New  Brisach  by  the  left  bank.  On  the 
French  extreme  right  Lecourbe  assenilpled  his 
whole  corjjs  between  Die.senhofen  anil  Schaff- 
hausen, ready  to  pa-ss  across  as  soon  as  St.  Cyr 
and  Moreau  should  have  a-scended  the  Rhine  to  a 
parallel  height  with  himself.  On  the  30tli  of  April 
St.  Suzanne  passed   the  Rhine  at   New   Brisucb, 


Kray  discovers  his  error. 
'72       Tl»e  whole  French  army 
pass  the  Rhine. 


Success  of  Moreau's  plan. 
THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.       —Lecourbe  advances  on 

Stockach. 


1800. 
May. 


and  showed  himself  at  the  entrance  of  the  Val 
d'Enfer.  St.  Cyr  remained  in  the  vicinage  of  St. 
Blaise,  and  Moreau  marched  in  advance  towards 
the  Wutach. 

On  the  1st  of  Jlay,  the  llth  of  Flore'al,  the 
army  successfully  made  its  more  decided  and  final 
movement.  Kray  now  hegan  to  see  his  error,  and 
recalled  those  of  his  corps  which  had  advanced  too 
far  into  the  Black  Forest.  St.  Suzanne,  who  had 
to  pass  through  the  Val  d'Enfer,  which  opens  upon 
the  positions  the  French  army  was  to  occupy  when  ' 
it  had  completed  its  movement,  found  the  troops  of 
Kienmayer  in  retreat,  and  closely  followed  them. 
St.  Cyr  hung  on  the  rear  of  the  corps  of  the  arch- 
dukeFerdinand,  and  pushed  it  from  Bettmaringen 
to  Stiihlingen  on  the  Wutach,  where  he  arrived 
in  the  evening.  The  troops  of  Moreau  crossed 
the  Wutach  without  meeting  much  resistance, 
repaired  the  bridge,  which  wanted  scarcely  any 
thiug  but  a  few  planks  to  make  it  good;  and  tried 
to  coimect  themselves  by  the  right  with  Schaff- 
hausen,  where  they  found  Lecourbe,  and  by  the 
left  with  StUhliugen,  where  they  found  St.  Cp\ 
This  was  the  moment  that  Lecourbe,  already  upon 
the  Rhine,  was  to  cross  that  river.  On  the  1st  of 
May  thirty-four  pieces  of  artillery  were  placed  on 
the  heights  upon  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  so  as 
to  command,  by  their  fire,  the  environs  of  the 
village  of  Richlingen.  Twenty- five  boats  carried 
general  Molitor  across  to  the  right  bank,  with  two 
battalions,  to  protect  the  establishment  of  a  bridge 
some  time  before  prepared  m  the  Aar.  In  an 
liour  and  a  lialf  this  bridge  was  thrown  across. 
General  Vandamme  passed  over  with  a  great  pai't 
of  the  corps  of  Lecourbe,  and  instantly  occupied 
the  roads  leading  to  Engen  and  Stockach,  two 
points  of  importance  on  the  enemy  s  line.  He 
took  the  little  town  of  Stein  and  the  fort  of  Hohent- 
wiel,  reputed  impregnable,  and  well  fui'nished  with 
provisions  and  stores.  Goulu's  brigade,  crossing  at 
the  same  moment  towards  Paradis,  encountered  in 
the  village  of  Busingen  an  obstinate  resistance, 
which  it  soon  overcame.  In  the  last  place  the 
division  of  Lorges  entered  Schaffhausen  in  the 
evening,  and  effected  a  junction  with  the  troops  of 
Moreau. 

On  the  1st  of  May,  in  the  evening,  the  entire 
army  had  thus  passed  the  Rhine.  The  three  prin- 
cipal corps,  under  St.  Cyr,  Moreau,  and  Lecourbe, 
forming  in  all  a  body  of  seventy-five  thousand  or 
eighty  thousand  men,  occupied  a  line  which  pa.ssed 
through  Bondorf,  Stiihlingen,  Schaffhausen,  Radolf- 
zell,  to  a  point  on  the  lake  of  Constance.  They 
were  ready  to  march  upon  Engen  and  Stockach, 
threatening  at  the  same  time  the  line  of  retreat 
and  the  magazines  of  the  enemy.  St.  Suzanne, 
with  the  left,  of  twenty  thousand  men,  followed 
the  Austrians  in  the  defile  of  the  Val  d'Enfer, 
waiting  to  march  upon  the  Upper  Danube,  and 
to  unite  himself  to  the  main  body  of  the  French 
army,  as  soon  as  it  should  have  cleared  the  mouth 
of  tiie  defile  by  its  advance. 

The  entire  movement  was  thus  effected  in  six 
days  in  the  most  successful  manner.  Moreau,  pre- 
senting three  heads  of  colmmis,  by  the  bridges  of 
Strasburg,  Brisach,  and  Basle,  had  attracted  the 
enemy  towards  those  three  openings  ;  then  stealing 
off  suddenly,  and  marching  by  the  right  along  the 
Rhine,  two  of  his  corps  on  the  German  side,  he 


had  ascended  the  river  to  the  height  of  Schaff- 
hausen, where  he  had  covered  the  passage  of 
Lecourbe.  He  had  made  one  thousand  five  hun- 
dred prisoners,  taken  six  field-pieces,  with  their 
horses,  and  forty  pieces  of  heavy  cannon  in  the 
fort  of  Hohentwiel,  together  with  several  magazines. 
The  troops  had  in  all  instances  shown  a  firmness 
and  resolution  which  was  worthy  of  veterans,  full 
of  confidence  in  their  leaders  and  in  tJieniselves. 

All  the  objections  made  to  the  plan  of  Moreau 
on  this  occasion  are  hushed  by  its  success.  It  is 
seldom,  indeed,  that  such  complicated  movements 
succeed  so  well,  that  an  enemy  falls  into  a  snare 
with  such  credulity,  or  that  the  heads  of  different 
corps  co-operate  with  so  much  exactness.  Still 
this  plan  of  the  pmdent  ^Moreau  carried  with  it 
as  much  of  danger  as  that  of  the  first  consul, 
wliieh  he  rejected  as  being  too  full  of  temerity. 
St.  Cyr  and  Moreau  had  exposed  their  flanks  for 
several  days  in  their  march  along  the  Rhine,  shut 
in  between  mountains  and  the  river ;  St.  Cyr  had 
been  separated  from  his  artillery  ;  and  St.  Suzanne 
was  at  last  left  alone  against  the  enemy  in  the  Val 
d'Enfer.  If  marshal  Kray,  inspired  by  a  sudden  im- 
pulse, had  flung  himself  upon  St.  Cyr,  Moreau,  or 
St.  Suzanne,  he  must  have  crushed  one  of  these 
detached  corps,  and  hence  forced  a  retrograde 
movement  upon  the  whole  French  army.  Moreau, 
on  the  other  hand,  had  two  evident  advantages; 
first,  he  had  acted  on  the  offensive,  which  always 
disconcerts  an  enemy;  and  secondly,  he  had  ex- 
cellent troops,  which  were  adequate  to  repair  any 
unforeseen  accident  by  their  firmness,  and  who 
actually  did  repair  by  their  steadiness,  as  we  shall 
soon  see,  more  than  one  fault  of  their  commander- 
in-chief. 

The  moment  now  approached  when  the  two 
amiies,  after  having  manoeuvred,  the  one  to  pass 
the  Rhine,  the  other  to  impede  the  passage,  were 
to  meet  beyond  that  river.  On  the  2nd  of  May, 
the  12th  Floreal,  Moreau  prepared  himself  for  the 
struggle ;  but  not  imagining  it  was  so  near  as  it 
really  proved  to  be,  he  omitted  to  take  measures 
sufficiently  prompt  and  perfect  for  the  concentra- 
tion of  his  forces.  He  determined  to  send  Lecourbe 
with  his  corps  of  twenty-five  thousand  men  upon 
Stockach,  where  the  rear-guard  of  the  Austrians 
was,  together  with  their  magazines,  and  by  which 
they  had  their  communications  with  the  Vorarlberg 
and  prince  de  Reuss.  The  vigorous  execution  of  this 
attack  had  been  concerted  with  the  first  consul; 
because  Kray,  cut  off  from  Stockach,  would  be 
separated  from  the  lake  of  Constance,  and,  in  con- 
secjnence,  from  the  Alps.  Moreau  ordered  Le- 
courbe to  march  on  the  3rd  of  jMay  in  the  morning, 
or  on  the  13th  of  Flordal,  to  take  Stockach  from 
the  prince  of  Lorraine -Vaudemont,  who  with 
twelve  thousand  men  held  that  important  post. 
Moreau  himself  advanced  with  all  the  reserve 
upon  Engen,  keeping  Lecourbe  in  view,  and  ready 
to  afford  him  aid  if  necessary.  St.  Cyr  was  di- 
rected to  advance  and  occupy  a  position  extending 
from  Bettmaringen  and  Bondorf  as  far  as  Engen, 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  in  connexion  with  him 
on  the  one  part,  and  to  hold  himself,  on  the  other, 
ready  to  communicate  with  St.  Suzanne  as  soon  as 
he  sliould  issue  from  the  Val  d'Enfer. 

Moreau  thus  proceeded  in  order  of  battle  with 
his  back  to  the  Rhine,  his  right  to  the  lake  of 


1800. 
May. 


Approaching  rencontre  between 
the  two  armies. —  Nature  of 
the   country.  —  Two  ways  of 


ULM  AND  GENOA. 


defending  the  Danube. — 
March  of  Moreau  and 
Lecourbe. 


73 


Constance,  and  liis  left  to  the  openings  of  the 
Black  Forest;  presenting  a  front  of  fifteen  leagues 
in  extent,  parallel  to  the  line  on  which  the  Aus- 
ti'ians  must  retreat  if  they  retired  from  Donau- 
Eschingen  to  Stockach,  where  many  reasons  seemed 
to  demand  their  presence.  It  was  a  position  very 
extended,  and,  in  particular,  so  near  to  the  enemy, 
that  before  an  active  and  enterprising  fire  the 
French  might  have  been  exposed  to  considerable 
danger.  Fortmiately,  the  Austrian  army  under 
Kray  was  less  concentrated  than  the  French. 
Kray's  primary  position  had  been  better  than  that 
of  the  French  for  a  rapid  concentration,  since  he 
occupied  from  Constance  to  Strasburg,  the  base 
of  a  triangle,  of  which  the  French  held  the  two 
sides.  Kray,  surprised  by  the  movement  of 
Moreau,  having  already  on  his  left  flank  the 
united  French  forces  to  two-thirds  of  their  total 
number,  all  having  passed  over  the  i-iver,  felt  him- 
self in  a  situation  of  difficulty.  He  had  given  to 
the  detachments  of  his  army  hurried  orders  to 
fall  back  upon  the  Black  Forest,  upon  the  higlier 
Danube;  but  a  prompt  and  well-concerted  opera- 
tion could  alone  extricate  them.  This  may  be 
better  understood,  as  well  as  the  accompanying 
manoeuvres,  by  a  survey  of  the  theatre  of  these 
operations. 

The  wooded  and  mountainous  territory  called 
the  Black  Forest,  around  which  runs  the  Rhine, 
for,  without  entering  it,  that  river  pursues  a  north- 
erly course  ;  this  territory  contains  a  small  spring, 
very  insignificant  at  its  head,  althougli  destined  to 
become  one  of  the  larger  rivers  on  the  globe  ;  tliat 
river  is  the  Danube.  It  sends  forth  its  stream 
eastward,  and  so  continues  to  flow,  except  witli  a 
shght  inclination  to  the  north  for  a  short  distance, 
occasioned  by  the  foot  of  tlie  Alps,  which  it  borders 
all  the  way  to  Vienna,  collecting  in  its  course  the 
waters  descending  from  a  long  mountain-chain,  the 
cause  of  its  sudden  increase  so  soon  after  its  in- 
significant origin. 

The  Austrian  generals  who  defend  the  valley  of 
the  Danube  against  the  French,  the  common  i-oad 
as  it  is  to  their  country,  have  two  plans  to  follow. 
They  are  able,  if  the  French  succeed  in  penetrating 
into  it  by  .Switzerland  and  the  Black  Forest,  to 
pas."?  along  the  foot  of  the  Alps,  resting  their  left 
on  the  mountains,  and  tlieir  right  on  the  Danube, 
thus  defending  successively  all  the  rivers  which 
fall  into  it,  such  as  the  lller,  Lech,  Isar,  and  Inn  ; 
or  they  may  abandon  the  Alps,  place  them.selves 
on  each  side  of  the  Danube,  and  descend  with  its 
course,  making  a  resistance  at  all  the  good  posi- 
tions which  it  offers,  such  as  those  of  Ulm,  Ratis- 
bon,  and  others,  ready  to  cover  themselves  with 
its  stream,  which  gradually  widens,  or  to  fall  upon 
the  imprudent  adversary  who  shall  make  a  false 
manccuvrc.  This  last  coui-se  has  generally  been 
that  prefirred  l)y  the  Aiistrians. 

Kray  wa.s  able  to  choo.se  either  the  one  or  the 
other  of  these  modes,  to  sustain  his  left  on  the 
Alps,  or  to  niancDuvre  on  the  Danube.  By  sus- 
taining himself  upon  the  Alps,  he  would  unknow- 
ingly have  contravened  the  scheme  of  the  first 
consul,  who,  in  descending  in  safety  from  those 
lofty  mountains  ujton  the  rear  of  general  Mdlas  in 
Italy,  wi.shcd  to  \w(^p  thir  Austrian  army  in  Suabia 
away  from  Switzerland  and  the  Tyrol.  But  here 
he  would  sacrifice  his  right  wing,  too  far  advanced 


upon  the  Rhine,  without  knowing  what  would  be- 
come of  it.  By  manoeuvring  on  the  Danube  he 
would  assuredly  rally  his  right  wing,  but  become 
.separated  from  his  left  under  the  prince  de  Reuss; 
though  not  sacrificing  it,  because  it  would  find  in 
the  Tyrol  a  place  of  security  and  employment. 
Kray  would  fall  in  with  the  designs  of  the  first 
consul  by  moving  far  from  the  Alps;  but  this 
was  a  minor  evil  ;  for  even  if  he  were  to  support 
himself  upon  them,  it  was  not  probable  he  would 
think  of  throwing  himself  into  Lonibardy  to  save 
Me'las.  The  plan  which  presented  the  fewest 
inconveniences,  and  that  most  in  unison  with 
the  course  previously  pursued  by  the  Austrian 
armies,  was  to  concentrate  his  forces  upon  the 
Upper  Danube,  although,  in  order  to  succeed  it 
was  necessary  to  act  promptly  and  resolutely. 
Unhappily  for  himself,  Kray  had  inmiense  maga- 
zines at  Stockach,  near  the  lake  of  Constance,  with 
a  strong  rear-guard  of  twelve  thousand  men,  under 
the  prince  of  Lorraine- Vaudemont.  It  was  neces- 
sary that  he  should  recall  his  rearguard  imme- 
diately from  Stockach  to  the  higher  Danube,  and 
that  he  should  march  thither  himself,  sacrificing 
his  magazines,  which  he  would  not  have,  in  any 
case,  the  time  to  remove.  He  did  not  do  this  ; 
but  still,  with  the  intention  of  afterwards  man- 
oeuvring on  the  Danube,  he  sent  general  Nauen- 
dorft"  with  the  centre  of  the  Austrian  army  upon 
Engen,  to  succour  Stockach.  He  ordered  prince 
Ferdinand,  who  was  in  the  Black  Forest,  to  repair 
to  the  same  place;  and  his  right,  under  the  generals 
Sztarray  and  Kiemnaycr,  to  quit  the  Rhine  and 
rejoin  him  with  all  speed. 

A  vast  inconvenience  attaches  to  the  enormous 
magazines  of  provisions  cu.stomary  among  the  Ger- 
mans, in  that  the  army  must  be  regulated  by  them 
in  its  movements.  The  French  dispense  with  ma- 
gazines altogether,  and,  by  spreading  themselves 
over  the  country,  procure  subsistence  without  the 
discipline  of  the  troops  suff'ering  from  the  practice. 
They  are  active,  industrious,  and  know  how  to  be 
marauding  and  at  the  same  time  remain  near  their 
coloui's.  The  German  troops  are  rarely  exposed  to 
the  same  pi-actice  without  becoming  disorganized 
and  dispersed.  There  is  the  advantage  in  pos- 
sessing magazines,  that  the  war  presses  with  less 
severity  upon  a  country  that  is  the  seat  of  hostilities, 
and  thus  they  prevent  the  people  from  becoming 
exasperated  against  the  invaders. 

Moreau,  marching  with  his  right  upon  Stockach 
and  his  reserve  upon  Engen,  while  the  corps  of  St. 
Cyr  extended  itself  to  communicate  with  St.  Su- 
zanne, was  therefore  very  likely  to  meet  with  the 
rear-guard  of  Kray  at  Stockach,  his  centre  at 
Engen,  and  to  be  on  the  heels  of  prince  Ferdinand, 
who  was  on  his  way  to  rejoin  the  main  body  of  the 
Austrian  anny.  An  unexpected  combat  must  be 
the  result  of  such  a  meeting, — a  circumstance  often 
occurring  in  war,  when  its  plans  have  not  been 
conducted  by  superior  minds  capable  of  foresight 
as  well  as  direction. 

Lecourbe  liad  been  on  his  march  to  Stockach 
since  the  morning,  liaving  thrown  out  on  his  left 
the  division  of  Lorges  to  communicate  with  Moreau, 
pushing  straightforward  before  him  the  divi.sioii  of 
Montricliard  with  the  reserve  cavalry  of  Nansoiity, 
on  the  high  road  from  Schaffhausen  to  Stockach. 
Lastly,  sending  the  divisions  of  Vandamme  to  the 


Battle  of  Engen. — Lecourhe 

74       takes  stock.ch -Results    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 

thereby  obtained. 


Moreau's  attack  on  Engen. 
Nature  of  the  country. 
Movements  of  Lorges. 


May. 


vis^ht,  between  Stockach  and  the  lake  of  Constance. 
The  force  of  the  last  was  divided  intotwu  brigades: 
one,  manoeuvring  in  such  a  manner,  under  general 
Leval,  as  to  cut  off  the  Austrian  communication 
by  Bodniann  and  Sernadingen  witli  the  Like  of 
Constance,  met  with  no  obstacle,  because  the  prince 
of  Reiiss,  who  might  have  appeared  there,  gave 
himself  little  trouble  about  keeping  up  a  commu- 
nication with  his  commander-in-chief ;  the  other 
brigade,  under  general  Molitor,  directed  by  Van- 
damine  in  person,  marched  to  the  rear  of  Stockach 
by  a  cross  road,  while  Montrichard  and  Nansouty 
proceeded  by  the  high  road  from  Schaffhausen. 
In  the  thick  of  the  woods  infantry  was  perceived 
falling  back  as  well  as  cavah-y,  the  last  reconnoitring 
as  they  retired.  At  last  the  troops  arrived  at  the 
ground,  which  the  Austrians  seemed  determined 
to  defend.  Montrichard  found  them  in  order  of 
battle  beyond  the  village  of  Steusslingen,  covered 
by  a  strong  bo<ly  of  cavalry.  The  French  infantry 
passed  through  the  village  in  two  columns,  opening 
out  to  the  left  and  right,  and  threatening  tiie  ene- 
my's flanks.  At  the  same  moment  the  cavalry  of 
Nansouty,  coming  out  of  Steus.slingen,  charged 
vigorously,  and  overthrew  tlie  Austrians,  who  re- 
treated upon  Neuzingen.  This  was  the  second  and 
princi|)al  position  covering  Stockach  ;  it  was  sup- 
ported upon  that  of  VValilwyes,  which  at  the  same 
moment  Vandamnie  threatened  with  Molitor's  bri- 
gade. A  numerous  infantry  were  seen  barring  the 
extremity  of  the  village  of  Neuzingen,  vesting  its 
right  and  left  on  the  woods,  and  covered  by  cannon. 
A  vigorous  effort  was  required  to  dislodge  the 
enemy  ;  Montrichard,  however,  was  successful  in 
turning  it,  by  a  height  called  the  Helieniberg,  while 
Vandamme,  having  passed  Wall! wyes,  opened  upon 
the  rear  of  Neuzingen.  The  position  was  carried, 
and  the  whole  corps  of  Lecourbe,  being  now  united, 
poured  in  a  mass  upon  Stockach,  which  was  in- 
stantly taken.  The  Austrians  endeavoured  to  make 
a  resistance  beyond  Stockach,  and  thus  to  check 
the  French.  They  exhibited  about  four  thousand 
infantry  it;  order  of  battle,  and  covered  by  all  their 
cavalry.  The  regiments  of  Nansouty,  charging  the 
enemy's  horse,  thrtfw  them  into  disorder  back  upon 
their  infantry,  which  now  only  thought  of  surren- 
dering. Lecourbe  made  four  thousand  prisoners, 
ca])tured  eight  pieces  of  cannon,  five  hundred 
horses,  and  the  immense  magazines  of  Stockach. 
It  could  not  have  terminated  otherwise.  Lecourbe, 
with  soldiers  ca])able  of  fiy;hting  an  enemy  having 
numbers  greatly  superior,  had  on  the  ground  twice 
the  number  of  men  that  the  jirince  of  Lorraine 
had,  although  he  had  detached  the  division  of  Lor- 
ges  to  form  a  connexion  with  Moreau.  Lecourbe 
finished  his  task  at  an  early  hour ;  and  if  a  direc- 
tion equally  vigorous  had  marked  the  whole  of  the 
oi'eraii'in.s,  together  wiiii  jiroper  unity  of  design, 
he  might  and  ought  to  have  been  employed  else- 
where, as  will  be  sei-n  presently. 

The  division  of  Lorges,  destined  to  serve  inter- 
mediately between  Lecourbe  and  Moreau,  was  di- 
vide<l  into  two  brigades.  That  of  Ooulu  had 
marched  ui)on  Aach  to  scour  the  country  between 
Stockach  and  Rngen,  but,  fin.ling  no  enemy  in  sight, 
had  turned  off  towards  Stockach,  where  it  was  of 
no  use.  General  Lorges,  witli  the  rest  of  his 
division,  having  joined  Moreau's  corps,  accompanied 
it  towards  Engen. 


Moreau,  with  wliat  was  styled  the  corps  of  re- 
serve, had  been  all  the  morning  marching  upon 
Engen.  Kray,  at  the  same  time,  was  traversing 
that  place  on  his  way  to  Stockach,  to  save  his 
magazines.  He  soon  saw  that,  from  the  Fi-ench 
force  displayed  before  him,  there  would  be  a  battle 
in  j)lace  of  a  reconnoitring,  and  he  halted  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  it,  relying  upon  his  superior 
force  of  forty  thousand  men  at  hand,  and  the 
strength  of  the  position  to  which  he  had  been  by 
chance  conducted. 

Leaving  towards  Schaffhausen  the  banks  of  the 
Rhine  for  those  of  the  Danube,  in  a  rugged,  broken, 
irregular  country,  where  the  declivities  are  un- 
certain, the  small  valley  of  the  Aach  is  met  with, 
which  conveys  to  the  lake  of  Constance  those  waters 
which  neither  fall  into  the  Rhine  nor  Danube.  In 
this  valley  is  the  small  town  of  Engen.  To  descend 
to  Engen  it  is  nece.ssary  first  to  climb  a  number  of 
wooded  heights  very  difficult  of  access.  Those 
heights  were  occupied  by  the  Austrian  infantry  ; 
their  cavalry  was  in  the  plain  of  Engen.  Moreau 
would  be  obliged  to  dislodge  the  Austrians  from 
tliose  heights  before  he  could  descend  into  the 
plain  and  attack  the  cavalry.  He  marched,  him- 
self, at  the  head  of  the  divisions  of  Delmas  and 
Bastoul,  and  half  of  that  of  Lorges.  He  directed 
Richepanse's  division,  the  left,  along  the  Blumen- 
feld  road.  This  road  led  through  a  series  of  val- 
leys, and  the  division  was  to  turn  the  enemy's 
position  by  less  defended  approaches  ;  all,  being 
successful,  were  then  to  descend  in  a  body  upon 
Engen. 

Lorges,  who  had  got  a  little  in  advance  of  the 
reserve,  found  a  large  body  of  troops  near  Water- 
dingen,  and,  before  attacking  them,  awaited  the 
division  of  Delmas,  which  quickly  arrived.  They 
then  charged  and  dislodged  the  Austrians.  Arrived 
at  this  point,  they  had  next  to  surmount  the  heights 
whir<h  surround  Engen,  and  for  that  purpose  it  was 
required  to  cross  some  steep-sided  table-ground, 
conmianded  on  the  right  by  a  position  called  the 
Maulberg,  and  on  the  left  by  a  very  elevated  peak 
having  the  name  of  the  Peak  of  Ilohenhewen. 
Lorges  was  ordered  to  attack  the  Maulberg.  After 
a  slight  cannonade  he  advanced,  and  the  enemy 
gave  way.  Then  Delmas,  passing  to  the  left,  di- 
rected his  force  upon  a  wood  which  encircled  the 
peak  of  Hohenhewen,  occupied  by  eight  of  the 
enemy's  battalions  of  infantry.'  Two  battalions  of 
the  46lh  advanced  upon  this  wood  without  firing, 
while  general  Grandjean  and  adjutant-general  Co- 
horn  turned  it  with  a  detachment.  As  soon  as  the 
46th  had  received  the  fire  of  the  enemy,  they  rushed 
ui)()n  him  with  fixed  bayoriots.  The  eight  Austrian 
battalions,  finding  themselves  so  vigorously  at- 
tacked in  front  and  turned  on  the  right,  abandoned 
the  wood.  The  French,  having  taken  the  principal 
positions  which  defended  the  approaches  to  the 
valley  of  Engen,  had  no  more  to  do  than  to  descend 
into  that  valley,  which  was  traversed  by  a  con- 
siderable rivulet.  The  enemy  had  retired  to  the 
pe;ik  of  Hohenhewen,  placed  his  artillery  and  in- 
fantry on  the  declivities,  and  drawn  up  his  cavalry, 
twelve  thousand  men,  in  the  plain  of  Engen.  Mo- 
reau had  the  intention  at  first  to  take  the  peak, 
and  ordered  Delmas  to  attack  it.  Ilis  division,  on 
leaving  the  wood,  was  exp<ised  to  a  very  destructive 
fire,  which  it  sustained  bravely.     General  Jocopin, 


May. 


Progress  of  the  battle.— Dan- 
gerous situAtion  of  Riche- 
pause. 


ULM  AND  GENOA. 


Decisive  inoTenients  of  Moreau. — 
Kesults  of  the  buttle  of  Eiigen. 
— Faults  committed  by  Moreau. 


placing  himself  at  the  head  of  the  infuntry,  re- 
ceived a  ball  in  the  thigh  ;  but  genei-al  Graudjean 
turned  the  position.  Tlie  adjutant-general  Cohorn, 
who,  as  before  mentioned,  had  crossed  the  Alb 
on  the  shoulders  of  a  grenadier,  mounted  to  the 
summit  with  a  battalion,  and  the  xVustrians  were 
driven  down.  The  troops  of  Moreau  were  now  in 
possession  of  all  the  heights  commanding  Engen 
and  its  plain,  and  were  able  to  open  out  unuiolested, 
tiie  enemy  having  retired  to  the  other  side  of  the 
plain  beyond  the  rivulet,  which  passes  through 
it,  to  the  foot  of  a  chain  of  hills  which  form  the 
opposite  boundary.  Mere  the  Austrians  were  drawn 
up  :  in  front  was  their  numerous  cavalry  and  the 
greater  part  of  their  artillery  ;  and  in  their  rear,  in 
the  hollow  part  of  a  valley,  at  the  entrance  of  which 
stands  the  little  village  of  Ehingen,  was  a  strong 
reserve  of  grenadiers.  Such  was  the  mass  of  force 
to  be  overcome  before  the  battle  could  be  decided 
to  the  advantage  of  Moreau. 

During  this  time  a  sharp  fire  was  heard  on  the 
other  side  of  the  peak  of  Hohenhewen,  and  a  good 
distance  beyond  along  the  girdle  of  woody  heights 
which  surround  Engeii.  This  proceeded  from  the 
division  of  Richepanse  engaged  with  the  troops 
that  Kray  had  placed  on  that  part  of  the  field  of 
battle.  Richepanse  had  been  obliged  to  separate 
his  division  into  two  brigades  to  take  two  different 
positions,  one  called  Leipferdingen,the  other  Water- 
dingen  at  the  extremity  of  the  valleys  into  which 
he  liad  entered.  There  he  was  obliged  to  maintain 
a  very  obstinate  conflict  with  varied  success,  when 
very  fortunately  for  him  the  advance-guard  of  St. 
Cyr's  corps  began  to  appear.  These  troops  arrived 
very  late  in  consequence  of  a  want  of  unity  in  the 
dispositions  of  Moreau.  St.  Cyr  ought  to  have 
aided  St.  Suzanne  with  one  of  his  divisions,  but  he 
had  been  obliged  to  wait  for  Ney,  who  was  hindered 
by  want  of  provisions,  and  he  was  even  delayed  for 
his  artillery,  which  had  been  in  the  rear  ever  since 
the  pa.ssage  of  the  Rhine  ;  moreover  he  had  been 
in  an  incessant  encounter  with  prince  Ferdinand 
during  his  march,  and  had  been  obliged  to  advance 
with  the  utmost  caution,  having  only  one  of  his 
divisions,  out  of  three,  j)resent  to  oppose  to  his 
enemy.  At  last  he  had  come  up  to  the  assist- 
ance of  Richepanse  at  the  moment  when  Kray 
was  making  a  vigorous  effort  to  prevent  him 
from  marching  upon  Engen.  Moreau,  judging 
from  the  vivacity  of  the  fire  that  Richepanse  was 
in  danger,  determined  to  draw  the  Austrian  at- 
tention towards  their  left,  and  for  this  purpose 
thought  it  right  to  attack  the  village  of  Ehingen, 
which  formed  the  chief  support  of  their  position 
on  the  other  side  of  the  plain.  Here  it  has  been 
seen  tiiat  the  enemy  had  jjosted  at  the  foot  of  a 
ciiain  of  hills  his  artillery,  cavalry,  and  yet  more  a 
reserve  of  grenadiers,  the  last  in  the  valley  of 
which  Ehingen  formed  the  entrance.  General 
Bontemps  proceeded  there  with  the  67th  dumi- 
brig.'ule,  two  battalions  of  the  10th  light,  and  two 
B(|uadn)ns  of  the  Otli  hussars.  General  Ilautponl 
followi;d  «ith  the  reserve  of  cavalry.  These  troops, 
marching  in  colunwi  on  the  plain  under  the  fire  of 
a  battery  of  twelve  pieces  of  cannon,  arrived  and 
took  the  village  of  Ehingen  in  a  gallant  manner. 
On  a  sudden  eigiit  battalions  of  grenadiers,  in  re- 
serve, charged  them  in  turn,  and  obliged  tliem 
to  give  up   the  village,     llautpoul's   cavalry  was 


repulsed  by  that  of  the  Austrians,  and  the  brave 
general  Bontemps  was  sevei-ely  wounded  in  the 
confusion  that  ensued.  At  the  same  moment  the 
firing  on  the  left  beyond  the  peak  of  Hohenhawen 
redoubled  in  activity,  announcing  the  danger  of 
Richepanse's  position,  who  persisted,  but  so  far 
vainly,  in  attempting  to  force  that  belt  of  heights. 

Moreau,  who  in  difficult  movements  had  the 
firmness  of  the  truly  martial  soul,  saw  in  a  moment 
the  seriousness  of  his  situation,  and  determined  upon 
a  vigorous  effort  to  be  master  of  the  field.  He 
made  the  remnant  of  Bastoul's  division  advance, 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  some  companies  of 
grenadiers  that  were  near  at  hand,  inflamed  their 
courage  by  his  example,  led  them  forward  to  the 
charge,  and  restored  Ehingen  to  the  French  army. 
While  Moreau  was  thus  deciding  the  day  on  the 
field,  Richepanse  was, on  his  part,  performing  pro- 
digies of  courage.  St.  Cyr,  rejoined  by  marshal 
Ney,  and  definitively  delivered  from  the  attacks  of 
the  archduke  Ferdinand,  sent  forward  Roussel's 
brigade,  which  vied  in  courage  with  the  troops  that 
had  been  so  long  and  vainly  engaged,  and  aided 
tiiem  in  storming  the  heights  thus  long  and  vigor- 
ou.sly  disputed.  The  action  was  over  every  where 
against  the  Austrians,  but  thus  decided  at  the  price 
of  much  labour  and  bloodshed.  The  4th  demi- 
brigade  lost  in  this  combat  from  five  hundred  to 
six  hundred  men.  Night  came  on  ;  the  ardour 
of  the  Fi'ench  increased,  as  the  courage  of  the 
Austrians  fell,  when  they  learned  the  news  of  the 
ruin  of  the  prince  de  Lorraine- Vaudemont  at 
Stockach.  Kray,  fearing  to  be  turned  by  Stockach, 
ordered  a  retreat.  He  then  hastened  to  regain  the 
Danube  by  Tuttlingen  and  Liptingen. 

The  loss  of  the  French  army  in  this  succession  of 
obstinate  combats  was  considerable,  not  less  than 
two  thousand  men  killed  and  wounded.  That  of  the 
Austrians  was  three  thousand,  but  four  thousand  or 
five  thousand  prisoners  remained  in  the  hands  of  the 
French.  The  French  troops  by  dint  of  extraordinary 
bravery  had  corrected  the  defects  in  the  plan  of  tin  ir 
general.  This  plan  was  by  no  means  perfect,  and 
its  weak  points  can  now  be  fully  appreciated.  The 
results  themselves  show,  in  the  first  place,  how  in- 
convenient it  was  to  pass  the  Rhine  at  several 
l)oints.  Owing  to  this  mode  of  operation  no  more 
than  three  corps  were  ready  to  march  together. 
Then  the  third  or  St.  Cyr's  was  pai'alyzed  by  the 
necessity  of  waiting  to  open  the  communication 
with  the  fourth,  which  remained  in  the  rear.  To 
this  system  was  attributable  the  delay  in  bringing 
up  St.  Cyr's  ai'tillery,  which  not  a  little  contributed 
to  delay  succour  i-eaching  Richepanse.  Then,  as 
to  the  jnain  battle  ;  Moreau  with  twenty-five 
thousand  men  was  obliged  to  combat  forty  thou- 
sand at  Engen,  while  Lecourbe  with  twenty  thou- 
sand had  only  twelve  tliousand  to  fight  at  Stockach, 
and  St.  Cyr  was  nearly  unoccupied  or  confined 
to  the  duty  of  observation.  St.  Cyr,  accused  of 
having  ai-rived  too  late,  affirmed  that  he  did  not  re- 
ceive a  single  aid-de-camp  from  head-quartera 
during  the  whole  day.  We  shall  never  see  such 
things  occur,  or  very  rarely  indeed,  on  battle-fields 
where  the  first  consul  commanded.  Still  a  general 
to  act  as  Moreau  did  must  jxissess  high  tnerit. 
Once  in  the  presence  of  danger  he  comported  him- 
self with  an  energy  and  calmness  wiiich  never 
abandoned  him,  and,  seconded  by  the  valor  of  hia 


Kray  retires  upon  the  Da- 


of  Mijsskirch. 


76        nube,  and  resolves  to  try     THIERS'   CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.     New  errors  of  Moreau 


another  battle, 


Movements  of  Lecourbe. 


May. 


troops,  he,  after  all,  bore  away  the  victory,  and 
acquired  a  decided  superiority  over  the  enemy. 

Moreau  encamped  upon  the  field  of  battle.  If  on 
the  following  day  he  had  closely  pursued  Kray, 
on  the  road'  from  Stockach  to  the  Danube,  it  is 
probable  he  would  have  thrown  him  into  disorder. 
But  he  had  not  enough  ardour  of  character,  and 
was  too  sparing  of  his  troops,  to  execute  rapid 
movements,  which  are  no  doubt  fatiguing  to  the 
soldiei-3  at  the  moment,  but  in  reality  save  both 
their  blood  and  strength  by  an  acceleration  of  the 
results.  The  4th  of  May,  the  14th  Floreal,  was  em- 
ployed in  rectifying  the  position  of  the  army,  and 
in  marching  slowly  upon  the  Danube.  St.  Cyr 
marched  by  Tuttlingen,  Moreau  and  Lecourbe  by 
Moskii-eh,  looking  sharply  to  their  right  and  to 
the  openings  of  the  Vorarlberg,  by  which  the  prince 
de  Reuss  might  make  his  appearance. 

Kray  was  not  yet  resigned  to  quit  the  ground 
without  a  battle.  His  army,  lessened  by  nearly  ten 
thousand  men,  was  also  disheartened.  It  was  an 
error  in  him  to  persist  in  exposing  himself  to  a  new 
encounter  with  the  French,  before  he  had  passed 
the  Danube  and  been  joined  by  generals  Kienmayer 
and  Sztarray,  who,  returning  from  the  Rhine,  were 
traversing  the  Black  Forest,  at  the  same  time  with 
the  French  corps  of  St.  Suzanne.  He  required  tlie 
shelter  of  a  great  river,  some  days'  rest,  and  re- 
inforcements, tliat  the  moral  power  of  the  Austrian 
army  might  recover  itself.  The  position  of  Moss- 
liirch,  which  Moreau  allowed  him  time  to  occupy, 
inspii'ed  Kray  with  the  imprudent  but  bold  i-esolu- 
tion  to  risk  another  battle. 

The  situation  of  Mosskirch  is  a  very  strong  one. 
The  higji  road,  going  to  the  Danube  by  Engen  and 
Stockach,  passes  a  short  distance,  before  arriving  at 
Mosskirch,  under  the  fire  of  some  large  and  elevated 
table-land,  called  the  plain  of  Krumbach.  This  is  on 
the  left  of  the  road  which  now  enters  a  long  woody 
defile.  It  opens  afterwards  upon  cleared  ground, 
at  the  extremity  of  which,  on  the  right,  the  little 
town  of  Mosskirch  is  perceived,  and  on  the  left 
the  village  of  Heudorf.  Behind  Mosskirch  rises  a 
line  of  heights  which  continue  from  Mosskirch  to 
Heudorf,  then  from  Heudorf  they  connect  that 
place  in  the  rear,  and  on  the  left  with  the  table-kn  J 
of  Krumbach,  so  that  the  road,  going  at  first  under 
the  table-land,  buries  itself  in  a  wood,  and  opens  at 
la.st  under  fire  of  the  heights  extending  from  Moss- 
kirch to  Heudorf. 

Kray  crowned  this  position  with  a  formidable 
artillery.  The  prince  of  Lorraine,  commanding  the 
Austrian  left,  occupied  Mosskirch  and  the  sur- 
rounding eminences.  Nauendorf,  commanding  their 
centre,  was  drawn  up  above  Heudorf,  having  a 
reserve  of  grenadiers  in  his  rear.  Baron  Wrede 
with  the  Bavarians,  the  arcliduke  Ferdinand,  and 
general  Giulay  united,  composed  the  right  of  the 
imperial  army,  on  the  table-land  of  Krumbach. 

Moreau  did  not  much  more  calculate  upon  a 
battle  at  Mosskirch  than  he  had  done  at  Engen. 
Having  some  expectation  of  meeting  with  resist- 
ance at  Mosskirch,  he  acquainted  Lecourbe  witii 
his  suspicion,  by  saying  it  was  probable  an  effort 
would  be  made  there,  without  giving  any  precise 
orders  for  that  concentration  which  indicated  the 
near  chance  of  a  great  battle.  Lecourbe  kept  at 
the  head  of  the  army,  and  marched  in  three  divi- 
visions,  having  thrown  off  Vandamme's  division 


some  distance  to  the  right,  in  order  to  watch  the 
movements  of  prince  de  Reuss  towards  the  Vorarl- 
berg. A  part  of  this  division,  under  general  Molitor, 
was  to  direct  itself  by  the  road  of  Pfullendorff  and 
Klosterwald,  on  the  flank  of  Moskii-cli.  Lecourbe, 
with  the  divisions  of  Montrichard  and  Lorges, 
with  the  reserve  of  cavalry,  was  to  advance  by 
the  high  road  that  has  been  described,  and  which, 
after  passing  under  Ki'umbach,  upon  traversing 
the  woods,  opens  in  face  of  Mosskirch.  Moreau 
followed  the  same  road,  keeping  some  distance  in 
the  rear.  St.  Cyr,  at  a  considerable  distance,  flanked 
the  left  of  Moreau,  occupying  both  banks  of  the 
Danulie  towards  Tuttlingen.  Such  were  not,  surely, 
the  dispositions  for  a  gi-eat  battle.  Vandamme 
ought  not  to  have  been  thrown  with  his  half  divi- 
sion upon  the  flank  of  the  position  of  Mosskirch. 
Lecourbe  ought  to  have  been  sent  with  his  whole 
force  upon  that  point.  Moreau  should  not  have  set 
out  so  tai'dily,  nor  have  crammed  himself  and  Le- 
courbe on  the  same  road  into  a  woody  defile.  St.  Cyr, 
lastly,  ought  not  to  have  been  left  so  far  off. 

However  this  may  be,  Lecourbe  went  forward  in 
the  morning  conformably  to  the  arrangements  made 
previously.  On  reaching  the  height  of  Krumbach 
he  kept  the  table-land  upon  his  left,  and  entered 
the  woody  defile.  Some  advance-guards,  met  with 
in  this  defile,  were  driven  back,  and  Lecourbe  ar- 
rived at  the  opening.  It  was  then  seen  that  the 
naked  ground  which  reached  from  the  opening  of 
the  road  out  of  the  wood  all  the  way  to  Mosskirch 
was  on  every  side  bordered  with  heights  crowned 
with  Austrian  artillery.  As  soon  as  the  heads 
of  the  columns  appeared,  five  pieces  of  artillery 
fired  from  the  front  towards  Mossldrch,  while 
twenty  pieces  on  the  flank,  from  the  side  of  Heu- 
dorf, vomited  forth  a  shower  of  balls  and  grape. 
Two  battalions  of  light  infantry  posted  themselves 
on  the  skirts  of  the  wood,  and  three  regiments  of 
cavalry,  the  9th  hussars,  the  12th  chasseurs,  and 
the  1 1th  dragoons,  passed  rapidly  to  the  front,  in 
order  to  protect  the  placing  of  the  artillery;  but 
under  the  fire  of  those  twenty-five  pieces,  which 
thundered  \ipon  them  in  every  possible  sense  of 
the  word,  these  squadrons  were  obliged  to  retreat. 
Fifteen  pieces  of  cannon  that  general  Montrichard 
had  opposed  to  tlie  Austrian  artillery  were  partly 
dismounted.  Tlie  light  infantry  were  obliged  to 
cover  themselves  in  the  woods.  The  Austrian 
cavali'y  attempted  to  charge  in  turn,  but  were 
quickly  repulsed  ;  yet  as  often  as  general  Mont- 
richard attempted  to  come  out  of  the  wood,  a 
terrible  fire  stopped  his  columns.  It  soon  became 
evident  that  this  was  not  the  true  point  for  an 
attack  upon  Mosskirch;  that,  on  the  contrary,  this 
point  was  upon  the  right,  following  the  cross-road 
of  Klosterwald,  by  which  Vandamme  advanced. 
He  had  not  yet  arrived,  on  account  of  the  distance 
of  ground  he  liad  to  pass  over.  In  the  mean  time 
Lecourbe  resolved  to  attack  Heudorf,  by  filing 
on  his  left  along  the  edge  of  the  wood.  The  10th 
light,  despite  a  heavy  fire  of  musketry  and  ar- 
tillery, entered  the  village  of  Heudorf,  but  was 
repulsed  by  superior  numbei-s;  and  while  the  cavah-y 
was  moving  forward  to  sustain  it,  the  Austrian  ar- 
tillery behind  Heudorf  compelled  it  to  move  back. 
Thus  the  second  attempt  to  open  upon  the  left  was 
not  more  successful  than  that  made  more  directly 
upon  Mosskirch. 


May. 


The  Au«tri:iiis,  acting  on  the  de- 
fensive, are  repulsed. — Brigades 
of  Molitor  and  Montricliard. 


ULM  AND  GENOA. 


Gallant  conduct  of  the  57th.— Com- 
plete success  of  Moreau.  —  In- 
action of  St.  Cyr. 


77 


Encouraged  by  the  check  thus  given  to  the 
French,  the  Austrians  now  took  the  offensive,  and 
tried  to  move  from  the  village  of  Hcudorf  upon 
Lorges'  division.  This  was  taking  too  great  a  free- 
dom with  such  brave  troops.  The  38th  furmed  in 
column  and  advanced.  Eight  pieces  of  artillery 
l>oured  grape-shot  upon  them.  Onward  they 
moved  with  admirable  coohicss  into  the  village  of 
Ileudorf,  bayonets  at  the  charge.  On  a  steep 
rising  ground  behind  Heudorf  were  woods  filled 
with  dense  masses  of  Austrian  infantry.  Superior 
numbers  rushed  upon  this  gallant  dcmi-brigade  ; 
overwhelmed  by  them  it  fell  back  ;  the  67th  came 
to  its  assistance,  and  it  quickly  rallied.  Both  regi- 
ments then  charged.  The  entire  division  hastened 
to  the  spot,  carried  the  village,  and  mounted  the 
formidable  heights  whence  the  enemy  had  poured 
upon  them  such  a  terrific  fire.  Whilst  this  was 
proceeding  upon  the  left  around  tlie  village  of 
Ileudorf,  Vandamme  on  the  right  opened  at  last 
upon  Miisskirch,  at  the  head  of  ^lolitor's  brigade. 
He  skilfully  arranged  it  for  the  attack,  in  spite  of 
the  Austrian  infantry,  which  made  a  destructive 
fire  from  the  suburbs  of  that  town  upon  the  French 
column.  The  brave  men  of  JMolitor's  division 
pressed  forward  and  made  a  furious  charge  into 
.Mo.sskirch,  while  two  battalions  turned  the  Aus- 
trian position  on  the  heights.  Montricliard,  still 
shut  up  in  the  woods,  chose  the  same  moment  for 
moving  out  upon  the  open  ground,  which  had  been 
so  fatal  to  him  at  the  commencement  of  the  affair. 
He  threw  himself  upon  four  columns  in  the  lace 
of  the  Austrian  artillery,  somewhat  disconcerted 
at  the  sight  of  these  simultaneous  attacks.  His 
own  four  columns  came  up,  and,  passing  a  ravine 
at  the  foot  of  the  heights,  gained  the  table-ground 
of  Mosskirch  at  the  moment  when  Vandamme's 
troops,  which  had  entered  Mo.sskirch,  were  be- 
ginning to  come  out  of  it.  The  Austrians  were 
every  where  put  to  the  rout.  Their  reserve, 
placed  a  little  in  the  rear  of  Rohrdorf,  would  now 
iiave  acted  in  its  own  turn,  but  was  kept  in  check 
by  the  divisions  of  Vandamme  and  Montricliard 
tliat  had  united. 

From  this  moment  we  were  masters  of  the  whole 
of  the  Austrian  line,  from  Mosskirch  to  Heudorf. 
Kray,  then,  judging  with  admirable  correctness 
of  eye  the  vulnerable  point  of  the  French  positiAi, 
moved  part  of  his  army  in  the  direction  of  the 
table-ground  of  Krumbach,  on  the  left  of  the 
Frencli,  where  he  could  threaten  both  their  flank 
and  rear.  The  division  of  Lorges,  which  occupied 
Heudorf,  was  in  danger  of  being  overpowered. 
'Ihe  wbole  of  the  Austrian  I'c.serve  of  grenadiers 
had  attacked  that  unfortunate  division,  which,  after 
liaviiig  taken  and  retaken  Heudorf  several  times, 
was  worn  out  with  fatigue.  It  w.as  crushed  under 
the  ma.s8  of  Austrian  infantry  and  the  fire  of  their 
artillery.  Fortimatoly  Moreau,  ajijjrised  by  the 
violence  of  the  cannonadi;,  hastened  his  march, 
and  arrivi;d  at  lonijth  at  the  entrance  of  the  wood 
with  his  corps,  formed  of  Dclraas',  Bastoul's,  and 
l<.ichepan.se'H  divisions.  He  sent  instantly  to  the 
left  upon  Heudorf,  Delmas'  division  to  the  aid 
of  that  of  Lorges.  That  brave  body  of  men  soon 
changed  the  face  of  things,  routed  the  Austrian 
grenadiers,  and  retook  Heudorf  as  well  as  the 
woods  above  it.  Hut  if  the  French  had  their  re- 
inforcements, so  had  Kray.     IFis  right,  composed 


of  the  archduke  Ferdinand  and  of  general  Giulay, 
that  St.  Cyr  had  followed  step  by  step  since  the 
commencement  of  operations,  but  at  too  great  a 
distance — his  right  brought  rapidly  upon  the  field 
of  battle  was  directed  against  Heudorf  and  Krum- 
bach, on  the  very  flank  of  Delmas'  division,  which 
was  in  danger  of  being  surrounded.  A  part  of  the 
latter  immediately  faced  to  the  left.  The  57th, 
which  had  earned  in  Italy  the  name  of  "  the 
terrible,"  formed  in  order  of  battle,  and  for  more 
than  an  hour  fought  against  the  Austrian  masses, 
exposed  to  the  fire  of  sixteen  pieces  of  cannon,  to 
which  general  Delmas  could  only  reply  with  five, 
which  were  soon  dismounted.  This  heroic  regi- 
ment, undismayed  under  the  merciless  fire,  suc- 
ceeded in  stopping  the  enemy,  until  Moreau, 
hastening  from  one  corps  to  another,  to  place  or 
su]iport  them,  brought  Bastoul's  division  to  the 
help  of  that  of  Delmas.  He  aiTived  at  the  moment 
when  the  Austrians,  unable  to  defeat  the  division 
of  Delmas,  sought  to  deprive  it  of  the  aid  of  Bas- 
toul's, by  opening  out  upon  the  level  of  Krumbach, 
in  order  to  intercept  the  communication,  and  they 
wei'e  already  descending  for  the  purpose  to  the  road, 
and  beginning  to  mingle  with  the  waggon  column. 
Thus  the  battle,  after  beginning  at  Mosskirch,  ex- 
tended itself  to  Heudorf,  and  from  Ileudorf  to 
Krumbach,  embracing  the  entire  angle  of  this  vast 
position,  and  covering  it  with  blood,  fire,  and  de- 
vastation. At  this  important  moment  the  division 
of  Bastoul  worthily  supported  the  eff'orts  of  Delmas' 
division;  but  it  was  likely  to  be  surrounded,  if  the 
enemy  should  succeed  in  descending  from  the  table- 
land of  Krumbach,  and  should  get  possession  of  the 
high  road  by  which  the  French  troops  were  ar- 
riving. Richepanse's  division,  most  fortunately 
brought  up  at  the  moment  to  the  decisive  point, 
foniied  in  columns  of  attack,  climbed  the  heights 
of  Krumbach  under  a  plunging  fire,  and  over- 
whelmed the  ai'chduke  Ferdinand.  After  this 
effort  Kray  had  no  force  left  to  meet  Riche- 
panse,  and  was  forced  to  give  the  order  to  retreat. 
From  Krumbach  to  Ileudorf,  and  from  Hcudorf 
to  Mosskirch,  the  French  were  victorious. 

At  this  time  the  corps  of  St.  Cyr  was  at  some 
leagues'  distance,  at  Neuhausen-ob-Eke.  If  he  had 
appeared,  the  Austrian  army  would  have  been 
wholly  undone  ;  and  in  place  of  an  ordinary  vic- 
tory, one  of  those  brilliant  successes  would  have 
been  gained  which  terminate  a  campaign.  What 
fatal  inaction,  then,  kept  him  useless,  so  near  the 
|)lacc  where  he  might  have  decided  the  destiny  of 
the  war  ?  This  is  a  question  difficult  to  answer. 
St.  Cyr  pretended  the  next  day  that  he  had  received 
no  order.  Moreau  rei)lied,  that  he  had  sent  orders 
by  several  aids-de-camp.  St.  Cyr  replied,  he  was 
so  near  the  field  of  battle,  that  if  a  single  officer 
had  been  sent  to  him,  the  officer  could  not  fail  to 
have  arrived  where  he  was.  The  coterie  who  sur- 
rounded Moreau  declared  that  St.  Cyr,  a  bad  com- 
panion in  arms,  had  left  his  comrades  to  be  cru.shed 
at  MiJsskiich,  as  In;  had  at  Engen. 

Thus  in  the  military  as  in  civil  life  there  is 
jealousy,  calumny,  and  hatred.  Human  passions 
are  every  where  the  same,  and  war  is  not  very 
likely  to  be  the  sUite  most  capable  of  cooling  tht^m, 
or  giving  (hem  a  sense  of  justice.  Tin;  truth  is, 
that  St.  Cyr,  discontented  with  the  coterie  which 
had  the  cai*  of  Moreau,  affected  to  confine  himself 


__       St.  Cyt  s  excuses. 

7o       Further  errors  of  Moreau. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Dangerous  position  of  the 
Ausirians. —  They  escape 
through  Moreau's  neglect. 


May. 


to  the  command  of  his  own  corps,  at  the  head  of 
which  he  operated  in  great  perfection ;  but  he 
never  made  amends  for  any  oversiglit  in  the  com- 
mander-in-chief, and  waited,  before  he  acted,  for 
orders,  which  a  Heutenant  ought  to  be  able  to 
anticipate,  especially  when  he  hears  cannon.  St. 
Cyr,  in  alleging  his  pi-oximity,  in  order  to  prove 
that  orders  had  not  been  sent  to  him,  or  he  must 
have  received  them,  accuses  himself;  since  that 
very  proximity  made  his  not  arriving  inexcusable, 
at  least  with  one  division  of  his  corps,  to  a  spot 
where  a  tremendous  cannonade  indicated  a  violent 
combat,  and, it  was  not  improbable,  great  danger  to 
the  rest  of  the  army.  But  the  faults  he  committed 
upon  this  occasion  were  soon  to  be  redeemed  by 
most  essential  services. 

French  and  Austrians  alike  were,  at  the  close  of 
the  day,  completely  exhausted.  In  the  confusion 
of  battle  the  number  of  the  killed  and  wounded  is 
never  accurately  known,  but  at  Mosskirch  the 
number  must  have  been  great  ;  three  thousand  of 
the  French,  and  nearly  double  that  number  of 
Austrians.  But  the  French  army  was  full  of  con- 
fidence; for  it  was  victor  u|ion  the  field  of  battle, 
which  it  intended  to  quit  the  next  day,  to  follow 
up  the  series  of  combats  which,  without  having 
yet  produced  a  decided  result,  had  still  sustained 
its  superiority  over  the  enemy.  The  Austrian 
army,  on  the  other  hand,  was  incapable  of  support- 
ing sucli  a  contest  much  longer. 

Every  body  may  guess,  after  the  recital  just 
given,  what  censures  were  passed  upon  the  ope- 
rations of  Moreau  '.  He  had  marched  upon  the 
field  of  battle  without  reconnoitring  in  advance  ;  he 
had  directed  too  small  a  part  of  his  force  upon  the 
true  point  of  attack,  which  was  on  the  road  from 
Klosterwald  to  Mosskirch,  opening  upon  the  flank 
of  that  small  town.  He  had  marched  late,  and 
made  all  his  divisions  follow  each  other  through  a 
wood,  out  of  which  it  was  impossible  to  come  forth 
without  losing  a  great  many  men ;  finally,  he  did 
not  bring  St.  Cyr  upon  the  ground  where  his 
presence  would  have  decided  every  thing.  Kray, 
on  his  part,  after  having  well  directed  his  strength 
u|>oii  the  left,  which  was  the  vulncral)le  point,  had 
committed  the  error  of  suffering  Mosskirch  to  be 
taken;  though  it  may  be  said  in  his  behalf,  that 
his  troops  were  far  from  equalling  the  French  in 
intelligence  and  firmness.  Besides  this,  they  began 
to  lose  confidence,  and  it  was  no  longer  easy  to 
make  them  bear  the  sight  or  sustain  the  attack  of 
their  enemies. 

On  the  morrow,  May  6,  or  16th  of  Flore'al, 
Kray  set  out  to  get  behind  the  Danube,  that  he 
might  connect  himself  with  the  great  line  of  ope- 
rations at  last.  This  was  the  moment  to  follow 
him  up  closely,  so  as  to  render  the  passage  of  the 
river  impracticable  or  very  ditticult.  Moreau 
marched  in  line  with  his  left  to  the  Danube,  very 
near  the  spot  wiiere  the  Austrians  were  crossing, 
so  that  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  crush  them  by 
suddenly  wheeling  to  the  left.  St.  Cyr  formed  at 
the  same  moment  the  wing  which  rested  upon  the 
Danube.  St.  Cyr,  not  having  been  engaged  on  the 
preceding  day,  was  ready  to  act,  and  desirous  of  so 
doing.      He   himself  saw  distmctly   the   imperial 

>  See  the  Memoirs  of  St.  Cyr,  p.  215  et  seq.,  torn.  vii. 
campaign  of  1800. 


troops  precipitately  crowding  upon  the  point  of 
Sigmaringen.  There  the  Danube,  by  making  an 
elbow,  formed  a  sort  of  promontory,  upon  which 
the  Austrians  had  crowded  together,  pressing  for- 
ward to  pass  over  to  the  other  bank.  St.  Cyr 
perceived  it  at  the  distance  of  a  short  cannon- 
range,  crowded  in  a  space  scarcely  sufficient  for  a 
single  division,  and  so  much  surprised  at  the  sight 
of  the  French,  that  before  Ney's  brigade  alone  it 
suspended  its  passage  across,  drew  up  in  order  of 
battle,  and  covered  itself  with  the  fire  of  sixty 
pieces  of  cannon.  St.  Cyr,  observing  it  thus  alarmed 
and  huddled  together,  was  certain  he  could  have 
driven  it  into  the  Danube  by  a  single  charge  of 
his  corps.  He  ordered  forward  a  few  pieces  of 
cannon,  every  discharge  of  which  swept  off  whole 
files,  but  these  could  not  be  expected  to  remain 
in  battery  before  Kray's  sixty  pieces.  St.  Cyr 
hoped  by  his  cannonade  to  excite  the  attention 
of  Moreau,  and  so  bring  him  from  the  corps  of 
reserve  to  the  left  wing.  On  finding  he  did  not 
come,  St.  Cyr  sent  an  officer  to  him,  to  state  what 
was  going  on,  and  obtain  leave  to  attack  the  enemy. 
But  union  no  longer  existed  between  these  two 
officers.  The  officers  of  the  staff  believed  that 
St.  Cyr  had  a  wish  to  move  to  the  left,  in  order 
still  further  to  detach  himself,  and  to  act  alone. 
The  reply  given  to  him  was  an  order  to  move  to 
the  right,  and  connect  himself  more  closely  than 
was  his  custom  with  the  right  of  the  army  and 
corps  of  reserve,  which  formed  the  centre.  He 
was  told,  the  measure  was  indispensable,  that  the 
general  might,  in  case  of  necessity,  have  it  in  his 
power  to  di.spose  of  the  troops  in  case  of  necessity^. 
The  nature  of  this  order  exhibited  very  plainly 
the  feeling  of  the  general-in-chief  and  of  those  who 
surrounded  him.  It  was  evident  that  Moreau  had 
suffered  himself  to  be  taken  up  wholly  with  a 
single  corps,  and  that  the  feebleness  of  his  cha- 
racter Jiad  given  birth  to  intestine  divisions,  bad 
enough  any  where,  but  worse  in  armies  than  in  any 
other  place. 

Kray  was  thus  enabled  to  i-etreat  without  danger, 
and  to  rally  his  army  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Daimbe.  Kienmayer  joined  him.  there  again  with 
the  troops  arriving  from  the  shores  of  the  Rhine, 
and  Stzarray  followed  him  very  closely. 

JTIie  army  of  Moreau  had  discovered  immense 
magazines  at  Stockach  and  Donau-Eschingen,  so 
that  it  wanted  f(jr  nothing.  It  was  in  high  spirits 
from  its  successes,  and  from  continually  acting 
upon  the  offensive.  The  7th  and  8th  of  May,  or 
17lh  and  I8lh  of  Flore'al,  Moreau  continued  his 
march  with  his  left  to  the  Danube,  presenting  too 
extended  a  line,  and  frequently  halting  to  give 
time  for  the  corps  of  St.  Suzanne  to  rejoin  him. 

On  the  9tii  of  May,  the  19th  of  Flor^al,  Moreau, 
knowing  that  St.  Suzanne,  who,  coming  by  the  left 
bank  of  the  Danube,  was  at  length  opjjosite  to  the 
army,  quitted  the  head-quarters  for  a  day,  and 
crossed  the  Danube  to  inspect  the  troops  just 
arrived.  These  now  formed  his  left  wing,  St.  Cyr 
became  tlic  centre,  and  the  reserve  corps  was  kept 
conformably  to  its  denomination  as  the  real  re- 
serve. 

In  all  probability  Kray,  retiring  his  army,  would 
continue    beyond   the   Danube,    and    the    French 

*  St.  Cyr,  torn.  vii.  p.  201. 


1800. 
May. 


Affair  of  Biherach.— The  place 
described.— St.  Cyr's  hesitation. 


ULM  AND  GENOA. 


Richepanse  arriving,  St  Cyr  resolves 

to  attack  the  Austrians.— His  sue-        JQ 
cess. 


might  safely  make  on  tlie  9th  another  march  with- 
out encountering  tlie  enemy.  Moreau  commanded 
Lecourbe,  with  the  riglit  wing,  to  proceed  on  the 
9tii  between  Wurzach  and  Ochsenhausen  ;  the  re- 
serve to  advance  to  Ochsenliausen,  while  the  centre, 
under  St.  Cyr,  was  to  pa,ss  Biberach,  the  left  being 
in  observation  on  the  Danube.  In  this  order  the 
army  advanced  near  the  Iller,  in  a  Hne  parallel 
with  this  tributary  of  the  Danube.  Moreau  set 
out  on  the  morning  of  the  9th,  believing  he  should 
be  able  to  devote  the  wliole  day  to  the  corps  of 
St.  Suzanne. 

Kray  had,  in  the  mean  while,  been  induced  to 
adopt  a  new  and  unexpected  resolution  through 
the  advice  of  the  council  of  war,  which  had  judged 
it  proper  to  preserve  the  innr.ense  magazines  of 
Bibei"ach,  and  not  abandon  them  to  the  French, 
as  was  done  at  Eiigen  and  Stokach.  He  there- 
fore crossed  over  to  the  right  bank  of  the  Danube 
by  Riedlingen  with  his  whole  force,  and  posted 
himself  in  front  and  behind  Biberach.  This  ])lace 
had  already  been  the  scene  of  a  battle  gained 
by  Moreau  in  1796,  thanks  to  St.  Cyr  more  par- 
ticularly, and  it  was  now  about  to  witness  again 
the  success  of  our  troops  and  of  St.  Cyr  himself, 

Biberach  is  situated  in  a  valley  inundated  by  the 
Riess.  This  valley  is  so  full  of  marshy  ground, 
that  a  person  on  horseback  cannot  jiass  through  it 
without  being  kst,  so  that  people  are  obliged  to  go 
through  the  town  itself,  and  over  the  little  bridge 
contiguous  to  it.  Penetrating  into  the  valley,  a 
species  of  defile,  between  the  heights  of  Galgenberg 
on  one  side  and  Mittelbiberach  on  the  other,  must 
be  passed.  This  defile  being  cleared,  Biberach 
suddenly  comes  upon  the  view.  On  crossing  the 
marsh  of  the  Riess  over  the  bridge  adjoining  the 
town,  and  beyond  the  marsh,  a  superb  i)()sition  is 
seen,  called  the  Mettenberg,  upon  which  an  army, 
well  provideil  with  artillery,  may  make  a  firm 
resistance.  Kray  could  not  place  himself  in  ad- 
vance of  the  defile,  having  so  narrow  an  outlet  by 
which  to  effect  a  retreat;  he  could  only  place  him- 
self behind  Biberach,  beyond  the  Riess  on  the 
Mettenberg;  but  then  he  could  not  leave  Biberach 
uncovered.  In  consequence  of  this  he  ])laced  a 
corps,  consisting  of  eight  or  ten  battalions  and  a 
dozen  squadrons,  in  advance  of  the  defile  of  Mittel- 
biberach, to  retard  the  march  of  his  opponents, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  have  leisure  for  evacuating 
or  destroying  the  larger  part  of  his  magazines. 

It  was  a  perilous  step,  more  than  all  with  an 
army  demoralized  as  his  was.  St.  Cyr,  having  re- 
ceived an  order  to  go  and  pa.s8  the  night  a  little 
beyond  Biberach,  soon  discovered  the  jiosition  the 
Austrians  had  taken.  He  was  much  hurt  not  to 
have  had  near  him  the  cominander-in-chit  f,  or  at 
least  the  head  of  his  staff,  that  he  might  obtain  the 
needful  orders,  and  make  something  of  his  dis- 
covery. Moreau  was  absent ;  general  Deswles 
was  not  on  the  spot.  If  St.  Cyr  had  had  with  him 
his  whole  corps,  ho  would  not  have  lie.sitiited  to 
attack  the  Austrians  with  that  alone.  Unhappily 
iiis  own  corps  wiis  dispersed.  Being  obliged  to 
watch  the  Danube  oti  his  left,  he  had  devoted  to 
that  object  the  best  of  his  divisions,  that  com- 
manded by  Ney,  of  whom  he  duspatclicd  sev(;ral 
officers  in  search  ;  but  in  conseciucnce  of  Ney 
having  followed  the  winding  shores  of  the  river, 
and  from  the  bad  state  of  the  roads,  it  was  not 


easy  to  reach  and  bring  him  back.  St.  Cyr,  to 
attack  a  mass  of  sixty  thousand  men  at  least,  had 
but  the  two  divisions  of  Thareau  and  Baraguay- 
d'Hillicrs,  and  the  cavalry  of  reserve  of  general 
Sahuc,  attached  to  his  corps.  The  demoralized 
state  of  the  enemy  was  a  gi-eat  temptation  to  attack 
him,  but  the  disproportion  of  force  made  him 
hesitate.  All  at  once  the  firing  of  general  Riche- 
])anse  was  heard,  who  having  orders  to  maintain 
ins  communication  with  St.  Cyr,  and  to  cross  the 
Riess  by  the  bridge  of  Biberach,  had  aiTivcd  at 
tlic  same  point  by  a  transverse  road,  or  that  of 
Reiehenbaeh.  St.  Cyr,  having  thus  at  his  disposal 
the  fine  division  of  Richepanse,  and  being  enabled 
to  fill  the  void  left  in  his  corjjs  by  the  absence  of 
Ney  and  his  division,  no  longer  hesitated.  He 
thought  that  if  the  detachment  left  in  advance  of 
the  defile  which  was  before  Biberach  were  over- 
thrown, the  defeat  of  this  body  of  eight  thousand 
or  ten  thousand  men  would  be  sometiiing  more 
serious  than  the  defeat  of  a  simple  advance-guard, 
and  that  by  its  effect  the  moral  courage  of  the 
enemy  would  be  deeply  shaken.  Therefore,  with- 
out as  much  as  halting  to  form  his  troops  for 
the  attack,  he  gave  orders  to  the  eighteen  bat- 
tiilions  and  twenty-four  squadrons  under  his  com- 
mand to  advance  at  quick  time,  and  charge  the 
Austrians  who  barred  up  the  defile.  Overthrown 
by  the  sudden  shock,  the  Austrians  rushed  pell- 
mell  into  Biberach  and  the  valley  of  the  Riess.  It 
would  have  been  no  difficult  matter  to  take  almost 
all  of  them,  but  St.  Cyr  would  not  attempt  it,  fearing, 
if  he  permitted  his  soldiers  to  pursue  the  enemy, 
he  might  not  be  able  to  rally  them,  and  thus  be 
deprived  of  their  services  in  the  main  operation. 
He  was,  therefore,  content  to  enter  Biberach, 
establish  himself,  and  secure  the  safety  of  the 
magazines.  Having  strongly  occupied  the  town, 
and  taken  steps  to  jirovide  a  retreat  in  case  of 
necessity,  he  crossed  the  Riess. 

Richepanse  had  just  arrived  on  his  right  by  the 
Reiehenbaeh  road.  Reinfin-ced  by  this  division, 
St.  Cyr  crossed  the  river  by  the  bridge  of  Biberach, 
and  advanced  himself  to  observe  the  enemy's  posi- 
tion. At  the  same  moment  the  Austrians,  who  had 
been  so  suddenly  thrown  into  the  Reiss,  were 
mounting  through  the  raidis  of  their  own  army, 
which  opened  to  let  them  pass.  At  the  sight  of 
St.  Cyr  it  was  easy  to  discover  how  nmcli  the 
army  of  the  enemy  was  alarmed.  St.  Cyr  ordered 
forward  a  number  of  skirmishers,  who  approached 
and  insulted  the  enemy,  none  of  whose  force  came 
to  meet  them,  and  fiing  them  into  the  ravine. 
These  detached  men  were  answered  by  general 
discharges,  evidently  fn-m  men  in  alarm,  who 
endeavoured  to  regain  their  courage  by  the  noise. 
St.  Cyr  was,  when  upon  the  field,  one  of  the  ablest 
tacticians  of  whom  we  have  ever  been  able  to 
boast.  Observing  this  stiite  of  the  Austrian  army, 
ho  decided  in  a  moment  his  course  of  action.  He 
drew  up  Thareau's  and  Baraguay's  divisions  in  two 
columns,  fWmed  a  third  of  Riehepan8e's,and  placed 
his  cavalry  in  ichelon  on  the  wings.  These  ar- 
rangements being  completed,  he  set  all  his  columns 
in  motion  at  once.  They  ascended  the  acclivity  of 
the  Mettenberg  with  unparalleled  steadiness.  The 
Austrians,  at  the  sight  of  tho  French  climbing  tho 
formidable  position  with  such  coolness,  whenco  nu 
army  three  times  their  number  might  have  pre- 


Kray  retires  upon  Ulm. 
Grand  results  of  the  action. 
State  of  the  two  armies. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Moreau's  army  about  to  ,  „„» 
be  reduced.— Carnot's  i?""- 
mission  to  Moreau.  M-^y- 


cipitated  them  into  the  marshes  of  the  Reiss,  were 
struck  with  astonishment  and  fear.  Kray  ordered 
a  retrograde  movement;  but  his  troops  did  not 
execute  the  order  as  he  intended  they  should  do; 
for  after  some  firing  they  abandoned  the  field  of 
the  Mettenberg,  and  finished  in  a  disorderly  flight, 
leaving  to  St.  Cyr  many  thousand  prisoners  and 
immense  magazines,  which  served  the  French  army 
for  a  long  time  afterwards.  Night  stopped  the 
pursuit.  In  the  midst  of  the  affair  Moreau  arrived; 
and,  notwithstanding  the  coolness  between  him  and 
St.  Cyr,  on  the  raorro\»',  in  presence  of  Carnot,  the 
minister  of  war,  he  stated  to  him  his  high  satisfaction 
at  his  conduct.  Moreau,  disembarrassed  for  a  mo- 
ment from  the  mischief-making  friends  who  sur- 
rounded him  at  head-quarters,  could  thus  be  just 
to  a  lieutenant  who  had  fought  and  conquered  in 
his  absence  and  without  orders. 

The  French  army  completely  victorious,  the 
Austrians  were  no  more  able  to  resist,  and  it 
might  now  march  forward  without  opposition. 
Kray  had  sent — it  is  difficult  to  comprehend  for 
what  reason — a  detachment  to  defend  the  maga- 
zines of  Memmingen.  Memmuigen  was  in  the 
route  of  Lecourbe.  That  place  was  taken,  the  de- 
tachment routed,  and  the  magazines  secured.  This 
was  on  the  10th  of  May,  or  20th  Floreal.  The  11th 
and  i2th,  Kray  definitively  retired  upon  Ulm. 
Moreau  continued  his  march  in  a  long  line,  nearly 
perpendicular  to  the  Danube.  The  13th  of  May 
he  was  beyond  the  Uler,  without  encountering  any 
serious  resistance  to  the  passage  of  that  river.  The 
right  and  the  reserve  were  at  Ungerhausen,  Kell- 
miintz,  Uler-Aiclisim,  Illertissen.  St.  Cyr  was 
placed  at  the  confluence  of  the  Uler  and  Danube, 
across  the  filer,  occupying  the  bridge  of  Untev- 
kirchberg,  and  connecting  himself  with  St.  Suzaime, 
who  was  advancing  along  the  left  bank  of  the 
Danube.  From  the  head-quarters  of  St.  Cyr, 
where  Ney's  division  was  placed,  in  the  abbey  of 
Wiblingen,  the  Austrian  troops  might  be  distinctly 
seen  afar  off,  in  their  vast  intrenched  camp  of 
Ulm. 

The  two  armies  were  now  rejoined  by  all  their 
detached  corps.  Kray  had  recalled  to  himself 
Kienmayer  but  a  few  days  before,  and  afterwards 
Sztarray.  Moreau,  having  close  at  hand  the  corps 
of  St.  Suzanne,  was  now  in  full  strength.  Both 
armies  had  sustained  losses,  but  those  of  the  Aus- 
trians were  far  more  considerable  than  those  of  the 
French.  They  were  estimated  at  thirty  thousand 
men,  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners.  Upon  this 
matter  history  is  reduced  to  conjecture,  because, 
on  days  of  battle,  generals  always  diminish  their 
losses;  and  when  they  want  reinforcements  from 
their  governments,  they  constantly  exaggerate  the 
numbers  of  the  dead,  the  sick,  and  the  wounded. 
No  one  knows  with  perfect  accuracy  the  total  num- 
ber of  soldiers  really  present  under  arms.  Kray 
commenced  the  campaign  with  one  hundred  and 
ten  or  one  hundred  and  fifteen  thousand  efficient 
men  ;  and  reckoning  thirty-five  or  forty  thousand 
in  fortresses,  he  could  have  now  but  eighty  thou- 
sand at  most,  these  worn  out  with  fatigue,  and 
completely  demoralized. 

The  loss  of  the  French  army  was  estimated  at 
four  thousand  killed,  six  or  seven  thou.sand  wounded 
or  dead  of  fever,  and  some  made  prisoners  ;  in  the 
whole,  twelve  or  thirteen  thousand  rendered  unfit 


for  service,  four  or  five  thousand  of  whom  might 
again  return  to  duty  after  a  little  rest.  This  cal- 
culation reduces  Moreau's  active  force  for  the  mo- 
ment to  ninety  thousand  men,  or  somewhat  less. 
But  he  was  soon  about  to  part  with  a  considerable 
detachment,  consonant  to  an  agreement  with  general 
Berthier  at  the  opening  of  the  campaign.  It  was 
stipulated  in  that  agreement,  that  as  soon  as  Kray 
\\'as  driven  to  the  distance  of  eight  or  ten  marches 
from  the  Lake  of  Constance,  Lecourbe  should  fall 
back  upon  the  Alps,  to  join  the  army  of  reserve. 
The  position  of  Masse'na  rendered  the  fulfilment  of 
this  engagement  urgent ;  and  it  was  not  any  silly 
desire  to  check  Moreau  in  the  midst  of  his  suc- 
cesses, that  caused  the  demand  to  be  made  for  the 
corps  of  Lecourbe,  but  the  most  legitimate  of  rea- 
sons— that  of  saving  Genoa  and  Liguria.  The  army 
of  reserve,  collected  with  so  much  labour,  consisted 
of  no  more  than  forty  thousand  men  inured  to  war. 
It  needed  a  reinforcement  in  order  to  place  it  in  a 
condition  to  attempt  the  extraordinary  operations 
beyond  the  Alps  in  which  it  was  about  to  be  em- 
ployed. 

The  first  consul,  impatient  to  act  in  thie  direction 
of  Italy,  and  wishing  at  the  same  time  to  avoid 
offending  Moreau,  and  yet  to  secure  the  due  execu- 
tion of  his  orders,  made  choice  of  Carnot,  the  war 
minister  himself,  for  that  purpose,  sending  him 
to  the  head- quarters  of  the  army  of  the  Rhine, 
with  the  formal  injunction  to  detach  Lecom-be  to- 
wards the  St.  Gotliard.  The  letters  accompanying 
this  order  were  cordial  in  manner  and  irresistible 
in  argument.  The  first  consul  well  knew  that  it 
was  not  Lecourbe  and  twenty-five  thousand  men 
that  would  be  sent  to  him;  but  if  he  obtained  fifteen 
or  sixteen  thousand  he  would  feel  satisfied. 

Moreau  received  Carnot  with  chagrin;  still  he 
executed  faithfully  the  ordex-s  which  were  brought 
him  by  the  war  minister,  who  took  care  to  remove 
any  feeling  of  dissatisfaction  on  the  part  of  the 
feeble-minded  general,  who  was  easily  deceived ; 
and  that  confidence  in  the  first  consul  was  thus 
revived  which  detestable  mischief-makers  were 
striving  to  destroy. 

Some  historians,  who  flatter  Moreau,  but  only  his 
flatterers  since  1815,  have  elevated  the  detachment 
taken  from  the  army  of  Germany  to  twenty-five 
thousand  men.  Moreau  himself,  in  his  reply  to  the 
first  consul,  did  not  estimate  it  at  more  than  seven- 
teen thousand  eight  hundred,  and  this  number  was 
exaggerated;  not  more  than  fifteen  or  sixteen  thou- 
sand entered  Switzerland  to  climb  mount  St.  Go- 
tliard. After  that,  Moreau  had  about  seventy-two 
thousand  men  left;  and  soon  afterwards,  by  the 
recovery  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  seventy-five 
thousand  '.  This  number  was  more  than  sufficient 
to  beat  eighty  thousand  Austrians.  Kray  had  no 
more,  and  those  were  dispirited  and  incapable  of 
standing  the  least  serious  rencounter  with  the 
French. 


1  It  is  from  Moreau's  own  correspondence  that  I  state 
these  numbers.  All  the  calculations  are  exaggerated  on  the 
side  of  Moreau.  lie  estimates  the  battalions  retained  by 
him  at  C50  men,  and  those  sent  to  Italy  at  700  each.  This 
calculation  cannot  be  correct ;  for  if  he  sent  the  corps  just  as 
they  were,  and  the  battalions  in  his  army  were  reduced  to 
GSOmen,  there  could  not  be  700  in  those  which  were  detached 
from  him. 


ISOO. 
May. 


Lorges,  with  a  detachment,  marches 
towards  the  Alps. — Kray's  posi- 
tion at  Ulra. 


ULM  AND  GENOA. 


St.  Cyr  8  bold  proposal  to  storm 
the  Austrian  camp,  refused  by 
Moreau. 


81 


In  order  that  the  enemy  might  remain  ignorant 
of  this  diminution  of  his  force,  Moreau  determined 
not  to  aher  the  position  nor  the  existing  distribu- 
tion of  his  battalions.  He  took  the  sixteen  thou- 
sand men  which  he  designed  for  the  first  consul 
out  of  all  the  existing  corps.  Each  of  these  corps 
furnished  its  contingent;  and  thus  tlie  diminution  of 
his  force  was  concealed  in  the  best  mode  possible. 
Moreau  wislied  to  keep  Lecourbc,  who  was  worth 
ill  value  more  than  some  thousands  of  men.  Le- 
courbe  was  accordingly  left  to  him,  and  the  brave 
geneml  Lorges  had  the  command  of  the  detach- 
ment which  marched  for  Switzerland.  Carnot  im- 
mediately set  out  for  Paris  after  he  had  seen  on  their 
way  tlie  troops  destined  to  pass  the  St.  Gothard. 

This  operation  occurred  on  the  11th,  12tli,  and 
13th  of  May,  being  the  21st,  22nd,  and  23rd  of 
Flor6il.  Aloreau's  army  was  now  seventy-two 
thousand  strong,  or  nearly  so,  without  counting  the 
garrisons  in  the  different  fortresses,  the  Helvetian 
divisions,  or  those  who  might  return  to  service 
from  the  hospitals.  It  was  still  of  the  same  strength 
as  before  the  arrival  of  the  corps  of  St.  Suzanne,  a 
strength  which  had  sufficed  to  make  it  uniformly 
victorious. 

Kray  had  established  himself  at  Ulm,  where 
for  a  long  time  an  entrtnehed  camp  had  been  pre- 
pared as  a  stronghold  for  the  imperial  troops.  Of 
the  two  modes  of  defence  of  which  mention  has 
been  made,  that  of  retreating  by  the  foot  of  the 
Alps,  thus  covering  the  army  by  tlie  tribut:\ry 
waters  of  the  Danube,  or  keeping  on  both  sides  of 
that  river  in  order  to  operate  on  both  banks,  the 
Aulic  council  of  Vienna  decided  for  the  last,  and 
Kray  followed  his  orders  with  considerable  skill. 
The  first  mode  would  have  been  the  best,  had  it  been 
necessary  to  keep  up  a  permanent  communication 
between  the  two  armies  of  Germany  and  Italy.  In 
the  first  stiiges  of  retreat  its  positions  offered  no 
great  strength,  because  the  lller,  the  Lech,  the  Isar, 
and  the  Inn,  are  the  only  obstacles  of  moment 
coming  in  succession;  and  the  Inn  alone  offers  very 
considerable  impediments,  for  invincible  obstacles 
no  longer  present  themselves  in  war.  But  an  army 
which  is  free  from  every  communication  with  Italy 
should  be  jilaced  upon  the  Danube  itself,  having 
all  the  briilges  at  its  command,  destroying  them  in 
succe».sion  as  it  retires,  while  still  i)osscssing  the 
means  of  crossing  from  one  bank  to  the  other,  the 
enemy  being  confined  to  one  bank.  It  is  thus  able, 
if  tiio  enemy  go  forward  dii-ect  upon  Vienna,  to 
follow  liiui  under  the  shelter  of  the  Danube,  and 
fling  itH<lf  upon  the  invader's  rear,  to  imnisli  him 
for  the  first  fault  he  may  commit.  Thus  (ilaccd, 
an  army  has  been  generally  thought  in  the  best 
position  for  covering  Austria. 

Kray  was  poste<l  at  Ulni,  where  extensive  works 
had  bi.en  carried  on  for  his  sui)port.  At  this 
point  it  is  Will  jdiown  that  the  left  bank  of  the 
Danube  is  fi.rnird  Ijy  the  first  declivities  of  the 
moimtjiiiis  of  Suabia,  which  are  always  dominant 
over  tlK-  right  bank.  Ulm  is  on  the  left  side  of  the 
river  at  ilie  fiot  of  tlmso  heights,  and  upon  the 
Damil)e  iiscif.  The  walls  had  been  repaired,  and 
a  redoubt  had  been  constructed,  to  defend  the  bridge 
on  the  opjiositc  or  right  bank.  All  the  heights 
behind  Ulm,  more  especially  the  Michelsbcrg,  had 
been  covered  with  artillery.  If  the  French  ap- 
peared  on    the    right   bank,   the    Austrian    army 


having  one  of  its  wings  resting  upon  Ulm  and  the 
other  upon  the  lofty  convent  of  Elchiugen,  covered 
by  the  Danube,  and  its  artillery  sweeping  the  low 
level  ground  on  the  right  shore,  it  was  in  a  jiositton 
impossible  to  be  assailed.  If  the  French  presented 
themselves  on  the  left  bank,  the  Austrians  were  in 
a  ])osition  equally  strong.  In  order  to  compi-chcnd 
this,  it  is  right  to  recollect  that  the  position  of  Ulm 
is  covered  on  the  left  bank  by  the  river  Blau, 
which  descends  from  the  mountains  of  Su.abia,  and 
falls  into  the  Danube  close  to  Ulm,  its  bed  foi-ming 
a  deep  ravine.  If  the  French  crossed  the  Danube 
to  attack  the  Austrians  by  the  left  bank,  they 
would  change  their  position,  and,  in  place  of  facing 
the  Danube,  would  turn  their  backui)ou  that  river, 
and  cover  their  front  by  the  Blau.  Their  left  wing 
would  be  in  Ulm,  their  right  at  Lalir  and  Jungingen, 
and  their  centre  at  Michelslierg.  It  would  require 
several  marches  on  the  Danulje  to  turn  this  po- 
sition, abandoning  wholly  the  right  bank,  which 
might  frustrate  all  the  previous  combinations  for 
the  campaign,  since  it  would  uncover  the  Alps,  and 
leave  the  road  open  to  Ital}'.  Into  such  a  secure 
camp  Kray  now  marched  his  exhausted  ai-my. 

St.  Cyr  was  at  the  convent  of  Wiblingen,  and 
from  its  windows  could  distinctly  see  the  Austrian 
position  without  the  aid  of  a  telescope.  Relying 
upon  the  confidence  and  boldness  of  the  troops,  he 
offered,  and  several  generals  offered  witli  him,  to 
storm  the  enemy's  camp.  They  would,  they  said, 
answer  for  the  success  of  the  effort  with  their  lives; 
and  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  if  the  daring  of 
some  of  them,  such  as  Ney  and  Richepanse,  excited 
some  doubts  of  the  success  of  such  an  effort,  the 
opinion  of  St.  Cyr,  a  cool  methodical  tactician,  me- 
rited regard.  But  Moreau  was  too  prudent  to  ven- 
ture uoon  an  assault  of  such  a  nature,  and  give 
Kray  the  choice  of  winning  a  defensive  battle.  It 
was  true  that  if  the  French  were  victors,  the  Aus- 
trian army  flung  into  the  Danube  would  bo  half- 
destroyed,  and  the  campaign  would  be  ended.  On 
the  other  liand,  if  the  attack  failed,  Moreau  would 
be  obliged  to  fall  back  ;  the  campaign  in  Germany 
would  bo  endangered,  and,  worse  than  all,  the 
decisive  cami)aign  in  Italy  would  be  rendered  im- 
l)racticablc.  Moreau  acted  in  war  with  safety 
rather  than  boldness.  He  suffered  the  bravo  sol- 
diers who  offered  to  throw  the  Austrians  into  the 
Daimbe,  to  talk  on  about  it,  but  he  refused  to  suffer 
such  an  attempt  to  be  made.  A  war  of  manoeuvres 
alone  remained.  It  was  possible  to  pass  the  Da- 
nube to  the  left  bank  above  Ulm,  as  already  de- 
scribed ;  but  then,  in  order  to  turn  the  Austrian 
position,  the  l''rench  would  be  obliged  to  j)roceed 
so  far  along  the  left  bank,  that  Switzerland  would 
b(!  opened,  and  the  detachment  sent  towards  the 
Alps  would  be  endangered.  By  remaining  on  the 
right  bank,  they  might  descend  the  Danube  some 
way  below  Ulm,  cross  it  out  of  the  way  of  the 
Austrians,  and  master  their  position  by  cutting 
them  off  from  the  Lower  Danube.  By  descending 
the  river,  the  rear  of  the  army  would  be  exposed, 
and  the  road  to  Switzi'rland.  Moreau  thercforo 
gave  up  all  idea  of  dislodging  Kray  from  Ulm. 
Though  with  such  an  army  as  his  he  might  have 
hazarded  any  attempt  again.st  the  enemy,  he  was 
right  in  his  caution,  and  fully  justified  in  pursuing 
tho  jilan  which  securely  covered  tlio  ojierations 
of  the  first  consul,  his  superior  and  rival. 
G 


Moreau  manoeuvres  before 
82       Ulm.- Serious  error.-    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 

Danger  of  St.  Suzanne. 


Gallant  conduct  of  Levas-  , ... 
seur.— St.  Cyr  succeeds  i?""* 
ill  rescuing  at.  Suzanne.        ^^' 


Moreau  resolved  to  execute  a  mana3uvre,  which 
was  very  right  under  his  circumstances.  This  was 
to  march  upon  Augsburg,  or,  iu  otlier  words,  to 
abandon  the  course  of  the  Danube,  Jo  cross  its  tri- 
butary waters,  and  render  useless  a[l  the  Austrian 
lines  of  defence  by  a  direct  march  into  the  heart 
of  the  empire.  This  movement  woiild  inevitably 
oblige  Kray  to  leave  the  Danube  anid  his  camp  at 
Ulra,  and  draw  him  after  the  French  army.  The 
idea  was  a  bold  one ;  and  it  did  not  uncover  the 
Alps,  Moreau  l)eing  constantly  at  tl^eir  foot.  He 
had,  under  the  circumstances,  no  hal^  measures  to 
pursue.  He  must  either  remain  inactive  before 
Ulm,  or  march  boldly  upon  Augsburg^and  Munich. 
A  single  demonstration  would  not  deceive  Kray, 
and  only  expose  to  danger  the  corp^  of  observa- 
tion necessarily  left  at  Ulm.  Here  Moreau  com- 
mitted an  error  which  was  nearly  productive  of 
serious  consequences. 

On  the  13:li,  Hth,  and  15th  of  May,  Moreau 
crossed  the  lUer,  leaving  St.  Suzanne  alone  on 
the  left  bank  of  tlie  Danube,  and  St.  Cyr  at  the 
confluence  of  the  I  Her  and  Danube  :  he  pushed 
forward  a  corps  of  reserve  on  the  Guntz,  towards 
Babenhausen.  Lecourbe  he  pushed  beyond  the 
Guntz  to  Erklieim,  and  sent  out  a  corps  of  flankers 
to  Kempten,  on  the  road  to  the  Tyrol.  In  this  sin- 
gular position,  extending  twenty  leagues,  touching 
Ulm  on  one  side  and  menacing  Augsburg  on  the 
other,  he  could  not  instil  into  Kray  the  smallest 
apprehension  of  his  marching  upon  Munich,  nor  do 
more  than  tempt  him  to  throw  himself  in  full  force 
upon  St.  Suzanne,  whose  corps  remained  alone 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  Danube.  Had  Kray  given 
way  to  the  temptation,  and  attacked  St.  Suzanne 
with  his  entile  masses,  the  Fi'ench  wpuld  have 
been  entirely  destroyed. 

The  r)rders  given  to  St.  Cyr  on  the  15th  or  25th 
Flor^al  were  executed  on  the  morning  of  the  ICth, 
when  St.  Suzanne  was  attacked  at  Erbach  by  an 
enormous  nmss  of  cavalry.  His  right  division, 
commanded  by  general  Legrand,  was  at  Erbach 
and  Papelau,  along  the  Danube  ;  his  left  division, 
commanded  by  Souhum,  was  at  Blaubeureh,  on  both 
sides  of  the  Blau  ;  the  reserve,  under  general 
Colaud,  was  a  little  in  rear  of  the  two  divisions.  The 
acti(}n  began  by  a  vast  number  of  horse  surround- 
ing the  French  columns  on  every  side.  While  the 
troops  of  St.  Suzanne  were  charged  by  numerous 
squadrons,  masses  of  infantry,  sallying  out  of  Ulm, 
and  a-scending  the  Danube,  gave  fears  of  a  still 
more  serious  attack.  Two  columns  of  infantry  and 
one  of  cavalry  advanced,  the  one  upon  Erbach,  to 
attack  and  surround  the  two  brigades,  which  com- 
posed Legrand's  division  ;  the  other  upon  Papelau, 
to  separate  the  division  of  Legrand  fmni  that  of 
Souham.  Legrand  made  his  troojjs  fall  back.  They 
retired  slowly  through  the  woods,  and  thei)  had  to 
come  out  on  the  level  ground  between  Donjyurieden 
and  Ringengen.  The  troops  executed  this,  retreat 
with  great  steadiness.  They  were  soni^  hours 
yielding  a  small  S))ace  of  ground,  halting  every 
moment,  forming  in  squares,  and  annoying  the 
cavalry  sent  iu  pursuit  of  them  with  a  tremendous 
fire.  Souhain's  division,  attacked  on  both,  flanks, 
was  obliged  to  execute  a  similar  movement  and  to 
concentrate  itself  upon  Biaubeuren,  behijid  the 
Blau,  driving  into  the  deep  ravine  of  that  river 
Buch  of  the  Austrians  as  pressed  them  too  closely. 


It  was  the  division  of  Legrand  which  encoun- 
tered the  greatest  danger,  from  its  having  been 
placed  nearest  the  Danube  ;  and  for  that  reason 
the  Austrians  wished  to  overwhelm  it,  in  order  to 
intercept  all  succour  that  might  arrive  from  the 
other  side  of  the  river.  The  two  brigades  of 
which  it  was  composed  defended  themselves  with 
great  resolution,  until  at  the  moment  when  the 
infantry  was  retreating,  and  the  light  artillery  was 
replacing  its  guns  on  the  fore  part  of  the  carriages 
to  retreat  also,  the  enemy's  cavalry,  returning 
to  the  charge,  dashed  suddenly  upon  the  unfor- 
tunate division.  The  brave  adjutant-general  Le- 
vasseur,  who  had  been  dismounted  in  a  charge, 
sprung  upon  a  horse,  gallopped  to  the  lOtli  regi- 
ment of  horse,  which  was  some  distance  from  the 
field  of  battle,  brought  it  up  against  the  enemy, 
cliarged  the  Austrian  squadrons  ten  times  their 
number,  and  checked  them.  The  artillery  had 
thus  time  to  carry  off  their  guns,  take  a  position 
in  the  rear,  and  protect  in  turn  the  cavalry  which 
had  rescued  it. 

During  this  interval,  general  St.  Suzanne  had 
arrived  with  a  part  of  the  division  of  Colaud  to 
the  aid  of  Legrand.  General  Decaen,  with  the 
remainder,  had  gone  to  Biaubeuren  to  succour 
Souham's  division.  The  action  was  renewed,  but 
it  might  still  end  in  a  disastrous  manner,  since 
there  was  every  reason  to  fear  that  the  Austrian 
army  would  fail  in  a  body  upon  the  corps  of  St. 
Suzanne.  Fortunately,  St.  Cyr,  who  was  posted 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Danube,  did  not  leave 
his  comrades  to  be  routed  as  he  had  before  been 
accused  of  doing  ;  he  hastened  to  them  with  all 
speed.  Hearing  the  cannonade  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  river,  he  sent  off  aids-de-camp  on  aids-de-camp 
to  bring  his  divisions  from  the  banks  of  the  lUer 
to  those  of  the  Daimbe.  He  ordered  not  a  mo- 
ment to  be  lost  in  making  the  advanced  corps  fall 
back  immediately,  and  the  main  body  of  the  troops 
to  be  despatched  without  waiting  for  their  out-posts, 
a  corps  being  left  behind  to  collect  them.  He 
placed  himself  on  the  bridge  of  Untei-kirchberg, 
upon  the  lller,  and  as  soon  as  one  corps  arrived, 
infantry,  cavalry,  or  artillery,  as  it  might  chance 
to  be,  he  sent  it  towards  the  Danube  as  quickly  as 
possible,  preferring  the  disorder  of  a  moment  to  a 
loss  of  time.  He  then  went  iiimself  to  the  banks 
of  the  Daimbe.  The  Austrians,  not  doubting  but 
that  St.  Suzanne  would  receive  assistance,  if  prac- 
ticable, destroyed  all  the  bridges  as  high  up  as 
Dischingen.  Seeing  St.  Cyr  endeavouring  to  cross 
by  a  ford,  or  to  re-establish  a  bridge,  the  enemy 
drew  up  a  part  of  his  forces  facing  those  of  St. 
Cyr  on  the  right  bank,  and  commenced  a  heavy 
cannonade,  to  which  St.  Cyr  lost  no  time  in  re- 
sponding. The  fire  of  artillery  on  both  sides  the 
river  made  the  Austrians  who'  had  sallied  out  of 
Ulm  begin  to  fear  that  their  retreat  would  be  cut 
off",  and  cau.sed  them  to  iall  back  some  distance; 
this  disengaged  St.  Suzanne  a  little,  and  diffused 
a  feeling  of  joy  iu  his  ranks  as  .soon  as  it  was  known, 
as  for  twelve  hours  they  had  l;e])t  up  a  contest  almost 
hopeless;  their  ardour  revived  once  nioi-e.  They 
cried  out  for  permission  to  advance,  which  was 
granted  them.  All  the  French  divisions  then  moved 
on  together,  and  drove  the  Austrians  under  the 
battei-ies  of  Ulm ;  but  in  traversing  the  field  of 
battle,  which  they  were  so  overjoyed  to  recover. 


isro. 
May. 


Movements  of  More  .n. — He 
refuses  to  aitaik  tlie  Aus- 
trian Cdinp. 


ULM  AND  GENOA. 


Morcau's  jiosiiidn  wliile 
awiiitin^   news    fiom 


f?3 


they  found  it  covered  with  their  own  dead  and 
wounded.  The  loss  of  the  Austrians  had  not  been 
less  tiian  that  of  the  French.  Only  fifteen  thou- 
sand of  the  latter  had  foujjht  all  day  against  thirty- 
six  thousand  Austrians,  of  whom  twelve  thousand 
were  cavalry.  Kiay  was  himself  present  the  whole 
time  on  the  field  of  battle. 

But  for  the  extraordinary  courajie  of  the  troojis, 
with  the  energy  and  talent  of  the  officers,  the  fault 
which  Moreau  had  committed  would  have  been 
punished  by  the  loss  of  his  left  wing.  Moreau 
immediately  went  to  that  wing  himseif,  and,  as  if 
his  thoughts  !iad  been  only  drawn  to  that  quarter 
by  pure  accident,  he  resolved  to  pass  his  entii-e 
army  over  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Danube. 

On  the  17th,  or  27th  Flore'al,  leaving  St.  Suzanne 
to  rest  in  the  (losition  of  the  day  before,  he  led  the 
corps  of  St.  Cyr  back  between  the  Iller  and  the 
Danube.  The  reserve,  tnider  his  own  command, 
he  sent  in  advance  to  Unterkirchberg,  on  the  Iller, 
and  commanded  Lecourbe  to  fall  back  between  the 
Guntz  and  Weissenhoru.  On  the  18th,  the  army 
made  a  second  movement  to  the  left.  St.  Suzanne 
moved  beyond  the  Blau,  St.  Cyr  beyond  the  Da- 
nube, and  the  reserve  to  Gocklingen,on  the  Danube 
itself,  ready  to  cross  over.  On  the  lOtli  the  man- 
oeuvre was  still  more  developed,  St.  Suzanne  had 
turned  Ulm  completely,^  having  his  head-quar- 
ters at  Urspring  ;  St.  Cyr  was  on  both  banks  of 
the  Blau,  with  his  headquarters  at  Blaubeuren  ; 
the  reserve  had  passed  the  Danube  between  Erbach 
and  the  Blau ;  and  Lecourbe  was  ready  to  cross 
that  river. 

Every  thing  now  denoted  an  attack  upon  the 
entrenched  camp  of  Ulni.  In  this  new  position 
Kray  had  his  left  at  Ulm,  his  centre  on  the  Blau, 
and  his  right  at  Elchingen.  Thus  he  had  his  back 
to  the  Danube,  and  defended  the  reverse  of  the 
position  of  Ulm.  Moreau,  having  reconnoitred 
the  whole  attentively,  disappointed  his  lieutenants, 
who  imagined  that  they  saw  in  the  movement  of 
the  left  a  serious  operation  in  progress,  and  were 
desirous  of  a  bold  attack  on  the  camp  of  Kray, 
because  they  believed  the  success  of  such  an 
attempt  was  certain.  St.  Cvr  insisted  again  upon 
its  practicability,  but  he  was  n<it  heard.  Moreau 
determined  to  retire,  unwilling  to  risk  an  attack  by 
hard  fighting  along  the  Blau,  and  not  willing  to 
turn  the  position  by  the  left,  for  fear  of  uncovering 
Switzerland  too  much.  He  ordered  the  army  there- 
fore to  return  once  more  to  the  right  bank  of  the 
Danube,  On  the  20lh  of  May  and  the  following 
days  the  army  decamped,  to  the  great  displeasure 
of  the  officers  aiul  men,  who  calculated  upon  the 
assault  being  made,  and  ecpially  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  the  Austrians,  who  were  in  dread  of  it. 

These  false  movements  were  attended  with  the 
great  inconvenience  that  they  elevated  the  coin-age 
of  the  Austrian  army,  although  they  did  not  shake 
that  of  the  French,  which  felt  t<io  conscious  of  its 
own  superiority.  .Moreau  might  then  have  at- 
tempted the  movctnent  which  has  been  already 
menli<ined,  and  wliich,  alti-rwards  executed,  ob- 
tained for  liim  such  a  signal  iriumph.  This  move- 
ment was  to  descend  l.y  the  Diinuhe,  threaten 
Kray  to  pass  below  Ulm,  and  thus  obli(i;e  liiui  to 
decamp  by  disquieting  hnn  about  the  line  of  IiIh 
communications;  but  Moreau  Wiis  always  fe;ii  Inl  of 
uncovering  the  road  of  the  Aljis.     He  had  thought 


of  making  a  second  demonstration  upon  Augsburg, 
and  thus  once  more  of  endeavouring  to  deceive  the 
Austriims  and  to  persuade  them,  that  leaving  Ulm 
behind  him  he  was  going  definitively  upon  Bavaria, 
l>robalily  upim  Austria.  On  the  22nd  of  May,  or 
•2nd  Trairial,  all  the  French  army  repassed  the 
Danube.  Lecourbe  with  the  right  wing  threatened 
Augsburg  by  Landsherg  ;  St.  Suzanne  with  the 
leit  wing  kept  himself  at  some  distance  from  the 
Danube,  between  Dellmensingeu  and  Achstetten. 
The  same  day  prince  Ferdinand  with  twelve  thou- 
sand men,  half  of  whom  were  cavalry,  either  with 
the  view  of  keeping  the  French  near  Ulm,  or  to 
discover  their  intentions,  made  an  attack  upon  St. 
Suzanne,  which  was  warmly  repulsed,  the  troops 
acting  with  their  eustimiary  vig(U-,  and  general 
Deeaen  distinguishing  himself  greatly.  The  follow- 
ing diiys  Moi'cau  continued  his  movements.  On 
the  27th  Jlay,  or  7th  Prairial,  Lecourbe  with 
equal  skill  and  courage  made  himselT  ma.sterof  the 
bridge  of  Landsberg,  over  the  Lech,  and  on  ibe 
281I1  entered  Augsburg.  Still  Kray  was  not  to  be 
moved  by  this  operation,  and  remained  immovable 
in  Ulm.  This  was  the  best  of  all  his  resolutions, 
and  did  most  honour  to  his  firmness  and  judgment. 

From  that  time  Moreau  remained  inactive,  cal- 
culating events  in  Italy.  He  rectified  his  position, 
and  greatly  improved  it.  In  place  of  forming  a^ 
loH'i-  line,  one  extremity  of  which  touched  the 
Danube,  a  position  which  exposed  his  left  corps  to 
unequal  conflicts  with  the  entire  of  the  Austrian 
forces,  he  executed  afterwards  a  change  of  front 
facing  the  Danube,  ranging  himself  parallel  with 
that  river,  but  at  a  considerable  distance,  his  left 
resting  upon  the  lUei",  his  right  upon  the  Guntz, 
his  rear-guard  in  Augsburg,  and  a  corps  of  flankers 
observing  the  Tyrol.  Thus  his  army  formed  a 
mass  sufticiently  dense  to  fear  nothing  from  any 
isolated  attack  iqion  either  of  his  wings,  and  it  had 
nothing  to  risk  but  a  general  engagement,  which 
was  all  that  it  desired,  because  such  a  contest 
could  not  fail  to  terminate  m  the  utter  ruin  of  the 
Austrian  army.  In  this  unapproachable  position, 
Moreau  determined  to  await  the  result  of  the 
operations  which  Bonaparte  was  at  the  same 
moment  carrying  on  u|)on  the  other  side  of  the 
Alps.  His  lieutenants  pressed  him  to  abandon  his 
inaction,  but  he  persisted  in  re]>lying  that  it  would 
he  im))rudent  to  do  more  until  he  received  intelli- 
gence from  Italy  ;  but  if  Bonai>arte  succeeded  in 
that  part  of  the  theatre  of  war,  they  would  then 
try  a  decisive  movement  against  Kray;  for  that  if 
the  French  army  on  the  other  side  of  the  Alps  was 
not  fortunate,  they  would  be  greatly  embarrased 
by  any  progress  they  shotild  now  make  in  Ba- 
varia. The  enterprise  of  Bonaparte,  the  secret 
of  which  was  known  to  Moreau,  carried  something 
very  extra^jrdinary  in  it  to  a  mind  constituted  like 
his;and  therefore  it  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  ho 
felt  inc|uiotude,  or  that  ho  was  nnwillini;to  advance 
without  kiu)wing  for  a  certainty  the  ibi  tunes  of  tho 
army  of  reserve. 

Moreau,  in  consequence  of  these  resolutions,  had 
warm  altercations  with  some  of  his  lieutenants,  and 
more  immediately  with  St.  Cyr.  This  officer  com- 
plained of  the  inactivity  in  which  nu-an  while  they 
were  kept,  and  still  more  of  the  partiality  that  was 
prev.alent  in  the  distribution  of  tho  rati(U)s  to  tho 
dill'erent  corps  of  the  army.  He  connuunicatcfl  to 
o2 


Misunderstandings  among  the  Moreau's  character  com- 

84       French  generals.— Moreau's     THIERS'   CONSULATE  AND   EMPIRE.        POsed    of   weaknesses 
letter  to  Bonaparte. 


and  great  qualities. 


1800. 
May. 


Moreau  that  his  division  was  frequently  without 
bread,  while  that  of  the  commander-in-chief  close 
by  it  was  in  want  of  nothing.  There  was  no  lack 
of  resources  since  the  capture  of  the  enemy's 
magazines,  but  only  of  the  means  of  conveyance. 
St.  Cyr  had  upon  the  same  subject  more  than  one 
dispute  ;  there  was  evidently  a  difference  between 
him  and  the  staff  that  sun'ounded  Moreau  ;  and 
this  was  the  real  cause  of  these  unfortunate  dis- 
putes. General  Grenier  had  just  joined  the  army, 
and  St.  Cyr  wished  moreover  to  give  him  the  com- 
mand of  the  reserve,  that  Moreau  might  be  free 
from  the  occupations  and  partialities  which  are  the 
inevitable  consequences  of  holding  so  particular 
a  command.  Moreau  unfortunately  would  do  no- 
thing of  the  sort.  St.  Cyr  then  retired,  and  thus 
the  army  was  deprived  of  the  ablest  of  its  genei-al 
officers.  St.  Cyr  was  himself  made  ninre  to  com- 
mand than  obey  another.  General  St.  Suzanne 
retired  too  in  consequence  of  similar  misundei-- 
standings.  The  last  was  sent  to  tlie  Rhine  to 
form  a  corps,  designed  to  cover  the  rear  of  the 
army  of  Germany,  and  to  keep  the  forces  of  baron 
D'Albini  in  check.  Grenier  succeeded  to  the  plate 
of  St.  Cyr,  and  Richepanse  to  that  of  St.  Suzanne. 
Moreau,  who  was  strongly  established  in  his  new 
position,  and  whose  troops  wanted  for  nothing, 
determined  to  wait  where  he  was,  and  wrote  to  the 
first  consul,  well  expressing  his  situation  and  inten- 
tions, as  follows  : — 

Babenhausen,  7  Prairial,  an  viii. 
(May  27,  1800.) 

"  We  wait  with  impatience,  citizen  consul,  for  the 
tidings  of  your  success.  Kray  and  I  are  groping 
about  here — he  to  keep  near  Ulm,  I  to  make  him 
quit  that  post. 

"  It  would  have  been  dangerous  for  you  in  par- 
ticular, if  I  had  transferred  the  war  to  the  left 
bank  of  the  Danube.  Our  present  position  has 
forced  the  prince  de  Reuss  to  move  off  to  the 
openings  of  the  TjtoI  and  to  the  sources  of  the 
Lech  and  Iller ;  so  that  he  cannot  inconvenience 
you. 

"  Give  me,  I  beg  you,  news  of  yourself,  and  let 
me  know  how  I  can  serve  you  .... 

"  If  M.  Kray  moves  in  advance,  I  shall  fall  back 
as  far  as  Memmingen  ;  there  I  shall  make  general 
Lecourbe  join  me,  and  we  shall  fight.  If  he 
marches  upon  Augsburg,  I  shall  do  the  same;  he 
will  lose  his  support  of  Ulm,  and  then  we  shall  see 
what  is  to  be  done  to  cover  you. 

"  It  would  be  more  advantageous  to  make  the 
war  upon  the  left  bank  of  the  Danube,  and  to 
force  Wurtemberg  and  Franconia  to  contribute 
to  our  suj)port ;  but  this  would  not  suit  you,  since 
the  enemy  might  send  detachments  into  Italy, 
while  leavmg  us  to  ravage  the  territory  of  the 
empire. 

"  Be  assured  of  ray  attachment. 

"  (Signed)         Moreau." 

A  month  and  two  days  had  now  elapsed,  and  if 
Moreau  liad  not  obtained  those  prompt  and  de- 
cisive results  which  terminate  a  campaign  at  a 
blow,  as  he  might  have  done  by  passing  the  Rhine 


at  a  single  point  towards  Schaffhausen,  throwing 
his  entire  force  upon  the  left  of  Kray,  and  fighting 
the  battles  of  Engen  and  Mosskirch  with  undivided 
forces  ;  or  as  he  might  have  done  by  throwing  the 
Austrian  army  into  the  Danube  at  Sigmai-ingen, 
dislodging  it  by  main  strength  from  the  camp  at 
Ulm,  or  obliging  it  to  decamp  by  a  decided  move- 
ment upon  Augsburg;  still  he  had  fulfilled  the 
more  essential  conditions  of  the  plan  of  the  cam- 
paign,— he  had  passed  the  Rhine  without  accident, 
in  presence  of  the  Austrian  army ;  he  had  fought 
two  great  battles,  and,  though  the  concentration  of 
his  forces  had  been  defective,  he  had  gained  both 
battles  by  his  firmness  and  good  generalship  on 
the  field  of  action  ;  lastly,  despite  his  "gropings" 
about  Ulm,  he  had,  notwithstanding,  shut  up  the 
Austrians  around  that  place,  and  kept  them  block- 
aded there,  cutting  them  off  from  the  route  to  the 
Tyrol  and  Bavaria,  still  having  himself  the  power  to 
await  in  a  good  position  the  result  of  events  in  Italy. 
If  we  do  not  find  in  him  those  superior  talents  and 
that  decision  which  distinguish  the  greatest  soldiers, 
we  discover  a  calm,  prudent  mind,  repairing  by 
its  coolness  the  faults  of  an  intelligence  too  nar- 
rowed, and  of  a  character  somewhat  irresolute:  we 
find,  in  fact,  an  excellent  general,  such  as  nations 
often  wish  to  possess,  and  such  as  Europe  had 
none  to  equal.  It  was  the  foi'tune  of  France  to 
possess  at  this  time — of  France  which  already  pos- 
sessed Bonaparte — to  possess  also  Moreau,  KMbei*, 
Dessaix,  Massena,  and  St.  Cyr,  in  other  words, 
the  best  second-rate  generals  ;  and  it  must  be  re- 
collected that  she  had  already  produced  Dumou- 
riez  and  Pichegru.  Time  of  wonderful  recollec- 
tions !  which  ought  to  inspire  us  with  some  kind 
of  confidence  in  ourselves,  and  prove  to  Europe 
that  all  our  glory  in  the  present  centui'y  is  not  due 
to  a  single  man,  that  it  is  not  the  result  of  that 
rare  fortune  which  produces  such  men  of  genius  as 
Hannibal,  Csesar,  or  Napoleon. 

What  might  be  chiefly  alleged  against  Moreau 
was  a  want  of  vigour  in  commanding  ;  above  all, 
his  suffering  himself  to  be  surrounded  and  con- 
trolled by  a  military  circle,  his  permitting  mis- 
understandings to  have  birth  around  him,  thus 
depriving  himself  of  his  best  officers  ;  and  his  not 
correcting,  by  the  force  of  his  own  will,  a  bad  or- 
ganization of  the  army,  which  tended  to  make  his 
lieutenants  isolate  themselves,  and  be  guilty  of 
acts  importing  bad  military  brotherhood.  Moreau 
erred  in  character,  as  we  have  before  observed 
several  times,  and  as  we  shall  too  often  have  to 
repeat.  We  would  there  were  a  veil  to  hide  from 
us,  and  as  well  conceal  from  others,  the  sad  sequel 
time  discloses;  and  that  we  might  be  pei-mitted 
to  enjoy,  without  any  thing  to  make  the  feeling 
paint'ul,  the  noble  and  pi-udent  achievements  of 
the  soldier,  whose  heart  jealousy  and  exile  had  not 
yet  altered. 

We  must  now  transport  ourselves  to  a  different 
theatre,  to  witness  a  scene  of  a  very  different  kind. 
Providence,  that  is  exuberant  in  contrasts,  will 
there  exhibit  another  mind,  a  different  character, 
and  a  different  fortune;  and,  for  the  honour  of 
France,  soldiers  still  the  same,  that  is  to  say,  always 
intelligent,  devoted,  and  intrepid. 


1800. 
May. 


The  first  consul  impatient  to  march. 
—  Masseiia's  distress.— Ott's  bra- 
vado revenged. 


MARENGO. 


BOOK  IV. 


MARENGO. 


THE  FIRST  CONSUL  IMPATIENT  FOR  NEWS  FROM  GERMANY. — RECEIVES  INTELLIGENCE  OF  MOREAU  S  SUCCESS,  AND 
RESOLVES  TO  DEPART  FOR  ITALY. — EXTREME  SUFFERINGS  OF  THE  GARRISON  OF  GENOA.— MASSENa's  FORTI- 
TUDE.— THE  FIRST  CONSUL  HASTENS  TO  HIS  llELIEP,  AND  EXECUTES  HIS  GRAND  DESIGN  OF  CROSSING  THE 
HIGH  ALPS. — BONAPARTE  SETS  OUT  AND  MAKES  A  FEINT  OP  APPEARING  AT  DIJON,  ARRIVES  AT  MARTIGNY,  I.\ 
THE  VALAIS.— CHOOSES  ST.  BERNARD  TO  PASS  OVER  THE  ALPINE  CHAIN. — .MEANS  ADOPTED  FOR  TRANSPORTING 
ARTILLERY,  AM.MUNITION,  PROVISIONS,  AND  MATERIEL  OF  THE  ARMY. — COMMENCEMENT  OP  THE  PASSAGE. — 
THE  GREAT  DIFFICULTIES  SURMOUNTED  BY  THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  TROOPS.— UNFORESEEN  OBSTACLE  IN  THE  FORT  DU 
BARD. — SURPRISE  AND  GRIEF  OF  THE  ARMY  AT  THE  SIGHT  OF  THE  I  ORT. — THOUGHT  AT  FIRST  lO  BE  IMPREG- 
NABLE.—THE  INFANTRY  AND  CAVALRY  MAKE  A  CIRCUIT,  AND  AVOID  THE  OBSTACLE.— THE  ARTILLERY  DRAWN 
BY  BAND  UNDER  THE  FIRE  OF  THE  FORT.— IVREA  TAKEN,  AND  THE  ARMY  ARRAYED  IN  THE  PLAINS  OP  PIED 
MONT  BEFORE  THE  AUSTRIANS  ARE  AWARE  OF  ITS  EXISTENCE  OR  MARCH. — PASSAGE  SIMULTANEOUSLY  OP  THE 
ST.  GO^HARD  BY  THE  DETACH.MENT  FROM  GERMANY. — PLAN  OF  BONAPARTE  WHEN  DESCENDED  INTO  LOMBARUV. 
— HE  DETERMINES  TO  PROCEED  TO  MILAN,  TO  llALLY  THE  TROOPS  FROM  GERMANY,  AND  ENVELOPE  MELAS. — 
THE  LONG  ILLUSIONS  OF  MELAS  DESTROYED  AT  A  SINGLE  BLOW.— MORTIFICATION  OP  THE  OLD  GENERAL. — 
ISSUES  ORDERS  FOR  EVACUATING  THE  BANKS  OF  THE  VAR  AND  THE  ENVIRONS  OF  GENOA. —  LAST  EXTREMITY 
OF  MASSENA. — ABSOLUTE  IMPOSSIBILITY  OF  SUPPORTING  LONGER  THE  SOLDIERS  AND  PEOPLE  OF  GENOA:  HE  IS 
FORCED  TO  SURRENDER. — HONOURABLE  CAPITUL ATION.— THE  AUSTRIAN'S,  GENOA  BEING  TAKEN,  CONCENTRATE 
IN  PIEDMONT. — IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  ROAD  FROM  ALEXANDRIA  TO  rIACENZA.— EAGERNESS  OF  THE  HOSTILE 
ARMIES  TO  OCCUPY  PIACENZA. — THE  FRENCH  ARRIVE  THERE  FIRST. —  POSITION  OP  LA  STRADELLA  CHOSEN  BY 
THE  FIRST  CONSUL  FOR  ENVELOPING  MELAS.— HALT  IN  THAT  POSITION  FOR  SOME  DAYS. — BELIEVING  THAT  THE 
AUSTRIAN'S  HAVE  ESCAPED,  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  GOES  TO  FIND  THEM,  AND  ENCOUNTERS  THEM  X'NEXPECTEDLY 
IN  THE  PLAIN  OE  MARENGO.— BATTLE  OF  MARENGO  LOST  AND  GAINED. — HAPPY'  IMPULSE  OP  DESSAIX,  AND 
DEATH. — REGRET  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL. — DESPAIR  OF  THE  AUSTRIANS,  AND  CONVENTION  OF  ALEXANDRIA,  BY 
WHICH  ALL  ITALY  AND  ITS  FORTRESSES  ARE  DELIVERED  OVER  TO  THE  FRENCH  ARMY. — TIIF.  FIRST  CONSUL 
REMAINS  SOME  DAYS  AT  MILAN,  TO  REGULATE  AFFAIRS.— CONCLAVE  AT  VENICE,  AND  ELEVATION  OP  PIUS  VII. 
TO  THE  PAPAL  CHAIR.  — RETURN  OP  THE  PIRST  CONSUL  TO  PARIS. — ENTHUSIASM  EXCITED  BY  HIS  PRESENCE. — 
SEQUEL  OF  OPERATIONS  ON  THE  DANUBE. — PASSAGE  OP  THE  RIVER  BELOW  ULM. — VICTORY  OP  HOCHSTEDT. — 
MOREAU  CONQUERS  ALL  BAVARIA  AS  FAR  AS  THE  INN. — ARMISTICE  IN  GERMANY  AS  WELL  AS  IN  ITALY. — 
COM.MENCE.MENT  OP  NEGOTIATIONS  FOR  PEACE. — ST.  JULIEN  SENT  BY  THE  EMPEROR  OF  GERMANY  TO  PARIS. — 
FETE   OF   THE    HTH    OF   JULY    AT  THE    INVALIDES. 


The  first  consul  waited  only  for  news  of  the  suc- 
cess of  the  anny  of  the  Rhine,  in  order  to  descend 
into  the  plains  of  Italy;  for,  unless  Moreau  were 
fortunate,  he  would  not  be  able  to  spare  the  de- 
tachment of  his  troops  ;  besides,  Kray  was  not  so 
far  separated  from  M^ias,  as  to  make  it  safe  to 
nianrjeuvre  freely  on  the  rear  of  the  last.  The 
iin|^>atience  of  tiic  first  consul  was  great,  being  re- 
solved to  quit  Paris,  and  take  the  command  of  the 
army  of  reserve  the  moment  he  was  certainly 
a-ssured  of  tlie  success  of  the  army  of  Moreau. 
Time  pressed,  seeing  that  Masse'na,  in  Genoa,  was 
reduced  to  the  most  cruel  suffering.  We  left  liim 
there,  contending  against  the  whole  Austrian  f(U'ce, 
with  an  army  worn  out  by  fatigue,  yet  daily  inflict- 
ing considerable  loss  upon  the  enemy.  On  the 
lOtli  of  May  general  Ott  indulged  in  an  unseemly 
bravado,  informing  Ma8S(5na  that  he  should  fire  his 
gun-^  for  .".  victory  obtained  over  Suchet — a  piece  of 
news  utterly  destitute  of  truth  ;  tiic  gallant  defender 
of  Genoa  replied  to  some  purpose.  He  sallied 
out  of  the  eily  in  two  columns.  The  column  on 
tlie  left,  commanded  by  Soult,  ascended  tlie  lii- 
sagiio,  and  turned  the  Monte-Rjitti  ;  that  under 
Miollis  attacked  Monte-Ratti  in  front.  The  Aus- 
trians,  thus  vigorou.sly  assailed,  were  iirecijiitated 
into  the  ravines,  and  lost  that  importiint  position, 
with  fifteen  hundred  men  made  jirisoners.  Mas- 
sciia  entered  Genoa  triunipliant  tlie  same  evening, 
and  the  next  morning  wrote  to  general  Ott,  that  he 
would  fire  his  cannon  for  the  victory  of  the  pre- 


ceding day  ;   an  heroic   revenge,  worthy  a   great 
soul. 

This  was  the  last  of  his  successes  :  his  soldiers 
could  scarcely  sustain  the  weight  of  their  arms, 
they  were  so  debilitated  by  famine.  On  the  13th 
of  May,  or  23d  Flor^al,  this  energetic  officer,  yield- 
ing to  the  advice  of  his  generals,  consented,  in 
spite  of  himself,  to  an  operation,  the  result  of  which 
was  exceedingly  disastrous.  This  was,  to  storm 
the  Monte-Creto,  an  important  post,  which  it  would, 
no  doubt,  have  been  most  desirable  to  take  from 
the  Austrians,  because  they  would,  by  this  means, 
be  removed  to  a  considerable  distance  from  Genoa. 
Unhappily,  there  was  but  little  chance  of  success 
in  such  an  undertaking.  Massdna,  who  had  tho 
greatest  confidence  in  his  army,  for  he  daily  re- 
quired and  obtained  from  it  the  most  strenuous 
efforts,  did  not  think  it  was  capable  of  carry- 
ing a  position  which  the  enemy  couhl  defend  with 
all  his  strength.  He  would  have  preferred  an 
expedition  to  Porto  Fino,  along  the  coast,  to  seize 
a  considerable  <[uantity  of  provisions,  which  were 
known  to  be  in  that  quarter.  He  gave  way, 
however,  contrary  to  his  custom,  and  on  tlie 
morning  of  the  13th  marched  upon  the  Mont< - 
Creto.  The  battle  at  first  was  brilliant  :  but,  un- 
fortunately, a  violent  storm,  which  lasted  for  some 
hours,  broke  down  the  strength  of  the  soldiers. 
The  enemy  had  concentrated  ujxin  this  jtoint  a  large 
body  of  troops,  and  drove  back  the  Prencli,  who 
were  dying  of  fatigue  and  hunger,  into  the  valleys. 


Soult  a  prisoner. — The  Genoese 


The  first  consul  prepares  to 


86     women  riotous.-Massena'sex-  THIERS'   CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE.       march.— His  address  to     °  "' 


ertions  to  procure  subsistence, 


the  legislative  bodi( 


Soult,  making  it  a  point  of  honour  to  succeed  in  an 
expedition  wliich  he  had  advised,  rallied  the  third 
demi-brigade,  and  led  it  back  against  the  enemy. 
He  had,  perhaps,  been  successful,  but  a  ball,  having 
fractured  his  leg,  extended  him  on  the  field.  His 
men  would  have  carried  him  off,  but  they  had  not 
time.  Thus  the  general,  who  had  so  well  seconded 
Masse'na  tlu-oughout  the  whole  siege,  was  left  in 
the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

The  troops  entered  Genoa  with  deep  mortifica- 
tion, bringing  in  some  prisoners.  While  they  were 
absent,  the  women  in  the  city  had  become  riotous. 
These  unhappy  creatures,  driven  by  want,  ran 
through  the  streets,  ringing  bells  and  calling  for 
bread.  They  were  very  quickly  dispersed  ;  but 
the  Frencli  commander  was  thenceforward  almost 
wholly  occupied  in  providing  support  for  the  popu- 
lation of  Genoa,  which  showed,  in  all  other  respects, 
the  most  devoted  conduct.  There  had  been  corn 
procured,  as  already  said,  for  a  fortnight  at  first, 
and  afterwards  for  a  second  term  of  the  same 
length.  After  this  a  ves.sel  brought  in  enough  to 
last  for  five  days  :  thus  supplies  had  been  obtained 
for  more  than  a  month.  Blockaded  from  the  5th 
of  April,  these  resources  had  lasted  to  the  10th  of 
May.  Seeing  the  px-ovisions  diminish,  the  daily 
rations  had  been  reduced  both  to  the  military  and  to 
the  inhabitants.  Soup  made  with  herbs  and  a  little 
meat  still  left  in  the  city,  were  substituted  for  bread. 
The  richer  inhabitants  found  means  to  supply  them- 
selves with  victuals  at  an  enormous  price,  out  of 
those  which  had  escaped  the  search  of  the  police 
for  the  purpose  of  applying  them  to  the  general 
use.  Thus  Massena  had  only  to  trouble  himself 
about  the  poor,  by  whom  the  famine  was  severely 
felt.  He  had  imposed  a  contribution  upon  the  rich 
in  their  behalf,  and  had  thus  won  the  hearts  of  the 
poor  to  the  French  side.  The  majority  of  the 
population,  dreading  the  Austrians,  and  the  political 
system  of  which  they  were  the  supporters,  deter- 
mined to  second  Mussina  in  this  emergency.  Stiiick 
with  the  energy  of  his  character,  their  obedience 
to  him  was  equal  to  their  resignation.  Still  the 
aristocratical  party  endeavoui-ed,  by  every  possible 
means,  to  embarrass  and  annoy  him,  by  making 
tools  of  some  hungry  wretches  for  that  purpose. 
To  overawe  them,  lie  made  his  troops  pass  the 
night  in  the  jirincipal  streets  at  their  guns,  with 
matches  lighted.  But  the  bread  on  which  they  still 
supported  themselves,  made  of  oats,  beans,  and  any 
grain  that  could  be  procured,  was  vei-y  nearly 
exhausted  ;  of  meat,  too,  the  city  was  as  near 
being  destitute.  On  the  20th  of  May  there  would 
be  only  such  things  as  it  would  be  almost  impossible 
to  use  for  human  sustenance.  It  was  thei-eforc 
necessary  to  relieve  the  place  before  the  20th  of 
May,  unless  Masstna  and  his  whole  army  were 
allowed  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  when 
Me'las  would  thus  be  able  to  dispose  of  thirty  thou- 
sand men  more,  who  might  return  into  Piedmont, 
and  block  iip  the  pa.ssnges  of  the  Alps. 

The  aid-de-camp  Franceschi,  who  had  gone  to 
state  to  the  government  the  position  of  the  garri- 
son, had  succeeded  by  boldness  and  address  in 
passing  through  the  Austrians  and  the  English, 
and  he  had  communicated  to  the  first  consul  the 
deplorable  situation  of  the  city.  The  first  consul, 
in  consequence,  neglected  nothing  to  put  the  army 
of  reserve  in  a  state  to  cross  the  Alps.     It  was  for 


this  end  he  had  sent  Carnot  to  Germany  with  the 
formal  order  of  the  consuls,  to  send  the  detach- 
ment forward  which  was  to  pass  over  Mount 
St.  Gothard.  For  himself,  he  laboured  night  and 
day  with  Berthier,  who  oi-ganized  the  divisions  of 
cavalry  and  infantry,  with  Gassendi  and  Marmont, 
who  organized  the  artillery,  and  with  Marescot, 
who  was  busy  reconnoitring  along  the  whole  line 
of  the  Alps.  He  urged  them  all  forward  with  that 
power  of  persuasion  which  enabled  him  to  lead  the 
French  from  the  b:mks  of  the  Po  to  those  of  the 
Jordan,  and  from  the  banks  of  the  Jordan  to  those 
of  the  Danube  and  Borystlienes.  He  did  not  mean 
to  quit  Paris  until  the  last  moment,  being  unwill- 
ing to  relinquish  the  political  government  of  France 
longer  than  he  could  help,  and  thus  leave  free  quar- 
ters for  intriguers  and  plotters.  In  the  mean  time 
the  divisional  troops  from  La  Vendue,  Briiany, 
Paris,  and  the  banks  of  the  Rhone,  were  travei'sing 
the  whole  extent  of  the  republican  territory.  Al- 
ready the  heads  of  the  columns  had  made  their 
aijpearance  in  Switzerlnnd.  There  were  always  at 
Dijon,  the  depots  of  -diiTerent  corps,  certain  con- 
scripts and  volunteers,  who  had  been  sent  there  to 
spread  abroad  the  opinion,  that  the  army  of  Dijon 
was  a  mere  fable,  solely  destined  to  alarm  Me'las. 
Thus  far,  then,  all  had  succeeded  to  admiration — 
the  delusion  of  the  Austrians  was  complete.  The 
movement  of  the  troops  towards  Switzerland  was 
scarcely  noticed.  In  consequence  of  these  troops 
being  widely  dispersed,  they  passed  for  no  more 
than  reinforcements  intended  for  the  ai'my  of 
Germany. 

At  length  every  thing  was  ready,  and  the  first 
consul  made  his  final  arrangements.  He  received 
a  message  from  the  senate,  the  tribunate,  and  the 
legislative  body,  conveying  to  him  the  wishes  of  the 
nation,  that  he  might  soon  return  as  "  conqueror  and 
peace-maker."  He  replied  to  them  with  studied 
solemnity.  His  reply  was  intended  to  agree  with 
the  articles  in  the  Moniteur,  proving  that  his 
journey,  about  which  so  much  parade  was  made, 
like  the  army  of  reserve,  was  a  feint,  and  nothing 
better.  He  charged  Cambace'res,  the  consul,  to 
pi-eside  in  his  place  over  the  council  of  state,  which 
was  at  that  time  in  a  good  measure  the  entire 
government.  Lebrun  was  commissioned  to  super- 
intend the  administration  of  the  finances.  He  said 
to  each  of  them  :  "  Be  firm ;  if  any  event  happens, 
be  not  troubled.  I  will  come  back  like  lightning, 
to  crush  the  audacious  persons  who  shall  dare  to 
lay  their  hands  upon  the  government."  He  par- 
ticularly charged  his  brothers,  who  were  bound  to 
him  by  a  more  personal  interest,  to  make  known 
every  thing  to  him,  and  to  give  him  the  signal  to 
return,  should  his  ])resence  be  required.  While 
he  was  thus  jjublishing  his  departure  with  so  much 
ostentation,  the  consuls  and  ministers,  on  the  con- 
trary, were  to  let  the  newsmongers  know  that  the 
first  consul  had  quitted  Paris  for  some  day.s,  merely 
to  review  the  troops  ready  to  take  the  field. 

He  himself  set  off,  full  of  hope  and  highly  satis- 
fied. His  arnsy  contained  a  good  many  conscripts, 
but  it  contained  soldiers  inured  to  war  in  a  far 
greater  number,  accustomed  to  conquer,  and  com- 
manded by  officers  formed  in  his  own  school.  He 
had  also,  in  the  deep  conception  of  his  plan,  a  full 
and  entire  reliance. 

According  to  the  latest  information,  Mdlas  ob- 


May. 


Bonaparte's  confidence. — Feint  at  Dijon. 
—Interview  wiih  Marescot.— Why  St. 
Bernard  preferred  as  the  route. 


MARENGO. 


Preparations  for  the  marcli. — Dis- 
posiliuh  of  the  ariuy. — Nature 
of  the  country. 


87 


stinately  coutinued  to  push  liis  troops  deeper  into 
Liguria,  halt"  towards  Genoa,  the  otlier  half  towards 
the  Var.  The  first  consul  at  this  moment  doubted 
less  than  ever  the  success  of  his  enterprise;  already 
seeing,  in  his  ardent  imagination,  the  very  place 
where  he  should  meet  and  destroy  tiie  Austrian 
army.  One  day,  before  he  set  out,  laying  0])en  his 
maps,  and  placing  upon  them  marks  of  difterent 
colours,  ♦.o  represent  the  positions  of  the  French 
and  Austrian  corps,  he  said,  in  the  pre-sence  of  his 
secretary,  who  heard  him  with  curiosity  and  sur- 
prise, "That  poor  M^ias  will  pass  by  Turin — will 
fall  back  upon  Alexandria  :  I  shall  pass  the  Po — 
encounter  him  on  the  road  to  Piacenza,  in  tlie 
plains  of  the  Serivia,  and  I  shall  beat  him  there — 
there  ! "  On  saying  this  he  placed  one  of  his  marks 
on  San-Giuliauo.  It  will  soon  be  easy  to  appre- 
ciate what  an  extraordinary  glance  into  futurity 
prompted  these  words.  j 

Bonaparte  quitted  Paris  on  the  6th  of  May  hefore  ' 
daybreak,  taking  with  him  his  aid-de-camp  Duroc  | 
and  'vis  secretary  Bourrienne.  On  arriving  at 
Dijon  lie  passed  the  conscripts  in  review,  assem- 
bled there  without  stores,  or  any  of  the  appoint- 
ments necessary  to  take  the  field.  After  this, 
which  was  only  intended  to  confirm  the  spies  in  the 
belief  that  the  army  of  Dijon  was  no  more  than  a 
fiction,  he  proceeded  to  Geneva,  and  from  thence 
to  Lausanne,  wiiere  every  thing  bore  a  serious 
aspect.  There  was  sufficient  to  undeceive  the  most 
incredulous  there,  but  too  late  for  the  information 
to  be  sent  off  and  made  available  at  Vienna. 

On  the  13tli  of  May  Bonaparte  reviewed  a  part 
of  the  troops,  conferr.iig  with  the  officers,  who 
received  orders  to  ;.ieet  him,  in  order  to  state 
what  they  had  don  ,  and  receive  his  final  com- 
mands. To  general  Marescot  had  been  committed 
the  duty  of  recou.ioitring  the  Alps,  and  the  first 
consul  was  most  impatient  to  hear  him.  On  a 
comparison  of  all  thi-  passes,  that  of  St.  Bernard 
was  considered  the  n.ost  favourable  by  this  en- 
gineer officer,  but  even  here  the  opei-ation  he 
thought  would  be  extremely  difficult.  "  Difficult ! 
is  it  possible  ?"  in  juired  Bonaparte.  "I  think  so," 
I'cplied  the  general  of  engineers,  "  but  with  extra- 
ordinary efl'orts.'  "  Then  let  us  stiirt !"  replied 
the  first  cons'l. 

It  is  proper  to  explain  the  motives  which  decided 
the  first  consul  in  choosing  the  passage  by  Mount 
St.  Bernard.  The  St.  Gothard  pass  was  reserved 
for  the  troops  that  were  on  the  march  from  Ger- 
many, of  which  general  Moncey  had  the  command. 
This  passage  lay  in  their  way,  and  was  only  capable 
of  furnishing  suljsistence  at  most  for  fifteen  thou- 
sand men,  because  the  higher  Swiss  valleys  had 
been  entirely  ruined  by  the  presence  of  belligerent 
armies.  The  passages  of  the  Simplon,of  the  Great 
St.  Bernard,  and  of  Mount  Cenis  were  left,  but 
these  were  not,  as  in  the  present  time,  crossed  by 
high  roads.  It  was  necessary  to  dismount  the 
carriag<;s  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  and  U>  send 
them  forward  upon  sledges,  remounting  them  on 
the  other  side.  Thest;  passages  presented  all  three 
nearly  the  same  dilticulties.  Mount  Cenis,  being 
more  frequently  crossed  and  the  track  better 
beaten  than  on  the  others,  was  jjcrhaps  the  most 
ea.sy  of  access  of  all  three ;  but  ilicn  the  road  by 
that  mountain  opened  upon  Turin,  in  the  midst 
of  the  Austrians,  and  consequently  was   not  well 


adapted  to  the  plan  for  enveloping  them.  The 
Simplon,  on  the  other  hand,  was  the  furthest  of  the 
three  from  the  point  of  departure,  presenting  re- 
verse inconveniences  :  it  opened,  it  is  true,  the 
road  to  Milan,  in  a  fine,  rich  country,  far  from  the 
Austrians, — in  fact,  quite  in  their  rear  ;  but  the 
distances  were  too  great ;  and  even  to  ge(;,to  it  the 
ascent  of  the  whole  Valais  would  have  been  neces- 
sary, together  with  conveyances  for  the  stores  of 
the  army,  none  of  which  could  be  obtained.  Amid, 
the  desolate  and  ice-covered  valleys  to  be  travelled 
every  individual  must  carry  his  own  baggage,  and 
a  score  of  leagues  more  to  march  was  a  matter  of 
great  consideration.  In  regard  to  the  passage  by 
the  St.  Bernard,  there  was  only  the  distance  to 
pass  from  Villeneuve  to  ^lartigny,  or  from  the  e.x- 
treme  end  of  the  lake  of  Geneva,  the  point  where 
navigation  ceases,  to  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  The 
distance  across  was  very  small.  The  St.  Bernard 
road,  besides,  opened  into  the  valley  of  Aosta  upon 
Ivre'a,  between  the  roads  of  Turin  and  Milan,  in  a 
very  favourable  direction  fur  coming  upon  the 
Austrians.  ^lore  difficult,  and  perhaps  more  dan- 
gerous, it  deserved  the  preference  on  account  of 
the  shortness  of  the  passage. 

The  first  consul  determined  therefore  to  lead 
the  main  body  of  his  ai-my  over  the  St.  Bernard.', 
He  took  with  him  the  best  men  of  the  army  of 
reserve,  in  all,  about  forty  thousand,  five  thou- 
sand being  cavalry  and  thirty-five  thousand  ar- 
tillery and  infantry.  Wishing,  at  the  same  time, 
to  disti-act  the  attention  of  the  Austrians,  he  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  sending  some  detachments 
through  other  passes,  that  could  not  be  connected 
w  ith  the  main  body  of  his  army.  Not  a  great  way 
irom  the  Great  St.  Bernard  is  the  passage  of  the 
Little  St.  Bernard,  which  opens  also  into  the  valley 
of  Aosta  from  the  heights  of  Savoy.  The  first 
consul  directed  the  70th  denii- brigade  to  proceed 
by  that  pass,  and  some  battalions  from  the  west, 
consisting  principally  of  conscrii)ts,  all  under  the 
command  of  general  Chabran.  This  division  mus- 
tered five  or  six  thousand  men,  and  at  Ivre'a  it  was 
to  rejoin  the  principal  column.  Lastly,  general 
Thureau,  who  with  four  thousand  men  defended 
the  pass  of  Mount  Cenis,  had  orders  to  attempt  to 
penetrate  to  Turin.  Thus  the  French  army  was  to 
descend  from  the  Alps  by  four  passes  at  one  time, 
by  the  St.  Gothard,  the  Great  and  Little  St.  Ber- 
nard, and  Mount  Cenis.  The  ])rincipal  body,  forty 
thousand  strong,  acting  in  the  centre  of  this  semi- 
circle, was  certain  of  being  joined  by  the  fifteen 
thousand  men  coming  from  Germany,  as  well  as  by 
the  troops  of  general  Chabran,  and  perhaps  those 
of  general  Thureau,  which  would  compose  a  total 
force  of  about  sixty-five  thousand  men, — a  force 
that  would  not  fail  to  disconcert  the  enemy,  who 
could  not  know,  from  the  appearance  of  all  these 
corjis,  on  what  point  to  direct  his  means  of  re- 
sistance. 

The  choice  of  the  passes  over  the  mountains 
being  fixed  upon,  it  became  necessary  to  attend  to 
the  operation  itself — an  operation  which  consisted 
in  throwing  sixty  thousand  men  with  all  tlieir  ap- 
pointnients,  to  the  other  side  of  the  Alps,  destitute 
ol  beaten  paths,  over  rocks  and  glaciirs,  at  the  worst 
season  of  the  year— on  the  thawing  of  the  snows. 
It  is  never  a  pleasant  thing  to  have  a  park  of  artil- 
lery to  drag  along,  since  every  gun  requires  several 


Great  difficulties  to  be  en- 


The  monks  of  Great  St.  Ber- 


conveyiug  Ihe  materiel. 


Means   of    THIERS'   CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE.     nard.-Review  of  the  army 


at  the  foot  of  the  mountain. 


May. 


waggons  after  it  ;  thus,  for  sixty  pieces  three  hun- 
dred waggons  were  required  :  but  in  those  high 
valleys,  many  of  tliem  sterile  from  tlie  reign  of  an 
eternal  winter,  others  scarcely  extensive  enough  to 
furnish  the  means  of  liveUhood  to  their  scanty  in- 
habitants, it  is  necessary  to  carry  the  bread  for 
the  troops,  as  well  as  the  forage  for  the  horses. 
The  difficulty  therefore  was  enormous.  From 
Geneva  to  Villeneuve  all  was  easy,  thanks  to  Lake 
Leman  and  a  navigation  of  eighteen  leagues  equally 
speedy  and  commodious.  But  from  Villeneuve,  the 
extremity  of  the  lake  to  Ivre'a,  the  opening  by 
which  the  rich  plains  of  Piedmont  are  entered, 
there  are  forty-five  leagues  to  pass  over,  of  which 
ten  are  over  the  rocks  and  glaciers  of  the  great 
chain.  The  route  to  Martigny,  and  from  Martigny 
to  St.  Pierre,  was  good  for  carriages.  At  St.  Pierre 
they  would  begin  to  ascend  paths  covered  with 
snow,  and  bordered  by  precipices  scarcely  more 
than  two  or  three  feet  wide,  exposed  in  noon-day 
heat  to  the  fall  of  frightful  avalanches.  There  was 
nearly  ten  leagues  to  be  travelled  over  these  paths, 
to  arrive  on  the  other  side  of  the  St.  Bernard,  at 
the  village  of  St.  Remy,  in  the  valley  of  Aosta, 
where  a  road  practicable  for  carnages  would  be 
found,  leading  tlu-ough  Aosta,  Chatillon,  Bard,  and 
Ivrea,  to  the  plain  of  Piedmont.  Of  all  these 
points  there  was  but  one  supposed  likely  to  offer 
a  difficulty — it  was  Bard,  where  it  was  said  there 
was  a  fort  of  which  some  Italian  officers  had  been 
heard  to  speak,  but  which  was  not  supposed  ca- 
pable of  offering  any  serious  obstacle.  There  were 
then,  as  we  have  said,  forty-four  leagues  to  be  passed 
over,  the  troops  can-ying  every  thing  with  them, 
from  the  lake  of  Geneva  to  the  plain  of  Piedmont, 
and  of  these  foi-ty-five  leagues,  ten  were  destitute 
of  roads,  and  not  practicable  for  carriages. 

The  following  were  the  dispositions  made  by  the 
first  consul  for  the  transport  of  the  materiel  of  the 
army,  and  carried  into  effect  by  generals  Marmont, 
Marescot,  and  Gassendi.  Immense  stores  of 
grain,  biscuit,  and  oats,  had  been  sent  to  Ville- 
neuve, by  the  lake  of  Geneva.  Bonaparte,  well 
knowing  that  for  money  the  assistance  of  the  hardy 
mountaineers  of  the  Alps  might  be  easily  obtained, 
had  sent  to  the  spot  a  considerable  sum  in  specie. 
All  the  chars- a-banc  of  the  country,  all  the  mules, 
had  been  drawn  at  a  high  price  to  the  spot,  but 
only  during  the  last  days.  By  these  means  bread, 
biscuit,  forage,  wine,  and  brandy,  had  been  conveyed 
from  Villeneuve  to  Martigny,  and  from  thence  to 
St.  Pierre,  at  the  foot  of  the  pass.  A  sufficient 
quantity  of  live  cattle  had  also  been  conducted 
thither,  and  the  artillery  with  its  waggons.  A  com- 
pany of  workmen,  established  at  the  foot  of  the  pass 
of  St.  Pierre,  was  employed  in  dismounting  the  guns, 
and  taking  the  carriages  themselves  to  pieces,  that 
they  miglit  be  carried  by  mules,  the  pieces  being 
marked  with  numbers.  The  guns,  separated  from 
their  carriages,  were  placed  upon  a  species  of  sledge 
with  low  wheels,  previously  prepared  for  the  purpose 
at  Auxonne.  For  the  convenient  carriage  of  the  am- 
njunition  of  the  infantry  and  artillery,  there  had 
been  provided  a  great  number  of  small  boxes,  easily 
placed  upon  mules,  for  the  purpose  of  transporta- 
tion by  the  beasts  of  burden  used  in  that  country, 
in  the  same  way  as  the  other  articles  were  to  be 
conveyed.  A  second  company  of  workmen,  pro- 
vided with  camp  forges,  was  to  pass  the  mountains 


with  the  first  division,  and  establish  itself  in  the 
village  of  St.  Remy,  wliere  the  beaten  track  on  the 
I'oute  began  again.  There  the  guns  and  carriages 
were  to  be  re-united.  Such  was  the  enormous  task 
that  had  been  undertaken.  There  had  been  united 
to  the  army  a  ponton  company,  who,  though  destitute 
of  materials  for  the  construction  of  bridges,  w^ere 
ready  to  avail  themselves  of  such  as  might  be 
obtained  from  the  enemy  in  Italy. 

The  first  consul  had  besides  taken  care  to  obtain 
the  assistance  of  the  monks  resident  in  the  hospital 
of  the  Great  St.  Bernard.  It  is  well  known  that 
this  pious  cenobitical  community  had  been  es- 
tablished for  ages  in  that  fearful  solitude,  above 
the  habitable  region  of  the  earth,  in  order  to  give 
their  aid  to  travellers  overtaken  by  storms  or 
buried  in  the  snow.  The  first  consul,  at  the  latest 
moment,  had  sent  them  a  sum  of  money,  in  order 
that  they  might  collect  together  a  large  quantity  of 
bread,  cheese,  and  wine.  A  hospital  was  got 
i-eady  at  St.  Pierre,  close  to  the  foot  of  the  pass, 
and  another  on  the  reverse  side  of  the  mountain, 
at  St.  Remy.  These  two  hospitals  were  to  receive 
and  forward  the  sick  or  wounded,  if  there  should 
happen  to  be  any,  to  larger  hospitals  at  Martigny 
and  Villeneuve. 

These  arrangements  being  completed,  the  troops 
began  to  make  their  appearance.  Bonaparte  placed 
himself  at  Lausanne,  to  inspect  the  men  ;  he  spoke 
to  them,  infused  into  them  a  portion  of  the  ardent 
spirit  which  animated  himself,  and  prepared  them 
for  that  immortal  enterprise  which  will  be  ranked 
in  history  with  that  of  the  grand  expedition  by 
Hannibal.  He  had  taken  care  to  appoint  two 
inspections,  the  first  at  Lausanne,  the  second  at 
Villeneuve.  There  every  soldier  of  the  infantry 
and  cavalry  was  passed  in  review,  and  by  means  of 
magazines  temporarily  formed  in  those  places,  they 
were  furnished  with  such  clothing,  shoes,  and 
arms,  as  were  required.  This  was  a  good  pre- 
caution ;  because,  in  spite  of  the  trouble  he  had 
already  taken,  the  first  consul  often  saw  old  soldiers 
arrive,  whose  clothes  were  worn  out,  and  their 
arms  unfit  for  service.  He  made  heavy  complaints 
upon  this  head,  and  caused  the  omissions,  arising 
from  the  haste  or  negligence  of  the  agents,  always 
to  a  certain  extent  inevitable,  to  be  supplied.  He 
carried  his  foresight  to  sucli  an  extent,  that  he 
placed  saddlei-s'  woi-kshops  at  the  foot  of  the  pass 
to  repair  the  artillery  harness.  He  himself  wrote 
letters  upon  a  subject  apparently  of  such  small 
moment :  the  incident  being  mentioned  here  for 
the  instruction  of  those  generals  and  governments 
to  whom  men's  lives  are  confided,  and  who  often, 
from  idleness  or  vanity,  neglect  similar  details. 
Nothing  that  can  contribute  to  the  success  of  the 
operations  or  the  safety  of  the  soldiers  is  beneath 
the  genius  or  rank  of  officers  who  command. 

The  divisions  marched  in  echelon  from  the  Jura 
to  the  foot  of  Mount  St.  Bernard,  in  order  to  avoid 
embarrassment.  The  first  consul  was  at  Martigny 
in  a  convent  of  Bernardins.  From  thence  he 
directed  every  thing,  and  continued  in  constant 
correspondence  with  Paris  and  with  all  tlie  armies 
of  the  i'e|)ublic.  He  received  intelligence  from 
Liguria,  by  which  he  found  tliat  Me'las,  always 
under  the  greatest  illusions,  directed  all  his  efforts 
to  take  Genoa,  and  force  the  bridge  of  the  Var. 
Well  satisfied  upon  this  important  subject,  he  gave 


1800. 
May. 


Lannes  passes  the  mountain 
witliout  accident. — Passage 
of  other  divisions. 


MARENGO. 


Their  manner  of  proceeding. 
Zeal   of  the  soldiers. 


orders  at  last  for  the  passage  to  begin.  He  himself 
remained  upon  this  side  of  the  St.  Bernard,  in 
order  to  correspond  as  long  as  possible  with  the 
government,  and  to  expedite  every  thing  himself 
across  the  mountain.  Berthier,  on  the  other  hand, 
proceeded  to  the  opposite  side  of  Mount  St.  Ber- 
nard, to  receive  the  provision  and  mattrld  which 
were  sent  over. 

Lannes  went  first  at  the  head  of  the  advance- 
guard,  in  the  night  between  the  14th  and  15th  of 
May,  or  24tli  and  25th  of  Flore'al.  He  commanded 
six  regiments  of  chosen  men,  that,  perfectly  armed, 
gaily  set  out  on  their  adventurous  march  under 
their  fiery  leader,  who  was  sometimes  insubordinate, 
but  always  valiant  and  able.  They  set  out  between 
midnight  and  two  in  the  morning,  in  order  to  pass 
before  the  time  when  the  sun's  heat  dissolving  the 
snow  brings  down  mountains  of  ice  on  the  heads  of 
the  rash  travellers  who  enter  among  these  frightful 
gorges.  It  required  eight  hours  to  reach  the 
summit  of  the  pass  as  far  as  the  hospital  of  St. 
Bernard,  but  only  two  to  descend  to  St.  Remy. 
There  was  time  enough,  therefore,  to  escape  the 
greatest  danger.  The  troops  surmounted  with 
spirit  all  the  difficulties  of  the  road.  They  were 
heavily  laden,  being  obliged  to  carry  biscuit  for 
some  days,  and  in  addition  a  large  quaxitity  of 
cartridges.  They  climbed  tlic  steep  rocks,  singing 
amid  the  precipices,  dreaming  of  the  conquest  of 
Italy,  where  they  had  so  often  tasted  the  pleasures 
of  victory,  and  having  a  noble  presentiment  of  the 
immortal  glory  they  were  on  the  point  of  acquiring. 
For  the  infantry  the  toil  was  not  so  great  as  for 
the  cavalry.  These  last  walked,  leading  their 
horses  by  the  bridle.  In  ascending  there  was  no 
danger ;  but  in  the  descent,  the  path  being  very 
narrow,  they  were  obliged  to  go  before  their  horses, 
and  thus,  if  the  animal  made  a  false  step,  they  were 
exposed  to  be  dragged  with  him  down  the  preci- 
pices. There  were  a  few  accidents  of  this  kind, 
but  very  few  ;  some  horses  were  lost,  but  scarcely 
any  of  the  men.  Towards  the  morning  they  reached 
the  hospital,  and  there  a  surprise,  provided  by  the 
first  consul,  renewed  the  strength  and  good  temper 
of  the  soldiers.  The  monks,  furnished  before  with 
the  necessary  provisions,  had  prepared  tables,  and 
served  out  to  every  soldier  a  ration  of  bread, 
cheese,  and  wine.  After  a  momentary  rest  they 
proceeded  on  their  route,  reaching  St.  Remy  with- 
out any  disagreeable  accident.  Lannes  instantly 
estabr^hed  himself  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains, 
and  made  all  the  needful  disposition  for  the  incep- 
tion of  the  other  divisions,  and  more  particularly 
for  the  munitions  and  stores. 

Ever  day  one  of  the  divisions  of  the  army  passed 
over  ;  an  operation  which  occupied  many  days,  be- 
cause of  the  matirid  which  it  was  necessary  to  take 
over  with  each  division.  While  the  troops  were 
ascending  in  succession,  others  were  sot  at  work. 
The  provisions  and  ammunition  were  first  sent  oft'; 
as  this  part  of  what  was  to  pass  could  be  divided 
and  i)laced  in  boxes  upon  nmles.  the  difficulty  was 
not  so  great  !ls  for  some  other  things.  Then  there 
was  not  a  sufficiency  of  the  means  of  conveyance  ; 
for,  notwithstanding  the  money  prodigally  expended, 
the  mules  required  for  the  conveyance  of  the 
enormous  weights  to  be  transported  over,  could  not 
be  procured  in  a  sufficient  number.  Still  the  pro- 
visions and  ammunition  iiaving  crossed  along  with 


the  divisions,  by  the  help  of  the  soldiers,  the 
artillery  was  the  last  to  occupy  attention.  The 
gun-carriages,  taken  to  ])ieces,  as  already  said,  were 
placed  on  the  backs  of  mules.  The  guns  them- 
selves remained,  and  their  weight  could  not  be 
lessened  by  dividing  the  burden.  With  the  twelve- 
pounders  and  the  liowitzcrs  the  difficulty  was  still 
greater  than  had  been  imagined.  The  sledges, 
constructed  partly  upon  wheels,  could  not  be  used. 
A  mode  was  thought  of,  and  directly  adopted  on 
being  found  to  answer.  It  consisted  in  splitting  the 
trunks  of  fir-trees  in  two,  hollowing  them  out,  and 
encasing  between  every  two  demi-trunks  a  single 
gun,  which  might,  thus  encased,  be  drawn  along  the 
ravines.  By  this  means  the  gun  was  secured  from 
harm ;  no  shock  could  injure  it.  Mules  were 
harnessed  to  this  odd  burden,  and  thus  drew 
several  pieces  to  the  summit  of  the  pass.  But  the 
descent  was  more  difficult,  and  could  only  be 
effected  by  strength  of  arm,  running  at  the  same 
time  great  danger,  because  it  was  necessary  to  hold 
the  gun  back,  that  it  might  not  fall  over  the  pre- 
cipices. Unfortunately  the  mules  began  to  get 
weak,  and  the  muleteers,  of  whom  a  large  number 
were  I'equired,  became  equally  exhausted.  Other 
means  were  then  had  recourse  to.  The  peasants 
were  offered  a  thousand  francs  for  every  gun 
which  they  would  agree  to  draw  from  St.  Pierre  to 
St.  Remy.  It  required  a  hundred  men  to  every 
gun  ;  one  day  to  draw  it  up,  and  another  to  make  it 
descend.  Some  hundreds  of  tlie  peasantry  came 
forward  and  transported  several  pieces  of  cannon 
across,  directed  by  the  artillerymen;  but  even  the 
stimulus  of  gain  was  not  powerful  enough  to  make 
them  renew  their  labour.  They  all  disappeared  ; 
and  notwithstanding  officers  were  sent  in  search  of 
them,  and  large  offers  of  money  made  to  induce 
them  to  return,  it  was  in  vain.  It  was  then  found 
necessary  to  request  of  the  soldiers  themselves  to 
drag  the  artillery  of  the  divisions.  From  such 
devoted  men  any  thing  was  obtainable.  In  order  to 
encourage  them,  they  were  promised  the  money 
which  the  disheartened  peasantry  declined  to  earn  ; 
but  they  refused  it,  saying  it  was  the  duty  of  the 
troops  to  save  their  guns,  and  they  took  hold  of  the 
forsaken  pieces.  Bodies  of  a  hundred  men  came 
successively  out  of  the  ranks,  and  each  dragged 
them  in  turn.  The  music  struck  up  animating 
airs  in  the  most  difficult  passes,  and  cncoui'aged 
them  in  surmounting  obstacles  of  such  a  novel 
nature.  On  arriving  at  the  summit  of  the  moun- 
tjiin,  they  found  refreshments  prepared  for  them  by 
the  monks  of  St.  Bernard,  and  took  rest,  before  com- 
mencing the  descent  which  I'cquired  their  greatest 
and  most  perilous  efforts.  Thus  it  was  that 
Chambarlhac's  and  Monnier's  division  dragged  their 
artillery  themselves;  and  as  the  day  was  too  far  ad- 
vanced to  permit  them  to  descend,  they  preferred 
to  pass  the  night  in  the  snow,  rather  than  separate 
themselves  from  their  cannon.  Happily  the  sky 
was  serene,  and  they  had  not  to  sustain  besides  that 
of  the  place,  the  additional  rigor  of  bad  weather. 

During  the  17th,  lath,  IDth,  and  20th  of  May, 
the  divisions  continued  to  cross  with  provisions, 
ammunition,  and  artillery.  The  first  consul,  still 
stationed  at  Martigny,  pu.shed  on  the  conveyance  of 
the  mittcrict,  which  was  received  by  Berthier  on 
the  other  side  of  St.  Bernard,  and  put  in  order  by 
the  workmen.     The  first  consul,  whose  foresight 


Their  progress  stopped  by  the  The  news  transmitted  to 

90      fort  of  Bard,  found  to  be    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.        'he  first  consul.-His 
impregnable.  eneigetic  reply. 


180D. 
May. 


never  rested,  tliought  immediately  of  pushing 
forward  Lannes  towards  the  opening  from  the 
plain,  in  order  to  secure  it ;  his  division  being 
united,  and  liaving  some  four-poundcrs  all  ready  to 
move.  He  ordered  that  officer  to  advance  as  far 
Ivre'a,  and  to  take  that  town  in  order  to  secure 
the  entrance  into  the  j)l:iin  of  Piedmont.  Lannes 
moved  on  the  lOth  and  17tli  of  May,  upon  Aosta, 
where  he  found  some  Croats,  whom  he  drove  into 
the  bottom  of  the  valley,  after  which  lie  marched 
towards  the  little  town  of  Chatillon,  where  he 
arrived  on  the  1 8th.  A  battalion  of  the  enemy, 
which  he  foimd  there,  was  routed,  and  lost  a 
number  of  men,  who  were  made  prisoners.  Lannes 
then  entered  the  valley,  which,  as  the  troops  de- 
scended, enlarged  considerably,  and  exhibited  to 
the  delighted  eyes  of  our  soldiers,  habitations,  ti-ees, 
and  cultivated  fields,  all  the  forerunners  of  Italian 
fertility.  These  brave  fellows  marched  along  in 
high  spirits,  when  the  valley,  again  becoming 
narrower,  presented  a  contracted  gorge,  closed  in 
by  a  fort  bristling  with  cannon.  This  was  the  fort 
of  Bard,  already  mentioned  as  an  obstacle  by 
several  Italian  officers,  but  still  as  an  obstacle  that 
might  be  overcome.  The  engineer  officers  attached 
to  the  advance-guard  went  forward,  reconnoitred 
the  place,  and,  after  a  short  examination,  declared 
that  it  completely  obstructed  the  road  through  the 
valley,  which  could  not  be  passed  without  forcing 
it,  a  task  that  seemed  impossible  to  execute. 
The  intelligence  circulated  through  the  division 
caused  a  painful  surprise.  Tiie  nature  of  this  un- 
foreseen obstacle  was  as  follows  : 

A  river  flows  through  the  valley  of  Aosta,  which 
receives  all  the  waters  of  the  St.  Bernard,  and 
under  the  name  of  the  Dora  Baltea  falls  into  the 
Po.  In  approaching  Bard  the  valley  becomes 
more  narrow;  the  i-oad  running  along  between  the 
foot  of  the  mountains  and  the  bed  of  the  river 
gradually  contracts,  and  a  rock,  which  appears  to 
have  fallen  from  the  neighbouring  heights  into  the 
middle  of  the  valley,  closes  it  up  almost  entirely. 
The  river  runs  on  one  side  of  this  rock,  the  road 
passes  on  the  other.  Tiiis  road,  lined  with  houses, 
constitutes  the  whole  town  of  Bard.  On  the  sum- 
mit of  the  rock  a  fort,  impregnable  from  its  posi- 
tion, although  badly  constructed,  commands  with 
its  fire,  on  the  right  the  course  of  the  Dora  Baltea, 
and  on  the  left  the  long  street  which  forms  the  little 
town  of  Bard.  Drawbridges  close  the  entrance 
and  the  outlet  of  this  solitary  street.  A  garrison, 
not  numerous,  but  well  commanded,  occupied  the 
fort. 

Lannes,  who  was  not  a  man  to  be  thus  stopped, 
immediatelysent  afew  companies  of  grenadiers,  who 
let  fail  the  drawbridge,  and  entered  the  town  in  spite 
of  a  brisk  fire.  The  conmiandant  of  tiie  fort  then 
poured  a  shower  of  balls,  and  particularly  shells, 
upon  the  unfortunate  town;  but  at  last  stopped,  out 
of  consideration  for  the  inhabitants.  Lannes  sta- 
tioned his  division  outside  the  place.  It  was  clearly 
evident,  that  under  the  fire  of  the  fort  it  would  be 
impossible  to  pass  the  materiel  of  the  army,  as  its 
fire  swept  the  road  in  all  directions.  Lannes  in- 
stantly made  his  re|)ort  to  Berthier  of  the  circum- 
stance, and  the  latter  hastened  to  the  spot,  and  saw 
with  apprehension  how  difficult  the  object  thus 
suddenly  disclosed  would  be  to  overcome.  General 
Marescot  was  sent  for;  he  examined  tiie  fort,  andat 


once  pronounced  it  to  be  impregnable,  not  on  ac- 
count of  its  construction,  which  was  very  indiffer- 
ent, but  from  its  being  wholly  insulated.  The 
steepness  of  the  rock  almost  forbade  an  escalade, 
and  the  walls,  although  notcovered  by  earth-works, 
could  not  be  battered  in  breach,  because  there  was 
no  means  of  establishing  a  battery  in  a  place  where 
the  guns  could  be  effective.  Still  it  was  possible  to 
haul  by  main  strength  a  few  guns  of  small  weight 
of  metal  upon  a  neighbouring  height,  and  orders 
were  given  by  Berthier  to  that  effect.  The  soldiers, 
who  were  made  for  difficult  enterprises,  laboured 
hard  to  haul  up  two  four  and  two  eight-pounders. 
They  succeeded  at  last  in  getting  them  on  the 
mountain  of  Albaredo,  which  commands  the  rock 
and  fort  of  Bard,  and  a  downward  fire  suddenly 
o])ened,  and  caused  great  surprise  in  the  gari-ison. 
Still  it  was  not  discouraged;  it  replied,  and  dis- 
mounted one  of  our  guns  which  was  of  small  weight 
of  metal. 

Marescot  declared  he  had  no  hope  of  taking  the 
fort,  and  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  find  some 
other  mode  of  overcoming  the  obstacle.  The  long 
sinuosities  of  the  mountain  of  Albaredo  on  the  left 
were  reconnoitred,  and  at  last  a  path  was  found, 
which  having  many  difficulties,  much  more  than 
the  St.  Bernard  itself  pi'esented,  led  to  the  high  road 
of  the  valley,  which  it  rejoined  at  St.  Donaz  below 
the  fort.  After  traversing  a  mountain  of  the 
secondary  order  as  difficult  to  pass  as  the  St.  Ber- 
nard, if  it  should  be  required  to  perform  the  opera- 
tions a  second  time,  which  the  army  had  gone 
through  on  MountSt.  Bernard,  by  again  dismounting 
and  remounting  the  artillery,  and  dragging  it  along 
with  the  same  efforts,  the  sti'ength  of  the  army 
might  not  be  adequate  to  the  performance,  and  this 
matiriel  itself,  so  many  times  taken  to  pieces  and  put 
together  again,  might  be  rendered  unserviceable. 
Berthier,  in  a  state  of  alarm,  immediately  issued 
counter-orders  to  the  columns,  which  were  arriving 
in  succession,  to  suspend  the  forward  movements 
every  where,  botli  of  troops  and  stores,  in  case  of 
its  being  ultimately  necessary  to  return.  The  alarm 
immediately  spread  over  the  rear,  and  all  believed 
that  they  were  stopped  in  their  glorious  enterprise. 
Berthier  sent  off'  several  coiu'iers  to  the  first  con- 
sul, to  make  known  to  him  their  unforeseen  disap- 
pointment. 

The  first  consul  was  still  at  Martigny,  not  having 
an  intention  of  crossing  the  St.  Bernard,  until  he 
had  himself  seen  the  hist  of  the  stores  belonging 
to  the  expedition  sent  forward.  The  announce- 
ment of  an  obstacle  deemed  insurmountable  stag- 
gered him  at  first ;  but  soon  recovering  himself,  he 
refused,  in  the  most  determined  manner,  to  admit 
the  thought  of  a  retrograde  movement.  Nothing 
upon  earth  should  make  him  submit  to  such  an 
extremity.  He  thought  that  if  one  of  the  highest 
mountains  on  the  globe  had  not  arrested  his  design, 
a  secondary  rock  could  not  overcome  his  genius 
and  courage.  "  They  will  take  the  fort,"  he  ob- 
served, "  by  a  bold  dash  ;  or  if  not  taken,  they  will 
turn  it.  Besides,  if  the  infantry  and  cavalry  can 
pass  with  a  few  four-pounder  guns,  they  will  pro- 
ceed to  Ivrea,  at  the  entrance  towards  the  plains, 
and  halt  there  until  the  heavy  artillery  can  follow 
them.  If  the  heavy  guns  cannot  pass  free  of  the 
obstacle  thus  presented,  and  if  to  replace  them 
that  of  the  enemy  piust  be  captured,  the  French 


1800. 
May. 


He  himself  passes  Mount  St. 
Bernard  —His  benevolent 
act  to  his  guide. 


MARENGO. 


He  ])rocee<Is  to  examine  the 
tort  of  Bard.— Fruitless 
attack. 


infantry  is  both  sufficiently  brave  and  numerous 
to  fall  upon  the  Austrian  artillery  and  supply 
themselves." 

Bonaparte  then  studied  his  maps  anew,  ques- 
tioned a  great  many  Italian  officers,  and  finding 
from  them  that  other  roads  led  from  Aosta  to  the 
surrounding  valleys,  he  wrote  again  and  again  to 
Bcrtliier,  forbidding  the  interruption  of  the  for- 
ward movement  of  the  army,  and  indicating  to 
him,  with  wonderful  precision,  the  observations 
necessary  to  be  made  around  the  fort  of  Bard  ; 
satisfied  that  no  serious  danger  could  arise  except 
from  the  arrival  of  a  body  of  the  enemy.  To  close 
up  the  outlet  at  Ivre'a,  he  enjoined  it  upon  Berthier 
to  send  Lanues  to  Ivre'a,  by  the  way  of  Albaredo, 
and  to  make  him  take  up  a  strong  p()>ition,  covered 
from  the  Austrian  artillery  and  cavalry.  "  If 
Lannes,"  added  tlie  first  consul,  "will  guard  the 
entr.mce  of  the  valley,  it  little  matt<  rs  what  may 
happen;  it  can  only  be  a  small  loss  of  time  at  most. 
We  have  provisions  iu  a  sufficient  quantity  to  allow 
of  waiting  ;  and  we  shall  come  round  iu  the  end, 
either  by  turning  or  vanquishing  the  impediment 
which  delays  us  at  this  moment." 

These  instructions  being  sent  to  Berthier,  he 
addressed  his  last  orders  to  general  Moncey,  who 
was  to  cross  by  the  St.  Gotliard  ;  to  general  Cha- 
bran,  who,  taking  the  pass  of  the  Little  St.  Bernard, 
would  come  direct  upon  the  fort  of  Bard,  and  then, 
at  last,  he  determined  himself  to  cross  the  moun- 
tain. Before  he  departed,  he  received  news  from 
the  Var,  that  on  the  14th  of  May,  or  24th  of  Flor&l, 
Mdas  was  still  at  Nice.  As  it  was  now  the  20th 
of  May,  it  was  not  to  be  imagined  that  the  Aus- 
trian general  could  have  hurried  from  Nice  to  Ivre'a 
in  six  days.  He  therefore  set  out  to  cross  the  moun- 
tains on  the  20th,  before  daybreak.  His  aid-de-camp 
Duroc,  and  his  secretary  Bourrienne,  accompanied 
him.  The  artists  have  painted  him  clearing  the 
Alpine  snows  upon  a  fiery  charger.  The  truth  is,  that 
he  cros.sed  the  St.  Bernard  mounted  upon  a  mule, 
dressed  in  the  grey  great-coat  which  he  commonly 
Wore,  conducted  by  a  guide  belonging  to  the  coun- 
try. He  exhibitedfcvtu  in  the  most  difficult  passes, 
the  abstraction  of  a  mind  otherwise  occupied;  then 
conversing  with  the  officers  on  the  road,  then  ques- 
tioning his  guide,  and  making  liim  relate  the  his- 
tory of  his  life,  of  his  joys  and  troubles,  just  as  an 
idle  traveller  would  do  who  had  nothing  better 
with  which  to  beguile  the  time.  The  guide,  who 
was  young,  gave  him  a  siiiii)le  narrative  of  the 
particulars  of  his  obscure  existence,  and,  more 
than  all,  of  his  vexation,  because,  from  want  of  the 
small  means,  he  was  unable  to  marry  one  of  the 
girls  of  the  valley.  The  first  consul,  listening  at 
one  time,  and  at  another  questioning  the  passen- 
gers with  whom  the  mountain  was  covered,  arrived 
at  the  hospital,  where  the  good  monks  gave  him 
a  warm  reception.  Scarcely  had  he  descended 
from  his  nmlo,  when  he  wrote  a  note,  which  he 
gave  to  his  guide,  desiring  him  to  be  very  careful 
of  its  delivery  to  the  quarter-master  of  the  army, 
who  remained  on  the  other  side  of  the  St.  Bernard. 
In  the  evening,  tin;  young  guide,  on  returning  to 
St.  Pierre,  discovered  with  surprise  who  the  great 
traveller  was  whom  he  had  escorted  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  that  Bona|)arte  had  ordered  that  a  house 
and  piece  of  grounrl  should  be  immediutcly  given 
to  him,  with  the  means  of  marrying  and  realizing 


all  the  dreams  of  his  modest  ambition.  This 
mountaineer  died  recently  in  his  own  country, 
proprietor  of  the  land  bestowed  upon  him  by  the 
ruler  of  the  world.  This  singular  act  of  kindness, 
at  a  moment  when  his  mind  was  filled  with  such 
weighty  occupations,  is  worthy  of  remark.  If  it 
were  no  more  than  the  caprice  of  a  conqueror, 
flinging  good  and  evil  about  at  random,  by  turns 
oversetting  an  empire  or  building  a  cottage,  such 
a  caprice  it  may  be  useful  to  record,  if  only  to 
tempt  the  lords  of  the  earth  to  imitate  similar 
actions :  but  actions  such  as  this  reveal  something 
besides.  The  heart  of  man  in  those  moments, 
when  it  experiences  strong  desires,  tends  to  kind- 
ness, doing  good  in  the  way  of  meriting  that  which 
it  solicits  of  Providence. 

The  first  consul  stayed  a  little  time  with  the 
monks,  thanked  them  for  their  attentions  to  his 
army,  and  made  them  a  magnificent  present  towards 
the  relief  of  the  poor  and  of  travellers. 

He  descended  the  mountain  rapidly,  and  following 
the  custom  of  the  country,  he  suffered  himself  to 
slide  down  over  the  snow.  The  same  evening  he 
reached  Etroubles.  On  the  following  day,  after 
having  directed  his  attention  for  a  short  time  to  the 
park  of  artillery  and  the  stores  of  provisions,  he 
departed  for  Aosta  and  Bard.  Having  found  that 
all  he  had  been  told  was  correct,  he  determined  to 
send  on  his  infantry,  cavalry,  and  four-pounders, 
by  the  way  of  Albaredo,  which  was  possible,  if  the 
path  were  made  good.  All  the  troops  were  to 
march  forward,  and  to  lake  possession  of  the  moun- 
tain opening  in  advance  of  Ivi-e'a,  the  first  consul  in 
the  mean  time  intending  to  make  an  attempt  to 
take  the  fort,  or  find  .some  means  of  turning  it,  by 
getting  his  artillery  over  the  neighbouring  passes. 
He  ordered  general  Lecchi,  at  the  head  of  the 
Italians,  to-  mount  on  the  left,  and  penetrate  by  the 
"ay  of  Grassoney  into  the  valley  of  the  Sesia, 
which  terminates  near  the  Simplon  and  Lago  Mag- 
giore. 

The  object  of  this  movement  was  to  keep  open 
the  Simpion  I'oad,  communicate  with  the  detach- 
ment wliich  was  descending  from  thence,  and, 
finally,  to  observe  all  the  roads  that  were  capable 
of  admitting  carriages  to  pass  over  them. 

The  first  consul  then  directed  his  attention  to 
the  fort  of  Bard.  The  army  was  in  jjossession 
of  the  only  street  composing  the  town,  but  they 
must  pass  through  it  under  such  a  shower  of  balls, 
that  there  was  scarcely  any  possibility  of  getting 
along  with  artillery,  though  the  distance  was  not 
more  than  two  or  three  hundred  fathoms.  The 
commander  was  summoned,  but  he  firmly  replied, 
as  fully  sensible  of  the  importance  of  his  post,  that 
force  alone  should  make  the  French  nuusters  of  the 
pass.  The  artillery,  which  had  been  placed  upon 
the  mountain  of  Albaredo,  jjroduced  no  important 
effect.  An  escalade  was  attempted  on  the  outer- 
work  of  the  fort,  but  some  brave  grenadiers  and 
an  excellent  officer,  Dufour,  were  uselessly  killed  or 
wounded.  At  the  same  time  the  troojjH  had  been 
moving  forward  over  the  path  on  the  Albaredo.  Fif- 
teen hundred  workmen  having  completed  the  most 
urgent  repairs,  enlarged  the  places  that  were  too 
narrow,  by  removing  banks,  diminishing  the  slopes 
that  were  too  rapid,  cutting  steps  for  the  feet,  ami 
in  somo  ]>laces  tlirowing  the  trunks  of  trees  in  the 
way  of  bridges  over  ravines  too  difficult  to  cross 


They  succeed  in  conveying  the  Engagement  at  Chiusella.   -gnn 

92       artillery    l.elore   the   fort.-  THIERS'   CONSULATE  AND   EMPIRE.        -The   passage   of  the   '?""• 

Ivrea  carried  by  Lannes.  Alps  completed.  j"<iv. 


May. 


without.  The  troops  advanced  in  succession,  one 
after  another,  the  cavalry  leading  their  horses.  The 
Austrian  officer  commanding  in  the  fort  of  Bard 
began  to  despair  at  seeing  the  columns  pass,  without 
power  to  stop  their  march,  and  wrote  to  Mdas,  that 
he  had  seen  a  whole  army,  cavalry  and  infantry, 
march  on,  without  being  able  to  obstruct  them  ;  but 
he  would  engage  liis  liead  for  it,  that  they  would 
arrive  without  a  single  piece  of  cannon.  The  artil- 
lery, ill  the  mean  time,  made  the  bold  attempt  to 
take  on  a  piece  of  cannon  in  the  night,  under  the 
fire  of  the  fort.  Unluckily,  the  enemy,  discovering 
by  the  noise  what  was  passing,  threw  light-balls, 
which  made  the  road  as  visible  as  if  it  had  been 
noon-day,  and  enabled  them  to  cover  the  ground 
with  a  hail-shower  of  projectiles.  Of  thirteen  gun- 
ners, who  were  so  adventurous  as  to  draw  the  piece, 
seven  were  killed  or  wounded.  This  was  enough 
to  put  out  of  heart  the  boldest  men,  until  an  inge- 
nious mode,  but  still  exceedingly  dangerous,  was 
conceived.  The  street  was  covered  with  straw  and 
stable  dung,  and  bands  of  tow  were  placed  round 
the  gun  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  the  least 
clash  of  the  mass  of  metal  upon  the  carriage.  The 
horses  were  detached,  and  bold  artillerymen  dragged 
them  by  main  strength,  venturing  to  pass  under  the 
batteries  of  the  fort,  along  the  street  of  Bard.  The 
plan  perfectly  succeeded.  The  enemy,  who  occa- 
sionally fired  in  a  precautional  way,  struck  some  of 
the  gunners  ;  but  in  no  long  time,  in  spite  of  the 
fire,  the  heavy  artillery  was  removed  to  the  other 
side  of  the  defile,  and  this  formidable  difficulty, 
which  had  caused  the  first  consul  more  anxiety 
than  the  passage  of  the  St.  Bernard  itself,  was  thus 
overcome.  The  artillery  horses  had  been  taken 
round  by  the  Albaredo  path. 

While  this  bold  plan  was  in  execution,  Lannes, 
marching  in  advance  at  the  head  of  his  infantry, 
had,  on  the  22d  of  Jlay,  caii'ied  the  town  of  Ivrda, 
that  had  not  been  repaired  since  the  wars  of  the 
time  of  Louis  XIV.,  but  which,  from  a  presenti- 
ment much  too  late,  the  Austrian  staff  had  just 
began  to  arm.  The  defensive  works  of  Ivre'a  con- 
sisted of  a  citadel  unconnected  with  the  body  of 
the  place,  and  of  bastioned  walls.  The  brave 
general  Watrin,  at  the  head  of  his  division,  as- 
saulted the  citadel,  while  Lannes  advanced  against 
the  body  of  the  place,  and  both  were  taken  by 
■  sscalade.  There  were  about  five  or  six  thou- 
sand Austrians  in  the  town,  half  of  which  were 
cavalry,  wlio  retreated  in  a  great  hurry.  Lannes 
made  some  prisoners,  drove  the  Austrians  out 
of  the  valley,  and  took  up  a  position  at  the 
opening  upon  the  plains  of  Piedmont,  at  the  point 
designated  by  the  first  consul.  A  few  days  later, 
Ivr^a,  defended  by  the  Austrians,  would  have  be- 
come, though  not  an  insurmountable  obstacle,  a 
serious  embarrassment.  Cannon  and  provisions 
were  found  in  the  town.  Lannes  completed  its 
armament,  and  victualled  it  in  such  a  manner, 
that,  in  case  of  a  check,  it  might  become  one  of  the 
supports  of  the  line  of  retreat. 

While  these  things  were  performing,  general 
Chabran  descended  with  his  division  by  the  Little 
St.  Bernard.  As  his  division  contained  a  good 
many  conscripts  recently  incorporated,  the  blockade 
of  the  fort  of  Bard  was  confided  to  his  hands;  for  it 
could  not  be  long  before  it  surrendered  when  it 
saw  itself  cut  off  from  all  resources,  and  the  artil- 


lery, which  it  could  not  stop,  gone  beyond  its 
reach.  General  Thureau,  at  the  head  of  a  corps 
of  four  thousand  men,  carried  the  outlet  of  Suza, 
making  one  thousand  five  hundred  prisoners,  and 
taking  several  cannon.  He  was  obliged  to  halt  at 
the  entrance  of  the  valley  between  Suza  and  Bus- 
solino.  Genei'al  Lecchi,  with  the  Italians,  turned 
the  valley  of  the  Sesia,  repulsed  Rohan's  division, 
taking  some  hundreds  of  prisoners,  disengaged  the 
outlet  of  the  Simplon,  and  connected  itself  to  a 
detachment  of  the  division  left  in  Switzerland  at 
the  commencement  of  the  campaign.  Finally,  the 
corps  of  general  Moncey,  in  echelon  over  a  great 
length  of  the  valley  of  St.  Gothard,  clambered  up 
the  heights  to  the  summit. 

Thus  the  general  movement  of  the  army  was 
every  where  effected  with  perfect  success.  It  was 
at  last  necessary  to  quit  the  valley  of  Aosta : 
Lannes,  always  in  the  advance-guard,  left  the 
valley  on  the  26th  of  May,  or  the  Cth  of  Prairial,  no 
longer  hesitating  to  show  himself  in  the  plain. 
The  Austrian  general  Haddick  had  the  charge  of 
closing  this  outlet  of  the  Alps,  with  some  thou- 
sand infantry  and  his  numerous  cavalry  ;  he  was 
covei-ed  by  the  little  river  Chiusella,  which  falls 
into  the  Dora  Baltea.  A  bridge  crossed  this 
stream,  to  which  Lannes  briskly  pushed  with  his 
infantry.  The  fire  of  artillery,  well-pointed  and 
sudden,  greeted  the  French,  but  did  not  stop  their 
advance.  The  gallant  general  Macon  entered  the 
bed  of  the  river  with  his  demi-brigade,  and  crossed 
both  above  and  below  the  bridge,  clambering  up 
the  opposite  bank.  The  Austrian  cavalry,  com- 
manded by  Genei-al  Palfy,  charged  the  demi- 
brigade  ;  but  the  general  fell  dead,  and  his  cavalry 
were  dispersed.  The  French,  rejoined  by  the  rest 
of  Lannes'  division,  advanced  in  pursuit  of  the 
enemy  with  their  accustomed  spirit.  General 
Haddick,  profiting  by  the  disorder  of  the  pursuit, 
pushed  on  his  squadrons  at  a  very  favourable  mo- 
ment :  the  6th  light  was  obliged  to  halt ;  but  the 
22d,  in  close  column,  repulsed  solely  by  its  fire  this 
new  charge  of  the  Austrian  cavalry.  Some  thou- 
sand horse  then  dashed  on  at  once  to  make  a  last 
effort  against  the  French  infantry.  The  40th  and 
22d  demi-brigades,  formed  into  a  square,  sustained 
the  formidable  charge  with  wonderful  firmness  ; 
they  were  thrice  charged,  and  as  many  times  they 
repulsed  the  cavalry  with  their  bayonets.  Haddick, 
finding  himself  incapable  of  resisting  the  advance- 
guard  of  the  French,  gave  the  order  to  x'etreat, 
after  losing  a  great  many  men,  killed  and  wounded, 
and  others  made  prisonei-s  ;  thus  relinquishing 
the  plains  of  Piedmont  to  Lannes,  and  retiring 
behind  the  Oreo.  Lannes  continued  his  march, 
and  on  the  28th  of  May,  or  8th  of  Prairial,  he  ad- 
vanced towards  Chivasso  on  the  banks  of  the  Po. 
The  Austrians,  alarmed  at  this  unexpected  inva- 
sion, quickly  evacuated  Turin.  Lannes  seized  a 
numerous  convoy  of  barques  descending  the  Po, 
having  on  board  corn,  rice,  ammunition,  and 
wounded  men.  The  abundance  designed  by  the 
Austrians  for  their  army  was  thus  soon  affording 
resources  to  the  French. 

Thirteen  diiys  were  now  over,  and  the  stupendous 
enterprise  of  the  first  consul  had  fully  succeeded. 
An  army  of  forty  thousand  men,  infantry,  cavalry, 
and  artillery,  had  passed  by  unbeaten  paths  over 
the  highest   mountains  in   Europe ;   dragging   its 


1800. 
May. 


Bonaparte  harangues  his  troops, 
and  lays  aside  all  disguise. — 
Conduct  of  Melas. 


MARENGO. 


His  illusions  gradually  dis- 
pelled.— His  critical  situa- 
tion and  consequent  alarm. 


artillery  by  iii:iin  strength  alon<!;  the  snow,  or 
pushing  it  forward  under  the  murderous  fire  of  a 
fort,  almost  close  to  the  muzzles  of  its  guns.  One 
division  of  five  thousand  men  had  descended  tlie 
Little  St.  Bernard  ;  another  of  four  thousand  had 
passed  over  Mount  Cenis  ;  a  detachment  occupied 
the  Siraplon  ;  and  lastly,  a  corps  of  fifteen  thou.sand 
men,  under  general  Moncey,  was  on  the  suniuiit  of 
St.  Gothai'd.  There  were  thus  sixty  thou.sand 
soldiers  and  more  about  to  enter  Italy,  still,  it  is 
true,  separated  from  each  other  by  considerable 
distances,  but  assured  of  soon  rallying  round  the 
principal  mass  of  forty  thousand,  who  had  come  by 
Ivre'a,  in  the  centre  of  the  semicircle  of  the  Alps. 
Nor  was  this  extraordinary  march  the  whim  of  a 
general  who,  in  order  to  turn  his  enemy,  exposed 
himself  to  be  turned  in  a  like  manner.  Master  of 
the  valley  of  Aosta,  of  the  Simplon,  and  of  St. 
Gothard,  Bonaparte  had  the  certainty,  that  if  he 
lost  a  battle,  he  should  be  able  to  return  to  the 
point  whence  he  had  set  out,  at  the  utmost  by  the 
sacrifice  of  some  part  of  his  artillery,  in  case  of 
being  closely  pressed  on  his  retreat.  Having  now 
no  movement  to  conceal,  the  first  consul  went  to 
Cliivasso,  harangued  the  troops,  congratulated  them 
upon  their  firmness  before  the  Austrian  cavalry, 
announced  to  them  the  great  results  which  he  saw 
ap])roaching,  and  showed  Iiimself,  not  only  to  his 
own  troops,  but  to  the  Italians  and  Austrians,  that 
he  might  alarm,  by  the  knowledge  of  his  own  for- 
midable presence,  the  enemy  whom  a  little  before 
he  wished  to  remain  in  the  profound  repose  of 
their  own  self-assured  security. 

What  in  the  mean  while  was  Mdas  about  ? 
Continually  by  the  cabinet  of  Vienna  and  by  his 
own  generals  made  easy  on  the  subject  of  the 
fabulous  army  of  reserve,  he  pushed  the  siege  of 
Genoa  and  the  attack  of  the  bridge  of  the  Var. 
He  liad  suftered  considerable  losses  at  b-^th  these 
points,  but  still  persisted  in  thinking  that  the  levies 
assembled  at  Dijon  were  composed  of  no  more  than 
a  body  of  conscripts,  destined  to  fill  up  the  vacancies 
in  the  regimental  .skeletons  of  the  two  armies  of  the 
Rhine  and  of  Liguria.  Some  news  that  reached 
hira  about  the  middle  of  May  was  calculated  to  cre- 
ate an  uneasiness  about  the  position  of  affairs  in  his 
rear,  but  he  soon  recovered  from  his  apprehensions, 
and  cherished  the  notion,  that  the  troops  collected 
at  Dijon  were  intended  to  descend  the  Rhone 
directly,  in  order  to  join  the  corps  of  Suchet  on 
the  Var.  In  place  of  sending  his  forces  by  the  Col 
de  Teude  into  Piedmont  he  kept  them  all  with  him 
before  the  bridge  of  the  Var.  Nevertheless,  the 
I'rench  columns  i.ssuing  fn^m  all  the  valleys  of  the 
Alps  at  once,  seen  and  recog:\iBed  with  jicrfect 
certainty  by  general  Wuka.ssowich,  at  length  roused 
him  from  his  illu.sions,  but  still  without  wliolly  con- 
vincing hin).  He  left  general  Ott  with  thirty  thou- 
Baiid  men  before  Genoa,  and  general  Klsnit/.  with 
twenty  thousand  before  the  bridge  of  the  Var.  The 
last  were  to  bo  reinforced  by  the  troops  under 
general  St.  Julien,  wliich  had  become  disposable 
by  the  reduction  of  Savona.  MiSlas  now  returned 
with  ten  thousand  men  across  tlie  Col  de  Tende  to- 
ward Coni.  On  the  22d  of  May  he  entered  that 
[ilace,  and,  until  that  mrtinent,  really  believed  that 
the  French  trooi)S  wiiich  had  shown  thcn)selves 
were  (inly  conscripts  employed  to  make  a  demon- 
.stration  in  the  rear  of  his  army,  in  order  to  induce 


him  to  raise  the  siege  of  Genoa,  and  he  could 
scarcely  credit  even  now  that  it  was  Bonaparte 
at  the  head  of  a  gi'eat  army.  But  this  illusion 
was  soon  dissipated.  One  of  his  officers,  who  knew 
the  person  of  the  French  commander-in-chief  per- 
fectly well,  was  sent  to  Chivasso  on  tlie  banks  of 
the  Po.  There  he  saw  with  his  own  eyes  the  con- 
queror of  Castiglioue  and  Ilivoli,  made  his  com- 
mander acquainted  with  the  whole  extent  of  his 
danger,  and  that  it  was  not  an  assemblage  of  con- 
scripts of  which  the  first  consul  had  deigned  to 
take  the  command.  This  was  not  all;  for,  it  having 
been  doubted  whether  the  French  had  cannon,  the 
noise  of  their  artillery  was  now  distinctly  heard  at 
Chiusella.  This  estimable  old  officer,  Me'his,  who 
had  displayed  superior  military  qualities  in  the 
preceding  campaign,  was  thus  subjected  to  the 
most  cruel  anxietie.s.  Every  day  added  to  his 
troubles,  since  he  soon  learned  that  the  heads  of 
the  columns  of  general  Moncey  were  descending 
the  St.  Gothard. 

M^las  was  in  an  extremely  critical  situation.  Of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men  he  recently 
commanded,  he  had  lost  at  least  twenty-five  thou- 
sand before  the  Var  and  Genoa.  Those  which  he 
had  left  were  dispersed  ;  Otto,  with  thirty  thou- 
sand, was  before  Genoa  ;  Elsnitz,  with  twenty-five 
thousand,  before  the  bridge  of  the  Var  ;  general 
Kaim,  guarding  the  outlets  of  Suza  and  Pignei'ol 
with  about  twelve  thousand  men,  had  lost  Suza, 
and  retii-ed  upon  Turin.  Haddick,  who  had  about 
nine  thousand,  watched  the  valleys  of  Aosta  and 
Sesia,  and  was  now  retiring  before  Lannes;  Wu- 
kassowich,  who  had  ten  thousand  men,  was  in 
observation  of  the  valleys  of  the  Simplon  and 
St.  Gothard  ;  what  would  be  his  fate  before  Mon- 
cey? Melas  himself  was  at  Turin  with  ten  thou- 
sand falling  back  upon  Nice.  Was  it  not  Bona- 
parte's intentions  to  throw  himself  among  all  these 
dispersed  corps,  and  beating  them  one  after  an- 
other, to  destroy  them  ?  There  was  yet  time,  per- 
haps, to  take  safe  steps,  provided  they  had  been 
executed  as  soon  as  they  were  conceived  ;  but  the 
Austrian  general  lost  some  days  in  coming  to  him- 
self, and  forming  a  definitive  opinion  regarding  the 
plans  of  his  opponent,  then  in  forming  his  own, 
and,  last  of  all,  in  resigning  himself  to  the  sacrifices 
attending  the  concentration  of  his  forces  ;  since 
it  was  necessary  for  him  to  abandon  at  the  same 
time  the  Var,  probably  Genoa,  and,  most  as- 
suredly, the  larger  part  of  Piedmont. 

While  Mdlas  was  deliberating,  Bonaparte  had 
made  his  determinations  with  his  customary 
promptness  and  resolution.  His  determinations 
were  not  less  grave  than  those  of  his  enemy.  If 
the  Austrians  were  dispersed,  the  French  were  so 
too,  since  they  descended  by  Mont  Cenis,  the  Great 
and  Little  St.  Bernard,  the  Simplon,  and  the  St. 
(jothard.  It  was  afterwards  necessary  they  should 
miite  and  cut  oft"  all  retreat  from  Mcla.s,  or,  lastly, 
set  Massena  free,  who  at  this  moment  was  reduced 
to  the  last  extremity. 

Having  descended  the  St.  Bernard,  Bonaparte 
had  uijon  iiis  right  mount  Cenis  and  Turin,  on  his 
left  the  St.  Gothard  anil  Milan,  fifty  leagues  in 
his  front  Genoa  and  Ma.ssc'na.  What  course  would 
he  now  take?  Inelining  to  the  right  upon  moinit 
CeiiJH,  to  rally  the  four  thousand  men  under  gmeral 
Thureau,  would  be  of  little  moment.      lie  would 


Determinations  of  the  first 
94        consul  as  to  his  future 
proceedings. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Further  illusions  of 
Melas. —  Passage 
of  the  Tessino. 


May. 


thus  expose  himself  to  an  encounter  with  Mdias 
immediately,  tliough  in  the  present  dispersed  state 
of  his  forces  this  would  not  he  very  hazardous; 
hut  by  inelinin-,'  to  the  riglit  he  must  relinquish 
to  the  Austrian  general  on  the  left,  the  roads  of 
Milan  or  Piacenza,  by  which  he  might  effect  a 
retreat.  It  was  little  worth  his  while, having  made 
such  great  eflf.irts  to  cross  the  Ali)s  and  throw 
himself  upon  the  communications  of  the  enemy, 
if  after  thus  occupying  them,  he  were  to  leave 
them  free.  To  jiroceed  straightforward,  pass  tiie 
Poj'-fly  to  Genoa  among  the  dispersed  corps  of  the 
Austrian  army,  neglecting  general  Thureau  on 
his  right  and  general  Moncey  on  his  left,  and  com- 
promising every  one  of  his  own  communications, 
was  not  consistent  with  that  great  prudence  which 
had  combined  ail  the  parts  of  the  plan  thus  far 
followed  will)  so  nmeh  reflection  and  boldness. 
He  was  ignorant  what  number  of  troops  might  be 
met  with  upon  that  route;  he  would  sacrifice  his 
line  of  retreat  upon  the  Alps,  by  abandoning  gene- 
rals Tliureau  and  Moncey  to  themselves,  and, 
in  all  probability,  reducing  them  to  the  alternative 
of  falling  back  upon  Mi)unt  Cenis  and  St.  Gothard, 
Who  shall  say  after  what  adventures!  It  would 
have  been  better  to  succour  Masse'na  direct  by 
Toulon,  Nice,  and  Genoa.  Under  all  these  cir- 
cutnstances,  there  evidently  remained  but  one  part 
to  take;  and  this  was  to  incline  to  the  left  towards 
St.  Gothard  and  Milan,  and  form  a  communication 
with  the  fifteen  thousand  men  commanded  by  gene- 
ral Moncey.  Ill  this  mode  he  would  unite  him- 
self to  the  principal  detachment  of  the  army,  which 
would  carry  up  the  number  to  sixty  thousand 
fighting  men  ;  he  would  occupy  the  capital  of 
upper  Italy ;  he  would  raise  the  population  in  the 
Austrian  rear;  he  wouM  take  all  their  magazines; 
he  would  become  master  of  the  line  of  the  Po,  and 
of  all  the  bridges  on  that  great  river;  and,  finally, 
by  tints  putting  it  in  his  ])ower  to  attack  the  enemy 
upon  either  bank,  he  woiUd  stop  Me'las  by  which- 
ever road  lie  might  attcfnpt  an  escape.  It  was 
true,  that  by  this  plan  no  succour  could,  for  eight 
or  ten  days,  be  sent  to  Massena,  which  was  to  ba 
regretted ;  but  Bonaparte  thought  that  his  own 
presence  in  Italy  would  suffice  to  disengage  the 
army  of  Liguria,  because  he  supposed  M^las  would 
lose.no  time  in  iiastening  to  collect  around  him  the 
corps  that  were  investing  Genoa  and  the  bridge  of 
the  Var.  In  any  case,  tlie  generals  Masse'na  and 
Suchet  had  fulfilled  the  object  which  was  assigned 
to  them,  iiad  retained  M^las  on  the  Apennines, 
fatiguing  and  exhausting  him,  above  all,  prevent- 
hig  his  closing  up  the  outlets  of  the  AljJS.  If  the 
defender  of  Genoa  must  yield,  it  would  but  con- 
summate Ihc  long  series  of  sacrifices  imposed  upon 
the  nobie  and  unfortunate  army  of  Liguria  for  the 
success  of  a  vast  combination. 

His  resolution  formed,  Bonaparte  made  his  ar- 
rangements witii  tlie  greatest  promptitude,  direct- 
ing his  entire  army  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Po.  lie 
assembled  his  park  of  artillery  wiiich  had  just  been 
put  in  an  efficient  state  ;  he  enjoined  Laimes  to 
collect  all  the  boats  taken  at  Chivasso,  to  dispose 
of  them  in  such  a  manner  as  if  he  was  about  to 
tlirow  a  bridge  across,  and  to  pass  into  Piedmont. 
His  object  was  a  second  time  to  deceive  Me'las 
in  regard  to  his  intentions,  and  in  this  he  was  as 
successful  as  he  had  been  before.   On  observing  the 


movements  of  Bonaparte,  Me'las,  trying  to  flatter 
himself  to  the  last  moment,  indulged  the  hope  that 
the  French  had  only  descended  the  Alps  in  a  small 
number.  He  believed  that  Bonaparte,  as  every 
thing  induced  him  to  think,  had  only  passed  the 
Poto  enter  Turin,  and  communicate  towards  Mount 
Cenis  with  general  Thureau,  and  imagined  he 
could  make  head  against  him,  by  destroying  the 
bridges  and  disputing  the  passage  of  the  Po  with 
abotit  thirty  thousand  men.  He  had  thus  the  hope 
that  he  should  be  able  to  defend  himself  on  this 
line,  Avithout  making  the  double  sacrifice  of  the 
positions  occupied  on  the  Var,  and  the  advantages 
obtained  before  Genoa.  In  consequence,  M^las 
united  general  Haddick,  who  had  returned  from 
the  valley  of  Aosta,  general  Kaim  before  posted 
at  the  outlet  of  Susa,  the  ten  thousand  men  he  had 
himself  brought  from  Nice,  with  a  new  detachment 
from  the  Var,  thus  forming,  together,  a  force  of 
thirty  thousand  men,  and,  thinking  the  French 
were  not  more  numerous,  he  trusted  to  dispute 
witli  this  number,  the  river  which  separated  the 
two  armies. 

The  first  consul  did  not  seek  to  destroy  this  new 
illusion  of  his  enemy,  and  leaving  him  to  employ 
himself  towards  Turin,  in  this  partial  concentra- 
tion of  his  forces,  fell  back  suddenly  himself  upon 
Milan.  Laimes,  who  was  ajiparently  about  to 
ascend  the  Po  in  order  to  march  from  Chivasso 
up(m  Turin,  on  the  contrary  suddenly  descended 
the  river.  He  advanced  by  Crescentino  and  Trino 
on  Pavia,  where  the  Austrians  ))0ssessed  immense 
magazines  of  provisions,  ammunition,  and  artillery, 
and  still  more  the  most  important  of  their  commu- 
nications, for  it  commanded  at  the  same  time  the 
passage  of  the  Po  and  the  Tessino.  Murat  marched 
by  Verceil  on  tiie  point  of  BufFalora.  The  whole 
army  followed  tlie  general  movement  upon  Milan. 
On  the  31st  of  May  it  arrived  at  the  Tessino.  This 
river  is  large  and  deep  ;  there  were  no  boats  to 
pass  over  ;  and  on  the  opposite  side  a  numerous 
cavalry  appeared,  belonging  to  tlie  corps  of  Wukas- 
sowich,  which  guarded  the  Simplon  and  that  part  of 
the  opening  of  the  Alps.  Behind  the  Tessino  ran 
the  Naviglio-Grande,  a  broad  canal  which  crosses 
the  country  as  far  as  Milan.  This  canal  for  some 
distance  runs  a  parallel  course  with  the  river  from 
Avhich  it  branches,  and  ajiproxiraates  to  it  very 
closely.  The  enemy's  cavalry,  cooped  up  on  a 
narrow  tongue  of  land  between  the  Tessino  and  the 
canal,  was  extremely  confined  in  its  movements, 
and  could  scarcely  make  use  of  its  strength.  The 
adjutant-general  Girard  took  some  of  the  small 
boats  which  the  peasantry  of  the  vicinity  had  con- 
cealed near  Galiate,  with  which  they  were  desirous 
of  furnishing  the  army,  crossed  with  a  few  troops, 
and  fell  upon  the  Austrian  advance-guard.  Suc- 
cessively reinforced  by  these  boats,  wliich  were 
kept  continually  passing  and  repassing,  and  sup- 
ported by  the  fife  of  the  artillery,  the  general  re- 
pulsed the  cavalry,  which  dared  not  advance  upon 
a  ground  so  unfavourable,  and  obliged  it  to  repass 
the  Naviglio-Grande  at  a  place  called  the  biidge  of 
Turbigo.  Thus  he  cleared  at  once  the  Naviglio 
and  Tessino.  But  general  Wukassowich  brought 
up  Laudon's  infantry-brigade,  and  attempted  to 
penetrate  into  the  village  of  Turbigo.  The  ^dju- 
tant-geiieral  Girard  had  but  a  few  hundred  men  to 
oppose  to  this  force.      He  defended  himself  for 


The  approach  of  Bonaparte  on 
Milan.— Surprise  aiid  joy  of 
the  Milanese. 


MARENGO. 


He  Cillers  Milan,  and  re-estalilishes 
the  republican  govrriiineni. — Fur- 
ther inoveinent>  of  the  army. 


several  successive  hours  with  great  spirit  and 
cnui-age,  finally  succeeding  in  saving  the  bridge  of 
Turbi;;o,  tlie  loss  of  which  might  have  thrown  the 
French  on  this  side  of  the  Naviglio-Grande,  and 
perhaps  of  the  Tessino  it.self.  While  lie  thus  gal- 
lantly defended  himself,  general  Monnier,  who  had 
ciintrived  to  cross  a  little  below,  came  to  his  aid, 
fell  upon  the  troops  of  Lan<l<)ii,  and  drove  them 
from  Turbigo.  The  line  which  was  to  check  the 
French  anny  ^^as  thus  passed  at  the  cost  of  a 
simple  skirmish  of  the  advance-guard. 

The  next  day,  the  1st  of  June,  or  12th  Prairial, 
B'ludet's  division  crossed  near  Buffalora,  and  tlie 
whole  army  advanced  up<m  Milan.  Wukassowieh, 
fearful  of  being  entrapped  between  the  main  army 
while  advancing  in  Lonibardy,  and  the  corps  of 
Moncey  descending  from  the  St.  Gothard,  retired 
with  great  ha.'^te,  and  commanded  Dedovich's 
brigade,  which  was  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  to 
fall  back  behind  the  Adda  at  Cassano.  He  him.self 
went  to  seek  shelter  behind  the  Adda  by  Milan 
and  Lodi,  after  leaving  a  garrison  of  two  thousand 
eight  hundred  men  in  the  citadel  of  Milan. 

There  was  now  nothing  to  impede  the  progress 
of  the  French  army.  It  could  enter  freely  into 
the  capital  of  Lonibardy,  which  had  groaned  for 
above  a  year  under  the  yoke  of  the  Austiians. 
Thus  far  the  unhappy  Italians  liad  heard  of  nothing 
but  the  successes  of  Melas  and  the  distress  of  the 
French.  Caricatures  of  tlie  army  of  reserve  had 
been  circulated  in  Milan  as  well  as  in  London  and 
Vienna.  They  represented  it  as  a  rabble  of  boys 
and  old  men,  armed  with  sticks,  mounted  upon 
as.ses,  and  having  for  their  artillery  a  couple  of 
blunderbusses.  At  the  same  time  the  derision  of 
the  French  republic,  inoffensive  enough,  was  thus 
poured  out,  the  Italians  were  the  victims  of 
grievous  oppression.  All  the  men  in  Lombardy, 
any  way  distinguished  by  talents  or  fortune,  were 
imprisoned  or  e.\ili-d,  particularly  if  they  had  been 
at  all  couceriieil  in  the  affairs  of  the  Cisalpine 
republic.  It  was  not  a  little  remarkable  that  the 
persecution  fell  le.ss  heavily  upon  the  infuriated  pa- 
triots who  corresponded  with  the  French  Jacobins, 
than  upon  moderate  men,  whose  examples  might 
be  more  catching  among  the  people.  Excepting  a 
few  who  were  the  creatures  of  the  Austrian  go- 
vernment, and  some  of  the  nobles  attached  to  tlie 
oligarchy,  every  body  sighed  for  the  return  of  the 
French.  Yet  for  this  they  could  scarcely  venture 
to  hope,  particularly  when  they  saw  M^las  advanced 
so  far  ill  Liguria,  so  near  the  capture  of  Genoa 
and  the  passage  of  the  Var,  and  the  first  consul  so 
occupied,  at  least  as  far  as  appearances  went,  with 
llie  dangers  of  the  invasi'ni  which  threatened 
France  ujion  the  side  of  the  llliini'.  A  report  had 
been  circulated  among  the  peopk-,  that  Bonaparte, 
so  well-known  in  Italy,  iiad  died  in  Egypt  ;  that, 
a  new  I'liaraoh,  he  had  been  engulfed  in  the  Red 
Sea ;  and  that  he  whu  figured  in  Paris,  bearing  the 
same  name,  was  one  "f  his  brothers. 

The  Huiprisc  of  the  Italians,  when  they  were 
suddenly  tohl  that  a  French  army  had  shown 
itself  at  Ivr(Ja,  may  be  easily  divined  ;  that  it  was 
issuing  fiirth  below  that  town,  that  it  was  in  marcli 
for  tile  Teseino ;  and,  lastly,  that  it  had  pas.sed 
that  river.  It  may  he  imagined  what  agitation 
[(revailed  in  Milan  !  The  affinnations,  tiie  contra- 
dictions, that  lor  forty-eight  hours  succeeded  each 


other  ;  and,  last  of  all,  the  delight  that  appeared 
when  the  news  was  confirmed  by  the  presence  of 
Bonaparte  him.self,  marching  with  his  staff  at  the 
head  of  the  advance-guard.  On  the  2nd  of  June, 
or  the  13th  Prairial,  the  entire  population  came 
out  to  meet  the  French  army,  and  recognise  the 
illustrious  general,  whom  they  had  so  often  seen 
within  their  walls,  welcoming  him  in  transports  of 
enthusiasm,  and  receiving  him  like  a  saviour  from 
heaven.  The  feelings  of  the  Italians,  always 
lively  and  demonstrative,  had  never  broken  out 
with  such  force,  because  so  many  circuiu-stances 
had  never,  until  now,  concurred  to  render  the  joy 
of  the  people  so  quick  and  deep.  The  French 
general,  on  entering  Milan,  hastened  to  open  the 
prisons,  and  to  restore  the  government  of  the 
country  to  the  friends  of  Frauce,  He  gave  a  pro- 
visional administration  to  the  Cisalpine  republic, 
and  c<imposed  it  of  the  most  respected  men.  Still 
faithful  to  the  same  principles  in  Italy  to  which  he 
adhered  in  France,  he  would  neither  allow  violence 
nor  re-action  ;  and  in  i-estoring  the  power  to  the 
Italians  of  his  own  party,  he  aid  not  permit  them 
to  exercise  it  against  those  who  were  of  the  con- 
trary side. 

After  having  thus  first  taken  care  of  the 
Milanese,  he  made  haste  to  push  out  columns  in 
every  direction,  on  the  lakes,  on  the  Adda,  and  on 
the  Po,  so  as  to  extend  the  rising  in  favour  of  the 
French,  seize  the  enemy's  magazines,  cut  off  their 
communications,  and  shut  up  every  road  in  their 
retreat.  Uj)  to  this  puint  every  thing  went  well, 
as  Lannes.  who  had  been  ordered  upon  Pavia,  had 
entered  that  town  on  the  1st  of  June,  and  carried 
off  immense  magazines.  This  general  found  in 
Pavia,  the  Austrian  hospitals,  a  large-  store  of 
grain,  forage,  ammunition,  arms,  and  especially 
three  humlred  piec  s  of  cannon,  one-half  being  field- 
pieces.  He  was  able  also  to  procure  thence  many 
materials  for  making  bridges,  which  the  pontoon 
companies,  who  had  been  started  oif  without 
materiel,  could  usefully  employ  on  the  Po.  The 
division  of  Chabran,  which  had  been  left  before  the 
fort  of  Bard,  captured  it  on  the  1st  of  June,  and 
found  there  eighteen  pieces  of  cannon.  General 
Chabran,  leaving  a  garrison  there,  as  well  as  at 
Ivrt-a,  went  on  to  occujiy  the  coui-se  of  the  Po  from 
the  Dora  Ballea  to  the  Sesia,  beyond  which  point 
to  Pavia  it  was  occupied  by  Lannes. 

The  corps  of  general  de  Be'theiicourt,  which  had 
marched  from  the  Simplon,  took  up  a  position  be- 
fore Arona,  towards  the  point  of  Lago  Maggiore. 
The  Italian  legion  was  despatched  from  Brescia  to 
follow  up  the  Austrians  who  were  retreating  in  all 
haste.  At  the  same  time  the  Duhesme  and  Loison 
divisions  jiassed  the  Adda,  and  appeared  at  Lodi, 
Crema,  and  Pi/zighittone.  General  Wukassowieh, 
giving  u|>  all  pretence  of  guarding  the  Adda,  re- 
treated behind  the  Mincio,  under  the  cannon  of 
Mantua. 

There  was  notliing  to  check  the  progress  of 
general  Slomey,  always  excepting  the  difficulty  of 
finding  subsistence  in  the  barren  valleys  of  upper 
Switzerland.  His  first  columns  were  just  making 
their  ajjpearance,  but  it  was  necessary  to  wait  some 
days  yet  for  the  others,  and  this,  as  things  stood, 
was  a  most  convenient  point,  for  it  became  ini- 
jiortant  to  jiress  cm,  lest  Genoa  should  fall  into  tho 
iiands  of  the  Austrians.    Bonaparte  was  now  certain 


Melas,  thoroughly  undeceived, 
96     relinquishes  half  measures.-  THIERS'   CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE. 
Dreadful  state  of  Genoa. 


In  all  their  sufferings  the  ...« 
garrison  hope  for  rescue  •.„_.■ 
from  Bonaparte.  ''"°^- 


of  bringing  all  his  columns  together,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  one  only,  that  of  general  Thureau,  which, 
in  entrenchment  at  the  fort  of  mount  Cenis,  was  un- 
able to  proceed.  In  all  other  respects,  the  army 
was  strongly  posted  in  the  centre  of  the  Milanese, 
having  its  retreat  assured  by  mount  Cenis,  the  St. 
Bernard,  the  Simplon,  and  St.Gothard,  in  possession 
of  the  Adda,  the  Tessino,  and  the  Po,  victualled  from 
the  magazines  of  the  Austi-ians,  whom  it  cut  off  on 
every  road,  and  could  bring  to  a  decisive  engage- 
ment, after  which  they  would  have  no  other  re- 
source, if  beaten,  than  to  lay  down  their  arms. 
The  surrender  of  Genoa,  if  it  took  place,  would  be  a 
vexatious  circumstance;  vexatious,  first,  because 
of  the  brave  army  who  were  its  defenders,  and 
secondly,  because  the  body  of  Austi-ians  engaged  at 
present  in  the  siege  would  not  fail  to  re-iuforce 
Me'las,  and  so  render  more  arduous  the  great 
battle  which  was  to  put  an  end  to  the  campaign. 
But  if  Bonaparte  carried  off  the  victory,  Genoa 
and  Italy  were  reconquered  at  the  same  blow. 
Nevertheless  he  placed  a  high  value  on  the  pre- 
servation of  Genoa  ;  but  there  was  scarcely  a  hope 
of  assembling  the  corps  of  Moncey  before  the  5th 
or  6th  June,  and  no  one  could  flatter  himself  that 
Genoa  would  hold  out  to  that  time. 

Me'las,  whom  the  last  news  had  thorouglily  en- 
lightened, and  who  saw  his  adversary  entering  into 
Milan  and  joming  all  his  columns  as  they  succes- 
sively came  down  from  the  Alps,  now  comprehended 
the  vast  plan  which  had  been  projected  against 
him.  To  increase  his  misfortune,  he  just  now  re- 
ceived intelligence  of  the  ill-fortune  of  Kray,  and 
his  retreat  upon  Ulm.  He  threw  away  at  once  his 
system  of  half  measures,  and  issued  imperative 
orders  to  general  Elsnitz  to  abandon  the  bridge  of  the 
Var,  and  to  general  Ott  to  give  up  the  siege  of  Genoa, 
and  concentrate  both  their  forces  at  Alexandria. 
It  was  in  this  that  Bonaparte  had  placed  his  hope 
for  the  safety  of  Genoa.  But  it  was  fated  that  the 
noble  and  unfortunate  army  of  Liguria  should  pay 
to  the  last,  with  its  blood,  its  sufferings,  and  finally 
with  the  mortification  of  a  surrender,  for  the 
triumphs  of  the  army  of  reserve. 

Masse'na  to  the  last  supported  his  great  reputa- 
tion. "  He  will  make  us  eat  his  very  boots,"  said 
the  soldiers,  "  before  he  surrenders."  When  the 
butchers'  meat  was  consumed,  they  ate  their  horses, 
and  when  these  had  gone  they  fed  upon  animals  tlie 
most  unclean.  The  sorry  bread,  made  of  oats  and 
beans,  had  been  already  devoured.  From  the  23d 
May,  or  3d  Prairial,  Masse'na  had  collected  the 
starch,  linseed,  and  cacao  wliich  were  in  the  maga- 
zines of  Genoa,  and  caused  them  to  be  made  into 
a  bread,  which  the  soldiers  could  hardly  swallow, 
and  very  few  digest.  Nearly  all  of  them  crowded 
into  the  hospitals.  The  people,  reduced  to  soup  of 
herbs  for  their  only  aliment,  experienced  all  the 
agonies  of  famine.  The  streets  were  strewed  with 
the  bodies  of  men  dying  from  inanition,  and 
emaciated  women,  who  exposed  to  charity  the 
children  wliom  they  could  no  longer  nourish.  A 
spectacle  of  another  kind  created  terror  in  the  city 
and  the  army;  it  was  that  of  the  numerous  pri- 
soners whom  Massena  had  made,  and  to  whom  he 
had  no  food  to  give.  He  was  not  inclined  to  dis- 
miss them  on' their  parole,  since  he  liad  seen  those 
to  whom  lie  did  so  again  appear  in  the  ranks  of 
the  enemy.     He  proposed  to  general  Ott,  and  then 


to  admiral  Keith,  to  furnish  the  provisions  neces- 
sary for  their  daily  consumption,  on  his  giving  his 
word  of  honour  that  they  should  not  be  misapphed 
for  tlie  support  of  the  gai-rison.  The  word  of  such 
a  man  might  certainly  have  been  taken  ;  but  so 
inveterate  were  the  enemy,  that  they  resolved  to 
impose  upon  Massena  the  charge  of  supporting  his 
prisoners.  The  enemy's  generals  had  thus  the 
barbarity  to  condemn  their  soldiers  to  the  horrible 
suff'erings  of  famine,  for  the  purpflse  of  augmenting 
the  dearth  in  Genoa  by  leaving  him  some  thousand 
more  mouths  to  provide  for.  Masse'na  supplied 
these  prisonei's  with  the  herb-soup  which  he  gave 
the  inhabitants  ;  but  this  was  not  sufficient  for 
robust  men  accustomed  to  the  plenty  of  the  rich 
plains  of  Italy.  They  were  continually  on  the 
point  of  breaking  out  into  revolt ;  and  to  prevent 
any  fear  of  this,  Massena  had  them  shut  up  in 
the  old  hulks  of  some  vessels,  which  he  placed  in  the 
middle  of  the  port,  and  on  which  a  numerous 
artillery  was  constantly  pointed,  in  readiness  to 
pour  forth  death.  These  wretched  men  kept 
uttering  a  hideous  howling,  which  deeply  moved 
the  population  of  the  city,  even  in  the  midst  of 
their  own  sufferings. 

The  number  of  our  soldiers  each  day  diminished. 
They  might  be  seen  expiring  in  the  streets;  and 
such  was  their  weakness,  as  to  render  it  necessary 
to  allow  them  to  sit  while  mounting  guard.  The 
Genoese  were  too  discouraged  to  i)erforra  any 
longer  the  duties  of  a  national  guard,  believing 
that  th'ey  would  be  compromised,  as  the  Austrians 
would  soon  restore  the  aristocratic  party.  From 
time  to  time  vague  rumours  gave  token  that  the 
despair  of  the  inhabitants  was  about  to  break  out ; 
and  to  prevent  an  explosion,  the  principal  places 
were  occupied  by  battalions  with  loaded  cannon. 

Masse'na  imposed  awe  on  the  people  and  the 
army  by  his  imperturbable  attitude.  Tlie  respect 
which  this  hero  inspired — eating  the  vile  bread 
of  the  soldiers,  living  with  them  under  the  fire  of 
the  enemy,  and  enduring,  besides  their  physical 
sufferings,  with  undaunted  firmness  the  anxieties 
of  his  command — the  respect  which  he  inspired 
controlled  all  men  ;  and  in  the  midst  of  desolated 
Genoa  he  exercised  the  ascendancy  of  a  gi'eat  mind. 

Yet  a  feeling  of  hope  still  supported  the  be- 
sieged. Several  aids-de-camp  from  the  general, 
by  eff'orts  the  most  courageous,  had  passed  the 
enemy's  lines,  and  brought  m  news.  Colonels 
Reille,  Franeeschi,  and  Ortigoni  had  passed  in 
and  given  information :  at  one  time  that  the  first 
consul  was  on  his  way;  at  another,  that  he  was 
passing  the  Alps  ;  one  of  them,  Franeeschi,  had 
left  him  descending  the  St.  Bernard.  But  since 
the  20tli  of  May  there  had  been  no  more  news.  Ten 
or  twelve  days  passed  in  such  a  situation  appeared 
like  ages,  and  men  began  to  ask  in  despair,  how 
it  could  be  possible,  that  in  ten  days  Bonaparte 
had  not  crossed  the  space  between  the  Alps  and 
the  Apennines.  "  They  knew  the  man,"  they  said; 
"  and  by  that  time  he  was  either  victor  or  van- 
quished ;  if  he  had  not  arrived,  it  was  because  he 
had  failed  in  this  daring  enterprise.  If  he  had 
succeeded  in  coming  out  upon  Italy,  he  would 
have  already  pounced  upon  the  Austrian  general, 
and  forced  him  from  the  walls  of  Genoa."  Others 
asserted  that  Bonaparte  had  regarded  the  army  of 
Liguria  in  the  light  of  a  corps  to  be  sacrificed  to  a 


Massena's  proclamation  to  the 
soliliers. — He  is  reduced  to 
the  last  extremity,  and  cora- 


MARENGO. 


pelled  to  surrender  tlie  city, 
but  on  the  most  honourable 
terras. 


97 


grand  operation;  that  all  he  wanted  was  to  detain 
Me'las  uu  the  Apennines;  and  that,  this  effected,  he 
gave  himself  no  further  care  to  raise  the  siege, 
but  marched  on  to  carry  out  grander  objects. 
"  Well,'  added  the  Genoese,  and  our  soldiers  also, 
"we  have  been  sacrificed  to  the  glory  of  France: 
so  be  it ;  but  now  that  object  is  attained,  are  we  to 
die  to  the  last  man  I  If  it  were  in  battle,  with  arms 
in  our  hands,  we  should  give  death  a  welcome  ;  but 
of  famine,  of  sickness,— we  cannot  bear  it !  The  time 
has  come  for  a  surrender."  Many  of  the  soldiers  in 
their  desperation  went  so  far  ivs  to  break  their 
muskets.  About  the  same  time  information  was 
given  of  a  conspiracy  of  several  persons  who  were 
irritated  by  suttering.  Masse'na  addressed  them  in 
a  fine  proclamation,  in  which  he  reminded  them 
that  the  duties  of  a  soldier  consist  as  much  in  the 
endurance  of  privations  and  of  sufferings,  as  in  the 
braving  of  danger  ;  he  also  pointed  out  to  them 
the  example  of  their  officers,  who  ate  the  same 
food,  and  were  killed  or  wounded  each  day  at  their 
head.  He  t->ld  them  that  the  first  consul  was  ad- 
vancing with  an  army  to  their  deliverance,  and 
that  to  capitulate  now  would  be  to  lose  in  one  in- 
stant the  result  of  twp  months  of  e.xertion  and 
devotion.  "  A  few  days  more,  perhaps  a  few  honrs," 
said  he,  "  and  you  will  be  delivered,  and  have  ren- 
dered eminent  service  to  your  country." 

Accordingly,  at  every  sound,  every  echo  in 
the  air,  they  thought  they  heard  the  cannon  of 
Bonaparte,  and  ran  towards  it  with  enthusiasm. 
One  day  they  persuaded  themselves  of  the  sound 
of  canniin  at  the  Bocchctta  ;  a  madness  of  joy 
broke  out  on  all  sides.  Masse'na  himself  went  to 
the  ramparts.  Vain  illusion  1  it  was  the  sound  of 
a  storm  in  the  gorges  of  the  Apennines,  and  they 
relapsed  into  a  still  deeper  depression. 

At  last,  on  the  4th  June,  there  remained  no 
more  than  two  ounces  for  each  man  of  the 
wretched  bread,  made  of  starch  and  cacao.  The 
place  must  be  surrendered;  for  it  was  impossible  I 
to  reduce  our  unfortunate  soldiers  to  devouring  I 
each  other,  and  there  was  thus,  in  the  actual  im-  ; 
possibility  of  subsisting,  an  inevitable  limit  to  the 
resistance.  Moreover,  the  army  had  a  feeling 
that  it  had  done  all  that  could  be  expected  from 
its  bravery.  It  felt  an  internal  conviction,  that  it 
was  no  longer  covering  the  Tliermopylse  of  France, 
but  that  it  was  subservient  to  a  manoeuvre  which 
must,  at  the  time,  have  either  succeeded  or  failed. 
It  began  to  suspect,  in  addition,  that  the  fir^t  consul 
tliounht  more  of  extending  his  combinations  than 
of  affording  them  succour.  In  these  sentiments 
MasB^na  sliared,  though  be  did  not  avow  them; 
but  Ik-  regarded  his  duty  as  not  entirely  comi>leted 
until  he  had  reached  the  last  ])ossible  limit  of  re- 
Bistance.  When  these  two  miserable  ounces  of 
bread  which  remained  for  each  man  were  consumed, 
he  was  forced  to  surrender.  He  resigned  himself 
to  this  at  last  with  bitter  sorrow. 

General  Ult  sent  a  flag  of  truce  to  him;  for  the 
Austrians  were  as  nuich  pressed  to  terminate  the 
siege  as  the  French  themselves.  Ott  had  I'e- 
ceivcd  the  most  peremptory  orders  to  raise  the 
siege  and  fall  back  upon  Alexandria.  These  offeis 
coming  from  an  enemy,  some  historianM  say,  ought 
to  have  opened  the  eyes  of  MassiJna.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  the  general  knew  if  he  waited  a  day  or 
two   more  ho  might  jierchance    be   relieved,  but 


those  two  days  were  not  at  his  disposal.  "Only 
give  me,"  he  said  to  the  Genoese,  "  two  days'  pro- 
vision— only  one  day's — and  I  shall  save  you  from 
the  yoke  of  the  Austrians, — I  shall  save  my  army, 
too,  from  the  mortification  of  surrendering." 

At  last,  on  the  3rd  of  June,  Masse'na  was  obliged 
to  negotiate.  His  enemies  spoke  of  a  capitulation, 
but  he  rejected  the  proposal  in  such  a  manner  as 
did  not  allow  them  to  i-enew  it.  He  would  have 
for  his  army  the  permission  to  retire  freely,  with 
arms  and  baggage,  their  colours  flying  ;  he  would 
be  at  liberty  to  commence  active  service  the  mo- 
ment he  should  have  passed  beyond  the  lines  of 
the  besieging  army.  "  If  this  cannot  be,"  said 
Mass(Jna  to  the  Austrians,  '"  I  will  sally  from  Ge- 
noa, sword  in  hand,  with  my  eight  thousand  famished 
men,  I  will  come  to  your  camp,  and  will  fight  until 
I  shall  force  my  way  through."  The  Austrians 
then  permitted  the  garrison  to  march  out,  but  de- 
sired that  their  connnander  should  himself  x'emain 
a  prisoner,  fearing  lest,  with  such  a  leader,  the 
garrison  proceeding  from  Genoa  to  Savona  might 
unite  itself  with  the  troops  of  Suchet,  and  then 
make  a  formidable  attack  upon  the  rear  of  Me'las. 
To  tranquillize  the  indignation  such  a  wish  must 
excite,  they  stated  to  him  the  motive  of  tlie  con- 
dition, which  was  in  every  way  so  honourable  to 
himself.  He  would  not  listen  to  it :  they  then  in- 
sisted that  the  garrison  should  retire  by  sea,  that 
it  might  not  have  time  to  join  the  corps  of  Suchet; 
to  this  he  still  rej)lied  that  he  would  cut  his  way 
through  them.  At  last  they  agreed  to  suffer  eight 
thousand  men  to  depart  by  land,  or,  in  other  words, 
all  who  were  not  too  enfeebled  to  support  the 
weight  of  their  arms.  The  convalescent  were  to 
be  successively  embarked  and  conveyed  to  the 
head-quarters  of  general  Suchet.  There  were  left 
behind  four  thousand  sick,  whom  the  Austrians 
agreed  to  su))ply  with  provisions,  to  take  care  of, 
and  restore  to  the  French  army.  Of  these  general 
Miollis  was  loft  in  the  connnand.  Massdna  also 
stipulated,  in  behalf  of  the  Genoese,  that  none 
should  be  molested  for  the  expression  of  opinions 
exhibited  during  the  French  occupation  of  the 
city,  and  that  persons  and  jiroperty  should  be 
faithfully  respected.  A  distinguished  citizen  of  Ge- 
noa, M.  Corvetto,  subsequently  minister  of  France, 
was  admitted  to  the  conferences,  that  he  might 
witness  the  eftbrts  made  in  favour  of  his  country- 
men. Masse'na  wished  to  obtain  for  them  the 
existing  form  of  government,  lor  which  they  were 
belndden  to  the  French  revolution,  but  on  this 
head  the  Austrian  generals  refused  to  concede  any 
thing.  "  Very  well,"  rej)lied  Massena,  "  do  as  you 
please ;  but  before  fifteen  days  are  past,  I  assure 
yiiu  that  I  shall  again  return  to  Genoa  ;"  a  pro- 
phetic speech,  to  which  an  Austrian  officer,  M.  St. 
Julien,  made  the  delicate  and  noble  reply :  "You 
will  leave  in  this  place,  general,  men  whom  you 
have  taught  how  to  defend  it." 

The  definitive  conference  took  jjlace  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  4th  of  June,  in  a  clia|iel  at  the  bridge  of 
Cornegliano.  The  article  whieh  provided  that  a 
part  of  the  army  should  retire  by  land  gave  place 
to  a  last  difliculty.  Ma-ssena  leaving  the  Austrian 
generals  the  alternative  to  consent  to  what  he  de- 
sired, or  to  expect  a  desperate  battle  the  next  day, 
they  gave  up  the  point.  It  was  stipulated  that  this 
convention  of  evacuation,  from  which  the  word 
11 


Massena  and  the  French  quit  Retreat  o;  the  Austrians 

Genoa.-Afutuallossei,  in-    THIERS'  CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE.        from  the  Vir.-Move- 
curred  during  the  siege.  ments  oi  Suchel 


ISOO. 
Jujie. 


capitulation  liad  been  carefully  excluded,  should 
be  carried  into  effect  the  same  evening.  The 
officers  of  the  Austrian  forces,  struck  with-  ad- 
miration for  the  Fi-ench  general,  showed  him  marks 
of  the  highest  respect  and  attention. 

Evening  came  ;  Massena  still  felt  reluctant  to 
sign,  indulging  to  the  last  moment  the  hope  of  de- 
liverance. At  last,  when  without  breaking  his  word 
it  was  impossible  to  avoid  doing  so,  he  set  his  .sig- 
nature to  the  document.  On  the  morrow  the 
French  troops  marched  out  with  general  Gazan  at 
their  head,  and  found  rations  provided  for  them  at 
the  advanced  posts.  Massena  embarked  in  order 
'to  reach  the  head-quarters  of  Suchet  more  ex- 
peditiously. He  left  Genoa  in  a  vessel  carrying 
the  tricoloured  flag,  and  within  reach  of  the  guns 
of  the  English  squadron. 

Thus  finishtd  this  memorable  siege,  during 
which  the  French  army  distinguished  itself  by 
such  important  services  and  such  distinguished 
victdHes.  This  army  had  taken  more  prisoners 
and  killed  more  of  the  enemy  than  the  amount  of 
its  own  numbers.  With  fifteen  thousand  men, 
more  than  eighteen  thi)usand  Austrians  had  been 
killed  or  taken.  It  bad  more  particularly  destroyed 
■the  coiifideiice  of  the  imperial  army  in  itself,  and 
constrained  it  to  make  continual  and  extraordinary 
efforts.  But  at  what  cost  did  the  brave  garrison 
of' Genoa  perform  all  these  things?  Of  fifteen 
thousand  soldiers  it  hail  lost  three  thousand  killed; 
foGr  thousand  were  lightly  or  severely  wounded  ; 
eight  thousand  only  remained  fit  for  service.  The 
second  in  command,  general  Soult,  remained  in  the 
hands  of  the  enemy  with  a  broken  leg.  Out  of 
tlrreei  genei-als  of  division,  one  had  died  of  an  epi- 
demic disease,  general  Marbot;  another,  general 
Gazan,  was  severely  wounded  :  out  of  six  generals 
of'brigadc,  four  were  wounded,  Gardanne,  Petitot, 
Fressinet,  and  Arnaud  :  of  twelve  adjutants- 
general,  six  were  wounded,  one  taken,  and  one 
killed.  Two  officers  of  the  staff  were  killed,  seven 
takeii,  and  fourteen  wounded  ;  eleven  colonels  out 
of  sevtenteen  were  killed  or  made  prisoners,  and 
three-fourths  of  the  officers  had  met  the  same 
fate.  Thus  it  may  be  seen  that  it  was  by  giving 
an  example  of  their  own  devotion  that  the  leaders 
of  this  brave  army  supported  it  in  the  midst  of 
such  s6vere  trials.  It  proved  how  worthy  it  was 
of  those  who  led  it ;  ■  the  French  soldier  never  on 
any  occasion  displaying  greater  constancy  or  he- 
roism. Let  there  be  honour,  then,  given  to  that 
unfortunate  courage  which,  by  a  devotedness  with- 
out limit,  contributed  to  the  triumph  of  that  more 
successfid  courage,  the  exploits  of  which  it  will  be 
our  province  to  recount. 

While  thus  urged  to  raise  the  siege  of  Genoa, 
and  while  general  Ott  was  granting  to  ilassiJiia  the 
honourable  conditions  just  recounted,  general  Els- 
nit2,  recalled  by  the  order  of  M^las,  abandoned 
the  bridge  of  the  Var.  The  Austrian  attacks  upon 
this  point  bad  been  tardy,  because  their  heavy 
artillery  bad  been  long  on  the  passage..  Attempts 
hadilbeei*  successively  made  on  the  22nd  and  27th 
of  May  1(1  cari-y  this  object.  The  la-st  attack  was 
a  despairing  effort  on  the  part  of  general  Elsnitz, 
who  was  de.rirous  before  he  retreated  not  to  spare 
any  efforts.  These  attacks  were  bravely  repulsed; 
Xid  general  Elsnitz,  knowing  he  had  no  chance  of 
success,  began  to  think  of  crossing  the  mountains. 


Suchet,  judging  promptly  and  rightly  the  intentions 
of  the  Austi'ian  general,  made  bis  arrangements  so 
as  not  to  permit  him  to  retii-e  in  security.  He  saw 
plainly  enough,  that  by  manoeuvring  with  his  left 
wing  along  the  mountains,  be  could  place  the  Aus- 
trians in  a  perilous  situation,  and  probably  might 
be  able  to  cut  off  from  them  some  of  their  detach- 
ments. In  fact,  beyond  the  line  of  the  Var  whicli 
had  stopped  the  invaders,  the  line  of  the  Roya  ran 
in  a  parallel,  the  source  of  which  river  is  in  the 
Col  de  Tende  itself.  If  the  French  went  beyond 
the  Var,jind  preceded  the  Austrians  at  the  sources 
of  the  Roya,  they  would  obHge  them  to  avoid  the 
Col  de  Tende,  and  force  them  to  move  along  the 
coast  of  the  Apennines  to  find  a  passage.  This 
happy  idea,  vigorously  executed,  was  productive  to 
general  Suchet  of  the  happiest  results.  He  began 
by  dispossessing  general  Gorupp  of  Ronciglioue; 
then  continuing  to  march  i-apidly  by  his  left  on  the 
right  of  the  Austrians  thus  shaken,  he  took  in  suc- 
cession the  Col  de  Rauss,  which  affords  a  passage 
from  the  valley  of  the  Var  into  that  of  the  Roya, 
the  famous  camp  of  Mille  Fourclies  ;  and  being 
master  of  the  Col  de  Tende,  found  himself  on  the 
1st  of  June  upon  the  line  of  retreat  of  general 
Elsnitz.  General  Gorupp,  thrown  in  confusion  upon 
the  Upper  Roj-a,  had  yet  time  to  gain  the  Col  de 
Tende,  but  left  on  the  way  a  number  of  dead  and 
of  prisoners.  General  Elsnitz,  with  the  rest  of  his 
army,  had  no  other  resource  than  to  follow  the 
turn  of  the  maritime  Apennines  as  far  as  Oneglia, 
and  to  return  by  Pieva  and  St.  Jacobo  into  the 
valley  of  Tanaro.  He  had  to  traverse  frightful 
mountains  with  troops  already  demoralized  by  this 
kind  of  flight,  and  having  close  behind  him  an 
enemy  full  of  joy  at  passing  from  the  defensive  to 
the  offensive.  During  five  entire  days  the  Austrians 
were  pursued  without  intermission,  receiving  con- 
tinual checks.  At  length,  on  the  6th  of  June, 
general  Elsnitz  arrived  at  Ormea,  his  force  not 
numbering  more  than  ten  thousand  men.  On  the 
7tli  he  was  at  Ceva,  and  general  Gorupp  had  re- 
tired upon  Coni  with  a  vei-y  weak  division.  The 
loss  sustained  by  the  Austrian  forces  since  they 
left  the  Var  was  considered  to  be  not  less  than  ten 
thousand  men.  » 

General  Suchet,  so  long  separated  from  Mas- 
sena, found  him  once  more  in  the  environs  of 
Savona.  The  twelve  thousand  French  from  the 
Var,  united  with  those  from  Genoa,  eight  tliousand 
in  number,  composed  a  body  of  twenty  thousand 
men,  very  well  placed  for  falling  upon  the  rear  of 
Mdlas.  But  Masse'na  had  received  upon  landing  a 
very  severe  wound,  so  that  he  was  unable  to  mount 
his  horse  ;  the  eight  thousand  men  who  were  with 
him  were  worn  out  with  fatigue ;  and  it  must  be 
admitted,  that  all  the  defenders  of  Genoa  felt  a 
secret  irritation  against  the  fir.st  consul,  who  was 
known  to  have  been  triumphant  in  Milan,  while 
the  army  of  Liguria  was  so  reduced  as  to  be 
obliged  to  capitulate,  Massena  was  not  willing 
that  general  Suchet  should  run  the  risk  of  a  descent 
into  Italy,  while  in  ignorance  of  the  movements 
about  to  be  made  beyond  the  Apennines  by  the 
two  generals  opposed  to  each  othei*.  Me'las,  joined 
by  his  lieutenants,  Haddick,  Kaim,  Elsnitz,  and 
Ott,  at  the  head  of  a  very  formidable  force,  might 
fling  himself  upon  general, Suchet,  .and  crush  him 
before  he  went  to  engage  Bonaparte.     Jlass^na, 


Suchet  occupies  a  threatening 
position. —  Crit.cal  situation 
of  the  Austrians. 


MARENGO. 


Melas  endeavours  to  concentrate  his 
force-;.— Boiiaijarte  intercepts  tlie 
Austrian  despatches. 


99 


llK-reforc,  permitted  Sucliet,  his  lieutenant,  to  pass 
the  Apeiiuiiies,  and  place  liiuiselt  iu  advance  of 
Acijui,  but  to  remain  in  tiiat  position,  observing, 
disquieting  the  Austrian  army,  and  banging  over 
its  head  like  the  sword  of  Damocles.  It  will  pre- 
sently bo  seen  what  service  the  army  of  Liguria 
rendered  merely  by  its  presence  on  the  sunnnit 
of  the  Apennines. 

Masse'na  thought,  this  brave  army,  in  terminating 
by  a  menacing  movement  the  memorable  defence 
of  Genoa,  had  done  enough  for  tiie  triumpii  of 
tlie  first  consul ;  and  that  without  great  impru- 
dence it  could  do  no  more.  Tliis  great  soldier  was 
correct.  He  had  delivered  over  to  Bonap.irte  tiie 
exhausted  Austrians  reduced  one-third.  Of  seventy 
thousand  men  who  had  passed  the  Apemiines, 
there  returned  no  more  than  forty  thousand,  in- 
cluding the  detachment  Id-ought  back  to  Turin  by 
Meias.  The  fifty  thousand  that  remained  in  Lom- 
bardy  were  much  reduced,  and  dispersed  about. 
Generals  Haddick  and  Kaim,  who  guarded  the  one 
the  valley  of  Aosta,  the  other  that  of  Suza,  had 
sustained  considerable  losses.  General  Wukasso- 
wieh,  thrown  beyond  the  Miiicio,  and  separated 
from  his  commander-in-chief  by  the  French  army 
which  descended  from  Mount  St.  Bernard,  was 
paralyzed  for  the  rest  of  the  campaign.  A  corps 
of  some  thousand  men  had  ventured  into  Tuscany. 
By  uniting  at  once  with  tlie  troops  of  generals 
Haddick  and  Kaim,  who  were  conflng  from  the 
valleys  of  Aosta  and  Suza,  those  of  generals  Elsnitz 
and  Ott,  who  were  returning  from  the  banks  of 
the  Vfir,  Melas  mii^lit  form  a  body  of  seventy-five 
thousand  men.  But  it  was  necessary  to  leave 
garrisons  in  the  fortresses  of  Piedmont  and  Lignria, 
Buch  as  Genoa,  Savona,  Gavi,  Acqui,  Coui,  Turin, 
Alexandria,  and  Turtona.  Then;  would  remain  to 
him  after  this  no  more  than  fifty  thousand  men, 
a  thousand  or  two  more  perhaps  to  place  in  line  on 
the  day  of  battle,  if  it  be  supposed  that  he  did  not 
sacrifice  too  many  to  keep  the  fortresses,  and  that 
the  generals  formed  a  junction  without  accident. 

Tlie  situation  of  the  Austrian  general,  thert-fore, 
was  very  critical,  even  after  the  .surrender  of 
Genoa.  It  was  so  not  only  by  re:ison  of  the  dis- 
persion and  diminution  of  his  forces,  but  under  the 
aspect  of  the  route  he  must  follow  to  get  clear  of 
the  confined  limits  of  Piedmont  in  which  Bonaparte 
had  enclosed  him.  He  would  l»e  obliged  to  cross 
the  Po  in  the  face  of  the  French,  and  to  regiin,  by 
traversing  Lombardy,  which  they  occupied,  the 
great  road  of  the  Tyrol,  or  of  Friuli.  The  diffi- 
culty wa.s  enormous,  from  the  presence  of  an  ad- 
versary who  excelled  iu  war  principally  in  the  art 
of  great  movements. 

Ml-L-ls  iiad  preserved  the  Upper  Po  from  the 
source  as  far  iia  Valenza.  It  wa.s  ea.sy  for  him  to 
cross  that  river  at  Turin,  Chiva^so,  Casale,  or 
Valenza,  it  wa.s  no  matter  which  ;  but  in  pa.ssingat 
one  of  these  points  he  would  fall  upon  the  Tessino, 
which  was  occupied  by  Bonajiartc,  and  upon  Milan, 
the  centre  of  all  the  French  forces.  He  had  but 
little  chance  for  an  escape  in  that  direction.  He 
might  still  incline  to  bis  light  in  order  to  proceed 
towards  the  lower  part  of  the  Po;  in  other  words, 
to  march  on  Piacenza  and  Crenunia  in  order  to 
gain  the  great  road  to  Mantua.  It  hu  di<l  thus, 
J'iacenza  would  become  for  both  tho  contending 
parties  the  grand  point  to  occupy.     For  Melas  it 


was  almost  the  only  way  of  escape  from  the  Cau- 
dine  Forks;  for  Biuiaparte  it  would  be  the  means 
of  gathering  up  the  price  of  his  audacious  march 
across  the  Alps.  If  Bonaparte  sufl'ered  the  Aus- 
trians to  escape,  though  he  had  delivered  Pied- 
mont, the  result  would  be  little,  compared  to  the 
perils  which  he  had  braved  :  he  would  even  incur 
ridicule  in  the  eyes  of  Europe,  that  were  so 
attentive  to  this  campaign,  since  his  manoeuvre, 
the  intention  of  which  was  at  jiresent  so  manifest, 
would  be  defeated.  Piacenza  was  conseciuently 
the  key  of  Piedmont.  It  was  necessary  equally 
for  him  who  wanted  to  get  out  of  that  country,  and 
for  him  who  desired  to  shut  up  his  enemy  there. 

Under  these  motions  Me'kis  fixed  two  points  for 
the  concentration  of  his  troops  ;  Alexandria,  for 
the  troops  stationed  in  Up()er  Piedmont,  and 
Piacenza,  for  those  that  were  in  the  vicinity  of 
Genoa.  He  commanded  generals  Kaim  and  Had- 
dick to  march  from  Turin  by  Asti  upon  Alex- 
andria; general  Elsnitz,  retiring  from  the  banks  of 
the  Var,  was  to  proceed  by  Ceva  and  Cherasco. 
These  three  corps,  when  united,  were  to  march 
from  Alexandria  to  Piacenza.  General  Ott,  re- 
turning from  Genoa,  w.is  oriKred  to  descend 
directly  by  the  Bocchetta  and  Tortona  to  Piacenza. 
A  body  of  infantry,  disembarrassed  of  all  the  in- 
cumbrances of  a  military  body,  was  ordered  to 
proceed  more  directly  still  by  the  route  of  the 
Bobbio,  which  runs  along  the  valley  of  the  Trebia. 
Lastly,  general  O'Reilly,  who  was  already  about 
Alexandria  with  a  strong  detachment  of  cavalry, 
received  instructions  not  to  wait  for  the  concen- 
tration of  the  troops  of  Upper  Piedmont,  but  to  go 
to  Piacenza  at  the  utmost  speed  of  his  horses. 
The  small  corps  which  had  ventured  into  Tuscany 
was  commanded  to  repair  to  the  .same  place 
through  the  duchy  of  Parma,  and  by  the  route  of 
Fiorenzuola.  Thus  as  the  principal  i)art  of  the 
Austrian  army  was  concentrating  itself  at  Alex- 
andria, to  march  from  thence  to  Piacenza,  tlie 
corps  nearest  to  that  place  had  orders  to  march 
thither  immediately  on  a  direct  line. 

It  was  doubtful  whether  it  could  be  possible  to 
anticipate  Bonaparte  in  so  important  an  object. 
He  had  lost  five  or  six  days  in  Milan,  to  wait  for 
the  trooiis  coming  by  the  St.  Gotbard  ;  a  time  most 
valuable,  seeing  that  in  the  interval  Genoa  h^d 
surrendered.  But  now  that  generaJ  Moncey,  with 
the  troops  drawn  from  tho  army  of  Germany,  had 
passed  the  St.  Gothard,  he  was  not  to  lose  another 
moment.  Placed  on  the  road  of  the  couriers  that 
came  from  Vienna  to  M^las  at  Turin,  and  from 
M(flas  at  Turin  to  the  imperial  goverimient,  he 
had  become  well  acquainted  with  all  tho  ideas  of 
the  court  of  Vienna.  He  had  read,  for  example, 
singular  despatcln-s,  in  which  M.  de  Thugut  re- 
a-ssured  the  Austrian  general,  recommending  him 
to  be  easy  in  mind,  and  not  to  be  turned  aside 
from  his  objects  by  the  fable  of  the  army  of 
reserve;  to  take  Genoa  as  quickly  as  possible,  as 
well  as  the  line  of  tho  Var,  tliat  ho  might  be  able 
to  spare  a  detachment  for  ihc  aid  of  marshal  Kray, 
driven  back  upon  Ulin.  Bonaparte  had  also  read 
the  despatches  of  M«51as,  at  Hrst  brimful  of  con- 
fidence, and  soon  afterwards  of  anxiety  and  in- 
quietude. The  j)lea.sin'e  ho  felt  at  this  news  was 
troui)led,  wh.n  he  found  on  the  Htli  of  June, 
through  this  same  correHpoiideiice,that  Mass(?na  had 


Plans  of  Bonaparte. — Lannes 
100   crosses  the  Po. -O'Reilly    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 

leaves   Placenza,  -which  is 


taken  by  Murat. — Move- 
ments of  the  Austrian 
generals. 


June. 


been  obliged  to  surrender  Genoa  on  the  4th.  This 
intelligence,  however,  did  not  change  in  any  thing 
the  plan  of  the  campaign.  Having  fixed  to  get 
into  the  rear  of  the  enemy,  in  order  to  envelojje 
him  and  make  him  lay  down  his  arms,  Italy  and 
the  city  of  Genoa  would  be  reconquered  at  a  single 
blow.  The  real  inconvenience  that  arose  from  the 
surrender  of  Genoa  was  the  setting  free  the  troops 
of  general  Ott,  whom  lie  should  have  in  addition  to 
contend  with.  But  the  intercepted  despatch  car- 
ried with  it  the  consolation  that  Massena's  forces 
were  not  prisoners  of  war.  So  that  if  on  one  part 
a  more  considerable  body  of  Austrian  troops  were 
about  to  descend  from  the  Apennines;  on  the  other, 
the  Fr-ench  troops,  on  which  he  could  not  at  first 
calculate,  were  to  descend  too  at  the  heels  of  the 
Austrians. 

Now  that  Genoa  had  fallen,  the  first  consul  was 
in  a  less  hurry  to  encounter  Melas.  But  he  was 
extraordinarily  pressed  to  occupy  the  line  of  the 
Po  from  Pavia  as  far  as  Piacenza  and  Cremona  ; 
he  therefore  made  his  dispositions  with  as  much 
activity  as  Me'las,  in  order  to  possess  himself  of 
points  of  such  importance.  While  he  was  occupied 
at  Milan  in  collecting  the  troops  which  had  come 
from  the  different  points  of  the  Alps,  he  placed 
upon  the  Po  the  forces  which  had  come  with  him 
by  tiie  St.  Bernard.  Lannes  had  already  taken 
possession  of  Pavia  with  Watrin's  division.  That 
general  was  ordered  to  pass  the  Po  a  little  below 
its  union  with  the  Tessino,  or,  what  is  the  same 
thing,  at  Belgiojoso.  Murat,  with  the  divisions  of 
Boudet  and  Monnier,  had  orders  to  pass  at  Pia- 
cenza ;  Duhesme,  with  the  division  of  Loison,  to 
cross  at  Cremona. 

On  the  Gth  of  June,  Lannes,  having  assembled  at 
Pavia  on  the  Tessino  all  the  disposable  boats, 
brought  them  into  the  Po,  and  on  arriving  between 
Belgiojoso  and  San  Cipriano  commenced  the  pass- 
age. General  VVatrin,  who  was  placed  under  his 
orders,  crossed  with  a  detachment.  He  was  no 
sooner  arrived  on  the  right  bank  than  he  was 
attacked  by  the  Austrians  which  had  come  from 
Valenza  and  Alexandria,  and  were  hastening  to 
Piacenza.  He  was  in  danger  of  being  thrown  into 
the  river,  but  he  held  firm  until  the  boats,  passing 
and  repassing,  brought  him  reinforcements,  and  he 
remained  at  last  master  of  the  field.  The  remain- 
der of  Watrin's  division,  led  by  Lannes,  passed  the 
Po  afterwards,  and  took  a  position  a  little  further 
on,  menacing  the  high  road  from  Alexandria  to 
Piacenza. 

Murat  arrived  before  Piacenza  the  same  day. 
All  the  Austrian  stores,  guarded  by  some  hundreds 
of  men,  together  with  the  different  army  adminis- 
trators, were  in  tlie  town.  On  the  approach  of 
danger  the  Austrian  commander  there  ordered 
cannon  to  be  planted  at  the  head  of  the  bridge  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Po,  and  endeavoured  to  defend 
himself  until  the  troops,  which  were  advancing 
from  all  sides,  should  arrive  to  his  support.  The 
advanced  guard  of  Monnier's  division,  which  con- 
ceived it  was  moving  upon  an  undefended  position, 
was  received  with  a  horrible  fire  of  grape-shot, 
and  could  make  no  impression  on  the  post  by  a 
front  attack.  The  furtiier  attempt  upon  it  in  form 
was  postponed  until  the  next  day. 

On  the  7tli  of  June,  the  following  day,  general 
O'Reilly,   who   had   received  orders   from    Melas 


to  ride  full  speed  to  Piacenza,  arrived  with  his 
cavalry.     The  other  Austrian   corps,  that  which 
ascended  from  Parma  by  Fiorenzuola,  that  which 
descended   with   general    Gottesheim    by    Bobbio, 
and  that  which  was  coming  with  general  Ott  by 
Tortona,  were  not  yet  arrived.     General  O'Reilly 
Avas   scarcely   equal  with   his   squadron   alone   to 
defend  Piacenza.     The  few  hundreds  of  men  who 
had  offered  resistance  at  the  head  of  the  bridge 
had  lost  one-fourth  of  their  strength.     Under  these 
circumstances  the  Austrian  commandant  ordered 
the  artillery  to  be  taken  away,  and  the  bridge, 
which  was  of  boats,  to  be  divided;  thus  when  gene- 
ral Boudet  attempted  to  remedy  his  repulse  of  the 
day  preceding,  he  found  the  work  at  the  bridge 
head  evacuated  and  the  bridge  destroyed.     A  part 
of  the  boats  of  which  it  had  been  constructed  yet 
remained.      Murat  took  possession  of  these,  and 
made   use   of    them    for   transporting    Monnier's 
brigade  to  the  other  side  of  the  Po,  at  Nocetto, 
a  little  lower  down,  by  I'epeated  trips  across.     This 
brigade  then  attacked  Piacenza,  and  got  in  after 
a  sharp  contest.     General  O'Reilly  retrogi'aded  in 
haste,  that  he  might  be  in  time  to  save  the  park 
of  artillery  in  its  way  from  Alexandria;  because 
if  it  came  on  to  Piacenza,  it  would  be  in  danger 
of  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  French.     He  pro- 
ceeded with    such  speed   as  to  effect  his  object, 
and  thus  prevented  the  park  from  getting  into  the 
possession  of  Murat  or  Lamies.     He  had  to  make 
more  than  one  charge  of  cavalry  ag.iinst  the  ad- 
vanced troops  of  Lannes,  which  had  passed  the  Po 
at  Belgiojoso  ;  but  he  disengaged  himself  from  it, 
and  giving  counter-orders  to  the  park,  it  sough.t 
refuge  in  Tortona.     While  general  O'Reilly,  almost 
untouched  in  passing  through  the  French  advanced 
posts,  was  on  his  way  to  Alexandria,  the  advanced 
guard  of  general  Gottesheim,  which  had  descend- 
ed  the  Trebia  by  Bobbio,   appeared    before  Pia- 
cenza.    It   was   the   regiment  of  Klebeck  which 
thus  came  upon  Boudet's  entire  division,  and  was 
severely    handled.      This    unlucky   regiment,   at- 
tacked by  superior   numbers,   lost    a   good  many 
l)risoners,  and   fell  back    in   disorder  upon    Got- 
tesheim's  principal  corps,  of  which  it  was  in  ad- 
vance.    General  Gottesheim,  taking  alarm  at  this 
rencontre^   ascended  the  slope  of  the    Apemiines 
in    great   haste,   in   order   to   reach  Tortona  and 
Alexandria,  which  caused  him  to  lose  his  way  for 
several  days.     Lastly,  the  regiment  returning  from 
Tuscany,  by  the  route  of  Purma  and  Fiorenzuola, 
arrived  the  same  day  in  the  suburbs  of  Piacenza. 
Here  happened  anotiier  rout  of  a  detached  corps, 
which  fell  on  a  sudden  into  the  midst  of  an  enemy's 
army,  and  was  repulsed  in  disorder  upon  the  road 
to  Parma.     Of  four  corjis,  three  wliicli  marched 
upon  Piacenza,  those  the  least  important,  it  is  true, 
had  been  overthrown,  had  fled,  and  left  prisoners 
behind    them.     The  fourth,   that  of  general    Ott, 
having  a  longer  circuit  to  march,  was  still  behind, 
and  was   about  to  encounter  Lannes  in  front  of 
Belgiojoso,  near  Pavin.  From  this  time  the  French 
wei'e  masters  of  the  Po,  and  had  in  their  possession 
tiie   two   principal    passages   of    Belgiojoso,    near 
Pavia,   and   that   of  Piacenza   itself.     They  very 
soon  too  got  possession  of  a  third;  for  on  the  fol- 
lowing  day,    general    Duhesme,    at   the   head   of 
Loison's  division,   took   Cremona   from  a  detach- 
ment that  general  Wukassovich  had  left  in  retiring. 


1800. 
June. 


The  French,  masters  of  Mtlas' 
line  of  retreat.  —  Plans  of 
Bonaparte    to    cut    otf    the 


MARENGO. 


Austrians'  retreat.  —  Forces 
at  the  disposal  of  the  French. 


He  took  t>yo  thousaud  prisoners  aud  a  good  many 
militiiry  stores. 

Bouaparte  directed  all  these  operations  from 
Milan.  He  had  sent  Berthier  to  the  banks  of  the 
Po;  and  day  by  day,  often  hour  after  lioiu",  he 
prescribed,  in  a  continual  correspondence,  the 
movements  to  be  executed. 

Though  he  was  master  of  the  line  of  retreat  that 
Mc'las  would  most  probably  be  tempted  to  follow, 
in  possessing  himself  of  the  Po  from  Pavia  to 
Piaceuza,  still  all  was  not  yet  considered,  since 
that  which  made  the  route  of  Piacenza  the  true 
line  of  retreat  for  the  Austrians,  was  the  pi-erfence 
of  the  French  behind  the  Tessino  aud  around 
Milan.  The  French,  in  fact,  from  their  iiosition, 
shut  up  close  the  passage  which  the  Austrians 
would  have  been  able  to  open  in  crossing  the  Po 
between  Pavia  and  Valeuza ;  but  if  now  tlie 
French,  for  the  purpose  of  going  to  meet  Me'las, 
crossed  the  Po  between  Pavia  and  Piacenza,  and 
thus  abandoned  Milan  and  weakened  the  Tessino, 
they  might  again  t«mpt  ile'las  to  cross  at  Turin, 
at  C'asale,  or  at  Valenza,  traverse  our  undefended 
rear,  enter  the  city  of  Milau  itself,  and  serve  the 
French  just  as  they  had  served  him  in  descending 
from  the  Alps. 

It  was  not  impossible  either  for  Me'las,  de- 
termining to  sacrifice  a  part  of  his  baggage  and 
his  heavy  artillery,  which  hideed  he  might  leave 
in  the  fortresses  of  Piedmont,  to  retire  upon  Genoa, 
then  again  remounting  by  Tortona  aud  Novi,  as 
far  as  the  Bocchetta,  and  tliere  throwing  himself 
into  the  valley  of  the  Trebia,  to  fall  upon  the  Po 
below  Piacenza,  in  the  vicinity  of  Cremona  or 
Parma,  and  thus  reach  Mantua  and  the  Austrian 
states  by  a  round-about  way.  This  march  across 
Liguria,  and  along  the  projections  of  tlie  Apen- 
nines, was  the  same  as  that  which  had  been 
marked  out  for  general  Gottcsheim,  and  was  the 
least  likely  to  be  attempted,  because  it  offered 
extraordinary  difficulties,  and  would  cost  the 
sacrifice  of  a  good  deal  of  the  matirid  of  the  army; 
but  it  was  still  possible,  strictly  speaking,  and  it 
was  needful  therefore  to  provide  against  its  exe- 
cution, as  well  as  against  other  plans.  The  entire 
attention  of  Bonaparte  was  now  employed  against 
these  chances.  There  is  not  perhaps  in  all  history 
an  example  of  dispositions  more  able,  more  i)r(>- 
foundly  conceived,  than  those  which  he  devised 
upon  this  decisive  occasion. 

It  was  necessary,  to  resolve  this  triple  problem, 
to  close  by  a  barrier  of  iron  the  principal  road, 
or  that  which  goes  directly  from  Alexandria  to 
Piacenza ;  Uj  occupy  that  which,  by  passing  along 
the  Upper  Po,  falls  upon  the  Tessino  in  such  a 
mode  a-s  to  be  able  to  hasten  there  in  case  it  be 
reipii.site  ;  lastly,  to  have  the  power  of  descending 
in  time  upon  the  Lower  Po,  if  the  Austrians, 
seeking  to  Hy  by  the  reverse  side  of  the  Apennines, 
bhr)uld  try  to  cross  that  river  below  Piacenza, 
towards  Cremona  or  Parma.  Bonaparte  me- 
ditating incessantly  over  the  map  of  Italy,  to  find 
a  point  where  all  th<-sc  three  conditions  might  be 
fulfilled,  made  a  choice  worthy  of  high  admiration. 
H  the  direction  of  the  Apennine  chain  be  ex- 
amined, it  will  be  seen  that  in  virtue  of  the  curve 
that  it  forms  to  embrace  the  gulf  of  Genoa,  it 
remounts  to  the  northward,  and  throws  out  but- 
tresses, which  approach   to  the    I'o  very  closely, 


from  the  position  of  Stradella  to  the  vicinity  of 
Piacenza.  In  all  this  part  of  Piedmont  and  of  the 
duchy  of  Parjjia,  the  base  of  the  heights  advances 
so  near  the  river,  as  to  leave  a  narrow  place  only 
for  the  high  road  to  Piacenza.  An  army  stationed 
in  advance  of  Stradella,  at  the  entrance  of  a  sort 
of  defile  many  leagues  in  length,  the  left  to  the 
height.'*,  the  centre  on  the  road,  and  the  right 
along  the  Po  and  the  marshy  ground  on  its  bank, 
would  be  difficult  to  dislodge.  It  must  be  added, 
that  the  road  is  thickly  strewn  with  hamlets  and 
villages,  built  of  stone  and  capable  of  resisting 
cannon.  Against  the  imperial  forces,  strong  in 
cavalry  and  artillery,  this  position,  independently 
of  its  natural  advantages,  afforded  that  of  render- 
ing null  those  two  military  arms. 

It  had  yet  other  peculiar  advantages.  It  is  near 
this  position  tliat  the  triiiutary  streams  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Po,  the  most  important  to  occupj',  such 
as  the  Tessino  and  the  Adda,  form  (heir  junction. 
Thus  the  Tessino  falls  into  the  Po  a  little  below 
Pavia,  and  above  Belgiojoso,  nearly  opposite  to 
Stradella,  or,  at  most,  not  more  than  two  leagues 
off.  The  Adda,  running  beyond  a  long  way  before 
it  unites  with  the  Po,  falls  into  that  river  between 
Piacenza  and  Cremona.  It  will  be  at  once  under- 
stood, that  placed  at  Stradella,  and  master  of  the 
bridges  of  Belgiojoso,  of  Piacenza,  and  Cremona, 
Bonaparte  would  be  in  possession  of  the  most 
decisive  points;  because  he  would  thus  bar  the 
principal  road,  or  that  from  Alexandria  to  Pia- 
cenza, and  he  would  at  the  same  time  have  it  in 
his  power,  by  a  long  march,  either  to  liasten  to 
the  Tessino,  or  to  redescend  the  Po  as  far  as  Ci'e- 
mona,  and  to  fly  towai-ds  the  Adda,  which  covered 
his  rear  against  the  corps  of  Wukassowich. 

It  was  in  this  sort  of  net,  formed  by  the  Apen- 
nines, the  Po,  the  Tessino,  and  the  Adda,  that  he 
distributed  his  forces.  He  at  first  resolved  to 
proceed  to  Stradella  himself,  with  the  thirty  thou- 
sand best  soldiers  of  his  army,  the  divisions  of 
Watrin,  Chambarlhac,  Gardanne,  Boudet,  and 
Monnier,  placed  under  Murat,  Victor,  and  Lannes, 
in  the  position  already  described,  the  left  to  the 
mountains,  the  centre  on  the  great  road,  and  the 
right  along  the  Po.  The  division  of  Chabran, 
which  came  by  the  Little  St.  Bernard,  and  was 
first  ordered  to  occujiy  Ivre'a,  was  afterwards 
ordered  to  Verceil,  but  commanded  to  retreat 
upon  the  Tessino  in  case  of  the  approach  of  the 
enemy.  Lapoypc's  division,  which  descended  the 
St.  Gothard,  was  posted  upon  the  Tessino  itself, 
in  the  environs  of  Pavia.  These  numbered  from 
nine  thousand  to  ten  thousand  men,  who  were  to 
fall  back  one  upon  the  other,  to  dispute  the  passage 
of  the  Tessino  to  the  last,  and  thus  afford  Bona- 
parte one  day  to  come  to  their  assistance.  The 
detachment  of  the  Simplon,  under  general  Bdthen- 
court,  guarded  the  route  of  the  St.  Gothard  towards 
the  Arena,  the  retreat  of  the  French  army  in  case 
of  a  reverse.  The  division  of  Gilly  was  to  guard 
Milan,  rendered  necessary  by  tlie  presence  of  an 
Austrian  garrison  in  the  citadel.  There  were 
three  or  four  thousand  men  appropriated  to  this 
double  purpose.  Finally,  the  division  of  Loisoii, 
which  m.adc  a  part  of  the  army  of  reserve,  coming 
from  Germany,  had  a  commission  under  llu;  or- 
ders of  general  Duhosme,  to  defend  Piacenza  and 
Cremona  ;  there  was  another  corps,  from  ten  to 


1.1  nn  A  in 

UNIVKHSn  V  oi    «;ALI1'ORi>L^ 


102 


Orders  sent  in  anticipa- 
tion   by.  Bonayarte   to 

liis  oiiicers. 


The  Austrians  preparing 
THIERS'   CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.        to  attack  Piacenza,  en- 
counter Lannes. 


eleven  thousand  strong,  employed  on  these  two  last 
points. 

Such  was  tho  difit-ribution  of  the  fifty  and  some 
thousand  more  sol diei-H,  which  Bonaparte  had  at 
that  moment  at  his  disposal  :  thirty-two  thou- 
sand were  at  tlie  central  point  of  Stradella  ;  nine 
or  ten  thousand  on  the  Tessino  ;  three  or  four 
thousand  at  Milan  and  Arona ;  finally,  ten  or 
eleven  thousand  on  the  inferior  course  of  the  Po 
and  of  the  Adda,  all  placed  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  sustain  each  other  reciprocally  with  ex- 
treme promptitude.  Thus  in  effect,  on  a  no- 
tice from  the  Tessiiio,  Bonaparte  could  in  a  day 
fly  to  the  succoui-  of  the  ten  thousand  French 
who  guarded  it.  On  an  alarm  from  the  Lower 
P©,  he  was  able  in  the  same  space  of  time  to  de- 
scend on  Piacenza  and  Cremona,  while  general 
Loison,  in  defending  tho  passage  of  the  river, 
would  give  him  time  to  come  to  his  aid.  Each 
and  all  of  these,  on  their  part,  could  march  upon 
Stradella,  and  thus  reinforce  Bonaparte  in  as  small 
a  space  of  time  as  it  cost  him  to  proceed  to  them. 

In  this  case  Bonaparte  seemed  to  abandon  his 
usual  custom  of  concentrating  his  troops  on  the  eve 
of  an  important  battle.  If  such  a  concentration 
pass  for  a  great  performance  in  the  art  of  war, 
when  it  is  executed  properly  at  the  moment  of  a 
decisive  action,  in  the  circumstance  of  two  adver- 
saries marching  one  against  the  other,  it  is  a  dif- 
ferent affair,  one  of  the  two  being  desirous  of 
escaping,  and  the  chief  skill  consisting  in  stopping 
him  before  fighting.  Such  was  the  case  here.  It 
was  necessary  that  Bonaparte  should  extend  a  net 
around  the  Austrian  army,  and  that  this  net  should 
be  strong  enough  to  hold  it ;  because  if  there  had 
been  on  the  Tessino  and  Lower  Po  advanced  guards 
only,  as  most  proper  to  give  notice,  but  not  to  close 
a  road  ag;iinst  an  enemy,  the  object  would  have 
wholly  failed.  There  must  be  on  all  points  posts 
capable  at  the  same  time  of  giving  notice  and  of 
checking  the  enemy,  while  a  principal  body  is  re- 
tained in  the  centre,  ready  to  hasten  to  any  quarter 
with  adequate  means.  It  was  impossible  to  com- 
bine with  deeper  art  the  employment  of  his  force, 
and  to  modify  more  skilfully  the  application  of  his 
own  principles,  than  Bonaparte  did  upon  this  occa- 
sion. It  is  in  their  manner  of  the  application  of  a 
just  but  general  principle  according  to  circum- 
.stances,  that  we  acknowledge  the  men  of  superior 
power  in  action. 

The  plan  settled,  Bonaparte  issued  corresponding 
orders.  Lannes,  with  the  division  of  Watrin,  had 
been  moved  to  Stradella  by  Pavia  and  Belgio- 
joso.  It  was  of  moment  that  Chambai'lhac's,  Gar- 
danne's,  Monnier's,  and  Boudet's  divisions  should 
support  him  with  their  strength  before  the  Aus- 
trians, who,  repulsed  from  Piacenza,  joining  general 
Ott  towards  Tortona,  should  be  able  to  press  upon 
him.  This  had  been  foreseen  by  Bonaparte  with 
wonderful  sagacity.  Not  able  himself  to  quit  Milan 
before  the  8th,  to  reach  Stradella  by  the  9th,  he 
sent  to  Berthier,  Lannes,  and  Murat  the  following 
instructions  :  "  Concentrate  at  Stradella.  On  the 
8th  or  9th,  at  the  latest,  you  will  have  fifteen 
or  eighteen  thousand  Austrians  on  your  backs 
coming  from  Genoa.  Encounter  and  roiit  them. 
There  will  be  so  many  the  less  to  fight  in  the  de- 
cisive battle  which  awaits  us  with  the  whole  army 
of  Melas."      Having  issued  these  orders  he  left 


Milan  on  the  8th,  to  cross  the  Po  in  .person,  in 
order  to  be  at  Str;idella  the  next  day. 

It  was  impossible  to  divine  with  more  exactness 
the  movements  of  the  enemy.  We  have  just  before 
said  that  three  Austrian  detachments  had  uselessly 
shown  themselves  before  Piacenza  ;  that  the  de- 
tachment arrived  fr(im  Tuscany  by  Fiorenzuola 
had  been  driven  back;  that  the  corps  of  general 
Gottesheim,  which  had  descended  with  infantry  by 
the  valley  of  the  Trebia,  bad  been  i-epulsed  isito 
that  valley;  finally,  that  general  O'Reilly,  hasten- 
ing from  Alexandria  with  his  cavalry,  had  been 
forced  to  I'eturn  towards  Tortona.  But  general 
Ott,  on  his  side,  marching  with  the  principal  corps 
by  the  road  of  Genoa  upon  Tortona,  arrived  at 
Stradella  on  the  9th  of  June,  in  the  morning,  as 
had  been  foreseen  by  Bonaparte.  He  brought  in 
his  advance  generals  Gottesheim  and  O'Reilly, 
whom  he  had  met  on  their  retreat ;  and  he  deter- 
mined in  consequence  to  make  a  very  vigorous 
attack  upon  Piacenza,  not  dreaming  that  the  French 
army  could  be  almost  entirely  stationed  in  echelon 
in  ihe  defile  of  Stradella.  He  had,  counting  the 
troops  that  had  joined  him,  seventeen  or  eighteen 
thousand  men.  Lannes  was  unable  to  unite  on  the 
morning  oF  the  9lh  more  than  seven  or  eight  thou- 
sand ;  but  in  consequence  of  the  reiterated  orders 
of  the  commander-in-chief  five  or  six  thousand 
were  to  join  him  during  the  day.  The  field  of 
battle  was  that  which  we  have  described.  Lannes 
presented  himself,  with  his  left,  on  the  heights  of 
the  Apennines, his  centre  in  the  high  road  towards 
the  little  town  of  Casteggio,  and  his  right  in  the 
plains  of  the  Po.  He  committed  the  error  of  pro- 
ceeding a  little  too  much  in  advance  of  Stradella 
towards  Casteggio  and  Montebello,  where  the  I'oad 
ceases  to  form  a  defile  owing  to  the  extent  of  the 
plains.  But  the  French,  full  of  confidence,  although 
inferior  in  numbers,  were  capable  of  doing  great 
service  under  such  a  leader  as  Lannes,  who  had 
the  art  of  drawing  his  troops  any  where  after 
him. 

Lannes,  pushing  Watrin's  division  upon  Casteggio 
with  vigour,  drove  back  the  advanced  posts  of 
O'Reilly.  His  plan  was  to  take  the  hamlet  of  Cas- 
teggio, situated  on  the  road  before  him.  either  by 
attacking  it  in  front  or  turning  it  by  the  declivities 
of  the  Apennines.  The  numerous  artillery  of  the 
Austrians,  in  position  on  the  road,  commanded  the 
ground  in  all  directions.  Two  battalions  of  the  (Jtli 
light  endeavoured  to  capture  this  murderous  ai-- 
tillery  by  turning  to  the  right,  while  the  3rd  bat- 
talion of  the  6th  and  the  entire  40th  tried  to  gain 
the  neighbouring  hills  on  the  left ;  the  division  of 
Watrin  marched  ujjon  Casteggio  itself,  where  it 
met  with  the  main  body  of  the  enemy.  A  fierce 
combat  ensued  on  every  point.  The  French  were 
near  carrying  the  positions  they  had  attacked, 
when  general  Gottesheim  hastened  with  his  in- 
fantry to  support  O'Reilly,  and  overthrow  the  bat- 
talions which  had  surmounted  the  heights.  Lannes, 
amidst  a  tremendous  fire,  supported  his  men,  and 
prevented  their  yielding  to  numbers.  Still  they 
were  on  the  point  of  giving  way  when  the  division 
of  Chambarlhac  arrived,  and  a  part  of  the  corps  of 
general  Victor :  general  Rivaud,  at  the  head  of  the 
43rd,  climbed  the  heights  anew,  rallied  the  French 
battalions  on  the  point  of  being  repulsed,  and,  after 
unheard-of  efforts,  succeeded  in  mamtaining  him- 


1800. 
June. 


Battle  of  Montebello  :  conse 
quences  of  the  victory. 


MARENGO. 


Desaix  joins  the  army. — Wel- 
comed by  tlie  first  consul. — 
Plain  of  Marengo  described. 


103 


self.  At  the  centre  on  the  high  road,  the  OCtli 
went  to  the  assistance  of  general  Watrin  in  his 
attack  upon  Casieggio  ;  anil  there  the  24th,  ex- 
tending itself  to  the  right  on  the  plain,  attempted 
to  turn  the  enemy's  left,  in  order  to  stop  the  fire  of 
his  artillery.  During  this  combined  efTort  on  the 
wings,  the  gallant  Watrin  had  to  sustain  an  ob- 
stinate conflict  in  Casteggio  ;  he  took  and  lost  the 
place  several  times.  But  Lannes,  present  every 
where,  gave  the  decisive  impulse.  By  his  ordei-s, 
general  Rivaud  on  tlie  left,  having  become  master 
of  the  heights,  crossed  tliem,  and  descended  in  the 
rear  of  Casteggio.  The  troops,  sent  on  the  right 
into  the  plain,  turned  the  place  so  hotly  contested, 
and  both  marched  to  Montebello;  while  general 
Watrin,  having  made  a  last  effort  on  the  enemy's 
centre,  broke  through,  and  at  last  proceeded  past 
Casteggio.  The  Austrians,  finding  themselves  thus 
repulsed  at  all  points,  fled  to  Montebello,  leaving 
in  the  hands  of  the  French  a  considerable  body  of 
prisoners. 

The  conflict  lasted  from  eleven  o'clock  in  the 
morning  until  eight  in  the  evening.  The  Austrians 
were  the  s;ime  troops  that  had  besieged  Genoa, 
and  had  been  hardened  by  Masse'na  to  the  most 
fuiious  fighting,  as  they  showed  by  their  despera- 
tion in  the  plains  of  Piedmont,  when  endeavouring 
to  force  their  way  through.  They  were  supported 
by  a  numerous  artillery,  and  displayed  more  than 
ordinary  bravery.  The  first  consul  arrived  at  the 
moment  when  the  battle  was  concluding,  the  time 
and  place  of  which  he  had  so  well  foreseen.  He 
found  Lannes  covered  with  blood,  but  intoxicated 
with  delight,  and  the  troops  overjoyed  at  their 
success.  They  had,  as  he  afterwards  said,  the  con- 
sciousness that  they  had  admirably  comported 
themselves.  The  conscripts  showed  that  they  were 
worthy  to  rival  the  older  soldiers.  Four  thousand 
prisoners  were  taken,  and  three  thousand  of  the 
enemy  killed  and  wounded.  The  victory  was  dif- 
ficult to  gain,  since  twelve  thousand  combatants 
had  to  encounter  eigiiteen  thousand. 

Such  was  the  battle  of  Montebello,  that  gave  to 
Lannes  and  his  family  the  title  which  to  this  day 
distinguishes  it  among  the  French  people, — a  glo- 
rious title,  that  its  sons  may  well  be  proud  to 
beat. 

This  rencontre  was  a  good  commencement,  and 
announced  to  M^las  that  the  road  would  not  be 
easily  opened  to  him.  General  Ott,  weakened  to 
the  extent  of  seven  thousand  men,  retired  in  con- 
sternation upon  Alexandria.  The  courage  of  the 
French  was  now  elevated  to  its  highest  point. 

The  first  consul  hastened  to  unite  his  divisions, 
in  order  to  occupy  the  road  from  Alexandria  to 
Piacenza,  which  it  was  probable  Mdlas  would  take. 
Lannes  being  too  much  advanced,  the  fir.st  consul 
fell  back  a  little  to  the  point  called  .Stradellu,  be- 
cause the  defile,  narrower  in  that  jilace  by  the 
approximation  of  the  heights  to  the  river,  renders 
the  position  more  safe. 

The  lOtli  and  11th  of  June  were  passed  in  watch- 
ing the  Austrian  movemcmts,  concentrating  the 
army,  giving  it  rest  after  its  hasty  marches,  and 
ori;anizing,  as  well  as  it  was  jjiissiblo,  the  artillery, 
since,  till  now,  no  more  than  torty  field-pieces 
could  be  reunited  on  the  8p<jt. 

On  the  lltli  there  arrivcid  at  head -quarters  one 
of  the  most  distinguished  generals  of  that  period, 


Desaix,  who,  perhaps,  equalled  Mureau,  Mass<?na, 
Kleber,  or  Lannes,  in  military  talents,  but  in  the 
rare  perfection  of  his  character  surpassed  them  all. 
He  had  quitted  Egypt,  where  Kleber  had  com- 
mitted political  ci'rors  that  we  shall  shortly  have 
the  irksomeness  of  detailing.  Desaix  had  in  vain 
endeavoured  to  prevent  them,  and  had  fled  to  Eu- 
rope to  avoid  the  painful  sight.  These  errors  he 
afterwards  gloriously  repaired.  Desaix,  stopped 
by  the  Ejiglish  on  the  coast  of  France,  had  been 
ti-eated  by  them  in  a  disgraceful  manner.  He  ar- 
rived full  of  indignation,  and  asked  fur  the  oppor- 
tunity of  .avenging  hinisflf  sword  in  hand.  He 
loved  the  first  consul  with  a  sort  of  passion;  and 
Bonaparte,  touched  by  the  attachment  of  .such  a 
noble  heart,  returned  it  in  the  warmest  friendship 
which  he  ever  felt  in  his  life.  They  passed  a 
whole  night  in  relating  to  each  other  the  events 
which  had  occurred  in  Egypt  and  France,  and  the 
first  consul  immediately  gave  him  the  command  of 
the  divisions  of  Monnier  and  Boudet  united. 

The  next  day,  whieli  was  the  12tli  of  June,  Bo- 
naparte was  surprised  to  see  no  appearance  of  the 
Austrians,  and  could  not  help  being  under  some 
ai)prchensions.  Astonished  that  in  such  a  situation 
Melas  should  waste  time  and  suffer  every  outlet  to 
be  closed  against  him,  judging  his  opponent  too 
much  by  his  own  feelings,  he  said  that  Me'las  could 
not  have  wasted  hours  so  precious,  and  that  he 
must  surely  have  made  his  escape,  either  by  re- 
mounting towards  Genoa,  or  by  crossing  the  Ujjper 
Po  under  the  notion  of  forcing  the  Tessino.  Tired 
of  waiting  for  him,  he  left  his,  post  at  Stradella  ou 
the  afternoon  of  the  12th,  and  advanced,  followed 
by  his  entire  army,  to  the  height  of  Tortona.  He 
ordered  that  fortress  to  be  blockaded,  and  esta- 
blished his  head-quarters  at  Voghera.  On  the 
13th,  in  the  morning,  he  passed  the  Scrivia,  and 
marched  forth  on  the  immense  plain  which  stretches 
between  the  Scrivia  and  the  Bormida,  that  at  the 
present  time  has  no  otiier  name  than  the  plain  of 
Marengo.  It  was  the  very  same  place  on  which, 
but  a  few  months  before,  his  prescient  imagination 
had  represented  to  him  a  great  battle  with  Melas. 
On  this  plain  the  Po  runs  at  a  distance  from  the 
Apennines,  and  leaves  large  open  spaces,  across 
which  the  Bormida  and  Tanaro  roll  their  waters 
less  rapidly,  mingling  near  Ale.xandria,  and  tlien 
flowing  into  the  bed  of  the  Po  together.  Th^  I'oad 
that  skirts  the  foot  of  the  Apennines  as  far  as 
Tortona,  separating  from  it  at  that  place,  turns  off" 
to  the  right,  passing  the  Scrivia,  and,  opening  on  a 
vast  level,  gous  across  this  to  a  first  village  called 
San  Giuliano,  to  pass  a  second  called  Marengo  ; 
finally,  it  crosses  the  Bormida,  and  leads  to  the 
celebrated  fortress  of  Alexandria.  "  If  the  enemy 
intended  to  follow  the  high  road  from  Piacenza  to 
Mantua,  it  is  here  he  would  wait  for  me,"  said 
Bonaparte  to  himself;  "  here  his  numerous  artillery, 
his  fine  cavalry,  would  liavc  great  advantage^,  and 
he  would  fight  with  his  united  means."  Making 
this  reflection,  and  in  order  to  judge  of  the  cor- 
rcctnes^t  of  his  conjecture,  he  ordered  his  light 
cavalry  to  scoyr  the  country,  but  not  a  single 
;VuHtrian  sojdicr  wjis  seen.  Towards  the  fall  of 
day  he  sent  on  Victor's  corps,  composed  of  tin- 
divisions  of  Gardanne  and  Chambarlhac,  as  far  as 
Marengo.  A  detachment  of  Austrians  was  found 
there,   the   corps  of  O'Reilly,  which  at    the   nio- 


Bonaparte   at  Torre  di 
104        Garofolo.  — The  Aus- 
trians  in  despair. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


The  Austrians  resolve  to 
give  battle. — Delibera- 
tions of  the  generals. 


,  June. 


ment  defended  the  ■village  of  Marengo,  but  imme- 
diately abandoned  it  and  repassed  the  Bormida. 
Reconnoitring  before,  without  proper  care,  it  was 
believed  that  the  Austrians  had  not  passed  the 
bridge  over  tlie  Bonnida. 

From  all  these  circumstances  Bonaparte  had  no 
doubt,  to  use  his  own  expression,  "  that  Melas  had 
escaped."  He  would  not  have  abandoned  the 
plain,  and,  above  ail,  the  village  of  Marengo,  which 
is  its  entrance,  if  he  intended  to  give  battle,  and 
acquire  by  conquest  the  road  from  Alexandria  to 
Piaeenza.  Cheating  liimself  by  a  reflection  so  well 
founded,  Bonaparte  left  Victor  with  his  two  divi- 
sions at  Marengo ;  he  placed  Lannes  in  echelon  on 
the  plain,  with  the  division  of  Watrin,and  hastened 
to  his  head-quarters  at  Voghera,  to  obtain  some 
intelligence  of  general  Moncey,  who  was  stationed 
on  the  Tessino,  and  of  Duhesrae  on  the  Lower  Po; 
and  to  discover  whether  they  knew  any  thing  of 
Me'las.  Officers  of  the  staff,  setting  out  from  all 
points,  were  directed  to  come  to  him  at  head- 
quarters. But  the  Scrivia  had  overflowed,  and  he 
was  fortunately  obliged  to  stay  at  Torre  di  Garo- 
folo.  The  intelligence  from  the  Tessina  and  Po, 
intelligence  of  the  same  day's  date,  announced  that 
all  was  tranquil  in  that  direction.  Melas  had  at- 
tempted nothing  upon  that  side:  what  had  become 
of  him  ?  Bonaparte  thought  that  he  had  marched 
back  to  Genoa  by  Novi,  in  order  to  pass  into  the 
valley  of  the  Trebia,  and  so  fall  upon  Cremona.  It 
seemed  that  if  he  were  not  in  Alexandria,  nor  on 
the  march  for  the  Tessino,  he  could  not  have  taken 
any  other  direction.  It  was  possible  that,  follow- 
ing the  example  of  Wurmser  at  Mantua,  he  had 
gone  and  shut  himself  up  in  Genoa,  where,  fed  by 
the  English,  and  having  a  garrison  of  fifty  thousand 
men,  he  would  have  the  means  of  protracting  the 
war.  These  ideas  had  taken  a  strong  hold  upon 
the  mind  of  the  first  consul.  He  ordered  Desaix 
to  march  upon  Rivalta  and  Novi,  with  the  division 
of  Boudet  only.  It  was  by  Novi  that  M^las  must 
pass  to  march  on  Genoa  from  Alexandria. 

However,  by  a  happy  presentiment,  he  kept  the 
division  of  Monnier,  Desaix's  second,  in  reserve  at 
head-quartci's;  and  he  provided,  as  far  as  possible, 
for  every  thing,  by  leaving  Victor  at  Marengo  with 
two  divisions,  Lannes  with  one  on  the  plain,  and 
Murat  at  his  sides  with  all  his  cavalry.  If  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  French  force  at  this  time  be  re- 
flected upon,  their  dis])ersion  is  very  striking ; 
scattered,  a  part  on  the  Tessino,  a  part  on  the  in- 
ferior Po  and  Adda,  and  another  part  on  the  route 
to  Genoa.  This  was  the  necessary  consequence  of 
the  general  situation,  and  of  the  circumstances  of 
the  moment. 

On  the  evening  of  the  13th,  that  preceding  one 
of  the  grandest  days  in  history,  Bonaparte,  in  the 
village  of  Torre  di  Garofolo,  lay  down  and  fell 
asleep,  expecting  to  receive  news  of  the  Austrians 
on  the  morrow. 

In  the  mean  time  confusion  prevailed  in  Alexan- 
dria. The  Austrian  army  was  in  despair.  A  coun- 
cil of  war  was  held ;  but  none  of  the  resolutions  of 
which  the  French  commander  was  fearful,  were 
adopted.  There  had  been  some  conversation  about 
retreating  by  the  Upper  Tessino  and  the  Po,  and 
also  of  shutting  themselves  up  in  Genoa;  but  the 
Austrian  generals,  brave  men  as  they  were,  had 
prefeiTed  following  the  dictates  of  honour.     "  We 


have  been  fighting  for  these  eighteen  months  like 
good  soldiers,  after  all,"  they  said ;  "  we  have  re- 
conquered Italy;  we  were  in  march  on  the  frontiers 
of  France ;  our  government  urged  us  onwards ;  it 
gave  us  those  orders  but  yesterday  ;  it  ought  to 
have  advised  us  of  the  dangers  which  threatened 
our  rear.  If  any  blame  belongs  to  our  position,  it 
is  the  fault  of  our  government.  It  w^as  the  duty  of 
that  government  to  announce  the  danger  which 
threatened  us.  All  the  means  of  evading  an  en- 
counter with  the  French  army  are  complicated, 
difficult,  and  hazardous;  there  is  but  one  fair  and 
honourable  way,  that  is,  to  break  through.  To- 
morrow we  must  open  a  road  at  the  expense  of  our 
blood.  If  we  succeed,  we  shall  rejoin,  alter  a  vic- 
tory, tlie  route  from  Piaeenza  to  Mantua  ;  if  not, 
after  having  done  our  duty,  the  responsibility  of 
our  disaster  will  press  on  other  shoulders  than 
ours."  The  first  consul  never  conceived  that  they 
would  have  lost  so  much  time  in  deliberation  in  a 
similar  conjuncture.  But  no  one  equalled  him  in 
promptitude  of  determination  ;  and  Mdas  was  in  a 
situation  sufficiently  unfortunate  to  obtain  pardon 
for  the  cruel  perplexity  which  retarded  his  defini- 
tive resolutions.  In  his  decision  to  fight,  the  Aus- 
trian general  conducted  himself  like  a  soldier  of 
honour;  but  he  is  to  be  censured  for  leaving  twenty- 
five  thousand  men  in  the  fortresses  of  Coni,  Turin, 
Tortona,  Genoa,  Acqui,  Gavi,  and  Alexandria ; 
more  than  all,  after  the  loss  that  general  Ott  sus- 
tained at  Montebello.  With  twenty-five  thousand 
men  in  these  places,  three  thousand  in  Tuscany, 
twelve  thousand  between  Mantua  and  Venice,  he 
had  at  most  but  forty  thousand  to  bring  into  the 
field  where  the  issue  of  the  war  was  to  be  decided. 
To  this  number  had  fallen  the  fine  army  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men,  which,  at  the 
commencement  of  the  campaign,  was  to  force  the 
southern  frontier  of  France.  Forty  thousand  had 
perished,  forty  thousand  were  scattered,  forty  thou- 
sand were  about  to  fight  in  order  to  escape  the 
Caudine  Forks;  but  among  the  last  was  a  powerful 
cavalry,  and  two  hundred  pieces  of  cannon. 

It  was  agreed  upon,  for  the  following  day,  that 
the  entire  army  should  issue  forth  by  the  bridges 
of  the  Bormida ;  for  there  were  two  bridges  pro- 
tected by  the  same  redoubt,  despite  the  false 
account  given  of  them  to  Bonaparte  :  general  Ott, 
it  was  also  decided,  should,  at  the  head  of  ten 
thousand  men,  half  cavalry  and  half  infantry,  leave 
the  Bormida,  and,  taking  the  left,  direct  himself 
upon  the  village  called  Castel  Ceriolo  ;  that  gene- 
rals Haddick  and  Kaim,  at  the  head  of  the  main 
body  of  the  army,  about  twenty  thousand  men, 
should  carry  the  village  of  Marengo,  which  affords 
the  entrance  to  the  plain ;  and  that  general 
O'Reilly,  with  five  or  six  thousand  men,  should 
take  the  right,  and  ascend  the  Bormida ;  a  power- 
ful artillei-y  sustaining  the  movement.  A  con- 
siderable detachment,  jjrincipally  cavalry,  was  left 
in  the  rear  of  Alexandria  upon  the  road  of  Acqui, 
to  observe  the  troops  of  Suchet,  of  the  ai-rival  of 
which  they  had  heard  some  floating  rumours. 

The  vast  plain  of  Marengo  has  been  described; 
the  great  road  from  Alexandria  to  Piaeenza  tra- 
ver.scs  through  its  entire  length,  inclosed  between 
the  Scrivia  and  Bormida.  The  French,  marching 
from  Piaeenza  and  the  Scrivia,  came  in  the  first 
instance  to  San  Giuliano,  and  in  three  quarters  of 


The  Austrians  pass  the  Bormida. 
Occupation  of  the  ground. 
Contest     :  the  Fontanone. 


MARENGO. 


General  Haddick  mortally 
wounded. — Battle  of  Ma- 
rengo begun. 


105 


a  league  further  to  Jlareiigo,  which  nearly  touched 
the  Bormida,  and  formed  the  principal  outlet  that 
the  Austrians  had  to  acquire  in  coming  out  of 
Alexandria.  Between  San  Giuliano  and  Marengo 
there  proceeded  in  a  right  line  the  road  which  was 
about  to  be  contested,  and  on  both  sides  extended 
a  plain  covered  with  vineyards  and  cornfields. 
Below  Marengo  on  the  right  of  the  French  and  on 
the  left  of  the  Austrians  was  Castel  Ceriolo,  a 
large  hamlet,  by  which  general  Ott  would  pass,  to 
turn  the  corps  of  general  Victor  that  was  stationed 
in  Marengo.  Upon  Marengo  there  was  to  be  di- 
rected the  principal  attaclc  of  the  Austrians,  since 
that  village  commanded  the  entrance  to  tlie  plain. 

At  break  of  day  the  .Austrian  army  passed  over 
the  two  bridges  of  the  Bormida,  but  its  movement 
was  slow,  because  it  had  but  one  issue  in  the  work 
that  covered  the  bridges.  O'Reilly  went  first,  and 
encountered  Gardanne's  division,  that  general  Vic- 
tor, having  occupied  Marengo,  had  placed  in  ad- 
vance. The  division  consisted  of  the  101st  and 
44th  demi-brigades  only.  O'Reilly,  supported  by 
a  numerous  artillery,  and  having  double  the  num- 
ber of  men,  obliged  the  division  to  retreat  and  shut 
itself  up  in  Marengo.  Fortunately  O'Reilly  did 
not  follow  it  into  the  place,  but  waited  until  he 
was  supported  by  the  centre  under  general  Had- 
dick. The  sl(jwness  of  their  march  in  pasising  the 
defile  caused  by  the  bridges,  made  the  Austrians 
lose  two  or  three  hours.  At  length  generals  Had- 
dick and  Kaiin  formed  in  the  rear  of  O'Reilly, 
and  general  Ott  crossed  the  bridges  to  proceed  to 
Castel  Ceriolo.  General  Victor  immediately  united 
his  two  divisions  for  the  defence  of  Marengo,  and 
sent  off  to  inform  the  first  consul  that  the  Austrian 
army  was  advancing  in  its  entire  force  with  the 
clear  intention  of  giving  battle. 

.\n  obstacle  in  the  nature  of  the  ground  seconded 
very  appropriately  the  courage  of  the  French 
soldiers.  In  advance  of  Marengo,  between  the 
Austrians  and  French,  there  wa.s  a  deep  and 
muddy  rivulet  called  Fontanone.  It  ran  between 
Marengo  and  the  Bormida,  and  emptied  its  con- 
tents a  little  lower  down  into  the  Bormida  itself. 
Victor  placed  towards  his  right,  that  is,  in  the 
village  of  Marengo,  the  101st  and  44th  demi- 
brigades,  under  general  Gardanne  ;  on  the  left  of 
the  village  the  24th,  43rd,  and  9Gth,  under  general 
Giamharlhac ;  a  little  in  tiie  rear,  general  Kciler- 
mann  with  the  20th,  2nd,  and  3th  cavalry,  and  one 
squadron  of  the  12th.  The  rest  of  the  12th  was 
on  the  Higher  Bormida  observing  the  distant 
movements  of  the  enemy. 

General  Haddick  advanced  to  the  rivulet,  covered 
by  twenty-five  jdeces  of  cannon,  which  opened  upon 
the  French.  He  threw  himself  gallantly  into  the 
bed  of  the  P'onUmone  at  the  head  of  Bellegarde's 
division.  General  Ilivaud,  leaving  the  shelter  of 
the  village  with  the  44th  and  lOlst,  opened  a  direct 
fire  upon  the  Austrians,  who  were  trying  to  issue 
out.  A  viulent  conflict  ensued  along  the  Fonta- 
none, Haddick  making  many  attempts;  but  Riviiud  ', 
holding  himself  firm  under  the  Austrian  battery, 
stopped,  by  the  fire  of  his  musketry,  given  at  a 
very  short  disLitue,  the  corps  of  Haddick,  and 
repulsed  it  in  dis<(rder  to  the  other  side  of  the 
rivulet.      The   unfortunate    general   Haddick    re- 

>  Oliver  RIvaud. 


ccived  a  mortal  wound,  and  his  soldiers  retreated. 
M^las  then  matle  the  troops  of  general  Kaim  ad- 
vance, and  ordered  O'Reilly  to  proceed  along  the 
Bormida,  and  ascend  it  as  far  as  a  place  called 
Stortigliona,  in  order  to  execute  a  charge  on  the 
French  left  with  the  cavalry  of  Pilati.  But  at  the 
same  moment  general  Kellermann  was  mounted  at 
the  head  of  his  division  of  cavalry,  observing  the 
motion  of  the  Austrian  squadrons ;  while  Lannes, 
who  had  remained  the  night  before  on  the  left  of 
Victor,  in  the  j>laiu,  placed  himself  in  line  between 
Marengo  and  Castel  Ceriolo.  The  Austrians  then 
made  another  effort.  Gardanne's  and  Chambarl- 
hac's  divisions,  drawn  up  in  a  semi-circle  along 
the  semi-circular  bed  of  the  Fontanone,  were 
placed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  able  to  pour  a 
converging  fire  on  the  jioint  of  attack.  They 
made  dreadful  work  with  their  musketry  among 
the  troops  of  general  K;iim.  During  this  time 
general  Pilati,  ascending  higher,  succeeded  in 
crossing  the  Fontanone  at  the  head  of  two  thousand 
horse.  The  brave  Kellermann,  who  on  this  day 
added  greatly  to  the  gltn-y  attached  to  his  name  at 
Valmy,  dashed  upon  the  squadrons  of  Pilati  as 
soon  as  they  attempted  to  open  out,  sabreing  and 
precipitating  them  into  the  muddy  bed  of  that 
stream,  which  could  not  have  been  better  traced 
by  art  for  covering  the  French  position. 

Up  to  this  moment,  though  the  French,  surprised, 
had  only  the  two  corps  of  Victor  and  Lannes  in 
line,  or  about  fifteen  or  sixteen  thousand  men 
to  resist  thirty-six  thousand  ;  still  owing  to  the 
fault  of  the  Austrians,  in  not  on  the  day  before 
taking  possession  of  Marengo,  a  fault  which  gained 
for  theru  some  advantage,  by  leading  Bonaparte 
into  error,  the  French  had  gained  time  to  wait  the 
arrival  of  the  commander-in-chief  and  of  the 
reserves  remaining  behind  or  despatched  on  the 
road  to  Novi. 

Such  was  the  state  of  things,  when  Mdlas  de- 
cided on  making  the  last  effort  to  save  the  honour 
and  freedom  of  his  army;  and  bravely  seconded 
by  his  soldiers,  who  were  all  veterans,  whose 
victories  in  the  preceding  campaigns  had  height- 
ened their  courage,  he  made  another  attack 
upon  the  French  line.  General  Ott,  who  had 
taken  much  time  to  file  off,  now  began  to  be  able 
to  act  towards  the  Austrian  left.  He  manojuvred 
with  the  design  to  turn  the  French,  and,  travers- 
ing Castel  Ceriolo,  attacked  Lannes,  who  being 
placed  beside  Victor,  between  Marengo  and  Castel 
Ceriolo,  formed  the  right  of  the  French  line. 
While  Ott  occupied  the  attention  of  Lannes,  the 
corps  of  O'Reilly,  Haddick,  and  Kaim  united,  were 
anew  directed  on  the  Fontanone,  in  front  of  Ma- 
rengo. A  formidable  artillery  sup])orted  all  their 
movements.  The  grenadiers  of  Lattermann  en- 
tered the  rivulet,  and,  passing  it,  gained  the  other 
side.  The  division  of  Chambarlhac,  placed  on  the 
left  of  Marengo,  began  a  most  destructive  fire 
upon  them,  yet  still  a  battalion  of  these  grenadiers 
continued  to  keep  its  ground  beyond  tho  Fonta- 
none ;  Mt51as  redoubU;d  his  cannonade  on  the 
division  of  Chambarlhac,  which  was  not  covered 
by  the  houses  of  the  village,  as  those  that  defended 
Marengo  were.  In  the  mean  time  the  Austrian 
pioneers  hastily  constructed  a  bridge  of  trestles. 
The  gallant  Kivaud,  at  the  head  of  the  44tli, 
sallying  from  the  village  of  Marengo,  and  march- 


Progress  of  the  battle. 
106        Bonaparte  hastens  to, 
the  field. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


He  rallies  the  troops, 
and  makes  a  new 
disposition.' 


1800. 
June. 


ing  upon  the  enemy  in  spite  of  the  grape-shot,  was 
on  the  point  of  driving  them  into  the  Fontanone, 
but  the  mui'derous  discharge  of  artillery  stopped 
the  44th,  thinned  by  this  obstinate  struggle,  and 
Rivaud  was  himself  wounded.  Seizing  the  oppor- 
tune moment,  Lattermann's  grenadiers  advanced 
in  a  body  and  penetrated  into  Marengo.  Rivaud, 
covered  with  blood,  placed  himself  again  at  the 
liead  of  the  44th,  and,  making  a  vigorous  charge 
on  the  grenadiers,  drove  them  out  of  Marengo  ; 
but,  on  leaving  the  shelter  of  the  houses,  they  were 
received  with  such  a  dreadful  fire  of  artillery,  that 
he  was  unable  to  force  them  back  over  the  brook, 
which  had  so  far  well  protected  the  French  army. 
Enfeebled  by  loss  of  blood,  this  brave  officer  was 
obliged  to  submit  to  be  carried  off  the  field.  The 
Austrian  grenadiers  remained  masters  of  the  posi- 
tion which  they  had  carried.  At  this  instant  the 
division  of  Chambarlhac,  which,  as  has  been  ob- 
served, was  unprotected  by  any  shelter  from  the 
grape-shot,  and  wholly  uncovei-ed,  was  nearly  de- 
stroyed. General  O'Reilly  repulsed  the  96th, 
placed  at  the  extreme  left  of  the  French,  and  then 
began  to  assume  the  offensive.  Towards  the  right, 
Lannes,  who  at  first  had  only  the  single  corps 
of  general  Kaim  to  oppose,  was  on  the  point  of 
driving  it  into  the  bed  of  the  Fontanone,  when  he 
discovered  that  he  was  suddenly  turned  by  general 
Ott,  who  was  issuing  from  Castel  Ceriolo  with  a 
large  body  of  cavalry.  Champeaux's  brigade  of 
cavalry,  drawn  up  in  the  rear  of  Lannes'  corps,  as 
Kellermann's  was  in  rear  of  Victor's,  made  in  vain 
several  brilliant  charges,  while  the  unfortunate 
Champeaux  himself  received  a  mortal  wound. 
Our  army,  on  both  wings  severely  handled,  sepai'ated 
itself  from  Marengo,  by  which  it  had  so  tenaciously 
held,  and  then  had  nothing  to  sustain  it.  It  ran 
the  hazard  of  being  forced  into  the  plain  in  the 
rear,  without  any  support,  against  two  hundred 
pieces  of  cannon  and  an  immense  cavah-y. 

It  was  now  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning;  the  car- 
nage had  been  horrible.  A  considerable  number 
of  wounded  encumbered  the  road  between  Marengo 
and  San  Giuliano.  Already  a  part  of  Victor's 
corps,  overpowered  by  numbers,  was  retreating, 
crying  that  all  was  lost.  All  must  have  been  lost 
too,  without  a  reinforcement  of  troops  which  had 
not  been  wearied  out,  and,  more  than  all,  without  a 
great  soldier  capable  of  regaining  the  victory 
wrested  from  his  troops. 

Bonaparte,  in  receiving  intelligence  that  the 
Austrians,  who  he  feared  would  escape  him,  had 
taken  his  army  by  surprise  in  the  plain  of  Marengo, 
80  deserted  on  tlie  previous  day,  hastened  from 
Torre  di  Garofolo,  congratulating  himself  upon 
the  lucky  inundation  of  the  Scrivia,  which  had 
prevented  his  going  on  to  Voghera  to  pass  the 
night.  He  brought  with  him  the  consular  guard, 
a  body  of  men  not  numerous,  but  of  unequalled 
courage,  which  subsequently  became  the  imperial 
guard  :  he  also  brought  Monnier's  division,  com- 
posed of  three  excellent  denii-brigades,  and  was 
followed  at  a  short  distance  by  a  reserve  of  two 
regiments  of  cavalry  :  he,  lastly,  sent  orders  for 
Desaix  to  march  in  all  haste  upon  San  Giuliano. 

The  first  consul,  at  the  head  of  the  reserve, 
proceeded  in  a  gallop  to  the  field  of  battle.  He  found 
Lannes  attacked  on  the  right  by  the  cavalry  and 
infantry  of  general  Ott,  endeavouring  still  to  sup- 


port himself  on  the  left  about  Marengo.  Gardanne 
was  defending  himself  in  tlie  hedges  of  that  village, 
the  object  of  such  a  furious  contest ;  and  on  the 
other  side,  Chambarlhac's  division,  thundered  upon 
by  the  Austrian  artillery,  was  dispersing. 

Over  this  scene  he  judged,  with  a  military  glance, 
what  was  most  needful  to  be  done,  to  re-establish 
the  state  of  affairs.  The  broken  left  was  in  a  state 
of  utter  rout,  but  the  right  still  maintained  its 
ground,  being  only  threatened, — and  that  was  the 
point,  therefore,  which  it  was  proper  to  reinforce. 
By  holding  firmly  on  Castel  Ceriolo,  he  would  have 
a  point  of  support  in  the  middle  of  that  vast  plain  ; 
he  would  be  able  to  pivot  upon  that  point  his 
strengthened  wing,  and  bring  his  beaten  wing  into 
the  rear  out  of  reach  of  the  enemy.  If  he  should, 
by  this  movement,  lose  the  high  road  from  Ma- 
rengo to  San  Giuliano,  the  mischief  would  be  re- 
parable; because  behind  the  new  position  there 
passed  another  road,  which  led  to  Sal^,  and  from 
Sale  to  the  banks  of  tlie  Po.  Thus  his  line  of  retreat 
to  Pavia  would  still  be  secure.  Placed  besides 
on  the  right  of  the  plains,  he  would  be  on  the 
Austrian  flank,  since  they  would  take  the  great 
road  from  Marengo  to  San  Giuliano,  if  they  in- 
tended to  turn  their  victory  to  any  profit. 

These  reflections  were  made  with  the  rapidity  of 
lightning  :  Bonaparte  instantly  put  into  execution 
the  resolution  he  conceived  in  consequence.  He 
sent  forward  in  the  plain  to  the  right  of  Lannes 
the  eight  hundred  grenadiers  of  the  consular 
guard,  and  ordered  them  to  stop  the  Austrian 
cavalry,  until  the  arrival  of  the  three  demi-brigades 
of  Monnier.  These  brave  men  formed  themselves 
into  a  square,  and  received  with  admii-able  cool- 
ness the  charges  of  the  Lobkowitz  dragoons,  stand- 
ing unbroken  by  the  reiterated  assaults  of  a  multi- 
tude of  horse.  A  little  to  their  right,  Bonaparte 
ordered  two  of  Monnier's  demi-brigades,  that  ar- 
rived at  that  moment,  to  direct  tliemselves  upon 
Castel  Ceriolo.  These  two  demi-bi-igades,  the  70th 
and  49th,  conducted  by  general  Carra  St.  Cyr, 
marched  in  advance,  and  sometimes  formed  in  a 
square  to  resist  the  cavalry,  sometimes  in  columns 
to  charge  the  infantry.  They  at  length  succeeded 
in  regaining  the  ground  lost,  and  posted  themselves 
in  the  hedges  and  gardens  of  Castel  Ceriolo.  At 
the  same  moment  JBonaparte,  at  the  head  of  the 
72nd,  went  to  the  support  of  the  left  under  Lannes, 
while  Dupont,  the  chief  of  the  staff,  set  out  to  rally 
in  the  rear  the  wrecks  of  Victor's  corps  pursued 
by  O'Reilly's  horse,  but  protected  by  Murat  with 
the  cavalry  reserve.  The  presence  of  the  first 
consul,  and  the  sight  of  the  main  corps  of  the  horse- 
guards,  reanimated  the  troops,  and  the  battle  was 
renewed  with  great  fury.  The  gallant  Watrin,  of 
Lannes'  corps,  with  the  6th  of  the  line  and  the 
22nd,  drove  the  soldiers  of  Kaim  at  the  point  of 
tiie  bayonet  into  the  Fontanone.  Lannes,  infusing 
into  the  40th  and  28th  the  fire  of  his  own  heroic 
soul,  pushed  forward  botli  regiments  upon  the 
Austrians.  Over  the  immense  extent  of  that  plain 
of  Marengo  the  battle  raged  with  intense  violence. 
Gardanne  endeavoured  to  retake  Marengo ;  Lannes 
to  make  himself  master  of  the  rivulet,  that  on  the 
commencement  of  the  battle  had  so  well  covered 
the  French  troops  ;  tiie  grenadiers  of  the  consular 
guard,  continuing  m  square,  a  living  citadel  in  the 
middle  of  the  battle-field,  filled  up  the  void  be- 


I 


The  Austrians  carry  all  before  them. 

The  French  retreat. 

Gallantrj-  of  the  consular  guard. 


MARENGO. 


Desaix,  hearing  the  cannon  of 
Marengo,  returns  thither. 


107 


tweeii  Lannes  and  tlic  coliimiis  of  Carra  St.  Cyr, 
which  were  in  possession  of  tlie  first  houses  of 
Castel  Ceriolo.  Melas,  with  the  coui-age  of  de- 
spair, bringing  his  united  masses  upon  Marengo, 
issued  at  lengtli  from  the  village,  driving  back  the 
worn-out  soldiers  of  Gardanne,  who  in  vain  took 
advantage  of  every  obstacle  to  aid  their  resistance. 
O'Reilly  continued  to  overwhelm  with  grape-shot 
the  division  of  Chanibarlhae,  so  long  exposed  to  the 
tire  of  his  immense  artillery. 

But  there  was  no  longer  any  possibility  of 
making  head  ;  they  must  yield  up  the  gi-ound.  Bo- 
napai-te  ordered  them  to  fall  back  by  little  and 
little,  at  the  same  time  keeping  up  a  firm  front. 
Then,  while  his  left,  sejiarated  from  Marengo,  and 
thus  deprived  of  support,  fell  back  rapidly  as  far 
as  San  Giuliano,  where  it  went  to  seek  a  shelter,  he 
continued  to  keep  the  right  of  the  plain,  and  to 
maintain  himself  in  slow  i-etrcat, — thanks  to  Castcl 
Ceriolo,  the  bravery  of  the  consular  guard,  and, 
above  all,  to  Lannes,  who  made  unequalled  efforts. 
If  he  could  not  .support  the  right,  the  first  consul 
had  still  a  certain  line  of  retreat  by  Sale'  towards 
the  banks  of  the  Po ;  and  if  Desaix,  who  was  sent 
on  the  preceding  day  upon  Novi,  should  return  in 
time,  the  field  of  battle  might  yet  be  reconquered, 
and  victory  come  back  to  the  side  of  the  French. 

At  this  moment  it  was  that  Lannes  and  his 
four  demi-brigades  exhibited  efforts  worthy  of  the 
plaudits  of  posterity.  Tiie  enemy,  who  liad  issued 
out  of  Marengo  upon  the  plain  in  one  solid  mass, 
poured  forth  from  eighty  pieces  of  cannon  a  con- 
tinued shower  of  round  and  grape  shot.  Lannes, 
at  the  head  of  his  deini-brigades,  was  two  hours  in 
retreating  three-fourths  of  a  league.  When  the 
enemy,  coming  too  near,  pressed  upon  him,  he 
halted  and  charged  him  with  the  bayonet.  Although 
liis  guns  were  dismounted,  a  few  light  field-pieces, 
drawn  by  the  better  horses,  were  brought  up  and 
mancBUvred  with  the  same  skill  and  boldness,  a-s- 
Bisting  by  their  fire  the  deini-brigades  that  were 
too  much  pressed;  and  they  even  dared  to  place 
themselves  in  battery  against  the  Austrian  ar- 
tilleiy.  The  consular  guard,  which  the  Austrians 
i  were  unable  to  break  by  their  charges  of  cavalry, 
was  now  assailed  by  cannon.  The  Austrians  strove 
to  batter  it  in  breach  like  a  wall,  and  then  it  was 
charged  by  Frimont's  horse.  It  sustained  con- 
siderable loss,  but  retreated  unbroken.  Carra  St. 
Cyr  also  retreated,  and  abandoned  Castel  Ceriolo, 
but  he  still  had  a  Inst  support  in  the  vineyards  in 
the  rear  of  that  village.  The  French  also  remained 
ma.sters  of  the  road  from  Ceriolo  to  Salt*.  Every 
when-  the  plain  exhibited  a  vast  pile  of  carniige, 
upon  which  continual  i  xplosions  were  added  to  the 
thunder  of  the  artillery;  for  Lannes,  in  his  retreat, 
blew  up  such  of  the  artillery-waggons  as  he  wiis 
unable  to  bring  away. 

Half  the  day  was  over.  Melas  made  sure  of  the 
vict^>ry  which  he  had  purchased  so  dearly.  The 
old  soldier,  who  at  least  for  courage  showed  him- 
self worthy  t>{  his  adversjiry  on  that  memorable 
day,  re-entered  Alexandria  worn  out  with  fatigue. 
He  left  gtjneral  Zach,  the  chief  of  his  staiT,  in  com- 
mand, and  sent  off  courifrs  to  all  part«  of  Europe 
to  announce;  the  defeat  of  general  Bonai)arte  at 
Marengo.  The  chief  of  the  staff,  then  in  full  com- 
mand, formed  the  greater  part  of  the  Austrian 
army  in  a  marching  column  on  the   great   road 


from  Marengo  to  San  Giuliano.  He  placed  at  the 
head  two  regiments,  then  a  column  of  Lattcrmann's 
grenadiei-s,  and  after  them  the  baggage.  He  dis- 
I)Osed  on  the  left  general  O'Reilly,  on  the  right  the 
corps  of  generals  Kaim  and  Haddick,  and  in  this 
order  he  sought  to  gain  the  great  road  to  Piacenza, 
the  object  of  so  many  efforts,  and  of  the  safety 
itself  of  the  Austrian  army. 

It  was  three  o'clock  :  if  no  new  event  occurred, 
the  contest  might  be  considered  lost  to  the  French, 
unless  they  could,  the  next  day,  with  the  troops 
drawn  from  the  Tessino,  the  Adda,  and  the  Po, 
repair  the  misfortunes  of  that  hour.  Desaix  was 
still  absent  with  the  entire  division  of  Boudet, — 
would  he  come  up  in  time  ?  Upon  this  depended 
the  fate  of  the  battle.  The  aids-de-camp  of  the 
first  consul  had  been  all  the  morning  in  search  of 
him.  But  before  these  messengers  could  reach 
him,  Desaix,  on  the  first  sound  of  a  cannon  in  the 
plain  of  Mai-engo,  had  instantly  stopped  his  mai\ch. 
The  sound  of  distant  cannon,  thus  heard,  made  him 
conclude  that  the  enemy,  of  whom  he  was  going  in 
search  at  Novi  on  the  Genoa  road,  was  at  Ma- 
rengo itself.  He  had  instantly  sent  Savary  with 
some  hundred  '  cavalry  to  Novi,  to  observe  what 
passed  there,  and  with  his  division  had  awaited  the 
result,  continually  hearing  the  cannon  of  the  French 
and  Austrians,  which  always  resounded  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  Bormida.  Savary  having  seen  no 
one  in  the  direction  of  Novi,  Desaix  was  more 
than  ever  confirmed  in  his  conjectures;  and  with- 
out waiting  a  moment  longer,  he  marched  upon 
Marengo,  preceded  by  aids-de-camp,  whom  he 
sent  forward  to  announce  his  arrival  to  the  first 
consul.  He  had  inarched  all  the  day,  and  at  three 
o'clock  the  heads  of  his  columns  began  to  show 
themselves  in  the  vicinity  of  San  Giuliano.  Ad- 
vancing himself  at  full  gallop,  he  came  up  to  the 
first  consul, — happy  impulse  of  a  lieutenant  so  in- 
telligent, and  so  full  of  devotedness, — happy  fortune 
of  youth  !  If,  fifteen  years  afterwards,  the  first 
consul,  so  well  seconded  here  by  his  generals,  had 
found  a  Desaix  on  the  field  of  battle  at  Waterloo, 
he  would  have  preserved  the  empire,  and  France 
have  kept  her  dominant  position  among  the  powers 
of  Europe. 

The  presence  of  Desaix  went  to  change  the 
face  of  things.  He  was  surrounded,  and  the  for- 
tunes of  the  day  related  to  him.  The  generals 
formed  a  circle  about  him  and  the  first  consul,  and 
the  seriousness  of  their  situation  was  warmly  dis- 
cussed. The  greater  part  of  those  present  advised 
a  retreat.  The  first  consul  was  not  of  that  opini<in, 
and  pressed  Desaix  forcibly  to  state  what  his  might 
be.  Desiiix  glanced  over  the  devastjited  field  of 
battle,  then  taking  out  his  watch,  and  looking  at 
the  hour,  replied  to  Bonaparte,  in  these  fine  yet 
simple  terms :  "  Yes,  the  battle  is  lost :  but  it  is 
only  three  o'clock;  there  is  yet  time  enough  to  gain 
one."  Bonaparte,  highly  plca.sed  at  the  decision 
of  Desaix,  .so  disposed  affairs  as  to  profit  by  the 
resources  which  the  general  had  brought  with 
him,  and  of  the  advantages  insured  to  him  by  the 

1  Savary  himself  says  only  fifty  horse.  M.  Thiers  differs, 
too,  with  the  same  writer  aliout  a  bridge  on  the  Bormida, 
one  of  which,  lower  down  than  Alexandria,  ought  to  have 
been  di-ntroyed,  but  was  not.  iSce  Savory's  Memoirs,  vol.  i.) 
—  Translator. 


Bonaparte  addresses  the  re- 
108    puised  troops:   they  renew     THIERS'   CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE, 
the  attack.-Death  ol  Desaix. 


Grand  charge  of  Kellermaiin.  .„.(, 
— Lannes  drives  the  Aus-  j  "  * 
trians  back  to  Marengo. 


position  taken  in  the  morning.  He  was  in  the  plain 
on  the  right,  whilst  the  enemy  were  on  the  left  iu 
marching  columns  on  the  great  road  to  San  Giu- 
liano.  Desaix  arrivuag  at  San  Giuliano  with  six 
thousand  fresh  men,  and  presenting  his  front  to 
the  Austrians,  might  stop  them,  while  the  mam 
body  of  the  army  might  throw  itself  on  their  flank. 
The  dispositions  were  instantly  made  iu  conse- 
quence. 

The  three  demi-hrigades  of  Desaix  were  formed 
in  advance  of  San  Giuliano,  a  little  to  the  right  of 
the  high  road ;  the  30th  formed  in  line ;  the  9th 
and  59th  in  close  columns  on  its  wings.  A  small 
undulation  of  the  ground  concealed  them  from  the 
enemy.  On  their  left  were  the  wrecks  of  Cham- 
barlhac's  and  Gardanne's  troops  under  general 
Victor,  a  little  recovered.  On  their  right  in  the 
plain  was  Lannes,  whose  retreat  was  suspended, 
then  the  consular  guard,  then  Carra  St.  Cyr,  who 
had  kept  as  near  as  possible  to  Castel  Ceriolo;  and 
between  Desaix  and  Lannes,  but  a  little  in  the 
rear,  the  cavalry  of  Ivellermann  was  placed  in  an 
interval.  A  battery  of  twelve  cannon,  all  that  re- 
mained of  the  artillery  of  the  army,  was  placed 
along  the  front  of  Desaix's  corps. 

These  dispositions  being  made,  the  first  consul 
rode  through  the  ranks  of  the  soldiers,  and  spoke 
to  the  different  corps.  "  My  friends,"  said  he, 
"  we  have  retreated  far  enough ;  do  you  recollect 
that  I  am  in  the  habit  of  lying  on  the  field  of 
battle."  After  reanimating  the  soldiei-s,  Avho  had 
gathered  fresh  spirits  from  the  arrival  of  the  re- 
inforcements, and  were  burning  with  impatience  to 
conquer,  he  gave  the  signal.  The  charge  was 
beaten  along  the  whole  line. 

The  Austrians,  rather  in  the  order  of  march 
than  the  order  of  battle,  were  proceeding  along  the 
high  road  ;  the  colunni  led  by  general  Zach,  the 
commander,  being  in  front ;  a  little  behind  that, 
the  centre  partly  formed  on  the  plain,  and  showing 
its  front  to  Lannes. 

General  Marmont  at  the  same  moment  suddenly 
unmasked  twelve  pieces  of  cannon.  A  shower  of 
grape-shot  fell  upon  the  head  of  the  surprised 
Austrian  column,  that  expected  no  more  resistance, 
because  they  thought  the  French  were  in  full 
retreat.  It  had  scarcely  recovered  from  this  sud- 
den alarm,  when  Desaix  moved  on  the  Sth  light,  and 
said  to  his  aid-de-camp,  Savary,  "  Go,  and  tell  the 
first  consul  that  I  am  chargmg,  and  shall  want  to 
be  supported  by  the  cavalry."  Desaix,  on  horse- 
back, led  on  the  demi-brigade.  He  ascended  with 
it  the  slight  rising  ground  which  concealed  his 
advance  from  the  view  of  the  Austrians,  and  re- 
vealed himself  to  them  at  once  by  a  discharge  of 
musketry  at  the  distance  of  only  a  few  paces.  The 
Austrians  returned  the  fire,  and  Desaix  fell,  a  ball 
having  entered  his  breast.  "  Conceal  my  death," 
he  exclaimed  to  general  Boudet,  the  chief  of  his 
division,  "  for  it  may  disconcert  the  troops," — a 
useless  caution  of  the  liero  !  He  was  seen  to  fall ; 
and  his  soldiers,  like  those  of  Turenne,  demanded 
vengeance  for  the  loss  of  their  chief  with  loud 
shouts.  The  9th  light,  which  gained  that  day  the 
title  of  the  "incomparable,"  and  bore  it  to  the 
end  of  our  wars, — the  9th  light,  after  pouring  in 
their  fire,  formed  in  column,  and  rushed  upon  the 
solid  Austrian  mass.  At  this  sight,  the  two  first 
x-egiments  that  stood  in  their  way,  in  consternation 


fell  back  disordered  upon  the  second  line,  and  dis- 
appeared in  its  ranks.  The  column  of  Lattermaun's 
grenadiers  then  became  alone  in  the  front,  and 
received  the  shock  of  the  light  troops.  They  kept 
firm.  The  battle  extended  to  both  sides  of  the 
high  road.  The  9th  light  was  supported  on  the 
right  by  the  rallied  troops  of  Victor,  on  the  left  by 
the  30th  and  59th  demi-brigades  of  Boudet's  di- 
vision, which  had  followed  the  movement.  The 
grenadiers  of  Lattermanu  defended  themselves 
with  difficulty ;  when  on  a  sudden  an  unforeseen 
storm  bui-st  upon  their  heads.  General  Keller- 
mann,  who  at  the  demand  of  Desaix  had  received 
orders  to  charge,  set  oft'  at  a  gallop,  and>  passing 
between  Lannes  and  Desaix,  placed  a  part  of  his 
squadrons  en  jjotence  to  face  the  Austrian  cavalry 
which  he  saw  before  him;  with  the  rest  he  dashed 
upon  the  flank  of  the  grenadiers  that  were  already 
attacked  in  front  by  Boudet's  iufantrj-.  The 
charge,  executed  with  extraordinary  force,  cut  the 
column  into  two  parts.  Kellermann's  dragoons 
sabred  to  the  right  and  left;  so  that,  pressed  on  all 
sides,  the  unfortunate  grenadiers  wei-e  obhged  to 
lay  dow  n  their  arms.  Two  thousand  of  them  were 
made  prisoners.  At  their  head,  general  Zach  him- 
self was  obliged  to  deliver  up  his  sword.  The 
Austrians  were  thus  deprived  of  direction  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  battle ;  for  Me'las,  as  we  have 
seen,  believing  the  victory  certain,  had  entered 
Alexandria.  Kellermann  did  not  halt  here;  he 
darted  upon  the  dragoons  of  Lichtenstein,  and 
put  them  to  flight ;  they  fell  back  upon  the  Aus- 
trian centre,  which  was  formed  in  the  plain  in  face 
of  Lannes,  and  put  it  into  disorder.  Lannes  then 
advanced  upon  the  Austrian  centre,  while  the 
grenadiers  of  the  consular  guard  and  Carra  St. 
Cyr  moved  anew  upon  Castel  Ceriolo,  from  which 
they  were  not  far  ofi".  On  all  the  line  from  San 
Giuliano  to  Castel  Ceriolo  the  French  had  adopted 
the  offensive;  they  marched  forward  intoxicated 
with  joy  and  enthusiasm  at  seeing  victory  return 
to  them.  The  surprise  and  discouragement  had 
gone  over  to  the  Austrians. 

How  admirable  is  the  power  of  the  determined 
will,  that  by  perseverance  in  determination  brings 
back  fortune  !  The  oblique  line  of  the  French 
from  San  Giuliano  to  Castel  Ceriolo  advanced  at 
the  charge,  driving  back  the  Austrians,  who  were 
astoimded  at  having  a  new  battle  to  fight.  Cai-ra 
St.  Cyr  soon  reconquered  the  village  of  Castel 
Ceriolo;  and  general  Ott,  who  had  been  the  first  to 
advance  beyond  that  village,  fearing  to  be  over- 
powered, thought  of  retrograding,  to  prevent  his 
communication  from  being  cut  off;  a  panic  seized 
upon  his  cavalry,  which  fled  at  full  gallop,  crying, 
"  To  the  bridges  !"  All  tried  to  reach  the  bridges 
of  the  Bormida.  General  Ott,  repassing  by  Castel 
Ceriolo  with  the  troops  of  Vogelsang,  was  obliged 
to  force  through  the  French.  He  succeeded,  and 
regained  in  a  hurry  the  bank  of  the  Bormida,  where 
all  the  Austrians  hurried  with  headlong  precipi- 
tation. 

The  generals  Kaim  and  Haddick  strove  to  keep 
the  centre  firm  in  vain.  Lannes  did  not  permit 
them  the  means,  but  drove  them  into  Marengo, 
proceeding  to  push  them  into  the  Fontanone,  and 
from  the  Fontanone  into  the  Bormida.  But  the 
grenadiers  of  Weidenfeld  made  a  momentary  re- 
sistance, to  give  O'Reilly  time  to  return,  he  having 


Consequences  of  the  victory. 
Bonaparte's  regret  for  the 
death  of  Desaix. 


MARENGO. 


Exultation  of  the  French  and  depres- 
sion of  the  Austrians,  who  send  a 
flag  of  truce. 


109 


advanced  as  far  as  Cassina  Grossa.  Tlie  Austrian 
cavalry,  too,  attempted  several  times  to  stop  the 
advance  of  tiie  French.  It  was  driven  back  by  the 
horse  grenadiers  of  the  consular  guard,  led  by 
young  Beauharnois  and  Bes.sieres.  Lannes  and 
Victor,  with  their  connected  forces,  fell  at  last 
upon  Marengo,  and  threw  O'Reilly's,  as  well  as 
Weidenfeld's  grenadiers  into  disorder.  The  con- 
fusion on  the  bridges  of  the  Bormida  every  moment 
increased.  Infantry,  cavalry,  artillery,  were  all 
crowded  together  there.  The  bridges  could  not 
hold  them  ;  and  numbers  threw  themselves  into 
the  Bormida  to  ford  it.  An  artillery  conductor 
endeavoured  to  cross  with  his  gun,  and  suc- 
ceeded. Tiie  entire  artillery  tried  to  imitate  his 
example,  but  a  part  of  the  carriages  i-emained 
in  the  bed  of  the  river  stuck  fast.  Tlie  French,  in 
hot  pursuit,  captured  men,  horses,  cannon,  and 
baggage.  The  unfortunate  Mdlas,  who,  two  hours 
before,  had  left  his  army  victorious,  liurried  out  at 
the  news  of  the  disaster,  and  could  scarcely  credit 
what  he  saw.     He  was  in  utter  despair. 

.Such  was  the  sanguinary  conflict  of  Marengo; 
which,  as  will  soon  be  seen,  exercised  a  vast  influ- 
ence upon  the  destiny  of  France,  and  of  the  world; 
it  gave  peace  to  the  republic  at  the  moment,  and  a 
little  later  the  empire  to  the  first  consul.  This  bat- 
tle was  cruelly  contested,  and  it  was  worth  the 
contest ;  since  no  i-esult  was  ever  of  more  im- 
portance to  one  or  the  other  of  the  combatants. 
M^ias  fought  to  avoid  a  fearful  capitulation;  Bona- 
parte staked  on  that  day  his  entire  fortunes.  The 
number  lost,  considering  the  total  of  the  combat- 
ants, was  immense,  and  out  of  the  usual  proportion. 
The  Austrians  lost  eight  thousand  killed  and 
wounded,  and  more  than  two  thousand  prisoners. 
Their  staff"  was  cruelly  decimated.  General  Had- 
dick  was  killed  ;  gentrals  Vogelsing,  Latterraann, 
Bellegarde,  Lainarsaille,  and  Gotteslieim  were 
wounded;  and  with  them  a  great  number  of  offi- 
cers. They  lost  in  men  killed,  wounded,  or  taken, 
one-tliird  of  tlieir  army;  if  this  army  was  tliirty- 
six  thousand,  or  forty  thousand  strong,  as  was 
generally  said.  Then,  as  to  the  French,  they  had 
six  thousand  killed  and  wounded,  and  about  one 
thousand  made  prisoners,  wiiich  shows  a  loss  of 
one-fourth  of  their  force  out  of  twenty-eight  thou- 
sand present  in  the  field.  Their  staff  was  as  badly 
treated  as  the  Austrian.  Generals  Mainony,  Ri- 
vaud,  Malher,  and  Champeaux  were  wounded,  the 
la«t  mortJiUy  ;  but  the  greatest  loss  was  Desaix. 
France  had  not  lost  one  more?  regretted  during  ten 
years  of  war.  In  tlie  view  of  the  first  consul  this 
loss  was  great  enough  to  diminish  the  pleasure  of 
the  victory.  His  secretary,  Bourienne,  congratu- 
lating him  upon  liis  miraculous  success,  said  to 
him  :  "  What  a  glorious  day  I"  "  Yes,"  replied 
Bonaparte,  "  it  would  have  been  indeed  glorious, 
if  I  could  have  embraced  Desaix  this  evening  on 
the  field  of  battle.  I  was  going  to  make  liim 
minister  of  war,"  he  added.  "  I  would  liave  made 
him  a  prince  if  I  could."  The  conqueror  of 
Marengo  had  yet  no  idea  that  he  should,  at  a 
time  not  distant,  be  able  to  give  crowns  to  those 
who  served  him. 

The  body  of  the  unfortunate  Desaix  was  lying 
near  San  Ginliano,  amid.st  the  vast  field  of  slaugh- 
ter. His  aid-de-camp,  Savary,  who  wiuj  a  long 
time  attached  to  him,  searched  for  his  body  among 


the  dead  ;  and,  recognizing  it  by  the  abundance  of 
the  hair,  removed  it  with  great  cax-e,  wrapped  in 
a  hussar's  cloak,  and,  placing  it  on  his  horse,  took  it 
to  the  head-quarters  at  the  Torre  di  Garofolo. 

Although  the  plain  of  Marengo  was  inundated 
with  French  blood,  joy  reigned  in  the  army. 
Soldiers  and  generals  felt  how  meritorious  had 
been  their  conduct,  and  appreciated  fully  the  great 
importance  of  a  victory  gained  on  the  rear  of  an 
enemy.  The  Austrians,  on  the  contrary,  were  in  a 
consternation;  they  knew  that  they  were  enveloped 
and  forced  into  submi.ssion  to  the  will  of  the  victor. 
j\le'las,  who  had  two  horses  killed  under  him  during 
the  day,  conducted  himself,  in  spite  of  his  age,  as 
well  as  it  was  possible  for  the  youngest  and  most 
valiant  soldiers  in  his  army  to  have  done  ;  he  was 
plunged  in  the  deepest  sorrow.  He  had  gone  into 
Alexandria  to  take  a  little  rest,  believing  himself 
the  conqueror.  Now  he  saw  liis  army  half  de- 
stroyed, flying  by  every  outlet,  abandoning  its 
artillery  to  the  French,  or  leaving  it  in  the 
marshes  of  the  Bormida.  To  finish  his  misfor- 
tune, the  chief  of  his  staff,  Zach,  who  enjoyed  liis 
entire  confidence,  was  a  prisoner  with  the  French. 
He  went  from  one  of  his  generals  to  the  other  in 
vain;  none  of  them  would  give  an  opinion;  while  all 
cursed  the  cabinet  of  Vienna,  which  had  kept  them 
under  such  fatal  illusions,  and  precipitated  them 
into  an  abyss.  Still,  something  must  be  decided 
upon — but  what?  To  cut  his  way  through  the 
enemy — that  had  been  attempted,  and  had  not 
succeeded.  Should  he  retire  upon  Genoa,  or  pass 
the  Upper  Po,  in  order  to  force  the  Tessino  ? 
Tliese  resorts,  difficult  before  a  battle,  were  impos- 
sible, since  battle  had  been  given  and  lost.  General 
Suchet  was  only  some  leagues  in  the  rear,  towards 
Acqui,  with  the  army  of  Ligurij.  Bonaparte  was 
in  front  of  Alexandria,  with  the  victorious  army  of 
reserve.  Both  might  form  a  junction,  and  cut  off 
tlie  road  to  Genoa.  General  Moncey,  who,  with 
the  detachment  from  Germany,  guarded  the  Tes- 
sino, could  be  succoured  by  Bonaparte  in  as  little 
time  as  it  would  require  to  march  upon  Moncey. 
He  had  no  hope  of  safety  on  any  side;  and  it  was 
necessary  to  adopt  the  idea  of  a  capitulation,  happy 
if,  in  abandoning  Italy,  he  insured  the  liberty  of 
the  Austrian  forces,  and  attained  from  the  gene- 
rosity of  the  conqueror,  that  this  unfortunate  army 
should  not  be  prisoners  of  war.  It  was  in  conse- 
quence resolved,  to  send  a  flag  of  truce  to  Bona- 
parte, in  order  to  commence  a  negotiation.  The 
prince  of  Lichtenstein  was  chosen  to  proceed  on 
the  following  morning,  being  the  I5th  of  June  or 
2C  Prairial,  to  the  French  head-quarters. 

On  the  other  side,  the  first  consul  had  many 
reasons  for  treating  with  the  Austrians.  His  jirin- 
cipal  end  was  gained,  for  Italy  was  delivered  by  a 
single  battle. 

After  the  victory  which  he  had  thus  gained, 
that  enabled  him  to  invest  the  Austrians  on 
every  side,  lie  was  certain  of  obtaining  the  evacua- 
tion of  Italy.  He  might  also  rigorously  demand 
that  the  vanquished  should  lay  down  their  arms 
and  surrender  themselves  prisoners.  But  in 
wounding  the  honour  of  bravo  men  he  might  per- 
chance force  them  into  some  desperate  act.  'I'his 
would  occasion  a  useless  effusion  of  bhiod,  and 
would  more  particularly  be  attended  with  a  loss 
of  time.     Absent   from    Paris  above  a    month,   it 


Convention  of  Alexandria 
110      signed  by  Melns  and  Bo- 
naparte.— Its  articles. 


Reflections  on  the  results 
THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.         of   the   battle  of  Ma- 
rengo. 


was  important  that  he  should  return  there  as  soon 
as  possible.  There  was  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of 
the  Frencli,  general  Zacli,  who  might  be  made 
a  valuable  intermediate  agent.  The  first  consul 
opened  his  mind  to  him,  and  expressed  in  his  pre- 
sence how  sincerely  he  felt  desirous  of  peace  ;  that 
he  felt  every  wish  to  spare  the  imperial  army 
and  to  grunt  it  the  most  honourable  terms.  The 
Austrian  flag  of  truce  having  arrived,  he  manifested 
to  the  officer  thus  sent  the  same  disposition  that 
he  had  exhibited  to  general  Zach,  and  requested 
them  to  return  with  Berthier  to  general  Melas  to 
arrange  the  basis  of  a  capitulation.  Following  his 
usual  custom  under  similar  circumstances,  he  de- 
clared the  irrevocable  conditions  under  which  he 
Wduld  treat,  these  being  already  settled  in  his  own 
mind,  and  :innouiiced  that  no  modification  of  them 
could  happen.  He  consented  that  the  Austrian 
army  should  not  be  declared  ])risoners  of  war  ;  lie 
was  willing  that  it  should  pass  out  with  the  honours 
of  war ;  but  he  insisted  that  all  the  fortresses  of 
Liguria,  Piedmont,  Lombardy,  and  the  Legations 
should  be  immediately  given  up  to  France,  and 
that  the  Austrians  should  evacuate  Italy  as  far  as 
the  Mincio.  Tiie  negotiators  immediately  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Austrian  head-quarters. 

Although  rigorous,  the  conditions  were  such  as 
were  but  natural,  it  may  be  said,  generous.  One 
alone  was  painful,  almost  humiliating  ;  it  was  the 
surrender  of  Genoa,  after  so  much  blood  spilled, 
and  after  an  occupation  of  only  a  few  days  ;  but 
this  was  a  point  from  which  the  conqueror  would 
not  deiiart.  Still  Me'las  sent  his  principal  nego- 
tiator to  remonstrate  against  some  of  the  conditions 
in  the  proposed  armistice.  "  Sir,"  said  the  first 
consul  with  a  little  warmth,  "  my  conditions  are  ir- 
revocable. I  did  hot  begin  my  military  life  yester- 
day; your  position  is  as  well  known  to  me  as  to 
yourselves.  You  are  in  Alexandria,  encumbered 
with  dead,  wounded,  and  sick,  destitute  of  pro- 
visions, dejirived  of  the  best  soldiers  in  your  army, 
surrounded  on  every  side.  I  am  in  a  position  to 
demand  any  thing  ;  but  I  respect  the  grey  hairs 
of  your  general  and  the  courage  of  your  soldiers. — 
I  demand  nothing  that  is  not  justified  by  the  pre- 
sent situation  of  affairs.  Return  to  Alexandria  ; 
do  as  you  please,  you  will  have  no  other  conditions." 

The  convention  was  signed  on  the  same  day,  the 
15th  of  June,  at  Alexandria,  on  the  basis  proposed 
by  Bonaparte.  It  was  in  the  first  i)lace  arranged 
that  there  should  be  a  suspension  of  arms  in  Italy 
until  the  reception  of  a  I'eply  from  Vieima.  If  the 
terms  of  the  treaty  were  sanctioned,  the  Austrians 
were  to  be  free  to  retire  with  the  honours  of  war 
behind  the  line  of  the  Mincio.  They  engaged  upon 
retiring  to  give  up  into  the  hands  of  the  Frencli 
all  the  str.ng  places  which  they  occuj)ied.  The 
citadels  of  Tortoiia,  Alexandria,  Milan,  Arona,  and 
Piaceiiza  were  to  be  remitted  between  the  16th 
and  20th  of  June,  or  27tli  of  Prairial  and  1st  of 
Messidor  ;  the  citadels  of  Cevi,  Savona,  the  for- 
tresses of  Colli  and  Genoa,  between  the  ICih  and 
24th,  and  that  of  Urbino  on  the  2Gth.  The  Aus- 
trian army  was  to  be  divided  into  three  columns, 
to  i-etire  one  after  another  as  fast  as  the  places 
were  delivered  up.  The  immense  stores  of  pro- 
visions accninulated  by  M^las  in  Italy  were  to  be 
equally  divided  between  the  French  and  the  Aus- 
trians ;  the  artillery  of  the  Italian  foundries  to  go 


to  the  French,  that  of  the  Austrian  foundries  to 
the  imperial  army.  The  Austrians,  after  the 
evacuation  of  Lombardy  as  far  as  the  Mincio, 
were  to  retire  behind  the  following  boundary  : — 
the  Mincio,  the  Fossa-Maestra,  the  left  bank  of 
the  Po,  from  Borgo- Forte  as  far  as  its  mouth  in  the 
Adriatic,  Peschiera,  and  Mantua  remained  in  pos- 
session of  the  Austrians.  It  was  verbally  agreed 
without  any  explanation,  that  the  detachment  of 
the  army  at  that  time  actually  in  Tuscany  should 
continue  to  occupy  that  province.  Respecting  the 
states  of  the  pope,  and  those  of  the  king  of  Naples, 
nothing  was  siijailated,  as  those  princes  were 
foreign  to  the  events  in  the  north  of  Italy.  If 
this  convention  should  not  be  ratified  by  the  em- 
peror, ten  days  were  allowed  for  the  resumption  of 
hostilities.  In  the  meanwhile  neither  party  was 
to  send  any  detachments  into  Germany. 

Such  are  the  main  points  of  the  celebrated  con- 
vention of  Alexandria,  which  in  one  day  obtained 
for  France  the  restitution  of  Upper  Italy,  and  in- 
volved the  restitution  of  the  whole.  M^las  was 
afterwards  too  much  censured  for  the  campaign 
and  treaty.  It  is  proper  to  be  just  towards  the 
unf(u-tunate,  when,  more  than  all,  it  is  I'edeemed  by 
honourable  conduct.  Me'las  was  deceived  j-egard- 
ing  the  existence  of  the  army  of  reserve  by  the 
cabinet  of  Vienna,  which  never  ceased  to  mislead 
him  with  the  niost  fatal  illusions.  When  he  was 
undeceived,  he  may  perhaps  be  justly  reproached 
for  not  having  united  his  troops  quickly  and  com- 
pletely enough,  and  with  having  left  too  many  men 
in  the  fortresses.  It  was  not  behind  the  walls  of 
fortresses,  but  on  the  battle-field  of  Mareng,o,  that 
these  were  to  be  defended.  This  being  admitted, 
it  must  be  acknowledged  that  Melas  conducted 
himself  as  a  brave  man  should  do  when  he  is  sur- 
rounded, he  endeavoured  to  cut  his  way  out  sword 
in  hand.  He  attempted  it  bravely,  and  w.as  de- 
feated. After  that  he  had  but  one  thing  left  to  do, 
which  was  to  sec^iire  the  liberty  of  his  ai-my,  because 
Italy  was  irrevocably  Inst  to  him.  He  was  imable 
to  get  better  terms  than  he  obtained  ;  he  might 
have  been  obliged  to  submit  to  worse  humiliations 
had  it  been  the  desire  of  his  conqueror.  The  con- 
queror himself  did  well  not  to  require  more,  since 
had  he  determined  on  more,  he  would  have  run 
the  chance  of  driving  brave  men  to  sanguinary 
extremities,  and  himself  to  lose  most  precious  time, 
his  presence  in  Paris  being  indispensable.  Melas 
deserves  pity,  and  the  conduct  of  the  victor  ad- 
miration, who  owed  the  result  of  the  campaign  not 
to  hazai'd,  but  to  the  most  profound  combinations, 
most  marvellously  executed. 

Some,  fotid  of  detraction,  have  pretended  that 
the  victory  of  Marengo  was  due  to  genei'al  Keller- 
mann,  and  that  all  the  consequences  were  but 
natural  results.  Why  then,  if  Bonaparte  must  be 
robbed  of  his  glory,  not  attribute  it  to  that  noble 
victim  of  a  happy  imjiulse,  Desaix ;  who  guessing, 
before  having  received  them,  the  orders  of  his 
commander,  came  to  bring  him  victory  and  his 
life  ?  Why  not  attribute  it  to  the  intrepid  de- 
fender of  Genoa,  who,  in  retaining  the  Austrians 
on  the  Apcnniiie,  gave  Bonaparte  time  to  descend 
the  Alps,  and  delivered  them  up  to  him  half 
destroyed  ?  Some  say  that  generals  Kcllemiann, 
Desaix,  and  Massc-na  are  the  real  conquerors  (^ 
Marengo,  any  one  except  Bonaparte.     But  in  this 


Bonaparte,  well  seconded  by  his 
lifutenaiits,  the  real  conqueror 
ut'  Marengo. 


MARENGO. 


}Iis  letter  to  llie  emperor  of 
Austria  from  the  field  of 
battle. 


Ill 


world  the  voice  of  the  public  always  decrees  glorv, 
and  the  voice  of  the  pultlic  has  proclaimeil  tlie 
coiKiiieror  of  Marengo  to  be  him  who,  with  the 
quick  glance  of  genius,  discovered  the  use  tliat 
might  be  made  of  the  Higher  Alps  to  pour  down 
on  the  i-ear  of  the  Austri.ins,  having  for  three 
niontlis  together  deceived  their  vigilance  ;  to  be 
him  who  created  an  army  that  did  not  before  exist; 
rendered  its  creation  incredible  to  all  Europe, 
traversed  the  St.  Bernard  ovir  an  unbeaten  track, 
ajipeared  unexpectedly  in  the  midst  of  Italy  that 
was  confounded  with  astonishment,  enveloped  with 
wonderful  skill  Ids  uniortniiate  adversary,  and 
having  fought  a  decisive  battle  with  him,  lost  it  in 
the  morning  and  regained  it  in  the  evening.  Tlie 
battle  was  certain  to  be  regained  on  the  following, 
if  it  had  not  on  the  same  day  ;  for  besides  the  six 
thousand  men  unuer  Disaix,  ten  thousand  on  tlie 
way  from  the  Teasino,  and  ten  thousand  posted  on 
the  Po,  presented  infallible  means  to  destroy  the 
army  of  the  Austrians.  Let  us  suppose  the  Aus- 
triaiis  victors  on  the  I4lh  of  June,  entering  into 
the  defile  of  Stradella,  finding  at  Piacenza  generals 
Duhesme  and  Loison  with  ten  thousand  men  ready 
to  dispute  the  passage  of  tlie  Po,  having  behind 
them  Bonaparte  reint()rceu  by  the  generals  Desaix 
and  .Moncey— what  could  the  Austrians  have  done 
in  such  a  dangerous  place,  stojiped  bj'  a  river  will- 
defended,  and  pursued  by  an  army  superior  in 
number  ?  Tliey  must  have  fallen  more  disastrously 
than  they  fell  in  the  lield  of  the  Bormida.  The 
real  conqueror  of  Marengo  then  was  he  who 
mastered  fortune  by  combinatinns,  so  profound,  so 
admirable,  as  to  be  without  equals  in  the  history  of 
the  greatest  soldiers. 

In  other  respects  he  was  well  served  by  his 
lieutenants,  and  there  is  no  need  to  sacrifice  the 
glory  of  any  to  construct  his.  Masse'na  by  an 
heroic  defence  of  Genoa,  Desaix  by  the  most 
happy  resolve,  Lannes  by  incomparablo  firmness 
on  the  plain  of  Marengo,  Kellerinann  by  his  fine 
charge  of  cavalry,  concurred  towards  his  triumph. 
lie  recompensed  all  in  the  most  signal  mode;  and 
in  regard  to  Desaix,  he  felt  for  him  the  greatest 
sorrow.  The  first  consid  ordered  the  most  mag- 
niticent  lionours  to  be  paid  to  the  man  who  had 
rendered  France  such  einineiit  services.  He  even 
took  care  of  his  military  family,  and  placed  about 
his  own  person  tin;  two  aids  de-camp  of  Desaix, 
thrown  out  of  enipluynient  at  the  generars  decease, 
colonels  llapp  and  Savary. 

Before  he  quitted  the  battle-field  of  Marengo, 
the  fiiHt  consul  wrote  another  letter  to  the  einjicror 
of  Germany,  although  he  only  obtained  an  indirect 
answer  to  the  first,  addressed  by  M.  Tliugut  to 
Talleyrand.  BonapartL!  conceived  that  his  victory 
|)ermitted  him  to  renew  his  repelled  advances. 
At  that  m.iinent  he  wished  anlently  for  peace, 
lie  fi;lt  that  to  pacify  I'raiico  without,  ius  he  had 
pacili'-d  her  within,  wan  his  real  vocation,  and  that 
having  accomplished  this  trunk,  his  jiresi  iit  autho- 
rity would  be  legitimatized  better  than  it  Would 
Ijc  by  new  victories.  Susceptible,  besides,  of  the 
keenest  iiiipi<;sHionH,  ho  was  deeply  aH'ecteil  at  the 
sight  of  the  plain  of  Marengo,  on  which  lay  ;i  fourth 
of  two  armies ;  an<l  under  the  iiiHueiice  of  these 
feelings  ho  wrote  to  tlio  emperor  of  Austria  a 
singular  letter: 

"  It  is  on  the  field  of  battle,  amid  the  suffcringii 


of  a  multitude  of  wounded,  and  surrounded  by 
fifteen  thousand  dead,  that  J  conjure  your  majesty 
to  listen  to  the  voice  of  humanity,  and  not  to  per- 
mit two  brave  nations  to  slaughter  each  other  for 
interests  to  which  they  are  strangers.  It  is  for  me 
to  urge  your  majesty;  since  I  am  nearer  tlitin  you 
to  the  theatre  of  war,  your  heart  cannot  be  so 
strongly  impressed  its  mine." 

This  letter  was  long  ;  the  first  consul  discussed, 
with  an  eloquence  which  was  peculiar  to  himself, 
and  in  language  wiiich  was  not  that  of  diplomacy, 
the  motives  which  France  and  Austria  could  have 
for  continuing  still  to  arm  against  each  other.  "  Is 
it  for  religion  that  you  combat  ?"  said  he,  "  in  that 
case  make  war  upon  the  Russians  and  English, 
who  are  the  enemies  of  your  faith  ;  be  not  their 
ally.  Is  it  to  guard  against  revolutionary  prin- 
ciples ?  The  war  has  extended  them  over  one-half 
of  the  continent  in  extending  the  conquests  of 
France,  and  it  must  extend  them  still  further!  Is 
it  for  the  balance  of  jiower  in  Eurojie  I  The  En- 
glish threaten  moi-c  than  we  do  that  equilibrium, 
because  they  have  become  the  masters  and  the 
tyrants  of  commerce,  and  no  body  can  now  cnntrol 
them  ;  whereas  Europe  will  always  bo  able  to 
cimtrol  France,  if  she  desires  to  threaten  seriously 
the  independence  of  nations,"  a  proposition  un- 
fortunately but  too  well  founded,  as  fifteen  years 
of  war  fully  jjroved.  "  Is  it,V  added  the  sojdier- 
dipliimatist,  "  is  it  for  the  integrity  of  the  German 
empire  ?  But  your  majesty  has  given  up  to  us 
Mayeiice  and  the  German  states  on  the  left  bank 
of  the  Rhine — besides,  the  empiie  is  demanding 
])eace  of  you.  Is  it,  lastly,  for  the  interests  of  the 
house  of  Austria  ?  Nothing  is  more  natural :  but 
let  us  carry  out  the  treaty  of  Canipo  Formio,  which 
secures  to  your  majesty  large  indemnities  in  com- 
])ensation  for  the  provinces  lost  in  the  Netherlands, 
and  insures  them  to  you  where  you  would  rather 
obtain  them — in  Ittily.  Let  your  majesty  send 
negotiators  wherever  you  wish,  and  we  will  add 
to  the  treaty  of  Canipo  Forniio  stipulations  capable 
of  satisfying  you  in  relation  to  the  existence  of  the 
secondary  states,  which  the  French  republic  is 
charged  with  having  disturbed." 

The  first  c-nsul  alluded  here  to  Holland,  Swit- 
zerland, Piedmont,  the  Roman  states,  Tuscany, 
anil  Naples,  which  the  directory  had  revolutionized. 
"  On  these  conditions,"  he  continued,  ''  peace  is 
made  ;  let  us  extend  the  armistice  to  both  ai'mies 
and  enter  into  immediate  negotiations." 

M.  St.  Julien,  one  of  the  generals  in  the  em- 
peror's confidence,  was  to  be  the  bearer  of  the 
letter  atid  of  the  convention  of  Alexandi'ia  to 
Vienna. 

Some  days  afterwards,  when  his  former  impres- 
sions were  somewhat  blunted,  the  first  consul  felt 
a  little  of  that  regret  which  he  often  experienced 
when  he  wrote  an  important  document  tit  the  first 
impulse,  and  without  consulting  colder  minds  than 
his  own.  Giving  an  ticeount  to  the  consuls  of  the 
step  he  had  lliiis  ttiken,  he  said,  "  I  have  sent  a 
courier  to  the  emperor  with  a  letter  that  the 
minister  for  foreign  reltitiona  will  communicate 
to  you.  You  wii.i,  iiND  rr  a  littlk  oukjinal  ;  but 
it  is  written  on  ihr  (l.ld  of  battle.     June  22nd." 

Alter  taking  leave  of  his  army  he  .set  out  for 
Milan,  on  the  17th  of  June,  or  2»lh  of  Prairial,  in 
the  uiormng,  three  days  after  the  victory  of  Ma- 


Bonaparte  institutes  a  pro- 
112      visional   govtrnment    at       THIERS'   CONSULATE   AND   E^MPIRE. 
Milan. 


Proceedings  respecting 
the  elettion  of  the 
new  pope. 


rengo.  He  was  expected  there  witli  the  greatest 
impatience.  He  arrived  in  the  evening  at  dark. 
The  population  of  the  city,  aware  of  his  coming, 
were  in  the  streets,  to  see  him  pass.  They  raised 
shouts  of  joy  and  threw  flowers  into  his  carriage. 
The  city  was  illuminated  with  that  brilliancy 
which  the  Italians  alone  know  how  to  display  in 
their  fetes.  The  Lombards  who  had  been  ten  or 
twelve  months  under  the  yoke  of  the  Austrians, 
rendered  more  grievous  by  the  war  and  the  vio- 
lence of  circumstances,  trembled  to  be  replaced 
under  their  insupportable  authority.  They  had, 
during  the  various  chances  of  this  short  campaign, 
experienced  the  most  painful  anxiety,  through  the 
contradictory  reports  which  they  had  i-eceived, 
and  they  were  now  delighted  to  see  their  deliver- 
ance secured.  Bonaparte  immediately  proclaimed 
the  re-establishment  of  the  Cisalpine  republic,  and 
hastened  to  restore  order  in  the  affairs  of  Italy,  of 
which  his  last  victory  had  completely  changed  the 
aspect. 

We  have  already  said  that  the  war  undertaken 
between  the  Russians,  the  English,  and  the  Aus- 
trians, to  re-establish  in  their  states  the  princes 
overthrown  by  the  encroachments  of  the  directory, 
had  not  restored  one  of  them.  The  king  of  Pied- 
mont remained  at  Rome,  the  grand  duke  of  Tus- 
cany in  Austria  ;  the  pope  had  died  at  Valence, 
and  his  territories  were  invaded  by  the  Neapolitans. 
The  royal  family  of  Naples,  delivered  entirely  into 
the  hands  of  the  English,  was  alone  in  its  domi- 
nions, where  it  permitted  the  most  sanguinary  re- 
actions. The  queen  of  Naples,  the  minister  Acton, 
and  lord  Nelson,  allowed,  if  they  did  not  command, 
the  most  abominable  cruelties.  The  victory  of  the 
French  rejjublic  changed  all  this  :  humanity  was 
as  much  interested  in  the  matter  as  policy. 

The  first  consul  instituted  a  provisional  govern- 
ment at  Milan,  until  the  Cisalpine  could  be  recjr- 
ganized,  and  definitive  limits  assigned  to  it,  which 
was  not  possible  to  be  done  until  the  peace.  He 
did  not  consider  that  he  was  bound  to  regard  the 
king  of  Piedmont  more  than  Austria  had  done, 
and  he  was  in  consequence  in  no  hurry  to  re-esta- 
blish him  in  his  dominions.  He  substituted  a  provi- 
sional government,  and  named  general  Jourdan  the 
commissioner  charged  with  its  directions.  For  a 
good  while  the  first  consul  wished  to  employ  and 
separate  from  his  enemies  an  honest  and  clever 
man,  little  fitted  to  be  at  the  head  of  the  French 
anarchists.  Piedmont  was  thus  kept  in  reserve 
with  the  intention  of  disposing  of  it  at  the  peace, 
to  the  advantage  of  the  French  republic,  or  as  the 
price  of  reconciliation  with  Europe,  in  constituting 
the  secondai'v  states  destroyed  under  the  directory. 
Tuscany  was  occupied  by  an  Austrian  force.  The 
first  consul  had  watched,  ready  to  seize  it  if  the 
English  landed  there,  or  it  continued  to  raise  men 
for  the  service  of  the  enemies  of  France.  As  for 
Naples,  he  said  and  did  nothing,  waiting  to  see  the 
effect  of  his  victory  upon  the  court.  Already  the 
queen  of  Naples,  in  fear,  was  about  to  set  out  for 
Vienna,  to  ask  the  support  of  Austria,  and  more 
particularly  of  Russia. 

The  court  of  Rome  remained  ;  there  temporal 
were  complicated  with  the  most  serious  spiritual 
interests.  Pius  VI.,  as  ali'eady  seen,  had  died  in 
France,  the  prisoner  of  the  directory.  The  first 
consul  staunch  to  !iis  political  system,  liad  rendered 


funeral  honours  to  his  remains.  A  conclave  had 
assembled  at  Venice,  and  with  much  trouble  had 
obtained  from  the  Austrian  cabinet  the  permis- 
sion to  nominate  a  successor  to  the  deceased  head 
of  the  church.  Thirty-five  cardinals  attended  the 
conclave.  A  prelate  was  secretary,  Gonsalvi,  a 
Roman  priest,  young,  ambitious,  remarkable  for 
the  suppleness,  penetration,  and  agreeable  qualities 
of  his  mind,  who  has  since  mingled  in  most  of  the 
more  important  public  affairs  of  the  time.  The 
conclave,  as  usual  on  every  political  or  religious 
question  was  divided.  Twenty-two  of  the  members 
took  the  side  of  cardinal  Braschi,  nephew  of  the 
last  pope,  and  supported  cardinal  Bellisonii,  bishop 
of  Cesena,  in  his  pretensions.  Those  who  were 
against  supporting  at  Rome  the  domination  of  the 
family  of  Braschi,  supported  cardinal  Autonelli. 
This  cardinal  was  for  bringing  in  cardinal  Mattel, 
who  signed  the  treaty  of  Tolentino,  but  he  only 
obtained  thirteen  votes.  For  many  months  the 
contest  had  been  silently  but  obstinately  canned 
on.  Neither  of  the  two  candidates  had  as  yet  gained 
over  the  vote  of  an  opponent.  At  last  the  learned 
cardinal  Gerdil  was  thought  about ;  lie  had  figured 
in  the  controversies  of  the  last  century.  Tliis  new 
candidate  was  a  Savoyard,  who  had  become,  through 
the  late  victories  of  the  republic,  a  subject  of  Fi-ance. 
Austria  put  in  force  against  him  her  right  of  ex- 
clusion. To  put  an  end  to  the  affair,  two  of  the 
voices  detached  themselves  from  cardinal  Mattel, 
and  promised  to  support  cardinal  Bellisomi,  which 
assured  to  him  twenty-four  voices,  the  number 
required,  or  two-thirds  of  the  suffrages,  as  rigor- 
ously demanded  by  the  ecclesiastical  laws  to  make 
the  election  valid.  As  it  was  in  the  dominions  of 
Austria  that  the  conclave  was  held,  it  was  thought 
jiroper  in  the  first  place  to  submit  to  her  the  nomi- 
nation in  order  to  obtain  her  tacit  agreement.  The 
court  of  Vienna  had  the  want  of  courtesy  to  suffer 
a  month  to  pass  away  without  returning  any  an- 
swer. The  sensitiveness  of  the  princes  of  the 
church  was  wounded,  while  at  the  same  time  all 
the  parties  were  put  out  of  joint,  and  the  election 
of  cardinal  Bellisomi  became  impossible.  It  was 
this  moment  of  disorder  and  fatigue  that  the  able 
secretary  of  the  conclave  had  awaited  to  start  a 
new  candidate,  the  object  of  his  long  and  secret 
meditations.  Speaking  to  all  parlies  the  language 
most  likely  to  move  them,  he  demonstrated  to  some 
the  inconvenience  of  the  domination  of  the  Braschi, 
to  others  the  small  reliance  that  could  be  placed  on 
Austria  or  any  of  the  Christian  courts ;  then  address- 
ing himself  to  the  old  profound  and  sagacious  Ro- 
man interest,  he  uncovered  before  their  astonished 
eyes  a  perspective  view  wholly  new  to  them.  "  It 
is  from  France,"  said  he,  "  that  we  have  for  ten 
years  seen  persecution  proceeding — very  well,  it  is 
from  France  that  we  may  be  able  to  derive  succour 
and  consolation.  France,  ever  since  Charlemagne, 
has  been  for  the  church  the  most  useful  and  the 
least  aimoying  of  protectors.  A  most  extraordi- 
nary young  man,  very  difficult  at  present  to  judge 
of,  governs  there  now.  He  will,  no  doubt,  very 
soon  reconquer  Italy  (the  battle  of  Marengo  had  not 
then  been  fought).  Recollect  that  in  17!J7  he  pro- 
tected the  priests,  and  that  he  has  rendered  formal 
honour  to  Pius  VI.  Singular  speeches  which  he  has 
been  heard  to  make  on  religion,  and  on  the  court 
of  Rome,  have  been  repeated  to  us  by  persons  who 


?800. 
June. 


Conduct  of  cardinal  Maury. 
Cardinal  Chiaramonti  elected 
pope. 


The  first  consul  friendly  to  the  church. 
JIARENGO.  He  attends  the  Te  i)euHj  at  Milan.  1]3 

Distribution  of  the  army. 


heard  them,  well  worthy  of  credit.  Neglect  not  the 
resources  which  offer  on  that  side.  Let  us  make  a 
choice  th.it  cannot  be  considered  hostile  to  France, 
or  that  may,  to  a  certain  extent,  be  agreeable  tu 
her,  and  we  shall  perhaps  do  a  thing  more  useful 
to  the  Church  than  in  demanding  candidates  of  all 
the  Catholic  courts  of  Europe. 

This  was  undoubtedly  a  coruscation  from  the 
genius  of  the  Roman  court,  which  subsequently 
cast  out  other  bright  flashes  at  the  commencement 
of  the  century.  Cardinal  Gousalvi  then  brought 
forward  cardinal  Chiaramonti,  a  native  of  Cesena, 
aged  tifty-eight  years,  a  relation  of  Pius  VI.,  and 
by  him  elevated  to  the  purple,  who  enjoyed  by  his 
intellect,  learning,  and  mild  virtues,  the  general 
esteem.  To  these  attractive  qualities  he  added 
great  firmness.  He  had  been  seen  struggling  at 
an  anterior  period  against  the  bickerings  of  his 
order,  that  of  St.  Benedict,  and  against  the  perse- 
cutions of  the  holy  office,  with  victorious  fortitude. 
His  more  recent  and  more  noted  act  was  a  homily, 
made  in  his  character  of  bishop  of  Imola,  when  his 
diocese  was  united  to  the  Cisalpine  republic.  He 
had  then  spoken  of  the  French  revolution  with  a 
moderation  which  had  plea.sed  the  conqueror  of 
Italy,  and  scandalized  the  fanatics  of  the  old  order 
of  things.  Still,  respected  by  everybody,  he  was 
agreeable  to  the  Braschi  party,  and  not  disliked  by 
his  opponents;  he  suited  all  the  cardinals  who  were 
wearied  by  the  protracted  length  of  the  conclave; 
and  he  was  deemed  a  fortunate  selection  by  those 
who  hoped  mueli  from  the  good-will  of  France  in 
future.  The  adhesion,  totally  unexpected,  of  an 
illustrious  personage,  decided  his  election,  which 
was  met  by  no  real  difficulty,  except  in  his  own 
personal  reluctance  to  accept  the  honour.  The 
adhesion  alluded  to  was  that  of  cardinal  JIaury. 
This  celebrated  champion  of  the  old  French  mon- 
archy had  retired  to  the  Roman  court,  where  he 
lived,  recompensed  with  a  cardinal's  cap  for  his 
contests  with  Bamave  and  Miiabeau.  He  was  an 
emigrant,  but  an  emigrant  endowed  with  a  remark- 
able mind  and  extraordinary  intellect;  entertaining 
with  secret  satisfaction  the  idea  of  again  attaching 
himself  to  the  government  of  France,  since  glory 
had  redeemed  the  novelty  of  that  government. 
He  had  six  votes  at  his  disposal,  and  gave  them  to 
cardinal  Chiaramonti,  who  was  elected  pope  a  little 
after  the  arrival  of  Bonaparte  at  Milan  by  the 
route  of  the  St.  Bernard. 

The  new  pontiff  was  at  Venice,  having  been  un- 
able to  obtain  of  the  court  of  Vienna  permission  to 
be  crowned  at  .^t.  Mark's,  or  from  the  court  of 
Naples  the  iin.-,><.ssion  of  Rome.  Having  gone  sud- 
denly to  .Uicona,  he  negotiated  in  that  city  the 
evacuation  of  the  states  of  the  Church,  atid  his  own 
return  to  the  capital  of  the  Christian  world.  In 
this  precarious  Hituation,  France,  that  had  become 
friendly  towards  the  holy  see,  was  able  to  render 
him  useful  support;  and  the  singular  foresight  of 
cardinal  Gonsalvi  received  its  accomplishment  in 
a  very  sudden  manner.  The  meeting  of  cardinal 
Chiaramonti  and  the  first  consul,  the  one  raised  to 
the  pontificate,  and  the  other  to  the  republican 
dictatorship,  nearly  at  the  same  time,  was  not  one 
of  tho  lea.st  <xtraordinary  events  of  the  centm-y, 
nor  the  lea.st  fertile  in  results. 

Young  Bonaparte,  in  I79C,  tlic  submissive  gene- 
ral of  the  directory,  unable  yet  to  dare  every  thing, 


and  not  having  the  assumption  to  give  lessons 
to  the  French  revolution,  had  maintained  the  pope 
by  the  treaty  of  Tolentino,  and  had  taken  from  him 
only  the  Legations  for  the  purpose  of  transfemng 
them  to  the  Cisalpine  republic.  Become  now  fii-st 
consul,  and  able  to  do  as  he  pleased,  he  determined 
to  put  in  order  a  large  part  of  the  measures  accom- 
plished at  the  French  revolution,  and  could  not 
hesitate  in  his  conduct  tow.irds  the  pope  just  elected. 
Scarcely  had  he  returned  to  Milan  wlien  he  saw 
cardinal  Martiniana,  bishop  of  Venice,  the  friend  of 
Pius  VII.,  and  declared  to  him  that  he  desired  to 
live  in  a  good  understanding  with  the  holy  see,  to 
reconcile  the  French  revolution  to  the  Church,  and 
to  support  it  against  its  enemies,  if  the  Church 
showed  itself  reasonable,  and  well  understood  the 
actual  position  of  Frtmce  and  of  the  world.  This 
conversation  in  the  ear  of  the  old  cardinal  was  not 
lost,  and  soon  brought  forth  abundant  fruit.  The 
bishop  of  Verceil  sent  off  to  Rome  his  own  nephew, 
count  Alciati,  for  the  purpose  of  opening  a  nego- 
tiation. 

To  this  overture  Bonaparte  joined  an  act  yet 
more  bold,  that  he  dared  not  indulge  in  Paris ;  but 
he  was  pleased  to  make  it  reach  that  city  at  a  dis- 
tance, as  an  earnest  of  his  future  intentions.  The 
Italians  had  prepared  a  solemn  Te  Deum  in  the  old 
cathedral  of  Milan.  He  resolved  to  assist  at  the 
ceremony ;  and  on  the  I8th  of  June,  or  29th  Prai- 
rial,  he  wrote  in  these  terms  to  the  consuls  : — 

"  To-day,  in  spite  of  all  that  may  be  said  by  our 
Paris  atheists,  I  shall  go  with  great  ceremony  to 
the  Te  Deum  that  they  are  going  to  chant  in  the 
metropolitan  church  of  Milan  i." 

After  having  given  these  attentions  to  the  general 
aflairs  of  Italy,  he  made  some  indispensable  ar- 
rangements for  distributing  the  army  in  the  con- 
quered country,  its  provision,  and  reorganization. 
Masse'na  had  just  joined  him.  The  ill  humour  of 
the  defender  of  Genoa  was  dissipated  before  the 
flattering  reception  given  him  by  the  first  consul ; 
and  he  received  the  command  of  the  army  of  Italy, 
that  in  every  way  he  so  well  merited.  This  army 
was  composed  of  the  corps  that  had  defended 
Genoa,  of  that  which  had  defended  the  Var,  of  the 
troojis  that  descended  the  St.  Bernard,  and  of  those 
which,  under  general  Moncey,  had  arrived  from 
Germany.  The  whole  formed  an  imposing  mass  of 
eighty  thousand  tried  men.  The  first  consul  quar- 
tered them  in  the  rich  plains  of  the  Po,  in  order 
that  they  might  repose  after  their  fatigues,  and 
make  up  for  their  former  privations  by  the  abun- 
dance they  enjoyed. 

With  his  accustomed  foresight,  tho  first  consul 
ordered  the  forts  and  citadels  which  closed  tho 
pas.ses  between  France  and  Italy,  to  be  destroyed, 
in  consequence,  the  demolition  of  the  forts  of 
Arona,  Bard,  and  Seravalle,  and  of  the  citadels  of 
1  vrcfe  and  Ceva,  was  ordered  and  executed.  He  fixed 
tli(!  mode  and  extent  of  the  contributions  to  be 
l(!vied  for  the  sustenance  of  the  army  ;  sent  off  the 
consular  gu.ard  for  Paris,  calculating  the  marches 
it  would  require  to  be  in  Paris  at  the  time  of  the 
festival  of  the  14th  of  July,  which,  agreeably  to  his 
intentions,  was  to  be  celebrated  with  great  pomp. 
He  even  took  care,  at  Milan,  to  regulate  the  details 
of  the  festival  : — 


•  Dep6t  of  the  Secretary  of  State's  Office. 

I 


Delay  in  surrendering  Genoa.  tion  at  Lyons.— Arrival  at    , „,„ 

[14    -Honourable   conduct   of    THIERS*   CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE.    Paris. -Parisian  intrigues.  ,' °""- 
Melas.— Bonaparte's  recep-  — T„)„of;„„  .,.  f'-,„„t 


-Injustice  to  Carnot. 


"  It  is  necessary,"  he  wrote,  "  to  study  to  render 
as  brilliant  as  possible  the  solemnity  of  the  I4th  of 
July  1,  and  to  take  eai-e  that  it  does  not  .■^pe  the 
rejoicings  which  have  recently  taken  place.  Cha- 
riot-races miglit  have  been  very  well  in  Greece, 
where  they  fought  in  chariots ;  they  are  out  of 
place  and  unmeaning  in  France  '■'." 

He  forbade  triumphal  arches  to  be  erected  for 
him,  saying,  ho  desired  "  no  other  arch  of  tri- 
umph  THAN   THE  PUBLIC   SATI.SF ACTION." 

The  first  consul,  in  spite  of  all  that  called  for  his 
presence  in  Paris,  remained  twelve  days  in  Milan, 
His  reason  was,  that  he  might,  be  certain  of  the 
exact  execution  of  the  convention  of  Ale.xandria. 
He  had  fears  of  the  Austrian  honour,  and  fancied 
that  he  saw  some  delay  in  giving  up  certain  for- 
tres.ses.  He  cried  out  against  the  weakness  of 
Berthier,  and  ordered  the  detention  of  the  second 
and  third  columns  of  the  army  of  Melas.  The  first 
column  iiad  already  passed.  There  was  some  rea- 
son to  fear  for  the  delivery  of  Genoa,  which  the 
Austrians  might  easily  be  tempted  to  deliver  over 
to  the  English,  before  the  French  should  enter. 
The  i)rince  of  Hohenzollern,  in  fact,  either  spon- 
taneously or  urged  by  the  English,  refused  at  the 
moment  to  deliver  up  to  Massena  a  place  they  had 
acquired  with  so  much  labour.  Melas,  informed  of 
the  difficulty,  insisted,  in  the  most  honourable 
manner,  that  his  lieutenant  should  fulfil  the  con- 
vention of  Alexandria,  and  threatened  him,  if  he 
re-sisted,  to  give  him  up  to  the  consequences  of  such 
a  dishonourable  act.  The  order  of  M(Jias  was 
obeyed,  and  Genoa  was  delivered  up  to  tlie  French 
on  the  24th  of  June,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  Ligu- 
rian  patriots,  who  were  freed  in  so  short  a  space  of 
time  from  the  Austrians  and  the  aristocratical 
dominion  that  oppressed  them.  Thus  the  spirited 
words  of  Massena  were  verified,  "  I  swe.ar  to  you  i 
that  I  shall  re-enter  Genoa  before  fifteen  days  are 
over." 

All  the.se  things  being  completed,  the  fir.st  consul 
departed  from  Milan  on  the  24th  of  June,  in  com- 
pany with  Duroc,  his  favourite  aid-de-cainp,  Bes- 
sieres,  who  commanded  the  consular  guard,  Bour- 
rienne,  his  secretary,  and  Savary,  one  of  two 
officers  whom  he  had  attached  to  his  per.son  out  of 
regard  to  the  memory  of  Desaix.  He  stopped 
some  hours  at  Turin,  to  examine  the  works  at  the 
citadel,  and  give  orders.  He  traversed  Mount  Cenis, 
and  entered  Lyons  under  arches  of  triumph,  in  the 
midst  of  a  population  astoundeil  at  the  prodigies 
which  he  had  accomplishe  I.  The  Lyonnese,  who 
were  equally  struck  with  his  policy  and  his  gli>ry, 
surrounded  the  Hotel  of  the  Celestins,  where  he  h;id 
set  down,  and  absolutely  demanded  to  see  him.  He 
was  obliged  to  go  out  before  them,  and  unanimous 
acclamations  burst  forth  at  his  appearance.  They 
earnestly  requested  liim  to  Iny  the  first  stone  of 
the  Place  Bellecour,  of  which  the  reconstruction  was 
about  to  be  commenced;  and  he  was  obliged  to 
consent.  He  passed  a  day  at  Lyons  in  the  midst 
of  a  vast  concourse  of  all  the  population  of  tiie 
environs.  After  addressing  to  t!ie  Lyonnese,  in 
terms  which  much  pleased  them,  a  speech  relative 
to  the  approach  of  peace,  commerce,  and  order, 
he   pi-oceeded   to    Paris.     The  inhabitants  of  the 

1  At  the  storming  of  the  Bastile.  in  1789. 

2  Dated  Milan,  June  22nd.— State  Paper  Office. 


provinces  thronged  to  greet  him  at  every  place 
through  which  he  passed.  The  man  then  so  well 
treated  by  fortune  enjoyed  glory,  yet  conversing 
continually  with  his  travelling  companions,  he 
made  this  fine  remark,  so  expressive  of  his  in- 
satiable love  of  fame  :  "  Yes,  I  have  conquered  in 
less  than  two  years  Cairo,  Milan,  and  Paris  ;  yet  if 
I  were  to  die  to-morrow,  I  should  not  have  half  a 
page  in  a  universal  history."  He  arrived  iia  Paris 
in  the  night  between  the  2nd  and  3rd  of  July. 

His  return  was  necessar}-,  because,  absent  from 
the  capital  nearly  two  months,  his  absence,  and 
more  particularly  the  false  statements  about  Ma- 
rengo, had  caused  several  intrigues.  It  was  be- 
lieved, for  a  short  time,  that  he  was  either  dead  or 
vanquished,  and  the  ambitious  set  themselves  at 
work.  Some  thought  of  Carnot,  others  of  La 
Fayette,  who  from  the  dungeons  of  Olmutz  had 
re-entered  France,  through  the  kindness  of  the  first 
consul.  They  would  have  Carnot  or  La  Fayette 
for  ))resident  of  the  republic.  La  Fayette  had  no 
hand  in  these  intrigues  ;  Carnot  no  more.  But 
Joseph  and  Lucien  Bonaparte  both  had  an  unjust 
misgiving  about  Carnot,  which  they  planted  in 
their  brother's  mind.  Tlience  came  that  unfortu- 
nate resolution,  which  the  first  consul  e.xecuted  at 
a  later  period,  of  taking  from  Carnot  the  ministry 
of  war.  There  were  some  who  fancied  they 
could  sec  in  Talleyrand  and  Fouclie',  who  hated 
each  other,  a  tendency  notwithstanding  to  a  recon- 
ciliation, no  doubt  for  the  purpose  of  concert,  and 
profiting  together  by  the  concatenation  of  events. 
Nothing  was  perceived  at  this  time  about  M. 
Sieyes,  the  man  most  expected  to  figure,  in  case 
Bonaparte  had  disappeared  from  the  scene.  He 
was  the  only  personage  who  exhibited  so  much 
reserve.  All  these  things  had  scarcely  time  to 
show  themselves,  before  the  bad  news  was  effaced 
by  tlie  good.  What  really  did  take  place  was 
greatly  exaggerated  in  the  relation,  and  the  first 
consul  conceived  against  scmie  persons  a  resent- 
ment which  he  had  the  good  sense  to  conceal,  and 
soon  to  forget  entirely  in  regard  to  all  who  had 
been  pointed  out  to  him,  except  the  illustrious 
Carnot.  The  first  consid  besides,  full  of  delight  at 
his  success,  would  not  have  the  slightest  shade 
thrown  over  the  public  joy.  He  received  everybody 
kindly,  and  was  himself  received  in  return  with 
transports,  more  especially  by  those  whom  there 
was  ground  to  reproach.  Tlie  people  of  Paris,  on 
hearing  of  his  return,  ran  under  the  window  of  the 
Tuileries,  and  during  the  day  filled  the  courts  and 
garden  of  the  palace.  The  first  consul  was  obliged 
to  show  himself  several  times  to  the  people.  In 
the  evening  the  city  of  Paris  was  spontaneously 
illuminated.  They  celebrated  with  delight  a 
miraculous  victory,  the  certain  presage  of  a  peace 
ardently  wished.  That  day  affected  so  deeply  him 
who  was  the  object  of  this  homage,  that  twenty 
years  afterwards  in  loneliness,  exiled,  a  prisoner  in 
the  midst  of  the  Athiniic  Ocean,  he  counted  it,  in 
recalling  the  scenes  of  other  times,  as  among  the 
most  deliglitful  of  his  life. 

On  the  following  day  the  various  bodies  of  the 
state  waited  upon  him,  and  gave  the  first  exam|)le 
of  those  felicitations,  of  that  distasteful  spectacle, 
whicii  has  been  renewed  so  many  times  under  every 
reign.  There  were  seen  at  the  Tuileries,  the  se- 
nate, the  legislative  body,  the  tribunate,  the  great 


Proceedings  of  Moreau  on  the 
Danube. 


MARENGO. 


Arrangements  of  the  army. — Daring 
movements  of  Lecourbe. — Gallantry 
of  Quenot. 


115 


tribunals,  the  prefecture  of  the  Seine,  the  autho- 
rities civil  and  military,  the  directors  of  the  bank 
of  France,  finally,  the  institute  and  the  learned 
societies.  These  great  bodies  attended  to  com- 
pliment the  victor  of  Marengo,  and  addressed  him 
as  they  formerly  spoke,  and  as  they  have  spoken 
since  to  kings.  But  it  must  be  said,  that  the  lan- 
guage, although  uniformly  full  of  praise,  was  dic- 
tated by  a  sincere  enthusiasm.  In  fact,  the  aspect 
of  tilings  had  ch.mged  in  a  few  months ;  the  security 
that  had  succeeded  to  great  troubles,  a  victory  un- 
paralleled had  replaced  France  at  the  head  of  tlie 
European  powers,  the  certainty  of  approaching 
peace  putting  an  end  to  the  anxieties  of  a  general 
war;  in  fine,  the  prosperity  already  showing  itself 
every  where, — how  should  such  great  results,  so 
soon  realized,  fail  to  transport  every  spirit !  The 
president  of  the  senate  terminated  his  address  as 
follows,  and  this  may  serve  as  an  idea  of  all  the 
others  : — 

"  We  are  pleased  to  acknowledge  that  the  country 
owes  its  safety  to  you  ;  that  to  you  the  republic  owes 
its  consolidation,  and  the  people  a  prosperity  which 
in  one  day  you  have  made  succeed  to  ten  years  of 
the  most  stormy  of  revolutions." 

While  these  things  were  passing  in  Italy  and 
France,  Moreau,  on  me  banks  of  the  Danube,  con- 
tinued his  fine  campaign  against  Kray.  We  left 
him  manoeuvring  before  Ulm  to  oblige  the  Aus- 
trians  to  (juit  that  strong  position.  He  had  placed 
himself  between  the  lller  and  the  Lech,  support- 
ing his  left  and  his  right  on  these  two  rivers,  his 
front  to  the  Danube,  his  rear  to  the  city  of  Augs- 
burg, ready  to  receive  marshal  Kray  if  he  chose 
to  fight,  and,  in  waiting  where  he  was,  barring  the 
road  to  the  Alps,  the  essential  condition  of  the 
general  plan.  If  the  success  of  Moreau  had  not 
been  prompt  or  decisive,  it  had  been  sustained  and 
fully  sufficient  to  allow  the  first  consul  to  accom- 
plish in  Italy  all  he  had  himself  j)roi)oscd  to 
|>erform.  But  the  moment  was  now  come  when 
the  general  of  the  arn.y  of  the  Rhine,  emboldened 
by  time  and  by  the  success  of  the  army  of  reserve, 
was  tempted  to  try  a  serious  manoeuvre  to  dislodge 
Kray  from  the  position  of  Ulm.  Now,  that  with- 
out a  knowledge  of  the  battle  of  Marengo,  he 
knew  the  fortunate  success  of  the  passage  of  the 
Alps,  Moreau  had  no  fear  about  uncovering  the 
niiiuntains,  having  full  freedom  for  all  his  move- 
ments. Of  all  the  vari'ius  manoeuvres  possible  to 
reduce  the  position  of  Ulm,  he  preferred  that  which 
consisted  in  passing  the  Danulje  below  that  ])o- 
sition,  and  forcing  Kray  to  decamp  by  menacing 
the  line  of  his  retreat.  This  manoeuvi-e  w:is  really 
the  best.  That  which  consisted  in  pushing  on 
Birniyht  to  Vienna  by  Munich  was  too  bold  for  the 
charact'-r  of  Moreau,  and  perhaps  it  was  pre- 
mature also  in  the  existing  state  of  afiairs.  The 
plan  which  consisted  in  passing  the  Danube  below 
and  very  near  Ulm,  to  storm  the  Austrian  camp, 
was  hazardous,  as  every  attack  by  main  force  must 
be;  but  to  pass  below  Ulm,  and  by  threatening 
Kray's  line  of  retreat  to  oblige  him  to  regain  it, 
was,  at  the  same  time,  the  wisest  and  surest 
manoeuvre. 

From  the  15th  to  the  Iflth  of  Jimc,  Moreau  set 
himself  in  movement  to  execute  his  new  resolve. 
The  organization  of  his  army,  as  before  obnerved, 
had  received  certain  changes  in  consL-quencc  of  the 


departure  of  generals  St.  Cyr  and  St.  Suzanne. 
Lecourbe  always  formed  the  right,  and  Moreau  the 
centre  at  the  head  of  the  body  of  reserve.  The 
corps  of  St.  Cyr,  under  the  orders  of  general  Gre- 
nier,  composed  the  left.  The  corps  of  St.  Suzanne, 
reduced  to  the  proportions  of  one  strong  division, 
and  confided  to  the  command  of  the  audacious 
Richepanse,  had  to  perform  the  duty  of  a  corps  of 
flankers,  that  at  the  moment  had  the  charge  of 
observing  Ulm,  while  the  army  manoeuvred  below 
that  city. 

There  had  been  some  fighting  before  Ulm,  more 
particularly  on  the  5th  of  June,  when  two  French 
divisions  made  head  against  forty  thousand  Aus- 
trians.  This  was  part  of  the  object  of  Kray,  in 
order  to  detain  the  French  before  Ulm,  by  con- 
tinuing to  keep  them  employed.  On  the  I8tli  of 
June  Riche])anse  was  in  sight  of  Ulm ;  Grenier, 
with  the  left,  at  Guntzburg  ;  the  centre,  composed 
of  the  corps  of  reserve,  at  Burgau  ;  and  Lecourbe, 
with  the  riglit,  extended  as  far  as  Dillingen.  The 
enemy  had  destroyed  the  bridges  from  Ulm  as  far 
as  Donauwerth.  But  an  observation  made  by  Le- 
courbe decided  Moreau  to  choose  the  points  of 
lilindheim  '  and  Gremheim  to  cross  the  Danube, 
because  at  these  two  places  the  bridges  were  im- 
perfectly destroyed,  and  mijiht  be  easily  repaired. 
Lecourbe  was  charged  with  this  dangerous  ope- 
ration. In  order  to  facilitate,  general  Boyer  was 
reinforced  with  five  battalions  and  the  entire  re- 
serve of  cavalry  under  the  orders  of  general 
Hautpoul.  The  centre,  under  the  general-in-chief, 
moved  from  Burgau  to  Aislingen,  to  be  at  hand  to 
su])port  the  passage.  Grenier,  with  the  left,  was 
ordered  to  make  an  attempt  on  his  side,  in  order 
to  attract  the  attention  of  the  enemy. 

On  the  lyth  of  June,  in  the  morning,  Lecourbe 
])osted  his  troops  between  the  villages  of  Blindheim 
and  Grc-mheini,  the  bridges  of  which  were  only 
partially  destroyed,  and  he  took  care  to  shelter 
liiiiiself  behind  some  clumps  of  trees.  He  had  no 
bridge  equipage,  and  possessed  only  a  quantity  of 
boards.  He  supplied  by  his  courage  the  want  of 
every  thing  else.  General  Gudin  directed,  under 
L'  courbe,  this  attem])t  at  a  passage.  Some  guns 
were  ))laced  on  the  bank  of  the  Danube  to  keep  off" 
the  enemy  ;  and  at  the  same  time,  Quenot,  the 
adjutant,  threw  himself  couragermsly  into  the 
water,  in  order  to  seize  ujion  two  large  boats  that 
were  lying  on  the  other  side.  This  gallant  officer 
br<iught  them  over  under  a  shower  of  balls,  and 
unhurt,  save  by  a  slight  wound  in  the  foot.  The 
best  swimmers  of  the  division  were  chosen  ;  they 
]ilaced  their  clothes  and  arms  in  the  two  boats,  and 
])lunged  into  the  Danube  umier  the  enemy's  fire. 
On  reaching  the  ojiposite  bank,  and  without  taking 
time  to  put  on  their  clothes,  they  seized  their 
arms  and  flew  upon  some  companies  of  the  Aus- 
tri;ins  in-otecling  that  part  of  the  river,  dispersed 
them,  and  took  two  pieces  of  cannon  with  the 
ammunition  waggons.  This  being  achieved,  the 
soldiers  hiistened  to  the  bridges,  the  piles  of  which 
were  still  standing  ;  they  worked  hard  on  both 
banks,  jdacing  ladders  and  planks,  to  establish  a 
conununication.  Some  artillery  soldiers  availed 
themselves  of  it  to  cross  to  the  other  side  of  iIk? 
Danube,  in  order  to  employ  against  the  enemy  the 

<  RlunhcimT— Translator. 
I  -2 


116 


Bold  charge  of  Leconrbe- 
Passage  of  the  Danube. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Battle  of  Hochstedt. 
The  French,  masters 
of  the  field. 


two  guns  which  had  been  thus  taken  from  hun. 
The  French  were  soon  masters  of  both  banks  of 
the  river,  and  had  sufficiently  established  the 
bridges  to  afford  a  passage  to  the  greater  part  of 
the  troops.  The  infantry  and  cavalry  began  to 
pass  over.  It  was  expected  that  numerous  Aus- 
trian reinforcements  would  promptly  ascend  from 
Donauwerth,  and  descend  from  all  the  upper  posi- 
tions, Gundelfingen,  Guntzburg,  and  Ulm.  Le- 
courbe,  who  had  himself  repaired  to  the  spot, 
placed  all  the  infantry  he  could  spare,  with  some 
cavalry  troops,  in  the  village  of  Schwenningen, 
which  is  situated  on  the  road  to  Donauwerth. 
This  was  an  important  point,  because  by  that  road 
it  was  that  the  Austrians  who  ascended  the  Danube 
must  arrive.  It  was  not  long,  in  consequence,  be- 
fore four  thousand  infantry,  five  hundred  horse, 
and  six  pieces  of  cannon  showed  themselves,  and 
attacked  the  village,  which,  for  the  space  of  two 
hours,  was  several  times  taken  and  retaken.  The 
superiority  of  the  Austrians  in  numbers,  and  their 
determination  to  retake  so  important  a  post,  had 
nearly  given  them  the  victory  over  the  French, 
and  obliged  them  to  abandon  the  village,  when 
Lecourbe  was  seasonably  x-einforced  by  two  squa- 
drons of  carabiuiers.  To  these  he  joined  some 
troops  of  the  8th  hussars,  that  happened  to  be  at 
hand,  and  sent  them  upon  the  enemy's  infantry, 
which  extended  itself  on  the  vast  plain  towards 
the  bank  of  the  Danube.  The  charge  was  exe- 
cuted with  so  much  vigour  and  promptitude,  that 
the  Austrians  were  routed,  leaving  to  the  French 
their  artillery,  two  thousand  prisoners,  and  three 
hundred  horses.  Two  battalions  of  Wurtem- 
bergers,  who  endeavoured  to  resist  by  forming 
themselves  into  squares,  were  broken  like  the  rest. 
After  this  brilliant  action,  fought  by  the  brigade 
of  Puthod,  Lecourbe  had  no  more  to  fear  on  the 
side  of  the  Lower  Danube.  But  it  was  not  on  that 
side  from  which  he  had  to  fear  the  greatest  dangers. 
The  main  body  of  the  Austrians  being  posted  above, 
or  at  Dillingeii,  Gundelfingen,  and  Ulm,  it  was 
necessary  to  turn  himself  to  that  side  in  order 
to  face  the  enemy,  w-ho  was  about  to  descend. 
Happily  the  divisions  of  Montrichard,  Gudin,  and 
the  reserve  of  Hautpoul  had  passed  over  the  re- 
established bridges  of  Gremheim  and  Blindlieim, 
and  bordered  upon  the  famous  plain  of  Hochstedt, 
rendered  so  sadly  celebrated  for  the  French  in  the 
time  of  Louis  XIV.,  on  the  13th  of  August,  1704. 
The  enemy,  having  hurried  from  all  the  nearest 
points  to  Dillingen,  at  some  distance  from  Hoch- 
stedt, was  drawn  up  near  the  Danube,  the  infantry 
upon  the  French  left,  along  the  marshes  of  that 
river,  and  behind  some  clumps  of  wood,  the  cavalry 
on  their  right  in  great  force.  Thus  they  presented 
themselves  in  good  order,  awaiting  the  reinforce- 
ments which  were  approaching,  and  slowly  retiring 
to  draw  nearer  to  them.  The  37th  demi-brigade 
and  a  squadron  of  the  9th  hussars  followed,  step 
and  step,  the  retrograde  movement  of  the  Austrians. 
Lecoui'be,  disembarrassed,  by  the  combat  of  Schwen- 
ningen, of  the  enemy  who  might  have  come  from 
the  Lower  Danube,  arrived  at  a  gallop  at  the  head 
of  the  2nd  regiment  of  carabiniers,  of  the  cuiras- 
siers, the  6th  and  9th  cavalry,  and  the  9th  hussars: 
this  was  nearly  all  the  reserve  cavalry  of  general 
Hautpoul.  Tliey  were  upon  a  plain,  separated  from 
the  enemy  by  a  little  water-course,  called  the  Egge, 


on  which  was  the  village  of  Schrezheim.  Lecourbe, 
at  the  head  of  the  cuirassiers,  crossed  the  village 
at  full  gallop,  formed  as  they  issued  out  of  it,  and 
rushed  upon  the  Austrian  cavalry,  who,  surprised 
at  the  suddenness  and  rapidity  of  the  charge,  fell 
back  in  disorder,  and  left  uncovered  nine  thousand 
infantry,  whom  it  was  designed  to  protect.  The 
infantry  thus  abandoned  would  have  thrown  them- 
selves into  the  ditches  that  burrow  the  banks  of 
the  Danube  towards  Dillingen ;  but  the  cuirassiers, 
well  directed,  cut  the  column,  separating  one  thou- 
sand eight  Imndred  men,  who  were  made  prisoners. 

This  was  the  second  fortunate  act  in  the  day 
due  in  part  to  the  cavalry,  but  it  was  not  the  last. 
Lecourbe  placed  himself  on  the  Egge,  waiting  for 
the  rest  of  his  resources  that  was  coming  by  the 
bridge  of  Dillingen,  which  had  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  the  French.  Kray's  cavalry  hurried  forward 
with  all  expedition,  outstripped  the  infantry,  and 
arranged  itself  in  two  grand  lines  in  the  plain  at 
the  rear  of  Lauingen.  This  was  an  excellent  op- 
portunity for  the  French  cavalry  to  take  advantage 
of  the  spirit  which  had  inspired  them  through  the 
successes  of  the  morning,  and  to  measure  them- 
selves in  the  plain,  with  the  numerous  and  bril- 
liant squadrons  of  the  Austrian  army.  Lecourbe, 
having  occupied  Lauingen  with  his  infantry,  united 
with  Hautpoul's  all  the  cavalry  of  his  divisions, 
and  formed  it  on  the  plain,  offering  to  the  enemy 
that  kind  of  challenge  which  was  likely  to  tempt 
him  on  account  of  the  numbers  and  quality  of  his 
hoi-se.  The  first  of  the  Austrian  lines  chai'ged  the 
French  at  full  speed  with  the  steadiness  and  order 
natural  to  a  well-trained  cavalry.  It  drove  back 
the  2d  regiment  of  carabiniers,  which  had  con- 
ducted itself  so  well  in  the  morning,  and  the  squa- 
drons of  hussars  which  had  charged  along  with  it. 
The  French  cuirassiers  then  advanced,  rallied  the 
hussars  and  carabiniers,  who  faced  about  on  seeing 
they  were  supported;  and  the  whole  united  dashed 
forward  upon  the  Austrian  squadrons,  whieh  they 
in  turn  drove  back.  On  seeing  this,  the  second  line 
of  the  enemy's  cavalry  advanced,  and  having  the 
advantage  of  the  impulse  over  the  French,  whom 
the  former  charge  had  separated,  obliged  them  to 
fall  back  with  precipitation.  The  9th  was  in  re- 
serve, and,  manoeuvring  with  skill  and  steadiness, 
attacked  the  Austrian  flank  by  surprise,  threw 
it  into  confusion,  and  secured  to  the  victorious 
French  squadrons  the  plains  of  Hochstedt. 

The  losses  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners, 
could  not  be  great,  since  it  is  only  the  encounters  of 
cavalry  with  infantry  that  are  serious  in  this  re- 
spect. But  the  plain  remained  in  possession  of  the 
French,  whose  cavalry  now  claimed  a  real  advan- 
tage over  that  of  the  Austrians,  which  it  never 
before  exhibited.  Each  French  military  arm  had 
a  decided  superiority  over  that  of  the  enemy. 
It  was  eight  o'clock,  and  in  the  long  days  of  June, 
there  was  still  time  for  the  imperialists  to  dispute 
the  left  bank  of  the  Danube,  so  gloriously  con- 
quered in  the  morning.  Eight  thousand  infantry 
advanced  to  the  assistance  of  the  corps  already 
beaten,  followed  by  a  numerous  artillery.  Moreau 
arrived  at  the  head  of  the  reserve.  A  new  and 
ntore  obstinate  contest  then  commenced.  The 
Irench  infantry  in  turn  attacked  the  Austrian 
under  a  fire  of  round  and  grape  shot.  The  soldiei's 
of  Kx'ay,  who  fought  for  a  great  stake — the  preser- 


I 


July. 


Kray  quits  Ulm,  and  marches  rapidly 
to  Nordlingen.  —  Moreau  pursues 
him  iu  vain ;  recrosses  the  Danube 


MARENGO. 


and  enters  Munich.— Encounter 
at  Neuburg.— Dealh  of  Latuur 
a'Auvergne. 


vation  of  Ulm,  displayed  great  energy.  Moreau 
found  himself  several  times  engaged  in  pci-son  in 
ll»e  midst  of  the  fray;  and  his  infantry,  supported 
by  the  cavalry,  which  returned  to  the  charge,  re- 
mained victorious  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night.  At  the 
same  moment  the  37th  dtnii-brigade  entered  into 
Gundolfingen,  from  which  time  all  the  positions  on 
tile  plaia  were  in  the  power  of  the  French.  They 
had  crossed  the  Danube,  taken  five  thousand  pri- 
soners, twenty  pieces  of  cannon,  twelve  hundred 
horses,  three  hundred  carriages,  and  considerable 
magazines  at  Donauwerth.  The  lighting  had  lasted 
for  eighteen  hours  successively.  This  affair,  which 
changed  the  unfortunate  recollection  of  Hochstedt 
into  one  equally  glorious,  was,  after  Marengo,  the 
finest  operation  of  the  campaign,  and  was  alike 
honourable  to  Lecourbe  aisd  ^lorcau.  The  last 
had  slowly  acquired  hardihood  :  stimulated  by 
the  examples  which  Italy  afforded,  he  had  entered 
upon  more  enlarged  view.s,  and  had  culled  a  laurel 
of  that  tree  fi-oni  which  the  first  consul  had  ga- 
thered such  evergreen  wreaths, — a  rivalry  noble 
and  happy,  had  it  never  extended  further. 

After  a  manoeuvre  so  hardy  and  decisive  on  the 
part  of  his  adversary,  Kray  could  not  much  longer 
remain  in  Ulm,  without  being  cut  off  from  his  com- 
nmnications  with  Vienna.  To  march  up  directly  to 
the  French,  and  offer  them  battle,  would  be  too 
hazardous  a  measure,  with  forces  in  whom  the 
courage  had  been  so  damped  by  the  late  combat.  He 
huVried  himself  for  the  purpose  of  decamping  the 
same  night.  He  sent  off  in  advance  his  park,  con- 
sisting of  several  thousand  carriages,  and  the  next 
morning  followed  it  with  the  main  body  of  his  army 
on  the  route  to  Nordlingcn.  He  marched  in  fright- 
ful weather  over  roads  that  the  rain  had  entirely 
torn  up.  Nevertheless,  the  rapidity  of  his  I'etreat 
was  such,  that  in  twenty-four  liours  he  arrived  at 
Neresheim.  In  order  to  support  his  dispirited 
troops,  he  gave  out  that  ,a  suspension  of  arms  had 
been  signed  in  Italy,  and  that  it  would  be  extended 
into  Germany  ;  peace  not  failing  to  succeed.  This 
news  diffused  joy  among  his  soldiers,  and  gave 
them  some  energy.     They  arrived  at  Nordlingen. 

Moreau  was  apprised  too  late  of  the  departure 
of  tiie  enemy.  lliche|)anse  had  not  perceived  the 
evacuation  of  Ulm  until  the  last  detachments  were 
retiring.  He  immediately  made  known  the  circum- 
stance to  his  commander-in-chief.  But  during  the 
interval  the  Austrianshad  gained  the  advance;  and 
the  bad  weather,  which  had  existed  for  two  days, 
did  not  pennit  him  to  overtake  them,  even  by  a 
forced  marcli.  Still  Moreau  arrived  at  Nordlingen 
on  the  23d  of  June,  in  the  evening,  and  pressed 
u|)on  the  rear-guard  of  Kray,  who  continued  to 
reiire.  Seeing,  that  from  the  bad  state  of  the 
roads,  he  could  not  gain  upon  the  Austrian  army  so 
as  to  overtake  it,  and  that  lie  miglit  not  be  drawn 
on  into  a  fruitlesH  pursuit  for  an  unseen  distance, 
-Moreau  determined  to  halt,  and  clioose  a  position 
adapted  to  tlie  present  state  of  tilings.  Kray,  con- 
ccnhng  the  good  news  of  the  battle  of  Marengo, 
whicii  wa.s  not  then  known  to  the  French  army, 
sent  to  announce  the  suHpension  of  arms,  concluded 
in  Italy,  and  prop<is<<I  a  like  stipulation  for  (]er- 
niany.  .Moreau,  Kuspe<ting  from  lliis  that  Home 
great  events  iiad  occurred  on  the  otiier  side  of  the 
Alps,  did  not  doubt  their  being  propitious,  and  ex- 
pecting  every  instant  a  courier,  who  would    i)ut 


him  in  possession  of  the  infoi-mation,  he  would  con- 
clude nothing  before  he  learned  the  particulars, 
and,  above  all,  before  he  had  secured  better  can- 
tonments for  his  army.  He  therefore  took  the  re- 
solution of  re-passing  the  Danube,  confiding  to 
Richepanse  the  investment  of  the  two  principal 
places  on  that  river,  Ulm  and  Ingoldstadt,  and  pro- 
ceeding with  the  main  body  of  his  army  to  the 
other  side  of  the  Lech,  in  order  to  occupy  Augs- 
burg and  Munich,  and  to  secure  a  part  of  Bavaria 
fir  i)rovisions;  in  fine,  to  conquer  all  the  bridges  of 
the  Isai",  and  acquire  all  the  roads  leading  to  the 
Inn. 

Jlorcau  accordingly  repassed  the  Danube  and 
the  Lech,  by  Donauwerth  and  Rhain,  moving  his 
different  corps  by  Pottmess  and  Pfuffenhofen,  as  far 
as  the  banks  of  the  Isar.  On  that  river  he  occu- 
)>ied  the  points  of  Landshut,  Mo<,.Kl)urg,  Fi-eisingen, 
and  detached  Docaen  upon  Munich,  which  he  en- 
tered, as  if  iu  triumph,  on  the  28th  of  June.  Whilst 
he  executed  this  movement,  the  armies  encountered 
each  other  for  the  last  time,  and  fought  a  battle 
without  an  object.  This  took  place  at  Neubui-g,  on 
tlie  right  bank  of  the  Danube,  while  both  were 
marching  on  the  Isar.  A  French  division  having 
separated  itself  at  too  great  a  distance  from  the 
rest  of  the  army,  had  to  nuxintain  a  long  and  obsti- 
nate contest,  in  which  it  was  at  last  successful, 
aftei'  sustaining  a  severe  loss  in  that  of  the 
brave  Latour  d'Auvergne.  This  illustrious  scjldier, 
honoured  by  Bonaparte  with  the  naiue  of  the  first 
grenadier  of  France,  was  killed  by  the  thrust  of  a 
lance  through  his  heart.  The  army  shed  tears 
upon  his  tomb,  and  did  not  quit  the  field  of  battle 
until  they  had  raised  a  monument  over  his  re- 
mains. 

On  the  3d  of  July,  or  Nth  Messidoi',  Moreau  was 
in  the  midst  of  Bavaria,  blocking  Ulm  and  Ingold- 
stadt, on  the  Danube,  and  occupying  on  the  Isar, 
Landshut,  Moosbiu-g,  Freisingcn,  and  Munich.  It 
was  now  time  to  think  of  the  Tyrol,  and  to  tjike  from 
the  prince  de  Reuss  the  strong  positions  of  which 
he  was  master  along  the  mountains,  at  the  sources  of 
the  Uler,  the  Lech,  and  the  Isar — positions  through 
which  he  was  always  able  to  annoy  the  French. 
He  was  not  very  dangerous  to  encounter,  but  his 
])rescnce  obliged  the  French  to  make  considerable 
detachments,  and  he  became  the  subject  of  con- 
tinual occu])atiou  for  the  right  wing.  To  this  end, 
general  Molitor  was  reinforced,  and  put  in  posses- 
sion of  the  means  for  attacking  the  Orisons  and  the 
Tyrol.  TIk;  ])ositions  of  Fussen,  Reitti,  Immen- 
stadt,  and  Feldkircli,  were  taken  in  succession,  in 
a  prompt  and  brilliant  maimer;  and  our  establish- 
ments on  the  Isar  were  thus  jjerfectly  consoli<l:ited. 

Kray  had  repassed  the  Isar,  and  |)Iacod  himself 
behind  the  Inn, occupying,  iu  advance  of  the  river, 
the  camp  of  Am])fing,  and  the  bridge  iieads  of 
VVasserburg  and  of  Miihidorf.  It  was  tiie  middle 
of  July,  or  end  of  Messidor.  The  French  govern- 
ment had  left  to  general  Moreau  the  liberty  of 
acting  as  lie  pleased,  and  to  lay  by  his  arms  when 
lie  tiiought  it  convenient.  He  imagined,  with 
some  reason,  that  it  was  not  rigiit  he  alone  should 
remain  fighting.  The  rest  whitij  the  soldiers  of 
the  army  of  Italy  enjoyed,  was  envied  by  the 
soldiers  of  Germany ;  further,  the  army  of  the 
Rhine,  between  the  Isar  and  the  Inn,  had  a  nuuh 
more  advanced   jiosition   than   tin.'  army  of  Italy, 


Armistice  concluded  be- 
118        tween  Moreau  and  the 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Grand  fete  at  Paris.  — 
Arrival  of  count  St.  Ju- 
lieu  to  treat  of  peace. 


1800. 
July. 


and  bad  thus  one  of  its  flanks  uncovered.  Al- 
though an  article  in  the  treaty  of  Alexandria  inter- 
dicted both  Austrians  and  French  from  sending 
detachments  into  Germany,  it  was  possible  that 
this  stipulation  might  not  be  scrupulously  kept, 
and  that  the  army  of  the  Rhine  might  soon  expect 
an  increase  of  enemies  upon  its  hands.  Moreau, 
who  had  received  several  propositions  from  mar- 
shal Kray,  determined  at  last  to  listen  to  them; 
and  on  the  15th  of  July,  or  26lh  Messidor,  he  con- 
sented to  sign  at  Parsdorf,  a  place  in  advance  of 
Munich,  a  suspension  of  arms  nearly  conformable 
to  that  of  Italy. 

Both  armies  were  to  retire,  each  behind  a  line 
of  demarcation,  which,  parting  from  Balzers  in  the 
Grisous,  passed  along  the  Tyi-ol,  ran  between  the 
Isar  and  the  Inn  at  an  equal  distance  from  both 
rivers,  and  fell  to  Wilshofen  on  the  Danube,  as- 
cending that  river  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Alt- 
Miihl,and  following  the  Alt-Muhl,  the  Rednitz,and 
the  Mayn,  as  far  as  Mayence  :  the  fortresses  of 
Philipsburg,  Ulm,  and  Ingoldstadt,  remaining 
blockaded  ;  but  every  fifteen  days  they  might  re- 
ceive a  quantity  of  provisions  in  proportion  to  the 
strength  of  their  garrisons.  The  two  armies  had 
to  give  twelve  days'  notice  before  the  commence- 
ment of  hostilities.  The  French  army  had  Franconia 
from  which  to  draw  its  provisions,  as  well  as 
Swabia,  and  a  large  part  of  Bavaria.  The  French 
troops  posted  u|>(;n  the  Mincio  on  one  side  of  the 
Alps,  and  on  the  other  upon  the  Isar,  were  now 
about  to  receive,  for  their  toils  and  privations,  a 
compensation  from  the  rich  plains  of  Italy  and 
Germany.  These  brave  men  had  merited  it  by 
the  greatest  exploits  that  had  yet  signalized  the 
arms  of  Fi-ance.  The  army  of  the  Rhine,  although 
it  had  not  cast  so  bright  a  lustre  as  the  army  of 
Italy,  had  .still  distinguished  itself  by  a  campaign 
conducted  with  as  much  sagacity  as  energy.  The 
last  great  event  of  the  campaign,  the  passage  of  the 
Danube  at  Hochstedt,  might  take  a  place  by  the 
side  of  the  finest  feats  of  arms  in  the  military 
history  of  France.  Public  opinion,  which  in  179fl 
had  not  been  favourable  to  Moreau,  had,  in  UiOO, 
become  almost  ])artial  in  his  behalf.  After  the 
name  of  Bonaparte — it  is  true  at  a  great  distance, 
but  such  a  distance  as  that  the  distinction  was 
flattering — was  heard  without  cessation  the  name 
of  Moreau  ;  and  as  public  opinion  is  fluctuating, 
this  year  he  had  completely  occupied  the  place  of 
the  conqueror  of  Zurich,  by  whom  the  preceding 
year  he  had  been  eclipsed. 

The  news  of  the  brilliant  success  of  the  army  of 
the  Rhine  completed  the  public  satisfaction  pro- 
duced by  the  extraordinary  success  of  the  army  of 


Italy,  and  changed  into  certainty  the  hopes  of 
peace  with  which  every  mind  was  filled.  There 
was  general  joy.  The  public  funds,  the  five  per 
cents.,  which  sold  at  thirteen  francs  before  the 
18th  Brumaire,  mounted  to  forty.  A  decree  of  the 
consuls  announced  to  the  fundholders,  that  in  the 
first  half  year  of  the  year  ix.  the  dividends  falling 
due  on  the  22nd  of  September,  1800,  would  be 
wholly  paid  in  specie.  Agreeable  tidings,  such  as  had 
not  for  a  long  while  been  imparted  to  the  unfortu- 
nate state  creditors.  All  these  benefits  wei'c  at- 
tributed to  the  armies,  to  the  generals  who  had 
led  them  to  victory,  but  principally  to  young 
Bonaparte,  who  knew  well  how  at  the  same 
time  to  govern  and  to  fight  in  a  superior  manner. 
Therefore  the  fete  of  the  14th  of  July,  one  of  the 
two  republican  solemnities  preserved  by  the  con- 
stitution, was  celebrated  in  the  most  splendid  man- 
ner. A  very  magnificent  ceremony  was  prepared 
at  the  Invalides.  The  musical  composer,  Mehul, 
prepared  some  fine  pieces  ;  and  the  first  Italian 
singers  of  Italy,  that  about  this  period  became  de- 
prived of  its  master-pieces  and  its  artists,  were 
brought  to  Paris  to  execute  them.  After  hearing 
the  performances  under  the  dome  of  the  Invalides, 
the  first  consul,  accompanied  by  a  numerous  staff, 
went  to  the  Champ  de  Mars  to  review  the  con- 
sular guard.  It  had  arrived  that  same  morning, 
covered  with  dust,  its  clothes  in  tatters,  not  having 
stopped  on  the  march  from  the  day  after  the  battle 
of  Marengo,  in  order  to  be  punctual  at  the  meeting 
appointed  with  the  first  consul  for  the  14th  of 
July.  The  consular  guard  brought  the  colours 
taken  in  the  late  campaign,  to  be  placed  in  the 
general  depository  of  the  French  military  trophies. 
The  crowd,  which  lined  both  sides  of  the  Champ 
de  Mars,  rushed  forward  to  obtain  a  nearer  view 
of  the  heroes  of  Marengo.  The  intoxication  of  the 
public  joy  was  carried  to  such  an  extent  as  well 
nigh  to  produce  accidents.  The  first  consul  was  a 
long  while  pressed  up  in  the  crowd.  He  entered 
the  Tuileries  surrounded  by  the  multitude  that 
jjressed  upon  his  steps.  The  entire  day  was  de- 
voted to  i)ublic  rejoicing. 

Some  days  afterwards,  upon  the  21st  of  July,  or 
2nd  Thermidor,  the  arrival  of  count  St.  Julien  in 
Paris  was  announced,  an  officer  in  the  confidence 
of  the  emperor  of  Germany,  charged  to  carry  to 
Paris  the  ratification  of  the  convention  of  Alex- 
andria, and  to  confer  with  the  first  consul  upon  the 
conditions  of  the  ajiproaching  peace.  No  doubt 
was  then  entertained  of  the  conclusion  of  the  paci- 
fication so  much  desired,  which  should  put  an  end 
to  the  second  coalition.  France,  it  may  be  .said, 
had  never  before  seen  such  delightful  days. 


I 


1799. 
Aug. 


Bonaparte  leaves  Egypt  for  France.  HELIOPOLIS. 


BOOK  V. 


HELIOPOLIS. 


(TATE  OP  ECYrl  AFTER  THE  DEPARTURE  OE  BONAPAUTE. — DEEP  GRIEF  OP  THE  ARMY,  AND  DESIRE  TO  RETURN 
TO  FRANCE. — KLEBER  INCRF.ASES,  IN  PLACE  OF  REPRKSSISG,  THE  FEELING. — HIS  REPORT  ON  THE  STATE  OP 
THE  COLONY. — THE  REPORT  DESIGNED  FOR  THE  DIKECTORY  IS  RECEIVED  BY  THE  FIRST  CONSUL. — FALSEHOODS 
IT  CONTAINED. — GREAT  RtSOllRCES  OF  THE  COLONY,  AiiD  FACILITY  OF  ITS  PREStRVATION  TO  FRANCE. — KLEI1E& 
DRAWN  ON  BY  THE  FKELINGS  HE  HAD  ENCOLRAGED,  IS  BROUGHT  TO  TREAT  WITH  THE  TURKS  AND  ENGLISH. — 
CULPABLE  CONVENTION  OF  EL  ABISCH,  STIPULATING  FOR  THE  EVACUATION  OF  EGYPT.  —  REFUSAL  OP  THE  ENG- 
LISH TO  EXECUTE  THE  CONVENTION,  THEY  CALCULATING  THAT  THE  FRENCH  MUST  LAY  DOWN  THEIR  ARMS. — 
NOBLE  INDIGNATION  OF  KLEBER — RUPTURE  OF  THE  ARMISTICE  AND  BATTLE  OF  HELIOPOLIS. — DISPERSION  OF 
THE  TURKS. — KLEBER  PURSUES  THEM  TO  THE  FRONTIERS  OF  SYRIA. — TAKES  THE  CAMP  OF  THE  VIZIER. — RE- 
PARTITION OF  THE  ARMY  IN  LOWER  EGYPT. — RETURN  OF  KLEBER  TO  CAIRO,  IN  ORDER  TO  REDUCE  THE  CITY, 
BROKEN  OUT  INTO  INSURRECTION  DUKING  HIS  ABSENCE.  — HAPPY  TEMPORIZING  OF  KLEBER.— HAVING  COLLECTED 
HIS  MEANS,  HE  ATTACKS  AND  RETAKES  THE  CITY.— GENERAL  SUBMISSION. — ALLIANCE  WITH  MURAD  BEY. — 
KLEBER,  WHO  THOUGHT  IT  IMPOSSIBLE  TO  KEEP  EGYPT  WHEN  SUBDUED,  RECONQUERS  IT  IN  THIRTY-FIVE  DAYS 
FROM  THE  TURKISH  FORCES  AND  THE  REVOLTED  EGYPTIANS.— HIS  FAULTS  ALL  GLORIOUSLY  EFFACED. — EMO- 
TION OF  THE  MUSSULMAN  PEOPLE  IN  LEARNING  THAT  EGYPT  REMAINS  IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  INFIDELS. — 
A  FANATIC  TRAVELS  FROM  PALESTINE  TO  CAIRO,  TO  ASSASSINATE  KLEBER. — UNFORTUNATE  DEATH  OP  THE 
LATTER,  AND  ITS  CONSEOUENCES  FOR  THE  COLONY. — PRESENT  TRANQUILLITY.— KLEBER  AND  DESAIX  BOTH 
KILLED   ON    THE    SAME   DAY. — CHARACTERS    AND    LITES   OF   THOSE   TWO   CELEBRATED    WARRIORS. 


In  August,  1799,  Bonaparte,  upon  receiving  in- 
telligence from  Europe,  decided  that  he  would 
quit  Egypt  suddenly,  and  ordered  Admiral  Gan- 
teaume  to  send  to  sea  from  the  port  of  Alexandria 
tlie  Muiron  and  the  Carere  frigates,  the  only  ships 
wliich  remained  after  the  dcstiuction  of  the  flotilla, 
and  to  bring  them  to  an  anchor  in  the  little  road  of 
Marabout.  It  was  tiiere  that  he  intended  to  em- 
bark, about  two  leagues  west  from  Alexandria.  He 
tool;  with  him  the  generals  Berthier,  Lannes, 
Murat,  Andrcos-sy,  Marmont,  and  two  learned  men 
of  whom  he  was  must  fond,  IVlonf^e  and  lierthoUet. 
On  the  22nd  of  August,  or  5tli  Fructidor,  year  vii., 
he  went  to  Marabout,  and  embarked  precipitately, 
continually  in  fear  that  the  Engliish  squadron 
would  appear.  The  horses  that  li.nd  served  to 
bring  his  party  to  the  spot  were  loft  upon  the 
shore,  and  went  off  full  gallop  towards  Alexandria. 
'file  sight  of  the  horses  ready  sad<lled,  and  de- 
prived of  their  riders,  occasioned  considerabh; 
alarm.  It  wa.H  believed  that  some  accident  had 
happened  to  the  ottieers  of  tlie  garrison,  and  a  body 
of  cavalry  was  detached  in  piirsiiit.  Soon  after- 
wards a  Turkish  groom,  who  had  a.^sisted  at  the 
embarkation,  exjilained  all  as  it  had  i-eally  oc- 
curred; and  Menou,  who  was  alone  acquainted  with 
the  secret  from  tlie  beginning,  announced  in  Alex- 
andria the  departure  of  Bonap.vrte,  and  the  appoint- 
ment which  he  had  made  of  KIcbcr  as  his  successor. 
Kl(5bcr  had  an  appointment  with  Bonaparte  at  llo- 
sctta  for  the  23id  of  August  ;  but  Bonaparte, 
anxious  to  embark,  had  gone  without  attending  to 
it.  Besides,  in  iinixming  upon  Kl^ber  the  heavy 
burthen  of  the  command,  he  was  spared  the  troul)le 
of  either  objection  or  refusal,  by  leaving  him  the 
absolute  ordiT. 

This  iuteliigencc  caused  a  sorrowful  surprise  to 
the  army.  At  first  nobody  credited  it:  general 
Dugua,  commanding  at  Itiiseita,  made  a  contra- 
diction of  the  statement,  not  b<lieving  it  himself, 
and  feaiing  for  the  bad  cfl'ect  it  might  produce. 


All  doubt  upon  the  subject  soon  became  impossible, 
and  Kl^ber  was  officially  proclaimed  the  successor 
of  general  Bonaparte.  Officers  and  soldiers  were 
in  a  state  of  consternation.  The  ascendency  exer- 
cised by  the  conqueror  of  Italy  over  the  soldiery 
was  required  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  them  after 
him  into  distant  and  unknown  lands  ;  it  would  soon 
require  that  ascendency  to  retain  them  in  due 
subordination.  The  regard  for  home  is  a  passion 
which  becomes  violent  when  the  distance  and 
strangeness  of  the  place,  and  fears  of  the  impos- 
sibility of  return,  increase  the  irritation  of  the 
feeling.  Often,  in  Egypt,  this  passion  caused  mur- 
murings,  and  sometimes  suicides.  But  the  presence 
of  the  general-in-chief.  his  address,and  his  incessant 
activity,  expelled  all  gloomy  feelings.  Always 
knowing  how  to  occupy  himself  and  to  occupy 
others,  he  captivated  to  the  highest  pitch,  and  dis- 
sipated around  him  those  irksome  sensations,  or 
prevented  their  having  birth,  to  which  he  himself 
was  utterly  foreign.  The  troops  often  said,  that 
they  should  never  return  to  France, — that  they 
should  never  more  recross  the  Mediterranean, — 
now  more  than  ever  since  the  fleet  of  Aboukir  was 
destroyed  ;  but  general  Bonaparte  was  there,  and 
with  him  they  would  go  any  where,  and  find  a  way 
home  again,  or  make  a  new  country  for  themselves. 
Bonajjarte  being  gone,  the  face  of  every  thing  was 
changed.  Thus  the  news  came  upon  them  like  a 
thunderbolt.  The  worst  epithets  were  made  descrip- 
tive of  his  act  of  departure.  They  did  not  consider 
that  irresistible  impulse  of  patriotism  and  ambition 
which,  at  the  news  of  the  disasters  of  the  republic, 
had  induced  him  to  return  to  France.  They  saw 
nothing  but  the  abandonment  of  the  unfortunate 
army  which  had  so  much  confidence  in  his  genius 
as  to  induce  it  to  f'olhiw  him.  They  said  to  them- 
selves, that  he  himself  must  be  convinced  of  the 
liopeiesHiiess  of  the  enterprise,  of  the  impossibility 
of  making  it  succeed,  since  lie  liad  eloped  and 
given   up  to  others  that  which  ho  himself  con- 


state  of  feeling  in  the  army  of  Kleber's  popularity.— He 

120     E^ypt.-The  discontent  of    THIERS'    CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE.      assumes  the  command ; 

Kleber  affects  the  army.  reports  to  the  directory. 


1799. 
Aug. 


sidered  to  be  altogether  impracticable.  But  thus 
to  start  off  alone,  leaving  beyond  the  sea  those 
whom  he  had  thus  compromised, — it  was  a  cruelty, 
even  a  cowardice,  according  to  certain  slanderers ; 
for  he  always  had  some,  that  were  even  very  near 
his  person,  throughout  the  most  brilliant  epochs 
of  his  career. 

Kle'ber  was  not  attached  to  Bonaparte,  and  bore 
his  ascendency  with  a  species  of  impatience.  If 
he  restrained  this  feeling  in  his  presence,  he  showed 
it  elsewhere  by  improper  remarks.  Fanciful,  and 
given  to  grumble,  Kle'ber  had  greatly  desired  to 
take  a  part  in  the  expedition  to  Egypt,  in  order  to 
get  himself  out  of  that  state  of  disfavour  in  which 
he  was  suffered  to  live  under  the  directory,  and 
now  he  was  regretting  his  having  quitted  the  banks 
of  the  Rhine  for  those  of  the  Nile.  With  a  feeble- 
ness unworthy  of  his  character,  he  permitted  his 
feelings  to  display  themselves  ;  and  this  man,  so 
great  in  danger,  gave  way  to  them  as  much  as  the 
lowest  of  his  soldier.s  could  have  done.  The  com- 
mandership-in-chief  did  not  balance  in  him  the 
necessity  of  living  in  Egypt,  because  he  was  not 
fond  of  command.  Pushing  on  the  discontent 
against  Bonaparte,  he  committed  the  fault,  that 
might  be  called  criminal,  if  heroic  acts  had  not 
repaired  them,  of  himself  contributing  to  produce 
a  dissatisfaction  in  the  army  which  very  soon  be- 
came general.  Following  his  example,  every  body 
began  to  declare  that  they  would  not  stay  any 
longer  in  Egypt,  and  that  it  was  necessary  at  any 
cost  to  return  to  France.  Other  sentiments  min- 
gled with  this  passion  for  returning,  calculated  to 
subvert  the  spirit  of  the  army,  and  give  occasion  to 
the  most  mischievous  resolutions. 

An  old  spirit  of  rivalry  then  and  for  a  good  while 
before  had  divided  the  officers  who  once  belonged 
to  the  armies  of  Italy  and  of  the  Rhine.  They  were 
jealous  of  each  other,  one  party  pretending  against 
the  other,  that  it  carried  on  warlike  operations  in 
a  superior  manner  ;  and  although  this  rival  feel- 
ing was  repressed  during  the  presence  of  Bona- 
parte, it  was  in  reality  the  principal  cause  of  the 
difference  of  their  opinions.  All  those  who  came 
from  the  army  on  the  Rhine,  had  little  attachment 
for  the  Egyptian  expedition;  while  the  officers  who 
had  composed  part  of  the  army  of  Italy,  though 
feeling  melancholy  at  being  so  far  from  France, 
were  in  favour  of  the  expedition,  because  it  was  the 
work  of  their  commander-in-chief.  After  his  de- 
parture all  restraint  disappeared.  They  tumul- 
tuously  ranged  around  Kleber,  and  repeated  loudly 
with  him,  what  began  to  take  hold  of  every  body's 
mind,  that  the  conquest  of  Egypt  was  an  insensate 
expedition,  which  should  be  abandoned  at  the  ear- 
liest possible  moment.  Nevertheless,  there  were 
some  of  an  opposite  way  of  thinking;  several  gene- 
rals, such  as  Lanusse,  Menou,  Davout,  Desaix, 
more  particularly,  manifested  difiercnt  sentiments. 
Hence  there  were  two  parties,  one  called  the  colo- 
nist, the  other  the  anti-colonist.  Unhappily  Desaix 
was  absent.  He  had  accomplished  the  conquest  of 
Upper  Egypt,  where  he  had  fought  several  brilliant 
actions,  and  governed  with  great  ability.  His  in- 
fluence could  not,  therefore,  be  opposed  at  that 
moment  to  Kleber's.  To  complete  the  misfortune, 
he  was  not  to  remain  in  Egypt :  Bonaparte,  wishing 
to  have  him  near  his  pei-son,  had  committed  the 
error  of  not  nominating  him  commander-in-chief, 


but  left  an  order  for  him  to  return  to  Europe  as 
soon  as  possible.  Desaix,  whose  name  was  univer- 
sally cherished  and  respected  in  the  army,  and 
whose  talents  for  government  equalled  his  mili- 
tary ability,  would  have  administered  the  govern- 
ment well,  and  would  have  avoided  all  those  weak- 
nesses to  which  Kle'ber  deUvered  himself  over,  at 
least  for  the  moment. 

Still  Kleber  was  the  mo.st  popular  general  among 
the  soldiery.  His  name  was  hailed  by  them  with 
the  utmost  confidence,  and  it  consoled  them  in 
■some  degree  for  the  loss  of  the  great  general  who 
had  quitted  them.  The  first  impression  once 
passed,  their  minds,  though  they  had  not  perfectly 
recovered  their  usual  equilibrium,  were  become 
more  calm  and  sensitive  to  justice.  A  different 
kind  of  conversation  was  held:  they  said,  that,  after 
all,  Bonaparte  was  obliged  to  fly  to  the  aid  of 
France  when  in  danger;  and  that  besides,  the  army 
once  established  in  Egypt,  the  best  thing  he  could 
do  for  it  was  to  go  to  Paris,  in  order  to  explain 
there  its  situation  and  necessities,  and  to  demand 
the  succours  which  he  alone  would  be  able  to  extort 
from  the  negligence  of  the  government. 

Kleber  returned  to  Cairo,  took  the  command 
with  a  species  of  ostentation,  and  placed  his  quar- 
ters in  the  Ezbekyeh,  in  the  fine  Arab  house  which 
had  been  inhabited  by  his  predecessor.  He  dis- 
]ilayed  a  degree  of  pomp,  less  to  satisfy  his  own 
taste,  than  to  present  an  imposing  appearance  be- 
fore the  orientals,  and  determined  to  make  his 
authority  felt  by  exercising  it  with  vigour.  But  it 
was  not  a  long  while  before  the  cares  of  the  com- 
mandership-in-chief  became  unbearable  to  him: 
the  new  dangers  with  which  the  Turks  and  English 
threatened  Egypt,  and  the  grief  of  exile,  which  was 
general,  filled  his  heart  with  the  most  gloomy  dis- 
couragements. After  having  received  a  report  of 
the  state  of  the  colony,  made  at  his  order,  he  ad- 
dressed to  the  directory  at  home  a  despatch  full  of 
errors,  and  with  it  sent  a  report  of  the  administra- 
tor of  the  finances,  Poussielgue,  in  which  things 
were  represented  under  a  false  aspect,  and  more 
particularly  accusatory  of  Bonaparte  himself. 

In  this  despatch  and  the  report,  dated  the  2Gth  of 
September,  or  4th  Vende'miaire,  year  viii.,  general 
Kleber  and  the  commis.sary,  Poussielgue,  said  that 
the  army,  already  diminished  one-half,  found  itself 
at  that  moment  reduced  to  about  15,000  men;  that 
it  was  nearly  naked,  which  in  that  climate  was  ex- 
tremely dangerous,  on  account  of  the  difference  of 
the  temperature  between  the  day  and  night ;  that 
they  were  in  want  of  cannon,  muskets,  projectiles, 
and  powder,  all  which  things  it  was  difficult  to 
rei)lace  there,  because  iron  for  casting,  lead,  and 
timber  for  building,  and  miiterials  for  making 
powder,  were  not  to  be  obtained  in  Egypt :  then 
there  was  a  large  deficiency  in  the  finances,  as  the 
sum  of  4,000,000f.  was  due  to  the  soldiers  for  jiay, 
and  7,000,000  or  8,000,000f.  to  contractors,  for 
various  services  ;  that  the  resources  for  establish- 
ing contributions  were  already  exhausted,  the 
country  being  ready  to  revolt  if  new  ones  were  laid 
on  ;  that  the  inundation  not  being  great  that  year, 
and  the  crops  likely  to  be  deficient,  the  means  and 
the  will  to  ])ay  the  impost  were  equally  unavailable 
with  the  Egyptians;  that  dangers  of  every  kind 
threatened  the  colony;  that  the  two  old  chiefs  of  the 
Mamelukes,  Murad-Bey  and  Ibrahim-Bey,  main- 


Aug. 


Errors  in  Kleber'3  despatches. — Bona- 
parte censured  in  them— They  fall         IIELIOPOLIS. 
into  the  hands  of  the  English. 


Kleber's  misstatenit-nts  rectilied. 
Salubrity  and  fertility  of  Egypt. 


121 


taineJ  their  j^rouud,  one  in  Upper,  the  other  Lower 
Egypt.  Tliat  tlie  celebrated  paclia  of  Egypt,  Djezzar, 
was  about  SLMnHiig  to  tlie  Turkisli  army  a  reinforce- 
ment of  30,000  e.\cellent  soldiers,  the  former  de- 
fenders of  St.  Jean  d' Acre  against  the  French ;  that 
the  gnind  vizier  himself  liad  left  Constantinople, 
and  had  already  arrived  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Damascus  with  a  powerful  army  ;  that  the  Rus- 
sians and  the  English  had  united  a  regular  force 
with  the  ii'regulai-  Turkish  soldici-s  ;  that  in  this 
extremity  there  remained  but  one  resource,  which 
was  to  treat  with  the  Porte  ;  that  Bonapai'te,  in 
having  given  the  example  and  express  authoi-ity  in 
the  instructions  left  for  his  successor,  an  attempt 
was  about  to  be  made  to  stipulate  with  the  grand 
vizier,  for  a  sort  of  nii.\ed  government,  by  wliich 
the  Porte  should  occupy  the  open  part  of  Egypt, 
and  levy  the  miri,  or  land-tax,  while  the  French 
should  occupy  the  towns  and  forts,  and  receive  the 
revenue  of  the  customs.  Kl^ber  added,  that  the 
general-in-chief  had  seen  the  crisis  approaching, 
and  that  it  was  the  real  cause  of  his  precipitate  de- 
parture. Poussielgue  finished  his  report  by  a  gross 
calumny,  saying  that  B maiiarte,  in  (piitting  Egypt, 
had  taken  with  him  2,000,000  f.  It  must  be  added, 
that  Bonaparte  had  heaped  benefits  upon  the  head 
of  Poussielgue. 

Such  were  the  dispatclies  sent  to  the  directory 
by  Kl^er  and  Poussielgue.  Bonaparte  was  treat(  d 
in  them  as  an  individual  supposed  to  be  lost,  and 
to  whom  no  regard  need  bo  had.  He  was  believed 
to  be  exposed  to  the  double  danger  of  capture  by 
the  English,  and  of  condemnation  by  the  directory, 
for  having  quitted  his  array.  What  would  have 
been  the  embarrassment  of  those  who  wrote 
these  communications,  if  they  had  known  that  they 
were  to  be  opened  and  read  by  him  who  was  the 
object  of  their  calumny,  become  in  the  interim  the 
absolute  licad  of  the  government  ? 

Kl^jer,  too  careless  t(t  assure  himself  of  the  true 
state  of  tilings,  did  not  think  of  examining  whether 
the  statements  thus  sent  were  in  accordance  with 
his  own  a.s.sertions.  Klc'bcr  did  not  imagine  he  was 
stating  what  was  untrue;  he  transmitted,  through 
negligence  or  ill-humour,  the  sayings  that  excited 
feelings  had  multiplied  around  him,  so  far  as  to 
establish  for  them  a  species  of  public  notoriety. 
These  despatches  were  confided  to  a  cousin  of  the 
director  Ban-as, and  were  accompanied  by  a  muti- 
tude  of  letters,  in  which  the  ofticors  of  the  army 
expressed  their  despair  to  a  degree  equally  im- 
l)rudent  and  unjust.  This  cousin  of  Barras  was 
taken  by  the  English.  He  throw  overboard  the 
despatches, of  which  he  was  beaier, in  a  great  hurry ; 
but  the  packet  swam,  was  seen,  recovered,  and 
sent  to  the  British  cabinet.  The  effect  of  these 
mischievous  communications  will  be  soon  seen  ; 
the  despatches,  in  the  hands  of  the  English,  were 
soon  piililisliiMl  all  over  Europe. 

At  tin;  hame  lime  KlAer  and  Poussielgue  had 
sent  their  despatches  to  Paris  in  duplicate.  The 
last  arrived  safe,  and  was  handed  over  to  the  first 
consul. 

What  truth  was  there  in  these  pictures  drawn 
by  diseased  fancies  ?  This  may  soon  be  judged  in 
a  certain  manner,  Ijy  the  events  themselves  ;  but 
in  the  interim  it  is  proper  to  rectify  the  false 
assertions  which  liave  been  just  stated. 

The  army,  according  t*)  Klt'bcr,  was  reduced  to 


fifteen  thousand  men,  yet  the  retm-ns  to  the  di- 
rectory made  them  twenty-eight  thousand  five 
hundred.  When  two  years  afterwards  it  was 
brought  back  to  France  there  were  still  twenty- 
two  thousand  soldiers  in  its  ranks,  and  it  had 
fought  several  great  battles  and  inimmerable 
actions.  In  179a  there  left  France  thirty-four 
thousand  men  ;  four  thousand  remained  at  Malta, 
thirty  thousand  therefore  arrived  at  Alexandria. 
At  a  later  period  three  thousand  seamen,  the  rem- 
nant of  those  of  the  fleet  destroyed  at  Aboukir, 
reinforced  the  army,  which  raised  the  number  to 
thirty-three  thousand.  It  had  lost  four  or  five 
thousand  soldiers  from  1798  to  17!)9  ;  it  was 
then  reduced  in  1800  to  twenty-eight  thousand 
men  at  least,  of  whom  twenty-two  thousand  were 
fighting  men. 

Egypt  is  a  healthy  country,  where  w-ounds  heal 
w  iih  wonderful  rapidity ;  there  were  this  year 
very  few  sick,  and  there  was  no  plague.  Egypt 
was  full  of  Christians,  Greeks,  Syrians,  and  Copts, 
soliciting  to  enter  into  the  French  service,  and 
it  might  have  furnished  excellent  recruits  to  the 
number  of  fifteen  or  twenty  thousand.  The  blacks 
of  Darfour,  bought  and  made  free,  supplied  five 
hundred  good  soldiers  to  one  of  the  demi-brigades. 
IMoreover,  Egypt  had  submitted.  The  peasants 
who  cultivated  the  land,  habituated  to  obedience 
under  every  master,  never  dreamed  of  taking  up 
arms.  Except  some  tumults  in  the  towns,  there 
were  none  to  fear  save  the  undisei])lined  Turks 
coming  from  a  distance,  or  English  mercenaries 
brought  by  sea  with  great  trouble.  Against  such 
enemies  the  French  army  was  more  than  sufficient, 
if  it  was  commanded  not  with  genius,  but  merely 
with  c(mimon  judgment. 

Kle'ber  said,  in  his  despatches,  that  the  soldiers 
were  nearly  naked ;  but  Bonaparte  had  left  cloth 
for  clothing  them,  and  a  month  after  the  despatches 
were  sent  off  the  men  were  actually  clothed  anew. 
In  any  case  Egypt  abounded  in  cotton,  which  it 
l)roduced  for  all  Africa.  It  could  not  be  ditticiilt 
to  procure  them  the  stuffs  by  purchase,  as  they 
might  have  been  levied  in  part  of  the  imposts. 
As  to  provisions,  Egypt  is  the  granary  of  the  coun- 
tries that  produce  no  corn.  Grain,  rice,  beef, 
mutton,  fowls,  sugar,  and  cuffee,  were  at  a  price 
there  ton  times  less  than  in  Europe.  The  markets 
were  so  low,  that  the  army,  although  its  finances 
were  not  over  rich,  was  able  to  pay  for  every  thing 
which  it  cimsumed ;  in  other  words,  it  conducted 
itself  in  Africa  much  better  than  Christian  armies 
conduct  themselves  in  Europe,  because  there,  it  is 
well-known,  they  live  on  the  conquered  country, 
and  pay  nothing.  Kldber  said  that  he  wanted 
arms  :  there  remained  in  his  stores  eleven  thou- 
sand sabres,  fifteen  thousand  muskets,  fourteen  or 
fifteen  hundred  cannon,  of  which  otie  hundred  and 
eighty  were  field  pieces.  Alexandria,  that  he  said 
liad  been  stripped  of  its  artillery  for  the  siege  of 
St.  Jean  d'Acre,  had  more  than  three  hundred 
jiieces  of  camion  in  battery.  Then  as  to  aiimui- 
nition,  there  remained  three  millions  of  musket  car- 
tridges, twenty-seven  thousand  cannon  cartridges, 
filleil,  and  resources  for  making  more,  as  there 
were  still  in  the  magazines  two  hundred  thousand 
projectiles  and  eleven  hundred  thousand  pounds  of 
gimpowdcr.  Subse(|uent  events  demonstrated  the 
truth  of  these  allegations,  for  the  army  continued 


Kleher's  misstatements  con-  Culpability  of  the  heads  of  .^gg 

122     cerning  the  finances  rec-    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND   EMPIRE.        the   army.-Bonaparte's   ' '  ;• 

titled.  instructions.  °' 


to  fight  for  two  years  longer,  and  left  to  the  English 
ciinsiderable  stores.  What,  in  fact,  could  have 
become  in  so  short  a  time  of  the  immense  materiel, 
so  carefully  accumulated  by  Bonaparte  on  board 
the  fleet  which  transported  the  army  to  Egypt  ? 

Then  in  respect  to  the  finances,  the  report  of 
Kle'ber  was  equally  untrue.  The  soldiers  were 
paid  up  to  the  day.  It  is  true,  that  nothing  had 
yet  been  dime  in  fixing  the  system  of  finance  best 
adapted  for  provisioning  the  army  without  pi-ess- 
ing  upon  the  country  ;  but  the  resources  were  in 
existence,  and  in  mauitainiiig  only  the  imposts 
already  estaijlished  it  was  easy  for  the  troops  to 
live  in  abundance.  There  was  money  from  the  im- 
posts of  the  year  enough  to  pay  all  the  current  ex- 
penses, or  more  than  10,000,000 f.  There  was  conse- 
quently no  necessity  for  driving  the  population  to 
revolt,  by  the  establishment  of  fresh  contributions. 
The  accounts  of  the  finances,  made  at  a  late  period, 
prove  that  Egypt,  well  managed,  could  supply 
25,000,000  f.  per  annum  of  revenue.  At  this  rate 
she  w<iuld  not  pay  the  half  of  what  was  taken,  with 
a  thousand  vexations,  by  the  numerous  tyi-ants 
who  oppressed  the  country,  under  tlie  name  of 
Mamelukes.  At  the  price  of  tlnngs  in  Egypt,  the 
army  might  live  very  well  ujion  18,000,000  f.  or 
20,000,000  f.  As  to  the  chests,  so  far  was  Bona- 
parte from  having  diminished  them,  that  he  had 
scarcely  touched  them,  and  at  his  departure  had 
not  even  drawn  tlie  whole  of  hie  own  pay. 

In  regard  to  the  dangers  with  which  the  colony 
was  threatened,  this  is  the  truth  :  Murad  Bey, 
discour.aged,  was  a  fugitive  in  Upper  Egypt,  with 
a  few  Mamelukes.  Ibrahim  Bey,  who  under  the 
government  of  the  Mamelukes,  partook  the  sove- 
reignty with  Murad,  was  in  Lower  Egypt,  towards 
the  fnmtiers  of  Syria,  with  less  than  four  hundred 
horse  in  place  of  some  thousands.  Djezzar  Pacha 
was  shut  up  in  St.  Jean  d'Acre.  So  far  was  he 
from  succouring  the  army  of  the  vizier  with  thirty 
thousand  men,  that,  on  the  contrary,  he  saw  with 
displeasure  the  approach  of  this  new  Turkish 
army,  now  more  than  ever  that  his  pachalic  was 
freed  from  the  French.  As  to  the  grand  vizier, 
he  had  not  yet  passed  the  Taurus.  The  English 
had  their  troops  at  Mahon,  and  were  at  the  mo- 
ment thinking  of  employing  them  in  Tuscany, 
Naples,  or  on  the  coast  ol  Trance.  In  regard  to  a 
Russian  expedition,  that  was  a  jmre  fable.  The 
Russians  had  not  yet  thought  of  taking  so  long  a 
voyage  for  the  purpose  of  supporting  the  policy  of 
England  in  the  east. 

The  inhabitants  were  not,  as  was  said,  inclined 
to  revolt.  By  managing  the  sheiks  as  Bonajiarte 
had  prescribed,  the  sheiks,  who  are  the  priests 
and  lawyers  of  the  Arabs,  their  good-will  might 
soon  be  gained.  We  had  commenced  already  to 
have  a  strong  party  among  them.  We  had  with 
us,  besides,  the  Copts,  the  Greeks,  and  the  Syrians, 
who  being  all  Chri.stians,  behaved  in  regard  to  the 
French  as  friends  and  useful  auxiliaries.  Thus 
there  was  nothing  imminent  from  this  quarter  to 
fear.  It  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  if  the  French 
had  met  with  reverses,  tiie  Egyptians  would  do  as 
the  Italians  themselves  had  done,  with  the  fickle- 
ness of  a  conquered  people.  They  would  join  tlie 
victors  of  to-day  against  the  victors  of  yesterday. 
Still  they  felt  the  difference  of  the  government  that 
pressed  upon   them,  robbed  them,  and  was  never 


without  the  sabre  in  its  hand,  and  the  French  who 
respected  their  property,  and  very  rarely  stmck 
off  their  heads. 

Kleber  had  given  way  to  these  dangerous  ex- 
aggerations, the  melancholy  result  of  hatred,  ennui, 
and  exile.  By  his  side  general  Menou,  observing 
every  thing  under  the  most  favourable  colours", 
believed  the  French  in  Europe  to  be  invincible, 
and  regarded  the  expedition  as  the  first  appear- 
ance of  a  considerable  revolution  in  the  commerce 
of  the  world.  Men  ai-e  unable  to  divest  themselves 
sufficiently  of  their  personal  impressions  in  these 
kind  of  appreciations.  Kleber  and  Menou  were 
upright  men,  both  honest  ;  but  one  wanted  to  go 
away,  the  other  to  remain  in  Egypt.  The  clearest 
and  most  authentic  statements  signified  opposite 
things  in  their  views  ;  misery  and  ruin  for  one, 
abundance  and  success  for  the  other. 

Whatever  might  be  the  situation  of  the  country, 
Kle'ber  and  his  party  rendered  themselves  seriously 
culpable  in  thinking  of  an  evacuation  ;  because 
they  had  no  right  to  do  so.  It  is  true  that  Bona- 
parte, in  his  instructions,  full  of  sagacity,  examin- 
ing every  possible  case,  had  provided  for  that 
which  might  occur  if  the  army  should  be  obliged 
to  evacuate  Egj^pt.  "  I  go,"  said  he,  "  to  France, 
either  as  a  private  or  a  public  man ;  I  will  get 
succours  sent  to  you.  But  if  in  the  approaching 
spring,"  (he  wrote  in  1709,)  "you  have  received 
neither  succours  nor  instructions  ;  if  the  plague 
should  carry  off  above  fifteen  hundred  men  in- 
dependently of  losses  by  war  ;  if  a  considerable 
force,  which  you  will  not  be  capable  of  resist- 
ing, should  press  you  vigorously,  negotiate  with 
the  vizier  ;  even  consent,  if  it  must  be  so,  to 
the  evacuation,  under  one  condition,  that  of  re- 
course to  the  French  government ;  and  in  the 
meantime  continue  the  occui>ation.  You  will  thus 
gain  tiiue;  and  it  is  not  possible  but  that,  in  the  in- 
terval, you  will  be  succoured."  These  instructions 
were  wise;  but  the  case  provided  for  was  far  from 
being  realized.  In  the  first  place  it  was  necessary 
to  wait  for  the  spring  of  1800  ;  it  was  necessary 
at  that  time  for  no  succours,  no  orders  to  reach 
Egypt  ;  it  was  necessary  to  have  lost  by  the 
plague  a  part  of  the  effective  strength  ;  and  lastly, 
to  have  been  pressed  by  superior  forces :  but  no- 
thing of  the  kind  had  occurred  nor  did  occur.  An 
open  negotiation  without  these  conditions  was  an 
act  of  real  ofi'ence. 

In  September,  1799,  Vend^miaire,  year  vii., 
Desaix,  having  completed  the  conquest  and  secured 
the  submission  of  Upper  Egypt,  had  left  two  move- 
able columns  in  pursuit  of  Murad  Bey,  to  vhom 
he  had  offered  peace,  on  condition  of  his  becoming 
the  vassal  of  France.  He  had  come  back  to  Cairo 
by  order  cf  Kleber,  who  wished  to  have  his  name 
in  the  unfortunate  negotiations  into  which  he  was 
about  to  enter.  While  these  proceedings  were 
going  forward  the  army  of  the  vizier,  so  long  an- 
nounced, was  slowly  advancing.  Sir  Sidney  Smith, 
who  convoyed  with  his  vessels  the  Turkish  troops 
dest'ned  to  proceed  by  sea,  had  arrived  at  Da- 
rn ietta  with  eight  thousand  janissaries.  On  the  1st 
of  November,  or  10th  Brumaire,  yearviii.,  the  first 
disembarkation  of  four  thousand  janissaries  took 
place,  towards  the  Bogaz  of  Damictta,  that  is,  at 
the  entrance  of  the  branch  of  the  Nile  which  passes 
before  that  city.     General  Verdier,  who  had  but 


1799. 
Aug. 


A  Turkish  reinforcement  routed 

at   D.imietta. Sir   Sidney 

Smitli's  exertions  to  induce 


HELIOPOLIS. 


the  French  to  evacuate  Egypt. 
Overtures  made  by  Kleber. 


123 


one  thousand  men  at  Damietta,  went  out  with  that 
number,  and  proceeded  above  tlie  fort  of  Lesbch. 
on  a  narrow  tonijue  of  hind,  on  the  shore  of  whieli 
the  Turks  had  disembarked  ;  and  before  the  four 
thousand  janissaries  on  the  way  could  arrive,  he 
attacked  the  fuur  thousand  that  had  ah-eady  landed. 
In  spite  of  the  fire  of  tlie  English  artillery,  placed 
advantageously  on  an  old  tower,  he  beat  them,  and 
killed  or  drowned  more  than  three  tlmusand,  making 
the  rest  prisoners.  The  gunboat.s,  seeing  (lie  whole 
scene,  returned  to  their  vessels,  and  landed  no 
more  of  the  troops.  The  French  had  only  twenty- 
two  killed,  and  one  hundred  wounded. 

At  the  news  of  this  disembarkation  Kl^bcr  sent 
Desaix  with  a  column  of  three  thousand  men  ;  but 
these,  on  arriving  at  Damietta,  foinid  the  victory 
gained,  and  the  French  full  of  boundless  confidence. 
This  brilliant  feat  of  arnis  ought  to  have  encou- 
r.tged  Kleber;  unluckily,  he  was  ruled  at  the  time 
by  his  own  chagrin  and  that  of  the  army,  lie  had 
led  the  minds,  that  led  him  in  turn,  to  the  fatal 
resolution  of  an  immediate  evacuation.  Bonaparte 
w;is  made  the  subject  of  new  invectives.  "  This 
headstrong  young  man,"  .said  he, "  who  has  exposed 
the  French  army  to  danger,  and  himself  to  other 
perils,  in  braving  the  seas  and  the  English  cruizers, 
to  return  to  France, — this  rash  young  man  has  not 
escaped  the  dangers  of  the  passage.  The  wise 
generals,  educated  in  the  school  of  the  army  of  the 
Rhine,  ought  to  give  up  this  wild  scheme,  and  take 
back  to  Europe  brave  soldiers  indispensable  to  the 
republic,  threatened  on  all  quai'ters. 

In  this  disposition  of  mind  Kldber  sent  one  of 
his  officers  to  the  vizier,  who  had  entered  Syria,  to 
make  overtures  of  pi  ace.  Already  Bonaparte,  to 
embroil  the  vi/.ier  witli  the  English,  had  had  an 
idea  of  attempting  to  negotiate  ;  though  on  his  own 
part  it  was  no  more  than  a  feint.  His  overtures 
were  received  with  a  haughty  defiance.  Those  of 
KleHjerobtjuned  a  better  rcce])tion,  by  the  influence 
of  Sir  Sidney  Smith,  who  i)repared  to  play  a  pro- 
minent character  in  the  affans  of  Egypt. 

Tliis  English  ofi';cer  of  the  navy  had  greatly  con- 
tributed to  prevent  the  success  of  the  siege  of  St. 
Jean  d'Acre;  he  was  proud  of  what  he  had  done, 
and  conceived  a  ruse  dc  fjverre,  according  to  the 
expression  of  the  English  agents.  It  cimsisted  in 
profiting,  by  a  moment  of  weakness,  to  snatch  from 
the  French  this  precious  conquest.  As  all  the  in- 
tircepted  letters  of  the  French  officers  showed 
clearly  enough  their  ardent  desire  to  return  to 
France,  Sir  .Sidney  Smith  wished  to  induce  the 
aiiny  to  negotiate,  by  subscribing  a  capitulati(jn ; 
and  beloro  the  French  government  had  time  to 
give  a-ssent  to  or  refuse  the  ratification,  to  embark 
it  and  throw  it  upon  the  coast  of  Europe.  It  was 
with  this  view  that  he  dispo.sed  the  grand  vizier  to 
liHten  to  the  overtures  of  Kldber.  As  to  Jiimself, 
he  loaded  the  French  officers  with  civilities;  he 
allowed  the  news  from  Europe  to  reach  them,  but 
to<ik  care  only  to  give  Buch  intelligence  as  was  an- 
terior to  the  18tli  Bruniuire  '.    Kldber,  on  his  side, 


'  (It  would  liave  been  ginijular  had  Sir  Sidney  Smith  com- 
muiiicnti'd  in  general  Klibcr  what  liad  not  thm  occurred. 
"I'lic  18th  of  llrumaire  wa«  (he  3th  of  November,  ITJ'J. 
K'.elicr's  correspondence  with  Sir  Sidney  bejf.iti.  Kleber  him- 
ic!f  !)ayi,(.iee  bis  letter  to  the  directory  dalcd  lOih  I'luviAke, 
«r  January  30tb,)  a  few  dayi  bejore  the  ditcuibarkation  of  the 


sent  a  negotiator  to  Sir  Sidney  Smith,  the  En;;lish 
being  masters  of  the  sea,  and  he  wishing  to  have 
them  as  parties  to  the  negotiation,  so  that  the 
return  of  the  army  to  France  might  be  rendered 
practicable.  Sir  Sidney  listened  willingly  to  this 
messiige,  and  showed  liimself  disjjosed  to  enter  into 
an  arrangement,  adding,  besides,  that  in  virtue  of  a 
treaty  dated  the  5th  of  January,  17!I9,  of  which  he 
had  been  the  negotiator,  there  existed  a  triple 
alliance  between  Russia,  England,  and  the  Porte  ; 
that  these  powers  were  bound  to  make  a  common 
cause ;  and  that,  in  consequence,  no  arrangement 
executed  with  the  Porte  would  be  binding,  if  it 
was  not  made  in  concurrence  with  the  agents  of  the 
three  courts.  Sir  Sidney  Smith  took,  in  these  com- 
munications, the  title  of  "  minister  jilenipotentiary 
from  his  Britannic  majesty  to  the  Ottoman  Porte, 
commanding  his  squadron  in  the  waters  of  the 
Levant." 

Sir  Sidney  Smith  here  gave  himself  a  title  which 
he  once  had,  but  which  he  had  ceased  to  hold  after 
the  arrival  of  lord  Elgin  as  ambassador  at  Con- 
stantinople ;  and  in  i-eaiity  he  had  at  the  moment 
no  other  power  than  such  as  belongs  always  to 
a  military  commander — that  of  signing  military 
conventions,  suspensions  of  arms,  and  similar  docu- 
ments. 

Kleber,  without  closer  examination,  without 
knowing  whether  he  was  treating  with  agents 
accredited  sufficiently,  engaged  in  a  blind  manner 
in  this  perilous  aff'air,  into  which  he  was  drawn  by 
a  feeling  common  to  the  whole  army,  and  which 
would  have  terminated  ignominiously  if,  happily 
for  him.  Heaven  had  not  endowed  him  witli  an 
heroic  soul,  which  could  not  fail  to  recover  him 
with  glory,  as  soon  as  he  became  sensible  of  the 
extent  of  his  error.  He  entered  into  the  nego- 
tiations, and  offered  Sir  Sidney  Smith  as  well  as 
the  vizier,  who  had  advanced  as  far  as  Gaza  in 
Syria,  to  nominate  officers  furnished  with  full 
powers  to  treat.  Feeling  repugnant  to  the  admit- 
tance of  Turks  into  his  cnmp, and  unwilling,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  risk  his  officers  in  the  midst  of  the 
undisciplined  army  of  the  grand  vizier,  he  con- 
ceived the  |)lace  best  to,  choose  for  the  conferences 
woidd  be  the  Tigre,  Sir  Sidney  Smith's  vessel. 

Sir  Sidney  was  cruising  with  only  two  ves-sel-s — 
which,  by  the  way,  sufficiently  proved  the  possi- 
bility of  connnunicating  between  France  and  Egypt; 
Sir  Sidney  had  no  more  than  one  at  that  time;  thp 
other,  the  Theseus,  being  under  repair  at  Cyprus. 
Rough  weather  frequently  obliging  him  to  stand 
off'  the  coast,  and  his  communications  being  neither 
]irompt  nor  regular  with  the  land,  it  took  some 
time  to  receive  his  assent.  At  last  his  reply  came; 
it  intimated  that  he  would  appear  successively  off' 
Alexandria  and  Damietta,  to  receive  onboard  sucli 
officers  as  KliJber  might  send. 

Kldber  appointed    Desaix   and  Poussielgue  the 

janissaries  at  Damietta.  The  janissaries  were  disembarked 
and  routed  on  the  first  of  Nowmlier.  Sir  Sidney  could  not 
then  have  known  what  occurred  subsequently  in  Paris, 
therefore,  on  the  Ulh  of  that  monih.  The  negotiations  went 
on  in  a  more  serious  manner  on  the  22nd  of  December;  at 
wliich  date,  even,  it  in  probable  Sir  Sidney  himself  knew 
notbinK  of  what  must  have  gone  from  Paris  to  London,  and 
wou'ril,  in  thoscf  dayx,  have  takin  live  or  i>ix  wreks  to  reach 
Alexandria  from  London,  at  the  usual  estimate.— Trani- 
lalor.] 


Desaix     received     by 

124        Sir   Sidney    Smith.— 

Kleber's  unreasonable 


demands.  —  Sir  Sidney's 
THIERS'  CONSULATE   AND  EMPIRE.    answr.-Xhe  grand   vi- 
zier at  El-Arisch. 


1799. 
Aug. 


commissary,  who  had  so  heavily  slandered  Bona- 
parte, and  whom  the  Egyptians,  in  their  Arabic 
phraseology,  had  denominated  "  sultan  Kle'ber's  vi- 
zier." Poussielgue  was  the  advocate  of  the  evacua- 
tion, Desaix  was  opposed  to  it.  The  last  had  made  the 
utmost  exertion  to  resist  the  torrent,  and  elevate 
tlie  spirits  of  his  companions  in  arms;  and  he  had 
only  charged  himself  with  the  negotiation  com- 
menced by  Kleber,  with  the  hope  of  protracting  it, 
and  gaining  time  for  the  arrival  of  orders  and 
succours  from  France.  Kle'ber,  in  order  to  excuse 
himself  in  the  sight  of  Desaix,  told  him  that  Bona- 
parte was  the  first  who  had  commanded  treating 
with  the  Turks;  that  besides  he  had  provided  him- 
self and  authorized  the  advance  of  a  treaty  of 
evacuation  in  case  of  imminent  danger.  Desai.x, 
ill-informed,  hoped  continually  that  the  first  vessel 
wliich  arrived  from  France  would  clear  up  all 
obscurities,  and  perhaps  change  the  deplorable 
state  of  the  staff  of  the  army.  He  parted  with 
M.  Poussielgue,  and  unable  to  join  Sir  Sidney 
Smith  off  Alexandria,  found  him  before  Damietta, 
and  went  on  board  the  Tigre  on  the  22nd  of  De- 
cember, 1700,  or  1st  of  Nivose,  the  year  vni.,  the 
same  moment  that  Bonaparte  was  invested  with 
the  supreme  power  in  France. 

Sir  Sidney  Smith,  who  was  delighted  to  have  on 
board  such  a  plenipotentiary  as  Desaix,  treated 
him  in  the  most  flattering  manner,  and  sought  by 
every  means  of  persuasion  to  bring  him  into  the 
idea  of  evacuating  Egypt. 

Desaix  knew  perfectly  well  how  to  defend  him- 
self, and  stuck  to  the  conditions  which  his  com- 
mander had  instructed  him  to  ask.  These  con- 
ditions, unacceptable  to  the  English  commander, 
were  very  convenient  to  Desaix,  who  wished  to 
gain  time ;  they  were  too,  on  the  part  of  Kleber, 
very  ill  calculated,  because  they  were  so  extrava- 
gant as  to  render  agreement  impossible.  Kleber 
sought  in  the  extended  nature  of  the  demand  itself 
an  excuse  for  his  error.  He  demanded,  for  ex- 
ample, to  be  landed  on  any  point  of  the  continent 
he  might  choose,  in  order  to  afford  the  republic  the 
aid  of  his  army  wherever  it  might  be  deemed  of 
most  service,  retiring  from  Egypt  with  the  honours 
of  war,  with  arms  and  baggage.  He  demanded 
that  the  Porte  should  restore  to  France  imme- 
diately the  Venetian  Islands,  which  by  the  treaty 
of  Campo  Formio  had  become  subject  to  France ; 
that  is  Corfu,  Zante,Cephalonia,  and  others,  at  that 
moment  occupied  by  Turco-Russiangari'isons;  that 
these  islands,  and  above  all  Malta,  a  much  more 
important  one,  should  be  given  up  to  France;  that 
the  possession  of  these  should  be  guaranteed  to 
her  by  the  ])ersons  signing  the  treaty  of  evacuation; 
that  tlie  French  army,  on  retiring,  should  have  the 
right  to  reinforce  and  revictual  the  garrisons ; 
lastly,  that  the  treaty  which  united  Tui-key,  Austria, 
and  England,  should  be  instantly  annulled,  and 
the  triple  alliance  of  tiie  East  dissolved. 

These  conditions  were  unreasonable  it  must  be 
said ;  not  that  they  were  an  exaggerated  equivalent 
for  what  was  given  up  in  giving  up  Egypt,  but 
because  they  were  impossible  to  execute.  Sir 
Sidney  made  Kldber  sensible  of  this, — that  officers, 
treating  for  a  suspension  of  arms  only,  could  not 
include  objects  of  such  a  wide  latitude  in  their 
negotiations.  Zante,  Cei)halonia,  and  Corfu,  were 
occupied  by  Turkish  and  Russian  troops ;  it  was 


required,  therefore,  to  communicate  with  St.  Pe- 
tersburg as  well  as  Constantinople.  Malta  was 
held  under  the  king  of  Naples  as  lord  paramount 
of  the  order ;  it  could  not  be  disposed  of  without 
the  consent  of  that  prince,  v  ho  had  always  refused 
to  cede  it  to  France.  To  place  French  troops  on 
the  island  at  that  moment  was,  in  a  manner,  suf- 
ficient of  itself  to  settle  the  question.  There  were 
to  be  found  the  cruizers  of  all  the  allied  powers, 
that  would  not  retire  upon  an  order  of  Sir  Sidney 
Smith  or  of  the  grand  vizier.  England,  besides, 
would  never  consent  to  any  condition  which  placed 
Malta  in  the  hands  of  France.  To  land  the  Fi-ench 
army  on  a  point  of  the  continent,  where  it  would 
be  able  to  change  the  combinations  of  the  war  by 
its  unexpected  appearance,  was  a  piece  of  hardihood 
that  a  single  commodore  commanding  a  naval 
station  would  not  take  upon  himself  to  permit.  In 
fine,  to  abolish  the  treaty  of  the  triple  alliance,  was 
to  demand  that  Sir  Sidney  Smith  should  abrogate, 
on  board  his  own  ship,  a  treaty  ratified  by  three 
great  pov/ers,  which  was  of  great  importance  for 
the  East.  Supposing  that  all  these  stipulations 
should  be  accepted  by  all  the  courts  whose  consent 
would  be  required,  it  was  necessary  to  send  to 
Naples,  London,  St.  Petersburg,  and  Constan- 
tinople ;  this,  then,  could  be  no  longer  a  military 
convention  of  evacuation,  such  as  that  signed  at 
Marengo  and  executable  at  the  instant.  If  it  were 
referred  to  London,  it  must  be  referred  to  Paris, 
which  Kleber  had  no  desire  should  be  done.  All 
this,  then,  was  evidently  far  beyond  the  limits  of 
a  militai'y  capitulation. 

Sir  Sidney  Smith  had  no  difficulty  in  making 
the  French  negotiators  feel  the  cogency  of  these 
reasons.  But  he  was  urgent  to  settle  two  objects 
immediately, — the  departure  of  the  wounded  and 
of  the  learned  men  attached  to  the  expedition,  for 
whom  Desaix  demanded  a  safe-conduct,  and  a  sus- 
pension of  arms ;  because  the  army  of  the  grand 
vizier,  although  marching  slowly,  would  soon  find 
itself  in  presence  of  the  French  army.  It  had  ar- 
rived, in  fact,  before  the  port  of  El  Arisch,  the  first 
French  port  on  the  Syrian  fx-ontier,  and  had  already 
summoned  it  to  surrender.  Kleber,  made  ac- 
quainted with  this  circumstance,  had  written  to 
Desaix,  and  prescribed  to  him,  as  an  indispensable 
condition  of  the  conference,  that  the  Turkish  army 
should  halt  on  the  frontier. 

The  first  point,  the  departure  of  the  wounded 
and  the  scientific  men,  rested  with  Sir  Sidney 
Smith.  He  at  once  assented  to  it  with  great  cheer- 
fulness and  much  courtesy.  As  to  the  armistice. 
Sir  Sidney  said  that  he  would  demand  it,  but  that 
the  obtaining  it  did  not  depend  upon  himself;  for 
the  Turkish  army  was  composed  of  barbarous  and 
fanatical  hordes,  and  it  was  extremely  difficult  to 
make  a  regular  convention  with  it,  and,  above  all, 
secure  the  execution.  To  remove  this  difficulty, 
he  determined  to  proceed  himself  to  the  camp  of 
the  grand  vizier,  which  was  near  Gaza.  The  ne- 
gotiation had  been  proceeding  for  a  fortnight  on 
board  the  Tigre,  while  floating  at  the  mercy  of  the 
winds  oft"  the  coasts  of  Syria  and  Egypt.  The 
parties  had  said  all  they  had  to  say,  and  the  nego- 
tiation could  no  longer  continue  to  be  useful, 
unless  it  wore  carried  on  near  the  grand  vizier 
himself.  Sir  Sidney  Smith  therefore  proposed  to 
repair  to  the  vizier's  camp,  and  to  conclude  a  sus- 


HELIOrOLIS. 


Conduct  of  the  garrison  thew 
The  fort  taken. 
Massacre  of  the  French. 


125 


pension  of  arms,  and  prepare  for  the  arrival  of  the 
French  negotiators,  if  he  thought  that  he  could 
procure  for  them  respect  and  security.  The  \n-o- 
positidU  was  accepted.  Sir  Sidney,  profiting  by  a 
favourable  moment,  got  off  in  a  boat,  which  landed 
him  on  the  coast,  not  without  incurring  some 
dangers,  ordering  the  commanding  officer  of  the 
Tigre  to  meet  him  in  the  port  of  Jaffa,  where 
Desaix  and  Poussielgue  were  to  be  landed,  if  the 
place  of  conference  should  be  changed  to  the  camp 
of  the  grand  vizier. 

At  tiie  moment  when  the  English  commodore 
arrived  at  the  grand  vizier's  camp,  a  horrible 
event  had  occurred  at  El-Arisch.  The  Turkish 
army,  composed  tlie  smaller  part  of  janissaries, 
and  the  larger  of  Asiatic  militia,  that  the  Mussul- 
man laws  place  at  the  disposition  of  the  Porte, 
presenting  a  confused  and  undisciplined  body,  was 
very  formidable  to  those  who  wore  the  European 
dress.  It  had  been  levied  in  the  name  of  the 
prophet,  the  Turks  being  told  that  this  was  the 
last  effort  to  be  made  for  driving  the  infidels  out 
of  Egypt ;  that  the  formidable  "  sultan  of  fire " 
(Bonaparte)  had  gone  away  from  them  ;  that  tliey 
were  enfeebled  and  discouraged  ;  that  it  only  suf- 
ficed for  them  to  show  tliemselves  and  to  conquer; 
that  all  Egypt  was  ready  to  revolt  against  tiieir 
domination.'  These,  and  other  things,  repeated 
every  where,  had  brought  seventy  or  eighty  thou- 
sand Mussulman  fanatics  around  the  vizier.  To  the 
Turks  were  united  the  Mamelukes  under  Ibrahim 
Bey,  that  had  for  some  time  retired  into  Syria  ;  and 
Murad  Bey,  who,  by  a  long  circuit,  had  descended 
from  the  cataracts  to  the  vicinity  of  Suez,  all  be- 
came auxiliaries  to  their  former  adversaries.  The 
English  had  made  for  this  army  a  sort  of  field 
artillery  drawn  by  mules.  The  Bedouin  Arabs, 
in  tlie  hope  of  soon  pillaging  the  vanquished,  no 
matter  of  which  side,  placed  fifteen  thousand  camels 
at  the  disposal  of  the  grand  vizier,  to  aid  him  in 
crossing  the  desert  which  sei)arates  Palestine  from 
Egypt.  The  Turkish  commander-in-chief  had  in 
his  lialf  barbarous  staff  some  Englisli  officers  and 
many  of  those  culpable  emigrants  who  had  taught 
Djezzar  Pacha  how  to  defend  St.  Jean  D'Acre. 
It  will  now  be  seen  of  what  those  miserable  refugees 
became  the  cause. 

The  fort  of  El-Arisch,  before  which  the  Turks 
were  at  tiiat  moment,  wa.s,  according  to  Bonaparte, 
one  of  the  two  keys  of  Egypt  ;  the  otiier  was  Alex- 
andria. On  the  same  authority  an  army  coming  by 
sea  could  not  land  in  any  great  number  except 
upon  the  beach  near  Alexandria.  An  army  coming 
by  land,  and  liaving  to  cross  the  desert  of  Syria, 
was  obliged  to  pass  by  El-Arisch,  in  order  to  ob- 
tiin  water  at  the  wells  situated  there.  Bonaparte 
liad  in  consequence  ordered  works  of  defence  to  be 
constructed  about  Alexandria,  and  that  El-Ariscii 
also  should  be  put  into  a  state  of  defence.  A  body 
of  three  luindred  men,  well  provided  with  ammuni- 
tion and  provisions,  garrisoned  the  fort,  and  an  able 
officer,  named  Cazals,  commanded  it.  The  Turkish 
advanced  guard  appearing  before  EI-Ariscii,  it 
was  summoned  to  surrender  by  colonel  Douglas,  an 
English  officer  in  the  Turkish  service.  A  disguised 
French  emigrant  was  the  bearer  of  the  summons 
to  the  commandant,  Cazals.  A  parley  took  place, 
and  the  soldiers  were  told  that  the  evacuation  of 
Egypt  would  be  innuediate;  that  it  was  already  an- 


nounced as  i-esolved  upon;  that  it  would  soon  be 
inevitable;  and  that  it  would  be  cruel  to  wish  they 
should  defend  themselves.  The  culpable  sentiments 
whieh  the  officers  had  too  much  encouraged  in  the 
army,  then  broke  out.  The  soldiers  garrisoning  El- 
Arisch,  having  the  same  desire  to  leave  Egypt  as  the 
rest  of  their  comrades,  declared  to  the  conmiand- 
ant,  that  they  would  not  fight,  and  that  he  must 
surrender  the"  fort.  The  gallant  Cazals  called  them 
togetherindignantly,addresscd  them  in  manly  terms, 
told  them  that  if  there  were  cowards  among  them 
they  had  leave  to  quit  the  garrison  and  go  over  to 
the  Turks,  he  giving  them  full  license  to  do  so;  but 
that  he  would  resist  to  the  last  with  those  French- 
men who  continued  to  be  faithful  to  their  duty. 
This  address  recalled  for  a  moment  the  feeling  of 
honour  into  the  hearts  of  the  men.  The  sununons 
was  rejected,  and  the  attack  begun.  The  Turks 
were  not  able  to  carry  a  ])osition  even  tolerably  de- 
fended. The  batteries  of  the  fort  silenced  their 
artillery.  Directed  by  English  and  emigrant  offi- 
cers, notwithstanding  this,  they  pushed  their 
trenches  to  the  salient  angle  of  a  bastion.  The 
commandant  ordered  a  sortie  to  be  made  by  some 
grenadiers,  in  order  to  drive  the  Turks  from  the 
first  brancli  of  the  trench.  Captain  Ferray,  who 
was  ordered  on  the  duty,  was  only  followed  by 
three  grenadiers.  Seeing  himself  abandoned,  he 
returned  towards  the  fort.  Meanwhile  the  muti- 
neers had  struck  the  colours,  but  a  sergeant  of 
grenadiers  rehoisted  them.  A  contest  ensued. 
During  this  struggle,  the  scoundrels  who  insisted 
upon  surrendering,  threw  ropes  to  the  Turks,  and 
these  ferocious  enemies,  once  hoisted  up  into  the 
fort,  fell  sword  in  hand  upon  those  who  had  ad- 
mitted them,  and  massacred  the  larger  part.  The 
rest,  coming  to  their  senses,  united  with  the  re- 
mainder of  the  garrison,  and,  in  despair,  defending 
themselves  with  the  utmost  courage,  were  the 
larger  part  cut  to  pieces.  Some  few  in  number  ob- 
tained quarter,  thanks  to  colonel  Douglas,  owing 
their  lives  entirely  to  the  intervention  of  that 
officer. 

Thus  fell  the  fort  of  El-Arisch.  This  was  the  first 
effect  of  the  unhappy  disposition  of  the  mind  of 
the  army;  the  first  fruit  that  the  commanders  ga- 
thered through  their  own  errors. 

It  was  the  30th  of  December,  or  9th  Nivose  : 
the  letter,  written  by  sir  Sidney  Smith  to  the  grand 
vizier,  to  propose  a  suspension  of  arms,  had  not 
arrived  in  time  to  prevent  the  sad  occurrence  of 
El-Arisch.  Sir  Sidney  Smith  was  a  man  of  gene- 
rous sentiments,  and  this  barbarous  massacre  of  a 
French  garrison  was  revolting  to  his  feelings,  and 
made  him  fear,  in  a  more  particular  manner,  the 
ruptiu-e  of  the  negotiations.  He  sent  in  haste  ex- 
jdanations  of  the  affair  to  KIdber,  as  well  iu  his 
own  name  as  in  that  of  the  grand  vizier  ;  and 
he  added  the  formal  assurance  that  all  liostilities 
shoidd  cease  during  the  negotiations. 

At  the  sight  of  these  hordes,  wiio  resembled 
more  an  emigration  of  savages,  than  an  army 
going  to  combat,  actually  fighting  among  them- 
selves over  their  provisions  at  night  for  the  pos- 
session of  a  well,  sir  Si<lney  Smith  felt  alarinrd 
for  the  security  of  the  French  i)leMi]iotcntiarios. 
He  insisted  that  the  tents  destined  for  their  recep- 
tion should  be  situated  in  tiio  same  quarter  as  that 
of  the  grand  vizier  and  reis  effeiidi,  who  were  both 


Sir  Sidney   Smith  and  the 
126      French     plenipotentiaries    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 

visit  the  gran^  vizier. 


Conditions  of  the  conven- 
tion. —  Errors  of  the 
French  commissioners. 


present  with  the  army  ;  that  a  chosen  body  of 
troops  should  be  placed  around  their  tents  ;  he 
placed  his  own  near  them,  and,  lastly,  provided  a 
body  of  En^li-sh  seamen,  to  secure  from  violence 
both  himself  and  the  French  officei-s  committed  to 
his  honour.  Having  taken  these  precautions,  he 
sent  to  Jaffa  in  search  of  Desai.K  and  Poussielgue, 
in  order  to  bring  them  to  the  place  of  conference. 

Kleber,  when  he  heard  of  the  massacre  of  El- 
Arisch,  was  not  so  indignant  as  he  should  have 
shown  himself,  being  aware  that  if  he  were  too 
wai-m  about  the  affair,  all  negotiation  might  be 
broken  off.  He  was  more  than  ever  urgent  for  a 
suspeusion  of  arms  ;  and  by  way  of  prevention,  as 
well  as  to  be  nearer  the  p. ace  of  conference,  he 
transferred  his  head-quarters  to  Salahieh,  on  the 
frontier  of  the  desert,  within  two  marches  of  El- 
Arisch. 

Ill  the  meanwhile  Desaix  and  Poussielgue, 
having  the  wind  contrary,  were  not  able  to  laini 
at  Gaza  luitil  the  11th  of  J;inuary,  or  21st  of 
Nivose,  nor  to  arrive  at  El-Arisch  before  the  13th. 
The  confei'enees  began  upon  their  arrival  ;  and 
Desaix  nearly  broke  off  the  negi)tiati(m  by  his 
indignation.  The  Turks,  barbarous  and  ignorant, 
put  their  own  construction  upon  the  conduct  of 
the  French;  and  from  their  disposition  to  treat, 
imagined  they  were  afraid  to  fight,  in  place  of 
desiring  so  immediately  to  return  to  France.  They 
i'e(|uired,  therefore,  that  the  French  army  should 
surrender  and  become  prisoners  of  war.  Desaix 
was  for  terminating  at  that  moment  evei-y  kind  of 
parley  ;  but  sir  Sidney  interposing,  brouglit  back 
boili  parties  to  more  honourable  terms,  if  there 
could  be  such  for  a  convention  of  this  character.  It 
was  no  longer  possible  to  put  forward  the  first 
propositions  of  Kle'ber.  Of  this  he  had  been  in- 
formed by  letters  written  from  on  board  the  Tigre, 
and  he  had  cea.sed  to  speak  of  the  Venetian  islands, 
of  Malta,  and  of  the  revictualling  of  those  places. 
Still,  to  colour  his  negotiation,  he  held  fast  to  the 
retirement  of  the  Porte  from  the  triple  alliance. 
This  ])oint  might  in  strictness  have  been  negotiated 
at  El-.-Vrisch,  because  the  reis  effendi  and  the 
grand  vizier  were  there;  but  it  coidd  hardly  be 
required  of  the  English  negotiator,  whose  inter- 
vention was  indispensable.  The  condition  was 
therefore  set  aside  with  the  others.  It  was  a  vain 
artifice  that  Kle'ber  and  his  advisers  employed 
towards  themselves,  to  disguise  in  their  own  eyta 
the  disgraceful  nature  of  their  conduct. 

In  a  short  time  the  simple  and  pure  evacuation 
and  its  c(mditions  became  the  sole  subject.  After 
lung  discussions  it  was  agreed  that  hostilities 
should  cease  for  three  months  ;  and  that  for  these 
three  months  the  grand  vizier  should  employ  him- 
self in  collecting  in  the  ports  of  Rosetta,  Alioukir, 
and  Alexandria,  the  vessels  required  for  the  con- 
veyance of  the  French  army;  that  general  Klei)er 
should  employ  himself  in  evacuating  Ui)per  Egyjjt, 
Cairo,  and  the  surrounding  provinces,  and  in  con- 
centrating his  troops  for  the  jjurpose  of  embarka- 
tion ;  that  the  French  should  embark  with  arms 
and  baggage,  in  other  words,  with  the  honours  of 
war,  taking  with  them  such  stores  as  they  might 
require,  and  leaving  the  rest ;  that  from  the  day 
of  liie  signature  of  the  treaty,  they  sliould  cease  to 
impose  contrii)ution.s,  and  abandon  to  the  Porte 
those  which  remained  due  ;  but  iu  return,  that  the 


French  should  receive  three  thousand  pui-ses  of 
the  value  of  3,000,000  f.,  representing  the  sum 
necessary  for  their  subsistence  during  the  evacua- 
tion and  the  passage.  The  forts  of  Ivatieh,  Sala- 
hieh, and  Belbeis,  to  be  given  up  ten  days  after 
the  ratification  of  the  treaty,  and  Cairo  in  forty- 
days  afterwards.  It  was  agreed  that  the  ratifica- 
tion of  the  treaty  should  be  returned  by  general 
Kleber  alone  in  eight  days,  without  having  recourse 
to  the  Fi-ench  government.  Lastly,  sir  Sidney 
Smith  agreed,  in  his  own  name  and  that  of  the 
Russian  commissioners,  to  furnish  passports  to  the 
army,  in  order  that  it  might  sail  free  of  the 
English  cruisers. 

The  French  commissioners  here  committed  a 
grievous  error.  The  signature  of  sir  Sidney  Smith 
was  indispensable,  becau.se  without  his  signature 
the  sea  would  remain  closed.  They  ought  to  have 
required  this  of  sir  Sidney  Smith,  as  he  was  the 
negotiator  of  the  convention.  Then  the  mystery  of 
his  powers  would  have  been  cleared  up.  It  would 
then  have  been  seen,  that  the  English  commodore, 
having  had  formerly  the  power  to  treat  with  the 
Porte,  had  none  at  that  moment,  lord  Elgin 
having  arrived  as  minister  at  Constantinople;  that 
he  had  no  special  instructions  for  the  present  case; 
and  that  he  could  ahme  have  had  a  strong  pre- 
sumption that  his  conduct  would  be  approved  in 
London.  Little  versed  in  diplomatic  usages,  the 
French  plenipotentiaries  believed  that  sir  Sidney 
Smith,  in  offering  them  passports,  had  the  power 
to  give  them,  and  that  such  passports  would  be 
valid. 

The  conditions  of  the  convention  being  thus 
terminated,  nothing  remained  but  to  .sign  them. 
The  noble  heart  of  Desaix  revolted  at  what  he  was 
obliged  to  do.  Before  he  put  his  name  to  the 
paper,  he  sent  for  Savary,  his  aid- de-camp,  and 
directed  him  to  jiroceed  to  the  head-quariel-s  at 
Salahieh,  where  Kle'ber  was,  to  communicate  to 
him  the  draft  of  the  convention,  and  to  declare 
that  he  would  not  sign  it  until  he  had  a  formal 
order  for  that  purj>ose.  Savary  went  to  Salahieh 
and  acquitted  himself  of  his  commission  to  Kidlier. 
That  general,  who  had  a  confused  feeling  of  bis 
error,  in  order  to  cover  it,  called  a  council  of  war, 
to  which  all  the  generals  of  the  army  were  sum- 
moned. 

This  council  assembled  on  the  1st  of  January, 
1800,  or  1st  Pluviose,  year  viri.  The  minutes 
still  exist.  It  is  painful  to  see  brave  men,  «ho 
had  sjfilled  their  blood  and  were  going  again  to 
spill  it  in  their  country's  service,  accumulate 
miserable  falsehoods  to  hide  their  criminal  wttik- 
ness.  The  example  may  well  serve  as  a  lesson  to 
military  officers,  that  it  does  not  alone  suffice  to  lie 
firm  in  combat,  but  that  the  courage  that  bra  vis 
balls  and  bullets  is  the  least  of  the  duties  inip(  si  il 
upon  tieir  noble  professi(jn.  Great  weight  was 
laid  in  this  council  of  war  upon  the  intelligeiuc, 
then  well  known  in  Egypt,  that  the  grand  Fn  iieli 
and  Spanish  fleets  had  gone  out  of  the  Me<liter- 
rancan  into  the  ocean,  from  which  it  was  inferred 
that  all  hope  of  aid  from  France  was  cut  off. 
Five  montlis  had  elansed  since  the  departure 
of  Bonaparte,  during  which  no  despatch  had  bei  ii 
received.  The  discouragement  of  the  army  was 
also  used  as  an  argument  which  they  had  them- 
selves contributed  to  produce.     They  cite^  what 


1800. 
Jan. 


Council  of  war  summoned. — The  con- 
vention ratified.— Conduct  of  Da- 
vout  and  Desaix. 


HELIOPOLIS. 


Kleber's  despatches  reach  London  and 
Paris.  —  Kesoiuiions  of  Bonaparte 
and  the  Britisli  government. 


127 


had  occurred  recently  at  Rosetta  and  A'exandria, 
wliere  the  gari'isoiis  had  threatened  mutiny,  be- 
liaviiig  like  that  of  El-Arisch,  if  they  were  not 
immediately  sent  back  to  Europe  ;  they  pretended 
further  that  the  active  force  was  reduced  to  eight 
thousand  men  ;  the  force  of  the  Turks  was  ex- 
aggerated beyond  possibility;  a  pretended  Russian 
expedition  for  the  purpose  of  joining  the  grand 
vizier,  an  expedition  existing  only  in  the  heated 
imagination  of  those  who  wished  to  quit  Eiiyjit  at 
any  cost ;  the  impossibility  of  resistance  was  posi- 
tively established — an  assertion  which  was  soon  to 
be  proved  false,  in  a  manner  the  most  heroic,  by 
the  very  pereons  who  now  advanced  it ;  finally, 
to  keep  as  near  as  possible  to  the  instructions  of 
Bonaparte,  they  alleged  a  few  cases  of  plague,  of 
very  doubtful  character,  and  absolutely  unknown 
in  the  army. 

In  spite  of  all  that  was  said,  the  partisans  of  the 
evacuation  were  far  from  conforming  to  the  in- 
structions left  by  Bonafarte.  He  had  laid  down 
four  conditions  :  namely,  if  no  succours,  no  orders, 
should  aiTive  before  the  spring  of  1800  ;  if  the 
plague  should  have  carried  off  one  thousand  five 
Imndred  men,  besides  those  lost  in  battle  ;  if  the 
danger  was  so  great  as  to  render  all  resistance  im- 
possible ;  and  these  events  being  realized,  then  he 
recommended,  lastly,  the  gaining  time  by  negotia- 
ting, and  the  admission  of  the  evacuation  only  under 
the  condition  of  its  being  ratified  by  Franc?.  It 
was  still  only  January,  1800;  there  was  no  plague, 
no  pressing  danger  ;  yet  still  an  immediate  evacua- 
tion was  on  the  point  of  taking  place,  without  any 
recourse  to  France.  One  who  has  shown  in  war 
something  superior  to  courage — in  other  words, 
character — general  Davout,  afterwards  prince  of 
' ;  kmuhl,  dared  to  oppose  this  culpable  impulse, 
did  not  fear  to  oppose  Kleber,  to  whose  influ- 

•o  all  the  rest  submitted;  and  he  combated  with 
energy  the  idea  of  a  capitulation.  He  was  not  lis- 
tened to;  and  by  an  unhapj)y  condescension,  lie 
Consented  to  sign  the  resolntion  of  the  council  of 
war,  and  left  it  to  remain  an  entry  in  the  minutes, 
that  it  had  been  ado|)ted  unanimously. 

Davout,  notwithstanding,  took  Savary  aside,  and 
told  him  to  inform  Desaix,  that  if  he  were  willing 
to  iireak  off  the  negotiation,  he  would  not  want 
supporters  in  the  army.  Savary  returned  to  El- 
Arisch,  and  stated  w  hat  had  occurred,  and  what  he 
had  been  desired  by  Davout  to  say  on  his  part. 
Desaix,  seeing  in  the  minutes  of  the  deliberation 
the  name  of  IJavout,  answered  warmly  to  Savary, 
"  In  whom  do  you  desire  I  should  confide,  when  he 
who  disapproves  of  the  convention  does  not  make 
it  confoiinablu  to  his  opinion  ?  He  would  have  nic 
disobey,  and  yet  he  dares  not  su|)port  to  the  end 
the  opinion  which  he  has  expressed."  Desaix, 
although  deeply  hurt  upon  seeing  the  torrent,  suf- 
fered himself  to  be  carried  away  with  it,  and  sub- 
scribed his  name,  on  the  28th  of  January,  to  this 
unfortunate  ccmvention,  since  so  well  known  as  the 
treaty  of  El-Arisch. 

The  thing  being  completed,  every  body  began  to 
feel  the  importmce  attached  to  it.  De.saix  returned 
to  the  camp,  expressed  himself  with  deep  sorrow, 
not  dissinmlating  his  chagrin,  that  he  had  been 
appointed  for  such  a  mission,  and  forced  to  fulfil  it 
by  the  order  of  the  connnander-in-chief.  Davout, 
Menou,  and   some   otliirs    broke   out   into   bitter 


expressions,  and  divisions  existed  in  all  parts  of 
the  camp  of  Salahieh. 

Nevertheless,  preparations  were  made  for  the 
departure  of  the  army,  the  main  body  of  which  was 
full  of  delight  at  the  prospect  of  quitting  those 
distant  shores  and  of  soon  returning  to  France. 
Sir  Sidney  Smith  had  returned  on  board.  The 
j  vizier  a|)proached  and  took  possession,  one  after 
another,  of  the  entrenched  posts  of  Katieli,  Sala- 
I  hieh,  and  Belbeis,  that  KIdber,  pressed  to  carry 
out  the  convention,  faithfidly  gave  up.  Kleber 
reiurned  to  Cairo  to  make  his  dispositions  for  de- 
parture, to  recall  his  troops  guarding  Upper  Egypt, 
concentrate  his  army,  and  direct  it  ii|)on  Ro.setta 
and  Alexandria,  at  the  times  specified  for  the  em- 
barkation. 

While  these  events  were  taking  place  in  Egypt, 
the  unhappy  consequences  of  a  sentiment  which 
the  leaders  of  the  army  had  strengthened  in  place 
of  combating,  other  events,  consequences  of  the 
same  error,  were  taking  place  in  Europe.  The 
letters  and  despatches  sent  in  duplicate  had,  as  we 
have  seen,  arrived  at  the  same  time  both  in  Lon- 
don and  Paris.  The  despatch  accusatory  of  Bona- 
jiarte,  and  designed  for  the  directory,  had  been 
delivered  into  the  hands  of  Bonaparte  himself, 
become  the  head  of  the  government.  He  was  dis- 
gusted at  such  weaknesses  and  falsehoods  ;  but  he 
was  well  aware  how  much  the  army  i  food  in  need 
of  Kleber  ;  he  appreciated  the  great  qualities  of 
that  officer,  and  not  imagining  that  his  discourage- 
ment could  proceed  to  so  great  a  length  as  to 
induce  him  to  abandon  Egypt,  he  concealed  his  own 
feelings.  He  then  hastened  to  transmit  instructions 
from  France,  and  to  announce  that  he  was  pre- 
paring to  send  great  succours. 

On  the  otlier  side,  the  British  government 
having  also  a  duplicate  of  Kleber's  despatches,  and 
a  vast  number  of  letters  written  by  French  officers 
to  their  families,  published  them  all,  with  the  object 
of  exhibiting  to  Europe  the  situation  of  the  French 
in  Egypt,  and  to  raise  a  quarrel  between  Bona- 
parte and  general  Kle'ber.  This  was  a  calculation 
quite  natural  on  the  i)art  of  a  hostile  ]iower.  In 
the  mean  while  the  English  cabinet  had  received 
notice  of  the  overtures  made  by  Kleber  to  the 
graml  vizier  and  sir  Sidney  Smith.  Believing  that 
the  French  army  was  reduced  to  the  last  ex- 
tremity, it  hastened  to  send  out  a  formal  order  to 
grant  no  capitulation  to  the  French  unless  they 
surrendered  prisoners  of  war.  Mr.  Dundas  in 
|)arliament  made  tise  of  odious  expressions.  He 
said — "  An  example  must  be  made  of  this  army, 
that,  iu  a  time  of  profound  peace,  dared  to  attack 
the  dominions  of  one  of  our  allies  ;  the  interests  of 
maiduud  demand  that  it  be  destroyed," 

This  language  was  barbarous;  it  displays  the 
violent  passions  which  then  raged  in  the  brca.sts  of 
the  two  nations.  The  English  cabinet  had  under- 
stood to  the  letter  the  exaggerations  of  Kidber  and 
of  the  French  officers.  It  considered  that  the 
I'rench  were  in  a  state  to  accept  any  terms  it 
might  choose  to  impose  ;  and  without  being  aware 
of  what  had  passed,  committed  the  folly  of  giving 
to  lord  Keith,  commander-in-chief  in  the  Levant, 
a  positive  order  not  to  sign  his  name  to  any  capitu- 
lation unless  it  expressly  constituted  the  French 
prisoners  of  war. 

This  order,  sent   from  London  on  the  17tli  oi 


Sir  Sidney  Smith   receives 
128      I'resli   instructions. — His 
honourable  conduct. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Indignant  reply  of  Kleber 
to  Lord  Keith's  letter. — 
He  prepares  for  action. 


December,  reached  lord  Keith  in  Minorca,  about 
the  first  week  in  January,  1800  ;  and  on  the  8th  of 
the  same  month  that  admiral  hastened  to  com- 
municate the  instructions  to  sir  Sidney  Smith, 
which  he  had  just  received  from  his  government. 
It  took  time  at  that  season  of  the  year  to  sail 
across  the  Mediterranean.  The  despatches  of  lord 
Keith  did  not  reach  sir  Sidney  Smith  until  the 
20th  of  February.  Sir  Sidney  was  deeply  morti- 
fied. He  had  acted  without  instructions  from  the 
govei'ument,  counting  tliat  his  acts  could  not  fail 
to  be  approved  ;  he  found  himself  compromised  in 
regard  to  the  French,  because  he  felt  he  might  be 
accused  by  them  of  a  breach  of  faith.  Best  aware 
of  the  true  state  of  things,  he  well  knew  that 
Kleber  would  never  consent  to  surrender  himself  a 
prisoner  of  war  ;  and  he  saw  the  convention  of 
El-Arisch,  so  cleverly  wrung  from  the  weakness 
of  the  moment,  wholly  compromised.  He  hastened 
to  write  to  Kleber,  expressing  his  sorrow,  and  to 
apprise  him  candidly  of  what' was  going  forward, 
advising  him  immediately  to  suspend  the  delivery 
of  the  Egyptian  forts  to  the  grand  vizier,  and  to 
conjure  him  to  wait  for  fresh  ordei's  from  England 
before  taking  any  definitive  resolution. 

Unfortunately,  when  these  despatches  from  sir 
Sidney  Smith  reached  Cairo,  the  French  army 
had  already  executed  a  part  of  the  convention  of 
El-Arisch.  It  had  given  up  to  the  Turks  all  the 
po-sitions  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Nile,  Katieh, 
Salahieh,  Belbeis,  and  every  one  of  the  positions  of 
the  Delta,  jiarticularly  the  city  of  Damietta  and 
the  fort  of  Lesbeh.  The  troops  wei*e  already  on 
their  march  for  Alexandria,  with  their  baggage 
and  stores.  The  division  of  Upper  Egypt  had 
given  up  Higher  Egypt  to  the  Turks,  and  fallen 
back  upon  Cairo,  to  join  tlie  rest  of  the  army  near 
the  sea.  Desai.x,  taking  advantage  of  the  order  he 
had  received  to  return  to  France,  would  not  take 
any  part  in  the  arrangements  of  this  disastrous 
retreat,  and  had  gone  away  with  Davout,  who,  on 
his  part,  would  not  remain  near  Kle'ber.  Kle'ber, 
forgetting  his  diff"erences  with  Davout,  was  anxious 
to  retain  him,  and  offered  him  the  i-ank  of  general 
of  division,  which  it  was  in  his  power  to  bestow  as 
governor  of  Egypt.  This  Davout  refused,  saying 
that  he  did  not  wish  his  promotion  to  bear  the 
date  of  an  event  so  deplorable.  When  Desaix  and 
Davout  embarked,  Latour-Maubourg  arrived  from 
France  with  despatches  from  the  first  consul;  he 
met  them  on  the  beach,  and  informed  them  of  the 
revolution  of  the  18th  Brumaire,  and  of  the  eleva- 
tion of  Bonaparte  to  the  head  of  the  state.  Thus 
Kleber  found,  at  the  moment  when  he  had  given  u|) 
liis  fortified  places,  the  refusal  of  the  fulfilment  of 
the  treaty  of  El-Arisch,  and  the  impoi'tant  intelli- 
gence to  him  of  the  elevation  of  Bonaparte  to  the 
consular  government. 

There  had  been  sufficient  weakness  shown  for 
any  great  character  to  exhibit ;  an  ignominious 
offer  was  about  to  recal  Kleber  to  himself,  and  to 
prove  him,  as  he  was,  a  hero.  He  must  surrender 
himself  a  prisoner,  or  defend  himself  in  a  far 
worse  position  than  that  which  he  had  declared 
untenable  in  the  council  of  war  at  Salahieh.  He 
must  either  submit  to  dishonour,  or  engage  in  a 
desperate  conflict.  He  did  not  hesitate;  and  it  will 
be  seen,  that,  despite  his  impaired  position,  he 
knew  well  how  to  do  that  which  he  had  judged  im- 


possible some  days  before,  and  thus  he  gave  to 
himself  the  finest  of  contradictions. 

Kle'ber  countermanded  immediately  all  the  ordei-s 
he  had  previously  issued  to  the  araiy.  He  recalled 
to  Lower  Egypt,  as  far  as  Cairo,  a  part  of  the 
troops  which  had  already  descended  the  Nile  ;  he 
sent  up  his  ammunition  ;  he  pressed  the  division 
from  Upper  Egypt  to  rejoin  him,  and  to  signify 
to  the  grand  vizier  he  must  stay  his  march  upon 
Cairo,  unless  he  chose  to  commit  immediate  hos- 
tilities. The  grand  vizier  i-eplied  that  the  conven- 
tion of  El-Ari.sch  was  signed,  and  that  it  must  be 
executed  ;  that  in  consequence  he  should  advance 
upon  the  capital.  At  the  moment,  an  officer  with 
a  letter  from  lord  Keith  at  Minorca,  to  Kleber, 
was  received  at  head-quarters.  Among  other 
expressions  this  letter  contained  the  following 
passage  : — "  I  have  received  the  most  positive 
orders  from  his  Britannic  majesty  not  to  consent 
to  any  capitulation  with  the  army  which  you  com- 
mand, except  the  troops  lay  down  their  arms, 
surrender  themselves  prisoners  of  war,  and  give 
up  all  the  vessels  in  the  harbour  of  Alexandria." 

Kleber,  indignant,  had  this  letter  copied  into 
the  order  of  the  day,  adding  to  it  tlie  simple 
words  : — 

"  Soldiers,  to  such  insults  there  is  no  other  an- 
swer than  victory — prepare  for  action  !" 

This  noble  language  was  echoed  from  every 
breast.  His  situation  was  greatly  changed  since 
the  28th  of  January,  the  day  on  which  the  con- 
vention of  El-Arisch  was  signed.  Then  the  French 
possessed  all  the  fortified  positions  of  Egypt,  and 
governed  the  Egyptians,  who  were  quiet  and  sub- 
missive ;  the  grand  vizier  was  on  the  other  side 
of  the  desert.  Now,  on  the  contrary,  the  more 
important  posts  had  been  given  up,  and  the  plain 
was  all  that  was  in  the  possession  of  the  French. 
The  population  was  everywhere  awake;  the  people 
of  Cairo,  excited  by  the  presence  of  the  gi'and 
viziei',  who  was  within  five  hours'  march,  only 
awaited  the  first  signal  to  revolt.  The  gloomy  picture 
drawn  by  the  council  of  war  in  the  treaty  of  El- 
Arisch  had  been  debated:  the  picture,  false  then, 
was  now  rigorously  correct.  The  French  army 
was  about  to  combat  in  the  plains  of  the  Nile,  with 
the  vizier  in  front  having  eighty  thousand  men; 
and  in  the  rear,  Cairo  with  three  hundred  thousand 
ready  to  rise  ;  and  it  was  without  fear. — Glorious 
reparation  of  a  great  error  ! 

The  agents  of  sir  Sidney  Smith  had  hastened 
up  to  interpo.se  between  the  French  and  the  Turks, 
and  to  propose  new  terms  of  accommodation. 
Letters  were  written  to  London,  and  when  the 
convention  of  El-Arisch  was  known  there  it  would 
certainly  be  i-atificd  ;  in  this  situation  it  would  be 
right  to  suspend  hostilities  and  wait.  The  grand 
vizier  and  Kleber  consented,  but  on  conditions 
that  could  not  be  admitted.  The  grand  vizier 
insisted  on  the  delivery  of  Cairo  ;  Kldber,  on  the 
other  hand,  would  have  the  vizier  fall  back  even 
to  the  frontier.  In  such  a  state  of  things,  to  fight 
was  alone  the  alternative. 

On  the  20th  of  March,  1800,  or  29th  Vent6,se, 
in  the  year  viii.,  before  break  of  day,  the  French 
army  left  Cairo,  and  formed  in  the  rich  plains 
which  border  the  Nile,  having  that  river  on  the 
left,  the  desert  on  the  right,  and  in  front,  but  afar 
off",  the  ruins  of  ancient  Heliopolis.      The  night, 


1800. 
March. 


Arrangement  of  the  French  army. 
KJeber  addresses  the  soldiers  and 
attacks  the  Turks. 


HELIOPOLIS. 


Battle  of  Heliopolis.— Village 
of  El-Matarieh  taken  by 
the  Frecch. 


almost  luminous  in  that  climate,  facilitated  the 
manoeuvres,  without  rendering  them  distinctly 
visible  to  the  enemy.  The  army  was  formed  into 
four  squares ;  two  on  the  left  under  general 
Rejaiicr,  and  two  on  the  right  under  general 
Friant.  They  were  each  composed  of  two  denii- 
brigades  of  infantry  ranged  in  several  lines.  At 
the  angles  and  outside  were  companies  of  gre- 
nadiers with  their  backs  to  the  squares,  serving 
to  reinforce  them  during  the  march,  or  under 
charges  of  cavalry,  and  detaching  themselves  to 
go  to  the  attack  of  positions  where  the  enemy 
attempted  to  make  a  stand.  In  the  centre  of  tho 
line  of  battle,  that  is,  between  the  two  squares  of 
the  left  and  the  two  squares  of  the  right,  the 
cavalry  was  disposed  in  a  dense  mass,  having  light 
artillery  on  the  wings.  At  some  distance  in  tlie 
rear  and  on  the  left,  a  fifth  square,  less  than  the 
others,  was  designed  to  serve  as  a  reserve.  The 
number  of  troops  which  Kieber  had  been  able  to 
collect  in  the  plain  of  Heliopolis  was  about  ten 
thousand.     They  were  firm  and  tranquil. 

Day  began  to  break  ;  Kle'ber,  who  since  he  had 
been  connnander-ia-chief,  had  displayed  a  species 
of  magnificence  in  order  to  impose  upon  the  Egyp- 
tians, was  dressed  in  a  rich  uniform.  Mounted 
upon  a  lofty  horse,  he  showed  to  his  soldiers  that 
noble  figure  which  they  were  so  fond  of  beholding, 
and  the  bold  beauty  of  which  filled  them  with 
confidence.  "  My  friends,"  said  he,  riding  through 
their  ranks,  "  you  possess  in  Egypt  no  more  gi'ound 
than  is  under  your  feet.  If  you  recoil  a  single 
step  you  are  lost."  The  greatest  enthusiasm  every 
where  greeted  his  appearance  and  address.  As 
soon  as  it  was  day  he  gave  the  order  to  march. 

Only  a  part  of  the  grand  army  of  the  Turks  was 
in  sight.  On  the  plain  of  the  Nile,  which  extended 
before  the  French,  was  seen  the  village  of  El- 
Matarieh,  which  the  Turks  had  entrenched.  An 
ad vanceil  guard  of  five  or  six  thousand  janissaries 
was  there,  good  soldiers,  escorted  by  several  thou- 
Siind  horse.  A  little  beyond,  another  body  of  the 
enemy  appeared,  as  if  about  to  glide  between  the 
river  and  the  left  wing  of  the  French,  in  order  to  go 
and  obtain  the  revolt  of  Cairo  in  the  rear.  In  front, 
but  much  further  off,  the  ruins  of  ancient  Helio- 
polis, a  wood  of  palms,  and  considerable  unevcn- 
ness  of  the  ground,  hid  the  main  body  of  the 
Turkish  army  from  the  view  of  the  French  soldiers. 
The  total  number  of  all  these  forces,  including 
the  principal  body,  the  corps  placed  at  Pjl-Matarieh, 
and  the  detachment  marching  to  penetrate  into 
Cairo,  might  be  estimated  at  seventy  or  eighty 
tiiousand  men. 

Kldber  ordered  first  a  squadron  of  mounted 
guides  to  charge  the  detachment  manoeuvring  on 
his  left  for  the  purpose  of  entering  into  Cairo.  The 
guides  dashed  up  at  a  gallop  upon  this  confused 
mass.  The  Turks,  who  never  fear  cavalry,  received 
and  returned  the  charge.  They  completely  sur- 
rounded the  French  horse,  which  was  in  danger  of 
being  cut  to  pieces,  when  Kldber  sent  the  22iid 
regiment  of  ciiaHseurs,  and  the  14th  dragoons  to 
their  aid,  who  charging  the  close  mass  that  sur- 
rounded the  guides,  dispersed  them  with  the  sabre, 
and  put  them  tc  Hight.  The  Turks  then  retired 
out  of  view. 

This  being  done,  KliJbcr  hastened  to  attack  the 
entrenched    village    of    El-Matarieh,    before    the 


larger  part  of  the  enemy's  army  had  time  to  ar- 
rive, and  committed  this  duty  to  general  Reynier, 
with  the  two  squares  on  the  left;  he  himself,  to  make 
a  diversion,  taking  up  a  position  between  El-Mata- 
rieh and  Heliopolis,  in  order  to  hinder  the  Turk- 
ish army  from  succouring  the  attacked  position. 

Reynier  arrived  at  El-Matarieh,  detached  the 
companies  of  grenadiers  that  doubled  the  angles  of 
the  squares  and  ordered  them  to  storm  the  village. 
Tlie  companies  advanced  in  two  small  cohnnns. 
The  brave  janissaries  w-ould  not  wait  for  them, 
but  marched  out  to  the  encounter.  The  grenadiers 
received  them  firmly,  gave  them  a  discharge  of 
musketry  when  almost  close  to  the  ends  of  their 
j)ieues,  and  brought  down  a  great  number,  after 
which  they  charged  them  with  fixed  bayonets. 
While  the  first  column  was  attacking  the  janis- 
saries in  front,  the  second  took  them  in  flank,  and 
completed  their  rout.  Then  the  two  columns  re- 
united, attacked  El-Matarieh,  amidst  a  hail  shower 
of  balls,  rushed  on  the  Turks  who  resisted,  with 
the  bayonet,  and  after  a  great  slaughter  of  them  i*e- 
mained  masters  of  the  position.  The  Turks,  flying 
to  the  plain  and  joining  those  whom  the  guides, 
chasseurs,  and  dragoons  had  just  before  dispersed, 
they  fled  in  confusion  towards  Cairo,  under  the  order 
of  Nassif  Pacha,  the  lieutenant  of  tlie  grand  vizier. 

The  village  of  El-Matarieh,  full  of  oriental  spoils, 
was  a  rich  booty  for  the  French  soldiers.  But  they 
could  not  stay  tliere ;  the  generals  and  soldiers  both 
knew  too  well  how  important  it  was  not  to  be  sur- 
prised in  the  midst  of  a  mass  of  Turkish  troops. 
The  army,  resuming  by  degrees  the  order  observed 
in  the  morning,  advanced  upon  the  plain,  always 
formed  in  squares,  with  the  cavalry  between.  It 
passed  the  ruins  of  Heliopolis,  and  saw  beyond 
them  a  cloud  of  dust  ascending  in  the  horizon,  and 
moving  i-apidly  onwards.  On  the  left  the  village  of 
Seriaqous  appeared ;  on  the  right,  amid  a  grove  of 
palms,  the  village  of  El-Merg,  situated  on  the  shores 
of  a  little  lake,  called  the  Lake  of  the  Pilgrims.  A 
slight  elevation  of  ground  ran  from  one  of  these  vil- 
lages to  the  other.  All  at  once  the  moving  cloud 
of  dust  stopped;  then  it  was  dispersed  by  the  wind, 
and  the  Turkish  army  was  seen  forming  a  long  float- 
ing line  from  Seriaqous  to  El-Merg.  Placed  on  more 
elevated  ground,  it  commanded,  in  a  slight  degree, 
the  ground  upon  which  the  French  troops  were 
formed.  Kldber  then  gave  tho  order  to  advance. 
Reynier,  with  the  two  squares  on  the  left,  marched 
towards  Seria<ious.  Friant,  with  the  two  columns 
on  the  right,  directed  himself  upon  ?:i-Merg.  The 
enemy  had  scattered  abroad,  in  advance  of  the 
palm-trees  on  the  shore  of  the  lake,  a  good  number 
of  tirailleurs.  But  a  combat  with  tirailleurs  could 
scarcely  be  successful  against  the  French  soldiera 
o|)posed  to  them.  Friant  sent  out  some  companies 
of  light-infantry,  which  soon  made  the  Turks,  thus 
detached,  re-enter  into  the  confused  mass  of  their 
army.  The  grand  vizier  was  there  in  the  midst  of 
a  tnjop  of  horsemen,  whose  arms  glittered  brilliantly 
in  the  sun.  Some  shells  soon  dispersed  this  group. 
The  enemy  moved  forward  his  artillery  in  the  way  of 
reply  ;  but  his  bulhts,  ill-directid,  passed  over  the 
heads  of  the  French  soldiers.  His  guns  wore  soon 
dismounted  by  those  of  the  French,  and  rendered 
useless.  The  thousand  colours  of  the  Turkish  army 
were  then  seen  waving  in  the  air.  A  part  of  liis  scjua- 
dron  d:ished  out  of  i;i-Merg,  iijyon  the  squares  of 
K 


General  attack. — Grand 


Conduct  of  Murad  Bey.  ,.»» 
zier  put  t..  fliglu.-SmaU  THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.  -Kleber  marches  to  j^i^^^- 
loss  of  the  French.  ■""" — 


Friant's  division.  Tlie  deep  openings  in  the  ground, 
the  common  effect  of  a  hot  sun  upon  a  soil  a  good 
while  inundated,  fortunately  retarded  the  impe- 
tuosity of  the  horses.  General  Friant,  suffering 
the  Turkish  horse  to  arrive  pretty  near,  ordered  a 
fire  of  grape  shot  to  be  suddenly  opened  upon  them 
us  they  advanced  nearly  to  the  mouths  of  the  guns, 
and  overturned  them  by  hundreds.  They  then 
retired  in  disorder. 

This  was  but  a  prelude  to  a  general  attack. 
The  Turkisli  army  was  visibly  preparing  for  it. 
The  French  squares  awaited  it  witli  firmness,  two 
on  the  right,  and  two  on  the  left;  the  cavalry  be- 
tween facing  both  to  the  front  and  rear,  and  co- 
vered by  two  lines  of  artillery.  At  the  signal  given 
by  the  grand  vizier,  the  mass  of  the  Turkish  ca- 
valry moved  forward  togeth.er,  rushed  upon  the 
French  squares,  opened  out  upon  their  wings, 
turned  them,  and  soon  surrounded  the  four  fronts 
of  the  French  order  of  battle.  The  French  infan- 
try, whom  the  cries,  the  movement,  and  the  tumult 
of  the  Turkish  horse  did  not  at  all  trouble,  remained 
calm,  with  bayonets  at  the  charge,  continuing  a 
well-directed  fire.  In  vain  those  thousand  groups 
of  horse  wheeltd  round  it ;  tliey  fell  und^r  the 
grape-shot  and  balls,  seldom  arriving  as  far  as  the 
bayonets,  expiring  at  the  feet  of  the  infantry,  or 
turning  and  flying,  never  more  to  appear. 

After  a  protracted  and  frightful  confusion,  tlie 
heavens,  before  obscured  by  the  smoke  and  dust, 
became  clear  ;  tlie  sun  came  forth,  and  the  vic- 
torious French  saw  before  them  amass  of  men  and 
horses  dead  and  dying,  and  at  a  distance,  as  far  as 
the  view  could  e.xtend,  bauds  of  fugitives  ruumng 
away  in  all  directions. 

The  main  body  of  the  Turks  retreated  towards 
El-Kanquali,  where  they  had  encamped  on  the 
preceding  night  upon  the  road  to  Lower  Egypt.  A 
few  groups  only  joined  the  detachments,  which  in 
the  morning  were  directed  upon  Cairo,  led  by 
Nassif  Pacha,  the  lieutenant  of  the  grand  vizier. 

Kleber  would  not  allow  the  enem}'  the  least  rest. 
His  squares,  preserving  the  order  of  battle,  crossed 
the  plain  at  a  rapid  pace.  Passing  Seriaqous  and 
El-Merg,  they  advanced  as  far  as  El-Kanquah, 
where  they  arrived  at  night ;  the  enemy  seeing 
himself  pursued,  fled  again  in  disorder,  leaving  the 
French  army  the  baguage  and  the  provisious,  of 
which  it  had  great  need. 

Thus,  in  (he  plain  of  Heliopolis,  ten  thousand 
soldiers,  by  the  ascendancy  of  discipline  and  calm 
courage,  dispersed  seventy  or  eighty  thousand  ene- 
mies. But  to  obtain  a  more  important  result  than 
that  already  gained  in  the  few  thousands  killed  and 
wounded,  it  was  necessary  to  pursue  the  Turks,  to 
drive  them  into  the  desert,  and  leave  them  to 
perish  there  by  hunger,  thirst,  and  the  swords  of 
the  Arabs.  Kleber,  therefore,  allowed  the  army  a 
little  repose,  and  then  gave  orders  for  the  pursuit 
on  the  following  day. 

There  were  scarcely  more  than  two  or  three 
hundred  French  killed  and  wounded,  for  in  such  a 
species  of  contest,  soldiers  in  a  square,  preserving 
themselves  unbroken,  sustain  little  loss.  Kleber, 
hearing  cannon  in  the  direction  of  Cairo,  had  no 
doubt  that  the  corps  which  had  turned  his  left, 
Jiad  gone  to  second  the  revolt  of  that  city.  Nassif 
pacha,  lieutenant  of  the  vizier,  and  Ibrahim  Bey, 
one    of  the   two    Mameluke    chiefs,   had   in    fact 


Belbeis. 

entered  it,  with  two  thousand  Mamelukes,  eight  or 
ten  thousand  Turkish  horse,  and  some  of  the  re- 
volted villagers  of  the  vicinity,  in  all  about  twenty 
thousand  men.  Kle'b  r  had  left  scarcely  two  thou- 
sand men  in  this  large  capital,  divided  between  the 
citadel  and  the  forts.  He  ordered  general  Lagrange 
to  go  off  at  midnight  with  four  battalions  to  their 
aid.  He  directed  the  officers  of  the  troops  left  in 
Caii^  to  occupy  strong  jxiints,  and  keep  up  com- 
munications with  each  other,  but  not  to  attempt 
any  decisive  attack  before  his  return.  He  feared 
some  false  manoeuvre  might  take  place  on  their 
part,  that  would  uselessly  compromise  the  lives  of 
soldiers,  every  day  becoming  more  valuable  now 
they  were  condemned  to  remain  in  Egypt. 

During  the  whole  time  of  the  battle,  Murad  Bey, 
who  had  formerly  partaken  with  Ibrahim  Bey  in 
the  government  of  Egypt,  and  was  distinguished 
from  his  colleague  by  bis  brilliant  courage,  chival- 
rous generosity,  and  much  intelligence,  remained 
on  the  wings  of  the  Turkish  army,  immoveable,  at 
the  head  of  six  hundred  superb  horsemen.  The  bat- 
tle over,  he  rushed  into  the  desert  and  disappeared. 
It  was  in  consequence  of  a  promise  given  to  Kle'ber 
that  he  thus  behaved.  Mm'ad  Bey  had  arrived  at 
the  liead-qnarters  of  the  vizier,  and  discovered,  still 
prevalent,  the  old  jealousy  which  had  so  long  di- 
vided the  Turks  and  Mamelukes.  Murad  soon  saw 
that  the  Turks  desired  to  recover  Egypt,  not  to 
return  it  to  the  Mamelukes,  but  to  possess  it  them- 
selves. He  then  thought  of  making  terms  with  the 
French,  in  tlie  view  of  becoming  their  ally  if  they 
were  successful,  or  of  succeeding  them  if  they  were 
vanquished.  Still,  he  acted  wiih  great  circumspec- 
tion ;  he  would  not  declare  until  hostilities  were 
definitively  renewed,  and  promised  Kleber  tliat 
after  the  first  battle  he  would  ally  himself  with  the 
French.  The  battle  was  fought, and  proved  glorious 
for  the  French,  and  his  regard  towards  them  could 
not  but  be  much  augmented  by  it.  There  was  reason 
to  hoi)e  that,  after  a  few  days  were  elapsed,  he 
would  declare  his  alliance. 

At  the  hour  of  midnight  following  the  battle, 
after  a  few  hours  of  rest  to  the  troops,  Kldbcr  beat 
the  rece'dle,  and  marched  upon  Belbe'is,  in  order  to 
allow  the  Turks  no  rest.  He  arrived  there  at  an 
early  hoin*  in  the  day.  It  was  the  21st  of  March, 
or  30tli  of  Vent6.se.  The  vizier  had  already  in  liis 
rapid  flight,  passed  Belbe'is.  He  had  left  in  the 
fort  and  town  a  body  of  infantry,  and  in  the  plain 
a  thousand  horse.  On  the  approach  of  Kleber's 
army  the  horse  fled.  The  Turks  were  driven  out  of 
the  town,  but  they  shut  themselves  in  the  fort, 
where,  after  the  exchange  of  a  few  cannon-shot, 
want  of  water,  and  the  fear  of  being  stormed,  in- 
duced them  to  surrender.  The  fanaticism  of  some 
of  them  was  so  great  that  they  chose  rather  to  be 
put  to  death  than  give  up  their  arms.  In  the  mean- 
time the  cavalry  of  general  Leclerc,  scouring  the 
plain,  fell  in  with  a  long  caravan  of  camels  niarch- 
if)g  towards  Cairo,  and  carrying  the  baggage  of 
Nassif  I'aclia  and  Ibrahim  Bey.  This  capture 
revealed  more  fully  to  Kldber  the  real  object  of 
the  Turks,  which  consisted  in  raising  an  insurrec- 
tion, not  only  in  the  capital,  but  in  the  large  cities 
of  Egypt.  Thus  aware  of  the  design,  and  discover- 
ing that  the  Turkish  army  made  no  resistance  any 
where,  Kle'ber  detached  five  battalions  upcm  Cairo, 
under  general  Friant,  to  sui)port  the  four  batta- 


1800. 
March. 


Kl^ber  pursues  the  vizier  to  the 
desert.— Capture  of  the  Turk- 


HELIOrOLTS. 


Immense  spoils. — Kleber's 
arrangements  after  the 
victor'-. 


lions  sent  off  on  tlie  jirecedinc;  evening,  fi'oni  El- 
Kanquah,  under  the  orders  of  general  Lagrange. 

On  the  following  day,  the  22nd  of  March,  or  1st 
of  Germinal,  Kleber  manhed  upon  Salahieh.  Gene- 
ral Reynier  preceded  him  at  the  Jiead  of  the  left 
division  ;  he  himself  marching  after  at  the  head 
of  the  guides  and  the  7ih  iiiiss;u"s;  last  of  all  came 
g-^neral  Belliard  with  his  brigade,  the  remainder 
of  Friant's  division.  During  tiie  march  a  message 
was  received  from  the  graml  vizier,  offering  to 
negotiate,  but  a  positive  refusal  was  returned. 
On  arriving  at  Koraim,  about  half-way  to  Salahieh, 
a  cannonade  was  heard,  and  soon  afterwards  the 
division  of  Reynier  was  seen  formed  in  a  square, 
and  in  combat  with  a  multitude  of  horse.  Kle'ber 
sent  an  order  to  Belliard  to  hasten  forward,  while 
with  the  cavalry  he  .set  out  in  all  speed  towards 
Reynier's  square.  At  the  sight  of  Kle'ber  and  his 
horse,  the  Turks,  who  were  nuich  more  partial  to 
a  conflict  with  the  French  cavalry  than  with  the 
iulantry,  attacked  the  guides  and  V'li  hussars. 
They  charged  them  so  suddenly  that  the  light  ar- 
tillery had  not  time  to  place  itself  in  battery.  The 
gonuer-drivers  were  sabroil  on  the  guns.  Kleber 
with  the  guides  and  the  hussars  found  themselves 
on  the  instant  in  great  danger;  particularly  when 
tin;  inhabitants  of  Koraim,  believing  that  so  few 
French  must  be  destroye  1,  hastened  out  with 
scythes  and  pitchforks  to  finish  them.  But  Reynier 
sent  the  14th  drag<ions  to  their  assistance  imme- 
diately, who  disengaged  Kleber  in  time.  Belliard, 
who  had  quickened  his  pace,  arrived  witli  his 
infantry  directly  afterwards,  and  cut  some  hundred 
men  to  pieces. 

KIdber,  desirous  to  reach  Salahieh,  hastened  his 
march,  delaying  until  his  return  the  pimishment 
of  Koraim.  The  heat  of  the  d;iy  was  insufferable; 
the  wind  blew  from  the  desert,  and  they  respired 
with  the  burning  air  a  fine  ])enetratiug  dust. 
H  irses  and  men  were  overcome  with  fatigue. 
Tiiey  arrived  at  Sahihieh  at  the  close  of  day. 
They  were  now  on  the  frontier  of  Egypt  itself, 
at  the  entrance  u|)on  the  desert  of  Syria ;  and  here 
Kle'ber  expected,  the  next  morning,  a  last  conflict 
with  the  grand  vizier.  But  on  the  following  day 
early,  being  the  SSrd  of  March,  or  2J  of  Germinal, 
the  inhabitants  of  Salaiiieii  came  to  meet  him,  and 
from  them  he  learned  that  the  grand  vizier  was  con- 
tinuing his  flight  in  great  disorder.  KitJber  hastened 
onwards,  and  saw  himself  the  proof  how  nnicli  he 
liad  exaggerated  the  danger  of  a  Tinkish  army. 

The  grand  vizier,  taking  with  him  Ave  hundred 
of  his  best  horse,  had  plungi-d  with  some  baggage 
int.)  the  desert.  The  rest  of  his  army  had  fled  in 
every  direction  ;  one  part  fled  towards  the  Delta  ; 
another  asked  quarter  on  its  knees  at  S.tlahieh  ; 
another  i)art,  seeking  an  asyhnn  in  the  desert, 
p<'rislied  under  tlie  Kal)res  of  the  Arabs.  These 
ii.iviiig  conveycil  the  Tin-kish  army  to  the  frontiers 
of  Mgypt,  remained  there,  knowing  that  one  party 
or  the  other  must  be  van(|uished,  and  from  that 
party  booty  minht  be  obUiined.  They  Inid  judgeil 
correctly;  and  finding  tlie  Turkish  army  c(mi|)lelely 
demoralized  and  iricapalilc  of  defending  itself,  even 
against  them,  they  butchered  the  fii;;itiveH  for  the 
nakc  of  pillaging  them.  At  the  moment  of  Kleber's 
arrival,  they  had  come  ilown  upon  tlio  vizier's 
deserted  camp  like  so  many  birds  of  prey.  At  the 
Bight  of  the  French  they  flew  off  on  their  swift 


horses,  and  left  an  abundance  of  plunder  for  the 
French  soldiers.  Here,  in  the  midst  of  an  en- 
trenched camp,  covering  a  square  league,  were  a 
vast  quantity  of  tents,  saddles,  harness  of  all  kinds, 
f(n-ty  thousand  horseshoes,  i)rovisions  in  plenty, 
rich  garments,  boxes  already  broken  open  by  the 
Arabs,  but  full  of  perfumes,  of  aloes,  silk  stuffs, 
and  all  the  objects  which  contribute  to  the  glitter- 
ing and  barbarous  luxuries  of  oriental  armies.  At 
the  side  of  twelve  litters  of  wood,  carved  and 
gilded,  was  foimd  a  can-iage  hung  ui)on  springs, 
in  the  European  mode,  and  of  English  manufac- 
ture; and  j)ieces  of  cannon  with  the  motto,  "  Honi 
soit  qui  null  y  pense:"  a.  certain  evidence  of  the 
very  active  intervention  of  tlie  English  in  the  war. 

The  soldiers,  who  had  brouglit  nothing  with 
them,  found  in  the  Turkish  camp  ])rovisions,  am- 
nnmiiion,  a  rich  booty,  and  some  things,  the 
singularity  of  which  made  them  laugh,  as  they 
were  always  dis])ose<l  to  do  after  a  short  period  of 
dejection.  Strange  power  of  the  mind  upon  men! 
To-day  victorious,  they  no  longer  wished  to  quit 
r>gypt ;  for  they  no  longer  thought  themselves  con- 
demned to  perish  in  afar-distant  banishment. 

When  Kle'ber  had  witnessed  himself  the  utter 
disapjiearance  of  the  Turkish  army,  he  determined 
to  return  and  bring  back  to  obedience  the  towns 
of  Lower  Egypt,  and  more  particularly  Cairo. 
Ho  then  made  the  following  dispositions  :  Generals 
Rainpon  and  Lanusse  were  ordered  to  scour  the 
Delta.  Rampon  to  march  upon  the  important  town 
of  Damietta,  which  was  in  the  power  of  the  Tin-ks, 
and  to  retake  it.  Lanusse  was  to  keep  up  a  com- 
munication with  Riimpon,  to  sweep  the  Delta  from 
the  city  of  Damietta  as  far  as  Alexandria,  and  to 
reduce  successively  the  revolted  villages.  Belliard 
was  to  support  tliese  operations  generally  ;  was 
more  especially  to  second  R;impon  in  his  attack 
upon  Damietta,,  and  to  retake  the  fort  of  Lesbeh 
himself,  connnanding  one  of  the  mouths  of  the 
Nile.  Kle'ber  left  Reynier  at  Salahieh  to  prevent 
the  return  of  the  wrecks  of  the  grand  vizier's 
army,  gone  into  the  Syrian  desert.  He  was  to 
remain  on  the  frontier  in  observation,  until  the 
Arabs  had  finished  the  dispersinu  of  the  Turks, 
and  then  to  return  to  Cairo.  Kleber  liim.self  de- 
parted the  next  day,  the  24th  of  March,  or  3rd  of 
Germinal,  with  the  JifSth  denii-hrigade,  two  com- 
panies of  grenadiers,  the  7tl>  hussars,  and  the  3rd 
anil  1 4th  dragoons. 

Kl(5ber  arrived  at  Cairo  on  the  27th  of  March. 
Serious  events  had  occurred  there  since  his  de- 
parture. The  population  of  this  largo  city,  num- 
bering nearly  three  hundred  thousand,  fickle,  pas- 
sionate, prone  to  change,  as  every  nudtitude  is 
fi)und  to  be,  had  given  way  to  tin;  suggestions  of 
the  Turkish  emissaries,  and  attacked  the  French 
:is  soon  as  they  hisard  the  caimon  of  Heliopolis. 
Ruiming  without  the  walls  of  the  city  during  the 
battle,  and  seeing  Nassif  Tacha  and  Ibrahim  Bey 
with  some  thousand  horse  and  janissaries,  they 
thought  them  the  conquerors.  Careful  not  to  un- 
deceive the  people,  the  Turks  asserted,  on  the  con- 
trary, that  the  French  were  exterminated,  and 
that  the  grand  vizier  had  obtained  a  com|)letc 
victory.  At  this  news  fifty  thousand  men  had 
risen  at  Cairo,  Boulaq,  and  Gyzeh.  Armed  with 
sabres,  lances,  and  old  nniskets,  they  proposed  to 
put  to  death  all  the  French  that  remained  among 
k2 


Massacres   in  Cairo.  —  The  Kleber's  return  to  Cairo.       ,„„. 

132      Turks' attack  on  the  head-     THIERS'   CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE,  Pmdent  measures  to  sup-   w^°"°- 


quarters  repulsed. 


;  insurrection. 


them.  But  two  thousand  men,  entrenched  in  the 
citadel  and  the  forts  which  commanded  the  city, 
supplied  with  provisions  and  ammunition,  offered 
a  resistance  difficult  to  overcome.  Having  nearly 
all  fallen  back  iu  good  time,  they  had  succeeded  in 
shutting  themselves  up  in  the  fortified  places. 
Some  had  run  great  hazards ;  tliey  were  those 
who,  to  the  number  of  two  hundred  only,  composed 
the  guard  of  the  house  occupied  as  head-quarters. 
This  fine  house,  formerly  inhabited  by  Bonaparte, 
and  afterwards  by  Kleber,  and  the  principal  ad- 
ministratives,  was  situated  at  one  of  tlie  extremi- 
ties of  the  city.  On  one  side  it  looked  upon  the 
square  of  Ezbekyeh,  the  finest  in  Cairo,  and  on  the 
other,  u])on  the  gardens  that  were  backed  by  the 
Nile.  The  Tui'ks  and  the  populace  in  revolt 
wished  to  take  this  house,  and  to  kill  all  the  French 
who  occupied  it,  two  hundred  in  number.  This 
appeared  the  more  easy  to  do,  as  general  Verdier, 
who  was  in  the  citadel  at  the  other  end  of  the  city, 
could  not  come  to  their  assistance.  But  the  brave 
men  who  were  in  the  house,  as  much  by  a  well 
sustained  fire  as  by  bold  sallies,  defended  them- 
selves so  well,  that  they  kept  oft'  the  ferocious 
mob,  and  thus  gave  time  to  general  Lagrange  to 
arrive.  He  had  been  detached,  as  lias  been  seen, 
already  in  the  evening  from  the  field  of  battle  with 
four  battalions.  He  an-ived  at  noon  the  next  day, 
entered  by  the  gardens,  and  thenceforth  rendered 
the  head-quarters  impregnable. 

The  Turks,  having  no  means  to  overcome  the 
resistance  of  the  French,  revenged  themselves  upon 
such  unfortunate  Christians  as  were  at  hand. 
They  began  by  killing  a  part  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  European  quarter,  and  some  of  the  mercliants, 
pillaged  their  houses,  and  carried  off  their  wives 
and  daughters.  They  sought  out  those  of  the 
Arabs  who  were  accused  of  being  on  good  terms 
with  the  French,  and  of  having  drunk  wine  with 
them.  These  they  murdered,  and,  as  customary, 
rapine  succeeded  to  slaughter.  They  impaled  an 
Arab,  who  had  been  chief  of  the  janissaries  under 
tlie  French,  and  wlio  had  the  charge  of  the  police 
of  Cairo  ;  they  treated  in  the  same  manner  one 
who  had  been  secretary  of  the  divan  instituted  by 
Bonaparte.  From  thence  they  proceeded  to  the 
quarter  of  the  Copts.  These,  as  it  is  well-known, 
are  the  descendants  of  the  anc-ient  inhabitants  of 
Egypt,  and  have  persisted  in  Christianity,  in  spite 
of  all  the  Mussulman  governments  that  have  suc- 
ceeded each  other  in  this  country.  Their  wealth 
was  great,  arising  from  the  collection  of  tlie  imposts 
delegated  to  them  by  the  Mamelukes.  The  object 
was  t<j  punish  them  for  being  friends  of  the  French, 
but  more  than  all  to  plunder  their  houses.  Hap- 
pily for  the  Copts,  their  quarters  formed  the  left  of 
tlie  Place  Ezbekyeh,  and  adjoined  the  head  quar- 
ters. Their  chief  was  besides  both  rich  and  brave; 
he  defended  liimself  well,  and  succeeded  iu  saving 
them. 

In  tlie  midst  of  these  liorrors,  Nassif  Pacha  and 
Ibrahim  Bey  were  ashamed  at  what  they  did,  and 
suffered  to  be  done  by  others.  Tiiey  saw  lost,  with 
regret,  the  riches  which  would  have  been  tiieirs  if 
they  iiad  become  masters  of  Egypt.  But  they 
allowed  every  tiling  to  be  done  by  a  pojmlace  of 
which  they  were  no  longer  masters,  and  wished 
besides  by  those  massacres  to  continue  to  nourish 
a  hatred  of  the  Frencli. 


During  these  transactions  general  Friant  ar- 
rived, detached  from  Belbeis  ;  finally,  came  Kle'ber 
himself.  Both  entered  the  head-quarters  from 
the  gardens  of  the  house.  Although  victor  over 
the  army  of  the  vizier,  Kleber  had  a  serious  diffi- 
culty to  surmount  here,  in  conquering  an  immense 
city,  peopled  by  three  hundred  thousand  inhabitants, 
part  of  them  in  a  state  of  revolt,  and  occupied  by 
twenty  thousand  Turks.  Constructed  in  the  oriental 
style,  that  is  to  say  with  narrow  streets,  divided 
into  masses  of  buildings  that  were  real  fortresses, 
receiving  light  from  within,  .showing  nothing  ex- 
ternally but  high  solid  walls,  having  terraces  m 
place  of  roofs,  wlienee  the  insurgents  could  pour 
down  a  plunging  and  murderous  fire — to  all  this  it 
must  be  added,  that  except  the  citadel  and  Place 
Ezbekyeh,  the  Turks  wei-e  masters  of  all.  The 
latter  was  in  a  manner  blockaded,  the  streets  that 
ran  into  it  being  closed  up  by  the  Turks  witii 
crenelled  walls. 

The  French  had  only  two  modes  of  attack ; 
either  to  open  from  the  citadel  a  destructive  fire  of 
shells  and  shot  until  the  place  was  reduced,  or  to 
attack  by  the  Place  Ezbekyeh,  and  overturning  all 
the  barriers  raised  at  the  ends  of  the  streets,  to 
take  the  houses  one  and  one  by  assault.  The  first 
mode  would  cause  the  destruction  of  a  great  city, 
the  capital  of  the  country,  of  which  too  the  French 
had  need  for  the  supply  of  necessaries ;  the  second 
mode  exposed  them  to  the  risk  of  losing  more 
soldiers  than  in  ten  such  battles  as  that  on  the  plain 
of  Heliopolis. 

Here  Kle'ber  exhibited  as  much  prudence  as  he 
had  shown  energy  in  the  field.  He  resolved  to 
gain  time,  and  to  suffer  the  insurrection  to  exhaust 
itself.  He  had  sent  nearly  all  his  materiel  into 
Lower  Egypt,  believing  that  he  was  on  the  eve  of 
embarkation.  He  ordered  Reynier,  as  soon  as  the 
army  of  the  vizier  had  crossed  the  desert,  and 
Damietta  and  Le.sbeh  were  taken,  to  ascend  the 
Nile  with  his  entire  division,  and  the  stores  that 
were  wanted  at  Cairo.  In  the  interim  he  caused 
all  the  outlets,  by  which  Cairo  could  communicate 
with  the  country,  to  be  blocked  up.  Though  the 
insurgents  should  procure  provisions  by  pillaging 
the  Egyptian  houses,  commonly  well  supplied  with 
them  ;  though  they  forged  bullets  and  cast  cannon, 
it  was  impossible  they  should  not  soon  suffer  fi-om 
want.  They  could  not  be  long  so  unacquainted 
with  the  real  state  of  things  in  other  parts  of 
Egypt,  as  not  to  discover  that  the  French  were 
every  where  victorious,  and  the  army  of  the  vizier 
dispersed  ;  finally,  they  were  likely  to  have  differ- 
ences among  tliemselves  before  long,  because  their 
interests  were  opjjosite.  The  Turks  of  Nassif 
Pacha,  tlie  Mamelukes  of  Ibrahim  Bey,  and  the 
Arabs  of  Cairo,  could  not  long  be  in  accordance 
together.  For  all  these  reasons  Kleber  determined 
to  temporize  and  to  negotiate. 

While  he  thus  gained  time  he  completed  his 
treaty  of  alliance  with  Murad  Bey,  through  the 
agency  of  the  wife  of  that  Mameluke  prince,  who 
was  universally  respected,  endowed  with  beauty, 
and  a  superior  intellect.  He  granted  to  Murad 
the  province  of  Said,  under  the  sovereignty  of 
France,  on  condition  of  paying  a  tribute,  equal  in 
amount  to  a  good  part  of  the  taxes  of  that  province. 
Murad  Bey  engaged,  on  the  other  hand,  to  fight  for 
the  Fi-ench  ;  and  the  French  engaged,  in  case  of 


1800. 
April. 


Treaty  with  Murad-Bey. 
The  Turks  attacked 
the  Place  Ezbekyeh. 


IIELIOPOLIS. 


Assault  upon  Boulaq ;  afterwards 
upon  the  city. — Cairo  submits 
to  Kleber. 


evacuating  Egypt,  if  they  ever  should  do  so,  to 
facilitate  as  much  as  possible  his  occupation  of  tlie 
country.  Miirad  Bey,  as  will  bo  seen  hereafter, 
was  faithful  to  tlie  treaty  which  he  had  subscribed, 
and  began  by  driving  out  of  Upper  Egypt  a  Turkish 
corps,  wiiich  had  occupied  it. 

Through  Murad  Bey  and  the  sheiks,  who  were 
friends  of  France,  Kleber  opened  a  negotiation 
with  the  Turks  who  had  entered  Cairo.  Nassif 
Pacha  and  Ibrahim  Bey  began  to  fear  being  shut 
up  in  the  city,  and  treated  in  the  Turkish  mode. 
They  knew  besides  that  the  army  of  the  vizier  was 
completely  dispersed.  They  lent  themselves  with 
good  will  to  the  proposal  of  a  conference,  and  con- 
sented to  a  capitulation,  in  virtue  of  which  they 
were  to  be  permitted  to  retire  safe  and  sound. 
But  at  the  moment  when  the  capitulation  was  to 
be  concluded,  the  insurgents  in  Cairo,  seeing  them- 
selves left  to  the  vengeance  of  the  French,  were 
seized  with  terror  and  rage,  broke  off  the  parley, 
threatened  to  murder  those  who  should  abandon 
them,  and  gave  money  to  the  Turks  to  engage 
them  to  fight.  An  attack  by  main  force,  therefore, 
become  necessary  to  reduce  the  city  to  subjection. 

Lower  Egypt  having  returned  to  its  duty,  Rey- 
nier  had  ascended  to  Cairo  with  his  corps  and  a 
convoy  of  stores.  He  took  a  part  in  the  invest- 
ment of  the  works  of  Cairo  to  the  north  and  east, 
or  from  Fort  Camin  to  the  citadel.  General 
Friant  encamped  on  the  west  in  the  gardens  and 
house  of  the  commander-in-chief,  between  the  city 
and  the  Nile  ;  Le  Clerc's  cavalry  was  placed  be- 
tween the  divisions  of  Reynier  and  Friant,  scouring 
the  plains  ;  general  Verdier  occupied  the  south. 

On  the  3rd  and  4th  of  April  general  Friant 
began  the  first  attack,  directed  inmiediately  to  dis- 
engage the  Place  Ezbekyeh,  which  was  the  princi- 
pal inlet  for  the  French.  The  beginning  was  made 
at  the  Copt  tjuarter,  which  formed  the  left  of  the 
square.  The  troops  penetrated  with  the  greatest 
courage  into  the  streets  which  crossed  that  quarter 
in  every  direction,  while  several  detachments  blew 
up  the  iiouses  around  the  Place  Ezbekyeh,  in  order 
U)  make  openings  to  the  interior  of  the  city.  During 
this  operation  the  citadel  threw  some  shells  to  in- 
timidate the  population.  These  attacks  succeeded, 
and  made  the  French  masters  of  the  issues  of  all 
the  streets  which  terminated  in  the  Place  Ezbe- 
kyeh. On  the  following  days  an  eminence  near 
Fort  Sulkouski,  which  the  Turks  had  entrenched, 
cfimmanding  the  Copt  quarter,  was  taken.  Every 
disposition  was  now  made  for  a  general  simul- 
taneous attack.  Before  the  order  was  given, 
Kleber,  for  tlie  last  time,  sunmioned  the  insurgents 
to  surrender,  but  they  refused  to  listen  to  the 
offer.  Still  attaching  great  importance  to  the 
preservation  of  the  city,  which  besides  was  inno- 
cent of  the  crimes  committed  by  fanatics,  Kl(5ber 
determined  to  appeal  to  their  sight  by  means  of  a 
terrible  example.  He  ordered  Boulaq,  a  detached 
suburb  on  the  bank  of  the  Nile,  to  be  attacked. 

On  the  l.'jth  of  April,  or  25th  of  Germinal,  the 
division  of  Friant  encircled  Boulaq,  and  rained 
upon  that  miserable  Huburb  a  shower  of  shells  and 
shot.  Favoured  by  the  fire  the  soldiers  pusiied  on 
to  the  assault,  but  found,  on  the  jiart  of  tin;  in- 
habitants and  of  the  Turks,  a  very  obstinate 
resistance.  Every  street,  and  every  house,  became 
the  scene  of  an  obstinate   contest.      KltJber   sus- 


pended the  horrible  carnage  for  a  moment  in  order 
to  offer  pardon  to  the  insurgents;  but  his  offer  was 
repelled.  The  attack  was  renewed.  The  fire  Hew 
from  house  to  house,  and  Boulaq  in  a  blaze  im- 
parted a  double  horror  to  the  flames  and  the 
assault.  The  heads  of  the  population  then  threw 
themselves  at  Kl^ber's  feet  ;  he  stopped  the  ef- 
fusion of  blood,  and  saved  the  rest  of  that  unfor- 
tunate suburb.  It  was  the  quarter  where  the 
warehouses  of  the  merchants  were  situated,  and 
an  immense  quantity  of  goods  was  found  there ; 
the  goods  were  preserved  for  the  use  of  the  army. 

This  horrible  spectacle  had  been  seen  by  all  the 
populr.tion  of  Cairo.  Profiting  by  the  effect  which 
it  ought  to  produce,  Kleber  then  attacked  the 
capital  itself.  A  house  near  the  head-quarters, 
still  held  by  the  Turks,  had  been  undermined,  and 
the  Turks  and  insurgents  were  blown  into  the  air 
together.  This  was  the  signal  for  the  attack.  The 
troops  of  Friant  and  Belliard  assaulted  the  city  by 
all  the  inlets  from  the  Place  Ezbekyeh,  while  gene- 
ral Reynier  entered  at  the  north  and  east,  and 
general  Verdier  from  the  lofty  citadel  showered 
down  shells.  The  combat  was  obstinate.  The 
troops  of  Reynier  entered  by  the  gate  of  Bab-el- 
Cliaryeh,  at  the  extremity  of  the  grand  canal, 
and  driving  before  them  Ibrahim  Bey  and  Nassif 
Pacha,  who  defended  it,  crowded  them  both  up 
between  the  9th  demi-brigade,  which  had  pene- 
trated from  the  opposite  point,  and  had  driven 
back  all  they  encountered  in  their  victorious  march. 
The  French  corps  met  after  making  a  fearful 
carnage.  Night  parted  the  combatants.  Several 
thousand  Turks,  Mamelukes,  and  insurgents  had 
fallen ;  and  four  hmidred  houses  were  in  flames. 

This  was  the  last  attempt  made  at  resistance. 
The  inhabitants,  who  had  so  long  retained  the 
Turks,  now  conjured  them  to  leave  the  city  and 
give  them  the  opportunity  of  negotiating  with  the 
French.  KMber,  to  whom  these  scenes  of  slaughter 
were  repugnant,  and  who  wished  to  spare  his 
soldiers,  desired  nothing  more.  The  agents  of 
Murad  Bey  served  as  mediators.  The  treaty  was 
soon  concluded.  Nassif  Pacha  and  Ibrahim  Bey 
were  to  retire  into  Syria,  under  escort  of  a  de- 
tachment of  the  French  army.  They  obtained  no 
other  terms  than  that  their  lives  should  be  spared. 
They  quitted  Cairo  on  the  2oth  of  April,  or  5th  of 
Floreal,  leaving  to  the  mercy  of  the  French  the 
miserable  people  whom  they  had  stirred  up  to 
revolt. 

Thus  terminated  this  sanguinary  conflict,  which 
had  commenced  by  the  battle  of  lleliopolis,  on  the 
20th  of  March,  and  fini.shed  on  the  25th  of  April, 
by  the  departure  of  the  last  lieutenants  of  the 
vizier,  after  thirty-five  days  of  fighting,  between 
ten  thousand  French  on  one  side  and  the  whole 
jjower  of  the  Ottoman  empire  on  the  other,  seconded 
by  the  revolt  of  the  Egyptian  towns.  Great  faults 
caiLsed  this  revolt  and  provoked  this  horrible  ef- 
fusion of  blood.  If  the  French  had  not  put  on  the 
appearance  of  departure,  the  Egyptians  would  never 
have  dared  to  revolt.  The  contest  would  have 
been  limited  to  a  combat,  brilliant  indeed,  but 
little  beyond,  between  the  French  squares  and  the 
Turkish  cavalry.  But  a  commencement  of  the 
evacuation  raising  a  po[)ular  commotion  in  souie 
cities,  it  was  necessary  to  retake  them  by  an  as- 
sault, much  mori!  destructive  than  a  battle.     The 


All  the  cities  of  the  Delta  sub- 
134     "lit.     Kleber's  clemency. — 
Financial  arrangements. 


Conciliatory  measures.— A   ,_.. 
THIERS'  CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE.      yoiing  fanatic  resolves  to  ^»^^- 

assassinate  Kleber.  •^'"^"" 


faults  of  Kldber  must  be  forgotten  in  doing  honour 
to  his  fine  and  energetic  conduct.  He  had  imagined 
that  he  could  not  defend  Egyi>t,  when  peaceful  and 
subdued,  against  the  Turks,  and  he  had  made  the 
conquest  in  thirty-five  days,  against  the  Turks  and 
the  Egyptian  insurgents,  with  as  much  energy  as 
humanity  and  prudence. 

In  the  Delta  all  the  cities  were  in  complete  sub- 
mission. JIurad  By  had  driven  the  Turkish 
detachment  of  Dervish  Pacha  from  Upper  Egypt. 
Every  where  the  vanquished  trembled  before  tho 
victor,  and  expected  a  terrible  punishment.  Tho 
inhabitants  of  Cairo  particularly,  who  had  com- 
mitted frightful  cruelties  on  the  Arabs  attached 
to  the  French  service,  and  on  the  Christians  of  all 
nations— they  were  filled  with  terror.  Kleber  was 
humane  and  wise  ;  he  took  care  not  to  repay 
cruelty  with  cruelty.  He  knew  that  conquest  must 
be  odiims  to  evei'y  people,  and  could  only  become 
tolerable  in  the  view  of  those  upon  wliom  it  falls, 
at  the  price  of  good  government,  while  it  cannot 
become  legitimate  in  the  eyes  of  great  nations  but 
by  contributing  to  the  accomplishment  of  grand 
objects.  He  hastened  therefore  to  use  his  suc- 
cesses with  moderation.  The  Egyptians  were 
convinced  he  would  treat  them  with  severity. 
They  thought  tliat  the  loss  of  their  goods  and 
their  heads  could  alone  exjiiate  the  crime  of  their 
revolt.  Kieber  assembled  them  together,  exhibited 
a  severe  countenance  towards  them,  then  pardoning 
them,  satisfied  himself  by  imposing  a  contribution 
upon  the  insurgent  cities. 

Cairo  paid  10,000,000  f.,  not  an  onerous  burthen 
for  so  large  a  city,  the  inhabitants  regarding  them- 
selves lucky  to  get  off  so  well.  Eight  millions, 
besides,  were  imposed  upon  the  other  insurgent 
cities  of  Lower  Egypt. 

This  sum  immediately  paid  all  the  ari'ears  that 
were  due,  as  well  as  for  the  provisions  of  which 
the  army  had  need,  the  care  of  the  wounded,  and 
the  completion  of  the  fortifications  begun.  It  was 
a  precious  resource  until  the  system  of  taxation 
could  be  ameliorated  and  put  into  execution. 
Another  resource,  altogether  unexpected,  offered 
at  the  moment.  Sixty-six  Turkish  ships  had  en- 
tered the  ports  of  Egypt  to  transport  the  French 
army.  The  recent  hostilities  gave  the  French  the 
right  of  detaining  them.  Tliey  were  laden  with 
merchandize,  which  was  sold  to  the  profit  of  the 
military  chest.  From  these  different  sources  an 
abundance  of  every  thing  required  was  obtained, 
without  any  requisition  in  kind.  The  army  found 
itself  in  the  midst  of  plenty  ;  and  the  Egyptians, 
who  had  not  hoped  to  get  clear  so  easily,  submitted 
with  perfect  i-esignation.  The  army  was  proud  of 
its  successes,  confident  in  its  strength;  and  know- 
ing that  Bonaparte  was  at  the  head  of  the  govern- 
ment at  home,  did  not  doubt  that  he  would  soon 
come  to  their  succour.  Kleber  had  conquered, 
the  noblest  of  excuses  for  his  momentary  fault,  in 
the  fields  of  Hcliopolis. 

He  assembled  the  commissaries  of  the  army  and 
the  persons  best  acquainted  with  the  country,  and 
set  them  to  organize  the  finances  of  the  colony.  He 
gave  to  the  Copts,  to  whom  it  had  formerly  been 
confided,  the  collection  of  the  direct  contributions. 
He  imposed  new  duties  on  the  customs,  and  on 
articles  of  consumption.  The  total  of  the  revenue 
was  to  be  carried  to  25,000,000  f.   It  sufficed  for  all 


the  wants  of  the  army,  if  the  amount  did  not  exceed 
eighteen  or  twenty  million  francs.  He  admitted 
into  the  ranks  of  his  army,  Copts,  Syrians,  and  even 
blacks,  bought  in  Darfour,  whom  some  of  his  subal- 
tern officei's,  beginning  to  speak  the  language  of  the 
country,  commenced  to  teach  the  military  exercise. 
These  recxniits,  placed  in  the  more  reduced  regi- 
ments, fought  there  as  well  as  the  French,  at  whose 
sides  they  had  the  lionour  to  serve.  Kleber  ordered 
the  furts  round  Cairo  to  be  finished,  and  set  work- 
men upon  those  at  Lesbeh,  Damietta,  Buries,  and 
Rosetta,  situated  on  the  coast.  He  pushed  forward 
the  works  at  Alexandria  with  rapidity,  and  im- 
pressed fresh  activity  on  tlie  learned  researches 
of  the  Institution  of  Egypt.  Every  thing,  from  the 
cataracts  to  the  mouths  of  the  Nile,  assumed  the 
aspect  of  a  solid  and  durable  establishment.  For 
months  afterwards,  the  caravans  of  Syria,  Arabia, 
and  Darfour,  began  to  re-appear  at  Cairo,  where 
their  hospitable  reception  insured  their  return. 

If  Kle'ber  had  lived,  Egypt  would  have  been 
preserved  to  France,  at  least  until  the  day  of  her 
great  misfortunes.  But  a'  deplorable  event  took 
away  that  general  in  tlie  midst  of  his  exploits  and 
most  judicious  government. 

It  iynot  without  danger  that  the  great  principles 
of  human  nature  can  be  deeply  shaken.  The  en- 
tire of  Islamism  had  been  affected  by  the  presence 
of  the  French  in  Egypt.  The  sons  of  Mahomet 
had  experienced  somewhat  of  that  enthusiasm, 
which  in  old  time  aroused  them  against  the  cru- 
saders. On  every  side  was  heard,  as  in  the  twelfth 
century,  the  cries  of  a  holy  war  ;  and  there  were 
Mus.sulnian  devotees  who  vowed  to  accomplish  the 
"sacred  combat,"  which  consisted  in  killing  an  un- 
believer. In  Egypt,  where  the  French  were  seen 
more  closely,  where  their  humanity  was  duly  valued 
and  comprehended,  where  they  were  able  to  com- 
pare them  to  the  soldiers  of  the  Porte,  or  more 
particularly  to  the  Mamelukes  ;  in  Egypt,  finally, 
where  they  witnessed  their  respect  for  the  prophet, 
(a  respect  ordered  to  be  shown  by  Bonaparte,)  the 
aversion  towards  them  was  less;  and  when  at  a  later 
time  they  quitted  the  country,  fanaticism  had  al- 
ready sensibly  cooled.  There  were  perceived  in 
some  places,  during  the  last  insm-rectiou,  real  signs 
of  attachment  for  the  French  soldiers,  to  such  a 
degree  that  the  English  agents  were  surprised  at  it. 
But,  throughout  the  rest  of  the  east,  there  was 
only  one  thing  that  appeared  striking  to  all  the 
natives,  the  invasion,  by  infidels,  of  an  immense 
Mussulman  country. 

A  young  man,  a  native  of  Aleppo,  named  Sulie- 
man,  who  was  the  prey  to  great  fanaticism,  who 
had  made  journeys  from  Mecca  to  Medina,  who 
had  studied  at  the  mosque,  El-Azhar,  the  wealth- 
iest and  most  renowned  in  all  Cairo,  where  the 
Koran  and  Turkish  law  were  taught,  and  who 
wi.shed  to  join  the  body  of  doctors  of  the  faith, 
happened  to  be  wandering  in  Palestine  when  the 
remnant  of  the  grand  viziei-'s  army  passed  through 
that  country.  He  was  an  eye-witness  to  the  suffer- 
ings and  despair  of  those  of  his  own  religion,  and 
this  sight  strongly  affected  his  diseased  imagina- 
tion and  moved  his  sensibility.  The  aga  of  the 
janissaries,  who  saw  him  by  chance,  inflamed  his 
fanaticism  yet  more  by  his  own  suggestions.  This 
yoimg  man  offered  to  assassinate  "  the  French  sul- 
tan," general  Kleber.    They  furnished  him  with  a 


Kleber  assassinated.— Grief 
of  the  army — Menou  as- 
sumes the  command. 


HELIOPOLIS. 


Comparison  of  the  characters  of 
Kleber  and  Desaix. 


135 


dromedary,  and  a  sum  of  money  to  pay  his  journey. 
He  reached  Gaza,  crossed  the  desert,  came  to 
Cairo,  and  shut  himself  up  for  several  weeks  in  the 
great  mosque,  into  which  students  and  jjoor  tni- 
vellers  are  admitted  at  the  cost  of  that  religious 
foundation.  The  rich  mosques  are,  in  the  east, 
what  the  convents  formerly  were  in  Europe;  there 
are  found  prayer,  hospitality,  and  religious  instruc- 
tion. The  young  fanatic  disclosed  his  intention  to 
four  of  the  principal  sheiks  of  the  mosque,  who 
were  at  the  head  of  the  department  of  instruction. 
They  were  alarmed  at  his  determination,  and  the 
consequences  which  might  ensue;  they  told  hirn  that 
he  would  not  succeed,  that  he  would  occasion  great 
mischiefs  to  Egypt;  but  still  they  did  not  make  the 
French  authorities  acquainted  with  the  circumstance. 

When  this  wretch  was  fully  confirmed  in  his  re- 
solution, he  armed  himself  with  a  poignard,  fol- 
lowed Kleber  for  several  days,  and  not  being  able 
to  get  near  him,  conceived  the  design  of  ])enc- 
trating  into  the  garden  of  the  head-quarters,  there 
to  conceal  himself  behind  an  old  cistern.  On  the 
14th  of  June  he  suddenly  presented  himself  before 
Kleber,  who  was  walking  with  the  architect.  Pro- 
tain,  showing  him  what  re])airs  were  necessary  to 
be  done  to  the  house,  in  order  to  obliterate  the 
marks  left  by  the  bullets  and  shells.  He  approached 
close,  as  if  to  solicit  alms,  and,  while  Kle'ber  was  in 
the  act  of  listening  to  him,  he  rushed  upon  his  vic- 
tim and  plunged  the  poignard  several  times  into 
his  heart.  Kle'ber  sank  under  the  blows  The  archi- 
tect, Protain,  fell  upon  the  assassin  with  a  stick 
which  he  had  in  his  hand,  and  struck  him  vio- 
lently on  the  head,  tut  was,  in  his  turn,  struck 
down  by  a  stab  of  the  ])oignard.  At  the  cries  of 
Kleber  and  his  comp:inion,  the  soldiers  ran  to  the 
spot  and  i-aised  up  t!:uir  cxjuring  commander;  then 
searching,  found  tiie  assassin,  who  was  concealed 
behind  a  pile  of  r!.L)bish. 

In  a  few  minttes  after  this  tragic  scene  Kleljcr 
was  no  more.  The  army  shed  bitter  tears  over 
liim.  The  Arabs,  who  admired  his  clemency  to 
them  after  their  revolt,  united  their  regrets  with 
those  of  the  French  soldiery.  A  military  commis- 
sion was  instantly  formed  to  try  the  assassin,  who 
avowed  all.  lie  was  condemned  to  be  impaled, 
according  to  le  law  of  the  country.  The  four 
sheiks,  who  vere  in  his  confidence,  lost  their 
luads.  Til'  .se  sanguinary  .sacrifices  were  believed 
necessarj-  ;■.  in.surc  the  security  of  the  chiefs  of  the 
army.  Vain  precautions  !  In  Kleber  the  army 
had  lost  a  general,  and  the  colony  a  founder,  whom 
none  of  the  ofKcers  in  the  army  of  Egypt  coui<l 
replace.  With  Kl^er,  Egypt  was  lost  lor  France. 
Menou,  who  succeeded  him  in  tlic  order  of  se- 
niority, was  an  ardent  |)artiHyn  of  the  expedition  ; 
but,  in  spite  of  his  zeal,  he  was  alt<igether  below 
such  a  Uihk.  One  man  alone  could  eijual  Kleber, 
or  surpa.ss  liini,  in  the  government  of  Egypt;  he  had 
three  montliH  before  embarked  in  the  port  of 
Alexandria  to  reach  Italy,  and  he  fell  at  Marengo, 
the  sante  day,  and  nearly  at  the  same  insUint  that 
Kl(?ber  fell  at  Cairo— it  wii.s  Disaix  !  Both  died 
on  the  14th  of  June,  IKOO,  in  the  accomplishment 
of  the  va.st  designs  <.f  Bonaparte.  Singular,  in- 
deed, was  tlicfate  of  ihe.sc  two  men,  continually  side 
by  side  in  life,  mnlividc d  in  death,  and  yet  ho  very 
different  in  their  (jualitns  both  of  mind  and  body. 

KUber  was  the  fini.st  man  in  the  army.     His 


stature  lofty  and  commanding ;  Iiis  countenance 
noble,  and  expressive  of  the  pride  of  his  spirit ;  his 
courage  at  once  cool  and  intrepid ;  his  prompt  and 
sure  intelligence  making  him  on  the  batile-field 
the  most  formidable  of  commanders.  His  mind 
was  original  and  brilliant,  but  uncultivated.  He 
read  Quintus  Curtius  and  Plutarch  continually  and 
exclusively,  and  searched  for  the  food  of  great 
souls  in  the  history  of  the  heroes  of  antiquity.  He 
was  capricious,  indocile,  and  a  grumbler.  It  was 
said  of  him  that  he  W(  uld  neither  command  nor 
obey,  and  this  was  said  truly.  He  even  obeyed  the 
orders  of  Bonaparte  murmuringly.  He  sometimes 
commanded,  but  in  the  name  of  another,  under 
that  of  general  Jourdan,  for  exam |)le,  assuming  the 
command  by  a  species  of  inspiration  in  the  middle 
of  the  battle,  and  exercising  it  like  a  great  soldier  ; 
then,  after  the  victory,  resuming  liis  character  of 
lieutenant,  which  he  preferred  to  every  other.  He 
was  licentious  in  his  manner  and  language,  but  of 
strict  integrity  ;  disinterested,  as  men  were  in  his 
days,  before  the  conquest  of  the  world  had  cor- 
rupted their  characters. 

Desaix  was  in  every  respect  the  reverse  of 
Kle'ber.  Simple,  bashful,  even  a  little  awkward, 
he  had  not  the  aspect  of  a  soldier,  his  face  being 
hid  by  his  ample  head  of  hair.  Heroic  in  battle, 
kind  to  the  soldiers,  modest  among  his  companions, 
generous  to  the  vanquished,  he  was  adored  by  the 
army,  and  the  people  whom  he  had  subdued  by 
the  French  arms.  His  mind  was  solid,  and  had 
been  well  cultivated;  while  his  intelligence  in  war, 
his  disinterestedness,  and  his  attention  to  his  duties, 
made  him  the  accomplished  model  of  all  the  mili- 
tary virtues.  Kleber,  unsubmissive,  indocile,  could 
not  endure  a  superior  authority.  Desaix  was  as 
obedient  as  if  he  had  never  known  how  to  com- 
mand. Under  a  coarse  exterior,  he  concealed  an 
animated  soul,  very  susceptible  of  enthusiastic  feel- 
ing.s.  Although  brought  u])  in  the  severe  school 
of  the  army  of  the  Rhine,  he  felt  a  strong  admi- 
ration for  the  campaigns  of  Italy,  and  had  a  wish  to 
see  himself  the  fields  where  tlic  battles  of  Cas- 
tiglione,  Areola,  and  Rivoli  had  been  fought. 
While  ho  was  vi.siting  those  fii  Ids,  the  scenes  of 
immortal  glory,  he  fell  in  by  accident  with  the 
commander-in  chief  of  the  army  of  Italy,  who  .soon 
felt  a  strong  attachment  for  him.  What  an  honour- 
able homage  was  the  friendship  of  such  a  man  ! 
Bonajiarte  was  deeply  affected  by  it.  He  esteemed 
Kleber  for  great  military  talents;  but  he  jdaced  no 
one  eiiher  for  talent  or  character  on  a  level  with 
Desaix.  He  loved  him  besides;  in  that,  having 
around  him  companions  in  arms  who  had  not  yet 
pardoned  his  ascendancy,  though  they  affected 
towards  him  an  obsequious  sulimis-sion,  he  the 
more  valued  Desaix's  purt;  and  disinterested  de- 
votion, founded  upon  deep  admiration.  At  the  same 
lime  kee|>ing  secret  his  ])reference,  and  pretending 
ignorance  of  Kleber's  faults,  he  treated  both  him 
and  De.saix  alike,  and  wished,  as  will  be  seen  soon, 
to  join  in  the  Himc  honours  two  men,  whom 
fortune  had  mingled  in  one  common  destiny. 

For  the  rest,  every  thing  n  niained  frnnquil  in 
Eg\pt  after  Kldber'o  death.  (Jeneral  Meuou,  on 
taking  the  chief  conmiand,  despatched  the  OsinH 
from  Alexandria  with  all  »|.eid,  to  carry  to  France 
intelligence  of  the  flourishing  slate  of  the  colony, 
and  of  the  deplorable  end  of  its  second  founder. 


Chagrin  of  British  govern- 
i;3(j      ment   at  the   French  re- 
•  ig  Egypt. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Bonaparte's  regret  at       1800. 
Kleber's  death.  June. 


BOOK  VI. 


THE  ARMISTICE. 


VAST  PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  SUCCOUR  OF  THE  EGYPTIAN  ARMY. — ARRIVAL  OF  M.  ST.  JULIEN  IN  PARIS. — IMPA- 
TIENCE OF  THE  FRENCH  CABINET  TO  TREAT  WITH  HIM. — DESPITE  THE  INSUFFICIENT  POWERS  OF  M.  ST.  JULIEN, 
TALLEYRAND  INDUCES  HIM  TO  SIGN  PRELIMINARY  ARTICLES  OF  PEACE. — M.  JULIEN  SIGNS  THEM,  AND  SETS 
OFF  WITH  DUROC  FOR  VIENNA.— STATE  OF  PRUSSIA  AND  RUSSIA. — ADROIT  EXPEDIENT  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL 
IN  REGARD  TO  THE  EMPEROR  PAUL.— HE  SENDS  SIX  THOUSAND  RUSSIAN  PRISONERS  BACK  WITHOUT  RANSOM, 
AND  OFFERS  HIM  THE  ISLAND  OF  MALTA.— ENTHUSIASM  OF  THE  EMPEROR  PAUL  FOR  BONAPARTE,  AND  MIS- 
SION GIVEN  TO  M.  SPRENGPORTEN  FOR  PARIS.— NEW  LEAGUE  OP  THE  NEUTRAL  POWERS. — THE  FOUR  GREAT 
aUESTIONS  OP  MARITIME  LAW.— RECONCILIATION  WITH  THE  HOLY  SEE.— THE  COURT  OF  SPAIN,  AND  ITS 
INTIMACY  WITH  THE  FIRST  CONSUL. — INTERIOR  STATE  OF  THAT  COURT. — GENERAL  BERTHIER  SENT  TO  MADRID. 
— THAT  ENVOY  NEGOTIATES  A  TREATY  WITH  CHARLES  IV.,  BY  WHICH  TUSCANY  WOULD  BE  GIVEN  TO  THE 
HOUSE  OF  PARMA,  AND  LOUISIANA  TO  FRANCE. — ERECTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM  OF  ETRURIA. — FRANCE  RE- 
INSTATES HERSELF  IN  THE  FAVOUR  OP  THE  EUROPEAN  POWERS. — ARRIVAL  OF  M.  ST.  JULIEN  AT  VIENNA.— 
ASTONISHMENT  OF  THE  COURT  OF  VIENNA  AT  THE  NEWS  OF  THE  PRELIMINARY  ARTICLES  BEING  SIGNED 
•WITHOUT  POWERS. — EMBARRASSMENT  OF  THE  CABINET  OP  VIENNA,  WHICH  HAD  ENGAGED  NOT  TO  TREAT 
WITHOUT  ENGLAND. — DISAVOWAL  OF  M.  ST.  JULIEN. — ATTEMPT  AT  A  NEGOTIATION  COMMON  TO  BOTH  ENGLAND 
AND  AUSTRIA. — THE  FIRST  CONSUL,  TO  ADMIT  ENGLAND  INTO  THE  NEGOTIATION,  REOUIRES  A  NAVAL  ARMIS- 
TICE, WHICH  WILL  PERMIT  HIM  TO  SUCCOUR  EGYPT.— ENGLAND  REFUSES,  NOT  TO  TREAT,  BUT  TO  ACCORD  THE 
PROPOSED  ARMISTICE. — THE  FIRST  CONSUL  THEN  REQUIRES  A  DIRECT  AND  IMMEDI-iTE  NEGOTIATION  WITH 
AUSTRIA,  OR  A  RENEWAL  OF  HOSTILITIES. — MANNER  IN  WHICH  HE  PROFITED  BY  THE  SUSPENSION  OF  ARMS, 
TO  PLACE  THE  FRENCH  ARMIES  ON  A  FORMIDABLE  FOOTING. — APPREHENSION  OF  AUSTRIA,  AND  THE  REMIS- 
SION OF  THE  FORTRESSES  OF  PHILIPSBURG,  ULM,  AND  INGOLDSTADT,  TO  PROCURE  A  PROLONGATION  OP  THE 
CONTINENTAL  ARMISTICE. — CONVENTION  OF  IIOHENLINDEN,  GRANTING  A  NEW  SUSPENSION  OF  ARMS  FOR 
FORTY-FIVE  DAYS.— DESIGN ATION  OP  M.  COBENTZEL,  AS  ENVOY  TO  THE  CONGRESS  OF  LUNEVILLE. — FETE  OF 
THE  1st  VENDEMIAIRE. — TRANSLATION  OP  THE  BODY  OF  TURENNE  TO  THE  INVALIDS. — THE  FIRST  CONSUL 
GIVES  UP  THE  TIME  LEFT  TO  HIM  BY  THE  INTERRUPTION  OP  HOSTILITIES,  TO  OCCUPY  HIMSELF  WITH  THE 
INTERNAL  ADMINISTRATION.  — SUCCESS  OF  HIS  FINANCIAL  MEASURES. — PROSPERITY  OP  THE  BANK  OF  FRANCE. 
— PAYMENT  OP  THE  STOCKHOLDERS  IN  SPECIE.— REPAIR  OF  THE  ROADS.— RETURN  OP  THE  PRIESTS. — DIFFI- 
CULTIES RESPECTING  THE  SUNDAY  AND  DECADE  IN  THEIR  CELEBRATION. — NEW  MEASURES  RESPECTING  THE 
EMIGRANTS. — SITUATION  OF  PARTIES. — THEIR  DISPOSITION  TOWARDS  THE  FIRST  CONSUL. — THE  REVOLUUTION- 
ISTS  AND  ROYALISTS. — CONDUCT  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  TOWARDS  TIIEM. — DIFFERING  INFLUENCES  ABOUT  THE 
FIRST  CONSUL.— PAKTS  PLAYED  NEAR  HIM  BY  TALLEYRAND,  FOUCHE,  AND  CAMBACERES. — THE  BONAPARTE 
FAMILY. — LETTERS  OP  LOUIS  XVIII.  TO  THE  FIRST  CONSUL,  AND  THE  REPLY  MADE. — PLOT  OP  CERACCHI  AND 
ARENA. — AGITATION  OF  THE  PUBLIC  ON  HEARING  OP  THE  PLOT.— THE  IMPRUDENT  FRIENDS  OP  THE  FIRST 
CONSUL  WISH  TO  PROFIT  BY  IT,  FOR  THE  PURPOSE  OF  ELEVATING  HIM  TOO  SOON  TO  THE  SUPREME  POWER. — 
PAMPHLET  WRITTEN  WITH  THIS  VIEW  BY  M.  FONTANES.  —  NECESSITY  FOR  DISAVOWING  THAT  PAMPHLET. — 
LUCIEN    BONAPARTE    DEPRIVED   OF   THE   MINISTRY   OP   THE    INTERIOR,    AND    SENT   AS   ENVOY  TO   SPAIN. 


While  the  Osiris  was  conveying  to  Europe  the 
news  of  what  had  occurred  on  the  banks  of  the 
Nile,  there  left  England  ordei-s  altogether  con- 
trary to  those  which  had  been  sent  before.  The 
observations  of  sir  Sidney  Smith  had  been  favour- 
ably received  in  London.  The  government  had 
been  fearful  of  disavowing  the  acts  of  an  English 
officer  who  liad  represented  himself  as  invested 
with  powers  from  liis  government ;  it  had,  more 
than  all,  discovered  tlie  falsity  of  the  intercepted 
despatches,  and  better  appreciated  the  difficulty  of 
taking  Egypt  out  of  tlie  liands  of  the  French  army. 
It  therefore  ratified  the  convention  of  El-Ariscli, 
and  desired  lord  Keith  to  see  it  executed.  But 
there  was  no  longer  time,  as  has  been  alrcndy 
seen  ;  the  convention  was  at  that  moment  torn  in 
pieces,  sword  in  hand;  and  the  French  re-esta- 
blished in  the  possession  of  Egypt,  would  not  now 
abandon  the  country.  The  English  ministry  were 
destined  to  reap  the  fruit  of  their  levity  in  bitter 
regret,  and  to  sustain  violent  attacks  in  parliament 
for  their  conduct. 


The  first  consul,  upon  his  part,  received  with 
joy  the  tidings  of  the  consolidation  of  his  conquest. 
Unhappily  the  news  of  the  death  and  exploits 
of  Kle'ber  arrived  nearly  at  the  some  moment. 
His  regrets  were  deep  and  sincere.  He  rarely 
dissimulated,  and  only  when  forced  to  do  so  by 
some  duty  or  great  interest,  but  it  was  always 
done  with  effort,  because  his  vivacity  of  temper 
rendered  dissimulation  difficult.  In  the  narrow 
circle  of  his  family  and  counsellors,  he  never  dis- 
gui.sed  any  thing  ;  he  exhibited  his  affection  and 
aversion  with  extreme  violence.  It  was  among 
his  intimate  friends  he  betrayed  the  grief  caused 
by  the  death  of  Kle'ber.  He  did  not  regret  in 
him  a  friend,  as  he  did  in  Desaix  ;  he  regretted 
a  great  general,  an  able  commander,  more  capable 
than  any  other  man  to  secure  the  establishment  of 
the  Fi-ench  in  Egypt — an  establishment  which  he 
regarded  as  his  finest  work,  of  which  the  defini- 
tive success  alone  could  change  from  a  brilhant 
essay  into  a  great  and  solid  undertaking. 

Time,  like  a  river,  carries  along  with  it  all  that 


Active  preparations  for  the  succour 
of  the  Eg)-ptian  anijy. 


THE  ARMISTICE. 


Blockade  of  Malta.— Character  of  Rey- 
nier,  Menou,  and  Lanusse. — Menou      J37 
confirmed  in  the  command. 


nian  flings  into  its  rapid  waters — time  has  swal- 
lowed up  the  odious  falsehoods  invented  by  party 
malice.  Still  there  is  one  of  them  which  it  is 
instructive  to  mention  here,  although  long  since 
completely  forgotten.  The  royalist  agents  reported, 
and  the  English  newspapei*s  circulated,  that  Desaix 
and  Kie'ber,  having  given  umbrage  to  the  first  con- 
sul, they  had  been  both  assassinated  by  his  orders, 
one  at  Marengo,  the  other  at  Cairo.  There  were 
not  wanting  miserable  fools  who  believed  this, 
while  to-day  people  are  almost  ashatned  to  recall 
such  base  imputations.  Tiiose  who  fabricate  such 
infamous  falsehoods,  should  sometimes  place  them- 
selves before  posterity ;  they  would  then  blush,  if  they 
could,  at  the  denial  that  time  had  prepared  for  them. 

The  first  consul  had  already  given  pressing 
orders  to  the  fleets  of  Brest  and  Rochfort,  to  pre- 
pare to  sail  into  the  Mediterranean.  Although 
the  finances  were  in  an  improved  state,  still  obliged 
to  make  great  eft'orts  on  land,  the  first  consul  was 
not  able  to  do  at  sea  all  that  he  had  judged  neces- 
sary. At  the  same  time  he  omitted  nothing  to 
place  the  great  Brest  fleet  in  a  state  to  i)ut  to 
sea.  He  urged  the  court  of  Spain  for  the  neces- 
sary ordei's  to  admirals  Gravina  and  Mazzaredo, 
commanding  the  Spanish  division  to  concur  in 
the  movements  of  the  French.  By  the  united 
squadrons  of  the  two  nations,  blockaded  in  Brest 
for  a  year  past,  a  force  of  forty  sail  of  the  line 
would  be  formed.  The  first  consul  wished  that, 
profiting  by  the  putting  to  sea  of  this  large  naval 
force,  tile  Frencli  vessels  disposable  at  L'Oricnt, 
R<jchefort,  and  Toulon,  and  the  Spanish  vessels  dis- 
posable at  Ferrol,  Cadiz,  and  Carthagena,  should 
join  the  combined  fleet,  so  as  to  augment  its 
strength.  These  different  movements  were  to  be 
conducted  in  such  a  mode  as  to  deceive  the  English, 
and  throw  tliem  into  great  perplexity,  during 
which  admiral  Ganteaume,  taking  with  him  the 
best  sailere,  Wius  to  slip  off  and  carry  to  Egypt  si.\ 
thousand  chosen  men,  numerous  workmen,  and  an 
immense  maliriel. 

Spain  consented  very  willingly  to  this  com- 
bination, which  for  her  had  at  least  the  advantage 
of  recalling  into  the  Mediterranean,  and  conse- 
quently into  her  own  ports,  the  squadron  of  Gra- 
vina, uselessly  blockaded  in  Brest  harbour.  She 
saw  no  other  objection  than  that  arising  from  the 
bad  condition  of  the  two  fleets,  and  their  wretched 
e(iuipment.  The  first  consul  did  his  best  to  re- 
move this  objection,  and  the  vessels  of  both  nations 
were  quickly  provided  with  the  stores  that  were 
most  necessary.  In  the  mean  time  he  was  anxious 
that  the  army  of  Egypt  should  receive  intelligence 
from  him  every  five  or  six  days.  He  gave  orders 
that  from  all  the  ports  in  the  Mediterranean, 
Spain  and  Italy  included,  brigs  and  small  vessels, 
mere  n-.L-rchantmen,  ithould  sail  with  balls,  shells, 
lead,  powder,  muskets,  sabres,  timber  for  car- 
riages, medicines,  bark,  grain,  wkie,  all  in  fact  that 
could  be  wanted  in  Egypt.  He  ordered  further, 
that  each  of  these  small  vessels  should  carry 
workmen — masons,  sniitliH,  guimers,  or  ])ickcd 
horsemen.  \h-  had  vessi  Is  chartered  for  this  pur- 
pose at  Carthag<;iia,  Barcelona,  I'ort-Vendres, 
Marseilles,  Toulon,  Antibes,  .Savoiia,  Genoa,  Bastia, 
St.  Florent,  and  dtlier  parts.  He  bargained  with 
the  merchants  of  Algiers  to  semi  cargoes  of  wine 
to  Egypt,  of  which  the  army  was  destitute.     By 


his  order  a  troop  of  comedians  was  provided  with 
all  that  was  required  for  a  theatre,  the  whole  to 
sail  for  Alexandria.  The  best  Paris  journals  were 
ordered  to  be  sent  to  the  principal  officers  of  the 
ai'niy,  that  they  might  know  all  that  was  going  on 
in  Europe.  Nothing  was  neglected,  in  one  word, 
of  all  that  would  be  expected  to  sustain  the  spirit 
of  the  excited  soldiers,  and  to  keep  them  in  con- 
stant communication  with  the  parent  country  '. 

Several  of  these  vessels  were  of  course  likely  to 
be  captured;  but  the  larger  number  had  the  chance 
of  arriving  safe,  and  did  actually  arrive,  because 
the  extended  coast  of  the  Delta  could  not  be  strictly 
guarded.  The  same  success  did  not  attend  the 
attempts  made  to  revietual  Malta,  which  the  Eng- 
lish kept  in  a  state  of  rigorous  blockade.  They 
made  it  a  most  important  oi)ject  to  take  this  second 
Gibraltar,  knowing  that  here  the  blockade  was 
certain  of  proving  effective  ;  because  Malta  is  a 
rock  that  can  only  be  supplied  by  sea,  while  EgJ^pt 
is  a  large  country  that  supplies  its  neighbours  and 
itself.  They  persevered,  therefore,  with  great 
strictness  in  the  investment  of  the  island,  and  in 
inflicting  upon  it  the  horrors  of  famine.  The  gal- 
lant general  Vaubois  having  at  his  disposal  four 
thousand  men,  had  no  fear  from  being  attacked  ; 
but  he  saw,  hour  by  hour,  the  diminution  of  the 
provisions  required  for  the  sustenance  of  his 
troops,  and,  unfortunately,  did  not  receive  from 
the  ports  of  Corsica  sufficient  supplies  to  replace 
the  daily  consumption. 

The  first  consul  directed  his  attention  to  select  a 
commander  capable  of  replacing  Kie'ber  in  Egypt. 
The  loss  of  this  officer  was  painful,  more  par- 
ticularly in  consideration  of  those  who  might  be 
called  to  succeed  him.  If  Desaix  had  remahied 
in  Egypt  the  mischief  would  have  been  easily  re- 
paired ;  but  Desaix  had  come  back,  and  was  no 
more.  Those  who  remained  in  Egypt  were  not 
equal  to  such  a  command.  Reynier  wius  a  good 
officer,  brought  up  in  the  school  of  the  army  of  the 
Rhine,  skilful  and  experienced,  but  cold,  irresolute, 
and  having  no  ascendancy  over  the  men.  Menou 
was  well-informed,  brave,  enthusiastic  in  favour 
of  the  expedition,  but  not  capable  of  managing  an 
army;  and  rendered  ridiculous  from  having  mar- 
ried a  Turkisli  woman  and  ■^irofessed  tin;  Maho- 
metan faith.  He  called  himself  Abdaiiah  Menou, 
which  became  a  subject  of  jesting  to  the  soldiers, 
and  much  diminished  the  respect  with  which  a 
commander-in-chief  should  be  ever  invested.  Ge- 
neral Laimsse  was  brave  and  intelligent,  full  of  a 
warmth  which  he  knew  how  to  coinmimicatc  to 
others.  He  appeared  to  the  first  consul  to  merit 
the  preference,  although  he  was  deficient  in  pru- 
dence. But  general  Menou  had  taken  the  com- 
mand from  seniority.  It  was  difficult  to  secure 
the  arrival  of  an  order  in  l'jgy|>t ;  the  English 
might  intercept  it ;  and  by  not  publishing  it  word 
for  word,  raise  a  sus|iicion  of  its  real  meaning 
in  such  a  way  as  to  render  the  command  uncertain, 
to  raise  divisions  among  the  generals,  tmd  to  dis- 
tract the  colony.  He  left  things,  therefore,  in  the 
same  state,  and  confirmed  Menou,  not  believing 
him,  indeed,  as  incapable  as  he  really  proved 
iiimsclf  to  be. 

'  These  pnrticulars  arc  all  extracted  from  the  voluminou* 
corrcKpondcnce  of  the  first  consul  with  the  departments  of 
war  and  of  the  marine. 


European  affairs.— Conduct  The  emperor's  letter  to 

138      of  the  Austrian   govern-    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND   E:\IPIRE.        Bonaparte.  — Instruc- 
ment.  tioiis  to  St.  Julien. 


July. 


It  is  necessary  now  to  return  to  Europe,  in 
order  to  see  what  is  passing  in  the  tlieatre  of  the 
great  events  of  the  world.  The  letter  which  tlie 
first  consul  had  addressed  from  Marengo  itself  to 
the  emperor  of  Germany,  was  brought  to  him  with 
the  news  of  the  loss  of  that  battle.  The  court 
of  Vienna  was  now  aware  of  the  fault  it  committed 
in  repelling  the  offers  of  the  first  consul  at  the 
beginning  of  the  winter';  in  obstinately  crediting 
that  France  was  so  reduced  as  Jiot  to  be  able  to 
continue  the  war;  in  refusing  to  believe  in  the 
existence  of  the  army  of  reserve  :  and  in  pushing 
Me'las  so  blindly  into  the  gorges  of  the  Apennines. 
The  influence  of  M.  Thugut  was  considerably 
diminished,  because  it  was  to  him  alone  that  were 
to  be  imputed  all  these  errors  in  conduct  and  fore- 
sight. Still  to  these  faults,  already  so  great,  he 
added  another,  not  less  so,  in  forming  a  closer 
alliance  with  England  than  ever,  under  the  im- 
pression of  the  disaster  of  Marengo.  Until  now 
the  cabinet  of  Vienna  had  declined  the  English 
subsidies ' ;  but  it  thought  i-iglit  to  obtain  as 
soon  as  possiljle  the  means  of  repairing  the  losses 
of  the  campaign,  whether  to  enable  it  to  treat 
more  advantageously  with  France,  or  to  place 
itself  in  a  better  condition  to  renew  the  struggle 
with  her,  if  her  demands  were  too  exorbitant. 
Austria  therefore  accepted  2,500,000^.  sterling,  or 
C2,000,000f.  *  In  return  for  this  subsidy,  Austria 
agreed  not  to  make  peace  with  France  before  the 
month  of  February  following,  unless  the  peace  was 
common  both  to  Austria  and  Eng!an<l.  The  treaty 
was  signed  on  the  2ath  of  June,  1800,  the  same 
day  that  the  dis:istri)us  news  arrived  from  Italy. 
Austria  was  thus  bound  up  to  the  fortunes  of 
England  for  seven  months  to  come;  but  she  hoped 
to  pass  the  summer  in  negotiating,  and  to  see 
winter  arrive  before  hostilities  recommenced. 
In  other  respects  the  cabinet  of  Austria  was  in- 
clined to  peace;  and  only  wished  to  negotiate  in 
common  with  England,  and  above  all,  not  to  be 
obliged  to  make  too  many  sacrifices  in  Italy.  On 
this  condition  she  desired  nothing  better  than  to 
conclude  it. 

The  emperor  employed  to  be  bearer  of  his  letter 
to  the  first  consul  the  same  officer  who  had  brought 

'  [If  the  difference  between  a  loan  never  to  be  repaid  and 
sum  of  money  given  directly,  can  be  defined;  M.  Thiers  is 
undoubtedly  correct.  Austria  got  £1,600,000  from  England 
in  1795  ;  in  1797,  £1,600,000,  under  the  name  ot  loans:  not 
one  shilling  of  which  advances  she  ever  returned.  The  first 
mon  y  given  under  the  name  of  '•subsidij"  was  sent,  as  M. 
Thiers  ob.-erves,  in  1800.  The  present  thus  made  to  renew 
defeats  similar  to  that  of  Marengo,  was  £1,066,660.  Ihus 
England  paid  towards  the  continued  reverses  of  Austria 
alone,  up  to  1800,  or  in  five  years,  no  less  than  £7,266,060.] 
—  Translator. 

*  [This  sum  is  erroneous.  The  whole  of  the  subsidies  pre- 
sented by  England  to  different  European  states  in  1800,  ac- 
cording to  our  own  returns,  were — 

Germany,  or  Austria £1,066,666 

German  princes 500,000 

Bavaria 501,017 

Russia 545,494 

£2.61.3,177 

M.  Thiers  seems  to  imagine  that  all  was  presented  to  Aus- 
tria, or  about  £2,500,UU0.]— Trani/a<or. 


him  the  letter  from  Italy,  written  at  Marengo, 
M.  St.  Julien,  in  whom  he  reposed  great  con- 
fidence. The  reply  was  this  time  directed  and 
addressed  personally  to  general  Bonaparte.  It 
contained  the  ratification  of  the  double  armistice, 
signed  in  Germany  and  Italy,  and  an  invitation  to 
explain  confidentially,  and  with  perfect  frankness, 
the  basis  of  a  future  negotiation.  M.  St.  Julien 
had  a  special  order  to  sound  the  first  consul  about 
the  conditions  on  which  France  would  be  willing 
to  sign  a  peace;  and,  on  the  other  side,  to  explain 
eijough  of  the  intentions  of  the  emperor  to  induce 
the  French  cabinet  to  discover  its  own.  The 
letter  of  which  M.  Julien  was  the  bearer,  full  of 
flattering  and  pacific  protestations,  contained  a 
passage  in  which  the  object  of  his  mission  was 
clearly  specified. 

"  I  am  writing  to  my  generals,"  said  his  imperial 
majesty,  "  to  confirm  the  two  armistices  and  re- 
gulate their  details.  In  regard  to  other  matters, 
I  have  sent  to  you  the  major-general  of  my  armies, 
count  St.  Julien;  he  is  in  possession  of  my  instruc- 
tions, and  commanded  to  call  to  your  attention, 
how  essential  it  is  not  to  enter  into  public  nego- 
tiations, likely  to  deliver  so  many  nations  to  hopes, 
perhaps  illusory,  until  after  having  known,  at  least 
in  a  general  way,  if  the  bases  which  you  would 
propose  for  peace  are  such  as  will  enable  us  to  flatter 
ourselves  with  an  arrival  at  so  desirable  an  object. 
— Vienna,  July  5,  1800." 

The  emperor  let  fall,  towards  the  conclusion  of 
his  letter,  the  engagements  which  connected  him 
with  England,  and  which  made  him  desire  a  peace 
common  to  both  the  belligerent  powers. 

M.  St.  Julien  arrived  in  Paris  on  the  21st  of 
July,  or  2nd  Thermidor,  in  the  year  viii.,  and  was 
received  with  the  greatest  cordiality  and  attention. 
He  was  the  first  envoy,  for  a  long  while,  sent  from 
the  emperor,  who  had  made  his  appearance  in 
France.  People  welcomed  him  as  the  representative 
of  a  great  sovereign,  and  as  the  messenger  of  peace. 
We  have  already  spoken  of  the  lively  desire  the 
first  consul  felt  to  put  an  end  to  the  war.  No  one 
contested  with  him  the  glory  of  battles;  he  now 
wished  for  glory  of  another  kind;  less  brilliant, 
but  more  novel,  and,  at  that  moment,  more  advan- 
tageous to  his  anth<prity— that  of  pacifying  France 
and  Europe.  In  his  ardent  mind  desires  were 
passions.  He  sought  peace  then  as  he  afterwards 
sought  war.  Talleyrand  desired  it  as  much  as  the 
first  consul,  for  he  was  alread\^  fond  of  assuming 
the  part  of  moderator  about  Bonaparte.  It  was 
an  excellent  part  to  play,  particularly  at  a  later 
period;  but  now  to  press  the  first  consul  to  peace 
was  to  add  one  impatience  to  another,  and  to 
compromise  the  result  by  hastening  the  event  too 
much. 

The  day  after  his  arrival,  July  22nd,  or  3rd  of 
Therinidur,  M.  St.  Julien  was  invited  to  a  confer- 
ence with  the  minister  for  foreign  affairs.  They 
conversed  on  tiie  reciprocal  desire  felt  to  terminate 
the  war,  and  on  tbe  best  mode  to  succeed  in  that 
object.  M.  St.  Julien  listened  to  all  that  was  said 
to  him  upon  the  conditions  under  which  peace 
might  be  concluded,  and,  on  his  side,  hinted  at  all 
that  the  emperor  his  master  desired.  Talleyrand 
too  hastily  imagined  that  M.  St.  Jtilien  had  secret 
and  sufficient  instructions  to  treat,  and  proposed, 
m  consequence,  that  they  should  not  confine  them- 


1800.  Conference  between  St.  Julian 

July.  and  Talleyrand. 


THE  ARMISTICE. 


Minutes  of  the  preliminary  treaty 
signed  by  St.  Julien. 


selves  to  a  mere  convention,  but  reduce  to  writing 
preliminary  articles  for  a  peace.  M.  St.  Julicu, 
wiio  was  not  authorized  to  cuiamit  himself  in  so 
serious  an  affair,  because  the  engagements  between 
Austria  and  England  were  absolutely  in  opposition 
to  it ; — M.  St.  Julien  objected,  that  he  had  no 
power  to  conclude  a  treaty.  Talleyrand  replied, 
that  the  letter  of  the  emperor  completely  authorized 
hira;  and  that  if  he  wmild  agree  to  some  prelimi- 
nary articles,  and  sign  them,  with  the  reservation 
of  their  ulterior  ratification,  the  French  cabinet, 
upon  the  simple  letter  of  the  emperor,  would  con- 
sider him  sufficiently  accredited.  M.  St.  Julien, 
who  was  a  soldier,  and  had  no  experience  in  diplo- 
macy, was  simple  enough  to  make  Talleyrand  ac- 
quiiinted  with  his  ignorance  of  forms  and  his 
embari'assment,  and  to  ask  him  what  he  would  do 
in  his  place.  "  I  should  sign,"  said  Talleyrand. 
"Very  well,  then;  let  it  be  so,'' replied  .M.St.  Julien; 
"  I  will  sign  the  preliminary  articles,  which  shall 
not  be  esteemed  valid  until  they  have  received  the 
ratification  of  my  sovereign. "  "  Most  undoubtedly 
not,"  replied  Talleyrand  ;  "  no  eng.agements  are 
valid  between  nations  but  such  as  have  been 
ratified." 

This  strange  manner  of  communicating  their 
powers  to  each  other,  is  to  be  found  specified  at 
full  length  in  the  protocol  of  the  negntiation  still 
in  existence.  The  minutes  are  dated  the  23d,  24th, 
27th,  and  28:h  of  July,  or  4th,  5th,  8ch,  and  lith  of 
Thermidor  in  the  year  viii.  All  tlie  important  sub- 
jects for  arrangement  between  the  two  counti'ies 
were  discussed,  and  the  treaty  of  Campo  Formio 
adopted  as  the  basis  of  the  negotiation,  with  a  few 
modifications.  Thus  the  emperor  abandoned  to  the 
republic  the  boundary  of  the  Rhine,  from  the  point 
where  that  river  leaves  the  Swiss  territories,  to 
that  where  it  enters  upon  the  Batavian  limits. 
Under  tliat  article  M.  St.  Julien  required  and  ob- 
tained a  change  in  the  language.  He  wished  the 
expression,  "The  emperor  concedes  the  line  of  the 
Rhine,"  to  be  changed  into  "  The  emperor  does  not 
oppose  the  conservation  of  the  limits  of  the  Rhine 
by  the  French  repuldic."  This  mode  of  expression 
had  for  its  object  to  answer  the  reproaches  which 
might  be  mad  .•  by  the  Germanic  body,  that  had 
accused  the  emperor  of  delivering  up  to  France 
the  territory  of  the  confederation.  It  was  agreed 
that  France  should  not  retain  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Rhine  any  of  the  fortified  posts,  such  as  Kelil, 
Ehrenbreitstein,  or  Cassel,  that  the  works  should  be 
razed;  but  tliat,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Germans 
should  not  throw  up  any  works  of  earth,  or  ma- 
sonry, within  three  leagues  of  the  river. 

Thus  far  for  the  boundary  limits  between  France 
and  Germany.  It  remained  to  settle  those  that  be- 
longed to  Austria  and  Italy.  The  fifth  secret  ar- 
ticle of  the  treaty  of  Campo  Formio,  had  stipulated 
that  Austria  shouM  recive  in  Germany,  an  indem- 
nity for  certain  lordships  which  she  had  conceded 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine,  independently  of  the 
Low  Countries,  which  she  had  long  before  given  up 
to  France.*  The  bishoprick  of  Salzburg  was  to 
comprise  this  indemnity.  The  emperor  would  have 
been  better  pleased  to  have  had  the  indenmity  in 
Italy,  because  the  acipiisitions  which  he  obtained 
in  Germany,  particularly  the  ecclesiastical  princi- 
palities, were  hardly  new  acquisitions,  the  court  of 
Vicuna  having  already  in  those  principalities    an 


1  ICUl 


influence  and  privileges  which  were  nearly  equiva- 
lent to  a  direct  sovereignty.  On  the  contrary,  the 
acquisitions  that  it  obtained  in  Italy  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  giving  the  emperor  countries  over  which 
he  had  not  before  the  slightest  influence  or  power; 
above  all,  extending  its  frontier  ami  its  influence  in  a 
country,  the  object  of  the  continued  ambition  of  the 
emperor's  family.  From  the  same  motives  France 
preferred  that  Austria  should  indemnity  hei"self  in 
Germany  rather  tlian  Italy.  Nevertheless,  this  last 
]ioint  was  given  up.  The  treaty  of  Campo  Formio 
threw  Austria  upon  the  Adige,  and  gave  to  the 
Cisalpine  republic,  the  Mincio  and  the  celebrated 
fortress  of  Mantua.  The  desire  of  Austria,  at  this 
time,  was  to  obtain  the  Jlincio,  Mantua,  and  the 
Legations,  which  was  an  exorbitant  demand.  The 
first  consul  was  willing  to  go  as  lar  as  the  Alincio 
and  Mantua,  but  he  would  not  yield  the  Legations 
at  any  rate.  He  woidd  do  no  more  than  consent 
that  they  should  be  given  to  the  grand  duke  of  Tus- 
cany, on  condition  that  in  return  Tuscany  should 
be  bestowed  upon  the  grand  duke  of  P.irnia,  and 
the  duchy  of  Parma  on  the  Cisalpine.  The  grand 
duke  of  Parma  would  be  a  considerable  gainer  by 
this  exchange,  which  would  be  a  satisfaction  ac- 
corded to  Spain,  in  what  respect  will  be  shown 
hereafter. 

M.  St.  Julien  replied,  that  on  this  last  point  his 
sovereign  was  not  prepared  to  give  a  definitive  re- 
solution. That  the  translations  of  sovereign  powers 
from  one  country  to  another  were  little  conform- 
able to  his  political  views  ;  and  that  it  was,  in  fact, 
a  point;  to  be  regulated  at  a  later  period.  In  order 
to  evade  the  difficulty,  the  negotiators  were  con- 
tent to  say,  in  the  preliminary  articles,  that  Austria 
should  receive  in  Italy  the  territorial  indemnities 
previously  granted  to  her  in  Germany. 

The  Austrian  officer,  thus  metamorphosed  into 
a  plenipotentiary,  testified,  in  his  sovereign's  name, 
great  interest  for  the  independence  of  Switzerland, 
but  little  for  that  of  Piedmont,  and  insinuated  that 
France  could  pay  herself  there,  for  what  she  gave 
up  in  Lombardy  to  the  house  of  Austria. 

Thus  they  stayed  their  proceedings  at  very 
general  points;  the  limits  of  the  Rhine  for  France, 
with  the  demolition  of  the  fortresses  of  Kehl,  Cas- 
sel, and  Ehrenbreitstein  ;  particular  indenmities 
for  Austria  taken  in  Italy  in  ])lace  of  Germany, 
which  signifieil  that  Austria  would  not  be  reduced 
within  the  limits  of  the  Adige.  But  it  must  be  said, 
that  not  only  was  it  vain  to  treat  with  a  powerless 
plenii>otentiary,  but  that  there  was  something  yet 
more  vain  in  considering  articles  preliminary  to 
peace,  articles  in  which  the  sole  questionable  part, 
ior  which  the  emperor  had  gone  to  war,  namely, 
the  frontier  of  Austria  in  Italy,  as  resolving  that 
|)oiiit  even  in  the  most  general  manner.  As  to 
the  boundary  of  the  Rhine,  noboily  had  for  a  long 
time  before  thought  seriously  of  contesting  that 
frontier. 

To  the  foregoing  articles  w(!i'c  added  some  ac- 
cessary arrangements;  it  was,  for  example,  agreed 
that  a  congress  should  be  immediately  held;  that 
during  this  congress,  hostilitici  blmuld  be  sus- 
])ended,  the  levies  C7i  vtaMC  making  in  Tuscany  bo 
disbanded,  and  tlie  disemlmrkution  threatened  in 
Italy  by  the  English  be  delayed. 

M.  St.  Julien,  whom  the  desire  to  play  an  im- 
portant character  had  carried  beyond  all  reason- 


St.  Julien  exceeds  his  powers. 
140     He  returns  to  Vienna,  ac- 
companied by  Duroc. 


Bonaparte's  instructions  to 

THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.     Duroc.-Views  or  Prus- 

sia  and  Russia. 


July. 


able  bounds,  had  felt,  from  time  to  time,  seiniples 
upon  the  bold  and  singular  step  which  he  had  per- 
mitted himself  to  take.  In  order  to  make  him 
easy  upon  the  matter,  Tallej-rand  agreed  to  give 
him  a  promise,  upon  his  word  of  honour,  that  the 
preliminary  articles  should  remain  a  secret,  and 
that  they  should  not  be  considered  as  possessing 
any  value  whatever  until  they  were  ratified  by  the 
emperor.  On  the  28th  of  July,  1800,  or  9th 
Thermidor,  year  viii.,  these  famous  preliminaries 
were  signed  at  the  liotel  of  Talleyrand,  being  the 
office  for  foreign  affairs,  to  the  great  delight  of  Tal- 
leyrand, who  seeing  M.  St.  Julien  so  well  prepared 
to  answer  every  question,  seriously  believed  that 
officer  had  secret  instructions  for  the  purpose.  Such 
was  not,  however,  the  case;  and  if  M.  St.  Julien  was 
so  well-informed,  it  was  only  because  tliey  desired 
at  Vienna  to  put  him  in  a  position  to  provoke  and 
to  receive  the  confidential  communications  of  the 
first  consul,  relative  to  the  articles  of  the  future 
treaty.  The  French  minister  had  not  been  able 
to  penetrate  into  this  circumstance,  and  by  the 
desire  to  fulfil  an  act  bearing  a  resemblance  to  a 
treaty,  he  had  committed  a  sei'ious  fault. 

The  first  consul,  not  occupying  himself  with  the 
forms  observed  by  the  two  negotiators,  and  trust- 
ing entirely  in  that  regard  to  Talleyrand,  never 
thought  for  his  own  part  of  doing  more  than  of 
making  Austria  explain  her  own  objects,  to  ascer- 
tain if  she  wished  for  peace,  and  to  force  it  from 
her  by  a  new  campaign  if  she  appeared  to  have 
no  desire  to  make  it.  But  for  this  purpose  it 
would  have  been  better  to  call  upon  her  for  an 
explanation  within  a  given  period  of  time,  than  to 
enter  into  an  illusory  and  puerile  negotiation,  in 
which  the  consequence  might  be  a  compromise  of 
the  dignity  of  the  two  nations,  and  thus  a  final 
reconciliation  be  rendered  more  difficult. 

M.  St.  Julien  did  not  think  it  right  to  wait  in 
Paris  for  the  reply  of  the  emperor,  as  he  had  been 
requested  to  do,  but  wished  to  carry  tiie  pre- 
liminaries to  Vienna  himself,  \vithout  doubt  for  the 
purpose  of  explaining  to  his  master  the  motives 
of  his  singular  conduct.  He  left  Paris  on  the  30th 
of  July,  or  11th  of  Themidor,  accompanied  by 
Duroc,*whom  the  first  consul  sent  into  Austria,  as 
he  had  been  before  sent  into  Prussia,  to  observe 
the  court  narrowly,  and  give  it  an  advantageous 
idea  of  the  moderation  and  policy  of  the  new 
government.  Duroc,  as  we  have  elsewhere  ob- 
served, by  his  good  sense  and  excellent  bearing, 
was  well  fitted  for  similar  missions.  The  first 
consul  had,  besides,  given  him  written  instructions, 
in  which  he  had  provided  for  every  thing  with  the 
most  minute  attention.  In  the  first  instance,  upon 
any  circumstance  occuiTing  which  might  lead  to 
an  inference  of  the  intentions  of  Austria  in  respect 
to  the  preliminaries,  he  was  to  send  off  a  courier 
to  Paris  immediately.  Until  the  ratification  he 
was  recommendtd  to  keep  a  perfect  silence,  and 
to  appear  ignorant  in  every  respect  of  the  in- 
tentions of  the  first  consul.  If  the  ratification  was 
conceded,  he  was  authorized  to  say,  in  a  positive 
manner,  that  the  peace  might  be  signed  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  if  it  was  sincerely  desired.  He  was  to 
make  it  known,  in  some  way,  that  if  Austria  con- 
tented herself  with  the  Mincio,  the  Fossa-Maestra, 
and  the  Po,  which  was  the  line  marked  out  by  the 
convention   of  Alexandria ;   that   if,  further,  she 


admitted  the  translation  of  the  duke  of  Parma  to 
Tuscany,  and  of  the  duke  of  Tuscany  to  the  Le- 
gations, there  was  no  obstacle  to  an  immediate 
conclusion.  Those  instructions  contained  further 
rules  respecting  the  language  to  be  used  fur  all 
the  subjects  which  might  arise  in  conversation. 
Duroc  was  forbidden  to  lend  himself  to  any  jokes 
against  Prussia  and  Russia,  which  were  then  little 
loved  at  Vienna,  because  they  were  not  parties  in 
the  coalition.  He  was  recommended  to  maintain 
a  great  reserve  in  regard  to  the  emperor  Paul, 
whose  character  was  a  subject  of  raillery  at  every 
court;  he  was  to  speak  well  of  the  king  of  Prussia; 
to  visit  the  grand  duke  of  Tuscany,  to  let  none  of 
those  passions  be  visible  which  the  revolution  had 
excited,  neither  on  one  side  nor  the  other.  RoyaUsts 
and  Jacobins  in  France  were  to  be  spoken  of  as  if 
they  were  as  ancient  as  the  Guelphsaud  Ghibelines 
in  Italy.  He  was  desired  to  show  no  dislike 
towards  tlie  emigrants,  except,  indeed,  to  such  as 
had  borne  arms  against  the  republic.  He  was 
ordered  to  say,  upoia  every  occasion,  that  France 
was,  of  all  the  countries  of  Europe,  the  most  at- 
tached to  its  government,  because  it  was  that  of 
all  the  European  governments  which  had  afforded 
its  government  an  opportunity  of  doing  the  most 
good.  Lastly,  he  was  to  represent  the  first  consul 
as  having  no  prejudices,  neither  of  the  old  times 
nor  of  the  present,  and  as  being  indifferent  to  the 
attacks  of  tlie  English  press,  because  he  did  not 
understand  English. 

Duroc  set  oti"  with  M.  St.  Julien,  and  although 
the  secret  of  the  preliminaries  had  been  kept,  still 
the  numerous  conferences  of  the  envoy  of  the 
emperor  with  Talleyrand  had  been  remarked  by 
every  body,  and  people  said  loudly  that  he  was  the 
bearer  of  the  conditions  of  a  peace. 

The  prodigious  success  of  the  French  in  Italy 
I  and  in  Germany  naturally  exercised  a  considerable 
influence,  not  only  in  Austria,  but  in  all  the  courts 
of  Europe,  friendly  or  inimical  to  France. 

At  the  news  of  the  battle  of  Marengo,  Pi-ussia, 
still  ruled  by  the  neutral  system,  was  kindly  in- 
clined to  France  according  to  the  turn  of  events; 
Prussia  had  expressed  a  warm  admiration  of  the 
first  consul,  and  never  said  again,  from  that 
moment,  a  single  word  which  could  put  in  doubt 
the  assignment  to  France  of  the  entire  line  of  the 
Rhine.  The  only  thing  she  now  considered  wa.s, 
that  justice  might  be  done  in  the  partition  of  the 
indemnities  due  to  all  those  who  had  lost  territory 
on  the  left  bank  of  that  river,  and  that  discretion 
might  be  preserved  in  settling  the  limits  of  the 
great  states.  She  added,  that  it  was  right  to  be 
firm  towards  Austria,  and  to  repress  her  insatiable 
ambition.  Such  was  the  language  held  every  day 
to  the  French  ambassador  at  Berlin. 

M.  Haugwilz,  and  particularly  the  king,  Frede- 
rick William,  wliose  kindness  was  sincere,  informed 
general  Beurnonville  daily  of  the  rapid  progress 
the  first  consul  made  in  the  regard  of  Paul  I.  As 
lias  been  seen  already,  this  prince,  fickle  and  en- 
thusiastic, passed  during  a  few  months  from  a 
cliivalric  passion  agamst  the  French  x-evolution,  to 
an  admiration  beyond  all  limit  for  the  man  who 
was  now  its  representative.  He  had  begun  to 
bear  a  downright  hatred  towards  Austria  and 
England.  Although  through  this  change  a  great 
result  had  been  obtained  in  the  inactive  position  of 


ISOO. 
July. 


Bonaparte  sends  back  the  Russian 
prisoners,  and  gives  up  Malta  to 
the  emperor. 


THE  ARIMISTICE. 


Kffect  of  the.se  actions  on  Paul. 
Mediation  of  M.  liaugwitz. 


141 


the  Russians  on  the  Viatula,  the  first  consul  as- 
pired to  soraethino;  better  still.  He  wished  to 
enter  directly  into  relations  with  the  emperor  Paul, 
who  was  suspicious  that  Prussia  prolonged  the 
existing  equivocal  state  of  things,  tliat  she  might 
he  the  only  intenncdiate  party  in  our  relations 
with  tlie  most  weighty  of  the  northern  powers. 

He  hit  upon  the  means  which  obtained  complete 
success.  There  remained  in  France  six  or  seven 
thousand  Russians  taken  prisoners  the  preceding 
year,  not  having  been  exchanged  because  Russia 
had  no  prisoners  to  offer  for  that  j)Hrposo.  The 
first  consul  had  proposed  to  England  and  to 
Austria,  that  having  in  his  hands  a  gi-eat  number 
of  Russian  soldiei-s  and  seamen,  they  should  be 
exchanged,  Russians  against  French.  Both  nations 
certainly  owed  to  Russia  such  a  courtesy,  because 
the  Russians  had  been  made  captives  in  serving 
the  designs  of  the  English  and  Austrians.  Still 
the  proposition  was  refused.  Immediately  on  this, 
the  fii-st  consul  conceived  the  happy  idea  of  re- 
turning to  Paul,  without  any  conditions,  all  the 
prisoners  in  his  possession.  This  was  a  generous 
and  dexterous  action,  little  onerous  for  France,  that 
liad  notliing  to  do  with  the  prisoners,  since  French- 
men were  not  to  be  procured  in  excliange.  The 
first  consul  accompanied  the  act  with  jjroceedings 
the  most  likely  to  act  upon  the  susceptible  heart  of 
Paul  I.  He  had  the  Russians  armed  and  clothed 
in  the  uniforms  of  their  sovereign  ;  he  even  gave 
up  to  the  officers  their  colours  and  their  arms. 
He  next  wrote  a  letter  to  count  Panin,  the  Russian 
minister  for  foreign  affairs  at  St.  Petersbui'g,  inform- 
ing him,  that  as  Austria  and  England  had  refused 
to  give  their  liberty  to  the  soldiers  of  the  czar,  who 
liad  become  prisoners  of  war  in  serving  the  cause 
of  these  powers,  the  first  consul  would  not  in- 
definitely detain  these  brave  men,  but  send  them 
back  to  the  emperor  unconditionally  ;  this  being, 
upon  his  part,  a  testimony  of  consideration  for  the 
Russian  army,  an  army  of  which  the  French  had 
acquired  the  knowledge  and  esteem  upon  the  field 
of  battle. 

This  letter  was  sent  by  the  way  of  Hamburg, 
and  transmitted  by  M.  de  Bourgoing,  the  Frencii 
minister  in  Denmark,  to  M.  Muraview,  the  minis- 
ter of  Russia  in  that  city.  But  such  was  tjie 
fear  of  Paul  I.  among  his  own  agents,  that  M. 
Muraview  refused  to  receive  the  letter,  not  daring 
to  break  the  anterior  order  of  his  own  cabinet, 
which  interdicted  all  communication  witli  tlie 
representatives  of  Fiance.  M.  Muraview  con- 
tented himself  with  reporting  to  the  court  of  St. 
IVtiTHburg  wliat  had  occurred,  and  made  known 
to  it  tlie  existence  and  contents  of  the  letter  of 
which  ho  liad  refused  to  take  charge.  Upon  this 
the  first  consul  added  another  and  still  more  effi- 
cacious advance  towards  the  Russian  monarch. 
.Seeing  plainly  that  Malta  could  not  hold  out  much 
longer,  ami  that  the  island,  rigorously  blockadi'd, 
would  soon  be  obliged  to  surrender  to  tlie  English 
for  want  of  ijiovisions,  he  conceived  the  idea  of 
making  it  a  present  to  the  emperor  Paul.  It  was 
well  kn()wn  that  this  prince  was  an  enthusiastic 
admirer  of  the  old  orders  of  chivalry,  antl  of  that 
of  Malta  moi(!  particularly,  having  got  himself  to 
be  elected  under  tlie  title  of  grand  master  of  St. 
John  of  Jerusalem  ;  that  he  had  determined  to 
establish  that  religious  and  chivalric    institution. 


and  that  he  held  in  St.  Petersburg  frequent  chap- 
ters of  the  order,  for  the  object  of  conferrin;'-  the 
decoration  upon  the  princes  and  great  personages 
of  Europe.  It  was  impossible  to  captivate  his 
heart  more  completely  than  by  offering  him  this 
island,  which  was  the  seat  of  the  order  of  which  he 
wished  to  be  the  head.  The  thing  was  admirably 
conceived  under  every  point  of  view.  Either  the 
English,  who  were  on  the  eve  of  its  capture,  would 
consent  to  its  restitution,  and  thus  it  would  be  out 
of  their  hands  ;  or  they  would  refuse,  and  Paul  I. 
was  ca])able  for  such  an  object  to  declare  war 
against  them.  M.  Sergijeff,  a  Russian  officer,  who 
was  detained  in  France  as  a  i)risoner  of  war,  «as 
this  time  charged  to  proceed  to  St.  Petersburg, 
caiTying  the  two  letters  relative  to  the  prisoners 
and  to  Malta. 

When  these  different  communications  arrived  in 
St.  Petersburg,  they  produced  their  inevitable 
effect.  Paul  was  greatly  touched,  and  from  this 
time  gave  himself  up  without  reserve  to  his  ad- 
miration for  the  first  consul.  He  selected  im- 
mediately an  old  Finland  officer,  once  a  Swedish 
subject,  and  a  very  respectable  man,  exceedingly 
well  disposed  towards  France,  and  much  in  favour 
at  the  Russian  court.  He  was  nominated  governor 
of  Malta,  and  ordered  to  put  liimself  at  the  head 
of  the  six  thousand  Russian  prisoners  who  were  in 
France,  and  to  go  with  that  force  well  organised, 
and  take  possession  of  Malta,  to  be  delivered  up  to 
him  by  the  hands  of  the  French.  Paul  ordered 
him  to  go  by  Paris,  and  to  thank  the  first  consul 
publicly.  To  this  demonstration  Paul  added  a 
step  of  much  greater  efficiency.  He  enjoined  M. 
Krudener,  his  minister  at  Berlin,  who  had  some 
months  before  been  charged  to  renew  the  con- 
nexion between  Russia  and  Prussia,  to  enter  into  a 
direct  communication  with  general  Beurnonville, 
the  Frencli  ainbassadoi",  and  furnislied  him  with 
necessary  powers  to  negotiate  a  treaty  with  France. 

M.  Haugwitz,  who  perhaps  found  that  the  re- 
conciliation proceeded  too  rapidly,  since  Prussia 
would  lose  her  character  of  a  mediator  the  first 
moment  that  the  cabinets  of  Russia  and  France 
were  in  direct  communication,  arranged  so  as  to 
be  himself  the  ostensible  agent  of  this  reconcilia- 
tion. Thus  far  M.  Krudener  and  M.  de  Beurnon- 
ville liad  met  at  Berlin  with  the  ministers  of  the 
different  courts  without  speaking.  M.  Haugwitz 
invited  both  to  dinner  one  day  :  after  dinner  he 
brought  them  together,  and  then  left  them  by 
themselves  in  his  own  garden,  that  they  might 
have  the  means  of  the  more  perfect  explanaiii)n. 
M.  Krudener  expressed  his  regret  to  general 
Beurnonville  that  he  had  never  been  able  before 
to  enjoy  the  society  of  the  Frencli  legation;  made 
an  excuse  for  the  refusal  given  at  Hamburg  to 
the  receipt  of  the  first  consul's  letter,  because  of 
the  existence  of  the  anterior  order  ;  and  last  of  all 
entered  into  a  long  explanation  of  the  Hew  tlis- 
jjosition  of  Ills  sovereign.  lb-  announced  to  gene- 
ral Beurnonville,  that  M.  Spiengporten  liad  been 
sent  an  envoy  to  Paris  ;  and  slated  to  him  the 
livL'ly  satisfaction  that  Paid  I.  had  filt  in  learning 
the  restitution  of  the  jtrisoiK  rs,  an<l  the  offer  to 
restore  Malta  to  the  order  of  St.  John  of  Jcriisa- 
lein.  He  passed  at  last  from  these  subjects  to  the 
more  important  one  of  all;  in  other  words,  to  the 
conditions  of  a  peace.     Russia  and  France  liad  no 


Interview  between  the  Rus-  between  France  and  Russia. 

[42    sian  and  French  ministers    THIERS'  CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE.  — ReHections   upon    Bona- 

ai  Berlin. — Reconciliation  parte's  genius  and  success. 


July. 


quarrel  between  themselves.  Tliey  were  not  at 
war  for  any  interest  connected  with  commerce  or 
territory;  but  on  account  of  a  dissimilarity  in  their 
forms  of  government.  They  had  nothinsj  more  to 
do,  therefore,  in  regard  to  what  immediately  con- 
cerned themselves,  but  to  write  one  article,  de- 
claring that  peace  was  re-established  between  the 
two  powers.  This  fact  alone  iixlicated  how  un- 
i-easonable  the  war  had  been.  But  the  war  had 
brought  alliances  in  its  train,  and  Paul,  who 
piqued  himself  upon  fidelity  to  his  engagements, 
demanded  only  a  single  condition,  which  was,  that 
his  allies  should  be  taken  care  of.  They  were 
four  in  number,  Bavaria,  Wurtemberg,  Piedmont, 
and  Naples;  for  these  four  he  asked  the  integrity 
of  their  territories.  Nothing  was  more  facile  thiin 
to  introduce  an  explanatory  clause  to  this  effect, 
that  the  conditions  should  be  regarded  as  fulfilled, 
if  those  princes  obtained  an  indemnity  for  the 
provinces  which  the  French  republic  might  take 
from  them.  This  point  was  thus  understood  and 
admitted  by  M.  Krudener.  The  secularisation  of 
the  ecclesiastical  estates  in  Germany,  and  their 
proportional  partition  amongst  the  lay  princes, 
who  had  lost  a  part  or  all  of  their  teri'itories  in 
consequence  of  the  abandonment  of  the  left  bank 
of  the  Rhine  to  France,  was  in  effect  a  matter 
long  assented  to  by  every  body.  It  had  been  ad- 
mitted in  the  congress  of  Rastadt  under  the 
directory.  The  arrangement  was  not  less  easy  as 
regarded  the  Italian  jirinces,  the  allies  of  Paul  I. 
Piedmont  lost  Nice  and  Savoy  ;  she  might  be 
indenniified  in  Italy,  if  the  ambition  of  Austria 
in  thitt  country  was  kept  under  due  restraint,  and 
not  permitted  to  e.\tend  itself  too  far.  On  this 
subject  Paul  I.,  greatly  irritated  against  the  cabinet 
of  Vienna,  said,  like  Prussin,  that  Austria  must  be 
kept  down;  and  was  not  inclined  to  grant  her  that 
which  it  was  possible  to  refuse.  In  regard  to  the 
kingdom  (jf  Naples,  France  had  nothing  to  take 
from  it,  but  France  had  offensive  conduct  to 
punish  and  outrages  to  avenge.  Still  the  first 
consul  was  willing  to  pardon  her  upcjn  one  con- 
dition, which  was  of  a  nature  to  please  Paul  I., 
as  ill-disposed  towards  the  English  as  towards  the 
Austrians;  it  was  that  the  cabinet  of  Naples  should 
expiate  its  faults  by  a  formal  rupture  with  Great 
Britain.  On  all  these  topics  there  was  a  pretty 
near  agreement,  and  every  day  there  must  have 
been  a  closer  approximation,  from  the  active 
movement  of  affairs,  and  from  the  impatient 
character  of  Paul  I.,  who  from  a  state  of  discon- 
tent with  his  former  allies,  was  about  to  pass, 
without  transition,  into  a  state  of  o|)en  hostility. 

The  reconciliation  of  Fiance  with  Russia  was 
thus  nearly  accomplished,  and  even  made  public, 
because  the  departure  of  M.  Sprengporten  from 
Paris  had  been  officially  announced.  Paul  I.,  the 
furious  enemy  of  France,  thus  became  its  friend, 
against  the  powers  of  the  <jld  coalition.  The  glory 
and  the  pr. .found  dexterity  of  the  fir.st  consul  had 
produced  this  singular  change.  A  circumstance 
at  once  fortuitous  and  important  was  about  to 
make  it  more  complete;  this  was  the  quarrel  of  the 
neutral  powers,  increased  by  the  violence  of  Eng- 
land upon  the  hinh  seas.  It  seemed  as  if  every 
thing  at  that  time  united  to  favour  the  designs  of 
the  first  consul ;  and  we  are  induced  to  adn)ire  at  ihe 
same  moment  his  good  fortune  as  well  as  his  genius. 


On  regarding  the  affairs  of  this  lower  world,  one 
is  almost  tempted  to  say,  that  Fortune  loves  j-outh, 
it  so  wonderfully  seconds  the  early  years  of  great 
men.  But  let  us  not,  like  the  ancient  poets,  make 
her  blind  and  capricious.  If  she  favours  so  often 
the  youth  of  great  men,  as  she  did  of  Hannibal, 
Csesar,  and  Napoleon,  it  is  because  they  have  not 
yet  abused  her  favours. 

Bonaparte  was  then  happy, becausehe  was  worthy 
to  be  so;  because  he  had  reason  on  his  side  against 
all  the  world  :  at  home  against  party,  abroad  against 
the  ])owers  of  Europe.  At  home  he  would  have 
nothing  but  justice  and  order;  abroad,  peace,  but 
a  peace  advantageous  and  glorious,  such  as  he  h:is 
a  right  to  desire  who  was  not  the  aggressor,  and 
who  had  himself  known  how  to  be  victorious. 
Thus  the  world  would  reconcile  itself  with  France 
represented  by  a  great  man,  at  once  just  and 
powerful ;  and  if  this  great  man  had  met  with 
fortunate  circumstances,  there  was  not  one  of 
which  he  had  not  himself  been  the  cause,  and  by 
which  he  had  not  profited  with  skill.  It  was  but 
a  little  before,  that  one  of  his  lieutenants,  antici- 
pating his  commands,  hastened  at  the  sound  of 
cannon  to  give  him  victory  at  Marengo;  but  what 
had  he  not  done  to  prepare  the  way  for  that  vic- 
tory ?  Now  a  prince,  struck  with  insanity,  seated 
upon  one  of  the  first  thrones  in  the  world,  became 
an  easy  jirey  to  his  diplomatic  talents;  with  what 
clever  condescension  had  he  not  flattered  liis  folly? 
England,  by  her  conduct  on  the  ocean,  was  soon 
about  to  recall  to  France  all  the  maritime  power.s; 
it  will  soon  be  seen  with  what  art  he  set  about 
managing  them,  and  casting  upon  England  the 
charge  of  all  the  violence.  Fortune,  tlie  capricious 
mistress  of  great  men,  is  not  so  capricious  then  as 
some  would  lain  rejiresent  her.  All  is  not  caprice 
when  she  favours  tliem,  or  caprice  when  she  aban- 
dons them.  In  these  pretended  infidelities  the 
errors  are,  in  general,  not  upon  her  side.  Let  us 
speak  a  more  correct  language,  moi-e  worthy  of 
an  important  subject:  Fortune,  the  pagan  name 
given  to  the  jjower  which  regulates  all  sublunary 
things,  is  but  Providence  befriending  genius  when 
it  walks  in  the  path  of  rectitude,  or,  in  other  words, 
in  the  way  designated  by  infinite  wisdom. 

The  foitunate  circumstance  which  was  about  to 
rally  definitively  the  powers  of  the  north  around 
the  policy  tif  the  first  consul,  and  to  procure  him 
auxiliaries  upon  the  element  where  he  had  the 
greatest  necessity  for  finding  them,  in  other  words, 
upon  the  sea,  happened  thus.  The  English  had 
comniitted  fresh  outrages  upon  neutrals.  They 
would  not  suffer  the  Russians,  the  Danes,  the 
Swedes,  and  the  Americans,  to  enter  freely  all 
the  ports  of  the  world,  and  to  lend  their  flags  to 
the  trade  of  Fr.ance  and  Spain.  They  had  already 
violated  the  independence  of  tlie  neutral  flag,  more 
particularly  in  regard  to  America ;  and  it  was 
because  the  Americans  had  not  sufficiently  de- 
fended it,  that  the  directory  showed  its  anger  by 
subjecting  them  to  treatment  almost  as  rigorous 
as  that  they  received  from  the  English.  Bona- 
I>arte  had  repaired  this  error  by  annulling  the 
harshest  of  the  regulations  enforced  by  the  direc- 
tory ;  by  the  institution  of  the  tribunal  of  prizes 
charged  with  adminJNtering  better  justice  to  cap- 
tured vessels  ;  by  rendering  homage  in  the  iiei-son 
of  Washington   to   the  whole   of  Anierica ;  and, 


July. 


Conditions  of  marilime  neutrality.         THE   ARMISTICE. 


Arguments  advanced  by  England 
lor  tlie  riglit  of  search. 


143 


finally,  by  calling  to  P.tris  negotiators,  in  order  to 
establish  with  her  relatinns  of  amity  and  com- 
merce. It  was  at  this  very  moment  that  England, 
as  if  irritated  by  the  bud  success  of  her  imlicy, 
seemed  to  become  more  oppressive  towards  neu- 
trals. Already  the  most  offensive  acts  had  been 
committed  by  her  upon  the  high  seas;  but  the  last 
exceeded  all  bounds,  not  only  of  justice,  but  of  the 
commonest  prudence. 

This  is  not  the  place  for  entering  upon  all  the 
details  of  that  serious  dispute  ;  it  will  suffice  to 
mention  its  mai*  points.  The  neutrals  asserted 
that  the  war,  wliich  the  great  nations  chose  to  wage 
with  each  other,  ought  not  in  any  manner  to  cramj) 
their  trade,  that  they  had  even  a  right  to  carry  on 
the  conmierce  of  which  the  belligerent  parties  had 
voluntiirily  deprived  themselves.  They  claimed,  in 
consequence,  the  riglit  of  entering  freely  all  ihe  ports 
of  the  world,  and  of  navigating  between  the  ports  of 
the  belligerents;  of  going,  for  example,  from  France 
and  Spain  to  Englnml,  and  from  England  to  Spain 
and  France,  and,  what  was  less  reasonable,  of  going 
from  the  colonies  to  the  mother-country,  as  from 
Mexico  to  Sjiaiii,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  the 
precious  metals,  which,  but  fur  their  interference, 
could  not  reach  Europe.  They  maintained  that  the 
flag  covered  the  merchandise,  or,  in  other  words, 
that  the  flag  of  a  nation,  not  concerned  in  the  wur, 
covered  against  every  sjiecies  of  search  the  mer- 
chandize conveyed  in  such  vessels  ;  that  on  board 
of  them  French  merchandise  could  not  be  seized 
by  the  English,  nor  English  merchandise  by  the 
French  ;  as  a  Frenchman,  for  instance,  would  have 
been  inviolable  on  the  quays  of  Copenhagen,  or  of 
St.  Petersburg,  for  the  British  power  :  in  short, 
that  the  vessel  of  a  neutral  nation  was  as  sacred 
as  the  quays  of  its  cai)ital. 

The  neutrals  only  consented  to  one  exception. 
They  acknowledged  that  they  ought  not  to  carry 
goods  used  for  purposes  of  war;  because  it  was  con- 
trary to  the  idea  of  neutrality  iiself,  that  they 
should  furnish  one  belligerent  power  with  arms 
against  another.  But  they  understood  that  this 
interdiction  should  be  limited  solely  to  objects 
fabricated  for  warlike  purposes,  such  as  muskets, 
cannon,  powder,  projectiles,  and  articles  of  e(|uip- 
mcnt  of  every  kind  ;  as  to  provisif)ns,  they  would 
not  admit  the  interdiction  of  any,  except  such  as 
were  prepared  for  the  usage  of  armies,  as  biscuit 
for  exaniple. 

If  they  admitted  an  exception  as  to  the  nature 
of  transporljiblo  nurchandise,  they  admitted  of 
another,  in  respect  to  the  place  to  lie  entered,  on 
the  condition  that  it  should  be  strietly  <lefined. 
The  second  exception  w.is,  as  to  the  p<u'ts  really 
and  truly  blockaded,  and  guarded  by  a  naval  force 
capable  of  laying  sieg.;  to,  or  reducing  them  by 
famine,  under  a  state  of  blockade.  In  such  a  case 
it  was  admitted  that,  to  run  into  a  blockaded  port, 
wa«  threaU.ning  one  of  the  two  nations  in  the  usu 
of  its  right,  i»y  preventing  it  from  taking  the  places 
of  its  enemy  by  famine  or  attack  ;  that  it  was  con- 
sequently affordmg  aid  to  luie  of  tho  two  against  the 
other.  Hut  lli<y  demanded  that  the  blockade  should 
be  preceded  by  fiprmal  (h-claraiions,  that  tho  block- 
ade be  real,  and  executed  by  such  a  force  thattlu're 
would  be  inmiiuent  ilanger  in  violating  it.  They 
would  not  ailmit  that  by  a  simple  declaration  of 
blockade,  either  party  should  be  ablo  to  interdict  at 


pleasure,  by  means  of  a  pure  fiction,  the  entry  of 
such  and  such  a  port,  or  to  exclude  from  the  entire 
extent  of  certain  coasts. 

Lastly,  it  was  necessary  to  discover  whether  a 
vessel  really  belonged  to  the  nation  whose  flag  she 
hoisted,  whether  or  not  she  carried  merchandise 
qualified  as  contraband  of  war.  The  neutrals  con- 
sented to  be  searched,  but  it  was  required  that  the 
search  should  be  made  with  a  certain  regard  to 
civility,  to  be  agreed  upon  and  faithfully  kept.  In 
])articular,  it  was  considered  essential  that  mer- 
chant-ships should  not  be  searched  if  convoyed  by 
a  man-ol-war.  The  military,  or  i-oyal  flag,  must, 
according  to  them,  have  the  privilege  of  being  cre- 
dited on  its  word,  when  it  affirmed,  upiJii  the  honour 
of  its  nation,  that  the  vessels  under  convoy,  were 
of  the  nation  in  the  first  |)lace;  and,  in  the  second, 
that  they  carried  no  inienliited  goods.  If  it  were 
different,  they  said,  a  brig  oidy  while  cruizing, 
might  stop  a  convoy,  and  with  that  convoy  a  fleet- 
of  war,  perhaps  an  admiral.  Who  could  know  ? 
Even  a  privateer  might  stop  M.  De  Suff"ren,  or 
Lord  Nelson  ! 

Thus,  the  doctrine  sustained  by  the  neutrals, 
might  be  resolved  into  four  main  jjoints. 

The  flag  covered  the  merchandise;  that  is  to  say, 
it  interdicted  the  search  for  an  enemy's  merchan- 
dise on  board  a  neutral  vessel,  a  stranger  to  tho 
belligerents. 

No  merchandise  to  be  interdicted,  but  such  as  is 
contraband  of  war.  The  contraband  confined  wholly 
to  tho  objects  fabricated  for  the  use  of  armies. 
Corn,  for  example,  and  naval  stores  not  included. 

Access  could  not  be  interdicted  to  any  port,  un- 
less such  a  port  be  really  blockaded. 

Lastly,  no  vessel  under  convoy  could  be  visited. 
Such  were  the  principles  supported  by  Franco, 
Prussia,  Denmark,  Swedert,  Russia,  and  America, 
in  other  words,  by  the  inmiensc  majority  of  na- 
tions; principles  founded  upon  a  respect  for  the 
rightsof  others,  but  absolutelycontested  by  England. 
She  maintained,  in  effect,  that,  under  those  re- 
gulations, the  conmierce  of  her  enemies  would  be 
carried  on  without  any  obstacle  by  means  of  neu- 
trals (which,  by  the  by,  was  not  correct,  for  that 
commerce  could  not  be  contiimed  by  means  of  neu- 
trals, without  giving  up  to  thein  the  greater  part  of 
the  profits,  and  causing  the  nation  obliged  to  liave 
recourse  to  them,  an  inmiense  loss).  She  insisted 
on  seizing  French  ov  Spanish  property  wherever 
it  might  be.  She  maiiitaine<l  that  certain  nu'rchan- 
discs,  such  as  corn,  and  naval  stores,  were  real  suc- 
cours to  a  country  at  war  ;  she  desired  that  a  de- 
claration of  blockade  should  be  sufficient  without 
the  presence  of  a  naval  force  to  interdict  the  en- 
trance to  certain  ports  or  ccasts  ;  lastly,  that  neu- 
trals, under  the  pretext  of  convoy,  should  not 
escape  the  examinaiion  of  the  belligerent  powers. 

If  it  be  desirable  to  know  what  was  the  founda- 
tion of  the  important  interest  concealed  under  this 
sophism  of  the  public  writers  of  England,  here  it 
may  be  fouiul.  lingkuxl  wished  to  hinder  the  car- 
riage to  the  Spaniards  of  the  lieh  metals  of  Mexico, 
the  great  source  of  Spanish  opulence  ;  to  the 
French,  the  sugar  and  coffee,  without  which  they 
are  uiuible  to  live  ;  to  the  oiu-  and  the  other,  th<^ 
timber,  iron,  and  hemp  of  the  north,  necessary  for 
their  ships.  She  woidil  have  wished  to  bo  able  to 
Starve  them  in  case  of  deficient  harvests,  as  siio 


League  of  neutrality 
of  Catherine  of 
Russia. 


English  attack  upon  neu-    ,o,,n 
THIERS'   CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE.        tral  convoys—Affair  of    j^ 

Barcelona.  -""y- 


did,  for  example,  in  1793  ;  she  wished  for  the 
power  of  closing  the  ports  of  entire  countries  with- 
out the  obligation  of  a  real  blocliade  ;  lastly,  she 
desired,  by  means  of  searches,  vexations,  and  ob- 
stacles of  all  kinds,  to  ruin  the  trade  of  every  na- 
tion; so  that  war,  which,  for  commercial  countries, 
is  a  state  of  distress,  should  become  for  her  mer- 
cliants,  what  it  truly  was,  a  time  of  monopoly  and 
of  extraordinary  prosperity.  In  regard  to  the 
Americans,  she  had  an  intention  still  nioi-e  ini- 
quitous ;  it  w'as  to  take  from  them  their  seamen, 
under  the  pretext  that  they  were  English  ;  a  con- 
fusion easy  to  make,  owing  to  the  uniformity  of  the 
language. 

In  1780,  during  the  American  war,  Catherine 
tlie  Great  had  formed  a  league  of  neutrals,  to  resist 
these  pretences.  The  first  consul,  profiting  by  the 
new-born  friendship  of  Paul,  the  irritating  wrongs 
of  neutrals,  and  the  outrageous  violence  of  the 
English,  set  every  eff'ort  at  work  to  form  a  similar 
league  in  1800. 

At  this  moment  the  dispute  presented  itself  only 
under  one  form,  in  the  right  of  search.  The  Danes 
and  Swedes,  to  escape  the  vexations  of  the  English 
cruizers,  had  devised  the  plan  of  sailing  in  numer- 
ous convoys,  escorted  by  frigates  carrying  the  royal 
flag.  It  must  be  added,  that  they  never  dishonoured 
this  flag,  and  took  good  care  not  to  escort  false 
Danes  or  Swedes,  to  cover  the  contraband  of  war, 
as  it  is  denominated;  they  studied  only  how  to 
escape  vexations  which  were  become  unbearable. 
But  the  English,  seeing  in  this  only  a  manner  of 
eluding  the  difficulty,  and  continuing  the  trade  of 
neutrals,  determined  to  continue  the  right  of  search, 
without  i-egard  to  the  convoying  vessel. 

The  preceding  year  two  Swedish  frigates,  the 
Troya  and  the  Hulla-Fersen,  accompanying  some 
Swedish  vessels,  were  stopped  by  the  English 
squadrons,  and  obliged  to  submit  to  the  searcli  of 
the  convoy  under  their  charge.  The  king  of  Sweden 
sent  the  two  captains  of  the  frigates  to  trial  by  a 
court-martial,  for  not  defending  them.  The  ex- 
ample had  for  a  moment  stopped  the  English,  who 
feared  they  might  be  exposed  to-a  rupture  with  the 
northern  powers.  Tliey  had,  in  consequence,  been 
somewhat  less  rigoi-ous  with  Swedish  ships.  But 
two  recent  examples  had  renewed  the  difficulty, 
and  forced  Sweden  and  Denmark  to  the  utmost 
pitch  of  exasperation. 

In  the  winter  of  1799  1800,  the  Danish  frigate 
the  Haufersen,  captain  Vandockum,  who  convoyed 
a  fleet  of  merchantmen  in  the  Mediterranean,  was 
stopped  by  order  of  lord  Keith  ;  he  attempted  to 
resist,  was  fired  upon,  and  earned  into  Gibraltar. 
A  very  violent  dispute  followed  upon  the  subject 
between  the  English  and  Danish  cabinets.  It  was 
still  in  progress  when,  in  the  month  of  July,  a 
Danish  frigate,  the  Fi'eya,  escorting  a  convoy  of  its 
own  nation,  was  met  in  the  channel  by  an  English 
squadron.  The  latter  insisted  on  the  right  of 
search  ;  the  commander  of  the  Freya,  captain 
Krabe,  nobly  resisted  the  summons  of  the  English 
admiral,  and  refused  to  permit  the  search  of  his 
convoy.  Force  was  employed  with  unnecessary 
violence  ;  captain  Krabe  defended  himself  until  he 
was  crippled,  and  he  was  obliged  to  surrender  to 
the  supei-iority  of  the  enemy,  as  he  had  but  a  single 
ship  to  opiMtse  to  six  men-ot'-war.  The  Freya  was 
taken  into  the  Downs. 


This  event  was  soon  followed  by  another  of  a 
diff'erent  nature,  but  more  odious  and  more  serious. 
Two  Spanish  frigates  ^  were  at  anchor  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  road  of  Barcelona.  The  English 
formed  a  scheme  for  capturing  them.  Here  there 
was  no  question  about  the  right  of  neutrals,  but 
the  committal  of  a  complete  i)iece  of  knavery,  for 
the  purpose  of  entering  with  impunity  into  an 
enemy's  port  without  being  recognized.  They  per- 
ceived in  the  roads  a  Swedish  galliot,  the  Hofihung, 
and  resolved  to  make  use  of  it  for  the  act  of  bri- 
gandage which  they  had  meditated.  They  manned 
their  boats,  boarded  the  galliot,  clapped  a  pistol  to 
the  breast  of  the  Swedish  captain,  and  obliged  him 
to  sail  quietly  towards  the  Spanish  frigates,  which, 
having  no  mistrust  of  the  Swedish  flag,  suffered 
her  to  come  alongside.  The  English  immediately 
rushed  on  board,  surprised  the  two  frigates,  which 
had  few  hands  on  board,  took,  and  left  the  harbour 
of  Barcelona  with  their  prey  so  dishonestly  ac- 
quired. 

This  circumstance  produced  an  extraordinary 
sensation  in  Europe,  and  rendered  every  maritime 
nation  indignant,  whose  rights  the  English  were  no 
longer  satisfied  with  violatmg,  but  whose  flag  they 
outraged,  by  making  them  unconsciously  serve  the 
jjurpose  of  a  most  infamous  piracy.  Spain  was 
already  at  war  with  Great  Britain,  she  could  do  no 
more ;  but  she  had  recourse  to  Sweden,  whose 
flag  had  been  usurped,  to  denounce  the  odious 
fact,  as  well  for  Sweden  as  for  Spain  2.     It  needed 


1  [In  this  statement  there  is  not  one  syllable  of  fact. 
True  it  is,  that  the  English  and  French  alike,  in  those  days, 
stated  the  most  extraordinary  things  of  each  other,  without 
regard  even  to  probability;  and  liistory  will  pass  many  of 
them  to  posterity  as  facts.  The  Conception  and  La  Pas, 
nearly  four  hundred  tons  each,  and  carrying  twenty-two 
guns,  were  in  the  port  of  Barcelona,  laden  with  provisions 
and  stores  ready  for  sea,  on  the  sixth  of  September,  1800. 
The  port  was  blockaded  by  the  Minotaur  and  Niger,  English 
ships  of  war,  the  boats  of  which,  five  or  six  in  number, 
attacked  the  Spanish  vessels  and  carried  them.  The  cap- 
tain of  the  Conception  fought  well ;  three  of  his  men  were 
killed  and  twenty-three  wounded.  The  English  had  two 
killed  and  si.x  wounded.  The  cowardly  commander  of  the 
La  Pas  got  into  his  boat  on  the  other  side  of  his  vessel  from 
that  attacked,  and  pulled  away.  To  cover  liis  cowardice,  he 
gave  out  that  he  was  boarded  in  the  way  stated  by  M.  Thiers, 
to  shelter  himself  from  the  anger  of  his  government.  The 
fort  of  Mont  Jouc  fired  on  the  English  boats.  Captain  Louis, 
of  the  Minotaur,  says,  "The  firing  began  from  all  quarters 
at  nine;  about  ten  o'clock  I  had  the  pleasing  satisfaction  to 
see  the  two  ships  dropping  out  of  the  road,  under  a  heavy 
fire  from  the  vessels,  four  batteries,  ten  gun-boats,  two 
schooners,  with  two  forly-two  pounders,  the  fort  of  Mount 
Jouc  at  the  same  time  throwing  shells."  The  HotTnung,  a 
Swedish  galliot,  was  in  the  harbour  at  the  time.  Under  the 
circumstances,  such  a  use  of  that  vessel  would  have  been, 
in  a  naval  sense,  not  possible.] — Translator. 

2  [The  Spanisli  minister,  De  lluerta,  complained  of  this 
affair  to  the  Swedish  chancellor,  Ehrenheim,  who  remarked 
pithily  in  his  reply,  that  the  Spaniards  must  be  negligent,  in 
permitting  violence  to  be  done  to  neutrals  in  their  own  ports. 
De  Huerta  actually  accused  the  Swede  of  coolness  in  the 
affair.  In  the  mean  time,  it  does  not  appear  that  any  com- 
plaint was  ever  made  of  such  an  outrage  by  the  master  of 
the  HotTnung.  The  point  to  l)e  gained  was  to  excite  Sweden 
against  England,  upon  a  circumstance  that  never  did  occur, 
on  the  strength  of  the  story  of  a  cowardly  Spaniard.  The 
king  of  Sweden's  reply  to  one  remonstrance  on  the  subject — 
a  remonstrance  most  probably  urged  by  France — ran,  that 


Aug. 


Conduct  of  England  to  Denmark. 
— Lord  Wliitworth  sent  to  Co- 


TIIE  ARMISTICE. 


penhagen. — British  convention  with 
Denmark.— Affairs  of  Spain. 


no  more  to  envenom  the  quarrel  between  England 
and  tlie  neutral  powers,  especially  at  this  moment 
above  all,  when  the  moderation  of  the  first  consul 
towards  them  was  of  such  a  nature  as  to  exhibit  in 
a  strange  light  the  violence  of  England.  Sweden 
demanded  satisfaction  ;  Denmark  had  already  made 
the  same  demajid.  Behind  the  two  courts  was 
Russia,  which  from  17«0  regarded  itself  as  bound 
up  with  the  powers  of  the  Baltic  in  all  the  ques- 
tions which  involved  their  maritime  freedom. 

.M.  Bernstorff,  on  the  side  of  Denmark,  kept  up 
a  lively  controversy  with  the  cabinet  of  London,  by 
means  of  notes,  which  France  published,  and 
which  reflect  equal  honour  on  the  minister  who 
wrote  them  and  tlie  government  that  signed 
them,  and  which  was  soon  called  to  support  its 
signature  by  arms.  "  A  mere  gun-boat,"  the  En- 
glish remarked,  "carrying  the  fiag  of  a  neutral,  is 
to  have  the  right  of  conveying  the  commerce  of 
the  world,  and  of  keeping  out  of  our  view  the  trade 
of  our  enemies,  whicli  may  be  carried  on  as  easily 
during  war  by  this  means  as  during  peace."  "  An 
entire  squadron  then,"  answered  M.  BernstorH", 
"  would  be  obliged  to  obey  the  summons  of  the  most 
wretched  cruizer,  to  stop  upon  her  demand,  and 
suffer  the  convoy  she  is  escorting  to  be  examined 
before  his  eyes.  The  word  of  an  admiral,  making 
a  declaration  upon  the  honour  of  his  country,  is 
not  to  weigh  against  the  doubt  of  the  captain  of  a 
privateer,  who  is  to  possess  the  right  of  veriKcation 
by  search."  One  of  these  hypotheses  is  much  more 
admissible  than  the  other. 

In  order  to  support  these  opinions  by  fear,  the 
English  cabinet,  which  had  just  sent  lord  Whitworth 
to  Copenhagen,  ordered  him  to  be  followed  by  a 
squadron  of  sixteen  sail  of  the  line,  which  at  that 
i>oment  was  cruising  at  the  entrance  of  the  Sound. 
The  presence  of  this  squadron  produced  a  strong 
feeling  among  the  Baltic  powers,  and  not  only 
alarmed  Denmark,  against  which  it  more  inmiedi- 
ately  pointed,  but  Sweden,  Russia,  and  even  Prussia 
herself,  whose  trade  was  interested  in  the  navi- 
gation (if  the  Baltic.  The  four  signatures  to  the 
old  neutrality  of  17f!0  began  a  negotiation,  with 
the  avowed  end  of  forming  a  new  league  against 
the  maritime  tyranny  of  England.  The  cabinet  of 
London,  which' was  still  in  apprehension  of  such  an 
event,  insisted  strongly  at  Copenhagen  upon  ar- 
ranging the  dispute  ;  but  so  far  from  offering  satis- 
faction, it  had  the  singular  audacity  to  demand  it. 
It  wished,  by  alarming,  to  detach  Denmark  from 
tiie  league  before  it  was  consummated.  Unfortu- 
nately Denmark  had  been  surprised,  the  Sound 
wa«  not  defciidefl,  Cojienhagen  was  not  secure 
against  bombanlincut.  In  this  state  of  things  it 
was  necessjiry  to  yield  for  the  moment,  in  order  to 
gain  tlie  advantage  of  the  winter  season,  during 
which  the  ice  defends  tiie  Baltic,  and  thus  give 
all  the  neutral  powerH  time  to  make  preparations 
for  resistance.  On  the  27th  of  August,  or  lltii 
IVuctidor,  ill  tlie  year  viii.,  Denmark  was  obligi-d 
t<)  sign  a  convrntion,  in  which  the  question  of  the 
law  of  nations  wiiH  adjourned,  and  the  last  difference 
above,  which  had  ari»cn  respecting  the  Freya,  was 

"he  could  not  take  upon  himnelf  any  share  of  responsibility 
for  the  improper  use  wlilch  the  liclligerent  powers  niiKlit 
make  of  ttie  Swi(li«h  vessels  tliey  may  seize  upon."— Notk 
OP  Kuar.s nzi»  ]—Tran.il'ilor. 


adjusted.  The  Freya  was  repaired  in  an  English 
dockyard,  and  re.-tored ;  and  for  the  moment  Den- 
mark gave  up  convoying  her  merchant  ships. 

This  convention  decided  nothing.  The  storms, 
in  place  of  being  dissipated,  soon  gathered  again, 
because  the  four  northern  powers  felt  greatly  ii-ri- 
tated.  The  king  of  Sweden,  whose  honour  was 
not  yet  satisfied,  prepared  for  a  voyage  to  St.  Peters- 
burg, in  order  to  renew  the  ancient  neutrality. 
Paul  I.,  who  was  not  fond  of  middle  measures, 
began  by  a  most  energetic  action.  Learning  the 
dispute  with  Denmark,  and  that  an  English  fleet 
was  off  the  Souiid,  he  ordered  the  sequestration  of 
all  the  property  belonging  to  the  English,  as,  a 
security  for  the  injury  which  might  accrue  to  Rus- 
sian commerce.  This  measure  was  to  be  con- 
tinued until  the  intentions  of  the  English  govern- 
ment were  completely  cleared  up. 

Thus  in  the  courts  of  the  north  every  thing 
occurred  to  favour  the  objects  of  the  first  consul; 
and  events  turned  out  according  to  his  wishes. 
Things  did  not  go  on  less  jtrosperously  in  the  south 
of  Europe,  that  is  in  Spain.  There  was  seen  one 
of  the  first  monarchies  in  Europe  sinking  into  disso- 
lution, to  the  great  injury  of  the  balance  of  Europe, 
and  the  great  sorrow  of  a  generous  people,  indig- 
nant at  the  character  which  they  had  been  made 
to  play  in  the  world.  The  first  consul,  whose  in- 
defatigable intellect  embraced  every  object  at  once, 
had  already  directed  to  the  side  of  Spain"  his 
political  efforts,  and  sought  to  obtain  as  much  ad- 
vantage as  possible  for  the  common  cause  from 
that  degenerate  court. 

We  should  not  here  retrace  the  sad  picture  which 
follows,  if,  in  the  first  place,  it  were  not  true,  and  if 
it  were  not  necessary  afterwards  to  comprehend  the 
great  events  of  the  age. 

The  king,  the  queen  of  Spain,  and  the  prince  of 
peace  had  occupied  for  many  years  the  attention 
of  Europe,  and  offered  a  spectacle  dangerous  for 
royalty,  already  so  much  compromised  in  popular 
esteem.  One  would  have  said  that  the  illustrious 
liousc  of  Bourbon  was  destined,  at  the  end  of  the 
century,  to  lose  its  power  in  France,  Naples,  and 
Sjiain,  because  in  these  three  kingdoms  three  kings 
of  extreme  feebleness  iianded  over  their  sceptres 
to  the  contempt  and  ridicule  of  the  world,  by 
leaving  them  in  the  hands  of  three  queens,  either 
giddy,  violent,  or  dissolute. 

The  Bourbons  of  France,  whether  from  their 
own  fault  or  by  misfortune,  had  been  swallowed  up 
by  the  French  revolution  ;  by  foolishly  provoking 
it,  those  of  Naples  had  been  driven,  for  the  first 
time,  from  their  capital ;  those  of  Spain,  before 
they  let  their  sceptre  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
crowned  soldier  which  the  revolution  had  |)rodiiced, 
iiad  seen  no  better  step  to  take  than  to  pay  their 
court  to  him.  They  had  already  become  the  allit.s 
of  France  during  the  convention,  they  could  now 
much  more  willingly  be  in  connexion  with  her, 
wiieii  the  revolution,  in  place  of  a  sanguinary 
anarchy,  ofl'ered  to  them  a  great  man  disposed  to 
jirotect  them  if  they  followed  his  advice.  Hap|>y 
would  it  have  been  for  these  princes  had  they  fol 
lowed  the  ctmiisels  of  this  great  man,  at  that  lime 
sr>  excellent.  Happy  for  jiimseif,  had  he  done  no 
nior(!  than  give  it  to  them  ! 

The  king  of  Spain,  Charles  IV.,  was  an  honest 
man  ;   not   hard  and  Idunt  like    Louis  XVL,  but 
L 


Character  of  the  royal  family 
146    of  Spain -Scandalous  con-    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMriRE. 
duct  of  the  queen  and  the 


prince  of  the  peace. — Dis- 
graceful favouritism.  — 
Fatuity  of  the  king. 


more  agreeable  in  his  person,  less  informed,  and 
exceeding  him  in  weakness.  He  rose  very  early, 
not  to  attend  to  his  royal  duties,  but  to  hear  seve- 
ral masses,  and  then  descend  into  his  workshops, 
where,  mingled  with  turners,  smiths,  and  ar- 
mourers, he  stript  off"  his  clothes  like  them,  and  in 
their  company  laboured  at  all  kinds  of  work. 
Loving  hunting  a  good  deal,  he  liked  better  to 
manufacture  arms.  From  his  workshops  he  went 
to  his  stables,  to  assist  in  taking  care  of  his  horses, 
and  gave  himself  up  to  the  most  incredible  fa- 
miliarities witli  his  grooms.  After  having  thus 
employed  the  first  half  of  the  day,  he  partook  of  a 
solitary  meal,  to  which  neither  the  queen  nor  his 
children  were  admitted,  and  gave  up  the  remainder 
of  tlie  day  to  hunting.  Several  hundred  horses 
and  domestics  were  set  in  motion  for  his  daily 
pleasure,  his  dominant  passion.  After  having  rode 
like  a  young  man,  he  re-entered  the  palace,  gave  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  to  his  children,  a  lialf  hour  to 
the  signature  of  the  papers  submittid  to  him  by 
his  minister,  sat  down  to  play  with  some  of  the 
grandees  of  his  court,  and  sometimes  took  a  siesta 
with  them  until  the  time  arrived  for  his  last  meal, 
which  was  immediately  followed  by  his  retiring  to 
bed,  always  at  the  same  fixed  hour.  Such  was  his 
life,  witlumt  one  single  change  during  thy  whole 
year,  except  in  Passion-week,  wiiich  he  devoted 
entirely  to  religious  duties.  In  other  respects  he 
was  an  honest  man,  faithful  to  his  word,  mild, 
humane,  religious,  of  exemplary  chastity,  though 
not  cohabiting  with  his  wife,  ever  since  his  phy- 
sician had,  by  her  order,  requeistexl  liim  to  abstain 
from  it  ;  he  had  no  other  concern  in  the  scandals 
of  his  court  or  the  errors  of  his  government  than 
in  allowing  them  to  be  committed,  without  seeing 
or  believing  them  during  his  long  reign. 

At  his  side  the  queen,  sister  of  the  duke  of 
Parma,  a  pupil  of  Condillac,  who  composed  for  her 
and  her  brother  excellent  works  for  tlieir  educa- 
tion, led  a  totally  diiTerent  life.  She  would  have 
done  little  honour  to  the  celebrated  philosophical 
instructor  of  her  youth,  if  phil<)so])hers  were  com- 
monly able  to  answer  for  their  disciples.  She  was 
about  fifty  yeiirs  of  age,  and  jiossessed  some  re- 
mains of  beauty,  which  she  took  pains  to  perpetuate 
with  infinite  care.  Attending  mass,  as  the  king  did, 
every  day,  she  psissed  in  corresjionding  with  a 
great  number  of  persons,  and  more  particuliirly 
with  the  prince  of  peace, that  time  which  Cliiirles  1 V. 
gave  to  his  workshops  and  stables.  In  this  correspon- 
dence she  made  the  prince  of  the  peace  acquainted 
with  all  the  affairs  of  the  court  and  the  state,  and 
she  received  from  him,  in  return,  all  the  st-andal 
and  puerilities  of  Madrid.  She  finished  lier  morning 
by  giving  an  hour  to  her  children,  and  another  to 
the  cares  of  govermnent  ;  not  an  act,  not  an  ap- 
pointment, not  a  pardon,  went  to  receive  the  royal 
signature,  before  the  contents  were  seen  by  lier. 
The  minister  who  allowed  himself  to  commit  such 
an  infraction  of  tlie  conditions  of  her  favour,  would 
have  immediately  been  displaced.  She  took  her 
dinner  alone,  like  the  king,  in  the  middle  of  the 
day ;  the  rest  of  the  afternoon  was  devoted  to  re- 
ceptions, in  wliich  siie  acquitted  herself  with  great 
grace,  and  to  tiie  prince  of  peace,  on  whom  she 
bestowed  d:iily  several  hours  of  her  time. 

At  the  period  now  spoken  of,  it  is  well  known 
the  prince  of  the  peace  was  uo  longer  minister. 


M.  Urquijo,  who  will  shortly  be  introduced,  had 
succeeded  him  ;  but  the  prince  was  not  less  the 
first  authority  in  the  kingdom.  This  singular  per- 
sonage, incapable,  ignorant,  full  of  levity,  but  of  a 
hiindsome  appearance,  as  it  is  necessary  to  be  in 
order  to  succeed  in  a  corrupt  court,  was  the  arro- 
gant ruler  of  queen  Louisa,  and  had  reigned  for 
twenty^  years  suiirenie  over  her  empty  and  fri- 
volous mind.  Weary  of  his  exalted  favour,  he 
shared  it  at  last  voluntarily  with  obscure  favourites, 
and  resigned  himself  to  a  thousand  disorders  and 
debaucheries,  which  he  repeated  to  his  crowned 
slave,  whom  lie  found  pleasure  in  rendering  mise- 
rable by  his  tales  ;  he  even  ill-treated  her,  it  was 
said,  in  the  grossest  way.  Still  he  retained  an  ab- 
solute influence  over  the  jjrincess,  who  was  wholly 
unable  to  resist  him,  and  could  not  live  happily 
unless  she  saw  him  every  day.  She  committed  the 
government  to  him  for  a  long  time,  under  the 
official  title  of  prime  minister,  and  aftei-wards, 
when  he  had  the  title  no  hmger,  he  remained  so  in 
fact,  for  nothing  was  done  in  Spain  without  his 
consent.  He  disposed  of  all  the  state  resources, 
and  he  had  in  his  own  possession  enormous  sums 
in  specie,  wjiile  the  treasury,  reduced  to  the  great- 
est want,  sustained  itself  upon  paper-money  depre- 
ciated one-half  in  value.  The  nation  was  well  nigh 
accustomed  to  this  spectacle,  and  'xhibited  its  in- 
dignation only  when  some  new  and  extraordinary 
scandal  made  the  cheeks  of  those  brave  Spaniards 
blush,  whose  heroic  resistance  soon  afterwards 
proved  that  they  were  worthy  of  a  better  govern- 
ment. At  the  time  when  Euro])e  resounded  with 
the  great  events  which  were  passing  on  the  Po  and 
the  Danube,  the  court  of  Spain  was  the  scene  of  an 
unparalleled  scandal,  wiiich  had  nearly  destroyed 
the  patience  of  the  natives.  The  prince  of  peace, 
from  one  disorder  to  another,  completed  all  l^y 
marrying  a  relation  of  the  royal  family.  A  child 
was  the  off"spring  of  this  marriage.  The  king  and 
queen  themselves  determining  to  become  sponsors 
for  the  new-born  infant  at  the  baptismal  font, 
proceeded  to  the  completion  of  the  ceremony,  with 
all  the  usages  customary  at  the  baptism  of  a  royal 
child.  The  grandees  of  the  court  were  obliged  to 
fulfil  the  same  duties  that  would  have  been  exacted 
of  them  if  the  child  bad  been  the  issue  of  royalty 
itself.  Upon  that  babe  ni  swaddling-clothes,  the 
great  orders  of  the  crown,  and  the  must  magnifi- 
cent |)resents,  were  conferred.  The  grand  inquisi- 
tor officiated  at  the  relii;ious  ceremony.  It  is  true, 
that  this  time  public  indiiiuation  arose  to  the  high- 
est point,  and  that  every  Spaniard  thought  himself 
personally  outraged  by  this  odious  affair.  Things 
had  come  to  such  a  head,  that  the  Spanish  minis- 
ters o|)ened  their  minds  upon  the  matter  to  the 
foreign  ambassadors,  and  particularly  to  the  am- 
bassadors of  France,  Avho  were  generally  their  res 
sort  in  most  of  their  enibarrassmcnts,  and  who 
heard  from  their  own  tongues  the  frightful  details 
which  are  hero  related. 

In  the  midst  of  these  disgraceful  actions,  the 
king  alone,  who  was  kept  under  a  continual  obser- 
vation by  his  wife,  was  ignorant  of  all,  nor  had  he 
the  least  su5])icion  of  what  was  passing.  Neither 
the  voices  of  his  subjects,  nor  the  revolt  of  some  of 
the  Spanish  grandees,  wlio  were  indignant  at  the 
services  required  of  them,  nor  even  the  inexplica- 
ble assiduity  of  the  prince  of  the  peace,  could  make 


tsoo. 

Aug. 


Regard  of  Charles  IV.  for  tlie 
lirst  consul. —  Character  of 
the  minister  Urquijo. 


THE  ARMISTICE. 


Mutual  presents  between  Bo- 
naparte and  the  couit  of 
Spain. 


him  see.  Tlie  poor  and  good-tempered  luns;;  was 
sometimes  heard  to  make  this  singular  observation, 
which  embarrassed  all  those  who  were  condemned 
to  hear  it,  "  My  brother  of  Naples  is  a  fool,  who 
suffers  liis  wife  to  govern  liim  !"  1 1  mnst  be  ob- 
served, that  the  prince  of  Astiirias,  afterwards 
Ferdinand  VII.,  brouglit  up  at  a  distance  fr<im 
tlie  couri,  with  incredible  strictness,  detested  the 
fiivourite,  of  wliose  criminal  intiuence  he  was  well 
aware,  and  that  this  just  hatred  of  the  favourite 
tinislied  by  being  converted  into  an  involuntary 
liatred  for  his  father  and  mother. 

What  a  sight  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, and  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth,  when 
the  throne  of  France  iiad  jusi  fallen  with  a  crash, 
and  when  upon  its  ruins  a  young  soldier,  simple, 
austere,  indefatigable,  full  of  genius,  jiad  just  ele- 
vated himself.  How  long  could  the  Spanish  imm.ir- 
chy  resist  the  dangerous  example  of  the  contrast  ? 

The  house  of  S|>ain,  amidst  these  disorders, 
was  struck  sometimes  with  confused  presentiments, 
and  was  often  under  the  apprehension  of  a  revolu- 
tion. The  (lid  attachment  of  the  Spaniards  for 
royalty  and  religion,  without  doubt,  in  some  degree 
reassured  it,  but  it  feax-ed  to  see  a  revolution  come 
by  the  way  of  the  Pyrenees,  and  endeavoured  to 
avert  the  danger  by  an  entire  deference  towards 
the  French  republic.  The  incredible  violence  of 
ihe  English  cabinet,  and  the  angry  oulbreakings  of 
Paul  I.  in  its  regard  at  the  moment  of  the  second 
coalition,  had  thrown  it  comiilutely  into  the  arms 
of  France.  She  found  this  conduct  advantageous, 
even  honourable,  since  Bonaparte  had  ennobled,  by 
his  presence  at  the  head  of  power,  all  the  relations 
of  the  cabinets  with  the  government  of  the  republic. 
The  good  king,  Charles  IV.  had  imbibed,  though 
at  a  distance,  a  sort  of  friendship  for  the  first 
consul.  This  sentiment  every  day  augmented,  and 
it  is  sorrowful  to  reflect  how  this  friendship  was 
destined  to  end,  without  any  perfidy  on  the  side 
of  France,  by  an  inconceivable  chain  of  circum- 
stances. "  What  a  great  man  is  that  ;;eneral  Bona- 
l>arte,"  said  Charles  IV.  continually.  The  queen 
also  said  the  same,  but  with  more  coolness;  because 
tlie  prince  of  the  peace  censured  sonn'times  what 
was  done  by  the  court  of  Spain,  of  which  he  was 
no  longer  the  minister,  and  appeared  to  blame  the 
]>artiality  it  testified  towards  the  French  govern- 
ment. Still,  the  first  consul  informed  by  ,M.  Al- 
quier,  the  French  ambassador,  a  man  of  compre- 
hensive mind  and  great  sagacity,  that  he  nmst  ab- 
Bolutely  secure  at  Madrid  the  good  will  of  the 
prince  of  the  peace,  sent  to  the  favourite  some 
m.-»gnificent  arms,  made  in  the  Versailles  manufac- 
tory. This  attention,  on  the  (lart  of  the  most  famous 
personage  in  Europe,  tojtcluMl  the  vanity  of  the 
prince  of  t!ie  |)eace.  A  few  attentions  from  the 
French  ambassador  completely  gained  him  over, 
and  from  tliat  titne  the  court  of  Spain  seemed  to 
give  itself  up  entirely  to  France  without  reserve. 

From  the  minister  Urquijo  alone  was  the  slight- 
est rcsistanci!  ever  experienced.  He  was  a  man  of 
odd  character,  naturally  the  enemy  of  the  prince 
of  the  peace,  of  whom  he  was  the  siicccr  sor,  and 
he  had  little  love  lor  Bonaparte.  M.  Uniuijo,  of 
plebeian  extraction,  endowed  with  a  certain  degree 
<if  energy,  had  attracted  the  enmity  of  the  cbrgy 
and  court,  through  some  insignilieant  reforms  that 
he  had  attempted  in  the  govermneiit  of  tho  king- 


dom ;  and  was  inclined,  in  a  manner  somewhat 
extraordinary  for  a  Spaniard  of  the  time,  towards  " 
revolutionary  ideas.  He  was  in  connexion  with 
many  French  demagogues,  and  partook,  in  a  cer- 
tain degree,  of  their  dislike  to  the  first  consul. 
He  possessed  the  merit  of  wishing  to  reform  the 
more  glaring  abuses,  of  desiring  to  reduce  the 
reveimes  of  the  clergy  and  the  jiU"!sdiction  of  the 
agents  of  the  court  of  Rome.  Towards  these 
measures  he  was  endeavouring  to  obtJiin  the  con- 
sent of  the  Hojy  See,  and  even  in  this  attempt 
he  had  exposed  himself  to  serious  dangers.  Having 
against  him  in  fact  the  prince  of  the  peace,  he 
was  utterly  undone,  if  the  influence  of  Rome  should 
join  that  of  the  prince  to  destroy  his  influence  in 
the  ])alace.  Affected  by  sontc  attentions  which 
were  paid  him  by  M.  Alquier,  and  witness,  besides, 
of  the  inclinations  of  tiie  king  and  queen,  M. 
Urquijo  became  in  his  turn  the  admirer  of  Bona- 
parte, whom  it  was  not  only  natural,  but  every 
way  the  fashion,  at  that  time,  to  admire. 

The  king's  partiality  soon  became  unbounded; 
it  was  impossible  to  be  more  manifested.  Having 
seen  the  arms  which  had  been  sent  to  the  prince 
of  the  peace,  he  conceived  and  expressed  a  desire 
to  possess  some  of  the  same  kind.  Some  magni- 
ficent specimens  were  immediately  manufactured 
and  sent  to  him,  and  he  I'eceived  them  with  great 
delight.  The  queen  wished  to  have  some  dresses, 
and  Madame  Bonaparte,  whose  taste  was  re- 
nowned, sent  to  her  all  that  Paris  could  produce 
of  the  most  elegant  and  tasteful  character.  Chai'les 
IV.,  genei'ous  as  a  true  Caslilian,  woidd  not  re- 
main behind  in  the  career  of  civility,  and  he 
acquitted  himself  in  a  maimer  truly  royal.  Know- 
ing that  horses  would  be  an  agreeable  present  for 
the  first  consul,  he  took  the  most  beautiful  animals 
he  possessed  from  the  studs  of  Aranjiiez,  Medina- 
Ceeli,  and  Altamira,  to  find  first  six,  then  twelve, 
and  then  si.xteeii,  the  finest  in  tiie  peninsula.  No 
one  could  tell  where  he  would  have  stopped,  if  his 
ardour  had  not  been  moderated.  He  employed  him- 
self two  months  in  the  selection  ;  and  no  one  was 
belter  able  to  acquit  himself  of  such  a  task,  because 
he  was  a  perfect  judge  of  horses.  He  composed 
a  mmierous  train  of  persons  to  conduct  them  to 
France,  taking  for  tlie  mission  the  best  of  his 
grooms,  and  clothing  them  in  magnificent  liveries; 
and  oil  all  this  fine  cavalcade  he  laid  but  one 
jiositive  order,  which  \»as,  that  while  travelling 
through  France  they  should  atteml  mass  every 
Sunday.  The  jiromise  was  given  liim  that  what 
Ik;  desired  should  be  attended  to;  and  his  delight 
at  making  his  handsome  present  to  the  first  consul 
was  then  unalloyed.  Though  fond  of  France,  this 
kind  prince  really  believed  that  it  was  not  possible 
for  a  man  to  live  in  that  country  many  days  with- 
out forsaking  the  religion  of  his  latbers. 

The  noise  ma<le  by  these  demonstrations  well 
suited  the  objects  of  the  first  consul.  While  it 
gratified  bim,  he  thought  it  was  useful  to  show  to 
iMirope  and  to  France  itself,  tlie  successors  of 
Charles  V.,  the  descendants' of  Louis  XIV.,  taking 
honour  to  themselves  from  their  personal  relations 
wiih  him.  But  he  sought  mueh  more  solid  ad- 
vantages in  his  diplomatic  relations,  and  aimed  at 
one  important  object. 

The  king  and  queen  of  Spain  were  fond  of  one 
of  their  children,  the  infanta  Maria  LouLsa,  the 


General  Berthier  sent  to 
148        Madrid.— Mutual  de- 
mands of  France  and 


Spain  upon  each  other. 
THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.     -The    concession    of 

Louisiana, 


1800. 
Aug. 


wife  of  the  hereditary  prince  of  Parma.  The 
queen,  sister,  as  we  have  said,  to  the  reigning 
duke  of  Parma,  had  united  her  daughter  to  her 
nephew,  and  concentrated  upon  their  heads  Iter 
best  affections  ;  because  she  was  extremely  at- 
tached to  the  house  from  whence  she  descended. 
She  contemplated  for  that  house  some  aggi-andize- 
ment  in  Italy  ;  and  as  Italy  depended  upon  the 
conqueror  of  Marengo,  it  was  from  him  she  hoped 
to  obtain  the  accomplishment  of  all  her  wishes. 
The  first  consul,  aware  of  the  secret  desire  of  the 
queen,  took  care  not  to  neglect  this  means  of 
cai'rying  out  his  views,  and  sent  to  Madrid  his 
faithful  Berthier,  in  order  to  profit  by  the  existing 
circumstance.  If  he  had  sent  one  of  his  aids-de- 
camp to  Berlin  and  Vienna,  he  wished  to  do  more 
for  the  court  of  Spain,  and  resolved  to  send  thither 
the  man  who  had  the  larger  share  in  his  glory, 
because  Berthier  was  then  Parmenio  to  the  new 
Alexander. 

At  the  same  moment  that  the  first  consul  was 
negotiating  with  M.  St.  Julien  the  preliminaries 
of  peace,  while  he  was  winning  over  the  inflam- 
mable heart  of  Paul  I.,  and  fomenting  in  the  north 
the  quarrel  of  the  neutral  powers,  it  was  at  that 
moment  he  despatched  general  Berthier  in  haste 
to  Madrid.  He  set  off  towards  the  end  of  August, 
or  commencement  of  Fructidor,  without  any  of- 
ficial title,  but  with  the  assurance  that  his  presence 
would  alone  produce  a  very  great  effect,  and  with 
secret  powers  to  negotiate  upon  very  important 
subjects. 

His  journey  had  several  objects.  The  first  was 
to  visit  the  principal  ports  in  the  Peninsula,  and 
to  examine  into  their  state,  and  their  resources,  and 
to  urge  forward,  with  the  money  in  his  hand, 
expeditions  to  Malta  and  Egypt.  Berthier  per- 
formed this  part  of  his  mission  with  great  rapidity, 
and  then  hastened  to  Madrid  to  fulfil  the  more 
important  part  of  his  duty.  The  first  consul  was 
willing  to  grant  an  accession  of  territory  to  the  house 
of  Parma;  he  was  willing  to  join  to  this  increase 
of  greatness  the  title  of  king,  which  would  have  met 
fully  the  desires  of  the  queen  :  but  he  demanded 
to  be  paid  for  these  concessions  in  two  ways, 
namely,  by  the  return  of  Louisiana  to  France,  and 
by  Spain  assuming  a  threatening  attitude  towards 
Portugal,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  that  country 
to  treat  with  the  French  republic  and  break  with 
England. 

The  motives  of  the  first  consul  for  exacting  such 
conditions  were  these  :  since  Klc-ber's  death  he  had 
felt  uneasy  about  the  preservation  of  Egypt,  for  he 
shared,  in  common  with  his  contemporaries,  the  de- 
sire of  possessing  distant  colonies.  The  rivalry  of 
France  and  England,  which  countries,  for  a  century 
past,  had  fought  solely  about  the  East  and  West  In- 
dies, had  i-aised  to  the  highest  pitch  the  desire  to  pos- 
.sess  colonial  territories.  If  Egypt  were  taken  from 
France,  the  first  consul  still  wished  to  do  some- 
thing for  Jier  colonial  interests.  He  looked  over 
the  map  of  the  woi-ld,  and  saw  a  magnificent  pro- 
vince, placed  between  Mexico  and  the  United 
States,  formerly  possessed  by  France,  but  ceded 
in  a  time  of  abasement  by  Louis  XV.  to  Charles 
III.,  always  threatened  by  the  English  and 
Americans  as  long  as  it  remained  in  the  impotent 
hands  of  the  Spaniards,  to  whom  it  was  of  little 
value,   though   possessing   half  of   the    American 


continent.  Of  great  value  to  the  French,  who  had 
no  possession  in  that  part  of  America,  and  capable 
of  being  rendered  productive,  when  their  active 
labour  could  be  concentrated  there,  he  wished  to 
possetis  the  territory,  which  was  thr.t  of  Louisiana. 
If  Egypt,  being  lost,  could  no  more  be  a  substitute 
for  St.  Domingo,  the  first  consul  hoped  to  find 
what  he  desired  in  Louisiana. 

He,  thei-efore,  demanded  it  formally  of  Spain, 
as  the  price  of  the  Italian  acquisition  ;  he  also 
asked  in  addition  that  part  of  the  Spanish  fleet 
which  was  blockaded  in  Brest.  In  regard  to 
Portugal,  he  wished  to  profit  by  the  geographical 
position  of  Spain  as  it  affected  her,  and  also  to 
turn  to  advantage  the  relationship  of  the  two 
houses  reigning  in  the  peninsula,  in  order  to  detach 
that  country  from  English  alliance.  The  prince  of 
Brazil,  who  governed  Portugal,  was,  in  fact,  the 
son-in-law  of  the  king  and  queen  of  Spain.  They 
therefore  possessed  at  Madrid,  besides  the  in- 
fluence exercised  by  the  vicinity,  that  of  the 
family,  and  it  was  a  fit  time  to  employ  those 
double  means  for  expelling  the  English  from  that 
part  of  the  continent.  The  English  once  excluded 
from  Portugal,  when  the  courts  of  Prussia,  Den- 
mark, Russia,  and  Sweden  were  about  to  be  closed 
against  them,  when  Naples,  forced  into  submission 
to  the  will  of  France,  received  orders  to  exclude 
them  from  her  ports,  would  thus,  in  a  little  time, 
be  altogether  shut  out  of  the  entire  continent. 

Such  were  the  proposals  which  Berthier  had 
orders  to  carry  to  Madrid.  He  was  perfectly  well 
received  there  by  the  king,  the  queen,  the  prince 
of  the  peace,  and  by  all  the  Spanish  grandees,  who 
were  curious  to  see  the  man  whose  name  always 
figured  by  the  side  of  that  of  Bonaparte  in  the 
details  of  the  wars  of  the  time.  The  conditions  of 
the  bargain  thus  tendered  by  France  appeared 
hard,  and  yet  no  serious  resistance  could  be 
offered  to  them.  The  minister  Urquijo  alone, 
having  fears  what  effect  the  cession  might  produce 
upon  the  Spanish  people,  showed  somewhat  more 
opposition  than  the  court.  Reasons,  deemed  in- 
contestably  sound,  were  brought  forward  to  make 
him  quiet.  He  was  informed  that  it  would  take 
a  large  territory  on  the  uninhabited  borders  of  the 
Mississippi,  to  balance,  as  an  equivalent,  a  small 
possession  in  Italy.  That  the  Spaniards  stood  in 
need,  in  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  of  such  allies  as  the 
Fi-ench,  against  the  English  and  Americans;  that 
if  Louisiana  was  of  value  to  France,  deprived  of 
her  colonial  possessions,  it  was  of  very  small  value 
to  Spain,  that  was  already  so  rich  in  the  new 
world,  that  an  accession  of  influence  in  Italy  would 
be  of  more  consequence  to  her  than  a  territory  so 
far  off,  placed  in  a  region  where  .she  had  already 
more  than  she  was  able  to  defend;  finally,  that  it 
was  an  f)ld  French  possession,  torn  away  through 
the  feebleness  of  Louis  XV.,  and  that  Charles  III. 
himself,  with  a  true  spirit  of  integrity,  as  was  well 
known  to  the  world,  had  at  one  time  refused  it, 
so  convinced  was  he  that  it  was  not  his  due.  These 
reasons  were  excellent,  and  Spain  certainly,  in 
this  instance,  was  asked  to  give  no  more  than  she 
received.  But  that  which  decided  M.  Urquijo 
more  than  all  the  better  arguments  in  behalf  of 
the  measure,  was  the  fear  of  offending  France, 
and  of  opposing  a  combination  to  which  his  court 
clung  fast  with  a  kind  of  paHsion. 


Aug. 


A  treaty  signed. — Spain  urged 
to  break  tier  alliance  with 
Portugal. The  American 


THE  ARMISTICE. 


envoys  arrive  at  Paris.— 
lleconciliation  with  the 
United  States. 


140 


A  treaty  was  eventually  agreed  upon,  in  which 
the  first  consul  promised  to  procure  for  the  duke 
of  Parma  an  augmentation  of  his  dominions  in 
Italy  to  the  e.\tent  of  one  million  two  hundred 
thousand  souls,  or  thereabouts,  to  assure  to  him 
the  title  of  king,  and  the  acknowledgment  of  the 
new  title  by  all  the  sovereigns  of  Europe  at  the 
period  of  a  genei^al  peace.  In  I'cturn,  Spain,  as 
soon  as  a  part  of  these  conditions  was  fulfilled,  was 
to  cede  back  to  France  Louisiana,  with  tlie  same 
extent  of  territory  as  that  province  possessed  when 
it  was  ceded  by  Louis  XV.  to  Cliarles  III.,  and  to 
give  besides  si.\  sail  of  the  line  full-rigged,  armed, 
and  ready  to  receive  their  crews.  This  treaty, 
signed  by  Berthier,  filled  the  queen  with  delight, 
and  elevated  the  infatuation  of  the  court  of  Spain 
for  the  first  consul  to  the  highest  degree. 

The  last  condition,  which  had,  for  its  object,  to 
force  Portugal  to  break  her  alliance  with  England, 
was  easy  to  be  performed  ;  for  it  was  as  much  in 
accordance  with  the  interests  of  Spain  as  it  was 
with  those  of  France.  Spain,  in  fact,  was  as  much 
interested  as  France,  that  England  should  be  ex- 
cluded from  the  continent,  and  her  power  reduced. 
In  this  the  first  consul  did  nothing  more  than 
awaken  her  from  her  unpardonable  apathy,  and 
force  her  to  make  use  of  an  influence  which  it  was 
lier  duty  long  ago  to  have  employed.  He  went 
still  furtlier  in  the  matter ;  he  i)roposed  to 
Charles  IV.,  that  if  the  court  of  Lisbon  did  not 
immediately  obey  the  injunction  given  to  it,  a 
Spanish  army  should  pass  the  frontier  of  Portugal, 
and  keep  one  or  two  of  the  Portuguese  provinces 
as  pledges,  in  order  to  oblige  England  afterwards 
to  restore  the  Spanish  colonies  which  she  had  cap- 
tured, and  to  save  the  dtmiinions  of  her  ally.  If 
Charles  IV.  did  not  feel  himself  strong  enough  to 
undertake  such  an  enterprise,  he  offered  to  second 
the  object  with  a  Fx-ench  division.  The  good  king 
did  not  desire  so  much  as  was  thus  offered.  The 
prince  of  Brazil  was  his  own  son-in-law  ;  he  had  no 
wish  to  take  liis  provinces  from  him,  though  they 
were  to  be  pledges  for  the  restitution  of  Spanisli 
provinces.  But  he  addressed  to  him  most  urgent 
exhortations,  and  even  menaced  him  with  war,  if 
his  advice  was  not  regarded.  Tiie  court  of  Lisbon 
promised  to  send  an  envoy  immediately  to  confer  at 
Madrid  with  the  French  ambassador. 

Berthier  returned  to  Paris  from  Spain,  loaded 
with  the  favours  of  the  court,  and  gave  the  first 
consul  the  a.4surance,  that  ho  had  at  the  court  of 
Madrid  persons  wholly  devoted  to  him.  The  fine 
horses  given  him  by  Charles  IV.  arrived  about 
tlie  same  time,  and  were  presented  to  the  first 
consul  in  the  Place  Carrousel,  at  one  of  those  grand 
reviews  wliere  lie  was  always  plea.sed  to  exiiibit 
to  tiio  Parisians  and  to  strangers  the  soldiers  that 
had  conquered  Europe.  An  immense  crowd  of 
persons  came  to  see  those  beautiful  animals  ;  the 
grooms  were  so  splendidly  attired,  that  they  re- 
called the  titncs  of  old  monarchical  pomp,  and 
proved  the  consideration  in  which  the  new  cliicf  of 
tlio  French  I'epublic  waa  held  by  the  oldest  courts 
of  Europe. 

At  this  moment  tlircc  negotiators  from  the 
United  States  of  America  to  France  arrived  in 
Pari.s,  Mr.  Oliver  Ellsworth,  Mr.  Ilichardson 
Davie,  and  Mr.  Van  Murray.  That  republic, 
governed  by  interest  much  more  than  by  gratitude. 


ruled  above  all  by  the  policy  of  the  federal  party, 
had  approximated  nearer  to  Great  Britain  during 
the  late  wtu',  and  had  been  wanting,  not  only  to 
France,  but  to  itself,  in  deserting  the  principles  of 
the  maritime  ncuti'ality.  In  spite  of  the  alliance 
of  1778,  to  which  the  states  owed  their  existence, 
a  treaty  which  obliged  tliem  not  to  concede  to 
others  the  commercial  advantages  which  were  not 
also  conceded  to  the  French,  they  had  granted  to 
Great  Britain  peculiar  and  exclusive  pi-ivileges. 
Abandoning  the  principle  that  "  the  flag  covers  the 
merchandise,"'  they  had  admitted  that  an  enemy's 
property  might  be  searched  for  in  a  neutral  vessel, 
and  seized,  if  its  origin  were  ascertained.  This 
conduct  was  as  dishonourable  as  it  was  impohtic. 
The  directory,  naturally  exasperated,  had  recourse 
to  a  system  of  reprisals,  by  declaring  that  France 
would  treat  neutrals  as  they  wore  suffered  to  be 
treated  by  England.  From  one  harshness  to  an- 
other, a  state  of  things  existed  between  Fj-ance 
and  America  very  little  different  from  that  of  open 
war,  without  active  hostilities. 

It  was  this  state  of  things  to  which  the  first 
consul  wished  to  put  an  end.  It  has  been  seen 
what  honours  were  given  to  the  memory  of  Wash- 
ington, with  the  double  object  of  producing  an 
effect  at  home  and  abroad.  Bonaparte  now  ap- 
pointed three  individuals  to  negotiate  with  the 
Americans — Joseph,  his  brother,  and  the  two 
counsellors  of  state,  Fleurieu  and  Roederer  ;  they 
were  to  urge  on  the  conclusion  of  the  negotiation, 
for  the  purpose  of  soon  giving  a  new  adversary  to 
England,  and  placing  a  new  power  on  the  list  of 
those  that  had  bound  themselves  to  observe  strictly 
the  ti'ue  principles  of  maritime  neutrality.  The 
first  obstacle  to  a  reconcilement  was  the  article  by 
which  America  had  promised  France  the  partici- 
pation in  commercial  advantages  accorded  by  the 
states  to  every  nation.  This  obligation  to  give 
nothing  to  others  which  others  would  not  give  to 
us,  caused  the  Americans  very  great  embarrass- 
ment. Their  negotiators  did  not  exhibit  the  least 
disposition  to  give  way  upon  this  point;  but  they 
showed  themselves  ready  to  acluiowledge  and  de- 
fend the  rights  of  neutrals,  and  to  ro-establisli,  in 
their  stipulations  witli  France,  the  princii)los  which 
they  had  abandoned  in  treating  with  England. 
The  first  consul,  who  was  much  more  anxious  to 
hold  fast  the  principle  of  an  armed  neutrality  than 
the  commercial  advantages  of  tho  treaty  of  1778, 
become  illusory  in  practice,  enjoined  his  brother  to 
pass  that  over,  and  to  conclude  an  arrangement 
with  the  American  envoys,  if  it  were  possible  to 
obtain  fi'om  them  a  perfect  recognition  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  rights  of  nations,  which  it  was  of  tho 
utmost  importance  to  enforce.  This  difficulty  re- 
moved, the  rest  might  soon  be  arranged,  and  at 
the  moment  a  treaty  of  reconcilement  was  pre- 
paring with  America. 

Another  reconciliation,  much  more  important, 
that  between  France  and  the  Holy  See,  began  now 
to  produce  its  effect.  Tho  new  pope,  elected  in 
the  vague  hope  of  an  acconunodation  with  France, 
had  seen  thi.s  hope  realized,  to  which  lio  owed  his 
elevation.  Bonaparte,  as  we  have  said,  returning 
from  Marengo,  had  .sent  sonic  overtures  to  Pius  VII. 
by  cardinal  Martiniana,  bisiiop  of  Vercelli,  as- 
suring him  that  he  liad  no  intention  of  re-establibh- 
ing  the  Roman  Partlienopcan  republics,  tho  worlcs 


Negotiations  with   the  Holy  government -Anger  of  the   joqq 

150    See.-TheactsofSt.Julien    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND   EMPIRE,    first  consul.- Meeting  of  ^^  ; 

disavowed  by  the  Austrian  the  council  of  state.  " 


of  the  directory.  He  had  certainly  enough  in 
Italy  to  constitute,  direct,  and  defend  against  the 
policy  and  interests  of  all  Europe  the  Cisalpine 
republic.  Bonaparte  had,  in  turn,  demanded  that 
the  new  pontiff  should  use  his  spiritual  influence  in 
France  to  aid  in  the  establishment  of  concord  and 
peace.  The  pope  received  with  pleasure  count 
Alciati,  the  nephew  of  cardinal  Martiniana,  charged 
to  carry  the  overtures  of  the  first  consul ;  he  sent 
him  back  instantly  to  Vercelli  to  declare,  in  his 
name,  that,  disposed  to  second  the  intentions  of  the 
first  consul  relative  to  an  object  so  important  and 
so  dear  to  the  church,  he  wished,  in  the  first 
place,  to  become  acquainted  in  a  more  precise 
manner  with  the  views  of  the  French  cabinet. 
The  cardinal  wrote  in  consequence  from  Vercelli 
to  Paris,  to  make  known  the  disposition  and  wish 
of  the  new  pope.  The  first  consul,  in  reply,  asked 
for  a  negotiator  with  whom  he  would  be  able  to 
explain  himself  directly,  and  the  pope  designated 
immediately  monsignor  Spina,  bishop  of  Corinth, 
nuncio  of  the  Holy  See  at  Florence.  This  nego- 
tiator, after  having  repaired  first  to  Vercelli,  re- 
solved to  set  out  for  Paris  at  the  pressing  instance 
of  the  fii-st  consul,  who,  by  bringing  this  nego- 
tiation under  his  own  superintendence,  thought  to 
make  more  sure  of  success.  Upon  the  side  of  the 
first  consul,  it  was  a  delicate  matter  to  bring  to 
Paris  a  representative  of  the  Holy  See,  above  all  in 
the  existing  state  of  the  public  mind,  which  was 
hardly  yet  prepared  for  such  a  spectacle.  It  was 
agreed  that  nicinsignor  Si)ina  should  not  have  any 
official  title,  and  that  he  shiuld  style  himself  bishop 
of  Corinth,  ordered  to  treat  with  the  French  go- 
vernment upon  the  affairs  of  the  Roman  cabinet. 

While  these  negotiations,  so  ably  and  actively 
conducted  with  all  the  powers,  were  in  progress, 
M.  St.  Julien,  who  had  signed  the  preliminaries  of 
peace,  and  was  the  bearer  of  them,  proceeded  with 
Duroc  to  Vienna.  Sensible  of  the  imprudence  of 
his  conduct,  he  had  not  dissimulated  with  Talley- 
rand, that  he  was  not  sure  whether  he  should  be 
able  to  take  Duroc'as  far  as  Vienna.  The  illusion 
of  Talleyrand  had  not  permitted  him  to  believe  in 
the  existence  of  such  a  difficulty;  and  it  was  agreed 
that  M.  St.  Julien  and  Duroc  should  pa.ss  the  head- 
quarters of  geiKTal  Kray,  then  established  near 
the  Inn,  at  Alt-CEttingen,  in  order  to  obtain  from 
that  general  a  ])aKsport  that  should  permit  Duroc 
to  pass  into  Austria.  Tliey  arrived  at  the  head- 
quarters of  Kray  on  ihe  4tli  of  August,  1801),  or  IGih 
Thermidor,  year  viii. ;  but  Duroc  was  detained, 
not  being  suffered  to  pass  the  limits  fixed  by  the 
armistice.  This  was  a  first,  and  by  no  means  a 
favourable  sign  of  the  reception  destined  lor  the 
preliminaries.  M.  St.  Julien  then  jiroceeded  to 
Vienna  alone,  saying  to  Duroc  that  he  would  de- 
mand passports  for  him  there,  and  send  them  to 
the  head-quarters,  if  he  obtained  them.  M.  St. 
Julien  then  went  to  the  emperor,  and  delivered  to 
him  the  articles  w'uicli  he  had  signed  at  Paris, 
under  conditions  of  secresy.  The  emperor  was 
much  surprised  and  dissatisfied  at  the  singular 
latitude  wliich  M.  St.  Julien  had  given  to  his  in- 
struction.s.  It  was  not  precisely  the  conditions 
contained  in  the  preliminary  articles  wliich  dis- 
pleased him,  but  the  fear  of  compromising  himself 
with  England,  that  had  aided  him  with  money,  and 
was  exceedingly  suspicious.      He  was    willing  to 


make  known  a  part  of  his  own  intentions,  in  order 
to  become  acquainted  with  those  of  the  first  consul ; 
but  he  would  on  no  account  have  a  signature  affixed 
to  any  document  whatever,  because  it  implied  an 
open  negotiation  concluded  without  consulting  the 
British  cabinet.  Then,  in  spite  of  the  danger  of 
provoking  a  storm  on  tlie  side  of  France,  the  im- 
perial cabinet  took  the  step  of  disavowing  M.  St. 
Julien.  That  officer  was  very  ill  treated  in  public, 
and  sent  into  a  species  of  exile,  in  one  of  tiie  re- 
mote provinces  of  the  empire.  The  preliminaries 
w  ere  considered  as  void,  having  been  signed,  though 
provisionally,  by  an  agent  without  powers  or  cha- 
racter. Duroc  received  no  passports  ;  and  having 
waited  until  the  13(h  of  August,  or  25th  Ther- 
midor, he  was  obliged  to  return  to  Paris. 

All  these  things,  independently  of  causing  a  delay 
in  the  conclusion  of  a  peace,  were  very  disagreeable 
to  the  first  consul ;  and  Austria  had  reason  to 
dread  the  effect  of  such  a  communication  upon  his 
irritable  character.  It  was  very  probable  that  he 
w(juld  quit  Paris  immediately,  ]iut  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  armies  of  the  republic,  and  inarch 
upon  Vienna.  The  court  of  Austria  resolved, 
therefore,  ui  disavowing  the  preliminaries,  not  to 
make  that  a  cause  of  rupture.  Lord  Minto,  the 
representative  of  England  at  the  court  of  the 
emperor,  consented  that  Austria  should  negotiate, 
but  only  on  condition  that  England  should  be  in- 
cluded in  the  negotiation.  It  was  arranged  with 
him  to  propose  diplomatic  conferences,  in  which 
England  and  Austria  should  take  an  equal  part. 
In  consequence,  M.  Thugut  wrote  to  Talleyrand, 
under  date  of  the  11th  of  August,  or  23rd  Ther- 
midor, that,  while  disavowing  the  imprudent  con- 
duct of  M.  Julien,  the  emperor  had  not  a  feeling 
less  warm  for  peace ;  that  he  proposed  the  imme- 
diate opening  of  a  congress  in  France  itself,  at 
Schelestadt  <ir  Luneville,  whichever  was  deemed 
preferable ;  that  Great  Britain  was  ready  to  send 
a  plenipotentiary ;  and  that  if  the  first  consul 
agreed,  a  general  peace  might  soon  be  given  to  the 
world.  This  offer  was  accompanied  with  expres- 
sions the  best  calculated  to  soothe  the  impetuous 
character  of  the  man  who  at  that  time  was  ruler  of 
France. 

When  the  first  consul  received  the  intelligence 
of  what  had  ooeun-ed,  he  was  exceedingly  angry. 
He  was  first  offended  at  the  disavowal  of  an  officer 
who  had  treated  with  him,  and  next  mortified  that 
peace  was  .still  distant.  He  perceived,  more  particu- 
larly, in  the  presence  of  England  in  the  midst  of  the 
negotiation,  the  cause  cf  interminable  delays,  because 
a  mariiinie  peace  was  much  more  difficult  to  con- 
clude than  one  that  was  only  continental.  On  the 
moment,  and  under  the  influence  of  a  first  impres- 
sion, he  was  about  I'aising  an  outcry,  and  recom- 
mencing hostilities  at  once,  denouncing  the  bad 
faith  of  Austria.  Talleyrand,  knowing  well  that  he 
bad  done  wrong  in  negotiating  with  a  plenipoten- 
tiary who  had  no  powers,  endeavoured  to  calm  the 
first  consul.  The  whole  matter  was  submitted  to 
the  council  of  state.  That  great  body,  which  is 
now  nothing  more  than  an  administrative  tribunal, 
was  then  a  real  council  of  government.  The  min- 
ister addressed  to  it  a  detailed  report. 

"  The  first  consul,"  said  the  report,  "has judged 
it  proper  to  convoke  an  extraordinary  meeting  of 
the  council  of  state,  and,  confidiiig  in  its  discretion, 


3800. 
Aug. 


Kesults  of  the  itieetinp. — Attempts 
to  negotiate  in  Loudon  through 
M.  Otto. 


THE  ARMISTICE. 


Requisites  for  a  treaty  between  ,  ^  . 

France  and  England.  l"* 


as  in  its  wisdom,  has  charged  me  to  make  known 
to  it  the  more  minute  details  of  the  negotiation 
which  has  been  carried  on  with  the  court  of  Vien- 
na." After  having  laid  open  the  negotiations,  as 
might  have  been  done  before  a  council  of  minis- 
ters, Talkvrjind  acknowledged  that  tl.e  Austrian 
plenipotentiary  had  no  powers,  and  that  in  nego- 
tiating with  liim,  the  chance  of  a  disavowal  ought 
to  have  been  seen ;  that,  in  consequence,  it  was  im- 
possible to  make  a  laboured  ccntrovei-sy'  about  the 
matter;  and  that,  therefore,  a  violent  outcry  sliould 
be  avoided.  But  recalling  the  example  of  the 
negotiations  for  the  peace  of  Westphalia,  which 
had  gone  before  the  signature  of  the  treaty  of 
Munster  a  good  while,  during  which  the  parties 
continued  to  fight  and  to  negotiate,  he  proposed 
that  the  opening  of  the  congress  should  be  assented 
to,  and,  at  the  same  time,  that  hostilities  should  be 
recommenced. 

This  was,  in  fact,  the  wisest  course  that  could  be 
taken.  It  was  necessary  to  treat,  since  the  opponent 
powers,  in  addressing  themselves  to  France,  had 
made  the  offer;  but  it  was  equally  right  to  profit 
by  the  state  of  the  French  armies,  which  were 
ri'ady  to  fcvke  the  field  anew,  and  by  that  of  the 
Austrian  armies,  which  had  not  yet  recovered  from 
their  defeats,  in  order  that  Austria  might  be  forced 
to  negotiate  seriously,  and  separate  hei-self  from 
England. 

1 1  was  possible  to  take  one  step  besides,  w  hich 
might  have  its  advantages,  and  that  the  first  con- 
sul seized  upon  with  his  customary  sagacity.  Eng- 
land proposed  a  common  negotiation.  By  admit- 
ting that  power  into  the  congress,  there  was  the 
danger  of  introducing  a  contracting  party  that  was 
in  very  little  hurry  to  conclude;  and  more  than  that, 
the  danger  of  complicating  the  continental  peace, 
with  all  the  difficulties  of  one  that  was  maritime. 
The  time  consumed  in  these  negotiations,  insin- 
cere or  difficult  as  they  might  be  rendered,  would 
also  permit  the  fine  season  for  fighting  to  pass 
away,  and  would  give  to  the  Austrian  armies  the 
rest  of  which  they  had  so  great  a  need.  These 
were  great  inconveniences  ;  but  it  was  possible  to 
find  a  compensation  to  balance  them.  England,  o:: 
demand,  might  be  admitted  to  the  negotiation,  but 
on  one  condition,  namely,  that  she  should  conclude 
a  naval  armistice.  If  England  consented  to  such  a 
thing,  tlie  benefit  of  a  naval  armistice  would  far 
surpass  the  inconveniences  of  the  continental  one  ; 
because  the  French  fleets,  at  liberty,  would  be  able 
to  provision  Malta,  and  to  take  soldiers  and  viatc- 
rkl  to  the  army  in  Egypt.  For  a  like  advantage  the 
first  consul  would  most  willingly  have  exposed  him- 
self to  the  chances  of  an  extra  campaign  upon  the 
continent.  A  maritime  armistice  was  undoubtedly 
sometiiing  new,  altogether  unusual  in  the  law  of 
nations:  yet,  it  was  but  just  that  the  Anglo-Aus- 
trian alliance  should  in  some  mode  indenniii'y 
France  for  the  sacrifice  she  would  make  in  suspend- 
ing the  march  of  her  armies  ujion  Vienna. 

There  was  resident  in  London,  on  the  French 
side,  an  able,  clever,  and  shrewd  negotiator,  M.  Otto, 
who  was  kept  there  for  the  purpose  of  treating  on 
matters  relating  to  prisoners-ol-war.  Ho  had  been 
selected  by  the  French  cabinet  on  purpose  to  make 
use  of  him  on  the  first  occasion  that  uvertui-es  uf 

■  Poleraiquc  d'apparut. 


peace  might  occur  on  the  side  of  France,  or  over- 
tures be  made  by  England.  He  was  especially 
charged  to  address  himself  to  the  British  cabinet, 
and  at  once  make  the  proposal  of  a  naval  armi- 
stice. In  this  mode  of  proceeding  the  first  consul 
saw  the  advantage  of  moving  with  mox-e  rapidity, 
and  of  treating  directly  respecting  such  affairs, 
which  he  always  preferred  to  employing  interme- 
diate agents.  On  the  24th  of  August,  or  6th  Fruc- 
tidor,  in  the  year  viii.,  instructions,  in  agreement 
with  this  new  ])lan  of  negotiation,  were  transmitted 
I  to  M.  Otto.  Upon  the  same  day  the  communica- 
1  tions  from  Vienna  were  answered  in  a  very  severe 
I  tone.  In  the  French  communications,  the  refusal 
'  to  admit  the  preliminaries  was  attributed  to  the 
treaty  for  a  subsidy,  signed  on  the  2Gih  of  June 
preceding.  The  French  government  deplored  the 
state  of  dependence  in  which  the  emperor  was 
placed  in  regard  to  England.  A  congress  at  Lune- 
ville  was  assented  to  ;  but  it  was  added  that,  while 
the  negotiations  proceeded,  the  war  must  be  con- 
tiimed  :  because,  in  proposing  a  joint  negotiation, 
Austria  had  not  taken  care  to  provide,  as  a  natural 
ci>nseqitcnce,  a  suspension  of  arms  by  land  and  sea. 
This  was  said  for  the  object  of  engaging  the  Aus- 
trian diplomatists  to  interfere  themselves  in  Lon- 
don, in  order  to  obtain  a  naval  armistice. 

Communications  were  established  in  London, 
between  M.  Otto  and  Captain  George,  the  head  of 
the  transport-board.  They  lasted  during  the  whole 
of  the  month  of  Septeaiber.  M.  Otto  proposed,  on 
the  side  of  France,  that  hostilities  should  be  sus- 
pended by  sea  and  land  ;  that  all  vessels,  both  of 
trade  and  war,  belonging  to  the  belligerent  na- 
tions, should  navigate  freely  ;  that  the  ports  be- 
longing to  France,  or  occupied  by  her  armies,  such 
as  Malta  and  Alexandria,  should  be  assimilated  to 
the  fortresses  of  Ulm,  Philipsburg,  and  Ingoldstadt, 
in  Germany,  which,  though  blockaded  by  the  French 
armies,  were  nevertheless,  to  be  victualled  and  sup- 
plied. M.  Otto  freely  admitted  that  France  would 
derive  great  benefit  from  such  an  arrangement ; 
but  he  stated  that  her  advantages  ought  to  be 
great  to  compensate  for  the  concessions  which  she 
niuGi  niake,  in  letting  the  sunmier  pass  away  with- 
out completing  the  destruction  of  the  Austrian 
armies. 

The  sacrifice  thus  demanded  of  England  was  one 
which  nothinj*  was  capable  of  snatching  from  her 
hands.  It  was,  in  fact,  giving  permission  to  re* 
victual  Malta  and  Egypt,  and  perhaps  give  over 
those  two  possessions  to  France  for  ever ;  it  was 
to  i)ermit  the  combined  French  and  Spanish  fleets 
to  leave  Brest  and  sail  up  the  Mediterranean, 
taking  possession  of  a  place  which  would  render 
it  anew  master  of  the  sea  for  a  longer  or  shorter 
time.  England  could  not  assent  to  such  a  pro- 
l)osal,  though  the  danger  threatening  Austria 
touched  her  very  nearly  ;  she  iiad  a  great  interest 
in  preventing  Austria  from  being  crushed;  because 
if  Austria  fell,  Bonaparte,  having  all  his  resources 
at  liberty,  might  be  able  to  make  some  formidable 
attempt  upon  the  British  isles.  In  consequence, 
she  believed  it  was  needful  to  make  some  sacrifices 
for  an  interest  of  this  nature  ;  and  while  crying 
out  against  the  novelty  of  a  naval  annistice,  she 
presented  a  connter-iirojeet,  dated  the  7th  of  Sep- 
tember, IHOO,  or  20th  of  Fructidor,  year  viii.  To 
connnenco,  she  agreed  to  Luncvillo  as  the  place 


Demands  of  the  English  go-  Military  proceedings. — Con-   .-nn 

152    vernment.— Final  proposi-    THIERS'   CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE.       dilion  of  the  armies  of  the   i,°""- 

tioris  of  the  first  consul.  Khine  and  Italy.  '"^I"- 


for  the  meeting  of  the  congress,  and  appointed 
Mr.  Thomas  Greuville,  the  brother  of  the  minister 
for  foreign  affairs,  to  treat  of  a  general  pacification. 
England  then  proposed  the  following  system  in 
respect  to  the  naval  armistice.  All  hostilities 
shall  be  suspended  by  land  and  sea  ;  the  suspen- 
sion of  arms  shall  be  not  only  common  to  the  three 
belligei-ent  parties,  Austria,  England,  and  France, 
but  also  to  their  allies.  This  aiTangement  had  for 
its  object  to  deliver  Portugal  from  the  threatening 
attitude  of  Spain.  The  maritime  places  which  are 
blockaded,  such  as  Malta  and  Alexandria,  shall 
be  assimilated  to  those  in  Germany,  and  be  pro- 
visioned every  fifteen  days,  in  proportion  to  the 
consumption  of  the  provisions,  which  has  taken 
place  in  the  same  interval  of  time  already  elapsed. 
The  ships  of  the  line  in  Brest  and  the  other  ports 
were  not  to  be  at  liberty  to  change  their  stations 
during  the  armistice. 

This  counter-project  on  the  part  of  England  was 
rather  an  evidence  of  good  will  towards  Austria, 
than  an  eff'ective  concession  on  the  important  point 
of  the  negotiation.  Malta  might  no  doubt  gain 
something  by  being  provisioned  for  a  short  time  ; 
but  Egypt  had  no  need  of  provisions.  Soldiers, 
muskets,  and  cannon  were  wanted  there;  not  corn, 
with  which  she  could  supply  the  whole  world. 

Still  France,  yielding  in  some  things,  might  find 
in  the  naval  armistice  advantages  sufficiently  great 
to  admit  of  its  execution  with  certain  modifications. 

On  the  21st  of  September,  being  the  4th  com- 
plementary day  of  the  year  viii.,  the  first  consul 
made  a  last  proposition.  He  consented  tliat  the 
vessels  of  the  line  should  not  change  their  stntions, 
which  condemned  the  combined  .squadrons  of 
France  and  Spain  to  remain  blocked  up  in  Brest 
harbour;  he  demanded  that  Malta  should  be  re- 
victualled  every  fifteen  days,  at  tlie  rate  of  ten 
thousand  rations  a-day  ;  he  consented  that  Eg3'iJt 
should  remain  blockaded,  but  required  that  six 
frigates  should  pass  free  to  Egypt  from  Toulon, 
to  go  and  return  from  Alexandria  without  being 
visited. 

His  intention  was  here  very  clear;  and  he  was 
right  not  to  disguise  an  interest  which  all  the 
world  must  discover  at  first  sight.  He  intended 
to  arm  three  frigates  en  jiute,  to  load  them  with 
men  and  munitions  of  war,  and  to  send  them  to 
Egypt.  He  hoped  they  might  have  been  able  to 
carry  six  thousand  men,  a  great  quantity  of  mus- 
kets, swords,  bombs,  shells,  and  similar  articles. 
He  therefore  sacrificed  every  thing  to  obtain  his 
essential  object,  the  victualling  of  Malta  and  the 
recruiting  of  the  army  in  Egypt. 

But  the  difficulty,  whatever  eff"orts  might  have 
been  made  on  either  side  to  remove  it,  continued 
the  same.  The  object  was  to  preserve  Malta  and 
Egypt  to  France;  to  her  interest  in  these  England 
would  not  give  way.  There  was  no  means  of 
coming  to  an  understanding  upon  the  matter,  and 
the  negotiation  was  abandoned,  on  the  refusal  in 
London  to  allow  the  last  plan  for  a  naval  armistice. 

Before  entirely  breaking  oft"  the  negotiation,  the 
first  consul,  in  the  way  of  courtesy,  made  a  last 
proposition  to  England.  He  off'ered  to  renounce 
the  naval  armistice,  and  to  treat  with  her  in  a 
separate  negotiation  from  that  about  to  commence 
with  Austria. 

It  was  now  September,  1 800 ;  several  months 


had  been  passed  in  vain  negotiations,  since  the 
victories  of  Marengo  and  of  Hochstedt,  and  the 
first  consul  would  lose  no  more  time  without  action. 

Austria,  when  threatened,  replied  that  she  could 
not  force  England  to  sign  a  naval  armistice;  that 
she  off'ered  for  herself  to  negotiate  immediately  ; 
that  she  had  appointed  M.  Lehrbach  to  go  to 
Luneville,  and  that  he  was  about  to  proceed  there 
immediately  ;  that  Mr.  Thomas  Grenville  was  only 
waiting  for  his  passports  ;  that  they  could  thus 
negotiate  without  any  waste  of  time  ;  but  that  it 
was  not  necessary  to  renew  hostilities  during 
negotiations,  and  shed  more  torrents  of  human 
blood.  The  first  consul,  who  knew  well  the  secret 
intention  of  dragging  on  the  affair  until  winter 
should  arrive,  determined  at  last  upon  the  renewal 
of  hostilities,  and  gave  orders  in  consequence.  He 
had  perfectly  well  employed  the  two  months  that 
were  gone,  and  had  put  a  finishing  hand  to  the 
organization  of  the  armies.  His  new  dispositions 
thus  made  were  as  follow  : — 

Moreau,  as  already  has  been  said,  had  been 
obliged  to  send  general  St.  Suzanne  on  the  Rhine, 
with  sonic  detachments,  for  the  purpose  of  uniting 
the  garrisons  of  Mayence  and  Strasburg,  and 
making  head  against  the  peasant  levies  made  by 
the  baron  Albini  in  the  centre  of  Germany.  This 
was  a  weakening  of  Moreau's  force,  and  still  an 
insufficient  means  of  covering  his  rear.  The  first 
consul,  in  order  to  prevent  any  damage  in  that 
quarter,  hastened  to  complete  the  Batavian  army, 
placed  under  the  orders  of  Augereau.  He  formed 
it  of  eight  thousand  Dutch  and  twelve  thousand 
French,  both  one  and  the  other  taken  from  the 
troops  that  guarded  Holland  and  the  departments  of 
the  north.  The  battalions  mostwoi-n  outer  fatigued 
by  the  preceding  campaigns,  i-estored  by  rest  and 
completed  with  recruits,  were  now  excellent  corps. 
Augereau  marched  to  Frankfort,  and  thei'e  by  his 
presence  restrained  the  Mayence  levies  of  the 
baron  Albini  and  the  Austrian  detachments  left 
in  the  neighbourhood.  This  precaution  taken,  the 
corps  of  St.  Suzanne,  re-organized  and  very  nearly 
eighteen  thousand  strong,  had  again  marched  to 
the  Danube,  and  formed  once  more  the  left  wing 
of  Moreau's  army.  His  return  raised  the  active 
army  of  Moreau  to  very  nearly  one  hundred 
thousand  men. 

When  the  army  of  reserve  had  thrown  itself 
into  Italy,  it  had  left  in  the  rear  a  part  of  the 
corps  designed  to  complete  it ;  but  for  its  complete 
formation  there  had  not  been  time  to  wait.  In 
place  of  an  eff'ective  force  of  sixty  thousand  men, 
as  was  originally  designed,  it  had  only  amounted 
to  forty  and  a  few  thousand  men.  The  first  consul 
formed  these  into  a  second  army  of  z'eserve,  about 
fifteen  thousand  strong,  and  placed  it  in  the  Gri- 
sons,  in  face  of  the  Tyrol,  which  thus  allowed 
Moreau  to  draw  closer  to  him  his  right  wing,  com- 
manded, as  is  well-known,  by  Lecourbe,  and  to 
unite  at  hand  the  entire  mass  of  his  forces,  if  it 
was  required  to  force  the  barrier  of  the  Inn. 

On  its  own  side  the  army  of  Italy,  established  on 
the  banks  of  the  Mincio  by  the  convention  of 
Alexandria,  delivered  from  all  care  about  the 
Tyrol  and  Switzerland  by  Macdonald,  had  been 
enabled  to  bring  its  wings  nearer  to  its  centre,  and 
to  concentrate  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  fit  for 
immediate  action.     Composed  of  troops  that  had 


Massena  removed  from  the  Ligu- 


appointed         THE  ARMISTICE. 


Activity  of  the  emperor  of 
Austria.— Changes  in  his 
army. 


153 


passed  the  St.  Bernard,  and  those  which  had  been 
drawn  from  the  German  army  by  the  St.  Gothard, 
lastly,  of  the  troops  of  Liguria,  which  had  defended 
Genoa  and  tlie  Var,  recruited,  rested,  and  re- 
freshed, it  presented  a  total  mass  of  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men,  of  which  num- 
ber eighty  thousand  were  united  on  the  Mincio. 
Masse'na  was  at  lirst  the  general-in-chief,  and  the 
only  one  capable  of  commanding  itweli.  Unhappily 
dissensions  arose  between  the  commissariat  of  the 
army  and  the  Italian  governments.  The  army, 
although  transported  into  the  midst  of  fertile  Italy, 
and  in  possession  of  the  rich  magazines  left  by  the 
Austrians,  had  still  not  enjoyed  all  the  good  things 
to  which  it  had  a  right.  It  was  alleged  that  the 
officers  of  the  commissariat  had  sold  a  part  of  these 
magazines.  The  governments  of  Piedmont  and  of 
the  Cisalpine  complained  that  they  were  crushed 
under  war  contributions,  and  refused  to  pay  them. 
In  the  midst  of  this  confused  state  of  affaire,  very 
heavy  charges  were  made  against  the  French  ad- 
ministrators, and  they  reached  even  to  Masse'na 
himself.  The  clamour  soon  became  so  loud,  that 
the  hrst  consul  found  himself  obliged  to  recai  Mas- 
s^na,  and  replace  him  by  general  Brune.  Brune, 
with  much  courage  and  mind,  was  in  reality  but  an 
indifferent  general,  and  in  polities  still  less  able. 
He  was  one  of  the  most  zealous  chiefs  of  the  dem- 
agogue party,  which  did  not  prevent  his  being 
strongly  attached  to  the  first  consul,  who  was 
much  pleased  at  knowmg  it  to  be  the  case.  Not 
having  been  able  to  give  him  an  active  command 
during  the  spring,  the  fii'st  consul  gave  him  one 
during  the  autunm.  The  victory  in  Holland  strongly 
recommended  him  in  public  opinion  ;  but  the  recal 
of  Masseua  was  a  misfortune  for  the  army  and  for 
the  first  consul  himself.  Masse'na  got  soured,  and 
was  on  the  point  of  becoming,  despite  himself,  a 
subject  of  hope  for  a  crowd  of  intriguers,  who  at 
that  particular  moment  happened  to  be  busy.  The 
first  consul  was  not  ignorant  of  this,  but  he  would 
not  permit  iiTegularities  any  where,  and  he  was 
not  to  be  blamed. 

To  the  four  armies  above-mentioned,  the  first 
consul  joined  a  fifth,  consisting  of  troops  assembled 
around  Amiens.  He  detached  fi'om  deini-brigades 
remaining  in  the  interior,  the  skeletons  of  various 
companies  of  grenadiers  ;  he  had  them  filled  up 
with  fine  men,  and  formed  a  superb  corps  of  nine 
or  ten  thousand  choice  soldiers,  who  were  designed 
to  do  duty  on  the  coasts,  if  the  English  should 
effect  a  disembarkation  on  any  part,  or  they  were 
to  pass  into  Italy,  to  fill  the  place  occupied  by 
Augereau  in  Germany — that  of  covering  the  wings 
and  rear  of  liie  principal  army.  Murat  was  nomi- 
nated to  the  chief  command. 

All  this  was  done,  as  far  as  the  recruiting  was 
concerned,  l)y  means  of  the  levy  ordered  by  the 
legislative  body,  and,  in  regard  to  the  expenses, 
by  means  of  the  financial  resources  recently  created. 
Notiiing  was  now  wanting  to  the  three  different 
corps ;  they  were  well-fed,  well-armed,  and  their 
horses  and  mdir'tel  were  complete. 

It  may  be  supposed  that  tlie  first  consul  was  im- 
patient to  make  use  of  these  means  to  force  a  peace 
from  Austria  before  the  winter  came  on.  He 
ordered  Moreau  and  liruno  in  eon8c<iuence  to  re- 
pair to  tiieir  respective  head-fjuartt-rs,  and  to  pre- 
pare to  recommence  hostilities.     He  enjoined  upon 


Moreau  to  give  the  Austrian  general  proper  notice, 
under  the  time  stipulated  in  the  armistice,  and  not 
to  permit  him  to  prolong  the  suspension  of  arms 
but  on  one  sole  condition,  that  the  emperor  sh.ould 
give  up  to  the  French  army  the  three  places  actually 
blockaded,  Philipsburg,  Ulm,  and  Iiigoldstadt. 
On  this  condition  five  or  si.\  weeks'  respite  longer 
might  be  given.  These  places  were  worthy  of  the 
sacrifice.  By  occupying  them,  an  excellent  base 
for  operations  on  the  Danube  would  be  obtained. 
The  French  would  be  strengthened  by  the  corps 
thus  employed  in  the  blockade ;  they  would  thus 
have  time  to  push  a  wing  of  the  army  of  Italy 
upon  Tuscany  and  the  kingdom  of  Nai)les,  comi- 
tries  in  which  the  levies  en  masse  were  continued  at 
the  instigation  of  Austria  with  English  money. 
Such  were  the  orders  sent  to  the  head-quarters  of 
Moreau. 

On  his  side  the  emperor  of  Germany,  profiting 
by  the  time  gained,  employed  with  the  greatest 
activity  the  subsidy  furnished  him  by  England.  He 
urged  forward  the  new  levies  ordered  in  Bohemia, 
Moravia,  Hungary,  Styria,  and  Carinthia.  The 
English  minister,  Wickham,  established  offices  of 
a  peculiar  sort  in  various  German  towns,  in  order 
to  purchase  the  services  of  soldiers  to  go  and  fight 
for  the  coalition.  By  means  of  a  new  subsidy,  the 
Bavarian  and  Wurtemberg  corps  were  considerably 
augmented.  Independently  of  the  sums  given  to  Aus- 
tria, the  recruiting  agents  Jiad  taken  into  the  direct 
pay  of  the  English  government  two  regiments  com- 
posed of  boatmen  raised  from  the  rivers  of  Ger- 
many, and  designed  to  facilitate  the  passage  over 
them.  Ten  thousand  peasants  were  hired  to  exe- 
cute, under  the  direction  of  engineers,  formidable 
entrenchments  along  the  line  of  the  Inn,  from  the 
Tyrol  to  the  union  of  that  stream  with  the  Danube. 
Every  thing  was  in  movement  from  Vienna  to 
Munich.  The  staff  of  the  Austrian  army  had  been 
entirely  changed.  Kray,  de-spite  his  experience 
and  his  activity  on  the  field  of  battle,  had  partaken 
in  the  disgrace  of  M^las.  The  archduke  Ferdinand 
himself,  who  served  under  his  orders,  had  been 
removed.  The  archduke  John,  a  young  pi-ince, 
brave  and  well-educated,  but  wholly  without  expe- 
rience in  war,  his  head  full  of  theories,  his  imagina- 
tion smitten  with  the  manoeuvres  of  Bonaparte, 
and  wishing  at  any  cost  to  imitate  them,  was  called 
to  the  chief  command  of  the  imperial  forces.  This 
was  one  of  those  novelties  which  peoj)le  willingly 
attempt  in  desperate  cii-cumstances.  The  emperor 
himself  repaired  to  the  army,  to  re-animate  it  by  his 
presence,  and  by  passing  it  in  review. 

He  spent  several  days  with  the  troops,  accompa- 
nied by  M.  Lehrbach,  the  negotiator  appointed  to 
attend  tlie  congress  at  Luneville,  and  by  the  young 
archduke  John.  After  having  seen  and  examined 
every  thing  in  company  with  liis  counsellors,  he 
discovered  that  nothing  was  ready  ;  that  the  anny 
was  not  yet  sufficiently  established,  either  in  point 
of  confidence  or  vuUirlcl,  to  commence  immediate 
hostilities.  M.  Lehrbach  was  then  charged  to  pro- 
ceed to  the  head-quarters  of  Moreau,  to  learn 
whether  lie  was  able  to  obtain  again  a  prolongation 
of  the  armistice,  for  a  few  days,  from  the  French 
government.  Moreau  informed  M.  Lehrbach  what 
tjjc  conditions  were  upon  which  the  first  consul 
would  agree  to  a  new  suspension  of  arn\s.  The 
emperor  consented  regretfully  to  these  conditions; 


Ulm.  Philipsburg,  and  In-  missed. — Festival  of  Sep- 

154      goldstadt,  surrendered  to    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.        tember  22.— Obsequies 
the  French. — Thugut  dis-  of  Turenne. 


1800. 
Sept. 


and  on  the  20tli  of  September,  or  third  comple- 
mentary day  of  the  year  viii.,  a  new  prolongation 
of  the  armistice  was  concluded  between  M.  Lehr- 
bach  and  general  Lahorie,  in  the  village  of  Hohen- 
linden,  destined  soon  to  become  so  celebrated. 
The  fortresses  of  Philipsburg,  Ulm,  and  Ingold- 
stadt,  were  to  be  delivered  up  to  the  French  army, 
to  be  disposed  of  as  it  might  see  fit.  In  return, 
the  armistice  was  prolonged  for  forty-five  day.s 
from  the  21st  of  .September,  comprising  fifteen 
days'  notice  of  the  x-esuniption  of  hostilities,  if 
afterwards  they  were  to  recommence. 

The  emperor  returned  to  Vienna  very  ill-sat>sfied 
with  the  visit  he  had  made  to  his  army,  since  that 
event  had  been  attended  with  no  other  results 
than  to  give  up  to  the  French  army  tiie  three 
strongest  places  in  Ins  dominions.  He  was 
deeply  mortified.  His  j>enple  partook  in  his  feel- 
ings, and  accused  jM.  Thugut  of  being  entirely 
in  the  interest  of  England.  Queen  Caroline  of 
Naples  had  just  arrived  with  lord  Nelson  and  lady 
Hamilton,  to  support  the  war  party  in  Vienna. 
But  the  public  clamour  was  great.  M.  Thugut 
was  charged  with  serious  errors,  such  as  his  re- 
fusal, at  tlie  beginning  of  the  winter,  to  listen  to  the 
pacific  propositions  uf  the  first  consul  ;  the  bad 
direction  of  the  military  operations  ;  his  obstinacy 
in  not  admitting  the  army  of  reserve,  even  when 
it  was  passing  tlie  St.  Bernard  ;  the  concentration 
of  the  principal  forces  of  the  empire  in  Liguria,  to 
please  the  English,  who  flattered  themselves  that 
they  should  get  pussession  of  Toulon  ;  and  lastly, 
the  engagement  entered  into  with  the  Englisii 
government  not  to  treat  without  it — an  engagement 
signed  on  the  20th  of  June,  when  he  ought,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  have  preserved  his  freedom  of 
action.  These  reproaclics  were  in  a  great  degree 
well-founded.  But  well-founded  or  not,  they  were 
sanctioned  by  events ;  for  nothing  had  succeeded 
under  the  auspices  of  M.  Thugut,  and  people  only 
judge  according  to  results.  M.  Tiiugut  was  then 
obliged  to  bend  to  circumstances,  and  to  retire,  but 
still  retaining  a  great  influence  over  the  Austrian 
cabinet.  M.  Lelirbach  was  appointed  to  succeed 
him  in  the  foreign  office;  and  to  succeed  M. 
I  Lehrbach  at  the  congress  of  Luneville,  a  well- 
known  negotiator,  M.  Louis  Cobentzel,  was  ap- 
pointed, who  was  well-known  personally  to  Bona- 
parte, and  was  particularly  agreeable  to  him,  having 
negotiated  together  the  treaty  of  Campo  Forniio. 
It  was  hoped  that  M,  Cobentzel  would  be  a  ]>erson 
better  adapted  than  any  other  for  establishing  a 
good  understanding  with  the  French  govei-nment ; 
and  that,  placed  at  Luneville,  at  some  distance 
from  Paris,  he  would  sometimes  visit  that  city,  in 
order  to  have  more  connnunicatiou  with  the  first 
consul. 

The  delivery  to  the  French  army  of  the  three 
fortresses  of  Ulm,  Ingoldstadt,  and  Philipsburg, 
happened  very  seasonably  for  the  celebration  of 
the  fete  of  the  1st  Vende'miaire.  Jt  revived  the 
hopes  of  peace,  because  it  displayed  very  clearly 
the  extreme  situation  of  Austria.  The  annual  fete 
was  founded  to  celebrate  the  foundation  of  the  re- 
public, and  was  one  of  the  only  two  which  the  con- 
stitution had  established.  The  first  consul  deter- 
mined that  it  should  not  be  less  splendidly  cele- 
brated than  that  of  the  Utii  of  July,  which  had 
betn  so  happily  increased  in  attraction  by  the  pre- 


sentation of  the  colours  taken  in  the  preceding  cam- 
paign, to  the  Invalides;  he  determined  that  it  should 
be  distinguished  by  a  character  as  patriotic,  but 
more  serious  than  any  of  those  which  were  given  in 
the  course  of  the  revolution,  and,  more  than  all, 
that  it  should  be  freed  from  that  ridicule  attached 
to  the  imitation,  in  modern  times,  of  the  customs  of 
the  ancients. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  religion  leaves  a  great 
vacancy  in  being  excluded  from  the  festivals  of 
nations.  Public  games,  theati-ical  representations, 
fires  that  make  the  night  brilliant  with  illumina- 
tions, may  oceu{>y  the  popular  attention  for  some 
time,  upon  any  public  occasion  of  the  kind,  but 
cannot  fill  up  the  whole  day.  In  past  times,  na- 
tions have  ever  been  disposed  to  celebrate  their 
victories  at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  and  have  made 
their  ])ublic  ceremonies  an  act  of  thankfulness  to 
the  divinity.  But  France  had  then  no  altar  but 
that  which  had  been  elevated  to  the  goddess  of 
reason  during  the  reign  of  terror  ;  those,  which 
the  theophilanthropists  innocently  strewed  with 
flowers,  during  the  liccTitious  reign  of  the  directory, 
were  now  covered  with  ineffaceable  ridicule,  be- 
cause, in  regard  to  altars,  those  only  are  respect- 
able which  are  ancient.  The  old  Catholic  altar  of 
France  had  not  then  been  restored,  and  nothing 
remained  in  consequence  but  certain  ceremonies 
in  some  degree  academic,  under  the  dome  of  the 
Invalides  ;  elegant  orations,  such  as  those  made  by 
M.  Fontanes,  or  patriotic  music  composed  by  Mehul 
or  Lesueur.  The  first  consul  was  sensible  of  this, 
and  endeavoured,  therefore,  to  supply  the  deficiency 
in  religious  featiu-e,  by  giving  the  fete  something 
that  should  possess  a  deeply  moral  character. 

The  homage  paid  to  Washington,  and  the  pre- 
sentation of  the  colours  taken  at  Marengo,  had 
already  supplied  subjects  for  the  two  festivals  yet 
celebrated  under  his  consulship  :  he  contrived  for 
the  present  to  find,  in  a  great  act  of  reparation, 
the  subject  for  the  fete  of  the  1st  of  Vende'miaire, 
year  ix.,  or  23d  of  September,  1800. 

At  the  time  when  the  tombs  of  St.  Denis  were 
rifled,  the  body  of  Turenne  had  been  found  in  per- 
fect preservation.  In  the  midst  of  the  excesses  of 
the  people,  an  involuntary  respect  had  saved  these 
remains  from  the  common  desecration.  At  first 
deposited  in  the  Jardin  des  Plantes,  they  were 
subsequently  committed  to  the  care  of  M.  Alex- 
ander Lenoir,  a  man  whose  pious  zeal,  worihy  of 
being  honoured  in  history,  preserved  a  multitude 
of  old  monuments,  which  he  collected  in  the  mu- 
seum of  the  Petits  Augustins.  There  lay  the  re- 
mains of  Turenne,  exposed  rather  to  the  curious 
feelings  of  visitors,  than  to  their  respect.  The  first 
consul  thought  of  depositing  the  remains  of  tliis 
great  man  under  the  dome  of  the  Invalides,  and  the 
guard  of  our  older  .soldiers.  In  honouring  an  illus- 
trious general  and  servant  of  the  old  monarchy,  he 
was  bringing  into  union  the  glories  of  Louis  XIV. 
and  those  of  the  republic  ;  it  was  an  act  re-esta- 
blishing the  respect  for  the  past  without  doing 
outrage  to  the  present  time;  it  was,  in  a  word,  the 
entire  political  object  of  the  first  consul,  under  a 
noble  and  touching  aspect.  The  translation  was  to 
take  place  on  the  last  complementary  day  of  the 
year  viii.  or  the  22d  of  September,  and  on  the  fol- 
lowing day,  or  1st  of  Vend^miaire  in  the  year  ix., 
or  23d  of  September,  the  first  stone  was  to  be  kid 


1800. 
Sept. 


Obsequies  of  Turenne. 
— i'rocession  to  the 
Invalides. 


THE  ARMISTICE. 


Announcement  of  the  armistice 
of  Hohenliiideu. — Rise  of  tlie 
public  funds. 


155 


of  the  monument  to  Kldber  and  Desaix.  Thus,  at 
the  moment  when  tlie  earth,  in  obedience  to  the 
laws  which  impart  motion  to  it,  was  completing 
one  great  century,  and  giving  birth  to  another,  not 
less  renowned  in  its  turn  if  it  proved  in  future 
worthy  of  its  commencement, — at  sueli  a  moment 
the  first  consul  determined  to  pay  a  double  homage 
to  one  hero  of  the  past  time,  and  to  two  of  the  pre- 
sent. In  order  to  make  the  ceremonies  the  more 
striking,  he  imitated,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  same 
proceedings  which  had  been  practised  at  the  fede- 
ration of  1790,  and  he  requested  all  the  depart- 
ments to  send  representatives,  who,  by  their  pre- 
sence, might  give  a  character  to  the  scene  not  only 
Parisian,  but  national.  The  departments  answered 
readily  to  the  call,  and  selected  dist  nguished  citi- 
zens, that  curiosity,  the  desire  to  see  for  themselves 
tranquillity  succeed  to  trouble,  prosperity  to  the 
miseries  of  anarchy,  the  wish,  above  all,  to  see  and 
converse  witli  a  great  man,  attracted  to  Paris  in 
considerable  numbers. 

Upon  the  5th  complementary  day  of  the  year  viii., 
or  22il  of  September,  the  public  authorities  went 
to  the  museum  of  the  Petits  Augustins,  to  fetch  the 
car  upon  which  lay  the  body  of  Turenne.  On  this 
car,  drawn  by  four  wiiite  horses,  was  placed  the 
sword  of  the  hero  of  the  monarchy,  preserved  in 
the  family  of  Bouillon,  and  lent  to  the  government 
for  that  striking  ceremony.  Four  old  generals, 
mutilated  in  the  service  oF  the  republic,  held  tlie 
tassels  of  the  car,  which  was  preceded  by  a  pie- 
bald horse,  such  as  that  whicli  Turenne  rode, 
harnessed  after  the  fashion  of  his  time,  and  led  by 
a  negro,  all  an  accurate  repi-esuntation  of  some  of 
the  scenes  of  a  day  belonging  to  the  times  of  the 
hero  to  whom  the  liomage  was  paid.  Around  the 
car  marched  the  invalid.-^,  followed  by  some  of 
those  fine  troops  which  had  returned  from  the 
banks  of  the  Po  and  the  Danube.  This  singular 
and  noble  procession  traversed  Paris  to  the  Inva- 
lides  in  the  midst  of  an  immense  assemblage. 
There  the  first  consul  waited  its  arrival,  surround- 
ed by  the  envoys  from  the  departments,  both  those 
of  the  old  France  and  those  of  the  new  France  ; 
these  last  representing  Belgium,  Luxemburg,  the 
Rhenish  provinces,  Savoy,  and  the  county  of  Nice. 
The  precious  relic  which  was  carried  by  the  pro- 
cession, was  placed  under  the  dome.  Carnot,  the 
minister-at-war,  delivered  a  simple  and  appropriate 
adilress,  and  then,  while  solemn  music  resounded 
through  the  vaulted  building,  the  body  of  Turenne 
was  deposited  in  tlie  monument  which  it  now  occu- 
pies, and  where  it  was  soon  to  be  rejoined  by  his 
companion  in  glory,  the  illustrious  and  virtuous 
Vauban;  where,  too,  lie  was  destined  to  be  one  day 
joined  by  the  author  of  th*;  great  achievements 
we  are  recounting,  and  where  he  will  most  assu- 
redly rest,  surrounded  by  this  august  company, 
throughout  tiie  ages  which  heaven  may  have  re- 
served for  France. 

If  in  days  like  our  own,  when  faith  is  become 
Cold,  any  thing  can  fill  its  place,  and  perhaps 
equal  the  purposes  of  religion,  it  is  such  a  spectacle 
as  (his. 

On  the  evening  of  the  same  day  a  gratuitous 
representation  of  tlie  "  Tartutfe"  and  of  the  "  Old  " 
was  given  to  the  people,  with  the  view  of  offering 
them  an  anmscinent  less  coarse  than  had  been 
customary  ui)on  such  occasions.    Tiie  first  consul 


attended  the  performance.  His  presence,  his  in- 
tention, instinctively  guessed  by  a  sensitive  and 
intelligent  people,  all  concurred  to  maintain  upon 
the  occasion,  in  a  tumultuous  assemblage,  a  thing 
not  usual  at  gratuitous  exhibitions — the  most  com- 
plete decorum.  The  order  was  interrupted  only 
by  cries  a  thousiind  times  repeated — ''■  Long  live 
the  republic  ! — Limg  live  general  Bonaparte  !" 

On  the  following  day,  the  first  consul,  as  before, 
accompanied  by  the  public  authtu'ities  and  envoys 
from  the  de(>artments,  repaired  to  the  Place  des 
Victoires.  There  a  monument  was  about  to  be 
erected  in  the  Egyptian  style,  intended  to  receive 
the  mortal  remains  of  Kle'ber  and  Desaix,  whom 
the  first  consul  wished  to  repose  side  by  side.  He 
then  went  on  horseback  to  the  Invalides,  where  the 
minister  of  the  interior,  his  brother  Lucien,  de- 
livered a  speech  on  the  state  of  the  republic,  which 
made  a  powerful  imprcssi(m.  Some  passages  were 
very  strongly  api)lauded  ;  this,  among  otliex's,  re- 
lative to  the  present  age  and  to  that  of  Louis  XIV. 
"  It  may  be  said  chat  at  the  present  moment 
these  two  great  ages  have  met  to  salute  one  an- 
other over  that  august  tomb  !"'  The  orator,  in 
delivering  these  words,  mounted  upon  the  tomb  of 
Tureniic.  Unanimous  plaudits  responded,  showing 
tiiat  every  heart,  without  derogating  from  the 
present,  was  willing  to  receive  from  the  past  what- 
ever deserved  revival.  And  that  the  scene  might 
be  comi)lete — that  the  connnon  illusions  of  human 
nature  might  do  their  part,  tlie  orator  further  ex- 
claimed—  "Happy  the  generation  which  sees 
finished,  in  a  republic,  the  revolution  which  it  com- 
menced under  a  monarchy  !" 

During  this  ceremony  the  first  consul  received  a 
despatch  by  telegraph,  announcing  the  armistice  of 
Hohenliuden  and  the  cession  of  Philipsburg,  Uim, 
and  Ingoldstadt.  He  sent  a  note  to  his  brother 
Lucien,  which  was  read  to  all  those  present,  and 
welcomed  with  greater  applauses  than  the  speech 
of  the  minister  of  the  interior.  Despite  all  respect 
for  i)l:ices,  the  cries  of  "  Long  live  Bonaparte  ! — 
Long  live  the  republic  !"  shook  the  arches  of  that 
noble  edifice.  The  innnediate  publication  of  this 
intelligence  produced  deeper  .satisfaction  than  all 
the  amusements  destined  to  please  the  multitude. 
The  people  were  not  afraid  of  war ;  they  had  full 
confidence  in  the  talents  of  the  first  consul,  and  in 
the  courage  of  their  armies,  if  it  was  necessary 
that  war  should  be  continued  ;  but  after  so  many 
battles,  so  many  troubles,  they  wished  to  enjoy  in 
peace  the  glory  acquired,  and  the  prosperity  whicli 
was  beginning  to  appear. 

This  prosperity  was  making  a  rapid  progress.  I 
the  sole  pi'csence  of  Bonaparte  sufficed,  on  tiie  18lh 
of  Brumaire,  to  calm,  soothe,  re-assure,  and  give 
back  hope,  the  matter  must  be  changed  now  when 
the  success  of  the  armies,  the  earnest  advances 
made  by  Europe  towards  France,  the  prospect  of 
an  approaching  and  brilliant  jieace, — in  fine,  the 
tranquillity  every  where  establisln.d,— had  i-ealized 
the  hopes  conceived  in  the  first  moment  of  con- 
fidence. 

These  hopes  were  become  realities.  It  might  be 
said,  that  in  the  ten  montlis  past,  from  November, 
179.0,  to  September,  1800,  the  aspect  of  France 
liad  changed.  The  public  funds,  the  vulgar  but 
certain  ex])ression  of  the  state  of  tiie  public  mind, 
liad  risen  from  twelve  fi-ancs  on  tiie  real  price  at 


Returns  of  the  public  contri- 
15G    butions. -Success  of.  the    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 

measure  adopted. 


prosperity. 


Sept. 


which  the  five  per  cents,  were  sold  the  day  before 
the  18th  Brumaire,  to  forty  francs — they  promised 
to  reach  fifty. 

The  stockholders  had  received  half  a  year's 
dividend  in  specie,  a  thing  which  had  not  happened 
since  the  commencement  of  the  revolution.  This 
financial  phenomenon  had  produced  a  great  effect, 
and  appeared  not  to  be  the  least  of  the  victories  of 
the  first  consul.  How  had  he  been  able  to  eftect 
such  a  success  ?  It  was  an  enigma  which  the 
mass  of  the  people  explained  by  that  singular 
power  which  he  was  said  already  to  possess,  of 
doing  whatever  he  pleased. 

But  it  was  not  the  smallest  miracle ;  there  is  no 
other  cause  for  real  successes  than  good  sense 
seconded  by  a  powerful  detei-mination,  and  such 
was  the  sole  cause  of  the  happy  results  obtained 
under  the  administration  of  the  first  consul.  He 
had,  at  first,  sought  to  remedy  the  real  evil  exist- 
ing, which  arose  from  the  slowness  with  which  the 
imposts  were  collected  ;  he  had,  with  this  view, 
established  a  special  agency  for  perfecting  the  lists 
of  assessment,  left  too  complaisantly  before  to  the 
communes.  This  special  agency,  stimulated  by 
the  prefects,  another  creation  of  the  consular  go- 
vernment, had  corrected  the  assessments  in  arrear 
for  the  years  vii.  and  viir.,  and  had  terminated 
those  for  the  year  ix.,  that  which  had  just  begun, 
or  from  September,  1800,  to  September,  1801. 
Thus,  for  the  first  time  since  the  revolution,  the 
lists  of  the  current  year  were  placed  in  a  train  for 
collection  from  the  first  day  of  the  year.  The  re- 
ceivers-general, having  the  taxes  punctually  paid 
to  (them,  were  enabled  to  be  punctual  in  their 
monthly  acquittal  of  the  obligations  which  they  had 
accepted,  and  had  paid  them  in  constantly  at  the 
end  of  every  month.  It  has  been  said  before,  that 
in  order  to  guaranty  the  credit  of  these  obligations 
or  bills,  the  treasury  had  required  of  the  receivers- 
general  security  in  specie,  which  security,  being 
deposited  in  the  sinking  fund,  served  to  pay  any  of 
the  obligations  that  might  be  protested.  Out  of  the 
sum  of  20,000,000  f.,  being  the  total  amount  of  the 
securities,  1,000,000  f.  sufficed  to  pay  the  dis- 
honoured bills.  From  this  circumstance  they  ac- 
quired a  credit  equal  to  that  of  the  best  commercial 
paper.  At  first  they  could  not  be  discounted  under 
three-fourths  per  cent,  per  month,  or  nine  per  cent, 
per  annum  ;  now  they  were  discounted  at  eight, 
and  many  were  willing  to  discount  them  at  seven 
per  cent.  This  was  very  moderate  interest  ui  com- 
parison with  that  which  the  government  had  before 
been  obliged  to  pay.  Thus,  as  the  direct  contri- 
butions in  a  total  budget  of  500,000,000  f.  repre- 
sented about  300,000,000  f.,  tlie  treasury  had,  at 
the  first  day  of  the  year,  300,000,000  f.  of  value  in 
its  hands,  very  nearly  realized  ;  for  in  place  of  re- 
ceiving nearly  nothing,  as  formerly,  and  receiving 
the  little  paid  very  slowly,  it  had,  on  the  4th  of 
VendeJmiaire,  the  best  part  of  the  public  revenues 
at  its  disposal.  Such  had  been  the  result  of  the 
completion  of  the  assessment  lists  in  good  time, 
and  of  the  system  of  monthly  bills,  drawn  under 
the  title  of  obligations  upon  the  chests  of  the  re- 
ceivers-general, by  preventing  the  last  from  having 
any  pretext  for  delaying  their  receipts,  the  govern- 
ment was  able  to  impose  upon  them  the  condition 
of  paying  in  upon  a  lixcd  day. 

The  year  vui.,  which  had  just  terminated,  from 


September,  1799,  to  September,  1800,  had  not 
been  provided  for  with  such  facility  as  the  year  ix. 
promised  to  be.  It  had  been  necessary  to  with- 
draw all  the  paper  emitted  before,  such  as  the 
bills  of  arrear,  of  requisition,  the  delegations,  and 
others.  The  different  paper  had  been  withdrawn, 
either  by  the  acquittal  of  the  anterior  contribu- 
tions, or  by  means  of  certain  arrangements  agreed 
upon  with  the  holders.  The  revenue  of  the  year 
VIII.  had,  in  consequence,  been  so  much  diminished, 
there  was  a  deficiency  too  in  that  year's  receipts. 
But  the  victories  of  the  French  armies  having 
taken  them  into  the  enemies'  country,  the  treasury 
was  relieved  from  the  burden  of  their  support ;  and 
with  some  of  the  national  domains,  which  had  begun 
to  fetch  good  prices  in  the  market,  the  deficiency 
of  that  year  might  be  made  good.  The  expenditure 
of  the  year  ix.  would  not  offer  any  similar  diffi- 
culty. No  more  bills  of  arrear  were  issued,  because 
the  stockholders  were  paid  in  specie ;  no  more 
bills  of  requisition,  because  the  army  was  either 
fed  by  the  treasury  itself,  or  by  the  treasury  of 
the  foreigner  ;  no  more  delegations  were  issued, 
because,  as  before  observed,  the  first  consul 
adopted  an  invariable  rule  in  regard  to  those  who 
had  claims  upon  the  state  :  he  paid  them  specie 
or  nothing  ;  and  in  specie  he  paid  them  already 
more  than  the  preceding  governments  had  done. 
Every  week  he  held  a  council  of  finance,  when  he 
required  a  statement  of  the  resources  to  be  laid 
before  the  council,  and  also  one  of  the  money 
wanted  by  each  minister  ;  he  chose  the  most 
urgent  demands,  and  divided  them  with  exactness; 
he  distributed  the  assets  certain  to  be  paid,  but 
no  more  than  those.  In  this  mode,  with  a  firm 
conduct,  there  was  no  more  need  for  issuing  paper 
money  ;  and  having  no  fictitious  paper  abroad, 
there  was  none  to  be  redeemed.  The  receipts  of 
the  year  ix.  were  certain  to  be  m  specie. 

The  stock  or  fund-holders  were  paid  by  the  bank 
of  France.  The  bank  had  only  been  in  existence 
for  six  months,  and  was  already  capable  of  issuing 
notes  to  a  large  amount,  taken  by  the  public  as 
readily  as  specie  itself.  The  necessities  of  ti'ade, 
and  the  conduct  of  the  government  in  regard  to 
the  new  establishment,  had  caused  this  rapid  suc- 
cess.. This  was  the  mode  in  which  the  matter  was 
managed.  Of  the  securities  in  specie,  one  million 
in  twenty  millions  sufficed  to  sustain  the  credit  of 
the  obligations.  The  remainder  was  without  em- 
ployment ;  and  however  pressing  was  the  tempta- 
tion to  employ  those  19,000,000  f.  to  meet  urgent 
necessities,  the  government  did  not  hesitate  to 
impose  upon  itself  the  severest  hardships,  that  it 
might  lay  out  5,000,000  f.  in  purchasing  shares  in 
the  bank,  the  amount  of  which  it  immediately 
paid.  It  did  not  stay  there,  but  deposited  with 
it  in  current  account  the  surplus  of  the  disposable 
funds.  The  account  current  was  composed  of 
sums  paid  in,  on  condition  that  they  might  be 
drawn  out  accordingly  as  they  were  wanted,  day 
by  day.  Having  such  resources  suddenly  placed 
at  its  command,  the  bank  lost  not  a  moment  in 
discounting,  and  in  issuing  notes  which,  always 
paid  in  money,  if  desired,  had  acquired  in  a  few 
months  the  value  of  cash.  To-day  such  a  thing  would 
not  appear  extraordinary,  because  in  the  smallest 
towns  the  same  operation  is  seen  performing  in 
the  easiest  way,  and  many  banks  prosper  from  th« 


!800. 
Sept. 


The  bank  of  France.— State  of 
the  lauded  proprietarj-. 


THE  ARMISTICE. 


The  first  consul  repairs  the 
public  roads. 


157 


time  of  their  starting.  But  in  that  day,  after  so 
many  bankruptcies,  after  the  dislike  which  the 
assignats  had  created  for  paper,  it  was  a  species 
of  commercial  wonder,  worked  out  by  a  goTern- 
ment  which  had,  above  all  other  things,  the  gift  of 
inspiring  confidence. 

The  treasury  then  thought  of  confiding  to  the 
bank  divers  services,  advantageous  to  itself  as  well 
as  to  the  state,  especially  that  of  paying  the  stock- 
holders. This  it  effected  by  means  perfectly  simple. 
The  bills  of  the  receivers-general  were  as  good  as 
bills  of  exchange.  The  treasury  oflFered  the  bank 
these  bills,  to  the  amount  of  20,000,000  f.,  for  dis- 
count,— an  operation  highly  advantageous  to  the 
bank,  because  discount  was  at  six  and  seven  per 
cent.;  and  the  operation  was  perfectly  secure,  since 
the  bills  had  become  of  undeniable  value.  The 
bank  undertook,  in  consequence,  to  pay  the  half- 
)-early  dividends  to  the  stockholders,  who  received 
money  or  notes,  as  they  might  prefer. 

Thus  in  some  months  the  government,  in  know- 
ing how  to  impose  privations  upon  itself,  had 
already  procured  a  powerful  instrument,  which 
for  an  aid  of  10,000,000  f.  or  1 2,000,000  f.,  that 
it  had  received  at  a  moment's  notice,  could  make 
a  return  of  service  to  the  extent  of  hundreds  of 
millions. 

Financial  ease  was  therefore  every  where  re- 
newed. The  only  sensible  suffering  remaining 
was  that  of  the  landed  proprietary.  In  the  worst 
time  of  the  national  troubles,  the  proprietor*  of 
estates  and  houses  had  the  advantage  of  not  paying 
any  taxes,  owing  to  the  delay  in  the  making  up 
the  assessment  lists;  or  of  paying  next  to  nothing, 
owing  to  the  assignats.  To-day  it  was  otherwise. 
The  landed  proprietors  were  now  forced  to  pay 
up  their  arrears  and  their  current  taxes,  all  in 
cash.  For  the  small  proprietors  the  charge  was 
heavy.  At  first  an  allowance  had  been  made  in 
the  budget  of  5,000,000  f.  for  assets  not  available, 
in  order  to  exempt  such  payers  as  were  too 
severely  pressed  ;  but  it  was  found  necessary  to 
devote  a  much  larger  sum  to  this  purpose.  It 
was  a  sort  of  profit  and  loss  account  opened  with 
the  payers,  by  which  the  past  was  given  up  in 
order  to  secure  the  exact  acquittal  of  the  present. 
The  landed  proprietary  alone  cannot  pay  all  the 
pul)lic  burdens  of  a  state.  Some  must  be  met  by 
duties  imposed  upon  articles  of  consumption.  The 
revolution,  by  abolishing  the  taxes  imposed  upon 
liquors,  upon  salt  and  different  articles  of  the  kind, 
had  closed  up  one  of  the  two  necessary  sources  of 
jiublic  revenue.  Time  had  not  yet  opened  it  again. 
This  wa.s  one  of  the  glories  destined,  at  a  later 
period,  for  the  return  of  order  and  of  society  in 
France  to  effect.  Bonaparte  had  at  first  many 
prejudices  to  overcome.  By  establishing  an  excise 
or  "octroi"  at  the  gates  of  the  towns,  to  provide 
for  the  necessities  of  the  public  hospitals,  ho  had 
made  a  first  useful  casay,  wliich  accustomed  people 
to  the  restitution  of  a  tax  sooner  or  later  indis- 
pensable. 

Though  the  landed  property  was  for  the  moment 
heavily  taxed,  still  a  general  feeling  of  prosperity 
was  diffused  among  all  classes  of  persons.  On  all 
sides  the  people  felt  themselves  regenerated,  and 
found  they  had  courage  to  labour  and  speculate. 

But  there  were  other  efforts  to  be  made  in  that 
upturned   state   of  society,   to  bring  every    thing 


right,  if  not  to  so  perfect  a  state  as  time  might  do, 
to  such  a  state  as  was  supportable  for  all.  It  has 
been  seen  what  was  done  for  the  finances;  there 
was  another  branch  of  the  public  service  fully 
as  much  disorganized  as  the  finances  had  been, 
namely,  that  of  the  roads.  These  had  become  nearly 
impassable.  As  everybody  knows,  not  years  of 
negligence,  but  a  few  months  only,  are  sufficient 
to  change  into  bogs  the  artificial  roads  that  man 
makes  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth  for  the  trans- 
port of  heavy  loads.  It  was  nearly  ten  years  since 
the  roads  in  France  had  been  left  almost  without 
repair.  Under  the  old  government,  the  roads  were 
repaired  by  "corve'es,"  or  tenant  labour;  and  sub- 
sequently to  the  revolution,  by  means  of  a  sum  of 
money,  which  appeared  in  the  general  budget,  but 
had  not  been  more  punctually  paid  than  the  sums 
destined  for  other  services.  The  directory,  seeing 
how  matters  stood,  had  contemplated  a  particular 
resource  for  the  purpose,  which  should  not  be 
alienated,  and  could  never  be  diminished;  and,  to 
arrive  at  this  object,  had  established  a  toll,  and 
created  barriers  for  its  collection.  This  toll  had 
been  farmed  out  to  the  contractors  for  the  road 
themselves,  who  being  negligently  surveyed,  cheated 
both  in  the  collection  of  the  toll  and  in  the  applica- 
tion (if  the  product.  Besides,  the  sum  was  in- 
sufficient that  was  thus  obtained.  It  returned 
13,000,000  f.  or  14,000,000  f.  per  annum  at  most, 
and  30,000,000  f.  was  necessary.  In  the  years  vt., 
VII.,  and  VIII.,  no  more  than  32,000,0001".  had  been 
expended  upon  the  roads,  and  at  least  I00,000,000f. 
would  have  been  required  to  repair  the  ravages 
which  time  had  made,  and  to  preserve  them  in 
re))air  annually. 

The  first  consul,  postponing  the  adoption  of  a 
perfect  system,  had  recourse  to  the  most  simple 
means — the  general  funds  of  the  state  ;  applying 
them  to  the  purpose  of  the  I'oads,  a  service  so 
important  in  every  respect.  He  suffered  the  toll 
to  continue  in  the  old  mode  of  being  levied  and 
in  its  application,  taking  care  that  its  outlay  was 
carefully  superintended;  and  he  added  12,000,000f. 
in  the  year  ix.,  a  considerable  sum  for  that  time. 
This  sum  was  intended  to  repair  the  main  roads 
going  from  the  centre  to  the  extremities  of  the 
republic,  from  Paris  to  Lille,  to  Strasburg,  to 
Marseilles,  to  Bordeaux,  and  to  Brest.  He  pro- 
posed afterwards  to  proceed  to  other  roads  with 
the  funds  thus  devoted,  and  to  augment  the  sums 
in  proportion  to  the  improved  state  of  the  treasux-y, 
employing  them  concurrently  with  the  toll,  until 
the  roads  were  restored  to  such  a  state  as  they 
ought  to  be  in  every  civilized  land. 

The  canals  of  St.  Quentin  and  of  Ourcq,  under- 
taken towards  the  close  of  the  regal  government, 
exhibited  every  where  to  the  sight  mere  ditches 
half-filled,  hills  partly  cut  through, and  utter  ruins; 
in  a  word,  they  seemed  any  thing  but  works  of  art. 
Bonaparte  sent  engineers  to  survey  them  imme- 
diately, and  went  himself  and  ordered  the  definitive 
plans,  that  by  labors  of  jjublic  utility  the  first 
movements  of  the  approaching  peace  might  be 
signalized. 

The  bad  state  of  tlic  roads  wa.s  not  the  only 
thing  which  rendered  them  imi)assable;  there  were 
robbers  infesting  them,  in  a  great  many  of  the 
provinces.  The  Chouans  and  tho  Venddans,  re- 
maining without  emi)loy  from  the  end  of  the  civil 


Pul)l-c  robl)ers  suppressed.—  Spina  arrives  at  Paris  from 

158    Differences   of   t  lie   priest-     THIERS'   CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE,     the  holy  see— Regulations 

Jiood  regulated. -Monsignor  for  the  Sunday  and  decadi. 


Strpt. 


wai',  having  contracted  liabits  of  life  which  were 
irreeoncileable  with  a  state  of  peace,  ravaged  the 
great  roads  in  Britanv,  Noi'niandy,and  the  envii-ons 
lit'  Paris.  Refractory  per.sons  who  wished  to  escape 
the  conscription,  and  some  of  tlie  soldiers  of  the 
Liiiurian  army  that  misery  had  (hiven  to  desertion, 
wore  committing  robberies  upon  the  highways  of 
the  south  and  centre  of  France.  Georges  Cadoudal, 
wlio  had  come  bnclc  from  England  with  plenty 
of  money,  concealed  in  the  Morbihan,  secretly 
directed  these  new  Chouan  depredations.  It  wa.s 
necessary  to  have  a  number  of  moveable  columns, 
with  military'  commissions  following  them,  to  sup- 
press these  disorders.  The  first  consul  had  already 
lorined  some  of  these  columns,  but  he  was  in  want 
of  men.  The  directory  had  kept  too  many  troops 
at  iiome ;  he  liad  kept  too  few  ;  but  ho  said,  with 
sound  reason,  that  when  he  had  beaten  the  enemies 
without,  he  would  soon  put  an  end  to  those  witliin. 
"  Patience,"  he  replied  to  th.ose  who  spoke  to  \i\vi 
fearfully  of  this  species  of  disorder;  "give  me  a 
month  or  two;  I  shall  then  have  conquered  peace, 
and  I  will  do  i>rompt  and  complete  justice  ujion 
these  highway  robbers."  Peace  was,  then,  the 
inilispensable  condition  of  good  in  all  things.  Still 
he  did  not  the  less  employ  the  interim  in  applying 
remedies  to  the  more  urgent  disorders. 

It  has  been  before  observed,  that  he  had  con- 
sented to  sub.stitute  for  an  oath  formerly  exacted 
from  the  priestiiood,  a  simple  promise  of  obedience 
to  the  laws,  which  could  in  no  way  wound  their 
consciences.  They  had  immediately  avjiiled  them- 
selves of  this  concession  in  considerable  numbers, 
and  the  clerical  duties  were  at  once  seen  to  be  dis- 
puted by  the  constitutional  priests  who  had  taken 
the  oath  to  the  civil  constitution  of  the  clergy,  the 
unsworn  jiriests  who  had  only  given  a  verbal  pro- 
mise of  obedience  to  the  laws,  and,  lastly,  those 
who  had  neither  given  a  promise  to  obey  the  laws, 
nor  taken  any  oath  at  all.  The  ])riests  belonging 
to  the  first  two  classes  were  alike  agreed  in  the 
endeavour  to  obtain  churches,  which  were  con- 
ceded to  them  with  greater  or  less  facility,  accord- 
ing to  the  very  variable  humour  of  the  local  autho- 
rities. Those  who  had  refused  to  make  any  kind 
of  oath  or  prorai.se,  performed  the  duties  clan- 
destinely in  the  interior  of  private  iiouses,  and 
passed,  in  the  eyes  of  many  of  the  faithful,  for  the 
only  true  ministers  of  religion.  Lastly,  to  add 
to  the  confusion,  came  the  Thcophilanihrnpists, 
who  replaced  the  Catholics  in  the  churches, 
and  on  certain  days  deposited  flowers  on  the 
altars,  where  the  priests  who  preceded  them 
had  just  said  mass.  These  ridiculous  sectarians 
held  festivals  in  lionour  of  all  the  virtues, — of  tem- 
|)erance,  courage,  charity,  and  similar  qualities. 
Upon  All  Saints'  day,  they  celebrated,  for  example, 
a  festival  in  honour  of  ancestors.  In  the  view  of  the 
strict  Catholics  this  was  a  pi-ofanation  of  a  reli- 
gions edifice,  and  good  sense  as  well  as  rcsjiect  for 
(l(miin;int  creeds  demanded  that  it  should  be  dis- 
continued. 

In  order  to  put  an  end  to  the  prevailing  chaos, 
it  was  necessary  to  have  an  agreement  with  the 
holy  see — an  agreement  by  means  of  whicii,  those 
who  had  taken  the  oath,  and  those  who  had  only 
given  the  promLsc,  and  those  who  had  refused  to  do 
either  the  one  or  the  othei-,  should  be  reconciled. 
But   Monsignor  Spina,   the  envoy  from    the  holy 


see,  had  just  arrived  in  Paris,  and  kept  out  of 
sight,  feeling  surprised  to  find  himself  there.  The 
business  upon  which  he  had  come  was  as  delicate 
for  him  as  for  the  government.  The  first  consul,  dis- 
cerning, as  he  did,  with  rare  tact,  the  characters  of 
men,  and  tJie  employment  for  which  they  are  best 
adapted,  opposed  to  the  wary  Italian  the  individual 
most  fitted  to  cope  with  him,  the  Abbe  Bernier, 
who,  having  for  a  long  while  directed  the  affairs  of 
La  Vendee,  had,  ultimately,  reconciled  it  with  the 
government.  The  first  consul,  having  brought  the 
abbe'  to  Paris,  attached  him  to  himself  by  the  most 
honourable  of  all  relations,  a  desire  to  contribute  to 
the  public  good,  and  to  be  a  partaker  of  the  Iionour 
of  the  task.  To  re-establish  a  good  understanding 
between  Frame  and  the  Roman  church  was,  witli 
the  abbe'  Bernier,  but  a  continuance  and  comple- 
tion of  the  pacification  of  La  Vendee.  The  inter- 
view with  Monsignor  Spina  had  scarcely  begun, 
and  the  government  was  unable  to  promise  itself 
any  inmiediate  result. 

It  was  important  to  arrive  as  speedily  as  possi- 
ble at  a  settlement  of  these  religious  affairs.  Peace 
with  the  holy  see  was  not  less  desirable  for 
calming  the  minds  of  the  peo])le,  than  peace  with 
the  great  European  powers.  In  the  mean  while 
there  remained  a  nundjer  of  irregularities,  singular 
or  mischievous,  to  provide  against,  which  the  first 
consul  did  by  the  best  means  he  was  able  to  use, 
by  consular  decrees.  Already  by  his  ordinance  of 
the  7tli  Nivose,  year  viii.,  or  28th  of  December, 
1790,  he  had  ])revented  the  local  authorities,  fre- 
quently favourable  to  the  |>riesthood,  from  thwart- 
ing them  in  the  performance  of  their  religious 
duties.  Disjxising,  as  already  observed,  of  the 
churches  of  which  they  had  the  care,  they  would 
often  refuse  permission  to  the  i)riests  to  use  tiiem 
on  the  SutKlay  in  place  of  the  decadi,  asserting 
that  tlte  last  wsis  the  only  In  liday  recognized  by 
the  laws  of  the  republic.  The  ordinance  before 
referred  to  had  piovided  against  this  difficulty, 
and  obliged  the  li/c;d  authorities  to  deliver  the 
places  of  religious  wor.ship  to  the  priests  on  the 
days  indicated  by  each  religious  denomination. 
But  this  or<linance  had  not  resolved  all  the  diffi- 
culties relative  to  the  Sundays  and  de'cadis.  Upon 
this  point  the  manners  ami  laws  were  opposed  to 
eaoJi  other;  a  matter  necessary  to  explain,  in  order 
to  give  an  idea  of  the  slate  of  French  society  at 
that  time. 

In  the  passionate  taste  for  symmetry  and  uni- 
formity attached  to  the  revolution,  it  had  not  con- 
fined itself  to  the  introduction  of  uniformity  in  the 
measures  of  length,  superficies,  and  weight,  and  to 
reducing  them  to  natural  and  immutable  unities, 
such  as  a  fraction  of  the  meridian,  ir  the  sjiecific 
gravity  of  distilled  water;  it  had  introduced  tlie 
same  kind  of  regularity  into  the  mea.'-urement  of 
time.  It  had  divided  the  year  into  twelve  equal 
months,  of  thirty  days  each,  and  had  comi)leled  it 
by  five  complementary  days.  It  had  divided  the 
month  into  three  de'cades,  or  weeks,  of  ten  days 
each,  thus  reducing  the  days  of  rest  to  three  in 
each  month,  and  substituting  for  the  four  Sundays 
of  the  Cregorian  calendar,  the  three  decadis  of 
the  republican.  Beyond  contradiction,  and  under 
the  mathematical  view  of  the  question,  this  la.st 
calendar  was  much  better  than  the  old  one;  but 
then  it  hurt  religious  feelings ;  it  was  not  that  of 


1800. 


Sunday  again  observed. — 
Anxiety  of  the  emigrants 
to  return. 


THE  ARMISTICE. 


Decree  concerning  the  proscription        , 
list.  *' 


the  generality  of  nations  nor  that  of  liistorv,  and  it 
could  not  overcome  inveterate  habit.  Tiie  metrical 
system,  after  forty  years  of  efturt  and  legislative 
enactment,  notwithstanding  its  incontestable  com- 
mercial ailvantages,  has  scarcely  been  yet  defini- 
tively establisjied  ;  how  then  could  it  be  expected 
that  tlie  republican  calendar  could  be  maintained 
after  liie  usjige  of  twenty  centuries,  agninst  the 
custom  of  the  whole  world,  and  against  the  power 
of  religion  itself  I  It  is  necessary  when  we  i-eform, 
to  content  ourselves  with  reformation  so  far  as  to 
destroy  real  suffering — to  establish  ju.stice  when 
it  is  required;  but  to  refoi-m  for  the  mere  jileasure 
of  the  sight  and  fancy,  for  the  purpose  of  putting  a 
straight  line  where  none  exists,  is  exacting  too 
much  of  human  nature.  The  habits  of  a  child 
may  be  formed  at  pleasure,  but  not  so  those  of  a 
grown  man.  It  is  the  same  with  nations  ;  the 
habits  of  a  people,  after  an  existence  of  fifteen 
centuries,  c:imiot  be  changed. 

In  consequence  Sunday  was  again  kept  every- 
where. In  some  towns  the  shops  were  closed  (m 
Sundays,  in  others  on  decadis  ;  often  in  the  same 
town  and  street  the  contrast  was  exhibited,  and 
))resented  a  picture  of  a  mischievous  conflict  be- 
tween mannei-s  and  ideas.  Sunday  would  have 
everywhere  been  J>bserved,  but  for  the  intervention 
of  some  of  the  auth  irities.  The  first  consul,  by  a 
new  decree  of  the  7th  Thermidor,  year  viii.,  or 
July  26,  1«00,  declared  that  every  dne  should  be 
free  to  keep  holiday  when  he  pleased,  and  to  adopt 
for  a  day  of  rest  that  most  agreeable  to  his  taste 
and  religious  noticms;  and  that  the  authorities,  con- 
strained to  adhere  to  the  legal  calendar,  should 
alone  be  obliged  to  choose  the  de'cadi  for  the  sus- 
]>ension  of  their  business.  This  was  at  once  to 
insure  the  triumph  of  the  Sunday. 

The  first  consul  was  acting  with  judgment,  in 
aiding  this  return  to  old  and  general  habits,  es- 
pecially if  he  inclined  to  the  restoration  of  the 
Catholic  religion,  as  indeed  he  did,  and  which  he 
had  good  reason  for  desiring. 

His  attention  was  engaged  anew  by  the  emi- 
grants. We  have  already  made  mention  of  their 
anxiety  to  return  during  the  first  days  of  the  con 
solute  :  this  eagerness  continued  to  increase,  as 
they  saw  the  repose  enjoyed  by  France,  and  the 
S'.curity  in  which  the  iidiabitants  of  her  soil  were 
living.  But  however  great  the  wish  to  put  an 
end  to  the  proscription  against  these  people,  it  was 
nt-cessary,  in  putting  an  end  to  one  disorder — 
for  such  was  the  |>ro8criptioii — to  guard  against 
giving  birth  to  another  ;  for  a  jirecijiitate  reaction 
is  a  disorder,  and  one  of  the  gravest  character. 
The  emigrants,  on  their  return,  met  with  either 
iheir  former  proscribers  who  had  contributed  to 
their  persecution,  or  persons  who  had  obtained 
po.ssession  of  their  property  for  assignats ;  and  to 
the  Olio  or  the  other  they  were  either  rest- 
leH8  enemies,  or  at  least  troublesome  people  to 
meet ;  nor  were  they  by  any  means  discreet 
enough  to  avoid  abusing  the  clemency  shown  to- 
wards them  by  the  government. 

They  availed  themselves  eagerly  of  the  laws 
passed  a  few  months  before,  by  which  the  pro- 
Kcri|)tion-list  was  closed.  Those  who  had  been 
oniitied  on  this  list,  hastened  to  profit  by  the 
clause  referring  to  their  case  ;  and  as  they  ctmid 
no  longer  be  put  upon  that  list  but  by  the  authority 


of  the  ordinary  tribunals  (of  which,  in  their  opinion, 
the  danger  was  but  slight)  ;  they  felt  tranquillized 
on  this  score,  and  iiad  almost  all  returned.  Those 
who  had  been  on  the  list,  and  whom  the  law  sent  be- 
fore the  administrative  authoi-ities  to  claim  their 
erasure,  profited  by  the  spirit  of  the  times  to  get 
themselves  erased.  They  first  of  all  made  ap|)lica- 
tion  for  giirreillances,  that  is  to  say,  as  we  have  already 
explained,  the  privilege  of  returning  temporarily 
under  the  surveillance  of  the  high  police;  and  then 
they  went  on  to  deliver  in,  either  through  friends 
or  complai.sant  pei-sons,  false  certificates,  showing 
that  they  had  not  quitted  France  during  the  reign 
of  terror,  but  had  only  been  concealed  to  avoid 
the  scaffold  ;  thus  they  obtained  their  erasure 
with  an  incredible  fiiciiity.  The  lists,  as  made  up 
by  the  local  authorities,  with  all  the  cold  reck- 
lessness of  persecution,  comprehended  one  hundred 
and  forty-five  thousand  individuals,  and  formed 
nine  volumes.  At  this  time  there  was  as  much 
recklessness  shown  in  erasing  as  there  had  been  in 
inscribing,  and  the  emigr;ints  were  restored  by 
thousands  to  their  civil  rights.  That  part  of  them 
whose  effects  had  not  already  been  sold,  addressed 
themselves  to  the  members  of  the  government  to 
have  the  sequestration  removed  ;  they  importuned, 
as  is  usual,  the  very  men  whom  they  had  vilified 
yesterday,  and  were  ready  to  vilify  again  to- 
morrow; and  not  unfrequently  Madame  Bonaparte 
herself,  who  had  been,  to  some  extent,  formerly 
allied  t()  the  French  nobility,  in  consequence  of 
the  rank  which  she  held  in  .society. 

That  the  emigrants,  whose  effects  had  not  been 
sold,  should  recover  them  at  the  expense  of  certain 
proceedings,  followed  by  ingratitude,  was  no  great 
evil;  but  others,  whose  effects  had  been  alienated, 
betook  themselves  to  the  provinces,  addressed  them- 
selves to  the  new  proprietors,  and  successively,  by 
the  force  of  threats  and  importunities,  or  by  re- 
ligious suggestions  at  the  bed  of  the  dying,  c;iused 
them  to  give  back,  at  a  low  price,  their  family 
estates,  by  proceedings  hardly  moi-e  credital)le  than 
the  means  by  which  they  had  been  themselves 
desjioiled  of  tliem. 

The  uproar  was  at  this  moment  so  general  as  to 
attract  the  attention  of  the  first  consul.  His  de- 
sire was  to  ro)»ur  the  cruellies  <if  the  revolution, 
but,  beyond  all,  it  was  his  wish  not  to  alter  any  of 
the  interests  it  had  created,  and  to  which  time  had 
given  the  sanction  of  law.  Consequently  he  thought 
it  his  duty  to  adopt  a  measure,  which  was  only  a 
part  of  what  he  afterwards  did,  but  whicii  gave 
some  slight  order  to  the  chaos  of  claims,  preci]>i- 
tate  returns,  and  attempts,  fraught  with  danger. 
After  a  profound  consultation  in  the  council  of 
state,  a  decree  to  the  following  effect  was  issued 
20ih  of  October,  1800,  2«ih  Vendcmiaire,year  ix. 

In  the  first  place,  all  persons  erased  anterior  to 
the  decree,  no  matter  by  what  authority,  or  what 
carelessness  had  been  shown  in  conducting  the 
proceedings  in  their  regard,  were  validly  struck 
out  of  the  list  of  emigrants.  Certain  collective 
inacripti<ins,  under  the  designation  of  the  children 
or  heirs  of  emigrants,  were  to  be  considered  as  not 
iiaving  taken  place.  Wives  under  the  command 
of  their  husbands  when  they  left  France,  minors 
sixteen  years  of  age,  the  priests  who  left  the 
country  in  obedience  to  the,  law  for  their  biinish- 
meut,  persons  comprised  under  the  descrii>lion  of 


Who  retained  on  the  pro- 
160        scription   list.  — Politi- 
cal success  of  the  first 


consul.— All  parties  be- 
THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE,    come  attached  to  him.- 

La  Fayette. 


1800. 
Sept. 


labourers,  day-labourers,  workmen,  artisans,  and 
domestics,  persons  whose  absence  dated  anterior 
to  the  revolution,  and  the  knights  of  Malta,  who 
were  at  Malta  during  the  troubles,  all  these  were 
definitively  erased.  The  government  also  struck 
off  the  list  the  names  of  the  victims  who  had 
perished  on  the  scaffold — a  reparation  due  to  their 
families  and  to  humanity.  After  these  had  been 
erased  from  the  list,  there  were  kept  on  it,  without 
exception,  all  who  had  borne  arms  against  France, 
those  who  held  offices  in  the  household,  civil  or 
mihtary,  of  the  e.xiled  princes,  those  who  had 
received  ranic  or  titles  from  foreign  governments 
without  authoiization  from  the  government  of 
France,  and  othei's.  Nine  commissioners  were  to 
be  named  by  the  minister  of  justice,  and  nine  by 
the  police,  to  which  eighteen  commissioners  the  fir.st 
consul  was  to  add  nine  counsellors  of  state  ;  and 
these  twenty-ssven  personages  were  collectively 
charged  to  draw  up  a  new  list  of  the  emigrants 
upon  the  basis  indicated.  The  emigrants  who 
wei-e  definitively  erased  were  under  an  obligation 
to  make  a  ])romise  of  fidelity  to  the  constitution, 
if  they  wished  to  remain  in  the  country,  or  obtain 
a  removal  of  the  sequesti'ation  on  their  effects,  if 
not  sold.  They  were  adjudged  to  remain  under 
the  surveillance  of  the  high  police  until  the  con- 
clusion of  a  general  peace,  and  for  one  year  after- 
wards,— a  precaution  taken  in  favour  of  those  who 
had  purchased  property  from  the  nation.  As 
regarded  those  emigrants  who  were  definitively 
kept  on  the  list,  nothing  could  be  determined  at 
present  on  their  account ;  what  concerned  them 
was  left  to  a  later  period. 

Under  the  actual  circumstances,  this  decree  was 
all  that  could  be  done  in  reason.  It  struck  fi-om 
the  proscription  list  the  great  mass  of  those  in- 
scribed, and  reduced  it  to  the  small  number  of 
the  declared  enemies  of  the  revolution,  whose  fate 
even  it  postponed  to  a  future  time.  So  that  when 
the  republic  should  be  definitively  victorious  over 
Europe,  universally  recognized,  and  solidly  esta- 
blished; when  the  firm  intention  of  the  first  consul 
to  protect  the  holders  of  national  property  should 
have  sufficiently  reassured  them,  it  would  probably 
be  possible  to  complete  this  act  of  clemency,  and 
recal  at  last  all  the  proscribed,  even  those  who 
had  been  criminal  towards  France.  For  the 
present  it  went  no  further  than  deciding  some 
embarrassing  questions,  and  putting  an  end  to  a 
multiplicity  of  intrigues. 

It  will  be  seen  that  tlie  government  had  diffi- 
culties of  all  kinds  to  contend  against,  in  re.st(n'ing 
order  where  society  had  been  overthrown,  in  being 
clement  and  just  towards  one  party  without  being 
alarming  and  unjust  to  the  other.  But  if  it  had 
its  troubles,  France  rewarded  them  by  a  support 
which  we  may  call  unanimous.  In  the  first  pei-iod 
that  succeeded  the  18th  Brumaire,  the  state  threw 
itself  into  the  arms  of  Bonaparte;  because  it  sought 
for  strength  wherever  that  might  be,  and  because, 
after  the  acts  of  the  young  general  in  Italy,  it 
had  hopes  that  strength  would  be  given  in  aid  of 
good  sense  and  of  justice.  One  doubt  alone  still 
remained,  and  to  some  extent  weakened  the  con- 
fidence with  which  this  self-abandonment  was 
made  : — "  Would  he  maintain  himself  longer  than 
the  governments  which  had  preceded  him?  Would 
he  know  how  to  govern  as  well  as  he  did  to  fight? 


Would  he  make  the  troubles,  the  persecutions,  to 
cease?  Would  he  be  of  this  or  that  party?"  The 
past  eleven  or  twelve  months  had,  however,  cleared 
up  these  doubts.  His  power  consolidated  itself 
evei-y  hour,  and  especiallj'  when,  since  Marengo, 
France  and  Europe  bent  under  his  ascendency. 
Upon  his  political  genius  thei-e  was  but  one  opinion 
amongst  those  who  approached  him  ;  he  was  the 
great  statesman  no  less  than  the  great  soldier. 
As  to  the  tendency  of  his  govei-nment,  it  was  as 
evident  as  his  genius.  He  was  of  that  moderate 
part)-,  which  was  disinclined  to  persecution  of  any 
kind;  which,  though  disposed  to  retrace  many  of 
the  steps  of  the  revolution,  desired  not  to  go  back 
on  all  points,  but,  on  the  contrary,  was  resolute  in 
maintaining  its  principal  results.  The  removal  of 
these  doubts  brought  over  all  men  to  him  with 
eagerness  and  joyful  gratitude. 

There  are  in  all  parties  two  portions :  the  one 
numerous  and  sensible,  which  he  who  carries  into 
accomplishment  the  wishes  of  his  country,  can 
always  bring  over  to  himself ;  the  other  small  in 
numbers,  infiexible  and  factious,  w'ho  l)y  such  ac- 
complishment of  a  country's  wishes  are  chagrined 
rather  than  contented,  inasmuch  as  they  are  thereby 
shorn  of  all  their  pretexts.  Except  this  latter 
portion,  all  parties  were  satisfied,  and  gave  them- 
selves frankly  to  the  first  consul,  or,  at  least,  re- 
signed themselves  to  his  government,  if  their  cause 
was  irreconcileable  with  his,  as,  for  instance,  that  of 
the  royalists.  The  patriots  of  1789,  (and,  ten  years 
before,  these  would  have  comprised  all  France,) 
carried  away  at  first  by  an  enthusiasm  towards  the 
revolution,  then  quickly  driven  back  by  the  sight 
of  the  bloody  scaffold,  were  now  disposed  to  think 
that  they  had  been  deceived  in  almost  all  things, 
believing  that  in  the  consular  government  they  had 
at  last  found  all  of  their  wishes  that  could  be  accom- 
plished— the  abolition  of  the  feudal  royalties,  civil 
equality,  the  power  of  the  country  to  exercise  some 
infiuence  in  its  own  aff"airs,  not  much  of  liberty, 
but  much  of  order,  the  brilliant  triumph  of  France 
over  Europe.  All  these,  however  diff'ei'cnt  from 
what  they  had  at  first  hoped  for,  but  sufficient  for 
their  desires — all  these  seemed  assured  to  them. 
La  Fayette,  who,  in  many  respects,  bore  a  resem- 
blance to  men  of  this  class,  except  that  he  was  less 
disabused  of  former  notions — La  Fayette,  released 
from  the  dungeons  of  Olmutz  by  the  act  of  the  first 
consul,  gave  full  proof,  by  his  truly  disinterested 
assiduities  towards  him,  of  the  esteem  in  which  he 
held  his  government,  and  the  adhesion  of  those 
who  thouglit  with  him.  As  to  the  more  ardent 
revolutionists,  who,  without  being  connected  with 
the  i-evolution  by  a  participation  in  its  culpable 
excesses,  yet  adhered  to  it  from  conviction  and 
feeling,  these  were  delighted  with  the  fir.st  consul, 
as  being  the  opposite  of  the  Bourbons,  and  assuring 
their  definitive  exclusion.  The  holders  of  national 
property,  thrown  a  little  in  the  shade  at  times  by 
ills  indulgence  towards  the  emigrants,  doubted  not 
his  resolution  to  maintain  the  inviolability  of  their 
now  properties,  and  held  by  him  as  an  invincible 
sword,  which  guarantied  them  from  their  only  real 
danger — the  triumph  of  the  Bourbons  and  the 
emigrants  through  the  arms  of  Europe. 

As  to  the  timid  and  well-disposed  jiortion  of  the 
royalist  party,  who  desired,  before  all,  to  have  no 
longer  a  dread  of  the  scaffold,  of  exile,  or  confis- 


1 800.       State  of  part  ies  —The  royalists.- 
Sept.  Ultra-republicans. 


THE  ARMISTICE. 


Tlieir  cliimerical  sdiemes. — 
Conciliatory  measures  of 
the  first  consul. 


161 


cation,  wlio,  for  tlie  first  time  within  ten  years, 
began  to  have  it  no  longer  before  their  eyes;  it  was 
almost  h;ippy;  for  this  party  no  longer  to  fear,  was 
ii:deed  in  itself  happiness.  It  fijndly,  if  I  may  so 
express  myself,  expected  from  him,  all  that  he  had 
not  yet  given.  To  see  the  people  at  their  work- 
shops, the  tradesmen  at  their  counters,  the  nobi- 
lity in  the  government,  the  priests  at  their  altars, 
the  Bourbons  at  the  Tnileries,  and  Bonaparte  at 
their  side,  in  the  very  highest  fortune  imaginable 
for  a  subject  to  attain,  would  liave  been,  for  these 
royalists,  the  perfection  of  their  wishes.  Of  these 
things  there  were  three  or  four  which  they  could 
already  clearly  discern  in  the  acts  and  projects  of 
the  first  consul;  as  to  the  last,  that  of  the  i-eturn  of 
the  Bourbons  to  the  Tuileries,  tliey  were  disposed, 
in  their  kind  credulity,  to  expect  it  from  hmi,  as 
one  of  the  marvels  of  his  unparalleled  genius;  and, 
if  some  who  had  more  clearsightedness  found  an 
obstacle  in  the  difficulty  of  believing  that  any  man 
would  give  a  crown  to  others,  while  he  could  keep 
it  for  himself  ;  they  took  up  their  position  thus  : 
"  Let  him  make  himself  king,"  said  they,  "  but  let 
him  save  us,  since  nothing  but  a  monarchy  can 
save  us;"  in  default  of  a  legitimate  prince,  a  great 
man  would  have  been  acceptable  to  them  ;  but  at 
any  rate  a  king  they  nmsr  have. 

Thus,  by  assuring  to  the  patriots  of  1789,  civil 
equality;  to  the  holders  of  national  pro|)erty,  to  the 
more  especial  patriots,  the  exclusion  of  the  Bour- 
bons ;  to  the  more  moderate  royalists  the  security 
and  tlie  re-cstjiblishment  of  religion  ;  to  all,  order, 
justice,  and  the  greatness  of  the  nation,  he  had 
gained  ctver  the  mass  of  the  honest  and  dis- 
interested of  all  parlies. 

There  remained,  what  always  remains,  the  im- 
placable portion  of  these  parties,  which  time  can 
never  induce  to  change,  but  by  carrying  it  to  the 
grave  ;  it  is  generally  composed  of  those  who  are 
most  convinced  they  are  right,  or  those  who  are 
most  wrong,  and  they  are  generally  the  last  upon 
the  breach. 

The  men,  who,  in  the  course  of  the  revolution 
liad  stained  themselves  with  blood,  or  siijnulised, 
being  noted  for  some  excess  impossible  to  be  for- 
gotten ;  others,  who,  without  any  thing  to  reproach 
themselves  with,  had  been  hurried  along  as  dema- 
gogues by  the  violence  of  their  character,  or  -the 
nature  ot  their  minds  ;  tlie  furious  portion  of  the 
mountain,  the  few  survivors  of  the  commune,  all 
these  were  irritated  in  proportion  to  the  success  (pf 
the  new  government.  They  called  the  first  consul 
a  tyrant,  whose  de.sire  it  was  to  effect  a  complete 
cfiunter-revolution  in  France,  to  abolish  liberty, 
and  to  bring  back  the  emigrants,  the  priests,  and, 
poKsilily  it  might  be,  the  Bourbons,  to  make  him- 
self one  of  their  lowest  servants.  Others,  less 
blinded  by  anger,  said  that  he  was  trying  to  make 
liimself  a  tynmt  for  his  own  sake,  and  that  it  was 
ill  his  own  interest  that  liu  wished  to  strangle  li- 
berty. Here  wiis  a  Ciesar  who  called  for  the  dagger 
of  a  Brutus.  They  spoke  of  daggers;  but  ihey  did 
no  more  than  H|)eiik  of  them,  tor  the  energy  of 
these  men,  greatly  exhausted  by  ten  years'  exeessts, 
began  to  lean  towards  violence  in  language.  We 
bhiill  see,  in  fact,  iliat  it  was  n<»t  amongst  their 
ranks,  that  aiwassius  were  t<>  be  found.  The  police 
waH  on  their  track  nnceahingly,  penetrating  into 
their  secret  councils,  and  watching  tliein  with  con- 


tinual attention.  There  were  some  who  only 
wanted  bread  ;  with  which  the  first  consul,  acting 
under  the  advice  of  his  minister,  Fouche,  supplied 
them  of  his  own  accord  ;  or,  if  they  were  good  for 
any  thing,  did  what  was  better,  gave  them  em- 
ployment. After  this  they  wei-e  no  more,  to  use 
the  language  of  the  rest,  than  wretches  sold  to  the 
tyrant.  Those  too,  who  had  grown  a  little  more 
(|uiet  from  sheer  fatigue,  Santerre  for  instance,  and 
many  others,  came  under  the  same  title,  as  men 
who  had  sold  themselves.  According  to  the  custom 
of  parties,  these  incorrigible  demagogues  searched 
amongst  the  real  or  supposed  malcontents  of  the 
time,  lor  the  imaginary  few  who  could  realize  their 
views.  It  is  not  easy  to  say  by  what  indications 
Moreau  had  appeared  to  them  to  be  jealous  of  the 
first  consul  ;  it  may  be  because  he  had  acquired 
sufficient  glory  to  be  the  second  personage  in 
the  state.  They  elevated  him,  at  once,  to  the 
clouds.  But  when  Moreau  happened  to  arrive  in 
Paris,  and  the  first  consul,  after  giving  him  a  most 
fiattering  reception,  had  presented  him  with  a  pair 
of  pistols,  enriched  with  pearls,  and  the  titles  of 
his  battles,  he  was  then  to  them  no  more  than  a 
valet.  The  demagogue  Brune,  at  first  dear  to 
their  hearts,  attracted  the  attention  of  the  first 
consul,  obtained  his  confidence,  nnd  received  the 
command  of  the  army  in  Italy  :  he  also  was  imme- 
diately a  valet.  But  on  the  other  hand,  Massena, 
unceremoniously  deprived  of  his  conmiand  of  this 
army,  was  discontented,  and  could  scarcely  con- 
tain himself.  On  the  instant  he  was  declared  the 
future  saviour  of  the  republic,  and  was  to  place 
himself  iit  the  head  of  the  true  patriots.  Thus  it 
was  that  Caruot,  whom  they  called  a  royalist  on  the 
18th  Fructidor,  whose  proscription  they  had  de- 
manded and  obtained,  but  wiui,  now  deprived  at 
the  time  of  the  ])ortfolio  of  war,  became  again 
in  their  eyes  a  great  citizen.  So  also  was  it  with 
Lannes,  who,  it  is  true,  was  attached  to  the  first 
consul,  but  who  was  a  decided  republican,  and  at 
times  used  rather  violent  language  about  the  re- 
turn of  the  priests  and  the  emigrants  :  thus  also 
was  it  with  Sieyes  liimself;  Sie^es,  at  one  time 
odious  to  the  republicans,  for  being  the  chief 
accomplice  in  the  18th  Brumaire;  next,  an  object 
of  tluir  raillery  on  account  of  the  trifling  return 
with  which  the  first  consul  had  repaid  his  services; 
and  lastly,  just  then  most  agreeable  in  their  eyes, 
becau.se,  di>sa:i.sfied  at  being  a  cipher,  lie  showed 
the  same  face  of  coldness  and  disii|)))r(>bation  at 
acts  of  the  present  government,  as  he  had  done  to 
all  <ithers.  Liisily,  a  touch  which  will  fiiii.sh  the 
])icture  of  the  silly  credulity  of  this  exi)iring  fac- 
tion; the  minister,  Fouchc,  who  was  one  of  the  two 
principal  counsellors  of  the  fiist  consul,  and  who 
liad  iioihiiig  to  wish  for— the  minister,  Fouche,  be- 
cause he  well  knew  the  patriots,  leared  them  little, 
and  oceasi<iiially  a.ssisted  tliem,  from  a  knowledge 
that  their  tongues  needed  silencing  more  than  their 
hands  disarming  —  the  minisier  Fouche  was  to 
join  with  .Massena,  Carnot,  Liinnes,  niKl  Sieyes,  to 
throw  down  the  tyrant,  and  rescue  liberty  from  his 
menaces. 

The  royalist  faction,  like  the  rcvolulionary,  had 
its  implacable  secuirians  ;  equally  credulous  as 
reasoiiers,  but  as  plotters  niurc  to  be  dreaded. 
These  were  the  great  lonls  of  VirsailU  s,  who  had 
returned,  or  were  about  to  return ;  intriguers, 
M 


162        Character  and  language      THIERS'  CONSQLATE  AND   EMPIRE.        of  the  royalist  nobles. 


1800. 
Sept. 


charged  with  the  pitiable  affairs  of  the  Bourbons, 
coming  and  g<iing  between  France  and  foreign 
countries  to  weave  puerile  plots,  or  to  gain  money  ; 
and,  lastly,  men  of  action,  soldiers  devoted  to 
Georges,  and  ready  for  every  crime. 

These  first,  being  great  noblemen,  accustomed  to 
fashionable  conversation,  confined  themselves  to 
talking  against  the  first  consul,  his  family,  and  his 
government.  They  lived  in  Paris,  somewhat  after 
the  fashion  of  fureiguei-s  in  France,  scarcely  deign- 
ing to  notice  what  was  passing,  and  occasionally 
soliciting  their  erasure  from  the  list  of  pro- 
scription, or  that  the  sequestrations  be  taken  off 
their  unsold  property.  For  this  purpose  they 
visited  madame  Bonaparte ;  those  at  least  who  had 
been  in  her  circle  when  she  was  the  wife  of  M.  de 
Beauharuais.  They  visited  her  in  the  morning, 
never  in  the  evening,  and  were  received  in  the 
entresol  of  the  Tuileries,  where  were  her  private 
apartments.  Urgent  suitors  while  in  her  pre- 
sence, they  excused  themselves  strongly  when  they 
left  for  having  made  their  appearance  there,  put- 
ting it  off  upon  their  desire  to  be  of  service  to 
some  unf  rtunate  friend.  Madame  Bonaparte  was 
weak  enuu;;h  to  permit  these  equivocal  relations  ; 
and  her  husband,  though  it  exposed  him  to  fre- 
quent importunities,  put  up  with  them  nevertheless 
out  of  complaisance  to  his  wife,  as  well  as  from 
a  desire  of  knowing  every  thing,  and  being  in  com- 
munication with  all  parties.  There  were  few  of 
these  askers  of  favours,  who,  whether  by  them- 
selves or  by  their  connexions,  were  not  under 
obligations  to  the  government;  but  their  freedom  of 
speech  was  none  the  less  diminished.  All  that  was 
done  for  them,  was,  in  their  opinion,  only  their 
due ;  they  had  been  despoiled  of  their  property ; 
and  if  it  were  i-estored  to  them,  it  was  an  act  of 
repentance,  for  which  no  gratitude  was  necessary. 
They  jested  at  every  thing  and  every  body,  even 
the  embarrassment  of  madame  Bonaparte  ;  who,  if 
she  was  proud  of  her  connexion  with  the  first  man 
of  the  age,  seemed  almost  ashamed  of  belonging  to 
the  head  of  the  government,  and  was  indeed  at  once 
too  kind  and  too  weak  to  crush  them  by  that 
haughtiness  which  she  ought  legitimately  to  have 
felt.  They  railed,  as  we  have  said,  at  all  the 
world,  except,  however,  the  first  consul,  whom 
they  ngarded  as  a  great  soldier,  but  a  mediocre 
l)(>litieian,  with  no  settled  plan;  one  day  favouring 
the  Jacobins,  on  another  the  royalists ;  with  no 
disposition  but  for  war,  as  v.ar  w;is  his  profession; 
and  even  in  that,  in  more  than  one  resjiect,  in- 
ferior to  Moreau.  Without  doubt  his  Successes 
had  been  brilliant  ;  these  gentlemen  could  not 
deny  tlu-m  ;  up  to  this  time  all  had  gone  pros- 
perously with  him  :  but  how  long  would  this  last  1 
Europe,  it  is  true,  was  now  no  longer  able  to  with- 
stand him  ;  but  conqueror  abroad,  wouhl  he  be  so 
at  hi  nie  over  all  the  difficulties  which  lay  around 
hhn  ?  The  finances  wore  a  better  appearance  to 
be  sure;  but  jiaper,  which  had  been  the  ephemeral 
resource  of  all  the  governments  of  the  revolution, 
was  again  the  resource  of  the  present ;  and  no- 
thing was  to  be  seen  but  boiuls  of  the  receivers- 
general,  liiils  of  the  bank  of  France,  and  the  like. 
Would  net  this  new  paper  end  as  paper  had 
always  ended.  They  got  on  tolerably  at  present, 
for  tile  armies  supported  themselves  on  the  enemies' 
country  ;  but  at  a  peace,  when   they    came  back 


within  their  own  country,  how  would  they  then  be 
able  to  keep  them  ?  Landed  property  was  weighed 
down  by  taxation ;  and,  in  short,  those  liable  to  the 
taxes,  neither  could,  nor  would,  pay  the  imposts. 
They  spoke,  it  is  true,  of  the  satisfaction  of  certain 
classes,  the  priests  and  emigrants,  who  are  well 
treated  by  the  existing  government ;  but  this  go- 
vernment reeals  the  emigrants  without  restoring 
their  property.  Here  then  are  enemies  whom  it 
transports  from  without  to  within,  and  makes  them 
only  the  more  dangerous.  It  recalls  the  priests 
without  restoring  them  to  their  altars.  Thus  to 
concede  by  halves,  is  to  oblige  a  man  one  day  in  a 
manner  which  must  make  him  ungrateful  the 
next.  Bonaparte,  as  these  royalists  styled  him, 
for  they  disdained  to  give  him  his  legal  title,  Bona- 
parte only  knew  how  to  do  things  in  an  incomplete 
manner.  He  permitted  the  observation  of  the 
Sunday,  but  had  not  dared  to  abolish  the  ddcadi, 
or  observance  of  the  tenth  day  ;  France,  how- 
ever, when  left  to  herself,  returned  altogether  to 
the  Sunday.  This  was  not  the  only  thing  of  the 
]iast  to  which  she  would  return,  if  she  had  once 
but  the  example  and  the  liberty  of  so  doing. 
Bonaparte,  by  re-establishing  one  thing  and  an- 
othe;-,  was,  in  fact,  himself  commencing  a  counter 
revolution,  which  would  lead  him  further  than  l)e 
intended  to  go.  Through  his  resuscitation  of  so 
much,  might  he  not  go  the  length  of  setting  up  the 
monarchy  again,  and  even  of  setting  it  up  for 
himself,  by  making  himself  king  or  em]>eror  1  He 
would  thereby  only  the  more  certainly  bring  about 
a  counter  revolution,  by  undertaking  to  do  it  on 
his  own  account.  Soon  would  this  restored  throne 
demand  the  princes  .who  ahme  were  worthy  to 
occupy  it  ;  and,  in  re-establishing  the  institution, 
he  would  have  established  it  for  the  Bourbons  '. 

Hatred  is  not  unfrequently  a  correct  jirophet, 
for  it  usually  supjioses  faults,  and,  unhappily,  faults 
are  always  the  most  probable  supposition;  only  hi 
the  ardour  of  its  impatience  it  antedates  the  time 
of  their  commission.  These  trifling  talkers  knew 
not  to  what  extent  they  were  saying  what  was 
true;  but  they  did  not  also  know  that  before  their 
predictions  would  be  accomplished,  it  was  ordained 
that  the  world  should  be  for  fifteen  years  in  com- 
motion ;  it  was  ordained  that  this  man,  of  whom 
they  held  such  language,  should  do  the  noblest 
deeds,  and  commit  gigantic  faults;  and  that  before 
the  end  of  all  this  should  come,  they  would  have 
time  to  declare  themselves  false  projduts,  to  prove 
renegades  to  their  cause,  to  abandon  their  only 
legitimate  princes,  in  their  opinion,  to  enter  into 
the  service  of  this  ephemeral  master,  to  serve  him 
and  to  adore  him  !  They  knew  not  that  if  France 
must  one  day  come  again  to  the  foot  of  the  Bour- 
bon, she  would  come  there  as  if  thrown  by  a 
tempest  at  the  foot  of  some  tree  of  ages,  and  be 
prostrate  there  but  lor  a  moment. 


'  I  have  painted,  not  drawn,  this  picture  of  the  emigrants 
of  that  period  from  imagination.  'J'he  language  I  make 
them  use  is  literally  extracted  from  the  voluminous  corre- 
spondence addressed  to  Louis  XVIII  ,  and  brought  over  to 
France  by  that  prince.  Left  at  the  Tuileries  during  the 
liundied  days,  and  afterwards  dei>osited  in  the  aichives  of 
the  foreign  oliice,  they  comprise  a  singular  evidence  of  the 
illusions  and  passions  of  the  period.  Some  of  them  are  ex- 
ceedingly clever,  and  all  of  them  very 


ISOO. 
Sept. 


Georges  Cadoudal  and  the 
ChouHiis.  Inuiiference 
of  Bonaparte. 


THE  ARMISTICE. 


State  of  the  police. 
Character  of  Fouche. 


1G3 


In  :i  lower  sphere,  tliere  were  men  who  con- 
spired otherwise  tlian  in  words,  the  intri<;iiers  in 
the  service  of  the  Bourbons;  and  in  one  still  lower, 
yet  more  dangerous,  the  agents  of  Georges,  whose 
iiands  were  full  wiili  money  sent  from  England. 
Since  his  return  from  London,  Georges  kept  in 
the  Morljjlian,  concealing  liimself  frcm  all  eyes, 
playing  the  part  of  a  man  who  resigns  himself  to 
what  has  happened,  and  returns  to  ciltivate  his 
fields  :  but  in  reality  implacable;  for  he  had  sworn 
in  his  heart,  he  had  sworn  to  the  Bourbons,  to 
destroy  the  first  consul  or  fall  in  the  attempt.  To 
try  the  ciiances  of  battle  with  the  grenadiers  of 
the  consular  guard  was  impossible;  but  among  the 
men  of  the  Cliounnerie  there  were  hands  always 
reiuly  for  the  last  resource  of  a  vanquished  faction; 
for  assassination  itself.  Amongst  them  could  be 
found  a  haiwd  ready  for  every  thing,  for  crimes  the 
blackest  or  attempts  the  most  rash.  These,  Georges, 
not  yet  knowing  what  time  or  place  he  ought 
to  choose,  kept  to  their  object,  communicating 
with  them  by  trusty  friends,  while  he  let  them 
find  tlieir  suljsistence  on  the  high  roads,  or  upon 
a  portion  of  the  money  he  was  profusely  supplied 
with  by  the  British  cabinet. 

The  first  consul,  satisfied  with  the  homage  of 
France,  and  the  unanimous  adhesion  of  the  sincere 
and  disinterested  of  all  parties,  felt  little  inquietude 
at  the  scandal  of  .some  royalists,  or  the  plots  of 
others.  Closely  applying  himself  to  his  occupation, 
he  thought  little  of  the  vain  discourse  of  idlers, 
though  far  from  being  insensible  to  it ;  but  he  was 
actually  too  much  absorbed  by  his  task  to  give 
much  attention  to  such  language.  Nor  did  lie  pay 
more  regard  to  the  plots  directed  against  his  per- 
son ;  he  considered  it  as  one  of  the  chances  which 
he  braved  every  day  on  the  field  of  battle  with 
the  indifference  of  fatalism.  Nevertheless,  he  de- 
ceived himself  in  the  nature  of  his  danger.  He 
had  attained  the  18th  *  Bruinaire  by  snatching 
power  from  the  jjarty  of  the  revolution,  and  re- 
garding it  at  the  time  a-s  his  principal  enemy,  he 
imputed  to  this  party  all  that  happened,  and 
seemed  to  feel  displeasure  at  that  alone.  The  royal- 
ists, in, his  eye,  were  no  more  than  a  party  under 
persecution,  which  it  was  his  wish  to  preserve 
from  oppression.  Amongst  them  he  well  knew 
were  some  bad  men;  but  from  his  intercourse  with 
the  moderate  party,  it  had  grown  habitual  with 
him  to  look  for  no  violejice  but  from  the  revolu- 
tionists. One  of  his  counsellors,  however,  en- 
deavoured to  correct  this  error  in  his  mind;  this 
was  Touchy,  the  minister  of  police. 

In  this  government,  reduced  nearly  to  one  man, 
all  the  ministers  were  eclipsed  except  two,  Fouche 
anil  Talleyrand.  They  alone  have  preserved  the 
privile;;c  of  being  sometimes  visible  in  the  halo 
surrounding  IJonaparte,  in  which  all  figures  dis- 
api>ear  but  his  own.  General  Berliner  hail  just 
succeeded  Carnot  in  the  war  department,  as 
being  more  ]>liable,  and  more  resigm-d  to  the 
modest  part  of  comprehending  and  carrying  out 
the  ideiis  of  his  chief,  which  he  did  with  a  clear- 
ness and  jirecision  truly  wonderful.  It  was  no 
small  merit  to  fill  worthily  the  part  of  the  chief  of 
the  staff  to  the  greatest  soldier  of  the  age,  anil 
possibly  of  all  ages.  But  Berthier,  by  the  side  of 
the  first  consul,  coidd  not  have  any  importsince  as  a 
director  of  military  oi)erations.     The  navy  at  thih 


epoch,  drew  very  little  attention.  The  finance 
merely  required  a  firm  and  persevering,  though 
unnoticed,  api)lication  of  cert;iin  princi|)les  of 
order  laid  down  once  for  all.  Tlie  jjolice,  on  the 
contrary,  was  of  great  importance,  from  the  vast 
arbitrary  ])ower  with  which  the  government  was 
armed  ;  and  with  the  police,  the  dejiartment  of 
foreign  aff:iirs,  from  the  re-establislinient  of  re- 
lations with  all  the  world.  For  the  police  there 
was  necessary  to  the  first  consul  a  man  who  had 
a  perlect  knowledge  of  all  parties,  and  of  the  in- 
dividuals who  coin|)osed  them;  this  was  the  reason 
of  the  influence  acquired  by  the  minister  Fouche. 
In  regard  to  foreign  affairs,  however  the  first 
consul  might  be  the'  most  competent  person  to 
offer  to  Europe,  he  wanted  an  intermediate  agent 
for  all  occasions,  with  more  mildness  and  patience 
than  he  himself  possessed;  and  this  was  the  cause 
ot  the  influence  acquired  by  Talieyrlmd.  Fouche, 
then,  and  Talleyrand  shared  between  them  the 
only  portion  of  jjolitical  credit  which  the  ministers 
of  that  time  enjoyed. 

The  police  of  this  epoch  was  not,  what  it  has 
happily  since  become,  a  sim|ile  surveillance  with- 
out power,  charged  only  with  the  jirevention  of 
Clime,  and  the  cai>ture  of  the  culprit.  It  was  the 
depository  of  an  immense  arbitrary  ])ower  in  the 
hands  of  one  man  alone.  The  minister  of  police 
liad  power  to  banish  these  as  revoJutionaries, 
those  as  returned  emigrants;  to  assign  to  one  or 
the  other  their  place  of  residence,  or  even  throw 
them  into  a  temporary  prison,  without  fear  of  the 
disclosures  of  the  press  or  of  the  tribune,  then 
powerless  and  decried  ;  it  was  in  his  power  to  take 
oft"  or  keep  on  the  sequestration  upon  the  effects  of 
the  proscribed  of  all  pei-iods  ;  to  restore  or  take 
away  his  church  from  the  priest;  to  suppress  or 
reprimand  a  journal  which  displeased  him,  and, 
lastly,  to  mark  out  every  individual  to  the  mistrust 
or  to  the  favour  of  the  government,  which  had  at 
this  moment  an  extraordinary  number  of  places 
to  distribute,  and  the  wealth  of  Eni-ope  to  be- 
stow profusely  on  its  creatures.  The  minister, 
on  whom  the  laws  conferred  such  powers,  how- 
ever he  might  be  placed  under  the  superior  and 
vigilant  authority  of  the  first  consul,  had  yet  a 
formidable  j)owcr  over  every  relation  of  life. 

Fouche,  the  man  charged  with  the  exercise  of 
this  power,  an  old  oratorian  and  an  old  conven- 
tionalist, was  a  pei-son  of  intelligence  and  crafti- 
ness; filled  with  no  love  of  good  or  inelinntion  to  ill, 
he  had  a  thorough  knowledge  of  mankind,  espe- 
cially the  bad  portion,  and  despised  them  without 
distinction.  Heenii)loyed  the  revenues  of  the  ])olico 
in  supporting  the  fosterers  of  sedition,  as  much 
as  in  watching  them  ;  always  ready  to  give  bread 
or  a  place  to  such  individuals  as  were  tired  of 
political  agitations:  he  thus  procured  friends  for 
the  government,  and,  above  all,  procured  tliem  for 
himself  ;  making  them  lar  su|)erior  to  credulous  or 
I  read lerous  spies,  dependents  who  never  failed  to 
lurnish  him  with  intelligence  of  w  hat  it  waa  his  in- 
terest to  be  informed.  Thus  he  had  in  every  party, 
but  especially  among  the  royalists,  his  (ie|)endents 
whom  he  knew  how  to  manage  and  control  to  his 
])uri)08c.  Always  forewarned  in  lime,  and  never 
exaggerating  a  danger  either  to  himself  or  to  his 
nni.Hter,  ho  could  distinguish  between  an  impru- 
dent man  and  one  really  to  bo  feared,  knowing  how 
M  2 


164 


Character  of  Fouche 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


and  Talleyrand. 


1800. 
Sept. 


to  restrain  the  one  and  proceed  against  the  other  ; 
in  a  word,  conducting  the  police  better  than  it  had 
ever  been  before,  since  this  consists  in  disarm- 
ing as  much  as  in  i-cpressing  hatred :  a  minister 
of  a  high  order,  if  his  extreme  indulgence  had  had 
any  other  principle  than  an  indifference  most  ex- 
treme to  good  or  evil  ;  if  his  incessant  activity  had 
been  actuated  by  any  other  motive  than  an  anxiety 
for  meddling  in  all  things  which  rendered  him  an 
inconvenient  person,  and  exposed  him  to  be  sus- 
pected by  the  first  consul,  giving  him  moreover 
the  appearance  of  an  intriguing  subaltern  ;  for  the 
rest,  his  countenance,  intelligent,  vulgar,  and  equi- 
vocal, well  represented  the  qualities  and  defects  of 
his  soul. 

Jealous  of  his  confidence,  the  first  consul  did  not 
grant  it  freely,  at  least  to  those  for  whom  he  had 
not  a  perfect  esteem  ;  he  made  use  of  Fouche,  but 
distrusted  hira  while  he  did  so.  Thus  he  sought 
how  to  supply  his  place  or  to  control  him,  by  giv- 
ing money  to  his  secretary,  Bourrienne,  or  to 
Murat,  the  commandant  of  Paris,  or  to  his  aid-de- 
camp, Savary,  thus  making  up  several  opposition 
polices.  But  Fouche  always  found  a  way  to  con- 
vict these  secondary  jiolice  departments  of  clumsi- 
ness an-J  puerility;  while  he  showed  that  lie  alone 
was  well  informed:  so  that  all  the  time  he  was  run- 
ning counter  to  the  fii-st  consul,  he  inclined  him 
nevertheless  the  more  to  himself,  by  his  manner  ot 
treating  men,  into  which  neitht^r  love  nor  hatred 
found  admission,  but  simply  an  application  directed 
to  wrest  individuals,  one  by  one,  from  a  life  agitated 
by  faction. 

Fouche,  with  a  half  fidelity  to  the  revolutionary 
party,  willingly  undertook  the  manngement  of  iiis 
old  friends,  and  ventured,  on  this  point,  to  c(mtra- 
dict  the  first  consul.  Well  acquainted  with  their 
moral  position,  appreciating  moreover  the  scoun- 
drels of  royalism,  he  incessantly  repeated  that  if 
there  was  any  peril,  it  was  to  be  looked  fi>r  from 
the  side  of  the  royalists,  not  of  the  revolutionists  ; 
and  that  there  would  soon  be  an  opportunity  of 
seeing  this.  He  had  also  the  merit,  though  hi.-  ii;id 
it  not  long,  of  insisting  that  it  would  he  better 
not  quite  so  much  to  desert  the  revolution  and  its 
principles.  Hearing,  at  that  time,  the  flatterers  of 
the  epoch  say,  that  the  reaction  must  be  carried  on 
more  quickly,  that  no  account  must  be  made  of  the 
prejudices  of  the  revolution,  and  tinit  it  was  time 
to  go  back  to  something  that  resembled  a  monar- 
chy, but  without  the  Bourbons,  he  had  daring 
enough  to  blame,  if  not  the  object,  at  leiist  the  im- 
prudence by  which  it  was  endeavoured  to  be  at- 
tained. While  all  the  time  admitting  the  justice 
of  liis  advice,  given  as  it  was  without  frankness, 
and  without  dignity,  the  first  consul  was  struck,  but 
not  satisfied.  He  could  not  but  acknowledge,  while 
he  did  not  relish,  the  services  of  this  personage. 

Talleyraml  plaved  a  i)art  altogether  the  con- 
trary ;  he  bore  neither  affection  nor  reseml)Ianee 
to  Fouchd.  Both  of  them  alike  having  been  for- 
merly priests,  and  come  out  the  one  from  the  liigli 
clergy,  the  otliei-  from  the  low,  they  hail  nothing  m 
common,  but  that  they  had  both  takiii  advantage 
of  the  revolution,  the  one  to  strii)  ott'  the  robes  of 
a  prelate,  the  oilier  the  humble  gown  of  an  orato- 
rian  professor.  It  is  a  strange  spectacle,  it  must  he 
avowed,  a  si)ectacle  which  admirably  paints  a  so- 
ciety in  which  order  has  been  completely  reversed, 


to  see  this  government,  composed  of  a  soldier  and 
two  priests,  who  had  abjured  their  profession, 
though  thus  composed,  have  none  the  less  of  glorv, 
grandeur,  and  influence  in  the  world. 

Talleyrand,  a  man  of  the  liighest  extraction, 
destined  to  the  profession  of  arms  from  his  birth, 
condemned  to  the  priesthood  by  an  accident  which 
deprived  him  of  the  use  of  one  foot,  having  no 
taste  for  the  profession  imposed  upon  him,  be- 
coming successively  prelate,  courtier,  revolutionary 
emigrant,  then,  at  last,  minister  of  foreign  affairs 
to  the  directory  ;  Talleyrand  had  preserved  some- 
thing of  all  these  conditions,  and  one  might  find  in 
him  the  bishop,  the  nobleman,  and  the  revo- 
lutionist, without  any  fixed  opinion,  but  merely  a 
natural  moderation,  which  felt  a  repugnance  to  all 
exaggei'ation  ;  accommodating  himself  in  an  in- 
stant to  the  ideas  of  those  whom  ilf  may  be  his 
inclination  or  interest  to  please;  expressing  him- 
self in  an  unique  language,  peculiar  to  the  society 
of  which  "Voltaire  w:is  the  founder  ;  fertile  in  re- 
partee, lively,  yet  so  cutting  as  to  render  him 
equally  as  formidable  as  he  was  attractive  ;  by 
turns  caressing  or  disdainful,  open  or  impenetrable, 
careless  or  dignified,  lame  without  any  loss  of 
grace  ;  a  personage,  lastly,  the  most  singular,  and 
such  as  a  revolution  only  could  produce,  he  was 
the  most  seducing  of  negotiators,  but  at  the  same 
time  incapable  of  directing  the  affairs  of  a  state  as 
its  head  ;  since  to  guide  a  state  requires  purpose, 
piinciple,  and  close  attention,  not  one  of  which  he 
possessed.  His  purpose  confined  itself  to  pleasing, 
his  principles  consisted  in  the  opinions  of  the 
moment,  application  he  had  none.  He  was,  in  a 
word,  an  accomplished  ambassador,  but  not  a 
directing  minister  ;  it  being  undei-stood,  however, 
that  this  expression  is  to  he  taken  only  in  its  highest 
accei>tation.  Besides  this,  he  held  no  other  office 
under  the  consular  government.  The  first  consul, 
who  allowed  to  no  person  the  right  of  giving  him 
advice  in  war  or  dipUmiacy,  never  employed  him 
but  in  carrying  on  negotiations  with  foreign  minis- 
ters according  to  his  own  directions  ;  and  this 
Talleyrand  did  with  a  skill  which  will  never  be 
suipassed.  Once  for  all  too  he  had  a  moral  merit, 
that  of  being  a  lover  of  peace  under  a  master  who 
was  fond  of  war,  and  of  allowing  this  inclination  to 
be  ])erceived.  Giited  with  an  exquisite  taste,  of  a 
sure  tact,  and  even  a  uselul  indoknce,  he  was  able 
to  render  true  service,  if  only  in  opposing  to  the 
abundance  of  the  speech,  pen,  and  action  of  the 
first  consul,  his  own  sobriety,  his  perfect  mode- 
ration, his  inclination  to  do  nothing.  But  he  had 
little  influence  on  his  imperious  master,  on  whom 
he  made  no  impression  eiiher  by  iiis  genius  or  by 
conviction.  Thus  he  h:id  no  more  power  than 
Fouchd,evcn  less,  though  always  equally  employed, 
and  more  agreeable. 

For  the  rest,  Talleyrand  expressed  opinions 
quite  contrary  to  those  of  Fouche'  ;  a  lover  of  the 
ancient  regime,  minus  the  persons  and  ridiculous 
preju<lices  of  other  times,  he  counselled  the  recon- 
stitution  of  the  monarchy,  or  an  equivalent  for  it, 
by  making  the  glory  of  the  first  consul  serve  in 
the  place  of  a  blood  royal  ;  adding,  that  if  it  were 
wished  to  make  a  speedy  and  lasting  peace  with 
Europe,  it  Was  necessary  to  lose  no  time  in  assimi- 
lating ourselves  to  her  institutions  :  .so  that  while 
Fouche,  in  the  name  of  the  revolution,  advised  not 


1800. 
Sept. 


Character  of  Cambac^r^s 


THE  ARMISTICE. 


165 


to  go  too  fast  ;  Tallevrand,  in  the  name  of  Europe, 
counselled  that  we  should  not  go  so  slow. 

The  first  consul  |iiized  the  good  common  sense 
of  Fouch^,  but  lilted  the  graces  of  Tallejrand, 
without  absolutely  believing  either  the  one  or  the 
other  on  every  subject;  and  as  fur  his  confidence, 
he  had  given  it — given  it  entirely,  but  not  to 
either  of  these  two  persuns — to  his  favourite  col- 
league Canibace'ies.  This  personage,  though  not 
very  brilliant  in  talent,  had  a  lare  good  sense,  and 
an  unbounded  devotion  to  the  first  consul.  Having 
trembled  for  ten  years  of  his  life  under  proscribers 
of  every  kind,  he  loved  with  a  species  of  tenderness 
the  powerful  master  who  gave  him  at  last  the 
faculty  of  breathing  at  ease.  He  cherished  his 
power,  his  genius,  and  his  person,  fmm  which  he 
had  never  received,  and  hoped  to  receive  nothing 
but  benefit-s.  Knowing  the  weakness  even  of  the 
greatest  men,  he  gave  his  advice  to  the  first  consul 
as  those  ought  to  advise  who  wish  lo  be  attended 
to,  with  perfect  goud  faith,  and  infinite  manage- 
ment, never  for  tlie  sake  of  showing  off  his  own 
wisdom,  but  always  to  be  useful  to  a  government, 
which  he  loved  as  himself,  expressing  his  appro- 
bation of  it  in  i)ubhc,  in  every  respect,  nor  permit- 
ting himself  to  disapprove  it  but  in  secret,  in  an 
absolute  tCte-a-tCte  with  the  first  consul  ;  silent, 
where  there  was  no  lunger  a  remedy,  and  when  all 
criticising  could  only  be  the  vain  pleasure  of  finding 
fault ;  always  speaking  out,  and  with  a  courage  the 
more  meritorious  in  one  who  was  the  most  timid  <>f 
men,  when  there  was  time  to  prevent  a  fault,  or  to 
influence  the  general  conduct  of  affairs.  Yet,  as 
it  must  be,  a  character  which  restrains  itself 
unceasingly,  is  certain  to  escape  on  some  one  side, 
the  consul  Cambac^res  allowed  himself  to  exhibit 
with  his  interiors  a  puerile  vanity  ;  he  had  with 
him  constantly  some  subaltern  courtiers,  who  paid 
him  their  gross  homage  ;  promenaded  the  Palais 
Royal  almost  every  day,  in  a  costume  ridicu- 
lously magnificent,  and  sought  in  the  gratification 
of  a  (lourmandhe,  now  prov-.-i-bial,  pleasures  which 
suited  the  man  at  once  vulgar  and  wise.  But 
of  what  consequence,  on  the  whole,  are  a  few  ec- 
centricities when  they  are  accompanied  with  a 
superior  reason. 

The  first  consul  willingly  pardoned  these  eccen- 
tricities m  his  colleague,  and  held  him  in  great 
consideration.  He  valued  at  its  worth  that  supe- 
rior good  sense,  which  never  wished  to  shine  but 
only  to  be  u.seful,  which  made  all  things  clear  in 
a  true  and  temperate  light.  He  appreciated, 
moreover,  the  sincerity  of  his  attachment;  smiled 
at  his  foibles,  yet  always  with  regard ;  and  paid 
liim  the  greatest  of  homages — that  of  saying  all  to 
no  one  but  him,  nor  ever  giving  himself  any  con- 
cern but  about  his  judgment.  Thus  lie  was  sus- 
ceptible of  no  influence  but  his  alone  ;  an  influence 
hardly  suspected,  and,  fir  that  reason,  very  great. 

The  consul  Cambac^res  was,  moreover,  just 
adajjted  to  temper  his  (juickness  in  regard  to  per- 
sons and  his  precipiUition  in  action.  Amidst  the 
conflict  of  two  opposite  tendencies,  the  one  pushing 
forward  to  a  precipitate  reaction,  the  other,  on  the 
contrary,  combating  this  reaction,  CambaciJres,  in- 
flexible when  acting  for  the  maintenance  of  order, 
was,  in  every  thing  else,  alwiiys  in  favour  of  not 
going  too  fiist.  He  did  not  oppose  the  end  to 
which  things  were   visibly  tending.      "  Let  tiiem 


decree  .some  day,  to  the  first  consul,  all  the  power 
they  please  :"  he  would  repeat,  "so  be  it ;  but  not 
too  soon."  His  wish  was,  moreover,  that  reality 
shoulil  be  always  preferred  to  appearance  ;  true 
power,  to  that  which  was  nothing  but  ostentation. 
A  fiist  consul,  with  full  power  to  do  all  he  wished 
in  effecting  good,  seemed  to  him  worth  much  more 
than  a  crowned  prince  limited  in  action.  To  act 
and  not  to  be  sef^n,  moreover  never  to  act  too 
quickly,  constituted  the  whole  of  his  wisdom.  This 
is  not  genius,  certainly,  but  it  is  prudence  ;  and  in 
laying  the  foundation  of  a  great  state  there  must 
be  both. 

Cambaceres  was  also  useful  to  the  first  consul  in 
another  way  ihati  that  of  giving  him  counsel  ;  this 
was  in  governing  the  senate.  That  body,  as  we 
have  already  mentioned,  had  an  immense  import- 
ance, innsnuich  as  the  gift  of  offices  was  vested  in 
it.  In  the  beginning  this  was,  in  some  measure, 
left  to  Sieyes,  as  an  equivalent  for  the  executive 
power,  which  was  entirely  handed  over  to  Bona- 
parte. Sieyes,  at  first  content  to  abdicate,  and 
living  on  his  estate  at  Crosne,  began  to  feel  a  slight 
vexation  at  his  insignificance  ;  for  there  never  was 
an  abdication  without  regret.  If  he  had  possessed 
I)urpose  and  consistency,  he  might  have  been  able 
to  wrest  the  senate  from  the  influence  of  the  first 
consul,  and  then  no  other  resource  would  have 
been  left  him  but  a  cotip  d'etat.  But  Cambaceres, 
without  noise  and  without  ostenlaticm,  insinuated 
himself  by  degrees  into  this  body,  and  occupied 
there  the  territory  which  the  negligence  of  Sieyes 
abandoned  to  him.  Peo])le  knew  that  it  was 
through  him  that  the  first  consul,  the  source  of 
every  favoux*,  was  to  be  got  at  ;  and  it  was  to  him, 
in  fact,  that  men  addressed  themselves.  Of  this  he 
took  advantage  with  infinite,  yet  always  concealed, 
skill,  to  restrain  or  gain  over  the  opposition.  But 
with  such  discretion  was  this  done,  that  no  person 
thought  of  comi)laining.  At  a  time  when  re- 
pose was  become  the  true  wisdom,  when  the  same 
repose  was  necessary  to  give  some  day  new  birth 
to  a  taste  for  liberty,  we  dare  not  blame — we  dare 
not  call  by  the  name  of  corrupter,  the  man  who,  on 
one  side,  tempered  the  master  ini])osed  on  us  by 
events,  and,  on  the  other,  arrested  the  imprudences 
of  an  opposition  which  had  neither  aim,  nor  fitness 
of  season,  nor  political  intelligence. 

In  regard  to  the  consul  Lebrun,  Bonaparte 
treated  him  with  regard,  and  even  with  affection  ; 
yet  as  a  jjersonage  who  mixed  little  in  affairs,  the 
administration  excepted.  He  gave  him  the  charge 
of  watching  over  the  detail  of  the  finances,  and  of 
keeping  himself  well  acquainted  with  what  the 
royalists  were  doing  or  thinking  ;  and  by  these  the 
third  consul  was  frequently  surrounded.  He 
had  thus  an  ear  or  eye  amongst  them;  attaching 
to  it  no  other  importance  than  a  simple  interest  or 
curiosity,  to  know  what  was  doing  or  hatching  in 
that  quarter. 

To  have  an  idea  of  the  first  conBul'a  circle,  we 
must  say  a  word  of  his  family.  He  had  four 
brothers,  Joseph,  Lucicn,  Louis,  and  Jerome.  We 
shall,  in  their  proper  time,  n)ake  acrjuaintanco 
with  the  two  last.  Joseph  and  Lucien  alone  were 
then  of  any  im[)ortance.  Jose])li,  the  eldest  of  the 
family,  had  married  the  daughter  of  a  wialtliy  and 
lionourable  merchant  of  Marseilles.  He  was  of 
gentle  disposition,  of  tolerable  talents,  agreeable  in 


160 


Family  of  the  first  consul. 
Joseph  and  Lucien. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Character  of  Madame         1800. 
Bonaparte.  Sept. 


person,  and  caused  liis  brother  much  less  annoy- 
ance than  any  of  the  others.  It  was  for  him  the 
first  consul  reserved  the  honour  of  negotiating 
peace  for  the  republic  with  the  states  of  the  old 
and  new  world.  He  had  charged  him  with  the 
conduct  of  the  treaty  which  he  was  preparing  with 
America,  and  had  just  named  him  plenipotentiary 
to  Lun^ville,  endeavouring  thus  to  give  him  a  part 
to  play  which  would  be  pleasing  to  France. 
Lucien,  at  that  time  minister  of  the  interior,  was 
a  man  with  much  cleverness,  but  fif  an  unequal, 
restless,  and  ungovernable  mind,  and  though  he 
had  talent,  not  having  sufficient  to  make  up  for 
his  deficiency  as  regards  good  sense.  Both  of 
these  encouraged  the  inclination  of  the  first  consul 
to  raise  himself  to  the  supreme  power;  as  can  be 
easily  conceived.  The  genius  of  the  fir.st  consul 
and  his  glory  were  things  personal  to  himself ;  the 
only  quality  which  could  be  transmissible  to  his 
family  would  be  the  princely  quality,  if  he  should 
some  day  assume  it,  by  preferring  himself  to  the 
chief  magistracy  of  the  republic.  His  brothers 
were  of  tlie  party  who  said,  with  little  reserve,  that 
the  present  form  of  government  was  only  one  of 
transition,  designed  to  quiet  the  prejudices  of  the 
revolution,  but  that  it  was  necessary  to  make  a 
choice;  that  if  it  were  wished  to  lay  the  foundation 
of  any  thing  really  stable,  it  was  impossible  to  do 
so  witliout  giving  to  power  more  of  concentration, 
unity,  and  solidity.  The  conclusion  of  all  this 
could  easily  be  drawn.  The  first  consul,  as  all  the 
world  knew,  had  no  children,  and  this  was  a  great 
embarrassment  to  those  who  already  had  their 
dreams  of  the  transformation  of  the  republic  into 
a  monarchy.  It  was,  in  fact,  difficult  to  pretend 
that  there  was  a  wish  to  assure  the  regular  and 
natural  transmission  of  power,  in  the  family  of  a 
man  who  had  no  heirs.  Thus,  though  at  a  future 
time  this  want  of  heirs  might  po.ssibly  be  a  per- 
sonal advantage  to  the  brothers  of  the  first  consul, 
it  was  at  the  moment  an  argument  against  their 
plans,  and  they  frequently  reproached  Madame 
Bonaparte  with  a  misfortune,  of  which  they  said 
she  was  the  cause.  Having  quarrelled  with  her 
from  jealousy  of  her  influence,  they  used  little 
reserve  respecting  her  before  her  husband,  and 
persecuted  her  with  their  observations,  repeating 
inces.santly  and  even  loudly,  that  the  first  consul 
ought  to  have  a  wife  who  would  bring  him  chil- 
dren ;  that  this  was  a  matter  not  of  private  but 
of  public  interest,  and  that  a  resolution  to  this 
effect  became  indispensable,  if  he  had  any  desire 
to  assure  the  future  to  France.  These  fatal  words, 
full  of  so  sinister  a  conclusion  for  her,  they  caused 
to  be  repeated  from  every  lip,  and  the  wife  of  the 
first  consul,  in  appearance  so  fortunate,  was  thus 
at  that  moment  far  from  being  happy, 

Josephine  Bonaparte,  married  at  first  to  the  count 
of  Beauharnais,  then  to  the  young  genera!,  who 
had  saved  the  convention  on  the  13th  Vend^miaire, 
and  now  sharing  with  him  a  place  which  began  to 
assume  some  resemblance  to  a  throne,  was  a  Creole 
by  birth,  and  had  all  the  graces,  all  the  deficiencies, 
usual  in  women  of  such  an  origin.  Kind,  prodigal, 
and  frivolous,  not  beautiful,  but  the  perfection  of 
elegajice,  gifted  with  infinite  power  of  charming, 
she  had  the  skill  of  pleasing  much  more  than 
women  who  were  her  superiors  in  wit  and  beauty. 
The  levity  of  her  conduct,  depicted  to  her  hu.sband 


in  the  most  odious  colours  on  his  return  from 
Egypt,  filled  him  with  anger.  He  was  inclined  to 
separate  from  a  spouse,  whom,  whether  right  or 
wrong,  he  considered  culpable.  She  wept  a  long 
time  at  his  feet;  her  two  children,  Hortensc  and 
Eugene  de  Beauharnais,  who  were  both  of  them 
very  dear  to  Bonaparte,  wept  also  ;  he  was  con- 
quered, and  yielded  to  a  conjugal  tenderness  which, 
during  many  years,  was  with  him  victorious  over 
political  considerations.  He  forgot  the  faults,  real 
or  supposed,  of  Josephine,  and  loved  her  still;  but 
never  as  at  the  early  period  of  their  union.  Her 
extravagancies  without  limit,  her  annoying  im- 
prudencies,  every  day  brought  under  his  notice, 
frequently  excited  in  her  husband  emotions  of  im- 
l)atience,  which  he  could  not  control ;  but  he  par- 
doned all  with  the  kindness  prompted  by  successlul 
power,  and  knew  not  liow  to  be  long  angry  with 
a  wife,  who  had  shared  the  first  moments  of  his 
nascent  greatness,  and  who  seemed,  from  the  day 
she  took  her  scat  by  his  side,  to  have  brotight 
fortune  along  with  her. 

Madame  Bonaparte  was  a  true  woman  of  the 
old  re'gime,  a  devotee,  superstitious,  and  even  a 
royalist,  detesting  those  she  called  the  Jacobins, 
who  fully  returned  her  hate  ;  nor  seeking  any 
society  but  the  men  of  the  past,  who  returning  in 
crowds,  as  we  have  said,  came  to  pay  their  visits 
to  her  in  the  mornings.  They  had  known  her  as 
the  wife  of  an  honourable  man,  of  sufficiently  high 
rank,  and  of  military  dignity,  the  unfortunate 
Beauharnais,  who  died  on  the  revolutionary  scaf- 
fold; they  found  her  the  wife  of  a  parvenu,  hut  of  a 
parvenu  more  powerfid  than  any  prince  in  Europe; 
they  had  no  hesitation  in  going  to  her  to  ask 
favours,  while  all  the  while  they  afiected  to  look 
upon  her  with  disdain.  She  took  pains  in  making 
them  share  in  her  ])ower,  and  rendering  them 
services.  She  ever  studied  to  foster  an  opinion 
amongst  them,  which  they  willingly  adopted,  that 
Bonaparte  was,  secretly,  only  waiting  an  occasion 
to  recall  the  Bourbons,  and  restore  to  them  the 
inheritance  which  was  their  right.  And,  singular 
as  it  is,  this  illusion,  which  she  took  a  jileasure  in 
exciting  amongst  them,  she  was  almost  inclined 
herself  to  share  in;  for  she  would  have  preferred 
to  see  her  husband  a  subject  of  the  Bourbons, — 
but  a  subject,  the  protector  of  his  king,  and  sur- 
rounded by  the  homage  of  the  ancient  French  aris- 
tocracy,— nmch  rather  than  as  a  superior  monarch 
crowned  by  the  hand  of  the  nation.  She  was  a 
woman  of  weak  heart ;  yet  wh.atever  her  levity, 
she  loved  the  man  who  covered  her  with  glory, 
and  loved  him  the  more  now  that  she  was  less 
loved  by  him.  Never  imagining  that  he  could 
plant  his  audacious  foot  on  the  steps  of  the  throne 
without  falling,  alike  by  the  daggers  of  the  re- 
publicans and  the  royalists,  she  saw  confounded  in 
one  common  ruin,  her  children,  her  husband,  and 
herself.  But,  su[)posing  that  he  should  arrive 
safe  and  sound  upon  that  usurped  throne,  another 
fear  tore  her  heart ;  she  could  not  sit  there  with 
him.  If  ever  they  made  Bonaparte  king  or  em- 
peror, it  would  evidently  be  under  the  pretext  of 
giving  to  France  a  fixed  government,  by  rendering 
it  hereditary  ;  and,  unhappily,  the  physicians  al- 
lowed her  no  hope  of  having  children.  On  this 
subject  she  called  to  mind  the  singular  prediction 
of  a  woman,  a,  kind  of  Pythoness  then  in  vogue,, 


1800. 
Sept. 


Character  of  Madame 
Bonaparte. 


THE  ARMISTICE. 


Letters  to  the  first  consul 
from  Louis  XVXII. 


167 


who  had  said  to  her  :  "  You  will  occupy  the  first 
position  in  the  world  ;  but  for  a  short  time  (nily.' 
She  had  already  heard  the  brotliere  of  the  first 
consul  give  utterance  to  the  fatal  word — divorce. 
This  unfortunate  lady,  whom,  if  they  judged  of 
her  condition  by  the  continued  brilliancy  with 
which  she  was  surrounded,  the  queens  of  Europe 
nii;;Iit  have  regarded  with  envy,  lived  in  the  most 
terrible  anxiety.  Every  advance  of  fortune  added 
to  the  appearance  of  her  happiness  and  to  the  re- 
grets of  her  life ;  and  if  she  continued  to  escape  from 
her  heart-piercing  anxieties,  it  was  from  a  levity 
of  character,  which  preserved  her  from  prolonged 
thought.  The  attachment  of  Bonaparte,  his  abrupt- 
ness of  passion  when  he  gave  way  to  it,  made 
up  on  the  instant  by  emotions  of  the  most  ])erfect 
kindness,  served  also  to  reassure  her.  Hurried 
on,  moreover,  like  all  persons  of  that  time,  by  a 
whirlwind  which  took  away  their  senses,  she 
counted  on  chance,  the  god  of  revolutions;  and, 
after  the  most  painful  agitations,  returned  to  her  en- 
joyments. She  strove  to  divert  her  husband's  mind 
from  his  notions  of  exceeding  greatness,  ventured  to 
speak  to  him  of  the  Bourbons,  at  the  risk  of  storms; 
and,  in  spite  of  her  tastes,  which  should  have  led 
her  to  prefer  Talleyrand  to  Foucli^,  she  took  the 
latter  into  her  favour,  because,  as  she  said,  all 
Jacol>in  though  he  was,  he  yet  ventured  to  speak 
the  truth  to  the  first  consul ;  since,  in  her  eyes,  to 
make  the  consul  hear  the  truth  was  to  advise  the 
preservation  of  the  republic,  with  an  augmentation 
of  the  consular  power  at  the  same  time.  Talley- 
rand and  Fouch^,  thinking  they  should  strengthen 
their  position  by  penetrating  into  the  family  of  the 
first  ennsul,  introduced  themselves  by  flattering 
each  side  as  it  liked  to  be  flattered.  Talleyrand 
sought  to  please  the  brothers,  by  saying  tliat  it 
was  necessary  t  >  devise  for  the  first  consul  some 
position  differc.it  from  that  which  he  held  by  the 
constitution.  Fouch^  endeavoured  to  make  him- 
.self  agreeable  to  Madame  Bonaparte,  by  saying 
that  to  pu  li  on  too  fast  would  be  to  connnit  the 
gravest  imprudence,  and  would,  in  fact,  risk 
the  loss  of  all.  This  manner  of  insiriuating  them- 
selves into  his  family  circle  was  singularly  dis- 
jileasiiig  to  I  lie  first  consul.  He  gave  frequent 
evidence  o!'  this  feeling;  and  when  he  had  any 
eoramunicuion  to  make  to  his  relatives,  entrusted 
it  to  his  colleague  CambacfJres,  who,  with  his  ac- 
customed prudence,  heard  all  and  said  nothing 
l»ut  \vli:it  he  was  directed,  and  thus  acquitted  him- 
self of  this  class  of  commissions  with  as  nmch 
.skill  as  exactness. 

A  circumstance,  sufficiently  strange,  occurred 
at  this  moment  to  give  to  all  these  internal  agi- 
tations an  immediate  and  positive  object.  The 
prince,  who  was  afterwards  Louis  XVI II.,  then 
an  exile,  attempted  a  singular  step,  and  one 
which  showed  little  reflection.  Many  of  tlie  royal- 
ists, to  explain  and  cxcu.sc  their  return  towards 
the  new  government,  feigned  to  believe, or  actually 
did  believe,  that  Bonaparte  was  desirous  of  re- 
calling the  Bourbons.  These  men,  who  had  cither 
not  read,  or  did  not  know  how  to  read,  the  history 
of  the  English  revolution,  and  to  discover  there 
the  terrible  lessons  with  which  it  was  full,  came  all 
at  otice  to  a  discovery  of  an  analogy  in  it  which 
was  propitious  to  their  hi>peH:  this  was  the  biing- 
ing  back  of  the  Stuarts  by  general  Monk.     They 


suppressed  all  consideration  of  Cromwell,  whose 
part  nevertheless  was  quite  great  enough  not  to 
be  overlooked.  They  ended  by  getting  up  a  fac- 
titiiius  opinion,  which  had  reached  as  far  as  Louis 
XVIII.  This  prince,  gifted  with  tact  and  some 
sense,  had  the  great  weakness  to  write  to  Bona- 
parte himself, and  forwarded  to  him  several  letters, 
which  he  considered  well-timed,  but  which  were 
by  no  means  so,  and  proved  but  one  thing — the 
ordinary  illusions  of  the  emigrants.  Here  is  the 
first  of  these  letters  : 

"  20th  February,  1800. 
"  Whatever  appearance  their  conduct  may  as- 
sume, men  like  you,  sir,  inspire  no  inquietude. 
You  have  accepted  a  post  of  eminence,  and  I  am 
rejoiced  that  you  have  done  so.  You,  better  than 
any  person,  know  how  much  strength  and  power 
are  wanting  to  make  the  happiness  of  a  great  nation. 
Save  France  from  her  own  frenzy,  and  you  will 
fulfil  the  first  wish  of  my  heart ;  restore  her  king 
to  her,  and  future  generations  will  bless  your 
memory.  You  will  always  be  too  necessary  to 
the  state  to  admit  of  my  acquitting,  even  by  the 
most  important  posts,  the  debt  of  my  ancestors 
and  my  own.  "  Louis." 

On  receiving  this  letter  the  first  consul  was 
much  surprised,  and  remained  undecided,  not 
knowing  whether  he  ought  to  reply  to  it.  It  had 
been  transmitted  to  him  by  the  consul  Lebrun, 
who  received  it  himself  from  the  abbe  Mon- 
tesquiou.  Absorbed  in  the  nmltiplicity  of  aft'airs 
at  the  commencement  of  his  government,  the  first 
consul  allowed  the  time  for  answering  it  to  pass 
by.  The  prince,  with  the  impatience  of  an  emi- 
grant, wrote  a  second  letter,  still  more  strongly 
impressed  with  the  credulity  of  his  party,  and 
still  more  to  be  regretted  for  the  sake  of  his  own 
dignity.    It  was  as  follows  : — 

"For  a  long  time,  general,  you  must  have 
known,  that  you  have  acquired  my  esteem.  If 
you  doubt  whether  I  am  susce])tible  of  gratituile, 
mark  out  your  own  place,  fi.x  those  of  your 
friends.  As  for  my  principles,  1  am  a  Frenchman; 
clement  by  disposition,  I  shall  be  still  more  so 
from  reason. 

"  No,  the  victor  of  Lodi,  of  Castigli<me,  of  Ar- 
eola, the  conqueror  of  Italy  and  of  Egypt,  can  never 
prefer  a  vain  celebrity  to  true  gl'>ry.  Neverthe- 
less, you  are  losing  valuable  time  ;  we  can  assure 
the  repo.se  of  France  ;  I  say  we,  because  1  have 
need  of  Bonaparte  for  this  purpose,  and  he  cannot 
eftect  it  wuhout  me. 

"  General,  Europe  observes  you,  glory  awaits 
you,  and  I  am  impatient  to  restore  peace  to  my 
people.  "  LoLis." 

This  time  the  first  consul  thought  he  could 
not  dispense  with  replying.  In  reality,  he  had 
never  any  doubt  as  to  the  course  to  be  pursued 
in  regard  to  the  deposed  princes.  Independently 
of  all  ambition,  he  looked  u])on  the  recall  of  the 
Hoiu'bons  as  an  imprac^ticalilo  and  fatal  step. 
Whatever  might  be  otherwise  his  desire  to  be 
master  of  France,  it  was  from  convietion  that  he 
repulsed  them.  His  wife  had  been  informed  of 
the  Secret,  as  also  his  secretiiry  ;  and  though  he 
did  not  do  them  the  honour  of  admitting  them  to  his 
deliberations  on  such  a  niiitter,  he  informed  them 


168    Answer  of  the  first  consul.     THIERS'   CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE.      ^"and'ArJnaf  ^"''"^'       'oct: 


of  his  motives.  His  wife  had  thrown  herself  at 
his  feet,  supplicating  him  to  leave  the  Bourbons 
at  least  some  hope  ;  he  repulsed  her  with  some 
temper,  and  addressing  himself  to  his  secretary, 
"  You  do  not  know  these  people,"  said  he  ;  "  if  I 
were  to  restore  their  throne  to  them,  they  would 
believe  they  had  recovered  it  by  the  grace  of  God. 
They  would  be  quickly  surrounded,  and  drawn  on 
hy  the  emigrants  ;  they  would  upset  evei-y  thing, 
in  their  wish  to  i-estore  even  what  cannot  be 
restored.  What  would  become  of  the  numerous 
interests  created  since  1789  ?  What  would  become 
ofthem,  and  of  the  holders  of  national  property, 
and  of  the  chiefs  of  the  array,  and  of  all  the  men 
who  have  engaged  their  lives  and  fortunes  in  the 
revolution  ?  Next  to  men,  what  would  become  of 
things  ?  What  would  become  of  the  ])rinciples 
for  which  we  have  fought?  All  would  perish, 
but  would  not  perish  without  a  conflict  :  there 
would  be  a  fearful  struggle  ;  thousands  of  men 
would  fall.  Never,  never,  will  I  adopt  so  fatal 
a  resolve."  He  was  right.  All  personal  interest 
ajiart,  he  acted  properly.  His  own  dictatorship, 
whicli  i-etarded  the  establishment  of  political  liberty 
in  France,  a  liberty,  be  it  said,  at  that  time  sur- 
rimnded  with  great  difficulties;  his  own  dictator- 
ship achieved  the  triumph  of  the  French  revo- 
lution, which  Waterloo  itself,  because  it  happened 
fifteen  years  later,  could  not  destroy. 

His  answer  was  of  coui'se  conformable  with  his 
opinion,  and  left  no  more  hope  than  be  meant  to 
give.  It  is  only  from  the  text  itself  of  the  letter 
that  we  can  form  an  opinion  of  the  grandeur  of 
expression  with  which  he  replied  to  the  imprudent 
advances  of  the  exiled  prince. 

"  Paris,  the  20th  Fructidor,  vear  viii. 
"7th  September,  1800. 

"  I  have  received  your  letter,  sir ;  I  thank  you 
for  the  polite  expressions  you  make  use  of  in 
regard  to  myself. 

"  You  must  not  wish  for  your  return  to  France; 
you  would  have  to  march  there  over  five  hundred 
thousand  corpses. 

"Sacrifice  your  own  interest  to  the  repose  and 
happiness  of  France  ;  history  will  give  you  credit 
for  it. 

"  I  am  not  insensible  to  the  misfortunes  of  your 
family  ;  and  I  will  contribute  with  pleasure  to  the 
ease  and  tranquillity  of  your  retreat. 

"  Bonaparte." 

Some  part  of  this  was  made  known,  and  thus 
the  personal  designs  of  the  first  consul  became 
only  the  more  evident. 

It  is  often  the  attempt  of  parties  against  a 
rising  power  that  linstens  its  progress,  and  en- 
courages it  to  dare  all  it  meditates.  An  attempt, 
more  ridiculous  than  criminal,  of  the  republicans 
against  the  first  consul,  hastened  a  demonstration, 
altogether  as  ridiculous  on  the  part  of  those  who 
wished  to  precipitate  his  elevation  ;  neither  the 
one  nor  the  other  attained  the  object. 

The  patriot  declaimers,  more  noisy  and  much 
less  formidaiile  than  the  agents  of  royaiism,  met 
frequently  at  the  house  of  an  old  emplo;/e  of  the 
committee  of  public  safety,  then  out  of  office. 
He  was  called  Demerville;  he  spoke  nnich, carried 
from  one  place  to  another  pamphlets  against  the 


government,  and  was  scarcely  capable  of  doing 
more  than  this.  To  his  house  resorted  the  Corsican 
Arena,  one  of  those  members  of  the  five  hundred 
who  had  escaped  through  the  window  on  the  18th 
Brumaire  ;  Topino-Lebrun,  a  painter  of  some 
talent,  a  pupil  of  David,  who  shared  in  the  re- 
volutionary enthusiasm  of  the  artists  of  that  time; 
and  also  many  of  the  Italian  refugees,  who 
were  exasperated  against  Bonaparte  because  he 
protected  the  pope,  and  had  not  established  a 
Roman  republic.  The  principal  and  most  noisy  of 
these  last  was  a  sculptor  named  Ceracchi.  These 
hot-headed  fellows  usually  assembled  at  Demer- 
ville's,  and  held  the  most  foolish  discourse.  It 
was  necessary,  they  said,  to  bring  matters  to  an 
end  ;  they  had  most  of  the  world  with  them — 
Massena,  Carnot,  Lannes,  Sieyes,  and  Fouche  him- 
self. They  had  but  to  strike  the  tyrant,  and  all 
the  true  republicans  would  at  once  declare  them- 
selves ;  all  would  reunite  to  raise  up  once  more  the 
expiring  republic.  But  it  was  requisite  to  find  a 
Brutus  to  strike  this  new  Ciesar — and  no  one 
offered  himself.  A  soldier  without  employ,  named 
Harrel,  who  was  living  in  idleness  and  misery,  with 
these  declaimers,  indigent  and  discontented  as  them- 
selves, appeared  to  them  the  man  of  action  of  whom 
they  stood  in  need.  They  made  proposals  to  him 
at  which  he  was  terrified.  In  his  agitation 
he  disclosed  the  matter  to  a  commissary  of  war 
with  whom  he  had  some  connection,  and  who 
advised  him  to  impart  what  he  knew  to  the  go- 
vernment. Harrel  next  went  and  found  Bour- 
rienne,  the  secretary  to  the  consul,  and  Lannes,  the 
commandant  of  the  consular  guard.  The  first 
consul,  forewarned  by  them,  caused  money  to  be 
given  by  the  police  to  Harrel,  as  well  as  an  order 
for  him  to  imdertake  every  thing  that  his  accom- 
plices might  propose.  These  vvretc-hed  conspirators 
believed  themselves  to  have  met  in  this  individual 
with  the  right  man  to  execute  their  jiurpose;  but 
they  found  that  one  was  not  sufficient.  Harrel 
])roposed  to  them  to  introduce  others  ;  they  con- 
sented, and  he  introduced  some  of  Fouchd's  agents. 
After  they  had  fallen  into  this  snare,  their  next 
care  was  to  procure  poignards,  wherewith  to  arm 
Harrel  and  his  companions.  This  time  they  un- 
dertook the  care  themselves,  and  brought  poignards 
purchased  by  Topino-Lebrun.  At  last  tliey  made 
choice  of  a  place  to  assassinate  the  first  consul,  and 
that  was  the  opera,  then  styled  the  theatre  ot  arts. 
They  fixed  the  time,  it  was  to  be  the  10th  October, 
or  18th  Vend^miaire,  year  ix.,  the  day  when  the 
first  consul  was  to  be  present  at  the  first  represen- 
tation of  a  new  opera.  The  j)olice,  forewarned, 
liad  taken  precautions.  The  first  consul  went 
to  the  theatre  of  the  opera,  followed  by  Lannes, 
who,  watching  over  him  with  the  greatest  solici- 
tude, had  doubled  the  guard,  and  placed  about  the 
box  the  bravest  of  his  grenadiers.  The  pretended 
assassins  came  in  fact  to  the  rendezvous,  but  not 
all,  and  not  armed.  Topino-Lebrun  was  not  there, 
no  more  was  Demerville.  Arena  and  Ceracchi 
alone  presented  themselves.  Ceracchi  approached 
nearer  tiian  the  others  to  the  box  of  the  first  consul, 
but  he  was  without  a  poignard.  There  were 
no  bold  men  of  all  those  present  on  the  spot,  nor 
arnied,  except  the  conspirators  placed  by  the  police 
on  the  scene  of  crime.  They  arrested  Ceracchi, 
Arena,  and  all  the  others  in  succession,  but  the 


Great  sensation  tliereby  occasioned. 
AdJresses  to  the  first  consul. 


THE    ARMISTICE.       indiscreet  pamphlet  by  M.  Fontanes. 


most  part  at  tlieir  own  dwellings,  or  in  houses 
where  they  had  gone  to  seek  refuge. 

This  affair  created  a  great  sensation,  which  it 
did  not  deserve.  As.suredly  the  pohce — which  igno- 
rant men,  strangers  to  any  knowledge  of  public 
affairs,  accuse  in  general  of  itself  fabricating  the 
plots  which  it  discovei-s — the  police  had  not  in- 
vented this,  though  it  might  be  said  to  have  taken 
too  greab-a  share  in  it.  The  conspirators  without 
doubt  meditated  the  death  of  the  first  consul,  but 
they  were  incapable  of  striking  the  blow  with  the  r 
own  hands ;  by  encouraging  them,  and  by  furnish- 
ing them  with  what  it  was  their  greatest  difficulty 
to  find,  hands  to  execute  their  purpose,  they  had 
been  drawn  into  crime  further  than  tliey  would 
have  been  engaged  in  it  had  they  been  left  to 
themselves.  If  all  this  were  to  have  ended  in  a 
severe  but  temporary  puni.-ihment,  such  as  is  in- 
flicted on  mailmen,  it  would  have  been  well  ;  but 
to  lead  them  to  tlieir  death  by  such  a  road  is  more 
than  is  right,  even  when  we  are  acting  for  the 
preservation  of  a  valuable  life.  Men  did  not  look 
at  matters  so  nicely  at  that  time.  They  instituted 
proceedings  directly  which  rendered  the  scaffold 
inevitable  to  these  unhappy  offenders. 

This  attempt  caused  general  alarm.  Until  now 
there  had  only  been  seen  during  the  revolution 
what  were  called  the  join-iiees,  in  other  words, 
attacks  by  armed  men  ;  but  against  assaults  such 
as  these  there  was  security  in  the  military  power 
of  the  government.  No  one  had  thought  about  as- 
sassination, and  the  possibility  of  the  first  consul 
being  suddenly  struck  down  and  killed,  notwith- 
standing he  might  be  surrounded  by  his  grenadiers. 
Th<;  attempt  of  Ceracchi,  the  ridiculous  character 
of  which  was  not  known,  was  a  piece  of  intelligence 
that  frightened  the  public.  The  dread  to  see  so- 
ciety plunged  again  into  a  chaos  dwelt  upon  every 
mind,  and  gave  birth  to  a  species  of  passion.  The 
crowd  ran  to  the  Tuileries.  The  tribunate  was  the 
only  ])ublic  body  of  the  state  which  happened  at 
that  moment  to  be  sitting,  frotn  its  habit  of  holding 
its  meetings  every  fortnight  during  the  interval  of 
the  sessions;  and  that  body  went  tliere  collectively. 
All  the  public  authorities  followed  the  example.  A 
vast  number  of  addresses  were  presented  to  the 
first  consul.  Their  sense  may  be  collected  from  the 
contents  of  that  drawn  up  by  the  municipal  body 
of  Paris  : — 

"  General,  we  come  in  the  name  of  the  citizens  of 
Paris  to  express  to  you  the  deep  indignation  which 
they  feel  at  hearing  of  the  new  attempt  meditated 
against  your  person.  Too  many  interests  are  at- 
tached to  your  existence  for  the  plots  which  have 
threatened  it  not  to  become  a  subject  of  public 
sorrow,  as  all  that  protects  it  is  a  subject  of  ac- 
knowh^dgmcnt  and  national  gratitude. 

"  Providence,  which  in  Venddmiaire,  year  viir., 
brought  you  Ijack  from  Egypt,  that  at  Marengo 
preserved  you  from  all  the  perils  of  the  field  ;  that 
lastly,on  the  18th  Venddmiaire,  in  the  year  i\'., saved 
you  from  the  rage  of  the  assassins,  permit  us  to 
8.'iy  so,  is  the  providence  of  France  nmcli  more  than 
yours.  The  .same  providence  will  not  allow  that  a 
year  so  important,  so  full  of  glorious  events,  and 
destined  to  occupy  so  grand  a  place  in  human  me- 
mory, should  terminate  all  at  once  by  a  detcMtable 
crime.  O  that  the  enemies  r)f  France  would  cease 
to  desire  evil  to  you  and  to  us,  that  they  would  but 


submit  tliemselves  to  thac  destiny  which,  more 
powerful  than  all  their  jilots,  will  assure  your 
preservation  and  that  of  the  republic  !  We  do 
not  speak  to  you  of  the  guilty:  they  belong  to 
the  law." 

These  addresses,  all  cast  in  the  same  mould,  con- 
tinually repeated  to  the  first  consul  that  he  had  no 
right  to  be  merciful,  that  his  life  belonged  to  the 
republic,  and  ought  to  be  placed  under  the  same 
safeguard  as  the  public  good,  of  which  it  was  the 
]iledge.  It  is  ])roper  to  state  that  these  manifesta- 
tions wei'e  sincere.  Every  one  thought  himself  in 
danger  from  the  first  consul  being  in  that  situation. 
All  who  were  not  of  the  factious  wished  for  his  pre- 
servation. The  royalists  believing,  that  if  anything 
happened  to  him  they  would  be  turned  back  to  the 
seafibid  or  to  exile;  the  revolutionists  believing  they 
should  have  a  counter-revolution,  rendered  trium- 
phant by  means  of  foreign  armies. 

The  first  consul  took  particular  care,  it  is  worthy 
of  remark,  to  diminish  the  idea  of  the  danger  to 
which  he  had  been  exposed.  He  would  not  have 
it  believed  that  his  lite  depended  upon  the  first 
comer,  and  he  regarded  that  belief  as  equally 
necessary  for  his  safety  and  his  dignity.  Speaking 
to  the  authorities  commissioned  to  compliment  him, 
he  tuld  them  that  the  danger  about  which  they 
were  so  much  alarmed  rtally  had  nothing  in  it 
very  serious ;  he  explained  to  them  how,  sur- 
rounded by  officers  of  the  consular  guard  and  a 
picket  of  grenadiers,  he  was  completely  secured 
against  all  that  seven  or  eight  miserable  wretches 
could  have  intended  to  effect.  He  believed  much 
more  than  his  words  would  seem  to  imply,  in  the 
peril  which  had  threatened  his  life;  but  he  judged 
it  useful  to  impress  upon  all  minds,  that  surrounded 
by  the  grenadiers  of  Marengo  he  was  inaccessible 
in  the  midst  of  them  to  the  attempts  of  an  a.ssassin. 

Plots  as  serious  as  that  which  made  all  this  stir, 
and  directed  by  other  hands,  were  preparing  in  dark- 
ness. A  vague  feeling  prevailed  of  such  being  the 
case,  and  people  said  that  these  attempts  would  be 
renewed  more  than  once.  This  gave  the  partizaiis 
of  the  first  consul  a  reason  for  repeating  that 
something  was  wanting  more  stable  than  an  ephe- 
meral power,  resting  in  the  hands  of  one  man,  that 
might  disappear  beneath  the  blow  of  an  assassin's 
])oigiiard.  The  brother  of  the  first  consul,  Roederer, 
Regnaultde  St.  Jean  d' A  ngely,  Talleyrand,  Fontanes, 
and  many  others  held  those  notions,  some  from  a 
conviction  of  their  truth,  others  to  please  their  mas- 
ter; all,  as  it  commonly  happens,  mingled  with  sen- 
timents sincere  or  interested.  At  this  moment  a 
pamphlet  appeared  anonymously,  a  singular  and 
very  remarkable  jiroduction.  It  had  for  its  author, 
according  to  report,  Lucien  Bonaparte;  but  from 
its  rare  beauty  of  style,  and  its  knowledge  of  clas- 
sic history,  it  should  only  have  been  ascribed  to 
its  real  author,  M.  Fontanes.  This  ])amphlet,  as 
the  cause  of  a  great  sensation  in  the  public  mind, 
deserves  to  be  noticed  hero.  It  marked  one  of  the 
steps  that  advanced  Bonaparte  in  his  career  to  the 
supreme  power.  The  title  was,  "  A  Parallel  between 
Cicsar,  Cromwell,  Monk,  and  Bonaparte."  The 
author  first  compared  Bonaparte  with  Cromwell, 
but  was  unable  to  trace  any  resemblance  between 
the  principal  personage  in  the  English  revolution 
and  the  first  consid.  (Cromwell  was  a  fanatic,  the 
cliief  of  a  sanguinary  faction,  tiio  assassin  of  liis 


Bonaparte  compared  with 
JO        Cromwell,    Monk,    and 
Caesar. 


The  pamphlet  extensively   ,.•. 
THIERS'  CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE.        circulated  by  Lucien  Bo-   'Zt 

naparte.  "'''• 


king,  a  victor  only  in  a  civil  war,  conquering  a  few 
cities  and  provinces  of  England,  a  mere  barbarian, 
who  ravaged  the  universities  of  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge, lie  was  a  very  able  scoundrel,  not  a  hero. 
The  parallel  of  Cromwell  in  the  French  revolution 
would  be  Robespierre,  if  Robespierre  had  been 
possessed  of  the  courage,  and  if  France  had  only 
La  Vendee  to  conquer,  and  he  had  been  the  con- 
queror. General  Bonaparte,  on  the  contrary,  a 
stranger  to  the  evils  of  the  i-evolution,  had  covered 
with  astonishing  glory  the  crimes  in  which  he  had 
no  concern.  He  had  abolished  the  barbarous  festival 
instituted  in  honour  of  the  regicide;  he  had  put  an 
end  to  the  horrors  of  revolutionary  fanaticism  ;  he 
had  honoured  learning  and  science,  reestablished  the 
schools,  and  opened  the  temple  of  the  arts.  He  hud 
not  made  a  civil  war;  he  had  conquered,  not  cities 
but  kingdoms.  As  to  Monk,  what  had  he  in  com- 
mon with  that  wavering  man,  the  deserter  from  all 
parties,  not  caring  whither  he  went,  having  wrecked 
the  vessel  of  the  republic  on  the  monarchy,  as  he 
would  have  wrecked  that  upon  the  republic, — what  I 
had  that  vulgar  and  miserable  personage  in  com-  | 
mon  with  general  Bonajjarte,  and  his  stedfast  j 
mind  acquiring  whatever  it  desired?  The  title  of  j 
duke  of  Albetnarle  had  satisfied  the  wretched  vanity 
of  Monk.  "  But  can  it  be  credited,  that  the  baton 
of  a  marshal  or  the  sword  of  a  constable  sufficed  \ 
for  a  man  before  whom  the  universe  is  confounded  ? 
Was  it  not  felt  that  he  was  one  of  those  destined  to 
fill  a  first  place  ?  Besides,  if  Bonaparte  were  ever 
able  to  imitate  Monk,  would  not  France  be  seen 
again  plimged  into  the  horrors  of  a  new  revolu- 
tion ?  storm  in  place  of  calm  being  every  where 
renewed. 

After  having  repelled  these  comparisons,  the 
author  could  find  no  one  analogous  to  Bonaparte 
in  history  but  Ciesar.  lie  recognized  in  that  cha- 
racter the  same  military  glory,  the  same  political 
greatness;  and  ho  also  discovered  one  dissimilarity. 
Cuisar  at  tlie  head  of  the  demagogues  of  Rome  had 
trampled  upon  the  good  men  and  destroyed  the  re- 
public; Bonaparte,  on  the  contrary,  had  elevated 
the  party  of  good  men,  and  crushed  only  the  base. 

All  this  was  true  ;  the  work  undertaken  by 
Bonaparte  was  much  more  upright  than  that  of 
Ca;sar. 

After  these  comparisons  the  writer  concluded, 
"  Happy  the  reiJublic,  if'  BonapaHe  were  immortal ." 
"  But  where,"  he  adds, — "  wliere  are  his  heirs." 
Where  are  the  institutions  that  can  adequately 
maintain  his  good  deeds  and  peqietuate  his  genius? 
The  fate  of  thirty  millions  of  men  only  hangs  upon 
the  life  of  one  !  Frenchmen,  what  would  become 
of  you,  if  at  this  moment  a  melancholy  cry  an- 
nounced to  you  that  this  man  was  dead  ?" 

Here  the  author  exaniiived  the  different  chances 
which  would  present  themselves  on  the  death  of 
general  Bonaparte.  "  Shall  we  fall  under  the  yoke 
of  an  assembly  ?  But  the  remembrance  of  the  con- 
vention was  there  to  drive  the  minds  of  everybody 
from  such  a  supposition.  Shall  we  throw  ourselves 
into  the  arms  of  a  military  govej'nment  ?  But  where 
was  the  equal  of  Bonaparte  ?  The  republic,  there 
was  no  doubt,  possessed  great  generals,  but  which 
of  them  was  so  superior  to  all  the  rest,  as  to  be 
above  rivalry,  and  able  to  hinder  the  armies  from 
combating  each  other  for  the  interest  of  this  par- 
ticular  leader  ?    lu    default   of  a  government  of 


assemblies,  in  default  of  a  government  of  preto- 
rians,  should  recourse  be  had  to  a  legitimate  dynasty, 
that  was  upon  the  frontier  holding  out  its  arms  to 
France  ?  But  that  would  be  a  counter  revolution, 
the  return  of  Charles  II.  and  of  James  II.  to 
England;  blood  had  flowed  at  their  appearance: 
tlicy  were  sufficing  examples  to  open  the  eyes  of 
nations,  and  if  there  was  need  of  more  recent  ex- 
amples, the  return  of  the  queen  of  Naples  and  her 
imbecile  husband  to  that  unhappy  kingdom  was  a 
lesson  written  in  characters  of  blood  !  Frenchmen, 
you  sleep  on  tlie  cdije  of  an  abps  !  "  Such  were  the 
last  words  of  this  singular  piece  of  writing. 

All  which  it  contained,  except  the  flattering  lan- 
guage, was  true;  but  the  truths  were  premature, 
to  judge  by  the  impressif)n  which  they  produced. 
Lucien,  minister  of  the  interior,  employed  every 
means  in  his  power  to  scatter  this  pamphlet  all 
over  France.  He  filled  Paris  and  the  provinces 
with  it,  having  taken  good  care  to  conceal  its 
origin.  It  produced  a  great  eff*  ct.  At  the  bottom 
it  disclosed  that  which  every  body  thought ;  but  it 
demanded  from  France  an  avowal  which  a  very 
legitimate  j)ride  did  not  yet  permit  her  to  make.  She 
had  abolished  eiglit  years  previously  a  monarchy 
of  fourteen  centuries,  and  she  must  so  soon  after- 
wards come  forth  and  acknowledge  at  the  feet  of  a 
general  thirty  years  old,  that  she  had  played  the 
fool,  and  pray  him  to  revive,  in  his  own  i)erson, 
that  very  monarchy  !  She  was  willing  to  give  him 
a  power  equal  to  that  of  monarchs,  but  it  was  ne- 
cessary, at  least,  to  preserve  appearances,  were  it 
only  for  the  sake  of  the  national  dignity.  Besides, 
the  young  warrior  had  gained  gi'eat  vict(U'ies,  and 
already  given  the  begiiming  of  services  to  the 
country;  but  he  had  scarcely  commenced  the  re- 
conciliation of  parties,  the  reorganization  of  France, 
the  arrangement  of  the  laws;  above  all,  he  liad  not 
yet  given  peace  to  the  world.  There  remained  to 
him  these  and  many  titles  to  conquer,  which  he 
was  very  certain  in  addition  to  place  soon  over  his 
glorious  head. 

The  impression  was  general  and  painful.  On  all 
sides,  the  prefects  stated  the  i)amphlet  produced  a 
mischievous  effect;  that  it  gave  some  reason  to  the 
factious  demagogues  to  say,  that  the  Caesars  pro- 
duced the  Brutuses,  that  the  ])amphlet  was  impru- 
dent and  to  be  regretted.  In  Paris  the  impression 
it  i)roduced  was  similar.  In  the  council  of  state, 
tlie  disapprobation  was  not  concealed.  The  first 
consul,  whether  he  had  known  anything  of  the 
pam|)hlet,  whether  he  had  been  compromised  un- 
knowingly by  impatient  and  awkward  friends,  still 
believed  the  disavowal  necessary,  above  all,  in  the 
sight  of  the  revolutionary  party.  He  sent  for 
Fouch^,  an'd  publicly  demanded  of  him  why  he  suf- 
fered the  circulation  of  such  writings.  The  minister 
replied,  "  I  know  the  author."  "  If  you  know  him," 
replied  the  first  consul,  "  he  must  be  sent  to  Vin- 
cennes."  "I  am  not  able  to  send  him  to  Vinceniies," 
replied  Fouchd,  "  because  he  is  your  own  brother." 
At  this  Bonaparte  complained  bitterly  of  his  bro- 
ther, who  had  already  more  than  once  compromised 
him.  His  sourness  towards  Lucien  increased.  One 
day,  Lucien  not  being  exactly  in  time  at  the  coun- 
cil of  ministers,  a  thing  that  often  occurred,  and 
many  comjilaints  being  made  against  his  official 
conduct,  the  first  consul  testified  great  discontent 
towax'ds  him,  and  appeared  determined  to  revoke 


Peace  signed 


HOHENLTNDEN. 


with  the  United  States. 


hfs  appointment  immediately.  Buttlic  consul  Cam- 
Laceres  urged  him  not  to  take  froin  Lucien  the 
portfolio  of  the  home  depai'tment  without  giving 
liim  an  equivalent. 

The  fii-st  consul  consented  ;  Cambace'res  devised 
an  embassy  to  Spain,  and  was  instructed  to  offer  it 
to  Lucien,  who  accepted  it  without  difliculty. 
Lucieu  went  off,  and  there  was  soon  no  more 
thought  of  the  imprudent  pamphlet. 

Thus  a  first  attempt  at  assassination  directed 
ajainst  the   first  consul   had  called   forth   in  his 


favour  a  first  attempt  to  elevate  him  ;  but  the  one 
was  as  foolish  as  the  other  was  badly  managed.  It 
was  necessary  for  Bonaparte  to  attain  by  new  ser- 
vices an  augmentation  of  authority,  winch  no  one 
could  yet  precisely  define,  but  all  could  confusedly 
foresee  in  the  future,  and  to  which  lie  or  his 
friends  made  no  secret  of  his  aspiring ;  at  any 
rate,  his  fortune  was  about  to  furnish  him,  in  ser- 
vices rendered,  and  in  dangers  avoided,  great  titles 
to  similar  demands,  such  as  France  could  no  longer 
resist. 


BOOK  VII. 


IIOHENLINDEN. 


P£ACE  WITH  THE  UNITED  STATES  AKD  THE  BARBARY  REGENCIES. — MEETIKG  OF  THE  CONGRESS  OP  LVNETILLE. — 
M.  COBESTZEL  REFUSES  A  SEPARATE  NEGOTIATION,  AND  WISHES  AT  LEAST  FOR  THE  I'RESENCE  OF  AN  ENGLISH 
PLENIPOTENTIARY,  TO  COVER  THE  REAL  NEGOTIATION  BETWEEN  AUSTRIA  AND  FRANCE. — THE  FIRST  CONSUL, 
TO  HASTEN  THr  CONCLUSION,  ORDERS  THE  RENEWAL  OF  HOSTILITIES.— PLAN  OF  THE  WINTER  CAMPAIGN. — 
UOREAU  COMMANDED  To  PASS  THE  INN,  AND  MARCH  UPON  VIENNA. — MACDONALD,  WITH  THE  SECOND  ARMY 
OP  RESERVE,  ORDERKD  TO  PASS  THE  ORISONS  INTO  THE  TYROL.— BRUNE,  WITH  EIGHTY  TlOlt'SAND  MEN,  IS 
DESTINED  TO  FORCE  THE  MINCIO  AND  ADIGE.— PLAN  OP  THE  YOUNG  ARCHDUKE  JOHN,  NOW  BECOME  GENERAL- 
ISSIMO OF  THE  AUSTRIAN  ARMIES.- HIS  PLAN  TO  TURN  MOREAU  FAILS  FROM  DEFECTS  IN  THE  EXECUTION. — 
HE  HALTS  IN  HIS  WAY-,  AND  WISHES  TO  ATTACK  MOREAU  IN  THE  FRONT  OF  HOHENLINDEN. — FINE  MANOEUVRE 
OF    MOREAU,    EXECUTED    IN    AN    ADMIR.IELE    MANNER    BY    RICHEPANSE. — MEMORABLE    BATTLE   OP    HOHENLINDEN. 

GREAT    CONSEQUENCES    OF    THE     BATTLE.— PASSAGES    OF    THE    INN,    SALZA.    TBAUN,     AND    ENS. — ARMISTICE    OP 

STEYER. — AU.'-TRIA  PROMISES  TO  SIGN  AN  IMMEDIATE  PEACE. — OPERATIONS  IN  THE  ALPS  AND  IN  ITALY. — 
PASSAGE  OP  THE  SPLUGEN  BY  MACDONALD  IN  THE  MIDST  OF  THE  HORRORS  OP  WINTER.— ARRIVAL  OF  MAC- 
DONALD  IN  THE  ITALIAN  TYROL. — DISPOSITIONS  OP  BRUNE  FOR  PASSING  THE  MINCIO  AT  TWO  PLACES.  — ERROR 
OF  HIS  DISPOSITIONS.— GENERAL  DUPONT  MAKES  THE  FIRST  PASSAGE  AT  POZZOLO,  AND  DRAWS  UPON  HIMSELF 
THE  WHOLE  AUSTRIAN  ARMY. — THE  MINCIO  IS  FORCED  AFTER  A  USELESS  WASTE  OF  BLOOD.— PASSAGES  OF  THE 
MINCIO  AND  ADIGE. — LUCKY  ESCAPE  OP  GENERAL  LAUDON,  BY  MEANS  OP  A  FALSEHOOD. — THE  AUSTRIANS 
BEING  ROUTl.D,  DEMAND  AN  ARMISTICE  IN  ITALY.— SIGNATURE  OP  THE  ARMISTICE  AT  TREVISO.— RENEWAL  OP 
THE  NEGOTIATIONS  AT  LUNEVILLE. — THE  PRINCIPLE  OF  A  SEPARATE  PEACE  ADMITTED  BY  M.  COBENTZEL. — 
THE  FIRST  CONSUL  INSISTS  UPON  AUSTRIA  PAYING  THE  EXPENSES  OP  THE  SECOND  CAMPAIGN,  AND  IMPOSES 
CONDITIONS  HARDER  THAN  THOSE  OP  THE  PRELIMINARIES  OF  M.  JULIEN. — HE  GIVES  FOR  AN  ULTIMATUM  THE 
LIMITS  OP  THE  RHINE  IN  GERMANY,  AND  OF  THE  ADIGE  IN  ITALY. — BOLD  RESISTANCE  OF  M.  COBENTZEL. — 
THIS  RESISTANCE,  ALTHOUGH  HONOURADLE  TO  HI.M,  JIAKES  AUSTRIA  LOSE  VALUABLE  TIME.  — WHILE  THE 
NEGOTIATION  PROCEEDS  AT  LUNEVILLE,  THE  E.MPEKOR  PAUL,  TO  WHOM  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  HAD  CEDED  THE 
ISLAND  OF  MALTA,  RECLAIMS  IT  OP  THE  ENGLISH,  WHO  REFUSE  IT. — ANGEI'.  OF  PAUL  I. — HE  INVITES  THE 
KINO  OF  SWEI.EN  TO  PETERSBURG,  AND  BENEW>  THE  LEAGUE  OF  1780. — DECLARATION  OF  THE  NEUTRAL 
POWKRS.— RUPTURE  OP  ALL  THE  NORTHIRN  POWERS  WITH  ENGLAND. — THE  FIRST  CONSUL  PROFITS  BY  IT  TO 
FORCE  HARDER  TER.MS  UPON  AUSTRIA.— HE  INSISTS,  BESIDES  THE  LIMITS  OF  THE  ADIGE,  UPON  THE  EXPUL- 
SION OF  ALL  THE  PRINCES  OP  THE  HOUSE  OF  AUSTRIA  FRO.M  ITALY.— THE  GRAND  DUKE  OF  TUSCANY,  AS  WELL 
AS  THE  DUKE  OF  MODENA,  TO  BE  REMOVED  INTO  GERMANY.— M.  COBENTZEL  AT  LAST  GIVES  WAY,  AND  SIGNS 
WITH  JOSEPH  BONAPARTE,  ON  THE  NINTH  OF  FEBRUARY,  1801,  THE  CELEBRATED  TREATY  OF  LUNEVILLE.— 
FRANCE,  FOR  THE  SECOND  TIME,  OBTAINS  THE  RHINE  FOR  A  BOUNDARY  THROUGHOUT  ITS  WHOLE  LENGTH, 
AND  REMAINS  MISTRESS  OF  NEARLY  ALL  ITALY. — AUSTRIA  IS  FORCED  BACK  BEHIND  THE  ADIGE.— THE  CISAL- 
PINE REPUBLIC  IS  TO  INCLUDE  THE  MILANESE,  MANTUA,  THE  DUCHY  OF  MODENA,  AND  THE  LEGATIONS. — 
TUSCANY  IS  DESTINED  FOR  THE  HOUSE  OP  PARMA,  WITH  THE  TITLE  OP  KINGDOM  OF  ETRURIA— THE  PRIN- 
CIPLE OP  THE  SECULARISATIONS  IMPOSED  FOR  f.  i- R  M  \  VV.  —  T  M  PORT  ANT  RESULTS  GAINED  BY  THE  FIRST 
IN    THE    COURSE   OF    FIFTEEN    MONTHS. 


Joseph  Bonaparte  liad  «igned,  at  Morfontaino,  tiic 
treaty  which  established  peace  between  France 
and  America,  witii  the  American  negotiators,  Klls- 
worth,  Davie,  and  Van  Mtirmy.  It  was  the  first 
treaty  conchuii'd  by  the  consular  government.  It 
was  natural  that  the  reconciliation  of  France  with 
the  different  |)owerH  of  tin-  glolic,  HiH>uld  coiiimeiice 
with  that  republic,  to  wiiich,  in  a  certain  sense. 


she  had  given  birth.  The  first  consul  had  per- 
mitted the  adjournment  of  the  ditficnlties  relative 
to  the  treaty  of  alliance  of  the  (>th  of  February, 
]^^ii  ;  but,  in  return,  he  hail  re(|nired  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  American  claims,  relative  to  captured 
vessels.  He  judged,  with  nason,  that  he  ought  to 
be  satisfied  with  tin?  acknowledgment  of  the  rights 
of  neutrals.    This  gave  to  France  another  ally,  and 


172 


Conditions  of  the  treaty.       THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.    Negotiations  with  Austria.    '*^^- 


to  England  an  enemy  nmre  on  the  ocean  ;  it  was  a 
new  fermentation  in  the  maritime  dispute,  which 
was  risinj,'  in  the  north,  and  daily  becoming 
more  serious.  Inconsequence  of  tiiis,  the  princi- 
pal articles  of  the  neutral  rij,'hts,  such  at  least  as 
they  are  laid  down  l.y  France  and  all  the  mari- 
time states,  were  integrally  in  the  new  treaty. 

These  articles  were  the  same  as  we  have  already 
stated. 

1.  The  flag  covers  the  merchandise;  in  conse- 
quence, the  neutral  can  carry  the  goods  of  any 
enemy  without  being  searched. 

2.  There  is  no  exception  from  this  rule,  unless 
for  the  contraband  of  war;  and  that  contraband 
does  not  extend  to  alimentary  substances,  or  to 
naval  stores,  timber,  pitch,  and  hemj),  but  solely  to 
manufactured  arms  and  munitions  of  war,  such  as 
powder,  saltpetre,  petards,  matches,  balls,  bullets, 
bombs,  grenades,  carcasses,  pikes,  halberts,  swords, 
sword-belts,  accoutrements,  pistols,  scabbards,  ca- 
valry-saddles, harness,  cannon  mortars  with  their 
carriages,  and  generally  arms,  nmnitious  of  war, 
and  implements  for  the  use  of  troops. 

3.  Neutral  bottoms  can  sail  from  any  port  to 
any  port;  there  is  no  exception  to  their  freedom  of 
navigation,  except  in  regard  to  ports  blockaded 
bona  fide,  and  those  ports  alone  are  buna  fide  block- 
aded, which  are  guarded  by  such  a  force  that  there 
wouM  be  serious  danger  in  attempting  to  break  the 
blockade. 

4.  The  neutral  is  bound  to  submit  to  be  visited 
for  the  pilrpose  of  discovering  her  I'eal  character  ; 
but  the  visitor  vessel  must  remain  out  of  cannon- 
shot  distance,  and  send  a  boat  and  three  men; 
and  if  the  neutral  is  convoyed  by  a  ship-of-war,  the 
visit  shall  not  take  place,  the  presence  of  the  mili- 
tary flag  being  a  sufficient  guarantee  against  every 
species  of  Iraud. 

The  treaty  contained  other  stipulations  in  detail; 
but  the  four  principal  articles  which  truly  constitute 
the  law  of  neutrals,  were  an  important  victory,  since 
the  Americans,  in  adopting  them,  were  obliged  to 
insist  upon  their  application  in  their  commerce  with 
the  English,  or  to  go  to  war  with  them. 

The  signature  of  the  treaty  was  celebrated  with 
rejoicing  at  Morfontaine,  a  fine  estate  that  Joseph 
Bonapax'te,  who  was  richer  than  his  brothers 
through  his  marriage,  had  acquired  some  time  be- 
fore. The  first  consul  attended,  accompanied  by  a 
numerous  and  brilliant  party.  Elegant  decorations, 
placed  in  the  house  and  gardens,  exhibited  every 
where  the  union  of  France  and  America.  Toasts 
were  given  in  honour  of  the  occasion.  The  first 
consul  proposed  this:  "  To  the  manes  of  the  French 
and  Americans,  who  died  on  the  field  of  battle  for 
the  independence  of  the  new  world." 

Lebrun  proposed:  "To  the  union  of  America 
with  the  powers  of  the  north  to  enforce  the  liberty 
of  the  seas." 

Finally,  Cambac^res  proposed  the  third  :  "  To 
the  successor  of  Washington." 

The  French  government  waited  with  impatience 
for  the  arrival  of  M.  Cobentzcl  at  Luneville,  to  dis- 
cover if  his  court  was  disposed  to  conclude  a  peace. 
The  first  consul,  if  he  were  not  satisfied  with  the 
march  of  the  negotiations,  was  determined  to  re- 
sume hostilities,  although  the  season  was  ever  so 
far  advanced.  Since  he  had  passed  the  St.  Bernard, 
he  made  no  account  of  obstacles,  and  imagined  that 


men  could  fight  just  as  well  upon  snow  and  ice, 
as  when  the  ground  was  covered  with  verdure  or 
harvests.  Austria,  on  the  other  hand,  wished  to 
gain  time,  because  she  had  engaged  with  England 
not  to  make  a  separate  peace  before  the  coming 
month  of  February,!  801,  or  Pluviose,  in  the  year  ix. 
Fearing  greatly  the  resumption  of  hostilities,  she 
applied  for  a  third  prolongation  of  the  armistice. 
The  first  consul  had  refused  it  peremptorily,  from 
the  motive  that  M.  Cobentzel  had  not  yet  arrived 
at  Lune'ville.  He  was  i-esolved  not  to  yield  the 
point  until  the  Austrian  plenipotentiary  should 
reach  the  place  fixed  upon  for  the  negotiation.  At 
last,  M.  Cobentzel  arrived  at  Luneville  on  the  24ili 
of  October,  18('0.  He  was  received  on  the  fron- 
tier and  along  the  whole  way  by  the  sound  of  can- 
non, and  with  great  testimonies  of  consideration. 
General  Clarke  had  been  nominated  to  the  gover- 
norship of  Lune'ville,  in  order  to  do  the  honours 
of  the  city  to  the  members  of  the  congress,  and 
that  he  might  acquit  himself  of  the  duty  in  a  con- 
venient manner,  funds  were  placed  at  his  disposal 
as  well  as  some  prime  regiments.  Joseph  Bona- 
parte, on  his  own  side,  had  repaired  there,  accom- 
panied by  M.  Laforet  as  bis  secretary.  M.  Cobent- 
zel had  scarcely  arrived  before  the  first  consul, 
wishing  to  be  convinced  of  the  disposition  of  the 
Austrian  negotiator,  addressed  to  him  an  invita- 
tion to  come  to  Paris'.  M.  Cobentzel  dared  not 
refuse,  and  ])roceeded  with  great  deference  to  that 
city.  He  arrived  there  on  the  29th  of  October.  A 
new  extension  of  the  armistice  was  then  granted 
him  fi>r  twenty  days.  The  first  consul  conversed 
with  him  respecting  the  peace  and  the  conditions 
upon  which  it  might  be  concluded.  M.  Cobentzel's 
answers  were  not  very  satisfactory  on  the  matter 
of  a  separate  negotiation,  and  in  regard  to  the  con- 
ditions, he  put  forward  pretensions  that  could  not 
be  tolerated.  Austria  had,  in  regard  to  Italy,  ob- 
jects that  it  was  not  possible  to  satisfy  ;  she  was  in 
the  expectation  that  if  the  indemnities  promised 
her  in  Italy,  by  the  treaty  of  Campo  Formio,  were 
to  be  given  in  Germany,  she  should  i-eceive  very 
large  grants  of  territory,  either  in  Swabia,  Bavaria, 
or  the  Palatinate.  The  first  consul  gave  way  to 
some  exhibitions  of  tempei-.  This  he  had  before 
done  with  M.  Cobentzel,  at  the  treaty  of  Campo 
Formio  ;  but  advancing  age,  and  more  power  than 
formerly,  made  him  restrain  himself  less.  M.  Co- 
bentzel complained  in  the  bitterest  manner,  saying 
that  he  had  never  been  so  treated,  neither  by 
Catherine,  Frederick,  nor  by  the  emperor  Paul 
himself.  He  demanded  leave  in  consequence  to  re- 
turn to  Luneville  ;  and  the  first  consul  suffered 
him  to  go,  thinking  it  would  be  better  to  negotiate 
with  him  foot  by  foot,  through  the  medium  of  his 
brother  Josci)h.  The  last,  mild,  calm,  and  suffi- 
ciently intelligent,  was  a  better  person  than  his 
brother  for  an  operation  requiring  so  much  for- 
bearance. 

M.  Cobentzel  and  Joseph  Bonaparte  having  met 
together  at  Luneville,  exchanged  their  full  powers 
on  the  9th  of  November,  or  18th  of  Brumaire. 
Joseph  had  orders  to  address  to  him  the  three  fol- 
lowing questions.    Had  he  authority  to  treat  ?  Was 

>  Napoleon  said  at  St.  Helena,  that  M.  Cobentzel  wished 
to  come  to  Paris  lo  gain  time.  This  was  an  error  of  memory. 
The  diplomatic  correspondence  proves  the  contrary. 


1800.  The  French  and  Austrian  armies 

Nov.  set  in  motion. 


HOHENLINDEN. 


Terms  of  ppace  demanded  by  the 
fir&t  consul. 


173 


lie  authorized  to  treat  separately  from  England  ? 
Was  he  to  treat  for  the  emperor  in  the  name  of 
Austria  alone,  or  in  the  name  of  the  whole  Ger- 
manic empire  ? 

The  powers  being  exchanged  and  recognized  to 
be  valid,  for  which  object  they  were  scrutinized 
very  minutely,  on  account  of  the  misadventure  of 
M.  St.  Julien,  they  discussed  the  extent  of  their 
mutual  powers.  M.  Cohentzel  did  not  hesitate  to 
declai-e  that  he  was  unaljle  to  treat  without  the 
presence  of  an  English  plenipotentiary.  As  to  the 
question  if  he  would  treat  fur  the  house  of  Austria 
alone,  or  for  the  whole  empire,  ho  said  that  he- 
must  refer  to  Vienna  fur  new  instructions. 

These  re])lies  were  sent  to  Paris.  Immediately 
afterwards  the  first  consul  announced  to  M.  Co- 
bentzel,  that  hostilities  should  be  renewed  as  soon 
as  the  armistice  was  concluded,  or  in  the  last  days 
of  November  ;  that  the  congress  need  not  break 
up;  that  while  hostilities  were  going  forward,  they 
might  negotiate;  but  that  the  French  armies  would 
not  halt  until  the  Austrian  plenipotentiary  had  cou- 
8ent(!(l  to  treat  without  England. 

While  these  proceedings  were  in  hand,  the  first 
consul  had  taken,  in  respect  to  Tuscany,  a  precau- 
tion become  indispensable.  The  Austrian  general 
SonmiaRiva  had  remained  there  witha  few  hundred 
men,  conformably  to  the  convention  of  Alexandria, 
but  he  continued  to  raise  levies  en  tnasse,  with  the 
money  of  England.  At  the  very  moment  a  disem- 
barkation at  Leghorn  was  announced  of  those  same 
English  troops,  that  for  a  long  while  had  been  on 
their  way  from  Mahon  to  Ferrol,  and  from  Ferrol 
to  Cadiz.  The  Neapolitans  on  their  side  were 
marching  upon  Rome,  and  the  Austrians  spreading 
themselves  over  the  Legations  beyond  the  limits 
marked  by  the  armistice,  were  endeavouring  to  aid 
the  Tuscan  insurrection.  The  first  consul,  seeing 
that  the  object  of  the  Austrians  was  to  gain  time, 
and  that  they  were  preparing  to  place  the  French 
between  two  fires,  ordered  Diipont  to  march  upon 
Tuscany,  and  Murat,  who  conmianded  the  camp  at 
Amiens,  to  go  immediately  to  Italy.  He  had  several 
times  informed  the  Austrians  of  what  lie  intended 
to  do  if  they  did  not  suspend  the  movements  of  the 
troops  begun  in  Tuscany  ;  and  seeing  that  they  did 
not  regard  his  notice,  he  gave  orders  accordingly. 
General  Dnpont,  wiih  the  brigades  of  Pino,  Mat- 
her, and  Carra  St.  Cyr,  crossed  the  Apennines 
rapidly,  and  occujjied  Florence,  while  general  Cle- 
ment marched  from  Lucca  to  Leghorn.  No  re- 
sistance was  experienced  there.  Still  the  insur- 
genU  resisted  in  the  city  of  Arezzo,  which  had 
already  shown  itsel.  hostile  to  the  French  during 
the  retreat  of  Macdonald  in  170!).  Tiicy  were 
obliged  to  take  it  by  assault,  and  to  ])tmisli  it, 
thouL'h  much  less  severely  than  it  merited  from  its 
conduct  towards  the  French,  soldiers.  Tuscany  was 
from  that  time  wholly  submissive.  The  Neai)olitans 
were  stopped  in  their  march,  and  the  English 
driven  from  the  soil  of  Italy,  at  the  moment  when 
they  were  about  to  enter  Leghorn.  Tsvo  days 
afterwards  tii<y  landed  twelve  thousand  men. 

All  the  armies  were  every  where  in  motion, 
from  the  banks  of  the  Mayn  to  the  shores  of  the 
Adriatic,  from  Frankfort  to  Bologna.  Notice  of 
the  commencement  of  hostilities  had  been  given. 
Austria,  in  apprehension,  made  a  final  attempt 
through  the  mediation  of  M.  Cohentzel,  an  attempt 


which  showed  her  good-will  to  terminate  matters, 
and  as  well  her  unfortunate  embarrassment  with 
England.  M.  Cobentzel,  addressing  himself  to 
Jose|di  Bonaparte,  and  putting  on  a  tone  of  confi- 
dence, demanded  from  him  several  times  whether 
he  might  calculate  upon  the  discretion  of  the 
French  government.  Assured  that  he  might  by 
Joseph,  he  showed  him  a  letter  from  the  emperor, 
in  which  that  personage  testified  the  same  in- 
quietude that  he,  M.  Cobentzel,  felt  himself,  relative 
to  the  danger  of  an  indiscretion;  but  relying  upon 
his  knowledge  of  men  and  things,  he  authorized 
him  to  make  the  following  proposal.  Austria  at  last 
consents  to  separate  herself  from  England,  and  to 
treat  separately  upon  two  conditions,  on  which  she 
must  in  the  most  absolute  manner  insist : 'first, 
inviolable  secrecy  to  be  preserved,  until  the  1st  of 
February,  1801,  the  time  that  her  engagements 
terminated  with  England,  with  a  formal  promise,  if 
the  negotiation  did  not  succeed,  to  return  all  the 
documents  both  on  one  side  and  the  other.  Se- 
condly, the  admission  of  an  English  ]>ienipotentiary 
at  Luiidville,  to  cover  by  his  jiresence  the  real  nego- 
tiation. Upon  these  two  conditions  Austria  con- 
sented to  treat  immediately,  and  desired  a  fresh 
prolongation  of  the  armistice. 

The  jjroximity  of  Paris  allowed  an  immediate 
reply.  The  first  consul  would  not  admit,  at  any 
price,  an  English  negotiator  at  L'.".;i^vilie.  He 
would  consent  again  to  suspend  hostilities  on  con- 
dition of  a  treaty  of  peace  signed  secretly,  if  that 
Would  be  convenient  to  Austria  ;  but  it  must  be 
signed  in  forty-eight  hours.  The  conditions  of 
su(  h  a  peace  were  already  nearly  settled  by  the 
discussion  on  the  preliminaries.  They  were  these: 
The  Rhine  for  the  frontier  of  the  French  republic 
towai'ds  Germany  ;  the  Miucio  for  tiie  Austrian 
frontier  in  Italy,  in  place  of  the  Adige,  which  it 
had  in  17!»7,  but  with  that  the  cession  of  jNIantuato 
the  Cisalpine  ;  the  Milanese,  Valteline,  Parma, 
and  Modena  to  the  Cisalpine  ;  Tuscany  to  the  duke 
of  Parma  ;  the  Legations  to  Tuscany  ;  finally,  as 
general  conditions,  the  independence  of  Piedmont, 
of  Switzerland,  and  of  Genoa.  Such  were  the 
ground  of  the  St.  Julien  preliminaries,  with  the 
dift'erence  of  the  abandonment  of  Mantua  to  the 
Cisalpine,  to  punish  Austria  for  her  refusal  of  the 
ralilication.  But  the  first  consul  demanded  that 
the  treaty  should  be  signed  in  forty-eight  hours, 
otherwise  he  proclaimed  war  to  the  last  extremity. 
In  case  of  accei)tance,  he  bomid  himself  to  secresy 
until  the  1st  of  February,  and  to  a  new  suspension 
of  hostilities. 

Austria  was  not  inclined  to  proceed  too  quickly, 
nor  to  agree  to  so  many  sacrifices  in  Italy.  She 
deceived  herself  regarding  the  conditions  she  might 
1)0  able  to  obtain,  and  reject(^d  the  ])roposals  of 
France.  Hostilities  were  the  immediate  result. 
M.  Cobentzel  and  Josei)h  Bonaparte  remtiined  at 
Lundville,  waiting  to  makt;  new  coniniunications, 
according  to  the  events  which  might  liapix'U  on 
the  Danube,  the  Inn,  the  Higher  Alps,  or  the 
Adige. 

The  I'esnmption  of  hostilities  had  been  an- 
noimced  for  the  28111  of  November,  or  7lh  Fri- 
maire,  year  ix.  All  was  ready  for  this  winter 
campaign,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  and  decisive 
in  the  annals  of  Fraiicr. 

The  first  consul  had  disj)layeil  five  armies  upon 


174'^forceT.''"''""^""'^''"'^    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Disposition  of  the  French     1800. 


the  vast  theatre  of  war.  His  intention  was  to 
direct  them  from  Paris,  without  jnitting  himself  at 
their  head.  He  had  still  not  renounced  the  idea 
of  proceeding  to  Germany  or  It:ily,  and  taking  the 
command  of  one  of  them  upon  any  unforeseen 
reverse  occui-riug,  or  should  any  other  cause  ren- 
der his  i)resence  necessary.  His  equipages  were 
at  Dijon,  ready  to  take  him  to  any  point  where  it 
might  be  necessary  to  transport  himself. 

The  five  armies  were  those  of  Augereau  on  the 
Main,  of  Moreau  on  the  Inn,  of  Macdonald  in  the 
Orisons,  of  Bruno  on  the  ISlincio,  and  of  Murat 
mart-hing  towards  Italy  witli  the  grenadiers  of 
Amiens.  Auginan  had  under  his  command  eight 
thousand  Hollanders  and  twelve  thousand  French, 
in  ail  twenty  thousand  men.  Moreau  one  hundred 
and  thirty  tliousand,  of  whom  one  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  belonged  to  the  active  army.  The 
army  of  the  last  hud  been  raised  to  this  consider- 
able strength  by  recruiting,  by  the  return  of  sick 
and  wounded,  and  by  the  union  of  the  corps  of 
St.  Suzanne  The  surrender  of  Pliilipsburg,  Ulm, 
and  Ingoldstadt,  had  besides  permitted  Moreau 
to  concentrate  all  his  forces  between  the  Isar  and 
tlie  Inn.  Macdonald  had  at  his  disposal  fifteen 
thousand  men  in  tiie  Grisons.  Brune  in  Italy  was 
at  the  head  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thou- 
sand soldiers,  eighty  thousand  of  whom  wei'e  on 
the  Mincio,  twelve  thousand  in  Lombardy,  Pied- 
mont, and  Lignria,  eight  thousand  in  Tuscany,  and 
twenty-five  thousand  in  the  hospitals.  Murat's 
corps  was  comiHised  of  ten  thousand  grenadiers. 
If  to  this  number  be  added  forty  thousand  men  in 
Egypt  and  the  colonies,  and  sixty  thousand  in  the 
interior  and  on  the  coasts,  it  will  appear  that  during 
the  administration  of  the  first  consul,  the  republic 
had  nearly  four  hundred  thousand  men  underarms. 
The  three  hundred  thousand  placed  in  the  theatre 
of  war,  of  which  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
were  effective,  and  capable  of  immediate  action, 
were  provided  with  every  thing,  owing  to  the 
unit  d  resources  of  the  ti'easury  and  contributions 
in  the  concjuered  countries.  The  cavalry  was  well 
mounted,  more  especially  that  in  Germany.  The 
artillery  was  numerous,  and  perfectly  well  served. 
Moreau  had  two  Inindred  pieces  <if  cannon,  and 
Brune  one  hundred  and  eighty.  The  French  were, 
therefore,  better  prepared  than  in  the  spring,  and 
the  armies  had,  in  themselves,  a  confidence  beyond 
bounds. 

Enlightened  but  severe  judges  have  anked  why 
the  first  consul,  in  place  of  dividing  into  five  corps 
the  whole  of  his  active  force,  had  not,  following 
his  owi.  jirinciples,  formed  two  grand  masses,  one 
of  one  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  men,  under 
Moreau,  marching  on  Vicuna,  through  Bavaria; 
the  other  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  men, 
under  Brune,  ])assing  (he  Mincio,  the  Adige,  the 
Alps,  and  threatening  Vienna  and  Friuli  This 
was,  in  fact,  the  plan  which  he  ado])ted  in  1805  ; 
but  an  examination  of  facts  will  show  how  well  and 
profoundly  he  was  acquainted  with  men  and  things, 
and  how  he  was  alile  to  vary,  according  to  circum- 
stances, the  great  principles  of  war. 

The  two  princijial  armies,  those  of  Moreau  and 
Brune,  were  placed  on  tlie  two  sides  of  the  Al|)s, 
and  nearly  at  the  .same  height,  the  first  along  the 
Inn,  the  second  along  the  Mincio.  Moreau  hail  to 
force  the  line  of  the  Inn:  Brune  that  of  the  Min- 


cio. Those  two  armies  were,  at  least,  equal  in 
numerical,  and  greatly  superior  in  moral  force, 
to  those  that  were  opposed  to  them.  Between  the 
two  arose  the  chain  of  the  Alps,  forming  in  this 
part  what  is  called  the  Tyrol.  The  Austrians  had 
the  corps  of  general  lller  in  the  German  Tyrol, 
and  that  of  general  Davidovich  in  the  Italian 
Tyrol.  General  Macdonald,  with  the  fifteen  thou- 
sand men  placed  under  his  command,  styled  "  the 
second  army  of  reserve,"  was  to  occupy  the  atten- 
tion of  these  two  corps  entirely,  by  keeping  them 
uncertain  where  he  would  make  an  attack  ;  since, 
placed  in  the  Grisons,  he  was  at  liberty  to  throw 
liimself  directly  into  the  German  Tyrol,  or  by  the 
SplUgen  into  the  Italian.  The  title  which  his 
army  bore,  and  the  doubts  circulated  regarding 
its  strength,  gave  out  the  belief  of  some  extra- 
orilinary  blow  being  about  to  be  struck,  and  it 
was  ready  to  ])roHi  liy  the  prestige  which  the  army 
of  St.  Bernard  had  produced.  Too  little  credit 
had  been  given  to  the  existence  of  the  first 
army  of  reserve,  and  ]>eople  were  ready  to  give 
too  much  to  the  second.  Moreau  and  Bru)ie, 
having  no  more  anxiety  on  the  side  of  the  Alps, 
were  thus  able,  'without  being  in  apprehension 
about  their  flanks,  to  push  forward  with  all  their 
forces. 

The  little  army  of  Augereau  was  destined  to 
watch  over  the  levies  en  masse  in  Franconia  and 
Suabia,  supported  liy  the  Austrian  corps  of  Simb- 
schen.  It  thus  covered  the  left  and  rear  of 
Moreau.  Finally,  Murat,  with  ten  thousand  gre- 
nadiers and  a  powerful  artillery,  performed  for 
Brune  what  Augereau  did  for  Moreau.  He 
covered  the  right  and  rear  of  Brune  against  the 
insurgents  of  central  Italy,  the  Neapolitans,  English, 
and  others. 

These  prudent  precautions  are  such  as  it  is 
proper  to  take  when  confined  within  the  conditions 
of  ordinary  warfare.  But  the  first  consul  was 
necessarily  confined  within  them,  when  he  had 
to  carry  out  his  designs  two  such  generals  as 
Moreau  and  Brune.  Moreau,  the  best  of  the  two, 
and  one  of  the  best  in  Eurojic,  still  was  not  the 
man  to  do  what  the  first  consul  did  himself  in 
1805>  after  he  became  emi)eror,  when  he  collected 
a  considerable  force  on  the  Diinube,  and  leaving 
a  smaller  force  in  Italy,  marched  thundering  on 
upon  Vienna,  not  disturinng  himself  about  his 
flanks  or  his  rear,  and  placing  his  security  in  the 
crushing  vigour  of  iiis  blows.  But  Moi-eau  and 
Brune  were  not  men  to  comport  themselves  in 
this  manner.  It  was  necessary  that  in  directing 
them  he  shouM  keep  within  the  limits  of  metho- 
dical warfare  ;  it  was  necessary  to  guard  their 
flanks  and  rear,  to  secure  them  against  what 
might  occur  around  them  ;  for  neither  the  one 
nor  the  other  were  equal  to  the  control  of  acci- 
dents by  the  grandeur  and  vigour  of  their  resolu- 
tions. It  was  for  this  that  Macdonald  was  jilaced 
in  the  Tyrol,  Augereau  in  Franconia,  and  Murat 
in  central  Italy. 

These  dispositions  did  not  admit  of  being 
changed,  imless  the  internal  affairs  of  France  had 
permitted  the  first  consul  to  make  war  in  person; 
but  all  the  world  agreed  that  at  such  a  moment 
he-  ought  not  to  quit  the  centre  of  his  govermnent. 
{  His  absence  during  the  shoi-t  campaign  of  Ma- 
j  rengo  had  produced  inconveniences  great  enough 


1800.         Dispo!<ition  of  the  Austrian  army. 
Nov.  Ciiraiueiiceraent  of  hosiiiities  in 


HOIIENLINDEN. 


Germany. — Theatre  of  the  war 
described. 


to  prevent  his  exposing  himself  to  them  again 
without  an  absolute  necessity. 

The  dispositions  of  the  Austrian  army  were,  in 
every  way,  inferior  to  those  of  the  Frencli.  Their 
armies,  nearly  equal  in  numbers  to  the  Frinch,  were 
in  no  way  equal  to  them  in  other  i-especis.  They 
were  not  yet  recovered  from  their  recent  defeats. 
The  archduke  John  commanded  in  Germany  ; 
marshal  Bellegarde  in  Italy.  The  corps  of  Simb- 
schen,  destined  to  form  the  nucleus  of  the  army 
of  the  levies  of  Snal.ia  and  of  Franconia,  was  .'iiip- 
ported  on  general  Khnau.  The  last  commandod 
an  intermediate  corps,  placed  on  both  sides  the 
Danube,  connecting  itself,  on  the  right,  with  the 
corps  of  Simbschen,  and  on  the  left,  with  the  prin- 
cipal army  of  the  archduke.  Generals  Simbschen 
and  Klenau  had  between  them  twenty-four  thou- 
sand men,  exclusively  of  the  partizan  troops  raised 
in  Geruumy.  General  Klenau  was  destined  to 
follow  the  movements  of  general  St.  Suzanne;  to 
approach  the  archduke  if  St.  Suzanne  approached 
JIoreau,or  to  join  Simbschen's  corps  if  St.  Suzannj 
should  join  the  little  army  of  Augereau. 

The  archduke  John  had  eighty  thousand  men 
under  his  command,  of  wiiich  force  sixty  thousand 
Austrians  were  in  advance  of  the  Inn  and  twenty 
thousand  Wurtembergers,  or  Bavarians,  behind 
the  entrenchments  on  that  river.  General  Uler 
commanded  twenty  thousand  men  in  the  Tyrol,  in- 
dependently of  ten  thousand  Tyroleans.  Marshal 
Bellegarde,  in  Italy,  was  at  the  head  of  eighty  thou- 
sand men,wellstationedbi  hind  the  .Mincio.  Lastly, 
ten  thousand  Austrians,  detached  towards  Ancona 
and  Romagna,  were  ready  to  second  the  Neapoli- 
tans or  English,  in  case  the  last  should  make  an 
attempt  on  central  or  southern  Italy.  Here,  then, 
Wiis  a  force  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-four  thou- 
sand men,  that,  with  the  Mayenfaif,  the  Tyroleans, 
the  Neapolitans,  the  Tuscans,  and  the  English, 
amounted  to  about  three  hundre  I  thousand  men. 
The  first  consul,  in  disarming  the  Tuscans,  closing 
Leghorn  against  the  English,  and  restraining  the 
Neapolitans,  had  taken  a  useful  precaution,  very 
well  adapted  to  hinder  the  augrnentiitiou  of  the 
enemy's  means  of  offence. 

Under  a  kind  of  common  resolution,  the  two  bel- 
ligerents seemed  disposed  to  settle  their  quarrel  in 
Girmany,  between  the  lini  and  the  Isar.  The 
operations  commenced  on  the  28th  of  November, 
or  7'h  Frimaire,  in  very  severe  weathei',  which 
produced  a  coM  rain  in  Suabia,  and  an  intense  fro.st 
in  the  Alps.  VVhilo  Augereau, advancing  by  Frank- 
fort, Aschatfeniberg,  Wurtzbtirg,  and  Nuremberg, 
fou;;ht  a  brilliant  action  at  Burg-Eberach,  sepa- 
rated the  Mayciiee  levies  of  the  cor|)s  of  Simbschen, 
and  neutralized  the  last  for  the  remainder  of  the 
cam|)aign  ;  while  Macdonald,  after  having  for  a 
long  time  occupied  the  Austrians  towards  the 
sources  of  the  Inn,  wa.s  getting  ready,  despite-  the 
8^-verity  of  the  season,  to  cross  the  great  Alpine 
chain,  in  order  to  throw  himself  upon  the  Italian 
Tyrol,  for  the  pur[)oHo  of  facilitating  the  attack  of 
lirune  upon  the  line  of  ihe  Mincio;  Moreau,  with 
the  principal  part,  of  his  forces,  advanced  between 
the  Isar  and  tin-  Inn,  over  a  field  of  battle  which 
he  had  long  siuditd,  necking  a  decisive  engagement 
with  the  grand  army  of  the  Austrians. 

It  is  iiecesHary  clearly  to  understand  the  nature 
of  the  country  over  which  the  French  and   Aus- 


trians went  to  the  encounter,  in  one  of  the  most 
imporUtnt  battles  during  our  long  wars.  We  have 
•^Isewhere  described  the  basin  of  the  Daimbc,  com- 
posed of  that  great  river  and  a  number  of  tributa- 
ries, which  descend  rapidly  from  the  Alps,  and  in 
succession  go  to  increase  the  body  of  its  stream. 
These  tributaries,  we  have  before  said,  are  the 
lines  which  an  Austrian  army  should  defend  to 
cover  Vienna,  and  which  must  be  forced  by  a 
French  army  that  seeks  to  march  upon  that  capital. 
Moreau,  as  will  be  remembered,  in  the  summer 
campaign,  after  having  penetrated  from  the  valley 
of  the  Rhine  into  that  of  the  Danube,  and  having 
passed  the  Iller,  Lech,  and  Isar,  had  halted  be- 
tween the  Isar  and  the  Iim.  He  was  master  of 
the  cour.se  of  the  Isar,  of  which  he  occupied  all  the 
principal  points.  Munich  first,  then  Freising, 
Moosburg,  Landshut,  and  other  places.  He  had 
advanced  beyond  that  river,  and  was  in  face  of  the 
Inn,  occupied  in  force  by  the  Austrians. 

The  Isar  and  the  Inn  both  flow  from  the  Alps, 
rmming  together  into  the  Danube,  and  are  sepa- 
rated by  a  distance,  almost  continually  the  same,  of 
ten  or  twelve  leagues.  At  first  they  direct  them- 
selves nearly  north,  the  Isar  as  far  as  Munich,  the 
Inn  to  Wassei'hurg  ;  then  both  rivers  fall  off  to  the 
east,  until  they  flow  into  the  Danube,  the  Isar  at 
Deggendorf,  the  Inn  at  Passau.  The  French  were 
masters  of  the  Isar  ;  it  was  necessary  they  should 
force  the  Inn.  This  river,  broad,  deep,  defended 
at  its  outbreak  from  the  mountains  by  the  fort  of 
Kufstein,  and  in  the  lower  part  of  its  course  by  the 
fortress  of  Braunau,  covered  between  these  two 
])oints  with  a  great  number  of  entrenchments — this 
river  was  a  difficult  obstacle  to  pass  over.  To 
force  the  Isar  in  the  upper  jiart  of  its  course,  be- 
tween Kufstein,  Rosenheim,  and  Wasserburg,  local 
difficulties  presented  themselves  nearly  insurmount- 
able ;  and  besides  these,  the  army  of  the  Tyi'ol 
would  be  upon  the  right  flank.  If  Moreau  at- 
tempted to  force  the  Isar  in  the  lower  part  of  its 
course,  between  Braunau  and  Passau,  near  where  it 
falls  into  the  Danube,  he  would  be  exposed,  during 
a  long  march  upon  the  left,  in  a  difficult  country, 
woody,  marshy,  and  his  flank  bare  to  the  Austrian 
army,  which  by  Miihldorf  and  Braunau,  had  the 
means  of  throwing  itself  upon  his  right  wing. 
These  inconveniences  were  thought  to  he  of  a  very 
serious  nature.  If  the  Austrians,  taking  care  to 
guard  themselves,  and  to  watch  with  vigilance  all 
the  passages  of  the  Iim,  kejit  upon  the  defensive, 
Moreau  would  encounter  obstacles  well  nigh  in- 
surmountable. Such  was  not  their  scheme  :  the 
Austrian  staff  resolved  upon  as.suniing  the  offen- 
sive. The  young  arehduke  John,  his  head  full  of 
new  theories  invented  by  the  Germans,  and  eager 
to  emulate  some  of  the  great  movements  of  Bona- 
parte, conceived  a  very  extensive  plan,  not  on  the 
whole  a  bad  conception,  according  to  good  judges  ; 
but  it  was  unluckily  vain,  because  it  was  not 
founded  upon  a  correct  view  of  existing  circum- 
stances. As  well  as  can  be  ascertained,  this  plan 
was  as  follows. 

Moreau  occupied  the  ground  which  separated 
the  Isar  from  the  Inn.  Between  Munich  and 
Wa.sserburg  the  land  forms  an  elevated  level, 
covered  with  a  ihiik  forest,  subsiding  as  it  ap- 
l)roache8  the  Daindu'.  As  it  thus  subsides  it  is 
broken    into   numerous   ravines,  some   parts   still 


The  archduke  assumes  the 
17c      offensive.— His   plan  to 
turn  Moreau's  rear. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Motions  of  the  two 


continuing  to  be  covered  witli  wood,  other  parts 
marshy,  and  everywhere  presenting  great  difficul- 
ties of  access.  Moreau  was  in  possession  of  this 
level,  of  the  forest,  and  the  roads  tliat  passed  over 
it.  From  Munich,  wliere  his  head-quarters  were 
situated,  two  roads  lead  to  tiie  Inn,  one  going 
directly  by  Ebersberg  on  Wasserburg,  the  other 
leading  obliquely  to  the  left,  passing  by  Hohenlin- 
den,  Haag,  Ain'])fing,  and  Mlihldorf.  Both  one 
and  the  other  cross  the  sombre  forest  of  pines 
which  covers  that  elevated  region.  It  was  in  this 
formidable  retreat,  formed  by  a  mountainous  and 
wooded  country,  to  be  approached  only  by  two 
roads  of  which  Moreau  lield  possession,  that  the 
archduke  must  seek  him  in  order  to  give  battle. 
The  other  roads  consisted  only  of  strai},'lit,  narrow 
ways,  principally. used  for  the  conveyance  of  wood, 
and  wholly  impracticable  for  the  heavy  trains  that 
accompany  an  army. 

The  young  archduke  projected  a  grand  man- 
anivre.  He  had  no  idea  of  attacking  the  front 
of  Moreau's  position,  but  of  turning  it  by  the  bridge 
of  Miihldorf,  New-CEtting,  and  Braunau.  Leaving 
twenty  thousand  men,  Bavarians,  Wurtembergers, 
and  the  emigrants  of  Cond^  to  guard  the  Inn,  he 
proposed  to  himself  to  assume  the  defensive  with 
sixty  thousand  Austrians,  and  to  march  upon  the 
left  of  Moreau,  tlimugh  that  woody,  marsliy  dis- 
trict which  extends  between  the  Inn  and  Isar  near 
to  the  points  where  they  unite  with  the  Danube. 
If  the  archduke  rapidly  passed  over  tliis  difficult 
country  by  Eggenfelden,  Neumarkt,  Vilsbibnrg, 
and  arrived  in  time  at  Landshut  upon  the  Isar,  he 
would  be  able  to  ascend  the  Isar  in  the  French 
rear,  as  far  as  Freising,  pass  over  the  Isar  there, 
and  take  uj)  his  ground  uptm  a  chain  of  heights 
which  commencing  at  Dachau  overlook  the  plains 
of  Municli.  Placed  there  he  would  dangerously 
threaten  the  line  of  Moreau's  retreat,  and  oblige 
hiu'i  to  evacuate  the  country  between  the  Inn  and 
the  Isar,  and  to  traverse  IMnnich  in  great  haste,  in 
order  to  take  np  a  retrograde  i)osition  upon  the 
Lech.  But  to  ensure  him  the  success  of  this  man- 
oeuvre he  must  have  accurately  calculated  the 
means  of  execution  ;  and  after  having  engaged  in 
the  operation,  great  firmness  was  requisite  to  en- 
counter the  chances  of  danger,  for  it  was  necessary 
to  cross  a  country  almost  impracticable,  in  a  dread- 
ful season,  the  whole  time  u])on  the  skirts  of  tlie 
enemy,  who  was  not  prompt  and  daring  it  is  true, 
but  intelligent,  firm,  and  not  easily  disconcerted. 
Tlie  armies  of  the  two  nations  were  in  movement 
on  the  2f!;h  or  27th  of  November,  or  the  5th  and 
fjfli  of  Frimaire,  to  commence  hostilities  on  the 
28th  or  7th  of  Frimaire.  'J'lie  Austrian  genei-al 
Klenau,  stationed  upon  the  Danube  to  support 
Simbschen  against  the  little  army  of  Augenau, 
liad  attracted  the  attention  of  general  St.  Suzanne, 
commanding  the  4th  cor|)s  of  Moreau.  Drawn 
both  one  and  the  other  far  from  the  principal 
theatre  of  events,  they  were  upon  the  Danube, 
genei-al  St.  Suzanne  towanls  Ingoldstadt,  and  ge- 
neral Klenau  towards  Ratisbon. 

Moreau  had  moved  his  left  wing,  twenty-six 
thousan<l  strong,  and  placed  it  under  the  orders  of 
general  Grenier  on  the  great  road  from  Munich  to 
Miihldorf  by  Holienlinden,  Haag,  and  Amiifing; 
thus  it  occupied  the  slo|)es  of  that  species  of  lofty 
level  which  extends  between  the  two  rivers.     His 


centre,  which  Moreau  commamled  in  person,  and 
which  amounted  to  about  thirty-four  thousand 
men  ',  occupied  the  direct  road  from  Munich  to 
Wasserburg  by  Ebersberg.  The  right  wing 
under  Lecourbe  consisting  of  about  twenty-six 
thousand  men,  was  placed  along  the  u|)per  Inn, 
in  the  viciin"ty  of  Rosenheim,  observing  tlie  Tyrol 
with  one  division.  Moreau  had  only  at  hand 
therefore  his  left  and  centre,  or  about  sixty  thou- 
sand men.  He  had  set  his  army  in  movement  to 
make  a  strong  reconnoissance  from  Rosenheim  as 
far  as  Miihldorf,  to  force  the  enemy  to  discover  his 
intentions.  Moreau  knew  not,  like  Bona])arte,  how 
to  divine  the  plans  of  his  adversary,  still  less  to 
dictate  them,  as  the  last  did,  by  taking  the  initia- 
tive boldly  himself.  Moreau  was  forced  to  grope 
in  order  to  find  out  that  which  he  could  not  guess 
or  command;  but  he  advanced  prudently,  and  if 
he  was  sur])rised,  quickly  repaired  with  great  cool- 
ness the  mischief  thus  occasioned. 

The  29th  and  30th  of  November,  or  8th  and  9th 
Frimaire,  the  year  IX.,  was  enijiloyed  by  the  French 
army  in  reconnoitring  the  line  of  the  Inn  ;  and  by 
the  Austrian  army  in  ])assing  that  line,  and  tra- 
versing the  low  country  between  the  Inn,  the 
Danube,  and  the  Isar.  Moreau  forced  the  Aus- 
trian advanced  posts  to  fall  back,  moved  his  right 
under  Lecourbe  to  Rosenheim,  his  centre  under 
himself  to  Wasserburg,  and  his  left  under  Grenier 
to  the  heights  of  Ampfing.  From  the  heights  a 
command  is  obtained  of  the  banks  of  the  Inn, 
though  at  a  great  distance.  The  lelt  of  the  French 
army  was  somewhat  coni]iromised,  because  in  fol- 
lowing the  channel  of  the  Inn  as  far  as  Miihldorf 
it  was  no  less  than  fifteen  leagues  from  Munich, 
while  the  rest  of  the  army  was  more  than  ten. 
Moreau  in  consequence  took  care  that  it  should  be 
supported  by  a  division  of  the  centre,  under  the 
command  of  general  Graiidjean.  But  it  was  a 
fault  to  advance  in  this  way  in  three  corps,  so  far 
one  from  another,  in  place  of  maiching  in  a  strong 
body  upon  the  Inn,  presenting  himself  at  a  single 
opening,  and  making  false  demonstrations  at  several 
other  places.  This  errcjr  was  very  near  being  pro- 
ductive of  serious  consequences. 

The  Austrian  army  had  passed  by  Braunau,  Neu- 
CEtting,  Miihldorf,  and  traversed  the  low  country, 
of  which  mention  has  been  already  made.  A  part 
of  the  troops  of  the  archduke,  recently  arrived,  had 
scarcely  had  time  to  rest.  They  were  inarching 
with  labour  in  that  woody  district,  crossed  by  small 
rivers,  such  as  the  Vils,  the  Rott,  and  the  Isen, 
which  descended  from  the  table  land  occupied  by 
the  French  army.  The  narrow  ])aths  which  they 
were  forced  to  take  were  broken  up  ;  the  heavy 
waggons  had  much  difficultv  in  moving.  The 
young  archduke  and  his  advisers,  who  were  not 
prei)ared  for  any  of  these  circumstances,  were 
frightened  at  the  undertaking  now  it  was  com- 
menced. The  French  left  wing,  advanced  nearly 
to  Miilddorf  and  Ampfing,  made  them  fear  being 
cut  ott'  from  the  Inn.  They  designed  to  turn 
Moreau,  and  were  now  in    fear   of   being  turned 


'  The  centre  consisted  of  thirty  tliousaiid  men;  but  the 
Piilisli  (livi^ion  of  Kniacewitz,  wliidi  I. ad  rejdined  general 
Decaen,  and  the  reserve  of  the  artillery,  must  have  inereased 
the  number  to  about  ihiity-four  or  thirty-five  thousand 
men. 


Errors  of  the  archduke  John. 
Combat  at  Ampfing. 


IIOHENL  INDEX. 


Moreau  advances  on  the  fun. 
Position  of  the  French  army. 


177 


themselves.  They  ought  to  have  foreseen  sueli 
a  danger,  and  formed  on  the  Danube,  between 
Ratisbon  and  Passau,  a  new  base  of  operation  in 
ease  of  their  being  separated  from  the  Inn.  But 
they  had  done  notliing.  In  every  liold  operation 
it  is  proi)er  to  provide  for  tlic  ilifticuhies  of  the 
execution.  Then,  the  execution  once  commenced, 
to  persevere  with  firmness  in  the  intention  once 
begun;  since  it  is  rare  that  we  do  not  our.selves 
risk  tlie  very  dangers  which  we  have  prepared  for 
oiir  adversary.  The  Austrian  stafli"  was  afraid, 
from  the  first  setting  out,  of  that  which  it  had 
]ilanned  itself,  and  suddenly  changed  its  design. 
Instead  of  persisting  in  gaining  tlie  Isar  to  ascend 
into  the  French  roar,  it  stopped  short,  determined 
to  fall  upon  the  French  left  and  to  give  battle  at 
once.  This  was  to  face  the  ditticulty  ui  full  force, 
and  without  the  least  diminution;  for  it  was  neces- 
sary, in  ascending  by  the  beds  of  the  rivers,  to  climb 
to  the  elevated  ground  which  the  French  occupied, 
.ind  to  penetrate  into  the  forest,  wliere  (hey  had 
been  for  a  long  time  well  established.  Tiie  Aus- 
trians  might  be  able  at  commencing  to  obtain  an 
advantage  over  the  left  wing  of  the  French,  which 
was  somewhat  endangered;  but  that  success  gained, 
tlie  French  would  be  found  concentrated  in  a  real 
labyrinth,  of  which  they  well  knew  and  commanded 
all  the  outlets. 

On  the  1st  of  December,  or  10th  of  Frimaire,  in 
the  year  ix.,  the  archduke  John  moved  the  larger 
part  of  his  army  upon  the  left  of  the  French  at 
once  by  three  roads  ;  the  valley  of  the  Isen,  the 
h'ghway  fmm  Miilildorf  to  Ampfing,  and  by  the 
lu-idge  of  Krayburg  on  ihe  Inn.  The  valley  of  the 
Isen,  opening  on  the  flanks  of  the  woody  table-land 
already  described,  allowed  the  lengthened  position, 
too  much  lengthened  as  it  was,  to  be  turned.  A 
corps  of  fifteen  thousand  men  ascended  the  eleva- 
tion. Anotiier  corps  marched  right  on  upon  the 
highway  of  Miilildorf,  which,  after  mounting  the 
heights  of  Ampfing,  conducts  through  the  forest  to 
Ilolienlinden  and  Munich.  Lastly,  a  detachment 
crossing  the  Inn  at  Kraiburg,  and  passing  through 
Aschau  took  in  flank  the  left  wing  of  the  French, 
which  liad  unfortunately  advtntured  as  far  as 
Amjifing.  Forty  thousand  men  were  in  a  moment 
about  to  fall  upon  twenty  thousand.  Thus  the  coii- 
ti  St  was  severe  and  difficult  for  the  twenty  thou- 
sand men  thus  situated,  who  were  eonnnaiuled  by 
gineral  Grenier.  Ney,  who  defi  nded  the  heights 
<if  Ampfing,  displayed  on  that  day  the  inconi))a- 
raljle  energy  and  courage  for  which  he  was  so  (lis- 
tiiiguished  in  war.  He  exhibited  the  most  won- 
derful elforts  of  valour,  and  managed  to  effi  ct  his 
retreat  with  no  very  serious  loss.  Being  me- 
naced by  the  troops  r»f  the  ciioniy  that  had  passed 
the  Inn  at  Krayburg,  and  that  had  ])enetiale<l  into 
the  dtfiic  of  Aschau,  he  was  happily  disengaged 
from  his  hazanlous  situation  by  the  division  of 
general  Grandji-an,  that  Moreau,  as  we  have  saiil, 
had  detached  from  his  centre  to  support  his  left, 
'ihe  division  of  Legrand,  which  was  in  the  valley 
of  the  Isen,  ascended  that  valley  in  retrograding 
upon  Dorfen.  Moreau,  seiing  the  superiority  of 
the  Austrians,  had  the  good  feeling  to  rcHtrain  him- 
self, and  elfocted  his  retreat  in  good  onler. 

It  is  clear  from  these  movements  that  Moreau 
had  been  imable  to  peni'tnite  the  design  of  the 
enemy,  and  that  by  advancing  u|ion  all  (he  open- 


ings of  the  Inn  at  once,  in  place  of  making  an 
attack  upcm  a  single  point,  he  had  compromised  his 
left.  The  extraordinary  courage  of  tlie  troops,  the 
activity  of  his  lieutenants,  who  in  execution  were 
accomplished  generals,  had  repaired  every  over- 
sight. 

This  was  only  an  insignificant  commencement. 
Mt)reau  had  abandoned  the  borders  of  his  posilicai, 
and  withdrew  to  the  centre  of  the  extensive  forest 
of  Hohenlinden.  The  Austrians  would  find  it  ne- 
cessary to  force  him  from  this  formidable  retreat. 
His  coolness  and  energy  were  here  about  to  be 
confronted  with  the  archduke's  inexperience,  in- 
fatuated by  a  first  success. 

We  have  already  said  that  two  ronds  traversed 
the  forest,  one  on  the  right,  which  leil  directly  to 
the  Inn  by  Ebersberg  and  Wasstrburg  ;  the  other 
fill  the  left,  which  passed  by  Hohenlinden,  Matten- 
boett,  Haag,  Ampfing,  and  joined  the  Inn  at  Miilil- 
dorf, a  longer  distance  than  the  former.  It  was 
upon  this  last  road  that  the  Austrians  w-ei"e  pro- 
ceeding in  a  body.  Some  were  following  the  defile 
which  it  forms  through  the  forest,  others,  ascend- 
ing with  labour  by  the  beds  of  the  rivulets  which 
gave  access  to  the  flank  of  the  French  position. 
Moreau  at  once  judged  of  the  situation  of  things, 
judged  correctly,  and  became  at  once  possessed 
with  an  idea  productive  of  great  results.  This  was 
to  suffer  the  Austrians  that  were  already  in  con- 
flict willi  his  left,  to  engage  themselves  in  the  forest, 
and  when  they  were  ])retty  far  advanced  into  it,  to 
move  his  centre  from  the  Ebersberg  to  the  Hohen- 
linden road,  surprise  them  in  that  dangerous  posi-| 
tion,  and  beat  them  there.  He  made  all  his  dispo- 
sitions with  that  view. 

The  road  on  the  left,  or  that  of  Hohenlinden, 
adopted  by  the  Austrians,  after  having  quitted  the 
banks  of  the  Inn,  and  mounted  the  heights  of 
Ampfing,  passed  as  far  as  Mattenboctt,  over  hills 
alternately  wooded  or  open,  then  from  Mattenboett 
to  Hohenlinden  through  a  dense  wood,  forming  a 
long  defile,  bordered  by  tall  pines.  At  Hohenlinden 
itself  the  forest  suddenly  disappeared.  A  small 
plain  then  appeared,  without  wood,  covered  with 
scattered  hamlets,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  plain 
were  situated  the  post-house  and  village.  There 
the  Austrian  army  must  pass,  and  not  only  the 
princi])al  column  marching  in  the  defile  of  the 
forest,  but  the  detachments  aseemling  the  river 
Isen,  in  order  to  open  out  by  difi'erent  issues  upon 
the  left  of  the  French  |)osition. 

Moreau  formed,  in  this  little  plain  of  Hohenlin- 
den. his  left  wing  under  Grenier  and  the  division 
of  Grandjean  already  detached  from  the  centre;  in 
fact,  all  his  reserve  of  artillery  and  cavalry. 

To  the  right  of  the  road  alul  villa^,'.-  of  Hohen- 
linden, Moreau  placed  Grandji  aii's  division,  com- 
manded that  <lay  by  general  {Jronch.v  ;  to  the  left 
(he  division  of  Ney  ;  more  still  to  (he  left  on  the 
border  of  the  wood,  at  the  li<;i<l  of  the  i-oad  by 
which  tli(!  Austrian  colunms  would  ascend  from 
the  valley  of  the  Isen,  he  stationed  the  divisions  of 
Legrand  and  Bastoul,  both  one  and  the  other 
drawn  up  in  front  of  the  villages  of  Pi-eisendorf 
ami  Ilarihofeii.  The  n  serves  of  cavalry  and  artil- 
lery were  in  the  rear  of  these  four  divisions  of 
infantry,  formed  in  the  middle  of  the  plain.  The 
centre,  reduced  to  (lie  two  divisions  of  Kichepanse 
and  Decaeii,were  some  leagues  dislant  on  the  right 
N 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIIIE. 


Advance  of  the  Aus- 


180'*. 
Uec 


hand  road  in  tlie  vicinity  of  Ebersberg.  Moreau 
sent  orders  to  those  two  divisions,  rather  vaguely 
expressed,  but  of  tlie  most  positive  cliaracter,  to 
throw  themselves  from  the  right  liand  road  upon 
that  on  the  left,  to  get  upon  the  last  in  the  environs 
of  Mattenboett,  and  there  to  take  the  Austrian  army 
entangled  in  the  forest  by  surprise.  This  order 
was  not  given  with  precision,  clearness,  nor  mi- 
nuteness, as  all  orders  should  be  that  are  well  con- 
ceived and  well  given,  as  those  of  Bonaparte  uni- 
formly were.  It  neither  indicated  the  road  to  be 
followed,  nor  did  it  provide  for  any  possible  con- 
tingencies, but  left  all  to  be  done  by  the  intelligence 
of  generals  Decaen  and  Richepanse.  They  might 
be  entruste<l,  it  is  true,  to  supply  themselves  with 
all  that  the  conim;in<Kr-in-chief  had  omitted.  Mo- 
reau directed  Lecourbe  who  commanded  his  right 
towards  the  Tyrol,  and  St.  Suzanne  who  formed 
his  left  toward  the  Danube,  to  approach  by  forced 
marches  towards  the  spot  where  the  decisive  event 
of  the  campaign  was  al)out  to  hap])en.  But  one 
was  at  least  tifteen  leagues  off,  and  the  other 
twenty-five,  and  both  were  in  consequence  beyond 
reach.  Bonaparte  never  acted  thus  upon  the  eve 
of  his  great  battles;  he  never  left,  at  similar  times, 
half  his  forces  at  such  distances.  But  to  bring  nj) 
at  one  time  on  the  point  whfre  the  destiny  of  the 
war  is  to  be  decided,  every  detachment  composing 
a  numerous  army,  demands  that  superior  foresight 
which  the  greatest  commanders  alone  possess,  and 
destitute  of  which  it  is  very  possible  to  be  an  excel- 
lent general.  Moreau  was  on  the  point  of  fighting 
seventy  thousand  Austrians  with  less  than  sixty 
thousand  French  ;  yet  this  number  was  more  than 
sufficient  witii  the  soldiers  wliich  then  composed 
the  French  army. 

The  archduke  John,  ignorant  of  all  these  things, 
was  intoxicated  with  liis  advantage  gained  on  the 
1st  of  December,  or  10th  Frimaire.  He  was  young, 
and  had  seen  the  redoubtable  army  of  the  Rhine, 
that  for  many  years  the  Austrian  generals  had  not 
possessed  the  skill  to  stop,  fall  back  before  himself. 
He  remained  idle  on  the  2nd  of  Deceml)er,  which 
gave  Moreau  time  to  m;ike  the  dispositions  of  his 
army  which  have  been  just  described.  He  prepared 
every  thing  for  marchin'^  through  the  vast  forest 
of  Hohenlinden  on  the  3rd  of  December,  or  12  h 
Frimaire.  The  archduke,  a  novice  in  his  profession, 
did  not  imagine  that  the  French  army  could  make 
any  resistance  to  him  in  the  route  he  was  about  to 
take.  He  thought  only  that  he  might  fall  in  with 
it  in  advance  of  Munich. 

He  divided  his  army  into  four  corps.  The  prin- 
cipal, that  of  the  centre,  composed  of  the  reserve, 
the  Hungarian  grenadiers,  Bavarians,  the  greater 
part  of  the  cavalry,  the  ba^'gage,  and  a  hundreil 
pieces  of  cannon,  was  to  take  the  hinli  road  from 
MUhldorf  to  Hoheidinden,  clear  the  defile  through 
which  it  p;isses  in  crossing  the  forest,  and  then 
open  upon  the  little  plain  of  Hohenlinden.  General 
Riesch,  who  had  crossed  the  Inn  at  Krayburg,  on 
the  1st  of  December,  with  about  twelve  thousand 
men,  was  to  flank  this  centre,  and  to  come  upon 
the  open  ground  at  Hohenlinden,  on  the  left  of  the 
Austrians  and  right  of  the  French.  At  the  other 
extremity  of  the  field  of  battle,  the  corps  of  Baillet- 
Latour  and  Kicnmnyer,  that  were  in  the  valley  of 
the  Isen.  were  to  coiitiinie  their  ascent,  and  to 
issue  forth  at  some  distance  from  each  other,  the 


first  by  Isen  upon  Kronaker  and  Preisendorf,  the 
second  by  Lendorf  upon  Harthofen,  both  in  the 
unwooded  plain  of  Hohenlinden.  They  were  or- 
dered not  to  lose  time,  but  to  leave  even  their 
artillery  behind,  the  corps  of  the  centre  taking 
with  it  a  large  quantity  by  the  principal  road;  they 
were  to  take  no  more  necessaries  than  were  suffi- 
cient to  make  soup  for  the  soldiers. 

Thus  then  the  fiur  corps  composing  the  Austrian 
army  marched  at  a  <;i-eat  distance  from  one  another, 
in  a  thick  forest :  while  only  one  of  the  four  passed 
over  a  high  paved  road,  the  other  three  went  along 
roads  employed  solely  for  the  carriage  of  timber. 
All  were,  however,  to  meet  together  in  the  cleared 
ground  which  extended  between  Hohenlinden  and 
Harthofen,  subject  to  the  hazard  of  not  arriving 
together,  and  of  meeting  during  the  march  many 
niiToreseen  obstacles.  The  Bavadans  having  re- 
joined the  Austrians,  the  army  of  the  archduke 
numbered  at  the  time  seventy  thousand  men. 

On  the  morning  of  the  3rd  of  December,  the 
French  were  formed  in  order  of  battle  between 
Hohenlinden  and  Harthofen.  Moreau  was  on 
horseback  before  break  of  day  at  the  head  of  his 
staff,  and  at  some  little  distance  Richepanse  and 
Decaen  had  begun  the  movement  which  they  had 
been  commanded  to  execute  between  the  roads  of 
Ebersberg  and  Hohenlinden. 

The  four  Austrian  corps  advanced  simultaneou.sly. 
They  marched  as  fast  as  they  wereal)le,  well  aware 
of  the  value  of  time,  at  a  season  when  there  is  so 
little  daylight  either  to  march  or  to  fight.  A  thick 
snow-shower  fell  and  darkened  the  air,  so  as  to 
render  it  difficult  to  disiinguish  objects  distant  but 
a  short  way  off.  The  archduke  John,  at  the  head 
of  the  centre,  had  got  into  the  defile  of  the  forest 
between  Mattenlioett  and  Hohenlinden,  and  had 
nearly  cleared  it,  long  before  general  Riesch  on  his 
left,  and  generals  Baillet-Latour  and  Kienmayer  on 
his  right,  were  able  to  arrive  at  the  field  of  battle, 
embarrassed  as  they  were  amidst  the  horrible  roads 
they  had  taken.  The  young  archduke  at  last  ap- 
peared on  the  skirt  of  the  wood  in  front  of  Grand- 
jean's  and  Ney's  divisi((ns,  drawn  up  in  order  of 
battle  in  advance  of  the  village  of  Hohenlinden. 
The  108ih  denii-brigade  of  Grandjean's  division 
was  in  line,  having  upon  its  wings  the  46lli  and 
57ih  in  close  coloumns  ;  the  4th  hussars  and  6th 
of  the  line  supported  them  in  the  rear.  On  both 
sides  a  brisk  fire  of  artillery  commenced  the  action. 
The  Austrians  attacked  the  108th,  which  ma<le  a 
determined  resistance.  Eight  battalions  of  Hun- 
garian grenadiers  were  then  ordered  to  file  through 
the  wood  to  turn  the  French  by  the  right.  Upon 
observing  this  movement,  generals  Grouchy  and 
Grandjean  went  with  the  40th  to  the  assistance  of 
the  108  h,  which,  disordered,  had  begun  to  give 
ground.  The  4bth  penetrated  into  the  wood,  and 
a  desperate  combat  ensued  there,  almost  man  to 
man,  among  the  pine  trees,  with  the  Hungarian 
grenadiei's.  A  battalion  of  the  57th,  pushing  into 
the  wood  still  deeper,  turned  the  Hungarians,  and 
(djliged  ihem  to  seek  for  safety  in  the  recesses  of  the 
forest.  Thus  the  division  of  Grandjean  remained 
victorious,  and  hindered  the  Austrian  column  from 
opening  out  upon  the  plains  of  Hohenlinden, 

After  a  few  moments'  cessation,  the  archduke 
•Joim  directed  a  new  attack  to  be  made  upon 
Hohenlinden  and  the  division  of  Grandjean.     This 


1800. 
Dec. 


Battle  of  Hohenlinden. 
Gallant  cliarge  of  Kichepanse. 


HOHENLINDEN. 


Meeting  of  Ney  and  Riehepanse. 


171) 


second  attack  was  repulsed  as  tlie  first  liad  been. 
At  this  moment  there  was  discovered,  on  tlie  side 
of  Kronaker,  the  Austrian  troops  of  Baillet-Latour, 
who  showed  themselves  upon  the  left,  ready  to 
issue  out  upon  the  plains  of  Hohenlinden.  The 
snow  for  a  few  minutes  having  ceased  to  fall,  per- 
mitted theui  to  be  distinctly  seen,  though  tluy 
were  not  yet  in  a  condition  to  act,  and  then  the 
divisions  of  B;vstoul  and  Legrand  were  prepared  to 
give  them  a  warm  reception.  On  a  sudden  a  sort 
of  unsteadiness,  a  wavering,  an  agitation,  was  seen 
along  the  centre  of  the  Austrian  army,  which  had 
not  yet  been  disengaged  from  the  forest  delile. 
Something  unaccountable  seemed  to  be  taking 
place  in  their  rear.  Mnreau,  with  a  sagacity 
which  did  honour  to  his  military  glance,  remarked 
it,  and  said  to  Ney,  "  This  is  the  moment  to  charge; 
Riehepanse  and  Decaen  nmst  be  on  the  rear  of  the 
Austrians."  He  iiimiediately  commanded  the  di- 
visions of  Ney  and  Gran<ljean,  which  were  on  the 
right  and  left  of  Hohenlinden,  to  form  themselves 
in  columns  of  attack,  to  charge  the  Austrians 
drawn  up  on  the  skirts  of  the  forest,  and  to  drive 
them  back  upon  the  long  defile  in  which  until 
then  they  had  been  enclosed.  Ney  charged  tliem 
in  front,  Grouchy  with  Grandjean's  division  took 
them  in  fiank,  and  then  both  drove  them  furiously 
into  the  defile,  where  they  were  crowded  together 
pell-mell  with  their  cavalry  and  artillery. 

At  this  very  moment,  near  the  other  end  of  the 
defile,  at  Mattenboett,  that  event  was  happening 
for  which  Moreau  had  prepared,  and  which  he  had 
just  now  foreseen.  Uiclivpanse  and  Decaen,  in 
obedience  to  the  orders  which  they  had  receiveil, 
had  started  across  from  the  road  of  Ebersberg  into 
thnt  of  Hohenlinden.  Richepansp,  wlio  was  nearest 
to  Mattenboett,  had  proceeded  without  waiting  for 
Decaen,  and  had  plunged  deeply  and  audaciously 
into  that  country  of  wood  and  ravine  which  sepa- 
rates the  two  roads,  marcliing  while  the  battle 
was  fighting  at  Holienlimlen,  and  making  incre- 
dible efforts  to  drag  with  him  over  that  inundated 
ground  six  light  guns.  He  had  already  passed 
through  the  village  of  St.  Christopher  with  one 
brigade,  when  the  cor|)s  of  general  Riesch,  that 
was  designed  to  flank  the  Austrian  centre,  arrived 
there.  Drouet,  with  the  second  brigade,  was  left 
ciig;iged  with  the  enemy;  Riche|)anse  making  sure 
that  Decaen  would  soon  come  up  to  his  assistance 
and  disengage  him,  he  himself  marched  upon 
Mattenboett  iis  fast  as  possible,  for  there  his  mili- 
tary instinct  told  him  he  would  find  the  decisive 
point.  There  only  remained  with  him  two  demi- 
Inigadcs  of  infantry,  the  H.h  and  48tli,  a  single 
regiment  of  cavalry,  the  1st  chasseurs,  and  six 
guns,  in  all  about  six  thousand  men.  He  ])ushed 
forwards,  dragging  his  artillery  by  liand,  con- 
timially  in  (luagmires.  H;iving  arrived  at  Matten- 
boett, at  the  otiier  end  of  the  forest  defile,  of  which 
they  had  just  attacked  the  head,  he  encountcn  d  a 
troop  of  cuirassiern  on  foot,  their  bridles  on  their 
arms  ;  he  attacked  them  and  took  them  prisoners. 
Then  forming  on  the  little  apace  of  o|ien  ground 
that  Hurrouinls  Mattenboett,  he  ranged  the  8ilt  on 
right,  the  48th  on  the  left,  ami  sent  the  Ist  chas- 
seurs upon  eight  B(|uadrons  of  cavalry,  which  on 
seeing  the  French  pre|)aii(l  to  char;ie.  The  ehas- 
senrs  charged  home,  Init  were  driven  baik,  and 
rallied  behind  the  8th  deini- brigade.  This  last  cro.ss- 


ing  bayonets  stopped  the  advance  of  the  Austrian 
cavalry.  At  this  moment  the  position  of  Riehepanse 
was  very  critical.  Having  lett  his  second  brigade  in 
the  rear,  to  keep  head  against  the  corps  of  general 
Riesch,  himself  surrounded  on  all  sides,  he  thouglit 
it  best  not  to  let  the  Austrians  perceive  his  weak- 
ness. He  confided  to  general  Walther  the  8th 
demi-brigade  and  the  1st  chasseurs,  in  order  to 
restrain  the  rearguard  of  the  enemy,  which  seemed 
disposed  to  attack.  He  himself,  with  the  48th 
alone,  moved  to  the  left,  and  boldly  determined  to 
attack  the  Austrians  in  the  forest  defile.  Perilous 
as  this  resolution  seemed,  it  was  not  less  wise  than 
courageous,  because  the  column  of  the  archduke 
nmst  have  before  it  the  whole  of  the  French  army, 
and  by  flinging  himself  desjjerately  upon  the  rear, 
it  was  more  than  probable  he  woulil  produce  great 
disorder  and  obtain  important  results.  Riehe- 
panse, therefore,  formed  the  48th  into  two  columns, 
and  marching  sword  in  hand  in  the  midst  of  his 
grenadiers,  penetrated  into  the  forest,  receiving, 
without  yielding  an  inch,  a  severe  discharge  of 
grape-shot  ;  there  he  met  two  Hungarian  battalions 
that  disputed  his  passage.  Riehepanse  would  have 
animated  his  men  both  by  voice  and  gesture;  but 
they  had  no  need  of  either.  "  These  men  are  our 
prisoners,"  they  shouted;  "let  us  charge  !"  They 
immediately  charged,  and  completely  routed  the 
Hungarians.  They  next  came  upon  heaps  of  bag- 
gage, artillery,  and  infantry,  all  accumulated  in 
confusion  in  that  narrow  pass.  Riehepanse  by  his 
appearance  struck  them  with  indescribable  terror, 
and  they  were  thus  flung  into  disorder,  at  the  same 
moment  that  confused  cries  were  heard  at  the 
other  extremity  of  the  defile  On  arriving  there 
the  shouts  became  more  distinct,  and  discovered 
the  i)resence  of  the  French.  They  came  from 
Ney,  who,  leaving  Hohenlinden,  had  penetrated  by 
the  head  of  the  defile,  driving  before  him  the  Aus- 
trian column  that  Riehepanse  was  now  forcing 
back  upon  him  from  the  rear. 

Ney  and  Riehepanse  then  met,  recognized  caih 
other,  and  embraced  full  of  joy  at  the  glorious 
result  they  had  obtaineil.  Their  soldiers  rushed 
upon  those  Austrians  on  every  side,  who  had  sought 
shelter  in  the  w<iods,  and  were  now  asking  for 
(]uarter.  Thousands  of  prisoners  were  taken,  tho 
whole  of  the  Austrian  artillery  and  baggage.  Riehe- 
panse abandoned  to  Ney  the  care  of  gathering  up 
the  tro|)hies  of  their  victory,  returning  to  Matten- 
boett, where  he  had  left  general  Walther,  and 
the  rest  of  his  brigade,  with  one  regiment  of  ca- 
valry. He  found  the  gallant  general  struck  by  a 
ball,  and  carrying  off  in  the  arms  of  his  men,  his 
Countenance  beaming  with  joy,  and  repaid  in  his 
sufferings  by  the  satisfaction  of  having  contributed 
to  the  decisive  manoeuvre.  Riehepanse  disengaged 
his  troops  and  returned  to  St.  Christopher's,  whoro 
he  had  left  Drouet  and  his  brigade  alone  in  combat 
with  the  corps  of  Riesch.  All  his  hopes  had  b<>en 
fulfilled  on  this  fortunate  day.  General  Dcca<ai 
bad  arrived  in  time,  had  disengaged  the  corps  of 
Drouet,  and  made  a  number  of  prisoners. 

Dy  this  time  it  was  noon-day.  The  centre  of  the 
army  of  the  archduke  had  bci  n  enveloped  an<l 
utterly  routed.  The  left,  under  general  Riesch, 
having  arrived  too  late  to  stop  Riehepanse,  at- 
tacked and  driven  towards  the  Inn  by  Decaen, 
was  in  lull  retreat,  after  suffering  considerable  loss. 
n2 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


His  brilliant  success. — 
This  the  greatest  of 
his  battles. 


From  such  resuJts  in  regard  to  the  centre  and  left 
of  tlie  Austriaiis,  the  termmationof  the  battle  could 
not  be  (hnibtful. 

Durin;;  these  events  the  divisions  of  Bastoul  and 
Legniiid,  placed  on  the  lelt  of  the  open  plain  of 
H-.tienlinden,  found  upon  their  hands,  the  infan- 
ti-y  of  generals  Baillct-Latour  and  Kiennmver. 
These  divisions  had  enougli  to  do,  being  inferiii-in 
number  to  the  enemy  by  one-half,  and  were  pushed 
hardly  in  consequence.  They  had  too  the  disad- 
vant.Vge  of  the  ground,  since  the  head  of  the  wooded 
ravines,  by  wiiich  the  Austrians  issued  upon  the 
little  plain  of  Hohenlinden,  being  somewhat  higher 
than  tiie  plain  itself,  permitted  a  plumjing  fire  to 
be  directed  u|ion  it.  Still,  generals  B.i'Uoul  and 
Legrand,  under  the  conmiand  of  general  Grenier, 
were  .•seconded  by  the  courage  of  their  brave  sol- 
diers. Fortunately,  also,  Hautpoul's  ca  ahy  was 
presfiit  to  support  them,  as  well  as  Ney's  second 
brigade,  he  having  taken  but  one  with  him  into 
the  iletile. 

These  two  French  divisions,  at  first  borne  down 
by  numbers,  lost  ground.  Abandoning  the  edge  of 
the  woo.l,  they  fell  bacU  into  the  plain,  but  with  a 
steady  front  they  displayed  to  the  enemy  the  most 
heroic  firmness.  Two  demi-brigades  of  Legrsmd's 
division,  tlu-Slstand  42d,  falling  back  to  Harthofen, 
had  to  enjiage  Kitnmayer's  infantry,  as  well  as  a 
division  of  cavalry  attached  to  that  corps.  Some- 
times keeping  up  a  st  ady  fire  on  the  infantry, 
sometimes  repulsing  the  cavalry  with  the  bayonet, 
they  opposed  an  invincible  resistance  to  every 
assault.  At  this  time  general  Grenier,  gaining 
int'-lligence  of  the  success  obtained  over  the  Aus- 
trian centre,  formed  Legrand's  division  iHto  co- 
lunnis,  supporting  the  movement  by  some  charges 
of  Hautpoul's  cavalry,  and  thus  repulsed  tlie  corps 
of  Kieinnayer,  as  far  as  the  skirt  of  the  wood.  On 
liis  own  side  general  Bonnet,  with  the  division  of 
Ba.st'iul,  charged  the  Austrians,  and  overthrew 
then)  in;o  a  valley,  from  whence  they  were  at- 
tempting to  issue.  The  grenadiers  of  Jola's  brigade, 
part  of  Ney's  second,  rushed  up  to  Baillet-Latour 
and  repulsed  him.  The  impulse  of  victory,  com- 
municated to  these  bold  troops,  redoubled  their 
strength  and  Courage.  They  alternately  drove 
back  the  two  corps  of  Baillet-Latour  and  Kien- 
mayer,  the  one  towards  the  Isen,tlie  other  towards 
Lendorf,  in  that  low  and  difficult  couniry,  out 
of  which  they  liad  vainly  attempted  to  come,  in 
order  to  possess  themselves  of  the  plain  of  Hohen- 
lindcn. 

Moreau  at  this  moment  returned  from  the  depth 
of  ihe  forest,  with  a  detachment  of  Grandjean's 
division,  in  order  to  succour  the  left,  which  was  so 
briskly  attacked.  But  there,  as  on  all  the  other 
points,  he  found  the  soldiers  victorious,  transported 
with  joy,  anil  felicitating  thvir  genci'al  upon  his 
signal  victory.  The  triumph  was,  indeed,  very 
great.  The  Austrian  army  had  still  more  difficulty 
to  encounter  in  getting  out  of  the  woods  than  it 
liad  to  penetrate  into  tliem.  Every  where  strag- 
gling corps  were  observed,  tliat  not  knowing  whi- 
ther to  fly,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  victors  and 
laid  down  their  arms.  It  was  five  o'clock,  and 
night  covered  with  its  shadows  the  field  of  battle. 
From  seven  thousand  to  eight  thousand  Austrians 
were  killed,  and  twelve  thousand  made  prisoners, 
three  hundred  waggons,  and  eighty-seven  pieces  of 


cannon,  were  the  results  of  a  battle  not  usual  in 
warfare.  The  Austrian  army  lost  that  day  nearly 
twenty  tliousand  men,  almost  all  its  artillery,  its 
baggage,  and,  what  was  worse  than  all,  nearly  the 
entire  of  its  spirit. 

This  battle  was  the  finest  ever  gained  by  Moreau, 
and  most  assuredly  one  of  the  greatest  fought 
dui-jng  the  jn-esent  century,  in  which  so  many  ex- 
traordinary battles  have  taken  place.  It  has  been 
wrongfully  said,  that  there  was  another  conqueror 
of  Marengo  besides  Bonaparte,  that  it  was  general 
Kellermann.  With  much  greater  force  might  it  be 
said,  that  there  was  another  conqueror  at  Hohen- 
linden  than  Moreau,  and  that  it  was  general  Riche- 
panse;  because  this  last,  upon  a  vague  order,  exe- 
cuted a  very  fine  manoeuvre.  But,  although  less 
unjust,  this  assertion  would  still  bo  unjust.  To 
e\evy  man  should  be  left  the  property  of  his  own 
labours,  not  supporting  the  miserable  efforts  of 
envy,  whicli  at  all  times  would  fain  seek  any  other 
conqueror  than  the  real  conqueror  himself. 

Moreau,  in  advancing  along  the  Inn,  from  Kuf- 
stein  to  Miihldort,  without  havingselected  a  precise 
I'oint  of  attack,  without  having  concentrated  on  that 
point  all  his  strength,  to  make  only  simple  denfon- 
strations,  Moreau  had  thus  exposed  his  left  on  the 
1st  of  December.  But  this  could  only  be  pro- 
ductive of  a  momentary  ailvantag''  to  an  enemy  ; 
and  in  withdrawing  himself  into  tiie  labyrinthian 
recesses  of  Hohenlinden,  attracting  the  Austrians 
there  after  him,  bringing  down  his  centre  upon  his 
left  at  the  opportune  moment  from  Ebersberg  up- 
on Matteidjoett,  he  executed  one  of  the  happiest 
manoeuvres  known  in  the  history  of  war.  It  has 
been  asserted  that  Richepanse  marched  without 
orders^,  this  is  an  error;  the  oi-dcrs  were  given, 
as  has  been  stated  here,  but  they  were  too  general, 
or  not  sufficiently  detailed.  No  obstacle  that  might 
have  happened  had  been  provided  ngamst.  AIo- 
reau  merely  directed  Riehepanse  and  Decaen  to  go 
off  from  the  Ebersberg  road  upon  St.  Christopher's, 
without  designating  his  route,  without  warning 
him  of  the  corps  of  Riesch  being  present  there  in 
all  probability,  nor  designating  any  of  the  possible 
or  i)robable  accidents  ho  might  meet  with'  in  the 
midst  of  a  forest  full  of  enemies.  Without  an 
officer  as  vigorous  as  Riche])anse,  he  might  have 
reaped  a  defeat  in  place  of  a  victoi'y.  But  for- 
tune always  has  a  part  in  military  successes.  All 
that  can  be  said  is,  that  it  was  good  in  this  in- 
stance, and  much  better  too  than  usual. 

Moreau  has  been  censured,  because  while  lie 
was  fighting  with  six  divisions  out  of  twelve,  he 
had  left  St,  Suzanne  with  tliree  upon  the  Danube, 
and  three  under  Lecourbe  on  the  U])per  Inn  ;  by 
which  he  exposed  his  left,  under  Grenier,  to  the 
chance  of  fighting  under  the  difference  of  one.  to 
two.  This  censure  is  assuredly  more  grave  and 
better  merited  ;  but  let  not  so  great  a  triumph  be 
tarnished  ;  and  let  it  be  added,  in  order  to  be  just, 
that,  as  in  the  finest  works  of  man,  there  are  de- 
lects, so  in  the  finest  victories  there  are  faults — 
faults  which  fortune  repairs,  and  which  must  be 
admitted  as  the  ordinary  acconipaiiimeut  of  great 
military  actions. 

•  Napoleon  erroneously  asserted  this  at  St.  Helena.  The 
•uTitten  orders  still  exist,  and  have  been  printed  in  the 
ni-rnorial  of  the  war. 


Moreau  marches  upon  Vienna. 


IIOHEXLINDEX. 


Lecourbe  forces  the  Ir 
upon  the  Salza. 


After  tliis  iinportant  victory,  it  was  riglit  to  fol- 
low up  vigorously  the  pursuit  of  the  Austrian  army, 
to  niarclj  upnn  Vienna,  to  throw  down  the  defences 
of  the  Tyrol  hy  pusiiing  forward,  and  in  tliis  in:in- 
iier  to  determine  a  retrograde  movement  along  the 
whole  line  of  the  Austrians  from  Bavaria  to  Italy. 
Thus  the  retreat  of  the  troops  of  the  Inn  would 
have  made  those  of  the  troops  of  the  Tyrol  a 
necessary  consequence,  and  the  retreat  of  these 
last  would  have  made  inevitable  the  abandonment 
of  the  Mineio.  But  to  obtain  all  these  results,  it 
was  necessary  to  force  the  Inn,  and  then  the  Saha, 
which  falls  into  the  Inn,  forming  a  second  line  to 
be  passed  after  the  former.  At  the  moment  all 
this  might  have  been  achieved  from  the  strong  im- 
pulse given  to  the  ai-niy  by  the  victory  of  Ilohcn- 
linden. 

Moreau,  when  he  had  allowed  rest  to  his  troops, 
moved  his  left  and  a  part  of  his  centre  on  the  road 
to  Miihldorl,  thus  threatening  at  the  same  time  the 
bridges  of  Krayburg,  Miihldorf,  and  Braunau,  in 
order  to  make  the  enemy  believe  that  he  intended 
to  ci'oss  the  Inn  in  the  lower  part  of  its  course.  In 
the  mean  time  Lecourbe,  who  some  months  before 
had  so  gloriously  jjiissed  across  the  Danube  on  the 
day  of  tiie  battle  of  Hochstedt,  was  ordered  to  pass 
the  Iini  in  the  vicinity  of  Rosenheim.  The  general 
had  discovered  a  place  near  Neubeurn,  where  the 
right  b;iidv  occupied  by  the  French,  commanded 
the  left  occupied  by  the  enemy,  and  where  it  was 
practicable  to  place  his  artillery  with  advantage, 
in  order  to  protect  the  passage.  This  point  was 
chosen  in  consequence.  Several  days  were  most 
unfortunately  lost  in  collecting  the  mattrid  neces- 
sary, and  it  was  not  until  the  Dth  of  December,  six 
days  after  the  great  battle  of  Hohenlinden,  that 
Lecourbe  was  ready  to  act. 

Moreau  had  suddenly  tiiken  up  a  position  upon 
the  Upper  Inn.  The  three  divisions  of  the  centre 
had  been  directed  from  Wa.sserburg  upon  Aibling, 
a  short  distance  from  Rosenheim,  ready  to  succour 
Lecourbe.  The  left  had  replaced  them  in  their 
positions,  and  general  Collauil,  with  two  divisions 
of  the  corps  of  St.  Suzanne,  had  been  moved  in 
advance  of  the  Isar  to  Erding. 

On  the  morning  of  the  yth  of  December,  or  18th 
Frimaire,  Lecourbe  began  his  operations  for  the 
passage  of  the  rivir  at  Neubeurn.  Montrichard's 
division  was  to  be  the  first  to  pass  the  Inn.  Gene- 
ral Leuiaire  j)laced  on  the  heights  commanding  the 
riljht  bank  a  battery  of  twenty-eight  pieces  of  cannon, 
and  drove  off  the  troops  that  presented  themselves 
there.  Upon  this  part  of  the  river  Austria  had 
only  the  corps  of  Conde,  which  was  too  feeble  to 
oflcr  any  serious  resistance.  After  having  driven 
off,  by  the  continued  fire  of  the  artillery,  all  the 
enemy's  detachments,  the  pontonniers  placed  tliem- 
Belves  in  iheir  boats,  followed  by  son)e  light  bat- 
talions designed  to  pnitect  their  operations.  In 
two  hours  and  a  half  the  bridge  was  finished,  and 
the  division  of  Montrichard  began  the  jiassage.  It 
advanced  upon  the  Austrians,  who  retreated,  de- 
scending the  right  bank  of  the  river  until  tluy 
were  opposite  Rosenheim.  They  then  took  up  a 
strong  position  at  StepheuHkirchen.  During  this 
n)ovenient,  the  divisions  of  the  French  centre, 
placed  before  Rosenheim  itself,  exerted  themselves 
in  ))revcnting  the  Austrians  from  wjmpletely  de- 
stroying the  bridge  at  that  town.     Being  unsuc- 


cessful, they  ascended  tlie  Inn,  and  crossed  over  at 
Neubeurn,  in  order  to  support  Lecourbe.  The 
corps  of  Condd  having  been  reinforced,  supported 
itself  on  one  side  upon  the  ruined  bridge  of  Rosen- 
heim, upon  the  other  on  the  little  lake  of  Chiem-see. 
Lecourbe  sent  a  detachment  to  turn  the  lake,  and 
thus  obliged  the  enemy  to  retreat  after  no  very 
sanguinary  resistance. 

Thus  the  Inn  was  crossed,  and  that  formidable 
obstacle,  which  it  was  declared  would  stop  the 
French  army,  was  overcome.  Lecourbe  thus 
gained  another  laurel  in  the  winter  campivign.  The 
inarch  was  not  retarded.  The  next  day  a  bridge 
was  thrown  over  at  Rosenheim  for  the  passage  of 
the  rest  of  the  centre.  Grenier,  with  the  left, 
crossed  the  Inn  over  the  bridges  of  Wasserburg 
and  Miihldorf,  which  the  Austrians  had  left  un- 
dcstroyed. 

It  was  necessary  to  hasten  forward  and  drive 
the  Austrians  as  far  as  the  banks  of  the  Salza, 
which  Hows  behind  the  Inn,  and  falls  into  that 
river  a  little  below  Braunau.  The  Salza  is  a 
second  arm  of  the  Inn  in  itself.  If  it  is  crossed 
near  the  mountains,  it  must,  in  a  certain  respect, 
be  twice  crossed,  while  on  passing  it  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Braunau  after  its  union  with  the 
Salza,  there  is  only  one  passage  to  be  performed. 
But  in  the  last  case  the  volume  of  the  water  is 
doubled,  and  the  difficulty  of  crossing  by  main 
force  is  ijroportionally  augmented.  This  reascm,  ;;nd 
the  wish  to  surprise  the  enemy,  who  did  not  expect 
to  see  the  French  attempt  to  cross  above  Rosen- 
heim, decided  Moreau  in  the  choice. 

Lecourbe,  sup[)orted  by  the  divisions  of  the 
centre,  advanced  with  great  I'apidity,  in  spite  m" 
the  difficulties  presented  by  a  mountainous  coun- 
try, covered  with  woods,  rivers,  and  lakes,  a  country 
at  all  times  difficult,  but  much  more  so  in  the 
middle  of  December.  The  Austrian  army,  although 
stricken  by  so  many  reverses,  so  far  maintained 
itself  in  the  field.  The  feeling  of  honour,  awakened 
by  the  danger  of  the  capital,  occasioned  it  still  to 
make  noble  efforts  to  stoi)  the  progress  of  the 
French.  The  Austrian  cavalry  covered  the  re- 
treat, charging  with  vigour  the  Frencii  cori)s  that 
advanced  with  too  much  temerity.  The  Austrians 
crossed  the  Alz,  which  conveys  the  w;iter  of  the 
Chiem-see  to  the  Inn  ;  they  also  passed  Traun- 
stein,  and  at  last  arrived  near  the  Salza  not  far 
from  Salzburg  itself. 

There  they  remained  before  Salzburg,  a  strong 
position  to  occupy,  and  there  the  archduke  John 
thought  he  should  be  able  to  concentrate  his  troops, 
hoping  to  obtain  for  them  some  kind  of  success 
that  woidd  restore  their  courage,  and  at  least 
render  the  daring  pursuit  of  the  Frencii  less  rapid. 
The  archduke  then  concentrated  himself  beforo 
Salzburg  on  the  13th  of  December,  or  22nd  Fri- 
maire, 1«(I0. 

The  city  of  Salzburg  is  seated  upcm  the  Salza. 
In  advance  of  this  river  (here  runs  another  smallir 
stream,  called  the  Saal,  which  descends  from  the 
mighbourin;;  mountains,  and  joins  the  Salza  below 
Salzburg.  The  ground  beneath  these  two  rivers  is 
level,  niai-shy,  and  covered  with  clumps  of  wood, 
being  everywliere  difHenIt  of  access.  It  was  there 
the  archduke  John  had  taken  up  iiis  posiiion,  his 
right  on  the  Salza,  his  left  to  the  mountains,  his 
front  covered  by  the  Saal,  his  artillery  swept  the 


Lecourbe  fords  t!;e  Saal. — 
182      Rex-ucd  from  dan^jer  by 
Decaen. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


The  archduke  Charles  called 


Deu. 


whole  level.  His  cavalry  stationed  on  the  un- 
covered and  solid  portion  of  the  ground,  was 
ready  to  charge  any  Fi'eiich  corps  that  took  tlie 
offensive.  His  infantry  was  well  supported  on  the 
city  of  Salzliurg  itself. 

On  tile  14tli,  in  the  morning,  Lecourbe,  drawn 
onwards  by  his  ardour,  forded  the  Saal,  received 
several  charges  of  cavalry  on  the  bank  boi'dering 
the  river,  and  sustained  them  with  bravery.  Pre- 
sently a  dense  fog  clearing  up,  he  discovered  in 
advance  of  Salzburg  a  formidable  line  of  cavalry, 
artillery,  and  infantry.  This  was  the  whole  Aus- 
trian army.  In  presence  of  such  a  danger  he  con- 
ducted himself  with  much  steadiness,  but  did  not 
escape  without  loss. 

Most  foriuiiateiy  the  division  of  Decaen  had 
crossed  the  Salza  at  this  moment  near  Laufen  in  a 
manner  almost  miraculous.  On  the  preceding  day 
the  advanced  guard  of  the  division,  finding  ihe 
bridge  of  Laufen  destroyed,  had  coasted  the  banks 
of  the  Salza,  everywhere  covered  with  the  Austrian 
tirailleurs,  and  continued  to  hunt  out  a  pas^iage.  A 
boat  Wiis  seen  upon  the  oi)posite  side  of  the  river. 
At  the  sight,  three  chasseurs  of  the  14iii  threw 
themselves  into  the  water,  and  swam  to  the  other 
side,  in  spite  of  the  intense  cold,  and  a  current 
more  rapid  th:'.n  that  of  the  Inn.  After  fighting 
hand  to  hand  with  several  Austrian  tirailleurs,  they 
succeeded  in  getting  tie  boat,  and  bringing  it  over. 
By  this  means  the  French,  to  the  extent  of  some 
hundreds,  crossed  successively  to  the  opposite 
bank,  occupied  a  village  close  to  the  bridge  of 
Laufen,  which  had  been  destroyed,  and  there 
barricaded  themselves  in  such  a  manner  as  that  a 
small  number  were  able  to  defend  it.  The  rest 
rushed  upon  some  Austrian  artillery,  got  posses- 
sion of  it,  seized  all  the  boats  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Salza,  and  thus  supplied  with  the  means  of 
coming  over  the  whole  of  the  division  on  the  left 
side  of  tiie  river.  The  following  morning,  the  14tli, 
the  whole  of  Decaen's  division  had  passed  over, 
and  ascended  nearly  to  Salzburg  at  the  very  mo- 
ment when  Lecourbe  was  engaged  with  the  entire 
Austrian  army.  It  was  impossible  for  it  to  arrive 
at  a  better  moment.  The  archduke,  informed  of 
the  passage  of  the  French,  and  of  their  inarch 
upon  Salzburg,  decamped  in  a  hurry,  and  Lecourbe 
was  thus  disengaged  from  a  very  hazardous  situa- 
tion, to  which  his  own  ardour  and  daring  com'age 
had  exposed  him. 

Thus  the  defences  of  the  Inn  and  Salza  had  fallen 
before  the  French.  From  that  moment  there  was 
no  obstacle  to  cover  the  Austrian  army,  or  enable 
it  to  resist  the  French.  There  remained,  it  is 
true,  twenty-five  thousand  men  in  the  Tyrol,  who 
had  it  in  their  power  to  threaten  the  French  rear; 
but  it  is  not  when  an  enemy  is  victorious,  and  de- 
moralization pervades  tiie  ranks  of  an  army,  that 
bold  attempts  are  likely  to  be  made.  Moreau, 
having  left  the  corps  of  St.  Suzanne  in  the  rear, 
to  invest  Braunau,  and  to  occupy  the  country 
between  the  Inn  and  Isar,  emboldeiud  by  the 
success  of  every  step  he  had  taken,  marched  upon 
the  Traun  and  Ens,  which  were  not  capable 
of  arresting  his  march.  Richepanse  commanded 
the  advanced  guard,  sustained  by  Grouchy  and 
Decaen.  The  retreat  of  the  Austrians  was  con- 
ducted in  great  disorder.  At  every  instant  the 
French  took  men,  carriages,  and  cannon.     Riche- 


panse gained  several  brilliant  actions  at  Frank- 
enniarkt,  Voeklabruck,  and  Schwanstadt.  Con- 
tinually engage.l  with  the  Austrian  cavalry,  lie 
made  prisoners  of  twelve  hundred  horse  at  a  time. 
On  the  20th  of  December,  or  29tli  of  Frimaire,  he 
had  passed  the  Traun,  and  was  marching  upon 
Steyer  in  order  to  pass  the  Ens. 

The  young  archduke,  whom  so  many  disasters 
had  completely  put  out  of  heart,  was  now  suc- 
ceeded by  the  archduke  Charles,  who  had  at  last 
been  recalled  from  disgrace,  to  perform  the  task, 
now  become  impossible,  of  saving  the  Austrian 
army.  When  he  arrived  he  .saw  with  deep  pain 
the  spectacle  presented  to  his  sight  by  the  soldiers 
of  the  empire,  who,  after  they  bad  no"bly  resisted 
the  French,  demanded  that  they  should  not  be 
sacrificed  to  an  unhappy  system  of  policy  univer- 
sally reprobated.  The  archduke  sent  M.  Meer- 
feld  to  Moreau  to  propose  an  armistice.  Moreau 
willingly  granted  it  for  forty-eight  hours,  on  con- 
ditiim  that,  during  the  delay,  that  officer  should 
return  from  Vienna  with  full  powers  from  the 
emperor;  but  he  stipulated,  at  the  same  time,  that 
during  the  interval,  the  French  army  should  have 
the  right  to  advance  as  far  as  the  Ens. 

On  the  21st  he  passed  the  Eiis  at  Steyer,  and 
his  advanced  posts  were  upon  the  Ips  and  Eriaf. 
He  was,  in  fact,  at  the  gates  of  Vienna,  and  might 
feel  the  temptation  to  enter  the  city,  and  thus 
bestow  upon  himself  the  glory  which  no  French 
general  ever  before  had,  of  peneti'ating  to  the 
capital  of  the  empire.  But  the  moderate  mind  of 
Moreau  had  no  desire  to  push  fortune  to  the  ex- 
treme. The  archduke  Charles  gave  his  word,  that 
if  hostilities  were  suspended,  the  Austrians  would 
immediati  ly  treat  for  peace,  on  the  conditions  that 
France  had  always  demanded,  more  especially 
upon  the  basis  of  a  separate  negotiation.  Moreau, 
feeling  a  well-founded  esteem  for  the  archduke 
Charles,  showed  a  disposition  to  give  him  full  credit. 

Several  of  Moreau's  lieutenants  endeavoured  to 
excite  him  to  march  u])on  Vienna.  "  It  will  be 
better,"  he  answered,  "  to  secure  peace.  Of  Mac- 
donald  and  Brune  1  have  no  intelligence.  I  know 
not  if  one  has  succeeded  in  penetrating  the  Tyrol, 
or  if  tile  other  has  been  able  to  pass  the  Mincio. 
Augereau  is  a  great  way  off'  from  me,  in  a  hazard- 
ous situation.  I  should,  perhaps,  drive  the  Aus- 
trians to  despair,  if  I  insisted  on  humiliating  them 
jet  more.  It  is  better  for  us  to  halt,  and  content 
ourselves  with  peace,  because  that  is  all  for  which 
we  are  fighting." 

These  were  wise  sentiments,  well  worthy  of 
praise.  On  the  25th  of  December,  or  4th  Nivose, 
y(!ar  ix.,  Moreau  consented  to  sign,  at  Steyer,  a 
new  suspension  of  arms,  upon  the  following  con- 
ditions : — 

There  is  to  be  a  cessation  of  hostilities  in  Ger- 
many between  the  Austrian  and  the  Frencii  armies, 
commanded  by  Moreau  and  Augereau.  Tiie  ge- 
nerals Brune  and  .Macdonald  are  to  be  invited  to 
sign  a  similar  armistice  for  tiie  armies  of  the 
Grisons  and  of  Italy,  The  entire  valley  of  the 
Danube,  comprising  also  the  Tyrol,  with  tlie  for- 
tresses of  Braunau  and  Wurizbiirg,  and  the  forts 
of  Scharnitz,  of  Kul'siein,  and  others,  and  the 
inagazines  of  the  Austrians,  to  be  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  the  French.  No  detaciiment  of  troops 
to  be  sent  into  Italy,  if  it  should  appear  that  no 


Great  abilities  of  ftloreau. 
Danger  of  Aucereau  :  i 
lieved  by  the  armi^tlce. 


IIOHENLINDEN. 


Macdonald  passes  the  Gr 
enters  the  Valteline. 


i8:i 


suspension  of  arms  has  been  consented  to  by  the 
general  conunanding  in  that  comitry.  This  sti- 
pulation to  be  common  to  both  armies. 

Moreau  was  content  witii  these  stipulations,  as 
lie  had  full  reason  to  be,  calculating  upon  peace, 
aiid  preferring  it  to  more  signal,  but  more  hazard- 
ous triumphs.  A  brightness  of  gl>a'y  surrounded 
his  name,  because  his  winter  campaign  had  sur- 
passed that  of  tlie  spring.  After  crossing  the 
Rhine  in  the  spring  campaign,  having  driven  the 
Austrians  to  the  Danube,  while  Bnuaparte  was 
crossing  the  Alps,  and  after  dislodging  them  from 
tlieir  camp  at  Ulm,  by  the  battle  of  Hochstedt, 
thus  pusliing  them  back  to  the  Inn,  he  liad  taken 
breath  during  the  fine  season.  He  had  com- 
menced his  march  in  winter,  during  the  most 
severe  cold;  he  had  overthrown  the  enemy  at  Ho- 
henlinden,  flung  them  back  from  the  Iim  upon 
the  Salza,  from  the  Salza  upon  the  Traun  and 
Ens,  pushing  them  in  confusion  to  the  very  gates 
of  Vienna.  Lastly,  he  iiad  granted  them,  in  stop- 
ping his  victorious  march  a  few  leagues  from  the 
capital,  time  to  sign  a  treaty  of  peace.  There  had 
been  "gropings,"  delays,  and  faidis,  tliat  severe 
judges  have  keenly  censured  since,  as  if  to  revenge 
upon  tiie  memory  of  Moreau  the  injustice  committed 
upon  the  memory  of  Napoleon;  but  Moreau  had 
a  continued  ciiaiu  of  successes  justified  by  his  own 
prudence  and  firmness.  All  true  glory  should  be 
respected;  we  ought  not  to  darken  the  glory  of 
one  to  avenge  the  other.  Moreau  proved  himself 
capable  of  comnianding  one  hundred  thousand 
men  with  prudence  and  courage  ;  no  one,  except 
Napoleon,  has  manoeuvred  such  a  force  in  the 
present  age  so  well ;  and  if  the  place  of  the  victor 
of  H'henlinden  be  at  an  immense  distance  from 
that  of  the  victor  of  Rivoli,  Murengo,  and  Auster- 
litz,  his  place  is  still  great,  and  would  have  con- 
tinued great,  if  criminal  conduct,  the  unfortunate 
production  of  jealousy,  had  not  later  in  life  sullied 
a  character  until  then  pure  and  exalted. 

The  armistice  in  Germany  took  place  very  op- 
portunely for  rescuing  the  Gallo-Batavian  army, 
conmianded  by  Augereau,  from  its  hazardous  situ- 
ation. The  Austrian  general,  Klenau,  who  always 
rtmained  far  enough  away  from  the  archduke 
John,  suddenly  formed  a  junction  with  Simbsclien, 
and  by  thus  uniting  their  forces,  jjlaced  Augereau 
in  imminent  danger.  But  the  last  defended  Rad- 
nitz  with  great  skill  and  courage,  and  su|i))orted  his 
ground  until  the  conclusion  of  hostilities.  The 
retreat  of  the  Austrians  into  Bavaria  relieved  him 
hum  his  peril,  and  the  armistice  saved  him  from 
the  dangers  of  a  situation  in  which  he  was  destitute 
of  support,  seeing  Moreau  was  at  the  gates  of 
Vienna. 

During  these  events  in  Germany,  hostilities  were 
continued  in  the  Alps  and  in  Italy.'  The  first 
consul,  seeing  in  the  opening  of  the  campaign,  that 
Moreau  could  spare  the  army  of  the  Grisnns,  iiad 
ordered  Macdonald  to  pass  over  the  SplUgen,  and 
throw  himself  from  the  great  chain  of  the  Alps 
into  the  Valteline,  from  the  Valteline  into  the 
Italian  Tyrol,  and  tlien  moving  upon  the  Trent, 
to  turn  the  line  of  i\w  Mineio;  by  this  mana'uvre 
putting  an  end  to  the  resistance  of  the  Austrians 
in  the  plains  of  Italy.  No  objection  arising  from 
the  height  of  the  Sjiliigen  or  the  rigour  of  the 
season  could  change  the  deternivtatiun  of  the  first 


consul.  He  had  constantly  answered,  that  where- 
ever  two  men  could  place  their  fiet,  lui  army  pds- 
sessed  the  means  of  passing,  and  that  the  Alps 
were  easier  to  ci'oss  in  frost  than  when  the  snow 
was  melting,  the  season  in  which  he  had  himself 
crossed  the  St.  Bernard.  This  was  the  language 
of  a  mind  altogether  absolute,  determined  at  any 
cost  to  attain  its  end.  The  event  proved,  that  in 
the  mountains  the  winter  presents  dangers  at  least 
equal  to  those  of  spring;  besides  which,  it  eonilemns 
those  who  brave  it  to  the  most  ImrriMe  sufferings. 

General  Macdonald  prepared  to  obey  the  order 
of  the  first  consul,  with  all  the  energy  natural  to 
ills  character.  After  having  left  Moriol's  division 
in  the  Grisons,  to  guard  the  openings  which  form 
the  comnmnication  between  the  Grisons  and  the 
Engadine,  or  superior  valley  of  the  Inn,  he  moved 
towards  the  SplUgen.  For  some  time  before,  the 
division  of  Baraguay  d'Hiiliers  had  been  in  the 
high  or  upper  Valteline,  threatening  the  Engadine 
fi'om  the  side  of  Italy,  while  Morlot  menaced  it 
from  the  side  of  the  Grisons.  With  the  main  body 
of  his  army,  about  twelve  thousand  men,  Mac- 
donald commenced  his  march,  and  clambered  up 
the  first  declivities  of  the  SplUgen.  The  jiass  of 
this  lofty  mountain,  narrow  and  winding,  during 
many  leagues  of  the  ascent,  offered  the  severest 
perils,  more  particularly  at  that  season,  when  fre- 
qufcnt  storms  encumbered  the  roads  wiili  ennrmous 
drifts  of  snow  and  ice.  The  artillery  and  ammu- 
nition were  placed  on  sledges,  and  the  soldiers 
were  loaded  with  biscuits  and  cartridges.  The  first 
column,  composed  of  artillery  and  cavalry,  com- 
mencing the  passage  in  fine  weather,  on  a  sudden 
was  overtaken  by  a  frightful  storm.  An  ava- 
lanche carried  away  half  a  squadron  of  dragoons  at 
once,  and  filled  the  soldiers  with  terror  at  the 
sight.  Still  they  did  not  lose  their  courage,  and, 
after  a  delay  of  three  days,  another  attempt  was 
made  to  cross  this  redoubtable  mountain.  The 
snow  had  encumbered  all.  Oxen  were  driven  before 
the  troops  to  tread  down  the  snow,  into  which  they 
sank  up  to  their  bellies  ;  labourers  beat  it  down 
hard  ;  the  infantry  in  passing  over  rendered  it 
harder  :  and  lastly,  the  sajjpei-s  widened  the  passes 
where  they  were  too  narrow,  by  cutting  away  the 
ice  with  hatchets.  These  exertions  were  all  need- 
ful to  make  the  road  practicable  for  cavalry  and 
artillery.  Thus  the  first  days  of  December  were 
employed  in  effeciing  the  passage  of  the  three  first 
colunma.  The  soldiers  endured  the  most  terrible 
suHerings  with  great  fortitude,  living  upon  biscuit 
with  a  small  quantity  of  brandy.  .  The  4lh  and 
last  column  had  nearly  reached  the  summit  of  the 
pass,  when  another  storm  came  on  and  again 
closed  up  the  passage,  dispersed  the  104th  demi- 
brigade  entirely,  and  buried  a  hundred  men.  Ge- 
neral Macdonald  was  there,  and  rallied  the  sol- 
diers, cheered  them  amid  their  pains  and  suHerings, 
made  the  road  be  cleared  a  second  time,  that  was 
thus  closed  with  blocks  of  frozen  snow,  and  with  all 
the  rest  of  his  forces  entered  the  Valteline. 

This  enterprise,  so  justly  wonderful,  carried 
the  greater  i>art  of  the  army  of  the  Grisons 
aero.ss  the  great  mountain-chain,  to  the  very  en- 
trances of  the  Italian  Tyrol.  General  Macdonald, 
as  ho  had  been  commanded,  sought,  as  soon  as  he 
had  passed  the  Splugeii,  to  act  in  concert  with 
Brune,  in  order  to  move  upon  the  sources  of  the 


Macdonald  attacks  the 
Austrians  at  mount 
Totial. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Brune  advances  to  cross 
the  Mincio. — Descrip- 
tion of  ttiat  river. 


Mincio  and  Adige,  thus  overturning  the  whole  de- 
fensive line  of  the  Austrians,  which  extended  from 
the  Alps  to  the  Adriatic. 

Brune  would  not  deprive  himself  of  an  entire 
division  to  aid  Macdonald,  but  he  consented  to 
detach  the  Italian  division  of  Lecchi,  which  was  to 
ascend  the  valley  of  the  Chiesa,  as  far  as  Rocca 
d'Anfo. 

Macdonald  now  determined  to  ascend  the  Valte- 
line  and  attack  nmunt  Tonal,  which  commanded 
the  entrance  into  the  Tyrol,  and  the  valley  of  the 
Adige;  but  there,  tliough  the  height  was  inferior  to 
the  Spltigen,  the  ice  was  as  deeply  collected;  and 
furtlier,  general  Wukassowieh  had  covered  with 
intreucliments  tlie  principal  approaches.  On  the 
22nd  and  23rd  of  December,  general  Vandamme 
led  an  attack  upon  them  at  the  head  of  a  body  of 
grenadiers,  and  sevei'al  times  renewed  it  unsuccess- 
fully with  the  most  heroic  courage.  These  brave 
men  made  incredible  but  useless  exertions  to  gain 
their  object.  Several  times  they  marched  over  the 
ice  entirely  unprotected,  and  under  a  murderous 
fire.  Tliey  readied  the  palisadoes  of  the  entrench- 
ment, endeavouring  in  vain  to  force  them.  The 
ground  was  frozen,  and  it  was  impossible  to  pull 
them  up.  There  was  no  use  in  persisting  further; 
and  it  was  in  consequence  resolved  to  move  into  the 
valley  of  the  Oglio,  and  descend  that  river  to  Pi- 
sogno,  in  order  to  proceed  into  the  valley  of 
Chiesa.  The  object  was  to  cross  the  mountains  in 
a  less  elevated  region,  and  by  passes  not  so  effec- 
tually defended.  Alacdonald,  having  descended  to 
Pisogno,  crossed  tiie  passes  which  separated  him 
from  the  valley  of  the  Chiesa,  formed  his  junction 
with  Lecchi's  brigade  towards  Rocca  d'Anfo,  and 
then  found  himself  beyond  the  obstacles  whiL-li 
separated  him  from  the  Italian  Tyrol  and  the 
Adige.  Thus  he  was  enabled  to  reach  Trent  before 
general  VVukassowich  had  made  his  retreat  from 
the  heights  of  mount  Tonal,  and  to  take  up  a  posi- 
tion between  the  Austrians  who  defended  in  the 
middle  of  the  Alps  the  sources  of  the  different 
rivers,  and  the  Austrians  who  defended  the  hi- 
fei'ior  parts  of  the  streams  in  the  plains  of  Italy. 

Brune,  beloi-e  lie  forced  the  passage  of  the  Min- 
cio, had  waited  until  ^lacdonald  had  niadesutricient 
progress  for  the  attack  to  be  nearly  simultaneous 
in  the  mountains  and  in  the  ))lains.  Out  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  five  thousand  men  spread 
over  Italy,  he  had,  as  we  have  already  observed, 
one  hundred  thousand  efl'ective  men,  tried  soldiers, 
recruited  after  their  snffeiings  and  privations  ;  an 
artillery  perfectly  organized  by  general  Marmont, 
and  an  excellent  cavalry. 

Twenty  thousand  men,  or  nearly  that  number, 
protectfil  Lonibardy,  Piedmont,  Liguria,  and  Tus- 
cany. A  leeljli!  brigade,  connnanded  by  general 
Petitot,  watched  the  Austrian  troops  that  .-allied 
out  of  Ferrara,  and  menaced  Bologna.  The  na- 
tional giuird  of  this  last  city  was  ready,  in  addition, 
to  defend  it  against  tiie  Austrians.  The  Neapoli- 
tans Were  <rossing  the  new  Roman  state,  in  4.ider 
to  march  upon  Tuscany;  but  Muiat,  with  ten  thou- 
sand men  from  the  camp  of  Amiens,  liad  marched 
to  encountir  them. 

Brune,  after  having  provided  for  the  pi-oteetion 
of  the  ditteivnt  jdaces  in  Italy,  had  about  seventy 
thousand  men  to  direct  upon  the  Mincio.  Bona- 
parte, perlectly    acijuainied    with    the    theatre  of 


operations,  had  recommended  him  to  concentrate 
his  troops  with  care;  and  as  much  as  possible  in 
Upper  Italy,  to  pay  no  attention  to  what  the  Aus- 
trians might  attempt  in  the  direction  of  the  Po,  in 
the  Legations,  or  even  in  Tuscany;  but  to  remain 
steady,  as  he  himself  had  formerly  done,  near  the 
openings  of  the  Alps.  He  repeated  to  Brune  in- 
cessantly, tiiat  when  the  Austrians  were  beaten 
between  the  Mincio  and  Adige,  in  other  words,  on 
the  line  by  which  they  enter  Italy,  all  those  who 
had  passed  the  Po,  to  penetrate  into  central  Italy, 
would  only  be  the  more  exposed  to  danger. 

The  Anstrians  really  put  on  the  face  of  attacking 
Bologna,  by  sallymg  from  Ferrara  for  that  pui-pose; 
but  general  Petitot  knew  how  to  restrain  them,  and 
the  national  guards  of  Bologna  exhibited  upon  their 
own  side  the  firmest  attitude. 

Brune,  conforming  at  once  to  the  instructions 
which  he  had  received,  advanced  to  the  Mincio 
from  the  20th  to  the  24th  of  December,  or  29th 
Frimaire  to  3rd  Nivose,  took  the  positions  which 
the  Austrians  had  occupied  in  advance  of  that 
river,  and  made  his  dispositions  for  passing  it  on 
the  morning  of  the  2oth.  General  Delmas  com- 
manded his  advanced  guai'd;  general  Moncey  the 
left;  general  Dupont  the  right;  and  general  Mi- 
dland the  reserve.  Beyond  the  cavalry  and  artil- 
lery distributed  in  his  divisions,  he  had  a  consider- 
able reserve  of  both. 

In  recounting  the  first  campaigns  of  Bonaparte  ', 
we  have  already  described  the  theatre  of  so  many 
memorable  events.  It  will  lie  necessary  still  to  re- 
trace in  a  few  words  the  configuration  of  the  places. 
The  great  mass  of  the  waters  of  the  Tyrol  are  con- 
veyed by  the  Adige  into  the  Adriatic:  thus  it  is  that 
the  line  of  the  Adige  is  one  of  great  strength.  But 
before  the  line  of  the  Adige  is  obtained,  a  less  im- 
portant one  is  encountered,  that  of  the  Mincio. 
The  waters  of  several  of  the  lateral  valleys  of  the 
Tyrol,  wdiich  first  accumulate  in  the  lake  of 
Garda,  deliver  themselves  from  thence  into  the 
Mincio,  remain  some  time  ai'ound  Mantua,  where 
they  form  an  inundation,  and  last  of  all. fall  into  the 
Po.  In  consequence  there  was  a  double  line  to 
cross,  first  that  of  the  Mincio,  and  next  that  of  the 
Adige,  this  last  being  much  more  considerable,  and 
much  the  strongest  of  the  two.  It  was  necessary 
to  cross  both  these  rivers;  and  if  this  was  done  so 
])romptly  as  to  act  in  immediate  concert  with  Mac- 
donald, who  was  moving  by  Rocca  d'Anfo  and 
Trent  upon  the  Upper  Ailige,  it  would  be  possible 
to  separate  the  Austrian  army  which  defended  tile 
Tyrol,  from  that  defending  the  Mincio,  and  to  take 
the  former. 

The  line  of  the  Mincio,  in  length  not  more  than 
seven  or  eight  leagues,  was  supported  on  one  flank 
by  the  lake  of  Garda,  and  by  Mantua,  bristling 
with  artillery,  upon  the  other  ;  and  was  defended 
by  seventy  thousand  Anstrians,  under  the  com- 
mand of  i-ount  Bellegaide,  nor  was  it  easily  to  be 
forced.  The  Austrians  had  at  Borghetto  and  Val- 
legio  a  bridge  well  entrenched,  and  this  enabled 
Bellegarde  to  act  upon  botii  banks.  The  river 
was  not  fordable  at  that  season,  and  the  mass  of  its 
\\^iters  was  yet  more  augmented  by  closing  all  the 
canals  it  fed. 

Brune,  after   having  united   his  columns,  con- 

'  History  of  ilie  French  Kevoiiuiou. 


1808. 
Dec. 


Dupont  crosses  the  Mincio 
unrestrained  by  Brune. 


IIOHENLINDEN 


185 


ceived  the  singular  idea  of  crossing  the  Mincio  in  [ 
two  places,  both  at  the  same  nionient,  at  Mozzem-  I 
bano  and  Puzzolo.  Between  these  two  points  the  , 
river  formed  a  bend,  the  convex  point  of  whicii  ; 
turned  towards  the  French  army.  The  right  bank, 
whicii  Ih-uue  occupied,  comniauded  the  left,  occu- 
pied by  the  Austrians,  so  that  at  Mozzciiibaiio,  as 
well  iis  at  Pozzolo,  a  converging  tire  could  be 
opened  from  higher  batteries  upon  the  Austrian 
iiank,  and  the  operation  of  the  passage  be  covered. 
Siill,  at  both  points  the  Austrians  were  found  to  be 
firmly  posted  behind  the  Mincio,  covered  with  solid 
cntrenclinients,  that  were  supported  either  on 
Mantua  or  Pechiera.  The  advantages  and  incon- 
veniences were  therefore  nearly  the  same,  either  at 
Pozzolo  or  Mozzerabano;  but  what  should  have 
decided  Brune  to  prefer  one  of  these  two  points,  no 
matter  which,  while  he  made  a  false  demonstration 
on  the  other,  was,  that  between  these  two  points 
there  was  an  entrenched  bridge,  then  occupied  by 
the  enemy.  The  Austrians  therefore  could  pass 
ovef  by  this  means,  and  throw  themselves  upon 
one  of  the  two  operations,  in  order  to  prevent  it 
from  being  effected  :  it  was  proper,  therefore,  that 
only  one  slioul  1  have  been  attempted,  and  that 
with  the  entire  of  his  army. 

Still  Brune  pei'sisted  in  his  double  plan,  appa- 
rently for  the  purpose  of  distracting  the  attention 
of  the  enemy;  and  on  the  25th  of  December  he 
arranged  every  thing  to  effect  this  double  passage. 
But  obstacles  intervened  in  respect  to  carriage, 
obstacles  very  great  at  that  season  of  the  year,  and 
prevented  every  thing  being  ready  at  Mozzetnbano, 
the  point  where  Biune  was  himself,  togetiier  with 
the  larger  part  of  his  army,  and  the  operation  was 
deferred  until  the  next  day.  It  would  then  ai)pcar 
that  the  order  to  attempt  the  second  passage  should 
have  been  countermanded ;  but  Brune,  having 
always  considered  the  attempt  on  the  side  of  Poz- 
zr.lo  as  merely  a  diversion,  thought  that  the  diver- 
sion would  more  surely  produce  its  eff"ect  if  it  pre- 
ceded the  principal  operation  twenty-four  hours. 

Dupont,  who  commanded  at  Pozzolo,  was  an 
officer  full  of  ardour;  he  advanced  on  the  morning 
of  the  25th  to  the  bank  of  the  Mincio,  crowned 
with  artillery  the  heights  of  Molino-della-Volta, 
whicii  overlooked  the  opposite  bank,  threw  over  a 
liridge  in  a  short  time,  under  favour  of  a  dense  foj^, 
and  succeeded  in  conveying  over  Waltrin's  division 
to  the  right  bank.  During  this  time  Brune  re- 
mained immoveable  with  the  left  and  the  reserve 
at  Mozzeinbano.  General  Suchet,  placed  between 
the  two  with  the  centre,  ma-sked  the  Austrian 
bridge  of  Borghetto.  Thus  general  Dupont  was  on 
the  left  bank  with  a  single  corps  before  the  whole 
Austrian  army.  The  result  it  is  easy  to  discover. 
Count  Bellcgarde,  without  losing  a  moment,  dircctei I 
the  whole  mass  of  his  forces  upon  Pozzolo.  Du|)ont 
sent  to  apjirise  Suchet  his  neighbour,  and  also  the 
Commander-in-chief,  of  liis  success,  and  of  the  dan- 
ger to  which  lie  was  exposed.  Siiehet,  a  brave  and 
failiiful  fellow-soldii-r,  hastened  to  the  assistance 
of  Dupont;  but  on  (juitting  Borghetto,  sent  to  urge 
Brune  to  provide  for  tlio  guard  of  the  entrenched' 
bridge,  which  lie  left  opi-n  by  his  movement  upon 
Pozzolo.  Brune,  in  i)lace  of  hurrying  with  all  his 
forces  to  the  pr.int  where  a  fortunate  incident  hail 
ojiened  for  his  army  tlio  passage  of  the  Mincio, 
never  moved  from  his  position,  being  engrossed  by 


his  operations  at  Mozzembano,  which  were  to  take 
idaee  on  the  following  day.  He  approved  of  the 
movement  of  Suchet,  but  recommended  him,  at  the 
same  time,  not  to  endanger  iiimself  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river,  sending  Boudet's  division  alone 
to  mask  th.e  bridge  of  Borghetto. 

General  Dupont,  impatient  to  profit  by  his  suc- 
cess, was  absolutely  engaged.  He  had  passed  the 
IMincio,  taken  Pozzolo,  which  is  situated  on  the 
left  bank,  and  successively  carried  over  the  divi- 
sions of  Wattrin  nnd  Jlonier.  One  of  his  wings 
was  supported  on  Pozzolo,  the  other  on  the  Mincio, 
under  the  protection  of  the  elevated  batteries  upon 
the  right  bank. 

The  Austrians  marched  upon  the  position  w 
all  their  reinforcements.  They  were  preceded  by  a 
number  of  pieces  of  cannon.  Happily,  the  French 
artillery  placed  upon  Molino-della-Volta,  in  sweep- 
ing from  one  bank  to  the  other,  protected  the 
French  by  the  superiority  of  their  fire.  The  Aus- 
trians flung  themselves  with  great  fury  upon  the 
divisions  of  Wattrin  and  Mcnier.  The  sixth  light, 
the  twenty-eighth,  and  the  fortieth  of  the  line,  were 
nearly  overwhelmed,  but  still  they  resisted  with 
wonderful  courage  the  repeated  attacks  of  the 
Austrian  cavalry  and  infantry.  Monier's  division, 
surprised  in  Pozzolo  by  a  colunui  of  grenadiers, 
was  driven  out.  At  this  moment  the  corps  of  Du- 
pont, detached  from  its  principal  point  of  sui>port, 
was  on  the  eve  of  being  driven  into  the  Miiieio. 
General  Suchet,  arriving  on  the  right  bank  with 
the  division  of  G:iZ:in,  and  perceiving,  from  the 
height  of  iMolino-ilella-Volta,  the  serious  danger  i;f 
Dupont,  engaged  with  ten  thousand  men  against 
thirty  thousand,  hastened  to  reinforce  him.  lie- 
strained  by  the  orders  of  Brune,  he  dared  not  send 
him  the  whole  of  Gazan's  division,  and  he  threw 
Clauzel's  brigade  over  to  the  other  side  of  the  river. 
This  brigade  was  insufficient,  and  Dupont  must 
have  succumbed,  despite  this  aid,  but  the  rest  of 
Gazan's  division,  crowning  the  opposite  bank,  from 
whicii  the  Austrians  could  be  reached  with  grape- 
shot,  and  even  by  musketry,  poured  upon  them  a 
murderous  fire,  and  thus  stopped  them.  Dupont's 
division,  being  supported,  resumed  the  offensive, 
and  made  the  Austrians  fall  baek.  Suchet,  seeing 
the  danger  that  every  moment  increased,  deter- 
mined to  send  over  the  whole  of  Gazan's  division 
to  the  opp  site  bank.  The  important  point,  Poz- 
zolo, was  fiercety  disputed;  six  times  it  was  taken 
and  retaken.  At  nine  o'clock  at  night  the  contest 
still  continued  by  moonlight,  under  a  severe  frost. 
Tiie  French  finally  remained  masters  of  the  left 
hank,  but  they  had  lost  the  flower  of  four  divisions. 
The  Austrians  left  six  tiiousand  killed  and  wounded 
on  the  field  of  battle,  and  the  French  nearly  the 
same  number.  But  for  the  arrival  of  general 
Suchet,  the  left  wing  woidd  have  been  utterly  de- 
stroyed; as  it  was,  he  dared  not  engage  fully,  his 
hands  being  tied  up  by  the  orders  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief. If  count  Bellegarde  had  directed 
his  whole  force  upon  that  point,  or  if  lie  had  passed 
over  the  bridge  of  Bor;;liet(o,  while  Brune  re- 
mained immoveable  at  Moazembano,  he  wouhl  have 
infficted  a  fearful  blow  upon  the  centre  and  left  of 
the  French  ai'iny. 

Fortunately,  he  did  nothing  of  the  kind.  The 
Mincio  was  thus  crossed  at  one  point.  Brune  ])er- 
sisted  in  his  plan  of  passing  the  next  day,  the  2(;tli 


Dishonourable  act  of  general 
18C     Laudon.-The  Au»tmns  THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 

beg  an  armi:>tice. 


Bonaparte  receives  the  ,„„„ 
news  of  the  victory  7"°- 
with  great  joy.  "'''"• 


of  December,  towards  Mozzembano,  thus  newly 
exposing  himself  to  the  chances  of  an  operation  by 
main  force.  He  covered  tlie  heigiits  of  Mozzem- 
bano with  forty  guns,  and,  favoured  by  the  fogs  of 
tliat  season,  succeeded  in  placing  a  bridge.  The 
Austrians  fatigued  with  tlie  fight  of  tlie  pre- 
ceding day,  and  doubting  the  intention  of  the 
second  passage,  made  less  resistance  than  the  day 
before,  and  permitted  the  positions  of  Sallionzo 
and  of  Vallegio  to  be  taken  from  them. 

The  whole  army  passed  in  tiiis  way  beyond  the 
Mincio,  and  was  thus  enabled  to  marcii  with  its 
united  divisions  ui)on  the  .\dige.  The  entrenched 
bridge  of  Borghetto  must  liave  fallen  naturally  from 
the  offensive  movement  of  the  French  columns.  A 
first  fault  was  committed,  and  several  hundreds  of 
brave  men's  lives  sacrificed  to  complete  the  con- 
quest of  a  point  that  was  not  tenable  :  twelve  hun- 
dred Austrians  were  made  prisoners  there. 

The  French  were  victorious,  but  at  the  cost  of 
valuable  blood,  which  generals  Bonaparte  or  Moreau 
would  not  have  failed  to  spare  the  army.  Leeourbe 
passed  the  German  rivers  in  a  very  different  man- 
ner. Brune,  having  forced  the  Mincio,  advanced 
towards  the  Adige,  which  lie  ought  to  have  crossed 
immediately.  He  was  not  ready  to  efft-ct  the  pas- 
sage before  the  3lst  of  December,  or  lOth  Nivose. 
On  the  1st  of  January,  general  Dehnas,  with  the 
advanced  guard,  suci-essfully  crossed  that  river 
above  Verona  at  Bussolengo.  General  Moneey, 
with  the  left,  was  to  ascend  to  Trent,  while  the  rest 
of  the  army  again  descended  to  invest  Vemna. 

Count  Bellegarde  at  this  moment  found  himself 
in  the  greatest  danger.  A  part  of  the  troops  of 
the  Tjjrol,  under  general  Laudon,  were  retiring 
before  Macdonald  and  falling  back  upon  Trent. 
General  Moneey,  with  his  corps,  was  also  marching 
there  in  ascending  the  Adige.  General  Laudon 
must  have  succumbed,  being  hemmed  in  between 
Macdonald  and  Moncey's  corps,  unless  he  had  time 
to  save  himself  in  the  valley  of  the  Brenta,  which, 
flowing  beyond  the  Adige,  terminates  in  many 
windings  near  Bassano.  Brune,  if  he  passed  the 
Adige  quickly,  and  i>ushed  Bellegarde  beycmd 
Verona,  to  Bassano  itself,  might  anticipate  at  this 
last  point  the  corps  of  the  Tyrol,  and  take  it  en- 
tirely by  closing  tiie  ouening  of  the  Brenta. 

An  act  of  general  Laudon,  not  very  honourable, 
and  the  dilatoriness  of  general  Brune,  excused  in 
some  degree,  jjerhaps,  by  the  season,  disengaged 
the  corps  of  the  Tyrol  from  its  peril. 

Macdonald  had  in  effect  arrived  near  Trent, 
while  the  corps  of  general  Moneey  was  proceeding 
thither  at  its  sid«.  General  Laudon  placed  be- 
tween these  two  corps,  had  recourse  to  a  falsehood. 
He  announced  to  general  Moneey  that  an  armis- 
tice liad  been  signed  in  Germany,  and  that  this 
armistice  was  common  to  both  armies.  This  was 
false,  because  the  treaty  signed  at  Steyer  by  Moreau 
only  api)lied  to  the  armies  operating  on  the  Danube. 
General  Moneey,  in  an  excess  of  honourable  feel- 
ing, believed  wliat  Laudon  stated,  and  opened  a 
passage  for  him  to  the  valley  of  the  Brenta.  He 
was  thus  enabled  to  rejoin  count  Bellegarde  in 
the  vicinity  of  Bassano. 

But  the  disasters  of  Austria  in  Germany  be- 
come known.  The  Austrian  army  beaten  in  Italy, 
pressed  by  a  mass  of  ninety  thousand  men  after  the 
junction  of  Macdonald  with  Brune,  was  no  longer 


able  to  hold  out.  An  armistice  was  proposed  to 
Brune,  who  hastened  to  accept  it,  and  it  was  signed 
on  the  ICth  of  January  at  Treviso.  Brune,  eager 
to  settle  affairs,  was  contented  to  demand  the  line  of 
the  Adige,  with  the  fortresses  of  Ferrara,  Pechiera, 
and  i'ortolegnago.  He  did  not  dream  of  demand- 
ing Mantua;  still  his  instructions  were  not  to  halt 
until  he  had  entered  Isonzo,  and  made  himself 
master  of  Mantua.  This  was  the  only  place  that 
was  worth  the  trouble,  because  all  the  others  must 
fall  naturally  and  as  a  thing  of  course.  It  was  of 
great  importance  to  occupy  it,  that  there  might  be 
a  claim  for  demanding  its  ce.-sion  to  the  Cisal- 
pine republic  at  the  congress  of  Lune'ville. 

While  these  events  were  happening  in  Upper 
Italy,  the  Neapolitans  entei-ed  Tuscany.  T!ie  count 
Danias,  who  commanded  a  body  of  sixteen  thousand 
men,  eight  thousand  of  whom  were  Neapolitans, 
had  advanced  as  far  as  Sienna.  General  Miollis, 
obliged  to  protect  all  the  posts  in  Tuscany,  had 
only  three  thousand  five  hundred  disposable  men, 
the  larger  part  Italians.  Notwithstandiiig  this,  he 
marched  upon  the  Neapolitans.  'Ihe  gallant  sol- 
diers of  the  division  of  Pino  threw  tiiemselves  upon 
the  advanced  guard  of  count  Danias,  overthrew  it, 
forced  their  way  into  Sienna,  and  put  to  the  sword 
a  number  of  the  insurgents.  Count  Damas  was 
obliged  to  retreat.  Murat  was  advancing  with  his 
grenadiers  to  force  from  him  a  signature  to  a  third 
armistice. 

The  campaign  was  thus  every  where  terminated, 
and  peace  insured.  On  every  belligerent  ])oint  the 
French  had  been  successful.  The  army  of  Moreau, 
flanked  by  that  of  Augereau,  had  penetrated  nearly 
to  the  gates  of  Vienna;  that  of  Brune,  seconded  by 
Macdonald,  had  passed  the  Mincii)  and  the  Adige, 
and  marched  to  Treviso.  Though  it  had  not  en- 
tirely driven  the  Austrians  beyond  the  Alps,  it  had 
taken  from  them  a  sufficiency  of  territory  to  furnish 
the  French  negotiator  at  Lune'ville  with  powerful 
arguments  against  Austrian  pretensions  in  Italy. 
Murat  was  about  to  compel  the  court  of  Naples  to 
submission. 

Ujxin  receiving  intelligence  of  the  battle  of  Ho- 
lienlinden.  the  first  consul,  who  was  said  to  be  jea- 
lous of  Moreau,  was  filled  with  hearty  delight'. 
This  victory  lost  nothing  of  its  value  in  his  eyes 
because  it  was  gained  by  a  rival.  He  deemed  him- 
self so  superior  to  all  his  coni])anions  in  arms,  in 
military  glory  and  in  political  inHu(  nee,  that  he  felt 
no  jealousy  towards  any  of  them;  wholly  devoted  to 
the  object  of  pacifying  and  reorganizing  France, 
ho  learned  with  lively  satisfaction  every  event 
which  contributed  to  facilitate  his  labour,  although 
such  events  might  aggrandize  men  who  were 
afterwards  set  up  as  rivals  to  him. 

That  which  most  displeased  him  in  this  campaign 
was  the  useless  effusion  of  French  blood  at  Pozzolo, 
and  above  all,  the  serious  fault  conmiitted  in  not 
demanding  Mantua.  He  refused  to  ratify  the  con- 
vention of  Treviso,  and  declared  that  he  would 
give  orders  for  the  renewal  of  hostilities,  if  the 
fortress  of  Mantua  were  not  immediately  delivered 
over  to  the  French  army. 

>  Bourrienne  says  that  "  he  leaped  for  joy ;"  and  this  bio- 
graiilu-r  is  not  to  be  suspected,  for,  tliougli  he  owed  every 
thing  to  Napoleon,  he  seems  not  to  have  remembered  that 
he  did  so  in  his  memoirs. 


Negotiations  renewed  at  Luneville. 
Determination  uf  Bonaparte. 


HOHENLINDEN. 


Terms  fixed  by  Bonaparte  for 
the  peace. 


187 


At  this  moment,  Joseph  Bonaparte  and  M.  Co- 
bentzel  were  at  Lime'ville,  awaiting  events  on  the 
D.iniibe  and  Adige.  These  negotiators  were  placed 
in  a  singuhir  situation,  treating  while  the  fight  was 
going  on,  and  being  in  some  sort  witnesses  of  the 
duel  between  two  great  nations,  expecting  every 
moment  the  news,  thou^^h  not  of  the  death,  yet  of 
the  exhaustion  of  one  or  the  other.  M.  Cobenlzel 
exhibited  upon  the  occasion  a  vigour  of  character 
whieh  might  serve  as  an  example  for  those  men 
who  are  called  upon  to  serve  their  country  in  such 
important  circumstances.  He  never  suffered  him- 
self to  be  disconcerted,  neither  by  the  defeat  of  the 
.\ustrians  at  Hohenlinden,  nor  by  the  passage  of 
the  Inn,  the  Salza,  i>r  the  Traun.  To  all  these  dis- 
astrous events  he  replied,  with  imperturbable  self- 
possession,  that  all  these  things  were  no  doubt  very 
vexatious,  but  that  the  archduke  Charles  iiad  reco- 
vered from  his  chagrin,  and  that  he  had  arrived  at 
the  head  of  the  extraordinary  levies  of  Bohemia 
and  Hungary;  that  he  had  brought  to  the  assist- 
ance of  the  capital  twenty-five  thousand  Bohemians 
and  seventy-five  thousand  Hungarians ;  that,  in 
advancing  further,  the  French  would  encounter  a 
resistance  which  they  could  little  expect  to  find. 
He  supported  at  the  same  time  all  \he  Austrian 
demands,  particularly  that  of-  not  treating  without 
an  English  plenipotentiary,  who  would  at  least 
cover  by  his  presence  the  real  negotiations  which 
it  might  be  possible  to  establisii  between  the  two 
nations.  Sometimes  he  threatened  to  return  to 
Fi-ankfort.  and  thus  put  an  end  to  all  the  hopes 
of  jieace  of  which  the  first  consul  had  need, 
for  composing  the  minds  of  the  people.  At  this 
threat,  the  first  consul,  who  was  never  guilty  of 
tergiversiition,  when  any  one  attempted  to  intimidate 
him,  answered  M.  Cobentzel,  that  if  he  quitted 
Luneville,  all  chance  of  acconnnodation  would  be 
for  ever  lost,  that  the  war  should  be  pushed  to  the 
utmost,  even  to  the  entire  downfall  of  the  Austrian 
monarchy. 

Ill  the  midst  of  this  diplomatic  contest,  M.  Co- 
bentzel received  intelligence  of  the  armistice  con- 
cluded at  Steyer,  the  orders  of  the  emperor  to  treat 
at  any  price,  and  above  all,  to  extend  to  Italy  the 
armistice  already  agreed  upon  in  Germany,  be- 
cause nothing  would  be  gained,  if,  having  stopped 
one  of  two  armies  marching  upon  Vienna,  the 
other  should  be  permitted  to  take  the  same  direc- 
tion, by  Friouli  and  Carinthia.  In  conse(iuence, 
M.  Cobentzel  declared,  on  the  31st  of  December, 
that  he  was  ready  to  treat  without  the  consent  of 
England,  that  he  would  agree  to  sign  )>reliminaries 
of  peace,  or  a  definitive  treaty,  whichever  was 
desired  by  France;  but  before  he  committed  him- 
self decidedly,  in  separating  from  England,  he 
wished  that  an  armistice,  common  to  Germany 
and  Italy,  should  be  concluded,  and  some  explana- 
tions regarding  the  terms  of  the  peace  should  be 
made,  at  least  in  a  general  manner.  For  his  own 
part,  he  would  propose  as  conditions,  that  the  Oglio 
should  be  the  limit  of  Austria  in  Italy,  with  the 
Legations,  and  at  the  sam-  time,  that  the  dukes  of 
Modena  an<I  Tuscany  should  be  reinstated  in  their 
former  dominions. 

These  conditions  were  unrca-sonable,  the  first 
consul  would  not  have  admitted  them  before  the 
triumphs  of  the  winter  campaign  had  been  achieved, 
and  much  less  afterwards. 


The  preliminaries  <:f  M.  St.  Julien  have  not  been 
forgotten  here.  The  treaty  of  Campo-Formio  was 
adopted  for  the  basis,  with  this  difference,  that  cer- 
tain indemnities  promised  to  Austria  f.r  small  ter- 
ritories, were  to  be  taken  in  Italy  in  ])lace  of  Ger- 
many. We  have  already  indicated  the  substance  of 
tliem;  the  treaty  of  Campo-Formio.  assigned  to  the 
Cisalpine  republic  and  to  Austria  the  boundary  of 
the  Adige  ;  in  promising  indenmity  to  Austria  in 
Italy,  site  was  given  to  hope  for  the  Mincio,  for 
example,  in  place  of  the  Adige,  as  a  boundary',  but 
the  Mincio  at  most,  and  the  territoi'y  of  die  Lega- 
tions not  at  all,  of  which  the  fii-st  consul  intended 
to  make  a  different  disposition. 

The  ideas  of  the  first  consul  were  thus  deter- 
mineil.  He  insisted  that  Austria  should  pay  the 
expenses  of  the  winter  campaign  ;  that  her  Italian 
limits  should  be  the  Adige,  and  nothing  more,-  and 
that  she  should  receive  no  indenmity,  neither  in 
Germany  nor  in  Italy,  for  the  small  territories 
ceded  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine.  The  Legations 
he  intended  to  reserve,  and  make  them  subservient 
to  divers  combinations.  Until  now  they  had  belonged 
to  the  Cisalpine  republic.  His  design  was  rather 
to  leave  thein  to  that  rej)nblic,  or  to  devote  them 
to  the  agiii-andizement  of  the  house  of  Parma,  as 
promised  by  treaty  with  the  court  of  Spain.  In 
this  last  case  he  would  have  given  Parma  to  the 
Cisalpine,  Tuscany  to  the  house  of  Parma,  which 
would  have  been  a  great  aggrandizement,  and  the 
Legations  to  the  grand  duke  of  Tuscany.  As  to  the 
duke  of  Modena,  Austria  had  promised,  by  tlie 
treaty  of  Campo-Formio,  to  indemnify  him  for  his 
lost  duchy  by  means  of  the  Brisgau.  It  was  for 
her  to  keep  her  engagements  towards  that  prince. 

The  first  consul  wished  fta-  another  thing  that 
was  well  understood,  but  very  ditticnit  to  make 
Austria  consent  to.  He  did  not  wish,  as  he  was 
bound  to  do,  after  the  treaty  of  Campo-Formio,  to 
hold  a  congress  with  the  princes  of  tlie  em])ire,  to 
obtain  from  each  individually  the  formal  abandon- 
ment of  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine  to  France.  He 
recollected  the  congress  of  Rastadt,  which  termi- 
nated in  the  assassination  of  the  French  plenipoten- 
tiaries. He  recollected  the  trouble  he  had  been  at 
to  treat  with  each  prince  individually,  an<l  to  come 
to  an  agreement  with  all  those  who  had  lost  terri- 
tories, upon  a  system  of  indemnity  which  should 
be  satisfactory  to  them.  The  first  consul  demanded, 
in  consequence,  that  the  emperor  should  sign,  as 
chief  of  the  house  of  Austria,  for  what  concerned 
the  house,  and  as  emperor  for  what  concerned  the 
empire.  In  a  word,  he  wanted  to  have  at  a  single 
stroke  the  acknowledgment  of  the  French  con- 
(juests,  whether  on  the  part  of  Austria  or  on  the 
part  of  the  Germanic  confederation. 

Bonaparte  therefore  ordered  his  brother  Joseph 
to  signify  to  M.  Cobentzel,  as  definitively  settled, 
the  following  conditions  : — The  left  baidi  of  the 
Rhine  to  France.  The  limits  of  the  Adige  to 
Austria  and  the  Cisalpine,  without  abandoning  the 
Legations.  The  Legations  to  the  duke  of  Tuscany. 
Tuscany  to  the  didie  of  Parma.  Parma  to  the 
Cisalpine.  Brisgau  to  the  duke  of  .Modena.  Finally, 
the  peace  to  be  signed  by  the  emperor,  as  much 
for  hiniself  as  for  the  empire.  A.s  for  the  armistice 
in  Italy,  he  was  willing  to  grant  it  on  condition 
that  Mantua  be  immediately  given  up  to  the  French 
armv. 


188''"o"y'-Ordlr:ol^?l,11r?t    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE,    ^t&^f'^^  ^- *°^=^''^^    'Z'. 

consul  to  Ills  brother. 


As  the  first  consul  well  knew  the  mode  of  treat- 
ing common  to  the  Austrians,  and  in  particular 
that  of  M.  Cohentzel,  he  wislied  to  cut  short  many 
difficulties,  and  much  opposition,  and  menaces  of 
simulated  despair  ;  he  therefore  thought  of  a  ne>v 
mode  of  signifying  his  ultimatum.  The  legislative 
body  had  just  assembled  ;  it  was  proposed  to  it  on 
the '2d  of  January,  or  12th  Niv6.-ie,  to  declare  that 
the  four,  armies  commanded  by  Moreau,  Brune, 
:Macdonald,  and  Augereau,  had  merited  the  thanks 
of  their  country.  A  message  added  to  this  proi)0- 
sition  announced  that  M.  Cobentzel  at  last  con- 
sented to  treat  without  the  concurrence  of  Great 
Britain,  and  the  definitive  conditions  of  the  peace 
were,  the  Rhine  for  France,  the  Adige  for  the  Cis- 
aljune  republic.  The  message  added,  that  in  case 
these  conditions  should  not  be  accepted,  the  peace 
slKJuld  be  signed  at  Prague,  at  Vienna,  and  at 
Venice. 

This  communication  was  received  with  great  joy 
in  Paris,  but  it  caused  a  deep  emotion  at  Lunevilie. 
M.  Cobentzel  raised  a  great  outcry  against  the 
hardness  of  these  conditions,  above  all  against  their 
form.  He  complained  bittei'ly,  that  France  seemed 
to  be  making  the  treaty  herself,  without  negotiating 
with  any  one.  Still  he  kejyt  firm,  and  declared 
that  Austria  could  not  give  way  upon  all  these 
points  ;  she  would  rather  fall  with  arms  in  her 
hands  than  concede  such  conditions.  M.  Cobent- 
zel consented  to  retire  from  the  Oglio  to  the 
Chicsa,  wliich  runs  between  the  Oglio  and  the 
Mincio,  on  the  condition  of  having  Peschiera, 
Mantua,  and  Ferrara,  without  the  obligation  to 
demolisii  the  fortifications.  He  consented  to  in- 
demnify the  diiko  of  Modcna  with  Brisgau,  but  in- 
sisted on  the  restitution  of  the  territory  of  the  duke 
of  Tuscany.  He  spoke  of  formal  guarantees  to  bo 
given  for  the  independence  of  Piedmont,  Switzer- 
land, the  Holy  See,  Naples,  and  other  states.  As 
to  peace  with  the  empire,  he  declared  that  the 
emperor  was  about  to  demand  powers  of  the  Ger- 
manic Diet,  but  that  this  monarch  would  never  take 
upon  liimself  to  treat  for  it  without  being  authorized. 
M.  Cobentzel  insisted  upon  an  armistice  in  Italy, 
stating  that  as  far  as  regarded  Mantua,  if  Austria 
were  to  surrender  that  jjlace  into  the  hands  of  the 
French  army,  she  would  put  Italy  at  once  into 
tiie  hands  of  the  French,  and  de])rive  herself  of  all 
the  means  of  resistance  if  hostilities  should  be  re- 
commenced. M.  Cobentzel  joined  blandishments 
to  firmness,  endeavouring  to  touch  Joseph  in  speak- 
ing to  him  of  the  favourable  dispositions  of  the 
emperor  towards  France,  and  more  ])articuiarly 
towards  the  first  consul ;  even  insinuating  that 
Austria  mi;;ht  probably  ally  herself  with  the 
French  repiiliiic,  and  th:it  sucli  an  alliance  woulil 
be  very  useful  against  the  concealed  but  real  ill- 
will  of  the  northern  courts. 

Joseph,  who  was  of  a  very  mild  disposition, 
could  not  but  be  affected  to  a  certain  extent  by  the 
complaints,  the  threats,  and  the  blandishments  of 
M.  Cobentzel.  The  first  consul  awakened  his  bro- 
ther's energy  by  numerous  dispatches.  "  You  are 
f(trbidden,"  he  wx'ote  to  Josepli,  "  to  admit  of  any 
discussion  on  the  principle  laid  down  as  the  ulti- 
matum :  tlie  lliii.NE  and  the  Adkje.  Hold  to  these 
two  conditions  as  irrevocable.  Hostilities  shall 
not  cease  in  Italy,  but  with  the  surrender  of  Man- 
tua.    If  they  commence  again,  the  middle  of  the 


Adige  shall  be  carried  back  to  the  crest  of  the  , 
Julian  Aljjs,  and  Austria  shall  be  excluded  from  ' 
Italy.  Should  Austria  speak  of  her  friendship  and 
alliance,  reply  that  those  who  have  just  shown 
themselves  so  attached  to  the  English  alliance  can- 
not care  about  ours.  Assume,  while  you  are  ne- 
gotiating, the  attitude  of  general  Moreau,  and 
make  M.  Cobentzel  take  that  of  the  archduke 
John." 

At  last,  after  a  resistance  of  some  days,  intelli- 
gence more  alarming  continuing  to  arrive  every 
hour  from  the  banks  of  the  Mincio,  where  it  must 
not  be  forgotten  hostilities  were  much  more  pro- 
longed than  in  Germany,  M.  Cobentzel  consented 
that  the  Adige  should  be  adopted  for  the  boundary 
of  the  Austrian  possessions  in  Italy.  This  assent 
took  place  on  the  I5th  of  January,  1801,  or  25th 
of  Nivose.  M.  Cobentzel  ceased  to  allude  to  the 
duke  of  Modem),  but  renewed  the  formal  demand 
for  the  re-establishment  of  the  duke  of  Tuscany  in 
his  estates.  .  He  agreed  yet  further  to  a  decla- 
ration, that  the  peace  of  the  empire  should  be 
signed  at  Lune'ville,  after  the  emperor  had  obtained 
power  to  do  so  from  the  Germanic  diet.  In  the 
same  protocol  tliis  plenipotentiary  asked  for  an 
armistice  in  Italy,  but  without  the  condition  that 
Mantua  should  be  immediately  given  up  to  the 
French  troops.  He  feared  that  in  abandoning  this 
point  of  support,  France  would  exact  still  harder 
conditions  ;  and  however  alarming  the  resumption 
of  hostilities  appeared  to  be,  he  would  not  consent 
to  part  with  this  pledge  so  soon. 

This  pertinacity  in  the  defence  of  his  country, 
when  in  so  difficult  a  position,  was  lionouiable, 
but  it  terminated  at  last  by  becoming  imprudent, 
and  brought  with  it  consequences  M.  Cobentzel 
had  never  foreseen. 

That  which  at  this  time  was  passing  in  the  north, 
contributed  as  much  as  the  victories  of  the  French 
armies  to  augment  the  pretensions  of  the  first 
consul.  He  had  pressed  forward  as  much  as  lay  in 
his  power  a  peace  with  Austria,  in  the  first  instance 
to  have  i)eace,  and  in  the  second  to  secure,  himself 
against  those  caprices  of  character  so  common  with 
the  emperor  Paul.  For  some  months  past  that 
sovereign  had  exi)ibited  a  bitter  feeling  of  resent- 
ment against  Austria  and  England  ;  but  a  ma- 
niEuvre  of  the  Austrian  or  English  cabinet  might 
recal  him  to  the  arms  of  the  coalition,  and  then 
France  would  again  have  all  Europe  upon  her 
hands.  It  was  tliis  apprehension  which  made  the 
first  consul  brave  the  inconveniences  of  a  winter 
campaign,  in  onler  to  crush  Austria  while  she 
was  deprived  of  the  assistance  of  the  other  forces 
of  the  continent.  The  recent  change  of  events  in 
the  north  had  removed  all  apprehensions  upon 
that  score,  and  he  became  immediately  much  more 
patient  and  niore  exacting.  Paul  had  broken 
formally  with  his  old  friends  and  allies,  and  had 
flung  himsilf  altogether  into  the  arms  of  France, 
with  that  warmth  which  attached  to  ali  his  actions. 
Already  very  nuich  disposed  to  act  thus,  the  effect 
jiroduced  in  his  mind  by  the  victory  of  Mareiigo, 
the  restitution  of  the  Russian  prisoners,  the  ofi'er 
of  the  island  of  Malta,  and,  lastly,  the  adroit  and 
delicate  flattery  of  the  first  consul,  had  been 
definitively  disclosed  by  a  late  event.  It  will  be 
I'eniembered  that  the  first  consul,  despairing  of  the 
preservation  of  Malta,  strictly  blockaded  by  the 


1801. 
Jan. 


Policy  of  Paul  towards  England. 


HOHENLINDEN.  Kussia  and  Prussia  support  France 


]l'-0 


Eii<;Iisli,  li:id  struck  upon  the  happy  idea  of  offer- 
inj;  the  island  to  Paul  I.;  tliat  the  czar  had  reieivcd 
tlie  offVr  >viili  delight,  and  had  commanded  M. 
S|ireiiyporteii  to  go  to  Paris,  and  tliank  the  licad  of 
the  Frrncli  government.  There  he  was  to  receive 
tlie  Russian  prisoners,  and  to  conduct  tliera  to 
Malta  to  hiild  it  as  the  garrison.  But  in  the  interval, 
general  Vauhois,  reduced  to  the  last  extremity,  had 
surrendered  the  island  to  the  English.  This  event, 
which  under  other  circumstances  would  have  been 
a  suliject  of  deep  regret  to  the  first  consul,  cha- 
grined him  very  little.  "  I  have  lost  Malta,"  he 
observed,  "  but  I  have  placed  the  apple  of  discord 
in  the  liands  of  my  enemies.'  In  fact,  Paid 
hastened  to  demand  of  England  the  seat  of  the 
order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  hut  the  English 
kept  the  island,  and  gave  him  a  flat  refusal.  He 
Could  restrain  himself  no  longer,  hut  immediately 
laid  an  embargo  upon  nearly  tliree  hundred  English 
vessels,  then  in  the  ports  of  Russia,  and  even 
ordered  any  of  them,  endeavouring  to  save  them- 
selves by  flight,  to  be  sunk.  This  circumstance, 
joined  to  the  dispute  respecting  neutral  vessels, 
before  explained,  could  not  fail  to  produce  war. 
The  czar  ])laced  himself  in  front  of  the  battle,  and 
calling  Sweden,  Denmark,  and  even  Prussia  to  his 
assistance,  proposed  to  them  the  renewal  of  the 
armed  neutrality  of  1780.  He  sent  an  invitation 
to  the  king  of  Sweden  to  visit  Petersburg,  to 
confer  with  him  upon  so  important  a  subject. 
Kmg  Gustavus  accepted  the  invitation,  and  was 
magnificently  received.  Paul,  full  of  the  mania 
which  at  that  time  possessed  him,  held  in  Peters- 
burg a  grand  chapter  of  the  order  of  Malta,  ad- 
mitting as  knight  the  king  of  Sweden,  and  those 
persons  who  had  accomjianied  him,  lavishing  be- 
yond all  sober  limits  the  honours  of  the  order. 
But  he  afl'ected  something  mcjre  serious  still,  he 
renewed  immediately  the  league  of  1780.  On  the 
2fiih  of  December,  1800,  there  was  signed  by  the 
ministers  of  Russia,  Swetlen,  and  Denmark,  a 
declaration,  by  which  the  three  maritime  powers 
engaged  to  maintain  even  by  force  of  arms  the 
princi|)les  of  neutral  law.  They  enumerated  all 
the  principles  in  their  declaration,  without  the 
omission  of  one  of  those  which  we  have  mentioned, 
and  whieh  France  had  prevailed  upon  the  United 
States  to  acknowledge  also.  They  engaged  thein- 
selves  to  imite  their  forces,  and  to  use  them  against 
any  power,  whatever  it  might  be,  that  should  at- 
tem[jt  to  assail  the  rights  which  tliey  asserted  be- 
longed to  them.  Denmark,  allhougli  very  zealous 
for  the  rights  of  neutrals,  was  not  (|uite  willing  to 
procce<l  with  such  rapidity  ;  but  the  ice  dclended 
her  for  three  months,  and  she  hoped  that  before  the 
return  of  the  fine  season  England  would  yield,  or 
that  the  [)reparations  made  by  the  neutral  parties 
in  the  Baltic  would  bo  suflicieiit  to  prevent  the 
English  fleet  from  approaching  before  the  Snuiid, 
as  it  had  ilone  in  the  month  of  August  previously. 
Prussia,  that  would  rather  negotiate  than  ])rnceed 
with  such  promptitude,  was  drawn  into  the  treaty, 
as  ^*ell  as  Sweden  and  Dcmnark.  Two  days  after- 
wards she  adhered  to  the  declaration  of  St.  Peters- 
burg. 

These  were  events  of  serious  importance,  and 
insuied  to  France  the  alliance  of  all  the  northern 
jxiwers  of  ICurope  against  England  ;  hut  this  was 
not  all  the  dij)lomatic  success  of  the  first  consul. 


The  emperor  Paul  had  proposed  to  the  court  of 
Prussia  to  have  a  common  understanding  with 
France  (m  what  was  passing  at  Lun^ville,  and  that 
all  three  should  agree  to  the  bases  of  a  general 
peace.  Now  the  privileges  w  hich  these  two  powers  i 
communicated  to  the  French  government  were  pre- 
cisely those  that  France  was  desirous  of  carrying 
at  Lune'ville. 

Prussia  and  Russia  granted  the  left  bank  of  the 
Rhine  to  France  without  the  necessity  of  a  dis- 
putation; they  only  required  an  indenmity  for  such 
princes  as  lost,  by  that  means,  a  portion  of  their 
territories;  but  only  for  hereditary  jninces,  by 
means  of  the  secularization  of  the  ecclesiastical 
estates.  This  was  just  the  principle  that  Austria 
op))osed  and  France  admitted.  Russia  and  Prussia 
reipiired  the  independence  of  Holland,  Switzerland, 
Piedmont,  and  Naples,  which  at  that  moment  were 
in  no  way  opposing  themselves  to  the  interests  of 
the  first  consul.  The  emperor  Paul  interfered  with 
the  interests  of  Naples  and  Piedmont  on  the  ground 
of  a  treaty  of  alliance,  concluded  with  these  states 
in  1798,  when  it  had  been  seen  needful  to  involve 
them  in  the  war  of  the  coalition;  but  he  did  not 
mean  to  protect  Naples,  save  on  the  conditions  that 
she  should  break  with  England.  In  resjiect  to 
Piedmont,  he  only  claimed  fiir  her  a  slight  imlemnity 
for  the  cession  of  Savoy  to  France.  He  deemed  it 
right,  and  so  did  Prussia  with  him,  that  France 
should  restrain  the  ambition  of  Austria  in  Italy, 
and  confine  her  within  the  limits  of  the  Adige, 

Paul  was  so  ardent  at  last,  that  he  made  a  pro- 
posal to  the  first  consul  that  both  should  ally  them- 
selves more  strictly  against  England,  and  not  make 
peace  with  her  until  after  the  i-estnration  of  Malta 
to  the  order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem.  This  was 
more  than  the  first  consul  would  consent  to  do,  who 
was  by  no  means  fond  of  making  such  positive  en- 
gagements. Paul,  desirous  of  reconciling  the  show 
of  things  with  their  real  state,  in  place  of  clandes- 
tine communications  with  M.  Krudener  and  general 
Beurnonville  at  Berlin,  opened  a  public  negotiation 
in  Paris  itself.  He  nominated  as  a  plenipotentiary 
M.  Kalitschefl"  to  treat  ostensibly  with  the  French 
cabinet,  and  that  jjcrsonage  bad  orders  to  go  to 
France  immediately.  He  was  bearer  of  a  letter  to 
the  first  consul,  and  what  was  more,  written  by  the 
emperor  Paul  with  his  own  hand  M.  Sprengportcn 
was  already  in  Paris,  and  M.  Kalitschefl"  was  about 
to  be  there.  It  was  not  possible  to  wish  for  a  more 
signal  proof  of  the  reconciliation  of  Russia  with 
France. 

All  was  thus  changed  in  Europe  in  the  north  as 
well  as  the  south.  The  maritime  ])owers  in  o])en 
war  with  England  endeavoured  to  hague  with 
Fiance  against  that  country  by  engagements  alto- 
gether absolute.  In  the  south,  Spain  was  already 
bound  to  France  by  the  closest  ties;  and  she  threat- 
ened Portugal  in  order  to  force  lur  to  br  ak  with 
Great  Britain.  Finally,  Austria,  lieatcn  in  Germany 
and  Italy,  abandoned  by  the  other  powers  of  Eu- 
rope to  the  mercy  of  France,  had  no  oth<  r  defence 
than  the  obstinacy  of  her  negotiators  at  Ltinevillo. 
These  events,  which  the  ability  of  the  (irst  consul 
had  wrought  oxk,  made  a  great  noise  one  after  the 
other  in  rajtid  succession,  during  the  first  days  of 

'  L<-ltcr  of  the  king  of  Prussia,  of  tlic  I  Itli  of  January, 
cuininunicatfd  by  M.  de  Lucchviiini. 


190 


Bonaparte  delays  the 
nt-gotiatioiis  —  and 
the  reason. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Progrpss  of  the  nego- 
liiitions.  —  Indenini- 
ficatory  stipulations. 


January.  Russia  and  Prussia  manifested  tlieir 
wishes  for  tlie  peace  of  the  continent,  and  Paul 
with  his  own  hand  announced  to  the  iirst  consul 
the  mission  of  M.  Kalitscheff  at  tiie  very  time  when 
M.  Cobentzel,  giving  way  as  to  tlie  hinit  of  the 
Adige,  obstinately  held  out  in  regard  to  the  rest, 
and  refused  the  delivery  of  Mantua  as  the  price  of 
the  Italian  armistice. 

The  first  consul  wished  immediately  to  suspend 
the  progress  of  the  negotiations  at  Lun^ville.  He 
had  instructions  given  to  Joseph  ',  and  wrote  to 
him,  prescriliing  a  new  line  of  conduct  to  the  French 
legation.  In  such  a  crisis  as  had  thus  occurred  in 
Europe  he  now  thought  it  not  to  be  convenient  to 
press  too  forward.  It  was  possible  that  something 
might  be  ceded  which  might  be  opposed  to  the 
views  of  tlie  northern  courts,  or  something  might 
be  contrary  to  their  wishes  in  the  stipulations. 
Thinking  besides  thiit  M.  Kalitscheff  would  airive 
in  a  few  days,  he  wished  to  see  him  before  making 
a  definitive  engagement.  Orders  were  then  sent  to 
Joseph  to  temporize  at  least  for  ten  days  befoi-e 
signing,  and  to  exact  conditions  still  harder  than 
those  wliich  h:id  ju'eceded. 

Austria  consented  to  limit  herself  to  the  Adige. 
The  first  consul  intended  to  understand  by  that,  the 
absence  of  the  duke  of  Tuscany  from  Italy,  and  his 
reception  of  an  indenmity  like  the  duke  of  Modena 
in  Germany.  His  ultimate  object  was,  not  to  leave 
an  Austrian  prince  in  Italy.  To  leave  the  duke 
of  Tuscany  in  Tuscany  was  in  his  sight  to  give 
Leghorn  to  the  English.  To  jilace  him  in  the  Le- 
gations was  giving  Austria  a  hold  beyond  the  Po. 
In  consequence  he  adopted  the  plan  of  giving  Tus- 
cany to  the  bouse  of  Parma,  as  he  bad  stipulated 
at  Madrid ;  to  confide  Leghorn  in  consequence  to  the 
Spanish  navy,  and  of  thenceforward  including  the 
whole  valley  of  the  Po  in  the  Cisali)ine  republic  : 
for  after  this  plan  it  would  consist  of  the  Mila- 
nese, Mantua,  Piacenz;i,  Parma,  Modena,  and  the 
Legations.  Piedmont,  situated  at  the  opening  of  the 
valley,  would  in  future  be  only  a  prisoner  to  France. 
Austria,  gone  back  to  the  Adige,  wiis  thrown  to  one 
extremity  of  Italy;  Rome  and  Naples  confined  to 
the  other;  France,  placed  in  the  centre,  tlinugh 
Tuscany  and  the  Cisalpine,  would  sway  and  direct 
the  whole  of  that  superb  country. 

Joseph  Bonaparte  had,  therefore,  for  his  new  in- 
structions to  exact  that  the  duke  of  Tuscany,  as 
well  as  the  duke  of  Modena,  should  be  transferred 
to  Germany  ;  that  the  principles  of  the  seculari- 
zation of  the  ecclesiastical  stutes  should  be  car- 
ried out  in  order  to  indemnify  the  hereditary  Ger- 
man ])rinces,  as  well  as  the  Italian  princes,  dispos- 
sessed by  France;  that  i)cace  with  the  empire 
should  be  signed  at  the  same  time  as  peace  with 
Austria,  witboot  waiting  for  powers  from  the  diet  ; 
that  nothing  should  be  stipulated  respecting  Na- 
ples, Rome,  or  Piedmont,  because  France,  desirous 
to  preserve  these  states,  wished  first  to  arrange 
with  them  the  conditions  of  their  preserAation; 
finally,  that  .Mantua  be  given  up  to  the  French 
armies  under  ihe  threat,  without,  of  the  immediate 
renewal  of  hostilities. 

Nothing  is  more  common  when  a  negotiation  has 
not  terminated,  and  when  a  treaty  has  not  been 
signed,  nothing  is  more  usual  than  to  modify  the 

'  Letter  dated  1st  Pluviose,  or  21st  January,  in  tlie  Stale 
Paper  Office. 


proposed  conditions.  The  French  cabinet  was  con- 
sequently justified  in  altering  the  first  conditions  ; 
but  it  must  be  acknowlfdged  ihat  here  the  altera- 
tions were  abrupt  and  very  considerable. 

M.  Cobentzel,  by  lingering  on,  demanding  too 
much,  and  being  obstinately  blind  to  his  position, 
had  lost  the  favourable  minute.  According  to  his 
custom,  he  complained  bitterly,  and  tlA-eatened 
France  with  Austi-ia  in  desperation.  He  was  still 
pi'essed  to  obtain  an  armistice  for  Italy,  and  deter- 
mined to  concede  Mantua  ;  though  he  feared  that 
after  delivering  up  this  bulwark,  he  should  find 
himself  at  the  mercy  of  France,  and  see  himself 
exposed  to  new  demands.  In  this  disposition  of 
mind,  he  showed  himself  mistrustful  and  peevish. 
He  would  not  yield  Mantua  until  the  last  moment. 
At  length,  on  the  '26th  of  January,  or  6th  Pluviose, 
he  signed  the  order  for  the  surrender  of  that  place 
to  the  French  army,  in  order  to  obtain  an  armi- 
stice in  Italy,  and  a  prolongation  of  that  in  Ger- 
many. The  negotiators  sent  off  couriers  from 
Lune'ville  itself,  to  prevent  an  effusion  of  blood;  of 
which  there  was  imminent  danger. 

The  discussions  that  followed  this  event  at  Lund- 
ville  were  exceedingly  warm.  M.  Cobentzel  said, 
that  Joseph  had  promised  the  re-establishment  of 
the  grand  duke— promised  it  too  the  same  day  that 
he  had  consented  to  the  boundary  of  the  Adige. 
Joseph  Bonaparte  replied,  that  such  was  the  fact, 
but  that  the  re-establishment  of  this  prince  was  to 
be  in  Germany;  that  every  state  profited  of  its  ex- 
isting situation  to  treat  more  advantageously  ;  that 
France,  in  thus  acting,  applied  the  very  principles 
expressed  by  M.  Thugut  in  his  letter  of  the  last 
winter  ;  that  moreover  the  grand  duke,  respect- 
ing whom  they  were  in  discussion,  would  be  iso- 
lated completely  from  Austria  in  Tuscany,  and  thus 
be  unsupported.  That  in  the  Legations,  on  the  con- 
trary, he  would  be  too  well  placed,  as  he  would 
thus  be  a  connexion  between  Austria,  Rome,  and 
Naples,  or,  in  other  words,  between  the  enemies  of 
France,  to  which  she  would  never  consent.  He 
must,  therefore,  resign  all  hope  of  being  placed 
either  in  Tuscany  or  in  the  Legations. 

After  some  warm  controversies,  M.  Cobentzel 
appeared  at  length  to  consent  that  the  indemnities 
for  the  grand  duke  should  be  taken  in  Geimany  ; 
but  he  refused  to  admit  the  absolute  principle  of 
the  secularization  of  the  ecclesiastical  states.  The 
ecclesiastical  states  remained  devoted  to  Austiia, 
more  especially  the  three  electoral  archbisho)irics 
of  Treves,  Cologne,  and  Mayence,  while  the  here- 
ditary princes  were  often  oj)posed  to  her  influence 
in  the  Germanic  Diet.  Austria  consented  to  the 
secularization,  on  the  understanding  that  the  small 
ecclesiastical  states  should  serve  not  only  to  indem- 
nity the  hereditary  princes  of  Bavaria,  Wurteni- 
burg,  and  Orange,  but  the  great  ecclesiastical 
jirinces,  such  as  the  archbishops  of  Treves,  Cologne, 
and  Mayence  ;  since  by  them  her  influence  would 
have  been  partly  sujijiorted  in  Germany.  Joseph 
Bonaparte  had  directions  to  refuse  this  ])roposition 
detcrminately.  He  was  not  to  admit  the  principle 
of  secularization  but  for  the  advantage  of  the 
hereditary  princes  alone.  Finally,  M.  Cobentzel 
would  not  sign  the  peace  for  the  empire  without 
jiower  from  the  Diet.  His  refusal  arose,  according 
to  his  own  account,  fi-om  his  repugnance  to  violate 
forms :  in  reality  it  was  from  his  dislike  to  make 


ISOl. 
Feb. 


Conditions  of  the  treaty. — Difficulties 
in  agreeing  on  the  indemnities. 


HOHENLINDEN. 


too  cvidont  the  game  commonly  played  in  regard 
to  the  nuinbei-s  of  the  Germanic  lii.dy,  by  coniiiro- 
mising  thtin  with  France,  whenever  it  was  the 
interest  of  Austria  to  do  so  ;  and  afterwards,  when 
the  war  became  unfortunate,  to  abandon  them.  In 
1797  she  delivered  over  Mayence  to  the  French,  a 
proceeding  severely  censured  by  all  Germany;  and 
now  to  sign  on  the  part  of  the  empire  according  to 
M.  Cobentzel  was  a  perfect  novelty,  grievous  indeed, 
added  to  all  the  anterior  acts  with  which  the  Ger- 
man princes  had  to  reproach  tiieir  sovereign.  Jo- 
seph Bonaparte  replied  to  these  arguments,  that  it 
was  easy  to  discover  the  real  motives  of  Austria  ; 
she  was  afraid  of  committing  herself  with  the  Ger- 
manic body,  but  that  it  was  not  for  France  to  enter 
into  such  cuusiderations  ;  that,  as  to  the  point  of 
form,  there  was  an  example  in  the  peace  of  LSaden 
in  ITli,  signed  by  the  emperor,  without  power 
from  the  Uit-t.  There  was  nothing  more  de- 
manded of  him  now,  than  to  sanction  that  which  ihe 
deputation  from  the  empire  had  already  assented 
to  at  Rjistadt, — that  was,  the  abandonment  of  the 
left  bank  of  tlie  Rhine  to  France;  that  his  refusal 
would  be  a  poor  service  rendered  to  Germany, 
for  the  French  armies  would  contiime  in  the  ter- 
ritory tliey  occu|)ied  until  a  peace  was  concluded 
with  the  empire,  whereas,  if  the  peace  was  ccmi- 
mon  to  all  the  German  princes,  the  evacuation  of 
their  territories  would  follow  immediately  upon  the 
ratifications. 

These  discussions  continued  for  several  days. 
M.  Cobentzel  wjis  now  anxious  to  terminate  tlie 
affair.  On  its  own  side  the  French  legal  ion,  lately 
desirous  of  delaying  the  negotiations  for  a  few 
days,  finding  that  M.  Kalitscheff  woidd  not  arrive 

in  Paris  ass as  was  expected,  saw  that  nothing 

was  to  be  gained  by  further  delay,  and  wished  the 
matter  to  be  brought  to  a  eonchision.  An  order 
was  received  by  both  plenipoteiitiMries  to  arrive 
at  an  agreement;  and,  in  order  to  force  M.  Co- 
bentzel to  determine  quickly,  Josepii  Bonaparte 
had  orders  to  make  a  concessinn  of  the  character 
of  tliose  which  serve,  at  the  last  moment,  to  m;ike 
a  worn-out  negotiation  conclude  with  honour. 
The  middle  of  the  Rhine  was  the  limit  assigned 
as  the  bonndaiy  to  France  and  to  Gi-imany.  In 
consequence,  Dusselilorf,  Ehrenbreitstein,  Pliilips- 
burg,  Kehl,  and  Old  Breisacii,  situated  on  tiie  right 
bank,  though  attached  to  the  lelt  by  many  ties, 
remained  to  the  Germanic  confederation.  Ihit 
Cassel,  a  suburb  of  Mayence,  on  the  right  bank, 
was  a  contested  snitject,  because  it  was  difficult  to 
detacii  it  from  Mayence  itself.  Joseph  was  au- 
thorized to  cede  it,  on  condition  that  it  be  dis- 
mantled. In  consequence,  Mayence  was  no  longer 
a  fortified  bridge,  aHording  a  passage  to  the  right 
bank  of  the  Rhine  at  all  times. 

On  the  9i,li  of  February,  IfJOl,  or  20ih  of  Plu- 
viose,  year  ix.,  the  last  conference  took  place. 
According  to  custom,  tiny  were  never  more  near 
a  rupture  than  on  the  day  when  tlK^y  met  for 
a  definitive  agreement.  M.  Cobentzel  warndy 
insisted  upon  the  maintenance  of  the  grand  iluke 
of  Tuscany  in  Italy;  on  the  indenniity  designed 
for  the  GerniJin  princes — an  indenmity  which  he 
desired  to  render  common  to  the  ece!eHia«tical 
princes  of  the  higher  order;  on  the  inconvenience, 
lastly,  of  higning  without  having  powers  from  the 
Uiet.     An  ai-ticle  relating  to  the  Belgic  debt  gave 


birth  to  great  diffieultics.  Upon  all  these  heads 
he  declared  that  he  dared  not  sign  without  a 
reference  to  Vienna.  Joseph  then  informed  him 
that  his  own  government  authorized  him  to  close 
the  negotiations,  uidess  they  brought  them  to  a 
conclusion  before  they  broke  up;  he  added,  that  in 
another  campaign,  Austria  would  be  repelled  be- 
yond the  Julian  Aljis.  Finally,  he  ceded  Cassel 
and  all  the  fortified  positions  upon  the  right  bank 
of  the  Rhine,  on  the  condition  that  France  should 
demolish  the  works  before  she  evacuated  them, 
and  that  ihey  should  not  be  repaired. 

Upon  this  concession  M.  Cobentzel  gave  way,  and 
the  treaty  was  signed  on  the  9ili  of  February, 
1801,  at  lialf-past  five  o'clock  in  the  evening,  to 
the  great  joy  of  Joseph,  and  the  great  grief  of 
M.  Cobentzel,  who  still  had  nothing  with  which  to 
reproach  himself,  because  if  he  had  hazarded  the 
interests  of  his  court,  it  was  through  having  de- 
fended them  too  well. 

Such  was  the  celebrated  treaty  of  Luneville, 
which  terminated  the  war  of  the  second  coalition, 
and  a  second  time  conceded  ihe  left  bank  of  the 
Rhine  to  France,  with  a  dominant  position  in 
Italy.  The  following  were  the  more  essential 
conditions. 

The  middle  of  the  Rhine,  from  its  issue  out  of 
the  Helvetic  to  its  entry  inio  the  Batavian  terri- 
tory, formed  the  limits  of  Fr.mce  and  of  Germany. 
Dusseldorf,  Ehrenbreitstein,  Cassel,  Kehl,  Philips- 
burg,  Old  Breisach,  situated  on  the  right  bank, 
remained  to  Germany,  after  being  dismantled. 
The  hereditary  priiiees  who  lost  territory  on  tiie 
left  bank  were  to  be  indemnified.  No  allusion  was 
made  to  the  ecclesiastical  princes,  nor  to  their 
mo<Ie  of  indenmity;  hut  it  was  well  understood,  on 
each  side,  that  ecclesiiistical  territories  would  fur- 
nish them  also  with  indenmities.  The  emperor, 
at  Luneville  as  at  Campo-Formio,  ceded  the  Belgic 
provinces  to  France,  and  also  the  small  teinitories 
belonging  to  him  on  the  left  bank,  such  as  the 
county  of  Falkenstein  and  the  Friedthal,  which 
was  (•oo()ed  up  between  Zurzach  and  Basle.  He 
al)aiidoned  also  the  Milanese  and  the  Cisalpine. 
For  these  he  received  no  other  indemnity  than 
the  Venetian  states  as  far  as  the  Adige,  which  had 
been  before  insured  to  him  by  the  treaty  of  Campo- 
Formio.  He  lost  the  bishopric  of  Salzburg,  which 
had  been  promised  him  by  a  secret  article  in  the 
treaty  of  Cam])o-Foijnio.  His  house  was,  besides, 
deprived  of  Tuscany,  ceded  to  the  house  of  Parma. 
An  indemnity  in  Germany  was  promised  to  the 
duke  of  Tuscany.  The  duke  of  Modena  pi-eserved 
still  the  promise  made  to  him  of  Brisgau. 

Thus  the  Italian  territory  was  placed  on  a  basis 
much  more  advantageous  for  France  than  at  the 
conelusion  of  the  treaty  of  Campo-Formio.  Aus- 
tria continued  her  limits  of  the  Adige,  but  Tus- 
cany was  taken  from  her  house,  and  given  to  one 
dependent  upon  France.  Tlie  English  were 
excluded  from  Leghorn  ;  all  the  valley  of  the  Po, 
from  Sesia  and  the  Tanaro  as  far  as  the  Adriatic, 
belonged  to  the  Cisalj)iiie  republic,  a  dependent 
child  of  the  French  ;  Piedmont,  confined  to  the 
sources  of  the  Po,  dt  jiended  upon  France.  Thus 
master  of  Tuscany  and  of  the  Cisalpine,  France 
occupied  tiie  entire  of  central  Iialy,  and' the  Aus- 
Irian  connexion  was  prevented  between  Piedmont, 
the  Holy  See,  and  Naples. 


Sacrifices  made  by 
AustriH  in  the  treaty 
of  Luneville. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


The  treaty  arrives  in 
Paris,  and  rejoicings 
there. 


Austria  lost  by  the  first  coalition  Belgium  and 
Lonibardy,  besides  Modena  from  licr  liouse.  She 
lest  in  the  second,  the  bishopric  of  Salzburg  from 
herself,  and  Tuscany  from  her  house.  This  placed 
her  in  a  position  little  inferior  in  Germany,  but 
very  greatly  so  in  Italy;  yet  it  was  not,  assuredly, 
too  much  for  all  the  bloodshed  and  efforts  made  by 
France. 

Tlie  principle  of  the  secularizations  was  not  e.\- 
plicirly,  though  it  was  implicitly  determined,  since 
being*  for  the  indemnificati(m  of  the  hereditary 
princes,  it  made  no  allusion  to  ecclesiastical  ones. 
The  indemnity  could  only  be  demanded  of  the 
ecclesiastical  princes  themselves. 

The  peace  was  declared  to  be  common  to  the 
republics  of  Batavia,  Helvetia,  Liguria,  and  the 
Cisalpine.  Their  independence  was  guarantied  ; 
nothmg  was  said  in  regard  to  Naples,  Piedmont,  or 
the  Holy  See.  Those  states  depended  ujion  the 
goodwill  of  France,  which  was  bound,  in  regard  to 
Piedmont  and  Naples,  by  the  interest  that  the 
emperor  Paul  felt  towards  those  courts;  and  in 
regard  to  the  holy  see  by  the  religious  objects  of 
the  first  Consul. 

Still  the  first  consul,  as  we  have  seen,  had  not 
yet  deemed  it  right  to  explain  himself  to  any  one 
relative  to  Piedmont.  Not  pleased  with  the  king  of 
Sardinia,  who  delivered  up  his  ports  to  the  English, 
he  wished  to  preserve  his  freedom  of  action 
towards  a  country  placed  so  near  to  France,  and 
of  such  great  importance  to  her. 

The  emperor  signed  the  treaty  of  peace  for  him- 
self, as  the  sovereign  of  the  Austrian  states,  and 
for  the  Germanic  body,  as  emperor  of  Germany. 
France  secretly  promised  to  employ  her  influence 


with  Prussia,  to  gain  her  sanction  to  the  emperor's 
mode  of  procedure  in  respect  to  his  thus  signing  for 
the  Germanic  body.  The  ratifications  were  to  be 
exchanged  within  thirty  days  by  Austria  and 
France.  The  French  ai-mies  were  not  to  evacuate 
Germany  until  after  the  ratifications  were  ex- 
changed at  Luneville,  but  they  were  to  evacuate  it 
eniirely  within  a  month  after  that  exchange. 

In  this  treaty,  as  in  that  of  Campo-Formio,  the 
freedom  of  all  persons  confined  for  political  offences 
was  expressly  stipulated.  It  was  agreed  that  the 
Italians,  incarcerated  in  the  dungeons  of  Austria, 
and  particularly  Moscati  and  Caprara,  should  be 
released.  The  first  consul  insisted  upon  this  act  of 
common  humanity  from  the  opening  of  the  congress. 

Bonai)artc  attained  the  supreme  power  on  the 
9th  of  November,  1799,  or  l!!th  Brumaire,  year 
VIII.,  it  was  now  the  9th  of  February,  1801,  or  20lh 
Pluviose,  year IX., and  not  fifteen  months  had  passed 
since.  In  this  time,  France,  reorganized  in  part  at 
home,  was  completely  victorious  abroad,  and  allied 
with  the  south  and  north  of  Europe  against  En- 
gland. Spain  was  ready  to  march  against  Portugal; 
the  queen  of  Naples  had  thrown  herself  at  the  feet 
of  France,  and  the  court  of  Rome  negotiated  at 
Paris  the  arrangement  of  religious  affaii-s. 

General  Bellavene,  appointed  to  carry  the  treaty, 
left  Lmie'ville  on  the  9th  of  February,  in  the  even- 
ing, and  arrived  as  an  extraordinary  courier  in 
Paris.  The  treaty  which  he  brought  was  imme- 
diately inserted,  word  for  word,  in  the  Momteur. 
Paris  was  illuminated  immediately;  joy  was  upon 
every  countenance ;  and  countless  thanks  were 
given  to  the  first  consul  for  this  happy  result  of 
his  statesmanshii)  and  his  victories. 


Increase  ofhighway  robbers.        THE   INFERNAL  MACHINE.      Outrages  committed  by  them. 


193 


BOOK  VIII. 


THE  INFERNAL  MACHINE 


PLOTS  DIRECTED  AGAINST  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL. — THREE  AGENTS  OP  GEORGES,  NAMED  CARBON,  ST. 
REJANT,  AND  LIMOELAN,  FORM  A  PLAN  TO  DESTROY  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  BV  THE  EXPLOSION  OP  A  BARREL 
OP  POWDER. — CHOICE  MADE  OP  THE  STREET  ST.  NICAISE,  AND  OP  THE  3RD  NIVOSE,  POR  THE  EXECUTION  OF 
THE  CRIME. — THE  FIRST  CONSUL  SAVED  BY  THE  DEXTERITY  OP  HIS  COACH  MAN.— GENERAL  SENSATION  PRO- 
DUCED.— THE  CRIME  ATTRIBUTED  TO  THE  REVOLUTIONISTS,  AND  TO  THE  INDULGENCE  SHOWN  TO  THEM  BY 
FOUCHE,  THE  MINISTER. — DISLIKE  OP  THE  NEW  COURTIERS  TO  TH.\T  MINISTER. — HIS  SILENCE  AND  COOLNESS. 
— HE  DISCOVERS  A  PART  OF  THE  FACT,  AND  MAKES  IT  KNOWN;  BUT  STILL  MEASURES  ARE  TAKEN  AGAINST  THE 
REVOLUTIONISTS.  — IRRITATION  OP  THE  FIRST  CONSUL. — AN  ARBITRARY  MEASURE  CONTEMPLATED.— DISCUSSIONS 
ON  THE  SUBJECT  IN  THE  COUNCIL  OP  STATE. — AFTER  LONG  DELIBERATION,  A  RESOLUTION  IS  PASSED  FOR 
BANISHING  A  CERTAIN  NUMBER  OP  THE  REVOLUTIONISTS  WITHOUT  A  TRIAL.- SOME  RESISTANCE  MADE,  BUT 
VERY  SLIGHT,  TO  THIS  DESPOTIC  ACT.— EXAMINATION  WHETHER  IT  SHALL  BE  EtPECTED  BY  A  LAW,  OR  BE 
THE  SPONTANEOUS  ACT  OF  THE  (iOVERNMENT. — ONLY  REFERRED  TO  THE  SENATE  FOR  THE  SAKE  OP  BEING 
CONSISTENT  WITH  THE  CONSTITUTION.— THE  LAST  COURSE  IS  ADOPTED.— A  DECREE  OF  TRANSPORTATION 
AGAINST  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  THIRTY  ALLEGED  TERRORISTS.  — FOUCHE,  WHO  KNEW  THEM  TO  BE  INNOCENT  OF 
THE  ATTEMPT  ON  THE  3nD  NIVOSE,  CONSENTS  NOTWITHSTANDING  TO  THEIR  PROSCRIPTION. — DISCOVERY  OF  THE 
REAL  AUTHORS  OF  THE  INFERNAL  MACHINE. — PUNISHMENT  OP  CARBON  AND  ST.  REJANT. — UNJUST  CONDEMNA- 
TION OF  TOPINO-LEBRUN,  ARENA,  AND  OTHERS. — SESSION  OF  THE  YEAR  IX.— NEW  MANIFESTATIONS  OF  OPPO- 
SITION IN  THE  TRIBUNATE. — INSTITUTION  OF  SPECIAL  TRIBUNALS  FOR  THE  SUPPRESSION  OF  ROBBERIES  ON 
THE  HIGH  ROADS — FINANCIAL  STATEMENT  OP  THE  RESOURCES  FOR  THE  YEARS  V.,  VI.,  VII.,  AND  VIII. — 
BUD3ET  OP  THE  YEAR  IX.— DEFINITIVE  ARRANGEMENT  OF  THE  PUBLIC  DEBT.— REJECTION  BY  THE  TRIBUNATE, 
AND  ADOPTION  BY  THE  LEGISLATIVE  BODY,  OF  THIS  PLAN  OF  FINANCE.— SENTIMENTS  OP  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  — 
CONTINUATION  OP  HIS  ADMINISTRATIVE  LABOURS. —  ROADS.— CANAL  OF  ST.  QUINTIN.  —  BRIDGES  OVER  THE 
SEINE. — WORKS  ON  THE  SIMPLON. — THE  MONKS  OP  ST.  BERNARD  ESTABLISHED  ON  THE  SIMPLON  AND  ON 
MOUNT   CENIS. 


While  the  situation  of  France  externally  became 
day  by  day  more  brilliant,  ami  Austria  as  well  as 
Germany  was  signing  a  treaty  of  jieace  ;  wliile 
the  northern  powers  were  leaguing  with  France  to 
resist  the  maritime  domination  of  England,  Nai)les 
and  Portugal  closing  their  ports  against  her ;  while, 
in  short,  every  thing  succeeded  according  to  the 
wishes  of  a  victorious  and  moderate  government, 
the  internal  situation  of  France  presented  a  spec- 
tacle, sometimes  fearful,  of  tlie  last  struggles  of 
expiring  parties.  It  has  been  already  seen,  that  in 
spite  of  the  prompt  reorganization  of  the  govern- 
ment, robbers  infested  the  iiighways,  and  fac- 
tions in  despair  attempted  to  as.sassiiiate  the  first 
consul.  Tliese  were  the  inevitable  consecjuences 
of  jiast  discords.  The  men  that  civil  war  had 
trained  to  crime,  and  could  not  return  to  peaceable 
occupations,  endeavoured  to  lind  employment  on 
the  highroads.  The  beaten  factions,  that  despaired 
of  vanquishing  the  grenadiers  of  the  consular  guards, 
attemptfd,  by  means  the  most  atrocious,  to  desti'oy 
the  invincible  author  of  their  defeat. 

Highway  robbery  increased  on  the  approach  of 
winter.  It  was  not  possible  to  travel  the  roads 
without  being  exposed  to  pillage  and  a8.sas8inati<)n. 
The  dipartinents  of  Normandy,  Anjou,  Maine, 
Britany,  and  Poitou,  were,  as  formerly,  the  scenes 
of  these  depredations.  Tlux-vil,  too,  had  extended 
itself.  Several  departments  of  tlie  south  and 
centre,  such  aB  those  of  tlicj  Tarn,  Lozere,  Avey- 
ron,  Haute-Garomie,  lldrault,  Gard,  Ardeche, 
Drome,  Vaucluse,  Bouches  du  Ilhuuc,  High  and 


Low  Alps,  and  Var,  had  in  their  turn  been  in- 
fested. In  these  departments  the  bands  of  robbers 
were  recruited  from  the  assassins  of  the  south,  who, 
under  the  pretence  of  hunting  out  the  Jacobins, 
killed  for  the  purpose  of  robbery  the  purchasers 
of  the  national  domains.  They  were  augmented 
too  by  young  men  who  would  not  submit  to  the 
conscription,  and  by  soldiers  whom  misery  had 
driven  away  from  the  army  of  Liguria  during  the 
cruel  winters  of  1799  and  IJJOO.  The.se  miserable 
men  having  once  engaged  in  criminal  courses,  had 
imbibed  a  taste  for  them  ;  and  nothing  but  the 
force  of  arms,  and  the  rigor  of  the  law,  could  turn 
them  aside  from  their  bad  liabits.  They  stopped 
the  public  conveyances  ;  they  took  from  their 
homes  the  purchasers  of  the  national  domains,  and 
freiiuendy  wealthy  landed  proprietors  as  well, 
carrying  them  into  the  woods,  as  fur  example  the 
senator  Clement  de  Ris,  who  was  detained  for 
twenty  days  ;  and  they  made  their  viciims  submit 
to  horrible  tortures,  sometimes  burning  their  feet 
until  they  advanced  considerable  sums  of  money 
for  their  ransom.  They  more  especially  plundered 
the  public  chests,  and  Irequently  seized  the  public 
money  in  the  houses  of  the  collectors,  under  the 
pretext  of  making  war  upon  the  governineiit. 
Vagabonds  who,  in  the  midst  of  troubled  times, 
had  ([uitted  those  provinces,  to  deliver  themselves 
up  to  a  wandering  life,  acted  as  their  spies,  ami 
appeand  in  the  towns  under  the  character  of 
mendicants.  These  sctmndrels,  obtaining  every 
kind  of  infonnatiou  while  they  were  begging,  gave 
O 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE,    ^'^'.tt^fot^r''  '"^  °'      'vll 


it  to  the  robbers  their  accomplices,  as  well  as  what 
carriages  they  were  to  stop,  or  what  houses  to 
rob. 

Small  bodies  of  soldiers  were  required  to  sup- 
press these  banditti.  But  when  any  of  liiem  were 
captured,  justice  could  not  be  done  ;  because  the 
witnesses  were  afraid  to  give  evidence  against 
them,  and  even  the  juries  were  fearful  of  convicting 
them.  Extraordinary  measures  are  always  to  be 
regretted  in  such  cases,  less  from  the  severities 
which  they  are  sure  to  bring  in  their  train,  than 
by  the  shock  they  give  to  the  constitution  of  the 
country,  and  particularly  when  the  constitution  is 
new.  But  here  measures  of  this  kind  were  become 
indispensable,  because  the  ordinary  course  of 
juhtice,  after  having  been  tried,  was  found  to  be 
altogether  powerless.  The  project  of  a  law  had 
been  prepared  for  the  institution  of  special  tri- 
bunals, destined  to  repress  highway  robbery.  This 
plan  or  project,  presented  to  the  legislative  body, 
at  that  moment  sitting,  became  an  object  of  a 
strung  attack  upon  the  part  of  the  opposition.  The 
first  consul,  exempted  from  all  those  scruples  of 
le";ality  which  have  only  existence  in  quiet  times, 
and  which  even  when  they  are  narrow  and  petty, 
are  a  happy  sign  at  least  of  resi)ect  for  the  law — 
the  first  consul  did  not  hesitate  to  have  recourse  to 
martial  law  until  the  projected  enactment  under 
discussion  could  be  adopted.  As  it  was  necessary 
to  enqiloy  bodies  of  troops  to  repress  these  bands 
of  robbers,  the  gendarmerie  not  being  in  sufficient 
strength  to  cope  with  them,  he  thought  such  a 
situation  of  things  approximated  so  closely  to  a 
state  of  real  war,  that  it  authorized  the  laws 
peculiar  to  that  position.  He  formed  a  number  of 
small  bodies  of  soldiers,  which  traversed  in  all 
directions  the  departments  infested,  and  these  were 
followed  by  military  commissions.  All  the  robbers 
taken  with  arms  in  their  hands,  were  tried  and 
shot  within  forty-eight  hours. 

The  terror  inspired  by  these  villains  was  so 
general  and  so  powerful,  that  nobody  dared  to 
raise  a  doubt  of  the  regularity,  or  of  the  justice 
of  the  executions.  In  the  mean  while  some  mis- 
creants of  another  character  meditated  by  different 
means,  and  still  more  atrocious,  the  ruin  of  tlie 
consular  government.  While  Demerville,  Ceracchi, 
and  Ar6ia  were  under  a  judicial  instruction,  ihcir 
adherents  of  the  revolutionary  party  continued  to 
plan  a  thousand  schemes,  one  more  insane  than 
another.  They  platmed  the  assassination  of  the 
first  consul  in  his  box  at  the  ojiera,  and  hardly 
dared,  a.s  has  been  seen,  to  seize  their  poignards. 
Now  they  were  planning  something  difTcrcnt.  At 
one  time  they  proposed  to  raise  a  disturbance  at 
the  rising  of  one  of  the  theatres,  and  to  destroy  the 
first  consul  in  the  midst  of  the  confusion  ;  at  an- 
otiier  they  were  to  seize  him  on  his  way  to  Mal- 
maison,  and  to  carry  him  oft' and  murder  him.  All 
this  they  talked  about  openly,  like  club-orators, 
and  so  loudly,  that  the  police  were  hourly  informed 
of  all  their  designs  ;  though  while  they  thus  de- 
claimed, not  one  of  them  was  bold  enough  to  put 
liis  hand  to  the  work.  Fouchd,  though  he  had 
little  fear  from  fhem,  yet  watched  them  most 
attentively.  Still  among  their  numerous  schemes, 
there  was  one  which  was  more  formidable  than  the 
rest,  and  which  had  much  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  police.     A  m^n  named  Chevalier,  a  work- 


man employed  in  the  manufactory  of  arms  esta- 
blished in  Paris  during  the  time  of  the  convention, 
had  been  discovered  at  work  upon  a  most  terrible 
machine.  It  consisted  ci  a  cask  full  of  powder 
and  missiles,  to  which  a  musket  barrel  with  a 
trigger  was  appended.  This  was  clearly  intended 
to  destroy  the  first  consul  by  blowing  him  up.  The 
inventor  was  arrested,  and  put  into  prison.  This 
new  invention  made  a  noise,  and  conti-ibuted  to 
concentrate  the  public  attention  upon  those  deno- 
minated Jacobins  and  Terrorists.  Their  character 
in  1793  made  them  more  feared  by  far  than  they 
deserved.  The  first  consul,  as  has  been  remarked 
before,  partook  in  the  common  erx'or  indulged  in 
their  regai'd ;  and  having  always  had  to  deal  with 
the  revolutionary  party,  often  with  honest  men  of 
the  party  discontented  with  a  reaction  too  rapid, 
often  with  miscreants  projecting  crimes  which  they 
had  not  courage  to  commit,  he  threw  the  blame  of 
every  thing  upon  the  revolutionists,  was  incensed 
against  them  alone,  and  only  talked  of  punishing 
that  party.  Fouche'  persisted  in  vain  in  attempting 
to  fix  his  attention  upon  the  royalists.  It  would 
have  requii'ed  very  strong  proofs  to  change  the 
first  consul's  opinion,  as  well  as  that  of  the  public, 
on  this  subject.  Unfortunately,  facts  of  a  most 
atrocious  nature  were  in  progress  to  set  the  matter 
at  rest. 

Georges,  returned  to  the  Morbihan  from  London, 
with  plenty  of  money,  (thanks  to  the  English!)  se- 
cretly directed  the  robbers  of  the  public  vehicles. 
He  had  sent  to  Paris  some  of  his  cut-throat  instru- 
ments, with  a  conmiission  to  assassinate  the  first 
consul.  Among  t'lese  were  two  persons  named 
Limoelan  and  St.  Re'jant,  both  well  piaetised  in  the 
horroi'S  of  civil  warfare  ;  the  last  had  been  a  naval 
officer,  having  a  considerable  knowledge  of  the 
artillery  service.  To  these  two  were  added  a  third, 
named  Carbon,  a  suboi'dinate  to  them,  and  a  very 
worthy  instrument  of  such  great  criminals.  One 
arrived  after  the  other  in  Paris  towards  the  end  of 
November,  1800,  or  the  first  days  of  Frimaire. 
They  set  about  the  consideration  of  the  best  mode 
of  destroying  the  first  consul  ;  and  they  made  in 
the  environs  of  Paris  more  tiian  one  experiment 
with  air-guns.  Fouche,  aware  of  their  pi'esence 
and  of  their  objects,  had  them  watched  very  closely, 
but,  owing  to  the  bad  nianngcnient  of  the  two  spies 
emplojed  upon  that  service,  they  lost  sight  of  the 
conspirators.  Whilst  the  jiolice  were  making  efibrts 
to  re-find  them,  these  villains  had  involved  them- 
selves in  complete  obscurity.  They  made  no  de- 
clamations like  the  Jacobins  ;  they  communicated 
their  secret  to  no  one  ;  but  ])repartd  for  a  horrible 
deed,  which  has  had  iis  equal  but  once  in  the  pre- 
sent times.  The  macliine  of  Chevalier  had  given 
them  the  idea  of  destroying  the  first  consul  by 
means  of  a  barrel  of  powder  charged  with  missiles. 
They  determined  to  i)ut  this  barrel  into  a  cart, 
and  to  place  it  in  one  of  the  narrow  streets  leading 
to  the  Carrousel,  which  the  first  consul  often  pa.ssed 
through  in  his  carriage.  They  bought  a  horse,  a 
cart,  and  hired  a  cart-house,  passing  themselves 
for  country  traders.  St.  R<;jant,  who  was,  as  ob- 
served above,  an  officer  of  the  marine  and  artillery, 
made  the  necessary  ex[)eriments,  went  a  number  of 
times  to  tiie  Carrousel  to  see  the  carriage  of  the 
first  consul  come  out  from  the  Tuilerics,  to  calcu- 
late the  time  it  would  take  to  reach  the  neighboui*- 


Explosion  of  the  machine. 
Escape  of  the  firit  consul. 


THE  INFERNAL  MACHINE. 


Xndignation  against  the  revolu- 
tionary party. 


ing  streets,  and  to  arrange  every  thing  in  such  a 
manner  that  tlie  barrel  sliould  e.xplode  at  the  pro- 
per niunient.  These  three  persons  chose  for  the 
iuifihnent  of  their  plot,  a  day  when  the  first  consul 
was  to  go  to  the  Opera,  to  hear  Haydn's  oratorio, 
'•  The  Creation,"  whicli  was  then  to  be  executed 
for  the  first  time.  It  was  the  3rd  of  Nivose,  or 
24th  of  December,  1800.  They  selected  for  the 
scene  of  their  crime  the  street  St.  Nieaise,  which 
ran  from  the  Carrousel  towards  tlie  Rue  de  Riche- 
lieu, that  the  first  consul  was  often  in  the  habit  of 
p.ossing  through.  In  this  street,  successive  turn- 
ing.s  rendered  necessary  a  slackening  of  his  pace 
by  the  most  adroit  coachman.  The  day  having 
arrived,  Carbon,  St.  Rejant,  and  Limoelan  con- 
ducted the  cart  into  the  Rue  St.  Nicaise,  and  then 
they  directly  separated.  While  St.  Rejant  was  to 
set  fire  to  the  barrel  of  powder,  the  other  two  were 
to  place  themselves  in  sight  of  the  Tuiieries,  in 
order  to  give  notice  when  they  .=aw  the  carriage  of 
the  first  consul  appear.  St.  Rejant  had  the  bar- 
barity to  give  the  horse  of  this  horrible  machine 
to  a  girl  of  fifteen  years  of  age  to  hold.  He  him- 
self kept  in  readiness  to  set  fire  to  the  powder. 

At  this  precise  moment,  the  first  consul,  worn 
down  with  his  labour.s,  was  in  some  doubt  about 
going  to  the  opera  in  consequence.  He  was  finally 
prevailed  upon  to  attend,  by  the  earnest  per- 
suasions of  those  who  happened  to  be  present  at 
the  time,  and  he  left  the  Tuiieries  at  about  a 
quarter  past  eight  o'clock.  General  Lannes,  Ber- 
thier,  and  Lauriston  accompanied  him;  and  a  de- 
tachment of  mounted  grenadiers  followed,  in  place 
of  preceding  the  carriage.  It  arrived  in  the 
narrow  part  of  the  street  St.  Nicaise,  without  the 
guard  announcing  its  api)roacli  to  St.  Rejant,  or 
even  his  acuoniplices,  the  last  never  coming  to  ap- 
prise him  of  it,  either  through  fear,  or  perhaps 
from  the  non-recognition  of  the  carriage.  St.  Re'- 
jant  himself  did  not  perceive  the  carriage  until  it 
had  i)<'issed  the  machine  a  trifling  distance.  He 
was  violently  jostled  by  one  of  the  horse  grena- 
diers; but  not  disconcerted.  In-  set  i\vn  to  the 
machine  and  instantly  fled.  Tlie  coachmaii  of  the 
fii^t  consul,  who  was  exceedingly  adroit  at  his 
business,  and  who  comtiionly  drove  a  I,  a  great  rate, 
had  by  that  time  passed  one  of  the  tiu-nings  of  the 
street,  where  the  explosion  took  place.  The  shuck 
wiiH  terrible  ;  the  carriage  was  nearly  overturned, 
ail  the  windows  were  broken,  and  tlu;  fronts  of 
the  neighbouring  houses  were  defaced  with  the 
missiles.  ()\v  of  the  horse  grenadiers  was  sliglitly 
wounded  ;  and  a  number  of  persons,  killed  or 
wounded,  were  instantly  jji-ostratcd  in  the  sur- 
rounding streets.  The  first  consul  and  those  who 
were  with  him  thought  first  that  they  had  been 
fired  upon  with  grape-shot ;  they  stopped  for  a 
moment,  and,  learning  the  truth,  continued  on  their 
way  to  the  opera,  whither  the  first  consul  insisted 
u\)nu  proceeding.  He  exhibited  a  calm,  in)i)assivo 
countenance,  in  the  midst  tif  a  mo>-t  extraoidniary 
sensation  ])ervading  every  part  of  the  house.  It 
was  reported  there  that  a  whole  quarter  of  Paris 
had  been  blown  up  by  banditti  in  order  to  destroy 
him. 

lie  remained  only  a  few  moments  at  tlie  opera, 
:in<l  then  returned  to  the  Tuiieries,  where,  in  con- 
sequeuce  of  the  news  of  tlio  attack,  an  inunens(! 
crowd  of  persons  had  assembled,     llisang 'r,  which 


until  then  had  been  restrained,  now  burst  forth. 
"  These  are  the  Jacobins,  the  Terrorists,"  he  cried 
out  ;  '•  it  is  those  miscreants  in  a  permanent  re- 
volt, formed  in  square  against  every  government ; 
they  are  the  assassins  of  the  2nd  and  3rd  of  Sep- 
tember, the  authors  of  the  23rd  of  May,  the  con- 
spirators of  Prairial  ;  they  arc  those  miscreants 
who,  to  assassinate  me,  do  not  regard  immolating 
thousands  of  lives.  I  will  do  signal  justice  upon 
them." 

There  was  little  need  to  arouse  public  opinion 
against  the  revolutionists  after  so  high  an  autho- 
rity. Their  exaggerated  reputation,  and  their  at- 
tempts for  two  or  three  months  before,  were  of  a 
nature  to  cause  all  sorts  of  crimes  to  be  charged 
u])on  them.  In  the  saloon,  where  a  number  of 
persons  were  assembled,  anxious  to  exhibit  their 
attachment  as  much  as  possible,  there  could  but 
be  a  united  cry  against  the  Terrorists  as  they  were 
called.  The  numerous  enemies  of  Foiich^  hastened 
to  profit  by  the  event,  and  pour  out  against  him 
the  bitterest  invectives.  His  police,  they  said,  saw 
nothing,  and  did  nothing  ;  he  exhibited  a  criminal 
indulgence  towards  the  revolutionary  jiarty.  This 
comes  from  his  feeling  towards  his  old  accomplices. 
The  life  of  the  first  consul  will  no  more  be  secure 
in  his  hands.  In  a  moment  the  hatred  against  the 
minister  rose  to  its  full  elevation  ;  the  same  even- 
ing his  disgrace  was  proclaimed.  As  to  Fouchd 
himself,  he  retired  into  one  corner  of  the  saloon  of 
the  Tuiieries  with  some  individuals  who  did  not 
experience  the  general  excitement,  where  he  heard, 
with  great  composure,  all  that  was  preferred  against 
him.  His  incredulous  air  yet  more  excited  the 
anger  of  his  enemies.  He  would  not  tell  that  with 
which  he  was  well  acquainted,  for  fear  of  marring 
the  success  of  tlie  researches  on  foot.  But  re- 
collecting the  agents  of  Georges,  for  some  time 
under  the  observation  of  the  police,  and  of  whom 
the  traces  had  been  lost,  he  did  aot  himself  hesitate 
to  impute  the  crime  to  them.  Some  members  of 
the  council  of  state,  addressing  observati(ms  to  the 
first  consul,  implying  doubts  as  to  the  real  authors 
of  tlie  attempt  in  the  street  of  St.  Nicaise,  he 
warmly  rei)lied :  "  I  am  not  to  be  cheated  in  this  ; 
they  are  neither  Chouans,  nor  emigrants,  nor  old 
nobles,  nor  old  i)ri<.sts.  I  know  the  authors  ;  I 
shall  soon  reach  them,  to  inflict  upon  them  the 
most  exemplary  punishment."  In  uttering  these 
words,  his  tone  was  most  vehement,  and  his  gesture 
threatening.  His  flatterers  approved  of  all  he 
said,  exciting  his  auger  still  more,  in  place  of  re- 
straining it,  after  the  horrible  event  which  had  so 
slioidied  the  feelings  of  all  the  world. 

The  next  day  the  same  scenes  were  renewed. 
According  to  the  custimi  lately  established,  the 
senate,  the  legislative  body,  the  tribunate,  the 
eomicil  of  state,  the  tribunals,  the  administrative 
authorities,  and  the  military  staffs  waited  upon  the 
first  consul  to  testify  their  sori-ow  an<l  indignation 
at  what  had  occurred  ;  sentinuiits  sincere  and 
very  largely  partaken— for  never,  in  fact,  liad  a 
similar  thing  been  seen.  The  revolution  liad 
lial)itu!itcd  the  minds  of  the  ju'oplc  to  the  cruelties 
of  the  victorious  party,  but  mver  yet  with  the 
plots  of  those  that  had  been  vanquished.  Every 
mind  was  struck  with  Kurinisc!  and  dismay.  They 
dri-aded  the  repetition  of  these  base  attempts  ;  and 
each  inquired  of  the  other  what  would  hai>pen,  if 


Congratulatory  addresses  t 
the  fir»t  consul. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Debates  on  a  law  for 
puiiiihiiig  the  as- 
sassin. 


Ihe  only  man  who  could  alone  restrain  these  wretches 
should  be  taken  off.  All  the  public  bodies,  ad- 
mitted at  the  Tuileries,  expressed  their  ardent 
att^ichment  to  the  hero-pacificator,  who  had  pro- 
mised to  give,  and  had,  in  effect,  given,  peace  to 
the  world.  The  language  of  these  addresses  was 
of  the  common  stamp,  but  the  sentiment  they  ex- 
pressed was  as  sincere  as  it  was  deep,  The  first 
consul  replied  to  the  municipal  council  of  Paris  : — 

"  I  have  been  nmch  touched  with  the  proofs  of 
affection  which  the  people  of  Paris  have  given  to 
me  on  this  occasion.  1  deserve  them,  because  the 
only  object  of  my  thoughts  and  of  my  actions  is  to 
increase  tiie  prosperity  and  glory  of  France.  As 
far  as  this  troop  of  banditti  directed  its  attacks 
upon  myself,  I  could  leave  to  the  laws  the  task  of 
their  punishment ;  but  when  they  have,  by  an 
unparalleled  ciime  in  history,  endangered  part  of 
the  population  of  the  cajjital,  the  punishment  shall 
be  as  promi)t  as  terrible.  Assure,  in  my  name, 
the  people  of  Paris,  that  this  handful  of  miscreants, 
the  crimes  of  whom  almost  dishonour  liberty,  will 
be  soon  deprived  of  the  power  to  effect  mischief." 

Every  one  applauded  these  revengeful  words,  be- 
cause there  was  nobody  who  had  not  himself  made 
use  of  the  same  expressions.  Reflecting  minds 
foresaw  with  apprehension  that  the  angry  lion 
might  possibly  overleap  the  barrier  of  the  law.  The 
multitude  called  out  for  punishment.  In  Paris 
the  agitation  was  very  great.  The  royalists  cast 
the  crime  upon  the  revolutionists  ;  the  revolution- 
ists upon  the  myalists.  The  oi.e  and  the  other 
were  equally  in  earnest,  since  the  crime  remained 
a  profound  secret  except  to  its  oi-iginators.  Every 
one  discoursed  upon  the  subject;  and,  according  to 
the  bias  of  his  feelings,  condemning  this  or  that 
party  beyond  any  other,  discovered  reasons  equally 
plausible  to  accuse  royalists  or  revolutionists.  The 
enemies  of  the  revolution,  old  and  new,  declared 
that  the  Terrorists  were  alone  capable  of  forming 
so  atrocious  a  jjlot,  and,  in  conclusive  proof  of  their 
opinions,  quoted  the  machine  of  Chevalier,  the 
armourer,  recently  detected.  Wise  heads,  on  the 
contrary,  who  stedfastly  clung  to  the  revolution, 
asked  why  the  robbers  on  the  high  road,  the  chauf- 
feurs, who  committed  so  many  crimes,  and  every 
day  exhibited  a  refinement  in  cruelty,  without 
example,  who,  in  particular,  had  carried  off  the 
senator  Clement  de  Ris;  why  these  men  might  not 
be  the  authors  of  the  horrible  explosion  in  the 
street  St.  Nicaise,  as  well  as  those  pretended 
Terrorists.  It  nmst  be  observed,  that  calm  minds 
were  unable,  at  that  moment,  to  obtain  a  hearing, 
80  dee|)ly  was  the  ]>ublic  mind  agitated,  and  so 
prejudiced  was  it  against  the  revolutionary  party. 
But,  will  it  be  credited  ?  in  the  midst  of  this  con- 
flict of  varied  imputations,  there  wei-e  some  persons 
inconsiderate  or  obstinate  enough  to  sjjeak  very 
differently.  Certiiin  factious  loyalists  longed  fir 
the  destruction  of  the  first  con.sul,  cost  what  it 
might;  and  in  supporting  the  general  notion,  which 
attributed  the  crime  to  the  Terrorists,  they  ad- 
mired the  atrocious  energy  and  the  profound 
secrcsy  which  nmst  have  been  put  in  practice  to 
perform  such  a  deed.  The  revolutionists,  on  the 
contrary,  appeared  as  if  they  were  covetous  of  the 
merit  for  their  party  ;  and  there  were  among  them 
certain  boasters  in  crime,  who  would  have  been 
almost  proud  of  the   imputation  of  such  an  ex- 


ecrable act.  It  is  in  times  of  civil  troubles  alone, 
that  such  unreflecting  and  wicked  language  is  heard 
among  men,  who,  themselves,  would  be  wholly 
incapable  of  performing  the  actions  they  thus  affect 
to  a|)prove. 

The  minister  of  police,  Fouche,  alone  had  a  sus- 
picion of  the  real  criminals;  all  besides,  who  talked 
or  conjectured  as  to  its  authors,  were  entirely 
wrong. 

While  he  was  occupied  in  their  detection,  every 
one  inquired  what  was  to  be  done  for  the  future 
prevention  of  similar  attempts.  I'eople  were  then 
BO  habituated  to  violent  measures,  that  they  thought 
it  was  but  natural  to  arrest  the  men  once  known 
undt-r  the  appellation  of  Terrorists,  and  to  treat 
them  as  they  treated  their  victims  in  1793.  The 
two  sections  of  the  council  of  state,  to  whom  the 
matter  more  inmiediately  belonged,  the  sections  of 
legislation  and  of  the  interior,  assembled  two  days 
after  the  event,  on  the  26th  of  December,  or  5th 
of  Nivose,  to  examine,  among  the  different  plans 
that  presented  themselves,  which  it  was  most  ad- 
visable to  adopt.  As  the  proposed  law  for  the 
purpose  of  instituting  special  tribunals  was  under 
discussion,  it  was  proposed  to  add  to  it  two  clauses. 
The  first,  for  the  institution  of  a  military  commis- 
sion, to  try  all  crimes  committed  against  the  mem- 
bers of  the  government ;  the  second,  to  invest  the 
first  consul  with  the  power  to  remove  from  Paris 
the  individuals  whose  presence  in  the  capital  might 
be  deemed  dangerous,  and  to  punish  them  with 
transportation,  if  they  should  attempt  to  evade  their 
first  exile. 

After  the  preliminary  examination  of  the  subject 
in  two  sections  of  the  legislative  and  interior,  the 
entire  council  of  state  met  under  the  presidency  of 
the  first  consul.  M.  Portalis  made  a  report  of  what 
had  taken  place  in  the  morning  in  the  two  sections, 
and  submitted  the  pro|)ositions  to  the  assembled 
council.  The  first  consul  in  his  impatience  thought 
tlie  proposals  insufficient  for  the  end.  He  was  for 
arresting  the  Jacobins  in  a  body,  shooting  those 
who  should  be  found  guilty  of  the  crime,  and  trans- 
porting the  rest.  He  wished  to  accomi)lish  this  end 
by  an  extraordinary  measure  in  order  to  make  sure 
of  the  result.  "The  proceedings  of  a  special  tribu- 
nal," he  said,  "were  slow,  and  would  not  reach  the 
true  criminals.  It  is  not  now  the  question  to  frame 
a  system  of  judicial  metaphysics  ;  metaphysical 
minds  have  destroyed  every  thing  in  France  for 
these  ten  years  past.  It  is  necessary  to  judge  in  our 
situation  of  statesmen,  and  to  apply  a  remedy  like 
determined  men.  What  is  the  evil  that  torments 
us  ?  There  are  ten  thousand  scoundrels  in  France, 
sjiread  over  the  entire  country,  who  have  perse- 
cuted every  honest  man,  and  who  are  drenched  in 
bl(Pod.  All  are  not  in  the  same  degree  culpable; 
very  far  from  it.  Many  are  susceptible  of  repent- 
ance, and  are  not  irreclaimable  criminals  ;  but 
while  they  see  the  head  quarters  established  in 
Paris,  and  their  chiefs  forming  plots  with  impunity, 
they  keep  hope  alive,  and  hold  themselves  in  good 
breath ;  strike  boldly  at  the  leaders,  and  the  soldiers 
will  disperse.  They  will  return  to  those  labours  from 
which  they  were  driven  by  a  violent  revolution ; 
they  will  soon  forget  that  stormy  period  of  their 
lives,  and  become  peaceable  citizens.  Honest  men, 
kept  in  continual  fear,  will  lose  all  apprehensinn, 
and  attach  themselves  to  the  government  which 


An  intemperate  speech  of 
Bonaparte  censured  by 
admiral  Truguet. 


THE  INFERNAL  MACHINE. 


Boldness  of  Tniguct. — 
Angry  reply  of  Bona- 
parte. 


197 


lias  known  how  to  pi-otect  tlieiii.  There  is  no  mid- 
dle way;  we  must  either  pardon  all  like  Aucjustus; 
or  venueanee,  prompt  and  terrible,  proportionate  to 
the  critne,  must  overtake  them.  As  many  of  the 
guilty  must  be  sacrificed  as  there  have  been  vic- 
tims; fifteen  or  twenty  of  these  villains  must  be 
shot,  an  1  two  hundred  of  them  transported.  By 
this  means  the  republic  will  be  disembarrassed  of 
])erturba  ion  that  disturbs  it;  we  shall  purge  it  of  the 
sanguinary  lees.''  At  every  sentence  the  first  con- 
sul became  more  and  more  animated  and  irritated 
by  the  disapprobation  which  lie  saw  expressed  upon 
some  countenances.  "  I  am,"  he  cried,  "  I  am  so 
convinced  of  the  necessity  and  justice  of  some 
strong  measure  to  puril'y  France,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  calm  her,  that  I  am  ready  to  make  myself 
the  sole  tribunal,  to  have  the  culprits  brought 
before  me,  to  investigate  their  crimes,  to  judge  them, 
and  order  sentence  to  be  executed.  Ail  France 
would  applaud  me,  1)ecause  it  is  not  my  own  jiri- 
vate  vengeance  that  I  seek.  My  good  fortune 
which  has  preserved  me  so  many  times  on  the 
field  of  battle  will  secure  me  still.  T  do  not  think 
of  myself;  I  think  of  the  social  order  which  it  is  my 
duty  to  re-establish,  and  of  the  national  honour, 
from  which  I  am  commissioned  to  wash  out  this 
abominable  stain." 

This  scene  struck  with  surprise  and  fear  a  part 
of  the  council  of  state.  Some  of  the  members,  par- 
taking in  the  sincere  but  intemperate  warmth  of 
the  first  consul,  applauded  his  arguments.  A  large 
majority  regretfully  heard  in  his  words  the  same 
language  which  had  been  held  by  the  revolutionists 
themselves,  when  they  prescribed  thousands  of  vic- 
tims. They  had  said  in  the  same  way,  that  the  aris- 
tocrats placed  the  republic  in  danger;  that  it  was 
necessary  to  be  rid  of  them  by  the  most  prompt 
and  certain  means;  and  that  the  public  safety  was 
worth  some  sacrifices.  The  difference  was  most 
assuredly  great;  because  in  place  of  sanguinary 
miscreants,  who  in  the  blindness  of  their  fury  had 
taken  each  other  for  aristocrats  and  destroyed  one 
another,  a  man  of  genius  was  here  seen,  proceed- 
ing with  energy  towards  a  noble  end,  in  restoring 
to  its  place  a  disorganized  society.  Unhappily,  he 
wished  to  ])roceed,  not  by  the  slow  observation  of 
rules,  but  by  direct  and  extraordinary  methods, 
such  as  tliose  employed  wlio  had  been  the  cause  of 
the  evil.  His  good  sense,  his  generous  heart,  and 
tlie  horror  of  shedding  blood  then  prevalent,  were 
sufficient  guarantees  against  sanguinary  executions; 
but  with  this  exception  he  was  disposed  to  have 
recourse  to  every  kind  of  severity  towards  the  men 
at  that  time  known  as  Jacobins  and  Terrorists. 

(Jbjections  were  raised  in  the  council  of  state, 
though  timidly,  because  of  the  indignation  every 
where  excited  at  the  crime  in  the  Rue  St.  Nicaisc, 
which  checked  the  courage  of  those  who  would 
have  opposed  a  stronger  resistance  to  acts  so  arbi- 
trary. Still  there  was  one  individual  who  did  not 
fear  to  make  head  against  the  first  consul,  and  who 
made  it  boldly  and  with  perfect  freedom, — this 
was  admiral  Truguet,  who  seeing  that  the  intention 
was  to  strike  at  the  revolutionists  in  a  body,  cx- 
])resscd  doubts  in  regard  to  the  real  authors  of  the 
crime.  "  Goveniment,"  said  the  admiral,  "  is  desi- 
rous of  getting  rid  of  the  ba.sc  men  who  trouble  the 
republic  ;  be  it  so  ;  but  there  arc  villains  of  more 
than  one  class.      The  returned  emigrants  threaten 


the  holders  of  national  property;  the  Chouans  infest 
the  high-roads  ;  the  reinstated  priests  in  the  south 
inflame  the  passions  of  the  people;  the  public  mind 
is  corrupted  by  pam.phlets."  Admiral  Truguet 
made  an  allusion  here  to  the  famous  pamphlet 
of  M.  Fontanes,  of  which  mention  has  been  already 
made. 

At  these  words  the  first  consul,  stung  to  the 
heart,  and  advancing  dii'ectly  to  the  speaker,  asked 
— "To  what  pamphlets  do  you  allude?"  "Pam- 
phlets publicly  circulated,"  the  admiral  rei)lied. 
"  Designate  them,"  replied  the  first  consul.  "  You 
know  them  as  well  as  I  do,"  retorted  the  bold  man 
who  dared  defy  in  this  way  the  anger  the  first 
consul  exhibited. 

Such  a  scene  as  this  had  never  before  been  seen 
in  the  council  of  state.  The  circumstance  was 
a  specimen  of  the  impetuous  character  of  the  man 
who  then  held  the  destinies  of  France  in  his  Iiaml. 
Upon  this  reply  lie  displayed  all  the  eloquence  of 
his  anger.  "  Do  people  take  us  for  children?  " — he 
exclaimed, — "do  they  think  to  draw  us  away  by 
declamations  agauist  the  enn'grants,  the  Chouans, 
and  the  priests  ?  Because  there  are  still  some  par- 
tial disturbances  in  LaVende'e,  do  they  demand,  as 
formerly,  that  we  shall  declare  the  country  in  dan- 
j  ger  ?  Has  Fi-ance  ever  been  in  a  nobler  pusition, — 
the  finances  ever  in  a  better  way, — the  armies  more 
victorious, — peace  ever  so  near  at  hand?  If  the 
Chouans  commit  crimes,  I  will  have  them  shot. 
Must  I  recommence  proscription  because  of  the 
titles  of  nobles,  priests,  and  royalists  ?  Must  I  send 
into  exile  ten  thousand  old  men  who  only  desire  to 
live  in  peace  and  obey  the  established  laws  ?  Have 
you  not  known  Georges  himself  put  to  death  in 
Britany  four  ecclesiastics,  because  he  saw  they 
were  likely  to  be  reconciled  to  the  government  ? 
Must  I  proscribe  again  merely  for  rank  and  title  ? 
Must  I  strike  some  because  they  are  priests,  others 
because  they  are  ancient  noldes  ?  Do  you  not  know, 
gentlemen  of  the  council,  that  except  two  or  three, 
you  all  pass  for  i-oyalists  ?  You,  citizen  Defermon, 
are  you  not  considered  a  partisan  of  the  Bourbons  ? 
Must  I  send  citizen  Devaisne  to  Madagascar,  and 
then  constitute  my.self  a  council  a  la  IJaboeiif?  No, 
citizen  Truguet,  I  am  not  to  be  blinded  ;  there  are 
none  who  threaten  our  peace  but  the  Septembrians. 
They  would  not  spare  yourself  ;  in  vain  would 
you  tell  them  how  well  you  defended  them  to-day 
in  the  council  of  state, — they  would  inmiolate  you 
as  they  would  me — as  they  would  all  your  col- 
leagues." 

There  was  only  one  word  to  be  said  in  reply  to 
this  vehement  apostrophe,  that  it  was  not  just  to 
proscribe  any  individual  on  account  of  his  quality; 
neither  the  one  party  for  being  royalist,  nor  the 
other  for  being  revolutionist.  The  first  consul  had 
no  sooner  finished  his  last  words  than  ho  arose 
suddenly  and  concluded  the  sitting. 

The  consul  Cambac(5rcs,  always  calm,  had  won- 
derful skill  in  obtaining  that  object  by  gentle 
means  which  his  fiery  colleague  would,  if  po.ssible, 
obtain  by  the  power  of  his  own  will.  On  the 
following  day  he  assembled  the  sections  at  his  own 
house,  endeavoured  to  excuse,  in  a  few  words,  the 
warmth  of  the  first  consul,  sisserted  what  was  the 
fact,  that  ho  had  no  antiiiathy  to  contradiction, 
when  it  was  unaccompanied  by  sjileen  <ir  person- 
ality, and  then  endeavoured  to  incline  their  minds 


Interference  of  Cambaceres. 
198    -Convocation  of  the  sec-    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Plans  proposed.— Progress  ,„,, 
ofinquiry  concerning  the  ,  '" 
real  delinquents.  ''^"• 


to  take  some  extraordinary  step.  This  was  un- 
worthy of  the  usual  moderation  of  Cambaee'res  ; 
but  although  he  was  accustomed  to  give  prudent 
advice  to  tlie  first  consul,  he  yielded  when  he  saw 
him  resolute,  and  particularly  when  the  point  at 
issue  was  to  repress  the  Terrorists.  M.  Portalis, 
who  had  the  merit  of  never  desiring  the  pro- 
scription of  any  man,  though  he  had  been  himself 
proscribed,  assented  to  the  idea  of  the  two  sections, 
wliich  added  two  articles  to  the  law  for  special 
tribunals.  Despite  of  these,  Cambaee'res  insisted, 
and  gained  a  majority  in  favour  of  an  extraordinary 
measure,  upon  the  agreement  that  it  should  have  a 
fresh  discussion  before  the  two  sections  united. 
In  this  species  of  secret  meeting  warm  words  took 
place.  Ra:derer  clamoured  loud  against  the  Ja- 
cobins, imputed  their  crimes  to  the  indulgence  of 
Fouche',  and  even  proceeded  to  move  the  council  of 
state  to  join  iu  a  declaration  for  the  dismissal  of 
that  minister. 

Cambaee'res  repressed  all  these  over-zealous  dis- 
plays, and  convoked  the  sections  at  the  residence  of 
Bonaparte,  in  whose  presence  a  sort  of  privy  coun- 
cil was  held,  composed  of  the  consuls,  the  two 
sections  of  the  interior  and  of  legislation,  the  minis- 
ters for  foreign  affairs,  the  interior,  and  justice. 
The  prejudice  shown  against  Fouche'  was  so  great, 
that  he  was  not  even  summoned  to  these  con- 
ferences. 

The  proposition  for  an  extraordinary  resolution 
was  then  presented  anew,  and  discussed  a  good 
while.  There  were  many  sittings  of  the  privy 
council  before  the  members  could  be  got  to  agree. 
At  last  it  was  decided  that  some  general  measure 
should  be  carried  into  effect  against  the  party  de- 
nominated Terrorists,  but  the  form  of  the  measure 
became  a  weij^hty  question.  The  main  point  to  be 
settled  was  whether  the  measure  should  be  carried 
into  effect  by  the  sp(mtaneous  act  of  the  govern- 
ment or  by  means  of  a  law.  The  first  consul, 
generally  so  bold,  wished  it  should  be  by  law.  He 
did  not  like  to  compromise  the  great  bodies  of  the 
state  upon  such  an  occasion,  and  openly  declared, 
that  "  the  consuls  were  irresponsible,  but  the 
ministers  were  not  .so  ;  and  that  any  of  them  who 
signed  such  a  resolution  might,  on  some  future 
day,  have  to  answer  for  it.  Not  a  single  individual 
should  be  comjjromised  ;  the  legislative  body  must 
share  in  the  responsibility  of  the  proposed  act. 
The  consuls  themselves,"  lie  said,  "  knew  not  what 
might  occur.  As  for  myself,  while  1  live  I  am  not 
afraid  that  any  one  will  call  me  to  a  reckoning  for 
my  actions.  But  I  may  be  killed,  and  then  I  shall 
not  be  able  to  answer  for  the  security  of  my  two 
colleagues.  It  would  be  your  turn  to  govern,"  he 
added,  laughing,  to  the  second  consul  Cambaee'res, 
"and  you  are  not  very  Jinn  in  tlie  stirrups.  It  will 
be  better  to  have  a  law  for  the  present  as  well  as 
for  the  future." 

There  was  pa-ssing  at  this  moment  a  very  singu- 
lar scene.  Those  who  were  repugnant  to  the 
measure  desired  to  see  it  adopted  not  as  a  law  but 
as  the  sjjontaneous  act  of  the  government.  They 
wished  to  throw  upon  the  government  the  entire 
responsibility  of  the  measure,  not  perceiving  that 
as  so  doing  tliey  were  suffering  it  to  acquire  the  jier- 
nicious  habit  of  acting  alone  upon  its  own  arbitrary 
authority.  It  was  said  in  support  of  this  opinion, 
that  the  law  could  not  pass,  that  sentiments  were 


divided  upon  the  real  authors  of  the  crime,  that 
the  legislative  body  recoiled  before  a  list  of  pros- 
cription, and  that  the  government  would  expose 
itself  to  the  danger  of  incurring  a  very  serious 
defeat.  Roederer  and  Regnault  de  St.  Jean 
d'Angely  declared  themselves  of  this  opinion.  The 
first  consul  said  to  the  last,  "  Since  the  tribunate 
rejected  one  or  two  laws,  you  are  seized  with  a 
panic.  There  are  some  Jacobins  in  the  legislative 
body,  it  is  true,  at  most  ten  or  a  dozen.  They 
alarm  the  others,  who  know  that  but  for  me,  on  the 
18th  Brumaire  they  would  have  been  murdered. 
These  last  will  not  be  wanting  upon  this  occasion, 
the  law  will  pass." 

They  persisted,  and  Talleyrand  agreed  in  opinion 
with  those  who,  fearing  the  chances  were  against 
the  passing  of  a  law,  for  which  he  gave  a  reason  to 
the  first  consul  the  most  likely  to  produce  an 
effect,  namely,  that  out  of  France  the  act  would 
appear  the  more  imposing.  "  Foreigners  will  see,' 
said  he,  "  a  government  that  knows  and  dai-es  to 
defend  it.self  against  the  anarchists."  The  first 
consul  gave  way  to  this  argument,  but  devised 
in  consequence  a  middle  course,  and  this  was  fol- 
lowed ;  namely,  to  refer  it  to  the  senate,  that  the 
senate  might  examine  whether  the  act  was  or  was 
not  an  attack  upon  the  constitution.  It  will, 
doubtless,  be  remembered  that  according  to  the 
constitution  of  the  year  viii.,  the  senate  did  not 
pass  the  laws,  but  had  the  power  of  annulling  them, 
if  it  deemed  them  contrary  to  the  constitution. 
With  respect  to  the  measures  of  the  government  it 
did  not  possess  the  same  power.  The  idea  of  the 
first  consul  was  approved  in  consequence,  and  M. 
Fouche  was  commanded  to  draw  up  a  list  of  the 
principal  terrorists,  with  the  design  of  transporting 
them  to  the  deserts  of  the  New  World.  The  two 
sections  of  the  council  of  state  were  charged  to 
make  a  declaration  of  the  reasons  for  the  proceed- 
ing. The  first  consul  was  to  sign  the  decree,  and 
the  senate  to  declare  \\hether  it  was  contrary  to 
the  constitution  or  not. 

This  measure  against  the  terrorists,  in  itself 
illegal  and  arbitrary,  had  not  even  the  justice  upon 
its  side  which  arbitrary  measures  sometimes  have, 
when  they  fall  upon  those  who  are  really  guilty  ; 
because  the  terrorists  were  not  the  authors  of  the 
crime.  About  this  time  the  truth  began  to  be  sus- 
pected. The  minister  Fouche',  and  the  prefect  of 
police,  Dubois,  had  continued  to  make  researches 
incessantly  into  the  affair,  nor  had  tiieir  exertions 
been  unavailing.  The  violence  of  the  explosion 
had  destroyed,  almost  to  aimihilation,  nearly  all 
the  instruments  used.  The  young  girl  to  whom 
St.  Rejant  had  given  the  horse  to  hold,  had  been 
torn  in  pieces  ;  nothing  of  the  unfortunate  creature 
was  left  but  her  legs  and  feet.  The  iron  of  the 
cart-wheels  was  thrown  to  a  great  distance.  Frag- 
ments of  the  articles  employed  in  connnitting  the 
crime  could  alone  be  found,  the  only  things  likely  to 
lead  to  a  discovery  ;  and  these  wei-e  scattered  at  a 
great  distance  off  in  every  direction.  There  were 
still  some  remains  of  the  cart  and  horse.  These 
remains  were  all  collected  together,  and  a  descrip- 
tion of  them  was  written  and  made  public  through 
the  newspaper.s,  and  all  the  hoi-se  dealers  in  Paris 
were  asked  to  inspect  them.  By  a  fortunate  chance, 
the  original  owner  of  the  horse  identified  the  animal 
at  once,  and  named  a  dealer  in  seeds  to  whom  it 


Jan. 


THE  INFERNAL  MACHINE. 


Weakness  of  Fouche.— Trans- 
portation of  the   Terrorists        jgg 


I   had  been  sold.     This  dealer,  on  being  summoned,  | 
I   declared  with    the  most  perfect  frankness  every 

I'   thing  he  knew  about  the  matter.     He  had  sold  the 
hoi-se  to  two  men,  who  passed  for  foreign  traders. 
He  had  had  several  interviews  with  them,  and  was 
I   able   to  describe  them  with  great  exactness.     A 
;   man  who  kept  carriages  to  let,  and  who  had  let  tlie 
I   Ciirt-house  for  some  dajs  in  which  the  cart  had 
;   been  kept,  made  a  very  precise  declaration.     He 
,   described  the  same  individuals,  and  gave  the  same 
■  indications  as  to  their  persons,  as  the  dealer   in 
I   seeds  had  done.      The  cooper  who  had  sold  the 
'   barrel,  and  had  put  iron  hoojis  upon  it,  gave  de- 
;   scriptious   concurring   exactly  with  those  of  the 
'   other   two.      The    descri|(tions   exactly    tallied  in 
I  respect   to   features,  stature,  dress,   and    general 
I  appearance,  with  the  parties  suspected.     When  all 
I   this  evidence  had  been  taken,  recourse  was  had  to 
i   decisive  proof.    Above  two  hundred  revolutionists, 
j  apprehended  upon  suspicion,  were  made  to  appear 
i   before  them,     Tlie  1st,  2nd,  3rd,  and  4th  of  Janu- 
;  ary,  or  II th,  12th,  l.'ith,  and  14ih  of  Nivose,  were 
consumed  in  confronting  these  prisoners  with  the 
witnesses,   and  concluded  in  the  conviction  that 
none  of  the  revolutionists  arrested  were  authors  of 
the  crime,  because  not  one  was  recognized.    There 
was  no  doubt  could  be  entertained  of  the  honesty 
and  veracity  of  the  witnesses  who  had  furnished 
the  evidence,  almost  all  of  whom  had  come  forward 
spontaneously  to  state  what  they  knew,  showing  the 
greatest  zeal  in  seconding  the  efi"orts  of  the  police. 
It  was  thus  proved,  almost  to  a  certainty,  that  the 
revolutionists  were  innocent  ;  but  the  absolute  fact 
could  not  be  made  clear  until  the  discovery  of  the 
real  criminals.  An  iniportant  circumstance  directed 
attention  to  the  agents  of  Georges,  who  had  been 
sent  to  Paris  nearly  a  month  before,  and  who  had 
always  been  considered  by  Fouche  to  be  the  guilty 
parties.     Though  all  trace  had  been  lost,  yet  dovyu 
as  recently  as  the  3rd  of  Nivose  they  had  been 
seen,  sometimes  in  one  place,  sometimes  in  another, 
though  the  police  had  been  unable  to  seize  them. 
After  the  3id  of  Nivose  they  had  entirely  disap- 
peared, so  wholly,  that  it  might  be  thought  they 
liad  been  buried  under  the  earth.    This  disappear- 
ance, so  complete  and  sudden,  from  the  very  day 
ot  the  crime,  was  a  striking  fact.     To  this  it  must 
be  added,  tliat  one  of  the  descriptions  given   by 
every   witness   coiTcsponded   with   the   person   of 
Carbon.     M.   Fouche,  after  all  these  indications, 
believing  more  than  ever  that  the  real  authors  of 
the  plot  were  the  Chouans,  lost  no  time  in  despatch- 
ing an  emi.s.sary  to  observe  Georges,  and  obtain  in- 
humation respecting  St.  R^jant,  Carbon,  and  Li- 
moi-lan.  -  While  this  was  doin;;,  he  obtained  enough 
evidence   to  shake  the  previous  opinions  of  many 
persons,  and  even  those  of  the  first  consul  himself  ; 
but   who   still    would    not  yield    his   first  opinion 
uidess  the  matter  was  clearly  and  certainly  ascer- 
tained. 

Such  was  the  state  of  the  proceedings  on  the 
4tli  of  January,  or  14th  of  Nivose,  the  day  on 
which  the  decree  that  condemned  so  many  of  the 
terrorists  was  dLfinitively  settled  '. 

■  I  have  compared  the  dates  of  the  documents  in  this 
case  witli  the  dates  of  the  miasures  passed  aRainst  the  re- 
volitlonary  parly;  the  re»ult  is.  that  between  the  Uth  and 
I  Itli  NivcMc,  or  Iht  and  ■itii  uf  January,  only  one  tiling  was 
known,  namely,  that  the  examinations  of  the  persons  of  tJie 


There  was  at  last,  on  the  part  of  the  government, 
an  accordance  upon  all  the  jioints  discussed.  It 
had  never  at  any  time  seriously  thought  of  a  sum- 
mary tribunal,  which  should  try  the  terrorists,  and 
sentence  them  to  be  shot ;  it  had  always  stoi)ped 
its  measures  at  the  idea  of  transporting  a  certain 
nuiuber  of  them.  After  numerous  debates  upon 
the  subject,  it  was  agreed  upon  that  they  should 
be  transported  by  the  act  of  the  consuls,  first  sub- 
mitted for  the  sanction  of  the  senate.  All  having 
been  settled  with  the  principal  members  of  the 
council  and  senate,  the  rest  could  be  only  a  mere 
formality. 

M.  Fouche,  without  knowing  all  the  truth, 
and  yet  knowing  a  part,  assailed  upon  all  sides, 
had  the  weakness  to  lend  himself  to  a  measure, 
directed,  it  is  true,  against  men  who  had  been 
stained  with  blood,  but  were  not  the  authors  of  the 
crime,  the  perpetrators  of  which  were  then  awaiting 
detection  and  punishment.  Of  all  who  had  a  share 
in  this  act  of  ])roscription,  he  was,  therefore,  the 
most  inexcusable  ;  but  he  was  attacked  upon  every 
side.  He  was  accused  of  forbearance  towards  the 
revolutionists,  and  he  had  not  the  courage  to  resist. 
He  drew  up  himself  the  report  of  the  council  of 
state  upon  whii-h  the  decree  of  the  consuls  was 
groimded. 

In  this  report,  ]>resented  to  the  council  of  state 
upon  the  1st  of  January,  1801,  or  11th  Nivose, 
numbers  of  men  were  denounced  who  for  ten  years 
had  participated  in  every  kind  of  crime,  who  had 
spilled  the  blood  of  the  prisoners  in  the  Abbaye, 
invaded  and  done  violence  to  the  convention, 
threatened  the  directory,  and  who,  reduced  now  to 
despair,  had  armed  themselves  with  the  poignard 
to  strike  at  the  republic  in  the  person  of  the  first 
consul.  "All  these  persons,"  it  was  said,  "have not 
taken  the  dagger  in  their  hands;  but  all  are  uni- 
versally known  to  be  capable  of  sharpening  and  of 
using  it."  It  was  added,  that  the  tutelary  iorius  of 
justice  were  not  made  for  them  ;  it  was  therefore 
proposed  to  seize  and  transport  them  beyond  the 
territory  of  the  republic. 

The  examination  of  the  report  raised  the  ques- 
tion as  to  whether  the  Jacobins  ou<;ht  not  to  be 
denounced  as  the  authors  of  the  3rd  Nivose.  The 
first  consul  opposed  the  pro]50sal  earnestly.  "  We 
may  believe  so,"  said  he,  "but  we  do  not  know  it." 
He  began,  it  is  probable,  to  be  shaken  in  his  con- 
victions. "They  are  transi)orted  for  the  2iid  of 
September,  for  the  31st  of  May,  the  days  of  Prairial, 
the  conspiracy  of  Baboeuf,  for  all  which  they  have 
done,  and  for  all  which  they  might  still  do." 

Terrorists  had  not  led  to  the  recognition  of  any  one  of  them : 
there  was,  consequently,  every  just  reason  to  believe  tliat 
the  revolutionary  party  was  entirely  unacquainted  witli  tlic 
crime  in  the  Rue  St.  Nicaise.  It  was  not  possible  to  have 
ptrlc'ct  certainty  upon  this  point  until  mucli  later,  or  until 
the  28th  Nivose,  or  IStli  of  January,  the  day  of  the  arrest  of 
Carbini,  and  his  complete  identitication  by  the  parties  that 
sold  him  the  horse,  the  cart,  and  the  barrel.  The  act  de- 
creed against  the  revolutionists  is  dated  the  Mth  of  Nivose, 
or  January  lih.  It  is  not  true,  therefore,  as  some  have 
ventured  to  asseit,  that  the  proscription  took  place  with  a 
perfect  knowlcdKC  of  the  real  authors  of  the  crime;  and  that 
the  government  struck  at  the  revolutionists,  well  knowing 
that  they  were  innocent  of  the  otfence  charged  upon  tliera. 
The  act  was  not  the  less  arbitrary  for  all  that;  still  it  is 
proper  to  give  the  real  fact,  without  extenuation  or  exagge- 
ration. 


Conduct  of  the  council  of  state  Hatred  shown  towards  the 

OQO    —Decree   of    transportation  THIERS'   CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE,     terrorists- CondemMatiou 
carried  into  effect.  ol  C.racchi  and  others. 


1801. 
Jan. 


A  list  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  individuals, 
condemned  to  transportation,  followed  the  report. 
The  f^overnment  did  not  confine  itself  to  transport- 
ing the  persons  name<l,  but,  what  was  more  cruel, 
if  possible,  added  to  the  names  of  many  of  them 
the  description  of  "  Septembriseur,"  with  no  other 
proof  for  so  stamping  them  than  mere  common 
report. 

The  council  of  state  showed  a  visible  repugnance 
on  hearing  the  hundred  and  thirty  names,  because 
it  might  be  said  to  be  employed  in  drawing  up  a  list 
of  proscription.  Thibaudeau  the  counsellor  said 
that  such  a  list  could  not  be  prepared  by  the  coun- 
cil. "  I  am  not  so  foolisli,"  rejoined  the  first  consul, 
with  some  temper,  "to  make  you  pronounce  the 
doom  of  these  individuals;  I  only  submit  to  you 
the  principle  of  the  measure."  The  principle  was 
approved,  but  not  without  some  opposing  voices. 

Tlie  next  question  was,  whether  the  measure 
should  be  an  act  of  the  high  police  on  the  part  of 
the  governmo'iit,  or  be  passed  in  the  customary 
form  of  a  law.  This  had  been  arranged  previously; 
the  resolutions  already  secretly  decreed  were  con- 
firmed; and  it  was  decided  that  the  measure  should 
be  a  spontaneous  act  of  the  government,  only 
refeiTcd  to  the  senate  to  pronounce  upon  the  ques- 
tion of  its  being  constitutional. 

On  the  4tli  of  January,  or  14th  Nivose,  the  first 
consul  having  had  the  definitive  list  prepared, 
issued  a  decree  by  which  he  transported  beyond 
the  territories  of  the  republic  the  individuals  in- 
scribed upon  it,  and  without  any  hesitation  placed 
his  signature  to  the  decree. 

On  the  5tli  of  January,  or  15th  Nivose,  the 
senate  met  and  advanced  further  than  the  council 
of  state  had  done,  by  declaring  that  the  decree  of 
the  first  consul  was  a  measure  necessary  to  the 
preservation  of  the  constitution. 

The  unfortunate  persons  thus  named  were  col- 
lected together  <m  the  day  following,  and  sent  on 
their  way  to  Nantes,  there  to  be  placed  on  board 
ship,  to  embark  for  distant  countries.  There  were 
of  the  number  several  deputies  of  the  convention, 
some  nieml)ers  of  the  old  commune,  all  those  that 
remained  of  the  assassins  of  September,  and  the 
well-known  Rossignol,  formerly  a  general  of  the 
revolutionary  army.  These  men,  it  is  true,  merited 
no  pity  as  regarded  themselves,  or  at  least  but  few 
of  them  ;  yet  were  all  the  forms  of  justice  violated 
in  their  persons,  and  what  proved  the  danger  of 
violating  such  sacred  forms  was,  that  many  of  the 
designations  made  by  the  police  were  contested 
with  great  appearance  of  truth.  It  required,  at 
such  a  moment,  no  small  degree  of  moral  courage 
to  appear  in  the  behalf  of  these  proscribed  persons; 
yet  there  v/ere  some  who,  on  the  recommendation 
of  courageous  men,  were  erased  from  the  list  of 
the  proscribed,  and  saved  at  Nantes  from  the  fatal 
embarkation. 

That  upon  an  influential  recommendation  an 
individual  should  be  able  to  obtain,  or  net  to  ob- 
tain, the  favour  of  a  government — be  it  so;  but 
that  a  recommendation  should  suffice  to  exclude  or 
not  from  a  proscription  list,  according  as  a  man 
has  a  friend  bold  or  influential  enough  to  command 
it,  causes  every  sentiment  of  justice  to  revolt,  and 
proves  that  when  forms  are  once  violated  there 
only  remains  for  society  the  horrors  of  arbitrary 
power.  Yet  this  period  may  be  radieut  with  glory  ; 


it  was  remarkable  for  the  love  of  order  and  a 
hatred  of  bloods^hed.  But  the  country  was  rising 
out  of  a  revolutionary  chaos  ;  it  had  no  regard  ft)r 
rules,  and  found  them  inconvenient  and  insupport- 
able. If  this  arbitrary  proceeding  was  spoken  of,  a 
single  word  was  sufficient  to  justify  it.  It  was  said 
that  these  miscreants  were  drenched  in  blood,  and 
would  be  so  again  if  they  had  their  own  way  ;  that 
they  were  treated  much  better  than  they  had 
treated  their  victims;  and  if,  in  effect,  this  act,  under 
the  aspect  of  a  violation  of  forms,  equalled  those 
which  had  been  witnessed  at  anterior  epochs,  it 
presented  two  points  of  difference  ;  it  fell  for  the 
most  part  upon  villains,  and  their  blood  was  not 
spilled  : — a  very  miserable  excuse,  it  must  be 
allowed,  to  offer  in  mitigation,  but  it  may  still  be 
urged  to  show  that  the  year  1800  had  no  common 
feature  with  1793. 

While  these  miserable  men  were  on  their  way 
to  Nantes,  it  was  with  great  difficulty  they  were 
preserved  from  the  fury  of  the  populace,  in  all  the 
towns  through  which  they  travelled,  so  much  was 
the  public  sentiment  against  them.  Under  the  in- 
fluence of  this  sentiment,  there  was  something  still 
more  deplorable  occurred,  in  the  condemnation  of 
Ceracchi,  Arena,  Demerville,  and  Topino-Lebrun. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  month  of  Octo- 
ber preceding,  or  Vendemiaire,  these  discontented 
fellows  entered  into  a  ])lot  for  the  purpose  of  assas- 
sinating the  first  consul  at  the  opera.  But  neither 
of  them  had  the  boldness,  perhaps  never  the  real 
determination,  to  carry  the  plot  into  execution. 
The  police  agents  sent  in  spies  among  them,  gave 
them  poignards,  and  pushed  them  on  to  a  degree 
in  crime  greater  than  they  contemplated  them- 
selves, or  had  the  courage  to  commit.  In  any  case 
they  did  not  make  their  a))pearance  at  the  place 
where  they  were  to  execute  their  design,  save 
Ceracchi,  who  was  arrested  alone  at  the  opera,  and 
was  not  even  armed  with  a  single  poignard  of  those 
given  to  them.  They  were  no  more  than  empty 
talkei-s,  who  certaiidy  wished  for  the  destruction  of 
the  first  consul,  but  would  never  have  dared  to 
attempt  the  deed  themselves.  They  were  tried  on 
the  9th  of  Januiu-y,  or  19ih  of  Nivose,  at  the  very 
moment  when  the  events  were  occurring  which 
have  just  been  narrated.  Their  counsel,  aware  of 
the  terrible  influence  exercised  upcm  the  minds  of 
the  jury,  by  the  event  of  the  3nl  of  Nivose,  made 
vain  efforts  to  combat  it.  The  influence  upon 
their  minds  was  irresistible;  for  of  all  jurisdictions 
a  jury  is  that  most  governed  by  public  opinion, 
having  all  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  the 
disposition.  Four  of  these  unhappy  men  were  con- 
denmed  to  death,  Ceracchi,  AriJna,  Demerville,  and 
Topino-Lebrun.  The  last  merited  some  symj)athy, 
and  was  a  striking  instance  of  the  cruel  mutations 
of  fortune  during  the  revolution.  Young  Toi)ino- 
Lebrun  had  been  a  pupil  of  the  celebrated  David, 
and  was  a  young  artist  of  some  talent.  Participating 
in  the  wild  notions  of  artists  at  that  time,  he  had 
been  one  of  the  jury  of  the  revolutionary  tribunal, 
and  had  shown  himself  much  more  merciful  than 
his  brother  officials.  He  produced  upon  his  trial 
the  advocate  Chauveau-Lagarde,  the  respectable 
defender  of  the  victims  before  that  tribunal,  to 
give  evidence  of  his  humanity.  What  an  extraor- 
dinary change  of  fortune  !  The  former  juryman  of 
the  revolutionary  tribunal,  accused  in  his  own  turn 


Arrest  of  Carbon  and  St. 
lU'jant.— Their  condem- 
nation and  execution. 


THE  INFERNAL  MACHINE. 


General  joy  at  the  peace  of  __  . 

Luneville.  ^^^ 


and  calling  to  liis  assistance  tlie  old  defender 
of  the  victims  of  that  sai)j,'uinar.v  judgment  scat ! 
But  the  aid  thus  generously  given  could  not  save 
him.  All  four  were  condemned  on  the  9th  of 
January,  or  19th  of  Nivose,  and  after  a  useless 
appeal  to  the  court  of  cassation,  were  executed  on 
the  3lst  of  that  month. 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  horrible  mystery  of  the 
infernal  machine  was  clearing  up  by  little  and  little. 
Fouche  had  sent,  to  be  near  Georges,  certain 
agents,  who  were  to  make  inquiries  about  Carbon, 
what  had  become  of  him  and  where  he  lived.  He 
learned,  through  this  medium,  that  Carbon  had 
sistei-s,  who  were  residents  in  Paris,  and  he  found 
out  their  abode.  This  was  searched  by  the  police, 
and  a  barrel  of  powder  discovered.  From  the 
youngest  sister  the  police  obtained  a  knowledge  of 
the  new  lodgings  where  he  had  concealed  himself. 
It  was  with  very  respectable  persons,  the  ladies 
De  Cic^,  sisters  of  M.  de  Cice',  once  archbishop  of 
Bordeau.x,  and  minister  of  jubtice.  The  ladies  took 
him  for  a  returned  emigrant,  whose  passport  was 
not  rectified,  and  they  ])rocured  him  a  place  of 
refuge  with  some  old  religious  sisters,  living  in 
company  in  a  retired  part  of  Paris.  These  unfor- 
tmiate  sisters,  who  every  day  thanked  Heaven  that 
the  first  consul  had  escaped  death,  because  thoy 
considered  themselves  all  lost  if  he  was  no  more, 
had  given  an  a.sylum,  unconscious  what  they  did, 
t<j  one  of  his  intended  assassins.  The  police  went 
to  their  house  on  the  18th  of  January,  or  28th  of 
Nivose,  and  apprehended  Carbon,  together  with 
all  those  who  had  thus  received  him.  The  same 
day  he  was  confronted  with  the  witnesses  already 
mentioned,  and  recognized  at  once.  At  first  he 
denied  every  thing  ;  but  at  last  confes.sed  he  was 
a  participator,  but  an  innocent  participator  only, 
I  ill  the  crime,  because,  from  his  own  statement,  he 
was  not  aware  of  the  object  for  which  the  cart 
aiiiJ  barrel  were  intended.  He  denounced  Limoe- 
lan  and  St.  R^jant.  Limoelan  had  found  time  to 
escape  into  a  foreign  country  ;  but  St.  Rejant, 
thrown  down  by  the  explosion,  and  for  some 
minutes  half  dead,  had  only  just  time  and  strength 
left  to  change  his  lodgings.  An  agent  of  Georges, 
employed  to  attend  upon  him,  who  had  been  left 
at  liberty  for  the  purpose,  as  it  was  iioped,  of 
finding  St.  Rejant,  by  tracking  him,  was  the  means 
of  discovering  his  residence.  The  police  found 
him  still  ill  in  consequence  of  his  wounds.  He 
was  soon  confronted,  recognized,  and  convicted 
by  such  a  crowd  of  witnesses,  as  left  no  room  for 
douijt.  A  letter  to  Georges  was  found  under  his 
bed,  in  which  he  detailed,  in  an  ambiguous  manner, 
the  princijial  circumstances  of  the  crime,  and  made 
a  Kort  of  justification  of  himself  to  his  employer 
because  he  had  not  succeeded.  Carbon  and  St. 
R(?jaut  were  sent  before  the  criminal  tribunal, 
which  sentenced  these  execrable  ruffians  to  lose 
their  heads. 

When  all  the  particular  facts  of  the  ca.se  were 
published,  the  obstinate  accusers  of  the  revolution- 
ary party,  and  the  complacent  defenders  of  the 
royalists,  were  surprised  and  confounded.  The 
cneniies  of  Fouchd,  too,  fmmd  themselves  enibar- 
raased.  The  correctness  of  his  judgment  was  re- 
cognized, and  he  was  again  well  established  in  the 
favour  of  the  first  consul.  But  he  had  furnished  his 
enemies  with  a  weapon  of  which  they  took  ad- 


vantage with  some  justice.  "  Why,"  said  they, 
"  if  he  was  so  certain  of  the  fact,  did  he  suffer  the 
revolutionists  to  be  proscribed?"  He  well  de- 
served upon  this  point  a  bitter  reproach.  The 
first  consul,  who  did  not  regard  a  violation  of 
forms,  caring  for  nothing  but  the  results  obtained, 
showed  no  regret  about  the  matter.  He  thought 
that  what  had  been  done  was  well  done,  in  every 
point  of  view;  that  he  was  disenibarriissed  of  those 
whom  he  called  the  "staff  of  the  Jacobins,"  and 
that  the  3rd  of  Nivose  only  pmved  one  tiling, 
which  was,  the  necessity  for  watching  the  royalists 
as  well  as  the  Terrorists.  "  Fnuclie,"  said  he, 
"  judged  better  than  most  other  persons  ;  he  is 
right  ;  it  is  necessary  to  have  an  eye  open  upon 
the  returned  emigrants,  upon  the  Chouans,  and 
over  all  who  are  of  that  party." 

This  event  much  diminished  the  interest  felt  in 
behalf  of  the  royalists,  who  had  been  complacently 
styled  the  victims  of  terror:  it  also  greatly  lessened 
the  antipathy  felt  against  the  revolutionists,  while 
M.  Fouche',  though  he  did  not  increase  in  public 
esteem,  gained  in  credit. 

The  i)ainful  sentiments  of  which  the  infernal 
machine  had  been  the  cause,  were  .soon  removed 
by  the  joy  inspired  at  the  treaty  of  Lune'ville. 
Every  day  under  the  most  prosperous  government 
is  not  fortunate.  That  of  the  consulate  had  this 
uneqtialled  advantage,  that  if  sad  impressions  at 
one  moment  occupied  the  minds  of  the  people, 
they  were  dissipated  the  next  instant  by  some 
great,  new,  and  unforeseen  result.  Some  short 
and  mournful  scenes  there  were  in  which  the  first 
consul  appeared  as  the  saviour  of  France  ;  these 
every  faction  was  desirous  of  obliterating  ;  after 
these  scenes,  victories,  treaties,  acts  of  reparation, 
came  healing  deep  wounds  and  reviving  public  pros- 
perity— such  was  the  spect:icle  which  lie  thus  un- 
ceasingly presented — Bonajjarte  constantly  emerged 
from  them,  greater,  dearer  to  France,  more  evi- 
dently destined  for  the  sujireme  jiower. 

The  second  .session  of  the  legislative  body  had 
commenced.  It  was  at  this  moment  engaged  in 
the  discussion  and  adoption  of  many  laws,  of  which 
the  principal,  that  of  the  special  tribunals,  was  of 
no  real  importance  after  what  hail  just  before  been 
done.  But  the  opposition  in  the  tribunate  opposed 
these  laws  against  the  government,  which  was  a 
sufticicnt  inducement  to  their  being  carried  out. 
The  first  of  these  related  to  the  archives  of  the 
republic.  It  had  become  necossitry,  since  the 
abolition  of  the  ancient  ])rovincc3  had  consigned 
to  disorder  a  great  number  of  old  titles  and  of 
documents,  either  very  u.seful  or  very  curious,  to 
decide  where  they  should  deposit  such  a  mass  of 
records,  laws,  treaties,  and  similar  instruments. 
This  was  a  measure  of  order  only,  liaving  no 
political  character.  The  tribunate  voted  against 
the  law;  and  after  having,  accoi-ding  to  custom, 
.sent  its  three  orators  to  the  legislative  body,  it 
obtained  a  rejection  of  the  measure  by  a  largo 
majority.  The  legislative  body,  though  strongly 
attached  to  the  government,  as  assemblies  so  at- 
tached generally  are,  was  jealous  of  sometimes 
exhibiting  its  independence  in  nicasurcs  of  detail, 
and  it  was  assuredly  able  to  do  this  without  danger, 
under  the  proposal  of  a  law,  the  object  of  which 
was  merely  to  decide  upon  the  de|i08it,  in  this  or 
that  place,  of  certain  papers  and  ancient  records. 


202 


Discussions  relative  to 
tlie  law  of  special  tri- 
bunals. 


Objections.  —  The   law 
THIERS'  CONSULATE   AND  EMPIRE.  passed—Strong  lan- 

guage of  Bonaparte. 


1801. 
Feb. 


The  two  assemblies  were  occupied  at  the  same 
moment  with  the  consideration  of  a  more  important 
law,  but  equally  a  stranger  with  the  preceding  to 
politics.  It  related  to  the  justices  of  the  peace,  of 
which  the  number  was  acknowledged  to  be  too 
great.  Si.\  tliousand  having  been  appointed  at 
their  first  institution,  they  had  not  answered  the 
purpose  for  which  they  were  created.  Men  capable 
of  fulfilling  the  functions  of  the  office  could  not  be 
found  in  many  cantons  ;  they  had  failed,  too,  in 
anotiier  point.  It  had  beeu  judged  proper  to 
assign  to  them  the  judicial  police,  but  they  had 
performed  the  duty  very  indifferently,  and  the 
paternal  and  benevolent  character  of  their  juris- 
diction had  been  in  some  degree  injured  by  it.  The 
proposed  measure  of  the  government  included  two 
modifications  to  be  introduced  relative  to  these 
officials.  In  the  first  instance,  theh*  reduction 
from  six  thousand  to  two  thousand  six  hundred 
was  contemplated;  and  next,  the  duty  of  the  judi- 
cial police  was  to  be  performed  by  other  magis- 
trates. The  proposed  measure  was  very  rational, 
and  made  with  the  best  intentions;  but  it  en- 
countered a  strong  opposition  in  the  tribunate. 
Several  members  spoke  against  it,  more  particularly 
Benjamin  Constant  ;  notwithstanding  this,  it  was 
adopted  in  the  tribunate,  by  fifty-nine  to  thirty-two, 
and  in  the  legislative  body  by  two  hundred  and 
eighteen  to  forty-one. 

Another  law,  more  likely  to  become  a  subject  of 
discussion,  and  of  a  character  wholly  political,  was 
presented  at  this  time  :  the  law  for  the  institution 
of  special  tribunals.  This  law  had  lost  its  chief 
utility,  since  the  first  consul  had  instituted  military 
commissions,  to  follow  the  moveable  colunms  which 
were  in  the  pursuit  of  the  robbers  upon  the  high- 
ways; and  since,  above  all,  he  had  not  iiesitated  to 
proscribe,  iu  the  most  arbitrary  manner,  tiie  re- 
volutionists who  were  deemed  dangerous  to  the 
state.  Tiie  military  commissions  had  already  pro- 
duced very  salutary  efTects.  Tiie  judges,  in  mili- 
tary uniforms,  wiio  composed  them,  had  no  fear 
of  the  accused  ;  they  encouraged  the  witnesses 
who  gave  evidence,  and  not  unfrequencly  these 
witnesses  were  the  soldiers  tiiemselves,  who  had 
arrested  the  robbers,  having  surpi-ised  them  witii 
arms  in  their  liands.  Prompt  and  vigorous  justice 
following  the  employment  of  a  very  active  force, 
had  singularly  contributed  to  re-establish  the  se- 
curity of  the  high  roads.  The  escorts  placed  on 
the  imperials  of  the  diligences,  often  obliged  to 
engage  in  murderous  confiicts,  had  intimidated  the 
roijbers.  Attacks  were  less  frequent;  and  security 
began  again  to  be  felt,  tiianks  to  the  vigour  of  the 
government  and  the  tribunals,  and  to  the  con- 
clusion of  the  winter.  Tlie  ])roposed  law  was, 
therefore,  introduced  when  the  mischief  was  al- 
ready much  diminished  ;  but  it  had  the  useful 
object  of  regulating  the  military  disj)eusation  of 
justice  upon  the  high  roads,  and  it  applied  to  iiigh- 
way  rol)bers  a  permanent  and  legal  punislnnent. 
The  projected  organization  was  this  : — 

Tiie  special  tribunals  were  to  be  composed  of 
three  ordinary  judges,  all  members  of  the  criminal 
tribunal,  of  three  military  officers,  and  of  two 
assessors,  the  last  chosen  by  the  government,  and 
duly  qualified  to  act  as  judges.  The  military 
members  could  not,  therefore,  have  the  majority. 
The  government  was  to  have  full    power  to   es- 


tablish these  tribunals  in  the  departments  where  it 
might  believe  them  to  be  necessary.  They  were 
empowered  to  take  cognizance  of  all  offences  com- 
mitted upon  the  high  roads  and  in  the  country  by 
armed  bands ;  of  all  assaults  against  the  purchasers 
of  national  property  ;  and,  finally,  of  murder  di- 
rected with  premeditation  against  the  heads  of  the 
government.  This  last  provision  comprehended 
the  infernal  machine,  the  plot  of  Ceracchi  and 
Are'na,  with  the  like  offences.  The  court  of  cas- 
sation was  authorized  to  decide  in  cases  of  doubtful 
competency,  all  other  business  before  the  court 
being  suspended  for  that  purpose.  Tliese  special 
tribunals  were  to  be  abolished  as  a  matter  of  right, 
two  years  after  a  general  peace. 

Every  thing  might  be  objected  to  these  tribunals 
which  could  be  objected  to  exceptional  justice. 
But  there  was  this'  to  be  urged  in  their  favour, 
that  S(jciety  never  so  deeply  convulsed,  at  no 
time  demanded  more  prompt  and  extraordinary 
means  to  restore  it  to  tranquillity.  Under  the  plea 
of  fidelity  to  the  constitution,  use  was  made  of  that 
article  belonging  to  it,  which  permitted  the  legis- 
lative body  to  suspend  it  in  those  departments 
where  it  might  be  judged  necessary.  The  case  of 
extraordinary  jurisdictions  was  evidently  com- 
prised in  this  article,  because  the  suspension  of  the 
constitution  of  necessity  led  to  the  establishment  of 
martial  law.  Besides  the  discussion  was  super- 
fluous in  a  country,  and  at  a  moment  when  one 
hundred  and  thirty  persons  had  been  proscribed 
without  a  trial,  and  military  commissions  had  beeu 
established  in  several  departments  without  the 
least  censure  of  public  opinion.  It  must  still  be 
allowed  that,  compared  with  these  acts,  the  pro- 
posed law  was  a  return  to  legal  government.  But 
it  was  warmly  and  acrimoniously  attacked  by  the 
usual  opposition  members,  by  Daunou,  Constant, 
Ginguene,  and  others.  In  the  tribunate  it  only 
passed  by  a  majority  of  forty-nine  to  forty-one 
voices.  In  the  legislative  body  the  majority  was  much 
more  considerable,  the  law  obtaining  one  hundred 
and  ninety-two  iu  its  favour,  to  eighty -eight  against 
it.  But  a  minority  of  eighty-eight  surpassed  the 
ordinary  number  of  the  minority  iu  that  assembly 
entirely  devoted  to  the  government.  The  great 
number  of  negative  suffrages  then  obtained  was 
attributed  to  a  speech  made  by  M.  Francis  of 
Nantes,  in  which  he  addressed  the  legislative  body 
in  language  considered  too  intemperate.  "  M. 
Francis  of  Nantes  has  done  well,"  said  the  first 
consul,  iu  reply  to  one  of  his  colleagues  Camba- 
cdres  or  Lebriin,  who  expressed  disapprobation  of 
his  speech.  "  It  is  better  to  have  fewer  votes,  and 
to  show  that  feeling  insults,  we  are  determined 
not  to  tolerate  them." 

The  first  consul  held  stronger  language  to  a 
deputation  of  the  senate  which  presented  him  with 
a  resolution  of  tiieir  body.  He  expressed  himself  in 
the  boldest  way,  and  in  several  instances  said, 
without  disguise,  that  if  he  was  much  incommoded, 
and  prevented  from  restoring  peace  and  order  to 
France,  he  would  trust  to  the  opinion  which  the 
country  held  of  him,  and  govern  by  consular  ordi- 
nances. p]very  moment  his  ascendancy  increased 
with  his  success,  and  his  boldness  with  his  as- 
cendancy, and  he  gave  himself  no  more  trouble  to 
dissemble  the  entire  of  his  intentions. 

He  encountered  a  stronger  opposition  upon  the 


Financial  measures  of  the 


THE   INFERNAL   MACHINE.    Scheme  for  meeting  deficiencies.      203 


question  of  the  finances,  which  constituted  the 
last  business  of  the  session.  This  was  the  most 
pniisewdi-tiiy  of  all  the  labours  of  the  government, 
and  most  particularly  due  to  the  pei'soual  interven- 
tion of  the  first  consul. 

We  have  several  times  explained  the  means 
taken  to  secure  the  rcijular  collection  and  i)ay- 
nient  of  tlio  revenues  of  the  state.  These  means 
had  perfectly  succeeded  for  the  vear  viii.,  or  1799- 
1800;  the  sum  of  518,000,0(io"f.'  had  been  re- 
ceived, which  equalled  the  total  sum  of  the  taxes 
for  one  year  ;  for  at  that  time  the  revenue  and 
expcmliture  in  the  budget  did  not  exceed 
500,000,000f.  Of  these  518,000,000f.,  172,000,000f. 
beliin!;ed  to  the  years  v.,  vi.,  and  vii.,  and 
346,000,000  f,  to  the  year  viii.  All  liabilities  for 
these  four  years  were  not  acquitted.  It  was  neces- 
sary that  there  should  be  a  complete  liquidation, 
in  order  that  the  year  I.K.,  or  1800-1801,  which 
was  the  current  year,  might  proceed  with  C(mi- 
plete  regularity.  The  income  of  the  year  ix.  was 
certiiinto  meet  its  own  expenses,  because  the  taxes 
would  produce  from  500,000,000  f.  to  620,000,000  f., 
and  this  was  adeiiuate  to  the  expenses  in  a  time  of 
peace.  A  practical  system  of  accounts  having 
been  established,  from  that  date  the  receipts  of 
the  year  ix.  would  be  applied  exclusively  to  the 
expenses  of  the  year  ;  the  receipts  of  the  year  x. 
to  the  expenses  of  the  year  x.  and  so  on  ;  thus  the 
future  was  secure.  In  regard  to  the  past,  or  for 
the  years  v.,  vi.,  vii.,  and  viii.,  there  remained  a 
deficit  to  be  covered.  To  this  object  the  daily 
receipts  from  the  arrears  of  taxes  for  those  years 
were  respectively  applied.  These  arrears,  which 
were  principally  due  from  the  landed  proprietors, 
reduced  them  to  a  situation  of  considerable  de- 
pression. At  the  meeting  of  the  councils-general 
of  the  departments,  held  then  for  the  first  time, 
eighty-seven  councils-general  out  of  one  hundred 
and  six.  remonstrated  against  the  excessive  burdens 
of  the  direct  contributions.  The  government  was 
obliged  in  consequence,  as  has  been  before  stated, 
to  remit  a  part  of  the  taxes  in  arrcar,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  securing  the  punctual  payment  of  the  entire 
tax  in  future.  A  law  was  ])roposed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  authorizing  the  local  administrations  to 
relieve  those  persons  who  were  taxed  too  heavily, 
and  the  measure  passed  without  oppositi<m.  In 
consequence  there  was  a  ileficiency  of  resources 
noted,  as  attiching  to  the  years  v.,  vi.,  vii.,  and 
viii.  The  amount  was  estimated  for  the  three 
years,  v.,  vi.,  and  vii.,  at  90,000,000  f ,  and  for  the 
year  viii.  alone  at  30,000,000  f.  The  year  vm., 
1799  1800,  was  distinguisbed  from  the  years  v., 
VI.,  VII.,  because  the  year  viii.  was  under  the 
consulship. 

It  became  necessary,  therefore,  to  discover  how 
tluse  deficiencies  were  to  bo  met.  There  remained 
al)out  400,000,000  f.  of  national  ])roi)erty  dispos- 
able ;  and  it  was  here  that  the  first  consul  exer- 
cised the  most  fortunate  infiuence  upon  the  finan- 
cial systf^m,  and  made  the  best  employment  pos- 
sible of  the  public  resources. 

Not  being  able  to  dispose  of  the  national  pro- 
perty jit  pleasure,  the  value  had  alw.ays  been 
received  by  anticipation,  through  the  means  of  a 
paper  emitted  under  diflerent  names,  receivable  in 

'  ,\bout  £21,000,000  stcrlinB. 


payment  for  that  species  of  property.  After  the 
fall  of  the  assignats,  the  later  name  devised  for 
this  kind  of  paper  was  that  of  "  rescription."  In 
the  course  of  the  year  vm.  some  of  the  "re- 
scriptions"'  had  been  negotiated  to  a  less  disad- 
vantage than  in  the  time  gone  by,  but  with  too 
little  advantage  still  for  it  to  be  prudent  to  have 
recoui-sc  to  them  as  a  resource.  'J'his  paper  had 
been  circulated  at  a  loss;  for  from  the  first  day  of 
its  issue  it  fell  into  discredit,  and  soon  passed  into 
the  hands  of  speculators,  who,  by  this  means,  pur- 
chased the  national  domains  at  a  very  trifling 
price.  Thus  it  was  that  a  valuable  resource  had 
been  foolishly  wasted  to  the  great  injury  of  the 
state,  and  the  great  benefit  of  stock-jobbers.  The 
400,000,000  f.  in  value  remaining,  if  they  could  be 
successfully  preserved  from  the  disorder  by  which 
so  many  other  millions  had  been  lost  down  to  this 
time,  would  not  fail  to  acquire,  with  peace  and 
time,  a  value  three  or  four  times  greater.  The 
first  consul  was  resolved  not  to  expend  them  in 
the  mode  in  which  several  thousand  millions  had 
been  already  flung  away. 

But  resources  were  immediately  required,  and 
the  first  consul  endeavoured  to  find  them  in  the 
issue  of  stock,  which  already,  since  his  accession  to 
power,  had  obtained  considerable  value.  The 
funds  had  risen  from  the  rate  of  ten  and  twelve, 
to  that  of  twenty-five  and  thirty,  after  the  battle  of 
Marengo.  Since  the  peace  of  Luneville  they  had 
risen  above  fifty,  and  at  a  general  peace  it  was 
expected  they  would  reach  as  high  as  sixty.  At 
this  rate  the  government  might  begin  to  deal  in 
them,  as  there  was  less  loss  in  selling  stock  than  in 
.selling  the  national  property.  The  first  consul, 
unwilling  to  raise  a  regular  loan,  proposed  to  pay 
with  stock  certain  state  creditors,  and  to  devote  to 
the  sinking  fund  an  equivalent  sum  in  landed 
property,  which  that  fund  might  afterwards  sell, 
but  slowly,  at  its  full  value,  so  as  to  compensate  in 
this  mode  for  the  increase  about  to  be  made  to  the 
public  debt  by  the  stock.  This  was  the  principle 
of  the  financial  law  now  proposed  lor  the  year. 

The  unpaid  debts  which  remained  to  be  liqui- 
dated for  the  last  three  years  of  the  directory,  or 
the  years  v.,  vi.,  and  vii.,  passed  for  bad  debts. 
These  were  the  remnant  of  disgraceful  contracts 
made  under  the  directory,  and  amounted  to 
0"00,000,000  f.  On  beginning  a  new  system  it  was 
proper  to  have  a  due  regard  to  these  debts,  what- 
ever might  be  their  nature  or  origin.  The  sum 
due  was  90,000,000  f. ;  nearly  the  whole  being  in 
the  hands  of  speculators,  they  were  at  a  discount 
of  seventy-five  per  cent,  in  the  market.  It  was 
proposed  to  acfpiit  these  by  means  of  stock 
bearing  an  interest  of  three  jwr  cent.  The  total 
of  these  debts  being  90,000,000  f.,  a  sum  of 
2,700,000  f.  would  be  required  to  \my  the  divi- 
dend. This  sum,  at  the  existing  prices  of  the 
])ublie  funds,  represented  a  real  amount  of 
27,000,000  f.  or  30,000,000  f.,  and  could  not  repre- 
sent less  than  40,000,000  f.  in  the  eight  or  ten 
months  that  nnist  elapse  before  the  li(iuidation 
could  be  completed.  The  debts  which  it  was  to 
ac(iuit  being  at  a  discount  of  seventy-five  ]ier  cent, 
in  the  market,  and  the  capital  of  00,000,000  f. 
being  thus  rt^duced  in  reality  to  one  of  22,000,000  f. 
or  23,000,000  f.,  more  would  be  paid  for  them  than 
their  value,  if  the  government  were  to  yay  divi- 


Financial  measures. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Regulation  of  the  public       1801. 
debt.  Feb. 


dends  for  them  at  the  rate  of  27,000,000  f.,  be- 
cause such  an  interest  immediately  suld  would 
produce  27,000,000  f.  or  30,000,000  f.,  and  was 
very  soon  likely  to  produce  more. 

The  debts  ot'  tiie  year  vni.,  still  in  arrear,  were 
of  a  totally  different  character.  Tliey  were  the 
obligations  for  services  executed  during  the  first 
year  of  the  consular  government,  when  order  had 
been  perfectly  established  in  the  administration. 
These  services,  executed  at  a  time  when  the  public 
distress  was  still  great,  had  been  paid  for  at  a  dear 
rate  without  doubt ;  Ijut  it  was  against  the  honour 
of  the  consular  government  to  treat  its  engage- 
ments so  )-ecently  contracted,  which  had  not  like 
those  of  the  directory  taken  the  character  of  dis- 
credited debts,  and  been  so  negotiated — to  treat 
such  engagements  in  the  same  manner  as  those 
which  belonged  to  the  years  v.,  vi.,  and  vii.  The 
government  did  not  hesitate,  therefore,  to  pay  in 
full,  and  at  its  nominal  worth,  the  excess  of  the 
expenditure  of  the  year  viii.  Its  actual  amount 
was  estimated  at  60,000,000  f.,  but  the  payment  of 
the  arrears  of  taxes  in  the  year  viii.  reduced  the 
sum  to  30,000,000  f.  It  was  determined  to  ])ay  a 
part  of  this  debt,  amounting  to  20,000,000  f.,  by 
constituting  stock  at  five  per  cent.,  which  would 
amount  to  a  million  interest.  It  will  presently  be 
explained  how  the  remaining  part  of  the  debt  was 
provided  for. 

The  year  ix.,  or  1800  1801,  promised  to  meet 
its  own  ex|)enses,  upon  the  very  probable  hypo- 
thesis of  the  approaciiing  termination  of  the  war, 
because  the  continental  peace  concluded  at  Lune- 
ville  must  soon  bring  about  a  mariiime  one.  The 
budget  was  not  then  voted  a  year  in  advance,  but 
was  voted  the  same  year  during  the  time  that  the 
expenses  were  incurring.  The  budget  of  the  year 
IX.,  for  example,  was  brought  forward  and  dis- 
cussed in  Ventose  of  the  year  ix.,  that  is  to  say, 
the  budget  of  1801  in  the  month  of  March,  I80'l. 
The  expenses  and  rect-ipts  of  this  year  were  esti- 
mated at  the  moment  at  4 1 5,000.000 f.,  exclusively 
of  the  expenses  of  collection  and  divei-s  local  ser- 
vices, which  may  be  taken  at  about  100,000,000  f. 
more,  and  raised  it  to  515,000,000  f.  in  place  of 
4 1 5,000,000  f.  But  the  estimate  of  receipt  and 
expenditure  was  inferior  to  the  real  aniount,  be- 
cause then,  as  now,  the  real  expenses  were  always 
beyond  the  estimates.  It  will  by  and  by  be  clearly 
shown  that  the  sum  of  41o,0!)0,000  f.  was  increased 
to  500,000,000  f  Happily  the  product  of  the  taxes 
exceeded  the  estimate  as  well  as  the  expenditure. 
The  double  excess  thus  produced  there  is  no  doubt 
had  been  foreseen  ;  but  fearing  that  in  future  the 
receipts  would  not  eipial  tlie  excess  of  the  ex- 
penditure, the  government  determined  to  a.ssure 
itself  of  a  supplementary  resource.  Ten  millions 
still  remained  to  be  met,  as  we  have  before  said, 
in  order  to  complete  the  payments  of  the  year  viii.; 
it  was  supposed  that  20,000,000  f.  woidd  be  wanted 
for  the  payments  of  the  year  ix.,  30,000,000  f. 
would  thus  have  to  be  raised  in  two  years.  It  was 
decided  for  this  sum  alone  to  have  recourse  to  an 
alienation  of  the  national  property.  Fifteen  mil- 
lions of  this  property  sold  in  each  year  would  not 
surpass  the  amount  of  alienation  which  it  was 
l)ossible  to  effect  with  advantage,  and  without  dis- 
order in  the  course  of  the  year.  By  placing  this 
business  in  the  hands  of  the  managers  of  the  sink- 


ing fund,  who  had  already  very  ably  acquitted 
themselves  of  the  duty,  the  government  was  certain 
to  obtain  an  advantageous  price  for  the  portions  of 
the  domains  of  the  staie  thus  sold.  In  this  way 
the  past  debt  would  be  liquidated,  and  the  present 
account  be  balanced.  There  only  remained  one 
o]ieration  to  execute  in  order  to  terminate  the 
re-organization  of  the  state  finances  ;  this  was  the 
regulation  of  the  public  debt  definitively. 

The  moment  was  in  effect  come  for  detei'mining 
its  amount,  for  arranging  the  resources  of  the 
sinking  fund  with  the  recognized  amount  of  the 
debt,  and  for  making  a  convenient  use  with  this 
object  of  the  400,000,000  f.  of  national  property 
which  still  remained  at  the  disposal  of  the  state. 

The  public  debt  was,  as  it  had  been  left,  in  a 
state  of  bankruptcy,  being  so  declared  by  the  di- 
rectory for  which  the  convention  and  constituent 
assembly  had  prepared  the  way.  A  third  of  the 
debt  had  been  jilaced  in  the  great  book,  and  it  was 
this  third,  which,  in  the  language  of  that  time,  had 
been  called  the  "  consolidated  third."  Interest  at 
five  per  cent,  had  been  allowed  upon  this  third, 
saved  from  the  bankruptcy.  The  amount  inscribed 
in  the  great  book  was  37,000,000  f.  interest,  not 
capital,  and  there  remained  a  considerable  sum 
still  to  be  inscribed;  two-thirds  of  the  sun)  had  been 
erased  from  the  great  book,  or  had  been  "mobi- 
lised," another  expression  used  at  that  time,  and 
declared  to  be  receivable  in  paymeiit  for  the  na- 
tional domains,  thus  they  were  no  more  in  fact 
than  real  assignats.  A  posterior  law  had  com- 
pleted their  depreciation  by  reducing  them  to  one 
only  purpose,  that  of  paying  exclusively  for  the 
buildings,  but  neither  for  the  woods  nor  the  land, 
that  made  a  part  of  the  national  property. 

It  was  absolutely  necessary  to  jiut  a  term  to 
such  a  state  of  things  as  this,  and  for  that  purjiose 
to  carry  into  the  "  great  book"  the  remainder  of 
the  consolidated  third,  which  the  anterior  govern- 
ment had  delayed  inscribing,  that  it  might  escape 
paying  the  interest.  Justice,  and  the  good  order  of 
the  finances,  required  that  such  a  state  of  things 
should  terminate.  It  was  proposed  to  carry  into 
the  "  great  book,"  a  million  and  a  half  of  the  con- 
solidated thirds,  but  only  to  bear  interest  from  the 
beginning  of  the  year  xii.  This  portion  of  the  debt, 
though  the  enjoyment  of  the  interest  was  delayed 
for  two  years,  acquired  instantly,  from  the  mere 
circumstance  of  its  inscription,  a  value  nearly 
equal  to  that  already  entered  ;  and  a  much  higher 
value  was  thus  conferred  on  all  which  remained  of 
the  provisional  third,  by  this  appearance  of  punc- 
tuality. A  considerable  sum  remained  to  be  en- 
tered, either  in  "  consolidated  thirds,"  properly  so 
called,  or  in  the  debts  of  emigrants,  of  which  the 
state  had  taken  the  responsibility  when  it  confis- 
cated their  property,  or  in  the  debts  of  Belgium, 
which  had  been  the  condition  of  the  conquest. 
Finally,  there  were  the  "  two-thirds  mobilised," 
extremely  depreciated,  and  which  it  was  but  equi- 
table to  give  the  holders  the  means  of  realising. 
The  conversion  of  the  "  consolidated  thirds"  was 
offered  by  funding  them  at  the  rate  of  five  for  a 
hundred  capital.  It  was  likely  that  the  holders 
would  eagerly  accept  this  offer.  For  this  purpose 
it  was  proposcil  to  create  a  million  stock,  and  if  the 
project  succeeded,  it  was  imagined  that  the  "mo- 
bilisf^d  two-thirds"  would  be  speedily  absorbed.    A 


1801. 
Feb. 


THE  INFERNAL  MACHINE. 


Provision  for  public  instruction 
and  invalid  hospitals. 


final  period  was  fixed  for  the  payinent  of  debts  due 
for  national  property,  after  wliicli,  tlie"  two-thirds" 
bonds  were  to  be  no  longer  received  in  payment. 
Tlie  time  thus  allowed  having  expired,  the  pro- 
perty not  paid  for  lapsed  to  the  state. 

It  was  estimated  that  on  adding  the  20,000  OOOf. 
of  stock  to  the  sum  of  37,000,000  f.  of  consolidated 
thirds,  already  entered  in  the  great  book,  it  would 
be  sufficient  to  meet  the  amount  of  the  consolidated 
third  remaining  to  be  entered,  the  mobilised  two- 
thirds,  of  whicli  the  conversion  was  eoiitem])laled, 
and,  lastly,  the  debts  of  the  emigrants  and  of  Bel- 
gium. The  total  of  the  iiermanent  public  debt 
would  then  consist  of  a  charge  of  57,000,000 f.  In 
addition  to  this  permanent  charge  there  weie 
20,000,000  f.  in  life-annuities,  19,000,000  f.  in  civil 
and  religious  pensions,  the  last  paid  to  the  clergy 
who  had  lost  their  pio])erty,  and,  finally,  30,0()0,000f. 
of  military  pensions,  in  all  (i9,000,o6o  f.  of  termi- 
nable annuities,  of  which  about  3,000,000f  would 
annually  terminate.  It  was  possible  to  hope  in 
a  few  years,  by  means  of  the  extinction  of  the 
terminable  debt,  that  the  savings  would  cover  the 
sensible  augmentations  to  which  the  i)er|)etual 
debt  was  liable,  in  consequence  of  new  entries  in 
the  great  bo..k.  It  followed  that  the  whole 
charge,  making  provision  for  the  old  claims,  could 
not  exceed  the  amount  of  100,000,000  f.  for  the 
service  of  the  i)ublic  debt,  of  which  one-half 
would  be  a  perpetual  charge,  and  one-half  be  ter- 
minable. The  position  of  the  finances,  therefore, 
stood  thus:  a  public  debt  of  100,000,000  f.;  a  budget 
of  500,0(10,000  f.;  eipial  in  receipt  and  expenditure, 
or  altogether  ot  600,000,0001'.,  including  the  ex- 
penses of  Collection.  This  was  a  situation  certainly 
much  better  than  that  of  England,  which  had  an  ab- 
sorbing debt  of  500,000,000  f.  annually,  up<in  a  reve- 
nue of  between  1000,000,0001.  and  1 100.000.000  f. 
In  addition  to  this  tliere  remained  still  to  France 
the  resource  of  the  indirect  contributions;  that  is  to 
say,  of  the  tax  upon  liquors,  tobacco,  salt,  and  simi- 
lar articles  not  then  re-establislied,  and  which  fur- 
nished, at  a  future  time,  a  very  large  revenue. 

The  first  consul  was  desirous  of  proportioning 
the  resources  of  tlie  sinking  fund  to  the  income  of 
the  debt.  He  decided  upon  the  creation  of  stock 
involving  a  charge  of  2,700,000  f.  to  cover  the  de- 
ficiency of  the  years  v.,  vi.,  and  vii.,  of  1,000,000  f. 
for  that  of  the  year  viii.,  and  of  several  millions 
more  for  the  inscription  of  the  consolidated  thinls, 
for  the  conversion  of  the  two-thirds  mobilised,  and 
similar  exigencies.  He  devoted  to  the  sinking  fund 
a  cajiital  of  90,000,000  f.  in  national  property,  which 
might  be  sold  as  convenience  required,  and  cm- 
jiloyed  in  the  purchase  of  stock.  The  first  consul 
also  had  a  transfer  made  to  it  of  5,400,000  f.  of  stock 
belonging  to  the  funds  of  public  instruction,  wiiich 
wa-s  replaced  in  a  mode  that  will  be  shortly  seen. 

The  national  domains  were  thus  preserved  from 
being  wasted;  because  by  the  sinking  fund  they 
were  alienated  slowly,  at  the  times  most  beneficial, 
or  were  kept  back  if  it  was  found  convenient;  thus 
being  protected  from  the  renewal  of  those  dilapida- 
tions which  had  been  before  so  much  lantented. 
In  order  to  secure  the  rest  with  greater  certaintv, 
the  first  consul  determined  to  apply  a  considerable 
jiart  to  other  services,  respecting  which  he  felt 
great  solicitude,  such  as  public  instruction  and  (he 
invalids.     Public  instruction  appeared  to  liitn  the 


most  important  service  of  the  state,  and  that  for 
which  an  enlightened  government,  such  as  his  own, 
wiis  bound  to  make  a  provision  in  all  haste,  having 
a  new  state  of  society  to  form.  As  to  the  invalids, 
in  other  words,  the  woimded  soldiers,  they  com- 
])osed  in  some  sort  liis  own  family;  they  were  the 
supporters  of  his  power,  and  the  instruments  of  his 
glory;  he  owed  them  all  his  cares,  and  he  was  in- 
debted to  them  some  portion  at  least  of  the  thou- 
sand millions  formerly  ]>roniised  by  the  republic 
to  ihc  defenders  of  their  country 

The  first  consul  disliked  to  see  these  important 
objects  liable  to  the  variations  and  deficiencies 
of  the  budget.  In  consequence,  he  devoted 
120  000,0001.  of  national  propeity  to  public  in- 
siiiiciion,  and  40,000,0001.  to  the  support  of  the 
invalids.  Heie  he  had  ample  means  to  endow 
richly  the  noble  institutions  which  it  was  his  inten- 
tion .some  day  to  devote  to  the  instruction  of  the 
youih  of  France,  and  also  to  endow  several  hos- 
pitals for  invalid  soldiers,  similar  to  that  which 
had  its  origin  in  the  time  of  Louis  XIV.  Whether 
these  allotments  were  or  were  not  maintained  after- 
wards, there  were,  for  the  moment,  100,000,000  f. 
preserved  from  irregular  s;ile,  and  made  a  relief 
to  the  annual  budget. 

Thus,  of  400,000  000  f.  remaining  of  the  national 
property,  10,000,000  f.  were  devoted  to  the  expcn- 
diiuie  of  the  year  viii.,  and  20,000,000  f.  to  that  of 
the  year  ix.  The  sinking  fund  had  90,000,000  f.  ; 
jinblic  instruction,  120.000,000  f.,  and  the  invalids, 
40.000,000  f.  This  was  a  sum  total  of  280,000,00(1  f. 
out  of  400,000.0001'.,  for  which  a  very  useful 
employnu-nt  was  found,  without  having  recourse 
to  the  system  of  alienation.  Of  this  sunt  of 
280,000,0001'.,  10,000,000  f.  only  were  for  the  year 
VIM.,  and  20,000,000  f.  for  the  year  ix.,  which  was 
to  be  disposed  of  in  two  years,  and,  therefore,  was 
attended  with  little  inconvenience;  the  90,000,000  f. 
designed  for  the  sinking  fund,  would  only  be  sold  if 
the  fund  required  money,  and  then  very  slowly,  per- 
haps not  at  all.  The  12(1,000,000 f.  devoted  to  public 
instruction,  and  the  40,000  0001'.  for  the  invalids, 
were  never  to  be  sold.  Out  of  the  400,000,000  f., 
therefore,  but  120.000,0001'.  would  remain  unappro- 
])riated  and  disposable,  while,  in  reality,  only  about 
30,000,000  f.  out  of  400,000,000  f.  were  to  bo  parted 
with  by  the  state.  The  remainder  was  for  divers 
services,  or  as  a  disposable  reserve,  with  the  cer- 
tainty of  soon  acquiring  a  value  double  or  triple, 
at  least,  in  advantage  to  the  st;iie. 

To  recapitulate :  the  government  took  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  return  of  credit  to  substitute  the 
resource  of  the  creation  of  stock  for  that  of  the 
alienation  of  the  national  property.  By  disposing 
of  a  very  small  portion  of  this  property,  and  by  a 
creation  of  stock,  it  paid  off  the  debts  arising  iqxm 
the  years  v.,  vi.,  Vii.,  and  viii.  It  completed 
means  for  the  acquittal  of  the  public  debt,  and 
assured  the  payment  of  the  interest  in  a  certain 
and  regidar  manner.  Having  thus  regulated  the 
past,  saved  the  rest  of  the  state  domains,  and  fixed 
the  amount  of  the  debt,  there  were  1 00,000,000  f.  of 
interest  ainnially  to  be  paid,  with  an  am])le  sink- 
ing fund;  and,  lastly,  a  budget  of  balance,  in  receipt 
anil  expen.liture,  of  500,000,000 f.  without,  and 
GOO.000,000  f.  with  the  expenses  of  collection. 

Such  a  distribution  of  the  public  property,  con- 
ceived with  as  much  equity  as  good  sense,  ought 


206    ^'Z^aS™™,"'"        THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Public  undertakings. 
Canals.— The    Simp- 
Ion  road. 


to  have  met  general  approbation.  Notwithstand- 
ing; this,  a  etrong  opposition  was  raised  in  tlie 
tribunate.  Tlie  415,000,000  f.  demanded  for  Uie 
current  year,  or  year  i.x.,  were  accorded  without 
opjwsition  ;  but  its  enemies  complained  that  the 
budget  was  not  voted  in  advance  ;  a  very  unjust 
reproach,  for  nothing  had  been  arranged  at  that 
time  for  such  a  pi'oceeding.  It  was  not  yet  prac- 
tised in  Enghind,  and  among  financiers  was  still  a 
matter  of  disputation.  The  same  opposition  mem- 
bers reproached  the  government  tliat  the  regulation 
of  the  arrears  was  an  act  of  bankruptcy  towards 
the  creditors  of  the  years  v.,  vi.,  and  vii.,  and  con- 
solidated their  debts  at  3  per  cent,  in  place  of  5, 
as  was  the  case  with  those  of  the  year  viii.  They 
censured  the  regulation  of  the  debt  for  depriving 
the  holders  of  the  consolidated  third  of  the  interest 
of  their  stock  for  two  years,  because  that  interest 
was  only  to  commence  with  the  year  xii.  These 
two  reproaches  were  very  ill  founded  ;  because,  as 
has  been  seen,  the  creditors  of  the  years  v.,  vi., 
and  VII.,  in  obtaining  stock  carrying  an  interest 
of  3  per  cent.,  received  more  than  the  value  of 
their  debts;  and  as  to  the  portion  of  the  consoli- 
cLated  thirds,  of  which  the  inseriptinn  was  ordered, 
a  great  benefit  was  done  to  the  holders  by  the 
mere  circumstance  of  the  inscription.  If,  in  effect, 
the  inscription  hnd  been  deferred  for  a  year  or  two 
more,  as  had  been  done  by  the  former  government, 
not  only  would  the  holders  have  been  deprived  of 
the  interest,  but  of  the  benefit  of  the  definitive 
consolidation.  It  was  a  great  advantiige  to  tlieni 
so  soon  to  resume  the  mere  work  of  consolidation. 
The  tribunate  got  warm  upon  these  petty  objec- 
tions, paid  no  regard  to  the  answers  which  were 
addressed  to  it,  and  rejected  the  plan  of  finance  by 
a  majority  of  fifty-si.\  to  thirty,  in  the  sitting  of  the 
19th  of  March,  or  28th  of  Veutose.  Some  cries  of 
"Long  live  the  Re|)ublicl"  were  heard,  raised  in 
the  tribunes,  which  iiad  nttt  been  heard  for  a  long 
time,  and  recalled  the  unhappy  times  of  the  conven- 
tion. On  the  motion  of  MM.  Rioufte  and  Cliauveliu, 
the  president  ordered  the  trihune  to  be  cleared. 

On  the  21st  of  March,  or  30th  of  Ventose,  two 
days  after,  being  the  last  day  of  the  session  of  the 
year  ix.,  the  legislative  body  heard  tiie  discussion 
of  the  bill.  Three  of  the  tribunate  attacked  and 
three  of  the  counsellors  of  state  defended  it.  Ben- 
jamin Constant  was  one  of  the  three  tribune.s.  He 
urged,  in  an  eloquent  and  brilliant  manner,  the 
objections  to  the  government  scheme.  The  legis- 
lative lx)dy,  notwithstanding,  voted  for  its  adoption 
by  a  majority  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-.seven 
against  fifty-eight.  The  first  consul  ought  to  have 
been  sati-sfied  with  this  result.  But  he  did  not 
know,  any  more  than  those  who  surrounded  him, 
that  we  ought  to  do  good  without  being  surprised 
or  annoyed  by  the  injustice  with  which  it  is  too 
fretjuently  repaid.  What  man  had  ever  so  much 
glory  to  repay  him  for  such  unjust  and  indiscn^el 
attacks  ?  Besides,  in  spite  of  these  attacks,  the 
measures  of  the  governnient  were  really  sound  and 
excellent.  The  majority  in  the  legislative  body 
was,  at  least,  five-sixths,  and  in  the  tribunate, 
whei-e  nothing  was  decided,  it  was  only  two-thirds. 
There  was  nothing  to  be  alarmed  at  or  to  astonish 
in  such  feeble  minorities.  But  although  he  was 
the  object  of  universal  admiration,  the  man  that 
governed  France  knew  not  how  to  bear  the  puny 


censures  dealt  out  upon  his  administration.  The 
time  for  a  real  representative  government  was  not 
then  come  ;  the  opposition  had  not  more  of  prin- 
ciples and  manners  than  the  government  itself. 
That  which  achieves  the  portraiture  of  the  op- 
ponents of  the  measure  in  the  tribunate  is,  that 
the  odious  act  against  the  revolutionists  was  not 
the  subject  of  a  single  observation.  They  availed 
themselves  of  the  circumstance  of  that  act  not 
being  referred  to  the  legislative,  to  remain  silent 
about  it.  Upon  matters  far  less  importiuit,  itnd 
even  irreproachable,  they  declaimed  aloud,  and 
.suffered  to  pa.ss,  without  observation,  an  unpardon- 
able infraction  of  all  the  rules  of  justice.  Thus  it 
fares,  at  nearly  all  times,  with  men  and  parties. 

The  sterile  agitation,  produced  by  a  few  oppo- 
nents in  complete  ei-ror  about  the  general  move- 
ment, the  public  mind,  and  the  necessities  of  the 
times,  occasioned  but  little  sensation.  The  public 
was  entirely  occupied  with  the  spectacle  of  the  im- 
mense labours  which  had  procured  for  France 
victory  and  a  continental  peace,  and  which  were 
soon  to  procure  for  her  a  maritime  one. 

In  the  njidst  of  his  military  and  political  occu- 
pations, the  first  consul,  as  has  been  several  times 
observed,  did  not  cease  to  give  his  attention  to  the 
roads,  the  canals,  the  bridges,  and  to  whatever 
concerned  manufactui-es  and  commerce. 

The  miserable  state  of  the  roads  has  been  already 
described,  as  well  as  the  means  employed  to  make 
up  the  deficiency  of  the  tolls.  He  had  ordered  an 
ample  inquiry  to  be  made  into  the  subject,  but  as 
too  often  happens,  the  difficulty  lay  more  in  the 
deficiency  of  funds  than  in  the  selection  of  a  good 
system.  He  went  directly  to  the  object;  and  in  the 
budget  of  the  yearix.  appropriated  fresh  sums  from 
the  treasury  out  of  its  general  funds  to  continue  the 
extraordinary  i-epairs  already  commenced.  Canals 
were  akso  much  talkt  d  about.  Men's  mind.s,  wearied 
with  political  agitation,  willingly  directed  them- 
selves towards  all  that  concerned  commei'ce  and 
manufactures.  The  canal  now  known  under  the 
name  of  the  canal  of  St.  Quentiu,  joining  the  navi- 
gation of  the  Seine  and  the  Oise  with  that  of  the 
Somme  and  the  Escaut,  in  other  words  connecting 
Belgium  with  France,  had  been  abandoned.  It 
had  not  been  found  possible  to  agree  upon  the  mode 
of  executing  the  excavation,  by  means  of  which  a 
passage  was  to  be  afforded  from  the  valley  of  the 
Oise  into  that  of  the  Escaut.  The  engineers  were 
divided  in  opinion.  The  first  consul  repaired  to  the 
spot  in  ))erson,  heard  the  difficulty  explained,  de- 
cided it,  and  decided  it  rightly.  The  excavation 
was  determined  upon,  and  continued  in  the  best 
direction,  that  which  has  succeeded.  The  popula- 
tion of  St.  Quentin  received  him  with  great  joy, 
and  .scarcely  had  he  returned  to  Paris  when  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Seine  Infe'rieure  addressed  him 
by  a  dejiutation,  to  solicit  him  to  grant  them  in  turn 
forty-ei,:.;lit  hours  of  his  time.  He  promised  them 
an  early  visit  to  Normandy.  He  then  decided  upon 
the  erection  of  three  new  bridges  in  Paris;  that  at 
the  termination  of  the  Jardin  dcs  Plantes  ;  that 
denominated  Austerlitz,  which  joins  the  island  of 
the  City  to  the  island  of  St,  Louis  ;  and  lastly,  that 
which  connects  the  Louvre  with  the  palace  of  the 
Institute.  At  thesame  time  he  turned  his  attenticm 
to  the  road  of  tiie  Sirnplon,  the  first  of  his  youthful 
proji  ets,  always  the  nearest  to  his  heart,  and  \vor- 


THE  NEUTRAL   POWERS.         Formationof  the  civil  code. 


207 


thv,  in  future  atjes,  of  takin<»  its  place  amon;;  the 
recollections  of  Rivoli  and  of  Marengo.  ]t  will  be 
remembered  tliat  iIk'  iiivt  consul,  as  soon  as  he  had 
founded  the  Cisalpine  republic,  wished  to  connect 
it  with  France  by  a  road,  which  from  Lyons  or 
Dijon,  passins^  Geneva,  should  traverse  the  Valais, 
and  goinjj  by  Lago  Maggiore  to  Mihui,  enable  an 
army  of  fifty  thousand  men  and  a  hundred  pieces 
of  cannon  to  proceed  at  any  time  into  the  midst  of 
Upper  Italy.  For  want  of  sulIi  a  road  he  had  been 
obliged  to  cross  Mount  St.  Bernard.  Now  the  Cis- 
alpine republic  had  been  reconstituted  at  the  con- 
gress of  Luneville,  it  was  more  than  ever  needful 
to  estabhsh  a  gi*eat  military  communication  between 
Lombardy  and  France.  The  first  consul  inmie- 
diately  gave  the  necessary  instructions  for  the 
work.  General  Tureau,  whom  we  liave  already 
seen  descending  the  Little  St.  Bernard  with  his 
legions  of  conscripts,  while  Bonaparte  descended 
the  greater  mountain  with  his  more  se.nsoncd  foi'ces, 
the  same  gcnei-a!  Tureau  received  ordei-s  to  make 
Domo  d'Ossola  his  head-quarters,  at  the  foot  of  the 
Siniplon  itself.  The  general  was  to  protect  the 
workmen,  and  his  soldiers  were  to  assist  hi  the 
laiiour  of  the  undertaking. 

To  this  magnificent  work  the  first  consul  desired 
to  add  another  in  commemoration  of  the  passage  of 
the  Alps.  The  fathers  of  the  Great  St.  Bernard  had 
rendered  real  services  to  the  French  army.  Being 
supplied  with  money,  they  had  for  ten  days  sup- 
ported the  vigour  of  the  .soldiers  by  means  of  wine 
and  food?  The  first  consul,  retaining  a  grateful 
sense  of  these  services,  resolved  to  establish  two 
similar  hosjjilals,  one  upon  Mount  Cenis,  the  other 
at  the  Simplon,  both  to  be  subsidiary  to  the  convent 
of  the  Great  St.  Bernard.  They  were  each  to  con- 
sist of  tifteen  brothers,  and  to  receive  fi-ora  the  Cis- 
alpine republic  an  endowment  in  land.  The  republic 
was  unable  to  refuse  any  thing  to  its  founder.  But 
as  that  founder  loved  promptness  of  execution 
befcjre  all  things,  he  had  the  works  for  the  iirst 
named  establishment  executed  at  the  expense  of 
France,  in  order  that  no  delay  might  occur  in  for- 
warding these  memorable  establishments.  Tims 
magnificent  roads  and  noble  benevolent  foundations 
were  destined  to  attest  to  future  generations  the 
pa.ssage  of  the  modern  Hannibal  across  the  Alps. 


With  these  great  and  beneficent  objects  those  of 
another  character  occupied  his  attention,  having 
for  their  object  a  creation  of  a  difleront,  but  equally 
useful  character — the  compilation  of  the  civil  code. 
The  first  consul  had  charged  Messrs.  Portalis,  Tron- 
chet,  and  Bijot  de  I're'ameneu,  eminent  lawyei-s, 
with  the  task  of  digesting  the  code,  and  their  la- 
bour was  completed  ;  the  result  was  then  conmiu- 
nicated  to  the  court  of  cassation,  and  to  twenty- 
nine  tribunals  of  appeal,  afterwards  denominated 
royal  courts.  The  opinions  of  all  the  chief  magis- 
trates were  thus  collected.  The  whole  was  now  to 
be  submitted  to  the  council  of  state,  and  carefully 
discussed  under  the  presidency  of  the  first  consul. 
After  this  it  was  proposed  to  lay  it  before  the  legis- 
lative body  in  the  approaching  sessions,  or  that  of 
the  year  x. 

Always  ready  to  support  great  undertaking.?,  and 
equally  as  ready  to  i-ecompense  their  authors  mu- 
nificently, the  first  consul  had  just  eni])loyed  his 
influence  to  raise  M.  Tronchet  to  the  senate.  He 
rewarded  in  him  a  great  lawyer,  one  of  the  authors 
of  the  civil  code,  and — what  was  not  an  indiflerent 
matter  in  his  eyes,  under  a  political  signification — 
the  courageous  defender  of  Louis  XVL 

Every  thing,  therefore,  was  organized  at  one 
time,  with  that  harmony  wliich  a  great  mind  is 
able  to  introduce  into  his  labours,  and  with  a  i-a- 
l)idity  which  a  determined  will  is  alone  able  to 
effect,  under  a  punctual  obedience  to  its  authority. 
The  genius  which  effected  these  things  was,  beyond 
doubt,  great ;  but  it  must  be  remarked,  that  the 
situation  was  not  less  extraordinary  than  the 
genius.  Bonaparte  had  Fi-ance  and  Europe  to 
move,  and  victory  for  his  lever.  He  had  to  digest 
all  the  codes  of  the  French  nation  ;  but,  in  the 
mean  while,  every  one  was  disposed  to  submit  to 
his  laws.  He  had  I'oads,  canals,  and  bridges  to 
construct ;  but  nobody  contested  with  hira  the  re- 
sources for  the.se  objects.  He  liad  even  nations 
ready  to  furnish  him  with  their  treasures  ;  the 
Italians,  for  exam])le,  who  contributed  to  the 
opening  of  the  Simplon,  and  the  endowment  of  the 
hospitals  on  the  summit  of  the  Alps.  Providence 
does  nothing  by  halves  ;  for  a  great  genius  it  finds 
a  mighty  operation,  and  for  a  mighty  operation  a 
great  genius. 


BOOK  IX. 


THE  NEUTRAL  POWERS. 


COITTIWUAKri!  Of  THE  SEOOTIATIOXS  WITH  THE  DIFKERENT  rOURTS  OP  EUHOI'E. — TREATY  WITH  THE  COURT  OP 
KAPLES.  — EXCLUSION  OP  THE  ENGLISH  PIIOM  THE  POUTS  OP  THE  TWO  SICILIES,  AND  AGREEMENT  CONTRACTED 
WITH  THE  NEAPOLITAN  GOVERNMENT  TO  RECEIVE  A  DIVISION  OP  FRENCH  TROOPS  AT  OTRANTO. — .SPAIN  PRO- 
MISES TO  roRCE  THE  PORTUOUESE  TO  EXCLUDP.  THE  ENGLISH  PROM  THE  COASTS  OP  PORTUGAL. — VAST  NAVAL 
PLANS  OP  THE  prnST  CONSUL,  POR  UNITIKO  THE  NAVAL  10RCE8  OP  SPAIN,  HOLLAND,  AND  PRANCE.  — MEANS 
OEVIsl.O  FOR  sncCOURISO  KGYPT.— ADMIRA  L  OANTEAUME,  AT  THE  HEAD  OP  ONE  DIVISION,  LEAVES  BREST 
DUR1N(>  A  STORM,  AND  SAILH  TOWARIII  THE  STRAITS  OP  GIIIRALTAII,  UPON  HIS  WAV  TO  THE  MOUTH  OP  THE 
NILE— <;ESEHAL  COALITIO.V  OP  ALL  Till:  MARITIME  COUNTRIES  AGAINST  ENGLAND.  — PREPARATIONS  OP  THE 
NEUTRALS  IN  THE  BALTIC. — WAHLIKK  ARDOUR  OP  PAUL  I. — DISTRESS  OP  ENGLAND.— SHE  IS  VISITED  RV  A 
PEARPUL  FAMINE.— HER  FINANCIAL  STATE  UEFORE  AND  SINCE  THE  COMMENCEMENT  OF  THE  WAR.— HER 
EXPENDITURE  AND  RPSOCBCEI  ALIKE  DOUBLKD.— UNPOPl  LARITV  OP  PITT.— HIS  DI8AOEEF.MEST  WITH  GEORGE  III. 


Negotiations  for  peace 
continued. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Murat  marches  towards 
Naples.— An  armistice 
signed. 


1801. 
March. 


AND  HIS  RETIREMENT. — THE  MINISTER  ADDINGTON.  —  ENGLAND,  DESPITE  HER  DIFFICULTIES,  FACES  THE 
STORM,  AND  SENDS  ADMIRALS  PARKER  AND  NELSON  INTO  THE  BALTIC,  TO  BREAK  UP  THE  NEUTRAL  COALI- 
TION  PLAN     OP     NELSON     AND     PARKER.— THEV     DETERMINE    TO     FORCE     THE     PASSAGE     OP     THE     SOUND. — THE 

SWEDISH  SIDE  BEING  BADLY  DEFENDED,  THE  ENGLISH  FLEliT  PASSES  THE  SOUND  WITHOUT  ANY  DIFFICULTV. — 
IT  APPEARS  BEFORE  COPENHAGEN.— THE  OPINION  OP  NELSON  IS,  BEFORE  ENTERING  THE  BALTIC,  TO  GIVE 
BATTLE  TO  THE  DANES. — DE-CRIPTION  OP  THE  POSITION  OF  COPENHAGEN,  AND  OF  THE  MEANS  ADOPTED  FOR 
THE  DEFENCE  OF  THIS  IMIORTANT  MARITIME  PORTRESS.— NELSON  EXECUTES  A  BOLD  MANffiUVRE,  AND  SUC- 
CEEDS   IN    ANCHORING    IN    THE    KINO's   CHANNEL,    IN    FACE    OF    THE     DANISH     SHIPS.— SANGUINARY   ENGAGEMENT. 

VALOUR   OP   THE    DANES,    AND    DANGER   OF    NELSON.— HE   SENDS    A    FLAG    OF    TRUCE    TO    THE    CROWN    PRINCE    OF 

DENMARK,  AND  THEREBY  OBTAINS  THE  ADVANTAGES  OF  A  VICTORY. — SUSPENSION  OF  HOSTILITIES  FOR  FOUR- 
TEEN WEEKS.— THE  DEATH  OF  PAUL  I.  IS  MADE  KNOWN. — EVENTS  WHICH  TOOK  PLACE  IN  RUSSIA. — EXASPERA- 
TION OF  THE  RUSSIAN  NOBLES  AG.VINST  THE  EMPEROR  PAUL,  AND  DISPOSITION  TO  RID  THEMSELVES  OF  THAT 
PRINCE  BY  ANY  MEANS,  EVEN  BY  A  CRIME.  — COUNT  PAHLEN. — HIS  CHARACTER  AND  PLANS. —  HIS  CONDUCT 
WITH  THE  GRAND  DUKE  ALEXANDER.- THE  SCHEME  OF  ASSASSINATION  CONCEALED  UNDER  THAT  OF  A  FORCED 
ABDICATION. — FRIGHTFUL  SCENE  IN  THE  MICHEL  PALACE  DURING  THE  NIGHT  OF  THE  23rD  OF  MARCH. — 
TRAGICAL  DEATH  OP  PAUL  I.— ALEXANDER'S  ACCESSION.— THE  COALITION  OF  THE  NEUTRAL  POWERS  DISSOLVED 
BY  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  EMPEROR  PAUL.— REAL  ARMISTICE  IN  THE  BALTIC  — THE  FIRST  CONSUL  ENDEAVOURS, 
BY  OFFERING  HANOVER  TO  PRUSSIA,  TO  RETAIN  HER  IN  THE  LEAGU E.— ENGLAND,  SATISFIED  AT  HAVING 
BROKEN  THE  LEAGUE  BY  THE  BATTLE  OF  COPKNHAGEN,  AND  BEING  RID  OP  PAUL  I.,  SEEKS  TO  PROFIT  BY  THE 
OCCASION  TO  TREAT  WITH  FRANCE,  AND  REPAIR  THE  ERRORS  OF  PITT— THE  ADDINGTON  MINISTRY  OFFERS 
PEACE  TO  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  THROUGH  THE  INTERMEDIATE  MEANS  OF  M.  OTTO.— THE  PROPOSITION  IS  ACCEPTED. 
AND  A  NEGOTIATION  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  IS  OPENED  IN  LONDON. — PEACE  BECOMES  GENERAL, 
BOTH    ON    L.1.ND   AND    SEA. — PROGRESS   OF    FRANCE    AFTER   THE    18TH   OF    BKUMAIRE. 


Peace  with  the  emperor  and  empire  having  been 
signeiJ  at  Liine'ville,  in  February,  1801,  the  first 
consul  was  impatient  to  reap  tlie  benefit  of  the 
consequences.  These  were  to  conclude  a  ])eace 
with  thiise  continental  states  which  had  not  yet 
become  reconciled  with  the  republic;  to  force  them 
to  shut  their  ports  against  England  ;  and  to  turn 
against  that  country  tlie  united  forces  of  the  neutral 
powers,  in  order  to  combine  some  great  operation 
against  its  territory  and  commerce,  and  by  this  union 
of  means  to  force  a  maritime  peace,  indispensable 
to  that  of  the  continent.  Every  thing  announced 
that  the  great  and  happy  conseciuences  could  not 
be  delayed  for  a  long  time. 

The  Germanic  diet  had  ratified  the  signature  of 
the  emperor  to  the  treaty  of  Limdville.  Tliere 
was  no  ajiprehension  that  it  wonld  be  otherwise  ; 
because  Austria  held  the  power  of  influencing  the 
ecclesiastical  states,  the  only  states  really  opiiosed 
to  the  treaty.  In  regard  to  the  secular  princes,  as 
they  were  to  be  indemnified  for  their  lo.sses  from 
the  estates  it  was  proposed  to  secularize,  they  had 
an  interest  in  seeing  the  stipulations  promptly  ac- 
cepted between  Austria  and  France.  Besides,  tliey 
were  jilaced  under  the  influence  of  Prussia,  which 
power  France  had  disposed  to  give  her  approval  of 
what  was  done  by  the  emperor  at  Lun^ville.  Be- 
sides this,  all  the  world  at  that  time  wished  for 
peace,  and  was  ready  to  contrilmte  to  that  end 
even  by  making  some  sacrifices.  Prussia  alone,  in 
ratifying  the  sijjnature  of  the  emperor  without 
powers  given  ti>  him  from  the  diet,  was  rather  de- 
sirous of  according  to  the  ratification  the  character 
of  her  tolerance,  th:in  of  her  approbation  ;  thus  re- 
serving for  the  future  the  rights  of  the  empire.  But 
this  proposition  on  the  part  of  Prussia,  as  it  im- 
plied a  censure  upon  the  emperor,  wiiile  she  ratified 
the  treaty,  did  net  obtain  the  sup])ort  of  the  ma- 
jority. The  treaty  was  ratified,  in  its  pure  and 
Himjile  form,  by  a  conduaum,  on  the  J>th  of  March, 
1801,  the  18th  of  Vcntose,  in  the  year  ix.  The 
ratifications  were  exchanged  in  Paris  on  the  16th 
of  March,or  25tli  Ventose.  Notiiing  more  remained 
to  be  regulated  but  the  plan  of  indenniification, 
which  was  to  be  the  subject  of  ulterior  negotiations. 


Peace  was  thus  conchided  with  the  greater  part 
of  Europe.  It  had  not  yet  been  signed  witli  Russia ; 
but  France  was  leagued  with  her  and  tlie  northern 
courts,  as  will  be  seen,  in  one  great  maritime  coali- 
tion. Tliere  were  at  Paris  two  Russian  ministers 
at  once,  M.  Sprengpoiten,  relative  to  the  Russian 
prisoners,  and  M.  Kalitscheff,  for  the  regiilation  of 
general  business.  The  last  had  arrived  in  the 
beginning  of  March,  or  middle  of  Ventose. 

The  courts  of  Naples  and  Portugal  it  still  re- 
mained to  coerce,  in  order  to  shut  out  England 
entirely  from  the  continent. 

Murat  was  marching  towards  southern  Italy  with  a 
choice  body  of  men,  drawn  from  the  camp  at  Amiens. 
Reinforced  by  several  detachments  taken  from  the 
army  of  general  Bruiie,  he  had  reached  Foligno,  in 
order  to  oblige  the  court  of  Naples  to  yield  to  the 
will  of  France.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  interest 
testified  in  behalf  <jf  Naples  by  the  emperor  of 
Russia,  the  first  consul  would  most  likely  have 
given  to  the  house  of  Parma  the  kingdom  of  the 
Two  Sicilies,  in  order  to  keep  that  fine  country  out 
of  an  enemy's  family.  But  the  wislies  of  the  em- 
peror Paul  did  not  admit  of  such  a  pi'oceeding. 
The  first  consul,  too,  was  very  desirous  of  con- 
ciliating public  opinion  throughout  Europe  ;  and, 
upon  this  ground,  it  was  expedient  to  avoid,  as 
much  as  possible,  the  overthrow  of  the  older  king- 
doms. He  was  willing  to  grant  a  peace  to  the 
court  of  Naples,  if  it  would  consent  to  break  its 
alliance  with  England  ;  but  to  induce  it  to  do 
this,  was  a  task  exceedingly  difficult  of  accomplisli- 
ment.  Murat  advanced  as  far  as  the  frontiers  of 
the  kingdom,  taking  great  care  to  avoid  the  papal 
dominions,  and  lavishing  upon  the  pope  the  highest 
marks  of  liis  resjiect.  The  court  of  Naples  no 
longer  liesitated,  and  signed  an  armistice,  wiiiih 
contained  a  sti|)ulation,  in  consonance  with  the 
views  of  tlie  first  consul,  securing  the  exclusion  of 
the  English  from  the  ports  of  the  Two  Sicilies. 
The  armistice  was  short,  being  only  for  the  space 
of  thirty  days;  these  being  expired,  a  dcfiniiive 
treaty  of  jieace  was  to  be  signed.  The  marquis  of 
Gallo,  one  of  the  negotiators  of  the  treaty  of 
Campo  Forniio,  who  had  the  advantage  of  being 


Treaty  wiih  Naples  signed  at 
Florence. 


THE  NEUTRAL  POWERS. 


Affairs  of  Spain.— Disgrace  of  ^_- 

Urquijo  -"•' 


I 


acquainted  with  the  first  consul,  and  of  having 
over  liira  as  much  influence  as  M.  Cobentzel,  re- 
paired to  Paris.  He  relied  on  these  jiersonal  re- 
commendations, on  the  protection  tif  the  Russian 
legation,  and  on  the  recommendation  of  Austria, 
for  obtaining  flie  conditions  desired  by  the  court 
of  Naples,  which  were  included  in  a  simple  neu- 
trality. This  was  a  ridiculous  pretension;  because 
a  court  which  bad  given  the  signal  for  the  second 
coalition,  which  had  waged  war  obstinately  against 
France,  and,  in  fact,  treated  her  with  great  indig- 
nity, could  hardly  expect,  now  it  lay  at  the  mercy 
of  France,  to  get  ott'  upon  the  pure  and  sim])]e 
condition  of  separating  itself  from  England.  The 
least  that  France  could  insist  upon  would  be  to 
compel  Naples,  by  good  will  or  by  force,  to  act  as 
hostilely  against  England  as  she  had  before  acted 
in  ho.stility  to  France. 

M.  Gallo,  having  shown  some  marks  of  self- 
sufficiency  in  Paris,  and  having  exhibited  his  de- 
pendence— more  than,  indeed,  was  decent — upon 
the  Russian  embassy,  an  end  was  quickly  put  to 
his  negotiation.  Talleyrand  informed  him  that  a 
French  plenipotentiary  had  departed  for  Florence; 
that  the  negotiation  was  consequently  adjourned  to 
that  city  ;  and  that,  besides,  he  would  not  be  able 
to  treat  with  a  negotiator  who  was  not  empowered 
to  consent  to  the  sole  condition  considered  essential; 
namely,  the  expulsion  of  the  English  from  the  ports 
of  the  Two  Sicilies — a  condition  which  the  emperor 
Paul  had  demanded  as  well  as  the  first  consul  him- 
self. In  consequence,  M.  Gallo  found  hini.>self 
obliged  to  leave  Paris  innnediately.  M.  Alquier 
had,  in  fact,  been  despatched  to  Florence  ;  he  had 
been  recalled  from  Madrid  at  the  time  when  Lucien 
Bonaparte  was  sent  there.  M.  Ahjnier  was  fur- 
nislied  with  full  powers  and  instructions  to  nego- 
tiate with  Naples. 

On  reaching  Florence  as  expeditiously  as  possi- 
ble, M,  Alquier  found  there  the  Chevalier  Miche- 
roux,  the  minister  wiio  iiad  signed  the  armistice 
with  Murat;  he  had  received  full  powers  from  his 
court.  The  negotiations  carried  on  in  that  ci:y 
under  the  bayonets  of  tlie  French  army,  met  witli 
none  of  the  difficulties  they  had  encountered  in 
Paris.  The  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  on  the  18th 
of  March,  1801,  or  27tli  of  Ventose,  year  ix.  The 
stipulations  of  the  treaty  were  moderate,  ui)nn 
comparing  the  situation  of  the  c<tuitof  Naples  with 
that  of  tlie  French  re|>ublic.  To  this  branch  of 
the  house  of  Bourbon  wiis  left  the  integrity  of  its 
states.  The  only  territory  demanded  was  a  small 
portion  of  the  island  of  Elba,  Porto  Longone,  and 
the  surrounding  district  ;  the  rcht  of  the  island 
belonging  to  Tuscany,  and  having  been  divided 
between  the  two  Countries.  The  intention  of  the 
first  co)»Mul  was  to  attach  the  entire  island  to 
Franicr.  An  historian  of  these  treaties  lias  loudly 
attacked  this  as  a  violent  act,  whereas  it  was  no 
more  than  the  simple  right  of  the  victor  ;  with  the 
exeeption  of  this  very  trifling  sacrifice,  Naples  L.st 
noiliing.  .She  was  obliged  to  siiut  her  ports  against 
the  English,  and  to  make  over  to  France  three 
frigates,  ready  armed,  in  the  jjort  of  Ancona. 
These  the  firMt  consul  dehigned  for  Egypt.  The 
most  important  stipulation  of  the  treaty  was  secret. 
It  obliged  the  Neapolitan  government  to  receive  a 
diviaiou  of  twelve  or  fifteen  lliouHaiid  nten  in  the  gull 
of  Tarento,and  to  find  iliem  provisions  during  tlieir 


stay.  The  object  of  the  first  consul  was  to  send 
them  without  reserve  to  the  succour  of  Egypt.  At 
that  ]dace  they  would  be  half  way  on  their  road  to 
Alexandria.  The  last  article  stipulated  for  the 
ol)jects  of  art  which  had  been  chosen  at  Rome  for 
France.  These  having  been  packed  in  cases  when 
the  Neapolitan  army  had  penetrated  into  the 
estates  of  the  pope  in  1799,  luvd  been  seized  by  the 
court  of  Naples,  and  aiipropriated  by  that  govern- 
ment. An  indemnity  of  500,000  f.  was  gi-anted  to 
the  French  who  had  been  pillaged  or  harassed  by 
the  undisciplined  bands  belonging  to  Naples. 

Such  was  the  treaty  of  Florence;  which  must  be 
considered  an  act  of  clemency,  when  the  anterior 
conduct  of  the  court  of  Naples  is  reflected  upon, 
but  which  was  perfectly  well  adapted  to  the  objects 
of  the  first  consul,  almost  wholly  occupied  with  the 
object  of  closing  the  ports  of  the  continent  against 
England,  and  with  securing  the  most  advantageous 
points  from  whence  he  could  communicate  with 
Egypt. 

Nothing  was  yet  arranged  with  the  pope,  whose 
plenipotentiary  was  at  Paris  still  negotiating  the 
most  important  question  of  all,  that  relating  to 
religion.  He  was  dissatisfied  with  the  king  of  Sar- 
dinia, who  had  given  up  that  island  to  the  English, 
and  as  well  with  the  inhabitants  of  Piedmont,  who 
had  shown  feelings  not  very  amicable  towards 
France.  Ho  was,  therefore,  anxious  to  free  him- 
self from  any  engagement  respecting  that  important 
part  of  Italy. 

Turning  to  Spain  and  Portugal  ;  every  thing 
in  these  countries  proceeded  successfully.  The 
court  of  Spain,  delighted  with  the  stipulations  of 
the  treaty  of  LuntJville,  wliich  secured  Tuscany  to 
the  young  prince  of  Parma,  with  the  title  of  king, 
showed  itself,  day  by  day,  more  at  the  devotion  of 
the  first  consul  and  his  views.  The  fall  of  M. 
Urquijo,  an  event  wholly  unexpected,  far  from 
being  injurious  to  the  relations  of  France,  only 
served  to  render  them  more  intimate.  This  was 
not  at  first  believed,  because  in  Spain  M.  Ur- 
quijo was  thought  to  be  a  sort  of  revolutionist, 
from  whom  towards  France  more  favour  was  to  be 
expected  than  from  any  other  minister.  But  the 
result  showed  this  idea  to  be  erroneous.  M.  Ur- 
quijo had  only  been  |)rime  miidster  a  very  short 
time  ;  desiring  to  correct  certain  abuses,  he  had 
prevailed  upon  the  king,  Charles  IV.,  to  address  a 
letter  to  the  pope,  written  in  the  royal  hand  all 
through,  which  contained  a  series  of  propositions 
for  the  nforni  of  the  S|>anisli  clergy.  The  pope, 
alarmed  to  find  a  spirit  of  refonnation  introducing 
itself  into  Spain  of  all  countries,  addres.sed  himself 
to  the  old  duke  of  Parma,  the  (lueen's  brother, 
complaining  of  M.  Urquijo,  and  representing  him 
as  a  had  catholic,  'i'his  was  of  it.self  sufficient  to 
ruin  M.  Urquijo  in  the  king's  opinion.  The  prince 
of  th(>  i)eace,  the  open  diemy  of  M.  Ui(juijo,  took 
advimtage  of  the  ociasion  to  strike  the  final  blow 
during  a  journey  taken  by  the  c  iirt.  By  these 
united  influences  M.  Uiquijo  was  disgraced,  and 
treated  with  a  brutality  beyond  exanqile.  He  was 
carried  away  from  his  own  h<  ii.se,  and  banished 
from  Madrid  as  a  state  criminal.  M.  Cevallos, 
the  relative  and  creatine  of  the  princo  of  the 
peace,  was  nominati-d  his  siiccissor,  and  the  prince 
became  again  Iroiii  that  moment  the  real  minister 
of  the  court  of  S|)ain.  .\8  In;  had  sometimes  sliowu  | 
P  I 


Lucien  Bonaparte  at  Madrid.  The  court  of  Lisbon  has       „., 

210      -Spain  gladly  accepts  the  THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND   EMPIRE.        to  decide  between  Eng-  "• 

alliance  of  France.  land  and  Spam. 


an  opposition  to  a  close  alliance  with  France, 
probably  that  he  might  be  able  to  make  it  a  charge 
against  the  Spanish  minister,  it  was  feared  that 
this  niinisiterial  revolution  might  be  prejudicial  to 
the  objects  of  the  first  consul.  But  Lucien  Bona- 
parte, who  had  recently  arrived  in  Madrid,  dis- 
covering at  once  how  matters  stood,  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  M.  Cevallos,  who  he  saw  was  a  powerless 
subordinate,  and  placed  himself  in  immediate  com- 
munication with  the  prince  of  the  peace  himself, 
whom  he  made  to  comprehend  that  he  was  re- 
garded in  Paris  as  the  real  prime  minister  of 
Charles  IV.;  that  to  him  alone  would  be  attributed 
all  the  ditticultics  which  the  policy  of  France 
might  meet  with  in  Spain,  and  that  it  depended  upon 
himself  whether  France  regarded  Spain  as  a  friend 
or  an  enemy,  according  to  his  conduct.  The  prince 
of  the  peace,  who  had  drawn  upon  himself  nume- 
rous animosities,  and,  above  all,  that  of  the  heir 
presumptive,  who  was  deeply  irritated  at  the  state 
of  oppression  in  which  he  was  condemned  to  live — 
the  prince  of  the  peace  thinking  himself  utterly  lost 
if  the  king  and  queen  should  die,  looked  upon  the 
friendship  of  Bonaparte  as  most  valuable  to  him, 
and  promptly  accepted  the  alliance  of  France  in 
place  of  its  hostility. 

From  this  period  business  was  transacted  directly 
between  the  prince  of  the  peace  and  Lucien  Bona- 
parte. M.  Unjuijo,  finding  himself  too  weak  to 
bring  the  question  of  Portugal  to  a  settlement,  had 
continually  deferred  any  positive  explanation  upon 
the  subject.  He  had  made  France  a  thousand  pro- 
mises, followed  by  no  result.  The  prince  of  the 
peace  avowed  in  his  interviews  with  Lucien,  that 
thus  far  they  had  felt  no  inclination  to  act ;  that  M. 
Urquijo  liad  amused  France  with  fine  words,  but 
declared  liimself  that  he  was  ready,  jis  far  as  he 
was  concerned,  to  concoct  measures  with  the  first 
consul  for  the  purpose  of  acting  effectively  against 
Portugal,  provided  it  were  possible  to  agree  upon 
some  particular  points.  He  demanded,  first,  the 
assistance  of  a  French  division  of  twenty-five  thou- 
sand men,  because  Spain  was  not  able  to  raise  a 
larger  force  than  twenty  thousand ;  to  such  a 
wretched  st;ite  was  this  fine  monarchy  reduced. 
The  presence  of  a  French  force  would  alarm  the 
king  and  queen,  therefore,  in  order  to  quiet  their 
fears,  he  jiroposed  that  the  force  thus  supplied 
should  be  piac  d  under  the  command  of  a  Spanish 
general  ;  that  this  general  should  be  the  prince  of 
the  peace  hini.self ;  lastly,  that  the  provinces  of 
Portugiil  of  which  the  conquest  might  be  made, 
should  remain  in  trust  in  the  hands  of  the  king  of 
Spain,  until  a  general  peace  ;  in  the  interim  the 
ports  of  Portugal  were  to  be  closed  against 
Eiiu;land. 

Tlie.se  propositions  were  eagerly  accepted  by  tlie 
first  consul,  and  were  sent  back  for  the  acce|)tancc 
of  king  Charles  IV.  This  i)rince,  governed  by  the 
queen,  as  she  was  herself  governed  by  the  prince 
of  the  peace,  consented  to  make  war  upon  his  son- 
in-law,  on  condition  that  he  should  not  be  de- 
prived of  any  part  of  his  territories;  that  he  should 
only  be  obliged  to  break  with  the  English,  and  to 
enter  into  an  alliance  with  Spain  and  France. 
These  object-s  did  not  altogether  correspond  with 
tho.se  of  the  prince  of  the  peace,  who  wished,  so  it 
was  said  in  Madrid,  to  procure  for  himself  a  princi- 
pality ill  Portugal.  However  that  might  have  been 


he  was  obliged  to  submit,  and  received  in  due 
course  the  rank  of  generalissimo. 

A  summons  was  now  sent  to  the  court  of  Lisbon, 
and  a  demand  made  that  it  should,  within  fifteen 
days,  enter  into  an  explanation,  and  make  its  selec- 
tion between  England  and  Spain,  the  last  being 
supported  by  France.  In  the  meanwhile,  on  both 
sides  of  the  Pyrenees,  preparations  were  made  for 
war.  The  prince  of  the  peace  became  generalissimo 
of  the  Spanish  and  French  troops,  and  took  away 
even  the  king's  guards  in  order  to  complete  his 
army.  He  then  amused  the  court  with  reviews 
and  warlike  exhibitions,  giving  himself  up  to  il- 
lusions of  military  glory.  The  first  consul,  on  his 
side,  hastened  to  march  upon  Spain  a  part  of  the 
troops  which  were  returning  to  France.  He  formed 
a  division  of  twenty-five  thousand  men,  well  armed 
and  equipped.  General  Lccler,  had  the  command 
of  the  advanced  guard,  and  general  Gouvion  St.  Cyr, 
whom  with  reason  he  regarded  as  one  of  the  most 
able  generals  of  the  time,  was  to  command  the 
entire  force,  and  make  up  for  the  perfect  incapacity 
of  the  prince  generalissimo. 

It  was  settled  that  these  troops,  put  in  move- 
ment in  the  month  of  ]March,  should  be  ready  to 
enter  Spain  in  April  following. 

The  whole  of  Europe  concurred  in  aiding  the 
objects  of  the  French  government.  Under  the 
influence  of  the  first  consul,  the  southern  states 
had  shut  their  ports  against  England,  and  the 
northern  states  were  in  active  league  against  her. 
In  this  situation  it  was  necessary  that  England 
should  have  forces  every  where.  In  the  Mediter- 
ranean to  blockade  Egypt;  in  the  Straits  of  Gibral- 
tar to  arrest  the  movements  of  the  French  fleets  in 
both  seas  to  help  her  threatened  ally;  before  Brest 
and  Rochefort  to  blockade  the  grand  French  and 
Spanish  fleets,  which  were  ready  to  set  sail;  in  the 
north  to  keep  the  Baltic  in  restraint,  and  overcome 
the  neutral  powers  ;  and  in  India  as  well,  to  main- 
tain her  authority  and  conquests  in  that  quarter  of 
the  globe. 

The  first  consul  was  desirous  of  seizing  the  mo- 
ment when  the  British  forces,  obliged  to  be  every 
where,  should  ueces.sarily  be  much  scattered,  in 
order  to  attempt  a  great  expedition.  The  principal, 
and  that  which  he  had  most  at  heart,  was  the  suc- 
cour of  Egypt.  He  had  a  great  duty  to  fulfil 
towards  that  army,  which  he  had  himself  led 
beyond  the  sea,  and  then  left  alone  that  he  might 
himself  come  back  to  the  aid  of  France.  He  consi- 
dered the  colony  he  had  thus  formed  upon  the 
banks  of  the  Nile  the  most  glorious  of  all  his  works. 
It  was  important  that  he  should  prove  to  the 
world,  that  in  transporting  thirty-six  thousand  men 
to  the  east,  he  had  not  yielded  to  the  impulses  of  a 
young  and  ardent  imagination,  but  had  attempted 
a  grave  enterprise,  susceptible  of  being  conducted 
to  a  successful  end.  His  efforts  have  already  been 
seen  for  concluding  a  naval  armistice,  which  should 
permit  six  frigates  to  enter  the  port  of  Alexandria. 
This  annistice,  as  it  will  be  remembered,  had  not 
been  concluded.  Not  having  had  financial  resources 
sufficient  for  completing  armaments  by  sea  and 
land,  the  first  consul  had  been  unable  to  carry  into 
effect  the  great  operation  which  he  had  projected 
for  the  succour  of  Egypt.  At  present,  from  absence 
of  the  pressure  of  a  continental  war,  he  was  able  to 
direct  his  resources  exclusively  towards  naval  war- 


1801. 
Jan. 


Great  naval  and  mili- 
tary preparations 


THE  NEUTRAL  POWERS. 


for  the  succour  of 
Eg:jpt. 


» 


i 


fare.  Havintj  nearly  the  whole  extent  of  the  coasts 
of  eontinoital  Europe  at  his  disposal,  he  contem- 
plated, for  the  preservation  of  Egyjjt,  projects  as 
bold  and  extensive  as  those  which  he  had  executed 
iu  makinpj  its  conquest.  The  winter  season  too  was 
near,  which  would  render  impossible  the  continua- 
tion of  the  English  cruisers  upon  the  coasts. 

Meanwhile  vessels  of  every  kind,  both  of  war 
and  commerce,  from  the  smallest  barks  up  to  those 
of  trade  and  war,  sailed  from  different  ports  of 
Holland,  France,  Spain,  Italy,  and  even  from  the 
Barbary  coast,  carrying  to  Egypt,  with  intelligence 
from  France,  luxuries,  European  goods,  arms,  and 
warlike  stores.  Some  of  these  vessels  were  taken, 
but  the  greater  part  entered  Alexandria.  Not  a 
week  passed  without  news  being  received  at  Cairo 
from  the  government  at  home, — jiroofs  of  the  in- 
terest which  the  colony  insi)ireil  there. 

The  first  consul  projected  a  species  of  line-of- 
battle  shi]),  adapted  to  the  inland  navigation  of 
Egypt.  He  had  the  model  of  a  seventy-four  exe- 
cuted, combining  great  strength  with  the  advantage 
of  being  able  to  navigate  the  shallow  channels  of 
Alexandria  with  her  guns  on  board '.  Orders 
were  given  to  build  a  certain  number  of  ships  upon 
that  model. 

While  he  was  taking  such  great  care  to  sustaiii 
the  spirit  of  the  Egyptian  army,  transmitting  men 
to  it  frequently  as  well  as  partial  relief,  he  had  at 
the  same  moment  in  the  course  of  preparation  a 
great  expedition  in  order  to  convey  there  at  once  a 
powerful  reinforcement  of  troops  and  munitions  of 
war.  The  armies  had  returned  home  to  the  French 
soil.  They  were  about  to  jn-ess  heavily,  by  their 
cost,  upon  the  national  finances;  but  in  return  they 
offered  to  the  government  a  great  means  of  dis- 
turbing, if  not  of  striking  a  blow  at  England.  Tiiirty 
thousand  men  remained  in  the  Cisalpine  republic, 
ten  thousand  in  Piedmont,  six  thousand  in  Switzer- 
l.ind  ;  fifteen  thousand  were  on  their  march  to  the 
gulf  of  Tarentum  ;  twenty -five  thousand  were 
marching  upon  Portugal  ;  twenty-five  thousand 
were  quartered  in  Holland.  There  were  thus  one 
hundred  and  eleven  thousand  men  that  were  to  be 
supported  by  foreign  powers.  The  remainder  were 
to  be  maintained  by  the  French  treasury,  but  they 
were  at  the  disposal  of  the  first  consul.  A  camp 
was  formed  in  Holland,  another  in  French  Flan- 
ders, and  a  third  at  Brest  ;  a  fourth  was  already 
chtablished  in  the  Gironde,  either  for  Portugal,  or 
to  furnish  such  troo])s  as  were  to  embark  at  Roche- 
fort.  The  corps  returning  Irom  Italy  were  to  be 
collecU-'d  near  Marseilles  and  Toulon.  The  division 
of  fifteen  thousand  men  designed  for  th(!  gulf  of 
Tarentum  was  to  occupy  Oiranto,  in  virtue  of  the 
.secret  article  in  tlie  treaty  with  Naples,  to  cover 
the  neighbouring  harbours  with  numerous  bat- 
teries, and  to  lay  down  moorings,  where  a  fleet 
might  come  and  taki;  on  board  a  division  of  ten  or 
twelve  thousand  men,  to  transport  them  into 
Egypt.  Admiral  Vilieneuve  went  thither  in  order 
to  superintend  the  preparations  necessaiy  for  such 
an  embarcation. 

The  naval  forces  of  Holland,  Fi-ancc,  and  Spain, 
with  some  remains  of  the  Italian  navy,  stationed 
near  these  different  assemblages  of  troops,   gave 

'  Letter  of  tlie  Ist  of  Niv8se,  year  ix.,  in  the  Secretary  of 
States  OfTire. 


England  reiuson  to  fear  several  expeditions  directed 
upon  different  points  of  attack  at  the  same  time, 
on  Ireland,  Portugal,  Egypt,  and  the  Ea.st  Indies. 

The  first  consul  concerted  measures  with  Spain 
and  Holland  relative  to  the  employment  of  the 
three  naval  armaments.  By  uniting  the  wrecks  of 
the  old  Dutch  navy,  five  sail  of  the  line  and  a  few 
frigates  might  be  rendered  fit  for  service.  Thirty 
sail  of  the  line  were  at  Brest,  fifteen  Fi-ench,  and 
the  same  number  of  Spanish,  detained  two  years  in 
that  harbour.  With  Spain  the  arrangements  made 
by  the  first  consul  were  as  follow  : — five  Dutch, 
combined  with  five  French  and  Spanisii  vessels 
lying  at  Brest,  were  to  sail  for  the  Brazils,  in  order 
to  protect  that  fine  kingdom,  and  prevent  the  En- 
glish from  indenmifying  themselves  for  the  occu- 
])ation  of  Porttigal  by  the  Spanisii  and  French 
forees.  By  this  arrangement  twenty  French  and 
Spani-sh  vessels  would  remain  in  Brest,  and  be 
ready  at  any  moment  to  throw  an  army  upon 
Ireland.  A  French  division,  under  admiral  Oan- 
teaumc,  was  organized  in  the  same  port  of  Brest, 
to  sail,  it  was  said,  for  St.  Domingo,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  re-establishing  in  that  island  the  French 
and  Spanish  authority.  Another  French  division 
was  equipped  at  Rochefort,  and  a  Spanish  division 
of  five  vessels  was  at  Ferrol,  with  the  object  of 
carrying  troojjs  to  the  Antilles,  and  of  recovering 
Trinidad,  or,  for  example,  Martinique.  Spain,  by 
the  treaty  which  secured  Tuscany  to  her  iu  ex- 
change for  Louisiana,  had  promised  to  give  France 
six  vessels,  armed  and  equipped,  and  to  deliver 
them  in  Cadiz  ;  she  also  engaged  to  employ  the 
resources  of  that  ancient  arsenal  in  order  to  i-eor- 
ganize  a  portion  of  the  naval  force  which  she 
formerly  had  in  that  port. 

The  first  consul,  in  making  these  arrangements, 
did  not  explain  to  the  Spanish  cabinet  his  real  de- 
sign, because  lie  was  in  dread  of  its  indiscretion.  He 
wished  to  send  a  part  of  the  combined  forces  to 
Brazil  and  the  Antilles,  in  order  to  effect  the  objects 
which  he  stated,  and  to  attract  after  them  the  Eng- 
lish fleets.  For  the  Brest  fleet  he  contemplated  one 
exjioilition  alone,  under  Ganteaume,  announced  as 
for  St.  Domingo,  but  in  reality  destined  for  Egypt. 
Heordered  the  selection  of  seven  vessels  of  the  squa- 
dron, the  finest  sailors,  as  well  as  two  frigates  and 
a  brig.  These  vessels  were  to  transport  five  thou- 
sand men,  munitions  of  every  kind,  timber,  stores, 
iron,  medicines,  and  the  European  commodities 
which  were  most  desirable  in  Egypt.  The  first 
consul  ordered  the  hiding  of  the  vessels,  which 
was  nearly  completed,  to  lie  stopped,  and  recom- 
menced in  a  different  mode  which  he  had  himself 
determined  upon.  He  wished  that  every  vessel 
should  contain  a  complete  assortment  of  the  artieles 
r<"qiiired  for  the  colony,  and  not  one  entire  lading 
of  the  same  article,  in  order  that  if  one  of  the  ves- 
sels should  be  captured,  the  expedition  should  not 
be  <iitirely  deficient  in  the  article  contained  in  the 
captured  ship.  This  arningemeiit,  contrary  to  the 
custom  <)f  the  naval  service,  rendered  ihi'  steerage 
of  the  vessels  more  complicated  and  difficult;  but 
the  absolute  will  of  the  first  consul  vani|iiished  all 
such  obstacles  ;  Lauriston,  his  aid  (lo-cainp,  re- 
mained at  Brest,  and  joined  to  the  letters  of  which 
ho  was  the  beanr,  the  influence  of  his  presence! 
and  carncHt  exhortations  to  complete  the  duty  re- 
quired. 

p2 


Naval    armaments.  — 
212         Admirals  Bruix  and 
Ganteaume. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Departure  of  Ganteaume. 
—  Critical  position  of 
England. 


The  Rochefort  expedition,  announced  to  be  for 
the  Antilles,  also  had  Egypt  for  its  destination. 
They  laboured  at  its  equipment  with  all  possible 
expedition.  Savary,  the  aid-decamp,  pushed  for- 
ward its  departure,  and  urged  the  arrival  of  the 
troops  detached  from  the  army  of  Portugal.  The 
division  of  twenty-five  thousand  men,  which  was 
going  to  pass  across  the  Pyrenees,  was  assembled 
in  the  Gironde,  and  thus  furnished  an  excellent 
disguise  for  the  real  object  of  the  expedition  from 
Rochefort.  There  were  a  few  battalions  borrowed 
from  this  force  without  exciting  the  least  suspicion 
that  they  were  got  ready  to  embarlc  on  board 
the  squadron.  This  squadron  was  trusted  to  the 
command  of  the  most  remarkable  of  the  sea- 
men, perhaps,  that  France  at  that  time  possessed. 
He  joined  to  a  superior  intellect,  rarely  equalled 
among  men  in  civil  or  military  life,  a  perfect  know- 
ledge of  seamanship,  and  was  distinguished  in  a 
particular  manner  by  his  successful  cruise  in  the 
Mediterranean,  in  1799,  which  was  frequently 
alluded  to  in  his  praise.  When,  at  the  last  mo- 
ment, Bonaparte  intended  to  disclose  his  secret 
object  to  the  cabinet  of  Madrid,  admiral  Bruix  was 
to  sail  into  Ferrol,  and  strengthening  himself  by 
uniting  his  vessels  to  the  squadron  in  that  port, 
proceed  from  thence  to  Cadiz,  where  he  was  to  be 
joined  by  the  division  furnished  by  Spain.  Pro- 
ceeding from  thence  to  Otranto,  he  was  to  em- 
bark the  troops  collected  there,  and  set  sail  for 
Egypt. 

The  division  at  Cadiz,  furnished  by  Spain,  was 
composed  of  six  capital  vessels,  which  were  got 
ready  for  sea  with  great  expedition.  Admiral  Du- 
manoir  had  set  out  by  post  for  Cadiz,  in  oi'der  to 
urge  forward  this  equipment.  Bodies  of  seamen 
proceeded  by  land  towards  that  port ;  and  at  the 
same  time  small  vessels  filled  with  seamen  were 
sent  coastwise  that  they  might  be  turned  over  to 
the  ships  of  war. 

Such  numerous  expeditions  could  not  fail  to 
attract  the  attention  of  the  English  to  all  the  points 
at  once,  dividing  and  distracting  her  operations; 
during  which,  some  one  of  them  availing  itself 
of  such  a  state  of  things,  had  nearly  a  certain 
chance  of  arriving  safely  in  Egypt.  Desirous  of 
profiting  by  the  bad  season,  which  rendered  the 
cruising  of  the  enemy  ott'  Brest,  both  difficult  and 
liable  to  interruption,  tiie  first  consul  intended  that 
the  sailing  of  admiral  Ganteaume  should  take  place 
before  the  commencement  of  the  spring.  His 
orders  were  explicit ;  but  he  was  unable  to  com- 
municate to  his  naval  commanders  the  boldness 
which  animated  those  on  land.  Admiral  Gan- 
teaume appeared  to  the  first  consul  to  be  bold  and 
successful,  because  it  was  that  officer  who  had  al- 
most miraculously  brouglit  him  from  Alexandria 
to  Fi'^jus.  But  tiiis  was  an  illusion.  This  expe- 
rienced naval  officer,  knowing  well  the  navigation 
of  the  Mediterranean,  and  possessing  undaunted 
bravery,  was  of  a  wavering  character,  and  in- 
capable of  supporting  the  burden  of  a  iieavy 
responsibility.  The  expedition  was  ready;  several 
families  of  workmen  were  on  boanl,  under  the 
idea  of  their  being  about  to  sail  for  St.  Domingo  ; 
still  there  was  a  hesitation  about  sailing  Savary, 
having  the  orders  of  the  first  consul,  silenced  all 
difficulties,  and  obliged  Ganteaume  to  set  sail. 
The  enemies'  cruisers  discovered  them,  and  made 


signals  to  the  blockading  squadron  that  the  French 
fleet  was  leaving  the  port.  Ganteaume  was  obliged 
to  return  and  moor  in  the  outer  road.  He  then 
feigned  to  enter  the  inner  road,  in  order  to  induce 
the  belief  in  the  English  that  he  had  no  other 
object  in  view  than  to  exercise  and  manoeuvre  his 
squadron. 

At  last,  on  the  23rd  of  January,  or  3d  of  Plu- 
viose,  when  a  frightful  storm  had  dispersed  the 
enemies'  cruisers,  admiral  Ganteaume  set  sail,  and 
in  spite  of  the  greatest  danger,  fortunately  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  out  of  the  port  of  Brest,  and 
sailing  towards  the  straits  of  Gibraltar.  The  suc- 
cours of  Ganteaume  were  the  more  desirable  in 
Egypt,  since  the  famous  English  expedition,  con- 
sisting of  fifteen  thousand  or  eighteen  thousand 
men.  said  one  day  to  be  destined  for  Ferrol,  another 
for  Cadiz,  or  it  might  be  for  the  south  of  France, 
was  at  that  moment  upon  its  way  to  Egypt.  It 
was  in  the  road  of  Macri,  opposite  the  island  of 
Rhodes,  awaiting  the  season  for  landing,  and  the 
completion  of  the  Turkish  preparations. 

Orders  were  issued  to  all  the  newspapers  of  the 
capital  to  say  nothing  of  any  naval  movements 
which  might  be  remarked  in  the  ports  of  France, 
unless  the  intelligence  was  taken  from  the  Moni- 
ieur  ^. 

Before  detailing  the  operations  of  the  French 
squadrons  in  the  south,  it  will  be  right  to  revert 
to  the  north,  and  observe  what  passed  between 
England  and  the  neutral  powers. 

The  greatest  dangers  at  this  moment  were  ac- 
cumulating over  England.  War  had  broken  out 
between  her  government  and  the  Baltic  powers. 
The  declaration  of  the  neutrals,  similar  to  that 
entered  into  in  1780,  being  simply  a  declaration 
of  their  rights,  England  might  have  dissembled 
with  them  for  a  time,  taking  this  declaration, 
which  was  addressed  in  a  general  way  to  all  the 
belligerent  parties,  as  addressed  in  particular  to 
herself,  and  might  have  avoided  for  a  moment  the 
ciiance  of  a  collision,  by  taking  care  to  respect  the 
vessels  of  the  Danes,  Swedes,  Prussians,  and  Rus- 
sians. She  i)ad,  in  fact,  much  more  interest  in 
keeping  herself  in  peace  with  the  north,  than  in 
annoying  the  trade  of  the  smaller  maritime  powers 
with  France.  Besides,  at  this  moment,  she  was  in 
great  want  of  foreign  corn,  which,  for  her  own 
interest,  rendered  the  liberty  of  the  neutrals  useful 
to  her  for  a  time.  In  strictness,  slie  was  not  fully 
justified  in  taking  measures  of  reprisal  against  any 
but  Russia  ;  because  among  all  the  members  of 
the  league  of  neutrality,  it  was  only  the  emperor 
Paul  who  had  added  the  measure  of  an  embargo 
to  the  declaration.  Moreover,  here  the  question 
of  Malta  was  much  more  the  motive  of  the  em- 
bargo, thiin  any  of  the  points  at  issue  concerning 
maritime  rights. 

But  England,  in  her  pride,  had  responded  to  an 

!■  Here  is  a  curious  letter  relatm?  to  this  subject  :— 
"The  first  consul  to  tliuminister  of  general  police. — Have 
the  goodness,  citizen  minister,  to  addre.ss  a  short  circular  to 
the  editors  of  the  fourteen  journals,  forbidding  the  insertion 
of  any  article  calculated  to  afford  the  enemy  the  slightest 
knowledge  of  the  diftcrent  movements  taking  place  in  our 
squadrons,  unless  derived  from  the  official  journals. 
"  Paris,  Ist  Ventose,  year  ix." 

From  the  Slate  Paper  Office. 


State  of  EnKland.— Fa- 
mine.—Dcticieniy  in 

the  taxes. 


THE  NEUTRAL  POWERS. 


The  riches  <if  England  increase 
witli  lier  burdens.— The  na- 
tional debt. 


exposition  of  principles  by  an  :ict  of  viokiice,  and 
placed  an  embargo  upon  all  Swcdisii,  Danisli,  and 
Russian  vessels.  The  conimerce  of  Prussia  alone 
she  had  exempted  from  these  rigorous  proceedings, 
because  she  wislitd  still  to  h^ive  an  understanding 
with  that  country  ;  she  hoped  to  detach  it  from 
the  northern  coalition;  and,  above  all,  because  she 
knew  that  Hanover  lay  at  the  mei-cy  of  that 
country. 

England  found  herself  at  one  time  involved  in  a 
war  with  France  and  S|)ain,  her  old  eneiyies,  and 
with  the  courts  of  Russia,  Sweden,  and  Prussia, 
her  old  allies.  She  had  been  abandoned  by  Aus- 
tria since  the  treaty  of  Luncville,  and  by  the  court 
of  Naples  since  the  treaty  of  Florence.  Portugal, 
her  last  hold  upon  the  continent,  was  also  about  to 
be  lost  to  hei'.  Her  si'UMtion  was  become  similar 
to  that  of  France  in  179.S.  She  was  obliged  to 
fight  alone  against  all  Europe,  exposed  to  less 
danger  it  is  true  than  France,  and  also  with 
the  less  merit  in  defending  herself,  because  her 
insular  position  preserved  her  from  the  perils 
of  invasion.  To  render  the  similarity  of  their 
situations  more  remarkable  and  singular,  England 
was  the  prey  to  a  frightful  famine.  Her  people 
wanted  food  of  the  first  necessity.  This  state  of 
affaii-s  was  entirely  owing  to  the  obstinacy  of  Pitt 
and  to  the  genius  of  Bonaparte.  Pitt  refused  to 
treat  for  peace  before  the  'u;»ttle  of  Marengo;  and 
Bonaparte,  disarming  a  part  of  Europe  by  his 
victories,  turned  the  other  part  against  England 
by  his  policy  ;  both  were  incontestably  the  authors 
of  this  wonderful  change  of  fortune. 

The  situation  of  England  was  at  that  moment 
very  alarming;  but  it  nuist  be  acknowledged  that 
she  did  not  become  dispirited.  The  corn  harvest 
of  the  preceding  year,  17'J9,  had  been  one-third 
less  than  a  common  average,  and  all  the  last  year's 
corn  had  been  consumed.  The  harvest  of  1800 
had  fallen  short  a  fourth  part,  and  a  scarcity  was 
the  consequence.  This  deficiency  was  aggravated 
doubly  by  the  general  war,  and  by  the  war  in  the 
north  with  the  maritime  powers,  more  especially 
because  her  supplies  of  grain  were  commonly  ob- 
tained from  the  Baltic,  if,  tlierefore,  the  bad 
crop  was  the  first  cause  of  the  famine,  it  was 
equally  true  that  the  war  was  a  great  cause  of  its 
aggravation,  li  the  war  had  only  raised  the  price 
of  corn  by  interrupting  the  commerce  of  the  Baltic, 
it  must  have  already  exercised  a  very  disastrous 
influence  upon  the  public  di.stress.  All  the  taxes 
tins  year  presented  very  alarming  deficiencies. 
The  income  tax  and  the  excise  caused  an  a|>pre- 
hension  of  a  deficit  in  the  revenue  of  7.5,000,000  f. 
to  100,000,000  f. '  'J'he  expenditure  for  that  year 
was  enormous.  In  order  to  meet  the  necessity,  a 
loan  wius  necessary,  amounting  to  025,000,000  f.  or 
650,000,000  f  2  The  total  of  the  expenses  of  the 
three  kingdoms  for  that  year,  Ireland  being  then 
united  to  England,  amounted,  including  tile  interest 
of  the  debt  creat<;d  by  Mr.  Pitt,  to  tliu  enormous 
sum  of  l,72.'{,000,000f. ',  a  sum  enormous  at  any 
time,  but  more  so  in  1800;  for  at  that  period  the 
budgets  had  not  yet  rec<;ived  the  increase  of 
amount   to    which    a   subseiiuent   ptjriod  of  forty 

»  £3,000.000  or  £1,000,000. 
'  £25,000,000  or  £20,000,000. 
»  £69,000,000. 


years  has  raised  them  in  all  the  European  states. 
France,  as  before  seen,  had  then  to  support  no 
more  than  an  expenditure  of  6u0,000  000f.  The 
amount  of  tlie  English  debt  was,  as  usual,  disputed; 
hut  taking  the  amount  stated  by  the  government*, 
it  was  12,109,000,000  f.  ^  This  demanded  for  the 
annu.il  interest  and  sinking  fund  an  expense  of 
504,000,000  f.  «,  not  reckoning  the  debt  of  Ireland, 
and  the  loans  guaranteed  dU  account  of  the  em- 
peror of  Germany.  Pitt  was  accused  of  having 
increased  the  public  debt,  in  or  er  to  carry  on  the 
war  of  the  revolution,  more  than  7,500,000,000  f.  ^ 
According  to  the  government  statement,  the  amount 
was  7,454,000,000  f.  » 

But  it  must  be  admitted  that  England  presented 
a  singular  phenomenon  in  the  improvement  of  her 
resources  of  all  kinds,  and  that  her  riches  increased 
in  proportion  to  the  public  burdens.  Besides  the 
coM(|ncst  of  India,  achieved  by  the  destruction  of 
Tippoo  Saib  ;  besides  the  conquest  of  a  part  of  the 
French,  Spanish,  and  Dutch  colonies,  to  which 
must  be  added  the  acquisition  of  the  island  of 
Malta,  England  had  engrossed  the  commerce  of 
the  entire  world.  According  to  the  official  retui-n.s, 
her  importations,  which  had  been  in  1781,  townrds 
the  close  of  the  American  war,  only  311i,'u00,000f.'-', 
and  in  1792,  at  the  commencement  of  the  war  of 
the  revolution  only  491,000,000  f. '»,  had  risen  in 
1799  to  74r,000,000  f.  "  The  exportaiions  of  the 
manufactured  productions  of  England,  which  in 
irsi  had  been  190,000,000  f. '2,  were,  in  1792, 
622.000,000  f.  ",  and  in  1799  had  reached 
849,000,000  f.  '*  Thus,  from  the  date  of  the  ter- 
mination of  the  American  war  all  had  tripled;  and 
since  the  commencement  of  the  war  of  the  revolu- 
tion had  doubled. 

In  1788  the  commercial  navy  of  England  em- 
ployed 13,827  ships,  and  107,925  seamen  ;  in  1801 
it  eniployed  18,877  ships,  and  14:1,601  seamen.  The 
excise  and  customs  had  risen  from  183,000,000  f.'^ 
to  389,000,000  f.' 6  The  sinking  fund,  which,  in 
1784,  was  25,000,090  f.'^  was  137,000,000  f.i«  in 
1800. 

All  the  forces  of  the  British  empire  had  re- 
ceived a  double  or  triple  increase  within  twenty 
years ;  and  if  the  pressure  was  great  at  the  mo- 
ment, it  was  still  a  pressure  upon  wealth.  It  was 
very  true  that  England  was  loaded  with  a  debt  of 
more  than  12,000,000,000  f.,  and  an  annual  charge 
upon  that  debt  of  500,000,000  f.;  that  she  had  to  sup- 
port, in  that  year,  an  ex])eii(iiture  of  1, 700,000,000 f., 
and  to  make  a  loan  of  600,000,000  I.  to  meet  her 
outlay.  All  this  was,  beyond  doubt,  enormous  in 
amount,  especially  if  the  value  of  money  at  this 
time  be  taken  into  consideration  ;  but  England 
contained  within  herself  means  to  meet  these 
charges.     Although    she    was    not    a   continental 


*  These  amounts  are  taken  tiom  the  budget  presented  to 
parliament  by  Mr.  Addington,  successor  to  Pitt,  in  June, 
I8UI. 

*  In  sicrlinK  money,  £I84,;!C5,474. 

«  Or  £20,H4,000.  '  Or  £.100,000,000. 

8  Or  £298,000,000.  •  £12,721,000. 

><»  £19.059,000.  "  £29.945,000. 

'2  £7,0.33,000.  "  .£21.905,000. 

'•«  £.33  991,000.  '»  £7,320,000. 

1»  £15,58?,»00.  "  £1,000,000. 

'»  £5,500,000. 


British  army  and  navy. — Ad-  Great  reaction. -Comblna- 

214      miral   Nelson.— Resources  THIERS'   CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE,     tion  of  European  powers 
of  England  and  Fiance.  against  England. 


1801. 
Feb. 


power,  she  bad  one  hundred  and  ninety-three  thou- 
sand reguhir  troops,  and  one  hundred  and  nine 
thousand  militia  or  fencibles,  in  all  three  hundred 
and  two  thousand  men '.  She  possessed  eight 
hundred  and  fourteen  -  ships  of  war  of  all  sizes, 
building,  repairing,  in  oi'diuary,  or  at  sea.  In  this 
number  were  one  hundred  vessels  of  the  line  and 
two  hundred  frigates, spread  over  every  latitude;  and 
twenty  vessels  with  forty  frigates  in  reserve,  ready 
to  come  out  of  port.  Her  effective  force  could  not 
then  be  taken  at  less  than  one  hundred  and  twenty 
ships  of  the  line  and  two  hunch-edand  fifty  frigates, 
manned  by  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
seamen.  To  this  colossal  strength  in  materid, 
England  added  a  crowd  of  naval  officers  of  the 
greatest  merit,  at  the  head  of  whom  was  the  great 
admiral  Nelson.  He  was  an  eccentric,  violent 
man,  not  well  adapted  for  a  command  where 
diplomacy  and  war  were  intermingled.  He  had 
but  too  recently  given  a  proof  of  that  at  Naple.s, 
by  suffering  his  renown  to  be  sullied  by  female 
intrigues,  during  the  sanguinary  executions  com- 
manded by  the  Neapolitan  government.  But  in 
the  midst  of  danger  he  was  a  hero ;  he  displayed, 
too,  as  much  genius  as  courage.  The  English  were 
justly  proud  of  his  glory. 

England  and  France  have  filled  the  present  age 
with  their  formidable  rivalry.  The  period  at  which 
we  have  just  arrived  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in 
the  renowned  contest  which  they  sustained  against 
one  another.  They  had  continued  the  war  for 
eight  years.  France  with  financial  resources  much 
less,  but  perhajis  more  solid,  because  they  were 
founded  upon  territorial  revenue,  with  a  population 
nearly  double,  and  with  the  enthusiasm  a  good 
cause  insi)ires,  had  resisted  all  Europe,  extended 
her  territory  as  far  as  the  Rhine  and  the  Alps, 
obtained  dominion  in  Italy,  and  a  decisive  influence 
over  the  continent.  England,  with  the  wealth 
arising  from  the  commerce  ot  the  world,  and  with  a 
powerful  navy,  had  acquired  the  same  pre|)onde- 
raiice  upon  the  ocean  which  France  had  obtained 
on  the  land.  England,  by  subsidizing  the  Eu- 
ropean power.s,  had  incited  them  to  figiit  even  to 
their  own  destruction.  But  while  she  thus  ex- 
jHjscd  them  to  be  crushed  in  her  service,  she  seized 
the  colonies  of  every  nation,  oppressed  neutral 
powers,  and  avenged  hex-self  for  the  successes  of 
France  ui)on  the  land  by  her  overbearing  tyranny 
upon  the  ocean.  Still  although  victorious  upon 
this  ekment,  slie  had  not  been  able  to  prevent 
France  from  forming  a  magnificent  maritime  es- 
tablishment in^  Egypt,  threatening  even  her  East 
India  dominions. 

A  strange  reaction  of  opinion,  as  we  liave  else- 
where observed,  had  resulted  from  this  alteration 
of  circumstiinces.  France  admirably  governed,  ap- 
peared in  tiie  sight  of  the  world  humane,  tranquil, 

'  Bedsides  the  Indian  army. — Translator. 

»  In  all,  819  :  viz.,  197  of  the  line,  29  fifties,  251  frigates, 
332  sloops  and  other  vessels,  in  October,  1801.  Of  these 
there  were  at  sea.  111  ships  of  the  line,  10  lifties,  185  frigates, 
2.50  sloops  and  smaller  vessels.  Of  this  naval  force  there 
were  in  the  Channel,  42  of  the  line  and  35  frigates;  North 
Sea  stations,  14  of  the  line,  3  fifties,  and  31  frigates;  the 
Mediterranean,  31  of  the  line,  4  fifties,  and  iC  frigates  ;  on 
the  coasts  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  II  of  the  line  and  6  frigates; 
while  9  sail  of  the  line,  7  fifties,  and  8  frigates,  were  in 
India. — Translalor. 


wise,  and,  what  is  not  common,  amid  her  victories 
actuated  l)y  moderation.  Whilst  the  various  cabi- 
nets of  Europe  were  becoming  reconciled  to  her, 
they  at  the  same  time  perceived  how  much  they 
had  played  the  dupe  to  the  political  objects  of 
England.  Austria  had  fought  for  England  as  much 
as  she  had  for  ii(n-self.  For  this  same  England 
the  Germanic  empire  had  been  dismembered.  The 
l)owers  of  the  north,  with  Russia  at  their  head, 
acknowledged  at  last,  that  under  the  jiretext  of 
pursuing  a  moral  end,  in  fighting  against  the 
French  revolution,  they  had  only  served  as  the 
instruments  to  procure  for  England  the  commerce 
of  the  universe.  Thus  all  the  world  turned  at  the 
moment  against  the  mistress  of  the  seas.  Paul  I, 
had  given  the  signal  with  the  natural  impetuosity 
of  his  character  ;  Sweden  followed  his  example 
without  hesitation ;  Denmark  and  Prussia  had 
equally  done  so,  though  with  less  resolution. 
Austria  vanquished,  and  recovered  from  her  de- 
lusion, nursed  her  chagrin  in  silence,  and,  at  least 
for  the  time,  promised  herself  a  long  resistance  to 
the  temptation  of  British  subsidies. 

England  reaped  the  consequences  of  the  policy 
which  she  had  pursued.  She  had  doubled  her 
colonies,  her  commerce,  her  revenue,  and  her 
navy,  but  she  had  at  the  same  time  doubled  her 
debt  and  its  expenses,  her  enemies,  and  her  entire 
expenditure.  She  presented,  in  the  midst  of  im- 
mense wealth,  the  frightful  spectacle  of  a  people 
dying  with  hunger.  France,  Spain,  Russia,  Prus- 
sia, Denmark,  and  Sweden  were  leagued  against 
her.  France,  Spain,  and  Holland  could  reckon 
upon  eighty  ships  of  the  line,  and  were  able  to  arm 
more.  Sweden  had  twenty-eight,  Russia  thirty- 
five,  and  Denmark  twenty-three.  Here  then  was 
a  total  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-six  ships  of  the 
line,  a  force  superior  to  that  of  England.  On  the 
other  liand,  she  had  a  great  advantage  in  contend- 
ing against  a  coalition  ;  and  what  was  more  in  her 
favour,  her  armaments  surpassed  in  quality  those 
of  all  the  coalition.  There  were  only  the  Danish 
and  French  vessels  which  were  able  to  cope  with 
her's  ;  and  there  was  still  the  greater  difficulty  in 
fighting  in  large  fleets,  that  the  English  navy  ex- 
celled those  of  all  the  world  in  manoeuvring.  Still 
the  danger  was  thi-eatening,  because  if  the  contest 
lasted  long,  Bonajiarte  was  well  capable  of  under- 
taking a  formidable  expedition  ;  and  if  lie  suc- 
ceeded in  passing  the  Straits  of  Dover  with  an  in- 
vading army,  England  was  lost. 

The  long  good  fortune  of  Pitt  began,  like  the  for- 
tune of  M.  Thugut,  to  be  on  the  decline,  before 
that  of  the  young  general  Bonaparte.  Pitt's  was 
the  most  brilliant  destiny  of  his  time,  after  that  of 
the  great  I'^rederick  ;  he  was  only  forty-three  years 
of  age,  and  had  held  the  government  seventeen 
years,  possessing  a  power  almost  absolute  in  a  free 
country.  But  his  good  fortune  was  growing  old; 
and  that  of  Bonaparte,  on  the  contrary,  was  still 
young,  merely  in  its  infancy.  The  fortunes  of 
men  succeed  each  other  in  the  history  of  the  world, 
like  the  races  of  the  same  universe  ;  they  liave 
their  youth,  their  decrepitude,  and  their  dissolu- 
tion. The  more  prodigious  fortune  of  Bonaparte 
was  one  day  to  decline  also  ;  but  in  the  mean- 
while, he  was  destined  to  see  the  fall,  under  his 
own  ascendency,  of  that  of  England's  greatest 
minister. 


Unpopularity  of  Pitt.— Riots. 
Strength  of  the  opposition. 


THE  NEUTRAL  TOWERS. 


Pitt's  reply  to  his  opponents' 
arguments. 


215 


England  seemed  at  this  time  to  be  threatened 
with  a  species  of  social  convulsion.  The  people, 
under  the  sufi'ering  of  great  scarcity,  wci-e  rising  in 
different  places,  and  pillaging  the  fine  habitations 
of  the  British  aristocracy,  and,  in  the  towns,  attack- 
ing the  shops  of  the  butchers  and  dealers  in  food. 
There  were  in  London  in  1801,  as  in  Paris  in  17^2, 
ignorant  friends  of  the  people,  who  encouraged 
attacks  against  supposed  engrossei's,  and  insisted 
upon  some  measure  analogous,  in  fact,  thougli  not 
in  name,  to  a  maximum  for  the  price  of  bread. 
Neither  the  government  nor  the  parliament  ap- 
peared disposed  to  grant  this  foolish  demaud.  Pitt 
was  reproached  with  being  the  cause  of  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  time  ;  they  asserted  that  it  was  he  who 
liad  loaded  the  people  with  taxes,  doubled  the  debt, 
and  raised  to  an  exorbitant  price  all  the  articles  of 
the  first  necessity  in  existence ;  that  it  was  he  wlio 
was  so  obstinate  in  pursuing  a  senseless  war  ;  and 
he  who,  in  refusing  to  treat  with  France,  had 
concluded  by  turning  the  other  maritime  nations 
against  England,  thus  depriving  the  people  of  the 
indispensable  resource  of  the  Baltic  corn.  The 
opposition,  seeing,  for  the  first  time  during  seven- 
teen years,  the  power  of  Pitt  shaken,  redoubled  its 
ardour.  Fox,  who  had  for  a  long  while  neglected 
to  attend  in  pai'liament,  reappeared  there.  Sheri- 
dan, Tierney,  Grey,  and  Lord  Holland,  reuewed 
their  attacks  ;  and,  that  which  does  not  always 
happen  on  the  side  of  a  wai-m  opposition,  they  had 
the  reason  of  the  argument  against  their  opponents. 
Pitt,  despite  his  accustomed  self-assurance,  had 
little  to  urge  in  reply,  when  he  was  asked  why  he 
had  not  treated  with  France,  when  tlie  first  consul 
proposed  peace  after  the  battle  of  Marengo  ?  why 
recently,  and  before  the  battle  of  Hohenliuden,  he 
had  not  consented,  if  not  to  a  naval  armistice, — 
wliich  would  have  given  the  French  a  chance  of 
maintaining  themselves  in  Egyi)t, — at  least  to  the 
separate  negotiation  Avhich  had  been  offered  ?  why 
liad  he,  with  so  nmch  want  of  shrewdness,  suffered 
the  opportunity  to  escape  of  the  evacuation  of 
I-jgypt,  by  refusing  to  ratify  the  treaty  of  El  Ariseh? 
why  had  he  not  negotiated  with  the  northern 
powers,  in  order  to  gain  time  !  why  had  he  not 
imitated  Lord  North,  whf),  in  1780,  avoided  reply- 
ing to  the  manifesto  of  the  northern  powers,  by  a 
declaration  of  war  ?  why  had  he  thus  drawn  all 
Europe  upon  him,  on  account  of  some  very  doubt- 
ful question  in  the  law  of  nations,  about  which 
every  nation  had  a  different  opinion,  and  in  which, 
at  the  moment,  England  liad  little  interest  ?  why 
not,  in  order  to  prevent  France  from  obtaining 
some  building  timber,  iron,  and  hemp,  wliich  were 
not  capable  of  making  a  navy, — why  had  England 
been  exposed  to  be  cut  off  from  the  importation  of 
foreign  corn  ?  why  was  an  English  army  paraded 
from  Mahon  to  Fcrrol,  and  from  Ferrol  to  Cadiz, 
without  any  useful  result  ?  The  o])position  com- 
pared the  eonduct  of  the  affairs  of  England  with 
those  of  France!  and  their  management,  asking 
Pitt,  with  ctitting  irony,  what  he  had  to  say  of 
young  Bonaparte,  of  the  rash  young  man,  who,  ac- 
cording to  the  miniHtcrial  language,  would  only  like 
his  predecessors  liav(!  an  ephemeral  existence  ;  so 
ephemeral,  that  he  did  not  merit  they  should  con- 
descend to  treat  with  him. 

Pitt  had  great  trouble  in  maintaining  himself 
against  Fox,  Sheridan,  Tierney,  Grey,  and   Lonl 


Holland,  who  put  to  him  these  forcible  questions  iu 
the  face  of  all  England.  He  became  alarmed  at 
the  number  of  his  enemies,  and  was  disconcerted 
at  the  cries  of  a  half-famished  people  demanding, 
without  obtaining,  bread. 

To  their  questions  Pitt  replied  with  great  feeble- 
ness. He  continued  to  i-epeat  his  favourite  argu- 
ment, that  if  he  had  not  made  war  upon  France 
the  English  constitution  would  have  perished.  He 
cited  as  examples  Venice,  Naples,  Piedmont,  Swit- 
zerland, Holland,  and  the  ecclesiastical  states  of 
Germany;  as  if  it  were  possible  to  make  anyone 
believe  that  wliat  had  occurred  in  a  few  Italian  or 
German  states  of  the  third  order,  could  happen  to 
England,  with,  her  liberal  constitution.  He  I'eplied, 
too,  and  w'ith  moi-e  reason  on  his  side,  that  if 
France  had  aggrandized  herself  on  the  land,  Eng- 
land had  done  the  same  by  sea ;  that  the  navy 
was  covered  with  glory  ;  that  if  the  debt  and  taxes 
were  doubled,  the  wealth  of  the  country  was  dou- 
bled also,and  that  under  every  point  of  view  England 
was  more  powerful  now  than  before  the  war  began. 
All  tliis  could  not  be  denied.  Pitt  added  that  the 
first  consul,  appearing  to  be  established  in  a  stable 
manner,  he  felt  cvei-y  disposition  to  tivat  with  him. 
That  as  to  what  regarded  the  right  of  neutrals,  he 
should  remain  inflexible.  "If,"  said  he,  "England 
agrees  to  the  proposed  doctrines  of  the  neutral 
power.s,  a  single  armed  sloop  may  convoy  the  com- 
merce of  the  whole  world.  England  will  be  shut 
out  from  proceeding  in  any  way  against  the  com- 
merce of  her  enemies;  she  will  be  unable  to  do  any 
thing  to  prevent  Spain  from  receiving  the  treasures 
of  the  new  world,  or  to  prevent  France  from  re- 
ceiving the  naval  stores  of  the  north."  "We  must," 
he  said,  "  wrap  ourselves  in  our  own  flag,  and  find 
our  grave  in  the  ocean  sooner  than  admit  the  cur- 
rency of  such  principles  in  the  maritime  law  of 
nations." 

Two  sessions  of  parliament  succeeded  each  other 
without  an  adjournment.  In  November,  1800,  the 
last  parliament  denominated  the  parliament  of 
England  and  Scotland,  assembled  for  the  last  time. 
In  January,  1801,  the  united  parliament  of  the 
three  kingdoms  held  its  first  assemblage.  During 
these  two  sessions,  the  discussions  were  continued 
without  cessation,  and  with  the  most  vehement 
warmth.  Pitt  was  evidently  weakened,  not  only  in 
the  number  of  the  majorities  in  parliament,  but  in 
general  influence  and  moral  power  out  of  doors. 
Every  body  perceived  that  in  obstinately  continuing 
the  war  against  France,  he  had  gone  beyond  the 
mark,  and  had  missed  on  the  eve  of  Marengo  and 
on  that  of  Hohenliuden  the  ojjportunity  of  treating 
advantageously.  To  miss  the  opportunily  is  for  the 
statesman,  as  it  is  for  the  soldier,  an  irreparable 
mischief.  The  moment  for  peace  once  jiassed  over, 
fortune  turned  round  upon  Pitt.  He  lelt  himself, 
and  thi;  public  felt,  that  he  was  vanquished  by  the 
genius  of  the  young  general  Bonaparte. 

The  justice  must  be  done  to  Pitt,  and  also  to  Eng- 
land, of  acknowledging  that  during  this  fearful 
want  of  food,  the  measures  adopted  were  those  of 
great  moderation.  The  maxiniuin  price  was  re- 
jielled.  The  government  was  content  to  give  consi- 
derable bounties  upon  the  importation  of  corn,  to 
prohibit  the  use  of  grain  in  distilleries,  and  not  to 
give  any  more  parochial  relief  in  money,  lest  it 
should  tend  to  raise  the  price  of  bread,  xxlief  being 


21 


Measures  to  reduce  the 
J    of  corn.— Union  with  .-_ 
land — Catholic  emancipa- 


price  ti 

I  Ire-   THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE,    t 

icipa-  s 


tion. — Pitt's  resignation. —  ,„», 
Causes  of  that  step.— His  p"'" 
successors. 


afforded,  in  place  of  money,  with  food,  such  as  salt 
meat,  vegetables,  and  siniilai'  sustenances.  A  royal 
proclamation,  addressed  to  all  persons  in  easy  cir- 
cumstances, who  had  it  in  their  power  to  vary  their 
diet,  recommended  them  to  adopt  a  system  of  great 
economy  in  the  consumption  of  bread  in  their  fami- 
lies. Lastly,  munerous  vessels  were  sent  to  obtain 
rice  in  the  East  Indies,  and  corn  in  America  and 
in  the  Mediterranean.  Some  even  endeavoured  to 
procure  it  from  France,  by  means  of  a  contra- 
band trade,  along  the  coasts  of  La  Vendue  and 
Britany. 

Still  in  the  mid.st  of  this  distress  so  courageously 
supported,  Pitt  neglected  no  means  for  the  ])rose- 
cution  of  the  war,  and  made  every  ai'rangement 
for  a  bold  demonstration  in  the  Baltic  as  soon  as 
the  season  would  permit.  He  wished  to  strike  the 
first  blow  at  Denmark,  then  at  Sweden,  and  to  go 
even  to  the  bottom  of  the  gulf  of  Finland,  for  the 
purpose  of  threatening  Russia.  It  is  not  known, 
even  in  his  own  country,  whether  he  really  wished 
or  not  at  this  time  to  continue  at  the  head  of 
affaii-s  in  England.  There  were  two  questions 
raised  by  him  in  the  cabinet,  one  of  which,  most 
inopportune  at  that  moment,  led  to  his  retirement 
from  office.  Alter  great  exertions  the  year  pre- 
ceding, it  has  been  seen  that  he  caiTied  into  effect 
what  was  called  the  "union  with  Ireland,"  or  in 
other  words  the  union  of  the  parliaments  of  Eng- 
land, Scotland,  and  Ireland,  into  on  eimperial  legis- 
lative body.  This  measure  seemed  like  a  species  of 
political  victory,  moi'e  particularly  in  the  face  of 
the  i-eiterated  attempts  of  the  French  republic  to 
raise  an  insurrection  in  Ireland.  But  England  had 
only  succeeded  in  depriving  Ireland  of  her  inde- 
pendence, by  giving  the  Irish  catholics  the  formal 
promise  of  their  "  emancipation"  from  the  restric- 
tions under  which  they  laboured.  They  had  in 
effect  .said  to  the  catholics  that  they  would  never 
obtain  their  freedom,  owing  to  the  jjrejudices  of  an 
Irish  parliament,  and  the  assertion  was  most  un- 
doubtedly correct.  It  apjieared,  too,  that  the  ])ro- 
mises  given  were  equivalent  to  a  positive  engage- 
ment, which  mu.st  be  regarded  as  a  political  error, 
if  it  be  true  that  Pitt  was  obliged,  by  the  nature  of 
his  own  personal  pledge,  either  to  grant  emancijia- 
tion  or  to  retire,  because  it  was  a  pledge  it  was  not 
possible  to  fulfil.  However  this  might  have  been, 
in  the  month  of  February,  1801,  on  the  first  meet- 
ing of  the  united  parliament,  Pitt  asked  the  consent 
of  George  III.  to  the  measure  of  catholic  emanci- 
pation. This  prince,  at  the  same  time  a  protestant, 
was  a  complete  devotee,  and  a.sserting  that  his  coro- 
nation oath  would  be  affected  by  such  a  measure, 
he  obstinately  i-efused  his  assent.  Pitt  made  a 
second  request,  which  was  a  very  reasonable  one, 
namely,  that  the  occupation  of  Hanover  by  Pi-ussia 
should  not  be  cunsidered  an  act  of  ho.stility  to  this 
country,  that  England  might  keep  up  relations  with 
that  court,  in  order,  at  least,  to  possess  one  friendly 
power  upon  the  continent.  This  sacrifice  was  too 
great  for  a  prijice  of  the  house  of  Hanover  to 
make.  The  quarrel  between  the  king  and  minister 
became  wanner,  and  on  the  8tli  of  February,  1«01, 
Pitt  gave  in  his  resignation  for  himself  and  his 
colleagues,  Dundas,Windham,Grenville,and  other.s. 
This  resignation,  after  a  ministry  of  seventeen 
years,  caused  nuich  surprise  in  such  extraordinary 
circumstances.    People  were  unable  to  ascribe  it  to 


natural  events,  and  attached  a  secret  motive  to 
Pitt,  which  at  last  became  the  public  opinion,  since 
zealously  propagated  by  historians  ;  this  motive 
was,  that  Pitt  seeing  the  necessity  for  a  momentary 
peace,  consented  to  retire  for  a  few  months,  in 
order  to  let  it  be  negotiated  by  others  rather  than 
himself,  intending  to  return  to  the  management  of 
public  affairs  when  the  necessity  of  the  moment 
should  be  passed.  Such  are  the  reasons  that  the 
multitude  ascribe  to  public  men  under  similar 
circumstances,  which  ill-informed  writers  repeat, 
as  they  pick  them  up  from  rumoui*.  Pitt  neither 
foresaw  the  peace  of  Amiens,  nor  its  short  duration; 
nor  did  he  believe  that  peace  was  at  all  incompati- 
ble with  his  position  at  the  head  of  affiiirs.  He  had 
consented  to  the  well-known  negotiation  at  Lille  in 
1797,  and  had  recently  named  Mr.  Thomas  Gren- 
ville  to  proceed  to  the  congress  of  Lune'ville.  But 
Pitt  liad  gone  considerable  lengths  with  the  catho- 
lics ;  he  had  been  guilty  of  a  fault  which  public 
men  often  commit,  tliat  of  sacrificing  the  interest 
of  to-day  to  that  of  to-morrow.  Having  promised 
too  much,  he  felt  embarrassed  at  not  being  able  to 
fulfil  his  promises,  and  in  a  very  anxious  position  in 
which  the  addition  of  a  lew  more  enemies  would 
suffice  to  overwhelm  him.  It  is  true  that  he  sub- 
sequently denied  his  having  contracted  any  positive 
engagement  in  regard  to  the  emancipation  of  the 
catholics  ;  the  denial  was  wanting  to  justify  him 
from  so  imprudent  a  charge.  Whatever  may  be 
thought  upon  this  matter,  there  was  never  a  period 
when  the  perils  of  any  country  permitted  and  even 
demanded  to  the  same  extent  the  adjournment  of 
the  executicm  of  existing  engagements,  because  in 
1801,  England  had  famine  at  home,  and  abroad  was 
at  war  with  all  Europe.  Still  Pitt  withdrew  from 
office;  and  his  retirement  can  only  be  considered  as 
having  arisen  from  the  weakness  of  a  superior 
mind.  It  is  clear,  that  surrounded  by  fearful  em- 
barrassments, Pitt  was  not  sorry  to  escape  from 
such  a  situation  under  the  honourable  pretext  of 
inviolable  fidelity  to  his  engagements.  The  resigna- 
tiiin  was  accepted,  to  the  great  sorrow  of  the  king, 
and  the  discontent  of  the  ministerial  party,  as  well 
as  to  the  apprehension  of  all  England,  which  saw 
with  deep  anxiety  men,  inexperienced  men,  take 
the  helm  of  affairs.  Pitt  was  replaced  by  Mr. 
Addington,  who  was  his  creature  •,  and  had  for 
many  years  held  the  post  of  speaker  of  the  hou.se  of 
commons.  Lord  Hawkesbury,  afterwards  lord  Li- 
verpool, replaced  Grenville  at  the  foreign  office. 
They  were  prudent,  moderate  men,  but  of.littlo 
ca))acity  for  office  ;  both  had  been  friends  of  Pitt, 
and  for  some  time  followed  his  system.  This  it  was 
more  than  any  thing  else  which  made  it  reported, 
and  believed,  that  the  retirement  of  Pitt  was  only 
simulated. 


'  I  olitained  these  details  from  several  of  the  cotetnpora- 
ries  of  Pitt,  wlio  were  on  intimate  terms  with  him,  minfjled 
in  the  ministerial  negotiations  of  the  period,  and  fill,  even 
in  the  present  day,  eminent  situations  in  England.— iVo/e  of 
the  Author. 

The  author  should  rather  have  said,  "the  creature  of 
George  HI  ,"  with  whom  he  was  a  favourite,  partaking  the 
bigoted  notions  of  that  monarch  in  regard  to  religion,  anil 
holding  the  same  arbitrary  ideas  in  politics  ;  wliik'  liis  fi  eble 
ness  of  mind  made  him  a  jest  with  the  friend.s  of  Pitt,  as  weV. 
as  with  those  who  had  been  the  opponents  of  that  minister. 
—  TraiisldtoT. 


Illness  of  Georpe  III.— Great 


powwr  of  Pitt.- 
jf  ihe  king. 


Recovery       THE  NEUTRAL  POWERS. 


iliaracter  of  Pilt  and  his  suc- 
cessors.—NeUon's  plai:  for        217 
actinsT  in  the  Baltic. 


I 


The  feeble  intellects  of  Geoige  III.  were  unable 
to  bear  up  against  the  political  agitations  of  the 
crisis.  He  was  seized  with  a  fresh  attack  of  insa- 
nity, and  for  a  month  was  unable  to  fulfil  the  rojal 
functions.  Pitt  had  given  in  his  i-csignation.  Ad- 
dington  and  Hawkesbury  were  the  designated  mi- 
nisters, but  had  not  yet  entered  upon  their  duties. 
Pitt,  although  he  had  ceased  to  be  minister,  was  at 
this  time  the  real  king  of  England,  during  a 
crisis  of  nearly  a  month,  and  was  so  by  the  consent 
of  the  whole  nation.  E.vplanations  upon  the  sub- 
ject were  asked  in  the  house  of  commons.  These 
were  of  a  very  delicate  nature.  When  thus  de- 
manded in  the  liou.se  they  were  answered  in  the 
noblest  manner  by  Sheridan  and  Pitt.  All  motions 
common  in  England  respecting  the  state  of  the 
country,  were  postponed;  and  it  is  probable  that  it 
occurred  to  some  mistrustful  persons,  that  Pitt 
voluntarily  prolonged  the  species  of  royalty  which 
he  enjoyed.  "  He  trusted,  it  would  be  believed," 
to  use  his  own  language  at  that  time,  "  that  in  the 
event  of  ministers  being  no  longer  able  to  receive 
the  commands  of  his  majesty  from  his  own  mouth, 
they  would  propose  measures  to  which  it  was  unne- 
cessary to  alluile  more  distinctly,  but  which  they 
would  not  delay  for  a  single  day.  They  found 
themselves  placed  by  their  duty  in  an  extraordi- 
nary situation,  which  they  did  not  wish,  upon  any 
ground,  should  endure  a  moment  beyond  the  strict 
necessity."  Sheridan,  in  reply,  testified  his  entire 
confidence,  that  neither  Pitt,  nor  any  other  mi- 
nister, would  seek  to  profit  by  the  state  of  the 
king's  health  to  prolong  for  one  moment  the  pos- 
session of  a  power  equal  to  that  of  tlie  sovereign 
himself. 

The  most  delicate  reserve  wao  kept  upon  the 
subject.  The  word  "madness"  characterizing  the 
real  condition  of  the  king,  was  not  once  pronounced; 
but  all  waited  with  anxiety,  yet  with  j)erfect  com- 
posure, the  termination  of  this  extraordinary  crisis. 
In  the  interim  Pitt  voted  subsidies  which  were  not 
opposed;  the  English  fleets  were  prepared  in  the 
different  ports,  and  admirals  Parker  and  Nelson 
set  sail  from  Yarraontli  for  the  Baltic  with  forty- 
seven  vessels. 

About  the  m^Jlle  of  March  the  king's  health 
was  i-e-established,  and  Pitt  handed  over  the 
reins  of  government  to  Mr.  Addington  and  Lord 
Hawkesbury.  The  new  ministers,  according  to 
custom,  entered  into  explanations  upon  their 
taking  office.  They  did  not  fail  to  declare  to  the 
house  that  they  felt  sentiments  of  the  greatest 
esteem  for  their  predecessors,  and  that  they  con- 
sidered the  line  of  policy  they  had  adopted  as 
highly  salutary,  and  the  salvation  of  England. 
They  aflirmcil  in  eonsetjuencc,  that  they  should 
follow  the  sauK!  j)rinciples,  and  tread  exactly  in  the 
same  stejjs.  "  Wherefore,  then,  have  you  taken 
office  ?"  inquired  .Sheridan,  Grey,  and  Fox.  "  If 
you  mean  to  follow  the  same  cour.se  of  policy,  the 
ministers  who  liave  gone  out  are  much  more  ca- 
l)able  of  directing  the  affairs  of  the  country  than 
you  are  !" 

1  mpanial  persons,  niembcra  of  parliament,  blamed 
Pitt  for  aijandoning  the  government  of  the  country 
at  so  <litticult  a  moment,  and  for  resigning  without 
valid  reasons.  The  opj)osition  itHcIf  was  in  the 
wrong  HO  far  a«  to  reproach  him  with  making  his 
retreat  at  the  expense  of  the  king'n  character,  by 


declaring  that  the  king  refused  to  allow  "enian:;!- 
l)ation,"  a  measure  at  the  time  extremely  popular. 
This  reproach  was  unreasonable,  and  at  varkmce 
with  true  constitutional  principles.  Pitt,  in  retiring, 
was  naturally  obliged  to  state  the  reason,  and  if  the 
king  refused  him  "emancipa/tion,"  he  had  a  perfect 
right  to  declare  that  such  was  the  fact.  He  made 
it  known  in  language  extremely  well-suited  to  the 
circumstances,  but  it  remained  very  evident  that 
the  refu.sal  was  rather  a  pretext  than  a  real  motive, 
and  that  Pitt  withdrew  irom  a  state  of  affairs  with 
which  he  had  not  the  courage  to  contend.  His  star 
was  growing  pale  before  one  that  was  then  ascend- 
ing, destined  to  cast  a  brighter  lustre  than  his 
own.  Although  he  afterwards  reappeared  at  the 
head  of  aftairs,  to  die  at  the  post,  his  political  ex- 
istence may  be  said  to  have  terminated  from  that 
day.  Pitt,  after  governing  for  seventeen  years, 
leit  his  country  loaeed  with  debt  and  wealth  both 
alike  increased  and  alike  burihened.  He  was  an 
acconi])lished  orator,  regarded  as  the  organ  of  go- 
vernment, and  a  veiy  able  and  influential  head  of 
a  party;  but,  as  a  statesman,  he  possessed  very  un- 
enlightened views,  had  committed  great  errors, 
and  was  continually  overborne  by  the  worst  pre- 
judices of  his  countrymen.  No  native  of  England 
entertained  so  deep  a  hatred  to  France.  But  this 
consideration  must  not  r.':ake  us  unjust  towards 
him,  knowing  as  we  do  how  to  honour  patriotism 
in  others,  even  when  it  was  employed  in  a  contest 
with  our  own. 

Neither  Lord  Hawkesbury  nor  Mr.  Addington 
were  to  be  compared  for  talent  to  Pitt ;  the  im- 
pulse being  given,  the  vessel  of  the  state  moved 
onwards  for  a  time  under  the  momentum  imparted 
to  it  by  the  head  of  the  fallen  ministry.  The  sub- 
sidies were  demanded  and  obtained  ;  the  English 
fleets  were  launched  towards  the  B;iltic,  to  .settle 
the  great  question  about  neutral  rights;  and  an 
army,  embarked  in  the  fleet  of  lord  K?ith,  was 
upon  its  voyage  to  the  East  to  di.spute  the  posses- 
sion of  Egy|)t  with  the  French. 

Admiral  Parker,  an  old  and  cx])erienced  naval 
officer,  who  understood  how  to  act  under  difficult 
circumstances,  was  the  conimander-in-chief  of  the 
English  fleet,  and  sent  to  the  Baltic.  Nelson  was 
at  his  side,  in  case  it  should  become  necessary  to 
fight ;  he  was,  in  fact,  only  qualified  for  battles, 
endowed  as  he  was  with  a  ha])py  instinct  for  war, 
and  perfectly  master  of  every  thing  connected  with 
his  proft'ssion.  Nelson  proposed  that,  without 
waiting  for  the  divisions  of  the  fleet,  they  should 
pass  the  Sound,  and  bearing  directly  up  for  Co- 
penhagen, detach  Denmark  from  the  coalition  by 
a  vigorous  blow  ;  then  repair  to  the  Baltic,  in  the 
midst  of  the  coalesced  fleets,  prevent  their  jimctioii, 
and  thus  give  them  all  the  law.  This  plan  was 
happily  arranged,  because  in  the  month  of  March, 
the  ice  still  covered  those  northern  seas,  and  was 
of  its'^lf  sufficient  to  prevent  their  junction;  which, 
indeed.  Nelson  had  some  reason  for  dreading,  as, 
in  that  case,  the  British  squadron  would  be  ex- 
posed to  great  danger. 

This  s(|u.ulron,  consisting  of  seventeen  sail  of 
the  line  and  thirty  frigates,  or  snndler  vessels,  ap- 
j)eared,  on  the  30lli  of  March,  in  the  Cattegat. 
The  Cattegat  is  the  first  gulf,  formed  by  the  land 
of  Denmark  ai)i)roacliing  the  opposite  coast  of 
Sweden. 


The  northern  powers  prepare 
218    for  war.-Prussia  declares    THIERS'  CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE. 

against  England. 


The  Danes  prepare 
to    defend    the 

Send. 


The  neutral  powers  were  making  their  prepara- 
tions with  great  activity.  Tlie  emperor  Paul,  full 
of  ai-dour,  stinmhited  Sweden,  Denmark,  and 
Prussia,  and  thi-eatened  with  his  enmity  those  who 
did  not  exhibit  as  much  zeal  as  himself.  Den- 
maric  and  Prussia  would  have  preferred  commenc- 
ing with  a  negotiation  ;  but  the  menaces  of  Paul, 
the  earnest,  but  not  menacing,  remonstrances  of 
the  first  consul,  accompanied  with  the  formal  pro- 
mise of  French  assistance,  brought  into  the  same 
system  those  two  courts.  Denmark,  besides,  see- 
ing the  English  reply  to  a  declaration  of  principles 
was  by  a  declaration  of  war,  thought  that  it  was  her 
place  to  receive  and  prepare  for  resistance  with 
all  her  energies.  Prussia,  pressed  between  Russia 
and  France,  had  been  deprived  of  her  character  of 
mediatrix,  since  Paul  I.  and  the  first  consul  li;id 
commenced  to  be  upon  friendly  terms  with  each 
other.  In  place  of  leading,  as  before,  she  was  now 
reduced  to  the  situation  of  being  a  follower,  and 
could  only  rely  in  future  upon  their  good-will 
alone,  for  that  ])art  of  the  German  indemnity  ad- 
vantageous to  her  interests.  Prussia  was,  there- 
fore, anxious  to  please  by  her  firmness  in  the  cause. 
She  declared  against  England,  and  to  overtures 
from  that  jjower,  avowed  her  adherence  to  the  side 
of  the  neutrals.  She  interdicted  to  the  English 
all  the  coast  of  the  north  sea  from  Holland  to 
Denmark  ;  she  closed  the  mouths  of  the  Elbe,  the 
Ems,  and  the  Weser,  and  placed  batteries,  with 
troops,  at  those  jjrincipal  outlets.  Finally,  .she 
occupied  Hanover  with  a  body  of  troops  ;  which 
was  the  most  serious  and  most  decisive  of  her 
measures.  The  first  consul  recompensed  her  by 
marked  proofs  of  his  satisfaction,  and  by  the 
strongest  and  most  positive  i)romise  of  an  advan- 
tageous partition  in  her  behalf  of  the  German  in- 
demnities. 

Denmark,  on  her  side,  occupied  Hamburg  and 
Lubeck.  The  little  port  of  Cuxhaven,  which  be- 
longed to  Hamburg,  and  which  was  the  only 
place  where  the  English  could  land,  had  already 
been  occupied  by  Prussia.  Thus,  then,  the  English 
had  nothing  left  to  them  but  their  vessels  and  the 
ocean.  Tliey  liad  not  a  single  port  where  they 
could  cast  anchor.  They  had  now  the  alternative 
of  recovering  by  force  their  access  to  the  conti- 
nent.  • 

In  order  to  reach  the  Baltic  througli  the  Catte- 
gat,  it  is  necessary  to  pass  through  the  noted  strait 
called  the  Sound.  This  strait  is  formed  by  the 
approach  of  the  coast  of  Denmark  to  that  of  Swe- 
den. Between  Elsinore  and  Ilelsingburg,  it  isabout 
two  thousand  three  himdred  fathoms  broad.  The 
batt  ries  placed  on  the  two  ojjpositc  shores  are 
enabled  to  cross  their  fire,  but  not  sufficiently 
near  to  cause  much  damage  to  a  fleet.  Notwitii- 
standing  this,  the  channel  is  deeper  on  the  Swedish 
side,  and  very  large  ships  are  obliged  to  approach 
nearer  that  shore  in  consequence  ;  so  that  by 
strengthening  it  with  batteries,  the  passage  might 
liave  been  rendered  difficultfor  the  English.  But  the 
Swedish  side  was  not  fortified,  and  had  no  batteries, 
nor  indeed  had  it  ever  jjosscssed  them.  In  fact,  it 
has  no  port  which  merchant  slii|is  would  be  likely 
to  visit.  There  is  none  in  the  Sound,  except  that 
of  Elsinore,  which  belongs  to  Denmark,  and  upon 
that  account  batteries  were  cTected  there  only, 
and  scarcely  any  upon  the  Swedish  coast.     On  the 


Danish  side  was  constructed  the  fort  of  Kroner.- 
burg,  regularly  fortified.  From  this  came  the 
custom  of  paying  the  Danes  dues  for  the  passage, 
and  not  the  Swedes.  In  this  state  of  things  it 
was  necessary  to  construct  furtified  works  on  the 
Swedish  side,  of  which  they  wei-e  in  want.  The 
king,  Gustavus  Adolphus,  who,  after  Paul  I.,  was 
the  most  earnest  of  tlie  coalition,  had  conversed 
with  the  czar  upon  this  subject,  when  he  was  at 
St.  Petersburg!!  ;  but  they  were  aware  of  the  im- 
possibility of  executing  any  work  there  at  such  a 
season,  when  the  soil,  daring  the  winter  frost,  was 
as  impenetrable  as  iron.  Gustavus  Adolphus  had 
also  an  interview  with  the  prince  of  Denmark, 
then  regent  of  the  kingdom  ;  the  same  who  died 
in  1841,  after  a  long  and  honourable  reign.  They 
conversed  upon  the  subject ;  and  the  prince-regent, 
for  some  particular  reason  which  influenced  Den- 
mark, appeared  to  attach  very  little  importance  to 
the  fortification  of  the  Swedish  shore  i.  The  Sound, 
then,  was  feebly  defended  on  the  Swedish  side. 
They  were  obliged  to  be  contented  with  an  old 
battery  of  only  eight  guns,  long  ago  established 
upon  the  niost  salient  i)oint  of  the  shore.  Besides, 
though  this  disregard  of  the  defence  has  been 
much  blamed  since,  it  is  very  certain  that  the 
Sound,  if  well  f(jrtified  upon  both  sides,  could  not 
have  presented  any  very  serious  obstacle  to  tlie 
English  ;  because  the  width  of  the  passage  being 
about  three  miles,  ships  in  mid-channel  would  be 
a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  batteries,  and  would, 
consequently,  sustain  no  other  damage  than  a  little 
injury  inflicted  upon  their  sails  or  rigging. 

There  are,  besides  the  Sound,  other  entrances 
into  the  Baltic  ;  these  are  formed  by  the  two  arms 
of  the  sea  which  separate  the  Isle  of  Zealand  from 
that  of  Funen,  and  the  Isle  of  Funen  fi-om  the 
coast  of  Jutland,  passages  known  under  the  names 
of  the  Great  and  Little  Belts.  The  English  were 
but  little  inclined  to  attempt  these  straits  where 
they  were  likely  to  meet  with  more  than  one 
Danish  batter^',  but  above  all  from  fear  of  the 
shallows,  which  render  the  navigation  very  dan- 
gerous for  ships  of  the  line.  The  passage  of  the 
Sound  was,  therefore,  that  which  they  would  most 
probably  clioose. 

The  Danes  concentrated  all  their  means  of  de- 
fence not  immediately  in  the  Sound,  but  lower 
down  in  the  channel  into  which  the  Sound  opens, 
in  reality  before  tlie  city  of  Copenhagen  itself. 
The  two  shores  of  Denmark  and  Sweden,  after 
ai)proxiniating  towards  the  Sound,  retire  from  each 
other  again,  and  form  a  channel  twenty  leagues 
long  and  from  three  to  twelve  wide,  over  which 
reefs  and  sandbanks  are  tiiickly  strewn,  and  in 
which  navigation  must  be  effected  by  foUowuig  the 

1  Erroneous  assertions  have  been  circulated  upon  this  sub- 
ject. I  have  had  recourse  to  the  most  authentic  evidence 
possible;  the  archives  of  France,  Denmark,  and  Sweden  con- 
tain proofs  of  what  is  here  stated.  Those  staling  otherwise, 
Napoleon  amon;,'  thini,  have  only  repeated  the  rumours  and 
assertiorisof  the  time.  The  second  passageof  the  Sound,  which 
took  yilace.in  1807,  at  a  time  when  Sweden  and  Denmark  were 
at  war,  and  Sweden  saw  with  pleasure  ihe  triumphs  of  the 
English,  has  contril)Uted  toatiarh  to  Sweden  the  charge  of 
perlidy.  But  at  the  time  of  the  first  passage,  that  is  to  say, 
in  1801,  Sweden  acted  with  perfect  good  faith;  she  wished 
heartily  fcir  the  common  success,  and  would  have  ensured  it 
had  she  been  capable  of  so  doing.— Note  of  the  Author. 


Swedish  and  Russian  prepara- 
tions.—Jlr.  Vansittart's  pro- 
posals   indignantly   rejected 


THE  NEUTRAL  POWERS. 


by  the  prince  of  Denmark. — Eng- 
lish council  of  war. — Nelson  and     219 
Parker  enter  tl'.e  Sound. 


narrow  channels,  and  by  incessantly  sounding. 
The  city  of  Copenhagen  is  situated  on  one  of  the 
most  important  of  these  ciianuels  about  twenty 
leagues  from  the  Sound,  towards  the  south.  Tiiere 
it  was  that  the  Danes  had  made  their  greatest 
preparations,  and  there  they  awaited  the  approaeli 
of  their  enemy.  The  post  whicli  they  thus  held  did 
not  precisely  close  up  the  passage  into  the  Baltic, 
as  will  presently  be  e.xplained,  but  it  obliged  the 
English  to  make  an  attack  upon  a  position  e.xceed- 
ingly  well  defended,  and  i>repared  beforehand  for 
their  reception.  The  prince  royal  had  promptly 
made  numerous  strong  measures  of  defence.  In  front 
of  Copenhagen  he  had  placed  a  number  of  vessels 
of  war  cut  down  and  armed  with  cannon,  making 
of  them  very  fonnidable  floating  batteries  ;  he  had 
also  armed  ten  sail  of  the  line,  which  were  only 
waiting  for  seamen  from  Norway  to  complete  their 
complement  of  men.  It  is  well  known  that  the 
Danes  are  the  best  seamen  in  the  north  of  Europe. 

To  these  Daiii.sh  prepai-ations  were  joined  those 
of  Sweden  and  Russia.  The  Swedes  had  disposed 
of  their  troops  along  the  coasts  from  Gottenburg  to 
the  Sound,  and  had  fortified  Karlscrona  in  the 
Baltic,  as  well  as  all  the  accessible  points  of  that  sea. 
The  king,  Gustavus  Adolphus,  was  pushing  forward 
the  equipment  of  the  Swedish  fleet,  and  urging 
admiral  Cronstedt  to  its  completion.  This  fleet 
Consisted  of  seven  sail  of  the  line  and  two  frigates, 
which  would  be  ready  to  sef  sail  as  soon  as  the  sea 
was  clear  of  the  winter  ice.  The  Russians  had 
twelve  sail  of  the  line  ready  at  Revel,  which,  like 
those  of  Sweden,  were  only  embarrassed  by  the  ice. 
The  coalesced  powers  had  not  completed  all,  with- 
out doubt,  which  would  have  been  possible  if  they 
had  possessed  at  their  head  a  government  as  active 
as  tiiat  of  France  at  the  same  period ;  but  by 
uniting  in  time  seven  Swedish  and  twelve  Russian 
vessels  to  the  ten  Danish  ships  before  Copenhagen, 
they  would  have  possessed  a  Heet  of  thirty  sail  of 
the  line  and  of  ten  or  twelve  frigates,  established  in 
a  very  fonnidable  position,  which  the  English  could 
not  have  approached  without  danger,  wiiiie  still 
less  could  tiiey  have  sailed  by  and  disregarded  it. 
To  have  sailed  by  without  attacking  it,  in  order  to 
carry  on  anj'  operations  in  the  Baltic,  would  have 
been  to  leave  in  their  rear  a  most  imposing  force, 
cajjable  of  blocking  up  the  outlet  to  the  sea,  and 
preventing  their  passage  out  in  case  of  a  reverse. 
But  to  unite  in  time  these  naval  squadrons  de- 
manded a  celerity  of  movement  of  which  these 
three  neutral  governments  were  not  capable.  They 
made  all  the  haste  they  could  there  is  little  doubt  ; 
but  calculating  too  much  upon  the  j)rolongation  of 
the  bad  season,  they  had  not  begun  their  prepa- 
i-ations  early  enough,  and  the  energetic  promptitude 
of  the  Engli.sli  was  far  too  much  in  advance  of 
them. 

On  the  21st  of  March  an  English  frigate  touched 
at  Elsinin-e,  and  put  on  shore  iVlr.  Vansittart,  who 
wo-f  charged  to  njake  a  last  communication  to  the 
Danish  government.  Mr.  Vansittart  delivered  to 
Mr.  Drummond,  the  English  charg^  d'aflaires,  the 
ultimatum  of  the  British  cabinet.  The  tenns  of  the 
ultimatum  were  the  withdrawal  of  Denmark  from 
the  maritime  confederation  of  the  neutral  powers, 
that  Denmark  should  open  her  pcirts  to  the  Eng- 
lish, and  adhere  to  the  provisional  engagement  en- 
tered into  in  the  preceding  month  of  August,  by 


which  they  had  engaged  no  longer  to  convoy  their 
trading- vessels.  The  prince  royal  of  Denmark 
rejected  the  idea  of  such  a  defection,  with  indigna- 
tion, and  answered  that  neither  Denmark  nor  her 
allies  had  made  a  declaration  of  war,  having  con- 
fined themselves  to  the  publication  of  their  prin- 
eii)les  of  maritime  law  ;  that  the  English  were  the 
aggressors,  because  they  had  replied  to  the  mere 
assertion  of  a  thesis,  in  the  law  of  nations,  by  an 
embargo;  that  Denmai-k  would  not  commence  hos- 
tilities, but  would  energetically  meet  force  by 
force.  The  brave  population  of  Co|)enliagen  sup- 
ported by  its  loyalty  and  adhesion  the  prince  who 
represented  it  with  so  much  dignity.  The  entire 
population  took  up  arms,  and,  on  the  appeal  of  the 
prince  royal,  formed  militia  and  volunteer  corps. 
Eight  hundred  students  took  up  the  musket ;  all 
who  could  handle  a  pick-axe  aided  the  engineers 
in  executing  the  works  of  defence,  and  intrench- 
ments  were  every  where  cast  nj).  Messi-s.  Drum- 
mond and  Vansittart  left  Copenhagen  abruptly, 
threatening  this  unhappy  city  with  all  the  thunders 
of  England. 

On  the  24th,  Messrs.  Drummond  and  Vansittart 
went  on  board  the  ileet,  and  the  Eiiglisli  innne- 
diately  made  their  preparations  for  connneucing 
hostilities. 

Nelson,  and  the  commander-in-chief,  Parker, 
held  a  council  of  war  on  board  shij).  The  j)lan  of 
operations  was  discussed.  One  was  for  jJMSsing 
through  the  Sound,  another  was  for  sailing  through 
the  Great  Belt :  Nelson  declared  that  it  was  of  no 
consequence  by  which  mode  the  passage  was  made; 
that  it  was  necessary  as  soon  as  possible  to  enter 
the  Baltic,  and  appear  before  Copenliagen,  in  order 
10  prevent  the  junction  of  the  coalesced  fleets. 
Once  in  the  Baltic,  the  English  fleet  should  be 
directed,  a  part  upon  Copenhagen  to  strike  a  blow 
at  the  Danes,  and  a  part  upon  Sweden  and  Russia, 
to  destroy  the  northern  squadrons.  They  had 
twenty  sail  of  the  line,  and  twenty-five  or  thirty 
frigates  and  vessels  of  all  descriptions.  He  him- 
self would  undertake,  with  twelve  sail  of  the  line,  to 
destroy  the  Swedish  and  Russian  fleets,  the  rest  of 
the  English  force  should  attack  and  bombard  Co- 
l)eiihagen.  As  to  which  passage  they  shc^uld  make, 
he  would  prefer  braving  a  few  caimonshots  in 
forcing  the  Sound,  to  encountering  the  dangei-ous 
shoals  of  the  Great  and  Little  Belt. 

Parker,  far  less  enterprising,  made  an  attempt 
by  the  Great  Belt,  on  the  2(ith  of  March.  Several 
small  \  essels  of  his  fleet  having  taken  the  ground, 
the  eoinmander-in-chief  recalled  the  squadron,  and 
I  determined  to  force  a  passage.  Early  in  the  morn- 
ing of  the  30th  of  March,  he  entered  this  renowned 
strait.  It  blew  at  the  moment  a  fresh  breeze 
from  the  north-west,  very  much  in  favour  for  pass- 
i  ig  through  the  Sound,  which  runs  from  north- 
west to  south-east,  as  far  a.s  Elsinore,  after  which, 
it  continues  nearly  due  north  and  south.  The 
Heet,  under  the  favourable  breeze,  boldly  ad- 
vanced, keeping  at  an  equal  distance  from  both 
shores.  Nelson  led  the  advanced  squadron,  Pai'ker 
the  centre,  and  admiral  Graves  the  rear.  The 
line-of-battle  ships  formed  a  single  colunni  in 
the  middle  of  the  channel.  Upon  each  side  a 
flotilla  of  gun  and  bomb-vessels  pas.st'd  nearer  to 
the  shores  both  of  Denmark  and  Sweden,  in  order 
to  return  the  enemies'  fire  closer  to  their  batteries. 


Position  of  Copenhagen. 
— Its  defences. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE 


Copeiiliagen. 


April. 


When  the  fleet  came  in  sight  of  Elsinore,  the 
fortress  of  Kronenburj;  instantly  opened,  and  a 
hundred  pieces  of  heavy  cannon,  vomited  forth  at 
once  a  storm  of  slielis  and  red- hot  balls.  The  Eng- 
hsh  admiral,  seeing  that  the  battery  upon  the  Swe- 
dish shore  scarcely  fired  at  all,  because  that  old  bat- 
tery of  eight  guns  was  almost  useless,  steered 
nearer  to  that  side,  and  the  English  in  passing  on 
jeered  at  ilie  Danes,  whose  prnSectiles  did  not 
reach  their  ships  by  four  or  five  Hundred  yards. 
The  bomb-vessels  which  had  approached  tlie  Da- 
nish shore,  gave  and  received  a  great  number  of 
shells,  but  very  little  bh)odshed  ensued,  as  only 
four  men  were  hurt  on  the  side  of  the  Danes, 
two  of  whom  were  killed,  and  two  wounded.  In 
Elsinore  only  one  house  suffered  injury  from  the 
English  fire,  and  that,  remarkably  enough,  was  the 
house  of  the  English  consul. 

The  whole  fleet  anchored  about  noon  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  gulf,  near  the  ishmd  of  Huen. 

This  gulf,  as  before  oljserved,  descended  from 
north  to  south  fur  the  distance  of  about  twenty 
leagues;  irregular  in  width,  from  three  to  twelve 
leagues,  as  the  shores  recede  or  advance,  and  pos- 
sessing but  few  navigable  channels.  About  twenty 
leagues  towards  the  south  stands  tlie  city  of  Copen- 
hagen, situated  on  the  west  of  the  gulf  upon  the 
side  of  Denmark,  at  a  very  small  elevation  above 
the  sea,  forming  a  plane  slightly  inclined  from 
whence  a  cannon-ball  would  just  skim  over  the 
surface  of  the  sea.  The  gulf,  very  wide  and  broad 
at  this  place,  is  divided  by  the  low  island  of  Salt- 
holm  into  two  navigable  channels;  one  of  which, 
called  the  passage  of  Malmo,  stretching  along  the 
coast  of  Sweden,  is  scarcely  accessible  for  large 
vessels  ;  the  other,  which  is  called  Drogden, 
stretches  almost  parallel  with  the  coast  of  Den- 
mai'k,  and  is  commonly  preferred  for  the  purpose 
of  navigation.  This  last  passage  is  itself  divided  by 
a  sand-bank,  called  the  Aliddel  Grund,  into  two 
pa.ssages  ;  one  named  the  King's  Channel,  borders 
the  city  of  Copenhagen;  the  otiier  the  Dutch  Chan- 
nel, is  situated  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Middel 
Grund.  It  was  in  the  King's  Channel  that  the 
Danish  force  was  placed,  leaving  the  other,  or  that 
of  the  Dutch,  open  to  the  English,  the  Danes  think- 
ing more  of  the  defence  of  Copenhagen  than  of  pre- 
venting the  entrance  of  the  English  into  the  Baltic. 
But  it  was  very  obvious  that  Parker  and  Nelson 
■would  not  have  ventured  into  the  Baltic  until  they 
had  destroyed  the  defences  of  Copenliagen,  together 
with  any  naval  force  of  the  neutrals  which  might 
be  there  united. 

The  means  of  defence  which  were  possessed  by 
the  Danes  consisted  in  batteries  on  shore,  situated 
to  the  right  and  left  of  the  entrance  of  the  port, 
and  of  a  line  of  floating  battei-ies,  or  vessels  cut 
down  and  moored  in  the  middle  of  tiie  King's 
Channel,  for  the  whole  length  of  Copenhagen,  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  protect  the  city  from  the  fire 
of  the  enemy.  Commencing  on  the  north  of  the 
position,  there  was  placed  a  work  called  the  Tiu-ee 
Crowns,  constructed  in  masonry,  nearly  closed  up 
at  the  gorge,  commanding  the  entrance  into  the 
port,  and  connecting  its  fire  with  that  of  the  citadel 
of  Copenhagen.  It  was  mounted  with  seventy 
pieces  of  cannon  of  the  largest  calibre.  Four  ships 
of  the  line,  of  which  two  were  at  anchor,  and  two 
under  sail,  and  also  a  frigate  under  sail,  closed  the 


entrance  of  the  chamiel  which  led  into  the  port. 
Fi'om  the  fort  of  the  Three  Crowns,  in  going  south- 
wards, twenty  hulks  of  large  vessels  were  strongly 
moored,  carrying  heavy  guns,  and  filling  up  the 
middle  of  the  King's  Channel,  being  also  connected 
with  land  batteries  on  tho  Nand  of  Amack.  Thus 
the  Danish  line  of  defence  was  supported  on  the 
left  by  the  Three  Crown  batteries,  and  on  the  right 
by  the  isle  of  Amack,  occupying  lengthways  and 
completely  blockading  up  the  middle  of  the  King's 
Channel.  The  fort  of  the  Three  Crowns  could  not 
be  forced,  defended  as  it  was  by  seventy  cannon 
and  five  vessels,  three  of  which  were  under  sail. 
The  line  of  defence,  on  the  contrary,  con)posed  of 
immovable  hulks,  was  too  long  and  not  sufficiently 
close,  besides  being  incapable  of  manoeuvring ', 
and  in  the  object  of  obstructing  the  middle  of  the 
passage  they  were  placed  too  far  in  advance  of  the 
point  of  support  on  the  right,  or  in  other  words,  of 
the  fixed  batteries  u])on  the  isle  of  Amack.  This 
island  is  only  a  continuation  of  the  land  upon  which 
Copenhagen  stands,  the  line  of  defence  might  there- 
fore be  attacked  on  the  right.  If  it  had  been  com- 
posed of  a  division  of  vessels  under  sail,  capable  of 
moving,  or  if  it  had  been  more  closely  united  and 
more  strongly  supported  on  the  shore,  the  English 
would  not  have  come  safe  and  sound  out  of  the 
attack.  But  the  Danes  thought  a  good  deal  of  their 
ships  of  war,  which  they  were  not  rich  enough  to 
replace  if  they  should  be  destroyed ;  and  besides, 
they  had  not  yet  received  their  complement  of  men 
from  Norway  ;  they  were  consequently  shut  up  in 
the  interior  of  the  port,  thinking  that  unservice- 
able vessels  were  sufficient  to  answer  the  purpose 
of  floating  batteries  against  the  English  fleet. 

Their  bravest  seamen,  commanded  by  intrepid 
officers,  served  the  artillery  in  those  old  floating 
batteries,  thus  moore<l  in  line. 

The  English  arrived  at  Copenhagen  long  before  the 
junction,  at  that  city,  of  all  the  vessels  of  the  neutral 
j)0wers  could  take  place.  They  might  have  passed  to 
the  east  of  the  middle  ground,  and  disregarding  the 
floating  batteries  moored  in  the  Royal  Channel, 
have  gone  through  the  Dutch  Channel  into  the 
Baltic.  They  might  have  done  all  this  out  of  reach 
of  the  guns  of  Copenhagen  ;  but  they  must  have 
left  behind  them  a  very  imposing  force,  capable  of 
cutting  off"  their  retreat  in  case  of  any  untoward 
event  occurring  which  might  oblige  them  to  return 
by  the  passage  of  the  Sound,  weakened  and  in 
want  of  resources.  It  was  much  better  to  profit 
at  once  by  the  isolation  of  the  Danes,  to  strike  a 
decisive  blow  at  them,  detach  them  from  the  con- 
federation; and  after  having,  by  this  means,  seized 
upon  the  keys  of  the  Baltic,  proceed,  as  quickly  as 
))ossible,  to  attack  the  Swedes  and  Russians.  This 
])lan  was  at  the  same  time  bold  and  wise,  and  ob- 
tained the  concuri'cnce  of  both  Nelson  and  Parker, 
a  thing  that  rarely  happens  between  two  such  com- 
manders. 

The  31st  of  March  and  1st  of  April  were  em- 
ployed in  i-econnoitring  the  Danish  line,  sounding 
the  channels,  and  arranging  the  plan  of  attack. 
Nelson,  Parker,  the  older  captains  of  the  fleet, 

'  This  "manoeuvrinj?"  in  a  narrow  and  intricate  channel, 
shows  that  the  author  does  not  understand  naval  affairs,  or 
he  would  not  have  made  a  disadvantage  of  what  in  such  a 
place  was  impossible. — Translator. 


1801. 
AprU. 


Sa'.tle  of  Copenhagen. 


THE  NEUTRAL  TOWERS. 


Daring  courage  of  Nelson. 


221 


t 


and  the  commandant  of  the  artillery,  reconnoitred 
in  person  the  position  of  the  enemy,  in  the  midst 
of  ice,  and  sometimes  oi  the  Danish  balls.  Nelson 
maintained,  that  with  ten  sail  of  the  line  he  would 
attack  and  break  the  right  line  of  the  Danes.  His 
plan  was  to  proceed  along  the  entire  length  of  the 
Middle  Ground,  passing  througli  the  Dutch  Chan- 
nel, then  doubling  back  immediately,  to  enter  the 
King's  Cliannel,  and  place  ship  against  ship,  a 
hundred  fathoms  from  tlie  Danish  line.  He  wished 
at  the  same  time,  that  some  vessels  of  the  fleet, 
under  captain  Riou,  should  attack  the  Three  Crowns 
battery,  and  having  silenced  the  guns,  disembark 
a  tiiousand  men  and  carry  it  by  storm.  The  com- 
mander-in-chief, admiral  Parker,  with  the  re- 
mainder of  the  fleet,  was  not  to  engage  in  this 
bold  attack;  he  was  to  remain  in  the  rear,  cannon- 
ade the  citadel,  and  cover  any  disabled  vessel 
that  might  retire  out  of  action. 

This  manoeuvre,  as  bold  as  that  of  Aboukir, 
could  only  succeed  by  great  ability  in  the  execu- 
tion, and  great  good  fortune  as  well.  Admiral 
Parker  consented,  upon  condition  that  the  enter- 
prise sliould  not  be  carried  too  far  if  the  difficulties 
were  found  not  likely  to  be  surmounted.  He  gave 
Nelson  twelve  ships  in  place  of  the  ten  he  de- 
manded. On  the  1st  of  April,  in  the  evening, 
Nelson  sailed  through  the  Dutch  Cliannel,  and 
came  to  anchor  some  way  below  Copenhagen,  off" 
a  point  of  the  isle  of  Amack,  called  Drago.  In  order 
to  get  into  the  King's  Channel,  and  to  sail  through 
it,  a  diff"erent  wind  was  required  from  that  which 
the  day  before  had  enabled  him  to  pass  through 
the  Dutch  Channel.  On  the  following  day,  in  the 
morning,  the  wind  blew  just  opposite  to  tlie  point 
whence  it  blew  on  the  pi-eceding  nigiit.  He  sailed 
into  tiie  King's  Channel,  steering  between  the 
Danish  line  and  the  Middle  Ground.  All  the 
channels  had  been  .sounded  ;  but  in  spite  of  this 
precaution  three  '  vessels  got  fast  upon  the  Middle 
Ground,  and  Nelson  took  up  liis  post  with  only 
nine.  He  did  not  suff'er  himself  to  be  disheartened, 
but  anchored  very  close  to  the  Danish  line,  at  a 
distance  that  must  have  rendered  the  effect  of  the 
cannonade  most  horrific.  The  want  of  the  three 
vessels  aground  was  much  felt,  more  particularly 
for  the  attack  on  the  batteries  of  the  Three  Crowns, 
which  now  could  only  be  answered  by  frigates. 

At  ten  in  tlic  morning  the  whole  of  the  British 
squadron  was  in  line.  It  received  and  returned 
a  dreadful  fire.  A  division  of  bomb-vessels, 
wliicli  drew  little  water,  was  placed  upon  the 
shoal  of  the  Middle  Ground,  and  threw  shi-lLs  into 
Copenhagen,  passing  over  both  scjuadrons.  The 
Danes  had  eight  hundred  pieces  of  artillery  in 
play  on  their  batteries,  which  inflicted  consider- 
able dan~agc  upon  the  English.  The  officers 
comniandin:^  the  floating  batteries  and  hulks  dis- 
played uncommon  bnivery,  and  found  in  those 
under  tiieir  command  the  most  devoted  courage. 
Tiic  commander  of  the  Provesten  in  particular, 
which  was  the  SffUthernmost  of  the  Danish  line, 
beiiaved  witli  heroic  courage.  Nelson,  seeing  the 
impoitance  of  depriving  their  line  of  tile  support 
of  the  batteries  on  tiie  isle  of  Amack,  directed  tlie 
fire   of  four   vessela   upon    the    Provesten   alune. 

•  Two  only  were  aground  ;  one  wai  anchored,  from  n-t 
bMng  able  to  weather  the  aUoal.—Tramtalor. 


M.  Lassen,  the  commander,  defended  his  ship 
until  he  had  lost  five  hundred  out  of  six  hundred 
of  his  gunners;  lie  then  threw  himself  into  the 
sea  with  tlie  remainder,  and  swam  on  shore,  leav- 
ing his  vessel  in  flames.  He  had  thus  the  glory 
of  not  striking  his  flag.  Nelson  then  directed  all 
his  eflorts  against  the  other  floating  batteries  and 
rafts,  and  succeeded  in  silencing  several.  In  the 
meanwlnle,  at  the  other  end  of  the  line,  the  English 
suffered  considerably,  and  captain  Riou  was  very 
roughly  handled.  Three  English  vessels  were  still 
on  shore  on  the  middle  ground,  and  he  jiad  none 
but  frigates  to  oppose  to  the  batteries  of  the  Three 
Crowns.  He  had  received  a  terrible  fire,  without 
the  hope  of  silencing  it,  or  storming  the  work. 
Parker,  observing  the  resistance  made  by  the 
Danes,  and  fearing  the  English  vessels,  much  in- 
jured in  their  rigging,  would  be  exposed  to  getting 
aground,  gave  orders  for  the  battle  to  cease. 
Nelson,  perceiving  the  signal  at  the  mast-head' 
of  Parker,  gave  way  to  a  noble  expression  of  in- 
dignation. He  had  lost  one  eye,  and  to  that 
applying  his  spy-glass,  he  coolly  said,  "  I  cannot 
see  Parker's  signal  for  ceasing  action  ;"  and  or- 
dered his  own  signal  for  close  action  to  be  kept 
flying.  This  was  a  noble  act  of  imprudence  upon 
his  part;  and  as  often  happens  to  audacious  im- 
prudence, it  was  followed  by  complete  success. 

The  Danish  hulks,  which  c<iuld  not  be  moved 
to  find  shelter  under  the  land  batteries,  were  ex- 
j)osed  to  a  most  destructive  fire.  The  Danebrog 
blew  up  with  a  terrible  explosion;  several  others 
were  disabled  and  driven  from  their  moorings, 
with  an  enormous  loss  of  men.  But  the  English, 
on  the  other  side,  did  not  suffer  less,  and  found 
themselves  in  great  danger.  Nelson,  endeavour- 
ing to  take  possession  of  the  Danish  ships  which 
had  struck  their  colour.s,  was  exposed,  on  ap- 
proaching the  batteries  *  upon  the  isle  of  Amack, 
to  several  deadly  discharges  fnmi  their  guns.  At 
this  rai>ment  two  or  three  of  his  vessels  were  so  com- 
pletely cut  up  as  to  be  incapable  of  manoeuvring; 
and  on  the  side  of  the  Three  Crowns,  captain  Riou, 
who  had  been  obliged  to  retire,  from  these  for- 
midable batteries,  was  cut  in  two  by  a  chain-shot. 
Nelson,  nearly  beaten,  was  not  disconcerted,  and 
struck  upon  the  idea  of  sending  a  flag  of  truce  to 
the  ])rince-royal  of  Denmark,  who,  from  one  of  the 
batteries,  was  a  si)ectator  of  the  terrible   scene. 


*  Being  moored,  the  Danish  line  was  stronger,  and  could 
fire  on  the  En)ili>li  ships  coming  to  an  anchor,  that  had  to 
anclior  and  furl  tlieir  sails  under  a  lieHvy  fire.  Though  the 
Danes  fouglit  nob'y,  it  was  the  r;ipi(lity  of  tl.e  English  fire 
that  gave  Nelson  the  victory.  The  Danish  force  south  of 
the  Crown  batteries  was  all  destroyed,  burned,  or  taken.  It 
consisted  of  oix  sail  nl  tlie  line,  eleven  filiating  batteries, 
mounting  ea'h  twenty-six  24-pounders,  or  eighteen  18- 
pounders,  each  fianked  by  the  batterits  which  inflicted  the 
piincii  al  loss.  Nelson  sunk,  burned,  tdok,  or  drove  on  shore, 
the  whole  line;  and  C(>|ienhagen,  at  ihe  close  of  the  day, 
was  open  to  homiiar<lnieiit,  and  Ihe  vessels  placed  for  that 
purpose.  One  seventy-four,  oue  sixty  four,  'our  two-decked 
hulks,  two  frigates,  a  lloatir.g  baitfry,  four  pontons  or 
praams  of  twenly-four  guns  each,  were  taken,  a  frigate  and 
a  hri^'  sunk,  the  Danish  connnodore  was  blown  U|),  one  or 
two  were  driven  on  shore  under  the  I>atti'rie8 ;  all  this  was 
achieved  without  the  loss  of  a  single  VeHel.  7ct^-  but  our 
author  could  deem  such  a  protended  or  dubiouc  ilc'cxy  — 
Tratnlalur. 


222  ""tr^nt'-lu^pl'rsIoTo'f   THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Nelson  lands  for  the 
purpose  of  nego- 
tiating. 


1801. 
April. 


In  his  letter,  Nelson  stated,  that  if  the  prince  did  not 
stop  the  fir.i  which  prevented  his  taking  possession 
of  his  prizes,  which  by  right  belonged  to  him,  having 
struck  their  colours,  he  should  be  obliged  to  blow 
them  up  with  all  on  board;  that  the  English  were 
the  brethren  of  the  Danes  ;  that  both  had  fought 
enough  to  show  their  valour,  and  that  auy  further 
effusfon  of  blood  ought  to  be  avoided  i. 

The  prince,  stricken  by  the  appalling  spectacle, 
ana  fearin.'  for  the  city  of  Copenhagen,  deprived 
of  the  support  of  the  floating  batteries,  ordered  the 
firin'T  to  ct-ase.  Tliis  was  a  fault,  because  in  a  few 
monrents  the  fieet  of  Nelson,  nearly  disabled,  would 
have  been  obliged  to  retire  half  destroyed.  A  sort 
of  negotiation  was  commenced,  and  Nelson  took 
advantage  of  it  to  quit  his  place  of  anchorage.  As 
he  retired  three  of  his  vessels  got  aground.  If  at 
this  moment  the  fire  of  the  Danes  had  but  con- 
tinued, these  three  vessels  must  have  been  lost  2. 

On  the  following  day  Nelson  and  Parker,  after 
great  labour,  got  the  three  vessels  afloat  that  had 
been  aground,  and  entered  into  a  negotiation  with 
the  Danes  with  the  object  of  stipulating  for  a  suspen- 
sion of  hostilities.  They  stood  as  much  in  need  of 
this  as  the  Danes,  because  they  had  twelve  hundred 
men  killed  and  wounded,  and  in  six  vessels  a  horrible 
slaughter ».     The  loss  of  the  Danes  was  not  much 

1  Nelson  did  not  want  to  approach  the  isle  of  Amack  for 
such  a  purpose.  When  he  wrote  the  note  to  the  crown- 
prince  the  Danish  line  was  irrecoverably  ruined,  but  the  fire 
was  still  hot.  The  Danebrog  had  just  before  struck  her 
colours ;  and  the  boats  going  to  take  possession  of  her.  Nel- 
son's ship  having  ceased  to  lire  for  that  purpose,  the  Danebrog 
fired  upun  the  boats,  most  likely  from  ignorance  of  the  usage 
of  war,  and  they  were  obliged  to  return.  The  Elephant  then 
opened  again  upon  the  Danebrog  with  grape-shot  from  her 
36-pounders,  killing  and  wounding  many  in  that  vessel,  but 
making  a  far  more  horrible  slaughter  in  two  praams,  feebly 
resisting,  full  of  men,  ahead  and  astern  of  her.  The  sight 
was  most  abhorrent  to  Nelson  ;  and  he  had  no  choice  but  to 
burn  the  Dane  with  all  on  board,  including  numbers  of 
wounded.  With  the  same  humane  feelings  as  those  with 
whith  he  rushed  on  deck  at  the  battle  of  the  Nile,  to  save 
the  crew  of  I'Oi  ient,  but  with  a  different  feeling  as  to  the 
quarrel,  and  a  desire,  ever  uppermost,  to  detach  the  Danes 
from  the  confederacy  by  the  impression  produced, — for  Nel- 
son was  a  man  of  genius  as  well  as  courage, -he  wrote  the 
letter  to  the  crown  prince.  Some  have  said  there  was  a 
third  motive  ;  but  as  the  Danes  had  nothing  to  do  with  that 
motive,  it  is  immaterial  to  mention  it  here.  The  battle  was 
over  in  the  afternoon,  about  a  couple  of  hours  before  dark. 
Early  the  nex»  morning  Nelson  went  on  shore,  and  was  re- 
ceived with  acclamations  by  the  people,  not  with  "  murmurs  ;'•' 
thty  knew  his  object  was  peace  and  they  did  not  harmonize 
witii  the  designs  of  Paul  I.  and  the  lirst  con?,ul.— Translator. 
'  This  was  not  true.  The  De»iree  frigate,  the  Defiance, 
and  Klephant,  got  on  shore  only  at  the  close  of  the  action. 
They  had  anctiored  so  close  to  the  Middle  Ground,  under 
the  mistaken  idea  that  tliere  was  shoal  water  between  the 
Danish  line  and  them,  that  the  Kleptiant  had  only  four  feet 
water  under  lier  keel  when  the  battle  began.  These  ships 
had  no  enemy  opposed  to  them,  the  Danish  line  being  de- 
stroyed, and  bomb-vcBsels  moored  in  a  position  ready  for  the 
bombardment.  The  Monarch  and  Isis  were  the  only  ships 
that  required  serious  repair,  and  they  were  sent  home  for 
that  purpose,  with  one  of  the  Danish  prizes  containing  the 
wounded.  Not  half  the  fleet  had  been  engaged.  The  line 
of  defence  gone  between  Amack  and  the  Crown  batteries, 
Parker's  division  might  have  moved  up  and  cannonaded  the 
city  the  next  day,  if  the  bomb-vessels  were  not  of  themselves 
sufficient  to  destroy  ii.— Translator. 
»  The  English  had  20  officers  and  234  rccn  killed,  and  48 


greater  ;  but  they  had  relied  too  much  upon  their 
line  of  fioatiiig  batteries,  and  now  that  these  bat- 
teries were  destroyed,  the  lower  part  of  the  city, 
that  which  was  open  to  the  sea,  was  exposed  to  a 
bombardment.  Above  all,  they  were  apprehensive 
for  their  vessels  in  the  basin,  in  which  were  their 
ships  of  war,  but  half  equipped  ;  immovable,  and 
locked  up  in  the  basin,  they  might  have  every  one 
been  burned.  This  was  a  mo.st  alarming  subject  of 
solicitude.  They  regarded  their  fleet,  in  fact,  as 
they  did  their  maritime  existence  itself  ;  because  if 
it  were  lost  tiny  had  not  the  means  of  fitting  out 
another.  Under  the  irritation  of  suffering  and 
danger  at  the  moment,  they  complained  of  their 
allies,  without  making  any  allowance  for  the  diffi- 
culties they  had  to  encounter,  and  which  had 
obstructed  their  arrival  under  the  walls  of  Copen- 
hagen. The  contrary  \vind.s,  the  ice,  and  want  of 
time,  had  retained  the  Swedes  and  Russians  with- 
out any  fault  of  their  own.  It  is  true,  tliat  if  they 
had  arrived  with  twenty  vessels  and  joined  the 
Danish  fleet  in  the  straits  where  the  engagement 
took  place,  Nelson  would  have  failed  in  his  daring 
enterprise,  and  the  cause  of  maritime  neutrality 
would  have  triunij)lied  that  day.  But  time  was 
necessary  for  them  to  ])repare,  and  the  promptitude 
of  the  English  changed  the  destiny  of  tlie  war. 

Parker,  who  had  been  alarmed  at  the  temerity 
of  Nelson,  in  the  battle  of  the  2nd  of  April,  was  now 
able  to  form  a  tolerably  correct  opinion  of  the  ac- 
tual position  of  the  Danes,  and  understood  all  the 
results  which  could  be  drawn  from  the  battle  that 
had  taken  place.  He  required  that  the  Danes 
should  withdraw  from  the  neutral  confederacy, 
that  they  should  open  their  ports  to  the  English, 
and  should  receive  an  English  force,  under  the 
pretence  of  protecting  them  against  the  resent- 
ment of  the  neutral  powers.  Nelson  had  the  cou- 
rage to  land  on  the  3rd  of  April,  and  to  carry  these 
propositions  to  the  crown-prince.  He  went  iu  a 
boat  to  Copenhagen,  and  heard  himself  the  mur- 
murs of  this  brave  population,  indignant  at  his 
appearance  ;  but  he  found  the  crown-prince  was 
inflexible.  The  prince,  more  alarmed  the  evening 
before  than  the  actual  danger  of  Copenhagen  jus- 
tified, would  not  consent  to  the  shameful  defection 
which  was  proposed  to  him.  He  replied,  that  he 
would  sooner  bury  himself  under  the  ruins  of  his 
capital  than  he  would  consent  to  betray  the  com- 
mon cause.  Nelson  returned  on  board  his  ship 
without  having  obtained  any  concession.  During 
this  interval,  the  Danes  .seeing  themselves  exposed 
to  the  dangers  of  a  secoml  battle,  set  themselves  at 
work  to  add  new  defences  to  those  already  exist- 
ing. They  made  the  battery  of  the  Three  Crowns 
nmcli  stronger,  and  covered  with  cannon  the  isle 
of  Amack  and  the  lower  part  of  the  town.  They 
brought  their  ships,  the  great  objects  of  their  care, 
into  basins,  as  far  as  possible  from  the  sea,  cover- 
ing them  with  earth  and  dung,  in  oi'der  to  preserve 
them  as  much  as  possible  from  fire  :  and  became 
in  a  certain  degree  more  confident  when  they  saw 
the  hesitation  of  the  English,  who  did  not  seem  in 


officers  and  Cll  men  wounded  ;  in  all  943.  Three  ships  sus- 
tained nejirly  half  the  loss,  the  rest  had  to  be  divided  be- 
tween sixteen  vessels  of  all  classes.  The  English  accounts 
gave  the  Danish  loss  at  2000  men ;  the  Danish  accounts  at 
1800.— Tramlatur. 


1S01. 
April. 


THE  NEUTRAL  TOWERS. 


Death  of  Paul  I.  of  Russia  ; 
cliaracter. 


113 


a  hurry  to  reconinieiice  tlio  terrible  struggle.  One 
part  of  the  popiilatimi  cajiable  of  assisting,  lent 
their  aid  in  the  defensive  works  ;  the  other  part 
was  employed  in  preparing  means  to  prevent  the 
conflagration. 

Finally,  after  five  days  of  delay,  Nelson  returned 
to  Copenhagen  mitwitlistanding  the  threatening 
aspect  of  the  Danish  people.  The  discussion  was 
lively,  and  Nelson  took  upon  himself  to  concede 
more  than  Parker  authorized.  He  concluded  an 
armistice  which  was  no  more  virtually  than  a  statu 
quo.  The  Danes  did  not  retire  from  the  confede- 
ration ',  but  all  hostilities  were  to  be  suspended 
between  them  and  the  English  for  fourteen  weeks, 
after  which  time  they  were  to  return  to  the  same 
position  as  on  the  day  of  the  signature  for  the  sus- 
pension of  arms.  The  armistice  comprehended  only 
the  Danish  isles  and  Jutland,  but  not  Holstein,  so 
that  hostilities  might  continue  in  the  Elbe,  and  that 
river  be  still  interdicted  to  the  English.  The  Eng- 
lish were  to  keep  at  cainion-shot  distance  from  all 
the  Danish  ports  and  armed  vessels,  except  in  the 
King's  Channel,  which  they  had  the  liberty  to  pass 
and  repass  for  the  purpose  of  entering  the  Baltic. 
Tlipy  were  not  to  establish  themselves  on  any  part 
of  the  Danish  territory,  and  wei-e  only  to  touch  at 
the  ports  for  the  purpose  of  getting  such  things  as 
were  necessary  for  the  health  and  refreshment  of 
the  crews. 

Such  were  all  the  terms  which  Nelson  could  ob- 
tain, and  it  must  be  acknowledged  they  were  all 
his  victory  gave  him  a  right  to  demand.  But  as  he 
was  upon  the  jwint  of  quitting  Cojienhagen,  a  very 
unfortunate  event  was  currently  reported,  of  which 
the  crown-prince,  who  hail  been  induced  by  it  to 
enter  into  negotiations,  succeeded  in  keeping  from 
him  the  knowledge.  Jt  was  rumoured  at  the  same 
moment  that  Paul  1.  had  died  suddenly.  Nelson 
set  sail  without  knowing  this,  or  it  would  no  doubt 
have  made  him  advance  in  his  demand.  The  ar- 
mistice was  immediately  ratified  by  admiral  Parker. 
The  prince-royal  of  Denmark  hinted  to  the  Swedes, 
that  it  would  be  of  no  use  to  expose  themselves  to  the 

'  Nelson  landed  on  the  3rd  of  April.  Sir  Hyde  Parker 
was  at  some  distance,  with  whom  conference  was  to  be  held. 
Notwithstanding  delays  and  exchanges  of  powers,  the  sus- 
pension of  arms  was  executed  for  fourteen  weeks  on  the  9th. 
The  stipulations  were  as  stated  by  the  author,  except  that  he 
has  disengenuously  omitted  to  notice  the  most  important  of 
all :  "  Tlie  treaty  of  armed  ventral'ity  shall,  as  Jar  as  relates 
to  the  co-operalion  of  Denmark,  be  suspended  while  the  armis- 
tice it  in  force."  Nelson  had  gained  all  he  required — to 
proceed  again«t  Sweden  and  Russia  with  no  fear  of  an  enemy 
in  his  rear.  In  ten  or  twelve  days  after  the  battle,  the  Kng- 
lisli  fleet  had  arrived— so  far  from  being  seriously  injured  — 
within  two  days'  sail  of  St.  Petersburg.  Count  Pnlilen's 
letter  to  Admiral  Parker,  written  on  the  2nth  of  April,  was 
answered  by  Adcnirhl  Parker  on  board  the  London,  at  sea, 
on  the  22. id.  Count  Palilen's  Utter  put  an  end  to  the  con- 
federacy. Jt  announced  that,  on  Alexander's  accession,  one 
of  the  first  events  had  been,  the  acceptance  of  "  the  olfer 
which  the  British  court  had  made  to  his  illustrious  prede- 
cessor," to  terminate  the  dispute  "by  an  amicable  conven- 
tion." This  letter,  and  acceptance  by  Alexander  of  what 
Paul  had  refused,  suspended  Parkers  proceedings.  The 
British  court  had  no  part  in  that  act,  beyond  orders  pre- 
viously given  to  its  admirals,  in  case  Russia  consented  to 
the  convention,  that  hostilities  should  be  suspended.  Parker 
sailed  back  to  Kioge  Bay,  in  Denmark,  Immediately  re- 
.sifc'ned,  and  Nelson  look  the  chief  connnand. — Translator. 


attack  of  the  English,  whom  they  would  find  thetn- 
selves  incapable  of  resisting.  Nor  was  the  advice 
nimcccssary,  for  Gustavus  Adolphus  had  got  his 
fleet  ready  for  sea.  In  the  desire  to  get  his  fleet 
forward,  he  had  dismissed  one  rear-adiniral  from 
his  service,  and  sent  an  admiral  before  a  court- 
martial,  to  punish  him  for  his  delay  in  getting  for- 
ward, though  very  unjustly. 

All  these  efforts  were  vain.  Paul  I.  had  died  at 
St.  Petersburg  on  the  night  between  the  23rd  and 
24th  of  March.  This  event  terminated  much  more 
certainly  than  the  incomplete  victory  of  Nelson, 
the  marititne  confederation  of  the  northern  powers. 
Paul  I.  had  been  the  author  of  the  confederation, 
and  had  applied  towards  its  success  all  the  impe- 
tuosity of  temper  which  he  threw  into  every  action 
of  his  life,  and  he  would  most  certainly  have  dis- 
l)layed  similar  earnestness  in  repairuig  the  disaster, 
nearly  of  equal  disadvantage  to  each,  of  the  battle 
of  Copenhagen.  He  would  have  sent  his  land  forces 
to  Denmark,  and  the  whole  of  the  neutral  fleet  to 
the  Sound,  and  jirobably  have  made  the  English 
repent  of  their  cruel  enterprise  against  the  Danish 
capital.  But  this  prince  had  pushed  to  the  utmost 
the  patience  of  his  subjects,  and  had  just  become 
the  victim  of  a  tragical  revolution  in  his  own 
palace. 

Paul  I.  was  a  spirited  and  not  a  bad  man;  but  he 
carried  his  opinions  to  extremes,  and  like  all  others 
who  are  of  the  like  character,  was  capable  of  good 
or  evil  actions,  according  to  the  disordered  im- 
pulses of  a  violent  and  feeble  mind.  If  such  an 
organization  is  unfortunate  in  private  individuals, 
it  is  much  more  so  in  princes,  and  still  worse  in 
absolute  sovereigns.  With  such  it  very  frequently 
approaches  to  madness,  at  times  putting  on  a  san- 
guinary complexion  of  mind.  Thus  every  person  in 
St.  Petersburg  was  in  dread  for  his  own  destiny. 
Even  tlie  best  treated  favourites  of  Paul  were  by 
no  means  sure  that  the  favour  they  enjoyed  would 
terminate  out  of  Siberia. 

This  prince,  sensitive  and  chivalrous,  had  felt  a 
lively  sympathy  for  the  victims  of  the  French  revo- 
lution, in  consequence  a  vengeful  hatred  to  tiiat 
event.  Thus  while  the  able  Catherine  had  con- 
trived, during  her  whole  reign,  to  excite  all  Europe 
against  France  without  marching  against  her  a  sin- 
gle soldier,  Paul,  on  arriving  at  the  throne,  had 
sent  Suwarrow,  with  one  hundred  thousand  Rus- 
sians, into  Italy.  In  the  warmth  of  his  zeal,  lie 
interdicted  even  French  hooks,  manners,  and  cus- 
toms. This  could  not  fail  to  oft'eiid  the  Russian 
nobility,  who,  like  the  whole  of  the  European  aris- 
tocracy, were  fond  of  reviling  France,  with  the 
reservation  of  enjoying  her  wit,  her  manner.s,  and 
her  advanced  civilization.  The  Russian  nobles 
found  the  antirevolutionary  zcjil  unbearable  when 
pushed  to  such  an  excess. 

Paul  had  been  seen  to  alter  these  opinions,  and 
to  run  into  the  opposite  extreme,  contracting  a 
hatred  for  his  allies,  taking  his  enemies  to  Jiis 
bosom,  and  filling  his  apartments  with  portraits  of 
Bonaparte,  drinking  to  his  health  in  public,  and 
acting  so  much  upon  contraries  tis  to  declare  war 
against  England.  This  last  step  made  liim  not  only 
distasteful  to  the  Ru.ssian  nobility,  but  odious;  be- 
cause it  touched  not  merely  their  tastes  btit  their 
interests.  The  vtist  extent  of  his  em])ire,  ocpii|)yiiig 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  northern  part  of  iairope. 


Disaffection  of  the  Russian  Count  Pahlen. — Plot 

224      aristocracy.-Contrast  be-  THIERS'   CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE.  against  the  life  of 

tween  England  and  Russia.  Paul  I. 


1801. 
March. 


fertile  in  grain,  timber,  liemp,  and  rninerals,  stands 
in  need  of  tlie  aid  of  inrii;,'!!  merchants  to  take 
their  productions,  and  Rive  money  or  mainifactured 
goods  in  exehan<;e.  The  Enfjlisli  furnisli  to  Rus.sia 
for  the  raw  produce  of  her  soil,  tlie  articles  which 
are  the  product  of  their  own  labour,  and  thus  the 
Russian  farmers  are  able  ti>  pay  their  landlords  the 
rents  of  their  land.  The  Eny;Iish  possess  in  conse- 
quence most  of  the  trade  with  St.  Petersburg;  and 
that  is,  in  a  great  degree,  the  bond  which  so  con- 
nects the  policy  of  Russia  to  that  of  England, 
retarding  a  rivalry  which  sooner  or  later  must 
arise  between  those  two  great  copartners  of  Asia. 

The  Russian  aristocracy  was  exasperated  at  the 
new  system  of  policy  adopted  by  the  emperor.  If 
it  had  blamed  in  this  jirince  his  excess  of  hatred 
towards  France,  it  yet  more  censured  his  excess  of 
attachment,  more  jjarticularly  when  it  went  the 
length  of  resolutions  fraught  with  ruin  to  the  great 
landed  proprietors.  To  these  annoyances  against 
their  tastes  and  interests,  Paul  joined  cruelties  that 
were  not  natural  t<t  his  heart,  which  was  rather 
good  than  evil.  He  had  sent  a  multitude  of  unfor- 
tunate people  into  Siberia ;  lie  afterwards  recalled 
them  in  consequence  of  bein^  moved  by  their  suf- 
ferings, but  he  never  gavf  them  back  their  ))ro- 
perty.  These  unhappy  beings  filled  St.  Petersburg 
with  their  miseries  and  their  complaints.  Annoyed 
by  this  he  sent  them  anew  into  banishment.  Daily 
becoming  more  awake  to  the  sense  of  hatred  boine 
towards  him  by  his  subjects,  he  grew  more  dis- 
trustful, and  tlireatened  every  life  around  iiim.  He 
formed  the  most  sinister  designs,  now  against  his 
ministers,  then  against  his  wife  an<l  children,  and 
at  length  with  his  madness  assumed  all  the  conduct 
of  a  tyrant.  He  rendered  the  Michel  palace  in 
which  he  resided  a  complete  fortress,  surrounding 
it  with  bastions  and  ditches.  It  might  be  thought  he 
was  in  dread  of  an  unforeseen  or  sudden  attack. 
Every  night  he  barricaded  the  door  which  sepa- 
rated his  apartments  Irom  those  of  the  empress, 
and  thus,  without  being  aware  of  it,  prepared  him- 
self for  his  tragical  fate. 

Tills  state  of  affairs  could  not  continue  long,  and 
terminated — as,  in  this  emjiire  which  approaciies 
fast,  it  is  true,  towards  civilization,  but  where 
barbarism  was  the  starting  jioint,  as  it  had  termi- 
nated before  more  than  once.  'I'he  notion  of  get- 
ting quit  of  the  unfortunate  Paul  by  the  customary 
mode,  in  other  worcis,  by  a  revolution  in  the  palace 
—there  where  the  palace  is  the  nation— was  upper- 
most in  every  mind.  Let  a  proper  value  be  set 
upon  national  institutions.  .\t  another  extremity 
of  Europe,  upon  one  ot  liie  {ir--t  thrones  in  the 
world,  there  was  also  a  prince.  George  III.,  in  a 
state  of  madness,  a  hea<lsti-ong  prince,  good,  and 
religious.  Tiiis  prince,  occasionally  deprived  of  his 
reason  for  whole  months,  had  just  experienced 
a  return  of  the  same  disonler,  at  one  of  the  most 
serious  periods  in  the  history  of  England.  Not- 
withstanding which  thinj^s  proceedeii  in  the  most 
simple  and  regular  maimer,  i'he  constitution  placed 
at  the  king's  side  ministers  whi>  con<lucted  the 
government  on  his  beiialf,  and  this  eclipse  of  the 
royal  reason  did  not  in  any  mode  affect  the  public 
business  of  the  country.  Pitt  governed  in  behalf 
of  George  III.  as  he  had  done  before  for  seventeen 
years  :  the  idea  of  an  atrocious  crime  in  such  a 
case  entered  iato  no  man's   imagin.tion.     In  St. 


Petersburg,  on  the  contrary,  the  sight  of  a  prince 
on  the  throne  in  a  state  of  insanity  gave  origin  to 
the  basest  designs. 

There  was  at  that  time  in  the  court  of  Russia 
one  of  those  formidable  men  who  never  I'esile  upon 
any  extremity,  who,  under  a  regular  government, 
would  perhaps  become  great  and  distinguished 
citizens,  but  under  a  despotic  government  become 
criminals,  if  crime  is  in  particular  situations, 
though  not  actually  countenanced  by  the  govern- 
ment, incidental  to  its  administration  on  certain 
occasions.  Crime  must  be  condemned  in  every 
country  ;  but  the  institutions  that  produce  it  must 
be  still  more  a  matter  of  repmbalion. 

Count  Pahlen  had  served  with  distinction  in  the 
Russian  army.  He  was  of  a  very  imposing  person, 
and  concealed  under  the  rough  and  sometimes 
familiar  manner  tif  a  soldier  a  shrewd  and  pene- 
trating intellect.  He  was  endowed  with  singular 
boldness  and  imperturbable  ]iresence  of  mind. 
Governor  of  St.  Petersburg,  entrusted  with  the 
p(/lice  of  the  whole  empire,  initiated,  for  which 
thanks  were  due  to  his  master's  c(  nfidence,  into  all 
the  great  afl'airs  of  the  state,  he  was  in  I'eality  more 
than  by  the  title  of  his  office  the  j)rincipal  person 
in  the  Russian  government.  His  ideas  upon  the 
policy  of  his  country  were  of  a  decided  character. 
He  deemed  the  crusade  against  the  French  revo- 
lution as  very  unreasonable,  and  the  new  zeal 
against  England  as  iiitenqierate.  A  prudent  re- 
.serve,  an  able  neutrality,  in  the  midst  of  the 
formidable  rivalry  between  England  and  France, 
appeared  to  hira  the  most  profitable  political  situa- 
tion for  Russia.  Neither  English  nor  French,  but 
Russian  in  his  political  views,  lie  was  also  Russian 
in  his  manners — Russian  as  it  was  understood  in 
the  time  of  Peter  the  Great.  Convinced  that  all 
would  be  lost  in  Russia  if  the  reign  of  Paul  were 
not  abridged  ;  having  even  felt  himself  some  fore- 
bodinjjs  for  his  own  ])ersonal  safety,  from  certain 
signs  of  dissatisfaction  he  had  remarked  in  the 
emperor,  he  resolutely  determined  upon  his  course 
of  action,  and  connnnnicated  it  to  count  Panin,  the 
vice-chancellor  and  minister  for  foreign  affairs. 
They  both  agreed  that  it  had  become  absolutely 
needful  to  put  an  end  to  a  situation  as  alarming 
for  the  empire  as  it  was  for  individual  security. 
Count  Pahlen  accordingly  took  upon  himself  to 
execute  the  terrible  design  upon  which  they  had 
mutually  agreed'.     The  heir  to  the  throne  was  the 

I  The  foUowins  details  are  the  most  authentic  that  can  be 
olitaiiied  regarding  the  dentil  (jf  Paul  I.  The  source  from 
wliicli  tliey  are  derived  is  as  tollows.  The  court  of  "rtwsiawas 
nuicli  afTi-cted  at  the  death  of  Paul  I.,  and  the  ...ore  indig- 
nant at  the  effrontery  «ilh  which  certain  accomplices  in  the 
crifkie  were  heard  to  lioast  about  it  in  Berlin.  I'he  court 
obtained  by  different  ways,  aii<l  aliove  all  through  a  person 
well  informed  on  tlie  matter,  some  veiy  curii;us  particulars, 
which  were  col  ected  into  a  memoir,  and  communicated  to 
tlie  first  consul.  These  are  ihe  particulars  of  which  M. 
Ui-noii,  then  secretary  of  the  Kremh  embassy  at  the  court 
of  Prussia,  was  able  to  obtain  the  knowledge,  and  wliich  he 
has  detailed  in  his  work.  Still  the  more  secret  circum- 
stances attending  the  event  remained  wholly  unknown,  when 
a  singular  incident  placed  Fra  ce  in  jiossession  of  the  only 
a'Connt  worthy  of  credit,  which  perhaps  at  this  moment  ex- 
ists, of  the  death  of  Paul  1.  A  French  emigrant,  who  had 
passed  bis  life  in  the  service  of  Russia,  anil  who  acquired  a 
degree  of  military  renown,  had  become  the  friend  of  coimt 
Pahlen  and  general  Benningsen.     Being  with  them  at  the 


ISOI. 
March. 


The  frand  duke  Alex- 
ander   consents    to 


THE  NEUTRAL  POWERS. 


his  father's  deposition.— The 
conspirators. 


grand  duke  Alexander,  wliose  reijjn  belongs  to  our 
time,  a  young  prince  wlio  gave  a  pronnse  of 
superior  qualities,  and  wlio  tlien  appeared,  wliich 
he  did  not  afterwards  prove,  ea.'sy  to  lie  led.  He  it 
was  whom  count  Pahlen  wished  to  place  upon  the 
throne  by  a  catastrojihe  sudden  and  free  from 
alarm.  It  was  indispensable  to  liave  an  under- 
standing with  the  grand  duke  and  heir  to  the 
crown,  in  the  first  place,  in  order  to  have  his  con- 
sent, and  then  not  to  be  after  the  event  treated  as  a 
common  a.ssassin,  who  is  sacrificed  while  the  ad- 
vantage of  his  crime  is  secured.  It  was  difficult  to 
break  such  a  matter  to  the  prince,  full  of  kindly 
feeling,  and  utterly  incapable  of  lending  himself  to 
an  attempt  against  the  life  of  his  father.  Count 
Pahlen,  without  laying  open  his  ininil,  and  without 
avowing  the  design  he  intended,  discussed  the 
affairs  of  the  government  with  the  grand  duke, 
and  at  each  fresh  extravagance  of  Paul  that  was 
dangerous  to  the  empire,  communicated  it  to  him, 
but  remained  silent  without  commenting  upon  what 
he  had  said.  Alexander,  upon  receiving  these 
communications,  cast  down  his  eyes  with  grief,  but 
said  nothing.  These  dumb  but  expressive  scenes 
were  many  times  renewed.  At  last  clearer  ex- 
planations became  necessary.  Count  Pahlen  fini.shed 
by  making  the  young  prince  comprehend  that 
such  a  sUite  of  things  could  not  be  much  longer 
protracted  without  causing  ruin  to  the  empire;  and 
taking  good  care  not  to  speak  of  a  crime  of  wiiicli 
Alexander  would  not  have  tolerated  the  propo- 
sition, he  intimated  to  him  that  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  depose  Paul  and  ensm-e  him  a  quiet  retreat, 
but  in  any  case  to  take  out  of  his  hands  the  chariot  of 
the  state,  which  he  was  driving  towards  a  precipice. 
Alexander  shed  a  good  nuiny  tears,  protested 
against  any  idea  of  disjiuting  the  government  of  the 
empire  with  his  father,  and  then  gave  way  by 
degrees,  before  fresh  proofs  of  the  danger  into 
which  Paul  was  throwing  the  affairs  of  the  state, 
and  even  the  imperial  family  itself.  In  fact,  Paul, 
dissatisfied  with  the  sluggishness  of  Prussia  in 
the  quarrel  of  the  neutral  powers,  spoke  of  march- 
ing eighty  thousand  men  upon  Berlin.  Besides 
this,  in  the  delirium  of  his  arrogance,  he  wished 
the  first  consul  to  take  him  for  arbitrator  in  every 
thing  ;  and  that  even  this  powerful  personage 
should  neither  make  jieace  with  Germany,  nor  the 
courts  of  Piedmont,  Naples,  Rome,  or  the  Porte, 
except  upon  bases  laid  down  by  Russia  ;   in  such  a 

country-house  of  count  Pahlen,  he  one  day  obtained  from 
their  own  lips  ihe  circumstantial  account  of  all  that  passed 
ill  St.  PetcrsburR  in  the  tragical  iiii,'lit  «(  the  23rd  and  24ih 
of  .March.  Ah  the  emigrant  was  very  careful  to  commit  to 
writinB  all  which  he  saw  or  heard,  he  immediately  wrote 
down  the  narrative  of  the  two  principal  actors  in  that  event, 
and  inserted  them  in  the  memoirs  which  he  left  behind  him 
These  manuscript  memoirs  are  now  French  property.  They 
rectify  many  \niiue  or  incorrect  asseriions;  and,  in  other 
respects,  do  not  commit,  more  than  ihi-y  were  previously 
committed,  the  names  already  connected  with  this  dark  in- 
cident; they  only  t;ive  more  prt-clse  and  correct  details  in 
place  of  those  falsified  or  exaKKerutcd  which  were  already 
known.  After  comparing  lliis  account,  emanating  from  tes- 
timony (II  valid,  with  the  details  furnished  by  the  court  of 
Prussia,  we  have  put  to;<eihvr  the  hii>torical  recital  which 
follows,  and  which  seems  to  us  the  only  one  worthy  of  belief, 
perhaps  ihe  only  perfect  one  in  existence,  or  that  posterity 
will  ever  be  able  to  obtain,  of  a  catastrophe  so  tragical.— 
Nole  of  the  Author. 


way  it  was  soon  reasonable  to  think  he  would 
not  long  have  kept  terms  with  France,  whose  side 
he  had  embraced  with  so  much  ardour.  To  these 
arguments  count  Pahlen  added  an  expression  of 
inquietude  on  his  own  part  for  the  security  of  the 
imi)erial  family  itself,  of  which  he  said  Paul  began 
to  be  susjiicious. 

Alexander  at  length  consented,  but  exacted  a 
solemn  oath  from  count  Pahlen  that  he  should  not 
attempt  any  thing  that  miglit  affect  the  life  of  his 
father.  Count  Pahlen  swore  to  every  thing  desired 
by  the  inexperienced  son,  who  thought  a  sceptre 
could  be  snatched  from  the  hand  of  an  emperor 
without  first  taking  his  life. 

The  actors  were  yet  to  bo  found  for  the  tragedy; 
in  his  conception  of  the  design,  count  Pahlen 
deemed  it  beneath  him  to  be  a  personal  pai-taker 
in  the  execution.  He  had  the  actors  in  view,  but 
reserved  the  secret  according  to  the  confidence 
each  seemed  to  merit,  making  them  sooner  or  later 
acquainted  with  the  part  which  he  had  reserved 
for  them  to  perform.  The  Soubow  brothers,  who 
had  been  raised  from  nothing  by  Catherine's  fa- 
vour, were  chosen  for  carrying  out  this  catastrophe. 
Count  Pahlen  only  opened  his  design  to  them  at  a 
late  period.  Plato  Soubow,  the  favourite  of  Cathe- 
rine, restless  and  supple,  was  well  worthy  to  make 
a  figure  in  a  palatial  revolution.  His  brother 
Nicolas,  solely  distinguished  by  his  great  bodily 
strength,  was  well  fitted  for  a  subaltern  part.  Vale- 
rian Soubow,  a  brave  and  good  soldier,  a  friend  of 
the  archduke  Alexander,  deserved  from  his  merits 
to  have  been  omitted  from  so  unworthy  a  project. 
They  had  a  sister  closely  allied  with  all  the  English 
faction,  the  friend  of  lord  Whitvvorth,  the  English 
ambas.sailor,  who  poured  into  their  ears  her  own 
zeal  for  the  policy  of  England.  Count  Pahlen 
secured  many  other  confederates,  and  brought 
them  under  different  jiretences  to  St.  Petersburg, 
without  disclosing  to  them  his  secret.  There  was 
one  individual  whom  he  had  summoned  to  St.  Pe- 
tersburg, whose  concurrence  he  did  not  doubt  any 
more  than  of  his  redoubtable  energy, — that  in- 
dividual was  the  celebrated  general  Benningsen, 
an  Hanoverian  belonging  to  the  Russian  service, 
the  first  officer  in  the  Russian  army  at  that  time, 
and  who  had  the  honour  at  a  later  period,  in  1807, 
to  stop  the  victorious  march  of  Napoleon.  His 
hands,  worthy  oF  bearing  a  sword,  should  never 
have  been  armed  with  a  poignard. 

Benningsen  had  sought  a  refuge  in  the  country 
from  the  anger  of  Paul,  whom  he  had  displeased. 
Count  Pahlen  drew  him  fioin  his  retreat,  made 
him  acquainted  with  the  plot,  but  only  .spoke,  if 
general  Benniiig.sen  is  to  be  credited,  ol  the  depo- 
sition of  the  emperor.  Benningsen  gave  his  word, 
and  kept  it  with  frightful  deterniiiiation. 

It  was  resolved  to  choose  for  the  time  of  exe- 
cuting the  plot,  some  day  when  the  regiment  of 
Semeiiourki,  which  was  entirely  devoted  to  the 
grand  duke  Alexander,  should  he  on  guard  at  the 
Michel  palace.  Tliey  were  olili;;eil  to  wait.  But 
lime  pressed,  for  Paul's  illness  made  a  rapid  pro- 
gres.s,  every  day  becoming  more  alarming  for  the 
interests  of  the  empire,  and  placing  the  safety  of 
his  attendants  in  greater  peril.  One  day  he  seized 
the  imj)irturb;ible  Pahlen  by  the  arm,  and  singu- 
larly add  ris.sed  him  in  (luse  words: — "You  were 
in  St.  Petersburg  in  1702?" 


226 


Singular  behaviour  of 
Paul.  —  Calmness  of 
count  Pahlen. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


This  was  the  year  when  the  empei-or,  the  father 
of  Paul,  was  assassinated,  that  Catherine  might 
mount  the  throne. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Pahlen,  with  great  coolness,  "  I 
was  there." 

"What  part  did  you  take  in  the  event  which 
then  happened  ? "  > 

«  That  of  a  subaltern  officer  in  a  cavalry  regi- 
ment,— I  was  a  witness,  not  an  actor,  in  ^  that 
catastrophe." 

"  Very  well,"  replied  Paul,  casting  a  look  of  ac- 
cusation and  of  suspicion  at  his  minister,  "they 
want  to  recommence  to-day  the  revolution  of  1762." 

"I  know  it,"  replied  count  Pahlen,  without  (emo- 
tion; "I  know  the  plot  and  am  in  it." 

"  What  you  !  "  exclaimed  Paul,,  "  you  in  the 
plot  ? " 

"  Yes,  in  order  to  become  well  acquainted  with 
it,  and  to  be  better  able  to  watch  over  your 
security." 

The  calmness  of  this  redoubtable  conspirator 
disconcerted  all  the  suspicions  of  Paul,  who  ceased 
to  be  jealous  of  Pahlen,  but  continued  to  be  still 
agitated  and  restless. 

A  curious  circumstance  very  nearly  of  public 
interest,  if  such  a  jihrase  may  be  employed  in  con- 
nexion with  so  great  a  crime,  hastened,  among 
other  causes,  the  contemplated  event.  Paul  ordered, 
on  the  '23rd  of  March,  a  despatch  to  be  written  and 
sent  off  to  M.  Krudener,  his  minister  at  Berlin,  in 
which  he  commanded  him  to  declare  to  the  Prus- 
sian court,  that  if  it  did  not  immediately  decide  to 
act  against  England,  he  would  march  eighty  thou- 
sand men  upon  the  Prussian  frontier.  Count  Pahlen 
wishing,  without  discovering  his  reason,  that  M. 
Krudener  should  not  attach  any  importance  to  the 
despatch,  added  with  his  own  hand  the  following 
postscript  : — 

"  His  imperial  majesty  is  indisposed  to-day;  this 
may  have  serious  consequences  ^." 

The  23rd  of  March  was  chosen  by  the  chiefs  of 
the  cons|>iracy  for  the  execution  of  the  fatal  plot. 
Count  Pahlen,  under  the  pretext  of  a  dinner  party, 
had  united  at  his  house,  the  Soubows,  Benningsen, 
and  a  numljer  of  generals  and  officers  on  whom  he 
well  knew  he  could  rely.  The  bottle  was  profusely 
circulated  with  wine  of  every  kind.  Pahlen  and 
Benningsen  drank  nothing.  VVhen  dinner  was  over 
the  design  for  which  they  were  then  assembled 
was  unfolded  to  the  conspirators,  and  to  nearly  all 
of  them  for  the  first  time.  They  wei-e  not  informed 
that  the  intention  was  to  assassinate  the  emperor; 
from  such  a  crime  they  would  have  recoiled  with 
horror.  They  were  told  that  they  must  all  proceed 
to  the  palace  in  order  to  compel  Paul  to  abdicate 
the  imperial  dignity.  That  thus  they  should  deliver 
the  empire  from  very  imminent  ])eril,  and  save  a 
vast  number  of  innocent  jiersons  whose  lives  were 
tiircatened  by  the  sanguinary  insanity  of  the  empe- 
ror. Finally,  in  order  more  com|)letely  to  secure 
their  assent,  it  was  affirmed  to  them  that  the  gi-and 
duke  Alexander,  convinced  himself  of  the  necessity 
of  preserving  the  empire,  was  well  aware  of  the 
design,  and  ajiproved  of  it.  Soon  after  this  the 
party,  flushed  with  wine,  no  longer  hesitated,  and 

1  This  despatch  was  shown  to  general  Beurnonville,  the 
French  ambassador,  who  communicated  the  contents  to  his 
own  government  immediately. 


all,  three  or  four  excepted,  went  to  the  palace, 
believing  that  they  were  going  merely  to  depose  a 
mad  emperor,  not  to  shed  the  blood  of  their  unfor- 
tunate master. 

The  night  appearing  to  be  sufficiently  advanced, 
the  conspirators,  to  the  number  of  sixty  or  there- 
abouts, separated,  dividing  themselves  into  two 
parties.  Count  Pahlen  took  the  direction  of  one, 
general  Benningsen  of  the  other.  Botli  those 
officers  were  in  full  uniform,  wearing  sashes  and 
orders,  and  proceeding  sword  in  hand.  The  palace 
Michel  was  built  and  guarded  like  a  fortress,  but 
the  bridges  were  lowered  and  the  gates  opened  to 
the  two  heads  of  the  conspiracy.  The  party  of 
Benningsen  went  first  straight  forwards  to  the 
apartment  of  the  emperor.  Count  Pahlen  remained 
behind,  with  a  reserve  of  conspirators.  He  who 
had  organized  the  plot,  disdained  to  aid  in  the  exe- 
cution, and  was  there  solely  to  make  pi'ovision  for 
any  unexpected  events.  Benningsen  penetrated  to 
the  apartment  of  the  sleeping  monarch.  Two  hey- 
dukes  were  the  emperor's  body  guard,  and  like 
faithful  servants  attempted  to  defend  their  sove- 
reign. One  of  them  wis  struck  down  with  a  blow 
from  a  sabre  ;  the  other  fled,  crying  out  for  assist- 
ance, a  very  useless  cry  in  a  palace  guarded  almost 
wholly  by  accomplices  in  the  crime.  A  valet,  who 
slept  near  the  emperor,  ran  to  the  spot,  and  he  was 
made  to  open  his  master's  door.  The  unhappy 
Paul  would  fain  have  found  a  refuge  in  the  apart- 
ments of  the  empress,  but  amid  his  dark  suspicions, 
he  had  been  accustomed,  with  great  care,  to  barri- 
cade the  door  that  led  to  them  every  night.  He 
had  therefore  no  way  of  escape,  and  flinging  him- 
self out  at  the  bottom  of  the  bed,  concealed  himself 
behind  the  folds  of  a  screen.  Plato  Soubow,  run- 
ning to  the  imperial  bed,  found  it  empty,  and  cried 
out  in  alarm,  "  The  emperor  has  saved  himself; — 
we  are  lost." 

At  that  instant  Benningsen  saw  the  emperor, 
went  to  him  sword  in  hand,  and  presented  him 
with  the  act  of  abdication.  "  You  have  ceased  to 
reign,"  cried  he  ;  "  the  grand  duke  Alexander  is 
emperor.  I  summon  you  in  his  name  to  resign 
the  empire,  and  sign  this  act  of  abdication;  on  this 
condition  alone  will  I  answer  for  your  life."  Plato 
SoUbow  repeated  the  same  summons.  The  em- 
peror, struck  with  dismay,  and  iu  utter  confusion, 
asked  of  what  he  had  been  guilty  to  merit  such 
treatment.  "  You  have  not  ceased  to  persecute 
us  for  years,"  replied  the  half-drunken  assassins. 
They  then  pressed  close  upon  the  unfortunate 
Paul,  who  urged  and  implored  for  mercy  in  vain. 
At  this  moment  a  noise  was  heard, — the  footsteps 
only  of  some  of  the  consjjirators  who  had  remained 
behind.  The  assassins,  believing  it  was  assistance 
coming  to  the  emperor,  fled  immediately.  Ben- 
ningsen alone,  but  with  fearful  determination,  re- 
mained in  the  monarch's  presence,  and  advancing 
with  his  sword  pointed  at  Paul's  breast,  prevented 
him  from  moving.  The  conspirators,  recognizing 
each  other,  re-entered  the  theatre  of  their  ciime. 
They  surrounded  anew  the  unfortunate  monarch, 
in  order  to  force  him  to  sign  his  abdication.  The 
emperor  for  a  moment  tried  to  defend  himself. 
In  the  scuffle,  the  lamp,  which  cast  a  light  upon 
the  horrible  scene,  was  overturned.  Benningsen 
went  to  seek  for  another,  and  on  entering  found 
Paul  expiring  under  the  blows  of  two  of  the  con- 


1801.  Grief  of  the  royal  family. - 

March.  Alexander  proL-laiiiietl  em 


THE  NEUTRAL  POWERS. 


peror.— Public  opinion  upon 
tlie  assasbiiiation. 


J27 


spirators  ;  one  had  fractured  his  skull  with  tlip 
pummel  i)f  his  sword,  the  other  was  in  the  act  of 
Strai)<>;liiig  him  with  his  sash. 

White  this  terrible  scene  was  {!;oin<»  forwai-d 
within,  count  Pahlen,  with  the  second  band  of  con- 
spirators, had  remained  outside.  When  he  was 
informed  that  all  was  over,  he  had  the  body  of  the 
emperor  placed  upon  his  bed,  and  set  a  guard  of 
thirty  men  at  the  door  of  the  apartment,  with 
orders  to  forbid  any  one,  even  of  the  imperial 
family,  from  entering.  He  then  set  out  to  find 
the  grand  duke,  to  announce  to  him  tlie  frightful 
occurrence  of  the  night. 

The  grand  duke  Alexander,  agitated  most 
violently,  as  might  be  expected,  demanded  of  the 
count,  when  he  arrived,  what  iiad  become  of  his 
father.  The  silence  of  count  Pahlen  soon  taught 
him  how  fatal  were  the  expectations  he  had 
cherished,  when  he  persuaded  himself  that  nothing 
but  an  act  of  abdication  was  contemplated.  The 
sorrow  of  the  young  prince  was  very  great;  the 
act  became,  it  was  said,  the  secret  torment  of  his 
life,  because  nature  had  given  him  a  kind  and 
generous  heart.  He  flung  himself  »\)on  a  seat, 
bur.«t  into  tears,  and  would  listen  to  nothing,  load- 
ing count  Pahlen  with  bitter  reproaches,  wliilo  the 
count  bore  them  all  with  imperturbable  compjsed- 
ness. 

Plato  Soubow  went  to  find  the  grand  duke  Con- 
stantine,  who  had  no  knowledge  of  wjiat  had  oc- 
curred, though  he  has  been  unjustly  accused  of 
having  been  implicated  in  the  horrible  deed.  He 
came  tremblingly  to  the  spot,  thinking  that  all  his 
family  were  to  be  sacrificed.  He  found  his  brother 
overwhelmed  with  despair,  and  then  became  aware 
of  what  had  happened.  Count  Pahlen  sent  a  lady 
of  the  palace,  who  was  on  very  intimate  terms  with 
the  empress,  to  inform  her  of  the  event  of  her 
tragical  widowhood.  The  empress  ran  in  ha.ste  to 
her  husband's  apartment,  and  attempted  to  reach 
his  bed  of  death,  but  was  ])revented  by  the  guards. 
Having  recovered  for  a  moment  from  her  first 
grief,  she  felt  within  her  heart,  mingling  with  the 
emotions  of  sorrow,  strong  impulses  of  ambition. 
She  recalled  Catherine  to  her  recollection,  and  at 
once  felt  a  desire  to  mount  the  throne.  Slie  sent 
several  messengers  to  Alexander,  who  was  about 
to  be  proclaimed,  to  say  to  him  that  the  throne 
was  hers,  and  that  she,  not  he,  ought  to  be  pro- 
claimed sovereign.  Hero  was  a  new  embarrass- 
ment, and  a  new  trouble  for  the  wounded  heart  of 
her  son,  who,  about  to  mount  the  steps  of  the 
throne,  had  to  pass,  in  order  to  ascend  it,  between 
the  body  of  a  murdered  father  and  a  mother  in 
tears,  demanding,  alternately,  either  her  husband 
or  a  crown.  The  night  departed  upon  these  ap- 
])alling  scenes  ;  morning  dawned;  it  was  necessary 
that  no  time  should  be  allowed  for  reflection  ;  the 
death  of  Paul  it  was  most  important  should  be 
made  known,  and  that  the  accession  of  liis  suc- 
cessor should,  at  the  same  time,  be  pronndgated. 
Count  Pahlen  went  to  the  young  prince,  and  said, 
"  You  have  wept  enough  as  a  child  ;  now  come 
and  reign."  Ho  snatched  young  Alexander  from 
the  place  of  his  sorrow,  and  followed  by  Benning- 
sen,  went  to  present  him  to  the  troops. 

The  first  regiment  they  encountered  was  that  of 
Preobrajensky.  IJeing  (levoted  to  Paul  I.,  it  gave 
them  a  very  cool  reception  ;  but  the  others,  that 


were  much  attached  to  the  grand  duke,  and  were, 
besides,  under  the  influence  of  Pahlen,  who  pos- 
sessed a  great  ascendancy  in  the  army,  did  not 
hesitate  a  moment  to  shout  "  Long  live  Alexander!" 
Their  example  was  followed  by  others  of  the  troops; 
the  young  emperor  was  speedily  proclaimed,  and 
put  in  possessicni  of  the  throne.  He  returned  and 
took  up  his  residence  with  his  spouse,  the  empress 
Elizabeth,  in  the  winter  palace. 

All  St.  Petersburg  heai'd  with  di.'^may  of  this 
sanguinary  catastrophe.  The  impression  which 
it  made,  proved  that  the  maimers  of  the  people 
hnd  begun  to  change  in  that  country,  and  that  since 
17(>2,  Russia  had  been  influenced  by  the  example 
of  civilized  Europe.  It  may  be  observed,  to  her 
honour,  that  if  she  had  then  advanced  since  1762, 
she  has  now  advanced  equally  far  from  what  she 
was  in  1800.  On  this  occasion,  the  Russians 
exhibited  feelings  wliich  did  them  honour.  They 
feared  Paul  L  and  his  madness  much  more  than 
they  hated  him,  because  he  was  not  of  a  sanguinary 
disposition.  The  horrible  circumstances  of  his 
death  were  immediately  known,  and  inspired  every 
bosom  with  pity.  The  body  of  Paul  was  exposed 
in  state,  according  to  custom,  but  with  infinite 
care  to  conceal  his  womids.  Military  gloves  con- 
cealed the  mutilations  of  his  hands,  and  a  large  hat 
covered  his  he.id.  His  face  was  deformed  by  in- 
juries; but  it  was  promulgated  that  he  had  died  of 
a])oplexy. 

This  barbarous  act  made  an  extraordinary  sen- 
sation throughout  Em'ope.  The  intelligence  flew 
like  lightning  to  Viemia,  Berlin,  London,  and 
Paris,  producing  consternation  and  horror  every 
Avhere.  Some  years  before,  it  was  Paris  that  had 
shocked  Eui'ope  by  spilling  royal  blood  :  but  now 
Paris  gave  an  example  of  order,  humanity,  and 
peace  ;  they  were  the  old  monarchies  which,  in 
their  turn,  had  become  the  scandal  of  the  civilized 
world.  Only  a  year  before,  Nenpolitan  royalty 
had  bathed  itself  in  the  blood  of  its  sul)jects;  and 
now  a  revolution  in  a  palace  ensanguined  the  im- 
perial throne  of  Russia. 

Thus,  in  this  age  of  agitation,  every  country 
successively  gave  sad  examples,  and  furnished 
lamentable  subjects  for  the  censures  of  their  ene- 
mies. If  nations  desire  to  nn-ilo  each  other,  they 
have  certainly  enough  in  their  .several  histories  to 
yield  deplorable  materials  for  such  a  purpose  :  let 
HS  take  care  not  to  emi)loy  similar  recollections  for 
such  ends.  If  we  recount  these  horrible  narra- 
tives, it  is  because  truth  is  the  first  quality  of 
history, — it  is  because  truth  is  the  most  useful  and 
the  most  powerful  of  teachers;  the  most  effective 
for  the  prevention  of  similar  scenes  ;  and  without 
meaning  what  is  oflTcnsivc  to  any  nation,  let  us  say 
once  more,  that  the  institutions  are  more  in  the 
wrong  than  the  people;  and,  that  if,  in  St.  Peters- 
burg, an  em])eror  was  assassinated,  in  order  to 
bring  about  a  change  of  policy,  in  London,  on  the 
conirary,  without  any  sanguinary  result,  the  policy 
of  peace  succeeded  that  of  war  by  the  simple  sub- 
stitution of  Addington  for  Pitt. 

The  more  minute  particulars  of  this  catastrophe 
were  soon  made  public  by  the  indisenct  conduct 
of  the  assassins  themscslves.  At  Berlin,  nnn-e 
particularly,  the  court  of  which  was  so  closely 
allied  to  that  of  St.  Petei-sburg,  the  details  of  the 
crime  were  circulated  with  great  rapidity.  The 
q2 


228  ^acc^led '^  *'^'""'*  ""^""'"^  THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


1801. 
March. 


Bister  of  the  Soubows  liad  taken  refuge  there,  and, 
it  was  said,  had  shown  symptoms  of  disquietude 
and  anxiety,  such  as  a  person  would  exhibit  that 
had  been  in  expectation  of  some  great  event.  She 
had  a  son,  who  was  the  very  officer  commanded 
to  announce  to  Prussia  the  accession  of  Alexander. 
This  young  man,  with  the  indiscretion  natural  to 
youth,  disclosed  some  of  the  particulars  connected 
with  the  assassination,  and  caused  at  Potsdam  a 
rumour  which  much  offended  the  young  and 
virtuous  king  of  Prussia.  The  court  made  the 
young  man  sensible  of  the  impropriety  of  his  con- 
duct ;  and  from  thence  originated  a  disgraceful 
calumny.  The  sister  of  the  Soubows  was  on  in- 
timate terms  of  friendship  with  the  English 
ambassador.  Lord  Wliitworth,  who  some  time 
afterwards  figured  at  Paris,  where  he  played  a 
remarkable  part.  The  death  of  the  emperor  Paul, 
of  great  advantage  to  the  English,  coming  so  op- 
portunely to  perfect  the  incomplete  victory  of 
Copenhagen,  was  attributed  by  the  Tulgar  through- 
out Europe  to  the  influence  of  British  i)olicy.  The 
intimacy  of  the  English  ambassador  with  a  family 
80  deeply  implicated  in  tlie  murder  of  Paul,  gave 
ground  for  strong  presumption  in  confirmation  of 
the  calumny,  and  presented  new  arguments  to 
those  who  were  unable  to  perceive  that  such 
events  may  arise  from  general  and  very  natural 
causes. 

None  of  these  conjectures  were  well-founded. 
Lord  Wliitworth  was  an  honourable  man,  incapa- 
ble of  being  concerned  in  such  an  attempt.  His 
cabinet  had  committed  many  unjustifiable  actions 
for  some  years,  and  was  soon  afterwards  guilty  of 
others  wliich  it  would  be  more  difficult  to  justify, 
but  it  was  as  much  taken  by  surprise  at  the  death 
of  the  czar,  as  the  rest  of  Europe.  Yet  the  first 
consul  himself,  in  spite  of  the  perfect  impartiality 
of  his  judgment,  could  not  keep  entertaining  sus- 
picions, and  he  caused  many  more  by  the  niiinner 
of  announcing  in  the  Moniteur  the  death  of  Paul. 
"  It  is  for  history,"  said  the  official  journal,  "  to 
clear  up  the  mystery  of  his  tragical  end,  and  to  say 
what  cat)inet  in  the  world  was  most  deeply  inter- 
ested in  bringing  .-ibout  this  catastrojdie." 

Tile  death  of  Paul  delivered  England  from  an 
unrelenting  enemy,  and  deprived  the  fii-st  consul 
of  a  powerful  ally,  but  one  at  the  same  time  that 
was  embarrassing,  and  in  his  later  days  nearly  as 
dangerous  as  he  was  useful.  It  is  clear  that  the 
defunct  emperor,  believing  that  the  first  consul 
would  refuse  him  nothiiig  as  the  price  of  his  al- 
liance, had  exacted  conditions  in  regard  to  Italy, 
Germany,  and  Egypt,  wliich  France  could  not  i)os- 
sjbly  have  agreed  to,  and  that  must  have  proved 
great  obstacles  in  the  establishment  of  a  general 
peace.  The  first  consul  made  choice  of  Duroc,  his 
favourite  aid-de-canip,  to  go  to  Russia,  the  same 
wlio  had  already  been  sent  to  Berlin  and  Vienna. 
Duroc  carried  a  letter,  written  in  the  first  consul's 
own  hand  to  congratulate  the  new  emperor  upon  his 
accession  to  the  throne,  and  to  try  all  that  the 
powers  of  Hattery  and  persuasion  could  do  in  order 
to  fill  his  mind,  if  |)ossible,  with  just  ideas  in  re- 
gard to  the  relations  between  Russia  and  France. 

Duroc  set  off  immediately,  with  orders  to  go 
through  Berlin.  He  was  to  visit  a  second  time  the 
court  of  Prussia,  and  to  collect  the  most  correct 
infurniatiou  upon  the  late  occurrences  ui  the  north. 


that  he  might  arrive  in  St.  Petersburg  better  pre- 
pared to  manage  the  men  and  things  with  which 
he  was  about  to  come  in  contact. 

England  was  much  pleased,  as  might  be  expected, 
to  learn  at  the  same  time  the  victory  of  Copen- 
hagen, and  the  death  of  the  formidable  adversary 
who  had  formed  the  neutral  league  against  her. 
They  exalted  the  heroism  of  the  British  hero 
Nelson,  with  a  natural  and  legitimate  enthusiasm  ; 
nations  act  well  in  the  first  excess  of  their  joy  to 
celebrate  and  even  exaggerate  their  victories.  Still, 
when  the  first  enthusiasm  was  over,  and  when  the 
popular  imagination  became  more  calm,  the  pre- 
tended victory  of  Copenhagen  was  better  appre- 
ciated. The  Sound,  jieople  said,  was  not  difficult  to 
force;  the  attack  upon  Copenhagen,  in  a  nari'ow 
channel  where  the  English  vessels  could  not  move 
without  great  hazard,  was  a  bold  act,  worthy  of 
the  conqueror  at  Aboukir.  But  the  English  fleet 
had  been  seriously  disabled.  If  it  had  not  been 
that  the  crown-prince  too  eagerly  listened  to  lord 
Nelson's  truce,  probably  he  would  have  been  beaten. 
The  victory  had  then  been  very  near  a  defeat,  and, 
moreover,  the  result  obtained  was  not  very  import- 
ant, because  only  a  simple  armistice  had  been  ob- 
tained of  the  Danes,  after  whiih  the  contest  must 
be  renewed.  If  the  emperor  Paul  had  not  died, 
this  novel  camiiaign,  which  the  English  must  have 
carried  on,  in  the  midst  of  an  enclosed  sea,  where 
they  could  not  put  into  any  port,  for  all  the  ports 
were  shut  against  them,  presented  great  and  fear- 
ful chances.  But  the  blow,  struck  so  opportunely 
at  the  very  gates  of  the  Baltic  against  the  Danes, 
was  decisive  ;  Paul  was  no  longer  alive  to  take  up 
the  gauntlet  and  continue  the  fight.  This  is  another 
proof  added  to  a  thousand  others  in  history,  that 
there  are  many  favourable  chances  on  the  side  of 
boldness,  especially  when  its  blows  are  directed  by 
commiinding  ability. 

The  English  immediately  sought  to  avail  them- 
selves of  this  fortunate  change  of  government  to 
relax  the  rigour  of  their  maxims  in  maritime  law,  so 
as  to  arrive  at  some  honourable  adjustment  with 
Russia,  and  after  her  with  all  the  other  powers. 
They  well  knew  the  kind  and  amiable  character  of 
the  young  prince  who  had  mounted  the  Russian 
throne,  because  at  that  time  it  was  reported  to  be 
almost  bordering  upon  feehleness  :  moreover,  they 
flattered  themselves  that  they  should  regain  a  con- 
siderable degree  of  influence  at  St.  Petersburg. 
They  sent  Lor<l  St.  Helen's  to  that  capital  with  the 
necessary  powers  to  negotiate  an  arrangement. 
M.  Woronzoff",  the  ambassador  of  Russia  at  the 
court  of  George  III.,  entirely  devoted  to  British 
interests,  had  incurred  even  the  sequestration  of 
his  property,  on  account  of  his  not  quitting  London, 
which  was  his  usual  pkice  of  residence.  Count  Wo- 
ronzoff"  was  invited  to  take  upon  himself  again  his 
former  official  duties.  The  vessels  belonging  to  the 
neutral  powers  in  the  English  ports  which  had 
been  laid  under  an  embargo  were  released.  Nelson, 
by  orders  of  his  government,  continued  inactive  in 
the  Baltic,  and  was  instructed  to  declare  to  the 
northern  courts  that  hi  should  abstain  from  every 
.ict  of  hosiiiity,  while  they  refrained  from  sending 
their  fleets  to  sea,  in  which  case  he  should  attack 
them.  If,  on  the  contrary,  their  fleets  remained  in 
port,  and  did  not  attempt  the  jiniction  long  threat- 
ened with  the  Danes,  he  was  interdicted  from  any 


1801. 
April. 


Disposition  of  the  northern 
courts. 


THE  NEUTRAL  POWERS. 


229 


hostile  act  upon  the  coasts  of  Denmark,  Sweden, 
and  Russia;  and  that  he  should  permit  to  all  mer- 
chant-vessels a  free  pa.ssage,  the  relations  between 
the  countries  being  placed  upon  the  same  footing 
as  before  the  nipture. 

The  blow  thus  struck  at  Copenhajren  had  un- 
happily produced  its  efteet.  The  smaller  neutrals, 
such  as  Denmark  and  Sweden,  although  irritated 
against  England  on  their  own  account,  had  been 
only  forced  into  the  league  by  the  threatening  in- 
fluence of  Paul  I.  Prussia,  that  regarded  her  ma- 
ritime interests  as  only  secondary  to  those  of  the  j 
nation  at  large,  and  that  was  greatly  inclined  to 
peace,  had  not  entered  into  tlie  quarrel  at  all  but 
for  the  double  influence  of  Paul  I.  and  the  first 
consul;  she  therefore  felt  a  great  pleasure  in  being 
extricated  from  her  embarrassing  position.  She 
was,  as  the  rest  all  were,  very  wtli-disposed  to  the 
re-establishment  of  her  commercial  interests. 

In  a  very  short  time  the  flags  of  conuuercial 
vessels  were  seen  again  in  the  Baltic,  English,  Swe- 
dish, Danish,  and  Russian  ;  and  the  navigation 
there  once  more  resumed  its  former  activity. 
Nelson  permitted  them  all  to  pass  freely,  and 
received  in  return,  along  the  northern  coasts, 
the  refreshments  of  which  he  stood  in  need. 
This  state  of  the  armistice  was,  therefore,  univer- 
.sally  assented  to.  The  Russian  cabinet,  governed 
by  count  Pahlen,  without  giving  way  before  Eng- 
lish influence,  showed  itself  well  inclined  to  termi- 
nate the  maritime  quarrel  by  such  an  arrangement 
as  should,  up  to  a  certain  point,  secure  neutral 
rights.  It  was  announced  that  lord  St.  Helens 
would  be  received  ;  M.  Woronzoft'  had  already 
been  authorized  to  return  to  London,  and  M.  Bern- 
storff"  was  sent  to  England  l>y  Denmark. 

The  first  consul,  who  had  by  his  skill  formed 
thisredoubtiible  coalition  against  England,  founded 
as  it  was  upon  the  interest  of  all  the  maritime 
powers,  saw  its  dissolution  with  regret,  through 
the  feeiilenessof  the  confederates.  He  endeavoured 
to  make  them  ashamed  of  the  haste  with  which  they 
withdrew;  but  each  excused  its  conduct  by  that  of 
its  neighbour.  Denmark,  justly  proud  of  her  bloody 
engagement  at  Copenhagen,  said  that  she  had  ful- 
filled her  duty,  and  that  they  ought  to  fulfil  theirs. 
Sweden  declared  that  she  was  ready  to  fight,  but 
added,  that  as  the  Danish,  Prussian,  and  above  all 
the  Russian  flags,  were  sailing  freely  over  the 
ocean,  she  could  not  discover  a  reason  why  her 
subjects  should  not  partake  the  benefit  of  naviga- 
tion as  well  as  the  rest.  Prussia  excused  her  inac- 
tion from  the  change  that  had  occurred  at  St.  Pe- 
tersburg, and  repeated  to  France  new  protestations 
of  firmness  and  constancy.  She  declared  that  her 
perseverance  might  bo  best  judged,  when  the  ne- 
cessary time  came  to  conclude  an  aiTangement,  and 
articles  should  be  definitively  agreed  upon  for  re- 
gulating maritime  rights.  Russia  afTcctcd  to  sup- 
port neutral  rights,  but  protended  to  have  in  view 
only  one  main  object,  that  of  putting  an  end  to 
hostilities  commenced  without  suflicient  grounds. 

Tile  first  consul,  who  wished  to  retjird  as  long  as 
possible  any  accommodation  between  Prussia  and 
England,  devised  a  clever  expedient  to  prolong 
their  diH'crences.  He  had  oHered  Malta  to  Paul, 
he  now  offered  Hanover  to  Prussia.  It  has  been 
seen  that  Prussia  had  occupied  that  jjrovincc,  so 
dear  to  the  heart  of  Georg<;  111.,  as  a  reprisal  for 


the  violence  committed  by  England  upon  the  rights 
of  neutrals.  Prussia  had  reconciled  herself  with 
difficulty  to  this  aggressive  action  ;  but  the  secret 
longing  which  she  always  felt  to  possess  that  pro- 
vince, the  most  desirable  for  her  that  could  be, 
coming  so  well  in  for  enlarging  and  rounding  off 
her  dominions — this  feeling  decided  her,  in  spite  of 
her  desire  for  repose  and  peace.  Prussia  had  a 
claim  to  an  indemnity  in  Germany,  because  it  was 
one  of  those  secular  principalities  which  were  to  be 
indemnified  for  their  losses  on  the  le't  bank  of  the 
Rhine,  by  the  secularization  of  the  ecclesiastical 
states  These  pretensions  were  very  considerable; 
and  in  the  hope  that  the  first  consul  would  favour 
these  views,  she  was  anxious  to  secure  his  good 
will  by  occupying  Hanover.  Bonaparte  at  once 
said,  that  if  she  were  inclined  to  keep  Hanover,  and 
consider  it  as  her  indemnity,  though  it  was  ten 
times  more  than  was  her  due,  he  would  consent  to 
it,  without  any  jealousy  on  the  part  of  France,  on 
account  of  so  large  a  portion  of  territory  being 
granted  to  a  power  bordering  upon  that  country. 
This  proposition  was  most  welcome,  and  yet  it 
troubled  the  heart  of  the  young  monarch  of  Pi'ussia. 
The  offVr  was  seductive;  but  the  great  difficulty  in 
the  way  was  the  light  in  which  it  would  be  viewed 
by  England.  Still,  without  accepting  the  proposal 
in  a  definitive  manner,  the  cabinet  of  Berlin  re- 
plied, that  the  king,  Frederick-William, was  touched 
with  the  kindness  of  the  first  consul;  that  without 
positively  accepting  the  projiosai,  it  was  better 
to  delay  the  consideration  of  the  question  of  terri- 
tory until  general  negotiations  for  peace  took  jilace 
throughout  Europe  ;  and  he  added,  that  grounding 
his  conduct  upon  the  present  state  of  things,  which 
was  that  of  a  tacit  armisti';e  rather  than  one 
formally  stipulated,  lie  should  continue  to  keep 
possession  of  Hanover. 

The  first  consul  did  not  wish  for  more  than  this, 
being  perfectly  satisfied  with  having  created  be- 
tween the  courts  of  London  and  Berlin  a  very 
complicated  difficulty,  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  a 
power  devoted  to  him  a  precious  pledge,  of  which 
he  should  be  able  to  make  a  great  advantage  in 
negotiating  with  England. 

The  period  of  such  negotiations  at  last  drew 
near.  England  had  seized  with  some  degree  of 
eagerness  the  opportunity  of  softening  the  harsh- 
ness of  her  maritime  principles,  in  order  to  dispel 
the  danger  which  threatened  her  in  the  north. 
She  was  now  anxious  to  conclude  the  existing  state 
of  things,  and  have  peace,  not  only  with  the  neu- 
trals, but  with  a  power  which  had  been  much 
more  formidable  than  they — with  France,  that  for 
the  last  fen  years  had  shaken  all  Europe,  and  had 
begun  to  threaten  the  English  soil  with  serious 
dangers.  At  tine  moment,  thanks  to  the  obstinacy 
of  Pitt  and  the  talents  of  Bonaparte,  she  had  found 
herself  alone  engaged  in  a  contest  with  all  the  world: 
escaped  from  this  position  by  a  successful  act  of 
boldness,  by  a  stroke  of  good  fortune,  she  was  un- 
willing to  fall  again  into  the  same  hazards  through 
a  repetition  of  similar  errors.  England,  too,  could 
now  negotiate  with  honour  ;  and  it  was  wise,  after 
so  many  lost  opportunities,  not  to  suffer  that  which 
at  jresent  oflVred  itself  anew  to  escape.  Where- 
fore— reasoned  the  more  sensible  j)Pople  in  Eng- 
land— wherefore  prolong  the  war  ?  W«  have  taken 
all  the  colonics  that  are  worth  the  trouble  ;  Franco 


George  III.  becomes  favour- 
230     ably  disposed  towards  Bo-    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 

naparte. 


Lord  Hawkesbury  and 
M.  Otto  treat  for 
peace. 


I8U1. 
April. 


has  vanquislied  all  the  allies  to  which  v»e  were 
bouud  ;  she  has  aggrandised  herself  at  their  ex- 
pense, and  has  become  the  most  formidable  power 
in  the  universe.  Every  day  in  addition  to  the  con- 
test renders  her  stronger,  more  particularly  so  by 
the  successive  conquests  of  all  the  coasts  and 
harbours  of  Europe.  Slie  has  subjugated  Holland 
and  Naples,  and  she  is  now  marching  upon  Portu- 
£;al.  We  must  not  add  to  her  power  l)y  obstinately 
continuing  the  war.  If  it  was  for  the  support  of 
the  most  salutary  principles  that  we  had  been 
fighting  for  year."?,— if  it  was  for  social  order 
threatened  by  the  French  revolution, — these  are  no 
longer  the  question,  since  France  gives  at  this 
moment  the  best  examples  of  prudence  and  order. 
Do  we  tliink  to  re-establi.sh  the  Bourbons  ?  but 
that  was  Pitt's  great  fault,  the  mistake  of  his 
policy;  and  if  we  have  lost  his  powerful  influence  and 
the  assistance  of  his  great  talents,  we  must  at  lea.st 
obtaui  the  sole  advantage  of  his  retirement  fi-oni 
office ;  in  other  words,  we  must  renounce  that  in- 
flexible and  malicious  hatred,  which  between  him 
and  Bonapai'te  originated  insults  and  personalities 
of  the  grossest  nature. 

All  the  more  sensible  minds  in  England  were, 
therefore,  directed  to  peace.  Two  great  sources  of 
influence  were  exerted  on  the  same  side — the  king 
and  the  people.  The  king  of  England,  the  obstinate 
and  religious,  who  refused  "  emancipation"  to  Pitt 
from  his  fidelity  to  the  protestant  cause,  did  not  the 
less  rejoice  to  see  Catholicism  re-established  in 
France,  a  re-establishment  which  was  already  an- 
nounced to  be  near.  He  saw  the  triumph  of  re- 
ligious principles,  and  that  was  sufficient.  He  had 
a  great  aversion  to  the  French  revolution  ;  and 
although  Bonaparte  had  been  the  means  of  giving 
severe  and  terrible  checks  to  the  policy  of  England, 
he  was  much  pleased  with  his  conduct  in  acting 
against  that  revolution,  and  in  reinstating  true 
social  principles  in  his  own  country.  France, 
which  in  so  gi-eat  a  degree  possessed  the  faculty  of 
communicating  to  every  people  her  own  sentiments 
and  feelings,  having  become  tranquil,  had  returned 
to  sound  ideas  ;  George  III.  I'egarded  the  blessings 
of  social  order  as  being  by  this  means  preserved  to 
mankind.  If  for  Pitt  the  war  had  been  one  of 
national  ambition,  for  George  III.  it  had  been  a 
war  of  principles.  So  far  George  III.  might  be 
considered  a  friend  to  Bonaparte  of  a  very  different 
character  from  Paul  I.  Recovered  from  the 
access  of  disorder  that  for  some  months  had  ob- 
scured his  reason,  he  was  perfectly  well  disposed  to 
peace,  and  urged  his  ministers  to  its  conclusion. 
The  English  people,  loving  novelty,  regarded  a 
peace  with  France  as  the  very  first  of  novelties  to 
them,  for  they  had  been  slaying  each  other  for 
ten  }oars  over  the  whole  world.  Attributing  alone 
the  scarcity  of  bread  to  the  sanguinary  contest 
which  was  desolating  sea  and  land,  they  loudly  de- 
manded peace  with  France.  At  last  the  new  minis- 
ter, Mr.  Addington,  very  unequal  as  a  rival  to  the 
glory  of  Pitt,  to  whom  in  talents  he  was  infinitely 
inferior,  as  he  was  in  character  and  political  im- 
portance— Mr.  Addington  had  only  one  clear  and 
intelligible  duty,  that  of  making  peace.  He,  ac- 
cordingly, was  anxious  to  conclude  it.  Pitt,  still 
powerful  in  Parliament,  advised  him,  on  his  own 
pai-t,  to  follow  so  expedient  and  judicious  a  step. 
The  events  in  the  north,  far  from  exalting  British 


pride,  furnished  her,  on  the  contrai'y,  with  a  more 
facile  and  honourable  opportunity  for  negotiation. 
The  new  minister  had  determined  upon  this  step 
the  day  on  which  he  accepted  office,  and  he  was  only 
the  more  confirmed  in  this  opinion,  when  he  learned 
what  had  passed  at  Copenhajien  and  St.  Petersburg. 
Proceeding  still  further,  he  determined  to  make  a 
direct  tender  to  the  first  consul,  which  might  serve 
as  a  return  to  that  made  by  the  first  consul  to 
England  iipon  his  acceptance  of  power. 

Lord  Hawkesbury,  who  was  in  the  cabinet  of 
Mr.  Addington,  as  secretary  of  state  for  foreign 
affairs,  sent  for  M.  Otto.  This  gentleman  fulfilled 
in  London,  as  we  have  already  shown,  certain 
diplomatic  functions  relative  to  prisoners  of  war, 
and  had  been  enti'usted  six  months  before  with  the 
negotiations  which  took  place  regarding  the  naval 
armistice.  He  was  thus  very  naturally  become  the 
intermediate  agent  of  the  new  communications  be- 
tween the  two  governments  then  about  to  com- 
mence. Lord  Hawkesbury  stated  to  M.  Otto  that 
the  king  had  charged  him  with  an  agreeable  com- 
mission, which  without  doubt  would  be  heard  of 
with  as  much  pleasure  in  France  as  in  England,  a 
commission  for  the  proposal  of  a  peace.  He  de- 
clared that  the  king  was  ready  to  send  a  pleni- 
potentiary to  Paris  itself,  or  to  any  other  city  that 
the  fii'st  consul  might  choose.  Lord  Hawkesbury 
added,  that  the  conditions  he  intended  to  offer  were 
such  as  were  honourable  to  both  nations,  and  to 
show  the  perfect  frankness  of  the  reconciliation,  he 
affirmed  that  reckoning  from  the  selfsame  day, 
every  design  directed  against  the  present  govern- 
ment of  France  should  he  discountenanced  in  the 
British  cabinet,  and  he  expected  the  same  return 
from  that  of  the  French  republic. 

This  was  disavowing  the  anterior  political  system 
of  Pitt,  who  had  always  pretended  to  endeavour  to 
effect  the  re-establishment  of  the  house  of  Bourbon, 
and  had  never  ceased  to  uphold  the  attempts  of 
the  emigrants  and  Vende'ans  with  English  money. 
The  proposed  negotiations  could  not  have  been 
commenced  in  a  more  dignified  manner.  Lord 
Hawkesbury  required  an  innnediate  answer. 

The  first  consul,  who,  at  this  moment,  did  not 
aspire  at  more  than  completely  fulfilling  his  pledge 
to  France,  of  restoring  to  her  order  and  peace, 
was  much  pleased  with  this  solution  of  the  ques- 
tion, that  he  had,  it  may  be  said,  commanded  by 
his  successes  and  political  ability.  He  received 
the  overtures  of  England  with  as  much  earnest- 
ness as  they  had  been  offered.  A  negotiation  of 
formal  diplomacy  appeared  to  him,  under  such 
circumstances,  to  be  tedious  and  ineffective.  The 
recollection  of  that  of  Lord  Malmesbury,  in  1797> 
which  had  proved  only  a  vain  demonstration  on 
the  part  of  Pitt,  had  left  a  distasteful  impression 
upon  his  mind.  He  thought,  that  if  there  was 
real  sincerity  in  London,  as  there  appeared  to  be, 
it  would  suffice  to  confer  directly,  and  without 
noise,  at  the  fijreign-office,  there  to  treat  of  the 
conditions  of  a  peace  with  frankness  and  good 
faith.  He  i-egarded  it  as  easy  of  arrangement,  if 
a  reconciliation  were  truly  intended  ;  "  because," 
.said  he,  "  England  has  taken  the  Indies,  and  we 
liave  taken  Egypt.  If  we  agree  to  keep,  each  of 
us,  these  valuable  conquests,  the  rest  is  of  small 
importance.  t)f  what  importance,  in  effect,  are 
a  few  islands  in   the  West  Indies  or  elsewhere. 


1801. 
April. 


Instructions  given  to  M.  0;to.        EVACUATION   OF  EGYPT.         Prospects  of  a  general  peaoe. 


231 


which  England  retains  from  us  or  our.  allies,  com- 
pared to  the  vast  possessions  we  have  conquered  I 
Perhaps  she  refuses  to  restore  them,  wlicn  Hano- 
ver is  in  our  hands,  when  Portugal  must  soon  be 
so;  and  we  offer  to  evacuate  those  kingdoms  for 
a  few  American  islands.  Peace  is,  therefore,  easy 
to  conclude."  So  he  wrote  to  M.  Otto  :  "  If  the 
English  desire  it,  I  authorize  you  to  treat ;  but 
directly,  and  only  with  lord  Hawkesbury." 

Powers  were  sent  to  M.  Otto,  with  a  recommen- 
dation to  make  nothing  public,  to  write  as  little  as 
possible,  to  negotiate  verbally,  and  to  exchange 
written  notes  only  upon  the  most  important  points. 
It  was  impossible  to  keep  perfectly  secret  such  a 
negotiation  ;  but  the  first  consul  desired  him  to 
request,  and  upon  his  own  part  to  observe,  the 
utmost  possible  discretion  relative  to  the  questions 
which  must  arise  and  be  discussed  on  both  sides. 


Lord  Hawkesbury  consented  to  this  mode  of 
proceeding,  in  the  name  of  the  king  of  England; 
and  it  was  agreed  that  the  conferences  should 
begin  at  once  in  London,  between  him  and  M. 
Otto.  They,  therefore,  really  commenced  in  the 
early  part  of  April,  1801,  or  middle  of  Germinal, 
year  ix. 

From  the  18th  of  Brumaire,  year  viii.,  or  9th 
of  November,  ]'t9D,  to  the  month  of  Germinal, 
year  ix.,  or  April,  1801,  eighteen  months  had 
elapsed,  and  France  had  now  peace  with  the  con- 
tinent, was  engaged  in  a  frank  and  sincere  nego- 
tiation with  England,  going,  finally,  to  obtain,  for 
the  first  time  for  ten  years,  a  general  peace  on 
land  and  sea.  The  condition  of  this  general  peace, 
admitted  by  all  the  contracting  parties,  was  the 
preservation  of  her  brilliant  conquests. 


BOOK  X. 

EVACUATION  OF  EGYPT. 


TUB  NEGOTIATIONS  IN  LONDON  EXCITE  THE  GENERAL  ATTENTION.— REMARKS  UPON  THE  INFLUENCE  THAT  THE 
DEATH  OF  PAUL  I.  -WOULD  EXERCISE  UPON  THIS  NEGOTIATION. — STATE  OF  THE  COURT  OF  RUSSIA. — CHARACTER 
OP  ALEXANDER. — HIS  YOUNG  FRIENDS  FORM  WITH  HIM  A  SECRET  GOVERNMENT,  WHICH  DIRECTS  THE  -WHOLE 
BUSINESS  OF  THE  EMPIRE. — ALEXANDER  CONSENTS  TO  DIMINISH,  IN  A  CONSIDERABLE  DEGREE,  THE  PRETEN- 
SIONS BORNE  TO  PARIS  BY  M.  KALITCHEFP  IN  THE  NAME  OF  PAUL  I. — HE  RECEIVES  DUROC  WITH  MUCH 
FAVOUR. — REITERATES  HIS  PROTESTATIONS  OF  A  DESIRE  TO  BE  UPON  GOOD  TERMS  WITH  FRANCE.— COMMENCE 
MEST  OF  THE  NEGOTIATION  SET  ON  FOOT  IN  LONDON. — PRELIMINARY  CONDITIONS  BOTH  ON  ONE  SIDE  AND  THE 
OTHER.— CONQUESTS  OF  THE  TWO  COUNTRIES  BY  LAND  AND  SEA. — ENGLAND  CONSENTS  TO  RESTORE  A  PART  OF 
HER  JIABITLME  CONOUESTS,  BUT  MAKES  EVERY  OTHER  QUESTION  SUBORDINATE  TO  THE  EVACUATION  OP  EGYPT 
BY  FRANCE. — THE  TWO  GOVERNMENTS  TACITLY  AGREE  TO  TEMPOBIZE,  IN  ORDER  TO  AWAIT  THE  PROGRESS  OF 
MILITARY  EVENTS. — THE  FIRST  CONSUL,  APPRIZED  THAT  THE  NEGOTIATION  DEPENDS  UPON  THESE  EVENTS, 
UR'iES  ON  SPAIN  TO  MARCH  RAPIDLY  UPON  PORTUGAL,  AND  MAKES  FRESH  EFFORTS  TO  SUCCOUR  EGYPT. — 
EMPLOYMENT  OF  THE  NAVAL  FORCES. — DIFFERENT  EXPEDITIONS  PROJECTED. — COURSE  FOLLOWED  BY  GAN- 
TEAUME  OS  SAILING  FROM  BREST.— THE  ADMIRAL  PASSES  THE  STRAITS. — READY  TO  GO  ON  TO  ALEXANDRIA, 
HE  IS  ALARMED  AT  IMAGINARY  DANGERS,  AND  ENTERS  TOULON. — STATE  OF  EGYPT  AFTER  THE  DEATH  OF 
KLEBER.— SUBMISSION  OF  THE  COUNTRY,  AND  PROSPEROUS  SITUATION  OF  THE  COLONY  IN  RESPECT  TO  ITS 
RESOURCES. — INCAPACITY  AND  GENERAL  ANARCHY  AMONG  THE  COMM  ANDERS.— DEPLORABLE  DIFFERENCES 
BETWEEN  THE  GENERALS. — BADLY-DEVISED  MEASURES  OP  MENOU,  WHO  WISHES  TO  EFFECT  EVERY  OBJECT  AT 
THE  SAME  TIME. — IN  SPITE  OF  REPEATED  WARNINGS  RESPECTING  THE  ENGLISH  EXPEDITION,  HE  TAKES  NO 
PRECAUTIONARY  STEPS. — DISEMBARKATION  OF  THE  ENGLISH  IN  THE  ROAD  OF  ABOUKIR,  ON  THE  8tH  OF 
MARCH.  —  GENERAL  FRIANT,  WITH  FORCES  REDUCED  TO  FIFTEEN  HUNDRED  MEN,  MAKES  INEFFECTUAL 
ATTEMPTS  TO  PREVENT  THEIR  LANDING. — A  REINFORCEMENT  OF  TWO  BATTALIONS  TO  THE  DIVISION  WOULD 
HAVE  SAVED  EGYPT. — TARDY  CONCENTRATION  OF  THE  FORCES  ORDEREO  BY  MENOU. — ARRIVAL  OF  THE  DIVI- 
SION OF  LAVU9SE,  AND  SECOND  BATTLE  WITH  INEFFICIENT  STRENGTH,  OK  THE  13tH  OF  MARCH.— MENOU 
ARRIVES  AT  LENGTH  WITH  THE  MAIN  BODY  OF  THE  ARMY. — SAD  CONSEftUENCES  OF  THE  DIVISIONS  AMONG 
THE  CENEBAL8.— PLAN  OF  A  DECISIVE  BATTLE. — THE  INDECISIVE  BATTLE  OF  CANOPUS  FOUGHT  ON  THE  2IST 
OF  MARCH  — THE  ENGLISH  REMAIN  MASTERS  OF  THE  PLAIN  OP  ALEXANDRIA. — LONG  DELAY,  DURING  WHICH 
MENOU  MIGHT  HAVE  RF,TR1EVED  THE  FRENCH  FORTUNES,  BY  MANtEUVBING  AGAINST  THE  DETACHED  CORPS 
OP  THE  ENEMY.- MENOU  DOES  NOTHING. — THE  EN<iLISII  MAKE  AN  ATTACK  UPON  ROSETTA,  AND  SUCCEED  IN 
TAKING  POSSESSION  OP  ONE  OF  THE  MOUTHS  OF  THE  NILE.— THEY  ADVANCE  INTO  THE  INTERIOR.— THE  LAST 
CHANCE  OF  SAVING  EGYPT  AT  RAMANIKH  IS  LOST  BY  THE  INCAPACITY  OF  GENERAL  MENOU.— THE  ENGLISH 
SEIZE  UPON  BAMANIEH,  AND  CUT  OFF  THE  DIVISION  OF  CAIRO  FROM  THAT  OF  ALEX ANDRI A.— THE  FRENCH 
ARMY,  THUS  DIVIDED,  HAS  NO  CHOICE  BIT  TO  CA  PITULATE.— SURRENDER  OP  CAIRO  BY  GENERAL  BELLIARD. 
—  MENOU  IS  SHUT  UP  IN  ALE.XANURIA,  AND  DREAMS  OF  A  DEFENCE  SIMILAR  TO  THAT  OP  GENOA. — EGYPT  IS 
FINALLY    LOST   TO   FRANCE. 


The  object  of  the  first  consul  in  assuming  the 
direction  of  the  affairs  of  state  was  now  nearly 
attained.  Tranquillity  prevailed  tlirougliout  the 
French  dominions ;  there  was  satisfaction  upim 
every  mind,  for  a  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  at 


Lundvillc  with  Austria,  Germany,  and  the  Italian 
powers,  and  peace  was  re-established,  in  fact,  with 
nnssiu,  and  negotiating  in  London  with  England. 
Once  formally  signed  with  these  last  two  powers, 
and  the  traiuiuiliity  would  be  universal.     In  the 


232 


General  policy  of  the 
Russiau  court. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Embarrassing  position  of     1801. 
M.  Kalilclieff.  April. 


space  of  twenty-two  months,  young  Bonaparte 
would  have  accomplished  liis  noble  task,  and  liave 
made  his  country  the  grandest  and  happiest  on  the 
globe.  It  was  necessary,  therefore,  in  order  to 
complete  this  mighty  t;isk,  to  conclude  the  peace 
with  England;  because,  while  that  power  was  in 
arms,  the  sea  was  closed  to  France;  and,  what  was 
of  more  serious  consequence,  the  continental  war 
might  be  renewed,  under  the  corrupting  influence 
of  English  subsidies.  The  universal  exhaustion, 
it  is  true,  left  but  a  small  chance  for  England  to 
arm  the  continent  anew  against  Fi-ance;  while  she 
had  even  recently  seen  the  greater  part  coalesced 
with  France  against  her  maritime  power  :  and  had 
not  the  deatli  of  Paul  so  opportunely  occurred, 
she  might  liave  paid  dearly  for  her  violence 
towards  the  confederated  neutrals.  But  his  sud- 
den decease  was  a  new  and  serious  event,  which 
could  not  fail  to  alter  the  e.xisting  situation  of 
affairs.  What  influence,  then,  would  the  cata- 
strophe at  St.  Petersburg  exercise  upon  European 
politics  ?  This  was  the  question  which  the  first 
consul  was  impatient  to  discover.  He  had  sent 
Duroc  to  St.  Petersburg,  in  order  to  obtain  this 
information  as  early  and  as  correctly  as  possible. 

A  little  before  the  decease  of  Paul,  the  relations 
of  Russia  with  France  had  presented  very  con- 
siderable difficulties,  owing  to  the  excessive  arro- 
gance of  Piiul,  and  an  arrogance  in  his  representa- 
tive, M.  Kalitcheff,  not  less  than  that  of  his  master. 
The  defunct  czar,  as  already  stated,  wished  to 
dictate  to  France  the  conditions  of  a  peace  with 
Bavaria,  Wurtomberg,  Piedmont,  and  the  Two 
Sicilies,  states  of  which  he  was  made  the  protector, 
either  spontaneously  of  his  own  accord,  or  by 
obligation,  arising  out  of  treaties  which  had  been 
managed  under  the  second  coalition.  At  the  same 
time,  he  was  for  regulating  the  relations  of  France 
with  the  Porte,  and  pretended  that  the  first  consul 
was  bound  to  evacuate  Egypt,  because  tliat  pi'o- 
viuce  belonged  to  the  sultan,  and  that  there  were 
no  just  grounds  for  depriving  him  of  his  territory. 

This  ally,  full  of  ardent  hatred  as  he  was  against 
England,  was  still  a  very  dangerous  friend  ;  be- 
cause a  misunderstanding  with  him  might  easily 
arise.  That,  too,  which  only  appeared  to  be  a 
fruit  of  madness  in  the  emperor  Paul,  was  a  sin- 
gular indication  of  the  progress  of  Ru.ssian  ambi- 
tion during  three-quarters  of  a  century.  There 
were  scarcely  eighty  years  elap.sed,  since  Peter  the 
Great  attracted  the  attention  of  Europe  for  the 
firet  time,  limiting  the  extent  of  his  influence  to 
the  north  of  the  continent,  in  contesting  against 
Charles  XII.  the  honour  of  the  election  for  a  king 
of  Poland.  Forty  years  afterwards,  Russia,  already 
pushing  her  ambitious  designs  into  Germany,  fought 
against  Frederiik,  with  France  and  Austria,  in 
order  to  prevent  the  fonnation  of  the  Prussian 
power.  Some  years  later,  in  1772,  she  partitioned 
Poland.  In  1778  she  took  another  step,  and  on 
an  equality  with  France,  regulated  the  affairs  of 
Germany  ;  she  interpo.sed  her  mediation  between 
Prussia  and  Austria,  that  were  ready  to  make  war 
about  the  Bavarian  succession;  and  had  the  dis- 
tinguished honour  to  guarantee,  at  Teschen,  the 
Germanic  constitution.  Lastly,  before  the  end  of 
the  century  arrived,  in  1799,  she  sent  one  hundred 
thousand  Russians  into  Italy,  not  to  contest  a 
question  of  territory,  but  a  moral  question — for 


the  preservation,  she  said,  of  social  order,  threat- 
ened by  the  French  revolution. 

Never,  in  so  short  a  time,  is  there  exhibited  in 
history  so  great  a  degree  of  aggrandizement  ac- 
cruing to  any  single  state.  Paul,  who  would  fain 
be  the  arbitrator  of  every  thing,  as  the  price  of  his 
alliance  with  the  first  consul,  was  only,  therefore, 
the  unconscious  tool  of  a  policy  which  was  the  re- 
sult of  profound  design  in  the  Russian  cabinet. 
His  ambassador  at  Paris  requested,  in  cold  and 
unvarying  Iniughtiness,  that  which  his  master  de- 
manded with  his  accustomed  excitement,  when 
he  desired  to  have  his  will.  He  even  affected, 
clumsily  enough,  to  institute  himself  the  protector 
of  the  smaller  states,  which,  after  having  offended 
her,  were  now  at  the  mercy  of  France.  The 
court  of  Naples  had  sought  to  place  itself  under 
Russian  protection  :  but  this  had  not  met  with 
success,  because  M.  Gallo  had  been  sent  from 
Paris,  and  his  court  obliged  to  submit,  at  Florence, 
to  the  terms  of  the  first  consul.  M.  St.  Marsan, 
who  was  invested  with  the  same  powers  from  the 
house  of  Savoy  to  the  Fi'ench  republic,  having 
attempted  the  same  thing  as  M.  Gallo,  had  been 
sent  away  in  a  similar  manner. 

M.  Kalitcheft"  hastened  to  support  the  claims  of 
the  courts  of  Naples  and  Turin,  to  whom  his 
master  had  guaranteed  their  territories  ;  and  he 
understood,  in  signing  a  treaty  with  France,  that 
he  was  not  to  confine  himself  to  the  condition  of 
the  re-establishment  of  a  friendly  understanding 
between  the  two  empires,  which,  indeed,  had  no 
dispute  by  land  or  sea  to  settle,  but  to  regulate  the 
affairs  of  Germany  and  Italy,  in  nearly  all  their 
details,  and  even  those  of  the  East,  if  he  persisted 
in  demanding  the  restoration  of  Egypt  to  the 
Porte. 

In  spite  of  the  desii-e  of  France  to  be  on  an 
amicable  footing  with  the  emperor  Paul,  his  am- 
bassador was  answered  w  ith  firmness.  A  public 
treaty  had  been  agreed  upon  by  France,  which 
simply  re-established  amity  and  peace  between 
the  two  countrii-s ;  but  a  secret  convention  was 
added,  in  which  it  was  undertaken  to  concert  with 
Russia  the  regulation  of  the  Germanic  indemnities, 
and  to  favour,  in  particular,  the  courts  of  Baden, 
Wurteniberg,  and  Bavaria,  which  were  either  in 
Russian  I'elationship  or  alliance  ;  and  to  reserve 
an  indemnity  to  the  house  of  Savoy,  if  not  re- 
instated in  its  dominions;  but  without  stipulating 
when,  where,  or  to  what  extent,  because  the  first 
consul  had  already  harboured  the  design  of  keep- 
ing back  Piedmont  for  France.  This  was  all  that 
could  be  yielded.  As  to  Naples,  the  treaty  of 
Florence  was  declared  to  be  irrevocable ;  and  in 
respect  to  Egypt,  the  i-esolution  was  adopted  not 
to  listen  to  a  word  upon  that  subject. 

M.  Kalitcheff  having  insisted  in  a  tone  and 
manner  altogether  unaccountable  upon  these  points, 
the  matter  was  terminated  by  making  no  more 
replies  to  his  (juestions,  and  by  leaving  him  at 
Paris,  tolerably  embarrassed  in  his  official  cha- 
racter, and  in  the  engagements  he  had  entered 
into  with  the  smaller  states.  Matters  were  in  this 
situation  when  the  intelligence  arrived  of  the 
tragical  end  of  Paul  I.  ISI.  Kalitcheff,  without 
waiting  for  the  commands  of  his  new  sovereign, 
was  anxious  to  get  out  of  the  false  position  in 
which  he   had  placed  himself,  and,  therefore,  ad- 


1801.  His  communications  with 

April.  Talleyrand. 


EVACUATION  OF  EGYPT. 


Character  of  the  emperor 
Alexancer. 


233 


dressed  a  peremptory  nnte  to  M.  Talleyrand,  on 
the  2Gtli  of  A|iril,  to  which  he  requested  an  im- 
j  mediate  reply  u|)<in  all  the  points  of  the  negotiation, 
complaining  that  the  things  accorded  in  Berlin 
between  general  Benrnonville  and  M.  Krudener 
were  disputed  at  Paris.  He  seemed  to  insinuate, 
that  if  the  weaker  states  were  not  better  treated 
by  France,  tiie  glory  of  the  first  consul  would 
suflTer,  and  that  his  government  would  come  to  be 
cor.founded  with  the  revolutionary  governments 
that  had  i>receded  it. 

M.  Talleyrand  answered  immediately  that  liis 
communication  was  very  much  out  of  place;  that 
it  was  very  deficient  in  the  respect  due  from  in- 
dependent powers  to  one  another  ;  that  he  could 
not  place  it  under  the  eyes  of  the  first  consul 
without  offending  his  dignity  ;  that  M.  Kalitcheff 
might,  therefore,  consider  it  as  not  having  been 
forwarded;  and  that  the  reply  it  solicited,  in  the 
name  of  his  cabinet,  would  not  be  made,  until  the 
request  should  be  renewed  in  other  terms,  and  in 
another  despatch. 

Til  is  severe  lesson  bad  its  due  effect  upon  M. 
Kalitcheff.  He  appeared  to  feel  alarmed  at  the 
consequences  of  his  own  act.  Already  the  petty 
states  tliat  had  sought  a  shelter  behind  him, 
felt  apprehensive  of  liis  protection,  and  began  to 
regret  that  they  had  confided  their  interests  to  his 
hands.  M.  Kalitcheff,  reduced  to  the  necessity  of 
reproducing  bis  demands  in  a  better  form,  or  re- 
maining without  a  reply,  wrote  a  second  despatch, 
in  which  he  reiterated  his  request  for  an  explana- 
tion, but  confined  himself  to  an  enumeration  of 
each  head,  without  any  remark,  or  without  com- 
plaints or  com])linients.  The  despatch  was  cold; 
but  not  objectionable.  He  was  then  duly  informed 
by  M.  Talleyi-.uid,  that  in  this  new  form  his  ques- 
tions should  be  submitted  to  the  first  consul,  and 
should  receive  their  due  reply.  It  was  added  hy 
M.  Talleyrand,  that  the  last  despatch  only  sliould 
be  preserved  in  the  arehives  of  the  foreign-office, 
and  that  the  first  shotdd  be  destroyed. 

A  few  days  afterwards,  .M.  Talleyrand  answered 
M.  Kalitcheff  in  |)olite,  but  very  decided  terms. 
He  went  over  all  the  points  settled  by  the  French 
cabinet,  and  added  the  very  natural  reflection, 
that  if  France  had  consented,  in  regard  to  many 
of  the  most  importint  affairs  of  Europe,  to  concert 
them  amicably  with  Russia,  and  had  appeared 
disposed  to  do  tint  which  she  had  desired,  it  was 
in  consideration  nf  the  intimate  alliance  contraeti-<l 
with  Paul  I.  against  the  jjolicy  of  England  ;  but 
that  since  the  accession  of  the  czar  Alexander,  it 
Tvas  needful  to  understand  whether  the  new  em- 
peror woidd  enter  into  the  same  view.s,  and  afford 
tiic  s-amc  certainty  that  France  would  find  in  him 
an  ally  equally  as  constant  as  the  deceased  em- 
peror. 

After  that  day  M.  Kalitcheff  remained  perfectly 
inactive,  awaiting  instructions  from  his  new  master. 

The  i)rince,  wlio  had  just  a-scended  tiie  throne 
of  the  czars,  was  a  singular  character, — singular,  as 
tlie  greater  part  of  the  princes  have  been  who,  for 
a  century  past,  have  governed  in  Russia.  Alex- 
ander was  twenty  five  years  of  age,  till  of  stature, 
having  a  mild  and  noble  countenance,  though  his 
features  were  not  ])erfectly  regular;  lie  possessed 
an  acute  mind,  a  generous  heart,  and  complete 
grace  of  manner,     tjtill  tliere  might  be  perceived 


about  him  traces  of  paternal  infirmity.  His  mind, 
lively,  changeable,  and  su.sceptible,  was  continually 
impressed  with  the  most  contrary  ideas.  But  this 
remarkable  prince  was  not  always  led  away  by 
such  momentary  impidses ;  he  joined  with  his 
extensive  and  quickly-changing  comprehension,  a 
depth  of  mind  that  escaped  the  closest  observation. 
He  was  well-meaning,  and  a  di.ssemblerat  the  same 
time,  capable  of  acting  with  deep  subtilty;  already 
some  of  these  excellencies  and  defects  had  begun 
to  exhibit  themselves  in  the  tragical  events  which 
had  preceded  his  arrival  at  the  throne.  Let  care 
be  taken,  however,  not  to  calumniate  this  illus- 
trious ])rince  ;  he  had  been  under  a  complete  de- 
lusion in  regard  to  the  design  of  count  Pahlen;  he 
had  believed,  with  the  credulity  natural  to  his  age, 
that  the  abdication  of  his  father  was  the  only  ob- 
ject in  view,  and  would  be  the  sole  result  of  the 
conspiracy,  the  secret  of  which  had  been  entrusted 
to  him.  He  had  believed,  that  in  aiding  it,  he 
should  save  the  em])ire,  his  mother,  his  brothers, 
and  himself  from  unknown  violence.  Become  well 
acquainted  with  that  event,  he  detested  the  error 
of  which  he  had  been  guilty,  as  well  as  those  who 
had  led  him  into  it. 

This  young  emperor,  in  short,  of  noble  aspect, 
gracious  manners,  witty,  enthusiastic,  changeable, 
artificial,  difficult  to  penetrate,  was  endowed  with 
the  charm  of  great  personal  attraction,  and  was 
destined  to  exercise  over  his  contemporaries  the 
mo.st  seductive  influence.  He  was  even  destined 
to  exercise  this  seductive  influence  uiion  the  extra- 
ordinary man,  so  difficult  to  deceive,  who  then 
governed  France,  and  with  whom  he  was  one  day 
to  have  such  great  and  terrible  animosities. 

The  education  of  this  young  i)rince  was  a  strange 
one.  He  had  been  a  pupil  of  colonel  La  Harpe, 
who  had  inspired  him  with  the  feelings  and  notions 
of  Swiss  republicanism.  Alexander  liad  given  way 
to  tiie  influence  of  his  teacher  with  his  customary 
flexibility,  and  the  effect  was  visible  when  he  as- 
cended the  throne.  While  he  was  yet  an  imperial 
prince,  subjected  to  the  severe  rule,  first  of  Cathe- 
rine, and  tlien  of  Paul  I.,  he  formed  an  intimate 
acquaintance  with  some  young  per.sons  of  his  own 
age,  such  as  Paid  Strogonoff,  Nowosiltzoff,  and  above 
all,  prince  Adam  Czartorisky.  This  last  descended 
from  one  of  the  most  ancient  families  in  Poland, 
and  much  attached  to  his  native  land,  was  at  St.  Pe- 
tersburg as  a  sj)ecies  of  hostage:  he  served  in  the 
i-egiment  of  guards,  and  lived  at  court  with  the 
young  grand  dukes.  Alexander,  drawn  towards 
him  by  a  species  of  analogy  in  sentiments  and  ideas, 
comnuniicated  to  him  all  the  dreams  and  hopes  of 
his  youth.  Both  in  secret  deplored  the  misfortunes 
of  Poland,  a  thing  very  natural  in  a  descendant  of 
the  Czartoriskys,  but  rather  surprising  in  the 
grandson  of  Catherine.  Alexander' solemnly  vowed 
to  his  friend  that  when  he  ascended  the  throne,  he 
would  restore  her  laws  and  liburty  to  unhappy 
Poland. 

Paul,  who  had  observed  this  intimacy,  felt  of- 
fended at  it,  and  exiled  prince  Czartorisky,  by 
naming  him  his  minister  to  the  king  of  Sardinia,  a 
king  without  a  realm.  Scarcely  was  Alexander 
seated  upon  the  throne,  when  he  sent  off  a  courier 
to  bis  friend,  then  resident  at  Rome,  and  recalled 
him  to  St.  Peter.sbiirg.  He  also  unite<l  near  his 
person,  Nowosiltzoff  and  Paul  Strogonoff.    These 


.   Associates  of  the  emperor. 
"■^^      His  ostensible  ministers. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.    ^"/ett-.S'°"  "' ''• 


April. 


formed  a  sort  of  occult  govei-nment,  composed  of 
young  men  without  experience,  animated  by  the 
most  generous  feelings,  and  full  of  illusions,  little 
proper,  it  must  be  said,  to  dii-ect  a  great  govern- 
ment, iu  a  difficult  conjuncture  of  the  times.  They 
were  impatient  to  free  themselves  from  the  old 
Russians,  who  had,  until  then,  held  the  reins  of 
government,  and  with  whom  they  had  no  kind  of 
sympathy.  One  personage  alone,  older  and  more 
serious  than  themselves,  the  prince  Kotschoubey, 
mingled  in  this  young  society,  and  tempered  by  a 
riper  I'eason  their  youthful  vivacity.  This  prince 
had  travelled  all  over  Europe,  acquired  a  vast  deal 
of  knowledge,  and  engaged  his  sovereign's  attention 
U]3on  every  opportunity  with  the  ameliorations 
which  he  believed  it  would  be  very  usefid  to  effect 
in  the  interior  government  of  the  empire.  All  alike 
censured  the  course  of  policy  which  led  at  first  to 
the  making  war  upon  France  on  account  of  her 
revolution,  and  afterwards  in  carrying  it  on  against 
England  in  behalf  of  a  thesis  about  the  law  of  na- 
tions. They  were  against  a  war  of  pi-inciples  upon 
France,  or  a  naval  war  upon  England.  The  great 
empire  of  the  north,  according  to  them,  was  best 
employed  in  holding  the  balance  between  the  two 
powers,  that  threatened  to  swallow  up  the  world  in 
their  quarrel,  and  by  this  means  to  become  the 
arbitrator  of  Europe,  and  the  support  of  the  feeble 
states  against  the  strong.  More  generally,  how- 
ever, they  directed  their  attention  much  less  to 
exterior  politics  than  to  the  interior  regeneration 
of  the  empire.  They  did  not  do  less  than  meditate 
giving  her  new  institutions,  modelled  in  part  upon 
those  they  had  seen  in  civilized  countries  ;  they 
had,  in  a  word,  the  generosity,  inexperience,  and 
vanity  of  youth. 

Tlie  ostensible  ministei*s  of  Alexander,  were  the 
old  Russians,  prejudiced  against  France,  and  warm 
in  behalf  of  England,  besides  which  they  were 
much  disliked  by  the  sovereign.  Count  Pahlcn 
alone,  thanks  to  his  firm  judgment,  did  not  share 
the  prejudices  of  his  colleagues,  and  wished  that 
Russia  should  be  free  from  every  influence,  re- 
maining neuter  between  France  and  England.  In 
this  view  his  ideas  agreed  with  those  of  the  new 
emperor  and  his  friends.  But  count  Pahlen  com- 
mitted the  mistake  of  treating  Alexander  as  a 
youthful  prince,  whom  he  had  set  upon  the  throne, 
directed,  and  would  fain  still  direct.  The  sensitive 
vanity  of  his  young  master  was  thus  fi-equently 
wounded.  Count  Pahlen  behaved  too  with  great 
harshness  towards  thedowager  empress, whoshowed 
much  ostentatious  sorrow,  and  a  deadly  hatred  to 
her  husliand's  murderers.  In  a  religious  establish- 
ment of  her  own  foundation,  she  placed  an  image 
of  the  Virgin  Mary,  witii  Paul  at  her  feet,  implor- 
ing the  vengeance  of  Heaven  upon  his  assassins. 
Count  Pahlen  ordered  the  image  to  be  removed, 
in  spite  of  the  cries  of  the  empress,  and  the  dis- 
pleasure of  her  son.  An  ascendancy,  exercised  in 
such  a  manner  as  this,  could  not  be  of  very  pro- 
longed duration. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  reign  of  Alexander, 
count  Panin  continued  to  preside  as  foreign  mi- 
nister ;  count  Pahlen  still  remained  the  most  in- 
fluential, holding  a  share  in  all  the  branches  of  the 
government.  Alexander,  after  taking  tiie  advice 
of  his  friends,  went  and  transacted  business  after- 
wards with  his  ostensible  ministry.    Under  these 


different  influences,  sometimes  in  opposition  to 
each  other,  they  determined  to  treat  with  England, 
and  to  commence  by  taking  off'  the  embargo  on 
British  conmierce,  an  embargo,  according  to  Alex- 
ander, which  was  a  most  unjust  measure.  It  was 
then  decided  that  such  a  maritime  treaty  should 
befoi-med  through  lord  St.  Helens  with  England,  as 
should,  if  not  protect  the  rights  of  neutrals,  at  least 
I  secure  the  interests  of  Russian  navigation.  Alex- 
ander, i-anking  among  his  father's  irrational  notions 
the  pretension  to  the  grand-mastersliip  of  the  order 
of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  announced  that  he  would 
merely  be  the  protector  of  that  order,  until  the  dif- 
ferent languages  of  which  it  was  composed  should 
be  able  to  reassemble  and  to  choose  a  new  grand- 
master. This  resolution  easily  got  rid  of  all  tlie  dif- 
ficulties, whether  with  England,  who  set  a  great 
value  upon  Malta  on  the  one  hand,  or  France  upon 
the  other,  that  was  not  inclined  to  carry  on  a  war 
for  ever,  in  order  to  restore  the  island  to  the  knights, 
or  with  Rome  and  Spain,  who  had  never  consented 
to  acknowledge  for  the  grand-master  of  St.  John 
of  Jei-usalem  a  schismatic  prince. 

In  order  to  put  an  end  to  another  contested  sub- 
ject, it  was  resolved  that  the  evacuation  of  Egypt 
should  no  longer  be  insisted  upon  with  France,  since 
in  reality  Russia  was  as  little  interested  in  seeing 
that  country  in  the  hands  of  the  French  as  of  the 
English.  As  to  Naples  and  Piedmont,  Russia  was 
bound  to  these  states,  so  it  was  said,  by  solemn 
treaties,  and  Alexander,  on  commencing  his  i-eign, 
was  desirous  of  exhibiting  to  the  world  a  grand 
idea  of  his  good  failli.  It  was  agreed  that  he 
should  no  longer  stipulate  iu  behalf  of  Naples  for 
the  abrogation  of  the  treaty  of  Florence,  but  for 
the  guarantee  of  her  present  dominions,  and  at  a 
peace  for  the  evacuation  of  the  Gulf  of  Tarentura 
by  the  French.  As  to  Piedmont,  Russia  was  re- 
solved to  demand  for  the  house  of  Savoy  either 
Piedmont  itself,  or  a  proportionate  indemnity  in 
case  of  default.  Alexander  also  had  the  intention 
of  regulating,  in  concert  with  France,  the  indem- 
nity promised  to  the  German  pi-inces,  that  had 
been  deprived  of  territory  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Rhine.  Nothing  here  presented  any  difficulty,  the 
first  consul  having  given  his  consent  to  those 
points  already.  M.  Kalitcheff"  was  recalled,  and 
M.  Markoff"  was  chosen  to  be  his  successor;  a  man 
of  considerable  talent,  but  in  respect  to  a  know- 
ledge of  official  forms,  in  no  way  superior  to  his 
predecessor. 

Duroc,  sent  to  congratulate  the  new  emperor 
u])on  his  accession,  on  his  arrival  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, found  that  all  these  questions  had  been 
determined ;  he  obtained  from  the  ministers  as 
well  as  the  monarch  himself  a  very  favourable 
reception.  His  intelligence  and  elegance  of  man- 
ner succeeded  in  Russia  as  they  had  done  iu 
Prussia,  and  he  secured  for  himself  both  the  esteem 
and  confidence  of  the  Russians.  After  his  formal 
audiences  were  over  he  obtained  several  private 
interviews,  during  which  Alexander  made  a  sort  of 
display  in  the  revelation  of  his  sentiments  to  the 
representative  of  the  first  consul.  On  one  par- 
ticular occasion  in  a  public  garden  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, the  prince  perceived  Duroc,  went  up  to  him, 
addressed  him  with  a  graceful  familiarity,  bade  his 
attendants  remain  at  a  distance,  and  conducting 
him  to  a  retired  spot,  appeax'ed  to  open  his  mind 


1801. 
April. 


Conversation  between  the 
emperor  and  Duroc 


EVACUATION  OF  EGYPT. 


Negotiations  between  England 

and  France. — Territories  ac-         235 
quired  by  England. 


witli  perfect  freedom  :  "  I  am,"  said  he,  "  a  friend 
of  France  in  my  heart,  and  for  a  long  while  have 
admired  your  new  chief:  I  appreciate  what  he 
has  performed  for  the  peace  of  Europe  and  for  the 
maintenance  of  social  order.  He  need  not  appre- 
hend from  me  a  new  war  between  the  two  coun- 
tries. But  let  him  second  ray  sentiments,  and 
cease  to  furnish  pretexts  to  those  who  are  jealous 


IS  powt 


You  see  I  have  made  concessions. 


I  say  no  more  about  Egypt ;  I  had  rather  it  be- 
longed to  France  than  to  England  ;  and  if,  un- 
hajfpily,  the  English  should  take  it,  I  will  join 
with  you  to  snatch  it  out  of  their  liands.  1  have 
given  up  Malta,  in  order  to  remove  one  of  the  diffi- 
culties which  was  in  the  way  of  a  European  peace. 
I  am  in  alliance  with  the  kings  of  Naples  and 
Piedmont :  I  know  that  their  conduct  to  France 
has  not  been  correct ;  but  how  could  they  act 
differently,  surrounded  and  governed  as  they  have 
been  by  England  I  I  shall  see,  with  great  morti- 
fication, the  first  consul  seize  upon  Piedmont,  as 
some  recent  acts  of  his  administration  tend  to  make 
me  believe  is  his  inti  ntion.  Naples  complains  of 
being  deprived  of  a  portion  of  her  territory.  This 
is  ail  unworthy  of  the  first  consul,  and  dims  his 
glory.  He  is  not  charged,  like  the  governments 
which  have  preceded  him,  with  threatening  social 
order,  but  he  is  accused  of  wishing  to  invade  every 
state.  This  is  injurious  to  him,  and  exposes  me, 
myself,  to  the  clamours  of  the  minor  states,  by 
wiiom  I  am  besieged.  Let  him  cease  to  suffer 
these  difficulties  to  exist  between  us,  and  wo  shall 
live  in  future  under  a  perfectly  good  understanding." 
Alexander,  unbosoming  himself  still  more,  added  : 
"  Say  nothing  of  all  this  to  my  ministers  ;  be  dis- 
creet ;  employ  none  but  trustworthy  couriers.  Tell 
general  Bonaparte  to  send  me  men  ujjon  whom  I 
can  rely.  The  most  direct  relations  will  be  found 
the  best  for  establishing  a  good  understanding  be- 
tween the  two  governments."  Alexander  added  a 
few  words  more  relating  to  England.  He  affirmed 
that  he  would  not  yield  up  to  her  the  dominion  of 
the  seas,  the  common  property  of  all  nations  ;  that 
if  he  had  removed  the  embargo  on  English  vessels, 
it  was.from  a  .sense  of  justice.  Preceding  ti-eaties 
had  stipulated,  that  in  case  of  a  rupture,  a  year 
should  be  allowed  to  the  English  merchants  for 
the  purpose  of  settling  their  affairs  ;  it  was,  there- 
fore, a  gross  injustice  to  seize  upon  their  property. 
"  I  will  not  be  guilty  of  such  an  act,"  Alexander 
exclaimed  strongly  ;  "  my  sole  motive  was  to  do 
justice.  I  do  not  intend  to  deliver  myself  up  to 
England.  It  depends  entirely  upon  the  first  con- 
sul wliether  1  bliall  continue  to  be  his  ally, — his 
friend." 

During  this  conversation  the  young  emperor 
appeared  to  have  a  confiding  spirit,  devoid  of  pre- 
tence, d<?8irous  evidently  to  make  little  of  his  minis- 
ters, and  to  sliow  that  he  had  his  own  views,  and  a 
personal  system  of  policy. 

Duroc  left  .St.  Petersburg  loaded  witli  the  favours 
and  proofs  of  regard  he  had  received  from  the 
emperor. 

It  was  clear  from  these  communications  that 
Russia  would  no  long<r  be  any  great  help  against 
Englanil,  but  still  tliat  there  would  in  future  bo  a 
much  less  difficulty  in  arranging  the  general  affairs 
of  Europe.  The  first  consul,  now  b(Mng  certain  of 
coming  to  a  good  uiulerstanding  witii  the  Russian 


court,  did  not  hasten  to  terminate  the  negotiation, 
because  time  seemed  every  day  to  smooth  the  diffi- 
culties that  had  subsisted  between  the  two  nations. 
England,  in  fact,  exhibited  at  the  moment  but 
little  interest  in  the  houses  of  Naples  and  Pied- 
mont ;  and  if,  as  there  was  ground  to  believe,  she 
no  longer  made  their  concerns  one  of  the  conditions 
of  the  peace,  it  would  be  much  more  easy  for 
France  to  act  as  she  saw  fit  in  regard  to  these  two 
houses,  when  England  herself  had  given  them 
over  to  the  first  consul. 

The  negotiation  with  England  now  became  the 
main  question,  and,  indeed,  almost  the  only  one 
left  to  arrange.  In  order  to  conduct  it  coi-rectly, 
it  was  not  only  necessary  to  negotiate  in  London 
with  ability,  but  also  to  push  forwax-d  with  alacrity 
the  war  in  Poi-tugal,  and  as  well  as  to  dispute  Egypt 
with  the  British  forces;  because  the  issue  of  events 
in  •those  two  countries  could  not  fail  to  exercise 
a  great  influence  ujjon  the  future  treaty.  The 
first  consul  also,  wishing  to  throw  more  weight 
into  the  scale,  made  additional  preparations  with 
much  ostentation  at  Boulogne  and  at  Calais,  in 
order  that  it  might  be  thought  that  the  extreme 
measure  of  an  invasion  of  England,  long  meditated 
by  the  directory,  was  neither  beyond  his  calcu- 
lations nor  his  means.  Numerous  bodies  of  troops 
were  put  in  march  towards  that  part  of  France, 
and  on  the  coasts  of  Normandy,  Flandei's,  and 
Picardy,  a  great  number  of  gun-boats  were  assem- 
bled, strongly  built  and  well-armed,  capable  of 
can-ying  troops,  and  of  crossing  the  channel  at 
Calais. 

In  consequence  of  their  arrangements  previously 
made,  lord  Hawkesbury  and  M.  Otto  were  em- 
ployed about  the  middle  of  April,  1801,  or  Germi- 
nal, year  ix.,  in  diplomatic  conferences.  Accord- 
ing to  customai-y  usage,  the  first  demands  were 
excessive.  England  proposed  a  simple  arrange- 
ment as  a  basis,  namely,  the  titi  possideatis ;  that  is 
to  say,  that  each  should  retain  whatever  acqui- 
sitions the  chances  of  war  had  thrown  into  their 
hands.  England,  in  fact,  profiting  by  the  long 
contest  of  Europe  against  France,  was  herself  en- 
riched while  her  allies  wci'e  exhausted,  and  h.ad 
captured  the  colonies  of  every  other  nation.  She 
had  seized  the  entire  continent  of  India,  as  well  as 
the  most  important  commercial  positions  in  the 
four  quarters  of  the  globe.  From  the  Dutch  she 
had  taken  Ceylon,  that  large  and  rich  island,  ])laccd 
at  the  extreme  of  the  Indian  peninsula,  and  form- 
ing to  it  so  desirable  a  pendant.  She  had  acquired 
the  other  Dutch  possessions  in  the  Indian  sea.s, 
except,  it  is  true,  the  large  colony  of  Java.  She 
had  taken  from  them  between  the  two  oceans  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  one  of  the  best  situated  nutri- 
tiine  stations  on  the  globe.  Her  contiimed  efforts 
had  not  succeeded  in  wresting  the  Mauritius 
from  France,  which  she  had  never  ceased  to 
liold.  In  South  America  she  had  deprived  the 
unfortunate  Dutch,  the  most  ill-treated  power  of 
all  during  the  war,  of  the  territory  of  Guiana,  ex- 
tending between  the  Amazons  and  Orinoko,  con- 
taining Surinam,  Bcrbice,Demerara, and  Esscquibo; 
7uagnificent  countries,  the  agricultural  and  com- 
meicial  development  of  wliich  were  not  tiien  and 
have  not  yet  been  developed,  but  wliich  are  one 
day  destined  to  attain  wonderful  prosperity  ;  aiul 
wliich  presented  besides  the  advantage  of  being  the 


Conquests  made  by  Eng 
-•J"       land  and  France. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Basis  of  negotiation  pro- 
posed by  England. — 
IBonaparte's  answer. 


1801. 
April. 


first  step  gained  towards  the  great  Spanish  colonies 
on  the  American  continent.  England  coveted  these 
colonies.  She  had  entertained  the  design  of  aid- 
ing them  in  the  attainment  of  their  independence, 
in  order  to  avenge  herself  for  what  had  happened 
in  North  America  ;  and  slie  flattered  herself  be- 
sides, reasonably  enough,  that,  being  independent, 
they  would  soon  become  the  prey  of  her  commerce. 
It  was  for  this  reason  that  she  set  a  great  value 
upon  the  conquest  of  one  of  the  West  India  islands 
from  the  Spaniards,  one  of  the  Antilles,  the  fine 
island  of  Trinidad,  situated  close  to  South  America, 
a  sort  of  footing,  as  well  disposed  for  contraband 
trade  as  for  aiigression  upon  the  Spanish  posses- 
sions. She  had  made  another  grand  and  valuable 
acquisition  in  the  Antilles,  in  the  French  island  of 
Martinique.  The  manner  in  which  she  captui'ed 
this  island  had  not  been  very  legitimate,  because 
the  colonists,  dreading  an  insurrection  of  the 
slaves,  had  placed  themselves,  for  a  temporary 
purpose,  in  her  hands  ;  and  of  a  voluntary  deposit, 
she  had  made  them  a  property.  I'ngland  held  fast 
Martinique  on  account  of  the  fine  harbour  belong- 
ing to  that  island.  She  had  taken  besides  in  the 
Antilles  St.  Lucieii  and  Tobago,  islands  of  far  less 
consequence  than  the  others,  and  towards  the  fish- 
ing station,  St.  Fiei-re,  and  Miquelon.  Lastly,  in 
Europe  she  had  taken  the  best  of  the  Balearic 
islands  from  Spain  ;  and  from  the  French,  who 
had  captured  it  from  the  knights  of  St.  John  of 
Jerusalem,  Malta,  the  queen  of  the  Mediterranean. 

After  these  conquests,  it  may  be  well  said  that 
there  was  little  left  for  her  to  dispute  about  with 
the  maritime  nations,  the  continental  possessions  of 
the  Spaniards  in  the  two  Americas  excepted.  It 
is  true  that  the  English  threatened,  if  the  French 
persisted  in  marching  into  Portugal,  she  would 
recompense  herself  by  the  seizui-e  of  Brazil. 

To  balance  these  vast  maritime  acquisitions, 
Fi-ance  had  taken  the  finest  portions  of  the  Eu- 
ropean continent,  much  more  important  than  all 
those  distant  maritime  territories.  But  she  had 
restoi-ed  all  with  the  exception  of  that  portion  com- 
prised between  the  great  lines  of  the  Alps,  the 
Rhine,  and  the  Pyrenees.  She  had  conquered 
besides  a  colony,  which  to  her  alone  was  a  compen- 
sation for  all  the  colonial  greatness  which  England 
had  obtained — that  was  Egypt.  No  other  posses- 
sion was  of  equal  value  to  that.  If  it  was  thouglit 
necessary  to  shake  the  new  empire  of  England  in 
India,  Egypt  was  the  most  certain  road  to  ai-rive  at 
it.  If  it  were  only  contemplated  which  was  the 
wiser  plan,  to  bring  to  the  ports  of  France  a  part 
of  the  commerce  of  the  East,  Egypt  was  still  the 
natural  road  of  that  commerce.  For  peace  as  for 
war,  then,  it  was  the  most  precious  colony  in  the 
world.  If  at  that  moment  the  head  of  the  French 
government  had  considered  alone  the  interests  of 
France,  and  not  that  of  his  allies,  he  might  have 
accepted  the  terms  pro|)osed  by  Enghind  ;  since 
Martinique  itself,  the  sole  direct  loss  worthy  of 
attention  that  France  suffered  during  the  war,  was 
of  little  or  no  moment  compared  to  Egypt,  the  real 
empire  placed  between  the  east  and  west,  com- 
manding, and,  at  the  same  time,  shortening  the 
communications  between  the  seas.  But  the  first 
consul  considered  himself  bound  in  honour  to  re- 
store to  the  allies  of  France  a  great  part  of  their 
possessions.     It  did  not  depend  upon  him  to  sjjare 


Holland  for  all  the  sacrifices  to  which  she  was  con- 
demned by  the  defection  of  her  navy,  which  had, 
as  is  well  known,  followed  the  stadtholder  to  Eng- 
land ;  but  it  was  the  duty  of  the  first  consul  to 
restore  the  Cape  and  Guiana.  He  wished  that 
Spain,  which  had  acquired  nothing  during  the  war, 
should  lose  nothing ;  and  that  Trinidad  and  the 
Balearic  islands  should  be  restored  to  her ;  lastly, 
it  was  determined,  at  no  price,  to  cede  Malta ; 
because  that  would  weaken  the  conquest  of  Egypt, 
and  render  its  possession  precarious  iu  the  hands  of 
Fi'ance. 

The  intention  of  the  first  consul  was  to  leave 
Indostan  to  the  English  undisturbed,  including  the 
small  factories  of  Chandernagore  and  Pondiclierry, 
which  were  of  no  moment  to  France;  even  to  give 
up  Ceylon,  the  pi-operty  of  the  Dutch:  but  to  de- 
mand the  restoration  of  the  Cape,  Guiana,  Trinidad, 
Martinique,  the  Balearic  islands,  and  Malta ;  and 
to  retain  Egy|)t  as  an  equivalent  for  the  conquest 
of  India  by  the  English.  It  will  be  seen  how  he 
conducted  himself  to  attain  this  end,  during  a 
negotiation  which  continued  for  five  entire  months. 

To  the  idea  of  adopting  the  uti  pvzsideatis  as  the 
basis  of  the  future  peace,  the  Fi'ench  negotiator 
was  ordered  to  reply  by  the  most  explicit  argu- 
ments :  "  Would  you  lay  down  the  principle,"  he 
said  to  lord  Hawkesbury,  "  that  each  nation  should 
keep  its  conquests  ;  in  that  case  France  should 
keep,  in  Germany,  Baden,  Wurtemberg,  Bavaria, 
and  three-fourths  of  Austria;  she  should  keep  in 
Italy,  the  whole  country,  the  ports  of  Genoa,  Leg- 
horn, Naples,  and  Venice.  She  should  keep 
Switzerland,  which  she  intends  to  evacuate  as  soon 
as  she  has  established  a  proper  order  of  things 
there;  she  should  keep  Holland,  occupied  by  her 
armies,  where  she  might  build  and  fit  out  the  most 
powerful  navy.  She  should  take  Hanover,  and  be- 
stow it  as  a  compensation  to  certain  powers  upon 
the  continent,  and  by  this  means  attach  them  to 
her  for  ever.  She  could,  finally,  push  on  the  cam- 
paign against  Portugal,  and  indemnify  Spain  out 
of  that  country,  securing  new  ports  for  herself. 
How  important  would  these  naval  stations  be,  ex- 
tending from  the  Texel  to  Lisbon  and  Cadiz,  from 
Cadiz  to  Genoa,  from  thence  to  Otronto,  and  from 
Otronto  to  Venice.  If  abstract  principles  were  to 
be  laid  down  as  the  basis  of  the  negotiations,  peace 
\\ould  be  impossible.  France  had  restored  the 
greater  part  of  her  conquests  to  their  respective 
governments  :  to  Austria  she  had  given  back  a 
part  of  Italy;  to  the  court  of  the  Two  Sicilies  the 
Idngdom  of  Naples;  to  the  pope  the  Roman  states 
entire;  she  had  given  Tu?cany,  which  it  was  easy 
for  her  to  have  kept,  to  the  house  of  Spain;  she 
had  re-established  Genoa  in  her  independence;  she 
Imd  confined  herself  to  making  Lombardy  a 
friendly  rej)ublic  ;  and  was  preparing  to  evacuate 
Switzerland,  Holland,  and  even  Hanover.  It  was 
necessary,  therefore,  that  England  should  give  up 
a  part  of  her  conquests.  Those  which  France  de- 
manded (lid  not  affect  herself  directly,  but  her 
allies.  France  held  it  her  duty  to  get  them  back, 
in  order  to  give  them  to  their  real  owners.  Be- 
sides, if  India  and  Ceylon  were  conceded  to  Eng- 
land, the  possessions  demanded  to  be  I'estored 
could  be  of  little  consequence.  If  England  would 
make  no  concession,  she  should  say  as  much,  and 
declare  that  the  negotiation  was  only  a  deception. 


ISUl. 
April. 


Negotiations  between 


EVACUATION  OF  EGYPT. 


England  and  France. 


237 


The  world  sliould  know  through  whose  fault  it  was 
that  peace  became  impossible.  France  would  then 
make  a  last  effort,  a  difficult  and  perilous  effort, 
but  which  would,  perhaps,  be  fatal  for  England; 
because  the  first  consul  did  nut  despair  of  being 
able  to  cross  the  straits  of  Calais  at  the  head  of  a 
hundred  thousand  men." 

Lord  Hawkesbury  and  Mr.  Addingtou  nego- 
tiated with  the  desire  to  make  an  advantageous 
peace  for  themselves,  which  was  perfectly  natural; 
and  they  wished  it  to  be  speedy.  They  were 
aware  of  the  foi-ce  of  the  arguments  used  by  the 
French  cabinet,  and  felt  the  stern  resolve  con- 
tained in  its  words.  They  set  themselves  at  once 
to  lower  their  pretensions,  and  to  open  the  way  to 
a  reconciliation.  They  first  answered  the  argu- 
ments of  the  first  consul,  respecting  the  conquests 
given  back  by  France,  that  if  she  had  abandoned 
a  part  of  her  conquests,  it  was  because  she  was 
unable  to  retain  them;  while  no  navy  in  the  world 
was  able  to  take  from  the  English  those  colonies 
which  she  had  acquired.  That  if  France  did  re- 
store a  portion  of  the  territory  occupied  by  her 
armies,  she  kept  Nice,  Savoy,  the  banks  of  the 
Rhine,  and,  above  all,  the  mouths  of  the  Schelde 
and  Antwerp,  which  were  a  considerable  aggran- 
dizement, not  only  by  land,  but  sea  ;  that  it  was 
necessary  to  re-establish  the  equilibrium  of  Europe, 
if  not  wholly  on  the  continent,  at  least  upon  the 
ocean;  that  if  France  desired  to  preserve  Egy|)t, 
India  was  no  longer  a  sufficient  compensation  for 
England;  and  that  the  British  cabinet  would  then 
retain  a  great  part  of  its  new  acquisitions.  Still, 
added  lord  Hawkesbury,  we  nave  only  made  the 
first  proposition  ;  we  are  ready  to  give  way  upon 
any  point  which  may  be  shown  to  be  too  rigorous. 
We  will  restore  some  of  our  conquests;  only  state 
to  us  those  of  which  the  restitution  appears  to  you, 
at  least,  most  desirable. 

The  first  consul  replied  in  an  animated  manner 
to  these  arguments  of  the  Englisli  ministry.  It 
was  not  correct  to  say,  according  to  liini,  that  Eng- 
land could  keep  all  her  maritime  conquests,  while, 
on  the  other  hand,  France  wiis  unable  to  retain  here 
on  the  continent  of  Europe.  The  continental  war 
being  closed,  either  by  the  complete  exhaustion  of 
the  allies  of  England,  or  by  the  distaste  which  others 
had  formed  for  her  alliance,  France,  aided  by  the 
resources  of  Holland,  S|)ain,  and  Italy,  might  have 
done  whatsoever  she  desired  upon  the  continent  ; 
and  she  was  in  a  state  to  do  much  more  upon  the 
ocean  than  the  British  ministers  would  believe. 
France,  without  doubt,  could  not  have  kept  the 
centre  of  Germany  and  three  parts  of  Austria 
without  a  convulsive  overturn  of  all  Europe;  but 
8he  could  have  made  a  much  less  moderate  peace 
than  that  of  Lun^ville;  she  would  have  been  able, 
Austria  being  so  exhausted  after  Hohenlinden,  to 
have  kept  all  Italy  and  Switzerland,  without  the 
slightest  opjxmition  from  any  quarter.  In  respect 
to  a  continental  e({uilibriuin,  that  had  been  de- 
stroyed upon  the  day  wiien  Prussia,  Russia,  and 
Austria  j)arti^ioned  the  large  and  fine  kingdom  of 
Poland  among  themselves,  without  the  slightest 
equivalent  for  any  other  power.  The  banks  of  the 
Rhine  and  the  slopes  of  liie  Alps  were  scarcely  an 
equivalent  to  France  for  what  these,  her  rivals, 
had  acquired  upon  the  continent.  Over  sea, 
Egypt  was  scarcely  a  compensation  to  her  for  the 


conquest  of  the  Indies.  It  might  be  doubted,  if, 
even  with  that  colony,  France  could  keep  her  an- 
cient maritime  proportions  in  regard  to  England. 

These  arguments  had  reason  on  their  side,  and 
fortunately  the  arm  of  strength,  for  both  one  and 
the  other  "are  necessary  in  a  negotiation.  The  basis 
of  the  treaty  was  soon  agreed  upon.  It  was  settled 
that  Engliind  in  having  undisturbed  jwssession  of 
India,  should  restore  a  part  of  the  conquests  she 
had  made  from  Fi-ance,  Spain,  and  Holland.  The 
detail  of  the  particular  territories  she  was  to  keep 
or  restore  will  be  next  considered. 

Without  granting  the  formal  possession  of  Egypt 
to  France,  a  point  which  the  English  negotia- 
tor reserved  as  doubtful,  he  jiroposed  two  hypo- 
theses, one  in  which  France  preserved  Egypt,  and 
another  in  which  she  renounced  it,  whether  she 
lost  it  by  force  of  arms  or  voluntarily  gave  it  up. 
On  the  first  hypothesis,  that  of  the  retention  of 
Egypt  by  France,  England,  retaining  India  and 
Ceylon,  as  well  as  Chandernagore  and  Pondicherry, 
would  require  in  addition,  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
a  part  of  the  Guianas,  that  is  to  say,  Berbice,  De- 
meriira,  Essequibo,  Trinida<i,  and  Martinique  in 
the  Antilles;  finally,  and  above  all,  Malta,  in  the 
Mediteri-anean.  She  would  give  up  the  smaller 
Dutch  possessions  of  India,  Surinam,  the  insignifi- 
cant islands  of  St.  Lucia,  Tobago,  St.  Pierre,  Mi- 
quelon,  and  finally,  Minorca.  Under  the  second 
hypothesis,  in  w  Inch  the  French  were  not  to  remain 
masters  of  Egypt,  England  demanded  India  and 
Ceylon,  but  consented  to  give  up  the  small  colo- 
nies of  Pondicherry  and  Chandernagore,  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hojie,  Martinique  or  Trinidad,  whichever 
France  might  |)refer,she  keeping  the  other.  Lastly, 
she  demanded  Malta,  but  not  peremptorily. 

These  restitutions,  in  the  o])inii.n  of  the  first 
consul,  were  not  sufficient.  The  negotiation  not- 
withstanding approximated  at  last  towards  an  ac- 
commodation, and  after  a  month  of  discussion, 
arrived  at  the  following  ])ropositions,  which  were 
at  bott<im  the  real  views  of  both  governments. 

England  insisted  in  any  case  upon  India  and 
Ceylon.  If  the  French  evacuated  Egypt,  she  was 
to  leave  them  the  small  factories  of  Pondicherry 
and  Chandernagore.  She  restored  the  Cape  to  the 
Dutch  upon  the  condition  of  its  being  declared  a 
free  port.  She  restored  to  Holland  also  Berbice, 
Demerara,  and  Essequibo,  on  the  American  con- 
tinent; and  the  colony  of  Surinam  :  she  restored 
one  of  the  two  great  islands  in  the  Antilles,  Mar- 
tinique or  Trinidiid  ;  and  rendered  back  St.  Lucia, 
Tobago,  St.  Pierre,  and  Mi(|uelon,  and  lastly, 
Malta  and  Minorca.  Thus,  as  the  result  of  the 
war  she  gained,  if  France  did  not  keep  Egypt, 
the  continent  of  India,  Ceylon,  and  one  of  the 
two  principal  Antilles,  Trinidad  or  Martinique. 
If  the  French  kept  Egypt,  she  obtained  besides 
Chandernagore  and  Pondicherry,  the  Cape,  Mar- 
tinique, Trinidad,  and  finally,  Malta.  That  is 
to  say,  England,  in  the  second  case,  deemed  it  a 
necessary  precaution  to  deprive  France  of  her 
footing  at  Chandernagore  and  Pondicherry,  places 
in  the  peninsula  of  India,  and  as  an  indemnity, 
Trinidad,  which  threatened  S|)aiiish  America, 
Martinique,  which  has  the  best  port  in  the  An- 
tilles, and  finally,  Malta,  the  best  port  in  the 
Mediterranean. 

In  regard  to  the  Cape,  Marthiique,  or  Trinidad, 


238      Degraded  state  of  i 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Preparations  for  the  in-        1801 
vasion  of  Portugal.  April 


and  JIalta,  demanded  over  and  above  in  case  the 
French  possessed  Egypt,  they  were  far  from  being 
as  valuable  as  that  important  possession;  and  al- 
though it  would  have  been  most  expedient  to  eon- 
sent  at  once  had  tliis  condition  been  unavoidable, 
the  first  consul  had  still  the  hope  to  keep  Egypt, 
and  pay  less  dearly  for  its  possession.  He  hoped 
that  if  the  English  ai-my  sent  towards  the  Nile 
should  fail,  and  that  if  the  Spaniards  pushed  with  ra- 
pidity the  war  against  Portugal,  ho  should  be  able 
to  obtain  the  Cape  for  the  Dutch,  Trinidad  for  the 
Spaniards,  and  Malta  for  the  order  of  St.  John  of 
Jerusalem,  thus  obliging  England  to  remain  con- 
tent with  India,  Ceylon,  a  part  of  the  Guianas,  and 
one  or  two  of  the  lesser  Antilles. 

Every  thing  tlierefore  depended  upon  the  events 
of  the  war  ;  and  the  English,  hoping  it  would  ter- 
minate to  their  advantage,  were  not  reluctant  to 
avert  the  issue  which  could  not  remain  long  un- 
settled, because  it  rested  only  upon  the  knowledge 
whether  the  Spaniards  would  venture  to  march 
upon  Portugal,  and  whether  the  English  troops  on 
board  lord  Keith's  fieet  in  the  Mediterranean 
could  make  good  their  landing  in  Egypt.  In  order 
to  be  acquainted  with  these  two  results,  a  month  or 
two  was  all  the  time  necessary.  Thus,  on  both  one 
side  and  the  other  great  care  was  taken  not  to  break 
off  the  negotiation,  which  both  were  sincerely 
anxious  should  terminate  in  peace.  Each  took  the 
step  of  gaining  time;  to  this  end  the  numerous  and 
complicated  nature  of  the  subjects  which  they  had 
to  discuss,  furnished  a  very  natural  means,  without 
having  recourse  to  much  of  the  finesse  of  diplo- 
macy. 

"All  depends,"  wrote  Otto,  "upon  two  things — 
will  the  English  army  be  beaten  in  Egypt  ?  Will 
Spain  marcli  freely  against  Portugal  ?  Hasten;  ob- 
tain these  two  results,  or  one  of  them,  and  you  will 
make  the  finest  peace  in  the  world."  "  But  I  must 
inform  you,"  he  added,  "that  if  the  English  minis- 
ters have  a  dread  of  the  soldiers  in  our  army  of 
Egyi)t,  they  have  very  little  of  the  resolution  of  the 
court  of  Spain." 

The  first  consul  made  continual  efforts  to  arouse 
to  action  the  old  court  of  Si)ain,  and  to  obtain  its 
concurrence  in  his  two  great  designs,  which  on 
one  part  consisted  in  seizing  upon  Portugal,  on  the 
other,  in  directing  towards  Egypt  the  naval  forces 
of  the  two  countries.  Unluckily  the  resources 
of  the  Spanish  monarchy  were  nearly  exhausted. 
A  good-hearted  king,  but  blinded  and  absorbed  by 
the  most  viilgnr  cares,  little  worthy  of  a  monarch, 
a  queen  given  up  to  the  most  shameless  debauch- 
eries, a  vain,  frivolous,  incai)ablo  favourite,  wasted 
in  reckless  exce.sses  the  last  resources  of  the  mon- 
archy of  Charles  V.  Lueien  Bonaparte,  despatclied 
as  ambassad  ir  to  Madrid,  for  the  purjiose  of  in- 
demnifying him  for  the  loss  of  the  ministry  of  the 
interior,  Lueien,  e:iger  to  rival  the  diplomatic  success 
of  his  brother  Joseph,  laboured  in  Si)ain  to  serve 
the  cause  of  the  first  consul  with  credit  and  bril- 
liancy. It  is  true  tiiat  he  obtained  some  influence, 
thanks  to  his  name,  and  to  the  successful  boldness 
with  which  he  neglected  the  ostensible  ministers, 
and  put  himself  in  communication  with  the  real 
head  of  the  government,  the  prince  of  the  peace. 
Placing  before  the  prince  the  resentment  or  favour 
of  the  first  consul  as  a  choice,  he  had  excited  in 
him  a  more  than  common  zeal  for  the  interests  of 


the  alliance,  and  had  made  him  adopt  to  the  full 
extent  the  plan  for  the  invasion  of  Portugal. 
Lueien  had  said  to  the  court  of  Spain  :  "  You  wish 
for  peace,  and  you  wish  it  to  be  of  advantage  to 
yourselves,  or  at  least  not  injurious;  you  desire 
that  it  shall  terminate  without  the  loss  of  any  of 
your  colonies ;  aid  us  then  in  securing  pledges, 
of  which  we  will  make  use  to  obtain  from  Eng- 
land the  larger  part  of  her  maritime  conquests." 
These  reasons  were  good;  but  they  were  not  the 
most  convincing  to  the  prince  of  the  peace.  Lueien 
had  devised  others  much  more  efficacious.  "  You 
are  every  thing  here,"  he  said  to  the  favourite  ; 
"my  brother  knows  that  well;  he  will  lay  at  your 
door  alone  the  failure  of  the  plans  of  the  alliance. 
Would  you  have  the  Bonapartes  friends  or  ene- 
mies 1"  Tliese  arguments,  first  employed  to  push 
the  war  with  Portugal,  were  every  day  used  to 
hasten  the  preparations.  Still,  whatever  arguments 
were  used  to  urge  forward  the  prince  of  the  peace, 
he  did  not  betray  the  interests  of  his  country.  He 
was,  on  the  contrary,  in  no  way  better  enabled  to 
serve  them  than  by  the  war  against  Portugal,  he- 
cause  that  was  the  sole  mode  of  obtaining  from 
England  the  restitution  of  the  Spanish  colonies. 

The  preparations  were  therefore  accelerated  as 
much  as  possible,  and  the  last  I'esources  of  the 
monarchy  were  applied  to  its  conii)letion.  Who 
could  believe  that  tliis  great  and  noble  nation,  the 
glory  of  which  has  filled  the  world,  and  of  which 
the  patrifjtism  was  soon  to  appear  with  great  lustre, 
unhappily  for  France, — who  could  believe  that  it 
was  with  great  difficulty  she  was  able  to  assemble 
twenty-five  thousand  men  ? — she,  with  her  mag- 
nificent harbours  and  ports  and  her  numerous 
vessels,  the  relics  of  the  fine  reign  of  Charles  III. 
— who  could  believe  she  was  even  embarrassed  to 
pay  a  few  workmen  in  the  arsenals  to  set  afloat  a 
man  of  war  or  two  ?  and  more,  that  it  was  out  of 
her  power  to  victual  her  fleet  ?  Who  could  credit 
that  her  fifteen  ships/  blockaded  in  Brest  for  two 
years,  were  the  whole  of  her 'navy,  at  least,  of  her 
navy  fit  for  service  ?  The  want  of  the  precious 
metals,  in  consequence  of  the  interruption  of  her 
trade  with  Mexico,  had  reduced  her  to  a  paper 
currency,  and  that  paper  currency  was  at  the  lowest 
point  of  depreciation.  An  api)lication  was  now 
made  to  the  clergy,  who  did  not  possess  at  the 
moment  the  funds  for  which  thei-e  was  an  imme- 
diate necessity;  but  possessing  a  credit  which  was 
accorded  to  the  crown,  and  applying  it  to  the  ob- 
ject, the  preparations  that  had  been  begun  were 
completed. 

Twenty-five  thousand  men,  not  very  badly 
equipped,  were  at  length  sent  on  the  march  to- 
wards BadajoZ;  but  they  were  not  sufficient.  The 
prince  of  the  peace  I'.ail  declared  that  without  a 
division  of  French  troops  he  would  not  dare  to 
enter  Portugal.  The  first  consul  had  united  such 
a  division  in  haste  at  Bordeaux.  They  had  soon 
traversed  the  Pyrenees,  and  were  in  rapid  march 
upon  Ciudad  Rodrigo.  The  prince  of  the  peace 
wished  to  enter  Portugal  with  the  Spaniards  by 
Alentejo,  while  the  French  divisions  penetrated 
by  the  provinces  of  Tras-os-Montes  and  BeYra.  Ge- 
neral St.  Cyr,  who  commanded  the  Freiich,  had 
gone  to  Madrid  to  arrange  the  operations  with  the 
prince  of  the  jieace  ;  and  although  that  officer  was 
not  well  fitted  to  humour  the  temper  of  others. 


1801.       Portujal  resistsjh'' demands 
Aiiril.         of  Spain  and  i- ranee.— Tlie 


EVACUATION  OF  EGYPT. 


French  ami  Spanish  nrmies  march. 
Naval  preparations  at  Cadiz. 


having  none  himself,  he  succeeded  in  concerting 
with  tiie  prince  a  pmper  plan  of  operation. 

Portugal,  seeing  itself  thus  pressed,  had  sent 
JI.  Ai-anjo  to  Madrid,  to  which  place  he  had  been 
refused  liberty  to  proceed.  He  then  went  to  France, 
and  met  there  with  the  same  refusal.  Portugal 
was  ready  to  submit  to  any  conditions  rather  than 
shut  her  ports  against  the  English  merchant  ships. 
These  offers  were  repelled.  It  was  determined 
that  Portugal  should  exclude  all  English  vessels, 
both  of  war  and  trade  ;  tluit  three  of  her  provinces 
should  be  occu])ied  as  a  security  until  a  general 
peace;  and  that  she  should  pay  the  expenses  of  the 
expedition. 

The  troops  of  the  two  nations  set  out  on  theif 
march,  and  the  prince  of  the  peace  quitted  Madrid, 
his  head  filled  with  wild  visions  of  glory.  The 
court,  and  even  Lucien  Bunaiiarte,  were  to  accom- 
pany him.  The  first  consul  had  ordered  the  most 
e.xact  discipline  to  be  preserved  among  the  French 
troops  ;  he  had  ordei-ed  that  they  should  attend 
mass  on  Sundays,  that  the  bishops  should  be  visited 
upon  passing  through  the  chief  towns  of  the  dio- 
ceses, and,  in  a  word,  that  the  French  should 
conform  to  all  the  Spanish  customs.  He  was 
anxious  that  the  sight  of  the  French  in  place  of 
estranging  them  from  the  S])aniards,  should  cause 
them  to  approximate  niore  closely  in  feeling. 

Every  thing  in  this  quarter,  therefore,  prospered 
according  to  the  wishes  of  the  first  consul  in  aid  of 
the  negotiation  then  going  forward  in  London. 
But  there  yet  remained  much  to  be  done  relative 
to  the  employment  of  the  naval  forces.  It  has 
been  already  shown  in  what  manner  the  three 
navies  of  Holland,  FiMiice,  and  Spain  had  been 
directed  to  one  common  purpose.  Five  French, 
Dutch,  and  Spanish  vessels,  fifteen  in  all,  filled 
with  troops,  were  intended  to  threaten  Brazil  or 
retake  Trinidad.  The  rest  of  the  tmited  naval 
force  was  designed  for  Egypt.  Ganteauine  sailed 
from  Brest  with  seven  vessel.s,  conveying  consider- 
al)le  succours,  and  was  on  the  voyage  to  Alexandria. 
The  other  vessels  remained  still  at  Brest,  in  order 
to  keep  alive  the  continual  threat  of  an  expedition 
to  Ireland,  while  a  second  expedition  sailed  from 
Rochefort  uniting  with  five  Spanish  men-of-war  at 
Ferrol,  and  six  other  men-of-war  from  Cadiz,  that 
were  to  follow  Ganteaume  to  Egypt. 

This  last  dcMgn  had  been  concealed  from  Spain 
for  fear  of  her  indiscretion.  It  was  only  requested 
of  her  to  suffer  the  ships  in  Ferrol  to  proceed  to 
Cadi/.  The  court  of  Spain  remonstrated  in  warm 
temis  against  the  passagCj  on  account  of  danger 
from  the  English  ships  of  war  which  were  nu- 
irterous  about  the  straits  and  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Gibraltar.  The  vessels  in  Ferrol  were  besides 
scarcely  in  a  fit  state  to  put  to  sea,  so  much  had 
their  (wiuiiinunt  been  retarded.  Lucien,  without 
speaking  of  the  Egyptian  design,  hinted  at  the 
necessity  for  a  commanding  force  in  the  Medi- 
terranean, of  the  possibility  of  attempting  some- 
thing that  might  be  of  use  to  both  nations  ;  an  ex- 
pedition, j)orhaps,  to  retake  Minorca.  At  last,  he 
obtained  the  requisite  orders,  and  the  Siianish  fleet 
at  Ferrol  was  to  be  joined  by  the  French  ships 
from  Rochefort,  which  were  to  conduct  them  to 
Cadiz.  This  was  not  all.  Spain,  a«  it  will  bo 
remembered,  agreed  to  present  six  vessels  to  France 
as  a  gift.     The  time  when  this  condition  was  to  bo 


carried  into  eflect  had  been  disputed;  but  as  Tus- 
cany was  about  to  be  delivered  up  to  Spain  when 
Louisiana  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  France,  it 
was  but  proper  that  the  ships  of  war  should  be 
givtn  immediately.  The  Spanish  minister,  finally, 
decided  to  choose  six  then  lying  in  the  arsenal  at 
Cadiz,  and  to  give  them  up  immediately  ;  lut  they 
would  not  give  them  armed  and  victualled.  It 
was  impossible  to  send  to  France  for  guns  and 
biscuit.  These  were  very  trivial  things  to  contest 
in  the  face  of  the  common  enemy,  that  it  was  ne- 
cessary by  all  means  to  combat,  if  his  pretensions 
were  to  bo  lowered.  The  difficulties  were  at  liist 
overcome  in  the  mode  the  first  consul  wished. 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  French  admiral, 
Dumanoir,  had  gone  first  to  Cadiz  in  order  to 
watch  over  the  equipment  of  the  Spanish  vessels 
now  become  French  property,  and  to  take  the  com- 
mand of  them.  This  admiral  had  visited  the  ports 
of  Spain  and  found  them  all  in  disorder,  the  whole 
exhibiting  a  scene  of  reckless  oinilence  and  disor- 
ganized destitution.  Thnugh  still  in  possession  of 
the  remnants  of  magnificent  establishments,  of 
stores,  and  of  materials  lor  building  vessels,  and  of 
numerous  fine  but  dismantled  ships,  there  was  not 
at  Cadiz,  for  want  of  pay,  a  single  sailor,  or  a  work- 
man to  get  the  ships  ready  for  sea.  Every  thing 
was  given  up  to  waste  and  pillage '.  The  French 
minister  sent  admiral  Dumanoir  letters  of  credit 
upon  some  of  the  richer  houses  in  Cadiz,  and  by 
means  of  ready  money  that  officer  contrived  to 
overcome  the  jirincipal  obstacles.  After  choosing 
from  the  vessels  tliose  which  had  suffered  least 
from  time  and  Spanish  neglect,  he  armed  them  by 
taking  guns  and  stores  from  those  which  I'emained; 
and  he  procured  French  sailors,  some  of  whom 
were  emigrants  in  consequence  of  the  revolution, 
and  others  escaped  from  English  prisons;  he  re- 
ceived a  certain  number  fi-om  France,  sent  in  small 
vessels,  and  got  leave  to  enter  some  Spaniards,  and, 
by  offers  of  liigh  wages,  some  Danes  and  Swedes. 
The  fiag  and  other  officers,  required  to  organize 
the  whole,  came  by  post  across  the  peninsula. 
Detachments  of  French  infantry  were  marched 
from  Catalonia  to  complete  the  complements.  This 
division,  those  of  Ferrol  and  Rochefort,  formed 
about  eighteen  sail,  and  were  designed  to  proceed 
to  Egyjit,  after  touching  at  Otranto  to  embark  ten 
thousand  men  at  that  place.  The  objects,  already 
mentioned,  were  now  putting  into  execution. 

To  force  Sjjain  to  the  feeble  efforts  which  were 
obtained  with  so  nmcli  trouble,  the  fii-st  consul  had 
fulfilled  all  he  had  promised  with  remarkable 
fidelity,  and  had  even  gone  beyond.  The  house  of 
Parma  had  received,  in  place  of  its  duchy,  the  fine 
country  of  Tuscany,  which  had  for  so  long  a  time 
been  the  ardent  wish  of  the  court  of  iMadrfd.  It 
was  necessary  to  obtain  for  that  the  consent  of 
Austria,  and  it  had  been  procured.  The  duchy  of 
Tuscany  had  further  been  erected  into  the  kingdom 
of  Etruria.  The  old  reigning  duke  of  I'arina,  a  reli- 
gious devotee,  nn  enemy  to  all  the  novelties  of  the 
day,  was  the  brother,  as  before  stated,  of  the  queen 
of  Spain.     His  son,  a  young  nuin  very  ill  educated 

>  The  reports  of  the  admiral,  which  exist  in  the  arcliives, 
not  of  the  navy,  hut  of  the  ofllce  for  foreign  affairs,  "Her  a 
most  curious  picture  of  what  may  hcfal  a  large  kinKdom  con- 
fided to  improper  hands. 


Affairs  of  Parma  and  Tus- 
240      cany.  —  Proceedings   of 
admiral  Ganteaume. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


He  sails  from  Brest  1801. 

during  a  storm.  April. 


and  brought  up,  had  married  an  infanta,  and  lived 
at  the  Escuriai.  For  this  jounj;  couple  tiie  kingdom 
of  Etruria  was  designed.  Still  the  first  consul 
having  pi-omised  this  kingdom  only  in  exchange 
for  the  duchy  of  Parma,  was  not  bound  to  deliver 
up  the  one  until  the  other  was  vacant.  This  could 
not  happen  until  the  death  or  abdication  of  the  old 
reigning  duke  ;  but  he  would  neither  die  nor  abdi- 
cate. Notwithstanding  the  interest  which  the  first 
consul  had  in  getting  quit  of  such  a  guest  in  Italy, 
he  consented  to  tolerate  him  in  Parma,  and  to 
place  the  infants  upon  the  throne  of  Etruria.  Ho 
only  required  that  they  should  come  to  Paris  to 
receive  the  crown  from  his  hands,  as  of  old  time 
vassal  monarchs  came  to  ancient  Rome  to  receive 
the  crown  from  the  hands  of  the  people-king.  It 
was  a  singular  and  grand  spectacle  which  he  thus 
wished  to  give  to  republican  France.  The  young 
princes  quitted  Madrid  on  their  way  to  Paris  at  the 
same  moment  that  their  parents  were  travelling 
towards  Badajoz,  in  order  to  afford  the  favourite 
the  pleasure  of  beholding  him  at  the  head  of  an 
army. 

Such  were  the  cnm])laisant  means  by  which  the 
first  consul  hoi)ed  to  secure  the  zeal  of  the  court  of 
Spain,  and  to  make  it  concur  in  liis  designs. 

At  this  moment  all  eves  were  directed  towards 
Egypt.  It  was  to  this  point  the  efforts,  the  regards, 
the  fears,  and  the  hopes  of  the  two  great  belligerent 
nations,  France  and  England,  were  now  directed. 
It  seemed  as  if,  before  laying  down  their  arms, 
these  two  nations  wished  for  the  last  time  to  ter- 
minate as  gloriously  and  advantageously  as  possible 
for  each,  that  terrible  war  which  for  ten  years  had 
been  ensanguining  the  whole  earth. 

Ganteaume  was  left  endeavouring  to  sail  from 
Brest,  on  the  23rd  of  January,  1801,  or  the  3rd  of 
Pluviose,  during  a  furious  storm.  The  wind  had 
been  for  a  good  while  contrary  or  too  light  for  his 
purpose.  At  last,  during  a  gale  from  the  north-west 
which  blew  on  the  coast,  he  had  set  sail  in  obedience 
to  the  aid-de-camp  of  the  first  consul,  Savary,  who 
was  at  Brest  with  orders  for  him  to  overcome  every 
resistance.  This  perhaps  was  imprudent ;  but  how 
was  it  possible  to  put  to  sea  in  presence  of  the 
enemy's  fleet,  which,  continually  blockaded  Brest 
roads,  and  never  withdrew  except  when  the  weather 
rendered  keeping  tlie  station  impossible.  It  was 
necessary,  therefore,  not  to  sail  out  at  all,  or  to  sail 
in  bad  weather  when  the  English  had  withdrawn. 
The  squadron  consisted  of  seven  shii)S  of  the  line, 
two  frigates,  and  a  brig,  all  good  sailers,  carrying 
four  thousand  men,  an  immense  mass  of  stores, 
and  numerous  workmen,  wiio  with  their  families 
imagined  they  were  bound  for  St.  Domingo.  They 
extinguished  all  the  fires  on  board  the  squadron 
that  they  might  not  be  perceived,  and  set  sail  with 
the  greatest  apprehensions.  A  north-west  wind  was 
the  most  dangerous  of  all  tor  working  out  of  Brest. 
The  wind  blew  at  the  moment  with  extreme  force, 
but  fortunately  did  not  reach  its  utmost  violence 
until  they  had  cleared  the  pas.sages  and  were  fairly 
on  the  ocean.  They  then  encountered  terrific  squalls 
and  a  fearfully  heavy  sea.  The  sciuadron  sailed  in 
order  of  battle,  the  Indivisible,  being  the  admiral's, 
led  the  van,  and  was  followed  by  the  Formidable, 
which  bore  the  flag  of  rear-admiral  Linois.  The  rest 
of  the  squadron  were  in  line  ;  eacli  vessel  cleared 
for  action  in  case  the  enemy  should  heave  in  sight. 


They  were  scarcely  at  sea  before  the  wind  increas- 
ing carried  away  the  three  topsails  of  the  For- 
midable, and  theraain-top-mast  of  the  Constitution. 
The  Dix-Aout  and  the  Jean-Bart,  which  were 
near  aft,  took  up  their  stations  larboard  and  star- 
board of  the  Constitution,  and  kept  her  in  sight 
until  the  morning,  in  order,  if  needful,  to  render 
her  assistance.  The  Vautour  brig  took  in  water  so 
fast,  that  she  was  on  the  point  of  foundering  had 
she  not  received  timely  assistance.  During  the 
storm  and  darkness  of  the  night  the  squadron  had 
dispersed;  the  next  morning,  at  break  of  day,  the 
Indivisible  lay  to,  admiral  Ganteaume  remaining 
on  the  look-out  for  the  purpose  of  rallying  his 
squadron;  but  fearing  the  return  of  the  English 
fleet,  which  up  to  this  time  had  not  shown  itself, 
and  relying  upon  the  rendezvous  appointed  for  all 
the  vessels,  he  set  sail  for  the  place  agreed  upon. 
The  place  of  meeting  had  been  fixed  for  fifty  leagues 
west  oft'  Cape  St.  Vincent,  one  of  the  most  salient 
capes  on  the  western  coast  of  Spain.  The  other 
ships  of  the  squadron,  after  having  buffetted  the 
gale,  repaired  their  damages  at  sea  by  means  of 
the  stores  on  board,  and  they  all  subsequently 
rejoined  each  other,  except  the  admiral's  ship, 
which  after  lying  to  for  them  had  sailed  to  the 
place  of  rendezvous.  The  only  incident  on  the  pas- 
sage was  an  encounter  of  the  French  frigate  the 
Bravoure  with  the  English  frigate  the  Concord, 
which  was  watching  the  course  of  the  division. 
Captain  Dordelin,  wlio  commanded  the  Bravoure, 
Iboi-e  up  to  the  Concord  and  offered  her  battle.  He 
ran  alongside  of  her  and  poured  several  broadsides 
into  her,  which  caused  a  frightful  execution  upon 
her  decks.-  Captain  Dordelin  was  preparing  to 
board  her,  when  the  English  frigate  manoeuvring 
on  her  side  to  escape  the  danger,  got  clear  by 
making  all  sail '. 

The  French  frigate  rejoined  the  squadron,  andi 
all  the  vessels  became  again  united  under  the 
admiral's  flag  at  the  meridian  indicated.  In  this 
manner  they  steered  for  Gibraltar,  after  escaping 
by  a  miracle  the  enemy  and  the  dangers  of  the 
sea.  The  squadron  was  highly  animated,  and  those 
on  board  began  to  guess  where  they  were  bound, 
each  desiring  to  have  a  share  iii  the  glorious  mis- 
sion of  saving  Egypt. 

It  became  imjiortant  to  use  all  speed,  as  the 
fleet  of  admiral  Keith,  assembled  in  the  Bay  of 
Macri  upon  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  was  only 
awaiting  the  last  preparations  of  the  Turks,  who 
are  always  slow  to  set  fcail,  and  then  to  carry  an 
English  army  to  the  mouths  of  the  Nile.  It  was 
neces.';ary  to  hasten  before  them,  and  circumstances 
seemed  to  aid  the  attempt  in  the  most  fortunate 
manner.  The  English  admiral,  St.  Vincent,  who 
commanded  the  fleet,  blockading  Brest,  hearing  too 
late  of  the  sailing  of  Ganteaume,  sent  admiral 
Calder  in  pursuit  with  a  force  equal  to  the  French 
squadron,  seven  sail  of  the  line  and  two  frigates. 
The  English,  who  did  not  imagine  the  French 
would  dare  to  penetrate  into  the  Mediterranean  in 
the  midst  of  so  many  of   their  vessels,  deceived 

'  The  English  pretend  that  it  was  the  French  frigate  which 
withdrew  from  tlie  action.  I  received  the  inloniiation  from 
two  superior  otlicers  who  still  survive,  and  were  in  the 
squadron ;  they  leave  me  no  reason  to  douht  of  the  truth  of 
the  recital  which  I  have  here  given.— ATo/c  o/  the  Author. 


1801. 
April. 


Anxiety  of  admiral  Gan- 
uauiiie.  —  Errors  iu 
coiuequence. 


EVACUATION  OF  EGYPT. 


Dreadful  action  between  two 
frigates.  —  Uanieaume  tn-  241 

ters  Toulon. 


besides  by  tbe  reports  in  circulation,  believed  that 
the  French  had  sailed  towards  St.  Domingo.  Ad- 
miral Calder  went  to  the  Canaries,  intending  to 
sail  from  thence  to  the  West  Indies.  During  this 
Ganteaume  had  arrived  at  the  straits,  antl  was 
steering  along  the  coast  of  Africa  to  keep  out  of 
sight  of  the  English  cruisers  about  Gibraltiir.  The 
wind  was  not  sufficiently  favourable,  but  the 
moment  was  highly  promising  for  the  success  of 
his  object.  Admiral  Warren,  who  was  contiimally 
on  the  watch,  cruising  between  Gibralfcir  and  Port 
Mahon,  liad  only  four  ships,  all  the  remainder  of 
the  British  force  being  engaged  in  tiansporting 
troops  destined  for  the  landing  in  Egypt,  under 
admiral  Keith.  Unfortunately  Ganteaume  was  not 
cognizant  of  all  this,  and  the  serious  responsibilities 
which  weighed  ujioii  him,  caused  him  an  anxiety 
which  all  the  cannon-balls  of  the  enemy  would 
never  have  kindled  in  his  intrepid  bosom.  An- 
noyed by  two  enemy's  vessels,  the  Sprightly  cutter 
and  Success  frigate,  which  approached  him  too 
near;  he  gave  them  chase,  and  captured  both. 
He  passed  the  straits,  and  entered  the  Mediter- 
ranean. He  liad  now  nothing  more  to  do  than  to 
spread  all  sail  towards  the  east.  Admiral  Warren, 
iu  fact,  was  snug  in  the  harbour  of  Port  Mahon, 
and  admiral  Keith,  embarrassed  with  two  hundred 
transports,  had  not  yet  quitted  the  coast  of  Asia 
Minor.  The  shores  of  Egypt  were,  therefore,  ])er- 
fectly  open,  an<l  the  succour,  for  which  the  French 
were  waiting  impatiently,  and  which  had  been  so 
long  promised,  mi^ht  have  been  landed.  But  Gan- 
teaume, always  disquieted  about  the  fate  of  his 
squadron,  and  still  more  about  that  of  the  nume- 
rous soldiers  whom  he  had  on  board,  was  appre- 
hensive at  the  sight  of  the  smallest  vessel  that 
come  in  his  way.  He  constantly  imagined  there 
was  an  enemy's  fleet  bttweeii  himself  and  Egypt, 
which  in  reality  was  not  the  fact.  Above  all,  he 
was  apprehensive  of  the  state  of  his  vessels,  and 
feared  that  if  it  should  be  necessiiry  to  carry  all 
sail  bifore  a  superior  force,  ho  should  not  be  able 
to  do  it  with  liis  masts  damaged  by  the  storm,  and 
only  hastily  repaired  at  sea  Dissatisfied  with  the 
Bravoure  frigate,  which  did  not  sail  as  he  wished, 
he  desired  to  get  rid  of  her,  and  sent  her  into 
Toulon.  But  in  |)lace  of  sending  her  alone  to  ])ort, 
and  proceeding  himself  from  the  westward  to  the 
east  along  the  African  coast,  he  committed  the 
error  of  hUmdiug  to  the  northward,  and  getting 
nearly  in  siijht  of  Toulon.  His  intention  being  to 
escort  the  Bravoure  a  part  of  the  way  to  prevent 
her  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy's  cruisers  ; 
certainly  a  very  poor  reason,  because  it  was  a  hun- 
dred times  bettei-  to  expose  the  frigate  to  hazard 
than  the  entire  object  of  the  expedition.  In  con- 
se(|uencc  of  this  luult  he  was  diseoverd  by  admiral 
Warren,  who  immediately  left  Port  Mahon.  Gan- 
teaume, to  deceive  him,  at  once  gave  chase.  The 
gallant  captain  Bergeret,  commanding  the  Dix- 
Aofit,  sailing  faster  than  the  rest  of  the  S(|uadron, 
reconnoitred  the  Knglish  within  a  very  shoit  dis- 
tance, and  saw  tli.it  lliero  wi to  ouiy  four  line  of 
battle  ships  and  two  Irigates.  Highly  pleased  at 
this  discovery, ho  thought,  that  being  so  superior  to 
the  English,  (ianU-aumi;  would  have  borne  down 
ujion  them,  and  give'i  battle,  but  on  a  sudden  he 
saw  the  signal  made  to  give  up  the  pursuit,  and  to 
rejoin  the  squailron.      That  brave   ollicer,   much 


mortified,  immediately  commnnieated  to  Gan- 
teaume tliat  he  was  deceived  by  his  watch,  and 
that  there  were  only  four  vessels  of  the  line.  It 
was  in  vain  ;  Ganteaume  thought  he  saw  seven  or 
eight,  and  determined  to  make  sail  northwards. 
N  vertheless  it  was  certain,  as  the  reports  «)f  ad- 
miral Warren  afterwards  proved,  that  there  were 
only  four  of  the  enemy's  vessels  in  sight'.  Gan- 
teaume then  approached  the  gulf  of  Lyons,  in  order 
to  protect  the  Bravoure,  and  again  getting  in  sight 
of  the  English  squadron,  he  ran  into  Toulon  in 
consternation.  There  he  was  alarmed  by  the  fear 
of  having  incurred  the  di.spleasure  of  the  first  con- 
sul, indignant  at  discovering  that  the  object  of  the 
expedition  had  been  thus  compromised  at  the 
moment  when  it  promised  complete  success.  This 
fatal  resolution  was  the  cause  of  the  loss  of  Egypt, 
which  at  that  moment  might  have  been  saved  *. 

While  Ganteaume  was  beating  up  between  the 
coast  of  Africa  and  Port  Mahon,  two  frigates,  the 
Justice  and  Egyiitienne,  sailed  eastward  from 
Toulon  with  four  hundred  soldiers  and  munitions 
of  war,  anil  reached  the  port  of  Alexandria  without 
seeing  an  English  vessel.  Two  other  frigates,  the 
Reg^n^ree  and  the  Africaine,  left  Rochefort, 
crossed  the  sea,  and  passed  through  the  straits  into 
the  Mediterranean  without  any  accident.  Unhap- 
pily they  were  separated.  The  R^ge'ner^e  arrived 
before  Alexandria  on  the  2nd  of  March,  IJJOl,  or 
Venlose,  year  ix.  The  Africaine  fell  in  with  an 
English  frigate  in  the  night,  and  stopping  to  en- 
gage, was  taken.  She  had  three  luimlred  troops 
on  board,  who,  anxious  to  take  a  part  in  the  battle, 
occasioned  a  frightful  disorder  that,  after  an  heroic 
defence,  became  the  cause  of  her  defeat  ■".  Thus, 
as  was  seen,  out  of  four  frigates  which  left  Toulon 
and  Rochefort,  three  arrived  without  accident,  and 
found  the  coast  of  Egypt  fi^ee  from  the  enemy,  and 
so  easily  accessible,  that  they  entered  tlie  poit  of 
Alexandria  without  firing  a  shot :  thus  difficult  is  it 
for  vessels  to  meet  on  the  immensity  of  the  ocean, 
and  so  greatly  does  courage  stand  in  aid  of  a  brave 
officer  who  ventures  to  risk  his  flag  in  the  achieve- 
ment of  a  great  duty. 

Ganteaume  entered  Toulon  on  the  19th  of  Feb- 
ruary, or  30th  Pluviose,  worn  down  with  fatigue 
and  anxiety,  experiencing,  as  he  wrote  to  the  first 
consul,  every  kind  of  torment  at  the  same  moment*. 

I  See  the  report  of  admiral  Warren  of  tlie  23rd  of  April, 
1801,  in^erlcd  in  the  Monileurot  the  27tli  Messidur,  year  ix., 
doul)le  tiumlicr,  2!)G  and  2a7. 

*  If  p"8silile  at  all,  not  possible  unless  Ganteaume  had 
arrived  there  before  the  end  of  Fel)ruary.  Ganic.iunie 
airived  at  'I'oiilon  only  on  the  lllth  of  l-'ebrnary.  The  Eng- 
liiili  \ver<-  nif  tlic  E^'yplian  coast  on  the  28ili,  and  in  si)^t  of 
/Alexandria  on  the  1st  of  March,  llionnh  the  weather  pir- 
nrtted  no  landing  until  the  8th.  They  were  at  anchor  in 
Ahoukir  Uiy  on  the  2nd.  Ganteaume  li.nd  to  run  to  Alex- 
■indria  from  Toulon  in  nine  days  to  be  there  brfme  the  Kng- 
lish  ;  he  could  scarcely  have  got  through  the  di.stance  unless 
with  a  vry  fair  wind. — Translator. 

'  It  was  a  slaughter,  not  a  battle,  a  brave  and  useless  do- 
ftncp,  arising  from  the  crowded  state  of  the  Africaine.  with 
71.5  on  board.  She  had  200  killed  and  1  13  wounded.  The  Eng- 
lish frigate,  the  Piicrbe.  one  killed  and  twelve  wounded.  ■Hie 
Fn-n.  h  fired  at  the  rigging,  the  English  at  the  hull.  Nothing 
so  Icaifiil  in  frigates  occurred  during  the  viar.—  Translalnr. 

*  See  his  letter  written  on  the  19th  of  February,  or  30lh  of 
Pluvidse,  ihe  day  of  his  entry  into  Toulon,  preserved  in  the 
archives  of  the  navy. 

R 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


first  consul.- 
Egypt. 


1801. 
April. 


This  might  well  be  after  thus  committing  interests 
of  groat  importance.  The  first  consul,  naturally 
irritable,  could  little  restrain  his  feelings,  when 
his  plana  were  thus  thwarted  through  those  em- 
ployed to  carry  them  into  effect.  But  he  knew 
man  ;  lie  knew  human  nature  ;  he  knew  that  it 
was  not  wise  at  the  moment  when  action  was  every 
thing,  to  exhibit  marks  of  his  dissatisfaction  too 
strongly,  because  it  was  more  necessary  to  animate 
than  to  disliearten  :  he  knew  that  Ganteaume  stood 
in  need  of  encouragement  to  be  sustained,  and 
not  reduced  to  despair  by  those  ebullitions  of  rage 
wliich  at  that  time  were  feared  by  all  as  tlie  great- 
est possible  misfortune.  Far,  therefore,  from  re- 
proaching the  admiral,  he  sent  his  aid-de-camp, 
Lacue'e,  to  comfort  and  reanimate  him,  to  place 
funds  in  his  hands,  troops,  and  provisions,  and  to 
urge  him  to  ])roceed  to  sea  without  a  moment's 
delay.  The  rebuke  he  received  was  limited  to  a 
mild  censure  for  having  quitted  the  coast  of  Africa 
for  the  Balearic  Islands,  and  for  having  drawn 
admii'al  Warren  in  pursuit  of  him. 

Ganteaume  was  a  brave  man,  a  good  sailov  and 
officer ;  but  the  situation  of  his  mind  at  that 
moment  shows  how  much  more  responsibility  will 
weaken  the  spirit,  than  even  the  dangers  of  can- 
non. This  is  honourable  to  such  men;  and  proves 
how  much  more  they  fear  to  commit  the  interests 
trusted  to  their  hands,  than  to  hazard  their  own 
lives.  Gant'jaume,  thus  encouraged  by  the  fii'st 
consul,  went  to  work,  but  lost  time  in  repairing 
his  vessels,  or  waiting  for  a  favoui-able  wind.  More 
than  one  propitious  opportunity  liai>pened.  Ad- 
miral Warren  had  sailed  towards  Naples  and 
Sicily.  Admiral  Keith  was,  it  is  true,  apjjroach- 
ing  Aboukii-  with  the  English  army  ;  but  it  was 
not  impossible  to  deceive  his  vigilance,  and  to  dis- 
embark tiie  French  troops,  either  beyond  Damietta, 
or  more  on  this  side,  twenty  or  twenty-five  leagues 
from  Ak'xandi-ia,  which  would  have  enabled  them 
to  reach  Egypt  by  a  march  or  two  across  the 
desert. 

While  the  exertions  of  the  first  consul  were 
thus  directed  to  hasten  the  second  departure  of 
Ganteaume,  fresh  letters  were  sent  from  Paris, 
])ressing  the  organization  of  the  squadrons  at 
Rochefort,  Ferrol,  and  Cadiz,  in  order  to  convey 
succour  to  Egypt  by  several  different  channels  at 
once.  At  last,  Ganteaume,  encouraged  by  the 
exhortations  of  the  first  consul,  -together  with 
numerous  marks  of  his  kindness,  set  sail  again  on 
the  19th  of  March,  or  28lh  of  Ventose  ;  but  at  the 
moment  of  going  out,  the  Constitution  got  aground, 
and  two  days  were  required  to  get  her  afloat. 
On  the  22nd  of  March,  or  1st  of  Germinal,  this 
squaHron,  consisting  of  seven  sail  of  the  line  and 
several  frigates,  again  hoisted  sail  for  the  coast  of 
Sardinia,  without  being  perceived  by  the  English. 

It  was  very  desirable  that  these  attempts  should 
be  crowned  with  success,  at  least  in  part,  because 
the  French  army  in  Egypt,  left  to  its  own  re- 
sources, was  tiireatened  by  the  united  forces  of 
the  East  and  West.  Still,  although  reduced  in 
strength,  it  could  have  conquered  the  multitude 
of  its  enemies,  (as  it  hail  done  on  the  plains  of 
Aboukir  and  Ileliopolis,)  if  it  had  been  well  com- 
manded. Unhappily,  Bonaparte  was  no  longer 
at  its  head  ;  Desaix  and  Kl^ber  were  no  more. 

The  state  of  Egypt  must  now  be  described  from 


the  time  when  the  blow  of  the  poignard  laid  low 
the  noble  figure  of  Kle'ber,  of  which,  the  appear- 
ance alone,  on  the  shores  of  the  Rhine  as  well  as 
of  the  Nile,  sufficed  to  inspire  the  hearts  of  our 
soldiers  with  courage,  to  make  them  forget  past 
perils,  the  misery,  and  the  suffering  of  their  exile. 
The  prosperous  state  of  the  colony  must  be  ex- 
plained, as  well  as  the  sudden  disaster  which  over- 
took it.  This  is  demanded  ;  because  it  is  highly 
useful  to  offer  to  the  eyes  of  a  people  the  spectacle 
of  its  reverses  as  well  as  its  successes,  that  it 
may  become  a  wholesome  lesson.  Certainly,  in 
the  midst  of  the  unequalled  prosperity  of  the 
consulate,  the  fruit  of  a  most  admirable  and 
sagacious  course  of  conduct,  a  single  disaster  can- 
not obscure  the  brilliancy  of  the  picture  which  has 
been  delineated  ;  but  it  is  necessary  to  give  our 
warriors  and  generals,  yet  more  than  to  our  sol- 
diers, the  painful  lesson  contained  in  the  latter 
period  of  the  French  occupation  of  Egypt.  May 
it  occasion  them  to  reflect  upon  their  too  common 
tendency  to  disunion,  more  particularly,  when 
there  is  no  powerful  hand  to  ensure  subordination, 
and  to  direct  against  the  common  enemy  their 
mental  energy,  and  the  impetuosity  of  theii"  natural 
temperament. 

When  Kle'ber  expired,  Egypt  appeared  in  entire 
submission  to  the  French  arms.  Having  seen 
the  army  of  the  grand  vizier  dispersed  in  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye,  and  the  revolt  of  three  hun- 
dred thousand  of  the  inhabitants  of  Cairo  sup- 
pressed in  a  few  days,  by  a  handful  of  soldiers, 
the  Egyptians  regarding  the  French  as  invincible, 
considered  their  establishment  upon  the  banks  of 
the  Nile  as  the  decree  of  irresistible  destiny. 
JMoreover,  they  began  to  get  more  familiar  and 
more  accustomed  to  their  European  guests,  and  to 
leel  that  the  new  yoke  was  much  lighter  than  the 
old  one  had  been.  They  paid  fewer  taxes  than  under 
the  Mamelukes,  and  did  not  receive  the  blows  of 
the  bastinado  at  the  time  of  the  collection  of  the 
miri,  as  they  did  when  under  the  dominion  of  their 
co-religionists,  whom  the  French  had  dispossessed. 
Murad  Bey,  that  Mameluke  prince  of  so  chival- 
rous and  brilliant  a  char.acter,  and  who  had,  at 
last,  become  attached  to  the  French,  held  Upi)er 
Egypt  of  them  in  fief.  He  showed  himself  a  faith- 
ful vassal,  paid  his  tribute  punctually,  and  ad- 
ministered, with  great  care,  the  police  government 
of  the  Upper  Nile.  He  was  an  ally  that  might  be 
depended  upon.  One  single  bi'igade  of  two  thousand 
five  hundred  men,  placed  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Bini-Souef,  and  for  whom  it  was  always  easy  to 
fall  back  upon  Cairo,  was  sufficient  to  keep  Upper 
Egypt  in  subjection  ;  a  great  advantage,  consider- 
ing the  very  limited  number  of  effective  troops. 

The  army  having,  on  its  own  side,  shared  in  the 
mistake  of  its  gener.al  at  the  time  of  the  conven- 
tion of  El-Arisch,  and  having  repaired  the  error 
as  well  as  he  had  done  in  the  plains  of  Heliopolis, 
had  preserved  a  sense  of  this  fault,  and  was  not 
disposed  to  fall  into  it  again.  Well  aware  that  they 
had  to  give  an  account  to  the  republic  of  so  noble 
a  possession,  the  soldiers  no  more  di-eamtd  abciut 
its  evacuation.  Besides,  Bonaparte,  being  at  this 
time  the  supreme  chief  of  the  republic,  that  fact 
explained  easily  tlie  motive  of  his  departure,  and 
they  no  more  regarded  him  as  one  who  had  de- 
serted them.     They  thought  thepiselves  continually 


1801. 
April. 


Egypt  advances  in  prosperity.      EVACUATION  OF  EGYPT. 


Fiiuiiicial  resources. 


243 


in  presence  of  their  former  general,  and  had  no 
more  any  disquietude  about  their  future  fortunes. 
Thanks  to  the  foresight  of  the  first  consul,  whicli 
had  made  him  charter  sailing-vessels  in  every 
port,  there  did  not  pass  a  single  week  without 
some  vessels,  small  or  large,  entering  the  port 
of  Alexandria,  bringing  stores,  the  products  of 
Europe,  newspapers,  correspondence  irom  families, 
and  government  despatches.  In  consequence  of 
this  continual  intercourse,  their  country  was  for 
ever  present  in  the  imagination  of  the  troops. 
Without  doubt  regret  was  soon  awakened  in  their 
minds,  whenever  any  peculiar  circumstance  arose 
to  touch  their  feeHngs.  At  the  death  of  Kleber,  for 
example,  when  Menou  tool;  the  command,  every 
eye  was  directed  at  once  towards  France.  A  ge- 
neral of  brigade,  in  i>resenting  his  officers  to 
Menou,  asked  him  whetiicr  he  intended,  at  last, 
to  tike  them  back  to  their  country.  Menou  gave 
him  a  reproof,  and  proclaimed,  iu  the  order  of  the 
day,  his  formal  resolution  to  conform  to  the  in- 
tentions of  his  government,  which  were  to  retain 
the  colony  for  ever  ;  and  every  i-ank  at  once  sub- 
mitted. But  moi-e  than  all,  general  Bonaparte 
held  the  reins  of  power  ;  this  was,  for  the  old 
soldiers  of  Italy,  the  best  ground  both  of  hope  and 
confidence. 

The  pay  was  regularly  issued,  while  every  thing 
was  at  a  low  price.  In  place  of  settling  with  the 
troops  in  rations  they  were  paid  in  cash.  They 
were  merely  provided  with  corn.  Thus  they  had 
the  benefit  of  a  low  market,  and  lived  in  the  midst 
of  an  abundance  of  every  thing,  often  eating  poultry 
in  place  of  butcher's  meat.  Cloth  wa;;  deficient, 
but  the  warmth  of  the  climate  was  great,  and  they 
supplied  that  want  for  the  princi])al  part  of  their 
dress  with  calico,  of  which  in  Egypt  there  was 
always  agi'cat  plenty.  For  the  rest  of  their  cloth- 
ing they  took  all  the  cloth  brought  into  the  east  in 
the  course  of  traffic  without  regarding  the  colour  : 
hence  there  was  variety  enough  in  their  uniforms. 
In  some  regiments,  for  example,  the  men  were  seen 
dressed  in  blue,  red,  or  gre(Mi  ;  but  they  were  all 
clothed,  and  presented  a  fine  soldierly  appearance. 
The  learned  colonel  Conto  rendered  groat  .services 
to  th'j  army  by  the  fecundity  of  his  inventive 
powers.  He  had  brought  with  him  to  Egypt  a 
company  of  aerostiers,  the  remnant  of  the  aerostiers 
of  Fleurus.  It  was  a  union  of  all  trades  organized 
under  military  discipline.  By  their  aid  he  esta- 
blished at  Cairo  machinery  for  weaving,  fulling, 
and  carding  cloth  ;  and  as  wool  was  not  deficient, 
it  was  hojied  he  would  soon  be  aide  to  su|)ersedo 
there  the  sup[)ly  of  cloth  from  Europe.  It  was  the 
same  with  gunpowder.  The  manufactories  of  that 
article  at  Cairo,  l)y  .M.  Ch:impy,  had  already  sn[i- 
plied  OH  nmcli  as  was  demanded  for  all  the  neces- 
Hitii'9  of  the  w.ir.  The  internal  traiie  was  visibly 
increasing,  'i'iie  caravans,  well  guanled,  began  to 
arrive  from  the  heart  of  Africa.  The  Arabs  t)f  the 
lied  Sea  visited  the  ports  of  Suez  and  Cosscir, 
where  tlx-y  exchanged  coffee,  perfumes,  and  dates 
for  the  corn  and  rice  of  Egypt.  The  Greeks,  avail- 
ing themselves  of  the  Turkish  Hag,  and  better 
sailers  than  the  English  cruisers,  brought  to  Da- 
niietta,  llosetta,  and  Alexandria,  oil,  wine,  and 
other  similar  productions.  In  a  word,  nothing 
was  wanting  for  the  present;  while  great  resources 
were  preparing  for  the  future.    The  officers,  seeing 


that  the  definitive  occupation  of  Egypt  was  deter- 
mined upon,  took  the  best  steps  possible  to  establish"" 
themselves  in  the  most  comfortable  manner  they 
were  able  as  permanent  residents.  Those  who 
lived  at  Alexandria  or  at  Cairo,  and  they  were  by 
far  the  larger  number,  found  very  commodious 
quarters.  Syrian,  Greek,  and  Egyptian  women, 
some  purchased  of  the  dealers  in  slaves,  others  out 
of  their  own  inclination,  came  and  partook  of  their 
accommodations.  Melancholy  was  banished.  Two 
engineers  erected  a  theatre  at  Cairo,  and  the  of- 
ficers themselves  got  up  French  pieces,  playing  the 
characters  themselves.  The  soldiers  did  not  live 
worse  than  their  officers,  and,  thanks  to  the  facility 
of  the  French  character  that  enables  it  to  famiharize 
itself  with  every  nation,  they  were  soon  seen 
smoking  and  drinking  coffee  with  the  Tux'ks  and 
Arabs. 

The  financial  resources  of  Egypt,  carefully  ad- 
ministered, were  adequate  to  all  the  necessities  of 
the  army.  Egypt  had  paid  under  the  sway  of  the 
Mamelukes,  as  the  taxes  were  more  or  loss  rigor- 
ously levied,  from  :{(i,000,000  to  40,000.000  f. » 
She  now  paid  no  more  than  from  20,000,000  f.  to 
25,000,000  f. ^,  and  the  collection  was  therefore  less 
oppressive.  This  20,000,000  f.  to  25,000,000  f.  suf- 
ficed for  the  expenses  of  the  colony,  because  all  the 
expenses  united  seldom  exceeded  1,700,000  f.  *  per 
month,  or  20,400,000  f.  *  per  annum.  The  collec- 
tion improved  as  time  drew  on,  and  became  more 
regular,  and  at  the  same  time  the  burdens  became 
more  easy  to  the  people.  The  resources  of  the 
army  were  thus  gradually  augmented,  and  it  was 
not  erroneous  in  consequence  to  calculate  upon  a 
surplus  of  3,000,000  f.  or  4,000,000  f.  *  per  annum, 
which  would  have  formed  a  small  fund  applicable 
to  extraordinary  circumstances,  or  to  construct 
works  of  defence  or  utility.  The  army  still  amounted 
to  twenty-five  or  twenty  six  thousand  individuals, 
including  those  attached,  whose  duties  were  not 
strictly  military,  the  women  and  children  of  the 
troops,  and  persons  in  the  army  employ.  Of  this 
number,  twenty-three  thousand  might  be  counted 
as  soldiers,  of  whom  six  thousand,  less  efficient, 
wei-e  still  in  a  state  to  defend  the  fortresses,  and 
seventeen  or  eighteen  thousand  were  capable  of 
the  most  active  service.  The  cavalry  was  superb  ; 
it  equalled  the  Mamelukes  in  bravery,  and  far  sur- 
passed them  in  discipline.  The  flying  artillery 
was  rapid  in  its  motions,  and  well  served.  Tho 
dromedary  regiment  had  been  brought  to  the 
highest  degree  of  perfection.  It  scoured  tlie  desert 
with  extraordinary  speed,  and  completely  sickened 
the  Arabs'  desire  of  pillage.  The  loss  of  men  was 
very  small  in  the  eonmion  average  of  mortality ; 
there  were  only  six  hundred  sick  out  of  twenty-six 
thousand  imlividuals.  Still,  in  the  snp])osition  of  a 
war  long  protracted,  there  wo\dd,  perliaps,  Iiavc 
been  a  want  of  men  ;  but  the  (.Ireeks  were  eager 
to  serve,  the  Copts  were  the*  same.  The  negroes 
themselves,  i)nrcliased  at  a  low  price  and  remark- 
able for  their  faithfulness,  formed  excellent  re- 
cruits.    The  army  in  time  might  have   received 

'  From  £I,'1'10,000  .iterlinR  to  £l,600,00(i. 

2  From  £800,000  stcTliiig  to  £1,000,000. 

3  About  £(i8.000. 
■<  Or  £S  10,000. 

5  Or  from  £120,000  (o  £IG0,00O. 


.      Character  of  Menou,  com- 
-•*■*      niaiider-iu-chief. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Character  of  general  1801. 

Reynier.  April. 


into  its  ranks  ten  or  twelve  thousand  brave  soldiers. 
Confident  even  to  e.\cess  in  its  bravery  and  mili- 
tary experiinee,  it  did  not  doubt  itself  capable  of 
driving  tlie  Turks  or  the  English  into  the  sea,  sent 
against  them  out  of  Asia  or  Europe.  It  is  certain 
that,  well  commanded,  these  eighteen  thousand 
men,  properly  concentrated,  and  bearing  down 
upon  a  mass  of  troops  just  landed,  might  have  re- 
mained, whatever  opposition  was  made,  the  masters 
of  the  Egyptian  shore.  But  it  was  requisite  they 
should  have  been  well  commanded  ;  it  was  as 
requisite  for  this  same  army  as  it  would  be  for  any 
other. 

Suppose  KMber,  or  who  would  have  been  better 
still,  Desaix,  the  sagacious,  the  brave  Desaix,  left  in 
Egypt,  from  wiience,  unfortunately,  he  was  \vi(h- 
drawn  by  tiie  kind  regard  of  the  first  consul  :  sup- 
pose Klelier,  esca])ed  from  the  poignard  of  the 
Mussulman,  administering  the  government  of  the 
country  for  several  years  !  Who  can  doulit  but  he 
would  have  converted  it  into  a  flourishing  colony, — 
that  he  would  have  founded  there  a  magnificent 
empire !  A  healthful  climate,  without  a  single 
fever,  a  country  of  inexhaustible  fertility,  a  sub- 
missive peasantry  attached  to  the  soil,  voluntai-y 
recruits, — wliat  a  vast  superiority  of  elements  over 
the  establishment  we  are  at  this  day  founding  in 
Africa  ! 

But  in  place  of  Desaix,  in  place  of  Kle'ber,  it 
was  Menou  who  had  become  the  general-in-chicf 
of  the  army  by  right  of  seniority.  This  was  an 
irrei)arable  misfortune  for  the  colony,  and  it  was  a 
fault  on  the  part  of  the  first  consul  not  to  have 
replaced  him.  Not  certain  of  his  orders  arriving 
in  Egypt  at  the  proper  destination,  the  first  consul 
was  afraid  that  if  the  order  containing  the  nomi- 
nation of  the  new  general  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
English,  it  would  only  serve  to  disorganize  the  exist- 
ing command.  They  would  have  stated  that  Menou 
was  de|>rived  of  his  command,  but  would  not  have 
transmitted  the  order  which  appointed  his  suc- 
cessor. The  command  would  have  been  kept  more 
or  less  long  in  a  state  of  uncertainty.  Still  this 
motive  does  not  excuse  the  first  consul,  if  he  were 
cognizant  of  the  incapacity  of  Menou  in  a  military 
point  of  view.  One  reason  decided  in  favour  of 
that  general  was  his  known  zeal  fur  the  preserva- 
tion and  colonization  of  Egypt.  Menou,  in  fact, 
resisted  in  the  strongest  manner  the  scheme  of 
evacuation,  combated  the  influence  of  the  officers 
of  the  army  of  the  Rhine,  and,  in  fact,  made  him- 
self the  head  and  chief  of  the  colonist  party.  He 
liad  pushed  his  enthusiasm  so  far  as  to  become  a 
convert  to  Islamism,  and  had  married  a  Turkish 
woman.  He  called  himself  Abdallah  Menou  ;  and 
these  eccentricities  made  the  soldiers,  naturally 
given  to  raillery,  very  merry  at  his  expense  ;  but 
they  did  no  misciiief  to  the  colony  in  the  sight  of 
the  Egyptians.  Menou  was  possessed  of  intelli- 
gence, much  acquired  knowledge,  great  application 
to  business,  a  taste  for  colonial  establishments,  and 
all  the  qualities  required  for  administrative  duties, 
but  none  of  the  qualities  of  a  general.  Destitute 
of  experience,  quick  perception,  and  determination, 
he  was,  besides,  very  unfortunate  in  his  personal 
appearance.  He  was  short-sighted,  corpulent,  and 
looked  miserably  on  horseback.  He  was  a  com- 
mander, on  the  whole,  very  ill  selected  for  soldiers 
as  alert  and  well-seasoned  as  the  French  were. 


More  than  all,  he  wanted  strength  of  character, 
and  under  his  feeble  authority  the  heads  of  the 
army,  being  divided  among  themselves,  soon  be- 
came the  ]>rey  of  the  most  fatal  discord. 

Under  Bonaparte,  there  was  but  one  will  and 
one  mind  in  Egypt.  Under  Kleber,  there  were 
two,  the  colonists  and  anti-colonists,  or  those  who 
wished  to  remain  in  Egypt,  and  those  who  wished 
to  dei)art.  But,  after  the  affront  which  the  Eng- 
lish attempted  to  inflict  upon  the  French  soldiers, 
an  affront  gloriously  avenged  at  Heliopolis,  after 
the  necessity  for  remaining  became  known,  every 
thing  became  orderly.  Under  the  imposing  autho- 
rity of  Kleber  there  was  order  and  union.  But  the 
time  between  the  victory  of  HeliopoHs  and  the 
death  of  Kle'ber  was  too  short— far  too  short. 
From  the  moment  Menou  took  the  command  order 
and  union  ceased  to  exist. 

General  Reynier,  a  good  staff-officer,  having 
served  with  credit  in  that  capacity  in  the  army  of 
the  Rhine,  but  cold,  with  no  personal  ajipearance, 
or  ascendancy  over  the  soldiers,  was  still  generally 
esteemed.  He  was  considered  as  one  of  the  officers 
best  qualified  to  appear  at  the  head  of  the  army. 
He  was  the  oldest  officer  next  to  Menou.  The  same 
day  on  which  Kle'ber  died,  a  lively  altercation  en- 
sued between  Menou  and  Reynier,  not  as  to  which 
should  take  the  command,  but  which  should  de- 
cline the  burden.  Neither  of  them  wouW  accept  it, 
;ind  for  that  day  the  situation  of  affairs  was  most 
alarming.  They  were  both  under  the  belief  that 
the  blow  of  the  poignard  which  had  struck  down 
general  Kleber,  was  but  the  signal  for  an  exten- 
sive insurrection,  organized  throughout  Egypt  by 
the  influence  of  the  English  and  Turks.  The  heavy 
duty  of  the  command  at  such  a  critical  moment, 
might  have  been  reasonably  dreaded.  Menou  gave 
way  at  last  to  the  entreaties  of  general  Reynier, and 
the  other  generals,  and  consented  to  become  chief 
of  the  colony.  But  the  French  were  soon  set  right 
upon  the  actual  state  of  things,  by  the  perfect 
tranquillity  that  contiimed  after  Kleber's  death, 
and  the  conmiand,  just  refused,  became  afterwards 
a  subject  of  regret.  Reynier  novv  wished  for  that 
which  he  had  begun  by  declining.  Under  his  cold, 
modest,  and  even  timid  bearing,  he  concealed  ex- 
cessive vanity.  The  authority  of  Menou  was  in- 
su|)portable  to  him.  Until  then  quiet  and  submis- 
sive, he  became  thenceforth  a  grumbler  and  a 
fault-finder.  He  discovered  a  fault  in  every  thing. 
Menou  accepted  the  command  at  the  request  of 
his  companions  in  arms,  and  assumed  the  title  of 
conmiander-in-chief  ad  interim.  Reynier  criticized 
the  title  Menou  had  adopted.  At  the  funeral  of 
Kidber,  Menou  had  assigned  the  four  corners  of 
the  coffin  to  the  generals  of  division,  and  placed 
himself  behind,  at  the  head  of  the  staff';  Reynier 
charged  him  with  playing  off  the  viceroy.  Menou 
had  requested  the  illustrious  Fourier  to  jironounce 
a  eulogy  over  the  grave  of  Kleber  ;  Reynier  pre- 
tended that  it  was  a  slight  to  the  memory  of  KIt'lier, 
to  suffer  it  to  be  done  by  another.  A  delay  in  a 
subscription  opened  to  raise  a  monument  to  the 
memory  of  Kle'ber,  difficulties  in  the  succession  or 
administration  to  the  genei-al's  property — very  tri- 
vial indeed,  as  the  property  was  of  the  noble  war- 
riors of  that  period;  these  and  other  puerilities 
were  interpreted  by  Reynier,  and  by  those  who 
followed  his  example,  in  the  most  factious  maimer. 


1301. 
.  April. 


Administration  of  Menou 
in  Egypt. 


EVACUATION  OF  EGYPT. 


His  system  of  taxation. 


These  miserable  incidents  would  not  be  cited,  un- 
wortliy  of  liistory  as  they  are,  if  their  very  little- 
ness were  not  instructive  by  showing  to  what  paltry 
meannesses  motiveless  discontent  will  sometimes 
descend.  Reynier  now  became  an  insubordinate, 
culpable,  and  foolish  lieutenant.  He  was  joined  by 
general  Damas,  the  friend  of  Kle'ber,  and  chief  of 
tlie  general  staff,  who  bore  in  his  heart  all  the 
jealousies  of  the  army  of  the  Rhine  against  the 
army  of  luily.  The  spirit  of  opposiiinn  had  its 
abode  in  the  staff  itself.  Menou  would  not  suffer  it 
60  near  him,  and  resolved  to  take  from  Danias  the 
post  which  he  had  oecujiied  under  Kle'ber. 

The  opponents  of  Menou  being  thus  disconcerted, 
endeavoured  to  parry  the  blow  by  sending  the 
brave  and  clever  general  Friant  to  negotiate  on 
their  behalf  with  their  commander-in-chief.  Friant, 
absorbed  in  his  military  duties,  a  stranger  to  all 
their  divisions,  interfered  only  for  the  purpose  of 
healing  them.  Menou,  firmer  than  was  customary, 
would  not  yield,  and  ai)i>ointed  general  Lagrange 
in  place  of  general  Damas.  By  this  step  he  found 
himself  less  encumbered  than  before  by  his  oppo- 
nents ;  but  they  were  not  the  less  irritated  ;  on 
the  contrary,  the  dissensions  among  the  chiefs  of 
the  army  only  became  more  disgraceful  and  more 
alarming.  Men  of  reflection  saw  with  pain,  the 
shock  which  must  result  to  the  chief  authority  ; 
lamentiible  enough  any  where,  but  far  more  lament- 
able at  a  far  distance  from  the  supreme  power,  in 
a  position  surrounded  with  continual  danger. 

Meni)U,a  bad  general,  but  a  laborious  administra- 
tor of  a  government,  worked  day  and  night  at  what 
he  denominated  the  "  organization  of  the  colony." 
He  effected  many  good  measures,  and  s  >me  that 
were  bad ;  but,  above  all,  he  attempted  to  effect 
too  much.  First,  he  employed  himself  in  settling 
the  arrears  of  pay,  and  employed  for  this  purpose 
the  contribution  of  10,000,0001'.  which  Kl^ber  had 
exacted  from  the  Egyptian  cities  as  the  penalty  for 
their  late  revolt.  This  was  one  mode  of  keeping 
up  peace  and  subordination  in  the  army  ;  for  at  the 
time  of  the  convention  of  El-Arisch,  some  marks  of 
insubordination  had  manifested  themselves,  arising 
in  part  from  the  pay  being  in  arrear  ;  Menou,  in 
consequence,  regarded  the  regular  pay  of  what  was 
due  to  the  soldier  as  a  security  for  good  disci[)line, 
and  he  had  reason  u|)on  his  side.  But  he  took  the 
bold  step  of  paying  the  soldier  always,  before  any 
other  expense,  forgetting  what  urgent  circum 
stiinces  war  might  originate.  He  employed  him- 
self in  improving  the  soldiers'  bread,  and  he  ren- 
dered it  of  excellent  quality.  He  put  the  hospitals 
in  perfect  order  ;  and  very  carefully  applied  him- 
self to  introduce  clearness  and  order  into  the  public 
accounts.  Menou  was  a  man  of  the  most  strict  in- 
tegrity, given  a  little  to  lecturing.  He  so  often 
expressed  in  the  order  of  the  day  his  intention  to 
establish  strict  honesty  in  the  army,  that  he  hurt 
the  feelings  of  the  generals.  They  asked,  with 
some  bitterness,  if  nothing  but  pillage  had  existed 
before  .Menou,  and  if  integrity  dated  from  his  com- 
mand of  the  army.  It  w;us  very  true,  that  but  few 
malversations  iiad  been  committi'd  during  the  oc- 
cnjjation  of  Egypt.  The  army  had  taken,  after  the 
dissolution  of  the  treaty  of  El-Arisch,  a  very  con- 
Hi<lerable  prize  in  the  port  of  Alexandria  ;  it  con- 
sisted of  numerous  vessels  that  had  come,  under 
the  Turkish  flag,  to  transport  the  French  army  to 


its  own  shores  ;  and  they  were  nearly  all  filled  with 
merchandise.  A  commission  was  appointed  to  sell 
them  for  the  profit  of  the  colonial  treasury.  Menou 
appeared  discontented  with  the  operations  of  the 
commission,  and  with  general  Lanusse  who  com- 
manded at  Alexandria.  He  recalled  Lanusse,  in  a 
manner  that  seemed  to  cast  a  reHection  upon  his 
character,  and  appointed  gener.l  Friant  in  his 
place.  General  Lanusse  was  deeply  wounded  at 
this,  and,  upon  his  return  to  Cairo,  increased  the 
number  of  the  disaffected.  Menou  did  not  rest 
here  ;  he  tried  to  change  the  system  of  contribu- 
tions, and  in  this  conmiitted  a  great  mistake.  It 
was  not  to  be  doubted  that,  in  time,  a  reform  might 
have  been  operated  in  the  Egyptian  finances.  By 
means  of  a  fair  rei)artition  of  the  land  revenues, 
with  a  few  taxes  levied  judiciously  upon  articles 
of  consumption,  it  would  have  been  easy  to  relieve 
the  Egyptian  people,  and  increase  the  receipts  of 
the  treasury.  But  at  the  moment  when  the  French 
were  exposed  to  attacks  from  without,  it  was  not 
politic  to  increase  the  difficulties  within,  and  to 
make  the  peojile  suffer  from  changes  of  which  they 
would  not  at  first  be  convinced  of  the  benefit.  The 
collection  of  the  former  taxes  justly  and  in  due 
course,  was  enough  to  establish  a  comparison  be- 
tween the  Mamelukes  and  the  French — a  compa- 
rison greatly  to  the  advantage  of  the  last,  and  to 
increase  considerably  the  funds  applicable  to  the 
ai'my.  Menou  conceived  the  idea  of  a  genei'al 
valuation  of  property,  a  new  system  of  land-tax, 
and,  above  all,  the  exclusion  of  the  Copts,  who,  in 
Egypt,  are  the  farmers  of  the  revenue,  and  act 
nearly  the  same  part  there  which  the  Jews  do  in 
the  north  of  Europe.  These  designs,  very  proper 
for  future  consideration  and  use,  were  at  that  mo- 
ment very  ill-advised.  Menou,  most  fortunately, 
had  not  time  to  put  his  plans  into  execution  ;  but 
he  carried  into  effect  the  creation  of  new  taxes. 
The  sheiks,  El-Beled,  or  municipal  magistrates  of 
Egypt,  at  certain  times  were  invested  with  the 
nmnicipal  power,  and  obtained  as  presents  either 
pelisses  or  shawls  from  the  investing  authorities. 
They  returned,  for  these  presents,  gifts  of  horses, 
camels,  or  cattle.  The  Mamelukes  renewed  this 
ceremony  as  fre(juently  as  possible,  for  the  sake  of 
the  profit  which  they  obtained.  Some  of  them  had 
commuted  the  gift  into  one  of  money  ;  Menou 
thought  of  making  the  measure  general  all  over 
Egypt.  He  levied  upon  the  .sheiks,  El-Beled,  a 
tax  of  about  2,500,0001.1  They  were  generally 
rich  enough  to  pay  this  sum,  and  to  some  it  was  a 
lightciiing  of  the  existing  burthen.  But  the  sheiks 
had  great  interest  in  tiie  two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred villages  that  were  under  their  authority  ;  and 
the  French  ran  the  chance  of  turning  the  opinion 
of  the  peiii)le  against  them,  if  they  levied  an  abso- 
lute, unil'iirm,  uncompensated- tax,  involving  in  it 
the  sujjpression  of  a  usage  of  which  the  effect  was 
morally  useful. 

Menou  possessed  the  idea  of  assimilating  Egypt 
to  France,  which  he  styled  "civili  ing "  it,  by 
establishing  an  octroi  or  species  of  excise  upon  the 
town  consumption  of  various  articles.  Egypt  had 
already  a  duty  upon  articles  of  consumption,  col- 
lected in  the  okels,  a  sort  of  warehouses,  in  the 
east,  where  merehandiso  is  dei)osited  in  the  course 

>  Or  £100,000  sterling. 


Alterations  of  Menou. 
24C         — Malcontents  in  the 
army. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Menou  confirmed  i 
command. 


1801. 
April. 


of  its  transport  from  one  place  to  another.  This 
mode  of  collection  was  simple  and  facile.  Menou 
wished  to  change  it  into  a  tax  collected  at  the  town 
gates,  which  were  very  numerous  in  Egypt.  Inde- 
pendently of  the  derangement  this  occasioned  to 
the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  the  effect  was  to 
raise  the  price  of  provisions  upon  the  French 
garrisons,  to  throw  by  this  means  a  considerable 
part  of  the  charge  upon  the  army,  and  to  excite 
new  miirraurings.  Lastly,  Menou  resolved  to  levy 
contributions  upon  the  rich  merchants,  who  escaped 
the  payment  of  the  public  taxes,  such  as  the  Copts, 
Greeks,  .Jews,  Damascenes,  Franks,  and  others.  He 
imposed  upon  them  a  capitation  tax  of  2,500,000  f. 
per  annum.  The  burden  was  not  too  weighty,  at 
least  for  the  Copts,  who  had  been  enriched  by  the 
farming  of  the  revenue,  but  the  Copts  had  been 
very  ill-ti'eated  during  the  revolt  of  Cairo.  Besides 
the  French  had  need  of  them;  because  it  was  to 
tliem  alone  that  recourse  must  be  had  for  a  loan, 
or  for  any  sum  of  money  wanted  upon  an  emer- 
gency. It  was  not  prudent,  therefore,  to  alienate 
them  from  the  French  any  more  than  the  Greek 
or  Eui'opean  merchants,  who,  approximating  to  the 
French  in  manners,  usages,  and  mental  qualities, 
should  have  been  iniermediatc  agents  between 
them  and  the  Egyptians.  Lastly,  Menou  created  a 
duty  on  successions  or  upon  bequeathed  property, 
which  was  to  extend  to  the  army;  and  this  became 
a  fresh  cause  of  discontent  for  the  grumblers. 

This  mania  for  assimilating  a  colony  to  the  mo- 
ther country,  in  the  belief  that  ar<jusing  the  preju- 
dices of  a  people  is  the  act  of  their  civilization, 
Menou  had  in  common  with  all  those  who  colonize 
with  narrow  views,  more  eager  to  travel  quickly 
than  well.  To  achieve  this  object,  Menou  esta- 
blished a  private  council.  This  body  w:is  not  com- 
posed of  five  or  six  military  chiefs,  but  of  about 
fifty  civil  and  military  officers  taken  from  different 
grades  of  society.  It  was  a  real  parliament,  that 
ridicule  prevented  from  assembling.  He,  lastly, 
established  an  Arabic  newspaper  for  the  purpose 
of  making  officially  known  to  the  army  and  the 
Egyptians,  the  acts  of  the  French  authorities. 

The  soldiers  paid  little  attention  to  these  altera- 
tions ;  they  lived  well,  laughed  at  Menou,  and 
applauded  his  good-nature  and  solicitude  for  their 
benefit.  The  Egyptians  were  submissive,  and  found 
after  all  that  the  yoke  of  the  French  was  much 
more  ea.sy  than  that  of  the  Mamelukes.  But  amidst 
all  this  there  were  some  who  were  irritable,  and 
these  were  the  malcontents  in  the  army.  By  doing 
absolutely  nothing,  Menou  would  alone  have  had  a 
chance  of  escaping  their  envenomed  criticisms,  and 
then  he  would  have  been  censured  for  his  inaction. 
But  Menou  was  too  much  occupied  with  his 
schemes  of  organization  not  to  supply  ample  mat- 
ter for  their  critical  censures.  Of  these  schemes 
they  took  advantage,  and  went  so  far  as  to  project 
the  deposition  of  the  commander-in-chief;  an  insen- 
sate act  which  would  have  destroyed  the  colony, 
and  turned  the  army  of  Egypt  into  an  army  of 
praetorians.  The  officers  in  the  different  regiments 
were  actually  sounded  for  this  purpose.  For- 
tunately, they  were  found  to  be  so  prudent  and  so 
little  inclined  to  revolt,  that  the  idea  of  the  deposi- 
tion of  Menou  was  given  up.  Reynier  and  Damas 
had  gained  Lanusse  ;  all  together  they  had  drawn 
in  Belliard  and  Verdier.    General  Friant  excepted. 


all  the  generals  of  division  became  united  in  their 
unhappy  opposition.  Two  of  the  old  members  of 
the  convention,  whom  Bonaparte  had  taken  with 
him  to  Egypt  for  the  sake  of  giving  them  employ- 
ment, Isnard  and  Tallien,  returned  to  their  old 
habits,  and  became  most  violent  agitators.  The 
plan  of  deposing  the  commander-in-chief  being 
recognized  as  impracticable,  these  general  officers 
determined  to  present  themselves  to  Menou  in  a 
body,  and  to  make  their  observations  upon  certain 
of  his  measures  which  there  could  be  no  doubt  me- 
rited censure.  They  went  to  him  without  giving 
him  the  least  notice  of  their  intention,  and  he  was 
naturally  much  surprised  at  their  sudden  appear- 
ance. They  laid  before  him  the  grievances  of  which 
they  thought  they  had  reason  to  complain,  and  he 
heard  them;  but  not  without  great  displeasure,  and 
at  the  same  time  not  without  showing  considerable 
dignity.  He  gave  them  a  promise  to  consider  seve- 
ral of  their  observations,  but  he  had  not  the  strength 
of  mind  to  reprimand  them  at  the  moment  for  the 
great  impropriety  of  their  conduct.  This  proceed- 
ing caused  a  great  mischief  to  the  army,  and  was 
severely  censured.  The  result  was  that  Isnard  and 
Tallien  had  the  blame  placed  upon  their  shoulders, 
and  were  embarked  for  Europe  in  consequence. 

Just  at  this  critical  conjuncture  the  order  of  the 
first  consul  arrived,  confirming  Menou  in  his  post, 
and  invested  him  in  a  very  decided  manner  with 
the  office  of  commander-in-chief  in  Egypt.  This 
expression  of  the  will  of  the  supreme  head  of  the 
government  at  home  came  at  a  very  opportune 
moment,  and  had  the  effect  of  recalling  a  part  of 
the  malcontents  to  their  duty.  Unfortunately  new 
disputes  arose,  and  things  very  soon  got  again  into 
their  previous  state.  It  was  in  such  miserable 
squabbles,  that  these  discontented  persons,  soured 
by  e.xile,  and  encouraged  by  the  feebleness  of  the 
commander-in-chief,  employed  their  time,  from  the 
battle  of  Heliopolis  up  to  the  present  day,  the  space 
of  an  entire  year;  a  precious  period  of  time,  which 
should  have  been  passed  in  perfect  unity,  and  in 
making  preparations  by  that  unity  to  conquer  the 
formidable  enemy  that  "as  about  to  land  in  Egypt. 

The  waters  of  the  Nile  were  retiring  to  their 
bed,  and  the  inundated  land  was  beginning  to  dry 
up.  The  time  for  landing  had  arrived.  The  month 
of  February,  1801,  or  Ventose,  year  ix.,  was  close 
at  hand.  The  English  and  the  Turks  were  pre- 
paring to  make  a  new  attack  upon  the  colony.  The 
grand  vizier,  whom  Kleber  had  beaten  at  Helio- 
polis, was  at  Gaza  between  Palestine  and  Egypt, 
not  having  dai-ed  to  appear  at  Constantinople  from 
the  day  of  his  defeat ;  and  having  with  him  no 
more  than  ten  or  twelve  thousand  men  of  his  whole 
army,  devoured  by  plague,  living  upon  plunder, 
and  having  every  day  to  figlit  the  mountaineers  of 
Palestine,  who  had  risen  against  such  visiters. 
That  enemy  could  be  no  cause  of  apprehension  for 
a  good  while  to  come.  The  capitan  pacha,  the  foe 
of  the  vizier  and  a  favourite  of  the  suitan,  was 
cruising  with  a  squadron  between  Syria  and  Egypt. 
He  was  desirous  of  renewing  the  convention  of  El- 
Arisch,  placing  little  reliance  upon  conquering 
Egypt  by  force  of  arms,  and  having  a  distrust  of 
England,  that  he  much  suspected  of  a  desire  to 
seize  upon  this  fine  country  from  the  French  for 
themselves.  Lastly,  eighteen  thousand  men  were 
assembled  at  Macri  in  Asia  Minor,  partly  English, 


AprU. 


Projected  invasion  of  Egypt.       EVACUATION  OF  EGYPT. 


Incapacity  of  Menou. 


Others  Hessians,  Swiss,  Maltese,  and  Neapolitans, 
commanded  by  officers  exclusively  English,  and  in 
a  fine  state  of  discipline,  were  about  to  be  em- 
barked on  board  lord  Keith's  squadron,  to  be 
landed  in  Egypt  under  an  excellent  general,  sir 
Ralph  Abcrcronibv. 

To  these  eighteen  thousand  European  soldiers, 
six  thousand  Albanians  were  to  be  added,  whom 
the  capitan  jiacha  was  at  that  moment  conveying 
in  his  squadron,  and  six  thousand  sepoys  were 
crossing  from  India  by  the  Red  Sea.  About  twenty 
thousand  bad  soldiers  of  the  east  were  to  join  the 
ten  thousand  Turks  under  the  grand  vizier  in  Pa- 
lestine. Thus  there  were  above  sixty  thousand 
men  whom  the  army  of  Egypt  was  likely  to  have 
upon  their  hands.  Still  there  were  enough,  and 
even  more  than  were  wanted,  if  they  had  been 
commanded  by  a  skilful  and  judicious  leader. 

First,  there  was  no  danger  of  a  surprise,  be- 
cause the  intelligence  was  received  from  all  parts. 
It  came  from  the  Archipelago  by  Greek  vessels,  as 
well  as  fr<im  Upper  Egypt  through  Murad  Bey, 
and  from  Europe  itself  by  the  despatches  of  the 
first  consul.  All  these  accounts  gave  notice  of  an 
approaching  expedition,  composed  both  of  Euro- 
peans and  Orientals,  ilenou,  with  a  ileaf  ear  to 
the  warning,  took  no  steps  at  the  most  critical 
moment,  neglecting  every  thing  necessary  iu  the 
existing  state  of  his  position. 

Sound  policy  naturally  counselled  the  keeping  up 
a  good  understanding  with  Murad  Bey  by  treating 
him  with  cautious  regard,  because  he  commauded 
Upjier  Egypt,  and  also  preferred  the  French  to 
the  English  or  the  Turks.  ]\Ienou  neglected  all 
this,  and  replied  to  the  information  which  he  re- 
ceived from  Murad  Bey,  in  a  manner  calculated  to 
alienate  him  from  the  If'rench  if  it  had  been  pos- 
sil>Ie  to  do  so.  Good  policy  demanded  that  Menou 
should  avail  himself  of  the  distrust  of  the  Turks 
towards  the  English,  and  without  repeating  again 
the  disgraceful  convention  of  El-Arisch,  delay  their 
operations  by  a  pretended  negotiation,  which,  by 
occupying  their  attention,  migiit  relax  theii"  cflorts. 
Menou  neither  thought  of  thi.-j  mode  of  proceeding, 
nor  of  any  other. 

In  regard  to  the  administrative  and  military  re- 
sources required  under  such  circumstances,  he. 
was  wholly  unable  to  imagine  any  that  were  to  the 
purpose.  He  ought  to  have  collected  at  Rosetta, 
Damietta,  Ramanieh,  and  Cairo,  in  short,  at  every 
place  where  the  army  was  likely  to  assemble,  a 
large  magazine  of  warlike  supplies,  always  easy  to 
obtain  in  a  country  as  abundant  as  Egypt.  Menou 
refused  to  do  this,  not  being  willing  to  divert  the 
money  from  the  payment  of  the  soldiers  which  he 
had  promised  them  they  should  punctually  receive 
on  the  day  it  was*  due,— a  thing  which  the  dilRculty 
of  collecting  the  new  taxes  barely  enabled  him  to 
do  at  the  moment.  It  Wius  necessary  to  remount 
the  cavalry  and  artillery,  as  they  were  the  most 
efficacious  means  of  opposing  an  army  just  dis- 
embarked, and  most  commonly  destitute  of  these 
two  arms.  He  refused  to  do  this  on  the  same 
financial  grounds  as  before.  So  far  did  he  carry 
his  want  of  foresight,  that  lie  Helected  the  same 
moment  to  cut  the  artillery  horses,  which  were 
entire,  and  by  their  spirit  very  troublesome  to 
govern. 

Lastly,  Menou  was  opposed  to  the  concentration 


of  tlie  troops,  which  the  health  of  the  soldiers  at 
that  season  rendered  very  desirable,  even  if  no 
danger  had  threatened  Egypt  from  without.  Some 
cases  of  plague  had  already  appeared.  To  encamp 
the  men  and  take  them  out  of  Ihc  towns  was 
urgently  required,  besides  keeping  them  more  dis- 
posable in  case  of  a  sudden  demand  for  their  ser- 
vices. The  army,  scattered  in  garrison,  uselessly 
congregated  in  Cairo,  or  employed  in  the  collection 
of  the  miri,  was  in  a  condition  to  act  no  where  with 
effect.  Still  by  the  good  disposal  of  twenty-three 
thousand  men,  of  whom  seventeen  or  eighteen 
thousand  were  capable  of  active  service,  Menou 
had  the  means  in  his  power  to  defend  Egypt  at 
every  point.  He  might  be  attacked  by  the  side  of 
Alexandria,  because  it  was  situated  near  the  roads 
of  Aboukir,  and  always,  thei-efore,  prefeiTed  as  a 
landing-place  ;  by  tlie  side  of  Damietta,  another 
jjlace  fit  for  a  landing,  though  less  favourable  than 
that  of  Aboukir  ;  or,  thirdly,  by  the  way  of  the 
Syrian  frontier,  where  the  grand  vizier  was  sta- 
tioned with  the  remains  of  his  ai-my.  Of  these 
three,  there  was  only  one  point  seriously  threatened, 
namely,  Alexandria  and  Aboukir  roads, — a  cir- 
ciinistiince  easy  to  be  foreseen,  because  every  one 
was  of  that  ojiinion,  and  it  was  openly  expressed 
in  the  army.  The  shore  of  Damietta  was,  on  the 
other  hand,  of  difficult  access,  and  so  little  united, 
by  a  few  narrow  points  to  the  Delta,  that  an  in- 
A'ading  army,  if  it  disembarked,  could  be  easily 
blocked  up  and  forced  to  re-cmbark.  It  was  not 
at  all  probable  that  the  English  would  approach  by 
the  way  of  Damietta.  On  the  side  of  Syria  there 
was  but  little  serious  danger  to  be  apprehended 
from  the  vizier.  He  was  too  weak,  and  too  full  of 
the  recollection  of  Heliopolis,  to  take  the  lead  in 
an  attack.  He  would  only  venture  to  advance 
upon  the  successful  landing  of  the  English.  Under 
any  circumstances  it  would  not  be  im])rudent  to 
suffer  him  to  advance,  as  the  nearer  to  the  French 
he  did  so  the  more  certain  he  would  be  to  commit 
himself.  The  main  subject  for  the  consideration 
of  the  commander-in-chief,  in  fact  that  which 
should  have  wholly  occupied  his  attention,  ought 
to  have  been  the  English  army,  the  landing  of 
which  was  ex])ected  to  take  place  very  shortly.  In 
the  existing  posture  of  affairs,  a  strong  division  of 
four  or  five  thousand  men  should  have  been  left 
around  Alexandria,  independently  of  the  sailors 
and  the  depots  necessary  to  guard  the  fortified 
l>lacts.  Two  thousand  would  have  been  sufficient 
for  Damietta.  The  dromedary  regiment  would 
have  sufficed  to  keej)  guard  upon  the  Syrian  fron- 
tier. A  garrison  of  three  thousand  men  at  Cairo, 
which  would  have  been  joined  by  two  thousand 
from  Upper  Egyi)t,  and  reinforced  several  thou- 
sands from  the  depots,  would  have  been  ample  to 
keep  in  subjection  the  population  of  C:iiro,  even  if 
the  vizier  had  appeared  under  the  walls.  These 
various  duties  absorbed  eleven  or  twelve  thousand 
men  out  of  seventeen  or  eighteen  thousand  effec- 
tives. There  would  then  remain  six  thousand 
chosen  troops  in  reserve,  of  which  a  large  camp 
ought  to  have  been  formed  exactly  between  Alexan- 
dria and  Damietta.  There  did,  in  fact,  exist  such  a 
point,  uniting  every  object  requirf-d,  and  that  was 
at  Ramanieh,  a  healthy  site  on  the  border  of  tlio 
Nile,  not  far  from  the  sea,  easy  to  be  i)roviKioned, 
at  the  distance  of  a  day's  march  from  Alexandria, 


Activity  of  general 
Friant. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.    ^"iL\?''C''°" '"*""  A^il 


Aboukir  Bay. 


April. 


and  three  or  four  from  the  frontiers  of  Syria.  If 
Menou  liad  eslubhshed  at  Ramanieh  his  reserve  of 
six  thousand  men,  he  would  be  able  at  the  first 
alarm  to  be  in  Alexandria  in  twenty-four  hours, 
and  in  Damietta  in  forty-eight;  and,  if  it  had  been 
necessary,  in  three  or  four  days  on  the  frontiers  of 
Syria.  Such  a  force  would  have  rendered  vaiu  all 
the  attempts  of  the  enemy. 

Menou  did  not  think  of  any  of  these  modes  of 
action;  and  not  only  was  he  thoughtless  of  them, 
but  rejected  the  advice  of  those  who  urged  others 
upon  his  attention.  Good  advice  came  upim  him 
from  every  side,  and  more  especially  fmm  the 
generals  who  were  in  opposition  to  Irim.  To  do 
them  justice,  these  last,  and  with  them  Reynier, 
more  accustomed  than  the  others  to  great  military 
dispositions,  informed  him  of  his  peril,  and  pointed 
out  to  him  the  measures  best  to  be  adopted  ;  but 
they  had  all  lost  their  influence  over  the  com- 
mander-in-chief by  their  late  intemperate  oppo- 
sition to  his  measures;  and  now,  when  they  had 
reason  upon  their  side,  they  were  not  more  regarded 
than  when  they  had  been  in  the  wrong. 

The  brave  Friant,  a  stranger  to  these  disastrous 
bickerings,  zealously  set  about  putting  Alexandria 
in  a  state  of  defence.  He  had  already  organized 
the  sailons,  and  the  troops  in  the  depots,  with  the 
object  of  intrusting  to  them  the  defence  of  the 
forts;  but  this  being  completed,  he  had  scarcely 
more  than  two  thousand  effective  men,  whom  he 
could  collect  at  the  place  of  disembarkation, 
wherever  it  might  be.  It  was  necessary  to  employ 
a  part  of  these  to  garrison  the  different  points  upon 
the  coast,  such  as  the  fort  of  Aboukir,  the  Maison 
Car^e,  and  Rosetta.  After  placing  garrisons  in 
these  posts,  he  had  about  twelve  hundred  men 
left.  Fortunately,  a  frigate,  from  Rochefort,  the 
Reg^n^rde,  brought  three  hundi'ed  men  from 
Rochefort,  with  a  considerable  supply  of  military 
stores.  Owing  to  this  unexpected  circumstance, 
the  disposable  force  of  general  Friant  was  raised 
to  f.fteen  hundred  men.  It  may  be  imagined  what 
assistance,  at  such  a  moment,  the  squadron  of 
admiral  Ganteaume  would  have  been,  if,  trusting 
a  little  more  to  fortune,  that  admiral  had  landed 
here  just  at  this  moment  the  four  thousand  chosen 
men  which  were  embarked  on  board  his  fleet. 

General  Friant,  although  his  force  was  so  de- 
ficient, applied  for  only  two  battalions  more,  and 
a  regiment  of  cavalry.  In  fact,  this  force  would 
have  sufficed  ;  but  it  was  a  step  of  too  much 
temerity,  in  such  a  conjuncture,  to  trust  to  a  re- 
inforcement of  only  one  thousand  men.  It  is  too 
true,  that  the  self-confidence  of  the  army  con- 
tributed greatly  to  its  defeat.  The  French  troops 
in  Egypt  had  been  in  the  habit  of  fighting  one 
against  four,  sometimes  one  against  eight;  and  thej' 
had  formed  no  correct  idea  of  the  means  by  which 
the  English  would  effect  a  landing.  They  believed 
that  they  would  only  land  a  hundred  or  two  of 
men  at  a  time,  without  artillery  or  cavalry;  and 
they  imagined,  too,  that  the  English  could  not 
withstand  a  charge  of  the  bayonet.  This  was  a 
fatal  illusion.  Still,  this  reinforcement,  requested 
by  Friant,  weak  as  it  might  be,  would  have  saved 
the  colony  :  subsequent  events  prove  this  •. 

•  This  is  a  sinpular  illusion  of  our  author,  even  under  his 
very  incorrect  statement  of  the  proceedings  of  the  English 
army. — Tratulator. 


On  the  28th  of  February,  1801,  or  9th  of  Ven- 
tose,  year  ix.,  there  was  perceived,  not  far  from 
Alexandria,  an  English  pinnace  ^,  which  appeared 
to  be  i-econnoitring.  Some  boats  were  sent  in 
pursuit  of  her,  and  she  was  captured  with  the 
officers  who  were  on  board.  The  papers  found 
upon  them  left  no  longer  any  doubt  of  the  inten- 
tion of  the  English.  Almost  immediately  after- 
wards the  English  fleet  of  seventy  sail  of  vessels 
ajipeared  in  sight  of  Alexandria;  but  owing  to  the 
batiness  of  the  weather,  it  was  obliged  to  stand  out 
to  sea  again.  Fortune  still  left  another  chance  for 
the  preservation  of  Egypt  from  the  English,  since 
it  was  not  likely  their  landing  would  be  attempted 
for  several  days  to  come.  The  intelligence  trans- 
mitted by  Friant  to  Cairo  reached  that  place  on 
the  4tli  of  March,  or  I3th  of  Ventose,  in  the  aftex'- 
noon.  If  Menou  had,  without  losing  time,  taken 
a  decisive  and  prompt  resolution,  all  might  still 
have  been  repaired.  If  he  had  ordered  the  entire 
army  to  fall  back  towards  Alexandria,  the  cavalry 
would  have  arrived  there  in  four  days,  the  infantry 
in  five;  that  is  to  say,  between  the  8th  and  9th  of 
March,  or  17tli  and  18ih  of  Ventose,  from  ten  to 
twelve  thousand  men  might  have  been  assembled 
on  the  sands  of  Aboukir.  It  was  possible  that 
by  this  time  the  English  would  have  been  dis- 
embarked; but  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  have 
got  their  artillery,  ammunition,  and  stores  on  shore, 
or  to  have  strengthened  their  ])osition  ;  and  our 
troops  would  have  ai-rived  in  time  to  have  driven 
them  into  the  sea.  Reynier,  who  was  at  Cairo, 
wrote  to  Menou,  on  that  day,  a  letter  of  the  most 
convincing  character.  He  advised  him  to  dis- 
regard the  vizier,  who  would  not  take  the  lead  in 
offensive  operations,  and  also  Damietta,  which  was 
not  the  point  threatened,  and  to  push  the  great 
mass  of  his  force  upon  Alexandria.  Nothing  was 
better  than  this  advice.  In  any  case,  there  could 
be  no  harm  done  by  marching  upon  Ramanieh,, 
since,  on  his  arrival  there,  if  the  danger  were  in 
Damietta  or  Syria,  he  could,  with  perfect  ease, 
direct  himself  upon  either  of  these  two  points. 
Not  a  day  would  be  lost  in  such  a  case,  and  he 
would  be  so  much  closer  to  Alexandria,  where  the 
real  danger  was  threatening;  but  it  was  absolutely 
necessary  to  decide  that  moment,  and  to  set  out 
on  the  march  that  night.  Menou  was  deaf  to  this 
reasoning,  and  became  peremptory  in  his  orders; 
while,  at  the  same  time,  he  was  unsettled  how  he 
should  act.  Not  being  able  to  distinguish,  to  his 
own  satisfaction,  the  point  that  was  threatened, 
he  sent  a  reinforcement  to  general  Rampon,  at 
Damietta.  He  sent  general  Reynier,  with  his 
division,  towards  Bclbe'is,  to  oppose  the  vizier 
upon  the  Syrian  border.  He  sent  the  division  of 
Lanusse  towards  Ramanieh  ;  yet  he  did  not  send 
all  that  division,  but  kepi  at  Cairo  the  88th  dcmi- 
brigade.  At  the  moment  he  merely  sent  off'  the 
17th  chasseurs.  General  Lanusse  was  ordered  to 
proceed  to  Ramanieh,  and,  according  to  the  in- 
formation he  might  there  obtain,  he  was,  if  needful, 

*  This  took  place  in  Aboukir  Bay,  not  off  Alexandria. 
The  officers  were  majors  M'Karras  and  Fletcher  of  the  royal 
engineers,  who,  some  time  before  the  expedition,  sailed  from 
Marmora,  having  gone  down  in  tlie  Penelope  frigate  to  survey 
the  coast.  They  were  surprised  in  a  very  small  boat.  Major 
M'Karras  was  killed  by  the  Vteac\\.— Translator. 


1801. 
April. 


Description  of  the  couDtr;^.  EVACUATION  OF  EGYPT.  Landing  of  the  British  troops.       249 


to  march  from  that  place  upon  Alexandria.  Me- 
nou  remained  in  Cairo,  with  a  large  proporticm  of 
his  forces,  awaiting  later  intelligence,  in  a  position 
at  such  a  distance  from  the  coast.  It  was  impos- 
sible for  incapacity  to  proceed  further. 

During  this  time,  events  rapidly  succeeded  e.ach 
other.  The  English  fleet  was  composed  of  seven 
sail  of  the  line,  a  great  number  of  frigates,  brigs, 
and  large  vessels  belonging  to  the  East  India  com- 
pany, in  all  seventy  sail.  They  had  on  board 
a  great  many  flat-bottomed  boats.  As  has  al- 
ready been  observed,  lord  Keith  commanded  the 
naval  forces;  sir  Ralph  Abercromby  those  of  the 
land.  The  place  which  they  chose  for  their  dis- 
embarkation was  that  which  had  always  been 
selected  before, — tlie  road  of  Aboukir.  It  was 
there  that  the  French  squadron  was  moored  in 
1798:  there  that  it  was  discovered  and  destroyed 
by  Nelson;  it  was  there  that  the  Turkish  squadron 
landed  the  brave  janissaries,  thrown  into  the  sea 
by  Bi)na])arte,on  the  glorious  day  of  Aboulcir.  The 
English  fleet  having  been  obliged  to  keep  off"  for 
some  days,— a  delay,  fatal  for  them,  and  fortunate 
for  the  French,  if  Menou  had  known  how  to  profit 
by  it, — came  to  an  anchor  in  the  Aboukir  roads  on 
the  6th  of  March ',  or  15tli  Veutose,  about  five 
leagues  from  Alexandria. 

Lower  Egypt  resembles  Holland  and  Venice,  in 
being  a  country  of  marshes  and  pools.  Like  all 
countries  of  the  same  nature,  it  presents  a  cha- 
racter, which  it  is  necessary  to  examine  closely,  if 
one  desires  to  comprehend  the  military  operations 
of  which  it  may  become  the  scene.  At  the  place 
where  all  the  great  rivers  enter  the  sea,  they  form 
banks  of  sand  in  their  estuaries  ;  these  the  sea 
drives  back,  and  thus  driven  by  two  opposite  force-s, 
they  extend  themselves  parallel  with  the  shore. 
They  form  those  bars  so  much  dreaded  by  navi- 
gators, always  so  difficult  to  pass  upon  entering  or 
leaving  rivers.  They  rise,  scarcely  perceived,  in 
succession,  to  the  level  of  the  water,  and  in  time 
get  above  it,  j)rcsenting  a  long  bank  of  sand, 
beaten,  from  without,  by  the  arms  of  the  sea, 
while,  within  side,  tluy  are  perpetually  washed  by 
the  rivers  whose  currents  they  impede  in  their 
progress.  The  Nile,  in  flowing  into  the  Mediter- 
ninean,  has  formed,  before  its  numerous  mouths, 
a  vast  semicircle  of  these  sand-banks.  This  semi- 
circle, which  has  an  arch  of  seventy  leagues  at 
lea.st,  from  Alexandria  to  Pelusium,  is  scarcely 
interrupted  near  llosetta,  Dourloz,  Damietta,  and 
Pelusium,  by  some  channels,  passing  through 
which,  the  waters  of  the  Nile  flow  into  the  sea. 
On  one  side  bathed  by  the  Mediterranean,  it  is 
wa.Hhed  on  the  other  by  the  lakes  Mareotis, 
Madieli,  Edko,  Bourioz,  and  Menzaleh.  Every 
disembarkation  in  Egyjit  must  be  necessarily  ef- 
fected upon  one  of  these  sand-banks.  Led  by 
example  and  by  necessity,  the  English  chose  that 
which  forms  the  bank  or  i>laiii  of  Alexandria. 
Tiiis  bank,  about  fifteen  leagues  long,  runs  between 
the  Mediterranean,  on  one  side,  and  the  lakes 
Mareotis  and  Madieh  on  the  other,  and  lias,  at 
one  of  its  extremities,  the  city  of  Alexandria,  and 
at  the  other,  forms  a  re-entering  semicircle,  which 
terminates  at  llosetta.    It  is  this  re-entering  semi- 

'  It  came  to  anchor  there  on  the  2n(l,  not  the  0th.  The 
tea  was  too  high  to  land  until  the  8th. —  Traiutalor. 


circle  whicli  makes  the  road  of  Aboukir.  One  of 
the  sides  of  this  roadstead  was  defended  by  the 
fort  of  Aboukir,  built  by  the  French,  and  com- 
manded, by  its  fire,  the  surrounding  sands.  A 
number  of  small  sand-hills  skirted  the  entire  shore, 
and  were  lost  in  the  distance  on  the  other  side  of 
the  road,  in  a  level  sandy  plain.  Bonaparte  had 
ordered  a  fort  to  be  construi-ted  011  these  hills. 
Had  his  orders  been  carried  into  eff'ect,  to  disem- 
bark here  would  not  have  been  practicable. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  this  roadstead  that  the 
English  squadron  came  to  an  anchor  in  two  lines. 
They  waited  at  anchor  until  the  swell  becoming 
less,  pennitted  them  to  land.  At  length,  on  the  8tii, 
in  the  morning,  or  17th  Venl6.se,  the  weather 
being  calm,  lord  Keith  distributed  five  thousand 
men*  in  three  hundred  and  fifty  boats.  These 
boats,  disposed  in  two  lines,  and  led  by  captain 
Cochrane,  advanced  towards  the  shore,  having  on 
each  of  their  wings  a  division  of  gunboats.  These 
boats  exchanged  with  the  shore  a  vigorous  can- 
nonade. 

General  Friant  had  gone  to  the  spot  and  formed 
at  some  distance  from  the  shore,  in  order  to  shelter 
his  men  from  the  English  artillery.  He  had  thrown 
between  the  fort  of  Aboukir  and  the  ground  which 
he  had  taken  up,  a  detachment  of  the  25tli  demi- 
brigade,  with  several  pieces  of  cannon.  On  his 
left  he  had  stationed  the  75th,  two  battalions  strong, 
concealed  by  the  sandhills  ;  in  the  centre,  two 
squadrons  of  cavalry,  one  the  18th,  and  the  other 
the  20tli  dragoons;  lastly,  upon  his  right  he  placed 
the  Gist  demi-brigade,  also  two  battalions  strong, 
which  was  ordered  to  defend  the  lower  part  of 
the  beach.  His  whole  force  was  fifteen  hundred 
men.  An  advanced  party  occupied  the  landing- 
place,  and  the  French  artillery,  placed  at  the 
salient  points  of  the  shore,  swept  the  plain  with 
their  fire. 

The  English  pulled  towards  the  land,  the  sol- 
diers lying  down  in  the  bottoms  of  the  boats,  and 
the  sailors  standing  up*  working  their  oars  with 
vigour,  and  taking  with  perfect  coolness  the  fire 
of  the  artillery.  When  the  sailors  fell  they  were 
instantly  replaced  by  others.  The  mass  moved  on 
as  if  by  one  impulse,  and  ap|)roached  the  land.  At 
length  the  boats  touched  the  beach.  The  Eng- 
lish soldiers  arose  from  the  bottoms  of  the  boats 
and  sprang  on  shore.  They  formed,  and  rushed  up 
the  sandy  slope  which  bordered  the  sea.  General 
Friant,  discovering  this  from  his  outposts  falling 
back,  came  up  a  little  late.    He,  notwithstanding, 


*  They  were  six  thousand,  not  five  thousand,  in  each 
division;  and  two  divisions  of  that  number  were  landed  the 
same  day,  and  in  the  same  manner.  Their  arilllery  was 
taken  in  the  launches  with  each  division,  under  '.he  care  of 
six  naval  captains,  who  conducted  the  covering  gun-boats  un 
the  Hanks.— Translalor. 

s  The  want  of  information  of  our  author  upon  naval  affairs 
is  visible  again  here.  The  soldiers  did  not  lie  down  in  the 
bottoms  of  the  boats,  nor  did  tlie  seamen  stand  to  low.  The 
outermost  transports  were  from  five  to  six  miles  ofl"j  and  to 
reach  the  rendezvous,  a  mile  from  the  shore,  some  had  been 
in  the  lioats  from  three  in  tlie  mornirig.  The  soldiers,  in 
such  a  case,  must  have  been  packed  like  bales  upon  each 
other.  Seamen  ttanding  to  row  for  five  hours  is  n  thing 
out  of  the  question.  The  soldiers  sal  wiih  their  muskets  be- 
tween their  knees,  placed  perpendicularly;  the  stamen  sat 
as  usual. —  Translator. 


.,-  Engagement  between  the 
.0(1      two  armies. — Retreat  of 


directed  the  /oth  to  tlie  left,  against  the  sand-hills, 
and  the  Gist  to  the  right,  towards  the  lower  part 
of  the  shore.  This  last  regiment  rushed  upon  the 
English  with  bayonets  at  the  charge,  as  they 
were  on  that  side  without  support.  They  pushed 
them  with  vigour,  drove  them  into  their  boats,  and 
even  got  into  the  boats  with  them.  The  grena- 
diers of  the  same  demi-brigade  seized  upon  twelve 
of  the  boats,  and  used  them  to  pour  a  murderous 
fire  u[)on  the  euemy.  The  75th,  which  received 
their  orders  too  late,  had  given  the  English  time 
to  seize  upon  the  position  on  the  left,  and  advanced 
to  dislodge  them.  Exposed  by  this  movement  to 
the  fire  of  the  gun-boats,  it  received  a  terrific  dis- 
charge of  grape-shot,  which  killed  thirty-two  men, 
and  wounded  twenty.  It  at  the  same  moment  re- 
ceived the  ten-ible  fire  of  the  English  infantry. 
This  brave  demi-brigade  surprised  for  an  instant, 
and  not  fighting  upon  firm  ground,  advanced  to  the 
attaelc  in  some  confusion.  General  Friant,  wishing 
to  support  it,  ordered  a  charge  of  cavalry  upon  the 
English  centre,  which  was  now  forming  in  the 
plain,  having  overcome  the  first  obstacles  that  pre- 
sented themselves.  The  commander  of  the  ISth 
dragoons  was  several  times  sent  for  by  the  general 
to  receive  his  orders,  after  having  made  liim  wait. 
General  Friant,  in  the  midst  of  a  hailstorm  of  balls, 
pointed  out  to  him  the  precise  point  of  attack. 
Unfortunately  the  irresolution  of  the  officer  caused 
him,  in  place  of  advancing  directly  against  the 
enemy,  to  lose  time  in  making  a  circuit;  the  charge 
was  badly  made,  and  the  lives  of  many  men  and 
horses  sacrificed  without  making  any  impression 
on  the  English,  and  without  disengaging  the  75th, 
that  was  struggling  to  retake  the  sand-hills  on  the 
left.  There  was  a  squadron  of  the  20th  remaining, 
commanded  by  a  brave  officer,  named  Boussart; 
he  charged  at  the  head  of  his  dragoons,  and  over- 
turned all  that  were  opposed  to  him.  At  this  in- 
stant the  61st,  which  towards  the  right  had  been 
njasters  of  the  shore,  though  unable  of  themselves 
to  overpower  the  mass  opposed  to  them,  now  in- 
vigorated, followed  the  20th  dragoons  close,  and 
pushed  the  left  of  the  English  upon  its  centre,  soon 
forcing  them  to  re-embark.  The  75th  on  its  own 
side,  under  a  dreadful  fire,  fought  with  renewed 
courage.  If  at  that  moment  general  Friant  had 
had  the  two  battalions  of  infantry,  and  the  regi- 
ment of  cavalry  which  he  so  many  times  requested, 
the  battle  had  been  won,  and  the  English  had  been 
driven  into  the  sea.  But  a  troop  of  twelve  hun- 
dred chosen  men,  composed  of  Swiss  and  Irish, 
turned  the  sand-hills,  and  attacked  the  75tli  in 
flank.  Tliis  regiment  was  obliged  to  give  way 
anew,  leaving  tiie  61st  on  the  I'ight,  determined  to 
conquer,  but  endangered  by  its  own  excess  of 
courage. 

General  Friant,  seeing  that  the  75th  was  obliged 
to  retreat,  and  that  the  61st  would  bo  surrounded, 
ordered  its  retreat,  which  was  effected  in  good 
order.  The  grenadiers  of  the  61st,  animaied  by 
the  carnage  and  by  the  success,  reluctantly  obeyed 
the  order  of  their  general,  and  in  retiring  kept 
back  the  English  by  si^veral  vigorous  charges. 

This  unfortunate  combat  of  the  8th  of  March,  or 
17th  of  Ventose,  decided  the  loss  of  Egypt.  The 
gallant  general  Friant  had  taken  up  his  position, 
perhaps,  a  little  too  far  from  the  shore  ;  he  had 
also,  perhaps,  counted  too  much  upon  the  supe- 


1801. 
April. 

riority  of  his  men,  and  supposed  that  the  English 
could  only  disembark  a  few  at  a  time.  But  this 
confidence  was  very  excusable,  and,  after  all,  it 
was  justified;  becau.se  if  he  had  had  but  one  or 
two  battalions  more,  the  English  would  have  been 
repulsed,  and  Egypt  saved.  But  what  can  be  said 
in  behalf  of  the  commander-in-chief,  who,  for  two 
mouths  aware  of  the  danger  througli  many  chan- 
nels, neglected  to  concentrate  his  troops  at  Ra- 
manieh,  which  would  have  enabled  him  to  unite 
ten  thousand  men  before  Aboukir  on  that  decisive 
day  ?  who,  informed  again  on  the  4th  of  March, 
in  the  most  positive  terms,  which  reached  Cairo  on 
that  day,  did  not  send  any  troops  ?  They  would 
then  have  arrived  on  the  morning  of  the  8th,  and 
would,  in  consequence,  have  been  in  time  to  repel 
the  English.  What  can  be  said  of  admiral  Gan- 
teaume,  who  could  have  landed  four  thousand  men 
in  Alexandria  the  same  day  that  the  Re'ge'n^re'e 
frigate  brought  three  hundred,  who  fought  at 
Aboukir  ?  What  can  be  said  of  this  timidity,  neg- 
ligence, error  of  every  kind,  unless  that  there  are 
some  times  when  every  thing  accumulates  to  con- 
tribute to  the  loss  of  battles  and  the  min  of  em- 
pires ?  » 

The  battle  was  sanguinary.  The  English  com- 
puted their  loss  at  eleven  hundred  killed  and 
wounded  out  of  five  thousand  that  had  landed  i. 
We  had  four  hundred  killed  and  wounded  out  of 
fifteen  hundred.  The  troops  had  then  fought  well. 
General  Friant  retired  under  the  walls  of  Alex- 
andria, and  sent  oft'  the  state  of  affairs  to  Menou 
and  the  generals  stationed  near  him,  pressing  them 
to  come  to  his  assistance. 

Still,  all  might  have  been  repaired,  if  the  time 
that  remained  had  been  profitably  employed  in 
bringing  up  the  disposable  force,  and  had  advantage 
been  taken  of  the  difficulties  in  which  the  English 
found  themselves  placed,  having  taken  up  their 
position  upon  the  sandy  plain. 

In  the  first  place,  they  had  to  disembark  their 
army,  then  to  land  their  guns,  ammunition,  and 
baggage,  which  would  be  a  labour  of  some  time.  It 
was  then  necessary  for  them  to  advance  along  the 
sand- bank  in  order  to  approach  Alexandria,  with 
the  sea  on  the  right,  and  the  lakes  Madieh  and 
Mareotis  on   the  left ;   supported,   it   is   true,   by 


'  The  English  did  not  compute  their  loss  in  the  amount 
tlie  author  states  ;  but  it  was  as  follows  :  seamen,  22  kilUd  ; 
7  officers,  65  men  wounded,  3  missing;  total  navy,  U7.  Tlie 
return  of  the  army  loss  was  4  officers,  4  serjeants,  94  privates, 
killed;  26  officers,  34  serjeants,  455  privates,  wounded; 
1  officer  and  S3  privates  missinjj.  Of  these  last,  14  were  of 
the  Corsican  rangers  made  prisoners ;  tliese  were  probably 
the  "Swiss"  alluded  to  above,  because  there  was  no  other 
foreign  regiment  in  the  British  service  in  the  landing  of  the 
first  division.  The  total,  therefore,  was  124  killed,  and  625 
wounded.  The  action  was  warmly  contested  at  the  moment. 
The  French  cavalry  charged  the  British  left  as  it  came  out 
of  the  boats,  and  before  it  could  form,  causing  a  confusion 
impossible  to  avoid,  and  instantly  remedied.  The  combat 
was  never  for  a  monient  doubtful.  The  23rd  and  40th,  that 
ascended  the  sand-hills  in  the  centre,  carried  all  before  them, 
and  were  never  once  checked.  The  French  force  was  rated 
by  good  judges,  who  were  able  to  observe  the  proceedings, 
at  from  2500  to  3000.  General  Abercromby  estimated  them 
at  2500.  Eight  French  pieces  of  cannon  out  of  fifteen  were 
taken,  a  waggon  with  ammunition,  and  a  number  of  horses. 
■^Translator. 


1S01. 
April. 


Delay  of  Menou — 
Movements  of  the 
British. 


EVACUATION  OF  EGYPT. 


Friant  and  Lanusse  re- 
solve to  fight.— They 
are  repulsed. 


their  gun-boats,  but  without  cavalry,  auJ  haviii- 
no  other  artillery  than  they  were  able  to  drag  by  j 
hand.  These  operations,  it  was  clear,  would  be  j 
tedious,  and  soon  become  very  difficult  when  they 
had  arrived  before  Alexandria,  reduced  to  the  | 
necessity  either  of  taking  that  city,  or  marching 
over  narrow  dykes,  by  which  alone  they  could  com- 
municate with  the  interior  of  Egypt,  and  get  out  of 
the  coafined  promontory  upcm  winch  tiiey  had 
landed.  If  the  Frencli  wi^shed  to  check  their  ad- 
vance, they  ought  to  have  avoided  partial  and  un- 
equal battles,  which  only  inspired  their  enemies 
with  C()nfidence,  made  the  troops  lose  their  cus- 
tomary reliance  upon  themselves,  and  reduced 
their  numbers,  already  too  few.  Without  fighting 
at  all  the  French  were  certain,  by  choosing  good 
positions,  to  obstruct  the  English  march  com- 
pletely. One  useful  thing  alone,  therefore,  re- 
mained to  be  undertaken,  and  tb.at  was  to  wait  until 
Menou,  whose  blindness  to  his  own  danger  had 
now  been  overcome  by  facts  too  strong  to  be  re- 
sisted, had  concentrated  his  forces  under  the  walls 
of  Alexandria. 

But  general  Lanusse  had  been  sent  to  Ramanieh 
with  his  division.  Having  then  learned  what  had 
passed  on  the  side  of  Aboukir,  he  at  once  marched 
upon  Alexandria.  He  brought  with  him  three 
thousand  men  ;  Friant  had  lost  four  hundred  out  of 
fifteen  hundred  who  were  in  the  battle  of  the  8th 
of  March  ;  but  having  called  in  his  small  outposts, 
extending  from  Alexandria  to  Rosetta,  he  had  still 
seventeen  or  eighteen  hundred  men.  The  forts  of 
Alexandria  were  gari'isoned  by  the  seamen  and 
soldiers  of  the  depots.  With  the  division  of  La- 
nusse coming  up,  a  force  of  about  five  thousand 
men  could  be  mustered.  The  English  had  landed 
sixteen  thousand  exclusive  of  two  thousand  seamen. 
It  would  have  been  wiser  not  to  have  engaged  yet 
in  a  second  battle ;  but  the  two  generals  were  hur- 
ried into  action  by  extraordinary  circumstances. 

The  long  bank  of  sand  ui)on  which  the  English 
had  landed,  separated  by  the  lakes  Mudieh  and 
Mareotis  from  the  interior  of  Egypt,  is  only  joined 
to  it  by  a  long  dyke  passing  between  the  two  lakes, 
and  terminating  at  Ilamanieh.  This  dyke  carries, 
at  the  same  time,  the  canal  which  supplies  the 
city  of  Alexandria  with  fresh  water  from  the  Nile, 
and  the  high  road  leading  from  Alexandria  to 
Rimanioh.  At  this  moment  there  was  great  dan- 
ger of  its  being  occupied  by  the  English,  as  they 
had  very  nearly  reached  the  place  where  it  joins 
the  s;ind-bank  upon  which  Alexandria  is  situated. 
The  English  were  busy  on  the  9th,  10th,  and  11th 
of  March,  or  18tli,  lath,  and  20th  of  Ventose,  in 
disembarking  and  organizing  their  troops.  On  the 
12th  their  array  began  to  advance,  marching  slowly 
and  iieavily  through  the  sands,  the  artillery  being 
dniwn  by  the  sailors  of  the  8(iuadron,  and  sup- 
ported right  and  left  by  gun-boats.  On  the  night 
of  the  I2tli  they  were  very  near  the  point  where 
the  dyke  and  canal  form  a  junction  with  the  site 
upon  which  Alexandria  stniids. 

Generals  Friant  and  Lanusse  thought  there  was 
gi'cat  danger  in  permitting  the  English  to  occu|)y 
that  point,  and  tlms  jilao;  in  their  possession  tlie 
road  to  Ilamanieh,  by  which  Menou  must  arrive. 
Still,  if  that  road  were  lost,tlnre  remained  another 
long  one,  it  is  tru<',  ami  very  (Utticuit  for  artillery 
to  pass,  that  was  the  bed  itself  of  lake   Mareotis. 


This  lake,  more  or  less  in  a  state  of  inundation, 
according  to  the  rise  of  the  Nile,  and  the  season  of 
the  yeai",  left  uncovered  a  large  space  of  marshy 
ground,  through  which  an  army  might  be  certain 
to  track  out  a  siimous  march.  There  was,  in  con- 
sequence, no  sufficient  reason  for  fighting  with 
everj-  chance  against  success. 

Generals  Friant  and  Lanusse,  nevertheless,  ex- 
aggerated the  danger  to  which  their  communi- 
cations were  exposed,  and  determined  to  fight. 
They  had  the  means  of  diminishing  very  consider- 
ably the  error  they  thus  committed,  by  remaining 
upon  the  sand-hills,  which  rise  across  the  whole 
width  of  the  bank  upon  whicli  the  battle  was 
fought,  these  very  hills  abutting  upon  the  head  of 
the  dyke  itself,  and  commanding  it.  By  remaining 
in  this  position,  and  making  a  wise  use  of  their 
artillery,  with  which  they  were  much  better  pro- 
vided than  the  English,  they  had  the  advantage  of 
acting  upon  the  defensive,  of  compensating  for  j 
their  inferiority  of  number ;  and  would  have  suc- 
ceeded, it  is  probable,  in  protecting  the  i)oint,  for 
the  preservation  of  which  they  were  about  to  give 
a  second  battle,  deeply  to  be  regretted. 

It  was  then  agreed  upon  to  give  battle  between 
generals  Friant  and  Lanusse.  The  last  was  an 
officer  of  good  natural  abilities,  of  great  bravery, 
and  even  audacity.  Unhappily  he  was  too  little 
disposed  to  attend  to  the  dictates  of  prudence.  He 
had  mingled  too  in  the  dissensions  prevalent  in  the 
army,  and  was  full  of  delight  at  the  prospect  of 
gaining  a  victory  before  the  arrival  of  Menou. 

On  the  13th  of  March,  or  22nd  of  Ventose,  in  the 
morning,  the  English  appeared.  They  were  divided 
into  three  corps;  that  on  the  left  followed  the  shore 
of  lake  Madieh,  thus  threatening  the  head  of  the 
dyke,  supported  by  gun-boats  ;  that  of  the  centre 
advanced  in  the  form  of  a  square,  having  battalions 
in  close  columns  upon  its  Hanks  in  order  to  resist 
the  French  cavalry,  which  the  English  much  feared; 
the  third  corps  marched  on  the  side  of  the  sea, 
supported  also  by  gun-boats. 

The  corps  destined  to  take  the  head  of  the  dyke 
was  in  a,dvance  of  the  two  others.  Lanusse,  seeing 
the  left  wing  of  the  English  venture  alone  along 
the  side  of  the  lake,  could  not  resist  the  desire  of 
throwing  himself  upon  it.  He  descended  the  heights 
below  which  he  was  to  attack  it  ;  but  at  the  same 
moment  the  formidable  square  forming  the  Englisii 
centre,  before  concealed  from  view  by  .some  of  the 
sand-hills  which  it  had  cleared,  appeared  suddenly 
upon  that  side.  Lanusse  was  thus  obliged  to  turn 
fi-om  his  original  object ;  he  marched  directly  to- 
wards the  square,  which  at  some  distance  was  pre- 
ceded by  an  advanced  line  of  infantry.  He  ordi.-red 
up  the  22nd  chasseurs,  which  charged  the  line  of 
infantry  at  full  gallop,  cut  it  into  two  parts,  and 
iorceil  two  battalions  to  lay  down  their  arms.  The 
4tli  light  dragoons,  advancing  to  susttiiti  the  22nd, 
completed  this  first  success.  While  this  was  going 
forward,  the  square  which  had  arrived  within  mus- 
ket shot,  conunenced  that  fire  of  well-sustained 
musketry,  by  which  the  French  army  suffered  so  | 
nmch  upon  the  landing  at  Aboukir.  The  18th  light 
next  came  up,  but  was  received  with  the  samo 
murderous  volleys,  which  threw  its  ranks  into  con- 
fusion. At  this  moment  the  right  body  of  tlio 
English  was  seen  advancing  from  the  sea-shore 
upon  its  way  to  sustain  the  centre.     Lanusse,  who 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.    ^T/enlag/ment'"" 


I80I. 
Aprii. 


had  only  the  GDih  to  support  the  18th,  tht-u  ordered 
a  retreat,  fearing  to  engage  in  so  unequal  a  contest. 
Friant  on  his  side,  astonished  to  see  Lanusse  de- 
scend to  the  plains,  followed  in  order  to  support 
him,  and  pushed  forwards  to  the  head  of  the  clylce, 
against  the  English  left.  He  was  exposed  a  long 
while  to  a  very  animated  fire,  which  he  returiie<l 
with  equal  spirit,  wlun  he  perceived  the  retreat  of 
his  colleague.  He  then  retreated  in  his  turn,  to 
prevent  being  left  to  contend  alone  against  the 
entire  English  army.  Both  after  this  short  engage- 
ment regained  the  position  which  they  had  com- 
mitted the  error  of  quitting. 

This  was  on  the  whole  but  a  mere  reconnolssance, 
although  a  very  useless  one,  because  the  army 
ought  to  have  been  spared,  and  the  result  was  a 
new  loss  of  five  or  six  hundred  men  ;  a  loss  very 
mucli  to  be  regretted,  because  the  French  had  not, 
like  the  English,  the  means  of  obtaining  i-einforce- 
ments,  and  were  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  giving 
battle  with  a  force  not  exceeding  five  thousand  or 
six  thousand  men.  If  the  losses  of  the  English 
could  have  compensated  for  those  of  the  French, 
they  were  sufficiently  great  to  satisfy  them.  They 
lost  thirteen  or  fourteen  hundred  men  ^. 

It  was  now  resolved  to  await  the  arrival  of 
Menou,  who  had  at  last  determined  upon  dii-ect- 
ing  the  army  on  Alexandria.  He  had  ordered 
general  Rampon  to  quit  Damietta,  and  march  upon 
Ramanieh,  and  he  bi-ought  with  him  the  main  body 
of  the  troops.  Yet  there  still  remained  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Damietta,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Belbeis 
and  of  Salahieh,  in  Cairo  itself,  and  in  Upper 
Egypt,  troops  which  were  not  as  useful  in  the 
places  where  they  were  left  as  they  would  have 
been  before  Alexandria.  If  Menou  had  ordered 
the  evacuation  of  Upper  Egypt,  and  had  confided  it 
to  Murad  Bey,  and  if  he  had  left  the  city  of  Cairo, 
but  little  inclined  to  insurrection,  to  the  soldiers  in 
the  depots,  he  would  have  had  two  thousand  men 
more  with  which  to  face  the  enemy.  Such  an  addi- 
tional foi-ce  was  not  surely  to  be  despised,  because 
the  all-important  object  was  to  beat  the  English. 
The  Egyi)tians  were  very  far  from  the  idea  of 
revolting,  and  did  not  require  that  any  precautions 
should  be  taken  against  them.  They  were  only  to 
be  feared  in  case  of  the  French  being  decidedly 
vanquished. 

Menou,  having  reached  Ramanieh,  discovered 
the  whole  extent  of  the  danger  threatening  him. 
General  Fi-iant  had  sent  forward  two  regiments  of 
cavalry.  The  genci-al  thought,  with  good  reason, 
that  being  for  some  days  shut  up  within  the  walls 
of  Alexandria,  he  had  no  great  need  of  those  regi- 
ments, and  that,  on  the  contrary,  they  would  be 
highly  useful  to  Menou  to  clear  the  country  upon 
Ills  march. 

Menou  was  obliged  to  make  long  circuits  in  the 
bed  of  lake  Mareotis,  in  order  to  gain  the  plain  of 
Alexandria.      He   succeeded   with    some   trouble, 

'  The  exact  loss  of  the  English  was  6  officers,  150  men, 
and  21  horses,  killed;  6G  officers,  1015  men,  and  5  horses, 
wounded;  1  man  alone  was  missing:  total,  1231.  The 
French  continually  underrate  their  losses.  The  English 
army  continued  their  advance,  and  the  French  retired  mider 
the  protection  of  the  fortified  heights  of  Alexandria,  while 
general  Hutchinson,  with  the  reserve,  occujjied  a  position 
wiih  his  right  to  the  sea,  and  his  left  on  Uie  canal  of  Alex- 
andria, about  a  league  from  the  city. — Translator. 


above  all  with  his  artillery.  The  trrojjs  arrived 
on  the  19th  and  20th  of  March,  or  28ih  and  29th 
Ventose.  He  arrived  himself  on  the  19th,  and  was 
then  able  to  appreciate  with  his  own  eyes  the  great 
fault  that  had  been  committed  in  allowing  the 
English  to  effect  a  landing. 

The  English  had  received  several  reinforcements 
and  a  good  di  al  of  materiel.  They  had  taken  up 
their  position  upon  the  same  sandy  heights  which 
had  been  occupied  by  generals  Lamisse  and  Friant 
on  the  13th  of  March.  They  had  thrown  up  some 
redoubts,  and  mounted  them  with  heavy  guns.  To 
drive  them  from  their  position  would  have  been  a 
difficult  task. 

The  English  were  besides  very  superior  in  num- 
bers. They  had  seventeen  thousand  or  eighteen 
thousand  men  against  fewer  than  ten  thousand. 
Friant  and  Lanusse,  after  the  affair  of  the  22nd  of 
Ventose,  had  barely  four  thousand  five  hundred 
effective  men.  Menou  did  not  bring  with  him  more 
than  five  thousand.  The  French  had  therefore  but 
ten  thousand  men  to  oppose  eighteen  tliousand  in 
an  intrenched  position.  All  the  chances  which 
might  have  been  on  the  French  side  in  the  first, 
and  even  in  the  second  afi'air,  were  now  against 
them.  After  having  attempted  in  vain  to  drive  the 
English  into  the  sea  with  fifteen  hundred  men,  and 
afterwards  with  five  thousand,  it  would  have  been 
extraordinary  not  to  have  attempted  it  with  ten 
thousand,  or  in  other  words,  with  all  the  force  we 
could  collect  at  the  same  point. 

It  is  not  to  be  disguised  that  there  was  another 
part  to  play,  which  should  have  been  followed 
after  the  first  landing,  before  the  useless  battle 
which  generals  Lanusse  and  Friant  fought.  This 
was  to  leave  the  English  upon  the  tongue  of  land 
which  they  occupied,  and  to  throw  up  works  rapidly 
around  Alexandria,  which  would  have  made  it  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  take  that  place;  to  have  confided 
the  defence  to  the  seamen  and  the  soldiers  of  the 
dejiot,  reinforced  with  two  thousand  good  men 
taken  from  the  active  army.  To  evacuate  all  the 
posts  excejit  Cairo,  where  three  thousand  men 
might  have  been  left  in  garrison,  having  the  citadel 
for  a  stronghold.  Then  to  have  kept  the  field  with 
nine  thousand  or  ten  thousand  men,  in  the  view  of 
falling  upon  the  Turks  if  they  should  make  their 
appearance  by  way  of  Syria,  or  upon  the  English  if 
they  should  advance  into  the  interior  along  the 
narrow  dykes  traversing  Lower  Egypt.  The  French 
had  the  advantage  over  their  enemies,  in  that  they 
were  able  to  avail  themselves  of  every  arm,  cavalry,, 
infantry,  and  artillery,  with  the  exclusive  benefit 
of  commanding  all  the  provisions  in  the  country. 
The  English  might  thus  have  been  blockaded,  and 
probably  forced  to  re-embark.  But  for  such  a  mode 
of  proceeding  a  mucli  more  able  general  was  re- 
quired than  Menou,  much  better  versed  than  he 
was  in  the  art  of  animating  his  troops.  In  short, 
there  was  necessary  a  commander  different  fi'om 
him,  who,  having  all  the  chances  of  the  campaign 
in  his  favour  upon  its  commencement,  had  com- 
ported himself  in  such  a  manner,  that  he  had  turned 
them  all  to  his  own  disadvantage. 

Still  to  fight  the  English,  now  they  were  in  the 
country,  was  but  a  natural  resolution,  consequent 
ui)on  all  that  had  been  done  since  the  camj)aign 
opened.  But  having  determined  to  make  a  decisive 
exertion,  it  was  proper  to  attempt  it  as  quickly  as 


Position  of  the  two  armies.        EVACUATION  OF  EGYPT. 


Battle  of  Canopus. 


253 


possible,  in  order  not  to  give  the  Turks,  on  their 
way  from  Syria,  the  ojiportunity  to  press  the  French 
forces  too  clusely. 

In  order  to  light  a  battle  it  was  necessary  to 
agree  upon  some  plan  of  opei-ations.  Menou  was 
not  competent  to  invent  such  a  plan,  and  his  situa- 
tion with  his  generals  scarcely  admitted  of  his 
meeting  them  in  consultation  upon  the  subject. 
Notwithstanding  this,  Lagrange,  the  cliicf  of  the 
staff,  requested  Reynier  and  Lanusse  to  furnisli 
one,  which  should  be  laid  before  Menou  for  his 
approbation.  This  they  did,  and  it  was  adopted  by 
him  almost  mechanically. 

The  two  armies  were  in  presence  of  eacli  other, 
occupying  a  bank  of  sand  about  a  league  broad  and 
fifteen  or  sixteen  long,  upon  which  the  English  had 
landed  at  first.  The  French  army  was  posted  in 
front  of  Alexandria,  upon  elevated  ground.  Before 
their  position  extended  a  sandy  plain,  and  here  and 
there  sand-hills,  which  the  enemy  had  carefully 
intrenched,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  form  a  con- 
tinued chain  of  positions  from  the  sea  to  the  lake 
Mareotis.  On  the  French  left,  over  against  the  sia, 
an  old  Roman  camp  stood  ;  it  was  a  square  species 
of  construction,  still  entire  ;  at  a  little  distance 
in  front  of  this  camp  was  a  small  sand-hill,  on 
which  the  English  had  thrown  up  a  work.  There  it 
was  that  they  had  stationed  their  right,  supported 
by  the  double  fire  of  this  work  and  a  division  of 
gun-boats.  In  the  centre  of  the  field  of  battle,  at 
an  equal  distance  from  the  sea  and  lake  Mareotis, 
there  was  another  sand-hill,  larger  than  the  pre- 
ceding, more  elevated,  and  crowned  with  an  in- 
trenchment.  This  the  English  had  constructed  for 
the  support  of  their  centre.  To  the  full  extent  of 
our  right,  on  the  side  of  the  lakes,  the  ground 
slanted  downwards  to  the  head  of  the  dyke,  about 
which  the  battle  had  taken  place  some  days  before. 
A  succession  of  redoubts  connected  the  central 
position  with  the  heail  of  the  dyke.  The  English 
had  protected  their  left,  as  well  as  their  right,  with 
a  division  of  gun-boats,  introduced  into  lake  Mar- 
eotis •.  The  front  of  attack  presented  in  its  whole 
length  the  space  very  nearly  of  a  league  ;  it  was 
defended  by  heavy  artillery,  which  men  had  drag- 
ged to  the  spot,  and  i)y  a  part  of  the  English  army. 
The  larger  part  of  this  army  was  disposed  in  order 
of  battle  in  two  lines  behind  the  works. 

It  was  agreed  to  move  forward  on  the  morning 
of  the  2lst  of  March,  or  30th  of  Venlose,  before 
daybreak,  in  order  to  conceal  the  movements  of 
the  troops,  and  expose  them  less  to  the  enemy's 
fire  from  the  inirenchments.  The  intention  of 
the  French  was  to  attack  and  carry  the  woiks  by 
a  sudden  dash  forward,  then  to  j)a83  them  by,  in 
order  to  attack  the  front  of  the  English  army, 
ninged  in  order  of  battle  beiiind  them.  In  con- 
sequence, the  ri«ht,  under  Lanusse,  was  to  move 
down  in  two  columns  upon  the  right  wing  of  the 
English,  which  was  supported  by  the  sea.  The 
first  of  the  two  columns  was  to  advance  directly 
and  rapidly  against  the  work  erected  ujion  the 
sand-hill  in  front  of  the  old  Roman  camp.  'J'lie 
second,  passing  a-s  quickly  as  possible  between  this 
work  and  the  sea,  was  to  attack  the  Roman  camp, 
and  take  it  by  assault.  The  centre  of  the  French 
army,  conmiaiided  by  general  Rampon,  had  orders 

'  Qucrc,  Lake  tiad'ieh  1—Tramlalor. 


to  advance  some  way  beyond  the  place  of  this 
attack,  to  pass  between  the  Roman  camp  and  the 
great  redoubt  in  the  centre,  and  to  attack  the 
English  army  beyond  the  works.  The  right  wing 
was  composed  of  the  divisions  of  Reynier  and 
Friant,  but  under  the  command  of  Reynier,  and 
that  wing  was  ordered  to  open  out  in  the  plain  upon 
the  right,  and  to  make  a  feint  of  a  formidable  at- 
tack on  the  side  of  lake  Mareotis,  to  deceive  the 
Engli.-sh  into  a  belief  that  the  grand  danger  was 
upon  that  side.  In  order  to  strengthen  this  belief, 
the  dromedary  corps  was  to  make  an  assault  on 
the  head  of  the  dyke,  by  traversing  the  bottom  of 
the  lake  Mareotis  for  that  purpose.  It  was  hoped, 
too,  that  this  division  would  render  the  sudden  at- 
tack intended  by  Lanusse  on  the  side  of  the  sea, 
more  facile  of  execution. 

On  the  24th,  or  30ih  of  Ventose,  before  day- 
break, the  army  was  in  motion.  The  dromedary 
regiment  performed  the  duty  which  was  assigned 
to  it  with  perfect  success.  It  rapidly  passed  over 
the  dry  parts  of  the  bed  of  the  lake  Mareotis, 
alighted  before  the  head  of  the  dyke,  took  the  re- 
doubt, and  turned  the  artillery  against  the  enemy. 
This  was  sufficient  to  deceive  the  English,  and 
draw  their  attention  towards  the  lake  Mareotis. 
But  to  execute  the  plan  agreed  upon,  on  the  side 
of  tiie  sea,  demanded  a  precision  very  difficult  to 
obtain,  when  the  operation  was  to  be  executed  in 
the  dark;  and  still  more  difficult,  when,  at  the  head 
of  the  enterprise,  there  was  no  single  ruling  mind 
to  direct  the  whole,  competent  to  calculate  time 
and  distance  with  precision. 

The  division  of  Laimsse,  manoeuvring  in  the 
obscurity  of  tlie  night,  advanced  without  order, 
and  threw  into  confusion  the  troops  in  the  centre. 
'I'he  first  column,  umler  the  orders  of  general 
Silly,  marched  up  resolutely  to  the  redoubt  placed 
in  advance  of  the  Ronuiii  camp.  Lanusse  directed 
it  in  person,  and  led  it  on  to  the  redoubt.  He  now 
discovered,  on  a  sudden,  that  the  second  colunui 
had  missed  its  way,  and  that  in  place  of  proceeding 
along  the  sea-shore,  to  attack  the  Roman  camp,  it 
had  approached  too  near  to  the  first.  He  went 
towards  it  for  the  purpose  of  directing  it  to  the 
point  designed.  Unfortunately,  at  the  same  mo- 
ment, he  received  a  wound  in  the  thigh,  which 
proved  mortal  ;  a  fatal  event,  which  was  attemled 
with  the  most  deplorable  consequences.  The 
troops  suddenly  deprived  of  their  active  and  ener- 
getic officer,  the  si)irit  of  the  attack  decreased. 
Day  began  to  dawn,  and  indicated  to  the  English 
towards  what  ])oint  they  should  direct  their  fire. 
The  French,  attacked  at  once  by  the  fire  from  the 
gun-boats,  the  Roman  camp,  and  the  redoubt, 
showed  admirable  patience  and  courage.  But 
very  soon,  all  their  superiors  being  wounded,  they 
were  left  without  leaders,  and  fell  back  behind 
some  sand  hills,  scarcely  high  enough  to  shelter 
them.  While  this  was  occurring,  the  first  column, 
which  Lanusse  had  left  to  proceed  towards  the 
second,  had  carried  the  first  redan  of  the  redoubt, 
thrown  up  on  the  hill  towards  the  right.  It  then 
pushed  on  against  the  ])rineipal  work,  intending  to 
slorm  it;  but  being  di  feated  in  the  attempt  uiion 
the  front,  wheeled  round  to  attack  it  in  flank.  The 
centre  of  the  army,  tmder  Rampon,  seeing  the 
cidumn  thus  bafHed  in  the  assault,  turned  from 
its  own  object,  in  order  to  tender   support.     The 


The  French  compelled  to 
264       retreat. — Loss  on  both 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


sides.— Death  of  Aber- 
croinby,  Lanusse,  and 
other  generals. 


March. 


32nd  demi-brigade,  detached  from  the  centre, 
came  up  also  to  storm  this  fatal  redoubt.  These 
concurrent  efforts  caused  a  species  of  confusion. 
They  strove  against  this  obstacle;  and  thus  the  rapid 
operation  which,  at  first,  was  intended  to  carry,  in 
succession,  the  line  of  works,  became  changed  into 
a  long  and  obstinate  attack,  in  which  much  precious 
time  was  consumed.  The  21st  demi-brigade,  which 
belonged  to  the  centre,  leaving  the  32nd  occupied 
before  the  redoubt  so  warmly  contested,  executed, 
by  itself,  the  original  plan,  passed  the  line  of  in- 
trenchments,  and  boldly  advancing,  opened  out  in 
the  face  of  the  whole  English  army.  It  received 
and  returned  a  most  dreadful  fire.  It  required 
support ;  but  Menou,  during  this  time,  incapable 
of  commanding,  rode  up  and  down  the  field  of 
battle,  ordering  nothing,  and  leaving  Reynier  to 
extend  his  line  uselessly  in  the  plain  on  the  right, 
with  a  considerable  force  wholly  unemployed. 

Menou  was  now  advised  to  make  an  attempt 
with  his  cavalry,  which  was  twelve  hundred  strong, 
and  of  incomparable  courage,  upon  the  mass  of  the 
English  infantry,  that  the  24th  had  advanced  to 
encounter  by  itself.  Menou,  adopting  the  advice, 
gave  the  order  to  charge.  The  gallant  Roize 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  twelve  hundred 
horse,  passed  with  rapidity  the  destructive  lines  of 
the  enemy's  fire,  crossing  right  and  left,  from  the 
guns  of  the  two  redoubts,  which  the  French  infantry 
vainly  tried  to  carry  by  storm,  opened  on  the  other 
side,  found  the  21st  demi-brigade  closely  engaged 
with  the  English,  and  at  once  charged  home.  This 
gallant  cavalry  first  leaped  a  ditch  which  sepa- 
rated them  from  the  enemy,  and  then  dashed,  with 
high  courage,  upon  the  first  line  of  the  English 
infantry,  overturned  and  sabred  a  great  number, 
forcing  them  back  iu  disorder.  The  enemy  was 
thus  obliged  to  give  way.  If  Menou,  at  this  mo- 
ment, or  better  still,  Reynier,  in  his  commander's 
place,  had  taken  the  right  wing  to  the  support  of 
tl)e  cavalry,  the  centre  of  the  English  army,  thus 
disordered  and  repulsed  beyond  their  works,  had 
left  the  French  a  certain  victory.  The  works, 
isolated,  would  have  fallen  into  our  hands.  But 
the  case  was  very  different.  Tlie  French  cavalry, 
after  having  broken  the  first  line  of  the  enemy, 
seeing  other  lines  yet  to  be  overcome,  and  having 
only  the  support  of  the  21st  demi-brigade,  fell 
back,  repassing  the  exterminating  fire  of  the 
redoubts. 

From  this  moment  it  was  impossible  that  the 
battle  could  have  had  a  successful  termination. 
The  left,  deprived  of  all  s])irit  by  the  death  of  its 
leader,  gave  out  a  useless  fire  upon  the  intrenched 
positions,  which  returned  it  with  a  more  mnrd(?r- 
ous  effect.  The  right  formed  in  the  plain  to  make 
a  diversion  near  lake  Marcotis,  which  had  now  no 
more  any  object,  since  the  engagement,  become 
general,  had  fixed  every  one  in  his  post — the  right 
rc-ndered  no  service.  An  energetic  genei-al,  there 
is  no  doubt,  would  have  recalled  it  to  the  centre, 
and  with  such  an  additional  force,  renewing  by 
that  means  tlie  attack  of  general  Roizc,  have 
attem])ted  a  second  dash  at  the  English  mass.  The 
result  might  have  changed  the  fate  of  the  battle. 
But  general  Menou  gave  no  commands  ;  and  Rey- 
nier, who  would  have  been,  on  this  occasion,  able  to 
take  the  initiative,  that  he  so  often  took,  when  he 
should   not,    in    civil   affairs,  confined   liiniself  to 


lamenting  that  he  had  no  orders  from  the  com- 
mander-in-chief. The  only  thing  to  be  done  in 
such  a  situation  was  to  retreat.  Menou  gave  the 
order;  and  his  divisions  fell  back,  keeping  up  a  bold 
front,  but  sustainuig  fresh  losses  from  the  fire  of 
the  redoubts. 

What  a  spectacle  is  war,  when  the  lives  of  men, 
and  the  fate  of  empires,  are  thus  entrusted  to  in- 
capable or  divided  leaders,  and  when  blood  flows 
in  proportion  to  the  incapacity  or  the  dissensions 
of  those  who  wield  the  chief  authority  in  directing 
its  operations  ! 

It  cannot  be  said  that  the  battle  was  lost,  the 
enemy  not  having  made  a  single  step  in  advance  ; 
but  it  was  virtually  lost,  inasmuch  as  it  was  not 
completely  gained  :  for  it  was  essential  that  the 
.success  should  be  so  complete  as  to  drive  back  the 
English  towards  Aboukir,  and  constrain  them  to 
re-embark.  The  loss  was  great  on  both  sides.  The 
Englisli  had  about  two  thousand  men  killed  and 
wounded  ',  among  others  the  brave  general  Aber- 
cromby,  who  was  carried  on  board  the  fleet  in 
a  dying  state.  The  loss  of  the  French  was  pretty 
nearly  upon  an  equality.  Exposed  during  the 
whole  action  to  a  downward  fire  in  front  and  flank, 
they  suffered  severely.  The  spirit  with  which  the 
cavalry  charged  filled  the  English  with  surprise 
and  admiration.  The  number  of  officers  and  gene- 
rals wounded  was  far  more  than  is  commonly  the 
case.  Generals  Lanusse  and  Roize  were  killed  ; 
the  general  of  brigade.  Silly,  commanding  one  of 
the  columns  of  Lanusse,  had  his  thigh  shot  away  ; 
and  general  Baudot  was  so  severely  wounded  as  to 
leave  no  hope  of  his  recovery  ;  general  Destaing 
was  badly  wounded,  and  general  Rampon  had  his 
uniform  riddled  with  bullets. 

The  moral  effect  of  the  battle  was  still  more 
mischievous  than  the  physical.  Thei-e  was  no 
longer  any  chance  of  forcing  the  enemy  to  re- 
enibark.  Soon  the  Frpnch  would  have  upon  their 
hands,  besides  the  English  who  had  landed  at  Alex- 
andria, the  Turjjs  from  Syria  ;  the  cajiitan  pacha, 
who  would  arrive  with  a  Turkish  squadron,  bring- 
ing six  thousand  Albanians  to  (he  coast  of  Aboukir, 
and  six  thousand  sepoys  brought  from  India  by 
the  Red  Sea,  and  ready  to  land  atCossc'irin  Upper 
Egypt.  What  was  to  be  done  in  the  midst  of  so 
many  enemies,  with  troops  whose  courage  was 
no  doubt  undiminished  when  called  into  action  ; 
but  who,  when  the  affairs  of  the  colony  did  not 
proceed  well,  were  too  ready  to  exclaim  that 
the  expedition  had  been  a  brilliant  act  of  folly, 
and  that  they  were  uselessly  sacrificed  to  a  wild 
chimera  ? 

In  the  three  engagements* of  the  8th,  13th,  and 
21st  of  March,  nearly  three  thousand  five  hundred 
men  had  been  lost  to  the  service,  of  whom  a  third 

'  In  all  1395.  The  English  general,  Hutchinson,  who  sue 
ceeded  sir  Ralph  Abircromby,  stated  that  the  French  were 
not  pursued  because  the  English  had  no  cavalry;  and  that 
they  retreated  so  quickly  within  their  fortifiid  lines,  that 
it  would  have  been  useless.  Sir  llaliih  Abercroniliy  died  of 
his  wound  seven  days  afterwards.  Four  other  British  gene- 
rals were  wounded,  but  not  seriously;  10  ofTners,  2.'i3  men, 
and  2  liorses,  were  killed;  GO  officers  and  ll3.i  men  were 
wounded  ;  and  29  missing;  belonging  to  the  army  :  I'l  sailors 
were  killed  and  wounded.  The  English  made  200  prisoners, 
not  wounded  ;  cajjtured  the  colours  of  a  distinguished  French 
rcL;iinfcnt,  and  two  1\e\d-pieces.— Translator. 


ISOl. 
April. 


Unfortunate  delay  of  Gan- 

teaume. 


EVACUATION  OF  EGYPT. 


Death  of  Miirad  Bey. 
Intentions  of  the  Knglish. 


255 


I 


were  killed,  and  another  third  seriously  wounded, 
while  the  rtmainder  would  be  incapable  of  duty 
for  weeks  to  come.  Aitltoush  the  army  was  much 
weakened,  it  could  even  now,  as  at  the  Leginiiiug 
of  the  campaign,  manoeuvre  rapidly  between  the 
different  bodies  of  the  enemy  tiiat  were  tending  to 
form  a  junction,  beat  the  vizier  if  he  entered  by 
way  of  Syria,  the  capitan  pacha  if  he  tried  to  pene- 
trate to  ilosetta.  the  English  if  they  attempted  to 
march  along  the  narrow  tongues  of  land  which 
communicate  with  the  inferior  of  Egypt.  The 
three  thousand  five  hundred  men  lost  made  this 
l)lan  now  more  difficult  than  ever  of  cxecutioh.  If 
three  thousand  men  were  left  in  Cairo,  and  two  or 
three  thousand  in  Alexandria,  there  remained 
scarcely  seven  or  eight  thousand  to  manoeuvre  iu 
the  field,  even  supi)osing  that  all  the  disjiosable 
force  was  united,  and  the  secondary  posts,  without 
exception,  were  evacuated.  With  a  very  resolute 
and  able  general,  the  success  of  such  an  operation 
would  still  be  uncertain,  though  possible — but  what 
was  to  be  expected  from  ^lenou  and  liis  lieu- 
tenants 1 

There  remained  one  hope  of  retrieving  the  for- 
tunes of  the  war — it  was  not  to  be  despaired  of, 
for  it  was  announced  day  after  day.  This  resource 
was  Ganteaurae  with  his  vessels,  and  the  troops 
which  he  had  embarked  on  board.  Four  thousand 
men  arriving  at  this  moment  would  have  saved 
Egypt.  A  despatch-boat  had  been  sent  to  the 
admiral  for  the  purpose  of  informing  liim  where  lie 
might  disembark  his  men  out  of  sight  of  the  Eng- 
lish on  a  point  of  land  upon  the  coast  of  Africa, 
twenty  or  thirty  leagues  west  of  Alexandria. 
Three  thousand  men  might  then  have  been  left  in 
that  city ;  and  uniting  those  who  could  be  spared 
with  those  that  were  in  Cairo,  ten  or  twelve  thou- 
sand might  have  manoeuvred  in  the  open  country. 
But  Ganteaume,  though  far  superior  to  Menou,  did 
Wit,  in  the  present  circumstances,  act  much  better. 
After  having  repaired  at  Toulon  the  injury  his 
fleet  had  sustained  in  sailing  from  Brest,  he  had, 
as  already  6een,  sailed  from  Toulon  on  the  19th  of 
March,  or  28th  of  Ventose,  re-entered  the  port  a 
second  time  in  conseiiuence  of  the  Constitution, 
a  ship  of  the  line,  getting  on  shore  ;  and  he  had 
again  gone  to  sea  on  the  22nd  of  Marcli,  or  1st  of 
Germinal.  This  time  he  made  sail  towards  Sar- 
dinia. The  wind  was  favourable  ;  a  bold  impulse 
of  mind  would  have  taken  him  V)  the  coast  of 
Eu'Vpt,  beeauHe  he  had  succeeded  in  adroitly  es- 
fiping  admiral  Warren  by  altering  his  course, 
ill!  Wits  already  only  fifteen  leagues  from  Cape 
Carbonara,  the  extreme  point  of  Sardinia,  ready 
to  enter  the  channel  which  separates  Sicily  from 
Africa.  Unfortunately  on  the  evening  of  the  2Gtli 
of  March,  or  5th  Germinal,  one  of  the  captains 
conniianding  the  Dix-Ao£it,  in  the  absence  of  cap- 
tain Btrgerct,  who  was  ill,  had  the  unskilfulne.'ss 
to  run  foul  of  the  Indomptable,to  receive  consider- 
able injury,  and  to  inflict  as  nmch  upon  the  other 
vessel  as  that  ship  herself  received.  Alarmed  at 
the  damage  thus  sustained,  Ganteaume  did  not  think 
himself  in  a  condition  to  keep  at  sea  any  longer, 
and  put  back  to  Toulon  again  im  the  5lh  of  A]>ril,  or 
15tli  Germinal,  just  fifteen  days  after  the  battle 
of  Canopus. 

Tiie  French  in  Egypt  were  ignorant  of  the  details 
of  these  proceedings  at  this  dale,  and  in  spite  of 


the  time  that  had  passed,  they  preserved  a  rem- 
nant of  hope.  At  the  appearance  of  the  smallest 
sail  they  ran  to  see  if  it  were  not  Ganteaume.  In 
this  anxious  state  they  took  no  decisive  step,  but 
waited  in  fatal  inaction.  Menou  caused  some  works 
to  be  thrown  up  around  Alexandria,  in  order  the 
better  to  resist  any  attack  from  the  English,  but 
he  did  no  more.  He  had  given  an  order  for  the 
evacuation  of  Upper  Egypt,  from  whence  he  with- 
drew Donzelot's  brigade  as  a  reinforcement  for 
the  other  troo])s  in  Cairo.  He  had  sent  some 
troops  from  Alexandria  to  Ramanieh  to  watch  the 
movements  taking  place  on  the  side  of  Rosetta.  To 
complete  the  misfortune,  Murad  Bey,  whose  fide- 
lity to  the  French  was  unshaken,  had  been  taken 
ill  of  the  plague,  and  had  just  expired,  his  Mame- 
lukes coming  under  the  command  of  Osman  Bey, 
upon  whom  no  reliance  was  to  be  placed.  The 
]>lague  began  its  ravages  at  Cairo.  Thus  every 
thing  went  on  as  ill  as  possible,  and  seemed  tend- 
ing towards  an  unfortunate  conclusion. 

The  EngUsh  on  their  side,  fearful  of  the  army 
before  them,  would  not  risk  any  thing.  They  pre- 
ferred moving  onward  slowly  but  surely.  They 
were  waiting  too  until  their  allies,  the  Turks,  in 
whom  they  had  little  confidence,  were  in  a  condi- 
tion to  second  them.  They  had  now  been  landed 
a  month,  without  having  attempted  any  thing  more 
than  the  capture  of  the  fort  of  Aboukir,  which, 
gallantly  defended,  had  sunk  under  the  crushing 
tire  of  their  vessels.  At  last,  about  the  beginning 
of  April,  or  middle  of  Germinal,  they  determined 
to  abandon  their  state  of  inactivity,  and  that  spe- 
cies of  blockade  in  which  they  had  been  obliged  to 
live.  Colonel  Spencer  was  ordered  with  a  corps  of 
some  thousand  English,  and  the  six  thousand  Alba- 
nians of  the  capitan  pacha,  to  cross  by  sea  the 
roads  of  Aboukir,  and  to  disembark  before  R6- 
setta.  Their  intention  was  to  ojien  by  this  means 
an  access  to  the  interior  of  the  Delta,  and  thus  to 
procure  the  fresh  provisions  of  which  they  stood  in 
need,  and,  in  addition,  to  form  a  connexion  with 
the  vizier,  who  was  advancing  at  the  other  extre- 
mity of  the  Delta,  by  the  frontier  of  Syria.  There 
were  no  more  at  Rosetta  than  a  few  hundred 
French,  who  could  oppose  no  resistance  to  that 
force,  and  falling  back  they  ascended  the  Nile.  They 
joined,  a  little  way  in  advance,  a  small  body  of 
troops  sent  from  Alexandria.  This  body  was  com- 
posed of  the  21st  light,  and  a  comi)any  of  artillery. 
The  English  ami  Turks,  masters  of  one  of  the 
mouths  of  the  Nile,  by  which  provisions  could 
reach  them,  and  having  the  way  open  to  them  into 
the  interior  of  Egypt,  began  to  think  of  profiting 
by  their  success,  but  witlu>ut  being  in  too  great  a 
huiry,  because  they  waited  still  twenty  days  before 
they  marched  in  advance.  For  an  army  sagacious 
and"  prompt  it  was  an  excellent  opi)ortiniity  to 
attack  them.  General  Hutchinson,  the  succes.sor  of 
Abercromby,  had  not  dared  to  diminish  the  num- 
ber of  his  troops  before  Alexandria.  He  had  sent 
scarcely  six  thousand  English  and  six  thousand 
Turks  to  Rosetta,  although  he  had  received  rein- 
forcements to  cover  his  losses,  and  had  twenty 
thousand  men  at  his  disposal.  If  General  Menou, 
employing  his  time  well,  had  devoted  the  past 
month  to  construct  around  Alexandria  the  works 
which  were  indisijensable,  had  he  thus  frugally 
managed  his  means,  so  as  to  have  left  few  troops 


Further  errors  of  Menou. 

256        — Occupatiiinor  Rama- 

nieh.— Loss  of   Rama- 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


nieh.  — CommunicationK 
cut  (iff  between  Cairo  and 
Alexandria. 


1801. 
May. 


there,  tlien  he  might  Iiave  directed  si.K  ihnusand  men 
upon  Ramnnieh,  and  drawn  upon  that  jioiiit  all 
the  troops  not  necessary  at  Cairo,  he  might  have 
brought  into  the  field  eight  or  nine  thousand  men 
against  the  English,  who  had  just  penetrated  to 
Rosetta.  This  was  force  enough  to  drive  them  back 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Nile,  to  elevate  the  spirit  of 
the  army,  to  secure  the  submission  of  the  Egyp- 
tians, to  retard  the  marcii  of  tlie  vizier,  to  replace 
the  English  in  their  real  state  of  blockade  on  the 
plains  of  Alexamlria,  and  to  bring  back  fortune. 
This  was  the  last  chance.  lie  was  advised  to  un- 
dertake tliis  movement ;  but,  always  timid,  he 
never  followed  l>ut  half  the  advice  that  was  given 
to  him.  He  sent  general  Valentin  to  Ramanieh 
with  a  force  pronounced  inefficient.  Then  lie  .sent 
a  .second,  under  the  chief  of  his  staff,  general  La- 
grange. The  whole  united  force  did  not  amount  to 
four  thousand  men.  He  never  commanded  the 
march  of  the  troops  down  from  Cairo,  and  general 
Lagrange,  who  was  besides  a  brave  officer,  was  not 
a  man  equal  to  sustain  himself  with  four  thousand 
men  before  six  thuusand  English,  and  the  same 
number  of  Turks.  Menou  ought  to  have  united  at 
least  eight  thousand  men  under  his  best  general. 
He  was  able  to  do  this  by  a  strong  concentration 
of  his  forces,  and  by  every  where  making  a  sacri- 
fice of  the  accessory  to  the  principal. 

General  Morand,  who  conmianded  the  first  de- 
tachraeiit  sent  to  Rosetta,  ha<l  posted  himself  at 
El-Aft,  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  near  the  town  of 
Foueh,  in  a  position  which  possessed  some  defen- 
sive advantages.  At  that  spot  general  Lagrange 
joined  him.  The  English  and  the  Turks, masters  of 
Rosetta  and  the  mouth  of  the  Nile,  had  covered 
that  river  with  gun-boats,  and  would  have  quickly 
taken  the  small  undefended  town  of  Foueh.  It  be- 
came necessary,  therefore,  to  fall  back  upon  Ra- 
manieh, during  the  night  of  the  8th  of  May,  or 
18th  of  Flordal.  The  site  of  Ramanieh  did  not 
offer  any  great  defensive  advantages,  the  strength 
of  the  place  being  scarcely  sufficient  to  counter- 
balance the  numerical  superiority  of  the  enemy. 
Still,  if  it  were  required  to  offer  any  where  a  des- 
perate resistance,  Ramanieh  was  the  place  for  that 
purpose  :  because  that  position  lost,  the  detached 
corps  of  general  Lagrange  would  be  se])arated  from 
Alexandria,  and  compelled  to  fall  back  on  Cairo. 
Thus  the  French  army  would  be  divided  in  two, 
one-half  being  shut  up  in  Alexandria,  the  other 
half  in  Cairo  If,  when  it  was  united  it  was  not 
equal  to  disputing  the  fiehl  with  the  English,  it  was 
impossible,  cut  in  two,  that  it  should  oppose  any 
effectual  resistance.  In  such  a  case  it  had  no  alter- 
native but  to  sign  a  capitulation.  The  loss  of  Ra- 
manieh, therefore,  would  be  the  definitive  Inss  of 
Egypt.  Menou  wrote  to  general  Lagrange  that  he 
would  come  to  his  succour  with  two  thousand  men, 
which  at  least  jirovcs  that  he  had  that  number  at 
his  disposal.  There  were  not  less  than  three  thou- 
sand at  Cairo  ;  in  consequence  nine  thousand, 
or  at  least  ei^ht  thousand  men,  might  have  been 
assembled  at  Ramanieh.  Thus,  in  an  open 
country,  with  an  excellent  cavalry,  and  a  fine  light 
artillery,  and  with  the  resolution  to  conquer  or 
die,  success  was  certain.  But  Menou  never  came, 
and  Belliard,  who  commanded  at  Cairo,  received 
no  orders.  General  Lagrange,  at  the  head  of  four 
thousand  men  under  his  command,  supported  his 


rear  upon  Ratnanieh,  and  the  Nile,  which  washes 
with  its  current  the  houses  of  that  little  town.  In 
that  position  he  had  at  his  back  the  English  gun- 
boats, which  were  upon  the  river,  and  fired  a 
shuwer  of  bullets  into  the  French  camp  ;  and  he 
had  in  front  on  the  plain,  without  any  thing  for  a 
cover  but  some,  field-works,  the  main  body  of 
the  English  and  Turks.  There  were  twelve  thou- 
sand against  four  thousand.  The  danger  was  con- 
siderable; still  it  was  better  to  fight,  and  if  over- 
powered, to  surrender  at  evening  on  the  field  of 
battle,  after  fighting  the  whole  day,  than  to  abandon 
such  a  position  without  a  struggle.  P'our  thousand 
men,  all  seasoned  troops,  had  still  some  chances  of 
success.  But  the  chief  of  Menou's  staff,  though 
devoted  to  his  general's  views,  and  to  the  preser- 
vation of  the  colony,  did  not  weigh  the  conse- 
quences of  his  retreat.  He  evacuated  Ramanieh, 
and  fell  back  upon  Cairo,  on  the  10th  of  May,  or 
20th  of  Flore'al.  He  arrived  in  the  city  on  the  14lh, 
in  the  morning,  or  on  the  24th  of  Flor^al.  He 
sacrificed  at  Ramanieh  a  convoy  of  immense 
value,  and  what  was  more  serious  still,  the  ammu- 
nition of  the  army. 

From  that  day  nothing  more  that  happened  in 
Egypt  is  worthy  of  recox'd,  and  scarcely  of  notice. 
The  men  thus  descended  with  their  fortunes,  even 
below  themselves;  they  exhibited  in  every  thing  the 
most  shameful  weakness,  with  the  most  deplorable 
incapacity.  But  in  speaking  of  the  men,  it  is  only 
to  the  commanders  that  these  terms  are  intended 
to  apply  ;  because  the  soldiers  and  the  inferior 
officers,  always  admirable  in  their  behaviour  before 
an  enemy,  were,  from  the  first  to  the  last  man,  ready 
to  die  in  the  field.  They  never  were  seen,  in  a  sin- 
gle instance,  to  do  any  thing  unworthy  of  their 
former  reputation  and  glory. 

At  Cairo,  as  at  Alexandria,  there  remained  no- 
thing more  to  be  done  than  to  capitulate.  They  had 
no  other  merit  to  acquire  than  to  retard  the  capitu- 
lation as  long  as  possible.     Sometimes  we  aeem  in 
appearance   only  defending  our  homes,   when   we 
really  save  our  country.     Mass^na,  in  prolonging 
the  defence  of  Genoa,  had  made  the  victory  of  Ma-   i 
rengo   practicable.      The   generals   who    occupied   j 
Cairo  and  Alexandria,  in  protracting  a  resistance   I 
beyond  hope,  were  still  able  to  second  very  usefully    \ 
the  serious  negotiations  then   proceeding  between 
France  and  England.     They  did  not  know  of  their 
existence,  that  is  very  true  ;  but  then  when  un- 
aware of  the  services  men  may  render   to   their  | 
country  by  prolonging  a  defence,  it  is  proper  to  j, 
listen    to  the  voico   of  honour,  which  conunands   I 
them  to  hold  out  to  the  last  extremity.    Of  the  two 
generals  now  blockaded,  the  most  unfortunate  was   : 
!  Menou,    because   he    had    committed  the    greater 
I  faults;  yet  even  he,  by  his  obstinate  protraction  nf  1 
I  the  defence  of  Alexandria,  was  still  useful,  as  it 
j  will  be  seen,  to  the  interests  of  France.     This  was 
j  his  consolation   at   a   later  pei'iod,   and  his  main 
;  excuse  to  the  first  consul. 

When  the  troops  detached  from  Ramanieh  had 
entered  Cairo,  there  was  an  immediate  consultation 
upon  the  conduct  to  be  pursued.  General  Belliard 
was  commander-in-chief,  from  his  superior  rank  in 
the  service.  He  was  a  cautious  man,  more  cautious 
than  resolute.  He  called  a  council  of  war.  There 
were  seven  thousand  effective  men  left,  more  than 
five  thousand  or  six  thousand  sick,  invalids,  and 


ISOI. 
May. 


EVACUATION  OF  EGYPT. 


Council  of  war.— Dissension 
among  the  officers. 


257 


persons  employed  about  tlie  amiy  •.  The  plague 
was  at  that  time  raging  ;  there  was  but  a  small 
stock  of  money  or  provisions,  and  a  city  of  im- 
mense e.\tent  to  defend.  Seven  thousand  men  were 
too  few  to  guard  the  whole  extent.  In  no  part  of 
the  circuit  was  there  any  work  fit  lo  make  a  resist- 
ance to  European  engineers.  The  citadel,  it  is  true, 
was  a  defended  work,  but  wholly  insutticieiit  to  hold 
out  against  the  heavy  artillery  of  the  English.  Such 
a  post  was  only  calculated  to  make  a  successful  de- 
fence against  the  jiopulation  of  Cairo.  Tliei-e  evi- 
dently remained  but  two  tilings  to  do  ;  either  to 
endeavour,  by  a  bold  march,  to  descend  into  Lower 
Egypt,  accomplish  the  passage  of  the  Nile  by  sur- 
prise, and  rejoin  Menou  in  Alexandria;  or  to  retire 
upon  Daniietta,  which  would  have  been  the  surest 
and  easiest  course  to  pursue,  more  especially  on 
account  of  the  multitude  of  pei-sons  who,  attached 
to  the  army,  must  have  been  takcjn  with  it.  There 
it  would  h;ive  been  found,  that  in  the  midst  of  tlie 
Jagoons,  communicating  with  the  Delta  by  narrow 
tongues  of  land,  seven  thousand  men  of  the  army  of 
Egypt  mi;;ht  defend  themselves  against  an  enemy 
three  or  four  times  superior  in  number.  There,  too, 
an  abundance  of  every  thing  was  certain  of  being 
procured  ;  the  province  w;is  covered  with  cattle, 
the  town  of  Damietta  overflowed  with  corn,  and 
the  lake  Menzaleh  abounded  with  the  best  fish, 
well  adapted  food  for  the  troops.  As  it  was  simply 
'  a  question  when  to  capitulate,  the  city  of  Damietta 
permitted  the  retardatiim  of  that  melancholy  result 
for  six  months.  The  officer  of  engineers,  Hautpoul, 
proposed  having  recourse  to  this  wise  step;  but  in 
order  to  undertake  it,  the  difficult  question  of  the 
evacuation  of  Caix'o  was  to  be  decided  upon.  Gene- 
ral Uelliai-d,  who  was  ca|)able  a  few  days  afterwards 
of  giving  up  the  city  to  the  enemy,  by  means  of  a 
lamentable  capitulation,  would  not  consent  to  do  it 
that  day  voluntarily,  as  the  consequence  of  a  forci- 
ble and  clever  military  opinion.  He  accordingly 
determined  to  i-emain  in  the  Egyptian  capital, 
without  knowing  what  he  should  do.  By  the  left 
bank  of  the  Nile  the  English  and  Turks  were 
ascending  from  Ramanieh  to  Cairo;  by  the  right 
bank  the  grand  vizii-r,  with  twenty-five  thousand 
or  thirty  thousand  follower.s,  collected  from  all 
sorts  of  miserable  oriental  troops,  was  coming 
from  the  side  of  Syria,  by  the  road  of  BelbcYs,  upon 
Cairo.  General  Helliani,  remembering  the  trophies 
of  HeliopolJH,  wihhed  to  march  out  and  meet  the 
fjrand  vizit-r,  upon  the  route  followed  by  Kleber. 
He  left  Cairo  at  the  head  of  six  thousand  men,  and 
advanced  towards  the  heights  of  Elnienair,  about 
two  days'  nuirch  distant.  Sometimes  enveloped  by 
a  cloud  of  cavalry,  he  sent  his  light  artillery  after 
them,  that  here  and  there  reached  a  few  of  them 
with  its  ballH;  but  this  was  the  utmost  result  which 
ho  could  obtain.  The  Turks,  this  time  well  com- 
manded, would  not  hazard  a  second  battle  of  He- 

'  The  number  In  Cairo  for  which  embark.-ition  to  Europe 
was  required  nf  the  ICiiitlisli  commander — an  exact  criterion 
—was  l.l.SOO,  of  wliom  8000  were  tit  for  duty,  lOOO  were  sick, 
and  the  remaimler  invalided,  persons  in  Ihe  cin|iloy  of  ilie 
army  or  civil  service,  intludioK  foliowert.  Tlic  miliiary  were 
in  all  10,000;  not  more  than  .'lOO  wrre  Greeks  or  Copis. 
There  were  emiiarked  on  lake  Bourlos  700,  belnx  the  garri- 
son of  Damietta;  and  8000  soldiers  and  1300  tailors  from 
Alexandria;  besides  upwards  of  a  thousand  made  prisoners 
in  the  forts  and  other  placet.— rroni/a/or. 


liopolis.  There  was  but  one  mode  of  coming  at 
them,  and  that  was  to  attack  their  camp  at  BelbeYs. 
But  general  Belliard,  received  in  every  village  by 
the  fire  of  musketry,  saw  the  number  of  liis 
wounded  increase  every  step  of  his  advance,  the 
distance,  too,  widening  that  separated  liim  from 
Cairo.  He  began  to  fear  that  the  English  and  the 
Turks  might  enter  the  city  in  his  absence.  He 
ought  to  have  foreseen  all  this  danger  before  he 
quitted  Cairo,  and  have  asked  himself  if  there  was 
time  to  reach  Belbeis.  Having  left  Caii'o  without 
knowing  what  he  would  finally  undertake,  he  re- 
turned in  the  same  mind,  after  an  operation  with- 
out a  result,  which  made  it  appear  to  the  eyes  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Cairo  as  if  lie  had  been  beaten. 
As  with  all  the  inhabitants  of  countries  recently 
subjugated,  the  Egyptians  turned  with  fortune,  and 
though  not  discontented  with  the  French,  were 
mucli  inclined  to  abandon  them.  Still  there  was  no 
fear  of  an  insurrection,  unless  the  city  had  been 
condemned  to  sustain  the  horrors  of  a  siege. 

The  French  army,  sickened  at  the  humiliations 
to  which  it  was  exposed  through  the  incapacity  of 
its  generals,  became  wholly  possessed  with  the  old 
feelings  which  induced  the  convention  of  El-Arisch. 
It  consoled  itself  under  its  misfortunes  with  the 
idea  of  a  return  to  France.  If  a  resolute  and  skilful 
general  had  given  the  example  which  was  given  to 
the  garrison  of  Genoa  by  Massc'na,  the  troops 
would  have  followed  it ;  but  a  similar  course  was 
not  to  be  expected  of  general  Belliard.  Pressed  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Nile  by  the  Anglo-Turkish 
army  from  Ramanieh,  and  on  the  right  by  the 
grand  vizier,  who  had  accompanied  it  step  by  step, 
he  offered  the  enemy  a  suspension  of  arms,  which 
was  eagerly  accejited,  beiause  the  English  were 
more  eager  to  obtain  useful  advantages  than  mere 
renown.  That  for  which  they  were  most  anxious 
was  the  evacuation  of  Egypt,  no  matter  by  what 
means  it  was  brought  about.  General  Belliard  then 
assembled  a  council  of  war,  at  which  the  discussions 
were  very  stormy.  Grievous  complaints  were  di- 
rected ag.".;nst  his  conduct  as  commander  of  the 
Cairo  division.  He  was  told  that  he  had  not  under- 
stood when  to  evacuate  Cairo  in  time  to  take  up  a 
position  at  Damietta,  nor  to  maintain  the  capital  of 
Egypt  by  well-concerted  operations  ;  that  he  iiad 
only  made  a  ridiculous  sally  to  fight  the  vizier, 
without  succeeding  in  getting  near  him  ;  and  that 
now,  not  knowing  which  w;iy  to  turn,  he  took  the 
advice  of  his  officers,  whether  he  must  negotiate  or 
fight  to  the  last,  when  he  had  previously  resolved 
the  question  for  himself,  by  the  s])ontaneous  open- 
ing of  the  negotiation.  All  these  reproaches  were 
made  with  much  bitterness,  more  jjarticularly  by 
general  Lagrange,  the  friend  of  Menou,  and  a  warm 
advocate  for  the  ])reservation  of  Egypt.  Generals 
Valentin,  Dur.inte;iu,  and  Dupas,  all  three  asserted 
that,  for  the  iionour  of  tiieir  eolouis,  it  was  abso- 
lutely necefsaiy  to  fight.  Unhappily,  this  was  no 
longer  possible,  without  cruelty  to  the  troops,  and 
nu)re  |>atticidarly,  without  cruelty  to  the  numerous 
sick,  and  to  the  per.sons  attached  to  the  anny. 
They  had  bcdore  tliem  not  less  than  forty  thousand 
enemies,  without  coiuitinu  the  sepe.ys,  wlio,  dis- 
embarkeil  at  flosseir,  were  descending  the  Nile 
with  the  Mamelukes,  th.it  no  longer  owned  alle- 
giance to  the  French,  since  Murad  Bey  was  no 
more.  There  was  in  their  rear  a  semi-barbarous 
S 


258        Capitulation  of  Cairo.       THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Siege  of  Alexandria. 
Arrest  of  Reynier 
and  Damas. 


1801. 
June. 


population  of  three  hundred  thcjusand  souls,  in- 
fected with  the  l>laf,'ue,  threatened  with  famine,  and 
to  the  last  man  ready  to  rise  against  the  French. 
The  lines  around  the  city  were  too  extended  for 
defence  with  seven  thousand  men,  and  too  feeble  to 
resist  European  engineers.  Th'e  place  might  be 
cari-ied  by  assault,  and  every  Frenchman  put  to 
the  sword.  It  was  in  vain  that  some  of  the  officers 
raised  their  voices  against  a  surrender  that  would 
dishonour  the  French  arms;  there  was  then  no 
alteniative.  General  lieiliard,  wishing  to  show 
himself  ready  for  any  thing,  again  raised  the  ques- 
tion whether  a  retreat  to  Damietta  was  practicable, 
a  step  now  become  too  late  to  adopt;  and  to  this  he 
added  another  question,  equally  singular,  as  to 
whether  a  refuge  might  not  be  found  by  a  retreat 
into  Upper  Egypt.  The  last  proposition  was  per- 
fect folly.  It  was  only  a  ruse  of  his  own  mental  fee- 
bleness, seeking  to  conceal  its  confusion  under  the 
false  semblance  of  boldness.  It  was  then  determined 
to  capitulate ;  nothing  else  could  be  effected,  unless 
they  all  desired  to  be  put  to  the  sword  after  a 
ferocious  assault. 

Commissioners  were  sent  to  the  Anglo-Turkish 
camp  for  the  purpose  of  negotiating  a  capitulation. 
The  enemies'  generals  accepted  the  proposition 
with  much  gratification  :  so  much  even  then  did 
they  dread  a  turn  of  fortune.  They  acceded  to  the 
most  favourable  conditions  for  the  army.  It  was 
settled  that  the  French  should  retire  with  the 
honours  of  war,  with  their  arms  and  baggage,  their 
artillery  *,  horses,  in  fact  all  they  possessed  ;  that 
they  should  be  transported  to  Fi-ance,  and  fed 
during  the  voyage.  Such  of  the  Egyptians  as  de- 
sired to  follow  the  army,  and  there  were  a  certain 
number  compromised  by  their  relations  with  the 
French,  were  to  be  allowed  to  join  them,  and  to 
have  the  liberty  of  disposing  of  their  property. 

This  capitulation  was  signed  on  the  27th  of 
June,  1801,  and  ratified  on  the  28th,  or  8th  and 
9th  of  Messidor,  in  the  year  ix.  The  pride  of  the 
old  soldiers  of  Italy  and  Egypt  was  deeply  wounded 
by  it.  They  were  about  to  re-enter  France;  not 
as  they  had  entered  it  in  1798,  after  the  triumphs 
of  Castiglione,  Areola,  and  Rivoli,  proud  of  their 
glory,  and  of  the  services  rendered  to  the  republic. 
They  were  now  to  return  almost  conquered ;  but 
still  they  were  going  to  return,  and  for  hearts 
suffering  after  a  long  exile,  there  was  an  involun- 
tary pleasure,  which  almost  overcame  them,  even 
amid  their  reverses.  There  was,  at  the  bottom  of 
every  heart,  a  satisfaction  that  was  not  avowed, 
but  which  still  disjjlayed  itself  in  their  coun- 
tenances. Their  connnanders  alone  appeared 
thoughtful,  from  imagining  the  judgment  which 
the  first  consul  would  give  upon  their  conduct. 
The  despatches  which  accompanied  the  capitula- 
tion were  impressed  with  the  most  humiliating 
anxiety.  There  were  chosen  for  the  bearers  of 
these  despatches,  such  persons  as,  by  their  conduct 
and  actions,  had  been  most  free  from  blame. 
These  were  llautpoul,  the  officer  of  engineers,  and 
Champy,  who  made  himself  so  useful  to  the  colony. 

Menou   was  shut   up  in   Alexandria,  and,  like 

1  This  refers  only  to  field-pieces,  two  12-pounders  to  each 
battalion,  and  one  to  each  squadron,  with  the  carriages  and 
ammuniiion  belonging  to  tliem.  The  horses  and  camels 
■were  to  be  given  up,  at  the  place  of  embarkation,  to  the 
British.— Translator. 


Belliard,  he  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  surrender. 
Thei-e  could  be  with  neither  the  one  nor  the  other, 
more  than  the  difference  of  the  time  in  tlie  way 
of  question.  The  plague  had  already  taken  off 
several  persons  in  Alexandria  ;  provisions  were 
wanting,  in  consequence  of  the  fault  committed  in 
the  beginning  of  the  siege,  by  not  laying  in  a  suffi- 
cient supply.  It  is  true,  that  the  Arab  caravans, 
attracted  by  interest,  still  brought  them  some 
meat,  butter,  and  grain.  But  they  wanted  wheat, 
and  were  obliged,  in  part,  to  make  their  bread  of 
rice.  Scurvy  every  day  diminished  the  number 
of  men  capable  of  doing  duty.  The  English,  in 
order  to  isolate  them  completely,  devised  the 
emptying  of  the  lake  Madieh  into  that  of  Mareotis, 
which  was  half  dried  up,  thus  surrounding  Alex- 
andria with  a  continued  sheet  of  water,  and  then 
to  encircle  it  with  gun-boats.  To  this  end  they  cut 
the  dyke  which  runs  to  Ramanieh  from  Alex- 
andria, forming  the  separation  between  the  two 
lakes.  But  as  the  difference  of  the  level  was 
only  nine  feet,  the  flowing  of  the  water  fi-om  one 
lake  into  the  other  proceeded  slowly;  and,  in  fact, 
the  operation,  desirable  for  the  object  of  separating 
general  Belliard  from  Menou,  was  no  longer  of  the 
same  utility,  since  the  late  events  at  Cairo.  If  it 
extended  the  space  of  action  for  the  gun-boats,  it 
had,  for  the  French,  the  advantage  of  narrowing 
the  front  of  attack;  because  the  long  plain  of  sand 
upon  which  Alexandria  is  built,  communicates,  by 
its  western  extremity,  with  the  Libyan  desert. 
The  English  were,  therefore,  desirous  of  com- 
pleting the  investment  of  the  place;  for  this  pur- 
pose, about  the  middle  of  August,  or  end  of 
Thermidor,  they  embarked  troops  in  their  gun- 
boats, and  landed  not  far  from  the  town  of  Mara- 
bout. They  also  besieged  the  fort  of  the  same 
name.  From  this  moment  the  place,  completely 
invested,  could  not  hold  out  long. 

The  unfortunate  Menou,  thus  reduced  to  idle- 
ness and  inactivity,  had  ample  leisure  to  ponder 
over  his  faults,  with  censures  showered  upon  him 
from  all  parties.  He  consoled  himself,  notwith- 
standing, with  the  notion  of  an  heroic  resistance, 
like  that  of  Mass^na  at  Genoa.  He  wrote  to  the 
first  consul,  and  assured  liim  that  a  memorable 
defence  should  be  made.  Generals  Damas  and 
Reynier  were  shut  up  in  Alexandria  without  troops. 
They  made  use  of  the  most  offensive  language,  and 
even  in  these  last  scenes  of  all,  could  not  keep 
themselves  under  becoming  restraint.  One  night, 
Menou  had  them  arrested,  in  the  most  public 
manner,  and  ordered  them  to  be  embarked  for 
France.  This  act  of  vigour,  coming  so  late,  pro- 
duced but  little  effect.  The  army,  with  its  usual 
good  sense,  severely  censured  Reynier  and  Damas; 
but  did  not  esteem  Menou  the  more.  The  only 
favour  which  they  conferred  upon  him  was  that  of 
not  hating  him.  Hearing  with  coldness  his  pro- 
clamations, in  which  he  announced  his  determi- 
nation to  die  sooner  than  suri-ender,  they  were 
still  ready,  if  needful,  to  fight  to  the  last  extremity, 
but  did  not  believe  it  was  worth  doing  in  the 
existing  state  of  circumstances.  The  army  too 
well  understood  the  result  of  what  had  occurred 
at  Cairo,  not  to  foresee  the  approach  of  a  capitu- 
lation; and  in  Alexandria,  as  in  Cairo,  they  con- 
soled themselves  for  their  reverses  by  the  hope  of 
speedily  returning  to  France. 


1801. 
Aug. 


Reflections  on  Napoleon's  EVACUATION  OF  EGYPT.  sclieme  for  colonizing  Egypt.        259 


From  that  time,  nothing  more  of  importance 
signalized  the  presence  of  the  French  iu  Egypt ; 
and  the  expedition  may  be  said,  in  a  certain  sense, 
to  have  terminated.  Praised  as  a  prodigy  of  talent 
and  boldness  by  some  pei-sons,  it  was  condemned 
by  others  as  a  showy  chimera,  more  particularly 
by  such  as  affect  to  weigh  every  thing  in  the 
balance  of  frigid  impassive  reasoning. 

The  last  opinion,  with  the  appearance  of  wisdom, 
was,  at  bottom,  but  little  founded  in  good  sense  or 
justice. 

Napoleon,  in  his  long  and  wonderful  career, 
never  devised  any  scheme  more  grand  nor  more 
likely  to  be  eminently  useful.  Without  doubt,  if 
we  feel  that  France  has  not  preserved  the  Rhine 
nor  the  Alj^s,  it  must  be  granted,  that  Egypt,  sup- 
posing we  had  held  it  for  fifteen  yeai"S,  would  at 
last  have  been  taken  from  us,  as  well  as  our  con- 
tinental frontiers,  or  as  that  old  and  fine  possession, 
the  Isle  of  France,  for  which  Fi-ance  was  not  in- 
debted to  the  wars  of  the  revolution.  But  to 
judge  thus  of  these  things,  we  might  go  so  far  as  to 
ask  whether  the  conquest  of  the  line  of  the  Rhine 
was  not  itself  a  folly  and  a  chimera.  In  order 
to  judge  properly  of  such  a  question,  it  must  be 
sui)posed,  for  a  moment,  that  the  pi-otracted  wars 
of  France  were  differently  terminated  from  the 
mode  iu  which  they  actually  were,  and  then  inquire 
whether,  in  such  a  case,  the  possession  of  Egypt 
was  possible,  desirable,  and  of  great  importance 
or  not.  To  the  question  thus  put,  the  reply  can- 
not be  doubtful.  In  the  first  place,  England  was 
very  nearly  resigned,  iu  1801,  to  consent  to  the 
retention  of  Egypt  Ijy  France,  upon  receiving 
equivalent  compensations.  These  compensations, 
with  which  the  French  negotiator  was  made  ac- 
quainted, had  nothing  in  them  unreasonable  nor 
extravagant.  It  is  not  to  be  doubted,  that  during 
the  maritime  peace  which  followed,  of  which  the 
conclusion  will  shortly  be  stated,  the  first  consul, 
foreseeing  the  brevity  of  the  peace,  would  have 
sent  to  the  mouth  of  the  Nile  immense  reinforce- 
ments iu  men  and  materiel.  It  is  clear,  that  the 
splendid  army  sent  to  St.  Domingo,  where  it  was 
despatched  to  find  an  indemnity  for  the  loss  of 
Egypt,  would  have  served  to  protect  the  new 
colony  for  a  long  time  from  any  hostile  attack. 
Such  a  general  as  Decaen  or  St.  Cyr,  who  joined 
military  skill  and  experience  with  talents  for  ad- 
ministrative governing,  having,  besides  the  twenty- 
two  thousand  men  which  remained  in  Egypt  of  the 


first  expedition,  the  thirty  thousand  which  perished 
SQ  uselessly  in  St.  Domingo;  thus  established  with 
fifty  thousand  French,  and  an  inmiense  materieJ, 
under  a  climate  perfectly  healthy,  and  a  soil  of  ex- 
haustless  fertility,  cultivated  by  a  peasantry  submis- 
sive to  every  master,  and  never  keeping  a  musket  by 
the  side  of  the  plough;— a  general,  it  may  be  said, 
like  Decaen  or  St.  Cyr,  would  have  been  able,  with 
such  means,  to  defend  Egypt  triumphantly,  and 
to  found  there  a  superb  colony. 

The  success  was  incontcstably  attainable.  We 
may  add,  that  in  the  maritime  and  commercial 
contest  that  France  and  England  maiutained  against 
one  another,  the  attempt  was  in  a  certain  sense 
i-equired.  England  had  just  conquered  the  con- 
tinent of  India,  and  had  thus  gained  a  supremacy 
in  the  Eastern  seas.  France,  until  that  time  her 
rival,  was  she  to  yield  up  without  dispute  a  similar 
supremacy  ?  Did  she  not  owe  it  to  her  glory,  to 
her  destiny,  to  contend  for  it  \  The  politician  can 
give  no  other  answer  to  this  question  than  the 
patriot.  Yes,  it  was  the  duty  of  France  to  attempt 
a  struggle  in  the  region  of  the  East,  that  vast  field 
of  ambition  to  maritime  nations  ;  it  was  proper 
France  should  strive  to  obtain  some  acquisition 
tliat  would  counterbalance  that  of  pjugland.  This 
truth  admitted,  let  the  whole  world  be  searched 
over,  and  who  will  say  there  is  any  where  an 
ac> I uisition  better  adapted  than  Egypt  to  the  end 
prnposed  ?  It  is  of  more  value  in  itself  than  the 
finest  countries ;  it  borders  upon  the  richest  and 
most  fertile,  and  those  v/hich  are  furniBhcd  with 
the  fullest  means  for  foreign  trade.  It  would 
bring  back  into  the  Mediterranean,  which  would 
then  be  our  sea,  the  commerce  of  the  East;  it 
would  be,  in  one  word,  an  equivalent  for  India, 
and,  in  any  case,  was  the  road  to  it.  The  conquest 
of  Egypt  was  then  for  France,  for  the  independence 
of  the  seas,  and  for  general  civilization,  an  immense 
service.  Thus  too,  as  will  be  seen  soon,  the  suc- 
cess of  France  was  desired  more  than  once  by  the 
cabinets  of  Europe,  in  the  short  intervals  of  time 
when  mutual  hatred  did  not  trouble  the  peace 
of  cabinets.  For  such  an  object  it  was  worth 
while  to  lose  an  ai-my,  and  not  only  that  which 
was  sent  the  first  time  to  Egypt,  but  those  that 
were  sent  to  perish  uselessly  at  St.  Domingo,  in 
Spain,  and  in  the  Calabrias.  Would  to  Heaven, 
that  in  the  flashes  of  his  vast  imagination.  Na- 
poleon had  projected  nothuig  more  ili-adviacJ  nor 
imprudent ! 


260    Last  attempt  of  Ganteaume.  THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.       Further  misfortune*. 


1801. 
May. 


BOOK  XI. 


THE  GENERAL  PEACE. 


LAST  UNStlCCESSFUt  ATTEMPT  OP  GANTEAUME  TO  PUT  TO  SEA. — HE  TOUCHES  AT  DERNE,  BUT  DARES  NOT  tAND  TWO 
THOUSAND  MEN  WHOM  HE  HAS  ON  BOARD. — HE  PUTS  BACK  TO  TOULON. — CAPTURE  OF  THE  SWIFTSORE  ON  THE  PAS- 
SAGE.— ADMIRAL  LINOIS,  SENT  FROM  TOULON  TO  CADIZ,  IS  OBLIGED  TO  ANCHOR  IN  THE  BAY  OF  ALGESIRAS. — BRIL- 
LIANT ENGAGEMENT  OFF  ALGESIRAS. — A  COMBINED  FRENCH  AND  SPANISH  saUADRON  SAILS  FROM  CADIZ,  TO  ASSIST 
LINOIS'  DIVISION. — RETURN  OF  THE  COMBINED  FLEET  TO  CADIZ. — ACTION  BETWEEN  THE  REAR  DIVISION  AND 
ADMIRAL  SAUMAREZ. — rREADFUL  MISTAKE  OF  TWO  SPANISH  SHIPS,  WHICH,  IN  THE  NIGHT,  TAKING  EACH  OTHER 
FOR  ENEMIES,  FIGHT  WITH  DESPERATION,  AND  ARE  BOTH  BLOWN  UP.— EXPLOIT  OP  CAPTAIN  TROUDE. — SHORT 
CAMPAIGN  OP  THE  PRINCE  OF  THE  PEACE  AGAINST  PORTUGAL. — THE  COURT  OF  LISBON  SENDS  A  NEGOTIATOR 
IN  HASTE  TO  BAUAJOZ,  AND  SUBMITS  TO  THE  UNITED  WILL  OF  FRANCE  AND  SPAIN.— EUROPEAN  AFFAIRS  IN 
GENERAL  SINCE  THE  TREATY  OF  LUNEVILLE.— INCREASING  INFLUENCE  OF  FRANCE.— VISIT  TO  PARIS  OF  THE 
INFANTS  OP  SPAIN  DESTINED  FOR  THE  THRONE  OF  ETRURIA.— RENEWAL  OF  THE  NEGOTIATION  IN  LONDON 
BETWEEN  M.  OTTO  AND  LORD  HAWKESBURY. — THE  ENGLISH  PRESENT  THE  aUESTION  IN  A  NEW  FORM. — THEY 
DEMAND  CEYLON  IN  INDIA,  MARTINIQUE  AND  TRINIDAD  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES,  MALTA  IN  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. — 
THE  FIRST  CONSUL  REPLIES  TO  THESE  PRETENSIONS,  THREATENS  TO  CONQUER  PORTUGAL,  AND,  IN  CASE  OF  NEED, 
TO  INVADE  ENGLAND. — WARM  DISPUTE  BETWEEN  THE  "  MONITEUR  "  AND  THE  ENGLISH  JOURNALS. — THE 
BRITISH  CABINET  GIVES  UP  MALTA. — RENEWS  ALL  ITS  DEMANDS,  AND  REQUIRES  THE  ISLAND  OF  TRINIDAD. — 
THE  FIRST  CONSUL,  TO  SAVE  THE  POSSESSIONS  OP  AN  ALLY,  OFFERS  TOBAGO — IT  IS  REJECTED  BY  THE 
BRITISH  CABINET. — FOOLISH  CONDUCT  OF  THE  PRINCE  OF  THE  PEACE,  WHICH  FURNISHES  UNEXPECTEDLY  A  SOLU- 
TION OF  THE  DIFFICULTY  :  HE  TREATS  WITH  THE  COURT  OF  LISBON,  WITHOUT  ACTING  IN  CONCERT  WITH 
FRANCE,  AND  THUS  DEPRIVES  THE  FRENCH  LEGATION  OF  THE  ARGU.MENT  DRAWN  FROM  THE  DANGER  OF  POR- 
TUGAL.— IRRITATION-  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL,  AND  THREAT  OF  WAR  AGAINST  SPAIN. — TALLEYRAND  PROPOSES 
TO  FINISH  THE  WAR  AT  THE  EXPENSE  OF  THE  SPANIARDS,  BY  GIVING  UP  THE  ISLAND  OF  TRINIDAD  TO  THE 
ENGLISH.— M.  OTTO  IS  AUTHORIZED  TO  MAKE  THAT  CONCESSION  IN  THE  LAST  EXTREMITY. — DURING  THE 
NEGOTIATION,  NELSON  MAKES  THE  GREATEST  EFFORTS  TO  DESTROY  THE  FRENCH  FLOTILLA  OFF  BOULOGNE. — 
SPLENDID  ACTIONS  OFF  BOULOGNE  BY  LATOUCHE  TREVILLE  AGAINST  NELSON. — DEFEAT  OP  THE  ENGLISH.— JOY 
IN  FRANCE,  ALARM  IN  ENGLAND,  IN  CONSEQUENCE  OF  THESE  TWO  ENGAGEMENTS. — RECIPROCAL  TENDENCY  TO 
A  RECONCILIATION. — THE  LAST  DIFFICULTIES  OVERCOME,  AND  PEACE  CONCLUDED  IN  THE  FORM  OF  PRELIMI- 
NARIES, BY  THE  SACRIFICE  OP  THE  ISLAND  OP  TRINIDAD. — UNBOUNDED  JOY  IN  ENGLAND  AND  FRANCE. — 
LAURISTON,  SENT  TO  LONDON  WITH  THE  RATIFICATION  OF  THE  TREATY  BY  THE  FIRST  CONSUL,  IS  DRAWN 
ABOUT  IN  TRIUMPH  FOR  SEVERAL  HOURS. — MEETING  OF  A  CONGRESS  IN  AMIENS,  TO  CONCLUDE  A  DEFINITIVE 
PEACE.  — SERIES  OF  TREATIES  SUCCESSIVELY  SIGNED.— PEACE  WITH  PORTUGAL,  THE  OTTOMAN  PORTE,  BAVARIA, 
AND  RUSSIA — FETE  IN  CELEBRATION  OF  THE  PEACE  FIXED  ON  THE  18tH  BRUM  AIRE.  — LORD  CORNWALLIS, 
PLENIPOTENTIARY  TO  THE  CONGRESS  AT  AMIENS,  IS  PRESENT  AT  THE  FETE.— HIS  RECEPTION  BY  THE  PEOPLE 
OP  PARIS. — BANQUET  IN  THE  CITY  OF  LONDON. — EXTRAORDINARY  DEMONSTRATION  OF  SYMPATHY  GIVEN  AT 
THIS   TIME   BY   BOTH    COUNTRIES. 


While  the  army  in  Egypt  succumbed  for  the  want 
of  an  able  commander  and  seasonable  reinforce- 
ments, admiral  Ganteanme  made  a  third  attempt 
to  leave  the  port  of  Toulon.  Tlie  first  consul  had 
scarcely  allowed  the  necessary  time  for  the  repair 
of  the  Di,\-A()ut  and  of  the  Indomptable,  and  Gan- 
teanme was  forced  to  put  to  sea  almost  immediately. 
Admiral  Ganteaume  sailed  on  the  25th  of  April,  or 
5th  Flordal.  He  had  orders  to  pass  close  to  the 
island  of  Elba,  in  order  to  make  a  demonstration 
before  Porto  Eerrajo,  to  facilitate  its  occupation  by 
the  French  troop.s.  The  first  consul  intended  to 
take  this  island  for  the  purpose  of  annexinjj  it  to 
France,  to  which  it  was  secured  by  treaties  with 
Naples  and  Etruria  ;  there  was  a  small  garri- 
son in  the  island  half  Tuscan  and  half  English. 
The  admiral  obeyed  his  orders,  fired  a  few  guns 
at  Porto  Ferrajo,  and  passed  on  lest  he  mi;;ht 
hazard,  by  exposing  himself  to  injury,  the  great 
end  of  his  expeditinn.  Had  he  proceeded  at  once 
to  Egypt,  he  might  have  still  been  useful  to  the 
army  thei.-e;  because,  as  has  been  shown,  the  po- 


sition of  Ramanieh  was  not  lost  until  the  10th  of 
May,  or  20th  Flore'al.  He  had  yet  time,  therefore, 
departing  on  the  25th  of  April,  to  hinder  the  army 
from  being  cut  in  two,  and  obliged  to  capitulate 
one  division  after  another.  To  do  this  he  ouglit 
not  to  have  lost  a  moment.  But  a  species  of 
fatality  attached  to  all  the  operations  of  admiral 
Ganteanme.  He  has  been  seen  coming  out  suc- 
cessfully from  Brest,  entering  more  fortunately 
still  into  the  Mediterranean,  suddenly  losing  con- 
fidence, taking  four  vessels  for  eight,  and  entering 
Toulon.  He  has  been  seen  sailing  again  from  that 
poi-t  in  March,  esc.-iping  admiral  Warren,  passing 
the  southeruiiist  point  of  Sardinia,  and  stopped 
once  more  by  the  J)ix-Aout  and  Indomptable  run- 
ning foul  of  each  other.  This  was  not  the  end  of 
his  inisfortnnos.  Scarcely  had  he  quitted  the  sea 
around  the  isle  of  Elba,  when  a  contagious  disorder 
broke  out  on  board  his  squadron.  Judging  it  im- 
prudent and  useless  to  carry  to  Egypt  such  a  num- 
ber of  sick,  he  divided  his  squadron,  confiding 
three  vessels  to  rear-admiral  Linois,  and  placing 


1801.  Vain  altempt  to  land. 

June.  Capture  of  the  Svrifisire. 


THE  GENERAL  PEACE. 


his  sick  soldiers  and  seamen  in  those  three  vessels, 
he  sent  them  back  to  Toulon.  He  continued  his 
voyage  to  Egypt  with  four  sail  of  the  line  and  two 
frigates,  carrying  only  two  thousiind  soldiers.  But 
he  was  no  longer  in  time  to  be  of  service,  because 
it  was  near  the  middle  of  May,  and  at  that  time 
the  French  army  was  li)St.  Generals  Belliard 
and  Menou  were  separated  from  each  other,  in 
consequence  of  the  abandonment  of  Ramanieh. 
Of  this  admiral  Ganteaume  wiis  ignonint.  He 
passed  Sardinia  and  Sicily,  showed  himself  in  the 
channel  of  Candia,  contrived  several  times  to  elude 
his  enemies,  sailing  even  into  the  Archipelago  to 
escape  them,  and  finally  moored  on  the  coast  of 
Africa  at  Derne,  a  few  marches  distant  from  Alex- 
andria to  the  westward,  designated  in  his  in- 
structions as  the  place  proper  for  disembarkation. 
It  was  thought  that  by  giving  the  troops  pro- 
visions and  money  for  the  hire  of  camels  from  the 
Arabs,  they  might  be  enabled  to  cross  the  desert, 
and  reach  Alexandria  in  a  few  marches.  This 
was  only  a  hazardous  conjecture.  Admiral  Gan- 
teaume cast  anchor  at  this  place  for  some  hours, 
and  hoisted  out  a  part  of  his  boats.  But  the 
inhabitants  came  down  to  the  shore,  and  opened 
upon  them  a  fire  of  musketry.  Jerome  Bonaparte, 
the  brother  of  the  first  consul,  was  with  the  troops 
about  to  disembark.  Vain  efforts  were  made  to 
gain  over  the  natives,  and  conciliate  them.  The 
little  town  of  Derne  must  have  been  destroyed, 
and  the  troops  must  have  marched  to  Alexandria 
without  water,  and  almost  without  provisions,  fight- 
ing the  whole  distance.  It  would  have  been  a 
foolish  attempt  without  an  object,  because  but  one 
thousand  at  most  of  two  thousand  would  reach  the 
end  of  their  journey.  It  was  not  worth  while 
to  sacrifice  so  many  gallant  men  for  the  sake  of  so 
small  a  reinforcement.  Besides  an  event,  very 
ea-sy  to  be  foreseen,  terminnted  all  doubts.  The 
admiral  believed  he  saw  the  English  fleet ;  he  then 
deliljerated  no  longer,  took  his  boats  on  board,  did 
not  allow  himself  time  to  weigh  his  anchors,  but 
cut  his  cables,  not  to  be  attacked  at  anchor,  and 
then  set  sail  ;  he  escaped  being  overtaken  by  the 
enetny. 

Fortune,  which  had  behaved  ill  before,  because 
she  seconds,  as  has  been  often  said,  only  adven- 
turous spirits  who  repose  confidence  in  her — fortune 
had  in  store  some  compensation  for  him.  In 
crossing  the  channel  of  Candia,  he  fell  in  with  an 
English  ship  of  the  line  ;  it  was  the  Swiftsure.  To 
give  chase  to  her,  to  surround,  cannonade,  and 
take  her,  was  the  work  of  a  few  moments'.     It 


'  The  extreme  inaccuracy  of  our  Parisian  author  in  what 
relatcii  to  naval  aflairs,  must  stand  excused  by  the  English 
reader.  M.  Thiers  observes  most  Justly,  in  his  chapter  on 
"  the  neutrals,"  to  apologize  for  his  revelations  of  that  scene 
of  Russian  barbarism,  the  assassination  of  Paul  I.,  "  C'est 
que  la  verite  est  le  premier  devoir  de  I'histoire."  Such  a 
Just  sentiment  will,  therefore,  excuse  a  quotaiion  from  the 
statement  of  the  Rallant  captain  Hallowell  of  the  Swiftsure, 
74,  respecting  this  rencontre  with  the  high  minded,  fine- 
spirited  Ganteaume,  of  whom  captain  Hallowell  spoke  In 
the  highest  tcnns,  as  well  as  of  his  officers.  The  Swiftsure 
had  on  board  fifty-nine  sick  of  a  had  fever,  caught  from  the 
army  in  Eg>'pt.  She  was  eighty-six  short  of  her  complement 
of  men,  and  was  going  to  Malta  wilh  all  speed.  The  Swift- 
eure  was  only  seven  leagues  from  Derne  whi-n  she  dUtin- 
gulshed  an  enemy's  squadron,  and  endeavoured   to  escape, 


was  the  24th  of  June,  or  5th  Messidor,  that  this 
fortunate  rencontre  took  place.  Admiral  Gan- 
teaume entered  Toulon  with  this  species  of  trophy, 
a  poor  compensation  for  his  bad  success.  The 
first  consul,  inclined  towards  indulgence  for  those 
who  had  run  great  risks  with  hmi.  was  willing  to 
accept  this  compensation,  and  published  it  in  the 
Moniteur. 

However,  all  these  naval  movements  terminated 
in  a  mode  less  annoying  to  the  French  navy. 
While  admiral  Ganteaume  was  returning  to  Toulon, 
admiral  Liiiois,  who  had  gone  into  that  port  to  land 
his  soldiers  and  sailors  sick  of  the  fever,  had  sailed 
again,  according  to  the  express  orders  of  the  first 
consul.  Linois,  as  quickly  as  possible,  got  on  board 
fresh  seamen,  and  embarked  more  troops,  after 
white-washing  the  interior  of  his  vessels,  and  then 
he  got  under  weigh  for  his  new  destination.  A 
despatch,  which  he  was  only  to  open  at  sea,  com- 
manded him  to  proceed  to  Cadiz,  to  form  a  junction 
with  six  more  vessels  at  that  port,  fitted  out  under 
the  orders  of  admiral  Dumanoir,  and  five  Spanish 
vessels  from  Ferrol,  which,  with  the  three  of  admi- 
ral Linois',  would  form  a  squadron  of  fourteen  sail 
of  tlie  line.  It  was  possible  that  the  squadron  from 
Rochefort,  under  admiral  Bruix,  might  have  arrived 
there,  in  which  case  a  fleet  of  more  than  thirty  sail 
of  the  line  would  be  collected  ;  and  this  fleet,  for 
some  months  mistress  of  the  Mediterranean,  would 
take  the  troops  from  Otranto,  and  carry  immense 
succours  to  Egypt.  They  were  at  this  time  unaware 
in  France  that  it  was  too  late,  and  that  Alexandria 
was  the  only  place  left  to  defend ;  but  to  preserve 
that  place  was  no  indiff'erent  matter. 

Admiral  Linois,  in  perfect  obedience  to  his  or- 
ders, set  sail  for  Cadiz.  On  his  passage  he  gave 
chase  to  several  English  frigates,  which  he  was 
nearly  capturing.  He  met  with  contrary  winds  at 
the  entrance  of  the  straits;  but  at  length,  about  the 
beginning  of  July,  or  middle  of  Messidor,  he  was 
enabled  to  enter  them.  The  English  Gibraltar 
fleet  was  watching  Cadiz;  and  this  being  made 
known  to  him  by  signal,  he  put  into  the  Spanish 
port  of  Algesiras,  on  the  4th  of  July,  or  15th  Mes- 
sidor, in  the  evening. 

Near  the  straits  of  Gibraltar,  in  other  words, 
towards  the  southernmost  cape  of  that  peninsula, 
the  mountainous  coast  of  Spain  opens,  and  taking 
the  form  of  a  horse-shoe,  forms  a  deep  bay,  the 


but  found  the  ships  were  superior  sailers ;  the  Swiftsure  prac- 
tised every  manoeuvre  in  vain  to  get  clear  of  them.  At  half- 
past  three  p.  m.  the  Indivisible  of  eighty  guns,  and  the  Uix- 
Aout,  seventy -four,  were  within  gun  shot.  They  soon 
opened  their  fire,  and  a  warm  action  ensued,  the  Swiftsure 
siill  in  vain  trying  to  get  to  leeward  of  them,  and  escape.  At 
half-past  four,  p.  m.  the  Jean  Bart  and  Constitution,  of 
seventy-four  guns  each,  closed  fast.  The  Indivisible  on  her 
larboard  bow,  and  the  DIx-Aoiit  on  her  larboard  quarter, 
were  soon  warmly  engaged.  "Our  fore-yard  and  forctopsail- 
yard  were  shot  away,  all  our  running,  and  part  of  our  stand- 
ing rigging  cut  to  pieces,  the  fore-mast,  mizzen-mast,  and 
main-yard  badly  wounded,  the  deck  lumbered  with  wreck 
and  sails,  all  hope  of  succour  cut  off.  I  thought  further  re- 
sistance, in  our  crippled  state,  would  be  exposing  the  lives 
of  valuable  men  without  advantage.  I  ordered  his  majesty's 
colours  to  be  struck,  after  an  action  oj  one  hour  and  Jin- 
minutes."  The  ship  was  obliged  to  be  taken  in  tow,  and, 
with  all  haste  made  to  repair  her,  it  was  six  days  before  shi- 
could  be  got  under  sail. —  Translator. 


262    Action  between  Saumarez     THIERS'  CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE,    and  Linois  off  Algesira«. 


1801. 
July. 


opening  of  which  is  towards  the  south.  On  one  of 
the  sides  of  tliis  bay  stands  Algesiras,  and  on  the 
other  Gibraltar  ;  in  such  a  manner  that  Algesiras 
and  Gibraltar  are  opposite  to  each  other,  at  about 
four  thousand  fathoms  distance,  or  about  a  league 
and  half.  From  Algesiras  all  that  passes  at  Gib- 
raltar may  be  distinctly  seen  with  a  common 
telescope.  There  was  not  a  single  English  vessel 
lying  in  the  bay  ;  but  the  English  rear-admiral, 
Sauraarez,  was  not  far  off,  as  he  was  watching  the 
port  of  Cadiz,  with  seven  sail,  where  there  were  at 
that  moment  several  naval  squadrons,  French  and 
Spanish.  Advertised  of  what  had  occurred,  he 
hastened  to  avail  himself  of  the  opportunity  of 
destroying  the  squadron  of  Linois,  because  he  was 
able  to  oppose  his  seven  vessels  to  three  ;  he  had 
detached  one,  the  Superb,  to  watch  the  mouth  of 
the  Guadalquiver  ;  he  made  the  signal  for  her  to 
join  him,  but  the  weather  being  unfavourable,  he 
sailed  for  Algesiras  with  only  six. 

Admiral  Linois,  on  his  side,  had  received  notice  of 
his  danger  from  the  Spanish  authorities;  and  there- 
fore had  recourse  to  all  the  precautions  which  the 
nature  of  the  circumstances  permitted  him  to  take. 
On  the  side  of  Algesiras,  in  the  bay  of  that  name, 
situated  as  has  already  been  said,  right  over  against 
Gibraltar,  the  coast  appears  rather  a  roadstead 
than  a  port.  It  consists  of  a  shore  with  scarcely 
any  projection;  but  running  quite  .straight,  from 
south  to  north,  without  any  point  or  shelter  for  ves- 
sels. At  the  two  extremities  of  the  anchorage  alone, 
there  were  two  batteries  ;  the  one  to  the  north  of 
Algesiras,  on  an  elevated  spot  upon  the  shore,  was 
known  under  the  name  of  the  battery  of  St.  Jago. 
The  other  battery,  to  the  south  of  Algesiras,  was 
on  an  island,  called  Isia  Verde.  The  battery  of  St. 
Jago  was  mounted  with  five  eighteen -pounders, 
and  that  of  the  Isla  Verde  with  seven  eighteens. 
This  was  no  great  help;  more  particularly  because 
of  the  negligence  of  the  Spaniards,  who  had  left  all 
the  forts  on  their  coasts  destitute  of  ammunition  and 
artillery-men.  Nevertheless,  admiral  Linois  placed 
himself  in  communication  with  the  lociil  authoi-ities, 
who  did  the  best  they  were  able  to  succour  the 
French.  The  admiral  ranged  his  three  ships  and 
his  frigate  along  the  shoi-e,  supporting  the  extremi- 
ties of  his  short  line  by  the  two  batteries  of  St. 
Jago  and  the  Isla  Verde.  The  Formidable  was 
placed  first  to  the  north,  supported  by  the  St.  Jago 
battery ;  next  was  the  Desaix  ;  in  the  centre  and 
southernmost  was  the  Indomptable,  towards  the 
battery  on  the  Isla  Verde.  Between  the  Isla  Verde 
and  the  Desaix,  the  Muiron  frigate  was  stationed  ; 
a  number  of  S]ianish  gun-boats  were  intermingled 
Avith  the  French  ships. 

On  the  6th  of  July,  1801,  or  17  Messidor,  year  ix, 
about  seven  o'clock  in  tlie  morning,  rear-admiral 
Saumarez,  coming  from  Cadiz  with  the  wind  west- 
north-west,  approached  the  bay  of  Algesiras, 
doubled  Cape  Carnero,  entered  the  bay,  and  bore 
towards  the  line  of  the  French  anchoi-age.  The 
wind,  which  was  not  favourable  to  the  English 
vessels,  separated  them  one  from  the  other,  and 
fortunately  did  not  permit  them  to  act  together  in 
the  way  most  desirable.  The  Venerable,  which 
took  the  lead,  dropped  astern,  and  the  PompcJe 
took  her  place,  running  along  the  whole  French 
line,  passing  under  the  battery  of  the  Isla  Verde, 
the  Muiron  frigate,  the  Indomptable,  the  Desaix, 


and  Formidable,  giving  each  of  them  her  broad- 
sides, and  taking  up  her  station  within  musket-shot 
of  the  Formidable,  bearing  the  flag  of  admiral 
Linois.  An  obstinate  action  took  place  between 
these  two  vessels  almost  within  point-blank  dis- 
tance. The  Venerable,  unable  to  beat  up  to  her 
place  in  the  line,  still  endeavoured  to  assist  the 
Ponipe'e.  The  Audacious,  the  third  of  the  English 
ships,  destined  to  attack  the  Desaix,  could  not 
fetch  so  high,  dropping  anchor  before  the  Indompt- 
able, and  commenced  a  heavy  cannonade  against 
that  ship.  The  Csesar  and  Spencer,  the  fourth  and 
fifth  English  ships,  were  one  of  them  behind  and  the 
other  forced  into  the  bottom  of  the  bay  by  the  wind, 
which  was  blowing  from  the  west  to  the  east. 
Lastly,  the  sixth,  the  Haninbal,  was  driven  at  first 
towards  Gibraltar;  but  after  much  manoeuvring  to 
approach  Algesiras,  endeavoured  to  turn  the  flag- 
ship, the  Formidable,  and  so  get  between  her  and 
the  land.  The  engagement,  with  such  ships  as 
could  come  up,  was  very  obstinate.  In  order  not 
to  drift  towards  Gibraltar  from  Algesiras,  the 
English  cast  anchor.  The  French  admiral,  in  the 
Formidable,  had  two  enemies  to  fight,  the  Porape'e 
and  the  Venerable,  and  would  soon  have  had  a 
thii'd,  if  the  Hannibal  had  succeeded  in  getting 
between  her  and  the  .shore  ^  The  captain  of  the 
Formidable,  the  gallant  Lalonde,  was  killed  by  a 
cannon-shot.  The  action  continued  with  great 
spirit  amid  cries  of  "  The  republic  for  ever  !  Long 
live  the  first  consul  1"  Admiral  Linois,  who  was  on 
board  the  Formidable,  brought  the  broadside  of 
that  ship  to  bear  upon  the  Pomp^e,  at  a  lucky 
moment,  when  she  presented  only  her  bow  to  him, 
and  was  successful  in  raking,  dismasting,  and  very 
near  disabling  her.  Taking  advantage  of  a  change 
of  the  breeze  at  the  moment,  which  had  veered 
round  to  the  east,  and  blew  upon  Algesiras,  he 
made  the  signal  to  his  captains  to  cut  their  cables 
and  suffer  their  ships  to  run  aground,  so  as  to  pre- 
vent the  English  frcma  passing  between  the  vessels 
and  the  shore,  and  placing  the  French  between 
two  fires,  as  Nelson  did  at  the  battle  of  Aboukir. 
This  grounding  was  attended  with  no  inconve- 
nience to  the  French  ships,  as  it  was  ebb  tide,  and 
they  wei-e  sui'e  to  be  got  off  again  at  high  water. 
The  order  given  at  the  proper  moment  saved  the 
squadron.  The  Formidable,  after  having  dismantled 
the  Pompee,  took  the  ground  without  any  shock  of 
moment;  for  the  wind,  as  it  had  changed  its  direc- 
tion, had  died  away.  In  avoiding  the  danger  by 
which  she  was  threatened  from  the  Hannibal,  the 
Formidable  gained,  in  respect  to  that  ship,  a  most 
advantageous  position.  Moreover,  the  Hannibal  in 
manoeuvring  had  got  aground  herself  and  remained 
immovable  under  tlie  fire  of  the  Formidable,  and 
the  battery  of  St.  Jago.  In  this  perilous  situation 
the  Hannibal  made  every  effort  to  get  off ;  but  as 
the  tide  ebbed  she  became  irremediably  fixed  in 


'  On  the  trial  of  captain  Ferris,  by  a  court-m.irtlal,  for  tlie 
loss  of  his  ship,  it  was  deposed  that  he  was  endeavouring  to 
take  up  a  position  to  rake  the  Formidable,  when  the  Han- 
nibal grounded.  He  had  made  no  attempt  to  get  between 
tlie  Formidable  and  the  shore,  and  thus  expose  himself  so 
close  to  the  fire  of  the  batteries,  of  the  Formidable,  and  even 
of  the  British  ship  the  Pomp6e,  which  lay  outside  the  For- 
midable, the  shot  of  which  must  have  reached  him.  Captain 
Ferris  was  most  honourably  acquitted. — Translator. 


1801. 
July. 


Capture  of  the  Hannibal. 


THE  GENERAL  PEACE. 


The  I^ench  sail  for  Cadiz. 


her  position,  and  received  a  tremendous  discharge 
of  artillery,  as  well  from  the  shore  as  from  the 
Formidable,  aud  from  the  Spanish  gun-boats.  She 
sunk  one  or  two  of  the  gun-boats;  but  the  fire  she 
returned  was  not  equal  to  that  which  was  poured 
into  her.  Rear-admii-al  Linois,  not  thinking  tliat 
the  battery  of  St.  .Jago  was  well  served,  disem- 
barked general  Devaux  with  a  detachment  of 
French  troops  which  he  had  on  board '.  The  fire 
of  this  battery  was  then  redoubled,  and  the  Han- 
nibal was  overcome.  But  a  new  adversary  com- 
pleted her  defeat.  The  second  French  ship,  the 
Desaix,  which  was  near  the  Formidable,  in  obeying 
the  order  to  run  on  shore,  and  executing  the  order 
but  slowly,  in  consequence  of  the  slight  breeze, 
thus  found  herself  somewhat  out  of  the  line,  and 
equally  in  reach  of  the  Hannibal  and  Pomp^e, 
which  the  Formidable,  until  her  going  on  shore, 
had  covei-ed  from  her  fire.  The  Desaix,  pi-ofiting 
by  her  new  position,  poured  in  a  first  broadside,  and 
80  handled  the  Ponipe'e  as  to  oblige  her  to  strike  her 
colours.  The  Desaix  then  directed  her  guns  upon 
the  Hannibal.  The  balls  grazing  the  sides  of  the 
Formidable,  made  dreadful  havoc  on  board  the 
Hannibal,  which  being  no  longer  able  to  sustain 
she  struck  her  flag.  Thus  were  two  English  vessels 
out  of  six  forced  to  surrender.  The  four  others,  by 
dint  of  manoeuvring,  got  into  line  once  more, 
near  enough  to  engage  the  Desai.t  and  Indompt- 
able.  The  Desaix,  before  she  went  on  shore,  had 
resisted  them  ;  while  the  Indomptable  and  the 
Muiron  frigate,  in  going  slowly  towards  the  shore, 
had  replied  with  a  well-directed  fire.  These  two 
last  vessels  had  placed  themselves  under  the  bot- 
tom of  the  Isla  Verde,  the  guns  of  which  were 
worked  by  French  soldiers  who  had  been  landed 
for  the  purpose. 

The  action  lasted  for  several  hours  with  great 
fierceness.  Admiral  .'^aumarez,  having  lost  two 
ships  out  of  six,  and  Laving  no  hope  of  any  result 
from  tiie  action,  for  lie  could  not  get  closer  to  the 
I'rench  without  ruining  the  risk  of  grounding,  as 
they  did,  hoisted  the  signal  for  retreat,  leaving  the 
French  in  the  possession  of  the  Hannibal,  but  de- 
termined to  carry  off  the  Pompe'e,  which,  quite 
dismasted,  lay  likit  a  Imlk  on  the  scene  of  action. 
Admiral  Sauniiiiez,  liaving  sent  to  Gibraltar  for 
boats,  towed  av.  ly  the  hull  of  the  Ponipee,  which 
the  French  ve-^els,  being  on  shore,  could  not  pre- 
vent.   The  Hannibal  remained  a  prize. 

.Such  was  t'.ie  battle  of  Algesiras,  in  which  three 
French  vessels  fought  six  English,  destroyed  two, 
and  kept  one  as  their  prize.  The  Fi'ench  were 
filled  with  joy,  although  they  had  sustained  a 
severe  loss.  Captain  Lalonde,  of  the  Formidable 
was  killed  ;  captain  Moncousu,  of  the  Indomptable, 
also  perished  gloriously.  Upwards  of  two  hundred 
men  were  killed,  and  three  hundred  wounded  ;  in 


'  Here  the  .lullmr  is  at  variance  with  tlie  first  consul's 
account  o(  the  alTair  in  the  Monitcur,  which  staccd  that 
Devaux  and  his  troops  were  landed  in  the  nii/lil, — the  night, 
it  is  to  be  presumed,  before  the  action;  the  natural  course, 
after  the  French  admiral  had  found  the  deficiency  of  defen- 
sive means  in  possession  of  the  Spaniards.  The  Pompve 
never  struck  her  flag.  Ilcr  riK^inf;  wan  much  cut  up  by  the 
well-directed  fire  from  the  batteries,  and  she  was  partly  dis- 
masted, or  her  masts  so  injured,  that  it  became  necessary  to 
replace  them. — Trantlalor. 


all,  five  hundred  officers  and  men  out  of  two  thou- 
sand in  the  squadron.  But  the  English  had  nine 
hundred  men  struck  down  by  the  French  fire ;  and 
their  ships  completely  riddled  *. 

However  glorious  this  action  was,  the  business 
was  not  yet  completed.  It  was  urgently  necessary, 
under  the  injury  which  the  French  ships  had 
sustained,  to  withdraw  from  the  anchorage  of 
Algesiras.  Admiral  Saumarez  was  enraged,  .and 
swearing  to  avenge  himself  as  soon  as  Linois  left 
his  aiKjhorage  to  proceed  to  Cadiz,  made  great 
pi'eparations.  He  employed  all  the  vast  resources 
of  the  port  of  Gibraltar  to  get  his  squadron  ready, 
and  even  prepared  fire-ships  to  burn  the  French 
vessels  if  he  could  not  draw  them  out  to  sea.  Ad- 
miral Linois  had  nothing  wherewith  to  repair  his 
damages,  than  such  supplies  as  Algesiras  could 
furnish,  which  were  next  to  nothing.  The  arsenal 
of  Cadiz,  it  is  true,  was  close  by  ;  but  it  was  no 
easy  matter  to  bring  what  was  wanted  by  sea,  on 
account  of  the  English,  nor  by  land  from  the  diffi- 
culty of  transpoi't ;  yet  tlie  yards  of  the  French 
vessels  were  carried  away,  and  some  of  their  masts 
were  gone,  or  otherwise  much  injured.  Hardly 
any  thing  necessary  for  dressing  the  wounded 
could  be  obtained,  and  the  French  consuls  in  the 
ports  near  were  obliged  to  send  surgeons  and 
medicines  by  post  overland  to  them. 

There  happened  to  be  at  this  moment  in  the 
harbour  of  Cadiz,  just  arrived  from  Ferrol,  a 
Spanish  squadron,  besides  the  six  ships  given  to 
France,  and  hastily  equipped  by  admiral  Dumanoir. 
The  strength  of  these  two  divisions  in  regard 
to  number  was,  no  doubt,  great  enough  ;  but  the 
Spanish  navy,  always  worthy  by  its  bravery  of  the 
illustrious  nation  to  which  it  appertains,  had  par- 
taken of  the  general  negligence.  The  squadron  of 
admiral  Dumanoir  was  ill-manned  with  seamen  of 
all  kinds,  and  was  not  capable  of  inspiring  nutch 
confidence.  None  of  the  ships  which  composed  it 
equalled  those  of  Linois'  division,  exercised  by 
long  cruises,  and  elevated  by  its  recent  victory. 

It  was  necessary  to  make  the  most  urgent  ap- 
peals to  induce  admiral  Mazzaredo,  the  Spanish 
commander  at  Cadiz,  ill  disposed  towards  the 
French,  to  afi"ord  aid  to  admiral  Linois.  On  the 
9th  of  June,  or  20th  Messidor,  he  detached  to 
Algesiras  admiral  Moreno,  an  excellent  officer,  full 
of  courage,  and  well  experienced,  with  five  Spanish 
ships  from  Ferrol,  one  of  the  six  vessels  which 
Spain  had  given  to  France,  and  three  frigates. 
The  squadron  took  with  it  all  of  whicli  Linois 
stood  in  need,  and  reached  in  one  day  the  an- 
chorage at  Algesiras. 

They  worked  day  and  night  in  repairing  the  three 
vessels  which  had  fought  so  glorious  a  battle.  They 
were  all  three  again  afloat  on  the  first  high  water. 
Their  rigging  was  refitted  in  the  quickest  mode 
possible.   Topmasts  were  made  for  them  out  of  the 


-  Our  author's  faith  is  of  a  most  confiictinR  character,  ns  .i 
naval  historian,  to  give  such  returns  as  ilieso.  The  Frcnoli 
must  have  well  known  the  loss  of  the  Hannibal,  havinR  got 
her  as  a  prize;  and  she  lost  thrice  any  other  I'.nglish  sli:]i 
She  had  75  killed  and  r>8  wounded  ;  the  Audacious,  8  killed 
and  32  wounded ;  the  Venerable,  8  killed  and  25  wounded ; 
the  Spencer,  6  killed  and  27  wounded;  the  Cicsar,  8  killed 
and  34  wounded;  the  Pumpee,  IS  killed  and  CO  wounded. 
Total,  375.— Tranilalur. 


264    Admiral  Saumarez  pursues    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE,    the  French  and  Spaniards 


1801. 
July. 


gallant-masts,  and  on  the  12th  they  were  ready  for 
sea.  Tiiey  bestowed  the  same  care  upon  the  Eng- 
lish prize,  the  Hannibal,  which  was  also  to  be  taken 
to  Cadiz. 

Ou  the  morning  of  the  1 2th  the  combined  squa- 
dron put  to  sea  with  the  wind  east-north-east, 
wiiich  carried  it  out  of  the  bay  of  Algesiras  into 
the  straits.  The  squadi'on  sailed  in  order  of  battle, 
the  two  largest  of  the  Spanish  vessels,  the  San 
Carlos  and  San  HermenegiJda,  each  of  one  hundred 
and  twelve  guns,  bringing  up  the  rear.  The  two  ad- 
mirals, after  the  Spanish  custom,  were  in  a  frigate, 
the  Sabina.  At  nightfall  the  wind  fell.  They  would 
not  sail  back  to  the  anchorage  at  Algesiras,  because 
it  was  a  dangerous  position  to  occupy  in  presence 
of  an  enemy's  squadron,  and  the  more,  as  it  was 
feared  the  English  squadron  might  be  reinfoi'ced, 
which  it  was  well  known  they  expected.  It  was 
determined  to  leave  the  Hannibal  behind,  because 
she  made  no  way  although  towed  by  the  Indienne 
frigate,  and  she  was  sent  back  to  the  anchorage 
at  Algesiras.  The  squadron  then  lay  to  in  the 
hope  that  during  the  night  the  wind  might  rise. 
Admiral  Saumarez,  on  his  side,  had  ordered  his 
squadron  to  set  sail.  He  had  but  four  vessels,  for 
he  had  lost  the  Hannibal,  and  the  Pompde  was  un- 
fit for  service.  But  he  was  now  joined  by  the 
Superb,  which  made  his  division  five  vessels,  be- 
sides many  frigates,  and  some  light  vessels  tilled 
with  combustibles'.  He  had  carried  his  malice  so 
far  as  to  put  on  board  his  ships  furnaces  for  heat- 
ing red-hot  shot.    Though  he  had  but  five  ships  of 

'  Sir  James  Saumarez  had  with  him  only  the  Caesar  80, 
Spencer  74,  Audacious  74,  Venerable  74,  and  Superb  74; 
total,  376  guns.  He  had  also  the  Thames  frigate.  The  rig- 
ging of  the  Poinpee  was  not  yet  completed.  He  had  no 
vessels  with  combustibles,  no  furnaces  for  red  hot  shot,— a 
thing  impossible  to  be  used  on  board  any  ship;  this  report 
was  invented  by  the  French.  They  had  nine  sail  of  the  line, 
viz.  the  San  Carlos  11 2,  Sun  Hermenegilda  112,  San  Fernando 
84,  Argonauto  80,  San  Augustino  74  (Spanish);  the  Formid- 
able 84,  Indomptal)le84,  Desaix  74,  St.  Antoine  74  (French  : 
total,  778  guns ;  four  frigates,  and  the  Wanton  lugger  of  12 
guns.  The  French,  our  author  says,  were  elated  with  vic- 
tory, and  yet  they  dared  not  come  about  and  engage  Sauma- 
rez. The  British  came  up  with  the  Franco-Spanish  squa- 
dron in  the  evening.  The  Superb  was  the  headmost  ship, 
followed  closely  by  the  Ceesar;  the  other  British  ships  were 
still  behind.  The  Superb  attacked  the  San  Carlos  about 
eleven  o'clock,  others  of  the  allied  vessels  firing  on  the 
Superb,  and  striking  each  other.  The  Superb  passed  on,  and 
engaged  the  St.  Antoine,  a  French  74,  which  very  quickly 
hauled  down  the  tricolored  flag;  the  Superb  having  only  fifteen 
men  wounded  in  the  action.  In  the  meanwhile  the  Csesar 
came  up  to  the  San  Carlos,  which  the  Superb  left  to  her 
care,  and  had  scarcely  opened  her  guns  when  it  was  seen 
that  the  Spanish  vessel  was  on  fire  ;  the  Caesar  at  once  ceased 
firing.  In  a  short  time  the  San  Carlos  was  in  a  blaze,  and 
the  flames  communicating  to  the  San  Hermenegilda,  which 
was  near  and  to  leeward  of  the  San  Carlos,  she  took  fire  too, 
and  both  blew  up.  A  very  few  men  only  were  saved  in  a 
boat,  and  got  on  boaid  the  Superb.  The  other  three  British 
ships  were  by  this  lime  come  up  ;  but  it  began  to  blow  hard, 
and  in  the  morning  the  Venerable  74  and  Thames  frigate 
were  the  only  ships  seen  ahead  of  the  Caesar,  together  with 
one  of  the  French  ships,  the  rest  having  made  their  escape 
into  Cadiz.  'J'he  Venerable  was  the  only  British  ship  near 
enough  to  chase  the  Formidable  with  a  chance  of  success. 
The  iinaginative  affair  about  combustibles  and  red-hot  shot, 
reported  by  M.  Thiers,  is  best  answered  by  the  following 
communication,  for  which  history  is  indebted  to  the  present 


the  line,  and  the  allies  nine,  lie  determined  to  brave 
them  to  make  up  for  his  humiliating  check  at  Alge- 

lord  Saumarez.  In  a  letter  dated  "Cheltenham,  May  19th, 
1845,"  lord  Saumarez,  after  denying  that  the  Ponipee  ever 
struck,  or  any  thing  of  the  kind,  answers  the  slander  about 
the  red-hot  shot  by  stating  that  his  father,  theji  sir  James 
Saumarez,  wrote  to  the  Spanish  naval  eoniniander  at  Cadiz, 
contradicting  in  the  fullest  way  the  malignant  charge.  Ad- 
miral Mazzaredo  replied  like  an  honourable  man  and  high- 
minded  officer : — 

"Isle  of  Leon,  August  17,  1801. 
"  Esteemed  Sir — The  reports  which  have  betn  current  that 
the  burning  of  the  two  royal  ships  on  the  night  of  the  12th  and 
13th  of  July,  arose  from  the  use  of  red-hot  balls  which  were 
fired  at  them,  have  existed  only  among  the  ignorant  public, 
and  have  not  received  credit  from  any  persons  of  condition, 
who  well  know  the  manner  of  combating  in  the  British  navy. 
At  the  same  time,  they  give  the  greatest  credit  to  the  asser- 
tion of  your  excellency,  that  nothing  could  be  more  foreign 
from  the  truth,  from  the  characteristic  humanity  of  the  Bri- 
tish nation,  and  from  what  I  have  myself  experienced  of  the 
particular  conduct  of  your  excellency.  I  will  avail  myself  of 
every  occasion  to  assure  your  excellency  of  the  esteem  and 
consideration  which  1  profess  for  your  person. 
"  God  grant  you  may  live  a  thousand  years. 

"  Your  most  obedient  servant, 
(Signed)  "Joseph  Mazzarebo. 

"  To  his  excellency  rear-admiral  Saumarez."  . 
The  author's  ignorance  of  naval  matters,  and  his  reliance 
upon  unfounded  statements  in  consequence,  is  very  unfortu- 
nate. A  friend  to  the  freedom  of  the  press,  M.  Thiers  has  him- 
self shown  (see  p.  212)  that  the  government  dictated  to  the 
Moniteur  all  that  was  to  be  said  on  military  and  naval  affairs. 
As  to  England,  where  the  liberty  of  the  press  flourished,  the 
false  statements  of  naval  and  military  commanders — any 
thing  wrong  that  came  before  the  notice  of  those  serving  under 
them — would  be  srire  to  reach  home,  and  they  would  be  cor- 
rected in  the  newspapers  A  false  return  of  killed  or  wounded 
on  board  ship,  for  example,  would  be  detected  and  told. 
In  France  the  Muniteur  was  the  unchallenged  authority 
for  every  thing,  true  or  false,  that  could  be  made  to  serve  an 
end.  It  will  not  be  amiss  to  see  how  the  first  consul  dic- 
tated the  aflJair  of  Algesiras,  and  the  flight  into  Cadiz.  The 
following  is  the  government  report  from  the  Moniteur,  car- 
rying fraud  upon  its  face.  It  was  read  at  the  theatres,  and 
made  Paris  alive  with  joy  : — 

"  On  the  4th  of  July  rear-admiral  Linois  had  anchored  in 
the  Bay  of  Algesiras,  expecting  to  be  attacked  the  next 
morning.  In  the  night  he  landed  the  general  of  brigade 
Devaux,  with  a  part  of  the  troops,  to  man  the  batteries  of 
the  harbour.  On  the  5th,  at  8  a.  m.,  the  cannonade  com- 
menced against  the  six  English  ships,  which  came  without 
delay,  and  brought  their  broadsides  to  bear  within  gun-shot 
of  the  French  ships ;  the  battle  then  began  to  be  warm. 
The  two  squadrons  appeared  to  be  equally  animated  with 
the  desire  of  conquering.  If  the  French  squadron  had  some 
advantage  from  its  position,  the  English  had  double  the 
force,  and  several  ninety-gun  ships.  The  Hannibal  74  placed 
herself  between  the  French  squadron  and  the  land.  It  was 
half-past  eleven  ;  this  was  the  decisive  moment.  For  two 
hours  the  Formidable,  on  board  of  which  rear-admiral  Linois 
was,  made  head  against  three  English  ships.  One  of  the 
ships  of  the  English  squadron,  which  was  stationed  with  her 
broadside  to  one  of  the  French  ships,  struck  her  fiag  at  three- 
quarters  past  eleven.  An  instant  after,  the  Hannibal,  ex- 
posed to  the  fire  of  the  batteries  and  of  three  French  ships, 
which  poured  broadsides  upon  her  from  both  sides  (.'J,  also 
struck  her  flag.  At  half-past  twelve  the  English  squadron 
cut  their  cables,  and  made  s;iil.  The  Hannibal  was  towed 
by  the  Formidable.  Of  her  crew  of  six  hundred,  three  hun- 
dred were  killed.  The  first  English  ship  of  the  line  which 
had  struck  her  flag  was  disengaged  by  a  great  quantity  of 
gun-boats  and  other  embarkations  sent  from  Gibraltar.  The 
battle  covers  the  French  with  glory,  and  proves  what  they 


1801. 
July. 


Dreadful  explosion  of  two 
Spauish  vessels. 


THE  GENERAL  PEACE. 


Bravery  of  Captain  Troude. 


siras,  and  save  liimself  from  the  much  dreaded 
censure  of  the  English  admiralty.  He  followed 
closely  the  Franco-Spanish  squadron,  waiting  for 
the  fii-st  favourable  moment  to  fall  upon  the  rear 
ships  witii  his  refitted  vessels. 

Towards  the  middle  of  the  night  the  wind  blew 
fresh,  and  the  combined  squadron  made  sail  again 
for  Cadiz.  The  order  of  sailing  was  a  little  changed. 
The  rear  division  of  the  fleet  was  formed  of  three 
ships  in  a  single  line,  the  San  Carlos  to  the  right, 
the  San  Hermenegildo  in  the  middle,  and  the  St. 
Antoine,  a  seventy-fnur,  the  last  a  French  ship,  on 
the  left.  They  sailed  at  but  a  small  distance  from 
each  other,  the  darkness  of  the  night  was  very 
great.  Admiral  Saumarez  ordered  the  Superb,  a 
good  sailer,  to  make  all  haste  and  attack  the  French 
rear  ships.  The  Superb  soon  came  up  to  the 
Franco-Spanish  squadron.  She  had  extinguished 
her  lights,  that  she  might  be  less  liable  to  be  i)er- 
ceived,  keeping  a  little  astern  of  the  San  Carlos, 
but  on  one  side,  she  gave  that  -ship  the  whole  of 
her  broadside  ;  then  repeating  it  without  any  in- 
terval, a  second  and  a  third  time,  firing  red-hot 
shot.  The  flames  instantly  took  the  San  Carlos. 
The  Superb  perceiving  this  remained  astern,  taking 
in  sail.  The  San  Carlos,  a  prey  to  the  flames,  ill- 
managed  in  the  confusion,  went  to  leeward,  and  in 
place  of  remaining  in  the  line  fell  astern  of  two  of 
her  neighbours.  She  fired  in  all  directions  ;  her 
balls  reached  the  San  Hermenegildo,  the  crew  of 
which  taking  her  for  the  English  luading  vessel, 
poured  all  her  fire  into  their  own  ship.  Then  a 
fearful  mistake  was  committed  by  the  two  Spanish 
crews  taking  each  other  for  enemies.  They  both 
ran  up  alongside  each  other,  so  close  as  to  en- 
tangle their  rigging,  and  engaged  in  an  obstinate 
contest.  The  fire,  become  more  violent  on  board 
the  San  Carlos,  communicated  itself  soon  to  the 
San  Hermenegildo,  and  the  two  vessels  in  that  state 
continued  to  cannonade  each  other  with  fury.  The 
oi)posing  squadrons  were  etiually  ignorant  in  the 
darkness  of  the  night  as  to  what  was  proceeding 
around  them,  and,  except  the  Superb,  that  must 
have  known  of  the  fatal  error,  because  she  had 
caused  it,  no  vessel  dared  to  approach  another,  not 
knowing  which  was  Spanish  or  which  English, 
which  they  ouglit  to  assist  or  attack.  The  St.  An- 
toine, a  French  ship,  had  moved  away  from  the 
dangerous  neighbourhood.  The  mass  of  flame  soon 
became  immense,  and  cast  a  dull  light  over  the 
whole  surface  of  the  sea.  It  would  seem  as  if  the 
fatal  illusion  which  armed  these  ))rave  S|)aniards 
against  each  othor  was  now  dissipated,  though  too 
late.  Tlie  San  Cirlos  blew  up  with  a  terrible  explo- 
sion, and  in  a  few  minutes  afterwards  the  San  Her- 
menegildo followed,  and  struck  terror  into  the  two 
squadrons,  that  were  utterly  ignorant  to  what  ves- 
sels the  disaster  had  occurred. 

The  Supi-rb,  perceiving  the  .St.  Antoine  sepa- 
rated from  the  others,  bore  up,  and  boldly  attacked 
lier.  This  vessel,  but  recently  fitted  out,  defended 
herself  without  tliat  coolness  and  order  which  are 
indispetmable  to  the  movement  of  those  vast  en- 


can  do.     Hear  admiral  Linois  it  at  Cadiz  wilU  the  Hannibal, 
to  repair  it." 

Not  a  «yllable  oflhc  tliKht  to  Cadiz  of  llie  nine  sail  from 
five,  nor  of  the  St.  Antoiiic's  loss,  nor  of  the  burning  of  the 
Spanish  »hip«,  is  here  told  '.—Tranilator. 


gines  of  war.  She  suff"ere(l  most  severely  ;  and 
two  new  advei-saries,  the  Ciesar  and  Venerable, 
coming  up  at  the  moment,  made  her  defeat  in- 
evitable. She  struck  her  flag  after  being  a  com- 
plete wreck. 

Admiral  Saumarez  was  thus  cruelly  avenged 
without  much  glory  to  himself,  but  with  a  great 
loss  to  the  Spanish  navy.  The  two  admirals, 
Linois  and  Moreno,  on  board  the  Sabina,  kejit 
themselves  as  near  as  possible  to  this  frightful 
scene,  but  were  unable  to  distinguish,  in  the  dark- 
ness, what  was  passing,  or  to  give  an  order.  At 
break  of  day,  they  found  themselves  not  far  from 
Cadiz,  with  their  squadron  rallied,  but  lessened  by 
three  ships,  the  San  Hermenegildo  and  San  Carlos, 
which  were  blown  up,  and  the  St.  Antoine,  which 
had  been  captured. 

A  fourth  vessel  of  the  combined  squadron  re- 
mained in  the  rear,  the  Formidable,  admiral 
Linois'  vessel,  which  was  covered  with  glory  in 
the  battle  of  Algcsiras,  and  which  still  felt  the 
effects  of  that  engagement.  Compelled  to  carry 
diminished  sail  in  consequence  of  the  loss  of  her 
masts,  and  sailing  slowly,  being  near  two  of  the 
burning  vessels,  and  dreading  the  fatal  mis- 
takes of  the  night,  she  had  kept  in  the  rear,  not 
believing  it  in  her  power  to  be  of  use  to  any  of  the 
vessels  in  action.  It  was  thus,  that  in  the  morn- 
ing she  found  herself  alone,  surrounded  by  the 
English,  and  attacked  by  a  frigate  and  three 
vessels.  Admiral  Linois,  having  gone  on  board 
the  Sabina,  had  left  the  command  to  one  of  his 
officers,  captain  Troude,  of  the  Formidable.  This 
able  and  valiant  officer,  judging  with  rare  presence 
of  mind,  that  if  he  tried  to  escape  by  making  sail, 
he  should  be  overtaken  by  vessels  that  sailed  better 
than  his  own,  resolved  to  find  his  safety  in  a  skilful 
manoeuvre,  and  in  a  courageous  engagement. 
His  crew  shared  in  his  feelings,  not  one  of  them 
would  consent  to  the  loss  of  the  laui'els  of  Alge- 
siras.  They  were  old  sailors,  well  trained  by  long 
service  at  sea,  and  well  accustomed  to  fighting, 
a  thing  much  more  necessary  at  sea  than  on  land. 
The  worthy  captain  Troude  did  not  wait  until  his 
enemies,  wlio  pursued  him,  should  be  united 
against  the  Formidable;  he  bore  down  upon  that 
which  was  nearest,  namely,  the  Thames  frigate, 
and  poured  such  a  terrible  fire  into  her  that  he 
soon  sickened  her  of  the  unequal  contest.  The 
Venerable,  an  English  seventy-four,  was  coming  up 
at  full  sail,  the  captain,  thinking  he  was  superior 
to  her,  his  ship  carrying  eighty  guns,  waited  until 
she  came  up,  while  the  two  other  English  vessels 
endeavoured  to  gain  the  advantage  of  lier  upon 
the  wind,  and  cut  her  ofl"  from  entering  Cadiz. 
Ably  manoeuvring,  and  making  his  redoubtable 
broadside,  thick  with  guns,  to  bear  upon  the  un- 
armed bow  of  the  Venerable,  joining  to  his  su- 
perior weight  of  metal,  sent  home  with  full  effect, 
he  riddled  her  with  his  sliot,  first  struck  down  ono 
mast,  and  then  another,  then  a  third,  and  made  a 
mere  hulk  of  her,  lodging  many  shot  between 
wind  and  water,  which  jmt  iier  in  danger  of  sink- 
ing. The  unfortunate  shij),  horribly  mauled,  ex- 
cited the  alarm  of  the  rest  of  the  English  squadron. 
The  Thames  frigate  brought  her  lielp,  and  the 
two  other  English  vessels,  which  had  endeavoured 
to  place  themselves  between  Cadiz  and  the  For- 
midable, soon  came  about.     They  were  desirous  of 


266 


Glory  acquired  by  th« 
French  navy. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.     Campaign  in  Portugal. 


1801. 
July. 


saving  the  crew  of  the  Venerable,  which  they  were 
afraid  would  go  down,  and,  at  the  same  time,  of 
overwhelming  the  French  ship,  which  made  so 
noble  a  resistance.  The  latter,  confident  in  his 
seamanship  and  his  good  fortune,  fired  successively 
into  them  the  most  rapid  and  well-directed  broad- 
sides; he  discouraged  them,  and  sent  them  off  to 
the  succour  of  the  Venerable,  ready  to  turn  bottom 
upwards,  if  they  did  not  come  to  her  assistance 
speedily'. 

The  brave  captain  Troude  having  disembarrassed 
himself  of  his  numerous  foes,  sailed  triumphantly 
into  Cadiz.  A  part  of  the  Spanish  population, 
attracted  by  the  cannonade  and  the  explosions 
during  the  night,  had  gone  down  to  the  shore. 
They  had  seen  the  danger  and  triumph  of  the 
French  vessel,  and  in  spite  of  the  sorrow  naturally 
felt,  for  the  loss  of  the  two  Spanish  vessels  was 
well  known,  they  sent  forth  the  most  joyous  accla- 
mations at  seeing  the  Formidable  enter  the  harbour 
victorious. 

The  English  could  not  deny  that  the  glory  of 
these  engagements  was  u]ion  the  French  side.  If 
the  French  had  lost  one  vessel,  and  the  Spaniai-ds 
two,  the  English  had  left  one  vessel  in  our  power, 
and  had  had  two  so  ill  treated  that  they  were  quite 
unfit  for  further  service.  The  battle  of  Algesiras  and 
the  return  of  the  Formidable  were  among  the  num- 
ber of  the  finest  feats  known  to  the  French  naval 
history.  But  the  Spaniards  were  downcast;  al- 
though admiral  Moreno  had  behaved  well,  they 
were  not  indemnified  by  a  brilliant  action  for  the 
loss  of  the  San  Carlos  and  San  Hennenegildo. 

Still  the  events  in  Portugal  were  of  some  conso- 
lation to  them.  We  left  the  prince  of  the  peace  pre- 
paring to  commence  hostilities  against  Portugal,  at 
the  head  of  the  combined  forces  of  the  two  nations. 


>  The  fact  was  as  follows.  The  Venerable  74,  at  daybreak, 
found  herself  a  great  way  ahead  of  the  English  squadron, 
and  approaching  a  ship  the  last  of  the  combined  nine  line  of 
battle  ships  and  frigates  not  destroyed,  taken,  or  escaped 
into  Cadiz.  She  gave  chase.  Captain  Hood  said  in  his 
letter  to  Sir  James  Saumarez,  "  I  could  perceive  her  to  be 
an  80-gun  ship.  At  half-past  7  a.  m..  being  within  point- 
blank  shot,  the  enemy  commenced  firing  his  stern  chase- 
guns,  which  I  did  not  return,  for  fear  of  retarding  our  pro- 
gress, until  light  and  baflling  airs  threw  the  two  ships  broad- 
side to,  within  musketshot,  when  a  steady  and  warm  con- 
flict was  kept  up  for  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  we  had  closed 
within  pistol-shot,  the  enemy  principally  directing  his  fire  at 
our  masts  and  rigging.  I  had  at  this  time  the  misfortune 
to  see  the  main-mast  go  overboard,  and  fore  and  mizzen-mast 
nearly  in  the  same  state,"  &c.  The  Venerable  now  got  on 
shore,  the  affair  being  close  in  land,  near  the  castle  of  Sanie 
Petre,  and  the  Formidable  made  her  escape.  So  that  they 
were  the  stern  chase-guns  of  the  Formidable  that  were 
brought  to  bear  on  the  Venerable's  bows,  as  she  endeavoured 
to  get  away,  not  her  redoubtable  broadside.  The  Thames 
frigate  was  never  hurt,  man  or  timber,  by  the  Formidable  ; 
and  the  well-directed  broadsides  given  as  a  caution  to  the 
other  two  English  line  of  battle  ships,  were  fired  in  the  air, 
if  fired  at  all,  for  the  other  English  vessels  were  not  come  up 
■within  range.  Our  author  seems  ill  informed  in  matters  con- 
nected with  maritime  affairs,  or  he  would  have  asked  him- 
self—as those  who  read  his  work  must  do— why,  with  nine 
powerful  lin;  erf  battle  ships,  and  four  fine  frigates,  Linois  did 
not  engage  and  capture  five  English  ships  of  inferior  rates, 
and  one  frigate ;  this  would  be  the  sensible  mode  of  such 
a  victorious  commander  as  Linois  in  treating  with  an  enemy 
not  half  as  strong.— rra^fs/a/or. 


in  the  design,  long  ago  explained,  of  influencing  the 
negotiations  that  were  cari-ying  on  in  London. 

According  to  the  plan  agreed  upon,  the  Spaniards 
were  to  operate  on  the  left  of  the  Tagus,  and  the 
French  upon  the  right.  Thirty  thousand  Spaniards 
were  assembled  before  Badajoz,  on  the  frontier  of 
Alentejo  ;  fifteen  thousand  French  were  marching 
by  way  of  Salamanca  upon  Tras-os-Montes.  Thanks 
to  the  speedy  efforts  made,  and  to  the  loans  ad- 
vanced by  the  clergy,  as  well  as  the  general  sacri- 
fices offered  from  all  branches  of  the  public  service, 
provision  was  made  for  the  equipment  of  thirty 
thousand  Spaniards.  But  the  train  of  artillery  was 
very  backward.  The  prince  of  the  peace,  calculating 
with  reason  upon  the  moral  effect  of  the  union 
between  the  French  and  Spaniards,  was  eager  to 
proceed  to  hostilities  at  once,  being  anxious  to 
gather  his  first  laurels.  He  wanted  to  carry  away 
all  the  honoiu-s  of  the  campaign,  and  keep  the 
French  as  a  reserve,  upon  whom  he  could  fall  back 
in  case  of  his  meeting  with  a  reverse.  The  French 
could  well  afford  to  leave  the  prince  the  pleasure  of 
such  a  gratification.  The  French  at  that  moment 
were  not  seeking  for  glory,  but  only  to  bring  about 
useful  results ;  and  these  results  consisted  in  occu- 
pying one  or  two  provinces  of  Portugal,  in  order  to 
have  new  securities  against  England.  Easy  as  the 
war  a]ipeared  to  be  in  regard  to  its  object,  there 
was  still  a  danger  to  be  feared,  and  that  was  lest  it 
might  become  national.  The  hatred  of  the  Portu- 
guese against  the  Spaniards  might  have  produced 
the  most  unpleasant  results,  if  the  approach  of  the 
French,  placed  a  few  marches  in  their  rear,  had 
not  dissipated  these  dawning  desires  at  i-esistance. 
The  prince  of  the  peace  hastened  to  pass  the  fron- 
tier, and  to  attack  the  fortified  places  in  Portugal, 
with  field  artillery  in  place  of  a  battering  train.  He 
occupied  Olivenga  and  Jurumenha  without  diffi- 
culty. But  the  garrisons  of  Elvas  and  Campo- 
Mayor,  shut  themselves  up  and  made  a  show  of 
defence.  The  prince  of  the  peace  ordered  those 
places  to  be  invested,  and  during  the  interval 
marched  forth  to  meet  the  Portuguese  army,  com- 
manded by  the  duke  d'Alafoens.  The  Portuguese 
made  no  resistance,  and  fled  towards  the  Tagus. 
The  blockaded  towns  opened  their  gates.  Campo- 
Mayor  surrendered ;  and  the  siege  of  Elvas  was 
undertaken  in  a  regular  manner,  a  park  of  artillery 
having  arrived  from  Seville.  The  prince  of  the  peace 
followed  the  enemy  triumphantly,  traversing  rapidly 
Azuniar,  Alegrete,  Portalegre,  Castello  deVide,  Flor 
de  Rosa,  and  arrived  at  last  on  the  Tagus,  behind 
which  the  Portuguese  had  hastened  to  seek  a  re- 
fuge. He  succeeded  in  making  himself  master  of 
nearly  the  whole  province  of  Alentejo.  The  French 
had  not  yet  passed  the  frontier  of  Portugal,  and  it 
was  plain  enough,  that  if  the  Spaniards  succeeded 
alone  in  obtaining  such  results,  the  Spaniards  and 
the  French  united  must,  in  a  few  days,  be  masters 
both  of  Lisbon  and  Oporto.  The  court  of  Portugal, 
which  had  always  refused  to  believe  that  an  attack 
upon  that  country  was  seriously  meditated,  now 
saw  that  it  had  taken  place,  and  hastened  to  ten- 
der its  submission,  and  sent  M.  Pinto  de  Souza  to 
the  Spanish  head  quarters,  to  accept  any  conditions 
which  it  pleased  the  two  combined  armies  to  impose 
upon  it.  The  prince  of  the  peace,  desiring  that  his 
master  and  mistress  should  be  witnesses  of  his 
glory,  influenced  the  king  and  queen  of  Spain  to 


1801. 
July. 


Consequences  of  the  foregoing 
events. 


THE  GENERAL  PEACE. 


French  ascendancy 
politics. 


European 


2C7 


oome  to  Badajoz  to  distribute  rewards  to  the  army, 
and  to  hold  there  a  species  of  congress.  Thus 
this  court,  once  so  great  and  haughty,  was  dis- 
honoured by  a  dissolute  queen,  and  by  an  incapa- 
ble but  all  powerful  favourite,  who  was  endeavour- 
ing to  indulge  in  the  illusion  that  he  was  directing 
the  weightiest  affau-s.  Lucicn  Bonaparte  had  fol- 
lowed till-  king  and  queen  to  Badajoz.  Such  were 
the  events  that  had  occurred  up  to  the  end  of  June 
or  beginning  of  July. 

The  battles  of  Aigesiras  and  Cadiz,  which  were 
achievements  calculated  to  give  confidence  to  the 
French  navy,  the  short  campaign  in  Portugal, 
which  proved  the  decisive  influence  of  the  first 
consul  in  the  peninsula,  and  the  power  that  he  pos- 
ses-sed  of  treating  Portugal  like  Naples,  Tuscany, 
or  Holland,  compensated,  up  to  a  certain  point,  for 
the  events  so  far  known  relative  to  Egypt.  Neither 
the  battle  of  Canopus,  nor  the  capitulation  signed 
at  Cairo,  nor  the  inevitable  capitulation  of  Alexan- 
dria, had  then  been  heard  of.  News  was  not  at  that 
time  conveyed  by  sea  with  the  same  rapidity  that 
it  is  at  present.  It  was  a  month,  and  sometimes 
more,  sometimes  less,  before  an  event  taking  place 
in  the  Nile  was  known  at  Marseilles.  The  only 
fact  heard  respecting  Egypt,  was  the  landing 
of  the  English,  and  the  first  battle  on  the  plains 
of  Alexandria  ;  no  notion  could  then  be  formed  of 
what  had  afterwards  occurred,  and  the  ultimate 
termination  of  the  strugn;le  was  still  involved  in 
doubt.  The  weight  of  France  in  the  negotiations 
depending  had  in  no  way  diminished  ;  on  the  con- 
trary, it  was  increased  by  the  influence  which  day 
by  day  she  acquired  in  Europe. 

The  treaty  of  Lune'ville  produced  its  inevitable 
consequences.  Austria,  disarmed  and  become 
powerless  in  the  eyes  of  other  countries,  left  France 
free  to  pursue  her  own  objects.  Russia,  since  the 
death  of  Paul  I.,  and  the  accession  of  Alexander, 
was  not  disposed  to  act  energetically  against  Eng- 
land, it  is  true,  but  she  was  not  inclined,  upon  the 
other  hand,  to  resist  the  objects  of  France  in  the 
west.  Therefore  the  first  consul  took  no  pains 
to  conceal  his  views.  He  determined  to  convert 
Piedmont  into  a  French  de])artment,  without  trou- 
bling, himself  about  the  remonstrances  of  the  Rus- 
sian negotiators.  He  had  declared  that  as  to 
Naples,  the  treaty  of  Florence  should  remain  the 
rule  by  which  affairs  with  that  country  should  be 
regulated.  Genoa  had  submitted  her  constitution 
to  him,  that  it  might  receive  certain  alterations, 
which  were  calculated  to  strengthen  the  executive 
authority.  The  Cisalpine  republic,  composed  of 
Lombardy,  the  duchy  of  Modena,  and  the  Lega- 
tions, 80  constituted  for  the  first  time  by  the  treaty 
of  Campo-Formio,  and  a  second  time  by  the  treaty 
of  Lun^ville,  was  now  newly  organized  into  an 
allied  state,  dependent  upon  France.  Holland, 
after  tho  example  of  Liguria,  submitted  her  con- 
stitution to  the  first  consul,  in  order  that  more 
strength  might  be  given  to  the  goveinment,  a  spe- 
cies of  reform,  which  was  at  that  time  effected  in 
all  the  republics  that  sprung  from  that  of  France. 
Lastly,  the  minor  negotiators,  who  not  long  before 
sought  support  from  M.  Kalitcheff,  tho  arrogant 
minister  of  Paul  1.,  were  now  sorry  they  had 
sought  his  protection,  and  demanded  only  of  the 
first  consul  the  favour  of  his  ameliorating  their 
condition.     More  particularly  the  r'presentatives 


of  the  German  princes,  showed  in  this  regard  the 
most  pressing  eagerness.  The  treaty  of  Lune'ville 
had  aiTanged  the  secularization  of  the  ecclesiastical 
estates,  and  their  division  among  the  heredi- 
tary princes.  The  ambition  of  all  was  kept  awake 
to  their  future  parlicipations.  The  great  as  well  as 
the  smaller  powers,  each  aspired  to  obtain  for  itself 
the  most  advantageous  portions.  Austria  and 
Prussia,  although  they  had  lost  little  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Rhine,  wished  to  participate  in  the 
promised  indemnities.  Bavaria,  Wurtemberg, 
Baden,  the  house  of  Orange,  all  besieged  the  new 
chief  of  France  with  their  solicitations;  because, 
being  the  principal  party  to  the  treaty  of  Lune'ville, 
he  would  have  the  greatest  influence  in  the  execu- 
tion of  that  treaty.  Prussia  herself,  represented 
in  Paris  by  M.  Lucchesini,  did  not  disdain  to 
descend  to  the  part  of  a  solicitor,  and  to  give  a 
higher  character  to  the  first  consul  by  the  mean- 
ness of  her  solicitations.  Therefore,  although  the 
six  months  passed  since  the  treaty  of  Luneville  had 
been  distinguished  by  reverses  in  Egypt,  it  was 
true  but  imperfectly  known  in  Europe,  the  ascend- 
ancy of  the  French  government  had  supported 
itself,  and  time  had  only  rendered  that  government 
more  clear  and  effective.  This  concatenation  of 
circumstances  could  not  but  have  its  influence 
upon  the  negotiations  which  had  been  left  to  lan- 
guish for  a  moment,  but  which  were  about  to  be 
renewed,  as  if  by  common  consent,  with  increased 
activity,  through  a  singular  conformity  of  ideas  in 
the  two  governments.  The  first  csnsul,  upon 
learning  the  past  proceedings  of  Menou,  had 
looked  upon  Egypt  as  being  lost,  and  he  wished, 
before  that  result  happened,  which  he  clearly  fore- 
saw, to  sign  the  treaty  of  peace  in  London.  The 
English  ministers,  incapable  of  seeing,  as  clearly  as 
he  did,  the  termination  of  these  events,  and  not 
less  fearing  some  stroke  of  vigour  on  the  part  of 
the  Egyptian  army,  so  renowned  for  its  valour, 
were  desirous  of  profiting,  by  the  first  appearance 
of  success,  to  push  forward  the  treaty,  in  such  a 
manner,  that  as  both  had  been  at  one  time  inclined 
to  temporize,  so  they  were  now  equally  inclined  to 
conclude  the  negotiation. 

But  before  again  entering  anew  into  the  laby- 
rinths of  this  great  negotiation,  wherein  the  most 
important  interests  of  the  universe  were  about  to 
become  the  subjects  of  discussion,  an  event  must 
bo  narrated  which  at  the  same  moment  occupied 
the  attention  of  Paris,  and  completed  the  singu- 
larity of  the  spectacle  which  the  consulai*  govern- 
ment of  France  presented  to  the  world. 

The  infants  of  Parma,  destined  to  reign  over 
Tuscany,  ([uitted  Madrid  at  tlu;  same  time  that  the 
royal  family  of  Spain  left  that  city  for  Badajoz,  and 
they  had  just  reached  the  frontiers  of  the  Pyre- 
nees. The  first  consul  considered  it  was  of  great 
importance  that  they  should  visit  Paris  before  they 
went  to  Florence  to  take  possession  of  the  new 
throne  of  Etruri.a.  All  sorts  of  contrasts  wero 
agreeable  to  the  lively  and  expanded  imagination 
of  Bonaparte.  Ho  greatly  enjoyed  this  truly 
Roman  scene,  a  king  formed  by  himself  with  his 
own  republican  hands  ;  he  also  liked  to  show  that 
he  had  no  apprehensions  from  the  presence  of  a 
Bourbon,  and  that  his  own  glory  placed  him  above 
all  comparison  with  the  ancient  dynasty  in  the 
place  of  which  he  stood.     Ho  enjoyed  also  in  tho 


Their  reception. — Enter- 
268  '^'of  Etruria  ^"""    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.         tIu"' Tand^'^'"    ^^ 


1801. 
Julj. 


sight  of  all  the  world,  even  in  Paris,  so  recently 
the  scene  of  a  sanguinai-y  revolution,  the  display  of 
a  pomp  and  an  elegance  worthy  of  monarclis.  All 
this  must  lead  still  furtlier  to  an  observation  of  the 
sudden  change  wliich  had  been  operated  in  France 
mider  his  restorative  government. 

The  minute  and  exact  foresight  which  he  knew 
so  well  how  to  apply  to  a  great  military  operation, 
he  did  not  disdain  to  employ  in  these  magnificent 
pageantries,  in  which  he  himself  and  his  glory 
were  to  be  displayed.  He  took  the  trouble  to  regu- 
late the  smallest  details,  to  provide  every  thing 
applicable  to  the  occasion,  to  arrange  every  one  in 
his  proper  place  ;  since  all  this  was  required  to  be 
done  in  a  state  of  social  order  entirely  new,  created 
out  of  the  wrecks  of  a  world  destroyed.  Every 
thing  to  be  re-edified  again,  even  to  matters  of 
etiquette,  of  which  there  must  be  some  forms  even 
in  a  republic. 

The  three  c(msuls  deliberated  for  a  long  while 
upon  the  mode  in  which  the  king  and  queen  of 
Etruria  should  be  received  in  France,  and  what 
ceremonies  should  be  observed  towards  them.  In 
order  to  obviate  many  difficulties,  it  was  agreed 
they  should  be  received  under  the  assumed  titles 
of  the  count  and  counte.ss  of  Livorno,  and  that  tiiey 
should  be  treated  as  guests  of  distinction,  in  the 
same  way  as  had  been  done  in  the  last  century  in 
regard  to  the  young  czar,  afterwards  Paul  I.,  and 
the  emperor  of  Austria  Joseph  II.;  thus  by  means 
of  an  incognito,  there  was  avoided  the  embarrass- 
ment to  which  the  official  rank  of  a  king  and  queen 
would  have  given  birth.  Orders,  consonant  with 
this  arrangement,  were  given,  in  consequence, 
over  all  the  route  of  the  expected  pei\sonages,  to 
the  civil  and  military  authorities  in  the  depart- 
ments. 

Novelty  delights  the  people  of  every  age.  This 
was  a  novelty,  and  one  of  the  most  surprising,  to 
see  a  king  and  a  queen,  after  twelve  years  of  a 
revolution,  which  had  overturned  and  threatened 
so  many  thrones  ;  it  was  one,  more  particularly, 
that  highly  flattered  the  French  people,  because 
this  king  and  queen  were  the  fruit  of  their  vic- 
tories. Every  where  the  infants  were  received 
under  the  liveliest  acclamations;  vAth  infinite  regard 
and  respect.  No  disagreeable  circumstance  on  their 
journey  led  them  to  feel  that  they  ti'avelled  in  a 
country  that  just  before  had  been  wholly  con- 
vulsed. The  royalists,  who  were  in  no  way  flattered 
by  this  monarchical  piece  of  workmanship  of  the 
French  revolution,  were  the  only  individuals  who 
seized  upon  the  opportunity  to  exhibit  their  ma- 
lignity. At  the  theati-e  of  Bordeaux  they  shouted 
loudly,  with  affected  emphasis,  "  Long  live  the 
king!"  and  they  were  answered  by  the  cry  of 
"  Down  with  kings  I" 

The  first  consul  himself  moderated,  by  letters 
from  his  own  cabinet,  the  over  excessive  zeal  of 
some  of  his  prefects,  because  he  did  not  wish  too 
much  noise  to  be  made  about  the  appearance  of 
the  royal  couple.  They  arrived  in  Paris  in  June, 
to  remain  an  entire  month;  and  they  were  to  take 
up  their  residence  at  the  mansion  of  the  Spanish 
ambassador.  The  first  consul,  although  but  the 
simple  temporary  magistrate  of  the  republic,  re- 
presented the  Frencli  peo])Ie  ;  before  this  preroga- 
tive, all  the  privileges  of  the  blood-royal  gave  way. 
It  was  agreed,  that  these  two  young  sovereigns, 


making  the  first  consul  acquainted  with  their  ar- 
rival, should  visit  him,  and  that  he  should  return 
the  visit  on  the  following  day.  The  second  and 
third  consuls,  who  could  not  be  said  to  be,  to  the 
same  extent,  the  representatives  of  France,  were 
to  pay  the  first  visit  to  the  infants.  Thus,  with 
respect  to  the  last,  the  honours  of  birth  and  rank 
were  fully  established.  On  the  day  following  that 
of  their  arrival,  the  count  and  countess  of  Livorno 
were  conducted  to  Malmaison  by  count  Azara,  tlie 
Spanish  ambassador.  The  first  consul  received 
them  at  ths  head  of  that  exclusively  military 
household  which  he  had  established  there.  The 
count  of  Livorno,  feeling  a  little  youthful  embar- 
rassment, flung  himself  into  the  fii-st  consul's  arms 
like  a  child,  who,  in  consequence,  embraced  him 
with  warmth.  He  treated  the  young  couple  with 
parental  kindness  and  the  most  delicate  attention, 
at  the  same  time  supporting  all  that  superiority 
which  belonged  to  difference  of  years  and  to  his 
own  i^ower  and  glory.  On  the  following  day,  the 
first  consul  rsturned  the  visit  at  the  hotel  of  the 
ambassador.  The  consuls,  Carabac^res  and  Le- 
brun,  fulfilled,  on  their  parts,  the  duties  prescribed, 
and  obtained  from  the  young  princes  the  attentions 
to  which  they  were  entitled. 

It  was  arranged  that  the  presentation  of  the 
young  princes,  by  the  first  consul,  to  the  people, 
should  take  place  at  the  opera.  On  the  day  ap- 
pointed for  tliat  purpose  the  first  consul  was  in- 
disposed. The  consul  Cambac^res  supplied  his 
place,  and  attended  the  royal  infants  to  the  opera. 
On  entering  the  consuls'  box,  he  took  the  young 
count  of  Livorno  by  the  hand,  and  presented  him 
to  the  audience,  who  answei-ed  by  unanimous  ac- 
clamations, wholly  unmingled  with  any  thing  ma- 
licious or  offensive.  Still  the  idle  part  of  the 
public,  accustomed  to  give  out  their  own  wise 
interpretations  to  the  commonest  events,  put  a 
hundred  different  constructions  upon  the  journey 
of  these  princes.  Those  who  were  only  for  show- 
ing their  wit  upon  the  subject,  declared  that  Cam- 
baceres  had  just  made  a  present  of  the  Bourbons 
to  France.  The  royalists,  who  were  obstinate  in 
their  expectations,  that  Bonaparte  would  do  that 
which  he  neither  could  nor  would  effect,  declared 
that  all  this  was, upon  his  part, only  a  mode  of  pre- 
paring the  public  mind  for  a  return  to  the  old  dynasty. 
The  republicans,  on  the  other  side,  asserted  that 
by  such  royal  pageantry  he  was  preparing  France 
for  the  re- establishment  of  the  monarchy,  but  only 
for  his  own  benefit. 

The  ministers  were  ordered  to  be  lavish  of  fetes 
and  entertainments  to  the  royal  visiters.  Talley- 
rand did  not  require  the  hint  to  be  given  to  him. 
Considered  a  model  of  good  taste  and  elegance 
under  the  old  regime,  he  was  still  better  entitled 
to  that  claim  under  the  new.  He  gave,  at  his 
chateau  of  Neuilly,  an  entertainment  of  a  most 
magnificent  character,  at  which  all  the  best  society 
of  France  attended,  the  names  of  many  of  whom 
had  long  ceased  to  be  announced  in  the  circles  of 
the  capital.  When  night  came  on,  in  the  midst  of 
a  most  brilliant  illumination,  the  city  of  Florence 
appeared  all  at  once,  repi-esented  with  uncommon 
skill.  The  Tuscans  were  seen  dancing  and  singing 
in  the  celebrated  plaza  of  the  Palazzo  Vecchio, 
and  offering  flowers  to  the  young  sovereigns,  and 
garlands  of    triumph  to  the  first  consul.     This 


1801. 
July. 


Fetes. — Incapacity  of  the 
young  prince. 


THE  GENERAL  PEACE. 


Renewal  of  the  negotiations 
for  peace. 


1119 


magnificent  spectacle  cost  a  large  sum  of  money. 
It  united  the  prodigality  of  the  directory  to  the 
elegance  of  other  times,  and  that  decorum  in 
manner,  which  a  severe  master  laboured  to  im- 
press upon  revolutionary  France.  The  minister 
at  war  imitited  the  minister  for  foreign  affairs, 
and  gave  a  military  fete,  in  coniinenioration  of 
the  battle  of  .Marengo.  The  minister  of  the  in- 
terior and  the  second  and  third  consuls  received 
the  royal  visiters  in  a  most  magnificent  manner ; 
and  for  a  whole  month  the  capital  bore  the  aspect 
of  a  continued  rejoicing.  The  first  consul  did  not 
wish  the  i-oyal  couple  to  be  present  at  the  re- 
publican ceremonies  in  the  month  of  July,  and  he 
therefore  made  the  necessary  dispnsitions  lor  their 
departure  from  Paris  before  the  anniversary  of  the 
14th  of  that  month. 

In  the  midst  of  these  brilliant  representations, 
the  first  consul  attempted  to  give  some  advice  to 
the  royal  cnuple,  who  were  about  to  ascend  the 
tiirone  of  Tuscany.  But  he  was  struck  with  the 
utter  incapacity  of  the  young  prince,  who,  when  at 
Alalmaison,  gave  himself  up,  in  the  waiting-room 
of  the  aids-de-camp,  to  amusements  that  were 
scarcely  worthy  the  most  ignorant  boy.  The 
princess  seemed  to  possess  some  intelligence,  and 
to  be  attentive  to  the  advice  offered  by  the  fir.st 
consul.  He  accordingly  judged  very  indifferently 
of  the  future  career  of  these  new  sovereigns,  who 
were  thus  designed  to  govern  a  part  of  Italy,  and 
easily-  foresaw  that  he  should  be  obliged  to  inter- 
meddle too  often  in  the  affairs  of  their  kingdom. 
"  You  see,"  said  he,  publicly  enough  to  several 
members  of  the  government ;  "  you  see  what  these 
princes  are,  sprung  from  old  blood,  and  more  par- 
ticularly those  who  have  been  educated  in  southern 
courts.  How  can  we  trust  them  with  the  govern- 
ment of  nations  !  No  matter;  we  have  done  no 
harm  in  exhibiting  to  the  French  people  this 
specimen  of  the  Bourbons.  They  will  be  able  to 
judge  from  them,  whether  the  members  of  these 
ancient  dynasties  are  up  to  the  level  of  the  diffi- 
culties connected  with  such  an  age  as  the  present." 

Every  one  who  had  seen  the  young  prince  had 
made  the  same  observation  as  the  first  consul. 
General  Clarke  was  given  to  the  young  couple,  to 
act  a-s  their  Mentor,  under  the  title  of  the  minister 
of  France  at  the  court  of  Etruria. 

In  the  midst  of  such  pressing  occupations,  amidst 
ffites,  which  in  themselves  were  almost  public  busi- 
ness, the  great  obji-ct  of  a  maritime  peace  had  not 
been  neglected.  The  negotiations  carrying  on  in 
London  between  lord  Hawkesbury  and  M.  Otto 
were  become  public.  They  were  kept  the  less 
Hfcret  now,  as  both  parties  were  more  desirous  of 
coming  to  a  conclusion.  As  already  observed,  to 
the  wi.sh  of  temporizing  had  succeeded  the  desire 
of  terminating  the  business;  because  the  first  con- 
sul auguifd  ill  of  the  events  which  were  passing 
on  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  and  the  English  govern- 
ment dreaded  some  unexpected  exploit  by  the 
army  of  I'^gypt.  The  new  English  minister,  more 
particularly,  wished  for  peace,  because  it  was  the 
sole  rea.son  for  iiis  going  into  office.  If  the  war 
should  be  continued,  Pitt  was  much  more  fit  than 
Addington  to  be  at  the  helm  of  affairs.  All  the 
events  which  had  occin-red,  whether  in  the  north 
or  the  east,  though  they  might  have  improved  the 
position   of   England,    were    only    viewed    by   the 


minister  as  so  many  means  for  the  attainment  of 
a  peace,  more  advantageous,  more  easy  to  be  jus- 
tified in  parliament,  than  from  any  increasetl  desire 
for  the  peace  itself.  They  regarded,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  occasion  as  most  favourable,  and  were 
desirous  of  not  imitating  the  fault  with  which  Mr. 
Pitt  was  reproached — of  not  treating  prior  to  the 
battles  of  Marengo  and  Hohenlinden.  The  king 
of  England,  as  already  shown,  had  come  round  to 
pacific  views,  through  esteem  for  the  first  consul, 
and,  it  is  probable,  a  little  anger  against  Pitt.  The 
people,  suftering  from  want,  and"  fond  of  change, 
hoped  to  see,  with  the  termination  of  the  war, 
some  amelioration  of  their  existing  condition. 
Reasonable  people,  without  exception,  found  that 
ten  years  of  sanguinary  warfare  was  enough,  and 
that  an  obstinate  cnntinuance  of  the  war  would 
only  furnish  France  with  an  opportunity  for  still 
further  aggrandizement.  Besides,  they  were  not 
free,  in  London,  from  all  apprehension  on  the  score 
of  invasion,  the  preparations  for  which  were  visible 
in  the  ports  of  the  channel.  One  only  class  of 
men  in  England,  who  were  absorbed  in  great 
maritime  speculations,  and  who  had  subscribed  to 
the  enormous  loans  of  Pitt,  seeing  that  peace, 
opening  the  seas  to  the  flags  of  all  nations,  and  to 
that  of  France  more  particularly,  would  take  from 
them  the  monopoly  of  commerce,  and  i)ut  a  stop  to 
the  great  financial  operations  by  which  they  had 
gained — these  were  little  inclined  to  support  the 
peaceful  policy  of  Addington.  They  were  all  de- 
voted to  Pitt  and  his  policy;  they  all  encouraged 
a  feeling  for  war  when  Pitt  began  to  consider 
peace  as  necessary.  But  these  rich  speculators  of 
the  city  were  obliged  to  be  silent  before  the  cries 
of  the  people  and  of  the  farmers,  and  above  all, 
before  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  reasonable 
men  of  the  country. 

The  English  ministry,  therefore,  was  resolved 
not  only  to  negotiate,  but  to  do  so  promptly,  in 
order  to  be  able  to  present  the  result  of  the  nego- 
tiations at  the  approaching  meeting  of  parliament 
in  the  autumn.  They  had  concluded  a  treaty  with 
Russia  ui)on  very  advantageous  conditions.  Eng- 
land had  only  a  simple  (juesiion  of  maritime  law  to 
arrange  with  that  court.  She  had  made  some  con- 
cessions to  the  new  emperor,  and  obtiiined  some 
from  Russia,  which  this  yung  inexperienced 
prince,  anxious  to  satisfy  the  party  wluch  had 
placed  him  upon  the  throne,  and  more  anxious  to 
give  his  attention  tranquilly  to  the  idea  of  an 
interior  reform,  had  tlie  weakness  to  suffer  to  be 
extorted  from  him.  Of  the  four  essential  princi- 
l)les  of  maritime  law  Russia  had  abandoned  two, 
and  established  two.  By  a  convention  signed  on 
the  I7li>  of  June  between  count  Panin,  the  vice- 
chancellor,  and  lord  St.  Helens,  the  following 
articles  were  agreed  upon  : — 

First,  neutrals  might  navigate  freely  between 
all  ports  in  the  world,  even  those  of  belligerent 
nations.  They  were  able  to  import  every  thing 
according  to  usage  except  articles  contraband  of 
war.  The  definition  of  this  contraband  was  de- 
cidedly favourable  to  Russian  interests  ;  inasmuch 
as  grain  an<l  naval  stores,  formerly  proliibited  to 
neutral  vessels,  were  not  to  be  treated  as  con- 
tral)and  of  war.  This  was  of  great  conseciuence  to 
Russia,  which  produces  hemp,  tar,  pitch,  iron, 
masts,  and  corn.     Upon  this  point,  one  of  the  most 


270 


British  convention  with 
Kussia 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Propositions  of  the  Eng- 
lish and  French  nego- 
tiators. 


July. 


important  in  maritime  law,  Russia  had  defended 
the  freedom  of  general  commerce  in  defending  the 
interests  of  her  own. 

Secondly,  the  flag  was  not  to  cover  the  goods, 
unless  such  goods  had  been  acquired  on  account 
of,  and  thus  become  the  property  of  a  neutral 
trader.  Thus  coffee,  coming  from  a  French  colony, 
was  not  to  be  seized  if  it  had  become  Danish  or 
Russian  property.  It  is  true,  that  in  practice  this 
reservation  saved  a  part  of  the  neutral  commerce  ; 
but  Russia  sacrificed  the  first  principle  of  maritime 
law — "  the  flag  covers  the  merchandise  ;"  and  did 
not  sustain  the  noble  character  which  she  had 
borne  under  Paul  I.  and  Catharine.  This  pro- 
tection of  the  feeble,  which  Russia  was  so  am- 
bitious to  display  upon  the  continent,  she  sadly 
abandoned  upon  the  ocean. 

Thirdly,  the  neutrals,  although  permitted  to 
navigate  freely,  were  not,  according  to  usage,  to 
enter  a  blockaded  port,  that  is  a  port  so  bona  fide, 
the  blockade  of  which  it  would  be  really  dangerous 
to  force.  On  this  head,  the  great  principle  of  a 
real  blockade  was  rigorously  maintained. 

Lastly,  the  right  of  search,  the  origin  of  so  many 
disputes,  and  tlie  cause  of  the  formation  of  the  last 
league  in  the  north,  was  to  be  understood  in  a  way 
little  honourable  to  the  neutral  powers.  Thus  it 
had  always  been  contended  that  merchant  vessels 
convoyed  by  a  ship  of  war  of  the  state  to  which 
they  belonged,  that  by  its  presence  attested  their 
national  character,  and,  aljove  all,  there  being 
nothing  contraband  on  board,  should  not  be  visited. 
The  dignity  of  the  military  flag  did  not,  in  fact, 
admit  that  the  captain  of  a  ship,  perhaps  an  ad- 
miral, should  be  stopped  by  a  privateer  provided 
only  with  a  simple  letter  of  marque.  The  Russian 
cabinet  thought  to  preserve  the  dignity  of  its  flag 
by  means  of  a  distinction  here.  It  was  decided 
that  the  right  to  visit  in  relation  to  vessels  under 
convoy,  should  not  be  exercised  by  all  vessels  in- 
discriminately, but  solely  by  vessels  of  war.  A 
privateer  furnished  only  with  a  simple  letter  of 
marque,  had  not  longer  the  riglit  to  stop  and 
examine  a  convoy  escorted  by  a  ship  of  war.  The 
right  of  search  could  only,  therefore,  be  exercised 
by  one  equal  upon  another  equal.  There  was  no 
doubt  that  in  this  mode  of  proceeding  some  incon- 
venience was  escaped,  but  the  foundation  of  the 
principle  was  sacrificed.  This  was  the  more  dis- 
creditable to  the  court  of  St.  Petersburg,  as  it  was 
the  particular  principle  of  the  four  in  dispute  for 
which  Copenhagen  had  been  bombarded  three 
months  before,  and  for  which  Paul  I.  had  tried  to 
stir  up  all  Europe  against  England. 

Russia  had  thus  sacrificed  two  great  principles 
of  maritime  law,  and  had  gained  two.  But  England, 
it  must  be  acknowledged,  had  made  concessions, 
and  in  her  desire  to  make  peace,  had  desisted  from 
enforcing  a  part  of  the  arrogant  pretensions  of 
Pitt.  The  Danes,  the  Swedes,  and  the  Prussians 
were  invited  to  give  their  assent  to  this  convention. 
Delivered  from  any  anxiety  about  Russia,  and 
having  obtained  a  first  success  in  Egypt,  England 
desired  to  obtain  for  an  amelioration  of  her  situa- 
tion, a  more  speedy  peace  with  France.  Lord 
Hawkesbury  sent  for  M.  Otto  to  the  foreign-office, 
and  authorized  bim  to  make  to  the  first  consul  the 
following  proposition : — Egypt  is  at  this  moment 
invaded    by  our    troops  ;   considerable    reinforce- 


ments must  soon  join  them;  their  success  is  very 
probable.  The  struggle  is  not  over,  we  are  ready 
to  admit.  Stay  this  effusion  of  blood  ;  let  us  agree 
on  both  sides  not  to  attempt  the  permanent  occu- 
pation of  Egypt,  which  we  will  mutually  evacuate, 
and  restore  to  the  Porte. 

To  this  proposition  lord  Hawkesbury  added  the 
right  to  keep  Malta;  because,  he  said,  Malta  was 
not  to  be  evacuated  by  England,  but  in  the  event 
of  the  voluntary  evacuation  of  Egypt  by  France. 
The  abandonment  of  Egypt  by  France  being  no 
longer  a  voluntary  concession  upon  her  part,  but  a 
forced  consequence  of  the  events  of  the  war,  there 
was  no  longer  any  reason  for  England  handing 
over  Malta  as  an  equivalent. 

In  the  East  Indies  the  English  minister  in- 
sisted upon  Ceylon,  but  was  content  with  that  only. 
He  offered  to  restore  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to 
the  Dutch,  and  beyond  that  the  territories  taken 
from  Holland  in  South  America — Surinam,  De- 
merara,  Berbice,  and  Essequibo.  But  he  de- 
manded a  large  island  in  the  West  Indies,  Mar- 
tinique or  Trinidad,  either  the  one  or  the  other,  as 
France  might  prefer. 

Thus  the  definitive  result  of  the  ten  years  of 
war  w'ould  be  for  England,  independently  of  Hin- 
dostan,  and  the  isle  of  Ceylon  in  the  East  Indies, 
the  isle  of  Trinidad  or  Martinique  in  the  Antilles 
or  West  Indies,  and  the  isle  of  Malta  in  the  Medi- 
terranean. The  French  cabinet  had,  in  this  mode, 
to  make  a  free  grant  to  England's  pride  in  each  of 
the  three  most  important  seas. 

The  first  consul  answered  at  once  to  the  British 
offer  thus  tendered,  that  much  Avas  made  of  the 
events  in  Egypt  to  elevate  the  English  demands  ; 
to  oblige  them  to  lower  their  pretensions,  he  dwelt 
upon  the  events  which  were  going  forward  in 
Portugal.  "  Lisbon  and  Oporto,"  he  replied  to 
lord  Hawkesbury,  "  will  soon  fall  into  our  hands, 
if  we  are  inclined  to  take  them.  They  ai'e  at  this 
moment  negotiating  a  treaty  at  Badajoz,  having 
for  its  object  to  save  the  provinces  of  the  most 
faithful  ally  of  England.  The  Portuguese  propose 
to  redeem  their  territory,  but  they  will  exclude 
England  fro)n  their  ports,  and  i)ay  besides  a  heavy 
war  contribution  ;  and  Spain  is  willmg  enough  to 
agree  to  this  concession.  But  every  thing  depends 
upon  the  first  consul.  He  is  able  to  accept  or 
reject  this  treaty;  and  he  is  about  to  reject  it,  and 
will  take  possession  of  the  chief  provinces  of  Portu- 
gal, unless  England  consents  to  a  treaty  upon 
reasonable  and  moderate  terms.  The  English  re- 
quire the  evacuation  of  Egypt  by  the  French;  let 
it  be  so,  but  let  England,  upon  her  side,  abandon 
Malta;  let  her  no  more  require  Trinidad  nor 
Martinique,  but  content  herself  with  the  island  of 
Ceylon,  a  fine  acquisition,  fornung  a  grand  ap- 
pendage to  the  superb  empire  of  India." 

The  English  negotiator  replied  in  a  manner  that 
could  be  but  little  satisfactory  for  Portugal,  con- 
firming, what  was  already  well  known,  that  Eng- 
land had  very  little  regard  for  the  allies  whom  she 
had  comjiromised.  "  If  the  first  consul  should  in- 
vade Portugal  in  Europe,"  lord  Hawkesbury 
answered,  "  England  will  hivade  the  territoi-y  of 
Portugal  beyond  the  seas.  She  will  capture  the 
Azores  and  Brazil,  and  will  take  to  herself  se- 
curities, which  in  her  hands  are  worth  much  more 
than  the  Portuguese  continental  possessions  in  the 


1301. 
July. 


PoUtical  papers  in  the  3forii<f«r        THE  GENERAL  PEACE. 


written  by  the  first  consul. 


271 


hands  of  France."  This  plainly  signified,  that  in 
place  of  defending  her  ally,  England  sought  to 
avenge  hei-stlf  upon  Portugal  for  the  new  acqui- 
sitions that  France  might  make  at  her  expense. 

The  first  consul  perceived  that  upon  this  occa- 
sion he  must  assume  an  energetic  tone,  and  show 
what  was  passing  at  the  bottom  of  his  heart ;  in 
other  words,  his  determination  to  struggle  foot  to 
foot  with  England,  until  he  had  brought  her  to 
more  moderate  terms.  He  declared  that  he  would 
never  consent  to  give  up  MalUa  upon  any  con- 
dition; that  Trinidad  belonged  to  an  ally,  whose 
interests  he  would  sustain  equally  with  his  own, 
and  he  would  not  abandon  this  colony  to  the 
English ;  that  they  ought  to  be  content  with  Cey- 
lon" which  made  so  perfect  the  conquest  of  the 
Indies ;  that  none  of  the  points  contested,  Malta 
excepted,  were  to  be  put  into  the  scale  witlj  the 
sufifering  that  would  be  inflicted  on  the  world  by 
the  shedding  a  single  drop  of  the  blood  which  was 
about  to  flow. 

To  these  diplomatic  explanations  he  added  public 
declarations  in  the  Moniteur,  and  the  recital  of  the 
armaments  which  he  was  preparing  ou  the  coast  of 
Boulogne.  Divisions  of  gun-boats,  in  fact,  sailed 
from  the  ports  of  Calvados,  the  Seine  Inferior, 
the  Somme,  and  the  Escaut  or  Schelde.  They 
coasted  along  the  shore  to  Boulogne,  and  many 
succeeded  in  reaching  that  port  in  spite  of  the 
English  cruisers.  The  first  consul  had  not  then 
fixed,  as  he  did  at  a  later  period,  on  the  plan  of  a 
descent  upon  England ' ;  he  only  wished  to  intimi- 
date that  power  by  the  noise  and  extent  of  his  pre- 
parations ;  in  short,  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to 
complete  his  arrangements,  and  to  carry  his  threats 
into  efi"ect  if  the  rupture  should  definitively  happen. 
He  went  into  a  long  explanation  of  his  views  upon 
the  subject  during  a  deliberation  of  the  council,  at 
which  the  consuls  alone  were  pres 'nt.  Placing 
full  confidence  in  the  devotion  of  his  colleagues, 
Cambacdres  and  Lubrun,  he  opened  his  whole 
mind  to  them.  He  told  them,  that  with  the  arma- 
m'-nts  actually  in  existence  at  Boulogne,  he  had 
not  yet  the  means  of  attempting,  with  a  chance  of 
success,  a  descint  upon  England,  an  operation  in 
war  full  of  difficulty ;  that  his  object  in  making 
th'.se  preparations  was  to  let  England  know  what 
he  contemplated  doing ;  in  othir  words,  that  he 
intended  a  direct  invasion  ;  upon  the  success  of 
which  lie,  Bonaparte,  should  not  hesitate  to  risk 
his  life,  his  glory,  and  his  fortune  :  that  if  he  did 
not  succeed  in  obtaining  from  the  British  cabinet 
some  reas<jnable  concessions,  his  |)art  was  taken — 
he  should  complete  the  Boulogne  flotilla  so  as  to 
receive  one  hundred  thousand  men,  and  embarking 
with  them  him«elf,  run  all  the  chances  of  a  terrible 
but  decisive  blow. 

Desirous  of  gaining  over  public  opinion  to  his 
aide  in  Europe,  and  even  in  England  itself,  he 
attached  to  the  notes  of  his  minister,  negotiating 
in  England,  addressed  to  the  British  ministry,  a 
number  of  artii  les  in  the  Moniteur,  which  wei-c 
designed  for  the  entire  European  public.  These 
articles,  which  were  models  of  neat  and  forcible 

'  The  first  flotilla  atiempteJ  in  1801  tnunt  not  be  confused 
with  the  great  naval  and  military  orKanization  known  under 
the  celebrated  name  of  llic  "  camp  of  BouloKnc,"  which  hap- 
pened in  1804. 


argument,  were  written  by  himself,  and  devoured 
by  the  readei-s  of  all  nations,  whose  attention  was 
fixed  upon  this  singular  scene,  he  flattered  the 
English  ministers  then  in  office,  whom  he  repre- 
sented as  wise,  reasonable,  well-intentioned  men, 
too  much  intimidated  by  the  violence  of  the  ex- 
ministers,  Pitt,  and,  more  particularly,  Windham. 
He  heaped  sarcasms  upon  these  last,  more  par- 
ticularly upon  Windham,  because  he  regarded  him 
as  the  head  of  the  war  party.  In  these  articles 
he  sought  to  quiet  Europe  upon  the  subject  of 
PVcncli  ambition,  and  to  show  that  his  own  con- 
quests were  scarcely  equivalent  to  the  acquisitions 
Prussia,  Austria,  and  Russia  had  made  in  the  par- 
tition of  Poland;  that  France  had  restored  three 
or  four  tunes  the  extent  of  territory  she  had  re- 
tained; that  England,  in  like  manner,  was  bound 
to  restore  a  large  part  of  her  conquests;  that  in 
keeping  possession  of  the  continent  of  India,  she 
remained  in  ])osscssion  of  a  superb  empire,  to 
which  the  islands  in  dispute  were  nothing  worthy 
of  notice;  that  it  was  not  worth  the  cost,  for  such 
islands,  to  continue  to  shed  human  blood;  that  if 
France,  it  was  true,  appeared  to  insist  so  strongly 
upon  them,  it  was  from  a  principle  of  honour  in 
supporting  her  allies,  and  to  preserve  some  few 
harbours  in  distant  seas  ;  that,  on  the  other  hand, 
if  England  was  determined  to  continue  the  war, 
she  might,  most  certainly,  conquer  more  colonies, 
but  that  she  had  more  already  than  her  trade  re- 
quired; that  France  had  made  around  her  entire 
frontiers,  acquisitions  of  great  value,  which,  with- 
out designating,  were  obvious  enough  to  all  the 
world,  since  her  troops  occupied  Holland,  Switzer- 
land, Piedmont,  Naples,  and  Portugal  ;  that,  in 
fact,  the  contest  might  be  more  simplified,  and 
rendered  less  burthensome  to  other  countries,  by 
confining  it  to  a  contest  between  France  and  Eng- 
land alone.  The  first  consul,  in  writing,  took 
great  care  not  to  wound  the  national  pride  of 
England;  but  he  did  not  fail  to  let  his  last  resource 
of  a  descent  be  understood,  and  that,  if  the  English 
ministry  desired  that  the  war  should  terminate  by 
the  destruction  of  one  of  the  two  nations,  there 
was  not  a  Frenchman  who  was  reluctant  to  make 
a  last  and  strenuous  effort  to  decide  this  long  dis- 
pute, in  a  manner  that  should  end  in  the  eternal 
glory  and  advantage  of  France.  "  But  why  put 
the  matter  upon  this  desperate  ground?  Why  not 
terminate  the  misfortunes  of  humanity  ?  Why 
thus  risk  the  destiny  of  two  great  nations  ? "  The 
first  consul  finished  one  of  those  articles  by  these 
beautiful  and  singular  words,  which,  at  a  later 
time,  were  so  sadly  applicable  to  himself  : — 
"  Happy,  most  happy,  are  those  nations,  that,  ar- 
rived at  a  high  degree  of  prosperity,  are  blessed 
with  wise  rulers,  who  will  not  expose  the  many 
a<lvantage3  they  po.sses3  to  the  caprices  and  vicis- 
situdes of  a  single  stroke  of  fortune  ! " 

These  articles,  remarkable  for  powerful  logic 
and  a  vigorous  style,  attracted  general  attention, 
and  produced  a  dee|)  sensation  upon  the  public 
mind.  Never  had  any  government  held  such  open 
and  startling  language. 

The  language  of  the  first  consul,  accompanied 
by  very  serious  demonstrations  along  the  coasts  of 
France,  was  calculated  to  produce,  and  did  jiro- 
duce  a  great  efl'ect  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
channel.      The    formal    declaration    that    France 


272 


Progress  of  the  negotia- 
tions. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMriRE. 


Conduct  of  the  prince 
of  the  peace. 


1801. 
Aug. 


would  never  give  up  Malta  to  England,  made  a 
great  impression,  and  the  British  government 
stated  its  willingness  to  renounce  the  island,  upon 
its  being  restored  to  the  knights  of  St.  John  of 
Jerusalem;  but,  in  that  case,  they  demanded  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  They  would  also  give  up 
Trinidad,  and  even  Martinique,  if  they  obtained 
a  part  of  the  Dutch  continent  of  America,  of  De- 
merara,  Berbice,  or  Essequibo. 

The  abandoimient  of  Malta  was  a  step  gained 
in  the  negotiation.  The  first  consul  would  not 
cede  either  Malta,  the  Cnpe,  or  the  Dutch  posses- 
sions on  the  continent  of  America.  In  his  view, 
Malta  was  to  be  considered  as  the  equivalent  for 
Egypt,  if  France  retained  that  conquest ;  when 
the  occupation  of  Egypt  ceased  to  be  a  question 
for  the  French,  that  of  Malta  could  not  be  ad- 
mitted for  the  English,  nor  any  similar  equivalent. 

The  English  cabinet  finally  gave  up  insisting 
upon  Malta,  but  revived  its  demand  for  one  of  the 
great  West  Indi.a  islands;  and  as  it  could  no  longer 
dare  to  speak  of  the  French  isle  of  Martinique,  it 
demanded  the  Spanish  island  of  Trinidad. 

The  first  consul  was  as  little  inclined  to  cede 
Trinidad  as  Martinique.  It  was  a  Spanish  colony, 
which  furnished  England  witli  a  dangerous  footing 
upon  the  vast  continent  of  South  America.  He 
kept  his  good  faith  so  far  towards  Spain,  as  to 
offer  the  small  French  island  of  Tobago,  in  place 
of  Trinidad.  It  was  not  an  important  colony;  but 
England  had  an  interest  in  it,  because  all  the 
planters  were  English.  With  a  feeling  of  exalted 
pride,  only  to  be  allowed  to  one  who  had  raised 
his  country  to  the  highest  jjitch  of  glory  and  great- 
ness, he  added  :  "  It  is  a  French  colony;  this  ac- 
quisition must  please  the  pride  of  the  English, 
which  will  be  flattered  thus  to  obtain,  as  a  prize, 
one  colonial  spoil  belonging  to  us  ;  and  the  con- 
clusion of  the  peace  will  thus  become  more  easily 
effected*." 

By  this  time  it  was  ab<int  the  end  of  July  or 
commencement  of  August,  1801.  The  prepai-ations 
making  in  France  wi-re  imitated  in  England.  The 
militia  were  exercised;  and  cars  were  constructed 

1  "The  minister  of  foreign  affairs  to  M.  Otto,  commis- 
sioner of  the  Frencli  republic  in  London. 

"  20th  Tliermidor,  year  ix.,  or  8th  of  Aug.  1801. 

"  In  regard  to  America,  as  affects  the  peremptory  instruc- 
tions contained  in  the  nole,  I  furilier  add  liere  ;  The  British 
government  wishes  to  retain  in  the  West  Indies  one  of  the 
newly-acquired  islands,  and  ihis  under  the  plea  that  it  will 
be  necessary  to  the  preservation  of  iicr  former  possessions. 
This  can  in  no  way  ai)i)ly  to  the  island  of  Trinidad  Avoid, 
therefore,  any  discussion  upon  that  topic.  Trinidad,  l)y  its 
«ituation,  would  be,  not  a  means  of  defence  for  the  colonies 
of  England,  hut  a  position  fur  the  att.ick  of  the  Spanish  con- 
tinent. The  acquisiiion  of  the  island  would,  besides,  be  for 
the  British  government  of  an  importance  and  value  scarcely 
conceivable.  The  discussion  can  only  take  place  about  Cu- 
rafoa,  Tobago,  St.  Luria,  or  fome  other  island  of  that  class. 
Though  these  two  latter  are  French  islands,  still  this  govern- 
ment might  be  induced  to  abiindim  one,  and  perliaps  the 
national  pride  of  England  be  flattered,  by  thus  retaining 
some  one  of  our  colonial  spoils.  You  will  not  fail,  citizen, 
to  praise  highly  the  value  of  the  islands  to  the  cession  of 
which  we  give  consent,  and  particularly  Tobago.  This 
island  not  long  back  belonged  to  the  l-nglish,  and  is  still 
inhabited  by  English  planters  ;  all  its  relations  are  English. 
The  soil  is  unbroken,  and  the  commerce  of  the  island  is 
susceptible  of  great  increase." 


for  the  conveyance  of  troops,  to  enable  them  to 
reach  more  rapidly  the  points  threatened  by  hostile 
attack.  The  English  journals  of  the  war  party 
were  filled  with  the  most  outrageous  language. 
Supposed  to  be  encouraged  by  Windham,  some  of 
them  proceeded  so  far  as  to  excite  the  people 
against  M.  Otto,  and  the  French  prisoners.  M. 
Otto  at  once  demanded  his  passports  ;  and  the 
first  consul  caused  the  insertion  in  the  Moniteur 
of  the  most  threatening  articles. 

Lord  Hawkesbury  went  to  M.  Otto,  and  insi.sted 
upon  his  not  going  away.  With  some  difficulty  he 
succeeded,  by  giving  him  reason  toexpecta  speedy 
conclusion  to  their  negotiation.  Still  the  national 
animosity  seemed  awakened  so,  that  a  rupture  was 
anticipated.  All  the  moderate  i)ersons  in  England 
deprecated  and  wished  to  ]n-event  it.  They  almost 
despaired  of  success,  because  the  first  consul  would 
not  give  way  in  surrendering  the  possessions  of  his 
allies,  which  the  English  persisted  in  keeping. 

While  the  first  consul  was  fighting  the  battle  of 
Spain's  noble  colonies,  the  prince  of  the  peace, 
witli  the  thoughtlessness  of  a  vain  and  frivolous 
favourite,  made  the  king,  his  master,  adopt  the 
most  unhappy  step,  and  disengaged  the  first  consul 
from  every  tie  of  friendship  towards  Spain. 

It  has  not  been  forgotten  that  M.  Pinto,  envoy 
of  Portugal,  had  arrived  at  the  S|)anish  head- 
quarters, to  submit  to  the  law  laid  down  by  Spain 
and  France.  The  prince  of  the  peace  was  anxious 
to  terminate  a  campaign,  of  which  the  beginning 
had  been  so  brilliant  and  easy  of  achievement;  but 
of  which  the  continuance  might  be  attended  with 
difficulties,  which,  without  the  aid  of  the  French, 
might  become  insurmountable.  If  he  desired  to 
get  possession  of  Lisbon  or  Oporto,  the  aid  of  the 
French  would  be  indispensable.  The  enterprise, 
now  a  simple  ostentatious  display,  would  then  be- 
come a  serious  affair,  and  require  another  body  of 
French  troops.  Foreseeing  this  necessity,  the  first 
consul  had  spontaneously  made  ten  thousand  men 
in  addition  march  u|ion  Spain,  which  increased 
the  total  number  to  twenty-five  thousand.  But 
the  prince  of  the  peace,  who  needlessly  demanded 
this  auxiliary  aid,  was  now  alarmed  at  what  he 
had  done,  when  he  saw  the  troops  arrive.  Still 
they  had  preserved  the  most  exact  discipline,  and 
shown  towards  the  clergy,  the  churches,  and  the 
ceremonies  of  public  worship,  a  respect  which  was 
by  no  means  among  them  a  common  occurrence; 
Bonaparte  alone  had  been  able  to  inspire  them  with 
such  a  course  of  conduct.  But  now  they  were 
really  on  the  soil  of  Spain,  the  people  were  ridicu- 
lou.sly  al.armed  at  seeing  them.  Either  Spain 
si)ould  have  abstained  from  inviting  them  there, 
or  having  invited  them  herself,  she  should  have 
employed  them  in  the  object  for  which  they  came. 
Tills  object  could  not  have  been  merely  the  dis- 
persion of  a  few  bands  of  Portuguese,  to  obtain 
some  millions  in  a  contribution,  or  even  to  .shut  the 
ports  of  Portugal  against  the  English.  It  evidently 
consisted  in  obtaining  valuable  pledges,  wiiieh 
might  serve  to  force  from  England  tlie  restitutions 
which  she  would  not  otherwise  make.  In  order  to 
do  that  it  was  necessary  to  occiii)y  some  of  the 
provinces  of  Portugal,  particularly  that  of  which 
Oporto  was  the  capital.  This  was  the  surest  means 
to  influence  the  British  cabinet,  by  influencing  the 
great  city  merchants  too,  who    wei'e  deeply  con- 


1801.       Treaty  hastily  signed  between 
Aug.  France,  Spain,  and  Portugal. 


THE  GExNERAL  PEACE. 


Anger  of  the  first  consul. 


273 


cerneil  in  the  Oporto  trade.  Thus  it  was  ;  the 
matter  had  been  previously  arranged  in  ^ludrid 
between  the  governments  of  Fniuce  and  Spain. 
Still,  despite  all  which  had  been  stipulated,  the 
prince  of  the  peace  determined  to  accept  the  con- 
ditions of  Portugal,  and  to  be  satisfied  on  behalf  of 
Spain  with  the  cession  of  01iven9a,  a  fortified 
place,  adding  a  contribution  of  30,000,000  f.  or 
40,000,000  f.  to  be  paid  to  France,  and  for  the  two 
allied  powers  the  exclusion  of  all  English  vessels 
of  war  and  commerce.  For  such  stipulations  the 
campaign  thus  begun  was  perfectly  childish.  It 
wjis  no  more  than  idling  away  time  ;  a  thing  got  up 
to  amuse  a  favourite  overloaded  with  royal  boun- 
ties, and  seeking  military  glory  in  the  most  ridicu- 
lous mode  possible,  C(imi)letcly  on  a  level  with  his 
own  culpable  and  foolish  levity. 

The  prince  of-  the  peace  awakened  in  the  breast 
of  his  royal  superiors  paternal  feelings  not  difficult 
to  e.xcite.  But  it  must  be  said  they  were  e.\cited 
too  late  or  too  soon.  He  contrived  to  fill  their 
bosoms  with  alarm  at  the  presence  of  the  French  ; 
an  alarm  tardily  experienced,  and  in  evei-y  view 
wholly  groundless.  It  was  impossible  to  be  sup- 
posed by  any  human  being  that  fifteen  thousand 
Frenchmen  could  conquer  Spain,  Or  protract  their  j 
stay  thei'e  in  a  mode  to  create  uneasiness.  To 
suppose  such  an  intention  was  to  su|)pose  that,  of 
which  the  minutest  germ  never  entered  into  the 
iiead  of  the  first  consul  ;  it  had  nothing  to  do  with 
projects  conceived  at  a  later  period,  subsequently 
to  events  wholly  unparalleled,  which  at  this  time 
neither  the  first  consul  nor  any  one  else  could 
foresee.  At  this  moment  he  thought  of  one  thing 
only,  which  was  to  extort  from  England  another 
island,  and  that  island  a  .Spanish  c<>lony. 

In  accepting  the  conditions  proposed  by  the 
court  of  Lisbon,  which  c<insisted  merely  of  the 
cession  of  Oliven(;a  to  Spain,  20,000,000  f.  to 
France,  and  the  exclusion  of  the  English  from  the 
Spanish  ports,  care  had  been  taken  to  provide  two 
copies,  one  to  be  signed  by  Spain,  and  the  other  by 
France.  The  prince  of  the  i>eace  affixed  his  sig- 
nature to  that  destined  for  his  own  court,  wliich 
was  dated  from  Badajoz,  because  all  the  affair 
had  been  completed  in  that  city.  He  then  |)ro- 
cured  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  by  the  king, 
who  was  on  the  spot  Lucien  Bonaparte  signed 
on  his  part  the  copy  that  wiis  destined  for  France, 
and  sent  it  away  immediately  to  receive  his 
brother's  ratification. 

The  first  consul  received  the  communication  at 
the  moment  when  the  negotiations  of  London  were 
in  their  most  rxcited  state  of  discussion.  The  irri- 
tation which  th<.-y  caused  him  it  is  not  difficult  to 
conceive.  Though  his  natural  affection  for  his 
family  was  cinied  at  times  to  weakness,  he  iiad  a 
less  command  over  his  temper  with  his  relations 
than  with  other  persons  ;  and  most  assuredly 
if  he  liad  cause  for  an{rer  he  might  be  pardoned 
for  its  exhibition  upon  the  present  occasion.  In 
this  particular  instance  he  bmkeout  into  a  jjassion 
almost  without  bounds  at  the  conduct  of  his  brother 
Lucien. 

But  the  first  consul  hoped  that  the  treaty  might 
not  yet  hi;  ratified,  ami  sent  oK  extraordinary 
c<>\iri(.rs  to  lladajoz  to  announce  the  refusal  of  the 
ratification  by  France,  and  to  intimate  the  fact  to 
Spain.     But  "the  couriers  found  the  treaty  ratified 


by  Charles  IV.,  and  the  engagement  became  irre- 
vocable. Lucien  was  mortified  and  confounded  at 
the  embarrassing  and  humiliating  character  re- 
served for  him  to  play  in  Spain.  His  brother's 
anger  he  answered  by  an  access  of  ill-humour, 
which  was  not  uncommon  with  him,  and  he  sent  in 
his  resignation  to  the  minister  for  foreign  affairs. 
On  his  side  the  prince  of  the  peace  became  arro- 
gant, and  allowed  himself  the  use  of  language 
which  was  senseless  and  ridiculous  towards  such  a 
man  as  at  that  time  governed  France.  He  first 
announced  that  all  hostilities  against  Portugal  had 
terminated,  and  then  dem.mded  the  withdrawal  of 
the  French  troojis;  adding,  that  if  fresh  forces 
passed  over  the  frontier  of  the  Pyrenees,  their 
passage  would  be  considered  a  violation  of  the 
Spanish  territory.  He  demanded  further  the  re- 
turn of  the  Spanish  fleet  blockaded  in  Brest,  and 
an  early  conclusion  of  a  general  peace,  in  order  to 
]iut  a  stop  as  soon  as  possible  to  an  alliance  that 
was  bectmie  burdensome  to  the  court  of  Madrid '. 
This  conduct  was  highly  improper, and  contrary  to 
the  true  interests  of  Spain.  It  must  be  observed, 
on  the  other  hand,  that  the  frightful  misfortime 
which  had  befallen  the  two  Spanish  ships  had 
struck  the  nation  with  grief,  and  contributed  to  the 
angry  bearing  that  manifested  itself  in  a  manner 
at  once  so  intemperate,  and  so  adverse  to  the 
interests  of  both  caliiuets. 

The  first  consul,  in  the  highest  state  of  irritation, 
replied  instantly,  that  the  French  should  remain 
in  the  peninsula  until  peace  was  concluded  be- 
tween Portugal  and  France  in  particular ;  that  if 
the  army  of  the  prince  of  the  peace  made  a  single 
step  of  approach  to  the  fifteen  thousand  French 
who  were  stationed  at  Salamanca,  he  would  con- 
sider it  as  a  declaration  of  war  ;  and  that  if  in 
addition  to  unbecoming  language,  they  added 
any  act  of  hostility,  the  last  knell  of  the  Spanish 
monarchy  should  sound  2.     He  oi-dored  Lucien  to 

1  Note  of  July  26th. 

2  The  first  consul  wrote  short  and  animated  notes,  de- 
signed to  furnish  the  leading  ideas  of  the  instructions  he 
intended  for  his  ministers,  when  they  transmitted  orders  to 
the  ambassadors  abroad.  The  following  is  a  note  sent  to  the 
office  for  foreign  affairs,  to  serve  for  the  ground  of  a  despatch 
which  was  to  be  fiirwar(l?d  to  Madrid.  Talleyrand,  who  had 
gone  to  take  the  waters,  had  bt«.n  replaced  by  M.  Caillard : — 

"To  the  minister  for  foreign  affairs. 

"21  Me^sldor,  year  ix.,  or  10th  July,  ISOl. 

"  Make  known,  citizen  minister,  to  the  ambassador  of  the 
republic  at  Madrid,  that  he  is  to  repair  to  that  court,  and  to 
assume  the  character  necessary  under  the  circumstances, 
lie  will  state— 

"  That  I  have  read  the  note  of  the  general  prince  of  the 
peace;  that  it  is  so  ridiculous,  it  does  not  merit  a  sorious 
answer;  but  that  if  ihia  prince,  bought  over  by  Kn^land, 
itiduces  the  king  and  queen  to  take  measures  contriiiy  to 
the  honour  and  to  the  interests  of  the  republic,  the  lust 
knell  of  the  Spanish  monarchy  lias  sounded. 

"That  my  intention  is,  that  the  French  troops  shall  re- 
main in  Spain  un'il  the  moment  when  the  republic  hat 
made  peace  witli  Portugal. 

"  That  the  least  movement  of  the  Spanish  troops  with  the 
object  of  approaching  nearer  to  the  French  forces,  will  be 
considered  as  a  declaration  of  war. 

"  That  still  I  desire  to  do  all  that  is  possible  to  reconcile 
the  interests  of  the  republic  with  the  conduct  niul-  inclina- 
tions of  his  catholic  majesty.  IT''"' 
T 


274       Correspondence  relative      THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


to  the  Spanish  treaty.         ]^'"' 


return  to  Madrid,  there  to  await  ulterior  orders  in 
his  character  of  ambassador.  This  was  enough  to 
intimidate  and  restrain  the  worthless  courtier,  who 
with  so  much  recklessness  compromised  the  most 
important  interests  in  the  world.  Soon  afterwards 
he  wrote  most  cringing  letters  in  order  to  be  agam 
regaidod  with  favour  by  the  man  whose  influence 
and  authority  over  the  court  of  Spain  he  so  much 
feared.  .  . 

Still  it  was  necessary  to  take  some  decisive 
course  in  consequence  of  this  strange  and  un- 
accountable conduct  on  the  part  of  the  cabinet  of 
Madrid.  Talleyrand  was  at  the  moment  absent 
on  account  of  ill  health,  having  gone  to  take  the 
waters.  The  first  consul  sent  him  all  the  papers 
which  had  passed,  and  received  in  reply  a  sen- 
sible letter  containing  his  opinion  upon  this  very 
serious  matter. 

In  the  opinion  of  Talleyrand  a  paper  war  would 
produce  no  satisfactory  conclusion  of  the  difference, 
however  triumphant  might  be  the  arguments  ad- 
duced on  the  side  of  France,  grounded  upon  the 
engagements  so  plainly  laid  down  and  the  promises 
mutually  entered  into.  A  war  against  Spain  would 
postpone  tlie  desirable  object  of  a  European  peace; 
it  was  besides  at  utter  variance  witli  the  sound 
policy   of   France,   and   ridiculous  in  the  present 


"That  come  -what  may,   I  will    never  consent  to  the 
I    articles  3  and  G. 

I       "  That  I  do  not  object  to  the  negotiations  being  renewed 
'    between  M.  Pinto  and  the  ambassador  of  tlie  republic,  with 
a  proto'  ol  of  the  negotiations  drawn  up  day  by  day. 

"  Tliat  the  ambassador  must  endeavour  to  make  the 
prince  of  tlie  peace  clearly  comprehend,  and  the  king  and 
queen  as  will,  that  words  and  offensive  notes,  where  friend- 
ship subsists  to  the  extent  it  does  between  us,  may  be  passed 
by  as  mfie  family  differences;  but  that  the  smallest  act,  or 
the  least  demonstration,  will  be  without  a  remedy. 

"  That  in  respect  lo  the  king  of  Etruria,  a  minister  was 

tendfretl  to  liim  on  account  of  his  having  no  one  near  him  ; 

and  to  govern  men,  some  knowledge  is  necessary.     That  in 

the  hope  ho  will  find  at  Parma  men  capable  of  advising  him, 

I   I  do  not  longer  insist  upon  that  point. 

"  That  relative  to  the  French  troops  in  Tuscany,  it  is 
proper  to  let  them  remain  there  for  two  or  three  months, 
until  the  king  of  Etruria  can  himself  organize  his  army. 

"  Tliat  state  atfairs  can  be  carried  on  without  falling  into 
excitement;  and  that  in  other  respects,  my  wishes  to  do 
something  agreeable  to  the  court  of  Spain  wou'd  be  ill  re- 
turned, if  the  king  suffered  the  corrupting  gold  of  England, 
at  the  moment  when,  after  so  much  toil  and  anxiety,  we  are 
about  entering  the  port,  to  disunite  two  great  nations  ;  that 
the  consequences  must  be  fatal  and  terrible. 

"  That  at  this  moment,  less  precipitation  in  making  peace 
■with  Portugal,  would  have  been  the  means  of  accelerating 
very  considerably  a  peace  with  England,  &c. 

"  You  know  the  cabinet;  you  will  therefore  say  in  your 
despatch  every  thing  that  may  serve  to  gain  time,  to  hinder 
precipitating  measures,  to  procure  a  renewal  of  the  negotia- 
tion, and,  at  the  same  time,  to  produce  an  effect,  by  placing 
in  their  view  the  serious  state  of  the  affair,  and  the  inevitable 
consequences  of  inconsiderate  proceedings. 

"  Make  the  ambassador  of  the  republic  understand,  that 
if  Portugal  would  consent  to  leave  the  province  of  Alentcjo 
in  the  hands  of  Spain  until  the  peace,  that  would  be  a  mezzo 
(ermine,  l)ecause  by  that  means  Spain  would  s^c  that  the 
preliminary  treaty  was  executed  to  the  letter. 

"  I  would  as  soon  accept  of  nothing  as  15,000,000  f.  in 
fifteen  rr.oiiths. 

"  Despatch  the  courier  whom  I  send  you  with  this  directly 
to  Madrid.  IJonapakte." 


pitiable  state  of  the  Spanish  monarchy,  with  the 
French  troops  in  the  lieart  of  Spain,  and  her  fleet 
at  Brest.  That  there  was  a  much  better  mode  of 
punishing  her,  wliich  would  be  to  concede  the 
island  of  Trinidad  to  England,  the  sole  and  last 
difficulty  through  which  the  peace  of  the  world 
had  been  withheld.  Spain  had  clearly  absolved 
France  from  all  obligation  to  her  or  devotion  to 
her  interests.  In  this  case  we  must  lose  time  in 
Madrid  and  gain  it  in  London,  accelerating  the 
negotiation  with  England  by  the  cession  of  Trini- 
dad \ 

1  The  following  is  the  curious  letter  of  Talleyrand  :— 

"  20th  Messidor,  year  ix.,  or  9th  of  July,  ISOl. 
"  General — I  have  read  with  all  the  attention  of  which 
I  am  capable  the  letters  from  Spain.  If  we  desired  to  make 
it  a  matter  of  controversial  dispute,  it  is  very  easy  for  us  to 
prove  we  are  in  the  right,  simply  by  referring  to  the  literal 
meaning  of  three  or  four  treaties  which  we  have  this  year 
entered  into  with  that  power ;  for  these  documents  would 
establish  our  case  de  factum*.  We  must  try  whether  this 
is  not  a  favourable  moment  for  the  adoption  of  some  defini- 
tive plan  respecting  the  conduct  of  this  our  shabby  ally. 

"  I  start  with  the  following  data:  Spain,  to  quote  her  own 
words,  has  made  an  hypocriiical  war  against  Portugal ;  she 
desires  to  make  a  peace  definitively.  The  prince  of  the  peace 
is,  by  what  we  learn,— and  I  can  readily  credit, — carrying  on 
conferences  with  England;  the  directory  thought  he  was 
bought  over  by  that  power.  The  king  and  queen  are  wholly 
dependent  upon  the  prince's  will.  He  was  before  only  a 
favourite ;  now,  in  their  opinion,  he  is  a  perfect  statesman, 
and  a  great  military  character.  Lucien  is  in  an  embarrass- 
ing position,  from  which  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  free 
him.  The  prince  makes  a  clever  use  of  the  words :  '  The 
king  has  decided  to  viake  war  upon  his  children.^  This  mode 
of  expression  will  produce  an  effect  upon  public  opinion.  A 
rupture  with  Spain  is  a  ridiculous  threat  when  we  have  her 
vessels  in  Brest,  and  our  troops  in  the  heart  of  the  kingdom. 
It  seems  to  me  that  such  is  our  position  with  Spain ;  that 
granted,  then,  what  are  we  to  do? 

"  At  this  moment  I  feel  that,  for  the  last  two  years,  I 
have  not  been  accustomed  to  think  by  myself ;  and  being  no 
longer  with  you,  my  judgment  and  imagination  are  without 
any  guidance.  Thus  I  am  probably  about  to  write  poor 
stuff;  but  it  is  not  my  fault;  I  am  no  longer  perfectly  myself 
when  I  am  apart  from  you. 

"  It  appears  to  me  that  Spain,  upon  the  conclusion  of 
every  peace,  has  been  a  weight  upon  the  cabinet  of  Ver- 
sailles, through  her  enormous  pretensions ;  she  has  in  the 
present  instance  greatly  relieved  us.  She  has  herself  di- 
rected how  we  should  proceed  ;  we  are  now  able  to  act  with 
England  as  she  has  acted  about  Portugal.  She  lias  sacrificed  ' 
the  interest  of  her  ally;  which  is  placing  at  our  disposal  the 
island  of  Trinidad  in  the  stipulations  with  England.  If  you 
should  adopt  this  opinion,  the  London  negotiation  must  he 
pushed  onwards,  while  at  Madrid  we  must  have  recourse  to 
diplomacy,  or  rather  to  wrangling,  being  careful  to  maintain 
throughout  all  a  mild  tone  of  discussion,  amid  amicable  ex- 
))lanations;  making  them  easy  respecting  the  position  of  the 
king  of  Tuscany,  and  speaking  only  of  the  interests  of  the 
alliance,  &c.  In  fact,  lose  time  at  Madrid,  and  hurry  it  on- 
wards in  London. 

"  To  change  our  ambassador  under  existing  circum- 
stances would  be  to  attract  an  attention  that  should  be 
avoided,  if  you  would  temporize  as  1  propose.  Why  not 
permit  Lucien  to  pay  a  visit  to  Cadiz,  to  ins|)ect  the  arma- 
ments there,  and  also  in  the  other  ports  ?  During  his  journey 
the  business  with  England  would  proceed.  You  would  not 
allow  England  lo  make  conditions  for  Portugal ;  and  Lucien 

*  Whether  this  be  the  diplomatic  Latin  of  Talleyrand,  or 
the  Franco-Latin  of  the  author,  it  stands  thus  in  the  French 
edition. —  Translalor. 


1801. 
Aug. 


Nelsou's  attack  upon 


THE  GENERAL  PEACE. 


the  Boulogne  flotilla. 


•275 


This  advice  was  grounded  in  sound  reason,  and 
appeared  in  that  Hght  to  tlic  first  consul.  Still, 
deeming  it  a  matter  of  lionour  to  defend  an  ally  as 
long  a-s  possible,  though  that  aily  had  broken  his 
faith,  he  informed  M.  Utto  of  the  new  view  of 
France  i-cspecting  Trinidad,  exhibiting  his  dis- 
position to  sacrifice  that  island,  not  immediately, 
but  only  at  the  last  extremity.  The  first  ct>nsul, 
therefore,  ordered  M.  Otto  again  to  induce  Eng- 
land to  accept  Tobago  if  possible. 

Most  unfortunately  the  strange  conduct  of  the 
prince  of  tiie  peace  had  much  weakened  the  argu- 
ments of  the  French  negotiator  in  London.  News 
recently  received  of  the  surrender  of  general  Bel- 
liard  in  Cairo,  liad  weakened  them  more.  Still 
the  resistance  of  general  Mennu  in  Alexandria, 
supported  a  doubt  favourable  to  French  pretension. 
To  the  flotilla  at  Boulogne  the  honour  was  due 
of  terminating  tjie  difficulties  of  this  protracted 
negotiation. 

Tiie  minds  of  the  people  of  England  had  never 
ceased  to  be  occupied  with  the  naval  preparations 
made  upon  the  shores  of  the  channel.  h\  order 
to  calm  the  public,  the  English  admiralty  had 
recalled  Nelson  from  the  Baltic ',  and  given  him 
the  command  of  the  naval  forces  along  the  coasts. 
These  were  composed  of  frigates,  brigs,  corvettes, 
and  light  vessels  of  cvei'v  dimension.  The  en- 
terprising spirit  of  this  celebrated  English  seaman 
led  him  to  hope,  that  he  should  be  able  to  destroy 
them  by  some  bold  stroke.  On  the  4th  of  August, 
or  loth  of  Tliermidor,  he  appeared,  at  break  of 
day,  before  Boulogne,  with  about  thirty  small 
vessels.  He  hoisted  his  flag  in  the  Medusa  frigate, 
and  took  up  a  position  about  two  miles  from  the 
French  line;  that  is,  out  of  reach  of  our  artillery, 
and  only  within  range  of  our  heavy  mortarfi.  His 
object  was  to  bombard  the  flotilla.  This  flotilla 
had  for  its  commander  a  brave  seaman,  full  of  the 
natin-al  genius  and  ardour  for  war,  and  destined, 
if  he  had  lived,  to  rise  to  the  highest  honours  in 
his  jirolession ;  this  was  the  admiriil  Latouche- 
Trcville.  lie  exercised  the  gnu-boats  evci'y  day, 
and  accustomed  our  soldiers  and  seamen  to  em- 
bark and  disembark  at  a  moment's  notice,  with 
celerity  and  precision.  Ou  the  4tli,  the  French 
flotilla  was  formed  in  three  divisions,  in  a  single 
line,  at  anchor,  i)arallel  with  the  shore,  from  which 
it  was  distant  about  five  hundred  fathoms.  It 
was  composed  of  large  gun-boats,  supported  at 
intervals  by  brigs.      Tliree  battidions  of  infantry 

would  be  ill  Macliid  in  timt  suflkient  to  treat  deliiiilivoly  of 
the  pence  with  her. 

"  I  fcir,  gtnexhl,  that  you  will  (ind  my  opinion  smills  not 
a  little  or  the  shower-baths  and  waters  which  I  take  with 
Rfcat  recMlarity.  In  seventeen  days  I  am  certain  to  be  in 
better  health,  and  shall  then  l>e  most  happy  to  renew  to  you 
the  assurance  of  my  respect  and  attachment. 

"  Ch.  MaUH.  TALLEVnAND." 

'  Nelson  was  not  recalled  for  this  purpose ;  he  came  home 
with  part  of  the  llaliic  fleet,  in  ronsequencu  of  their  pre- 
sence bcmK  no  Ioiik'T  required  in  the  north.  Sweden  linviii); 
admitted  ICnxiish  vessels,  and  proclalined  all  hostile  fetliii}; 
to  have  ceased,  on  the  20th  of  May,  two  or  three  weeks 
aflerwards  the  Khijis  returned.  The  first  boinbardment  of 
the  Houlo;;ne  flotilla  wax  on  the  4th  of  AiiKUkt,  when  several 
were  defctmyed.  "  The  whole  of  //;<!  affair,"  caid  XeUon, 
"  II  of  nn  further  contequcncr  Ihan  In  tlmw  Ihe  tnrmif  Ihrij 
cannot  with  impunilij  come  oiiltiite  their  jiurtt." — Tramlalor. 


were  embarked  in  these  vessels,  to  second  the 
bravery  of  our  seamen. 

Nelson  arranged  a  division  of  bomb-vessels  in 
front  of  his  squadron, and  opened  his  fire  about  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  He  hoped,  by  showering 
his  bombs,  to  destroy  the  flotilla,  or,  at  least,  Oblige 
the  boats  to  enter  the  port.  Ho  threw  an  amazing 
quantity  during  the  eiitiro  day.  These  projectiles, 
thrown  from  heavy  mortars,  passed,  for  the  most 
part,  over  the  French  line,  and  fell  harmless  upon 
the  sands.  The  French  soldiers  and  seamen,  im- 
moveable under  this  incessant  fire,  which  was 
more  alarming  than  dangerous  to  life,  showed 
wonderful  coolness,  and  nmch  gaiety  of  spirit. 
Unfortunately,  they  had  no  means  of  returning  the 
fire.  The  bomb-vessels,  built  in  a  hurry,  could 
not  resist  the  recoil  of  the  mortars,  only  firing 
some  ill-directed  shots.  The  powder,  taken  from 
the  old  stores  in  the  ai'senals,  was  destitute  of 
strength,  and  did  not  send  the  projectiles  the 
proper  distance.  The  crews  eagerly  desired  that 
they  might  be  allowed  to  advance  within  gun- 
shot, or  to  board  the  enemy.  But  the  gun-boats, 
awkwardly  built,  without  the  experience  exhibited 
at  a  later  period  in  their  construction,  were  not 
easily  manoeuvred,  with  the  wind,  at  that  moment, 
blowing  from  the  north-west.  They  would  have 
thus  been  driven,  by  wind  and  current,  upon  the 
English  line,  and  obliged,  in  order  to  rejoin  the 
coast,  to  present  their  sides  to  the  enemy,  when 
the  guns  were  placed  in  their  bows.  They  were, 
therefore,  obliged  to  remain  under  this  shower  of 
projectiles  for  sixteen  hours.  The  troops  and  sea- 
men bore  it  all  courageously,  and  laughed  at  the 
shells  that  passed  over  their  heads.  The  brave 
commandant,  Latouche-Treville,  was  in  the  middle 
of  them,  with  colonel  Savary,  the  aid-de-camp  of 
the  first  consul.  Thousands  of  shells  were  thrown 
among  them,  and,  by  a  sort  of  miracle,  no  one  was 
seriously  wounded.  Two  of  the  boats  were  sunk, 
without  losing  a  man.  One  gun-boat,  the  jNIe'chante, 
commanded  by  captain  Margoli,  was  shot  through 
in  the  middle.  This  brave  oflicer  put  his  crew  on 
board  the  other  boats,  and  then,  keeping  two 
sailors  with  him,  made  for  the  land  as  she  was 
sinking,  and  ran  her  on  shore,  before  that  event 
could  occur. 

The  English,  in  spite  of  the  di.sadvantage  of  the 
French  position  and  the  bad  quality  of  their  ])ow- 
der,  had  suffered  more  than  the  French.  They 
had  three  or  four  men  killed  or  wounded,  by  the 
explosion  of  the  French  shells  '. 

Nelson  retired,  threatening  to  return  in  a  few 
days  with  more  certain  nteans  of  destruction.  He 
was  accordingly  expected  to  rc-a])pear,  aiul  the 
Fi-ench  admiral  prepared  to  give  him  a  warm  re- 
ception. He  reinforced  the  lino,  ])rovided  the 
best  ammunition,  animated  the  soldiers  and  sailors, 
who,  besides,  were  full  of  ardour,  and  cpiitc  proud 
of  having  braved  the  English  upon  their  own  ele- 
ment. Three  picketl  battalions,  selected  from  the 
4(»lh,  57th,  and  l()»th  demi-brigades,  were  placed 
on  board  the  flotilla,  to  serve  in  the  same  manner 
as  ill  the  battle  of  the  4tli. 

Twelve    days  after,  ou  the   Kith  of  August,   or 

'  Captain  Fyers,  of  the  royal  artillery,  was  very  slightly 
wounded,  as  well  as  two  seamen,  by  the  bursting  of  a  shell. 
There  was  no  other  casualty.— yV"n»'a/or.  , 
t2 


276   Nelson's  second  attack  upon     THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.        the  Boulogne  flotilla. 


1801. 
Aug. 


28th  Thermidor,  Nelson  made  his  appearance  with 
a  naval  division,  much  more  considerable  than  the 
former.  Every  thin";  indicated  his  intention  to 
make  a  serious  attack  by  boarding  ;  tlie  French 
desired  nothing  better. 

Nelson  had  thirty -five  vessels,  many  boats,  and 
two  thousand  chosen  men.  About  sunset  he  ai-- 
ranged  his  boats  around  the  jMedusa,  distributed 
his  men,  and  gave  the  necessary  instructions. 
These  boats,  manned  by  English  marines,  -were, 
during  the  night,  to  advance  under  oars,  and  make 
themselves  masters  of  our  line  by  boai-ding.  They 
were  formed  into  four  divisions.  A  fifth,  com- 
posed of  bomb-vessels,  was  to  be  stationed,  not  in 
front  of  the  French  flotilla,  as  before,  a  position 
which  showed  such  little  execution  during  the 
bombardment  of  the  4tli  of  August,  but  on  one 
side  of  the  flotilla,  in  order  to  attack  it  in  flank. 

About  midnight,  these  four  divisions,  commanded 
by  four  intrepid  officers, — captains  Somerville, 
Parker,  Cotgrave,  and  Jones, —  pulled  rapidly 
towards  the  slioi-e  at  Boulogne.  A  small  Frencli 
vessel,  manned  by  eight  hands  only,  had  been  left 
as  an  advanced  post.  She  was  surrounded  and 
boarded;  the  sound  of  her  musketry, as  she  bravely 
defended  herself  before  she  submitted,  served  to 
give  notice  of  the  presence  of  the  enemy. 

The  four  Englisli  divisions  approached  as  fast  as 
their  oars  could  pull.  As  soon  as  they  were  per- 
ceptible, a  fire  of  musketry  and  grape  was  opened 
upon  them.  The  division  that  came  foremost  was 
taken  away  to  the  eastward  by  the  tide,  out  of  its 
course,  and  beyond  the  right  wing,  which  it  was 
designed  to  attack.  The  two  divisions  of  the 
centre,  under  captains  Parker  and  Cotgrave,  row- 
ing at  once  agai.ist  the  iui(klle  of  the  line  of  de- 
fence, were  tlie  first  to  reach  it,  about  one  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  and  they  attacked  it  maniully. 
Tiie  division  of  cajitain  Parker,  after  exchanging 
a  sliarp  fire  with  the  French  line,  attacked  one  of 
tlie  large  brigs,  wliicli  had  been  stationed  among 
the  boats  to  support  them.  This  was  the  brig 
Etna,  under  the  command  of  captain  Pevrieu. 
Six  boats  surrounded  Iter,  with  the  intenti(jn  of 
taking  her  by  boarding.  The  English  boldly 
mounted  her  sides,  headed  by  tlieir  officers,  and 
were  received  by  two  hundred  infantry  soldiers, 
and  driven  into  the  sea  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet. 
The  brave  captain  Pevrieu,  having  engaged,  in 
succession,  with  two  English  sailors,  killed  them 
both,  altliougli  wounded,  first  with  a  poignard,  and 
then  with  a  pike.  In  a  short  time,  the  attacking 
party  wci-e  thrown  overboard,  and  a  fire  com- 
menced upon  the  boats,  which  killed  the  greater 
number  of  those  who  were  in  them.  The  French 
boats  resisted,  with  the  same  courage,  those  who 
attacked  them,  with  bayonets  and  axes.  A  short 
way  off,  the  division  of  captain  Cotgrave  bravely 
attacked  the  French  line  without  success.  A  large 
gun-boat,  the  Surprise,  surrounded  by  four  English 
boats,  sunk  the  foremost,  took  the  second,  and 
obliged  the  others  to  retreat.  The  soldiers  rivalled 
the  sailors  in  this  manner  of  fighting,  so  well  suited 
to  tlieir  lively  and  audacious  characters. 

While  the  second  and  third  English  divisions 
were  thus  received,  the  first,  which  liad  attempted 
the  assault  on  the  right  of  the  French,  carried 
away  to  the  eastward  by  the  tide,  could  not  get 
to  the  scene  of  action  until  a  very  late   period. 


IMaking  every  eff'ort  to  get  from  the  east  towards 
the  west,  it  seemed  to  threaten  the  extremity  of 
the  French  line  of  defence,  and  to  be  endeavouring 
to  get  between  the  land  and  the  French  vessels, 
a  very  common  manoeuvre  of  the  English.  This 
was,  in  the  present  case,  rather  an  eft'ect  of  their 
position  than  of  their  calculation.  Some  detach- 
ments of  the  lOlJtli,  posted  along  the  shore,  opened 
upon  them  a  very  effective  fire.  The  English 
seamen,  not  at  all  discouraged,  attacked  the  Vol- 
cano gun-boat,  which  pi-otected  the  left  of  the 
French  line.  The  ensign  commanding  it,  whose 
name  was  Gue'roult,  an  officer  full  of  courage,  met 
the  boarders,  at  the  head  of  his  sailors  and 
some  infantry  soldiers.  He  had  an  obstinate 
combat  to  sustain.  While  he  was  defending  hhn- 
self  on  the  deck  of  his  boat,  the  English,  who  were 
around  her,  endeavoured  to  cut  her  cable,  and 
carry  away  the  boat  itself.  Fortunately,  it  was 
moored  with  a  chain,  which  resisted  every  effort 
to  break  it.  The  firing  kept  up  from  the  shore 
and  the  other  French  boats  upon  the  English, 
obliged  to  them  quit  her.  This  attack  was  suc- 
cessfully repelled,  as  well  as  those  upon  the  two 
other  points. 

Tlie  day  broke  ;  the  fourth  division  of  the  enemy 
wiiich  had  been  designed  to  attack  the  French  left, 
having  to  make  a  considerable  way  to  the  westward 
in  spite  of  the  tide,  which  ran  in  the  opposite 
direction,  did  not  arrive  in  time.  The  bomb  ves- 
sels of  Nelson,  thanks  to  the  darkness  of  the  night, 
did  not  do  much  mischief.  The  English  were 
every  where  repulsed  ;  the  sea  was  covered  with 
their  dead  bodies,  and  a  considerable  number  of 
their  boats  were  taken  or  sunk'.  Daylight  be- 
coming stronger  rendered  their  retreat  necessarj'. 
They  retired  about  four  o'chjck  in  the  morning. 
The  sun  arose  to  lighten  up  their  flight.  This 
time  it  was  not  an  unsuccessful  attempt,  but  a  posi- 
tive defeat. 

The  crew  were  delighted.  The  French  had  not 
lost  many  men,  and  the  English,  on  the  contrary, 
had  suffered  considerably.  That  which  added  still 
more  to  the  joy  occasioned  by  this  brilliant  action 
was,  that  they  had  beaten  Nelson  in  person,  and 
had  rendered  vain  all  the  menaces  of  destruction 
which  he  had  publicly  promulgated  against  the 
French  flotilla. 

The  conti-ary  effect  was  produced  on  the  other 
side  of  the  channel.  Although  this  combat  with 
the  French  vessels  at  anchor  did  not  prove  what  a 
similar  flotilla  would  be  able  to  do  on  the  sea  wlien 
it  had  (in  board  one  hundred  thousand  men,  still 
the  confidence  of  the  English  in  the  enterprising 
genius  of  Nelson  was  greatly  diminished,  and  the 
unknown  danger  which  threatened  them  alarmed 
them  in  a  still  greater  degree. 

But  the  vicissitudes  of  the  most  important  nego- 

'  On  the  '..5th,  Nelson,  thinking  he  could  cut  outa  numhcr 
of  the  Ilotilla,  made  a  serious  attack.  The  French  were  ap- 
prized of  his  intention.  They  had  used  cliains  in  place  of 
rope  for  moorings,  which  could  not  be  cut,  and  filled  the  boats 
with  soldiers,  as  well  as  lined  the  shore  close  to  which  the 
boats  lay,  who  fired  upon  the  English  boats,  and  often  into 
their  own  ve>sels.  The  English  were  repulsed,  and  lost  44 
killed  and  128  wounded,  bringing  away  only  IG  soldiers  and 
seamen  and  a  lieutenant  made  prisoners.  One  boat  in  a 
sinking  state  was  abandoned,  from  the  leakage  owing  to 
the  shot-holes. — Translator. 


[ 


Nesotiztions  resumed.- 
Trinidad  given  up. 


THE  GENERAL  PEACE. 


Preliminaries  of  the  treaty  of 
peace. 


277 


tiation  between  tlie  two  nations  began  to  approach 
their  limit.  Bein;;  decided  by  the  conduct  of  the 
Spanish  cabinet,  the  first  consul  ordered  M.  Otto 
to  !;ive  up  Trinidad.  This  concession  and  the  two 
engagements  ofF  Boulogne  concluded  the  hesitation 
of  the  Britinh  cabinet.  It  consented  to  the  pro- 
posed bases,  with  the  exception  of  some  difficulties 
in  detail  which  yet  remained  to  be  overcome.  The 
English  cabinet,  in  giving  up  Malta  to  the  order  of 
St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  sti])ulated  that  the  islaml 
should  be  placed  under  the  jjrotection  of  some 
power  which  should  secure  its  independence  ;  be- 
cause they  had  very  little  belief  in  the  power  of 
the  order  of  St.  John  to  defend  it,  even  if  the 
knights  were  successful  in  reestablishing  them- 
selves. They  did  not  agree  with  France  as  to 
wiiat  state  .should  be  the  power  having  this 
guarantee.  The  pope,  Naples,  and  Russia,  had 
been  successively  proposed,  and  rejected.  In  the 
last  place,  the  drawing  up  of  the  words  of  the 
treaty  exhibited  some  difficulty.  As  the  effect  of 
the  treaty  upon  public  oi)inion  would  naturally  be 
eonsidenible  in  lioth  countries,  upon  both  sides 
there  was  as  nmch  attention  to  be  given  to  the 
appearance  as  to  the  reality.  England  made  no 
objection  to  enumerate  in  the  treaty  the  numerous 
possessions  which  she  restored  to  France  and  its 
allies,  but  at  the  same  time  desired  that  those  she 
had  definitively  acquired  should  be  stated  also. 
This  wiis  a  just  demand,  more  so  than  that  of  the 
first  consul,  who  wished  that  the  objects  restored  to 
Holland,  France,  and  Spain,  should  be  enumerated, 
and  that  the  silence  which  should  be  kept  in  regard 
to  the  others  should  be  for  England  the  only  man- 
ner of  her  acquiring  a  title  to  them. 

Besides  these  difierences,  not  very  important  in 
reality,  there  were  othei-s  accessary,  relative  to 
])risoners,  to  debts,  sequestrations,  and  more  par- 
ticularly to  the  allies  of  the  two  contracting  parties, 
and  the  character  they  should  assign  to  them  in 
the  protocol.  Nevertheless  it  was  necessary  for 
the  negotiators  to  conclude  the  matter,  and  thus 
])ut  an  end  to  the  anxieties  of  the  world  at  large. 
On  one  side  the  English  cabinet  wished  to  bring 
the  affair  to  a  conclusion  before  the  meeting  of 
parliament  ;  on  the  other,  the  first  consul  feared 
every  moment  to  hear  of  the  surrender  of  Alex- 
andria, because  the  prolonged  resistance  of  that 
place  still  left  open  a  doubt  which  was  useful  to 
the  negotiation.  Impatient  for  great  results,  he 
longed  for  the  day  when  he  should  be  able  to  make 
F"rance  listen  to  words  so  novel,  so  magical,  not  of 
peace  with  Austria,  with  Pru.ssia,  or  Russia,  but  of 
a  general  peace  with  all  the  world. 

In  consequence  it  was  agreed  to  secure  im- 
mediately the  great  results  already  olitained,  and 
to  leave  to  an  ulterior  negotiation  any  difficulties  of 
detail  and  form.  To  this  end  it  was  agreed  at 
once  to  draw  up  the  preliminaries  of  peace,  and  to  j 
sign  them  immediately  afterw.irds,  desiring  the 
pleni[)otentiarit  s  to  embody  a  ddinitivo  treaty  at 
leisure.  Every  difficulty,  not  of  a  fundamental 
character,  the  settlement  of  which  might  cause 
delay,  was  to  be  left  for  arrangement  under  the  de- 
finitive treaty.  In  order  to  be  more  certain  of  all 
being  quickly  finished,  the  first  consul  wished  to 
confine  the  negotiation  to  a  fixed  period.  It  wan 
then  the  middle  of  Frmtidor,  the  year  ix.,  or  the 
middle  of  September,   IHOl  ;  he  gave   them  until 


the  2nd  of  October,  or  10th  of  Vendcmiaire,  year 
IX.  At  the  end  of  that  term  he  said  he  was'  re- 
solved to  avail  himself  of  the  fogs  of  autunm  in  aid 
of  his  designs  against  the  coasts  of  Ireland  and 
England.  This  was  uttered  with  all  the  regard  due 
to  the  feelings  of  a  great  and  jiroud  nation,  but  with 
that  peremptox'y  tone  which  left  no  doubt  of  the 
intention. 

The  two  negotiators,  M,  Otto  and  lord  Hawkes- 
bury,  were  sincere  men,  and  really  wislied  for 
peace.  They  not  only  wished  it  for  its  own  sake, 
but  also  from  the  ambition,  natural  and  legitimate, 
of  placing  their  names  at  the  bottom  of  one  of  the 
most  renowned  treaties  in  the  history  of  the  world. 
Thus  every  facility  compatible  with  their  in- 
structions was,  on  their  part,  bestowed  to  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  preliminaries. 

It  was  agreed  that  England  should  restore  to  | 
France  and  her  allies,  in  other  words,  to  Spain  and  | 
Holland,  all  the  maritime  conquests  she  had  made, 
with  the  exception  of  the  islands  of  Ceylun  and  Trini- 
dad, which  she  had  definitively  acquired. 

Such  was  the  form  adopted  to  conciliate  the  self- 
love  of  the  two  nations.  In  short,  England  re- 
tained the  continent  of  India,  which  she  had  con- 
quered from  the  native  princes;  the  islaiid  of 
Ceylon,  which  she  had  taken  fi-om  the  Dutch,  a 
necessary  apitendagc  to  that  vast  continent  ;  lastly, 
the  isle  of  Trinidad,  taken  from  the  Spaniards  in 
the  West  Indies.  There  was  enough  there  to 
satisfy  the  fullest  national  ambition.  England 
restored  the  Cape,  Demerara,  Berbice,  Essequibo, 
and  Surinam  to  the  Dutch  ;  ISIartiiiique  and  Gua- 
dalou])e  to  the  French  ;  Minorca  to  the  Spaniards  ; 
and  Malta  to  the  order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem. 
As  to  the  last,  the  guaranteeing  power  was  to  be 
designated  in  the  definitive  treaty.  England 
evacuated  Porto  Ferrajo,  which,  with  the  isle  of 
Elba,  was  to  be  restored  to  France.  In  compensa- 
tion for  this  the  French  were  to  evacuate  the  state 
of  Najiles,  in  other  words,  the  gulf  of  Tarentum. 

Egypt  was  to  be  abandoned  by  the  troops  of  botli 
nations,  and  to  be  restored  to  the  Porte.  The  in- 
de))endence  of  Portugal  was  secured. 

Thus  if  (inly  the  great  points  arc  considered, 
putting  aside  all  the  minor  restitutions  so  warmly 
disputed,  and  yet  neither  diniini.shing  nor  augment- 
ing much  the  advantages  obtained,  the  following 
may  be  considered  the  result  of  the  treaty.  In 
this  contest  of  ten  years  England  had  acquired  the 
empire  of  India,  without  the  aciiuisiiion  of  Egypt 
by  France  to  counterpoise  it.  But  on  the  other 
hand,  France  had  clnmged  to  her  advantage  the 
face  of  the  European  continent  ;  she  had  conquered 
the  formidable  line  of  the  Al]is  and  of  the  Rhine, 
and  repelled  Austria  from  her  frontiers  by  the  ac- 
(juisition  of  the  Low  countries ;  she  had  snatched 
from  that  power  Italy,  the  object  Austria  con- 
tinutdly  coveted,  and  which  had  now  nearly  all 
j)as.sed  under  French  domination  ;  she  had  by  the 
piinciple  established  by  the  secularization,  con- 
siderably enfeebled  the  inipi  rial  house  in  Gernniny 
to  the  gain  of  the  Injuse  of  Brandenburg ;  she  had 
checked  Ru.ssia  for  her  interference  in  the  afiairs 
of  the  west;  she  was  all  potent  in  Holland,  Swit- 
zerland, Spain,  and  Italy.  No  j)ower  in  the  world 
exercised  an  influence  t([ual  to  hers  ;  and  if  Eng- 
land was  aggrandized  on  the  ocean,  France  had 
still  added  to  her  coasts,  those  of  Holland,  Flan- 


sequences  of  the  peace. 


Great  joy  of  both 
countries. 


1801. 
Oct. 


ders,  Spain,  and  Italy,  countries  completely  under 
lier  influence.  These  were  vast  means  for  the 
attainment  of  maritime  ijower*. 

This  was  all  secured  to  France  by  England, 
when  she  signed  the  preliminaries  of  the  peace  in 
London,  at  the  expense,  it  is  true,  of  the  continent 
of  India.  France  was  hardly  able  to  consent  to 
this  ;  her  allies,  \ve\\  defended  by  her,  recovered 
nearly  all  they  had  lost  by  the  war.  Spain  was 
deprived  of  Trinidad  by  her  own  fault;  but  she 
gained  Olivenfa  in  Portugal,  and  Tuscany  in  Italy. 
Holland  abandoned  Ceylon,  but  she  recovered  her 
colonies  in  India,  the  Cape,  and  the  Guianas  ;  she 
was  delivered  from  the  stadtholder. 

Such  were  the  consequences  of  this  peace,  the 
most  noble  and  most  glorious  for  France  that  her 
annals  can  exhibit.  It  was  but  natural  that  the 
French  negotiator  should  have  been  impatient  to 
complete  the  treaty.  The  30th  of  September  had 
arrived,  and  there  were  still  some  difficulties  in 
drawing  up  the  document.  All  these  were  finally 
overcome;  and  in  the  evening  of  the  1st  of  October, 
the  day  before  that  fixed  by  the  first  consul  as  the 
fatal  term,  M.  Otto  had  tlie  infinite  satisfaction  of 
placing  his  signature  beneath  the  preliminaries  of 
peace — a  satisfaclion  so  great  as  to  be  unequalled, 
because  no  negotiator  before  him  had  ever  the 
happiness  of  securing,  by  such  an  act,  equal  ad- 
vantage and  glory  to  liis  country.  It  was  arranged 
that  this  news  should  be  kept  a  secret  in  London 
for  twenty-four  hours,  in  oi'der  that  the  coui'ier  of 
the  French  legation  might  be  able  to  be  the  first 
to  announce  it  to  his  government.  This  fortunate 
courier  quitted  Lond(m  in  the  night,  on  the  1st  of 
October,  and  arrived  on  the  3rd,  or  11th  Vende'- 
miaire,  at  Malmaison,  about  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon.  At  the  same  moment,  the  three  consuls 
were  holding  a  council.  Upon  opening  the  des- 
patches, the  sensation  experienced  was  very  great; 
they  left  off"  their  business,  and  embraced  each 
other.  The  first  consul,  who  threw  off"  all  reserve 
most  heartily,  when  he  was  with  those  in  whom 
he  placed  full  confidence,  freely  gave  way  to  the 
feelings  of  which  liis  heart  M'as  full.  So  many 
results  obtained  in  so  short  a  time,— order,  victory, 
peace,  given  to  France  by  his  genius  and  unflagging 
efforts, — all  this  in  two  years  ;  these  were  benefits 
from  which  he  was  most  assuredly  entitled  to  feel 
himself  very  happy  and  very  proud.  Amid  their 
effusions  of  mutual  satisfaction,  Cambace'res  said 
to  him,  "  Now  that  we  have  made  a  treaty  of 
peace  with  England,  we  have  only  to  conclude  a 
treaty  of  commerce,  and  thus  remove  all  cause  of 
disi)ute  between  the  two  countries."  "  Not  quite 
so  quick,"  answered  the  first  consul,  with  anima- 
tion ;  "  political  i)eace  is  made ;  so  much  the 
better ;  we  will  enjoy  it.  As  to  a  commercial 
jjcace,  we  will  make  one,  if  we  are  able.  But  I 
will  not,  at  any  price,  sacrifice  French  industry  ; 
I  can  remember  the  distress  of  178G."  'I'his  sin- 
gular and  instinctive  regard  for  the  interests  of 
French  industry  must  have  been  deeply  rooted,  to 

'  Our  author  seems  very  much  mistaken  about  the  means 
by  wliich  a  formidable  naval  force  is  to  be  obtained.  The  pos- 
session of  porls,  and  even  of  ships  in  addition,  will  go  but  a 
little  way  witl\out  seamen  made  by  long  habitude  on  tlie 
ocean,  througli  the  means  of  a  great  commercial  navy.— 
— Translator. 


have  displayed  itself  at  such  a  time.  But  the 
consul  Cambaceres,  with  his  usual  sagacity,  had 
touched  upon  the  difficulty  which,  at  a  little  later 
period,  was  again  to  embroil  the  two  countries. 

The  intelligence  was  immediately  sent  to  Paris 
to  be  made  public.  Towards  evening,  the  sound 
of  cannon  resounded  along  the  streets,  and  every 
body  inquired  what  fortunate  event  had  occurred 
to  occasion  the  rejoicings  thus  manifested.  People 
ran  to  the  public  places,  where  commissaries  of 
the  government  had  received  orders  to  make 
known  the  news,  that  the  preliminaries  of  peace 
were  signed.  Tlie  same  night  the  intelligence  was 
announced  in  all  the  theatres,  in  the  midst  of  a 
general  joy,  without  example,  for  a  very  long  time. 
This  joy  was  perfectly  natural,  because  peace  with 
England  was  in  truth  universal  peace;  it  consoli- 
dated the  tranquillity  of  the  continent,  supj)ressed 
the  ground  of  the  European  coalitions,  and  laid  open 
the  whole  world  to  French  commerce  and  industry. 
Paris  was  illuminated  the  same  evening. 

The  first  consul  immediately  ratified  the  pre- 
liminary treaty,  and  commissioned  his  aid-de- 
camp, Lauriston,  to  proceed  with  it  to  London. 
If  the  joy  in  France  was  great,  in  England  it  was 
almost  carried  to  a  pitch  of  delirium.  The  news, 
at  first  kept  secret  by  the  negotiators,  at  last 
trans|)ired,  and  they  were  obliged  to  notify  it  to 
the  lord  mayor,  by  a  special  letter.  Tiiis  com- 
munication produced  the  greater  effect,  because, 
just  before,  there  had  been  a  rumour  that  the 
negotiations  were  broken  off".  The  people  at  once 
gave  themselves  up  to  those  violent  transports  of 
joy,  which  are  so  peculiar  to  the  passionate  cha- 
racter of  the  English.  The  public  conveyances, 
upon  leaving  London,  were  marked  with  chalk,  in 
large  letters,  "  Peace  with  France."  At  every  town 
they  were  stopped,  the  horses  were  detached,  and 
they  were  drawn  about  in  triumph.  They  thought 
that  all  the  misery,  from  the  scarcity  and  dearness 
of  things,  would  at  once  be  terminated.  They 
dreamed  of  unknown,  immense,  impossible  benefits. 
There  are  times  when  nations,  like  individuals, 
become  weary  of  mutual  hate,  and  feel  a  strong 
desire  for  a  reconciliation,  however  illusive  and 
transient  it  may  ultimately  prove.  At  this  mo- 
ment, unhappily  so  short,  the  English  people  were 
almost  persuaded  that  they  loved  France  ;  they 
praised  the  hero,  the  sage,  who  was  at  the  head  of 
the  government,  and  cried  with  transport,  "  Long 
live  Bonaparte  !" 

Such  are  the  joys  of  humanity  ;  they  are  only 
lively  and  intense  in  proportion  to  man's  ignorance 
of  the  future.  Let  us  thank  God,  who,  in  his  wis- 
dom, has  thus  closed  to  our  sight  the  volume  of 
mortal  destiny !  How  every  heart  would  have 
been  chilled  that  day,  if  the  veil  which  concealed 
the  future  could  have  been  suddenly  withdrawn, 
and  the  English  and  French  could  have  been  en- 
abled to  see  in  the  future,  fifteen  years  of  atrocious 
hate,  an  obstinate  and  wasteful  war,  the  continent 
and  ocean  inundated  with  the  blood  of  both  nations  ! 
How  would  France  have  been  stricken  with  con- 
sternation, if,  at  the  moment,  when  she  thought 
herself  at  the  summit  of  greatness — unchanging 
greatness — .she  had  then  seen,  in  a  page  of  the 
terrible  book  of  destiny,  the  treaties  of  1815.  The 
hero  so  victorious  and  wise,  who  then  governed, 
how  he  would  have  been  surprised  and  struck 


ISOl. 
Oct. 


Ilatificatioii  by  the  first 
consul. — Surrender  of 
Alexandria. 


THE  GENERAL  PEACE. 


Lord  Cornwallis  and  Joseph 
Bonaparte  to  meet  at 
Amiens. 


27a 


with  consternation,  if,  in  the  midst  of  his  noblest 
achievements,  lie  could  have  observed  his  enor- 
mous errors;  if,  in  the  midst  of  the  most  merited 
prosperity,  he  could  have  read  his  fearful  fall — his 
martyrdom  !  Oh,  yes.  Providence,  in  the  depth  of 
its  mysterious  workings,  has  done  wisely  to  dis- 
close to  man  no  more  than  the  present :  full  enough 
for  his  weak  heart  to  know  !  We,  who  now  know 
all  that  tlien  passed,  and  tliat  has  since  been  ac- 
complished, we  will  endeavour  to  cover  ourselves 
in  the  ignorance  of  that  day,  in  order  to  compre- 
lieud  and  partiike  in  its  lively  and  powerful 
emi>tions. 

A  slight  doubt  still  prevailed  in  London,  and 
somewhat  troubled  the  public  expression  of  pleasure, 
because  the  ratification  of  the  preliminaries  by  the 
firet  consul  had  not  yet  arrived,  and  there  was  an 
apprehension  of  some  unforeseen  and  sudden  re- 
solution on  the  part  of  a  character  so  ])rompt, 
proud,  and  exacting  in  every  thing  relative  to  his 
country.  This  state  of  suspense  was  painful  ; 
until  it  was  suddenly  learned  in  London  that  one 
of  the  first  consul's  aids-de-camp,  one  of  his  com- 
panions in  arms,  colonel  Lanriston,  had  arrived  at 
tlie  liouse  of  M.  Oito,  and  that  he  was  the  bearer 
of  the  ratified  treaty.  The  people,  relieved  from 
the  only  doubt  which  they  felt  before,  no  longer 
restrained  themselves,  and  their  delight  was  un- 
bounded. They  ran  to  the  house  of  JNI.  Otto,  and 
found  him  entering  his  carriage,  with  colonel 
Luuriston,  on  his  way  to  lord  Hawkesburv,  for  the 
purjiose  of  exchanging  the  ratifications.  The  people 
took  out  tlie  horses,  and  drew  the  two  French- 
men all  the  way  to  lord  Hawkesbury's  house. 

From  lord  Hawkesbury's  the  two  negotiators 
had  to  proceed  to  Mr.  Addington's,  and  frfun 
thence  to  the  admiralty,  to  pay  a  visit  to  lord  St. 
Vincent.  The  peo])le  were  still  obstinate  to  draw 
the  carriage  from  the  residence  of  one  minister  to 
that  of  another,  and  last  of  all,  to  the  admiralty, 
where  the  crowd  became  so  great,  and  the  con- 
fusion so  extraordinary,  that  lord  St.  Vincent,  being 
apprehensive  of  some  accident  occurring,  placed 
him.self  at  the  head  of  the  procession  ',  fearing  the 
carriage  would  be  overturned,  and  this  extravagance 
of  joy  end  in  some  painful  accident.  Several  days 
))a.ssed  in  this  state  of  excitement,  testifying  the  ex- 
traordinary public  satisfaction. 

One  fact  worthy  of  remark  is,  that  some  houi"s  after 
the  signature  of  the  preliminary  treaty,  a  courier 
arrived  in  London  from  Egypt,  bringing  the  news 
of  the  surrender  of  Alexandria,  which  took  place  on 
the  :iOth  of  Aiigust,  1801,  or  12th  Fructidor.  "This 
courier,"  said  lord  llawkesbury  to  M.  Otto,  "hius 
arrived  eight  hours  after  the  signature  of  the  treaty: 
HO  much  the  better.  If  he  had  arrived  sooner,  we 
should  have  heen  forced  to  have  been  more  exacting 
in  deference  to  public  opinion,  and  the  negoti:ition 
would  very  proi)ably  have  been  broken  off".  Peace 
is  of  more  consequence  than  an  island,  more  or 
Ics.H."     Tills  minister,  a  very  excellent  man,  had 


•  Lord  St.  Vincent  only  went  to  the  Rardeii-ijatc  of  the 
admiralty  to  receive  colonel  Laurixton  and  M.  Otto ;  and  he 
there  addressed  the  mob,  ursine  them  to  be  careful :  "  Gen- 
tlemen, gemlemcn  !  let  me  request  you  to  be  as  orderly  as 
possible  i  and  if  you  are  delcrmined  to  draw  the  gentleman 
accompanied  by  M.  Otto,  I  request  you  to  be  cautious,  and 
not  to  overturn  the  carriage." — Tramlalor. 


reason  on  his  side.  But  tliis  is  a  proof  that  the 
resistance  of  Alexandria  had  been  useful,  and  that 
even  in  a  despei'ate  cause,  the  voice  of  honour 
counselling  the  longest  possible  resistance,  should 
always  be  heard. 

It  was  agreed  that  the  plenipotentiaries  should 
meet  in  the  city  of  Amiens,  an  intermediate  point 
between  London  and  Paris,  in  order  to  draw  up 
tlie  definitive  treaty.  The  English  cabinet  selected 
an  old  and  distinguished  military  officer,  lord  Corn- 
wallis, who  had  had  the  honour  of  commanding  the 
English  armies  in  America  and  India,  one  of  the 
most  celebrated  mfen  of  his  time.  He  had  been 
governor-general  of  Bengal,  and  viceroy  in  Ireland 
at  the  clo.se  of  the  last  century.  Lord  Cornwallis 
had  arranged  a  visit  to  Paris,  in  order  to  pay  his 
compliments  to  the  first  consul,  before  he  took  up 
his  post  at  the  scene  of  negotiation. 

The  first  consul,  on  the  other  hand,  made  choice 
of  his  brother  Joseph,  for  whom  he  had  a  very 
particular  aff"ection,  and  who,  by  the  amenity  of  his 
manners  and  mildness  of  his  chjiracter,  was  singu- 
larly well  adapted  for  a  peacemaker,  an  office 
which  had  been  constantly  reserved  for  him.  Jo- 
seph had  signed  the  treaty  of  peace  with  America 
at  Morfoutaine  ;  with  Austria  at  Lundville;  and 
now  was  about  to  do  the  same  with  England  at 
Amiens.  The  first  consul  thus  made  his  brother 
gather  the  fruit  whidi  he  had  himself  cultivated 
with  his  own  triuni])! -.ant  hands.  Talleyrand,  see- 
ing all  the  ostensible  honour  of  these  treaties 
devolve  upon  a  per.-onage  who  was  nearly  unac- 
quainted with  the  arts  of  diplomacy,  was  unable  to 
repress  a  passing  sense  of  his  vexation,  which, 
though  he  made  every  effort  to  hide  it,  did  not 
escape  the  keen  eyes  and  invidious  observations  of 
the  diplomatists  resident  in  Paris,  and  it  became 
the  subject  of  more  than  one  despatch.  But  the 
cautious  minister  well  knew  that  it  would  be  impo- 
litic to  make  the  family  of  the  first  consul  his  ene- 
mies, and  besides,  after  granting  what  was  due 
to  the  part  acted  by  that  great  man,  if  any  part  of 
the  glory  remained  for  another  concerned  in  these 
brilliant  negotiations,  the  people  of  Enropj  would 
decree  it  to  the  minister  for  foreign  attairs. 

The  negotiations  proceeding  with  difl'erent  states, 
and  not  yet  concluded,  were  terminated  almost  im- 
mediately. The  first  consul  understood  well  the  art 
of  producing  striking  eftects  upon  the  imaginations 
of  men,  because  he  himself  possessed  a  very  power- 
ful imagination.  He  settled  every  difficulty  with 
all  the  other  courts,  as  if  lie  desired  to  overwhelm 
France  with  all  kinds  of  satisfaction  in  succession; 
to  raise  her  wonder,  and  even  to  intoxicate  her  by 
the  extraordinary  results  which  he  worked  out  for 
her  advantage. 

He  settled  the  treaty  with  Portugal,  and  ordered 
his  brother  Lucien  to  sign  at.  Madrid  the  condi- 
tions which  he  had  refused  at  Badajoz,  with  only  a 
lew  unimportant  modifications.  He  no  longer  in- 
sisted upon  the  occupation  of  one  of  the  Portuguese 
lu-oviiiccs,  because  the  bases  of  the  treaty  of  peace 
with  England  having  been  settled,  since  Trinidad 
had  been  relin(|uished,  there  was  no  reason  for  re- 
taining the  ))ledgcs  with  which  at  first  he  had  been 
so  anxious  to  furni.sh  himself.  An  iigreemeiit  was 
made  regarding  the  expenses  of  the  war  ;  some 
commercial  adv.-mtages  were  secured,  hucIi  iw  the 
introduction  of  French  cloths,  and  French  products 


280        Treatie.  with  Bavaria       THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


1801. 
Oct. 


were  placed  upon  the  footing  of  the  most  favoured 
country.  The  exclusion  of  EngHsii  vessels  of  all 
kinds  was  formally  stipulated  until  the  conclusion 
of  the  peace. 

The  evacuation  of  Egypt  terminated  all  the  dif- 
ferences with  tlie  Ottoman  Porte.  Talleyrand  con- 
cluded at  Paris  the  preliminaries  of  peace  with  the 
minister  of  tiie  sultan,  which  stipulated  the  restitu- 
tion of  Egypt  to  the  Porte,  the  establishment  of  the 
former  relations  between  tlie  two  governments,  and 
the  activity  of  all  the  anterior  treaties  of  commerce 
and  navigation. 

Similar  conventions  were  signed  with  the  regen- 
cies of  Tunis  and  Algiers. 

A  treaty  was  signed  with  Bavaria,  by  which  that 
eoiHitry  was  replaced  in  regard  to  the  French  re- 
public, in  the  same  state  of  alliance  which  formerly 
existed  between  the  court  and  the  old  French  mo- 
narchy, when  that  monarchy  extended  her  protec- 
tion to  all  the  German  states  of  the  second  rank 
against  the  ambition  of  the  house  of  Austria.  It 
was  but  a  renewal  of  the  old  treaties  of  Westphalia 
and  of  Tesclien.  Bavaria  abandoned  to  France 
directly  all  that  she  had  formerly  held  upon  the 
left  bank  of  the  Rhine.  In  return,  France  pro- 
mised to  employ  her  weight  in  the  negotiations  of 
which  the  affairs  of  Germany  would  soon  become 
the  subject,  to  procure  for  Bavaria  a  sufficient 
indemnity  conveniently  situated.  Fi-ance  also  gua- 
ranteed the  integrity  of  the  Bavarian  territory. 

Lastly,  to  achieve  the  great  work  of  general 
pacification,  the  treaty  with  Russia,  which  legalized 
that  peace  to  the  letter  which  was  already  in  exist- 
ence, was  signed,  after  .a  long  discussion  between 
M.  Markoff  and  Talleyrand.  The  new  emperor 
had  shown,  as  before  seen,  less  energy  in  his  resist- 
ance to  the  maritime  pretensions  of  England,  but 
at  the  same  time  less  ostentaticm,  and  less  determi- 
nation in  tiie  mode  of  protection  extended  to  the 
minor  German  and  Italian  states,  tiiat  had  been 
parties  to  the  coalition  against  France.  Alexander 
never  raised  difficulties  in  regard  to  Egypt;  but  in 
any  case  these  would  have  ceased  in  consequence 
of  the  late  events  in  that  country.  He  no  more 
pretended  to  the  grand  mastership  of  the  knights 
of  Malta,  which  rendered  easy  the  reconstitution 
of  the  order  upon  its  old  footing,  agreeably  to  the 
arrangements  whicli  had  been  made  with  England. 
The  only  differences  of  moment  with  Alexander 
were  relative  to  Naples  and  Piedmont.  By  per- 
sisting in  her  views,  and  by  gaining  time,  France 
had  vanquished  the  principal  difficulties  relative  to 
these  two  states.  The  evacuation  of  the  road  of 
Tarentum  had  been  promised  to  the  English.  Rus- 
sia was  satisfied  upon  tiiis  point,  regarding  it  as  the 
accomplishment  of  a  condition  essential  to  her  own 
honour,  in  the  integrity  of  the  Neapolitan  territory. 
Of  the  isle  of  Elba,  Russia  had  ceased  to  say  any 
thing.  In  regard  to  Piedmont,  every  day  added  to 
the  silence  of  England  upon  the  subject  during  the 
negotiations  in  London,  had  emboldened  the  first 
consul  to  refuse  this  important  province  to  the  king 
of  Sardinia.  Ru.ssia  invoked  the  promise  which 
had  been  made  to  her  upon  that  subject.  The  first 
consul  replied  by  saying,  that  Russia  had  promised 
in  the  same  manner  to  maintain  inviolable  the  ma- 
ritime law  in  all  its  tenor,  and  that  she  had  aban- 
doned a  part  of  it  to  England.  An  article  was 
agreed  upon,  by  which  they  bound  themselves  in  a 


friendly  way  to  consider  favourably  the  interests  of 
the  king  of  Sardinia,  and  "  to  regard  them  so  far 
as  might  be  compatible  with  the  existing  state  of 
things."  This  was  taking  a  great  freedom  in  rela- 
tion to  that  prince,  and  particularly  that  of  indem- 
nifying him  one  day  with  the  duchy  of  Parma  or 
Piacenza,  as  the  first  consul  had  then  thought  of 
doing.  The  conduct  of  the  king  of  Sardinia,  and 
his  devotion  to  the  English  during  the  last  cam- 
paign in  Egypt,  had  deeply  irritated  the  head  of 
the  French  government.  The  first  consul,  however, 
was  governed  by  a  better  reason  than  his  anger. 
He  considered  Piedmont  as  one  of  the  finest  Italian 
provinces  for  France  its  possessor;  it  always  allowed 
of  an  army  entering  Italy,  and  the  keeping  an 
army  continually  there.  It  would  be  for  France, 
in  fact,  what  the  Milanese  had  for  a  long  while 
been  for  Austria. 

The  views  of  France  had  constantly  been  in 
agreement  with  those  of  Russia  respecting  the 
affairs  of  Germany;  there  was  in  consequence  no 
difficulty  upon  this  last  subject. 

The  treaty  was  drawn  up,  therefore,  upon  these 
bases,  in  conjunction  with  M.  Markoff,  the  new 
negotiator  recently  ai-rived  from  St.  Petersburg. 
A  public  treaty  was  signed  in  the  first  instance,  in 
which  it  was  plainly  and  simply  stated,  that  a  good 
understanding  was  re-established  between  the  two 
governments,  and  that  they  would  not  permit  emi- 
grants, who  were  subjects  of  either  nation,  to  com- 
mit offences  considered  culpable  in  their  former 
country.  This  article  struck  at  the  Poles  on  one 
hand,  and  at  the  Bourbons  on  the  other.  To  this 
treaty  was  added  a  secret  convention,  in  which  it 
was  declared  that  the  two  empires  having  acted  in 
unison  in  the  affairs  of  Germany  at  the  epoch  of 
the  treaty  of  Tesclien,  now  again  united  their  in- 
fluence to  effect  in  Germany  such  arrangements  of 
territory  as  would  be  most  favourable  to  the  equili- 
brium of  Europe;  that  France  should  endeavour  to 
pi'ocure  an  advantageous  indemnity  for  the  elector 
of  Bavaria,  the  grand  duke  of  Wurtemberg,  and 
the  grand  duke  of  Baden  (this  last  had  been  added 
to  the  proteges  of  Russia  because  of  the  new  em- 
press, who  was  a  princess  of  Baden)  ;  that  the 
state  of  Naples  should  be  evacuated  at  the  mari- 
time peace,  and  in  case  of  a  war  enjoy  a  neutrality; 
and  that  lastly,  they  should  understand  each  other 
respecting  the  interests  of  the  king  of  Sardinia, 
when  it  shall  be  needful,  and  "  in  the  manner  most 
compatible  with  tlie  existing  state  of  things." 

The  first  consul  immediately  sent  his  aid-de- 
cam]),  Caulincourt,  to  St.  Petersburg,  to  be  bearer  of 
a  clever  and  courteous  letter,  in  which  he  congra- 
tulated the  czar  upon  the  conclusion  of  peace,  also 
communicating  to  him,  with  a  species  of  com- 
plaisance, a  multitude  of  details,  appearing  as  if  he 
was  ready  mutually  to  unite  with  him  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  more  important  affairs  of  the  world. 
Caulincourt  was  designed  to  fill  the  place  of  Duroc, 
who  had  returned  in  too  nmch  haste  from  St.  Pe- 
tersburg, and  he  was  to  remain  until  an  envoy 
was  appointed.  The  first  consul  had  sent  to  Duroc  a 
considerable  sum  of  money,  with  an  order  for  him 
to  attend  the  coronation  of  the  emperor,  and  to 
represent  France  upon  the  occasion  with  becoming 
brilliancy.  Duroc,  iiaving  departed,  had  not  re- 
ceived tiie  order.  He  had  been  induced  to  return 
from  another  cause.  Alexander  had  sent  him  a  letter 


1801. 
Nov. 


Lord  CornwaUis  arrives  at  Paris.       THE  GENERAL  PEACE.        Rejoicings  at  Paris  and  l-cndon. 


inviting  him  to  attend  at  his  coronation;  but  count 
Panin  li.i J  not  ti-ansniitted  the  invitation.  At  a  later 
period  an  explanation  upon  the  subject  having 
taken  place,  the  emperor,  mortified  at  his  orders 
not  being  executed,  sent  count  Panin  to  his  estates, 
and  he  was  rejilaced  by  M.  Kotschoubey,  one  of 
the  members  of  the  occult  council.  Thus  the  young 
emperor  began  to  disembarrass  himself  of  the  men 
who  had  contributed  to  his  coming  upon  the  throne, 
and  v'ho  sought  to  draw  him  into  a  system  of  po- 
licy exclusively  English.  Every  thing  now  pre- 
saged an  amicable  state  of  affairs  with  Russia.  The 
delicate  attention  and  flattery  of  the  first  consul 
could  not  fail  to  render  this  result  more  certain. 

The  different  treaties  which  thus  completed  the 
peace  of  the  world,  were  signed  nearly  at  the  same 
time  as  the  preliminaries  of  London.  The  satisfac- 
tion of  the  public  was  at  its  height,  and  it  was  de- 
termined to  give  a  grand  festival  to  celebrate  the 
general  peace.  The  day  fixed  was  the  18th  of  Bru- 
maire.  It  was  not  possible  to  choose  a  better  day, 
because  it  was  to  the  revolution  of  the  18tii  of 
Brumaire  that  all  these  glorious  results  were  to 
be  attributed.  Lord  CornwaUis  was  invited  to  he 
present.  He  arrived  in  Paris  on  the  16th  Bru- 
maire, or  7th  of  November,  with  a  great  number 
of  his  countrymen.  Scarcely  were  the  prelimi- 
naries signed,  when  the  applications  for  passports 
to  M.  Otto  became  exceedingly  numerous.  Tiiree 
hundred  had  been  sent  over  to  him,  but  they  were 
not  sufficient,  and  it  became  necessary  to  furnish 
him  with  an  unlimited  number.  The  owners  of 
vessels  intended  to  be  sent  to  France  for  French 
commodities  and  to  export  those  of  England,  were 
alike  eager  to  obtain  the  same  permissi<ms.  All 
these  demands  were  granted  with  perfect  good 
will,  as  the  relations  between  the  two  countries 
were  re-established  immediately,  with  a  prompti- 
tude and  an  alacrity  almost  incredible.  By  the 
18th  of  Brumaire,  Paris  was  already  full  of  Eng- 
lish, impatient  to  see  the  new  France,  that  had 


become  at  once  so  brilliant;  above  all,  to  see  the 
man,  who  at  that  moment  was  the  admiration  of 
England,  as  he  was  of  the  whole  world.  The  illus- 
trious Fox  was  one  of  the  first  of  the  English  who 
started  for  France.  On  the  day  of  the  festival  that 
was  rendered  so  tine  by  the  peaceful  and  profound 
joy  of  all  classes  of  the  citizens,  carriages  were 
prohibited  fx-om  passing  along  the  public  streets. 
No  exception  was  made  except  in  the  case  of  lord 
Cornwallis.  The  crowd  opened  rcspectlully  before 
the  honourable  representative  of  tiie  English 
armies,  .who  came  to  make  peace  between  France 
and  his  own  country.  He  was  surprised  to  find  this 
same  France  so  ditt'erent  from  the  hideous  picture 
which  the  emigrants  had  painted  of  it  in  London, 
All  his  countrymen  partook  of  the  same  feeling, 
and  expressed  themselves  to  the  like  effect  with  un- 
disguised admiration. 

While  this  entertainment  was  celebrated  at  Paris, 
a  superb  banquet  was  given  in  the  city  of  London, 
and  there,  amidst  the  loudest  acclamations,  the  fol- 
lowing toasts  were  given  : — 

"  The  king  of  Great  Britain." 

"  The  pvince  of  Wales." 

"  The  ftberty  and  prosperity  of  the  United  King- 
dom of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland." 

"  The  fii'st  consul,  Bonaparte,  the  liberty  and 
happiness  of  the  French  republic." 

Loud  and  imanimous  applause  accompanied  the 
last  toast. 

France  had  thus  made  peace  with  all  the  na- 
tions of  the  world.  There  was  still  another  peace 
to  conclude,  more  difficult  i)erhaps  than  that  just 
made,  because  it  demanded  a  different  order  of 
genius  from  that  which  commands  in  battle-fields. 
It  was  also  very  desirable,  because  it  would  esta- 
blish peace  in  the  minds  of  men,  and  unanimity  in 
families.  This  peace  was  that  of  the  republic  with 
the  church.  The  moment  is  now  arrived  to  narrate 
the  laborious  negotiations  with  the  representative 
of  the  holy  see  which  had  this  for  their  object. 


282    The  first  consul's  desire  for    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE,     peace  with  the  church. 


1801. 
March. 


BOOK  XII. 


THE  CONCORDAT. 


THE  CATHOLIC  CntJRCH  DURING  THE  REVOLUTION. — THE  CIVIL  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  CLERGY  DECREED  BY  THE 
CONSTITUENT  ASSEMBLY. — THIS  CONSTITUTION,  IN  ASSIMILATING  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  RELIGION  TO  THAT 
OF  THE  REALM,  ESTABLISHES  A  DIOCESE  IN  EACH  DEPARTMENT,  DECLARES  THE  BISHOPS  ARE  TO  BE  ELECTED 
BY  THE  FAITHFUL,  AND  DISPENSES  CANONICAL  INSTITUTIONS. — OATH  OF  FIDELITY  TO  THE  CONSTITUTION 
EXACTED  OF  THE  CLERGY. — REFUSAL  OF  THE  OATH,  AND  SCHISM. —  DIFFERENT  CLASSES  OF  PRIESTS,  THEIR 
CHARACTER  AND  INFLUENCE. — INCONVENIENCE  OF  THIS  STATE  OF  THINGS. — MEANS  THAT  IT  FURNISHED  TO 
THE  ENEMIES  OF  THE  REVOLUTION  TO  TROUBLE  FAMILIES  AND  THE  STATE. — DIFFERENT  SYSTEMS  PROPOSED 
AS  A  REMEDY  FOR  THE  EVIL. — THE  SYSTEM  OF  INACTION. — THE  SYSTEM  OF  A  FRENCH  CHURCH  OF  WHICH  THE 
FIRST  CONSUL  SHOULD  BE  THE  HEAD. — SYSTEM  OF  STRONG  ENCOURAGEMENT  TO  PROTESTANTISM.— OPINIONS  OF 
THE  FIRST  CONSUL  ON  THE  DIFFERENT  SVSTEJIS  PROPOSED. — HE  FORMS  A  SCHEME  FOR  THE  RE-ESTABLISH- 
MENT OF  THE  CATHOLIC  RELIUION,  ADAPTING  ITS  DISCIPLINE  TO  THE  NEW  INSTITUTIONS  OP  FRANCE. — HE 
WISHES  FOR  THE  DEPOSITION  OF  THE  ANCIENT  TITULARY  BISHOPS,  AND  A  LIMITATION  COMPRISING  SIXTY 
SEES  IN  PLACE  OF  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTY-EIGHT;  THE  CREATION  OF  A  NEW  CLERGY,  COMPOSED  OP 
RESPECTABLE  PRIESTS  OF  ALL  THE  PARTIES  ;  THE  STATE  TO  HAVE  THE  REGULATION  OF  THE  FORMS  OP 
WORSHIP. — SALARIES  FOR  THE  PRIESTS  IN  PLACE  OF  LAND  ENDOWMENTS. — SANCTION  BY  THE  CHURCH  OF  THE 
SALE  OF  NATIONAL  PROPERTY. — AMICABLE  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  POPE  PIUS  VII.  AND  THE  FIRST  CONSUL. — 
MONSIGNOR  SPINA,  CHARGED  WITH  THE  NEGOTIATION  AT  PARIS,  RETARDS  IT  THROUGH  THE  TEMPORAL 
INTEREST  OF  THE  HOLY  SEE. — SECRET  WISH  TO  RECOVER  THE  LEGATIONS. — MONSIGNOR  SPINA  FINDS  THE 
NECESSITY  OF  PROCEEDING  MORE  RAPIDLY. — HE  CONFERS  WITH  THE  ABBE  BERNIER,  WHO  IS  CHARGED  WITH 
THE  BUSINESS  ON  BEHALF  OF  FRANCE. — DIFFICULTIES  OF  THE  PLAN  PROPOSED  IN  SIGHT  OF  THE  ROMAN 
COURT.— THE  FIRST  CONSUL  SENDS  HIS  PLAN  TO  ROME,  AND  REttUESTS  THE  POPE  TO  EXPLAIN  IT. — THREE 
CARDINALS  CONSULTED. — THE  POPE,  AFTER  THIS  CONSULTATION,  WISHES  THAT  THE  CATHOLIC  RELIGION  BE 
DECLARED  THAT  OF  THE  STATE  ;  THAT  HE  SHOULD  NOT  BE  REQUIRED  TO  DEPOSE  THE  ANCIENT  TITULAR 
BISHOPS,  NOR  OTHERWISE  THAN  BY  HIS  SILENCE  SANCTION  THE  SALE  OF  THE  CHURCH  PROPERTY. — DEBATES 
WITH  M.  DE  CACAULT  THE  FRENCH  MINISTER  AT  ROME. — THE  FIRST  CONSUL,  TIRED  OF  THE  SLUGGISHNESS  OF 
THE  PROCEEDINGS,  ORDERS  M.  DE  CACAULT  TO  ttUIT  ROME  IN  FIVE  DAYS,  IF  THE  CONCORDAT  IS  NOT 
ADOPTED  AFTER  THAT  DEL  AY.— TERROR  OP  THE  POPE  AND  CARDINAL  GONSALVI. — M.  DE  CACAULT  SUGGESTS  TO 
THE  PAPAL  CABINET  THE  IDEA  OP  SENDING  CARDINAL  GONSALVI  TO  PARIS. — THE  CARDINAL  SETS  OFF  FOR 
PRANCE,  AND  HIS  APPREHENSIONS  —HIS  ARRIVAL  IN  PARIS,  AND  KIND  RECEPTION  FROM  THE  FIRST  CONSUL. 
— CONFERENCES  WITH  THE  ABBE  BERNIER.— UNDERSTANDING  UPON  THE  PRINCIPLE  OF  A  STATE  RELIGION. — 
THE  CATHOLIC  RELIGION  DECLARED  TO  BE  THAT  OF  THE  MAJORITY  OF  FRENCHMEN. — ALL  THE  OTHER  CON- 
DITIONS OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL,  RELATIVE  TO  THE  DEPOSITION  OF  THE  ANCIENT  TITULARS,  TO  THE  NEW 
BOUNDARIES,  TO  THE  SALE  OF  THE  CHURCH  PROPERTY,  ARE  ACCEPTED,  EXCEPT  SOME  ALTERATION  OP  TERMS 
IN  THE  COMPILATION. — DEFINITIVE  AGREEMENT  UPON  ALL  THESE  POINTS.— EFFORTS  MADE  AT  THE  LAST 
MOMENT,  BY  THE  OPPONENTS  OF  THE  RE-ESTABLISHMENT  OF  WORSHIP,  TO  HINDER  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  FROM 
SIGNING  THE  CONCORDAT. — HE  PERSISTS,  AND  GIVES  HIS  SIGNATURE  JULY  15,  1801. — RETURN  OP  CARDINAL 
GONSALVI  TO  ROME.— SATISFACTION  OP  THE  POPE. — THE  RATIFICATIONS  SOLEMNIZED. — CHOICE  OF  CARDINAL 
CAPRARA  AS  LEGATE  A  LATERE. — THE  FIRST  CONSUL  WOULD  HAVE  WISHED  TO  CELEBRATE  PEACE  WITH  THE 
CHURCH  AT  THE  SAME  TIME  AS  PEACE  WITH  ALL  THE  EUROPEAN  POWERS.— NECESSITY  OF  APPLYING  TO  THE 
FORMER  TO  OBTAIN  THEIR  RESIGNATIONS,  CAUSES  A  DELAY. — A  DEMAND  FOR  THIS  RESIGNATION  ADDRESSED 
BY  THE  POPE  TO  ALL  THE  OLD  BISHOPS,  CONSTITUTIONAL  OR  NOT. — WISE  SUBMISSION  OP  THE  CONSTITUTIONAL 
BISHOPS.— NOBLE  RESIGNATION  OP  THE  MEMBERS  OF  THE  OLD  CLERGY.— ADMIRABLE  ANSWERS. — THE  ONLY 
RESISTANCE  IS  FROM  THE  EMIGRANT  BISHOPS  IN  LONDON. — EVERY  THING  READY  FOR  THE  RE-ESTABLISH- 
MENT OF  WORSHIP  IN  PRANCE,  BUT  A  WARM  OPPOSITION  IN  THE  TRIBUNATE  CAUSES  FRESH  DELAY.— NECES- 
SITY  OF   OVERCOMING   THIS   OPPOSITION    BEFORE   GOING    FURTHER. 


The  first  consul  would  have  wished  that  on  the 
anniversary  of  the  18th  of  Brumaire,  devoted  to 
the  celebration  of  peace  between  France  and  the 
rest  of  Europe;  it  had  also  been  possible  to  cele- 
brate the  reconciliation  of  France  with  the  church. 
He  had  made  great  efforts  in  order  that  the  nego- 
tiations with  the  holy  see  might  terminate  in  due 
time  for  the  admission  of  religious  ceremonies, 
?.mid  the  national  rejoicings.  But  it  is  much  less 
easy  to  treat  with  the  spiritual  powers  than  with 
the  temporal,  because  the  winning  of  battles  is  not 
sufficient :  but  it  is  to  the  honour  of  the  human 


mind  that  force  cannot  overcome  it,  unless  that 
force  be  accompanied  by  persuasion. 

It  was  the  difficult  task  of  joining  persuasion 
and  force  that  the  conqueror  of  Marengo  and 
Rivoli  had  attempted  in  regai-d  to  the  Roman 
church,  in  order  to  reconcile  it  with  the  French 
rejniblie. 

Tile  revolution,  as  has  been  already  several 
times  said,  had  in  many  things  passed  the  desirable 
limit.  To  make  it  go  back  in  these  matters  with- 
out going  beyond  or  stopping  short  of  the  object 
in  view,  was  a  legitimate  and  salutary  act  which 


State  of  the  Catholic 
clergy  during  the 


THE  CONCORDAT. 


revolution, 
cleryy. 


283 


the  first  consul  had  undertaken,  and  which  he  ren- 
dered adiuiniblc  by  the  wisdom  and  ability  he 
employed  for  the  purpose  he  had  ia  view. 

Religion  was  clearly  one  of  those  things  respect- 
ing which  the  revolution  had  exceeded  all  limits 
that  were  just  and  reasonable.  In  no  case  was 
there  so  much  reparation  demanded  as  here. 

There  had  existed  under  the  old  monarchy  a 
clergy  of  great  power  and  influence,  in  jiossession 
of  a  large  part  of  the  land.  It  consisted  of  those 
who  sui)ported  no  p.irt  of  the  public  expenditure, 
who  presented  sueli  gifts  as  they  pleased  to  the 
royal  treasury  ;  who  were  a  constituted  political 
body,  and  formed  one  of  the  three  orders  that  in 
the  states-general  expressed  the  national  will. 
The  revolution  had  swept  away  the  clergy  and 
their  fortunes,  influence,  and  privileges ;  it  had 
sent  with  them  the  nobility,  the  parliaments,  and 
the  throne  itself.  It  was  impossible  for  it  to  have 
done  otherwise.  A  clergy,  the  members  of  which 
were  i)roprietors  of  land,  constituting  a  political 
j)ower,  might  have  been  well  enough  adapted  to  so- 
ciety in  the  middle  ages,  and  at  that  time  have  been 
useful  to  civilization;  but  it  was  inadmissible  in  the 
eighteenth  century.  The  constituent  assembly  had 
done  well  in  abolishing  it,  and  substituting  in  its 
place  a  clergy  devoted  solely  to  the  functions  of 
religious  worship,  a  stranger  to  political  delibera- 
tions, and  salaried  iu  place  of  being  landowners. 
But  it  was  exacting  too  much  from  the  holy  see, 
to  request  its  approbation  of  all  these  changes.  If 
it  was  needful  to  obtam  this  consent,  it  would 
have  been  proper  to  stop  there,  and  not  to  furnish 
the  papal  authority  with  a  legitimate  ground  for 
Kiying,  that  religion  itself  was  attacked  in  all  which 
it  held  sacred  and  immutable.  The  constituent 
assembly,  pronii)ted  by  a  desire  for  the  regularity 
of  system,  so  natural  to  a  reforming  spirit,  assimi- 
lated the  administration  of  the  church  to  that  of 
the  state  without  hesitation,  ^ome  of  the  dioceses 
were  too  large,  and  others  too  limited  ;  that  body 
wished  that  the  ecclesiastical  boundaries  should  be 
the  same  as  those  adopted  in  the  civil  adminis- 
tration, and  that  dioceses  should  be  created  de- 
partinentally.  Rendering  elective  all  the  civil  and 
judicial  functions,  the  ecclesiastical  functions  were 
also  to  be  rendered  elective.  This  arrangement 
a|)peared  besides  to  be  in  conformity  with,  and  a 
return  to  the  times  of  the  primitive  church,  when 
the  bishops  were  elected  by  the  faithful.  The 
same. blow  struck  down  the  canonical  institution, 
or,  in  other  w(frds,  the  confirmation  of  the  bishops 
by  the  pope  ;  with  all  these  dispositions  there  was 
constiluteti  what  was  denominated  the  civil  con- 
stitution of  the  clergy.  The  individuals  who  thus 
acted  were  animated  by  the  most  religious  inten- 
tions;  they  were  true  believers,  fervent  Jansenists, 
but  of  narrow  minds,  their  lieads  heated  with 
theological  disputations,  and  in  consequence  dan- 
gerous persons  to  direct  human  aftairs.  To  com- 
plete this  error,  they  exacted  of  the  Trench  clergy, 
that  they  should  take  an  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  civil 
constitution,  a  measure  which  could  only  give  birth 
to  a  scrujjle  of  conscience  among  the  more  sincere, 
and  a  pretext  to  the  badly-disposed  priests.  It 
was,  in  one  word,  to  open  the  door  to  a  schism. 
Rome,  already  aggrieved  by  the  misfortunes  of  the 
throne,  was  now  irritated  at  the  infliction  upon  the 
altar.     She  interdicted  the  oath.     A    part  of  the 


clergy,  faithful  to  the  holy  see,  refused  to  take  the 
oath  ;  another  part  consented,  and  formed  under 
the  name  of  the  '■  sworn  clergy  ',"  or  the  consti- 
tutional, that  part  which  was  acknowledged  by  the 
state,  and  alone  admitted  to  the  e.\ercise  of  their 
sacred  functions.  The  priests  were  not  yet  pro- 
scribed ;  they  were  contented  to  interdict  them 
from  the  exercise  of  their  professional  duties,  and 
to  invest  with  them  those  who  had  tjiken  the  oath. 
But  the  discarded  priests  were  the  men  who,  for  the 
most  part,  were  preferred  by  those  faithful  to  the 
doctrines  of  the  church.  For  the  conscience  in 
religious  persons  is  susceptible,  quickly  alarmed, 
and,  above  all,  distrustful  of  arbitrary  power.  Here 
it  inclined  towards  those  ecclesiastics  who  passed 
for  orthodox,  and  who  appeared  to  be  undergoing 
persecution.  It  turned  away  instinctively  from 
those  whose  orthodoxy  was  in  doubt,  and  who  were 
supported  by  the  government.  There  was  conse- 
quently at  the  same  time  a  public  and  a  clandestine 
worship,  the  last  having  more  followers  than  the 
first.  Those  whose  sentiments  were  opposed  to 
the  revolution,  leagued  themselves  with  the  party 
whose  religious  feelings  had  been  outraged,  and 
precipitated  it  into  the  errors  of  the  spirit  of 
faction.  This  schism  soon  led  iu  the  contest  of  La 
Vendee  to  a  frightful  civil  war.  The  revolutionary 
government  did  not  remain  behind  it,  and  from  the 
simple  privation  of  the  ecclesiastical  functions,  it 
in  a  little  time  proceeded  to  persecute.  It  pro- 
scribed and  transported  the  clergy.  Then  came 
the  abolition  of  every  form  of  worship,  and  in  its 
place  the  proclamation  of  a  Sui)reme  Being.  Then 
priests,  sworn  or  unsworn,  were  one  and  the  other 
treated  alike,  and  all  sent  to  perish  upon  the  same 
scaffold,  where  royalists,  constituents,  Girondins, 
constitutionalists,  and  Mountains,  all  went  to  their 
death  together. 

Under  the  directory  these  sanguinary  pro- 
criptions  ceased.  A  variable  course  was  pursued, 
now  inclining  to  indiflerence,  now  to  rigour,  and 
keeping  the  church  still  in  a  state  of  great  anxiety. 
The  first  consul,  by  his  power,  and  the  continued 
evidence  of  his  reparatory  intentions,  insjiired  hope 
in  the  ministers  of  religion  who  had  sutt'ered,  on 
whatever  side  they  were, and  nuide  them  leave  their 
places  of  concealment,  or  return  home  from  their 
exile.  But  in  thus  bringing  them  forth  to  day- 
light, he  rendered  the  schism  more  sensible  to 
observation,  perhaps  more  distasteful.  To  abrogate 
the  difficulty  about  the  oath,  he  ceased  to  exact  it, 
substituting  in  its  place  a  simple  ju-omise  of  sub- 
mission to  the  laws.  This  promise,  which  Cj)uld 
not  alarm  the  conscience  of  the  priests,  had  facili- 
tated their  return  to  France,  but  in  some  degree 
had  added  new  divisions  to  those  already  in  ex- 
istence, by  creating  in  the  body  of  the  clergy  an- 
other and  an  additional  class. 

There  were  thus  the  constitutional  or  "sworn" 
priests,  legally  invested  with  the  sacerdotal  functions, 
and  having  the  u.se  of  the  edifices  devoted  to  religion, 
which  had  been  given  back  to  them  in  virtue  of  a 
decree  of  the  consuls.  There  were  the  "  unsworn" 
priests,  who,  not  having  taken  any  oath,  and  after 
having  lived  in  exile  or  in  prison,  appeared  once 
more  in  a  great  number  during  the  beginning 
of  the  cunsalate,  but  who  only  officiated  in  the 

'  Clirge  anserment*. 


__  .    The  constitutional  and 
•^o'*       orthodox  clergy. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Disturbed  state  of  the  1«P1, 

French  church.  March. 


houses  of  private  individuals,  and  declared  the 
wor-ship  performed  in  the  chui-ches  to  be  of  no 
effect.  Finally,  tlie  "  unsworn"  priests  were  divided 
into  those  who  had  not  pi-omised  to  take  the  oath 
and  those  who  had.  The  last  were  not  completely 
approved  by  the  orthodox.  Rome  was  addressed 
upon  this  subject;  but  out  of  deference  to  the  first 
consul  she  had  declined  giving  any  explanation. 
Cardinal  Maury,  who  had  retired  into  the  Roman 
states,  where  he  became  bishop  of  Montefiascone, 
and  the  intei-mediate  agent  between  the  pope  and 
the  royalist  party,  having  no  desire  at  that  moment 
to  favour  tlie  submission  of  the  priests  to  the  new 
government,  had  interpreted  the  silence  of  the 
pope  in  his  own  manner,  and  sent  to  France  on  the 
subject  of  "  the  promise,"  disapproving  letters, 
which  caused  new  troubles  to  scrupulous  con- 
sciences. 

The  priests,  thus  divided,  had,  each  party,  its 
own  peculiar  hierarchy.  The  constitutional  priests 
obeyed  the  bishops  elected  under  the  civil  consti- 
tution. Among  these  bishops  some  had  died  by 
violence,  some  by  a  natural  death.  Those  who 
died  were  replaced  by  bishops  who,  not  having 
been  regularly  elected,  in  the  midst  of  the  time 
of  the  proscriptions  which  struck  alike  at  all  forms 
of  religion,  had  usurped  their  authority,  or  were 
elected  by  the  clandestine  chapters,  a  species  of 
religious  coteries,  without  any  moral  or  legal  au- 
thority. Thus  the  authority  of  the  constitutional 
bi.shops  themselves,  regarded  in  their  relation  to 
the  civil  constitution,  was  contested  among  their 
own  body,  and  brought  into  disrepute.  There 
were  among  this  body  of  clergy  a  certain  number 
of  i-cspectable  individuals;  but  in  general  they  had 
lost  the  confidence  of  the  faithful,  because  they 
were  known  to  be  at  variance  with  Rome,  and 
because  they  had  lost  the  dignity  <if  the  priesthood 
by  mingling  themselves  up  in  the  religious  and 
political  disputes  of  the  time.  Some  were,  in  fact, 
violent  club-spouters,  destitute  of  moral  worth. 
The  good  among  them  were  sincere  men,  whom 
the  fury  of  Jansenism  had  driven  to  be  schismatic. 

The  pi'etended  orthodox  clergy  had  also  their 
bishops,  who  exercised  a  less  public  authority,  but 
one  more  real,  and  exceedingly  dangerous.  The 
"  unsworn"  bishops  were  nearly  all  emigrants. 
They  had  gone  to  Italy,  Spain,  Germany,  and, 
above  all,  to  England,  whither  they  were  attracted 
hy  the  allowances  afforded  them  from  the  British 
government.  Corresponding  with  their  dioceses, 
by  means  of  grand-vicars,  chosen  by  themselves, 
and  approved  by  Rome,  they  governed  their  sees 
in  distant  exile,  under  the  impulses  and  passions 
to  which  exile  naturally  gives  birth,  and  often  to 
the  advantage  of  the  enemies  of  France.  Those 
who  were  dead,  and  of  these,  in  the  course  of  ten 
years,  the  number  was  considerable,  were  every 
where  replaced  by  concealed  administi'ators,  de- 
riving their  powers  from  the  court  of  Rome.  The 
mode  of  administering  to  vacant  sees  by  the  chap- 
ters, and  not  by  the  agents  of  the  holy  see,  was 
one  of  the  wisest  precautions,  as  well  as  the  more 
ancient,  of  the  Galilean  church  ;  it  was  now  com- 
pletely abandoned.  The  Galilean  church  was  thus 
robbed  of  its  independence;  because  it  came  to  be 
governed  directly  by  Rome  when  it  ceased  to  be 
under  the  bishops  who  had  emigrated.  In  a  little 
time  more,  the  emigrant  bishops  being  all  dead. 


the  entire  of  the  French  church  would  have  been 
placed  under  ultramontane  authority. 

There  are  some  who  regard  but  little  the  moral 
aspect  of  a  social  community  torn  to  pieces  by  a 
thousand  sects,  who  are  of  opinion  that  the  govern- 
ment should  treat  them  with  disregard,  as  strangers 
to  their  policy,  or  else  respect  as  sacred  all  religious 
differences  alike.  There  are  grounds,  however, 
which  forbid  the  display  of  this  arrogant  indif- 
ference, as,  in  case  of  society  being  deeply  troubled, 
and,  more  particularly,  wlien  the  disturbance  is 
ever  ready  to  change  into  physical  disorganiza- 
tion. 

Each  of  these  divisions  of  the  clergy  endeavoured 
to  establish  its  power  over  the  consciences  of  the 
orthodox  in  its  own  view.  The  constitutional 
clergy  had  very  little  i)o\ver  ;  they  were  merely 
subjects  of  recrimination  for  the  Jacobins,  who 
were  in  the  habit  of  declaring  that  the  revolution 
was  every  where  sacrificed,  more  especially  in  the 
persons  of  the  only  priests  that  had  supported  its 
cause.  In  this,  however,  the  goverimient  could 
evidently  do  nothing;  because  it  did  not  belong  to 
the  rulei's  to  dispose  of  the  faithful,  in  favour  of 
one  part  of  the  clergy  above  another.  But  the 
clergy  reputed  to  be  orthodox  operated  upon  the 
minds  of  their  flocks,  in  a  sense  contrary,  entirely, 
to  all  established  order.  They  endeavoured  to 
estrange  from  the  government  all  those,  who, 
W'earied  out  by  the  turmoil  of  civil  dissension,  felt 
inclined  to  rally  around  the  first  consul.  If  it  had 
been  possible  to  awaken  the  bad  passions  that  had 
led  to  the  civil  war  in  La  Vendee,  they  would  have 
done  it.  Through  their  efforts,  discontent  and  mis- 
trust were  sown  all  over  the  country.  The  south, 
in  a  less  submissive  state  to  the  government  than 
La  Vendue,  was  kept  in  continual  commotion;  and 
in  the  mountainous  districts,  in  the  centre  of 
Fi-ance,  the  population  gathered  tumultuously 
around  the  orthodox  priesthood.  Every  where 
the  clergy  alarmed  the  consciences  and  disturbed 
the  peace  of  families,  persuading  those  who  had 
been  baptized  or  married  by  the  sworn  priests, 
that  they  were  out  of  the  pale  of  the  orthodox 
communion;  that  if  they  wished  to  be  true  Chris- 
tians, they  ought  to  be  baptized  and  married  over 
again,  or  give  up  the  state  of  concubinage.  In 
this  mode  the  state  of  families,  not  indeed  in  any 
legal  point  of  view,  but  in  a  religious  sense,  was 
brought  into  question.  There  were  more  than 
ten  thousand  married  priests,  who,  led  on  by  the 
rage  of  the  time,  or  through  terror,  had  sought  in 
marriage,  the  one  the  gratification  of  passions  they 
could  not  control,  the  others  an  abjuration  of 
their  vows,  to  escape  the  scaffold.  They  were 
husbands,  the  fathers  of  numerous  families,  and 
yet  had  no  refuge  from  public  contempt,  as  long  as 
the  pardon  of  the  church  was  withheld  from  them. 

The  purchasers  of  national  property,  a  body  of 
men  whom  the  government  had  the  deepest  in- 
terest in  ])rotecting,  were  living  in  a  state  of  anxiety 
and  oi)pression.  They  were  assailed  on  the  bed 
of  death  by  the  most  sinister  suggestions,  and 
threatened  with  eternal  damnation,  if  they  did  not 
consent  to  such  an  arrangement  of  their  affairs  as 
would  despoil  them  of  all  their  property.  Con- 
fession thus  became  a  powerful  weapon  in  the 
hands  of  the  emigrant  priests,  for  att.acking  the 
rights  of  property,  public  credit,  and,  in  a  word, 


1801. 
March. 


Necessity  of  a  national  religious 
belief. 


THE  CONCORDAT. 


Enduring  character  of  the  Christian 
religion. 


one  of  the  most  c.s,<!ential  princii)les  of  the  revohi- 
tioii,  the  inviolability  of  the  sale  of  the  national 
property.  The  policy  of  the  state  and  the  power 
of  the  law  were  alike  inert  against  evils  of  this 
character. 

Such  disorders  as  these  it  was  impossible  for 
any  government  to  regard  with  indifference.  When 
religious  seels  produce  no  other  effect  than  to  mul- 
tiply over  a  vast  territory,  like  that  of  America,  in 
an  endless  succession,  not  leaving  behind  them 
more  than  the  pa.ssing  remembrance  of  ridiculous 
inventions  or  indecent  practices,  it  may  be  imagined, 
that,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  state  may  continue 
inactive  and  indifferent.  Society  pi-esents  a  de- 
plorable moi-al  aspect,  but  ])ublic  order  is  not 
seriously  affected.  It  was  not  thus  in  the  midst 
of  the  old  French  society  of  ItJOl.  It  was  not 
possible,  without  very  great  danger,  to  deliver 
over  the  care  of  souls  to  factions  that  were  inimical 
to  the  stite.  It  was  not  ])ossible  to  abandon  to 
their  hands  the  torch  of  civil  war,  with  the  liberty 
of  applying  it,  whenever  they  saw  fit,  in  La  Vendue, 
Britany,  or  the  Cevennes.  It  was  not  to  be  per- 
mitted, that  the  i-epose  of  families  should  be 
troubleil,  the  beds  of  the  dying  be  besieged,  to 
e.vtort  iniquitous  conditions,  to  place  in  jenpardy 
the  credit  of  the  government,  and,  finally,  to  shake 
one  class  of  properly,  which  the  revolution  had 
stamped  with  perpetual  inviolability. 

The  first  consul's  mode  of  thinking,  in  regard  to 
the  constitution  of  society,  had  too  much  depth  as 
well  as  justice,  to  permit  his  observation  of  the 
religious  disorders  of  France  at  this  moment  wiili 
an  indifferent  eye.  He  had,  besides,  other  reasons 
of  a  more  elevated  nature  than  those  already 
mentioned,  fur  his  interference  in  the  present  cir- 
cumstances, if  indeed  there  can  be  more  elevated 
reasons  than  public  order  and  the  tranquillity  of 
families. 

Tiiere  must  be  a  religious  belief  ;  and  some  kind 
of  worship  must  be  extant  in  every  state  of  human 
society.  Man,  cast  into  the  midst  of  the  universe, 
without  a  knowledge  whence  he  comes  or  whither 
he  will  go,  why  he  suffers  or  wherefore  he  exists; 
unknowing  what  rewards  or  what  punishments 
may  await  llie  long  struggles  of  life  ;  besieged  by 
the  contradictions  of  his  fellow-beings,  some  of 
whom  tell  him  that  there  is  a  God,  the  profound 
and  wise  author  of  all  things,  and  some  that  there 
is  no  God  at  all;  one  maintaining  that  there  is  a 
law  of  right  and  wrong,  by  which  his  conduct  is  to 
lie  regulated;  another  that  there  is  neither  good 
nor  evil,  but  that  these  are  inventions  of  the  great 
and  powerful  and  selfish  of  the  earth — man,  in  the 
midst  of  these  contradictions,  finds  the  imperious 
necessity  of  having  some  fixed  standard  of  belief. 
Whether  true  or  false,  sublime  or  ridiculous,  he 
must  have  a  religion.  Every  where,  in  all  times 
and  countries,  in  the  days  of  antiquity  as  in  those 
more  modern,  in  civilized  as  in  barbarous  nations, 
he  is  found  a  worhhip|)er  at  some  nlt;ir,  either 
venerable,  ignoble,  or  sanguinary.  Wherever 
there  is  no  dominant  fonn  of  belief,  a  thousand 
sects,  given  to  obstinaUj  disputatirms,  as  in  America, 
or  a  thousand  shameful  suix^rstitions,  as  in  China, 
agitate  and  degrade  the  hinnan  mind  ;  or  thus, 
as  in  France,  in  ITXi,  when  a  passing  commotion 
swept  away  the  ancient  religion  of  the  country, 
at    the    vcrj-   moment   that  lie    vowed   his   belief 


in  nothing,  man  forswore  liimself  directly  after- 
ward.«,  by  the  insensate  worship  of  the  goddess  of 
Reason,  inaugurated  at  the  side  of  the  scaffold,  as 
if  to  prove  that  his  vow  was  as  vain  as  it  was  im- 
pious. 

To  judge  man,  therefore,  by  liis  constant  and 
ordinary  conduct,  he  has  need  of  a  religious  be- 
lief ;  and  such  being  the  fact,  nothing  cail  be  more 
desirable  for  a  civilized  society  than  a  national 
faith,  founded  on  the  real  feelings  of  the  human 
heart,  conformable  to  the  regulation  of  a  jture 
morality,  hallowed  by  time,  and  which,  without 
liersecution  or  intolerance,  can  unite,  at  the  foot 
of  a  venerable  and  respected  altar,  if  not  the  uni- 
versality, at  least  the  large  majority  of  the 
citizens. 

A  creed  of  tiiis  nature  cannot  be  invenied  for 
the  purpose,  it  nmst  be  the  growth  of  ages.  Phi- 
losophers, even  the  most  sublime,  may  "be  able  to 
create  a  new  system,  and  may  act,  through  science, 
upon  the  age  which  they  honour;  but  they  can  only 
make  men  think,  not  believe.  Warriors,  covered 
with  glory,  may  be  able  to  lay  the  foundations  of 
an  empire,  but  they  cannot  found  a  religion.  In 
past  times,  sages  and  heroes,  there  is  no  doubt, 
attributing  to  themselves  celestial  communications, 
have  en.slaved  the  popular  mind  with  systems  of 
belief.  In  modern  days,  the  founder  of  a  new  re- 
ligion would  be  regarded  as  an  impostor;  whether 
surrounded  by  the  terrore  of  Robespierre,  or  the 
glory  that  encircled  young  Bonaparte,  the  attempt 
would  equally  terminate  in  ridicule. 

There  was  nothing  to  be  invented  in  1800.  The 
pure,  moral,  ancient  faith  existed;  the  old  religion 
of  Christ — the  work  of  God  according  to  some,  of 
man  according  to  others;  but  under  all  views,  the 
profound  work  of  a  sublime  reformer,  a  reformer 
connnented  upon  for  eighteen  centuries,  by  coun- 
cils, consisting  of  assemblies  of  eminent  men  of 
every  age,  occupied  in  discussing,  under  the  title 
of  heresies,  every  system  of  philosophy,  adopting, 
successively,  on  each  of  the  great  problems  upon 
the  destiny  of  man,  the  most  plausible  opinions, 
and  those  most  suited  to  society,  and  adopting  such 
opinions  by  what  might  be  called  a  majority  of  the 
human  race.  Thus,  at  last,  they  arrived  at  the  pro- 
duction of  that  unvarying  doctrine,  often  attacked, 
and  ever  triumphant,  the  Catkolic  Unity,  at  the 
foot  of  which  the  first  men  of  genius  prostrated 
themselves.  That  religion  still  existed;  it  was  the 
same  that  had  extended  itself  over  every  civilized 
people,  formed  theii  manners,  inspired  their  songs, 
iurnishcd  the  subjects  of  their  poesy,  their  pictures, 
and  statues;  whose  traces  were  stamped  upon  all 
national  recollections,  whose  sign  was  emblazoned 
upon  their  colours,  alternately  vanquished  and  vic- 
torious. It  had  for  a  moment  disappeared,  during 
a  raging  tem])est  of  the  human  mind  ;  but  that 
U'mpest  blown  over,  the  necessity  of  a  religion 
returned,  and  it  was  found  deei)ly  seated  in  the 
bottom  of  the  soul,  the  natural  and  indispensable 
faith  of  France  and  of  Europe. 

What  more  was  indicated  as  necessary  in  1800, 
than  to  raise  up  again  the  altar  of  St.  Louis,  of 
Charlemagne,  and  of  Clovis,  which  had  been  for  a 
moment  overturned?  Bonaparte  would  have  ren- 
dered himself  ridiculous  if  he  had  set  himself  up 
for  a  prophet  or  a  dealer  in  revcdation  ;  he  was  in 
the  truo  si)here  assigned  him  by  Providence,  for 


^j,_  Bonaparte's  opinions  upon 
-''"      religion. — He  proposes  to 


re-establish  the  Catholic 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE,   religion.- 

his  plan. 


elevating  again  their  venerable  altar  with  his  own 
victorious  liands,  and  bringing  back  to  the  faith,  by 
bis  own  example,  the  population  that  for  a  time 
had  wandered  from  its  way.  His  glory  alone  was 
equal  to  such  a  task.  Men  of  the  greatest  genius, 
not  only  among  philosopher.s,  but  kings,  Voltaire 
and  Frederic  of  Prussia,bad  thrown  contempt  on  the 
Catholic  i»eligion,  and  by  their  example  gave  origin 
to  the  railleries  cast  upon  it  for  fifty  years.  General 
Bdiiiiparte,  who  had  as  much  mind  as  Voltaire, 
while  he  excelled  Frederic  in  glory,  was  able  of 
himself,  by  his  example  and  aspect,  to  put  to 
silence  the'jcors  of  the  last  century. 

Upon  this  .subject,  he  had  in  his  mind  not  the 
smallest  doubt.  The  double  motive  of  re-establish- 
ing order  in  the  state  and  in  private  families,  of 
satisfying  the  mere  want  of  souls,  inspired  him 
with  the  firm  resolution  to  restore  the  Catholic 
religion  to  its  former  footing,  deprived,  indeed,  of 
its  political  attributes,  for  he  regarded  these  as 
altogether  incompatible  with  the  existing  state  of 
French  society. 

Is  there  then  any  necessity,  with  such  motives 
for  his  guide,  to  inquire  whether  he  acted  through 
the  inspiration  of  a  religious  faith,  through 
policy  or  ambition  I  He  acted  under  the  influence 
of  wisdom,  in  fact,  through  a  profound  knowledge 
of  the  human  heart ;  that  may  suffice  :  the  ■  rest 
remains  a  mystery,  that  cm-io.sity,  always  natural  in 
ob-serving  the  conduct  of  a  great  genius,  may  endea- 
vour to  penetrate,  but  which  in  reality  imports 
little.  It  nnist  still  be  observed  thus  far,  that  the 
moral  constitution  of  Bonaparte  inclined  him  to 
religious  ideas  '.  An  intelligence  of  a  superior  cast 
is  always,  in  proportion  to  its  innate  superiority, 
struck  by  tlie  beauties  of  creation.  It  is  intellect 
which  discovers  and  penetrates  into  the  intellect  of 
the  universe  ;  a  great  mind  is  more  capable  than 
an  inferior  one,  of  seeing  the  Supreme  Being 
through  his  works.  Bonaparte  willingly  entered 
upon  controversial  discussions  upon  questions  oF 
religion  or  philosophy  with  j\Ionge,  Lagrange,  and 
Laplace,  men  of  learning  whom  he  greatly  honoured 
and  esteemed  ;  and  he  often  embarrassed  them  in 

'  Bonaparte,  upon  his  own  authority,  was  much  touched 
by  early  associatiotis,  as  all  men  of  genius  are.  This,  if  any 
thing  ber.ides  but  the  sound  policy  that  directed  his  conduct, 
will  fully  account  both  for  the  restoration  of  the  Catholic 
church — verj'  dilferent  in  constitution  from  that  the  Revolu- 
tion destroyed,  it  must  be  admitted — without  attributing  to 
liim  any  participation  in  its  peculiar  doctrines.  He  was  a 
believer  in  a  Supnnie  Cause,  but  not  in  the  doctrines  of  a 
Christian  church,  as  the  sense  of  our  author  would  seem 
distinctly  to  leave  to  be  inferred.  Bonaparte  said  at  St. 
Helena:  "Every  thing  proclaims  the  existence  of  a  God, 
t/iai  cannot  lie  questioned;  but  all  our  religions  are  evidently 
the  work  of  men.  Why  are  they  so  many  ?  Why  has  ours 
not  always  existed  ?  Why  does  it  consider  itself  exclusively 
the  right  one?  What  becomes,  in  that  case,  of  all  the  vir- 
tuous men  that  have  gone  before  us  ?  Why  do  tbe.se  religions 
revile,  oppose,  exterminate  one  another?  Why  has  this 
been  the  case  ever  and  every  where?  Because  men  are 
ever  men ;  because  priests  have  ever  and  every  where  intro- 
duced fraud  and  falsehood.  However,  as  soon  as  I  had  the 
power,  I  immediately  re-estaljlished  religion.  I  made  it  the 
ground-work  and  foundation  upon  whicli  I  built,"  &c. 
Again:  "I  am  assuredly  very  fir  from  being  an  atheist; 
but  I  cannot  believe  all  I  am  taught,  in  spile  of  my  reason, 
■without  being  false  and  an  hypocrite."  Las  Cases'  St. 
H^i^EV  A.— Translator. 


their  incredulity  by  the  clearness,  originality,  and 
strength  of  his  arguments.  To  this  it  must  be  added, 
that  he  was  brought  up  in  an  uncultivated  and 
religious  country,  under  the  eyes  of  a  pious  mother; 
and  the  sight  of  an  old  catholic  altar  awakened  in  him 
the  recollections  of  his  infancy,  always  so  powerful 
in  a  sensitive  and  lofty  imagination.  In  respect  to 
ambition,  to  which  certain  detractors  have  ascribed 
his  conduct  in  this  circumstance,  he  had  no  other 
at  the  time  than  to  act  as  was  best  for  his  object  in 
every  thing ;  and  without  doubt  if  he  saw  that  any 
augmentation  of  power  would  accrue  in  the  way  of 
recompense,  for  a  work  so  well  accomplished,  he 
may  be  well  excused  for  indulging  tlie  feeling. 
It  is  the  noblest,  most  legitimate,  ambition,  which 
seeks  to  ground  its  power  in  satisfying  the  real 
necessities  of  a  nation. 

The  task  which  he  proposed  to  perform,  though 
apparently  very  easy,  because  it  was  directed  to  the 
satisfaction  of  a  public  want,  was  a  very  hard  one. 
Those  who  surrounded  him  were,  nearly  all  without 
exception,  very  little  inclined  to  the  re-establish- 
ment of  the  old  system  of  wor.ship.  They  were  men 
who,  whether  magistrates,  soldiers,  men  of  litera- 
ture or  science,  had  been  among  the  founders  of 
the  French  revolution,  the  true  and  staunch  de- 
fenders of  the  revolution  now  decried,  and  they 
were  those  with  whom  it  was  required  to  carry  it 
out  to  completion,  by  tlie  reparation  of  its  errors 
and  the  definitive  hallowing  of  its  rational  and  legi- 
timate results.  The  first  consul  was  thus  compelled 
to  act  oj)i)osite  to  his  colleagues,  supportei's,  and 
friends.  These  individuals,  belonging  to  the  ranks 
of  the  moderate  revolutionists,  liad  never,  with 
Robespierre  and  St.  Just,  spilled  human  blood. 
There  was  no  difficulty  in  their  disavowal  of  the 
frantic  excesses  of  the  rev(ilution;  but  they  had 
become  involved  in  the  errors  of  the  constituent 
assembly,  and  were  accustomed  to  repeat,  laugh- 
ingly, the  pleasantries  of  Voltaire.  It  was  not  easy 
for  them  to  be  made  to  acknowledge  that  they  had 
mistaken,  for  so  lung  a  time,  the  stronger  truths  of 
social  order.  Men  of  learning,  like  Laplace,  La- 
grange, and  above  all,  Monge,  said  to  the  first  con- 
sul, that  he  was  going  to  lay  at  the  feet  of  Rome  all 
the  dignity  of  his  government  and  of  his  age. 
Rcfiderer,  the  most  furious  monarcjiist  of  tliC  day, 
\\  ho  would  have  royalty  restored  in  its  most  perfect 
form  as  quickly  as  possible,  saw  with  trouble  the 
project  for  the  restoration  of  the  old  forms  of  wor- 
ship. Talleyrand  himself,  the  industricjus  promoter 
of  every  thing  that  might  make  the  present  ap- 
jiroximate  to  the  past,  and  France  to  the  other 
states  of  Europe  ;  Talleyrand,  the  second  labourer 
in,  and  a  useful  and  zealous  labourer  too,  at  the  work 
of  the  general  peace,  even  he  regarded  with  great 
coolness  what  was  usually  denominated  the  religious 
l)eace.  He  was  opposed  to  any  further  persecution 
of  the  priests,  but  he  felt  chagrined  at  certain  per- 
sonal recollections,  and  was  not  at  all  desirous  of 
the  re-et'tablishmcnt  of  the  old  Catholic  church, 
with  its  discipline  and  regulations.  The  comrades 
in  arms  of  the  first  consul,  the  generals  who  had 
fought  under  him,  destitute,  as  most  of  them  were, 
of  the  first  rudiments  of  education,  brought  up 
amidst  the  vulgar  railleries  of  camps,  some  of  them 
declainiers  in  clubs,  were  repugnant  to  the  restora- 
tion of  worship.  Although  covered  with  glory, 
they  appeared  to  appi'ehend  the  ridicule  that  would 


His  ar,?umeiits  against  his 
opponents. 


THE  CONCORDAT. 


Inaction  in  religious  affairs 
repudiated. 


287 


fall  upon  them  at  the  foot  of  the  altar.  Lastly,  the 
brothers  of  the  first  consul,  who  as.sociated  a  great 
deal  with  littrarv  men,  and  were  jet  more  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  the  writings  of  the  preceding  cen- 
tury, wereappreliensive  on  account  of  their  brothers 
power,  fearing  every  thing  that  bore  the  aspect  of 
offering  a  serious  resistance,  and  not  discovering 
that  beyond  the  interested  or  ignorant  resistance  of 
those  who  were  in  opposition  to  tlie  government, 
there  was  a  real  want,  already  felt  by  the  popular 
masses — they  endeavoured  to  dissuade  their  bro- 
ther from  what  they  deemed  an  imprudent  and 
premature  reaction. 

The  first  consul  was  besieged  with  every  kind  of 
advice.  Some  wished  to  dissuade  him  from  toucli- 
ing  upon  religious  mattei-s  at  all,  to  limit  him- 
self to  putting  a  stop  to  the  persecution  of  tlie 
priests,  and  leave  the  sworn  and  unsworn  clergy  to 
arrange  their  own  differences.  Others,  who  were 
aware  of  the  danger  of  inaction  and  indifference, 
urged  him  to  seize  the  occasion,  and  by  making 
himself  innnediately  tlie  head  of  the  French  church, 
prevent  the  immense  influence  of  i"eligion  being 
used  in  France  by  a  foreign  authority.  Many 
propiised  to  him  to  urge  on  France  to  protestant- 
ism, saying,  that  if  he  would  set  the  example  of 
becoming  a  protestant,  France  would  quickly  fol- 
low his  example. 

The  first  consul  resisted,  with  tlie  utmost  efforts 
of  his  reasonmg  and  eloquence,  these  vulgar  coun- 
sels. He  had  formed,  for  his  own  use,  a  small 
library  of  religious  books,  exceedingly  well  selected, 
the  greater  part  relating  to  the  history  of  the  church, 
and  above  all  to  the  relations  of  the  church  with 
the  state.  He  had  the  Latin  works  of  Bossuet 
upon  this  subject  translated.  He  read  all  these 
with  greiit  earnestness  in  the  short  intervals  wiiich 
his  j)ublic  duties  allowed  him,  and  supplying  with 
his  genius  that  of  which  he  was  ignorant,  as  he  did 
when  he  drew  up  the  civil  code,  he  astonish  d 
every  body  by  the  ju.stice,  variety,  and  extent  of 
his  knowledge  upon  the  different  forms  of  worship. 
According  to  his  usual  custom,  when  a  thought 
<)ccui)ied  his  mind,  he  entered  upon  its  discussion, 
day  after  day,  with  his  colleagues,  the  ministers,  or 
the  legislative  body,  in  fact  with  all  and  every  one 
with  whom  he  believed  it  useful  to  regulate  and 
coiTect  an  opinion.  He  successively  refuted  the 
eiToneous  systems  proposed  to  him,  and  he  did  so 
with  lucid,  fair,  and  decisive  arguments. 

To  the  system,  wliich  consists  in  not  meddling 
with  religious  affairs.  In;  answered  that  tiie  iiidilfer- 
ence  so  |)rcached  up  by  certain  disdainful  persons, 
w;i8  of  small  account  with  a  people  whom  they  had 
very  recently  seen,  for  example,  take  possession  of 
a  church  by  force,  and  thnraten  to  pdlage  it  be- 
cause the  rites  of  sepulture  had  been  denied  to  an 
actress,  who  had  been  a  public  favourite.  How  was 
it  possible  to  remain  indifferent  in  a  country  where- 
with the  pretension  of  indifference  to  religiitn  there 
was  so  little  indifference  in  reality  ?  The  first  con- 
sul asked  besides,  how  it  was  possible  to  avoid  in- 
terfering, when  the  priests,  "  sworn"  and  "  un- 
sworn," were  continually  disputing  with  each 
other  for  the  religious  edifices,  and  calling  inces- 
santly upon  the  government  for  its  intervention  to 
eject  those  in  possession,  and  put  their  op])onent8 
in  their  places.  He  demanded  what  lie  was  to  do 
when  the  constitutional  clergy,   already    little  at- 


tended by  the  religious  part  of  the  community, 
should  be  entirely  abandoned,  and  the  party  who 
I  had  refused  to  take  the  oath,  should  alone  be  lis- 
I  tened  to  and  followed,  and  should  be  exclusively  in 
I  possession  of  the  privilege  of  performing  duty,  as 
'  had  happened  already,  and  of  performing  it  too  in 
the  midst  of  clandestine  congregations.  Would  it 
not  be  an  imperious  duty  to  restore  the  temporal 
part  of  the  woi-ship  to  those  who  could  alone  exer- 
cise the  spiritual  '.  Would  not  that  be  an  interfer- 
ence ?  And  then  the  priests,  whose  provisions  in 
land  had  been  seized  during  the  revolution,  must 
have  the  means  of  living,  be  placed  on  the  list  of 
state  pensioners  in  the  budget,  or  be  permitted  to 
organize,  under  the  name  of  voluntary  contribu- 
tions, a  vast  system  of  taxation,  the  jiroducc  of 
which  would  be  30,000,000  f.  or  40,000,000  f.,  the 
entire  distribution  of  which  would  remain  in  their 
own  hands,  perhaps  in  the  hands  of  foreigners,  and 
go  some  day,  without  the  knowledge  of  the  govern- 
ment, to  the  support  of  the  old  soldiers  of  the  civil 
war  in  La  Vendee.  However,  it  might  be  consi- 
dered, the  government  would  be  soon  forced, 
despite  its  inaction,  to  take  some  part  either  for 
the  support  of  good  order  or  for  the  disposal  of  the 
edifices  of  worship,  for  paying  the  j)riests  itself,  or 
watching  the  mode  in  wliich  they  exacted  their 
remuneration.  Thus,  there  would  be  incurred  the 
charge  of  governing  without  the  advantages,  with- 
out being  able,  whieli  it  would  be  prudent  to  do, 
by  an  arrangement  with  the  holy  see,  to  secure 
to  itself  the  religious  administration,  to  bring  back 
the  clergy  to  the  government,  associate  them  in 
the  work  of  reparation,  re-establish  the  quiet  of 
families,  tranquillize  the  minds  of  the  dying,  the 
possessors  of  national  property,  the  married  priests 
and  others:  indeed  all  who  had  l}een  committed  by 
the  part  they  had  acted  in  the  revolution. 

Inaction,  then,  was  a  complete  dream,  according 
to  the  first  consul,  and  it  was,  besides,  no  more 
than  an  excuse,  devised  by  those  who  had  no  prac- 
tical notion  of  the  art  of  governing. 

As  to  the  plan  of  creating  a  French  church  free 
of  all  foreign  supremacy,  like  that  of  England,  hav- 
ing, in  place  of  a  spiritual  head  abroad,  a  temporal 
head  at  home,  which  could  be  no  other  than  the 
government  itself,  or,  in  other  words,  the  first  con- 
sul, that  was  eiiually  vain  and  contemptible.  What 
he,  a  soldier  wearing  a  sword  and  sjinrs,  giving 
battles — he  the  head  of  a  church,  a  species  of  pope 
regulating  discijiline  and  dogma  !  They  would  not 
surely  attem])t  to  make  him  as  odious  as  Robes- 
l)ierre,  the  inventor  of  the  worship  of  the  Supreme 
Being,  or  as  ridiculous  as  Larcveillere  Le|)eaux, 
the  inventor  of  the  theo-philanthrojiy  !  VVho,  in 
suclj  a  case  was  he  to  have  for  his  disciples  ? 
Who  would  compose  his  fiock  of  the  iaithful  ? 
They  would  not,  most  assuredly,  bo  orthodox  Chris- 
tians, to  whom  the  majority  of  Catholics  belonged, 
but  who  had  an  aversion  to  following  excellent 
))riests,  who  had  no  other  fault  than  that  of  taking 
the  oath  prescribed  by  the  law.  The  jinly  follow- 
ers for  whom  he  could  hope,  wouhl  be  a  few  bad 
priests,  a  few  runaway  monks  out  of  the  convent^, 
habituated  to  clubs,  that,  having  led  bad  lives,  ami 
wishing  to  continue  in  the  same  course,  awaited 
the  head  of  the  new  church  to  obtain  for  the 
priests  permission  to  marry!  Ho  could  not,  for  his 
part,  hope  to  number  among  his  Hock    the  abbe 


Bonaparte  rejects 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


protestantism. 


Gregoire,  who,  in  demanding  in  all  things  a  return 
to  the  primitive  church,  still  clung  to  continuing 
in  communion  with  the  successor  of  St.  Peter  ! 
He  could  Hdt  have  Lare'veillere  Lepeaux,  who 
wanted  to  confine  republican  worship  to  some  reli- 
gious staves,  and  a  few  fl(jwers  strewed  upon  an 
altar  !  Was  such  tiie  clmrcli  of  which  they  desired 
to  make  him  the  chief  or  head  !  Was  that  the  cha- 
racter to  which  they  were  desirous  he  should  be 
reduced,  the  victor  at  Rivuli  and  Marengo,  the  re- 
storer of  social  order  ?  Yet,  was  this  scheme  pro- 
posed to  him  by  friends  jealous  of  liberty  !  But  in 
supposing  that  such  a  scheme  might  succeed,  wliich 
was  besides  impossible  to  be  the  case,  suppose  it  to 
succeed,  and  that  to  his  temporal  power,  already 
so  great,  they  should  unite  the  spiritual,  the  first 
consul  would  become  the  most  formidable  of 
tyrants;  he  would  be  master  of  body  and  soul,  not 
less  than  the  sultan  at  Constantinople,  who  is  at 
once  the  head  of  the  state,  of  the  army,  and  of  the 
faith  !  Again  the  hypothesis  was  vain  ;  he  could 
only  be  a  ridiculous  tyrant,  because  he  could  only 
be  successful  by  producing  the  most  foolish  schism 
of  all.  He  who  wished  to  be  the  pacificator  of 
France  and  of  the  world,  to  terminate  all  the  reli- 
gious and  i)olitical  divisions,  was  he  to  become  the 
founder  of  a  new  schism,  only  a  little  more  absurd, 
and  not  less  dangerous,  than  those  that  had  pre- 
ceded it  ?  "  Yes,  without  doubt,"  said  the  first 
consul,'"  a  pope  will  be  necessary  for  me;  but  a 
pope  who  will  reconcile  in  place  of  dividing  men's 
minds;  who  will  i-euuite  them,  and  gain  them  to 
the  government  sprung  fi-om  the  revolution,  as  the 
price  for  the  protection  which  they  will  obtain.  For 
this  purpose  the  real  pojjc,  catholic,  apostolic,  and 
Roman,  he,  whose  seat  is  in  the  Vatican,  will  suit 
me.  With  the  French  armies  and  due  considera- 
tion, I  shall  always  be  sufficiently  his  master. 
!  When  I  shall  again  raise  up  tlie  altars,  protect  the 
priests,  feed  them,  and  treat  them  as  ministers  of 
religion  deserve  to  be  treated  in  every  country, 
I  he  will  do  all  I  require  of  him  for  the  interest  of 
the  general  tranquillity.  He  will  calm  men's  minds, 
reunite  them  under  his  own  hand,  and  place  them 
under  mine.  Less  than  this  is  only  a  continuance 
and  an  aggravation  of  the  desolating  schism  which 
is  eating  us  up,  and  towards  me  points  a  great 
ineffaceable  ridicule." 

The  idea  of  urging  protestantism  upon  France, 
.appeared  to  the  first  consul  beyond  being  ridiculous; 
it  was  odious.  First,  he  thought  he  should  succeed 
no  better  with  it ;  according  to  him,  people  were 
wrong  who  fancied  that  in  France  it  was  possible 
for  him  to  di)  what  he  wished.  It  was  an  error  by 
no  means  honourable  for  ttiose  who  fell  into  it,  for 
.it  implied  that  France  was  destitute  of  opinion  and 
conscience.  He  did  what  he  wislied,  some  said: — 
"Yes,"  lie  would  reply,  "  but  only  in  the  sense  of 
her  real  and  sensible  wants."  France  had  been 
in  deep  troubles,  and  he  had  conducted  her  to  per- 
fect peace  ;  he  liad  found  iier  the  j)rey  of  anar- 
chists, wlio  even  began  to  forget  how  to  defend  her 
against  foreigners,  and  he  had  dispersed  those 
anarchists,  re-established  order,  sent  at  a  distance 
from  the  frontiers  the  Austrians  and  Russians  ; 
given  the  peace  for  which  she  was  so  earnest ;  had 
put  a  stop,  in  a  word,  to  the  scandals  of  a  feeble 
and  dissolute  government;  was  it  at  all  astonishing 
that  France  had  permitted  him  to  do  these  things  ? 


Again,  recently  the  opposition  in  the  tribunate  had 
desired  to  refuse  him  the  means  of  clearing  the  high 
roads  of  the  robbers  which  infested  them.  Yet  after 
that  tliere  were  some  persons  who  pretended  that 
he  could  do  what  he  pleased.  It  was  a  mistake. 
He  was  able  to  do  that  which  the  necessities  and 
opinions  predominant  in  France  gave  him  power 
to  do,  and  no  more.  He  could  act  better,  more 
powerfully  than  another,  but  he  could  do  nothing 
against  the  actual  movement  of  opinion.  That 
movement  pointed  towards  the  re-establishment  of 
all  things  essential  to  society;  and  religion  was  the 
foremost.  "  I  am  very  powerful  at  present,"  cried 
the  first  consul ;  "  very  well — were  I  to  wish  to 
change  the  old  religion  of  France,  she  would  array 
herself  against  me  and  conquer  me.  Do  you  know 
when  the  country  was  hostile  to  the  catholic  reli- 
gion ?  It  was  when  the  government,  in  conjunction 
with  it,  burned  books,  and  sent  to  the  wheel  Calas 
and  Labarre;  but  you  may  be  sure,  that  were  I  to 
become  an  enemy  to  religion,  the  entire  country 
would  join  her.  I  should  change  those  who  wei-e 
indift'erent  into  staunch  catholics.  I  should  be  a 
little  less  jested  upon,  perhaps,  for  desiring  to  push 
on  protestantism,  than  if  I  set  myself  up  for  the 
patriarch  of  the  Gallican  church;  but  I  should  soon 
be  an  object  of  public  hatred.  Is  protestantism  the 
old  religion  of  France  ?  Is  that  the  faith  which 
after  long  civil  wars,  after  a  thousand  contests,  was 
definitively  fixed  as  the  faith  most  in  conformity  to 
the  manners  and  genius  of  our  nation  ?  Is  it  not 
easy  to  be  seen,  that  it  is  doing  violence  to  desire 
to  force  one's  opinion  upon  a  people,  to  create  for 
them  usages,  tastes,  and  recollections  which  they 
cannot  feel  ?  A  princiiml  charm  of  religion  is  in 
the  recollections  it  recalls."  "  For  my  part,"  said 
the  first  consul  one  day  in  conversation,  "  when  I 
am  at  Malmaison,  I  never  hear  the  sound  of  the 
bell  from  the  neighbouring  village  without  emotion ; 
who  in  France  would  be  thus  moved  in  those 
chapels  were  no  one  had  ever  gone  in  his  infancy, 
and  of  which  the  cold  and  severe  aspect  accords  .so 
ill  with  the  manners  and  feelings  of  our  country." 
It  may  be  thought  advantageous,  perhaps,  not  to  be 
dependent  upon  a  foreign  head  of  the  church.  It 
is  an  error.  Every  where,  and  for  all,  there  must 
be  a  head.  There  is  no  more  admirable  institution 
than  that  which  maintains  a  unity  of  faith,  and 
prevents,  as  n)uch  as  possible,  religious  disputes. 
There  is  nothing  moi-e  offensive  than  a  crowd  of 
sects  disputing  together,  dealing  out  invectives, 
combating  with  arms  in  their  hands,  if  in  their 
first  excess  of  passion;  or  if  tliey  have  acquii-ed  the 
habit  of  living  side  by  side,  regarding  each  other 
with  a  jealous  eye,  forming  coteries  in  the  state 
which  sustain  each  other,  urging  on  their  own  par- 
tizans,  keeping  rival  sects  at  a  distance,  and  giving 
the  government  numerous  embarrassments.  'I'he 
quarrels  of  religious  sects  are  insupportable.  Dis- 
putation is  the  province  of  science  ;  it  animates, 
sustains,  and  conducts  it  to  discoveries.  To  what 
do  religious  disputes  lead,  if  not  to  the  uncertainty 
and  ruin  of  all  belief?  Besides,  when  the  spirit  is 
directed  to  theological  controversy,  the  controvei'sy 
is  so  absorbing,  that  the  mind  of  man  is  turned 
away  from  all  useful  research.  Rai'ely  do  we  en- 
counter theological  controversy  combined  with  any 
great  mental  operation.  Religious  quarrels  are 
criiel  and  sanguinary,  or  dry,  bitter,  and  unfruitful 


1801. 
March. 


Bonaparte's  opinions 


THE  CONCORDAT. 


concerning  religious  systems. 


— none  are  more  odious.  Inquiry  in  mattere  of 
science;  faitli  in  mattei-s  of  rtli<5ion.  Such  is  the 
truly  useful  coui-sc.  The  institution  which  sup- 
ports a  unity  of  faith,  that  is  to  say  the  pope,  as 
the  guardian  of  catholic  unitj-,  is  an  admirable 
institution.  This  head  of  the  church  is  reproached 
for  being  a  foreign  sovereign.  He  is  so,  and  it  is 
right  to  thank  Heaven  for  it.  What— can  there  be 
imagined  in  any  country  a  parallel  authority  by  the 
side  of  the  temporal  government  of  the  state  ? 
Thus  united,  such  an  authority  would  be  the  sultan's 
despotism  ;  separate,  hostile  perhaps,  to  the  poli- 
tical government,  it  must  generate  a  fearful  and 
intolerable  rivalry.  The  pope  is  out  of  Paris  ;  so 
far  it  is  well.  He  is  neither  in  Madrid,  nor  in 
Vienna;  and  it  is  on  that  account  we  support  his 
spiritual  authority.  At  Vienna  and  Madrid  they 
congratulate  themselves  for  the  same  reason.  Do 
you  think  that  if  he  were  in  Paris,  the  Viennese, 
the  Sjianiards,  would  pay  attention  to  his  decisions  ? 
It  is  fortunate  that  lie  does  not  i-eside  among  us, 
and  that  in  residing  away  from  us,  he  does  not 
dwell  among  our  rivals  ;  that  he  hihabits  the 
ancient  Rome,  afar  from  the  hands  of  the  empe- 
rors of  Germany,  afar  from  the  kings  of  France  or 
Spain,  holding  the  balance  between  the  catholic 
sovereigns,  inclining  a  little  always  to  the  strongest, 
but  soon  recovering  from  that  position  if  the  strong- 
est becomes  an  oppressor.  Centuries  have  brougiit 
this  about  at  last,  and  have  done  it  well.  For  ilie 
government  of  souls  it  is  the  best,  the  most  benefi- 
cent institution  that  one  can  imagine. 

"  I  do  not  maintain  these  opinions,"  said  the  first 
consul,  "with  the  warmth  of  a  devotee,  but  by  the 
rule  of  reason."  "  Listen,"  one  day  he  said  to 
Monge,  whom  he  most  liighly  esteemed  of  all  the 
learned  of  that  day,  and  whom  he  had  constantly 
with  him,  "  my  religion,  and  such  as  mine,  is  very 
simple.  I  look  at  this  universe  so  great,  so  com- 
plicated, so  magnificent;  and  I  say  to  myself,  This 
could  not  have  been  produced  by  chance,  but  is  the 
work,  for  whatever  tnd  intended,  of  an  all-power- 
ful, unknown  Being,  as  superior  himself  to  man,  as 
the  universe  is  superi(jr  to  man's  noblest  machines. 
Search,  Monge  ;  get  the  assistance  of  your  friends, 
the  mathematicians  and  philosophers,  you  will  not 
find  one  more  powerful  or  more  decisive  argument 
than  this  ;  and  whatever  you  may  do  to  combat  it, 
you  caimot  weaken  its  force.  Yet  this  truth  is 
too  succinct  for  man.  He  wishes  to  know  all 
about  hiniHelf,  about  the  future,  and  a  whole  crowd 
of  secrets  wiiich  the  universe  does  not  disclose. 
Allow  religion,  th<  ii,  to  inform  him  of  all  of  which 
he  feels  th<'  want  of  knowledge,  and  respect  that 
which  she  will  disclose.  It  is  true,  that  what  one 
creed  advances  as  infallibly  correct,  is  contradicted 
by  another.  As  for  me,  I  come  to  a  different  con- 
clusion from  M-  Volney.  Iiiasnmch  as  there  are 
different  creeds,  which  naturally  draw  conclu.sions 
against  each  other,  he  concludes  that  all  are  bad. 
I  should  rather  find  them  all  good,  because  all  at 
bottom  say  the  same  thing.  They  are  wrong  only 
when  they  wish  to  proscribe  one  another  :  that 
must  be  prevented  by  good  laws.  The  catholic 
religion  is  that  of  our  country,  that  in  which 
we  were  born  ;  it  has  a  government  wisely  con- 
ceived, which  hindirs  disputes  as  much  an  it  i-> 
possible  to  do  so  und«;r  the  disputing  temper  of 
men  ;  this   government  ia  out  of   Paris,  that  we 


must  applaud  ;  it  is  not  at  Vienna,  it  is  not  at 
Madrid,  it  is  at  Rome  ;  therefore  it  is  accept- 
able. If,  since  the  uistitution  of  the  papacy,  there 
be  any  thing  equally  i)erfect,  it  is  the  relation  of 
the  Galilean  church  with  the  holy  see,  submissive 
and  independent  at  the  same  time :  submissive 
in  matters  of  faith,  independent  in  the  policy  of 
worship.  The  catholic  unity  and  the  articles  of 
Bossuet  show  the  true  form  of  religious  govern- 
ment. It  is  that  we  must  re-establish.  As  to 
protestantism,  it  has  a  right  to  the  strongest  pro- 
tection of  the  government ;  those  who  profess  it 
have  an  absolute  right  to  an  equal  participation  in 
social  advantages;  but  it  is  not  the  religion  of 
France:  this  centuries  past  have  decided.  In  pro- 
posing to  make  it  the  prevalent  system,  you  propose 
an  act  of  violence,  and  an  impossibility.  Besides, 
what  is  more  frightful  than  a  schism?  What 
is  more  enfeebling  to  a  nati<in  ?  Of  all  civil  wars, 
that  which  enters  most  deeply  into  the  heart,  which 
troubles  families  most  i)ainfully,  is  a  religious  war. 
We  must  finish  all  chance  of  this.  Peace  with 
Europe  is  concluded  :  let  us  maintain  it  as  long  as 
we  are  able  to  do  so  ;  but  religious  peace  is  the  most 
pressing  of  all.  That  once  concluded  we  have  no 
cause  for  fearing  any  thing.  It  is  doubtful  if 
Europe  will  leave  us  long  at  peace  ;  that  she  will 
be  satisfied  to  see  us  always  as  powerful  as  we 
are  now.  But  when  France,  as  one  man,  shall 
be  united  ;  when  the  Vende'ans  and  the  Bretons 
shall  march  in  our  armies  with  the  Burgundians, 
the  Lorrainese,  and  the  Franc-Comptois,  we  shall 
have  no  more  to  fear  from  Europe,  though  it  be  all 
in  union  against  us." 

Such  were  the  kind  of  conversations  continually 
held  by  the  first  consul  with  his  more  intimate 
counsellors,  Cambaceres  and  Lebrun,  who  were  of 
his  opinion,  and  with  Talleyrand,  Fouche',  and 
Roederer,  who  were  opposed  to  him  on  this  ques- 
tion, also  with  a  number  of  the  members  of  the 
council  of  state,  and  of  the  legislative  body,  whose 
ideas  generally  differed  from  his.  He  spoke,  in  these 
discussions,  with  a  warmth  and  jierseverance  of 
purpose  quite  unexampled.  He  saw  nothing  that 
appeared  so  useful,  so  urgent,  as  the  ])ntting  an 
end  to  those  religious  differences  and  divisions,  and 
he  applied  himself  to  the  business  with  all  the 
ardour  with  which  he  was  accustomed  to  regard 
what  was  of  pre-eminent  importance. 

He  had  decided  upon  his  jilan,  which  was  simple, 
and  wisely  conceived.  It  lias  been  successful  in 
terminating  all  the  religious  divisions  of  France. 
The  unfortimate  disputes,  which  the  first  consul, 
when  he  became  emperor,  had,  at  a  later  period, 
with  the  court  of  Rome,  occurred  between  him, 
the  pope,  and  the  bishops,  and  did  not  affect  the 
religious  peace  established  among  the  p<>pulation 
of  France.  There  was  never  seen  to  arise,  in 
France,  even  when  the  pope  was  a  prisoner  at 
Fontainebleau,  two  different  forms  of  worship,  two 
orders  of  the  clergy,  and  two  classes  of  the  faitiiful. 

The  first  consul  devised  a  scheme  to  reconcile 
the  French  republic  and  the  Roman  church,  by 
treating  with  the  holy  .see,  on  the  basis  of  the  same 
principles  as  were  laid  down  by  the  revolution. 
The  clergy  were  no  longer  to  constitute  a  poli- 
tical power  ;  there  was  to  be  n<.  longer  a  clergy 
endowed  with  landed  property  ;  this,  in  l.'KKt,  bad 
become  an  impossible  thing.  The  plan  of  the  hist 
U 


290       Bonaparte's  scheme  to       THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


re-establish  the  ca-  1801. 

tholic  church.  March. 


consul  consisted  in  a  clergy  devoted  solely  to  tlieii- 
professional  duties,  receiving  their  incomes  from 
the  state — named  by  the  state,  but  confirmed  or 
ratified  by  the  pope  ;  a  new  boundary  or  circum- 
scription of  dioceses,  which  should  consist  of  sixty 
in  place  of  a  hundred  and  fifty-eight,  existing  for- 
merly on  the  territory  of  old  and  new  France  ;  the 
regulations  of  the  places  of  worship  transferred  to 
the  civil  power,  the  jurisdiction  over  the  clergy  to 
the  council  of  state  in  place  of  the  parliaments,  no 
longer  in  existence.  This  was  the  civil  constitution 
of  1790,  but  modified  so  as  to  render  it  in  some 
degx-ee  more  acceptable  to  Rome.  In  other  words, 
with  the  bishops  nominated  by  the  government  and 
instituted  by  the  pope,  in  place  of  being  elected 
by  their  flocks.  There  was  to  be  a  general  pro- 
mise of  submission  to  the  laws  in  place  of  the  oath 
exacted  from  the  different  religious  communities, 
which  served  as  a  pretext  to  ill-disposed  or  timid 
priests  to  raise  up  conscientious  scruples.  In  fact, 
it  was  the  true  reform  in  public  worship,  to  which 
the  revolution  should  have  confined  its  changes,  in 
order  that  they  might  have  been  rendered  agree- 
able to  the  pope,  a  thing  not  to  be  lost  sight  of, 
because  without  the  consent  of  Rome  any  effective 
religious  establishment  would  be  impossible. 

It  has  been  asserted '  that  a  point  of  great  import- 
ance was  omitted;  this  was  that  the  bishops  nomi- 
nated by  the  civil  power  should  be  accepted  by  the 
pope,  whether  he  were  inclined  to  accept  them  or 
not.  In  such  a  case  the  spiritual  government  of 
Rome  would  have  been  seriously  enfeebled,  which 
was  a  matter  by  no  means  desirable.  The  civil 
power,  in  nominating  a  bishop,  indicates  a  subject 
in  whom,  with  the  good  moral  character  of  a  mi- 
nister of  religion,  it  recognizes  the  political  cha- 
racter of  a  good  citizen,  who  respects,  and  will 
cause  to  be  respected,  the  laws  of  his  country.  It 
is  for  the  pope  to  say,  that  in  such  a  subject  he 
recognizes  the  orthodox  priest,  who  will  teach  the 
real  doctrine  of  the  catholic  church.  To  desii-e  to 
fix  a  delay  of  some  months,  after  which  the  insti- 
tution of  the  pope  should  be  considered  as  validly 
accorded,  would  have  been  to  force  the  institution 
itself,  to  take  from  the  pope  his  spiritual  authority, 
and  to  renew  no  less  an  evil  than  the  memorable 
and  terrible  quarrel  of  investitures.  There  are  two 
authorities  in  matters  of  religion  ;  the  civil  autho- 
rity of  the  country  in  which  the  worship  is  per- 
formed, charged  to  watch  and  maintain  the  laws 
and  established  authority,  and  the  spiritual  autho- 
rity of  the  pope  charged  to  watch  over  and  support 
unity  of  faith.  It  is  necessary  that  both  should 
concur  in  the  choice  of  the  clergy.  The  religious 
authority  of  the  holy  see,  sometimes,  it  is  true,  re- 
fuses institution  to  the  bishops  selected  by  the 
state;  it  was  thus  made  to  violate  the  civil  power : 
such  cases  have  been  seen  to  occur,  but  they  arc 
no  more  than  a  floating  inevitable  abuse.  The 
civil  authority  may  also,  in  its  own  turn,  hang 
back,  and  such  cases  liave  been  seen  to  happen 
under  Napoleon  himself,  the  most  enlightened  and 
courageous  restorer  of  the  catholic  clnircli. 

The  plan  of  the  first  consul  left  notiiing  more  to 
be  desired  for  the  dojfinitive  establishment  of  pub- 
lic worship  ;  but  still  it  was  necessary  that  he 
should  attend  to  the  transition  or  the  passage  from 

'  L'Abbe  de  Pradt,  in  "The  Four  Concordats." 


the  present  state  of  things  to  that  which  he  was 
about  to  create.  What  was  he  to  do  in  respect  to 
the  existing  sees  ?  How  come  to  an  understanding 
with  the  ecclesiastics  of  every  grade,  bishops  or 
simple  priests,  the  one  sworn  and  attached  to  the 
revolution,  publicly  performing  worship  in  the 
churches ;  the  others  unsworn,  emigrants,  or  newly- 
returned  ministers,  clandestinely  exercising  their 
functions,  and  most  of  them  in  hostility  to  the 
government  ?  Bonaparte  devised  a  system,  the 
adoption  of  wliich  was  a  very  great  difficulty  at 
Rome;  since,  for  eighteen  centuries,  during  which 
it  had  existed,  the  church  had  never  done  that 
which  was  about  to  be  proposed  for  her  sanction. 
This  was  a  system  which  included  the  abolition  of 
all  the  existing  dioceses.  To  effect  this,  the  former 
bishops,  who  were  yet  living,  were  to  be  applied  to, 
and  their  resignation  demanded  by  the  pope.  If 
they  refused,  he  pronounced  their  deposition  ;  and 
when  a  tabula  rasa  was  thus  effected,  there  were 
to  be  traced  upon  the  map  of  France  sixty  new 
dioceses,  of  which  forty-five  were  to  be  bishoprics, 
and  fifteen  archbishoprics.  In  order  to  fill  them, 
the  first  consul  nominated  sixty  prelates,  taken  in- 
discriminately from  "the  sworn  and  unsworn  clergy, 
but  principally  from  the  last  class,  which  was  the 
most  numerous,  the  most  respected,  and  the  most 
highly  esteemed  among  the  faithiV.l.  He  was  to 
choose  both  the  one  and  the  other  Uom  among  the 
ecclesiastics  most  worthy  of  the  confidence  of  the 
government,  purest  in  morals,  and  well  reconciled 
to  the  changes  brought  about  by  the  revolution. 
These  prelates,  nominated  by  the  first  consul, 
were  to  be  instituted  by  the  pope,  and  immediately 
enter  upon  their  functions,  under  the  superinten- 
dence of  the  civil  authority  and  of  the  council  of 
state. 

Salaries,  in  proportion  to  their  wants,  were  to  be 
allotted  them  from  the  budget  of  the  state.  In 
return,  the  pope  was  to  acknowledge  as  valid  the 
alienation  of  the  property  of  the  church,  inter- 
dicting the  suggestions  which  the  priests  were  in 
the  habit  of  making  at  the  beds  of  the  dying,  re- 
conciling the  married  clergy  to  the  church,  assist- 
ing the  government,  and,  in  a  word,  puttmg  an  end 
to  all  the  calamities  -of  the  time. 

This  plan  was  complete,  and,  with  a  few  excep- 
tions, as  excellent  for  the  present  as  for  the  future. 
It  recognized  the  church,  as  nearly  as  jiossible, 
upon  the  same  model  as  the  state  ;  it  fused  to- 
gether differing  individuals,  by  taking  from  all 
parties  the  wiser  and  more  moderate  men,  who 
estimated  the  public  good  above  revolutionary  or 
religious  hot-headedness.  But  it  will  be  quickly 
seen  how  difficult  it  is  to  do  that  which  is  good, 
even  when  necessary,  and  even  when  the  necessity 
of  the  case  is  most  urgent ;  because,  unhappily, 
although  it  be  necessary,  it  does  not  follow  upon 
that  account,  that  it  shall  be  a  clear  and  evident 
notion  to  others  beyond  the  power  of  contestation. 

In  Paris  there  was  still  the  party  of  scoffci-s,  of 
sectarists,  still  living  in  the  philosophy  of  the 
eighteenth  century  ;  of  old  Jansenists  become  con- 
stitutional priests;  and  lastly,  of  generals  imbued 
with  vulgar  prejudices  :  here  were  the  obstacles 
on  the  part  of  France.  At  Rome,  tiiere  were  the 
adherence  to  ancient  prejudices;  the  fear  of  affect- 
ing dogmas  if  discipline  were  touched  ;  religious 
scruples  sincere  or  affected;  above  all,  an  antipathy 


Character  of  Pius  VII. 

His  impressions  of  Bonaparte. 


THE  CONCORDAT. 


Mission  of  Monsignor  Spi) 
Paris. 


to  the  French  revolution  ;  and,  more  particulai-ly, 
a  sort  of  complacence  in  respect  to  the  French 
royalist  party,  composed  of  emigrants,  priests,  and 
nobles,  some  resident  at  Rome,  othere  in  corre- 
.spondence  with  her,  and  all  bitter  enemies  of 
France  and  the  new  order  of  things  which  had 
begun  to  be  established  there  :  these  were  obstacles 
ou  the  side  of  the  holy  see. 

The  first  consul  persisted  in  liis  plan  with  a 
firmness  and  a  patience  altogether  invincible, 
during  one  of  the  longest  and  most  difficult  nego- 
tiations ever  known  in  the  history  of  the  church. 
Never  did  the  spiritual  and  temporal  powers  meet 
under  circumstances  of  greater  moment,  and  never 
were  they  more  worthily  represented. 

That  young  man,  so  sensible,  and  with  such 
depth  of  view,  but  so  impetuous  in  his  determina- 
tions, who  governed  France, — that  young  man,  by 
a  singular  dispensation  of  Providence,  found  him- 
self placed  on  the  stage  of  the  world,  in  presence 
of  a  pontiff  of  mre  virtue,  of  a  physiognomy  and 
chai-acter  angelic,  but  of  a  tenacity  capable  of 
braving  martyrdom,  where  he  believed  that  the 
interests  of  the  faith  or  those  of  the  court  of  Rome 
were  compromised.  His  countenance,  animated 
and  mild  at  the  same  time,  well  expressed  the  sen- 
sibility, somewhat  elevated,  of  his  mind.  Aged 
about  sixty,  feeble  in  health,  though  he  lived  to  a 
considerable  age,  holding  down  his  head,  endowed 
with  a  keen  and  penetrating  glance,  in  language 
graceful  and  affecting,  he  was  the  worthy  repre- 
sentative, not  more  of  the  imperious  faith  that  under 
Gregory  VII.  commanded,  and  deserved  to  com- 
mand, Eui'opean  barbarism,  than  of  that  persecuted 
religion,  which,  having  no  longer  at  command  the 
thunders  of  the  church,  was  no  longer  able  to 
exercise  over  mankind  any  other  power  than  that 
of  mild  per.suasion. 

A  secret  charm  attached  tlie  pontiff  to  general 
Bonaparte.  They  had  already  met,  as  elsewlnre 
observed,  during  the  wars  of  Italy,  and  in  place  of 
tliosc  feroi;ious  warriors  generated  by  the  French 
revolution,  that  had  been  painted  in  Europe  as 
profaners  of  the  altar,  and  assassins  of  the  emi- 
grant priests,  Pius  VII.,  then  bishop  of  Im()la,had 
f'nind  a  young  man,  full  of  genius,  speaking,  like 
himself,  the  Italian  language,  exhibiting  sentiments 
of  great  moderation,  maintaining  order,  kce|)ing 
the  churches  sacred,  and,  far  from  persecuting  the 
French  priests,  using  all  his  influence  to  oblige  the 
Italian  churches  to  receive  and  support  them. 
Surprised  and  delighted,  the  bi.shop  of  Imola  re- 
strained the  insubordinate  temper  of  the  Italians 
in  his  diocese,  and  returned  to  general  Bonaparte 
the  services  which  lie  had  rendered  to  the  church 
upon  his  part.  The  impression  jjroduced  by  this 
fii-st  acquaintance  was  never  effaced  from  the 
heart  of  the  pon'titt',  and  influenced  all  his  conduct 
towards  the  general  when  he  became  consul  and 
empemr :  a  striking  proof  that  in  every  thing, 
great  or  small,  a  good  action  is  never  lust.  At  a 
later  time,  in  fai:t,  when  the  conclave  had  as- 
sembled at  Venice  to  give  a  successor  to  Pius  VI., 
who  died  a  prisoner  at  Valence,  the  recollection  of 
the  first  acts  of  the  general  of  the  army  of  Italy 
had  influenced,  in  a  manner  that  may  be  styled 
providential,  the  choice  of  tlu!  new  pupe. 

It  will  be  in  recollection,  that  at  the  same  mo- 
ment when  Pius  VII.  was  preferred  by  the  cou- 


clave,  in  the  hope  to  find  in  him  a  conciliatoi-,  who 
would  reconcile  Rome  with  France,  and  thus,  per- 
haps, terminate  the  afHictious  of  the  cimrch,  the 
first  consul  gained  the  battle  of  Marengo,  and  had 
thus  become,  by  the  same  stroke  of  fortune,  master 
of  Italy  and  ruler  of  Europe,  and  that  he  had  sent 
an  emissary,  the  nephew  of  the  bishop  of  Verceil, 
to  announce  his  intentions  to  the  pontiff  then  newly 
elected.  He  had  sent  the  pope  word  that  while 
ulterior  arrangements  were  pending,  peace  should, 
in  real  fact,  exist  between  France  and  Rome,  on 
the  footing  of  the  treaty  of  Tolentino,  signed  in 
1797;  that  there  should  no  more  be  spoken  of  the 
Roman  republic  invented  by  the  directory;  that 
the  holy  see  should  be  re-established  and  recog- 
nized by  the  French  as  in  former  times.  As  to 
the  question  of  restoring  to  fhe  church  the  three 
great  provinces  which  it  had  lost,  namely,  Bologna, 
Ferrara,  and  Romagna,  not  a  word  was  said.  The 
pope  was  replaced  upon  his  throne,  and  had  peace. 
The  rest  he  left  to  the  care  of  Providence.  The 
first  consul,  moreover,  commanded  the  Neapolitans 
to  evacuate  the  Roman  states,  which,  in  fact,  they 
had  evacuated,  except  the  enviroiis  of  Benevento 
and  Ponte-Corvo.  Besides,  in  all  the  movements 
of  his  armies  around  Naples  and  Otranto,  the  first 
consul  had  given  orders  to  respect  the  Roman 
territories.  He  had  himself  sent  Murat,  who  com- 
manded the  French  army  in  Lower  Italy,  to  bend 
his  knee  at  the  foot  of  the  pontifical  throne.  M. 
Gonsalvi  had  thus  guessed  correctly,  and  he  was 
amply  recompensed,  because  upon  his  arrival  at 
Rome,  the  pope  had  named  him  cardinal-secretary 
of  state,  first  minister  of  the  holy  see,  a  post  which 
he  preserved  during  the  greater  part  of  the  ponti- 
ficate of  Pius  VII. 

It  was  in  the  train  of  these  events,  in  some  sort 
partaking  of  the  miraculous,  that  the  p'lpe,  upon 
the  request  of  the  first  consul,  had  sent  M.  Spina 
to  Paris,  a  keen,  greedy,  devout,  Genoese  priest, 
in  order  to  treat  of  both  religious  and  political 
affairs.  At  first,  M.  Spina  took  no  official  title,  so 
much  did  the  holy  father,  in  spite  of  his  partiality 
for  general  Bonaparte,  and  his  ardent  desire  for 
a  reconciliation,  dread  to  avow  any  relation  with 
the  French  republic.  But  in  a  little  time,  seeing 
come  to  Paris,  in  the  train  of  the  ministers  of 
Prussia  and  of  Spain,  who  were  already  there,  those 
of  Austria,  Russia,  Bavaria,  and  Naples,  in  fact, 
of  all  the  European  courts,  the  holy  father  no 
longer  hesitated,  and  permitted  M.  Spina  to  take 
u[)iin  himself  his  official  ciiaracter,  and  to  avow  the 
object  of  his  mission.  Tiie  emigrant  party  raised 
a  gn  at  outcry,  and  made  useless  efforts  to  impede, 
by  their  remonstrances,  the  approximation  of  tlie 
church  to  France,  well  knowing,  that  if  they  failed 
to  agitate  the  public  mind  under  the  plea  of  re- 
ligious prejudices,  the  best  offensive  means  would 
be  lost  to  them.  But  I'ius  VII.,  although  mor- 
tified, sometimes  even  intimidated  by  their  remon- 
strances, showed  a  firm  determination  to  place  the 
interests  of  religion  and  the  church  above  all  con- 
siderations of  party.  One  reason  alone  slackened, 
in  a  slight  degree,  this  excellent  resolution,  that 
was  the  vague  anil  unwise  hope  of  ncovcring  the 
Legations,  lost  under  the  treaty  of  Tolentino  '. 

'  There  is  not  in  existence  a  more  curious  negotiation,  or 

one  more  worthy  of  meditation,  tlian  tliat  of  the  concordat. 

There  is  none  in  which  the  archives  of  France  are  richer, 

v2 


Delusive  expectations  of 
-"2        the  priests. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


The  abbe  Bernier's  pro- 
posals to  M.  Spina. 


Monsignor  Spina,  arrived  in  Paris,  had  orders  to 
gain  time,  tliat  it  iniglit  be  seen  if  the  first  consul, 
master  of  Italy,  as  he  was,  and  able  to  dispose  of  it 
at  pleasure,  niiglit  not  entertain  the  fortunate  idea 
of  restoring  the  Legations  to  the  holy  see.  A  word 
that  frequently  dwelt  upon  the  lips  of  the  first  con- 
sul, had  given  birth  to  more  hopes  than  he  intended 
it  should  bear--"  Let  the  holy  father  only  trust  to 
me,  let  him  throw  himself  into  my  arms,  and  I  will 
be  for  the  church  a  new  Charlemagne."  "  If  he  is 
a  new  Charlemagne,"  said  the  priests,  little  versed 
in  the  affairs  of  their  own  time,  "  let  him  prove  it 
by  giving  back  to  us  the  patrimony  of  St.  Peter." 
They  were  unfortunately  far  enough  out  in  their 
reckoning,  for  the  first  consul  believed  he  had  dune 
much  in  the  re-establishment  of  the  pope  at  Rome, 
and  in  giving  up  to  him,  with  his  pontifical  throne, 
the  Roman  state,  besides  offering  to  treat  with  hini 
for  the  restoration  of  the  catholiii  worship.  In 
fact,  considering  the  state  of  the  public  mind  in 
France  and  in  Italy  also,  he  had  done  a  vast  deal. 
If  the  French  patriots,  still  full  of  the  ideas  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  saw  with  little  satisfacti<m  the 
approaching  re-establishment  of  the  catholic  church, 
the  Italian  p-itriots  saw  with  despair  the  govern- 
ment of  the  priesthood  once  more  set  up  over 
them.  It  was  impossible  therefore  for  the  first 
consul  to  push  his  complaisance  towards  the  holy 
see  so  far  as  to  give  up  the  Legations  to  its  authority 
again,  wliich  could  not  be  of  service  in  supporting 
the  government  of  the  priesthood,  and  were  besides 
a  promised  portion  of  the  Cisalpine  republic.  But 
the  court  of  Rome,  finding  itself  much  distressed 
since  it  was  deprived  of  the  revenues  of  Bologna,  of 
Feri-ara,  and  of  Romagna,  reasoned  very  differ- 
ently. In  other  respects  the  pope,  who  lived  in  the 
midst  of  the  pomps  of  the  Vatican  like  any  an- 
chorite, thought  much  less  of  terrestrial  interests 
than  cardinal  Gonsalvi,  and  cardinal  Gonsalvi  less 
than  monsignor  Spina.  This  hist  moved  with  a 
stealthy  pace  in  the  negotiation,  listening  to  all  that 
was  said  to  him  relatively  to  the  religious  ques- 
tions, having  the  appearance  of  attaching  to  them 
an  exclusive  importance,  and  still,  by  some  random 
words  let  out  from  time  to  time  about  tlie  misery 
of  the  holy  see,  attempting  to  bring  back  attention 
to  the  sul)ject  of  the  Legations.  He  did  not  succeed 
in  making  himself  understood,  and  protracted  the 
negotiations  in  order  to  obtain  something  which 
would  meet  the  false  hopes  imprudently  indulged 
by  liis  court. 

To  treat  with  M.  Spina  the  first  consul  had  made 
choice,  as  alrearly  said,  of  the  celebrated  abbe' 
Bernier,  the  pacificator  of  La  Vendee.  This  priest, 
a  simple  curate  in  the  province  of  Anjou,  deprived 
of  the  external  attractions  which  are  obtained  by  a 
careful  education,  but  endowed  with  a  deep  know- 

because,  besides  the  diplomatic  correspondence  of  the  Frenc  h 
agents,  and,  above  all,  the  correspondence  of  the  abbe  Ber- 
nier, there  is  ihe  correspondence  of  ,M.  Spina  and  of  cardinal 
Caprara  wilh  the  pope  and  cardinal  Gonsalvi.  The  last  was 
preserved  by  virtue  of  an  article  of  the  concordat,  according 
to  which  the  archives  of  the  Roman  legation,  in  case  of  a 
rupture,  were  to  remiiin  in  France.  The  letters  of  ,\I.  Spina 
and  of  cardinal  Caprara,  written  in  Italian,  are  some  of  the 
most  curious  monuments  of  Ihe  time,  and  impart  of  them- 
selves the  secret  of  the  religious  negotiations  of  the  period,— 
a  secret  very  little  known  at  present,  notwithstanding  ihe 
numerous  works  published  relative  to  this  subject. 


ledge  of  human  nature,  of  superior  prudence,  a 
long  time  e.xercised  in  the  midst  of  the  difficulties 
of  a  civil  war,  well  versed  in  canonical  affairs,  had 
been  the  principal  author  of  the  re-establishment 
of  peace  in  the  western  provinces.  Attached  to 
this  peace,  which  was  his  own  work,  he  naturally 
desire'l  every  thing  which  would  confirm  it,  and 
regarded  the  approximation  of  France  to  Rome  as 
one  of  the  more  certain  means  of  rendering  his 
labour  definitive  and  complete.  He  did  not  cease, 
therefore,  in  addressing  to  the  first  consul  the  most 
earnest  instances  to  hasten  forward  the  negotiations 
with  the  church.  Furnished  daily  with  his  in- 
structions, he  made  known  to  the  archbishop  of 
Corinth  the  propositions  of  the  French  government 
already  spoken  of,  namely,  the  dismission  imposed 
upon  all  the  former  titular  bishops  ;  the  new  dio- 
cesan circumscription  ;  sixty  bishoprics  in  lieu  of  a 
hundred  and  fifty-eight ;  the  composition  of  the 
new  clergy  formed  of  ecclesiastics  of  all  the  differ- 
ent parties  ;  the  nomination  of  the  bishops  by  the 
first  consul,  and  their  institution  by  the  pope  ;  the 
promise  of  submission  to  the  established  govern- 
ment ;  the  salaries  out  of  the  state  budget  ;  the 
renunciation  of  the  property  of  the  church,  and  com- 
plete acknowledgment  of  its  sale  ;  the  police  of 
worship  conferred  upon  the  civil  power  rejire- 
sented  by  the  council  of  state  ;  r.nally,  the  pardon 
of  the  church  for  those  priests  who  had  married, 
and  their  reunion  with  the  catholic  communion. 

M.  Spina  was  loud  in  his  exclamations  upon 
hearing  these  conditions  announced  ;  he  declai'ed 
them  exorbitant  and  contrary  to  the  faith,  assert- 
ing that  the  holy  father  would  never  consent  to 
admit  them. 

First,  he  required  that  in  the  preamble  of  the 
concordat,  tiie  catholic  religion  should  be  declared 
the  "  state  religion"  in  France  ;  that  the  consuls 
should  make  a  public  profession  of  it,  and  that  the 
laws  and  acts  contrary  to  this  declaration  of  a  state 
religion  should  be  abrogated. 

As  to  the  new  circumscription  of  the  dioceses,  he 
admitted  the  great  number  of  the  sees,  but  lie  pre- 
tended that  the  pope  had  no  right  to  depose  a 
bishop  ;  that  never  had  any  of  liis  jiredecessors 
dated  to  do  so  since  the  Roman  church  had  existed, 
and  that  if  the  holy  father  permitted  such  an  inno- 
vation he  would  create  a  second  schism,  directed 
this  time  against  the  holy  father  himself  ;  that  all 
that  he  was  able  to  do  upon  this  subject  was  to 
come  to  an  amicable  undei-standing  with  the  first 
consul  ;  those  among  the  former  bishfips  which 
showed  themselves  well  inclined  in  regard  to  the 
French  government,  should  be  simply  replaced  in 
their  dioceses,  or  in  the  diocese  corresponding  to 
that  which  they  had  formerly  filled  ;  and  those,  on 
the  contrary,  which  had  or  were  conducting  them- 
selves still  in  a  manner  not  to  merit  the  counte- 
nance of  the  government,  should  be  left  aside,  and 
until  their  deaths,  which,  considering  their  age, 
could  not  be  long,  administrators  chosen  by  the 
pope  and  the  first  consul  should  govern  the  sees  iu 
the  interim. 

M.  Spina,  therefore,  did  not  admit  the  idea  of  a 
new  clergy,  taken  from  all  classes  of  the  priest- 
hood, and  from  all  parties,  in  order  to  fill  the 
vacant  sees.  Still,  further,  he  did  not  wish  that 
the  constitutionalists  should  share  in  it  at  all,  unless 
they  should  make  one  of  those  solemn  recantations. 


Proposals  from  the  court  of  Rome.        THE  CONCORDAT. 


The  abbe  Beriiier's  reply. 


293 


which,  a  triumph  for  Rome,  are  also  a  recompense 
for  the  pardon  which  she  accords. 

As  to  the  nomination  of  the  bishops  by  the  head 
of  the  repubhc,  and  their  institution  by  the  pope, 
tliere  was  little  difficulty.  The  negotiations  natu- 
rally commenced  on  the  principle,  that  the  new 
government  had  at  the  court  of  Rome  all  the  pre- 
rogatives of  tlie  old,  and  that  the  first  consul  repre- 
sented in  every  respect  the  king  of  France.  On 
that  account  the  nomination  of  the  bishops  apper- 
tained to  him  by  right.  Still  the  office  of  first 
consul  for  the  present  at  least  was  elective.  Gene- 
ral Bonaparte,  actually  invested  with  the  dignity, 
was  of  the  catholic  faith,  but  his  successors  might 
not  be  of  that  creed  ;  and  it  was  not  allowed  at 
Rome  that  protestant  sovereigns  should  nominate 
catiiolic  bishops.  M.  Spina  demanded  that  this 
contingency  should  bo  provided  for. 

Tluy  were  in  agreement  regarding  the  curds. 
The  bishop  was  to  nominate  them  with  the  agree- 
ment of  the  civil  authority. 

The  promise  of  submission  to  the  laws  was  ad- 
mitted without  exactly  expressing  the  terms. 

The  sanction  of  the  pope  to  the  sale  of  the  church 
property  was  a  heavy  task  for  the  Roman  ne- 
gotiator. He  acknowledged  fully  the  utter  im- 
jiossibility  of  recalling  those  sales;  but  he  demanded 
that  the  holy  see  should  be  spared  a  declaration 
which  would  imply  the  moral  ajiprobation  of  all 
that  had  passed  in  their  i-egard.  Ho  conceded  a 
renunciation  of  all  ulterior  examination,  in  refusing 
the  formal  acknowledgment  of  the  right  of  aliena- 
tion. "  This  property,"  said  M.  Spina,  "  called 
ToUi  fitlelium,  ]iiitnmunium  paiiperum,  sacrijicta  pec- 
caturum,  this  property  the  church  herself  has  no 
power  to  alienate.  Still  she  is  able  to  renounce  all 
attempts  to  jirosecute  its  recovery."  In  I'eturn 
she  demands  the  restitution  of  such  domains  as  are 
not  yet  alienated,  and  the  faculty  granted  to  the 
dying  of  bequeathing  in  favour  of  religious  establish- 
ments, which  implied  the  i*enewal  of  property  in 
mortmain,  and  recommenced  the  old  order  of 
things,  in  other  words,  a  clergy  endowed  with 
lands. 

L:istly,  the  pardon  granted  to  the  married  clergy 
and  tlieir  reconciliation  with  the  church,  was  a 
matter  of  mere  indulgence,  easy  to  be  granted  on 
the  part  of  the  court  of  Rome,  which  is  always  dis- 
posed to  pardon,  when  the  fault  is  acknowledged 
by  those  who  have  committed  it.  Still,  two  classes 
of  priests  were  to  be  excepted,  the  old  religious 
belonging  to  orders  who  iiad  taken  vows  of  celi- 
bacy and  the  bishops.  This  was  no  mode  of  con- 
ciliating with  the  holy  see  the  kind  wishes  of 
Tallt-yrand,  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs. 

These  pretensions  of  the  court  of  Rome,  although 
they  did  not  imply  an  utter  impossibility  of  coming 
to  an  un<ler8tanding  with  the  French  government, 
at  the  same  time  implied  serious  difi'erences  of 
opinion. 

The  first  consul  perceived  this,  and  exhibited 
the  greatest  impatience.  He  ii.id  several  times 
seen  M.  Spina,  and  had  declared  to  him  that  he 
would  never  depart  from  the  fundamental  princi|>le 
of  his  design,  which  consisted  in  making  a  <a6«/« 
rcua,  in  forming  a  new  circumscription,  and  a  new 
clergy,  in  depo^ing  the  old  titularies,  and  taking 
their  successors  from  every  class  of  the  jiriesthood. 
He  had  told  liim  that  tlie  fusion  of  honest  and  ablu 


men  of  every  party  was  the  principle  of  his  go- 
vernment; that  he  applied  this  principle  to  the 
church  as  well  as  to  the  state;  that  it  was  the  only 
means  he  possessed  to  terminate  the  troubles  of 
France,  and  that  he  should  invariably  persist  in  the 
same  coui-se. 

The  abbe  Bernier,  who,  to  an  avowed  ambition  of 
being  the  principal  instrument  in  the  re-establish- 
ment of  religion,  joined  the  sincere  love  of  doing 
good,  addressed  the  most  earnest  entreaties  to  M. 
Spina,  to  level  the  difficulties  which  were  opposed, 
on  the  part  of  the  church  of  Rome,  to  the  measure  of 
the  first  consul.  "  To  declare  the  catholic  religion," 
he  said,  "  to  be  the  religion  of  the  state  is  impossi- 
ble; contrary  to  the  ideas  prevaknt  in  France,  and 
will  never  be  admitted  by  the  tribunate  and  legis- 
lative body  in  the  wording  of  any  law."  It  might 
be  possible,  according  to  him,  to  replace  such  a 
declaration  by  the  substitution  of  the  fact,  that  the 
catholic  religion  was  that  of  the  majority  of  French- 
men. The  mention  of  that  fact  would  be  as  useful 
as  the  declai-ation  desired  by  Rome.  To  insist  on 
what  was  impossible,  more  out  of  i)ride  than  prin- 
ciido,  was  to  compromise  the  real  interests  of  the 
church.  The  first  consul  might  attend  in  person 
at  the  solemn  rites  of  the  church,  and  the  presence 
of  such  a  man  as  he  was  at  these  ceremonies 
was  an  important  thing  ;  but  it  was  necessary 
to  renounce  the  demand  of  his  going  through 
certain  practical  forms,  such  as  confession  and 
communion,  as  being  beyond  the  limits  within 
which  it  was  proper  he  should  confine  himself 
with  the  French  public.  It  was  necessary  to  gain 
back  opinion,  not  to  shock  it,  and  above  all,  not  to 
afford  subjects  for  ridicule.  The  demand  of  the 
resignation  of  their  sees,  addressed  to  the  former 
bishops,  was  quite  simple,  and  was  a  consequence 
of  the  step  which  they  had  taken  in  regard  to 
Pius  VI.  in  1790.  At  that  period,  the  French 
prelates,  in  order  to  make  their  resistance  appear 
to  be  on  account  of  the  interest  of  the  faith,  and 
not  their  own  peculiar  intei-ests,  had  declared  that 
they  accepted  the  pope  for  an  arbitrator,  and  ihat 
they  resigned  their  sees  into  his  hands  ;  that  if  he 
believed  it  was  their  duly  to  abiindon  them  in 
favour  of  the  civic  constitution,  they  submitted. 
There  was  now  nothing  more  to  do  than  to  take 
them  at  their  words,  and  exact  the  :iccom])lishment 
of  their  solemn  offer.  If  some  among  them,  in- 
fluenced by  personal  motives,  stood  in  the  way  of 
so  great  a  benefit  as  the  I'estoration  of  public  wor- 
ship in  France,  they  must  no  more  be  regarded  as 
titular  bishops,  but  he  considered  as  having  re- 
signed their  sees  in  1700.  The  abb(?  Bernier  added, 
that  tiiere  was  a  precedent  in  point  of  the  same 
kind  in  the  church,  namely,  the  resignation  of 
thre(!  hundred  bishops  together  in  Alrica,  agreed 
to  for  the  purpose  of  putting  a  termination  to  the 
schism  of  the  Uonatists.  It  was  true  they  had  not 
been  deposed.  Then  as  to  the  new  selections  ;  the 
])rincii)le  of  the  fusion  nmst  be  conceded  to  the 
first  consul.  The  principle  the  first  consul  applied 
more  particularly  to  the  advantage  of  the  unsworn 
priests  ;  ho  would  choose  two  or  tiiree  who  were 
constitutionalists,  solely  for  the  sake  of  example,  but 
in  the  main  he  would  select  only  the  orthodox.  The 
French  negotiator  here  advanced  on  iiis  own  ac- 
count more  than  he  was  justified  in  doing.  It  is 
true  that  the  first  consul  had  very  little  esteem  for 


294 


Embarrassment  of 
M.  Spina. 


the  constitutional  bishops,  who  were  for  the  larger 
part  bigoted  Jansenists,  or  declaimers  at  the  clubs; 
it  is  true  that  he  only  esteemed  in  that  portion  of 
the  clergy  the  ordinary  priests,  who  had  in  general 
taken  an  oath  of  submission  to  the  laws  for  the 
purpose  of  pursuing  the  objects  of  theii'  sacred 
ministry,  and  had  not  sought  to  gain  by  the  agita- 
tion of  the  period,  an  elevation  to  the  sacerdotal 
dignity.  Still,  if  he  had  but  small  respect  for  the 
constitutional  bishops,  he  adhered  to  his  principle 
of  fusion,  and  did  not  sell  quite  so  cheaply  as  the 
abbe'  Bernier  appeared  to  announce  for  him,  the 
claims  of  the  sworn  clergy.  These  things  were 
said  by  the  abbe  Bernier  to  favour  the  success  of 
the  negotiation.  In  regard  to  the  nomination  of 
the  bishops  by  the  first  consul,  it  was  needful  only 
to  sui-mount,  according  to  the  abbe  Bernier,  a  diffi- 
culty very  remote  and  very  improbable,  in  having, 
at  some  time  or  another,  a  first  consul  who  should 
be  a  protestant.  There  was  no  necessity,  according 
to  him,  to  glance  at  an  event  so  little  probable. 
In  relation  to  the  property  of  the  clergy,  it  was 
necessary  to  lose  no  time,  in  settling  the  foi'm  of 
its  disposal,  as  they  were  agreed  upon  the  principle. 
The  restitution  of  the  unsold  church  property  and 
testamentary  bequests  of  hous'S  and  lands,  were 
totally  at  variance  with  the  political  principles  pre- 
valent in  France,  which  were  wholly  opposed  to 
property  in  mortmain.  The  court  of  Rome  must 
be  content,  in  this  regard,  with  the  single  concession 
of  the  validity  of  donations  of  annuities  from  the 
public  funds. 

"  The  time,"  said  the  abbe,  "  is  now  come  for  a 
conclusion,  since  the  first  consul  is  beginning  to 
appear  discontented.  He  believed  that  the  pope 
had  not  strength  of  mind  to  break  with  the  emi- 
grant party  in  order  to  give  every  thing  to  France, 
and  he  would  end  the  matter  by  renouncing  the 
good  which  he  had  at  first  the  idea  of  doing,  and 
without  persecuting  the  priests,  leave  them  to 
themselves  ;  he  would  leave  the  church  to  become 
what  it  could  in  France,  without  calculating  that 
he  should  be  holding  in  Italy  a  conduct  hostile  to 
the  Roman  court.  It  was,"  continued  the  abbe, 
"  to  have  lost  all  discernment,  not  to  profit  by  the 
dispositions  of  so  great  a  man,  the  only  man  capa- 
ble of  saving  religion.  He  had  also  great  difficulties 
to  overcome  in  regard  to  the  revolutionary  party; 
and  for  aiding  him  in  vanquishing  them,  an  oppo- 
site conduct  should  be  pui-sued,  by  making  such 
concessions  as  were  needful  to  him  for  gaining  over 
opinions  little  disposed  in  France  to  favour  the 
catholic  faith." 

M.  Spina  began  to  be  much  embarrassed.  He 
was  convinced,  but  his  covetousness  overcame  his 
convictions.  Incessantly  demanding  wealth  for  his 
court,  his  most  ardent  desires  were  to  make  her  as 
rich  and  prodigal  as  she  was  of  old.  The  small 
success  of  his  insinuations  about  the  lost  provinces 
singularly  discouraged  him.  He  perceived  that 
the  first  consul,  as  wily  as  Italian  priests  were, 
would  not  explain  himself  to  those  who  would  not 
explain  themselves.  He  saw,  Ijesides,  all  the  other 
courts  at  his  feet ;  he  saw  M.  Kalitsclieff,  the  Rus- 
sian negotiator,  who  had  wished  in  such  an  insolent 
mode  to  protect  the  petty  Italian  princes,  depart 
in  disapi)ointment  ;  all  Germany  de])endent  upon 
France  for  the  j)artition  of  the  territorial  indemni- 
ties ;  Portugal  in  submission,  and  England  hei-self 


fatigued  into  peace.  In  front  of  such  a  state  of 
things,  he  was  convinced  that  he  had  no  other 
resource  than  to  submit  and  to  rely  upon  the  will 
of  the  first  consul  alone,  for  all  of  which  he  was 
desii'ous.  Disposed  to  concede,  M.  Spina  was  still 
fearful  to  adhere  to  the  absolute  conditions  of  the 
French  cabinet,  laid  down  with  the  evident  reso- 
lution of  not  departing  from  them,  because  they 
were  established  upon  the  imperious  necessities  of 
her  existing  situation. 

The  first  consul,  with  his  accustomed  ability, 
drew  out  the  Roman  negotiator  from  the  em- 
barrassment of  his  position.  It  was  the  moment, 
already  described  a  little  way  back,  when  all  the 
negotiations  were  proceeding  together,  especially 
with  England.  Thinking  with  a  species  of  joy  on 
the  prodigious  effect  which  a  general  peace  must 
produce,  that  should  even  comprehend  the  church 
itself,  he  wished  to  finish  all  by  a  prompt  and  de- 
cided step.  He  had  the  plan  of  a  concordat  drawn 
up  to  be  offered  definitively  to  M.  Spina.  This  bu- 
siness was  arranged  by  two  ecclesiastics  who  had 
thrown  up  holy  orders,  Talleyrand  and  Hauterive, 
who  were  both  in  the  office  for  foreign  affairs. 
Happily  between  these  two  was  interposed  the  able 
and  orthodox  Bernier.  The  plan  drawn  up  by 
Hauterive,  and  reviewed  by  Bernier,  was  simple, 
lucid,  and  decided.  It  contained,  in  the  style  of  a 
law,  every  thing  which  the  French  legation  had 
proposed.  It  was  then  presented  to  M.  Spina,  who 
was  much  troubled  about  it,  and  offered  to  send  it 
to  his  court,  declaring  he  was  not  able  to  sign  it 
himself.  "  Why,"  they  said  to  him,  "  do  you  refuse 
to  sign  ?  Can  it  be  you  have  no  powers  ?  If  so, 
what  have  you  been  doing  in  Paris  for  six  m(mths  ! 
Why  do  you  put  on  the  character  of  a  negotiator, 
and  yet  cannot  carry  it  out  to  the  necessary  terra 
of  its  conclusi<jn  ?  Perhaps  you  think  the  condi- 
tions inadmissible  ?  If  so,  be  bold  enough  to  tell 
us ;  and  then  the  French  cabinet,  which  can  agree 
to  no  other  conditions,  will  cease  to  negotiate  with 
you.  It  may  or  may  not  break  with  the  holy  see, 
but  it  will  have  done  with  M.  Spina." 

The  cunning  prelate  knew  not  what  to  answer. 
He  affirmed  that  he  possessed  powers.  Not  daring 
to  state  that  he  thought  the  French  terms  inadmis- 
sible, he  alleged  that  in  matters  of  religion,  the  pope 
surrounded  by  his  cardinals  was  alone  able  to  ac- 
cept a  ti-eaty,  and  he  in  consequence  renewed  his 
offer  of  sending  the  document  to  his  holiness  : 
"  Let  it  be  so,"  some  one  said  to  him, "  but  declare 
at  least  in  sending  your  own  approval  of  it."  M. 
Spina  refused  on  his  own  part  any  approbatory  for- 
mula, and  answered  that  he  would  impress  upon 
his  holiness  the  adoption  of  a  treaty  which  would 
contribute  to  the  restoration  of  the  catholic  faith  in 
France. 

A  courier  was  then  sent  off  to  Rome  with  the 
scheme  of  the  concordat,  and  an  order  to  M.  Ca- 
cault,  ambassador  of  France  at  the  holy  see,  to 
submit  the  document  for  the  immediate  and  defi- 
nitive acceptance  of  the  pope.  The  same  courier 
was  the  bearer  of  a  present  wliich  caused  great 
joy  in  Italy,  the  famous  wooden  virgin,  the  image  of 
our  lady  of  Loretto,  taken  away  in  the  time  of  the 
directory  from  Loretto  itself,  and  deposited  as  a 
curiosity  in  the  national  library  at  Paris.  The 
first  consul  knew  that,  among  many  sincere  and 
irritable  believers,  the  placing  this  famous  relic  iu 


1801. 
April. 


THE  CONCORDAT. 


Difficulty  regarding  the  deposition 
of  the  bisliops. 


295 


the  national  library,  was  deemed  a  matter  of  great 
scandal,  and  he  ordered  the  pious  restitution  to 
precede  the  concordat. 

This  present  was  received  in  Romagna  with  a 
degi-ee  of  joy  difficult  to  be  understood  in  France. 
The  pope  received  the  concordat  better  than  was 
expected.  This  worthy  pontiff,  more  occupied  with 
the  interests  of  the  faith  than  with  his  own  tempo- 
i-al  advantages,  did  not  see  in  that  instrument  any 
thing  absolutely  inadmissible,  and  believed  that  with 
some  changes  in  the  drawing  up,  hcisliould  be  able 
to  satisfy  the  first  consul,  an  object  which  he  re- 
garded as  of  the  utmost  importance,  since  the  re- 
establishment  of  religion  in  France  was,  in  his 
view,  the  greatest  and  most  essential  part  of  the 
affairs  of  the  church. 

He  appointed  the  cardinals,  Cavandini,  Anto- 
nelli,  and  Gerdil,  to  make  a  first  examination  of 
the  plan  thus  sent  from  Paris.  The  cardinals  An- 
tonelli  and  Gerdil  passed  for  the  two  most  learned 
personages  in  the  chui-ch.  Cardinal  Gerdil  had 
himself  become  French,  because  by  birth  he  apper- 
fciined  to  Savoy.  The  ])ope  enjoined  it  on  all  three 
to  hasten  this  proceeding.  The  first  examination 
over,  they  were  to  make  their  i-eport  to  a  congre- 
gation of  twelve  cardinals,  chosen  from  among 
those  who  were  at  Rome,  who  best  understood  the 
interests  of  the  Roman  church.  They  were  required 
to  be  secret  by  a  promise  made  on  the  Evangelists. 
The  pope,  fearing  the  plots  and  outcries  of  the 
French  emigrants,  sought  to  keep  from  all  party 
influence  the  decision  of  the  sacred  college.  Upon 
his  part  the  effort  was  made  with  perfect  sincerity. 
He  had  near  him  a  French  minister  entirely  to  his 
liking,  in  M.  Cacanlt,  a  man  of  sensibility  as  well  as 
of  understanding,  partaking  in  the  recollections  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  to  which  he  belonged  by 
age  and  education,  and  equally  in  the  feelings 
wliich  Rome  inspires  in  all  those  who  live  in  the 
midst  of  her  ruined  grandeur,  and  her  religious 
jiomps.  On  leaving  Paris,  M.  de  Cacanlt  asked  the 
first  consul  for  his  instructions.  He  received  in 
reply  this  noble  remark  :  "  Treat  the  pope  as  if  he 
had  two  hundred  thousand  soldiers."  M.  de  Ca- 
cault  loved  Pius  VII.  and  general  Bonaparte  ;  and 
by  his  kind  offices  disposed  them  to  love  one  an- 
other. "  Confide  in  the  first  consul,"  said  he  to 
the  pope,  "  he  will  arrange  your  affairs  :  but  do 
what  he  asks  of  yon,  for  he  has  need  of  what  he 
asks  of  you  in  order  to  succeed."  He  said  also 
to  the  first  consul,  "  Take  a  little  patience.  The 
]Ki[ie  is  the  most  holy,  tlie  most  attaching  of  men. 
He  hxs  the  wish  to  satisfy  you,  only  give  him  time. 
It  is  necessary  to  habituate  his  mind,  and  those  of 
the  cardinals,  to  the  arbitrary  proposals  which  you 
send  hither.  They  are  at  Rome  much  more  con- 
fiding than  you  think.  This  court  must  be  led  by 
gentle  means.  If  we  ruffle  lier,  we  shall  confuse 
her  head.  She  will  fix  herself  in  the  resolution 
of  martyrdom,  the  sole  resource  for  one  in  her 
situation."  These  wise  counsels  tempered  the  im- 
petuosity of  the  first  consul,  and  disposed  him  to 
suffer  i)atiently  the  fastididus  examination  of  the 
matter  by  the  court  of  Rome. 

Lastly,  when  the  busiiiess  wius  completed,  the 
pojte,  and  cardinal  Gonsalvi,  had  several  interviews 
with  M.  de  ("acault.  They  eomnnniieated  to  him 
the  Roman  scheme.  Finding  it  too  distant  from 
that  of  Fi-ance,  he  made  reiterated  efforts  to  obtain 


modifications.  It  became  necessary  a  second  time 
to  have  reference  to  the  congregation  of  the  twelve 
cardinals,  which  occupied  much  more  time,  in  such 
a  manner  that  without  obtaining  any  important 
results,  M.  de  Cacault  contributed  himself  to  the 
loss  of  an  entire  month.  The  parties  at  length 
came  as  near  as  possible  to  an  agreement ;  and  all 
ended  in  a  plan,  the  differences  of  which  with  that 
of  the  first  consul  were  as  follow  : 

The  catholic  religion  was  to  be  declared  in 
France  the  "religion  of  the  state:"  the  consuls 
were  to  profess  it  in  a  pnblic  manner  :  there  was  to 
be  a  new  diocesan  i-econstructiou  and  only  sixty 
sees,  according  to  the  first  consul's  wish.  The  pope 
was  to  address  the  former  bishops,  demanding 
their  voluntary  resignation,  on  the  ground  of  their 
offer  of  resignation  made  to  Pius  VI.  in  17flO.  It 
was  probable  that  a  very  great  number  would  give 
in,  and  then  the  sees  vacant  by  death  or  resigna- 
tion would  furnish  the  French  government  with  an 
ample  list  of  nominations  to  fill  up.  In  regard  to 
those  who  might  refuse,  the  pope  would  take  con- 
venient measures  that  the  administration  of  the 
sees  should  not  remain  in  their  hands. 

The  excellent  pontiff  said  to  the  French  consul, 
in  an  affecting  letter  which  he  ^Tote  to  him  : 
"  Spare  me  the  public  declaration,  that  I  shall 
depose  the  old  prelates,  who  have  suffered  cruel 
persecutions  in  the  cause  of  the  church.  First,  my 
right  to  do  so  is  doubtful  ;  and  secondly,  it  grieves 
me  to  treat  in  this  manner  ministers  of  the  altar  in 
misfortune  and  in  exile.  What  reply  would  you 
give  to  those  who  might  require  yon  to  sacrifice  the 
generals  by  whom  you  are  surrounded,  whose  de- 
votedness  has  rendered  you  so  often  victorious  ? 
The  result  which  you  wish  will  be  the  same  in  the 
end,  because  the  greatest  part  of  the  sees  will  be- 
come vacant  by  death  or  by  resignation.  You  will 
fill  them  up,  and  as  to  the  small  number  that  may 
remain  occupied  in  consequence  of  refusing  to  re- 
sign, we  will  not  yet  nominate  bishops  to  them  ; 
but  we  will  administer  to  tl;em  by  vicars,  worthy 
of  your  confidence  and  our  own." 

Upon  the  other  points,  the  Roman  scheme  was 
very  nearly  conformable  to  that  of  France.  It 
granted  the  nominations  to  the  first  consul,  except 
the  first  consul  should  hai>pen  to  be  a  i)rotestant; 
it  contained  the  sanction  of  the  sales  of  church 
property  ;  but,  while  it  persisted  in  demanding 
that  the  clergy  might  receive  testamentary  gifts 
of  houses  and  lauds,  it  granted  to  the  married 
clergy  the  indulgence  of  the  church. 

Evidently  the  most  serious  difficulty  was  in  the 
deposition  of  the  former  bishops,  who  might  refuse 
to  resign.  This  sacrifice  was  heavy  to  the  pope, 
because  it  was  no  other  than  immolating,  at  the 
feet  of  the  first  consul  himself,  the  old  French 
clergy.  Still  this  immolation  was  indispensable,  in 
order  that  the  first  consul  might  in  his  tin-n  sup- 
press the  constitutional  clergy,  and  out  of  the  dif- 
ferent sects  of  ])riests  make  only  one,  composed  of 
]iersons  who  were  esteemed  by  all  the  sects.  It  was 
one  of  these  occasions  when  upon  every  such  con- 
juncture in  every  age,  the  jiapaey  had  never  iiesi- 
tated  to  save  the  church  by  taking  strong  resolutions 
for  that  end.  But  at  the  moment  of  resolving,  the 
benevolent  and  timorous  mind  of  the  pontiff  was 
a  prey  to  the  most  grievous  perplexities. 

Whilst  tho  time  was  thus  employed  at  Rome, 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Embarrassing  position  of 
the  Roman  court. 


1801. 
May. 


wliether  in  conferences  of  the  cardinals  among 
themselves,  or  in  conferences  of  the  secretary  of 
state  with  M.  de  Cacault,  the  first  consul  at  Paris 
h:id  lost  all  patience.  He  began  to  fear  that  the 
court  of  Rome  might  be  carrying  on  an  intrigue 
either  with  the  emigrants  or  foreign  courts,  more 
particularly  with  Austria.  To  his  natural  mistrust 
was  joined  the  suggestions  of  the  enemies  of  reli- 
gion, who  endeavoured  to  persuade  him  that  he 
was  deceived,  and  that  he  himself,  so  f;ir-seeing 
and  able,  was  the  dupe  of  Italian  cunning.  He 
was  but  little  disposed  to  believe  that  this  wariness 
was  greater  than  his  own,  but  he  wished  to  throw 
the  lead  into  that  sea  which  they  had  told  him  was 
so  deep.  On  the  same  day  that  the  courier,  bearing 
the  despatches  of  the  holy  see,  was  leaving  Rome, 
he  made  at  Paris  a  menacing  demonstration. 

He  sent  for  the  abbe  Bernier,  M.  Spina,  and  M. 
Talleyrand,  to  Malmaison.  There  he  informed 
them  that  he  had  no  longer  any  confidence  in  tiie 
dispositions  of  the  court  of  Rome  ;  that  the  desire 
of  deferring  to  the  emigrants  was  evidently  over- 
bearing the  desire  to  be  reconciled  to  France — the 
interest  of  party  being  above  the  interest  of  reli- 
gion ;  that  he  did  not  understand  why  they  con- 
sulted Courts  that  were  known  to  be  inimical,  and 
perhaps  even  the  heads  of  the  emigrants  them- 
selves, to  know  whether  Rome  ought  to  treat  with 
the  French  republic;  that  the  church  might  receive 
through  him  immense  benefits,  and  was  bound  to 
accept  or  refuse  them  at  once,  and  not  to  retard 
the  good  of  the  people  by  useless  hesitations,  or  by 
consultations  still  more  out  of  place;  that  he  would 
do  without  the  holy  see,  since  his  efforts  were  not 
seconded  by  her  ;  that  he  certainly  would  not 
expose  the  church  to  the  persecutions  of  days  gone 
by,  but  would  deliver  the  priests  over  to  one 
another,  confining  himself  to  the  chastisement  of 
the  turbulent,  and  leaving  the  rest  to  live  as  they 
were  best  able  ;  that  he  considered  himself  rela- 
tively to  the  Roman  court  as  free  of  all  engage- 
ments towards  her,  even  from  those  in  the  treaty 
of  Tolentino,  since,  in  fact,  the  treaty  was  void  the 
day  war  was  declared  between  Pius  VI.  and  the 
directory.  In  saying  these  words,  the  tone  of  the 
first  consul  was  cold,  positive,  and  repellant.  He 
gave  it  to  be  understood,  by  the  explanations  fol- 
lowing this  declaration,  that  his  confidence  in  tlie 
holy  father  was  always  the  same,  but  that  he 
imputed  the  delays  which  so  annoyed  him  to  car- 
dinal Gonsalvi,  and  those  who  were  more  imme- 
diately around  the  pope's  person. 

The  first  consul  had  obtained  his  end,  but  the 
unfortunate  Spina  left  Malmaison  in  a  real  disorder 
of  mind,  and  went  with  all  haste  to  Paris,  in  order 
to  write  to  liis  own  court  despatches  full  of  the 
same  fears  which  agitated  himself.  Talleyrand,  on 
the  other  hand,  wrote  to  M.  de  Cacault  a  despatcii, 
conformable  to  the  scene  at  Malmaison.  He  en- 
joined upon  him  to  visit  the  pope  and  cardinal 
Gonsalvi  directly,  and  declare  to  them  that  the 
first  consul,  full  of  reliance  upon  the  personal 
character  of  the  holy  father,  had  not  the  same 
feeling  towards  his  cabinet  ;  that  he  was  resolved 
to  break  off  a  negotiation  much  too  insincere,  and 
that  he,  M.  de  Cacault,  had  orders  to  quit  Rome  in 
five  days,  if  the  plan  of  the  concordat  were  not  im- 
mediately adopted,  or  were  not  adopted  with  cer- 
tain modifications.     M.  de  Cacault  had  instructions 


to  proceed  to  Florence  without  delay,  and  to  wait 
there  until  the  first  consul  should  make  known  to 
him  his  futui'e  determination. 

Tills  despatch  arrived  at  Rome  about  the  end  of 
May.  It  much  mortified  M.  de  Cacault,  who  was 
afraid,  by  the  news  of  which  he  was  the  bearer,  he 
should  disconcert,  perhaps  push  the  Roman  court 
to  desperate  resolutions.  Above  all,  he  feared 
to  afflict  a  pontiff  for  whom  he  had  been  unable 
to  escape  feeling  a  sincere  attachment.  Still  the 
orders  of  the  first  consul  were  so  absolute,  that 
he  had  no  means  of  evading  their  execution.  He 
therefore  went  to  the  pope  and  to  cardinal  Gon- 
salvi, and  showed  them  his  instructions,  wliich 
caused  to  both  very  great  distress  of  mind.  Car- 
dinal Gonsalvi,  in  particular,  seeing  himself  clearly 
designated  in  the  despatches  of  the  first  consul,  as 
the  author  of  the  interminable  delays  in  the  nego- 
tiation, was  i-eady  to  die  with  affright.  Yet  he  was 
little  to  blame;  and  the  superannuated  forms  of  the 
chancery,  the  oldest  in  the  world,  were  the  sole 
cause  of  the  slowness  of  which  the  first  consul 
complained,  at  least  since  the  matter  had  been 
transferred  to  Rome.  M.  de  Cacault  proposed  to 
the  pope  and  to  cardinal  Gonsalvi,  an  idea  which 
at  first  troubled  and  surprised  them,  but  which  at 
last  appeared  to  them  the  only  way  to  a  safe  con- 
clusion. "  You  do  not  wish,"  said  M.  de  Cacault, 
"to  adopt  the  concordat,  with  all  its  expressions  as 
it  is  sent  from  Paris.  Very  well  :  let  the  cardinal 
himself  go  to  France,  furnished  with  full  powers. 
He  will  become  known  to  the  first  consul,  and  will 
inspire  him  with  confidence  ;  he  will  then  obtain 
from  him  the  indispensable  changes  required,  and 
which  you  desire.  If  any  difficulty  should  occur, 
the  cardinal  will  be  on  the  spot  to  obviate  it.  He 
will  prevent,  by  his  presence  there,  the  loss  of 
time,  which  so  much  irritates  the  impatient  cha- 
racter of  the  head  of  our  government.  You  will 
thus  be  extricated  from  great  peril,  and  the  inter- 
ests of  religion  will  be  saved." 

It  was  a  great  trouble  thus  to  pai't  with  a  minis- 
ter with  whom  he  could  not  well  dispense,  and 
who  alone  gave  him  strength  to  bear  the  pain  of 
the  chief  government.  He  was  plunged  into  great 
perplexity,  feeling  the  advice  of  M.  de  Cacault  to 
be  wise,  but  the  separation  proposed  a  cniel  hard- 
ship. 

That  implacable  faction,  composed  not  only  of 
emigrants,  but  of  all  those  in  Europe  who  detested 
the  French  revolution,  that  faction,  which  desired 
to  support  an  eternal  war  with  France,  which  had 
seen  with  sorrow  the  termination  of  the  war  in  La 
Vende'e,  and  which  saw  with  no  less  sorrow  the 
approaching  end  of  the  schism,  besieged  Rome 
with  letters,  filled  it  with  absurd  talk,  and  covered 
its  walls  with  placards.  It  was  said,  for  example, 
in  one  of  these  placards,  that  Pius  VI.,  to  preserve 
the  faith,  had  lost  the  holy  see,  and  that  Pius  VII., 
to  preserve  the  holy  see,  had  lost  the  faith '.  These 
invectives,  of  which  he  was  the  object,  did  not 
move  this  sensible  pontiff,  who  was  devoted  to  his 
duties,  and  his  resolution  to  save  the  church,  in 
spite  of  any  party  ;  but  he  suffered  severely  from 


Pio  VI.,  per  conservar  la  fede, 

Perde  la  sede ; 
Pio  VII.,  per  conservar  la  sede, 

Perde  la  fede. 


Cardinal  Gonsalvi  reluctantly- 
quits  Uome. 


THE  CONCORDAT. 


He  arrives  at  Paris. 


297 


I 


them.  Cardinal  Gonsalvi  was  his  confidant  and 
friend,  and  to  separate  from  him  was  a  poignant 
grief.  The  cardinal,  upon  the  otlier  hand,  feared 
his  own  presence  in  Pai'is,  in  that  revolutionary 
gulf,  which  had  swallowed  up,  as  he  had  been  told, 
so  many  victims.  He  trembled  at  the  idea  only, 
of  finding  himself  in  the  presence  of  the  formidable 
general,  the  object  at  once  of  so  much  fear  and 
admiration,  whom  M.  Spina  had  depicted  to  him 
as  most  of  all  irritated  against  the  Roman  secretary 
of  state.  These  unfortunate  and  terror-stricken 
priests  had  formed  a  thousand  unfounded  notions 
in  regard  to  France  and  her  government ;  and 
ameliorated,  even  improved  as  it  was,  they  trem- 
bled only  at  the  thought  of  remaining  for  a  mo- 
ment in  its  power.  The  cardinal  decided  to  go, 
but  his  decision  was  just  that  wliich  any  one 
feels  who  is  determined  to  brave  his  deatli. 
"  Since  they  must  have  a  victim,"  said  he,  "  I 
will  devote  myself,  anl  be  all  resignation  to  the 
will  of  Trovidence."  He  had  even  the  imprudence 
to  write  letters  to  Na])les,  in  conformity  with  these 
notions,  letters,  which  were  communicated  to  the 
first  consul,  who  fortunately  regarded  them  rather 
as  subjects  for  ridieule  than  anger. 

But  the  journey  of  the  secretary  of  state  to  Paris 
was  very  far  from  removing  all  the  difficulties  and 
anticipating  all  the  dangers.  The  departure  of  M. 
de  Cacault,  and  his  retreat  to  Florence,  where  the 
liead-quarters  of  the  French  army  were  situated, 
might  be  viewed  pei-haps  as  a  fatal  manifestation 
for  the  two  governments  of  Rome  and  Naples. 
These  two  governments  were,  in  fact,  continually 
threatened  by  the  repressed  but  always  ardent  pas- 
sions of  the  Italian  patriots.  That  of  the  pope 
was  always  odious  to  men  who  were  unwilling  to 
have  priests  any  longer  for  their  governors,  and 
the  iminber  of  such  persons  in  the  Roman  states 
was  very  considerable  ;  the  government  of  Naples 
was  detested  for  the  blood  which  it  had  spilled. 
The  departure  of  M.  de  Cacault  would,  it  was  possible, 
be  considered  as  a  species  of  tacit  permission  to  the 
evil-minded  Italians  to  make  some  dangerous  de- 
monstration. This  was  feared  also  by  the  pope. 
It  was  agreed,  therefore,  in  order  to  prevent  such 
an  interpretation  being  put  upon  his  departure,  that 
M.  d(!  Cacault  and  cardinal  Gonsalvi  should  set  out 
together,  and  be  travelling  companions  as  far  as 
Florence.  M.  (h?  Cacault,  on  quitting  Rome,  left 
there  hi.s  secretary  of  legation. 

The  cardinal  and  M.  de  Cacault  left  Rome  on 
the  6tli  of  June,  or  17th  of  Prairial,  and  t(Jok  the 
road  towards  Florence.  They  travelled  in  the 
same  carriage,  and  wherever  they  stopped  the 
cardinal  dt'signated  M.  de  Cacault  to  the  people, 
saying,  "  Tiiis  is  the  French  minister,"  so  anxious 
w;is  he  to  avoi<l  having  it  supposed  there  was  any 
rupture  between  the  two  powers.  The  agitation  in 
Italy  was  lively  enough  upon  the  occasion;  but  it 
produced  no  vexatious  consequences  at  the  mo- 
ment, because  most  persons  waited  for  a  more  dis- 
tinct explanation  of  the  dispositions  of  the  French 
government  before  they  attempted  to  make  a 
change.  Cardinal  Gonsalvi '  s<-parated  from  iM.  de 
'  "  Frativois    (.'acnult,    niitiikter    plenipotentiary   of   the 

French  republic  at  Home,  to  the  citizen  minister  for 

foreign  afliiirs. 

"  Florence,  19  Prairial,  year  tx. 
"  Citizen  mimisteb — Here  I  am  at  Florence.    The  car- 


Cacault  at  Florence,  and  took  the  road  towards 
Paris  with  fear  and  trembling. 

During  this  interval  the  first  consul,  on  receiving 
h\m\  Rome  the  amended  scheme,  and  discoveiing 
that  the  differences  were  more  those  of  form  than 
essence,  became  more  calm  upon  the  affair.  'J'he 
news  that  cardinal  G<ins.ilvi  was  coming  himself  to 
endeavour  to  place  in  harmony  the  court  of  Rome 
with  the  French  republic,  comi)letely  satisfied  him. 
He  now  saw  the  certainty  of  the  ai)proacliing 
arrangement,  and  prepared  accordingly  to  give  the 
best  reception  to  the  prime  minister  of  the  Roman 
court. 

Cardinal  Gonsalvi  arrived  in  Paris  on  the  20th 
of  June,  or  1st  Messidor.  The  abbe'  Bernier  and 
M.  Spina  hastened  to  receive  him,  and  to  assui-e 
him  of  the  kindly  disposition  of  the, first  consul. 

dinal  secretary  of  state  left  Rome  along  with  me.  He  called 
for  me  at  my  house.  We  have  made  tlie  journey  together  in 
the  same  carriage.  Our  servants  followed  after  the  same 
fashion  in  a  second  carriage  ;  and  the  expenses  were  paid  by 
each  of  our  separate  couriers  respectively. 

"  We  were  looked  upon  every  where  with  an  air  of  surprise. 
The  cardinal  greatly  feared  that  they  would  imagine  I  was 
going  away  in  consequence  of  a  rupture.  He  said  to  every 
body  continually,  '  This  is  flie  French  mijiisler!'  This 
country,  crushed  by  the  miseries  of  the  past  war,  shudders 
at  ihe  least  idea  of  the  movement  of  troops.  The  Roman 
government  has  yet  greater  fear  of  its  own  disiontented 
subjects ;  above  all,  of  those  who  have  been  tempted  to  take 
authority  and  to  plunder  by  the  sort  of  revolution  gone  by. 
We  have  thus  prevented,  and,  at  the  same  time,  dissipated, 
mortal  fears  and  rash  hopes.  I  do  not  think  that  the  tran- 
quillity of  Rome  will  be  troubled. 

"The  cardinal  spent  here  the  ISIh  in  great  and  manifest 
friendship  with  general  Murat,  who  gave  him  a  residence 
and  a  guard  of  honour.  He  offered  me  the  same.  I  have 
accepted  nothing.     I  am  accommodated  at  an  inn. 

"  The  cardinal  set  out  this  morning  for  Paris.  He  will 
arrive  shortly  after  my  despatch,  for  he  will  travel  with  great 
rapidity.  The  poor  man  feels  that  If  he  fails  in  his  object  he 
will  be  lost  beyond  all  hope,  and  all  will  be  lost  for  Rome. 
He  is  anxious  to  know  his  doom.  I  have  made  him  under- 
stand, that  a  great  means  of  saving  every  thing  is  to  use  all 
speed,  because  the  first  consul  had  the  most  serious  and 
weighty  reasons  for  concluding  quickly  and  executing 
promptly. 

"  I  tried  at  Rome  to  get  the  pope  to  sign  the  concordat 
alone;  and  if  he  had  conceded  this  point  to  me,  I  should 
not  have  left  Rome  ;  but  this  idea  did  not  succeed  w  itli  uie. 

"  You  judge  well  that  the  cardinal  is  not  sent  to  Paris 
to  sign  that  which  the  pope  has  refused  to  sign  at  Rome; 
but  he  is  his  first  minister  and  favourite;  it  is  the  soul 
of  the  pope  that  is  about  to  enter  into  a  communication 
with  you.  I  trust  that^nn  agreement  will  result  respecting 
these  modifications.  It  is  a  question  of  phrases,  of  words 
that  may  be  turned  in  so  many  ways,  that,  in  the  end,  a 
good  one  may  be  seized  upon. 

"  The  cardinal  bears  to  the  first  consul  a  confidential 
letter  from  the  pope,  and  the  most  ardent  wishes  for  the 
termination  of  the  business.  He  is  a  man  of  a  clear 
mind.  His  person  has  nothing  imposing;  he  is  not  made  fcr 
grandeur;  his  elocution,  somewhat  verbose,  is  not  attractive; 
his  character  is  mild,  and  his  soul  will  open  itself  to  an  over- 
flow, provided  he  is  encouraged  by  mildne.^s  to  repose  con- 
fidence. 

"  I  have  written  to  Madrid,  to  Ihe  ambassador  Lncien 
Ilona])arte,  in  outer  to  explain  the  meaning  of  the  noisy  re- 
ports of  cardinal  Gonsalvi's  journey  to  Paris,  and  of  my  retire 
ment  to  Florence.  In  like  manner,  I  have  made  known  to 
the  ministers  of  the  emperor  and  of  the  king  of  Spain  at 
Rome,  that  there  is  no  likelihood  of  war  with  the  pope. 

"  I  salute  you  respectfully.  Cacault  " 


298  *^;1lrBo„°a"paIte'"°**"'*'  THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE,   ^^i^ns"  "'  *'''  "'^'"""     JuSe! 


The  costume  was  settled  in  which  he  was  to  be 
presented  at  Malmaison,  and  he  went  thither  with 
considerable  emotion  at  the  idea  of  seeing  general 
Bonaparte.  The  first  consul,  being  aware  of  this, 
would  not  add  to  the  cardinal's  uneasy  feeling.  He 
displayed  all  that  sldll  in  language  with  which 
nature  had  endowed  him,  to  impress  himself  upon 
the  mind  of  his  interlocutor,  to  explain  to  him  his 
whole  intentions  frankly,  benevolent  as  they  were 
towards  the  cluircli,  to  make  him  sensible  of  the 
weighty  difficulties  attached  to  the  re-establishment 
of  |)ublic  worship  in  France,  and  particularly  to 
make  him  comprehend  that  the  interest  which 
he  himself  had  in  yielding  to  French  opinion,  was 
of  much  more  consequence  than  that  which  he 
would  have  in  administering  to  the  resentments  of 
priests,  of  emigrants,  or  of  deposed  princes,  despised 
and  abandoned  by  all  Europe.  He  declared  to 
cardinal  Gonsalvi,"that  he  was  ready  to  reconsider 
certain  details  in  the  drawing  up  which  were 
obscure  to  the  Roman  court,  provided  in  the 
main  she  would  accord  that  which  he  regarded 
as  indispensably  needful  to  the  creation  of  an 
ecclesiastical  establishment  entirely  new,  which 
might  be  liis  undertaking,  and  which  might  reunite 
the  wise  and  respectable  priests  of  all  parties. 

The  cardinal  left  the  first  consul  greatly  en- 
couraged by  this  interview.  He  seldom  exhibited 
himself  in  Paris,  supporting  a  very  becoming  re- 
serve, equally  distant  from  an  overdone  severity, 
and  from  that  Italian  freedom,  which  is  so  much 
the  reproach  of  the  Roman  priesthood.  He  ac- 
cepted a  few  invitations  from  the  consuls  and 
ministers,  but  constantly  refused  to  show  himself 
in  public  places.  He  went  to  work  with  the  abbe 
Bernier  to  resolve  the  last  dilHculties  of  the  nego- 
tiation. Thei-e  were  two  points  which  more  par- 
ticularly formed  an  obstacle  to  the  agreement  of 
the  two  governments  :  one  relative  to  the  title  of 
the  "  religion  of  the  state,"  which  was  sought  to  be 
obtained  for  the  catholic  religion  ;  the  second 
regarded  the  deposition  of  the  former  bishops. 
Cardinal  Gonsalvi  wished  that  to  justify  the  great 
concessions  thus  made  in  the  face  of  all  Christen- 
dom, they  might  be  able  to  allege  a  solemn  de- 
claration of  the  French  republic  in  favour  of  the 
catholic  church  ;  he  wished  that  at  least  the 
catholic  i-eligion  should  be  declared  the  "  dominant 
religion,"  and  that  an  abx'ogation  of  all  the  laws 
opposed  to  it  should  be  proclaimed  or  promised  ; 
and,  lastly,  that  the  first  consul  should  personally 
profess  it.  His  example  would  be  regarded  as 
before  all  others  puissant  on  the  mind  of  the 
multitude. 

The  abb^  Bei'nier,  on  the  other  side,  replied, 
that  to  proclaim  a  "religion  of  the  state,"  or  a 
"  dominant  religion,"  would  be  to  alarm  the  other 
religious  persuasiims,  and  create  the  apprehension 
of  a  return  to  an  opi)ressive,  intolerant,  plundering 
religion,  and  so  on  ;  tliat  it  was  imi)0ssible  to  go 
beyond  the  declaration  of  the  one  plain  fact,  that 
the  majority  of  the  French  people  were  catholics. 
He  added,  that  to  abrogate  anterior  laws,  it  was 
necessary  to  have  recourse  to  the  agreement  of  the 
legislative  power,  and  that  this  would  throw  the 
French  cabinet  into  an  inextricable  embarrassment; 
that  the  government,  as  a  government  or  ruling 
body,  could  not  make  a  profession  of  any  particular 
faith  ;  that  the  consuls  might  individually  profess 


such,  but  that  this  circumstance  could  not  appear  in 
a  treaty,  as  it  was  an  individual,  and,  in  some 
respects,  a  private  act.  That  as  to  the  personal  con- 
duct of  the  first  consul,  the  abbe'  Bernier  said  in  an 
under  tone,  that  he  would  attend  at  a  "  Te  Deum" 
or  a  mass  ;  but  that  as  to  the  other  practices  of 
religion,  it  was  not  necessary  to  require  them 
of  him,  and  that  there  were  things  of  which  the 
cardinal  ought  to  abandon  the  exaction,  because 
they  would  produce  an  effect  more  vexatious  than 
salutary.  At  last  a  preamble  was  agreed  upon, 
which  nearly  met  the  views  of  the  two  legations,  in 
union  with  the  first  article. 
It  ran  thus : 

"  Tlie  government  recognizing  that  the  catholic  re- 
ligion is    the   religion  of  the  great  majority  of  the 

French " 

"  The  pofe,  on  his  part,  recognizing  that  this  religion 
had  derived  and  still  expected  at  this  moment  th^  greatest 
good  from  the  re-establishment  of  th£  catholic  worship 
in  France,  and  from  the  particular  profession  which 

the  consuls  of  the  republic  made  of  it " 

From  this  double  motive,  the  two  authorities,  for 
the  good  of  religion  and  the  maintenance  of  internal 
tranquillity,  laid  it  down: — 

Article  1st. — That  the  catholic  religion  should  be 
exercised  in  France,  and  thai  its  worship  should  be 
public,  in  conformity  to  the  regulations  of  the  police, 
judged  necessary  for  the    maintenance  of  tranquil- 

'llty " 

Article  2nd. — That  there  should  be  a  new  arrange- 
ment of  dioceses " 

This  preamble  sufficiently  met  the  intentions  of  all 
parties,  because  it  proclaimed  loudly  the  re-esta- 
blishment of  worship;  rendered  the  profession  of  it 
as  public  in  France  as  it  was  formerly;  made  the 
profession  of  this  faith  by  the  consuls  an  individual 
act,  personal  to  the  three  consuls  in  its  exercise, 
and  placed  the  allegation  in  the  mouth  of  the  pope 
and  not  in  that  of  the  chief  of  the  republic.  These 
first  difficulties  then  appeared  to  be  happily  ovei'- 
come.  Next  came  the  contested  points  relative  to 
the  deposing  of  the  former  bishops.  In  the  main 
these  were  agreed  to  by  both  parties;  but  cardinal 
Gonsalvi  demanded  that  the  pope  should  be  spared 
the  pain  of  pronouncing  the  depositions  by  a  public 
act  of  the  old  bishops.  He  jjromised  that  those 
who  refused  to  give  in  their  resignation  should  no 
longer  be  considered  titularies,  and  that  the  pope 
would  consent  to  give  them  successors  ;  but  he  did 
not  wish  that  this  should  be  formally  stated  in  the 
concordat.  The  first  consul  was  inflexible  upon 
this  point,  and,  without  giving  the  precise  terms, 
required  that  it  should  be  positively  stated,  that 
the  pope  would  address  himself  to  the  former 
bishops,  demanding  from  them  the  resignation  of 
their  sees,  which  he  expected  with  full  confidence 
from  their  love  of  religion,  and  that  if  they  refused 
the  sees, — 

"  Should  be  provided  with  new  titularies  for  their 
government  under  the  new  circumscription." 
These  were  the  true  expressions  of  the  treaty. 
The  other  conditions  did  not  become  a  matter  of 
contest.  The  first  consul  was  to  name,  and  the 
pope  to  institute  the  new  bishops.  Still  cardinal 
Gonsalvi  x-equired  and  the  first  consul  conceded 
one  reservation,  by  which  it  was  stated  that  m  case 
of  a  protestant  first  consul,  a  new  convention  should 
be  had  in  order  to  regulate  the  mode  of  nomination. 


ISOI. 
June. 


Opposition  in  France  to  the 
concordat. 


THE  CONCORDAT.  Character  of  the  abbe  Gregoire. 


299 


It  was  stipulated  that  the  bishops  should  nominate 
the  cures,  and  that  they  should  be  chosen  from 
among  such  subjects  as  were  approved  of  by  the 
government.  The  question  of  the  oath  was  resolved 
by  the  simple  adoption  of  that  formerly  taken  by 
the  bishops  to  the  kings  of  France.  The  holy  see 
claimed  with  justice,  and  it  was  accorded  without 
difficulty,  the  right  of  establishing  seminaries  for 
the  supply  of  the  clergy,  but  without  the  obligation 
of  any  state  endowment.  The  engagement  that 
the  holdei*s  of  national  property  should  not  be 
troubled  by  the  clergy  was  formed,  and  the  owner- 
ship of  acquired  property  was  distinctly  acknow- 
ledged. It  was  said  that  the  government  would 
take  measures  that  the  clergy  should  receive 
suitable  incomes,  and  that  the  old  religious  edifices, 
and  all  the  parsonages  not  alienated,  should  be  re- 
stored to  them.  It  was  agreed  that  the  permission 
to  make  pious  donations  should  be  granted  to  the 
faithful,  but  that  the  state  should  regulate  the  form 
of  them.  Upon  this  form  it  was  secretly  agreed 
that  the  pajTuent  should  be  out  of  the  public  funds, 
since  the  first  consul  would  on  no  account  hear  of 
the  re-establishment  of  property  in  mortmain. 
This  arrangement  was  to  be  found  in  the  ulterior 
regulations  of  the  police  for  regulating  the  forms  of 
worship,  which  the  government  had  the  sole  power 
to  make. 

In  regard  to  the  married  priests,  the  cardinal 
gave  his  word  that  a  brief  indulgence  should  be 
immediately  published;  but  he  requested  that  an 
act  of  religious  charity  emanating  from  the  clemency 
of  the  holy  father,  should  pursue  its  free  and  spon- 
taneous character,  and  not  pass  as  a  condition 
imposed  upon  the  holy  see,  and  this  was  conceded 
accordingly. 

Both  parties  had  now  finally  agreed  upon  every 
thing,  and  on  reasonable  bases,  guaranteeing  at  the 
same  time  the  independence  of  blie  French  church, 
and  a  perfect  union  with  the  holy  see.  Never  had 
a  more  liberal  convention,  and  at  the  same  time 
one  more  orthodox,  been  made  with  Rome;  but  it 
must  be  acknowledged,  that  one  weighty  resolution 
had  been  forced  upon  the  pope,  perfectly  justifiable 
under  the  circumstances,  that  of  deposing  the 
former  titularies  who  might  refuse  to  resign.  It 
was  necessary,  therefore,  to  be  satisfied,  and  to 
conclude. 

Agitation  was  at  work  all  this  time  about  the 
first  consul  in  order  to  defeat  his  definitive  consent. 
Men,  who  had  access  to  him  in  the  customary  man- 
ner, and  who  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  giving  Lim 
their  advice,  combated  his  determination.  The 
constitutional  part  of  the  clergy  made  a  good  deal 
of  strife  for  fear  of  being  sacrificed  to  the  unsworn 
clergy.  It  had  obtained  the  right  of  assembling  and 
of  forming  a  sort  of  national  council  in  Paris.  The 
first  consul  had  granted  these  powers  for  the  purpose 
of  stimulating  the  zeal  of  the  lioly  see,  and  making 
it  feel  the  danger  of  delay.  In  this  assembly  many 
senseless  things  on  the  customs  of  the  primitive 
church  were  debated,  to  which  the  authors  of  the 
civil  constitution  wished  to  bring  back  the  French 
church.  They  asserted  that  the  episcopal  functions 
ought  to  bo  conferred  by  election,  and  that  if  this 
was  not  exactly  possible,  it  was  at  Iciwt  desirable 
that  the  first  consul  should  choose  subjects  from  a 
list  presented  by  the  faithful  in  each  diocese;  that 
the  nomination  of  the  bishojis  should  be  confirmed 


by  the  metropolitans,  in  other  words  by  the  arch- 
bishops, and  that  of  these  last  only  by  the  pope; 
but  that  the  papal  institution  should  not  be  granted 
to  tlie  holy  see  arbitrarily ;  but  that  after  a  certain 
determined  time  it  should  be  compelled  to  ratify 
them.  This  was  equivalent  to  a  complete  extinction 
of  the  rights  of  Rome.  Every  thing  which  was 
advanced  in  this  sort  of  council,  was  not  so  destitute 
as  this  of  practical  reason.  Some  sound  ideas 
were  presented  there  upon  the  circumscription  of 
dioceses,  and  the  emission  of  bulls,  and  on  the  ne- 
cessity of  not  allowing  any  publication  emanating 
from  the  pontifical  authority  without  the  exjjress 
permission  of  the  civil  power.  They  had  an  in- 
tention of  uniting  all  these  diff'erent  observations 
in  the  form  of  votes,  which  should  be  presented 
to  the  first  consul  for  the  purpose  of  explaining 
their  resolutions.  That  which  they  were  fond  of 
repeating  very  frequently  in  this  assembly  was, 
that  during  the  reign  of  terror  the  constitutional 
clergy  had  rendei'cd  great  services  to  the  proscribed 
faith,  that  it  had  never  fled  nor  abandoned  the 
churches,  and  that  it  was  not  just  to  sacrifice  those 
to  them  who,  during  the  persecution,  had  assumed 
the  pretext  of  orthodoxy  to  evade  the  dangers  of 
the  priesthood.  All  this  was  correct,  more  particu- 
larly as  respected  the  ordinary  priests,  of  which  the 
larger  part  really  possessed  the  virtues  attributed 
to  them.  But  the  constitutional  bishops,  some  of 
whom  merited  respect,  were  for  the  most  part  men 
of  disputation,  true  sectarists,  that  ambition  in 
some,  and  pride  of  theological  arrogance  in  others, 
had  completely  enchained,  and  they  were  far  in- 
ferior in  worth  to  the  simple  and  unostentatious 
men  who  were  their  inferiors.  The  individual  at 
their  head,  who  showed  himself  the  most  restless, 
the  abbe  Gregoire,  was  the  leader  of  a  sect.  His 
morals  were  pure,  but  he  was  of  a  narrow  spirit, 
had  excessive  vanity,  and  his  political  conduct  was 
marked  by  a  painful  recollection.  Without  being 
exposed  to  the  impulses  or  the  terrors  which  gained 
from  the  convention  a  vote  of  death  against  Louis 
XVI.,  the  abbe'  Gregoire,  then  absent,  and  free 
to  hold  his  tongue,  addressed  a  letter  to  the  assem- 
bly which  bore  sentiments  very  little  conformable 
to  religion  or  morality.  He  was  one  of  those  to 
whom  a  return  to  sound  ideas  was  the  least  adapted, 
and  who  endeavoured,  though  in  vain,  to  combat 
the  tendency  imprinted  upon  every  thing  by  the 
consular  government.  He  had  taken  care  to  form 
attachments  in  the  family  of  Bonaparte,  and  thus 
to  lay  before  the  head  of  that  family  a  multitude  of 
objections  against  the  resolution  in  the  course  of 
preparation.  The  first  consul  allowed  the  constitu- 
tionalists to  talk  and  act,  and  was  ready  to  arrest 
their  agitation  if  it  proceeded  to  a  scandal;  but  he 
was  not  sorry  to  make  their  presence  disagreeable 
to  the  holy  sec,  and  apply  that  as  a  stimulant  to  its 
slowness.  Although  lie  had  little  taste  for  this  part 
of  the  clergy,  because  they  were  in  general  theo- 
logical wranglers,  he  wished  to  uphold  their  rights, 
and  to  impose  upon  the  pope  as  bishops,  those  who 
were  known  by  their  pure  manners  and  humility 
of  s|)irit.  More  than  this  was  not  asked  by  the 
greater  number,  for  they  were  far  from  repugnant 
to  a  re-union  with  the  holy  sec.  They  rather 
desired  it  as  the  most  sure  and  honourable  means 
for  them  to  escape  from  a  life  of  agitation,  and  a 
state  of  too  little  consideration   with  their  flocks. 


Government  discussion 
300        upon  the  concordat. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


That  important  treaty- 
signed. 


1801. 
July. 


The  greater  number  did  not,  in  fact,  resist  an  ar- 
rangement with  Rome  but  through  the  fear  of  being 
sacrificed  in  a  body  to  the  former  bisliops. 

There  was  a  yet  more  formidable  opposition 
near  the  first  consul,  produced  in  the  ministry 
itself.  Talleyrand,  wounded  by  the  spirit  of  the 
Roman  court,  which  had  shown  itself  less  easy  and 
less  indulgent  than  he  had  at  first  believed  it,  had 
become  cold  and  ill-disposed  towards  it.  He  evi- 
dently acted  counter  to  the  negotiation,  after  be- 
ginning with  right  good  will,  when  he  regarded  it 
as  only  another  peace  to  be  concluded.  He  had  set 
out  to  take  the  waters,  as  has  been  already  mentioned, 
leaving  the  first  consul  a  plan  completely  laid  down 
— a  scheme  of  an  arbitrary  form,  beautiful  without 
utility, — which  the  court  of  Rome  would  not  agree 
to  on  any  consideration.  M.  d'Hauterive  was 
charged  to  continue  to  fill  Talleyrand's  part,  and 
lialf  engaged  in  holy  orders,  from  which  he  had 
freed  himself  at  the  time  of  the  revolution,  he  was 
but  little  favourable  to  the  wishes  of  the  holy  see. 
He  opposed  a  thousand  difficulties  to  the  drawing 
up  of  the  plan  agreed  upon  between  the  abbe 
Bernier  and  cardinal  Gonsalvi.  In  his  0])inion, 
there  should  be  announced  in  it,  in  a  manner  far 
more  expi'ess  and  plain,  the  destitution  of  the  old 
bishops;  there  ought  to  be  mentioned  in  it  that 
pious  bequests  could  only  be  made  through  the 
funds,  and  there  should  have  been  a  formal  article 
to  specify  there-instatement  of  the  married  priests, 
with  similar  matters.  M.  d'Hauterive  thus  re- 
animated the  very  difficulties  in  the  drawing  up, 
before  which  the  negotiation  had  nearly  failed. 
Even  on  the  day  of  the  signing,  he  again  sent,  on 
these  different  points,  a  memorial  to  the  first 
consul. 

These  discussions  being  all  terminated,  there 
was  an  assemblage  of  the  consuls  and  the  ministers, 
in  which  the  question  was  definitively  argued  and 
resolved  upon.  There  the  objections  already 
known  were  repeated  ;  great  weight  was  laid  upon 
disturbing  the  French  mind;  upon  adding  to  the 
budget  the  new  charges  ;  upon  putting,  they  said, 
the  national  property  in  peril  ;  upon  awakening 
amongst  the  old  clergy  to  be  established  in  their 
functions  more  hopes  than  any  one  would  be  will- 
ing to  satisfy.  A  scheme  of  simple  toleration  was 
spoken  of,  which  should  only  consist  in  restoring 
their  edifices  to  the  faithful,  as  well  to  the  unsworn 
as  to  the  sworn  clergy,  and  for  the  government  to 
remain  a  peaceable  spectator  of  their  quarrels, 
except  in  any  case  in  which  they  might  materially 
disturb  the  public  peace. 

The  consul  Cambaceres,  a  very  strong  advocate 
for  the  concordat,  expressed  himself  upon  the  sub- 
ject with  much  warmth,  and  triumphantly  met 
every  objection.  He  argued  that  the  danger  of 
disturbing  the  French  mind  was  only  true  in  re- 
gard to  some  of  the  livelier  spirits  among  the 
opposition;  but  that  the  masses  would  welcome 
most  willingly  the  re-establishment  of  public  wor- 
ship, and  already  felt  a  moral  want  of  it ;  that  the 
consideration  of  the  expense  was  a  very  con- 
temptible matter  in  such  a  case;  that  the  national 
property  was,  on  the  contrary,  to  be  guaranteed 
more  sacredly  than  ever,  by  the  sanction  of  the 
sales  obtained  of  the  holy  see.  Cambaceres  here 
was  interrupted  by  the  first  consul,  who,  always 
inflexible  wheu  the  national  property  became  a  ques- 


tion, declared  that  he  made  the  concordat  precisely 
for  the  interest  of  the  holders  of  that  property ;  that 
he  would  crush,  with  all  his  weight,  those  priests 
who  were  foolish  or  ill-disposed  enough  to  abuse  the 
great  act  about  to  be  carried  into  effect.  The 
consul  Cambaceres,  in  continuation,  observed  how 
ridiculous  it  was,  and  how  difficult  of  execution, 
was  a  scheme  of  indifference  towards  all  religious 
parties,  that  would  dispute  among  each  other  for 
the  confidence  of  the  faithful,  the  edifices  of  worship, 
and  the  voluntary  gifts  of  public  piety;  who  would 
give  the  government  all  the  fatigue  of  active  in- 
terference and  not  one  of  its  advantages,  and  would 
end,  perhaps,  in  the  re-union  of  all  the  sects  in  one 
single  hostile  church,  independent  of  the  state,  and 
dependent  upon  foreign  authority. 

The  consul  Lebrun  spoke  in  much  the  same 
language  ;  and,  lastly,  the  first  consul  gave  his 
opinion  in  a  few  words,  but  in  a  lucid,  precise,  and 
peremptory  manner.  He  acknowledged  the  diffi- 
culties, even  the  perils  of  the  undertaking  ;  but 
the  depth  of  his  views  went  beyond  some  few 
momentary  difficulties,  and  he  was  resolved.  He 
showed  himself  so  by  his  words.  Thenceforwai-d 
there  was  no  more  resistance,  no  more  disap- 
provals, except  occasional  grumblings  at  his  re- 
solution out  of  his  presence.  Submi.'ssion  followed, 
and  the  order  was  issued  to  sign  the  concordat, 
that  the  abbe  Bernier  and  cardinal  Gonsalvi  had 
definitively  drawn  up. 

According  to  his  custom  to  reserve  for  his  elder 
brother  the  conclusion  of  the  more  important  acts, 
the  first  consul  designated  as  plenipotentiaries, 
Joseph  Bonaparte,  Cretet,  the  councillor  of  state, 
and  lastly,  the  abbe'  Bernier,  to  whom  the  honour 
was  so  justly  due,  for  the  pains  he  had  bestowed, 
and  the  ability  he  had  displayed,  during  this  long 
and  memorable  negotiation.  The  pope's  plenipo- 
tentiaries were  the  cardinal  Gonsalvi,  M.  Spina, 
and  the  father  Caselli,  a  learned  Italian,  who  had 
accompanied  the  Roman  legation  with  the  view  of 
lending  aid  by  his  theological  knowledge.  They 
met  together  out  of  form  at  the  house  of  Joseph 
Bonaparte;  the  documents  were  read  over,  some 
petty  changes  were  made  in  the  details,  always 
reserved  to  the  last  moment,  and  on  the  I5th  of 
July,  1801,  or  the  2Cth  of  Messidor,  this  great  act 
was  signed,  the  most  important  that  the  court  of 
Rome  had  ever  concluded  with  that  of  France,  or 
perhaps  with  any  Christian  power,  because  it  ter- 
minated one  of  the  most  frightful  tempests  that 
the  catholic  religion  had  ever  encountered.  For 
France  it  put  an  end  to  a  deplorable  schism,  and 
brought  about  this  end  by  placing  church  and 
state  in  a  suitable  position  of  union  and  indepen- 
dence. 

Much  remained  to  be  done  after  the  signature 
of  the  treaty,  which  has  since  borne  the  title  of 
the  Concordat.  It  was  necessary  to  demand  its 
ratification  at  Rome,  then  to  obtain  the  bulls  which 
nmst  accompany  the  publication,  as  well  as  the 
briefs  addressed  to  all  the  former  bishops,  calling 
for  their  resignation  ;  it  was  needful,  in  the  next 
place,  to  trace  out  the  new  circumscription  of  the 
dioceses  ;  to  choose  sixty  new  prelates,  and  in 
every  thing  to  proceed  in  full  accordance  with 
Rome.  It  was  still  an  uninterrupted  negotiation, 
down  to  the  day  when  they  were  at  hist  able  to 
chant  a  Te  Deum  in  Notre  Dame,  to  celebrate  the 


1801. 
Aug. 


Its  cold  reception  by  the  council 
of  state. 


THE  CONCORDAT. 


Cardinal  Gonsalvi  returns  to  Rome. 
Satisl'actiun  of  the  pope. 


301 


re-establishment  of  the  catholic  worship.  The 
first  consul,  eager  to  arrive  at  the  result  in  every 
thing,  wished  that  all  this  should  be  promptly 
pcrieeted,  to  celebrate  at  the  same  time  the  peace 
concluded  with  the  European  powers,  and  the 
peace  with  the  church.  The  accomplishment  of 
such  a  wish  was  difficult.  The  greatest  haste 
was  made  in  expediting  the  details,  in  order  to 
retard  as  little  as  possible  the  great  act  of  the  re- 
storation of  public  worship. 

The  first  consul  did  not  at  first  make  public  the 
treaty  concluded  with  the  pope;  it  was  previously 
necessary  to  obtain  the  i-atifications  :  but  he  com- 
municated it  to  the  council  of  state,  in  the  sitting 
of  the  6th  of  August,  or  18th  Thermidor.  He  did 
not  communicate  the  act  in  its  tenor,  but  contented 
himself  with  giving  a  substantial  analysis,  and  ac- 
companied this  analysis  with  an  enumeration  of 
the  motives  which  had  decided  the  government  in 
its  conclusion.  Those  who  heard  him  on  that  day 
were  strucU  with  the  precision,  vigour,  and  lofti- 
ness of  the  language  he  used.  It  was  the  eloquence 
of  a  magistrate,  the  chief  of  an  empire.  _  Still,  if 
they  were  struck  at  his  sin)])le,  nervous,  elo- 
quence, which  Cicero  styled  in  Ctesar  rim  Cwsaris, 
they  were  little  reconciled  to  the  proceeding  of  the 
first  consul '.  They  remained  dumb  and  sullen,  as 
if  they  iiad  seen  perishing  with  the  schism  one  of 
the  works  of  the  revolution  the  most  to  be  re- 
gretted. The  act  was  not  then  submitted  to  the 
deliberations  of  the  cotmcil;  it  neither  discussed 
nor  voted  upon  it.  Nothing  broke  the  silent  cold- 
ness of  the  scene.  They  were  dumb  ;  they  sepa- 
rated without  siiying  a  word,  without  expressing 
a  single  suffrage.  But  the  first  consul  had  shown 
what  was  his  will,  from  thenceforth  irrevocable, 
and  that  was  enough  for  a  great  number  of  ()er- 
sons.  It  wa-s,  at  least,  the  assumed  silence  of  those 
who  would  not  displease  him,  and  of  those  also 
who,  respecting  his  genius,  and  valuing  the  im- 
mensity of  the  good  that  he  had  conferred  upon 
France,  were  decided  to  pass  over  even  his  errors. 

The  first  consul,  thinking  that  he  had  now  sti- 
mulated the  court  of  Rome  sufficiently,  deemed  it 
neces-sary  to  put  an  end  to  the  pretended  council 

'  Letter  from  Monsignor  Spina  to  cardinal  Gonsalvi, 
lecretary  of  state : 

"  Paris,  8th  August. 

"  Thursday  last,  the  first  consul  being  in  llie  council  of 
state,  and  informed  that  in  Paris  the  conveiiiion  which  he 
had  concluiled  wiih  his  holiness  was  the  general  .suliject  of 
conversation;  that  every  one,  although  ignorant  of  its  pre- 
cise tenor,  spnkc  of  it  and  (ommented  upon  it,  each  after  his 
own  fancy,  tnerefore  look  the  opportunity  of  cdinmunicating 
to  the  council  i'self  the  whole  details.  ]  know  for  certain 
that  he  spoke  for  an  iiour  and  a  half,  showing  the  necessity 
and  advaniage  of  it,  and  I  have  been  told  that  he  spoke  most 
admirably.  ,As  he  did  not  ask  for  the  opinion  of  the  council, 
all  the  memliers  of  the  council  remained  silent,  i  have  not 
yet  been  able  to  learn  wliat  impression  was  produced  upon 
the  minds  of  the  councillors  in  general.  The  good  were  dc- 
linhicd  at  it,  but  their  number  is  very  limited.  I  sliall  en- 
deavour to  find  out  what  impression  was  made  upon  those 
who  were  adverse  to  it.  It  appears  that  the  first  oonsul  is 
desirous  of  preparing'  the  mindi  of  those  who  arc  hosille  to 
the  measure,  with  the  view  of  clisarming  their  opponition ; 
but  he  will  not  succeed,  unless  he  adopts  some  more  ener- 
getic proceedings  against  the  constitullonalists,  nor  while  he 
leaves  the  catholic  worship  exposed  to  the  lash  of  the  minister 
of  police." 


of  the  ecclesiastical  clergy.  In  consequence,  he 
commanded  them  to  separate,  and  they  obeyed; 
since  not  one  among  them  would  have  dared  to 
t)ftend  an  authority  that  l)ad  sixty  bishoprics  to 
be  distributed,  elevated,  this  time,  by  pontifical 
institution  itself.  In  separating,  they  presented  to 
the  first  consul  an  act  of  a  suitable  form,  which 
embodied  their  views  relative  to  the  new  religious 
establishment.  It  contained  the  propositions  which 
have  been  already  detailed. 

Cardinal  Gonsalvi  had  left  Paris  to  return  to 
Rcmic,  and  to  bring  back  M.  de  Cacault  to  the 
l)resence  of  the  holy  see.  The  pope  was  longing 
for  this  double  return,  because  Lower  Italy  was 
dangerously  agitated.  The  Italian  patriots  of 
Naples  and  the  Roman  state  awaited  with  im- 
patience the  opportunity  of  a  new  disturbance, 
while  the  old  Ruffo  |)arty,  the  cut-throats  of  the 
queen  of  Naples,  desired  nothing  better  than  some 
pretext  for  falling  upon  the  French.  These  men, 
so  different  in  their  intentions,  were  ready  to  unite 
their  efforts  to  I'un  every  thing  into  confusion. 
The  news  of  the  accordance  between  the  French 
and  Roman  goveriimeiits,  the  cei'tainty  of  the  in- 
tervention of  general  Murat,  placed  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, at  the  head  of  an  army,  restrained  the 
bad  spirits,  and  prevented  these  sinister  designs. 
The  pope  was  overjoyed  at  seeing  cardinal  Gonsalvi 
and  the  French  minister  return  to  Rome.  He 
immediately  convoked  a  congregation  of  cardinals, 
in  order  to  submit  to  them  the  new  work  ;  and 
he  caused  the  bulls,  the  brief's,  in  fact,  all  the 
acts  necessary  in  consequence  of  the  concordat, 
to  be  prepared.  The  worthy  pontiff  was  pleased, 
but  agitiited.  He  felt  the  certainty  of  having 
done  well,  and  of  immolating  nothing  but  the  in- 
terests of  a  faction  to  the  general  good  of  the 
church.  But  the  censures  of  the  old  throne  and 
altar  party  broke  forth  at  Rome  with  great  vio- 
lence, and  although  the  holy  father  had  put  away 
from  his  presence  all  the  evil-disposed,  he  heard 
their  bitter  language,  and  was  disturbed  by  it. 
Cardinal  Maury,  judging,  with  his  usual  superiority 
of  acuteness,  that  the  cause  of  the  emigrants  was 
lost,  and  already  seeing,  perhaps  with  a  secret 
satisfaction,  the  moment  when  all  in  a  state  of 
exile,  far  from  fheir  country,  and  sighing  to  return, 
would  be  again  restored,  kept  himself  at  a  dis- 
tance, in  his  bishopric  of  Montefiascone,  solely 
occupying  himself  in  the  care  of  a  library,  which 
formed  the  charm  of  his  solitude.  The  pope,  in 
order  not  to  give  umbrage  to  the  first  consul,  had, 
besides,  made  the  cardinal  understand,  that  his 
absolute  retreat  at  Montefiascone  was,  at  that  mo- 
ment, a  convenience  to  the  pontifical  government. 

The  pope  then  was  satisfied,  but  full  of  emotion ', 

'  Letter  of  M.  de  Cacault,  minister  plenipotentiary  of  the 

French  republic  at  Rome,  to  the  minister  for  foreign  alfairs. 

"  Rome,  8th  August,  1801,  or  20  Thermidor,  year  ix. 

"  Citizen  Minister, — To  inform  you  of  the  state  of  the 
afl^air  of  the  pope's  ratilication,  expected  at  Paris,  I  can  do 
no  better  than  transmit  you  an  original  letter  which  1  have 
just  received  from  cardinal  Gonsalvi. 

"  'J'hc  cardinal  having  been  obliged  to  keep  his  bed,  his 
holiness  came  to  work  to-day  nt  the  house  of  his  secretary 
of  state. 

"  The  sacred  college  is  to  concur  in  the  ratification;  all 
the  doctors  of  the  first  order  are  employed  and  in  mt  rcnient. 
The  holy  father  is  in  agiiation— the  agitation  anc?  the  de- 


302  ^YelTe^^/aJer?  ^'^^°'°'^'^     THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.      His  reception  at  Paris. 


legate  a  latere. 


and  pressed  forward  the  completion  of  the  business 
so  fortunately  begun.  The  congregation  of  cardi- 
nals was  entirely  in  favour  of  the  concordat,  since 
it  had  been  revised,  and  accordingly  pronounced 
itself  in  an  affirmative  manner.  The  pope,  thinking 
that  he  nuist  henceforward  throw  himself  into  the 
arms  of  the  first  consul,  to  accomplish  with  eclat 
an  undertaking  which  had  so  noble  an  end  as  the 
re-establishment  of  the  catholic  worship  in  France, 
desired  that  the  ceremony  of  the  ratification  should 
be  surrounded  with  splendour  and  great  solemnity. 
In  consequence  he  gave  the  ratifications  in  a 
grand  consistory,  and  in  order  to  add  still  more  to 
the  brilliancy  of  this  pontifical  ceremony,  he  named 
three  cardinals.  He  received  M.  de  Cacault  in 
full  pomp,  and  displayed,  in  spite  of  the  narrow- 
ness of  his  finances,  all  the  luxury  that  befitted  the 
occasion.  Having  to  make  choice  of  a  legate  to 
send  into  France,  he  designated  the  most  eminent 
diplomatist  in  the  court  of  Rome,  the  cardinal 
Caprara,  a  personage  distinguished  by  his  birth, 
being  of  the  illustrious  family  of  the  Montecuculi, 
remarkable  by  his  intelligence,  his  experience,  and 
his  moderation.  Formerly  ambassador  to  Joseph 
II.,  he  had  witnessed  the  troubles  of  the  church  in 
the  last  century,  and  had  often  by  his  ability  and 
his  readiness  of  mind  saved  the  holy  see  from 
inconvenience.  The  first  consul  had  himself  ex- 
pressed his  desire  of  having  near  his  person  this 
prince  of  the  church.  The  pope  hastened  to  satisfy 
this  wish,  and  made,  on  his  own  part,  great  efforts 
to  overcome  the  resistance  of  the  cardinal,  who 
was  old,  ill,  and  little  disposed  to  recommence  the 
laborious  career  of  his  early  youth.  At  length  his 
repugnance  was  vanquished  by  the  earnest  solici- 
tations of  the  holy  father,  and  the  overwhelming 
interest  of  the  church.  The  pope  wished  to  confer 
upon  cardinal  Caprara  the  highest  diplomatic  dig- 
nity of  the  Roman  court,  that  of  legate  a  latere. 
This  legate  has  powers  of  the  most  extended  cha- 
racter ;  the  cross  is  alwaj's  borne  before  him  ;  lie 
has  power  to  do  every  thing  able  to  be  done  afar 
from  the  pope.  Pius  VII.,  upon  this  occasion, 
renewed  the  ancient  ceremonies,  in  which  was 
remitted  to  the  repi-esentative  of  the  holy  father, 
the  venerated  sign  of  his  mission.  A  grand  con- 
sistory was  convoked  anew  ;  and  in  presence  of 
all  the  cardinals  and  of  all  the  foreign  ministers, 

sire  of  a  young  spouse,  ■who  dares  not  be  merry  on  the  im- 
portant marriage-day.  Never  has  the  pontifical  court  been 
seen  more  collected,  more  seriously  and  more  secretly  occu- 
pied with  the  novelty  which  is  on  the  point  of  breaking 
forth,  while  France,  for  which  all  this  is  done,  for  whom 
they  labour,  neither  intrigues,  promises,  gives,  nor  shines 
here  in  the  way  of  ancient  usage.  The  first  consul  will 
soon  enjoy  the  accomplishment  of  his  views  in  regard  to  an 
accordance  with  the  holy  see,  and  that  will  take  place  in  a 
novel,  simple,  and  truly  respectable  mode. 

"  This  will  be  the  work  of  a  hero  and  a  saint,  for  the  pope 
is  a  man  of  real  piety. 

"  He  has  said  to  me  more  than  once,  '  Depend  upon  it, 
that  if  France,  in  place  of  being  a  dominant  power,  were  low 
and  fallen  in  the  regard  of  its  enemies,  I  should  not  do  less 
for  her  than  I  am  granting  to-day.' 

"  I  do  not  think  it  can  have  ever  happened,  that  so  great  a 
result,  on  which  the  tranquillity  of  France  and  the  welfare 
of  Europe  will  in  future  mainly  depend,  could  have  been 
thus  attained  without  violence  and  without  corruption. 

"  1  have  the  honour  respectfully  to  salute  you. 

"  Cacault." 


the  cardinal  Caprara  received  the  sacred  cross, 
which  he  was  bound  to  have  carried  before  him  in 
that  republican  France  which  had  for  so  long  a 
time  been  a  stranger  to  the  pomps  of  Catholicism. 

The  first  consul,  sensible  of  the  cordial  conduct 
of  the  pope,  testified  towards  him  in  return  the 
kindest  consideration.  He  enjoined  it  upon  Murat 
to  spare  the  Roman  States  from  the  passage  of 
troops  ;  he  made  the  Cisalpine  republic  evacuate 
the  little  duchy  of  Urbino,  which  it  had  seized 
upon  under  the  pretext  of  some  dispute  respecting 
boundaries.  He  announced  the  approaching  eva- 
cuation of  Ancona,  and  pending  that  evacuation 
remitted  money  there  to  pay  the  garrison,  in  order 
to  relieve  the  papal  treasury  from  the  expense. 
The  Neapolitans  having  persisted  in  keeping  pos- 
session of  two  of  the  territories  bordering  upon 
their  frontier  belonging  to  the  holy  see,  namely, 
Benevento  and  Ponte  Corvo,  were  ordered  to  eva- 
cuate them.  The  first  consul  also  caused  one  of 
the  fine  hotels  of  Paris  to  be  prepared  and  fur- 
nished with  every  luxury  for  the  purpose  of  lodg- 
ing, at  the  expense  of  the  French  treasury,  the 
cardinal  Caprara. 

The  ratifications  had  been  exchanged  ;  the  bulls 
approved ;  the  briefs  were  in  course  of  being  expe- 
dited throughout  all  Christendom,  to  request  the 
resignations  of  the  former  titularies.  Cardinal  Ca- 
prara hastened  his  journey  to  Paris,  notwithstand- 
ing his  advanced  years.  Orders  were  every  where 
given  to  the  authorities  to  receive  him  in  a  manner 
fully  consonant  with  his  exalted  dignity.  They  had 
done  so  with  solicitude  ;  the  population  of  the  pro- 
vinces seconding  their  zeal,  had  given  to  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  holy  sec,  such  marks  of  respect  as 
proved  the  influence  of  the  old  religi(jn  over  the 
country  population.  There  was  some  fear  about 
putting  to  the  same  proof  the  jeering  people  of 
Paris  ;  every  thing  was  arranged  so  that  the  car- 
dinal should  enter  the  capital  at  night.  He  was 
received  with  every  possible  attention,  and  lodged 
in  the  hotel  prepared  for  him.  He  was  also  given 
to  undei'stand,  in  the  most  delicate  manner  in 
which  it  could  be  stated,  that  a  part  of  the  ex- 
penses of  his  mission  would  be  borne  by  the  French 
government  ;  and  that  this  was  a  dii)loinatic  cus- 
tom it  was  intended  to  establish  in  favour  of  the 
holy  see.  The  first  consul  sent  to  the  residence  of 
the  legate  two  cari-iages  drawn  by  his  finest  horses. 
Cardinal  Caprara  was  received  as  a  foreign  am- 
bassador ;  not  yet  as  a  representative  of  the 
church.  This  last  reception  was  adjourned  until 
the  time  of  the  definitive  re-establishment  of  the 
worship.  To  initiate  the  new  bishops,  chant  the 
2e  Deiim,  and  tender  to  the  cardinal  legate  the 
oath  which  was  necessary  to  the  fii*st  consul,  was 
reserved  for  the  same  time. 

The  indispensable  formalities  which  it  was  need- 
ful should  jirecede  the  concordat,  had  taken  much 
more  time  than  it  was  thought  they  would  occupy 
at  the  commencement,  and  had  histed  up  to  the 
period  when  the  preliminaries  of  peace  were  signed 
in  London.  The  first  consul  wished  to  be  able  to 
establish  coineidently  the/tte  of  the  18th  Brumaire 
and  the  general  peace  with  the  great  religious 
solemnization  of  the  i-estoration  of  worship.  But 
it  was  necessary  that  the  resignations  of  the  former 
titularies  should  be  received  at  Rome,  before  the 
approval  there  of  the  new  diocesan  circumscription 


The  measure  carried  into  effect.  THE  CONCORDAT. 


Resignation  of  the  bishops. 


303 


conld  take  place,  together  with  the  choice  of  the 
new  bishops.  The  resignations  demanded  by  the 
pope  of  the  ancient  French  clergy,  were  at  tliat 
moment  the  object  of  general  attention.  There 
was  a  desire  in  all  quarters  to  see  how  this  great 
act  of  the  pope  and  the  first  consul  would  bo 
received,  holding  each  other  by  the  hand,  and  thus 
demanding  of  the  old  clergy,  of  the  friends  or 
enemies  of  the  revolution,  scattered  over  Rassi:', 
Germany,  England,  and  Spain,  the  sacrifice  of  their 
position,  their  party  affections,  their  pride  of  doc- 
trine itself,  that  the  unity  of  the  church  should 
triumph,  and  peace  be  established  in  the  interior  of 
France,  llow  many  of  them  would  be  found  so 
far  influenced  by  this  double  motive  as  to  immolate 
so  many  personal  feelings  and  sentiments  at  once. 
The  result  proved  the  wisilom  of  the  great  act 
which  the  pope  and  the  first  consul  at  that  moment 
executed  ;  it  proved  the  dominion  which  the  love  of 
good  can  exercise  over  souls  so  nobly  incited  by  a 
saintly  pontiff  and  a  hero. 

The  briefs  addressed  to  the  orthodox  bishops  and 
to  the  constitutionalist  bisliojjs  were  not  alike.  The 
briefs  addressed  to  the  orthodox  bishops  who  had 
refused  to  acknowledge  the  civil  constitution  of  the 
clergy,  considered  them  as  the  legitimate  titularies 
of  their  sees,  demanded  from  them  that  they 
should  resign  in  the  name  and  for  the  interests 
of  the  church,  in  virtue  of  an  offer  made  formerly 
to  Pius  VI.,  and,  in  case  of  refusal,  declared 
them  deposed.  The  language  was  affectionate, 
melancholy,  but  full  of  authority.  The  brief  ad- 
dressed to  the  constitutional  bishops  was  equally 
paternal,  and  breathed  the  mildest  indulgence  of 
spirit,  but  made  no  mention  of  resignation,  seeing 
that  the  church  had  never  recognized  the  consti- 
tutional as  legitimate  bishops.  It  requested  them 
to  abjure  their  former  errors,  to  enter  into  the 
bosom  of  the  church,  and  to  terminate  a  schism, 
which  was  at  the  same  time  a  scandal  and  a 
calamity.  This  was  a  manner  of  inducing  their 
resignation  without  demanding  it,  since  to  demand 
it  would  have  been  a  recognition  of  their  title  by 
the  holy  sec,  which  it  was  unable  to  grant. 

Equal  justice  should  be  rendered  to  all  those 
who  facilitated  this  great  act  of  unity.  The  con- 
stitutional bishops,  of  whom  some  had  an  inclination 
to  resist,  but  of  whom  the  majority,  better  advised, 
sincerely  desired  to  second  the  wishes  of  the  first 
consul,  resigned  in  a  body.  The  brief  though 
lii(jlily  cordial  was  annoying  to  them,  because  it 
oiiiy  spoke  of  their  errors,  and  not  of  their  resigna- 
tions. They  devised  a  form  of  compliance  with 
the  wUhes  of  the  pope,  which,  without  involving 
any  retractation  of  the  past,  still  implied  their 
submission  and  resignation.  They  declared  that 
they  adhered  to  the  new  concordat,  and  as  a  con- 
sequence deprived  themselves  of  their  episcopal 
dignity.  Tliey  were  in  number  fifty  ;  and  all  .sub- 
milted  except  bishop  Saurine,  a  man  of  an  ardent 
imagination,  and  a  zeal  stronger  than  it  was  en- 
lightened; but  at  the  same  time  a  jiriest  of  ])ure 
morals,  whom  the  first  consul  afterwards  called  to 
the  e])i8copal  dignity  after  he  had  been  made 
accoptabi(!  to  the  pope. 

This  part  of  the  task  wax  not  the  more  difficult. 
It  was  besides  that  which  it  was  th(!  easiest  to 
realize  immediately,  because  the  constitutionalists 
were  nearly  all  in  I'aris  under  the  arm  of  the  first 


consul,  and  the  influence  of  the  friends  who  had 
constituted  themselves  their  defenders  and  guides. 

The  unsworn  bishops  were  scattered  through  all 
Europe,  but  still  a  certain  immber  of  them  were  at 
this  time  in  France.  The  great  majority  gave 
a  noble  example  of  piety  and  evangelical  submis- 
sion. Seven  were  resident  in  Paris,  and  eight  in 
the  provinces,  in  all  fifteen.  Not  one  hesitated 
about  Iiis  answer  to  the  pope,  and  to  the  new  head 
of  the  state.  They  replied  in  language  worthy  of 
the  best  times  of  the  church.  The  old  bishop 
of  Belloy,  a  venei-able  prelate,  who  had  replaced 
M.  de  Bclsuiice  at  Marseilles,  and  who  was  the 
model  of  the  ancient  clergy,  hastened  to  give  his 
brethren  the  signal  of  abrogation.  "  Full,"  said 
he,  •'  of  veneration  for,  and  obedience  to  the  decrees 
of  his  holiness,  and  wishing  always  to  be  of  one 
heart  and  one  spirit  with  him,  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
deposit  in  the  hands  of  the  holy  father  my  resigna- 
tion of  the  bishopric  of  Marseilles.  Itsuftices  that  he 
esteems  it  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  religion 
in  France  that  I  should  give  in  my  resignation." 

One  of  the  most  learned  bishops  among  the 
French  clergy,  the  historian  of  Bossiiet  and  Fene- 
lon,  the  bishop  of  Alais,  wrote  :  "  Hai)])y  to  have 
the  will  to  concur  by  my  resignation,  as  much  as  is 
in  my  power,  with  the  views  of  wisdom,  peace,  and 
conciliation,  which  his  holiness  has  adopted,  I  pray 
God  to  bless  his  pious  intentions,  and  to  spare  him 
the  contradictions  which  would  afflict  his  paternal 
heart." 

The  bishop  of  Acqs  wrote  to  the  holy  father  : 
"  I  have  not  a  moment  hesitated  to  immolate 
myself,  as  soon  as  I  was  aware  that  this  painful 
sacrifice  was  necessary  to  the  peace  of  the  country 
and  the  triumph  of  religion.  0  may  she  arise 
glorious  from  her  ruins  !  May  she  be  elevated 
I  will  not  say  alone  upon  the  wrecks  of  my  dearest 
interests,  of  all  my  temporal  advantages,  but  on 
my  ashes  themselves,  if  I  could  serve  as  her  ex- 
piatory victim  !  May  my  fellow-citizens  return  to 
concoi'd,  to  the  faith,  and  to  holy  morals.  Never  sb.all 
I  form  other  desires  during  my  life,  and  my  death 
will  be  too  happy  if  I  see  them  accomjjlished." 

It  must  be  confessed  that  it  is  a  beautiful  insti- 
tution which  commands  such  sacrifices  and  lan- 
guage. The  more  ancient  names  of  the  old  clergy 
of  France,  the  Rohans,  Latours  du  Pin,  Castellanes, 
I'olignacs,  Clermonts  Tonnerre,  Latours  d'Au- 
vergne,  were  found  in  the  list  of  the  bishops  who 
had  resigned.  There  was  a  general  enthusiasm 
which  recalled  to  recollection  the  generous  sacri- 
fices of  the  old  French  nobility  on  the  night  of  the 
4th  of  August.  It  was  this  wish  to  facilitate  by  a 
great  act  of  abrogation  the  execution  of  the  con- 
cordat, that  M.  de  Cacault  had  called  the  labour  of 
a  hero  and  a  saint. 

The  bishops  that  had  taken  refuge  in  Germany, 
Italy,  and  Sj>ain,  for  the  most  ])art  followed  their 
examples.  There  remained  the  eighteen  bishops 
\vho  had  retired  into  England.  These  last  were 
waited  for  to  see  whether  they  would  escape  the 
influence  of  the  enemies  that  surrounded  them. 
The  British  government,  at  that  time  actuated  by 
no  unfriendly  spirit  towards  France,  wished  to 
have  nothing  to  do  with  their  determination.  But 
the  princes  of  the  house  of  Bourbon,  the  chiefs  of 
the  Chouans,  the  instigators  of  the  civil  war,  the 


General  submission  of  the 
«»"*        clergy. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Bonaparte's  anger  at  a 
temporary  delay. 


Nov. 


his  associates  were  in  London,  living  on  the  means 
given  to  emigrants.  They  surrounded  the  eighteen 
prelates,  determined  to  prevent  them  from  giving 
in  their  adhesion,  and  thus  completing  the  union  of 
the  French  clergy  around  the  pope  and  Bonaparte. 
Long  deliberations  took  place.  Among  the  num- 
ber of  the  refractory  was  numbered  the  archbishop 
of  Narbonne,  to  whom  they  attributed  very  tempo- 
ral interests,  because  with  his  see  he  would  be 
deprived  of  immense  revenues  ;  also  the  bishop  of 
St.  Pol  de  Leon,  who  had  carved  out  a  post  for 
himself,  reported  to  be  lucrative,  that  of  distributor 
of  the  British  subsidies  among  the  exiled  priest- 
hood. Tliese  acted  upon  the  bishops,  and  giiined 
over  thirteen  of  them  ;  but  they  encountered  a 
noble  resistance  from  the  other  five,  at  the  head  of 
whom  were  two  of  the  most  illustrious  and  imposing 
members  of  the  old  clergy.  M.  de  Cice',  archbishop 
of  Boi'deaux,  the  old  keeper  of  the  seals  under 
Louis  XVI.,  a  ])erson  who  possessed  a  superior 
political  mind  ;  M.  de  Boisgelin,  a  learned  bishop, 
and  hird  of  great  possessions,  who  had  formerly 
displayed  the  attitude  of  a  worthy  priest,  faithful  to 
his  religion,  though  by  no  means  an  enemy  to  the 
enlightenment  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived.  These 
sent  in  their  adhesion  with  their  three  colleagues, 
D'Osmond,  De  Noe,  and  Du  Plessis  d'Argentre. 

Nearly  all  the  old  clergy  had  submitted.  The 
work  of  the  pope  was  accomplished  with  less  bitter- 
ness of  hea"t  than  he  had  at  first  feared.  All 
these  resignations  successively  .inserted  in  the 
Moniteur,  by  the  side  of  the  treaties  signed  with 
the  Euri>pean  courts,  with  Russia,  England,  Ba- 
varia, and  Portugsil,  produced  a  great  effect,  of 
which  contcmj)oraries  ret;iin  a  strong  recollection. 
If  any  thing  made  the  influence  of  the  new  govern- 
ment felt,  it  was  this  respectful,  earnest  submission 
of  the  two  inimical  churches  ;  the  one  devoted  to 
the  revolution,  but  corrupted  by  the  demon  of  dis- 
putation; the  other  piond, haughty  in  its  orthodoxy, 
and  in  the  greatness  of  its  names,  infected  with  the 
spirit  of  emigration,  animated  with  sincere  loyalty, 
and  besides  thinking  that  alone  would  suffice  to 
render  them  victorious.  This  triumph  was  one  of 
the  finest,  most  deserved,  and  most  universally  felt. 

The  I8ih  of  Brumaire,  fixed  upon  for  the  grand 
festival  of  the  general  peace,  was  approaching. 
The  first  consul  was  seized  with  one  of  those 
personal  feelings,  which  in  man  are  too  frequently 
mingled  with  tlie  noblest  resolutions.  He  wished 
to  enjoy  his  labour,  and  to  be  able  to  celebrate  the 
re-establishment  of  religious  peace  on  the  18th  of 
Brumaire.  To  do  this,  there  were  two  things 
needful  :  first,  that  the  bull  relative  to  the  dio- 
cesan aiTangements  should  be  sent  from  Rome ; 
and  secondly,  that  cardinal  Caprara  should  have 
the  faculty  of  installing  the  new  bishops.  If  these 
things  had  been  done,  the  sixty  bishops  might 
have  been  nominated  and  consecrated,  and  a  so- 
lemn Te  Deum  been  sung  in  the  church  of  Notre 
Dame,  in  their  presence.  At  Rome  they  had 
waited,  most  unfortunately,  for  the  rejijy  of  the 
five  French  bishops,  retired  into  the  north  of  Ger- 
many ;  and  as  to  the  faculty  of  canonical  investi- 
ture, it  had  not  been  imparted  to  cardinal  Caprara, 
because  such  a  power  had  never  been  deputed,  not 
even  to  a  legate  a  latere.  It  was  now  the  1st  of 
November,  or  10th  Brumaire,  and  there  remained 
but  a  few  days.     The  first  consul  sent  for  cardinal 


Caprara,  and  spoke  to  him  in  the  bitterest  manner, 
and  with  a  warmth  neither  becoming  nor  merited, 
of  the  little  iis-sistance  he  obtained  of  the  pontifical 
government  towards  the  accomplishment  of  liis 
objects,  and  thus  produced  in  the  excellent  cardinal 
a  deep  emotion '.     But  he  very  quickly  perceived 

'  Letter  from  cardinal  Caprara  to  cardinal  Gonsalvi : — 
"  Paris,  22nd  November,  1801. 

"  Returning  from  Malmaison  about  eleven  o'clock  at 
night,  I  sit  down  to  detail  to  you  the  result  of  an  interview 
I  have  had  with  the  first  consul.  He  did  not  utter  a  word 
upon  the  five  articles  which  1  attached  to  my  letter  of  the  1st 
ol  November;  but  with  the  proper  vivacity  attached  to  his 
cliaracter,  he  broke  out  into  the  bitterest  complaints  against 
all  Romans,  saying  ttiat  they  wished  to  lead  him  in  a  dance, 
tliat  they  were  trying  to  ensnare  him  by  their  eternal  ,pro- 
crasiination  in  expediting  the  bull  of  circumscription,  and 
tliat  they  added  lo  the  delay  by  not  sending  the  pope's  letters 
to  the  bisliops  in  proper  time,  and  further,  by  not  sending 
them  by  couriers,  as  every  government  would  do  that  felt  an 
interest  in  a  negotiation  of  this  kind  ;  that  they  were  endea- 
vouring to  entrap  liim,  for  they  tried  to  make  a  manikin  of 
him,  to  frighten  the  pope  from  agreeiiig  to  the  nominations 
which  he  might  make  of  the  constitutional  bishops ;  and 
continuing  to  pour  I'orlh  his  words  like  a  torrent,  he  repeated 
every  thing  exactly  that  the  councillor  Portalis  told  me  yes- 
terday night  in  presence  of  Monsignor  Spina. 

"  After  an  assault  so  vehement  and  in  language  full  of 
invective,  I  took  upon  myself  the  part  of  justifying  the  Ro- 
mans whom  he  acc'.U'?d;  when  he  said,  interrupting  me,  '  1 
will  listen  to  no  justifiiation.  I  make  but  one  exception, 
and  that  is  the  pope,  for  whom  I  feel  respect  and  affection.' 
As  it  appeared  to  me  that  he  w;is  now  somewhat  less  trans- 
ported than  at  tlie  beginning  of  the  conversation,  I  tried  to 
make  him  sensible  that,  entertaining  an  affection  for  his 
holiness,  he  ought  to  give  him  some  proof  of  it,  by  sparing 
him  the  pain  of  nominating  the  constitutional  bishops. 
Upon  my  making  this  suggestion,  he  put  on  again  his  former 
an^ry  tone,  and  answered  me,  '  The  constitutional  bishops 
shall  be  appointed  by  me,  and  their  number  shall  be  fifteen. 
I  have  yielded  all  in  my  power ;  I  will  not  deviate  one  par- 
ticle from  the  determination  to  which  I  have  come.' 

"  As  to  the  chiefs  of  the  sectarians,  counsellor  Portalis, 
who  was  present,  assured  me  tiiat  I  might  be  at  ease  on  that 
head,  as  well  as  upon  the  matter  of  the  subordinates.  On  the 
subject  of  the  submission  being  started,  the  first  consul  ex- 
claimed, '  It  is  arrogance  to  demand  such  a  thing,  and  it 
would  be  cowardly  to  yield  to  it.'  Then  without  waiting  for 
a  reply,  he  entered  into  a  wide  space  of  discursive  argument 
upon  canonical  institutions  ;  and  throwing  aside  entirely  his 
military  character,  he  discoursed  for  a  long  while  in  a  mode 
well  worthy  of  a  canon.  I  will  not  assert  that  he  tried  to 
convince  me,  but  only  to  keep  me  at  a  distance.  At  last  he 
concluded  by  the  observation,  '  But  the  bishops  do  not 
make  profession  of  faith,  nor  take  the  oath.'  Counsellor 
Portalis  having  replied,  '  Yes,  they  do ;'  '  Well,  said  he,  '  that 
act  of  obedience  to  the  pope  is  of  more  value  than  a  thou- 
sand submissions.'  Then  turning,'  round  to  me,  he  said, 
'  Endeavour  to  arrange  that  the  bull  of  circumscription  may 
be  here  soon  ;  and  that  the  other,  respecting  which  I  ad- 
dressed you  on  a  former  occasion,  may  not  meet  at  Borne 
with  the  same  destiny  which  the  pope's  letters  to  the  bishops 
have  experienced,  and  which  I  learn  were  not  received  by 
any  of  the  several  parties  in  Germany  until  the  21st  of  last 
month.' 

'■  Here  the  interview  closed.  I  ought  still  to  add,  that  at 
its  conclusion,  about  one  o'clock  in  the  day,  he  took  an  airing 
with  madame,  and  Wits  absent  about  an  hour;  but  he  insisted 
previously  that  I  should  stay  and  dine,  although  I  was 
already  engaged  with  his  brother  Joseph,  to  whom,  however, 
he  sent  off  word.  Without  th"  smallest  exaggeration,  from 
dinnertime  till  ten  at  night,  he  never  ceased  talking  to  me, 
walking  nearly  all  the  time  up  and  down  the  room,  his  cus- 
tomary way,  and  discoursing  on  every  imaginary  topic  in 
politics  and  economy  that  concerned  us." 


Completion  of  the  concordat. 


THE  TRIBUNATE.      Opposition  in  France  to  that  measure.       305 


his  errors,  and  as  quickly  sought  to  repair  them. 
He  felt  instantly  that  he  had  done  wrong,  and 
desiring  to  soften  the  eft'ect  which  his  warmth  and 
vehemence  had  produced,  he  kept  tlie  cardinal  at 
Malmaison  the  whole  day,  charming  him  by  his 
grace  and  kindness,  and  consoling  him  for  his 
liastiness  of  conduct  in  the  morning. 

Despatches  were  written  to  Rome,  and  a  respect- 
able priest  was  sent  off  to  Germany,  the  curate  of 
St.  Sulpice,  M.  de  Pancemont,  since  bishop  of 
Vannes,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  answer  of 
the  five  prelates,  whicli  was  awaited  so  impa- 
tiently. Nevertheless,  the  18tli  Brumaire  passed 
without  the  arrival  of  the  acts  so  much  desii-ed. 
The  brilliancy  of  that  day  was  still  great  enough  to 
make  the  tii-st  consul  forget  what  might  have  been 
wanting  in  this  addition.  At  last  the  answer 
arrived  from  Rome;  the  ])ope  always  inclined  to  do 
what  he,  whom  he  styled  his  "dear  son,"  requested, 
sent  the  bull  for  the  arningement  of  the  dioceses, 
and  the  power  of  instituting  the  new  bishops,  con- 
ferred upon  the  legate  in  an  unprecedented  man- 
ner. As  a  c<mipensatioii  for  so  much  condescen- 
sion, the  pope  desired  only  one  thing,  which  he 
confided  to  the  judgment  of  cardinal  Caprara, 
which  was,  that  he  might  be  spared  the  chagrin 
of  appointing  constitutionists. 

After  this,  nothing  more  opposed  the  proclama- 


tion of  the  great  religious  act,  thus  laboriously 
accomplished,  but  the  propitious  moment  had  been 
permitted  to  slip  by.  The  session  of  the  year  x. 
was  opened,  according  to  usage,  reckoning  from 
the  1st  Fiimaire,  or  22nd  of  November,  1801. 
The  tribunate,  the  legislative  body,  and  the  senate 
were  assembled;  a  warm  resist;ince  was  announced, 
and  scandalous  speeches  made,  against  the  con- 
cordat. The  first  consul  did  not  like  that  such  an 
outbreak  should  trouble  so  august  a  ceremony,  and 
resolved  to  wait,  in  order  to  celebrate  the  re-esta- 
blishment of  public  worship,  until  he  had  brought 
back  the  tribunate  to  its  senses,  or  crushed  it 
altogether.  Now  the  delays  were  to  come  from 
his  side,  and  it  was  the  holy  see  that  was  to  show 
itself  urgent  in  going  forward.  However,  the  sud- 
den obstacles  which  he  was  likely  to  encounter, 
proved  the  merit  and  courage  of  his  resolve.  It 
was  not  to  the  concordat  alone  that  a  warm  oppo- 
sition was  expected,  but  to  the  civil  code  itself,  as 
well  as  to  some  of  the  treaties  which  had  just 
secured  peace  to  the  world.  Proud  of  his  labour, 
strong  in  the  public  opinion,  the  first  consul  was 
resolute  in  proceeding  to  the  last  extremities.  He 
spoke  only  of  crushing  those  bodies  that  might 
resist  him.  Thus  human  pa-ssions  were  about  to 
mingle  their  stimulants  with  the  finest  works  of  a 
great  man  and  of  a  great  epoch. 


BOOK  XIII. 


THE  TRIBUNATE. 


INTERIOR  ADMISISTHATION. — THE  GREAT  ROADS  CLEARED  OF  HIGHWAY  ROBBERS,  AND  PUT  INTO  REPAIR. — REVIVAL 
OP  COMMERCE.— EXPORTS  AND  IMPORTS  OF  THE  YEAR  1801.  — M  ATERl  AL  RESULTS  OF  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION  AS 
REGARDS  AGRICULTURE,  MANUFACTURES,  AND  POPULATION.— INFLUENCE  OF  THE  PREFECTS  AND  SUB-PREFECTS  ON 
THE  ADMINISTRATION.— ORDKR  AND  SPEED  IN  THE  DESPATCH  OF  BUSINESS.— COUNSELLORS  OF  STATE  ON  CIRCUIT. 
— DISCUSSION  OF  THE  CIVIL  CODE  IN  THE  COUNCIL  OF  STATE.  — BRILLIANT  WINTER  OK  1801-2. — EXTRAORDINARY 
INFLUX  OP  FOREIGNERS  TO  PARIS. —COURT  OF  TH  E  FIRST  CONSUL.  — ORG  ANIZATInN  OF  HIS  CIVIL  AND  MILITARY 
ESTABLISHMENTS.— THE  CONSULAR  GUA  RD.— PREFECTS  OF  THE  PALACE  AND  LADIES  OF  HONOUR. — SISTERS  OP 
THE    FIRST   CONSUL. — HORTENSE  BEAUHARNOIS    MARRIES    LOUIS  BON APARTE.— FOX   AND  DE  CALONNE  VISIT  PARIS. 

—  PROSPERITY  AND  LUXURY  OF  ALL  CLASSES.— APPROACH  OP  THE  SESSION  OF  THE  YEAR  X  — WARM  OPPOSITION 
TO  SOME  OF  THE  BEST  PLANS  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL.— CAUSES  OF  THIS  OPPOSITION  SHOWN,  NOT  ONLY  AMONG 
THE     MEMBERS   OF   THE    DELIBERATIVE    ASSEMBLIES,    BUT    AMONG   THE    DISTINGUISHED   OFFICERS   OF   THE  ARMY. 

—  CONDUCT  OF  GENERALS  LANSE8,  AUGEREAU,  AND  MOREAU. — OPENING  OF  THE  SESSION.— DUPUIS,  AUTHOR  OF 
THE  WORK  ON  THE  ORIGIN  OF  ALL  RELIGIONS,  IS  ELECTED  PRESIDKNT  OF  THE  LEGISLATIVE  BODY.— BALLOT 
FOR  THE  VACANT  PLACES  IN  THE  SENATE. —  NOMINATION  OF  THE  ABBE  GREGOIRE,  CONTRARY  TO  THE  PROPO- 
SITIONS OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL.  — VIOLENT  EXPLOSION  IN  THE  TRIBUNATE,  ON  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  WORD  "SUB- 
JECT" INTRODUCED  INTO  THE  TREATY  WITH  RUSSI  A.— OPPOSITION  TO  THE  CIVIL  CODE.— DISCUSSION  IN  THE 
COUNCIL  OF  »TATE  RESPECTING  THE  COURSE  TO  BE  ADOPTED  UNDER  THE  CIRCUMSTANCES. — IT  IS  RESOLVED  TO 
AWAIT  TH'E  discussion  OF  THE  FIRST  SECTIONS  OP  THE  CIVIL  CODE. — THE  TRIBUNATE  REJECTS  THE  FIRST 
SECTIONS.  — RF.SULT  OF  THE  BALLOT  FOR  THE  PLACES  VACANT  IN  THE  SENATE.— THE  FIRST  CONSUL  PROPOSES 
OLD  GENERALS,  MOT  SELECT!  D  PROM  AMONG  HIS  CREATURES.  — TH  E  TRIBUNATE  AND  LEGISLATIVE  BODY 
REJECT  THEM,  AND  AGREE  TO  SUPPORT  M.  DAUNOU,  KNOWN  FOR  HIS  OPPOSITION  TO  THE  GOVEIINMENT. — 
VEHEMENT  SPEECH  MADE  BY  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  TO  A  MEETING  OF  SENATORS. — THREATS  OF  AN  ARBITRARY 
MEASURE.— THE  OPPONENTS  INTIMIDATED,  SUBMIT,  AND  PLAN  A  SUBTERFUGE  TO  ANNIHILATE  THE  EFFECT 
OF  THE  FIRST  BA  LLOTS  — CA  M  BACEKES  DISSUADES  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  FROM  ANV  M.LKCiAL  MEASURE,  AND 
ADVISES  HIM  TO  GET  '.LEAR  OF  THE  OPPOSITION  MEMBERS  BY  MEANS  OF  ARTICLE  XXXVI 1 1 .  OF  THE  CONSTITU- 
TION, WHICH  PRESCRCBES  THAT  THE  FIRST  FIFTH  OF  THE  LEGISLATIVE  BODY  AND  THE  TRIBUNATE  SHOULD 
00  OUT  IN  THE  YEAR  X — THE  FIRST  CONSUL  ADOPTS  THE  IDEA.  —  SUSPENSION  OF  ALL  THK  LEGISLATIVE 
LABOURS.— AN  ADVANTAGE  TAKEN  OF  THIS  SUSPENSION  TO  ASSEMIILK  AT  LYONS  AN  ITALIAN  DIET,  UNDER  THE 
TITLE   OF  THE    "CONSULTA." — SEFOHK    LEAVING    PARIS,   THE    FIRST  CONSUL   DESPATCHES    A    FLEET   WITH   XaOOP* 


Interior  administration. 
Suppression  of  robbery. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Improvempnt  of  the 
roads. — Revival  of 
commerce. 


POR  ST.  DOMINGO. — PLAN  TO  RECONftUER  THAT  COLONY. — NEGOTIATIONS  AT  AMIENS. — OBJECT  OF  THE  CONSULTA 
CONVENED  AT  LXONS. — VARIOUS  C0NSTITT3T10NS  PROPOSED  FOR  ITALY. — PLANS  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  RELATIVE 
TO  THIS  POINT. — CREATION  OP  THE  ITALIAN  REPUBLIC. — BONAPARTE  PROCLAIMED  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  B.E- 
PUBLIC. — E.STHUSIASM  OF  THE  ITALIANS  AND  FRENCH  AT  LYONS. — GRAND  REVIEW  OF.  THE  ARMT  OF  EGYPT. — 
RETURN   OF   THE    FIRST   CONSUL   TO   PARIS. 


We  have  seen  by  what  persevering  and  skilful 
efforts,  the  first  consul,  after  overcoming  Europe 
by  his  victories,  had  succeeded  in  reconciling  it  to 
France  by  his  policy :  we  have  seen  by  means  of 
what  efforts,  not  less  meritorious,  he  reconciled 
the  church  with  the  French  republic,  and  put  an 
end  to  the  miseries  of  schism.  His  efforts  to  re- 
establish the  security  and  perfection  of  the  roads, 
to  impart  activity  to  commerce  and  industry,  and 
to  restore  ease  to  the  finances,  and  order  in  their 
administration,  to  draw  up  a  code  of  civil  laws 
appropriate  to  French  manners,  to  organize,  finally, 
every  part  of  French  society,  had  not  been  less 
continued  nor  less  fortunate. 

That  race  of  I'obbers,  which  was  formed  out  of 
deserters  from  the  army  and  the  licentious  soldiers 
of  the  civil  war,  who  attacked  the  rich  landed  pro- 
prietors in  the  country,  the  ti-avellers  on  the  high 
roads,  pillaged  the  public  chests,  and  spread  terror 
thi'ough  the  country,  had  been  repressed  with  the 
utmost  rigour.  These  robbers  had  chosen  the 
moment  when  nearly  all  the  troops  wei'e  beyond 
the  frontier,  and  the  interior  of  the  country  was 
deprived  of  the  means  of  defence,  to  spread  them- 
selves over  it.  But  since  the  treaty  of  Lune'ville, 
and  the  return  of  a  part  of  the  troops  to  France, 
the  situation  was  no  longer  the  same.  Numerous 
moveable  columns,  accompanied  at  first  by  military 
commissioners,  and  after wai'ds  by  those  special 
tribunals  of  which  the  establishment  has  been 
already  stated,  had  scoured  the  roads  in  all  direc- 
tions, and  chastised,  with  pitiless  energy,  those 
who  infested  them.  Sevei'al  hundreds  among  them 
had  been  shot  during  six  months,  without  a  single 
voice  having  been  heard  in  favour  of  those  mis- 
creants, the  impure  remains  of  civil  war.  The 
others,  completely  discouraged,  had  sent  in  their 
arms,  and  made  their  submission.  Security  was 
established  on  the  high  roads,  so  that,  though  in 
the  months  of  January  and  February,  1801,  it  was 
hai'dly  possible  to  travel  from  Paris  to  Rouen,  or 
from  Paris  to  Orleans,  without  running  the  chance 
of  being  murdered,  at  the  end  of  the  year  it  was 
possible  to  travel  through  the  whole  of  France 
without  being  exposed  to  such  an  accident.  There 
might  still  have  been  some  remains  of  these  ban- 
dits in  the  remoter  parts  of  Britany,  and  in  the 
interior  of  the  C^vennes  at  the  utmost ;  but  it 
was  not  long  before  all  these  were  completely  dis- 
persed. 

It  has  already  been  seen  how  ten  years  of  trou- 
ble had  nearly  iiiterrujited  the  ])assage  of  the  roads 
of  France  by  their  neglect ;  how  the  ancient  corvee 
had  been  replaced  by  a  toll  at  the  different  bar- 
riers; how,  under  the  system  of  this  incommodious 
and  insufficient  tax,  at  the  same  time,  the  roads 
had  fallen  into  a  state  of  con)plete  ruin  ;  how, 
finally,  the  first  consul,  in  the  last  Nivose,  had 
devoted  an  extraordinary  subsidy  to  the  rejiair  of 
twenty  of  tlic  principal  highways  traversing  the 
surface  of  the  republic.  He  liad  him.self  watched 
the  employment  of  this  subsidy,  and  by  continued 
attention  to  the  matter,  had  excited,  in  the  highest 


degree,  the  zeal  of  the  engineers  employed.  Each 
of  his  aids-de-camp,  or  of  the  great  functionaries 
who  travelled  in  France,  was  questioned  as  to 
whether  his  orders  had  been  duly  executed.  The 
funds  this  year  had  been  voted  rather  late;  the 
end  of  the  year  had  been  rainy,  and  there  was  also 
a  deficiency  of  hands.  This  was  caused  by  the 
bringing  into  cultivation  at  this  time  immense 
tracts  of  land,  and  above  all,  by  the  civil  war. 
These  various  causes  had  retarded  the  progress  of 
the  work  ;  but  still  the  improvement  already  made 
was  obvious.  The  first  consul  devoted  a  new  sub- 
sidy, taken  from  the  year  x.,  or  1801-2,  to  the 
repair  of  forty-two  other  roads.  Reckoning  two 
millions  not  employed  in  the  year  ix.,  ten  millions 
extraordinary  assigned  to  the  year  x.,  and  sixteen 
millions  produced  by  the  tax,  the  total  sum  devoted 
to  the  roads  for  the  current  year,  would  be  twenty- 
eight  millions.  This  was  double  or  triple  the  sum 
devoted  to  them  in  anterior  pei-iods.  Thus  the 
repairs  proceeded  with  great  rapidity,  and  every 
thing  announced  in  the  course  of  1802,  that  the 
roads  of  France  would  be  restored  to  a  state  of 
perfect  convenience  for  travelling.  Orders  were 
issued  for  making  new  communications  between 
different  parts  of  old  and  new  Fi-ance.  Four  great 
roads  were  in  the  course  of  formation  between 
Italy  and  France.  That  of  the  Simplon,  several 
times  alluded  to,  advanced  rapidly  towards  com- 
pletion. The  road  designed  to  unite  Savoy  and 
Piedmont,  was  begun,  passing  over  Mount  Cenis. 
A  third,  by  Mount  Genevre,  to  connect  the  south 
of  France  and  Piedmont,  was  ordered  to  be  made, 
and  the  engineers  were  traversing  the  ground  to 
complete  the  jilans.  The  repair  of  the  great  road 
by  the  Col  de  Tende,  traversing  the  maritime 
Alps,  was  undertaken.  Thus  the  barrier  of  the 
Alps,  between  Fi-ance  and  Italy,  was  about  to  be 
lowered,  by  means  of  four  roads,  practicable  for 
the  heaviest  civil  or  military  transport.  The 
miracle  of  the  passage  of  the  St.  Bernard  had 
become  useless  for  the  future,  whenever  it  should 
be  required  to  pi'oceed  to  the  succour  of  Italy. 

The  canal  of  St.  Quentin  was  in  course  of  execu- 
tion. The  first  consul  had  been  himself  to  see  the 
canal  of  Ourcq,  and  had  ordei-ed  the  resumption  of 
the  work.  The  canal  of  Aigucs-Mortes,  at  Beau- 
caire,  confided  to  the  care  of  a  company,  was  in 
the  course  of  execution.  The  government  had 
encouraged  a  com])any  by  making  over  to  it  large 
grants  of  land.  The  new  bridges  over  the  Seine, 
granted  to  an  association  of  capitalists,  were  nearly 
completed.  These  numerous  and  fine  undertakings 
attracted  the  public  attention  in  a  remarkable 
manner.  The  minds  of  men,  always  lively  in 
France,  now  directed  themselves  with  a  species  of 
enthusiasm  from  the  splendour  of  war  to  the  splen- 
dour of  peace. 

Commerce  had  already  made  great  advances 
during  the  year  ix.,  1800-1,  although  the  naval 
war  had  continued  thmugli  the  whole  of  that  year. 
The  imports,  which  in  the  year  viii.  had  been 
only  325,000,000  f.  amounted  in  the  year  ix.  to 


Exports  and  imports.— Population.     THE  TRIBUNATE. 


Forests. — Rural  administration. 


307 


417,000,000  f.  An  incre.ase  of  nearly  a  fourth  in 
the  space  of  a  single  year.  Tliis  augmentation  was 
due  to  two  causes:  the  rapid  consumption  which 
had  accrued  of  colonial  products,  and  the  introduc- 
tion of  a  quantity  of  raw  materials  adapted  to 
manufactures,  such  as  cotton,  wool,  and  oil  ;  an 
evident  sign  of  the  revival  of  the  manufacturing 
interests.  The  exportations  had  felt  much  less 
this  general  movement  towards  increase,  because 
the  foi-eign  commerce  of  France  was  in  the  year 
IX.  1800-1,  not  yet  re-established,  and  because 
the  manufacture  of  productions  must  of  necessity 
precede  their  exportiition.  Still  the  sum  totsil  of 
the  exports,  which  in  the  year  viii.  amounted  to 
no  more  than  271,000,000  f.,  had  arisen  in  the  vear 
IX.  to  305,000,000  f.  This  increase  of  34,000,000  f. 
was  mainly  owing  to  the  extraordinary  export  of 
wines  and  brandies,  which  had  produced  a  con- 
siderable mercantile  activity  at  Bordeaux.  Here 
may  be  remarked  also  what  a  difference  had 
been  jjroduced  between  the  exports  and  imports  by 
the  ten  years  <>f  naval  warfare,  since  the  imports 
amounted  to  417,000,000  f.,  and  the  exports  only  to 
the  sum  of  305,000,000  f.  But  the  restoration  of 
the  manufactures  would  soon  make  up  for  this 
difference. 

The  silks  of  the  south  again  began  to  flourish. 
Lyons,  the  favourite  city  of  the  first  consul,  again 
applied  itself  to  the  manufacture  of  its  beautiful 
productions.  Of  fifteen  thousand  looms  formerly 
employed  in  the  weaving  of  silk,  only  two  thousand 
remained  at  work  during  the  time  of  the  late 
troubles.  Seven  thousand  were  already  re-esta- 
blished. Lille,  St.  Quentin,  Rouen,  all  participated 
in  the  like  movement;  and  the  sea-ports,  about  to 
be  set  free  from  blockade,  were  equippuig  nume- 
rous vessels.  Tiie  first  consul,  on  his  part,  was 
making  preparations  for  tlie  re-establisliment  of 
the  colonies  to  an  extent  which  will  be  vei'y  shortly 
exhibited. 

It  was  desirable  to  discover  the  actual  state  in 
which  the  revolution  had  left  France  as  far  as  re- 
spected agriculture  and  population.  Statistical 
researches,  rendered  impossible  while  collective 
administrations  managed  provincial  business,  were 
become  practicable  since  the  institution  of  prefec- 
tures and  sub-prefectures.  Orders  were  given  for 
a  census,  which  returned  very  singular  results, 
confirmed  in  fact  by  the  councils-general  of  the 
departments  whicii  had  met  for  the  first  time  in  the 
year  ix.  The  returns  of  the  population  for  sixty- 
seven  departments  out  of  one  liimdred  and  two, 
into  which  France  was  at  that  time  divided, 
amounting  in  17'!0  to  21,170,243,  had  increased  in 
1800  tr)  22,237,443,  being  an  increase  of  1,100,000 
souN,  or  about  a  nineteenth.  This  result,  scarcely 
crediM"-  lirid  it  not  been  confirmed  by  a  number  of 
cr)unciU-general,  proves  that  after  all,  the  evil  pro- 
duced by  great  social  revolutions  is  more  apparent 
then  real,  as  far  at  least  as  material  things  are 
concerned,  and  that,  at  any  rate,  the  mischief  is 
made  good  with  prodigious  nipidity.  Agriculture 
was  found  to  be  every  wliero  in  advance.  Tlio 
suppression  of  the  rangi-rshipsliad  been  exceedingly 
beneficial  in  the  greater  part  of  ilic  provinces.  If 
in  destroying  the  game,  it  had  destroyed  tiie  least 
objectionable  plea.sur(Sof  the  richer  classes;  it  liad, 
upon  the  other  liand,  delivered  agriculture  from 
ruinous  vexations.     The  sale  of  a  number  of  large 


estates  had  caused  considerable  tracts  of  land  to 
be  brought  into  cultivation,  and  made  highly 
valuable  a  part  of  the  soil  before  nearly  unproduc- 
tive. Much  of  the  landed  property  of  the  church, 
which  had  jia.ssed  out  of  the  hands  of  a  negligent 
holder  into  those  of  an  intelligent  and  active  pro- 
prietor, augmented  every  day  the  general  mass  of 
agricultural  produce.  The  revolution,  which  had 
thus  been  made  in  landed  projierty,  and  which,  in 
dividing  it  among  a  thousand  hands,  had  so  pro- 
digiously augmented  the  number  of  landed  pro- 
prietors, as  well  as  the  extent  of  cultivated  land; 
this  revolution  was  now  accomplished,  and  was 
already  producing  great  results.  Doubtless,  the 
process  of  culture  was  not  yet  sensibly  improved, 
but  the  extent  of  tillage  was  increased  in  an  extra- 
ordinary manner. 

The  forests,  whether  belonging  to  the  state  or  to 
the  communes,  had  suHered  from  the  disorder  in 
the  administrative  management  of  the  times.  This 
was  an  object  to  which  it  was  of  the  utmost  im- 
]iortance  to  attend  ;  lands  planted  w  ith  wood  were 
cleared,  while  neither  the  property  of  the  state 
nor  of  individuals  was  spared.  The  administra- 
tion of  the  finances  possessing  a  great  quantity  of  | 
fox-ests  by  the  confiscation  of  the  property  of  the 
emigrants,  did  not  yet  know  how  to  take  care  of 
them,  or  manage  them  to  advantage.  Many  pro- 
prietors, absent  or  intimidated,  abandoned  the  care 
of  the  woods  of  which  they  were  the  possessors, 
soiuit  really,  others  fictitiously,  on  account  of  the 
proscribed  families.  This  w-as  the  consequence  of 
a  state  of  things  which  was,  fortunately,  about  to 
cease.  The  first  consul  had  given  great  attention 
to  the  preservation  of  the  forest  riches  of  France, 
and  had  ali-eady  begun  to  restore  order  and  re- 
spect for  property.  A  rural  code  was  every  where 
x-equired,  in  order  to  prevent  the  injury  done  by  i 
the  cattle.  ! 

The  new  institution  of  prefects  and  sub-prefects, 
created  by  the  law  of  Pluviose,  year  viii.,  had  pro- 
duced immediate  results.  To  the  disonler  and  negli- 
gence of  the  collective  administrati<in  had  succeeded 
regularity  and  promptitude  of  execution,  conse- 
quences foreseen  and  necessary  to  the  unity  of  power. 
The  affairs  of  state  and  of  the  communes  had  equally 
profited,  for  they  had,  at  last,  found  agents  who 
attended  to  them  with  continued  assiduity.  The 
completion  of  the  assessments  and  the  collection 
of  the  taxes,  formerly  so  neglected,  were  now  no 
way  retarded.  Order  began  to  be  restored  in  the 
revenues  and  expenses  of  the  communes.  Yet 
many  ]iarts  of  their  administration  still  reciuired 
correction.  The  hos])itals,  for  exam|ile,  were  in 
a  very  de])Iorablc  condition.  The  deprivation  of 
a  part  of  their  revenues  by  the  sale  of  their  pro- 
perty, and  by  the  deprivation  of  many  of  the  rates 
now  aboli.shed,  reduced  them  to  extreme  distress. 
In  several  towns  they  had  recour.sc  to  the  octroi, 
and  attempted  the  re-establishnieiit  of  the  duties 
of  the  indirect  contributions  upon  a  small  scale. 
But  those  duties,  as  yet  badly  placed,  were  neither 
sufficiently  nor  generally  enough  employed.  The 
foundling  department  also  partook  of  the  general 
disarrangement.  Great  numbers  of  deserted  chil- 
dren were  to  be  seen,  for  whom  jiublic  charity 
made  no  ])rovision,  or  who  were  eommitted  to  the 
charge  of  unfortunate  nurses,  whoso  wages  were 
not  paid.  The  re-establishment  every  where  oi 
X  2 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Instructions  givi 
aids-de  camp. 


the  former  sisters  of  charity  was  desirable  for  the 
service  of  the  hospitals. 

Tlie  civil  registers,  taken  from  the  clergy  and 
given  to  the  municipal  officers,  were  very  negli- 
gently kept.  It  was  necessary  to  set  in  order  this 
part  of  the  administration,  so  important  for  the 
state  of  families ;  there  were  demanded  not  only 
zeal  and  vigilance  on  the  part  of  the  administrators, 
but  improvements  in  the  law,  which  was  yet  in- 
sufficient and  badly  regulated.  Tliis  was  one  of 
the  objects  which  it  was  necessary  the  civil  code 
should  regulate,  then  actually  under  discussion  in 
the  council  of  state. 

The  too  great  division  of  communes  was  much 
complained  of,  as  well  as  their  infinite  number, 
and  the  union  of  several  of  them  into  one  was  de- 
manded. This  beautiful  system  of  French  admi- 
nistration was  then  devised,  which  is  now  achieved, 
and  surpasses  in  regularity,  precision,  and  vigour 
every  other  European  administration;  it  was  or- 
ganized rapidly  under  the  healing  and  all-powerful 
hand  of  the  first  consul.  He  had  devised  one  of 
the  most  efficacious  means  to  be  informed  of  every 
thing,  and  for  carrying  into  this  vast  machine  those 
improvements  of  which  it  was  thought  to  be  sus- 
ceptible. He  commissi(jned  some  of  the  more  able 
counsellors  of  state  to  travel  through  France,  and 
observe,  on  the  spot,  the  mode  in  which  the  admi- 
nisti-ation  worked.  These  counsellors,  on  ai-riving 
at  any  given  point,  called  together  the  prefects  of 
the  neighbouring  departments  and  the  chiefs  of 
the  different  services,  and  thus  held  councils,  in 
which  these  officers  m;ide  statements  to  them  of 
difficulties  which  could  not  have  been  foreseen,  the 
unexpected  obstacles  which  arose  out  of  the  nature 
of  things,  and  the  deficiencies  in  the  laws  or  regu- 
lations made  during  the  preceding  ten  years.  They 
examined,  at  the  same  time,  if  this  hierarchy  of 
prefects,  sub  prefects,  and  mayors,  fulfilled  its 
functions  with  order  and  facility;  if  the  individuals 
were  well  selected,  and  if  they  showed  that  they 
were  well  impressed  with  the  intentions  of  the 
government, — if  they  were,  like  the  government, 
firm,  laboi'ious,  impartial,  free  of  all  factious  spirit. 
These  tours  produced  the  best  effect.  The  coun- 
sellors thus  sent  stimulated  the  zeal  of  the  func- 
tionaries, and  reported  to  the  council  of  state  many 
useful  matters,  either  for  the  decision  of  current 
business,  or  the  digesting  and  improving  the  ad- 
ministrative regulations.  More  especially  incited 
by  the  energy  of  the  first  consul,  they  did  not 
hesitate  to  denuunce  to  him  the  feeble  or  incapable 
agents,  or  those  who  were  animated  by  a  wrong 
spirit. 

The  solicitude  of  the  first  consul  was  not  limited 
to  this  review  of  the  country  by  the  counsellors  of 
state  in  turn.  The  nuinei'ous  aids-de-camp  whom 
he  despatched,  now  to  the  armies,  now  to  the  sea- 
ports, to  connntinicate  to  them  the  energy  of  his 
own  will,  had  orders  to  observe  every  thing,  and 
to  re|)ort  every  tiling  to  their  general.  Colonels 
Lacu^e,  Lauriston,  Savary,  sent  to  Antwerp,  Bou- 
logne, Brest,  Rocliefort,  Toulon,  Genoa,  or  Otranto, 
had  a  commission,  on  their  return  to  stop  at  every 
place,  to  hear,  see,  and  take  notes  of  every  thing 
and  to  report  on  every  thing, — the  condition  of  the 
highways,  the  progress  of  conmiercial  affnirs,  the 
conduct  of  functionaries,  the  wishes  of  the  people, 
and  the  public  opinion.     None  of  them  hesitated 


to  obey,  for  none  feared  to  speak  the  truth  to  his 
just  and  powerful  chief.  This  chief,  who  then 
thought  of  nothing  but  good,  because  that  good, 
infinite  in  diversity  an  1  extent,  sufficed  to  absorb 
the  ardour  of  his  soid,  welcomed,  with  wai'mth,  the 
truth  which  he  required,  and  turned,  consequently, 
to  profit,  whither  he  struck  at  a  culpable  function-  ' 
ary,  repaired  a  defect  in  new  institutions,  or  turned 
his  attention  to  an  object  which,  until  then,  had 
escaped  his  indefatigable  observation '. 

'  Here  are  some  specimens  of  tlie  instructions  given  to 
his  aids-de-camp  on 


"  To  citizen  Lauriston,  aid-de-camp. 
"  Paris,  7th  Pluviose,  year  ix.,  January  27,  1801. 

"  You  will  proceed,  citizen,  to  Rochefort.  You  will  in- 
spect most  minutely  tlie  port  and  the  arsenal,  addressing 
yourself  for  that  purpose  to  the  maritime  prefect. 

'•  You  will  bring  back,  to  me  memorials  on  the  following 
subjects : — 

"  1.  The  number  of  men  exactly  detailed  on  board  the 
two  frigates  which  are  about  to  sail,  and  the  inventory  of 
every  thing  belonging  to  the  artillery  and  other  things  which 
those  frigates  have  on  board.  You  will  stay  at  Rochefort 
till  they  have  sailed. 

"  2.  How  many  frigates  are  left  in  the  road? 

"  3.  A  report  respectively  of  each  of  the  three  ships,  'the 
Foudroyant,'  the  •  Duguay-Trouin,'  and  the  '  Aigle,'  to- 
gether with  the  time  in  which  eacli  of  those  ships  will  be 
ready  to  sail. 

"  4.  A  particular  report  respecting  the  frigates, '  La  Vertu,' 
'LaCybele,'  ' La  Volontaire,'  'La  Thetis,'  ' L'Embuscade,' 
and  'La  Franchise.' 

"  5.  A  return  of  all  the  muskets,  pistols,  swords,  and 
cannon  balls,  which  have  arrived  in  that  port  for  maritime 
equipments. 

"  6.  Are  there  in  the  magazines  provisions  sufficient  to 
supply  six  ships  of  the  line  for  six  months,  independently  of 
the  three  above-mentioned? 

"  7.  Lastly,  have  all  measures  been  taken  for  recruiting 
the  sailors,  and  for  obtaining  from  Bordeaux  and  Nantes, 
provisions,  cordage,  and  whatever  is  necessary  for  the  equip- 
ment of  a  squadron  ? 

"  If  you  foresee  tliat  you  shall  have  to  stay  at  Rochefort 
more  than  six  days,  you  will  send  me  your  first  report  by 
post.  You  will  not  fail  to  inform  tlie  |)refect  that  I  am  of 
opinion  that  the  minister  of  marine  has  taken  the  necessary 
measures  to  enable  nine  f.ail  to  put  to  sea  from  Rochefort  at 
the  be^'inning  of  Ventose.  You  must  observe  that  this  must 
be  said  to  the  prefect  in  great  secrecy. 

"  You  will  avail  yourself  of  every  circumstance  to  collect, 
in  all  places  through  which  you  pass,  particulars  relative  to 
the  march  of  the  administrations  and  on  the  state  of  public 
feeling. 

"  If  the  departure  of  the  frigates  is  delayed,  I  authorise 
you  to  go  to  Bordeaux,  and  to  return  by  Nantes.     You  will 
bring  me  a  report  upon  the  frigates  which  are  equipping. 
"  I  salute  you.  Bonaparte." 

"  To  citizen  Lacuee,  aid-de-camp. 

"  Paris,  9th  Ventose,  year  ix.,  Feb.  23,  1801. 

"  You  will  go,  citizen,  with  all  speed  to  Toulon ;  you  will 
deliver  the  accomjianying  letters  to  rear-admiral  Ganteaume. 
You  will  inspect  all  the  ships  of  the  squadron,  as  we'.l  as  the 
arsenal.  You  will  take  care  to  ascertain  yourself  the  force 
and  the  number  of  the  English  ships  blockading  the  port  of 
Toulon.  If  less  than  that  of  rear-admiral  Ganteaume,  you 
will  urge  him  not  to  allow  himself  to  be  blockaded  by  an 
inferior  force. 

"  If  circumstances  decide  general  Ganteaume  to  continue 
his  mission,  you  will  prevail  upon  him  to  take  on  board  at 
Toulon  as  many  troops  as  he  can  carry.    For  this  purpose 


Instructions  ^iven  to  the 
aids-de-camp. 


THE  TRIBUNATE. 


Exertions  of  Bonaparte  in  pre- 
paring the  civil  code. 


A  specticle  at  this  moment  attracted  universal 
attention  :  this  was  tlie  discussion  upon  the  civil 
code  in  the  council  of  state.  The  necessity  of  such 
a  code  was  certainly  the  most  urgent  of  the  neces- 
sities of  France.  The  ancient  civil  legislation, 
composed  of  the  feudal  law,  the  common,  and  the 
Roman  law,  was  no  longer  applicable  to  a  society 
completely  revolutiouizfd.  The  old  laws  respecting 
marriage,  and  those  which  had  been  enacted  re- 
specting divorce  and  succession  were  not  adapted 

you  will  see  the  military  commandant,  to  remove  all  ob- 
stacles, so  that  the  troops  may  be  furnished  for  him. 

"  You  will  give  rear-admiral  Uaiiteaume  to  understand 
that  he  has  been,  in  general,  a  little  b'amed  for  his  cruise  to 
Mahon,  because  lie  has  roused  the  attention  of  rear-admiral 
Warren,  whose  only  object  was  to  defend  Mahon. 

"  If  rear-admiral  Gaiiteaume  decides  to  complete  his  mis- 
sion, you  will  stay  at  Toulon  four  days  after  his  departure. 

"  If,  on  the  contrary,  news  from  sea  should  lead  you  to 
think  that  he  will  remain  loo  long,  you  will  return  to  Paris, 
after  staying  fifteen  days  in  Tnulon,  six  at  Marseilles,  four 
at  Avignon,  and  five  or  six  at  Lyons. 

"  You  will  take  care  to  bring  back  to  me  a  return  of  every 
thing  that  lias  been  put  on  board  each  ship:  of  the  ships 
and  frigates  that  have  sailed  from  Toulon  since  the  first 
Vendemiaire,  year  ix. ;  of  the  state  of  the  arsenal;  and 
notes  relative  to  the  public  functionaries  of  the  country 
through  which  you  will  pass,  and  also  to  the  feeling  that 
prevails  there. 

"  You  will  take  advantage  of  all  the  couriers  despatched 
by  the  maritime  prefect,  to  (»ive  me  news  of  the  squadron, 
of  the  sea,  and  of  the  English. 

"  You  will  encourage  in  your  conversation  all  the  captains 
of  the  vessels,  and  point  out  to  them  of  what  immense  im- 
portance their  expedition  is  to  the  general  peace. 

"  1  salute  you.  Bqsaparte.'' 

"  To  citizen  Lauriston. 
"  Paris,  30th  Pluviose,  year  ix.,  Feb.  19,  1S02. 

"  I  have  received,  citizen,  your  different  letters,  and  your 
last  of  the  25tli  Pluviose.  I  beg  you  to  make  secret  in- 
quiries concerning  the  administration  of  the  provisions,  the 
service  of  which  seems  to  excite  complaints. 

"  Contrive  to  bring  me,  on  your  return,  a  detailed  state- 
ment of  the  northern  merchandize  furnished  in  the  course 
of  the  year  x.  by  Lecliie  and  Co.  They  pretend  to  have,  at 
this  moment,  1,700,000  francs'  worth  in  store. 

"  What  quantity  of  timber  has  arrived  at  Havre  since  the 
peace;  and  are  they  at  last  at  work  finishing  the  five  ships 
that  are  building  f 

"  In  repassing  to  L'Orient,  see  how  many  ships  are  build- 
ing there,  and  the  time  when  each  will  be  ready  for  sea. 
Inspect  all  the  gunners  and  grenadiers  of  the  coast  guard, 
that  you  may  be  able  to  give  me  an  account  wli;.t  sort  of 
men  they  are,  and  what  it  will  be  possible  to  do  with  them 
at  the  moment  of  the  definitive  peace. 

"  Lastly,  see  at  Nantes  to  ascertain  what  northern  stores 
have  been  received  in  the  year  x.,  and  what  hemp  there  is 
left;  and  if  the  shipment  of  limber  for  Brest  is  going  on. 
Stop  two  days  at  Vannes,  to  make  suitable  observations  on 
the  public  feeling. 

"In  all  the'^e  observations  endeavour  to  see  for  yoursel.'', 
and  without  the  advice  of  the  authorities. 

"  Let  me  know  what  character  one  Charron  has  left  at 
L'Orient;  and  slop  there  three  or  four  days,  to  observe  the 
conduct  of  the  administration  in  that  port. 

"  In  short,  miss  no  opportunity  of  seeing  for  yourself,  and 
fixing  your  opinion  respecting  the  civil,  naval,  and  military 
administration. 

"  Inform  yourself  in  every  department  what  pros[>ect  there 

is  of  the  next  harvent.     I  suppose  you  will  bring  me  notes 

relative  to  the  manner  in  which  the  troops  are  pa'd  and 

clothed,  and  of  the  state  of  the  principal  military  hniipllah. 

"  I  salute  you.  IIosapakte." 


either  to  a  new  state  of  society,  or  to  an  order  of 
things  regular  and  moral.  A  commission,  com- 
posed of  Piirtalis,  Tronchet,  Bigot  de  PrtJameneu, 
and  Malleville,  had  drawn  up  the  plan  of  a  civil 
code.  This  plan  had  been  sent  to  all  the  tribunals, 
in  order  to  be  made  the  subject  of  their  exami- 
nation and  observations.  In  consequence  of  their 
examination,  and  these  observations,  the  plan  had 
been  modified,  and  finally  submitted  to  the  council 
of  state,  which  had  to  discuss  it,  article  by  article, 
for  several  months.  The  first  consul,  present  at 
all  these  discussions,  had  displayed,  while  pre- 
siding at  them,  a  method,  clearness,  and  often  a 
depth  of  view,  which  was  a  matter  of  surprise  and 
astonishment  to  all.  They  were  not  surprised  to 
find  one  who  had  been  accustomed  to  direct  armies 
and  to  govern  conquered  provinces,  an  adminis- 
trator of  civil  government,  because  this  quality  is 
indispensable  in  a  great  general;  but  to  discover 
that  he  should  possess  the  qualities  of  a  legislator 
appeared  to  them  most  extraordinary.  His  educa- 
tion in  this  matter  was  rapidly  acquired.  He 
interested  himself  in  every  thing,  because  he  un- 
derstood every  thing.  He  asked  the  consul  Cam- 
baceres  for  certain  law  books,  and  especially  for 
the  materials  prepared  during  the  time  of  the 
convention,  for  drawing  up  the  new  civil  code. 
He  had  devoured  the.se  documents,  as  he  did  the 
books  of  religious  controversy,  with  which  he  had 
provided  himself  when  he  was  busy  with  the  con- 
cordat. Classifying  quickly  in  his  mind  the  great 
principles  of  civil  law,  joining  to  these  some  ideas 
rapidly  collected,  his  own  profound  knowledge  of 
man,  and  his  perfect  clearness  of  understanding, 
he  had  soon  rendered  himself  adapted  to  direct 
this  important  work,  and  he  even  furnished  the 
discussions  with  a  great  number  of  new,  just,  and 
profound  ideas.  Sometimes  a  deficient  acquain- 
tance with  the  details  made  him  sujjport  singular 
notions;  but  he  permitted  liimself  to  be  led  back 
quickly  to  the  truth  by  the  learned  men  who  were 
around  him  ;  bilt  he  was  master  of  them  all  when 
it  became  necessary  to  extract  from  their  conflict- 
ing opinions  the  most  natural  and  rational  con- 
clusions. The  principal  service  which  the  first 
consul  rendered,  was  that  of  bringing  to  this  fine 
monument  a  firm  mind  and  a  will  for  persevering 
application,  thereby  conquering  tlie  two  main  ditti- 
culties  which  had  so  far  defeated  ])receding  at- 
tempts,— the  infinite  diversity  of  opinions,  and  the 
impossibility  of  working  uninterruptedly  at  the 
task  amidst  the  troubles  and  agitations  of  the  time. 
Wjien  the  discussion,  which  often  happened,  had 
been  long,  diffuse,  and  obstinate,  the  first  consul 
knew  how  to  sum  up  and  decide  by  a  word;  and 
what  was  more,  he  obliged  every  body  to  toil  by 
toiling  himself  for  whole  days  together.  The 
minutes  of  these  remarkable  meetings  were  printed 
and  published.  Before  they  were  sent  to  the 
Mon'iteur,  the  consul  Cambacdrcs  revised  them, 
and  suppressed  what  was  not  adapted  for  publi- 
cation :  either  when  the  first  consul  expressed 
opinions  sometimes  singular,  or  treated  of  ques- 
tions relating  to  maimers  with  a  familiarity  of 
language,  which  ought  not  to  go  beyond  the  limits 
of  a  privy  council.  There  was  left,  therefore,  in 
these  minutes,  nothing  but  tin;  ideas  of  the  first 
consul,  sometimes  rectified,  often  discoloured,  liut 
always  striking.     The  public  wa«  struck,  and  came 


310  ^'of  Bonapane7  ^'"'"'''    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


'he  consular  guard. 
Court  of  the  first 
consul. 


to  regard  him  as  the  sole  author  of  every  thmg 
great  and  good  that  was  done  in  France ;  it  even 
took  a  kind  of  pleasure  in  seeing  him  as  a  legis- 
lator whom  it  had  seen  as  a  general,  diplomatist, 
and  ruler,  and  in  those  vei-y  different  characters 
constantly  superior. 

The  first  book  of  the  civil  code  was  completed, 
and  was  one  of  the  numerous  measures  which 
were  about  to  be  submitted  to  the  legislative  body. 
The  pacification  of  France  and  its  internal  re-oi-ga- 
nization  were  in  this  mode  proceeding  at  an  equal 
rate.  Though  all  the  evil  of  civil  war  was  not  repaired, 
nor  all  the  good  accomplished,  still  the  comparison 
of  the  present  with  the  past,  filled  the  minds  of  men 
with  hope  and  satisfaction.  All  the  good  effected 
was  attributed  to  the  first  consul,  and  not  unjustly; 
for,  according  to  the  testimony  of  his  fellow- 
labourer  Cambaceres,  he  directed  the  whole  of  the 
proceedings,  attended  himself  to  the  details,  and 
"effected  more  in  every  department  than  those  to 
whom  it  was  especially  committed." 

The  man  who  governed  France  from  1709  to 
1815,  had,  in  the  course  of  his  career,  no  doubt, 
days  of  intoxicating  glory  ;  but  neither  he  nor 
France,  which  he  had  seduced,  ever  saw  days  like 
the.se,  when  greatness  was  accompanied  by  more 
wsdom,  and  above  all  by  that  wisdom  which  gains 
the  hope  of  an  enduring  character.  He  had  given 
after  victory  a  most  gloi-ious  peace,  and  what  he 
never  could  again  obtain,  a  maritime  peace  ;  he 
had  given  after  chaos  the  most  perfect  order ;  he 
had  still  left  a  certain  liberty,  not  all  that  was 
desirable,  but  as  much  as  was  possible  on  the  day 
after  a  sanguinary  revolution  ;  he  had  done  nothing 
but  good  to  every  party  only  excepting  the  trans- 
portation of  the  Imndred  and  odd  proscribed  revo- 
lutionists, condemned  without  trial,  after  the  affair 
of  the  infernal  machine  ;  he  had  respected  the 
laws  ;  and  that  act  itself,  culpable  because  of  its 
illegality,  was  not  thought  about  in  the  immensity 
of  good  effected.  Finally,  Europe  reconciled  to 
the  republic,  feeling,  yet  not  saying,  she  had  been 
wrong  in  her  interference  with  a  revolution  which 
did  not  concern  her,  and  that  the  unparalleled 
greatness  of  France  was  the  just  consequence  of  an 
iniquitous  aggression  heroically  repelled — Em-ope 
came  with  eagerness  to  deposit  her  homage  at  the 
feet  of  the  first  consul,  happy  to  be  enabled  to  say, 
for  the  sake  of  her  own  dignity,  that  she  had  made 
peace  with  a  revolutionist  full  of  genius,  the 
glorious  restorer  of  social  principles. 

If  it  were  possible  to  stop  at  the  wonders  of 
the.se  past  times,  most  certainly  history,  in  speak- 
ing of  this  reign,  would  say  that  nothing  greater  or 
more  complete  had  been  seen  upon  earth.  All 
this  was  written  in  the  eai-nest  admii'ing  faces  of 
the  men  of  all  ranks  and  of  all  nations  who  pressed 
around  the  first  consul.  An  extraordinary  influx 
of  strangers  had  an-ived  in  Paris  to  see  France 
and  Bonaparte  ;  and  the  greater  part  of  them 
were  presented  to  him  by  the  ministers  of  their 
government.  His  court,  for  he  had  formed  one, 
was  military  and  civil  at  the  same  time  ;  austere 
and  elegant.  He  had  added  to  it  somewhat  since 
the  preceding  year  ;  he  had  composed  a  military 
household  for  himself  and  the  other  consuls,  and 
had  given  a  princely  establishment  to  madamc 
Bonaparte. 

The  consular  guard  was  formed  of  four  bat- 


talions of  infantry,  each  consisting  of  twelve  hun- 
dred men,  some  grenadiei-s,  others  chasseurs,  and 
two  regiments  of  cavalry,  the  first  of  horse  grena- 
diers, the  second  of  horse  chasseurs.  Both  the  one 
and  the  other  wet-e  composed  of  t)ie  finest  and 
bravest  soldiers  in  the  army.  A  numerous  and 
well-served  artillei-y  completed  tlie  guard,  and 
formed  a  perfect  war  division  of  si.x  thousand  men. 
A  brilliant  staff  commanded  these  superb  troops. 
There  was  a  colonel  to  each  battalion,  and  a  briga- 
dier-general to  every  two  united  battalions.  Four 
lieutenants-generals,  one  of  infantry,  one  of  cavalry, 
one  of  artillery,  and  one  of  engineers,  commanded 
alternately  the  entire  corps  for  one  decade,  and  did 
duty  about  the  consuls.  The  whole  was  a  corps 
composed  of  picked  men  only,  wherein  the  best 
soldiers  found  a  recompense  for  their  good  con- 
duct, and  surrounded  the  government  with  a  splen- 
dour perfectly  in  conformity  to  its  warlike  charac- 
ter, presenting  on  the  day  of  battle  an  invincible 
reserve.  It  will  not  be  forgotten  that  the  battalion 
of  grenadiers  of  the  consular  guard  had  nearly 
sa^■ed  the  army  at  Marengo,  To  this  particular 
staff  of  the  consular  guard  the  first  consul  added  a 
military  governor  in  the  palace  of  the  Tuileries, 
accompanied  by  two  officers  of  the  staff  with  the 
title  of  adjutants.-  This  governor  was  Duroc,  the 
aid-de-camp  always  employed  in  the  more  delicate 
missions.  No  officer  was  better  adapted  to  main- 
tain in  the  palace  of  the  government  that  order  and 
decorum  which  was  so  much  in  consonance  with 
the  taste  of  the  first  consul  and  the  spirit  of  the 
time.  But  it  was  needful  to  temper  this  entirely 
military  appearance  by  that  which  should  be  of  a 
civil  cast.  A  counsellor  of  state,  M.  Benezech,  had 
been  appointed  during  the  first  year  of  the  consul- 
ship to  preside  at  the  receptions,  and  to  receive 
with  their  proper  honours,  either  the  foreign  minis- 
ters or  the  high  personages  who  were  admitted  to 
the  presence  of  the  consuls.  Four  civil  officers, 
who  bore  the  appellation  of  "  prefects  of  the 
palace,"  were  nominated  successors  to  M.  Benezech 
in  this  duty.  Four  ladies  of  the  palace  were  given 
to  madame  Bonaparte,  as  assistants  in  doing  the 
honours  of  the  first  consul's  drawing-room.  When 
it  was  known  that  this  new  organization  of  the 
palace  was  in  the  course  of  preparation,  numerous 
candidates  offered  themselves  even  from  among 
the  families  attached  to  the  ancient  dynasty.  They 
were  not  yet  the  high  nobility,  those  who  fonnerly 
filled  the  palace  of  Versailles,  that  thus  offered 
themselves  as  solicitous  for  place  ;  the  moment  for 
their  submission  had  not  yet  come.  Still  they 
belonged  to  families  of  distinction  that  had  figui-ed 
in  past  times,  but  not  among  the  emigrants,  who 
thus  were  the  foremost  to  approach  a  powerful 
government,  that  by  its  glory  rendered  service 
near  it  honourable  for  all  the  world.  Bonaparte 
chose  four  prefects  of  the  palace,  M.  Benezech, 
who  had  already  performed  the  duties,  M.  Didelot 
and  M.  de  Lu5ay,  who  belonged  to  the  old  finance 
department,  and  M.  de  Re'musat,  of  the  magistracy. 
The  four  ladies  of  the  palace  charged  with  the 
honours  at  the  side  of  madame  Bonaparte  were 
mosdames  de  Lujay,  de  Lauriston,  de  Talhouet, 
and  de  R^musat.  The  greatest  slanderers  among 
the  emigrants  in  the  Paris  drawing-rooms  could 
find  no  fault  with  the  correctness  of  these  selec- 
tions ;  and  reasonable  men,  who  require  no  more 


1801 
Nov. 


Sisters  of  Bonaparte : 
Eliza,  Caroline,  and 
Pauline. 


THE  TRIBUNATE. 


Marriage  of  Hortense  Beau- 
harnois  with  Joseph  Bona- 
parte. 


in  courts  than  just  what  decorum  may  make  neces- 
savy,  had  no  point  for  severe  criticism  in  the  mili- 
tary or  civil  organization  of  the  present.  In  a 
republic,  as  in  a  monarchy,  the  palace  of  the  chief 
of  the  state  must  be  guarded  and  surrounded  by  an 
imposing  display  of  the  police  force  ;  in  the  in- 
terior  of  the  palace  there  must  be  men  and  women 
selected  to  do  the  honours  of  the  residence,  either 
to  illustrious  strangers  or  to  distinguished  citizens 
who  are  admitted  to  the  first  magistrate  of  the 
republic.  In  this  respect  the  court  of  the  first 
consul  was  imposing,  and  worthy  of  him.  He 
received  from  his  wife  and  sistei-s  a  certain  grace; 
all  being  equally  remarkable  either  for  manners, 
understanding,  or  beauty.  The  brothei-s  of  the 
first  consul  have  been  before  adverted  to;  the 
present  may  be  a  proper  place  to  notice  his  sistei-s. 
The  eldest  sister  of  the  first  consul,  madame  Eliza 
Bacciochi,  not  remarkable  in  person,  was  if  woman 
of  a  very  superior  understanding,  and  attracted 
around  her  the  most  distinguished  men  of  letters  of 
the  time,  such  as  Suard,  Morellet,  and  Fontanes. 
The  second,  Caroline  Murat,  who  had  married  the 
general  of  that  name,  was  beautiful  and  ambitious  ; 
intoxicated  with  her  brother's  glory,  she  strove  to 
make  the  best  use  of  it  she  could  for  herself  and 
her  husband's  advantage  :  she  was  one  of  the 
females  who  gave  to  the  new  court  the  most 
elegance  and  animation.  The  third  sister,  Pauline, 
who  had  married  general  Leclerc,  and  afterwards 
a  prince  Borghese,  was  one  of  the  most  conspicuous 
beauties  of  her  day.  She  had  not  then  so  much 
provoked  slander  as  she  did  subsequently,  and 
if  her  thoughtless  conduct  was  sometimes  a  grief  to 
her  brother,  the  great  affection  which  she  felt  for 
him  touched  his  heart,  ami  rendered  his  severity 
powerless.  Madame  Bonapax-te  was  above  them 
all  as  wife  of  the  fir  t,  consul,  and  she  delighted 
and  charmed,  by  h  ;•  exquisite  graces,  both  the 
French  and  the  str:  .igers  admitted  into  the  palace 
of  the  government.  Rivalries,  inevitable  and 
already  visible  between  members  of  a  family  .so 
near  to  the  throne,  were  repressed  by  general 
Bonaparte,  who,  though  he  loved  his  relations, 
treated  with  military  roughness  those  who  were 
troublers  of  tin  peace  which  he  desired  to  see 
reign  around  liun. 

An  event  (i  some  importance  had  just  passed 
in  the  consul.  ■•  family,  and  this  was  the  marriage 
of  Hortense  Beauhamois  with  Louis  Bonapai'te. 
The  first  <  msul,  who  tenderly  loved  the  two 
children  of  his  wife,  had  wished  to  maiTy  Hortense 
to  Duroc,  as  he  imagined  that  a  reciprocal  attjich- 
ment  existed  between  the.se  young  hearts  ;  but 
this  match  being  disapproved  by  madame  Bona- 
parte, was  not  to  be  carried  into  effect.  Madame 
Bonaparte,  always  tormented  by  the  fear  of  a 
divorce,  since  she  had  no  longer  any  hope  of 
having  more  children,  was  for  marrying  her 
daughter  to  one  of  her  husband's  brothers, 
thus  fiattering  herself  that  the  offspring  of  such 
a  marriage,  bound  to  the  new  chief  of  France 
by  a  double  tie,  at  the  same  time  might  serve 
him  for  heirs.  Joseph  Bonaparte  was  married ; 
Lucicn  lived  in  a  very  irregular  manner,  and  con- 
ducted himself  to  his  siHter-in-la\v  like  an  enemy; 
Jerome  was  on  board  ship,  expiating  some  youthful 
faults  ;  Louis  was  the  only  one  who  suited  the 
views   of  madame    Bonaparte,   and   she   selected 


him.  He  was  prudent,  intelligent,  but  ill  hu- 
moured, and  not  matched  in  disposition  \<sith  his 
destined  wife.  The  first  -consul,  knowing  this, 
resisted  the  match  at  first,  but  finally  yielded, 
to  a  marriage,  which  was  not  to  make  the  new 
cou])le  happy,  but  which  seemed,  for  the^moment, 
likel)'  to  give  heirs  to  the  empire  of  the  worlds 

The  nuptial  benediction  was  given  by  cardinal 
Caprara,  and  in  a  private  house,  as  wasihen  the 
practice  with  all  the  ceremonies  of  religion,  when 
those  priests  officiated  who  had  not  taken  the  oath. 
•In  the  same  occasion  the  benediction  was  given  to 
Murat  and  his  wife  Caroline,  who  had  not  yet 
received  it,  as  was  the  case  with  many  other 
husbands  and  wives  of  that  time,  whose  marriages 
had  only  been  contracted  before  the  civil  magis- 
trate. Bonaparte  and  Josephine  were  in  the  same 
circumstances.  The  last  pressed  her'  husband 
repeatedly  to  add  the  religious  to  the  civil  tie 
which  already  united  them  ;  but  whether  from 
foresight,  or  the  fear  of  avowing  openly  the  incom- 
plete obligations  which  united  him  to  madame 
Bonaparte,  he  would  not  consent. 

Such  was  then  the  consular  family,  since  become 
the  imperial.  These  personages,  all  on  various 
accounts  remarkable,  happy  in  the  prosperity  and 
glory  of  the  chief  who  made  their  greatness,  con- 
stituted by  him,  and  yet  not  spoiled  by  fortune, 
presented  an  interesting  spectacle,  which  did  not 
pain  the  sight  like  that  directorial  court,  the 
honours  of  which  were  done  for  several  years  by 
Barras  the  director.  If  a  few  envious  or  disdain- 
ful Frenchmen,  who  were  frequently  under  obliga- 
tions to  it,  persecuted  it  with  their  sarcasms, 
foreigners,  more  just,  paid  it  a  tribute  of  curiosity 
and  commendation. 

Once  in  every  decade,  as  elsewhere  remarked, 
the  first  consul  received  the  ambassadors  and  the 
foreigners,  who  were  presented  to  him  by  the 
ministers  of  their  nation.  He  went  dowii  the 
ranks  of  the  assemblage,  always  numerous,  fol- 
lowed by  his  aids-de-camp.  Madame  Bonaparte 
followed  him,  accompanied  by  the  ladies  of  the 
palace.  It  was  the  same  ceremonial  as  was  ob- 
served in  other  courts,  but  with  a  less  train  of 
aids-de-camp  and  ladies  of  honour,  but  here  with 
the  incompai'able  brilliancy  that  surrounded  the 
name  of  Bonaparte.  Twice  in  the  decade  ■  he 
invited  to  dinner  the  eminent  personages  of  France 
and  of  Europe,  and  once  in  the  month  he  gave, 
in  the  gallery  of  Diana,  a  banquet,  at- which  some- 
times a  hundred  guests  were  invited.  On  such 
days  he  held  a  drawing-room  at  the  Tuileries  hi 
the  evening,  and  admitted  near  him  the  high 
funotionju'ies,  the  ambassadors,  and  persons  of  the 
highest  French  society,  who  were  favourable  to 
the  government.  Always  carrying  calciflations 
into  the  minutest  things,  he  prescribed  to  his 
family  certain  dresses,  with  the  object  of  getting 
them  generally  worn  through  imitation.  He 
ordered  silk  to  be  worn,  for  the  purj)ose  of  encou- 
raging as  nmch  as  possible  the  maimfactures  of 
Lyons.  He  reconmiendcd  to  madame  Bonaparte 
th(!  stuff' called  lawn  {linoii),  in  order  to  favour  the 
manufacture  of  St.  Quentiu  '.     As  to  himself,  sini- 

•  Here  is  |jart-of  a  letter  written  from  St.  Quentin  to  the 
conxul  C'anibactrCs':—  " 

"  St.  Quentin,  21  Pluviose,  year  ix.,  or  Feb.  10, 1801. 

'■  The   interesting  manufacture*  of  St.  Quentin  and  its 


Fox  and  Calonne  at 
Paris. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


[nterviews  between  Fox    1801-2. 
and  Bonaparte.  Kov. 


pie  in  every  thing,  he  wore  the  plain  dress  of  a 
chasseur  of  the  consular  guard.  He  obliged  his 
colleagues  to  wear  the  embroidered  dress  of  a 
consul,  and  to  hold  drawing-rooms  in  their  apart- 
ments, for  the  purpose  of  repeating  there,  although 
with  less  brilliancy,  what  was  done  at  the 
Tuileries. 

The  winter  of  1801-2,  or  the  year  x.,  was 
extremely  brilliant,  from  the  satisfaction  which 
prevailed  among  all  classes,  some  happy  to  enter 
France,  others  to  enjoy  perfect  security,  or  to  see 
in  the  maritime  peace  the  unbounded  prospect  of 
commercial  prosperity.  The  foreigners  contributed, 
by  their  influx,  to  the  brilliancy  of  the  winter /t7«. 
Among  the  personages  that  appeared  in  Paris  at 
this  epoch,  there  were  two  tliat  excited  general 
attention  ;  the  one  was  an  illustrious  Englishman, 
the  other  an  emigrant,  whose  name  was  fomierly 
much  celebrated. 

This  illustrious  Englishman  was  Fox,  the  most 
eloquent  of  English  orators  ;  the  celebrated  emi- 
grant was  M.  de  Calonne,  foi-merly  minister  of 
finance,  whose  ready  and  fertile  mind  in  expe- 
dients, continued  to  conceal  for  a  few  moments 
from  the  eyes  of  the  court  of  Vei-sailles,  the  abyss 
towards  which  it  was  rapidly  hurrying.  Fox  dis- 
played considerable  impatience  to  see  the  first 
consul,  towards  whom,  in  spite  of  his  British 
patriotism,  he  was  attracted  irresistibly.  He  arrived 
in  Paris  immediately  after  the  signature  of  the 
preliminaries  of  peace,  and  was  presented  to  the 
first  consul  by  the  English  minister.  He  came  to 
see  France  and  its  chief,  and  also  to  consult  the 
French  diplomatic  archives,  because  at  that  mo- 
ment the  great  Whig  orator  was  occupying  his 
leisure  time  in  writing  a  history  of  the  two  last 
Stuarts.  The  first  consul  gave  orders  for  all  the 
archives  to  be  thrown  open  to  Fox,  and  gave 
him  such  a  welcome  as  would  have  been  sufficient 
to  conciliate  an  enemy,  but  which  charmed  a  friend 
whom  he  had  acquired  by  his  glory  alone.  The 
first  consul  threw  aside  all  forms  of  etiquette  on 
his  own  side  with  the  generous  stranger,  brought 
him  into  close  intimacy,  and  had  with  him  long 
and  frequent  interviews,  as  if  he  seemed  desirous 
to  make  in  his  person  the  conquest  of  the  English 
people  themselves.  They  were  often  of  a  different 
opinion.  Fox  was  endowed  with  that  warm  ima- 
gination which  makes  attractive  orators,  but  his 
intellect  was  neither  positive  nor  pi'actical.  He 
was  full  of  those  nolde  illusions  which  the  first 
consul,  although  he  had  as  much  imagination  as 
depth  of  mind,  had  either  never  partaken  or  par- 
took no  longer.  The  young  general  Bonaparte  was 
disenchanted,  as  any  one  is  likely  to  be,  after  a 
revolution,  begun  in  the  name  of  humanity,  and 
shipwrecked  in  blood.  He  had  s-haken  off  all  the 
first  enchantments  of  the  revolution,  except  one, 
and  that  was  greatness,  which  he  pushed  to  an 
excess.     He  was  too  little  of  a  liberal  to  please  the 

environs,  which  employed  seventy  thousand  persons,  and 
brought  into  France  more  than  fifteen  million  francs,  have 
decreased  five-sixihs.  It  is  desirable  that  our  ladies  should 
bring  lawn  into  fashion,  without  giving  such  an  absolute 
preference  to  muslins.  The  idea  of  reviving  one  of  the 
most  interesting  manufactures  which  we  exjjusively  pos- 
sess, and  of  giving  bread  to  such  a  vast  number  of  French 
families,  is,  in  fact,  well  calculated  to  bring  lawn  into  fashion ; 
besides,  have  not  lawns  been  long  enough  in  disgrace  ?" 


chief  of  the  Whigs,  and  too  ambitious  to  suit  the 
English  taste.  Each,  therefore,  sometimes  mffied 
the  other,  by  contrary  opinions.  Fox  made  the 
first  consul  smile  by  a  simplicity,  an  inexperience, 
which  were  singular  in  a  man  nearly  sixty  years  of 
age '.  The  first  consul  sometimes  learned  the 
British  patriotism  of  Fox,  by  the  vastness  of  his 
designs,  which  he  took  no  care  to  dissimulate. 
They  were  still  in  perfect  harmony,  in  heart  and 
understanding,  and  were  enchanted  with  each 
other.  The  first  consul  took  infinite  care  to  make 
Fox  acquainted  with  Paris,  and  sometimes  was 
pleased  to  accompany  him  to  the  public  establish- 
ments. There  was  then  open  an  exhibition  of  the 
products  of  French  industry,  the  second  since  the 
revolution.  PDvery  body  was  surprised  at  the  pro- 
gress of  the  French  manufactures,  which,  amid 
the  genei-al  commotion,  had  still  participated  in 
the  impulse  given  to  the  public  mind,  and  a  num- 
ber of  new  processes  and  improvements  had  been 
invented  recently,  or  had  been  introduced.  Fo- 
i-eigiiers,  particularly  the  English,  were  particularly 
struck,  the  English  being  good  judges  of  these 
things.  The  first  consul  took  Fox  to  the  halls 
fitted  up  for  these  exhibitions  in  the  court  of  the 
Louvre,  and  sometimes  enjoyed  the  surprise  of  his 
illustrious  guest.  Fox,  amidst  the  attentions  of 
which  he  was  the  object,  suffered  a  sally  to  escape 
him  which  did  honour  to  the  sentiments  and  spirit 
of  this  noble  personage,  proving  that  in  him 
justice  towards  France  was  joined  to  the  most 
susceptible  patriotism.  There  was  in  one  of  the 
halls  of  the  Louvre  a  terrestrial  globe,  very  fine 
and  large,  constructed  with  great  skill,  iind  de- 
signed for  the  first  consul.  One  of  the  pei-sonages 
who  followed  the  first  consul  making  the  globe 
turn  round,  and  placing  his  hand  upon  England, 
made  this  ill-timed  remark,  that  England  occupied 
a  very  small  space  upon  the  map  of  the  world. 
"  Yes,"  exclaimed  Fox,  wai'mly,  "  yes,  it  is  in  that 
island  which  is  so  small  that  the  English  are  born; 
and  it  is  in  that  island  that  they  wish  to  die;  but," 
added  he,  extending  his  arms  about  the  two  oceans, 
and  the  two  Indies,  "during  their  lives,  they  fill 
the  entire  globe,  and  embrace  it  with  their  power." 
The  first  consul  applauded  this  reply,  so  proud  and 
appropriate  as  it  was. 

The  personage  next  to  Fox,  who  occupied  public 
attention,  was  M.  de  Calonne.  The  prince  of 
Wales  had  solicited  and  obtained  permission  for 
him  to  visit  Paris.  M.  de  Calonne  held,  from  the 
time  of  his  arrival,  a  language  wholly  unexpected, 
and  which  made  a  sensation  among  the  royalists. 
He  said  he  had  no  intention  to  serve  the  new 
government.  He  could  not  do  it,  attached  as  he 
had  been  to  the  house  of  Bourbon ;  it  was  his  duty 
to  speak  the  truth  to  his  friends.  No  man  in 
Europe  was  capable  of  making  head  against  the 
first  consul ;  generals,  ministers,  kings,  were  his 
inferiors  and  dependents.  The  English  had  passed 
from  hatred  of  him  to  enthusiasm  in  his  favour. 
This  sentiment  was  now  prevalent  among  all  classes 
of  the  English  population,  and  was  carried  to  the 
extreme,  as  were  all  sentiments  among  the  English. 
Europe  must,  therefore,  not  be  calculated  upon  for 
overthrowing  general  Bonaparte  ;  nor  ought  they 
to  dishonour  the  royal  cause  by  detestable  plots, 

'  Just  turned  fifty  years,  being  born  in  1749. — Translator. 


1801-2. 
Nov. 


Unfounded  reports  concerning 
M.  de  Calonne. 


THE  TRIBUNATE. 


Rising  opposition  to  tlie  first 


which  filled  honest  men  throughout  the  world  with 
horror.  They  must  submit  and  hope  every  tliinjj, 
from  time,  and  from  the  double  difficulty  of  govern- 
ing France  without  royalty,  and  of  founding  royalty 
without  the  Bourbon  family.  The  infinite  vicissi- 
tudes of  revolutions  could  alone  bring  about  the 
claims  which  did  not  now  exist  in  favour  of  the 
exiled  princes.  But  let  whatever  would  happen, 
it  was  necessary  to  await  from  France  alone,  from 
France  become  enlightened,  the  return  of  better 
feelings,  and  nothing  from  foreigners  or  conspira- 
tors. This  language,  singular  on  account  of  its 
wisdom,  above  all  from  the  mouth  of  M.  de 
Calonne,  caused  real  astonishment,  and  led  to  the 
belief  that  M.  de  Calonne  would  not  be  long  before 
entering  into  relations  with  the  consular  govern- 
ment. He  had  seen  the  consul  Lebrun,  who,  with 
the  consent  of  the  first  consul,  received  royalists, 
and  had  held  a  conversation  with  him  upon  the 
affairs  of  France.  It  wjis  even  asserted  that  he 
was  about  to  become  in  the  finances  what  Talley- 
rand was  in  diplomacy,  a  reclaimed  noble,  lending 
his  name  and  experience  to  the  first  consul.  The 
surmise  was  unfounded;  and  besides,  the  first  con- 
sul had  less  need  of  a  brilliant  mind,  than  of  that 
application  which  M.  de  Calonne  had  never  exhi- 
bited, but  which  the  first  consul  had  found  in  M. 
Gaudin,  who  had  introduced  the  most  perfect  order 
into  the  finances.  Nevertheless,  upon  this  vague 
rumour  a  crowd  of  persons,  recently  entered  into 
Fi-ance,  surrounded  M.  de  Colonne,  wishing  to  help 
out  tlieu:  fortunes  by  getting  into  office,  and  think- 
ing that  they  could  not  find  near  the  new  govern- 
ment a  fitter  person  to  inti'oduce  them,  or  one  who 
could  better  justify  by  his  example  their  adhex'ence 
to  the  first  consul '. 

<  There  were  agents  of  some  of  the  exiled  princes  in  Paris, 
and  among  these  were  men  of  talent  and  very  well  in- 
formed. These  agents  sent  almost  diurnal  reports,  to 
which  allusion  has  been  already  made.  The  subjoined  is  an 
extract  from  one  of  thtse  reports,  relative  to  M.  de  Culonne. 

"  M.  de  Calonne  returned  to  Paris  about  a  month  since. 
He  had  an  interview  with  the  ministers  before  he  left  Eng- 
land, and  was  perfectly  well  received  by  them.  He  was 
asked  if,  in  reiurning  to  Paris,  he  did  not  intend  to  join  the 
administration.  He  answered,  that  his  principles,  his  con- 
duct during  the  revolution,  and  Ins  attachment  to  the  royal 
family,  all  forl)ade  him  absolutely  to  accept  a  place  at  the 
hands  of  the  new  government ;  but  that,  attached  to  France 
by  taate  and  by  interest,  he  should  not  refuse  to  give  his 
advice  if  it  were  asked,  and  if  he  believed  it  were  of  advan- 
tage to  his  country. 

"  His  arrival  in  Paris  has  made  a  great  sensation.  He 
is  every  day  beset  by  visiters  and  surrounded  by  creatures, 
as  at  the  most  brilliant  time  of  his  fortune  and  credit.  The 
opinion  that  he  is  about  to  be  raised  to  the  ministry  brings 
crowds  of  applicants  to  him,  and  to  rid  himself  of  them  he  is 
obliged  to  fly  into  the  country.  It  does  not  seem,  however, 
that  this  op'inUln  is  well  founded  ;  and  if  it  is  ever  realized; 
it  will  not  be  at  present.  All  that  is  known  is,  that  he  was 
to  be  presented  a  few  days  ago  to  Bonaparte,  and  to  have  a 
secret  confi.-rence  with  him. 

"  He  sees  all  hit  old  friends,  and  opens  himself  to  them 
with  perfect  freedom.  Having  been  a  witness  of  the  weak- 
ness and  nullity  of  foreign  powers,  he  does  not  believe  that 
there  is  to  be  found  in  them  the  smallest  guarantee  against 
revolutionary  invasion,  and  still  less  any  elllcacious  protec- 
tion for  the  cause  of  the  king.  He  repeats  that  which  we 
have  a  long  time  known,  th.it  the  men  who  govern  In 
Europe  are  men  without  mean*  and  without  clinrartcr,  who 
we  unacquainted  with  the  times  in  which,  they  live,  who 


Who  could  believe  that  in  the  presence  of  so 
much  good  as  was  already  effected,  or  was  about 
to  be  so,  that  an  opposition,  and  a  hot  one,  too, 
would  be  raised  ?  An  opposition  was  nevertheless 
in  preparation,  and  one  of  the  most  violent  possible, 
against  the  measures  of  the  first  consul.  It  was 
not  among  violent  partizans  radically  opposed  to 
the  goverimicnt  of  the  first  consul,  royalist  or  revo- 
lutionary, that  this  opposition  was  formed,  but 
iiinong  the  very  same  party  that  desired  and 
seconded  the  overthrow  of  the  directory  as  in- 
efficient, and  called  for  a  new  government  that 
should  be  at  the  same  time  fimi  and  able.  The 
subaltern  revolutionists,  men  of  disorder  and  of 
bloodshed,  were  repressed,  submissive,  or  trans- 
ported, and  were  sinking  daily  deeper  and  deeper 
into  obscurity,  never  more  to  emerge.  The  mis- 
creants of  royalty  had  a  pressing  necessity  for 
drawing  breath  since  the  affair  of  the  infernal 
ntachine,  and  they  kept  quiet ;  and  besides  that 
portion  of  them  which  liad  infested  the  high  roads, 
had  been  put  to  death.  The  royalists  of  high  rank, 
while  holding  in  the  saloons  of  Paris  the  most 
impertinent  conversations,  began,  notwithstanding, 
to  exhibit  already  the  disposition  which  led  them 
afterwards  to  play  ;  the  men,  the  part  of  chamber- 
lains, the  women  that  of  ladies  of  honour,  in  the 
jialace  of  the  Tuilexnes,  which  the  Bourbons  no 
longer  inhabited. 

But  the  moderate  revolutionary  party  called  to 
compose  the  new  government  was  divided,  as  is 
almost  always  the  case,  with  every  victorious  party, 
which  goes  about  to  form  a  new  government,  and 
disagrees  about  the  manner  of  its  constitution. 
From  the  first  days  of  the  consulate,  this  party, 
which  had  concurred  in  various  ways  in  the  18th 
of  Brumaire,  had  appeared  divided  between  two 
contrary  tendencies,  the  one  consisting  in  making 
the  revolution  terminate  in  a  democratic  and  mode- 
know  not  how  to  judge  of  the  present  or  to  foresee  the  fu- 
ture, and  who  are  alike  destitute  of  the  courage  which  incites 
to  undertake,  and  the  firmness  which  qualifies  for  persever- 
ance. He  considers  them  as  all  delivered  over  to  Bona- 
parte, trembling  before  him,  and  ready  to  execute  humbly 
all  his  commands.  Thus  he  is  persuaded  that  in  France 
only  is  it  possible  to  labour  for  the  restoration  of  the  mon- 
archy, not  by  putting  oneself  forward  and  fomenting  foolish 
and  ridiculous  plots, — more  adapted  to  dishonour  a  cause 
than  to  prepare  the  way  for  real  success,— but  by  striving, 
without  noise  and  show,  to  re-establish  public  opinion,  to 
destroy  prejudice,  to  diminish  fears,  to  unite  all  the  servants 
of  the  king,  and  to  keep  them  in  readiness  to  take  advan- 
tage of  every  thing  in  his  favour,  by  all  those  events  which 
the  natural  course  of  things  must  effect. 

"  M.  de  Calonne  asserts  that  in  England  the  enthusiasm 
for  Bonaparte  is  i.ot  only  general,  but  carried  to  a  point  of 
excess  of  which  it  is  difficult  to  form  an  adequate  idea.  The 
court  and  city,  the  capital  and  the  country,  all  classes  of  the 
citizens,  from  the  minister  to  the  artizdn,  are  eager  to  pro- 
claim his  praises,  and  outvie  each  other  in  chanting  his  vic- 
tories, and  the  splendour  of  his  power.  Moreover,  this  en- 
thusiastic feeling  is  not  peculiar  to  England  ;  the  whole  of 
Europe  is,  so  to  say,  infected  by  it.  From  all  parts  people 
hasten  to  Paris,  that  they  may  sec  the  great  man  at  least 
once  in  their  lives;  and  the  police  have  been  obliged  to 
threaten  to  apprehend  certain  Danes,  who  had  publicly  bent 
the  knee  before  him  whenever  they  saw  him. 

"  This  is  one  of  the  main  causes  of  his  strength  and  of 
his  enormous  power.  How  could  the  French  dare  to  oppose 
him,  as  long  as  they  see  the  powers  of  Europe  thus  prostrate 
at  his  feel !" 


Agitation  in  the  tribunate.  Opposition  of  the  abbe 

314        -Defects  in  the  cousti-    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND   EMPIRE.  Sieyes     and     his 

tution.  friends. 


1801-2. 
Nov. 


rate  republic,  sucli  as  Washington  liad  established 
in  America  ;  the  other,  in  making  it  end  in  a 
monarchy  bearing  more  or  less  a  resemblance  to 
that  of  England,  or  if  it  must  be  the  old  French 
monarchy,  divested  of  its  old  prejudices,  without 
the  feudal  system,  but  retaining  its  grandeur.  The 
consular  government  had  now  begun  its  third  year, 
and,  as  usual,  these  two  tendencies  continued  to 
exaggerate  by  the  very  contradiction  of  themselves. 
Some  became  once  more  almost  violent  revo- 
lutionists, upon  seeing  how  things  were  going 
forward,  observing  the  authority  of  the  iirst  consul 
on  the  increase,  monarchical  ideas  spreading,  a 
court  formed  at  the  Tuileries,  the  catholic  worship 
restored,  or  nearly  so,  and  emigrants  retui-ning  in 
shoals.  The  others,  become  almost  the  royalists  of 
the  old  time,  were  so  eager  to  react  and  to  re- 
found  a  monarchy,  that  they  were  disposed  to 
tolerate  an  enlightened  despotism  for  the  result  of 
the  revolution.  In  fact,  an  enlightened  despotism, 
such  as  that  which  was  at  the  same  moment  arising 
in  France,  had  so  much  of  genius  in  it,  and  insured 
such  a  sweet  repose,  that  its  seduction  was  great. 
Still  the  contradiction  between  the  two  was  pushed 
so  far  on  one  side  and  the  other,  that  a  crisis 
might  be  soon  expected  to  ensue. 

The  tribunate,  during  the  preceding  session, 
much  agitated,  at  one  time  on  account  of  the  law 
of  finance,  at  another  on  account  of  the  special 
tribunals,  was  much  more  so  this  year  at  the  aspect 
of  all  that  was  going  forward,  and  at  the  sight 
of  the  government  marching  so  fast  towards  its 
object.  The  concordat,  above  all,  roused  its  in- 
dignation, as  the  most  counter-revolutionary  act 
that  could  well  be  imagined.  The  civil  code  was 
not,  according  to  that  assembly,  sufficiently  con- 
formable with  equality.  The  treaties  of  peace 
themselves,  which  comprehended  the  greatness  of 
France,  gave  umbrage  at  their  wording,  as  will 
very  shortly  be  seen. 

M.  Sieyes,  while  endeavouring  to  prevent  agi- 
tation by  means  of  his  constitutional  precautions, 
as  has  been  seen,  liad  not  prevented  any  ;  because 
constitutions  do  not  create  human  passions,  and 
are  powerless  for  their  destruction  :  they  are  thus 
only  the  stage  upon  which  the  passions  appear.  By 
placing  all  the  weight,  all  the  activity  of  public  af- 
fairs, in  the  council  of  state,  and  the  noise,  declama- 
tion, and  idle  animadversion  in  the  tribunate  ;  in 
reducing  the  last  to  the  character  of  a  pleader  for  or 
against  the  acts  of  tiie  government,  before  the  legis- 
lative body,  which  could  only  answer  yea  or  nay;  in 
placing  above  an  idle  senate  which,  at  long  in- 
tervals, elected  the  men  who  had  the  duty  of  play- 
ing two  vain  chai'acters  in  the  legislative  assem- 
blies ;  in  selecting  the  individuals  of  the  govern- 
ment in  the  same  spirit  ;  in  placing  men  fit  for 
business  in  tiie  council  of  state;  men  fit  for  public 
speaking,  inclined  to  noise,  in  the  tribunate  ;  the  ob- 
scure and  superannuated  in  the  legislative  body,and 
the  superannuated  of  a  higher  order  in  the  senate — 
M.  Sieyes  had  hardly  hindered  the  passions  of  the 
time  from  exploding  ;  he  had  even  added,  it  must 
be  confessed,  a  certain  jealousy  of  these  bodies 
towards  one  another.  The  tribunate  felt  the  de- 
clamatory vanity  of  its  character  ;  the  legislative 
body  felt  the  ridiculous  nature  of  its  silence,  and 
contained  besides  many  who  were  formerly  priests, 
who  had  quitted  orders,  organized  by   the  abb^ 


Grdgoire,  into  a  silent  but  vexatious  opposition. 
The  senate  itself,  which  M.  Sieyes  had  intended 
should  represent  an  opulent  quiet  old  man,  was  not 
so  quiet  as  he  had  intended  it  to  be.  That  body 
was  a  little  wearied  of  its  idle  dignity  ;  because  the 
senators  were  deprived  of  public  functions,  and 
their  electoral  power,  so  seldom  exercised,  was  far 
from  filling  up  their  time.  All  of  these  were 
jealous  of  the  council  of  state,  which  alone  partook 
with  the  first  consul  the  glory  of  the  great  things 
that  were  daily  accomplishing. 

Thus  this  social  body,  which  M.  Sieyes  had 
thought  he  should  lull  into  a  species  of  aristocrati- 
cal  stupoi',  after  the  example  of  Venice  and  Genoa, 
still  restless,  like  one  who  has  upon  him  the  i-e- 
mains  of  fervour,  and  might  be  calmed  and  con- 
trolled by  a  master,  could  not  be  cast  into  a  peace- 
ful slumber  as  its  maker  had  hoped. 

It  was  singular  that  M.  Sieyes,  the  inventor  of 
all  these  constitutional  arrangements,  by  virtue  of 
which  there  was  so  much  activity  on  one  hand, 
and  so  little  on  the  other, — M.  Sieyes  began  to 
weary  himself  of  his  own  inaction.  Moderate,  and 
even  monarchical  in  his  opinions,  he  ought  to  have 
approved  the  acts  of  the  first  consul ;  but  causes, 
some  inevitable,  others  accidental,  c(  mmenced  to 
embroil  them.  That  great  speculative  mind,  limited 
to  seeing  every  thing  and  doing  nothing,  could  not 
but  feel  jealous  of  the  active  and  puissant  genius, 
which  was  evei-y  day  gaining  the  mastery  of  France 
and  of  the  world.  M.  Sieyes,  in  the  magnificent 
accomplishments  of  general  Bonaparte,  already 
observed  the  germ  of  his  future  errors,  and  if  he  did 
not  yet  indicate  this  openly,  he  sometimes  showed 
it  by  his  silence,  or  by  some  phrase  as  profound  as 
his  own  thoughts.  It  is  possible  that  if  attention 
had  been  constantly  paid  to  him,  they  might  have 
calmed  and  attached  him  to  the  first  consul.  But 
Bonaparte  considered  himself  acquitted  with  M. 
Sieyes  somewhat  too  early  by  the  gift  of  the  estate 
of  Crosne  ;  and  being,  moreover,  absorbed  in  im- 
mense labour,  he  had  neglected  the  superior  man 
too  much,  who  had  so  nobly  yielded  to  him  the 
first  place  on  the  18th  Brumaire.  Sieyes,  idle, 
jealous,  mortified,  had  faults  to  pick  out  even  in 
the  vast  mass  of  present  good,  and  showed  himself 
a  morose  and  chilling  censurer.  The  fii-st  consul 
was  not  master  of  his  temper  sufficiently  to  leave 
all  the  wrong  upon  his  adversaries.  He  spoke 
cavalierly  of  the  metaphysics  of  Sieyes,  of  his 
impotent  ambition,  making  a  thousand  remarks 
upon  the  subject,  which  were  immediately  re- 
peated and  envenomed  by  the  malerolent.  Sieyes 
had  some  friends  at  his  side,  such  as  M.  de  Tracy, 
a  man  of  superior  mind,  but  not  religious,  an 
original  philosopher  in  a  school  that  had  but  little 
originality,  and  a  very  respectable  character  ; 
M.  Gai'at,  an  eloquent  ))hilosopher,  more  pretend- 
ing than  profound  ;  M.  Cabani.s,  given  to  the  study 
of  material  man,  and  seeing  nothing  beyond  the 
limits  of  matter  ;  M.  Lanjuinais,  a  sincere,  pious, 
vehement  man,  who  had  so  nobly  defended  the 
Girondins,  and  was  now  equally  warm  in  resisting 
the  new  Cajsar.  These  surrounded  Sieyes,  and 
already  formed  a  perceptible  opi)osition  in  the 
senate.  The  concordat  seemed  to  them,  as  to 
many  other  persons,  the  strong  proof  of  an  ap- 
proaching counter-revolution. 

The  first  consul,  seeing  France  and  Europe  en- 


Opposition  in  the  army.— In- 
discretion of  Lannes  and 
Augereau. 


THE  TRIBUNATE. 


Moderation  of  the  first  consul. 


chanted  with  his  proceedings,  could  not  understand 
how  it  occurred  that  the  only  persons  who  ex- 
claimed against  these  proceeilings  should  be  found 
precisely  around  him.  Despite  this  opposition,  he 
called  the  members  of  the  senate,  fi-om  whom  it 
proceeded,  idealogists,  led  on  by  a  pouter,  who 
grieved  for  the  e.tercise  of  the  supreme  power,  of 
which  he  was  incapable  ;  he  styled  the  membei-s 
of  the  tribunate  busy-bodies,  with  whom  he  should 
know  how  to  break  a  lance,  and  prove  he  was 
not  to  be  frightened  with  noise  ;  ho  called  the 
discontented,  more  or  less  numerous  of  the  legis- 
lative body,  priests  unfrocked,  Jansenists,  whom 
the  abbe'  Gr^goire,  in  accord  with  the  abbe'  Sieyes, 
was  striving  to  organize  into  an  opposition  against 
the  government  ;  he  declared  that  he  would  break 
down  all  these  oppositions — that  tlicy  should  not 
stop  him,  and  prevent  the  good  which  he  was 
endeavouring  to  accomplish.  Never  having  lived 
among  assemblies  of  men,  he  was  ignorant  of  the  art 
of  winning  them  over,  which  Ciiosar  himself, powerful 
as  he  was,  did  not  neglect,  and  which  he  learned 
in  the  Roman  senate.  The  first  consul  expressed 
his  displeasure  boldly  and  publicly,  with  the  full 
sense  of  his  strength  and  his  glory,  scarcely  listen- 
ing to  the  wise  Cambaceres,  who  possessed  great 
skill  in  managing  public  assemblies,  and  ui'ged 
him  to  use  sootliing  and  moderation.  "  You  must 
prove  to  these  peo])le,"  replied  the  first  consul, 
"  that  you  arc  not  afraid  of  them  ;  and  they  will 
be  frightened,  on  condition  that  you  are  not 
frightened  yr)urself."  Here  were  already,  as  may 
be  seen,  the  manners  and  ideas  of  genuine  royalty 
in  proportion  as  the  moment  approached  when 
royalty  became  inevitable. 

The  opposition  was  not  only  seen  in  the  bodies 
of  the  state,  but  also  in  the  army.  The  mass  of 
the  army,  like  the  mass  of  the  nation,  sensible 
of  the  great  results  obtained  during  the  last  two 
years,  was  wholly  devoted  to  the  first  consul.  Still 
among  some  of  the  chiefs  there  were  discontented 
men,  some  really  so,  others  merely  jealous.  The 
sincerely  discontented  were  the  staunch  revolu- 
tionists, who  saw  with  mortification  the  return 
of  the  emigrants,  and  the  obligation  they  were 
under  to  go  and  exhibit  their  uniforms  in  the 
churches.  The  discontented  out  of  jealousy,  were 
those  who  saw  with  chagrin  an  equal,  who  having 
in  the  first  place  surpassed  them  in  renown,  was 
now  on  the  eve  of  becoming  their  master.  The 
former  belonged,  for  the  most  part,  to  the  army  of 
Italy,  which  had  always  been  completely  revolu- 
tionary ;  the  last  to  the  army  of  the  Rhine,  calm, 
moderate,  but  somewhat  envious. 

The  chiefs  of  the  anny  of  Italy,  for  the  most 
part  devoted  to  the  first  consul,  but  ardent  in  their 
sentiments,  had  a  dislike  both  to  priests  and  emi- 
grants; they  complained  that  they  were  to  be  made 
churchmen  ;  all  this  being  spoken  in  the  origi- 
nal, and  not  very  becoming  maimer  of  soldiers. 
Augereau  and  Laimes,  bad  jioliticians  but  heroic 
soldiers,  especially  the  second,  who  was  a  most 
accomplished  soldier,  held  the  most  singular  con- 
versations. Lannes,  become  commander-in-chief 
of  the  consular  guard,  administered  the  military 
chest  with  a  prodigality  known  and  authorized  by 
the  first  consul.  A  mansion  was  sumptuously  fur- 
nished for  the  accommodation  of  tho  staff  of  the 
guard.     There  Lannes   kept  an  open  table  for  all 


his  brother  officers,  and  delivered  invectives  agauist 
the  proceedings  of  the  government.  The  first  con- 
sul had  no  fear  that  the  devotion  of  these  idle 
soldiers  towards  himself  personally  was  diminished. 
At  the  first  signal  he  was  certain  to  recal  them  all 
to  him,  and  Lannes  before  the  rest.  Still  it  was 
dangerous  to  suffer  such  heads  and  such  tongues 
to  go  on,  and  he  sent  for  Lannes.  Habituated  to  a 
great  familiarity  with  his  general-in-chief,  he  gave 
way  to  his  passion,  which  was  very  soon  suppressed 
by  the  calm  superiority  of  bearing  of  the  first  con- 
sul. Lannes  retired  sorry  for  his  fault,  and 
regretful  of  the  displeasure  he  had  caused.  From 
an  honourable  and  susceptible  feeling,  he  deter- 
mined to  liquidate  the  sums  drawn  from  the  chest 
of  the  guard,  though  with  the  consent  of  the  first 
consul.  But  after  all  his  campaigns  in  Italy,  he 
scarcely  possessed  any  property,  Augereau,  almost 
as  inconsiderate  as  himself,  but  possessing  an  ex- 
cellent heart,  lent  him  a  sum,  being  all  which  he 
possessed  in  the  world,  saying,  "  Here,  take  this 
money  ;  go  to  that  ungrateful  fellow  for  whom  we 
have  spilled  our  blood  ;  give  him  back  what  is  due 
to  the  chest,  and  let  neither  of  us  be  under  any 
obligations  to  him."  The  first  consul  could  not 
permit  his  old  companions  in  arms,  at  once  heroes 
and  children,  to  throw  off  their  affections  towards 
him.  He  dispersed  them.  Lannes  was  destined 
to  a  profitable  embassy  in  Portugal ;  Cambace'res, 
the  consul,  being  charged  with  the  arrangement: 
Augereau  had  orders  to  be  more  careful  for  the 
future,  and  to  return  to  his  army. 

These  scenes,  highly  exaggerated  by  the  malevo- 
lence w'hich  propagated  and  disfigured  them,  pro- 
duced a  mischievous  effect,  more  especially  in  the 
provinces.  No  voice,  it  is  true,  was  raised  against 
the  first  consul,  whom  every  body  was  disposed  to 
think  must  be  right  in  the  teeth  of  every  opponent; 
but  they  excited  uneasiness  and  apprehension  of 
there  being  weighty  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the 
supreme  authority,  the  re-establishment  of  which 
was  so  ardently  desired  ^ 

The  differences  with  the  officers  of  the  army  of 
Italy,  were  scenes  between  friends  who  fall  out  one 
day  and  the  next  embrace.  They  «ere  of  a  more 
serious  character  with  the  officers  of  the  army  of 

>  Here  is  a  passage  in  a  letter  of  Talleyrand,  who  had 
gone  some  time  afterwards  to  Lyons,  for  the  organization  of 
the  Italian  consulta : 

"  Lyons,  rth  Niv6s(?,  year  x.,or  Dec.  28th,  1801. 

"  General, — I  have  the  honour  to  inform  you  of  ray 
arrival  at  Lyons  to-day,  at  half-past  one  in  the  morning. 
The  road  through  Burfiundy,  with  the  exception  of  six  or 
eight  leagues,  is  not  very  bad;  and  the  prefects  of  the  line 
of  comnuiiiicalion  have  availed  themselves  of  the  enthu- 
siastic moment  caused  by  the  hope  of  your  passage,  to  cause 
the  active  repair  of  the  roads.  Whenever  I  came  to  com- 
munes or  habitations,  I  heard  cries  of  '  Vive  Bonaparte ! ' 
For  the  last  ten  leagues  which  I  travelled  in  the  middle  of 
the  night,  every  one  came  as  I  passed,  light  in  hand,  to 
repeat  these  words.  It  is  an  expression  which  you  are 
destined  continually  to  hear. 

"  The  story  about  general  Lannes  has  spread,  and  appears 
to  occupy  much  attention.  The  sub-prefect  of  Autun  and 
a  citizen  of  Avallon  talked  to  me  about  it,  but  with  diflerent 
circumstances,  which  letters  from  Paris  had  reported  to 
them  as  anecdotes.  I  have  had  occasion  to  remark  anew  to 
wh.it  a  degree  all  that  relates  to  your  person  retains  the 
l>ublic  attention,  and  is  immediately  the  subject  of  conversa- 
tion thioughout  France." 


316 


Rupture  between  Moreau 
and  Bonaparte. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Opening  of  the 
of  the  year  x 


Nov. 


the  Rhine,  who  were  more  cool  and  malicious. 
Unfortunately,  a  fatal  division  now  began  to  ap- 
pear between  the  general-in-ehief  of  the  army  of 
Itr.ly,  and  the  general-in-chief  of  the  army  of  the 
Rhine,  or  between  Bonajtarte  and  Moreau. 

Moreau,  since  the  campaign  against  Austria,  the 
success  of  which  he  owed  at  least  in  part  to  the 
first  consul,  who  gave  him  the  command  of  the 
finest  army  of  France — Moreau  was  reputed  the 
second  general  of  the  republic.  Really  no  one  was 
mistaken  respecting  his  worth  ;  he  was  well  known 
to  possess  a  mind  of  moderate  power,  incaiiable  of 
great  combinations,  and  wholly  destitute  of  political 
knowledge  ;  but  stress  was  laid  upon  his  real 
qualities  of  a  wise,  prudent,  and  vigorous  general, 
in  order  to  make  of  him  a  very  superior  com- 
mander, capable  of  meeting  the  conqueror  of  Italy 
and  Egypt.  Parties  have  a  wonderful  instinct  for 
discovering  the  weak  points  of  eminent  men.  They 
abuse  or  flatter  them  alternately,  until  they  have 
found  a  way  to  jienetrate  into  their  hearts,  and 
infuse  into  them  their  own  poison.  They  had  soon 
found  out  the  weak  side  of  Moreau,  which  was 
vanity.  While  flattering  him,  they  had  inspired 
him  with  a  fatal  jealousy  of  the  first  consul,  which 
was  one  day  destined  to  be  his  destruction.  The 
females  of  the  families  of  Bonaparte  and  Moreau 
had  quarrelled  about  some  of  the  miserable  mat- 
ters for  which  women  will  fall  out  with  one  another. 
The  family  of  Moreau  endeavoured  to  persuade  him 
that  he  ought  to  be  the  first  and  not  the  second  ; 
that  Bonaparte  was  ill-disposed  towards  him  ;  that 
he  endeavoured  to  depi-eciate  him,  and  make  him 
play  a  secondary  part.  Moreau,  who  was  wholly 
destitute  of  fii-mness  of  character,  had  listened  too 
much  to  this  kind  of  dangerous  suggestion.  The 
first  consul,  on  his  side,  had  never  in  any  way  done 
liim  wrong  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  had  loaded  him 
with  distinctions  of  all  kinds  ;  he  had  aff"ected  to 
speak  of  him  higher  than  be  thought,  above  all,  in 
respect  to  the  battle  of  Hohenlinden,  which  he  in 
public  proclaimed  a  master-piece  of  military  art, 
whereas  he  considered  it  privately  rather  a  piece 
of  good  luck,  than  a  deliberate  scientific  combina- 
tion. But  when  Moreau  had  once  the  idea  that  he 
was  wronged,  he  would  not  be  behindhand,  and 
with  the  ordinary  promptitude  of  his  character,  he 
promptly  resented  it.  One  day  Bonaparte  invited 
Moreau  to  accompany  him  to  a  review ;  Moreau 
drily  refused,  that  he  might  not  be  last  in  the  first 
consul's  staff,  alleging  as  an  excuse  that  he  had  no 
horse.  The  first  consul,  vexed  at  this  refusal,  soon 
returned  it  in  the  same  way.  On  one  of  the  great 
entertainments,  which  he  was  frequently  obliged  to 
give,  all  the  liigli  functionaries  were  invited  to  dine 
at  the  Tuileries.  Moreau  was  in  the  country,  but 
returning  the  day  before  the  dinner,  upon  some 
kind  of  business,  he  called  upon  Cambac^res,  to 
speak  to  him  about  it.  This  consul,  who  continually 
made  his  business  to  conciliate,  received  Moreau 
with  the  utmost  cordiality.  Being  surprised  to  see 
him  in  Paris,  he  ran  to  the  first  consul,  and  urged 
him,  with  some  warmth,  to  invite  the  commander 
of  tlie  army  of  the  Rhine  to  the  grand  dinner  that 
was  to  take  place  on  the  day  following.  "  He  has 
given  me  one  public  refusal,"  i-eplied  the  first  con- 
sul, "  I  will  not  hazard  the  risk  of  receiving  a 
second  from  him."  Notliing  could  .shake  this 
determination.     The  next  day,  while  all  the  gene- 


rals and  high  fimctionaries  of  the  republic  were 
seated  in  the  Tuileries,  at  the  table  of  the  first 
consul,  Moreau  avenged  himself  for  having  been 
neglected,  by  going  publicly,  in  plain  clothes,  to 
dine  at  one  of  the  most  frequented  restaurants  of 
the  capital,  with  a  party  of  malcontent  officers. 
This  circumstance  was  much  noticed,  and  produced 
a  very  mischievous  effect. 

From  that  day,  being  in  the  autumn  of  1801, 
the  generals  Bonaparte  and  Moreau  shmved  an 
extreme  degree  of  coldness  towards  one  another. 
The  public  were  soon  cognizant  of  this,  and  the 
hostile  )iarties  lose  no  time  in  turning  it  to  advan- 
tage. They  began  by  extolling  Moreau  at  the 
expense  of  Bonaparte,  and  laboured  to  fill  the 
hearts  of  both  with  the  poison  of  hatred.  These 
details  may  appear  below  the  dignity  of  history. 
Yet  whatever  may  serve  to  extend  the  knowledge 
of  men,  and  the  lamentable  littleness  even  of  tlie 
greatest,  is  not  unworthy  of  history,  since  every 
thing  that  is  capable  of  imparting  instruction 
belongs  to  it.  It  is  not  possible  too  strongly  to 
warn  persimages  of  note  against  the  frivolous 
nature  of  the  motives  which  too  often  embroil 
them,  more  especially  when  these  differences 
become  those  of  their  country. 

The  o))ening  of  the  session  of  the  year  x.  took 
place  on  the  1st  Frimaire,  or  22nd  of  November, 
1801,  in  accordance  with  the  command  of  the  con- 
stitution, which  fixed  that  day  for  the  purpose. 
Certainly,  if  ever  any  man  had  a  right  to  feel 
pride  in  presenting  himself  before  a  legislative  as- 
semblage, it  was  that  which  the  consular  govern- 
ment carried  with  it.  Peace  concluded  with 
Russia,  England,  the  German  and  Italian  powers, 
Portugal,  and  the  Porte,  and  concluded  with  all 
these  powers  upon  such  glorious  conditions ;  a 
plan  for  conciliation  with  the  church,  which  ter- 
minated the  religious  troubles,  and  which,  in  re- 
forming the  church  according  to  the  principles  of 
the  revolution,  still  obtained  the  adhesion  of  the 
orthodox  to  the  results  of  that  revolution;  a  civil 
code,  a  monument  since  admired  by  the  whole 
world  ;  laws  of  high  utility  I'especting  public  in- 
struction, the  legion  of  honour,  and  an  infinite 
number  of  other  important  matters;  financial  plans 
which  placed  the  expenses  and  the  revenues  of  the 
state  in  perfect  equilibrium — what  more  complete, 
more  extraordinary,  than  such  an  assemblage  of 
results  to  lay  before  the  nation !  No  matter,  all 
these  things,  as  will  soon  be  seen,  were  very  thank- 
lessly received. 

The  session  of  the  legislative  body  was  opened 
this  time  with  a  certain  solemnization.  The  minis- 
ter of  the  interior  was  charged  with  the  presidency 
of  the  opening.  Formal  opening  speeches  were 
made  on  both  sides,  and  there  appeared  some  in- 
tention to  imitate  the  forms  customary  in  England 
on  the  opening  of  parliament.  The  new  cere- 
monial, borrowed  from  constitutional  royalty,  was 
commented  upon  malevolently  by  the  opposition. 
The  tribunate  and  legislative  body  constituted 
themselves,  and  then  commenced  that  kind  of 
manifestation  by  which  assemblies  willingly  reveal 
their  secret  sentiments,  the  election  of  members. 
The  legislative  body  chose  for  its  -president  M. 
Dupuis,  author  of  the  celebrated  work,  "  Sur  I'Ori- 
gine  fie  tons  leg  Cultes."  M.  Dupuis  was  not  so 
strong  an  oppositionist  as  might  be  supposed  from 


ISOl. 
Nov. 


The  civil  code  presented  to  the 
legislative  bodie:i. 


THE  TRIBUNATE. 


Election  of  three  senators  to 
supply  vacancies. 


317 


his  work;  he  had  acknowledged  to  the  first  consul, 
in  convei-sation,  that  the  reconciliation  with  Rome 
was  needful:  but  his  name  had  a  considerable  sig- 
nification at  a  moment  when  the  concordat  w:is 
one  of  the  principal  grievances  alleged  against  the 
consular  policy.  The  intention  it  was  <asy  to  infer; 
and  it  was  comprehended  by  the  public,  above  all, 
by  the  first  consul,  who,  even  in  his  own  mind, 
exaggerated  its  importance. 

The  two  assemblies  exercising  the  legislative 
power,  in  other  words,  the  tribunate  and  the  legis- 
lative body,  being  constituted,  three  counsellors  of 
state  presented  an  exposition  of  the  situation  of 
the  republic.  This  exposition,  dictated  by  the  first 
consul,  was  simple,  yet  noble,  in  language,  but  in 
regard  to  subject,  magnificent.  It  made  a  strong 
impression  on  the  public  mind.  Or.  the  day  fol- 
lowing, a  numerous  train  of  counsellors  of  state 
brought  up  such  a.  series  of  bills  as  any  govern- 
ment has  rarely  an  occasion  to  present  to  its 
assembled  chambers.  They  were  bills  designed  to 
convert  into  laws  the  treaties  with  Russia,  Bavaria, 
Naples,  Portugal,  America,  and  the  Ottoman  Porte. 
The  treaty  with  England,  concluded  at  London 
previously,  under  the  form  of  preliminaries  of 
peace,  was  on  the  point  of  receiving,  at  this  mo- 
ment, in  the  congress  of  Amiens,  the  form  of  a 
definitive  treaty,  and  could  not  yet  be  submitted 
to  the  deliberations  of  the  legislative  body.  As 
for  the  concordat,  it  was  not  thought  right  to  ex- 
po£_  '.i  at  once  to  the  ill-nature  of  the  opposition. 
Portalis,  the  counsellor  of  state,  then  read  an  ad- 
dress, which  has  ever  since  remained  celebrated, 
upon  the  entire  of  the  civil  code.  The  three  heads 
of  that  code  were  brought  up  at  the  same  time 
by  three  counsellors  of  state  :  the  first  related  to 
"  the  publication  of  tlie  laws  ;"  the  second,  to  "  tlie 
enjoyment  and  the  privation  of  civil  rights  ;"  the 
third,  to  "  the  acts  of  the  civil  state." 

It  would  seem  that  such  <a  list  of  legislative  la- 
bours ought  to  have  put  to  silence  every  opposi- 
tion; but  it  did  nothing  of  the  kind.  When,  ac- 
cording to  usage,  the  bills  were  presented  to  the 
tribunate,  the  communication  of  the  treaty  with 
Russia  produced  a  most  violent  scene.  The  third 
article  of  the  treaty  contained  an  important  sti- 
pulation, which  the  two  governments  liad  devised 
in  order  to  secure  each  other,  in  case  of  the  evil- 
disposed  working  mischief  reciprocally  in  either 
country.  They  liad  nmtuaily  promised,  according 
to  Article  in.,  "not  to  suffer  any  of  their  siihjccts 
to  carry  on  any  correspondence  whatsoever,  whe- 
ther direct  or  indirect,  with  the  internal  enemies 
of  the  governments  of  the  two  states,  to  pro])agate 
tiierein  principles  contrary  to  their  respective  con- 
stitutions, or  to  foment  troubles."  In  this  the 
French  government  had  the  emigrants  in  view, 
and  the  llussian  government  the  Poles.  Nothing 
was  more  natural  than  such  a  precaution,  more 
particularly  on  the  part  of  the  French  government, 
which  had  to  fear  the  Bourbons,  and  to  wateh 
them  continually.  In  alluding  to  the  i)articular 
clfiRs  of  individuals  who  might  attempt  to  disturb 
the  repose  of  the  two  countries,  the  negotiators 
had  used  the  word  which  most  naturally  oceinred, 
as  that  oftcnest  adopted  in  the  language  of  <li|ilo- 
matists,  namely,  the  word  "subjects."  It  had 
been  used  without  any  intention,  because  it  was 
the  word  commonly  employed  in  all  treaties,  as  it 


was  as  usual  to  say  the  "subjects"  of  a  republic 
as  the  "subjects"  of  a  monarchy.  Scai'cely  was 
the  reading  of  the  treaty  comjdeted,  than  Thibaut, 
a  tribune,  one  of  the  opposition  meniber.s,  demanded 
to  speak.  "  There  has  slipped,"  he  said,  "  into 
the  text  of  the  treaty,  an  expression  inadnnssible 
in  our  language,  and  which  ought  not  to  be  tole- 
rated. 1  mean  the  word  'subjects,'  applied  to 
the  citizens  of  one  of  the  two  states.  A  republic 
has  no  '  subjects,'  but '  citizens.'  Doubtless  it  was 
an  error  of  the  writer — it  should  be  rectified." 
These  words  produced  a  very  great  agitation,  such 
as  is  certain  to  be  the  case  in  an  assembly  pre- 
viously excited,  and  in  expectation  of  some  event, 
and  which  is  electrified  by  every  circumstance,  no 
matter  how  slight,  that  has  ju'e-oecupied  the  minds 
of  the  members.  The  president  cut  short  the  ex- 
planations about  to  be  made,  by  the  remark  that 
the  deliberations  were  not  at  that  moment  opened, 
and  that  such  observations  ought  to  be  reserved 
for  the  time  when,  on  the  re])ort  of  a  commission, 
the  treaty  presented  would  be  submitted  for  dis- 
cussion. This  appeal  to  the  regulations  hindered 
the  tumult  from  breaking  out  at  the  moment,  and 
a  connnission  was  innnediately  named. 

This  display  increased  the  agitation  which  pre- 
vailed in  the  great  bodies  of  the  state,  and  irritated 
still  more  the  first  consul.  These  manifestations 
were  continued  through  the  character  of  the  per- 
sons to  be  elected.  There  were  several  places  in 
the  senate  to  be  filled  up.  One  was  vacant  by 
the  death  of  the  senator  Crassous.  There  were 
two  othei's  to  be  filled  up,  in  virtue  of  the  consti- 
tution. The  constitution,  as  it  will  be  remembered, 
had  at  first  provided  but  sixty  places  for  senators 
out  of  the  eighty,  which  formed  the  total  number. 
To  reach  this  last  number,  two  were  to  be  ap- 
pointed every  year  for  ten  years.  At  this  time 
there  were  three  places  to  be  given  .awa^',  counting 
in  that  which  was  vacant  by  the  death  of  the 
senator  Crassous.  According  to  tlie  rules  <if  the 
constilntion,  the  first  consul,  the  legislative  body, 
and  the  tribunate,  were  each  to  name  a  candidate, 
and  the  senate  w-ere  then  to  choose  from  among 
the  candidates  thus  ])resented. 

The  scrutiny  was  begun  for  this  object  as  well 
in  the  tribunate  as  in  the  legislative  body.  In  the 
tribunate  the  oppositinii  supported  M.  Daunou, 
who  had  publicly  quarrelled  with  the  first  consul, 
on  the  matter  of  the  special  tribunals,  so  much 
discussed  in  the  preceding  session.  From  that 
time  he  would  not  attend  the  meetings  of  the  tri- 
bunate, saying  that  he  shoidd  remain  a  stranger  to 
any  of  the  legislative  proceedings,  "as  long  as  the 
tyranny  endin-ed."  In  fact,  he  had  kept  his  word, 
and  had  not  been  seen  there  afterwards.  The  op- 
position therefore  had  chosen  M.  Daunou,  as  being 
the  candidate  the  least  agreeable  to  the  first  consul. 
The  decided  ])artisans  of  the  goveinment,  in  the 
same  body,  supported  one  of  the  framers  of  the 
civil  code,  M.  Bigot  de  Prdameneii.  Neither  the 
one  nor  tlic  other  were  elected.  The  majority  of 
the  votes  were  united  in  favour  of  a  candidate  of 
no  note,  the  tribune  Desnieuniers,  a  moderate  per- 
son in  his  sentiments,  and  wlm,  through  his  rela- 
tions, was  not  a  stranger  to  the  fii'st  consul.  'I'he 
legislative  body  nuire  decidedly  spoke  out  its  sen- 
timents, and  elected  the  abbd  Or^goiro  as  its  own 
candidate   to  the  senate.     This   choice,   after    the 


Senators  nominated  by 
Bonaparte. 


The  ahbe  Gregoire  elected.     ,pni 
THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.     -Violent  opposition  in    '»"'■ 

the  tribunate. 


gift  of  the  presidency  to  M.  Dupuis,  was  a  re- 
doubled manifestation  against  the  concordat.  M. 
Bigot  de  Pr^ameiieu  had  in  the  assembly  a  cer- 
tain number  of  votes  that  nearly  amounted  to 
two-fifths. 

The  first  consul  wished,  on  his  side,  to  make  a 
significant  proposition.  He  might  have  waited 
until  the  two  bodies,  authorized  to  present  can- 
didates concurrently  with  the  executive  powers, 
had  chosen  tliose  for  the  two  places  which  re- 
mained to  be  filled  up.  It  was  probable  that  the 
legislative  body  and  the  tribunate,  not  willing  to 
break  definitively  with  a  government  so  popular  as 
that  of  the  first  consul,  liable  also  to  the  oscillating 
movement  of  all  assemblies,  that  ever  fall  back  on 
the  morrow  when  they  have  advanced  too  far  the 
day  before,  would  make  a  less  obnoxious  choice, 
and  even  adopt,  for  the  two  remaining  candidate- 
ships,  persons  acceptable  to  the  government.  Thus 
M.  de  Desmeuniers,  for  example,  was  a  person 
whom  the  first  consul  could  perfectly  approve,  be- 
cause he  had  promised  to  recompense  his  services 
by  the  place  of  senator.  It  was  probable  that  the 
name  of  M.  Bigot  de  Pre'ameneu  might  issue  in 
one  of  the  ballots  of  the  legislative  body  or  the 
tribunate.  The  first  consul  would  then  be  al)le 
to  present,  on  his  own  account,  those  candidates 
adopted  by  the  assemblies  that  would  best  suit  his 
views;  and,  in  that  case,  a  name  presented  by  two 
authorities  out  of  three  would  almost  have  the 
certainty  of  being  chosen  by  the  majority  of  the 
senate.  The  consul  Cambace'res  advised  this  line 
of  conduct;  but  it  partook  of  that  kind  of  manage- 
ment in  its  nature  much  used  in  representative 
governments,  to  which  the  first  consul  had  a  sove- 
reign rei)ugnance.  The  magistrate-general,  a 
sti-anger  to  such  a  form  of  government,  would  not 
thus  place  himself,  as  it  were,  behind  the  legisla- 
tive body  and  the  tribunate,  and  await  their 
opinion  before  he  manifested  his  own.  In  con- 
sequence, he  immediately  presented  to  them,  not 
one  candidate  alone,  but  three  at  once,  and  he 
chose  three  generals.  Notwithstanding  the  hopes 
previously  given  to  M.  Desmeuniers,  the  first 
consul,  displeased  with  him,  because  he  had  not 
pronounced  his  sentiments  decidedly,  left  him  out, 
and  presented  generals  Jourdan,  Lamartilliere,  and 
Berruyer.  It  is  true  that  these  selections  were  well 
suited  to  the  moment.  General  Jourdan  had  ap- 
peared an  opponent  of  the  18th  Bnunaire,  but  lie 
enjoyed  general  respect;  he  had  conducted  himself 
with  i)rudence,  and  had  received,  subsequently, 
the  government  of  Piedmont.  In  presenting  him 
to  the  senate,  the  first  consul  proved  the  real  im- 
partiality which  became  the  head  of  the  govern- 
ment. As  to  general  Lamartilliere,  he  was  the 
oldest  officer  of  artillery,  and  had  made  all  the 
revolutionary  campaigns.  General  Berruyer  was 
an  old  officer  of  infantry,  who,  after  having  borne 
a  part  in  the  seven  years'  war,  had  been  wounded 
in  the  republican  armies.  These  were  not,  there- 
fore, his  own  creatures,  whom  the  first  consul 
thus  determined  to  reward,  but  the  old  servants  of 
France  under  all  the  governments.  This  proud 
and  decided  conduct  adopted,  it  was  impossible  to 
make  a  more  worthy  choice.  A  circumstance  still 
more  singular  is,  that  this  choice  was  justified  as 
to  motive,  in  a  pi'eamble.  The  sense  of  the  pre- 
amble had  a  strong  meaning  : — "  You  have  peace," 


the  government  said  to  the  senate  ;  "  you  are  in- 
debted for  it  to  the  blood  which  your  generals  have 
shed  in  a  hundred  battles  ;  prove  to  them,  that  in 
calling  them  to  your  bosom,  the  country  is  not 
ungi-ateful  towards  them." 

The  senate  assembled,  and  Avas  much  agitated 
by  intrigues.  Sieyes,  who  commonly  lived  in  the 
country,  left  it  upon  the  present  occasion,  to  mingle 
himself  up  in  them.  Many  pei-sons  very  well  dis- 
posed, like  old  Kellermann  for  example,  were 
misled  by  being  told  that  the  legislative  body,  in 
case  the  abbe  Gr^goire,  its  own  candidate,  were 
preferred,  would  return  the  compliment,  by  pro- 
posing for  the  second  vacant  place,  general  Lamar- 
tilliere, one  of  the  three  candidates  nominated  by  the 
first  consul,  and  that  then,  by  choosing  the  general 
a  little  later,  it  would  satisfy  the  authorities  at 
once,  the  legislative  body,  and  the  government. 
These  manoeuvres  succeeded;  the  abbe  Gr^goire 
was  elected  by  a  large  majority. 

While  these  elections  were  in  agitation,  and 
causing  great  pleasure  to  the  opposition,  the  dis- 
cussions in  the  tribunate  and  legisldtive  body  as- 
sumed a  most  mischievous  character.  The  treaty 
with  Russia,  on  account  of  the  word  "  subjects," 
had  become  a  ground  of  the  most  violent  discus- 
sions in  the  committee  of  the  tribunate.  M.  Costaz, 
the  reporter  of  that  committee,  who  did  not  belong 
to  the  opposition  party,  had  applied  to  the  govern- 
ment for  certain  explanations.  The  first  consul 
had  received  him,  and  explained  to  him  the  real 
meaning  of  the  article,  so  much  attacked,  and  the 
motive  of  its  insertion  in  the  treaty;  and  as  to  the 
word  "subjects,"  he  proved  to  M.  Costaz,  by  a 
reference  to  the  dictionary  of  the  academy,  that 
the  word  in  diplomacy,  applied  to  the  citizens  of 
a  republic  as  well  as  of  a  monarchy.  He  recounted 
to  him,  in  order  to  his  complete  edification,  the 
different  details  relative  to  emigrants  concerning 
France  and  Russia.  M.  Costaz,  convinced  on  the 
evidence  of  these  explanatioi;s,  made' his  report 
favourable  to  the  article  in  question  ;  but,  intimi- 
dated by  the  violence  of  the  tribunate,  he  censured 
the  employment  of  the  word  "subjects,"  and 
related  these  things  in  a  manner  sufficiently  awk- 
ward, and  liable  to  give  Russia  the  appearance  of 
a  very  feeble  government,  delivering  up  the  emi- 
grants to  the  first  consul,  and  to  the  first  consul 
the  appearance  of  a  persecuting  government,  pur- 
suing the  emigrants  into  their  most  distant  refuge. 
M.  Costaz,  as  often  happens  to  circumspect  men, 
who  wish  to  conciliate  all  parties,  displeased  the 
first  consul  and  his  opponents  in  an  equal  degree, 
and  compromised  the  former  with  Russia. 

The  day  of  the  discussion  arrived,  being  the  7th 
of  December,  1801,  or  16th  Frimaire,  when  the 
tribune  Jard  Panvilliers  moved  that  the  debate 
should  take  place  in  a  secret  committee,  and  this 
very  wise  proposal  was  agreed  to.  The  tribunes 
were  no  sooner  left  to  themselves  by  the  public, 
which  was  by  no  means  favourable  to  them,  than 
they  gave  themselves  up  to  the  most  inconceivable 
rage.  They  absolutely  wanted  to  reject  the  treaty, 
and  propose  its  rejection  to  the  legislative  body. 
If  there  was  ever  a  culpable  act,  it  was  this; 
because  for  one  word,  right  besides,  and  perfectly 
innocent,  they  would  reject  a  treaty  of  such  a 
nature,  so  long  and  so  difficult  to  conclude,  and 
which  secured  a  peace  with  the  first  continental 


1801. 
Dec. 


Debates  in  the  tribunate. 
— The  treaty  with  Russia 
ratified. 


THE  TRIBUNATE. 


Ill  consequences  of  th's  opposi- 
tion. —  Discussions  concern- 
ing the  civil  code. 


319 


power — it  was  acting  liije  fools  and  madmen.  Clie- 
nier  and  Benjamin  Constant  delivered  the  most 
declamatory  and  violent  speeches.  Cheiiier  went 
so  far  as  to  state,  that  he  had  important  things  to 
say  upon  this  question,  but  that  he  could  only  state 
them  at  a  public  sitting,  because  he  wished  that  all 
France  might  hear  them.  He  was  answered  that 
it  was  better  he  should  communicate  them  to  his 
own  colleagues.  He  shrunk  back  from  doing  this, 
and  an  unkiuown  member  of  the  tribune,  a  simple, 
sensible  man,  restored  the  minds  of  his  colleagues 
to  their  senses,  in  a  short  speech.  "  1  know  no- 
thing," said  he,  "of  diplomacy;  I  am  a  stranger 
alike  to  the  art  and  the  language  ;  but  I  see  in  the 
proposed  treaty  a  treaty  of  peace.  A  treaty  of 
peace  is  a  precious  thing,  and  must  be  adopted 
entire,  with  all  the  words  it  contains.  Do  not 
believe  that  France  would  ever  pardon  you  for  its 
rejection;  the  responsibility  resting  upon  you  would 
be  terrible.  I  demand  that  the  discussion  termi- 
nate, the  sitting  be  declared  public,  and  the  treaty 
be  immediately  put  to  the  vote."  After  these  few 
words,  delivered  with  simplicity  and  calmness,  the 
assembly  was  about  to  vote,  when  the  opposition 
members  moved  an  adjournment  until  the  next 
day,  on  account  of  the  lateness  of  the  hour.  The 
adjournment  was  carried.  The  following  day  the 
tumult  was  as  great  as  it  had  been  the  day  befurc. 
Benjamin  Constant  delivered  a  written  speech, 
very  lucid  and  very  subtle.  Che'nier  declaimed 
anew,  with  great  vehemence,  saying  that  five  mil- 
lions of  Frenchmen  had  died  that  they  might  cease 
to  be  "subjects,"  and  that  this  word  ought  to  have 
remained  buried  among  the  ruins  of  the  Bustile. 
The  majority,  wearied  by  these  violent  proceed- 
ings, were  about  to  terminate  them,  when  a  letter 
from  Fleurieu,  councillor  of  state,  addressed  to  the 
reporter,  M.  Costaz,  arrived.  M.  Costaz  had 
treated  as  official  the  explanations  which  he  had 
given  in  his  report,  and  had  made  the  assembly 
I  understand  that  they  came  from  the  first  consul. 
I  "Furnish  the  proof  positive  of  that!"  wastheanswer 
made  to  him.  He  had  thus  forced  a  declaration 
I  from  M.  Fleurieu,  who  was  the  councillor  of  state, 
I  ai)pointed  to  support  the  bill  or  "project."  M. 
i  Fleurieu,  after  having  received  the  orders  of  the 
fir.-<t  consul,  sent  the  declaration  desired,  accom- 
])anied  by  many  declarations,  which  the  report  of 
M.  Costaz  rendered  indispensably  needful  ;  this 
revived  the  debate.  OinguentJ  terminated  it  by  an 
epigrammatic  and  not  very  fitting  motion.  Ac- 
knowledging that  it  was  difficult,  on  account  of  an 
unpleasant  word,  to  reject  a  treaty  of  peace,  he 
proi)osed  a  vote  in  these  words  :  "  For  the  love  of 
p<ace,  the  tribunate  adopts  the  treaty  concluded 
with  the  court  of  Russia." 

M.  dc  Girarilin,  who  was  one  of  the  most  rea- 
sonable and  intelligent  members  of  the  tribunate, 
induced  the  assembly  to  pass  over  all  these  jiropo- 
sitions,  and  to  go  immediately  to  the  vote.  After  all, 
the  majority  ot  the  tribunate  intended  to  give  the 
first  consul  signs  of  dissatisfaction  by  the  choice  of 
individuals  ;  it  had  no  desire  to  enter  into  a  strug- 
gle, above  all,  in  rtlaiion  to  a  treaty  of  which  the 
rejection  would  have  drawn  upon  itself  much 
public  remark.  It  was  ado|)ted  by  seventy -seven 
votes  to  fourteen.  Its  adoption  in  the  legislative 
body  occtirred  without  tunmlt,  tiianks  to  the  forms 
of  tiic  institution. 


In  Paris  this  scene  produced  a  painful  effect. 
The  first  consul  was  not  considered  there  as  a 
minister  exposed  to  the  law  of  a  majority,  and  no 
fear  was  in  consequence  felt  for  his  political  exist- 
ence. He  was  considered  a  hundred  times  more 
necessary  than  a  king  in  an  established  monarchy. 
But  they  saw  with  chagrin  the  least  appearance  of 
new  troubles,  and  the  friends  of  a  wise  liberty 
asked  themselves  how,  with  a  character  similar  to 
that  of  Bonaparte,  how,  with  a  constitution,  in 
which  the  framer  had  neglected  to  admit  the  power 
of  dissolution,  such  a  contest  would  terminate  if  it 
should  be  prolonged. 

In  ettect,  if  a  dissolution  had  been  admitted,  the 
difficulty  would  soon  have  been  cleared  away, 
since  France,  when  convoked,  would  not  have 
re-elected  one  of  the  enemies  of  the  government. 
But  obliged  to  live  together  until  the  renewal  of 
one-fifth,  the  different  powers  were  liable,  as  they 
were  under  the  directory,  to  some  violence,  the  one 
from  the  other;  and  if  such  a  thing  occurred,  it 
was  evidently  neither  the  tribunate  nor  the  legis- 
lative body  that  could  triumph.  It  needed  but  an 
arbitrary  action  of  the  first  consul  to  bring  to 
nothing,  both  the  constitution  and  those  who  made 
it  .serve  such  a  purpose.  Thus  every  wise  man 
trembled  at  this  state  of  things. 

The  discussion  of  the  civil  code  did  but  increase 
these  apprehensions.  Now  that  time  has  obtained 
the  esteem  of  all  the  world  for  this  code,  it  is 
hardly  possible  to  conceive  all  the  objections  at 
that  time  urged  against  it.  The  opposition  ex- 
pressed at  first  great  astonishment  at  finding  the 
code  so  simple,  and  that  it  had  so  little  novelty, 
"  How,"  said  they,  "  what  is  that  all  ? — there  is  in 
that  no  new  conception,  no  great  legislative  crea- 
tion, which  is  particularly  adapted  for  French 
society,  or  able  to  mark  it  with  a  peculiar  and 
enduring  character  ;  it  is  only  a  translation  from 
the  Roman  and  the  common  law.  Its  authors 
have  taken  Domet,  Pothier,  the  institutes  of  Jus- 
tinian, and  digested  into  French  all  that  they  con- 
tain ;  they  have  divided  this  into  articlea  by  num- 
bers more  than  by  a  logical  deduction  ;  and  then 
they  have  presented  this  compilation  to  France,  as 
a  monument  which  has  a  claim  to  its  admiration 
and  respect."  Benjamin  Constant,  CluJnier,  Gin- 
gucn^,  Andrieux,  all  of  them  men  who  might  liave 
employed  their  intellects  to  a  better  purpose,  ral- 
lied the  councillors  of  state,  saying  they  were 
lawyers,  under  the  direction  of  a  soldier  that  had 
made  this  mediocre  compilation,  so  pompously 
called  the  civil  code  of  France. 

M.  Portalis  and  the  men  of  sense,  who  were  his 
assistants,  re|>lied,  that  on  the  matter  of  legislation 
the  object  was  not  to  be  original,  but  lucid,  just, 
and  wise  ;  that  here  there  was  no  now  society  to 
be  constituted  as  with  Lycurgus  or  Moses,  but  an 
old  society  to  be  reformed  in  some  points,  and  in 
many  others  to  be  restored  ;  that  the  French  law 
had  existed  for  ten  centuries  ;  that  it  was,  at  the 
same  time,  the  )>roduct  of  Roman  science,  of  the 
feudal  system,  of  the  monarchy,  and  of  the  modern 
mitid,  acting  together  for  a  long  space  of  time  upon 
French  manners  ;  that  the  civil  law  of  France, 
resulting  from  these  different  causes,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  adapt  in  the  present  day  to  a  society  which 
had  ceased  to  be  aristocratic,  in  order  to  become 
democratic  ;  that  it  wjw  necessary,  for  example,  to 


320       Discussions  relative  to      THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


review  the  laws  upon  marringe,  upon  paternal 
authority,  upon  succession,  in  order  to  divest  them 
of  every  thing  that  was  repugnant  to  the  spirit  of 
the  present  time  ;  tliat  it  was  necessary  to  purge 
the  laws  upon  property  of  all  feudal  services,  to 
draw  up  this  mass  of  prescriptions  in  precise  plain 
language,  which  would  allow  no  room  for  am- 
biguities or  for  endless  disputes,  and  to  put  the 
whole  in  excellent  order ;  that  this  was  the  only 
monument  to  be  erected,  and  that,  if  contrary 
to  the  intention  of  the  authors,  it  should  chance 
to  surprise  by  its  structure,  if  it  should  please 
a  few  scholars  by  new  and  original  views,  in  place 
of  obtaining  the  cold  and  silent  esteem  of  lawyers, 
it  would  fail  of  its  real  object,  though  it  might 
suit  a  few  minds  more  singular  than  judicious  in 
their  sentiments. 

All  this  was  perfectly  reasonable  and  true.  The 
code  under  this  view  was  a  master-piece  of  legis- 
lation. Grave  lawyers,  full  of  learning  and  ex- 
perience, knowing  well  the  language  of  the  law, 
under  the  direction  of  a  chief,  a  soldier,  it  is  true, 
but  of  a  superior  mind,  able  to  decide  their  doubts, 
and  to  keep  them  at  work,  composed  this  beautiful 
digest  of  Fi'ench  law,  purged  of  all  feudal  law. 
It  was  impossible  to  do  otherwise,  or  to  do  better. 

It  is  true  that  in  this  vast  code  it  is  possible 
to  substitute  here  and  there  one  word  for  another, 
to  transpose  an  article  from  one  place  to  another — 
this  might  be  done  without  much  danger,  and  also 
without  much  utility  ;  and  that  it  is  which  even 
the  best  intentioned  assemldies  are  fond  of  doing, 
only  to  impress  their  own  hand  on  the  work  which 
is  submitted  to  them.  Sometimes,  in  fact,  after 
the  presentation  of  an  ifliportant  bill,  mediocre 
and  ignorant  minds  get  hnkl  of  a  legislative  mea- 
sure, the  result  of  profound  experience  and  long 
labour,  alter  this,  and  spoil  it,  making  of  a  well- 
connected  whole,  a  formless  incoherent  thing,  with 
relation  to  laws  ah'eady  in  existence,  or  to  the  real 
facts  of  the  case.  They  often  act  thus  out  of  no 
spirit  of  opposition,  but  only  from  a  taste  for 
retouching  the  work  of  another.  Only  let  it  be 
imagined  of  vehement  tribunes,  persons  of  little 
infoi-mation,  exercising  themselves  in  this  sort  of 
way  upon  a  code  of  some  thousand  articles  !  It 
was  enough  to  make  the  authors  renounce  their 
work. 

The  preliminary  essay  had  to  sustain  the  first 
assault  of  the  tribunes.  It  had  been  sent  before  a 
commission,  of  which  the  tribune  Andrieux  was  the 
reporter.  This  part  contained,  save  in  some  few 
and  unimportant  differences  in  the  verbal  part,  the 
same  dispositions  as  were  definitively  adopted,  and 
which  now  form  what  may  be  stjled  the  preface  to 
that  fine  monument  of  legislation.  The  first  article 
related  to  the  promulgation  of  the  laws.  The 
ancient  system  had  been  abandoned,  in  virtue  of 
which  the  law  could  not  be  executed  until  the 
parliaments  and  tril)un:ils  had  granted  the  regis- 
tration. That  system  had  produced  formerly  a 
contest  between  the  parliaments  and  royalty  ;  a 
contest  which  had,  in  its  day,  been  a  useful  cor- 
rection of  absolute  monarchy,  but  which  would 
have  been  a  great  blunder  at  a  time  when  repre- 
sentative assemblies  were  in  existence,  commis- 
sioned to  grant  or  refuse  taxes.  There  lias  been 
substituted  for  this  system  the  simple  idea  of  the 
promulgation  of  the  law  by  the  executive  power, 


rendering  it  in  full  force  in  the  chief  place  of  the 
government  twenty-four  hours  after  its  promul- 
gation, and  in  the  departments  after  a  delay  pro- 
portioned to  their  distances.  The  second  article 
interdicts  to  the  laws  all  i-etrospective  effect.  Some 
great  errors  of  the  convention  upon  this  point 
rendered  this  article  useful,  and  even  necessary. 
It  was  requisite  to  lay  it  down  as  a  strong  princi- 
ple, that  no  law  should  be  permitted  to  disturb  the 
past,  but  only  to  regulate  the  future.  After  having 
limited  the  action  of  the  law  as  to  time,  it  was  ne- 
cessary to  limit  its  action  as  to  place  ;  to  declare 
what  laws  should  follow  Frenchmen  out  of  the 
territories  of  France,  and  bind  them  in  all  places, 
as  those  for  example  which  regulated  marriages 
and  successions  ;  and  what  laws  should  be  obli- 
gatory in  the  territoi-y  of  France  only,  and  on  that 
territory  binding  upon  foreigners  as  well  as  natives 
of  France.  The  laws  relative  to  police  and  to 
property  were  to  come  under  the  latter  category  : 
that  was  the  object  of  article  three.  The  fourth 
article  obliged  the  judge  to  try,  even  when  the  law 
might  appear  insufficient.  This  case  had  occurred 
more  than  once  in  the  transition  from  one  legis- 
lation to  another.  Often,  in  fact,  the  tribunals, 
from  the  fault  of  the  laws,  had  been  really  em- 
barrassed how  to  give  judgment  ;  often,  too,  they 
had  fraudulently  witluh-awn  themselves  from  the 
obligation  to  render  justice.  The  court  of  cassa- 
tion and  the  legislative  body  were  encumbered 
with  addresses,  praying  interpretations  of  the  laws. 
It  was  necessary  to  prevent  this  abuse,  by  obliging 
the  judges  to  decide  in  all  cases  ;  but  it  was  at  the 
same  time  needful  to  prevent  them  from  con- 
stituting themselves  legislators.  This  was  the 
object  of  article  five,  which  forbade  tribunals  from 
deciding  any  thing  but  the  especial  case  submitted 
to  them,  and  to  pronounce  in  the  way  of  a  general 
disposition.  The  sixth,  and  last  article,  limited 
the  natural  faculty  which  all  citizens  have  to 
renounce  the  benefit  of  certain  laws  by  particular 
agreements.  It  rendered  it  absolute  and  impossi- 
ble to  elude  the  laws  relative  to  public  order,, 
to  the  constitution  of  families,  and  to  good  man- 
ners. It  decided  that  no  one  could  withdraw 
himself  from  them  by  any  particular  agreement. 

These  i)reliminary  dispositions  were  indispensa- 
ble, because  it  was  necessary  to  declare  somewhere 
in  legislation  how  the  laws  wei'e  to  he  promulgated, 
at  what  moment  they  became  in  full  force,  and  how 
far  their  effects  extended  in  regard  to  time  and  to 
place.  It  was  necessary  to  prescribe  to  the  judges 
the  general  mode  in  which  the  laws  applied,  to 
oblige  them  to  try,  but  to  interdict  their  consti- 
tuting themselves  legislators ;  it  was  necessary, 
lastly,  to  render  the  laws  imniutable  which  consti- 
tuted social  order  and  morality,  and  to  restrain 
them  from  the  variations  of  particular  agreements. 
If  it  was  indispensable  to  write  these  things,  where 
was  it  more  so  than  at  the  head  of  the  civil 
code,  the  first,  the  most  general,  and  the  most 
important  of  all  the  codes  ?  Would  they  have 
been  better  placed,  for  example,  at  the  head  of  the 
code  of  commerce  or  of  civil  procedure  ?  Evidently 
these  general  maxims  were  necessary,  well  written, 
and  well  placed. 

It  would  be  difficult  at  the  present  time  to  form 
an  idea  of  the  censures  directed  by  M.  Andrieux 
against   the  preliminary  title   of  the   civil   code, 


Discussions  concerning 


THE  TRIBUNATE. 


the  civil  code. 


321 


in  the  name  of  the  commission  of  the  tribunate.  In 
the  fii-st  place,  according  to  him,  these  dispositions 
might  be  placed  any  where  :  they  belonged  no 
more  to  the  civil  code  than  to  any  other.  They 
migiit,  for  example,  be  placed  at  the  head  of  tiie 
constitution  as  well  as  at  the  head  of  the  civil  code. 
That  was  true  ;  but  when  no  one  had  thought 
of  placing  them  at  its  head,  which  was  natural, 
because  they  had  no  political  character,  where 
couM  tiiey  be  better  jjlaced  than  iu  the  code  which 
might  be  denominated  the  social  code  ? 

Secondly,  the  order  of  these  six  articles,  ac- 
cording to  M.  Andrieux,  was  arbitrary.  It  was 
as  easy  to  i»ut  the  lirst  last,  as  the  last  tirst.  Tiiis 
was  not  exactly  correct;  for  on  a  close  examination 
it  was  easy  to  discover  a  true  logical  deduction  in 
the  manner  in  which  they  were  disposed.  But 
in  any  case  what  matter  is  the  order  of  the  articles 
if  one  order  be  just  as  good  as  another  ?  The  last 
order,  is  it  not  that  which  eminent  lawyers,  after 
the  most  conscientious  labour,  have  preferred  ? 
Were  there  not  natural  difficulties  enough  in  this 
great  work,  without  adding  to  them  those  which 
were  puerile? 

Lastly,  according  to  M.  Andrieux,  the  maxims 
were  general,  theoretic,  appertaining  more  to  the 
science  of  law  than  to  positive  law,  which  disposes 
and  commands.  This  was  false,  because  the  form 
of  the  promulgation  of  the  laws,  the  limit  given  to 
their  effects,  the  obligation  of  the  judges  to  judge 
and  not  to  make  regulations,  the  interdiction  of 
certain  particular  agreements  contrary  to  the  laws, 
— all  that  was  imperative. 

The  critical  censures,  then,  were  as  empty  as 
they  were  ridiculous.  Nevertheless  they  made  an 
im|)ression  on  the  tribunate,  which  judged  them 
worthy  of  the  greatest  attention.  The  tribune 
Thiessd  considered  the  disposition  which  inter- 
dicted to  the  laws  a  retractive  effect  as  extremely 
dangerous,  and  counter-revolutionary.  It  was,  he 
said,  up  to  a  cert;iin  point,  annulling  the  conse- 
quences of  the  night  of  the  4th  of  August  ;  because 
the  iddividuals  born  under  the  system  of  the  law 
of  |)riniogeniture  and  of  substitutions  would  be 
able  to  Kay  that  the  new  law  on  the  equality 
of  jiroperty  was  retracted  as  regarded  tlieni,  and  in 
consequence  void  as  far  as  they  were  attectid  by  it. 

Such  absurd  objections  were  supported,  and  the 
preliminary  part  wius  rejected  by  sixty-three  votes 
against  fifteen.  The  opposition,  delighted  with 
their  comm'.ncement,  determined  to  follow  up  this 
first  success.  According  to  the  constitution,  the 
tribunate  nominated  three  speakers  or  orators  to 
sustain  against  three  councillors  of  state,  the  dis- 
cussion of  I  he  laws  before  the  legislative  body. 
Tliicss^,  Andrieux,  and  Favard  were,  in  consu- 
quenee,  charged  to  demand  the  rejection  of  the 
preliminary  ti^le.  They  obtained  one  hundred  and 
forty-two  voices  against  one  "".unired  and  tliirty- 
nine. 

Thi^^  result,  together  with  the  different  votes  at 
the  election  of  the  proposed  members,  and  tlio 
scene  upon  the  word  "  subjects"  was  very  serious. 
It  was  reported  as  nearly  certain  that  two  other 
parts  alrciidy  presented,  that  "On  th  •  enjoyment 
of  civil  n;;htH,"  and  "On  the  form  of  the  acts  of 
the  civil  stjil«;,"  wouM  also  be  rejected.  The 
rejiort  of  M.  Simeon  "  On  the  enjoyment  and 
privation   of  civil    rights,"    was  in   favour   of    its 


rejection.  M.  Simeon,  that  ordinary-minded,  dis- 
creet pei-son,  had,  among  differejit  animadversions, 
stated  that  the  px'oposed  law  iiad  neglected  to  say 
that  the  children  born  of  French  parents  in  the 
French  colonies  were  by  right  born  Frenchmen. 
This  singular  objection  is  quoted  here  because  it 
excited  astonishment  and  anger  in  the  tirst  consul. 
He  convoked  the  council  of  state  to  advise  with  it 
what  was  best  to  be  done  in  such  an  emergency. 
Was  the  govennnent  to  go  on  in  the  coui'se  it  had 
adopted  or  not  ?  Must  it  change  the  mode  of 
presentation  to  the  legislative  body  1  Would  it 
not  be  best  to  put  off  this  great  work,  so  anxiously 
and  impatiently  expected,  until  another  time  ?  The 
first  consul  was  exasperated.  "  What  would  you 
do,"  he  cried,  "with  persons  who,  before  discus- 
sion, say  that  the  councillors  of  state  and  the  con- 
suls are  nothing  but  asses,  and  that  their  labours 
ought  to  be  flung  at  their  heads  ?  What  will  you 
do  when  such  aii  one  as  Simeon  accuses  the  law  of 
being  incomplete,  because  it  does  not  declare  that 
infants  born  of  Frenchmen  in  French  colonies  are 
French  ?  In  truth,  one  stands  astounded  in  the 
midst  of  these  strange  mental  aberrations.  Even 
with  all  the  good  faith  brought  to  this  discussion  in 
the  bosom  of  the  council  of  state,  we  have  had  the 
greatest  difficulty  to  come  to  an  agreement ;  liow 
is  it  possible  then  to  succeed  in  an  assembly  five  or 
six  times  more  numerous,  discussing  with  no  sin- 
cerity at  all  ?  How  is  an  entire  code  to  be  drawn 
up  under  such  circumstances  ?  I  have  read  the 
speech  of  Portalis  to  the  legislative  body,  in  reply 
to  the  orators  of  the  tribunate  ;  he  has  left  them 
nothing  to  say  ;  he  has  drawn  their  teeth.  But  let  a 
man  be  ever  so  eloquent  ;  let  him  speak  twenty- 
four  hours  in  succession,  he  can  do  nothing  against 
an  assembly  which  is  prejudiced  and  determined  to 
listen  to  nothing." 

After  these  complaints,  expressed  in  bitter  and 
warm  language,  the  first  consul  asked  the  advice 
of  the  council  of  state  on  the  best  mode  to  be 
adopted  to  ensure  the  passing  of  the  civil  code  by 
the  tribunate  and  legislative  body.  The  subject 
was  not  a  new  one  in  the  council.  It  had  already 
been  foreseen  there,  and  different  means  proposed 
for  getting  over  the  difficulty.  Some  had  imagined 
that  general  ])rineiples  only  should  be  presented, 
on  which  the  legislative  body  should  vote,  with  the 
understanding  that  the  developments  should  after- 
wards be  added  in  the  way  of  regulations.  This 
was  hardly  to  be  admitted,  because  to  comprehend 
the  general  principles  of  laws  is  difficult  with  the 
developments  separately  drawn  up.  Others  pro- 
posed a  more  simple  plan,  which  was  to  present 
the  whole  code  at  once.  "  You  would  havo.  no 
more  trouble,"  they  said,  "  this  way,  for  the  three 
books  of  the  code  than  for  one.  The  tribunes 
would  attack  the  first  heads  ;  they  would  then  get 
fatigued,  and  let  the  rest  pass,  'i'lie  discussion 
would  be  shortened  this  way  by  its  very  im- 
mensity." This  was  the  most  ])laiiHililo  and  tho 
wisest  course  to  take.  Unha|ipily,  in  order  to 
make  it  succeed,  there  were  many  eonditions  want- 
ing. The  assemblies  had  not  thru  llio  facnlt.v  of 
amending  tho  propositions  of  the  government, 
which  permits  such  small  sarriHees,  by  nu-ans 
of  which  the  vanity  of  some  is  satisfied  and  tho 
Mcrnples  of  others  disarmed,  during  the  ameliora- 
tion of  the  laws.  There  wanted  also  to  tho  opjio- 
Y 


322 


Opposition  to  the  civil 
code. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Disputes  concerning  the       1802. 
election  of  senators.  Jan. 


sition  a  little  of  that  good  faith,  without  which  all 
serious  discussion  is  impossible  ;  and,  lastly,  there 
wanted  to  the  first  consul  himself  that  constitutional 
patience,  which  the  habit  of  contradiction  Jmpai'ts 
to  men  fashioned  under  a  representative  govern- 
ment. He  would  not  admit  that  good,  honestly 
intended  and  toilingly  prepared,  should  be  delayed 
or  spoiled  to  please  "  the  babblers,"  as  he  styled 
them. 

Some  resolute  spirits  went  so  far  as  to  propose 
that  the  civil  code  should  be  presented  as  treaties 
are  presented,  with  a  law  of  acceptance  at  its  side, 
thus  to  get  it  voted  in  the  mass  by  a  "yea"  or 
"nay."  This  method  of  proceeding  was  thought 
too  dictatorial,  and  not  seriously  debated. 

Under  the  opinion  of  the  most  enlightened 
members,  more  especially  Ti'onchet,  it  was  de- 
termined to  wait  and  see  what  would  be  the  fate  of 
the  other  two  heads  presented  in  the  tribunate. 
"  Yes,"  said  the  first  consul,  "  we  call  hazard  two 
more  battles.  If  we  gain  them,  we  shall  continue 
the  march  that  has  commenced.  If  we  lose  them, 
we  must  go  into  winter-quarters,  and  consider 
what  course  we  shall  adopt." 

This  plan  of  conduct  was  adopted,  and  the  re- 
sult of  the  two  discussions  was  awaited.  Public 
opinion  began  to  operate  strongly  against  the  tri- 
bunate. Then  the  leadei-s  bethought  themselves 
of  a  means  to  moderate  the  effect  of  these  succes- 
sive rejections,  and  that  was  to  intermingle  them 
with  an  adoption.  The  head  relative  to  "the 
keeping  of  the  acts  of  the  civil  state,"  pleased  them 
greatly  in  itself,  because  it  more  strictly  sanctioned 
the  principles  of  the  revolution  in  res])ect  to  the 
clergy,  and  absolutely  forbade  them  the  registration 
of  births,  deaths,  and  marriages,  in  order  to  attach 
the  duty  solely  to  the  municipal  officers.  The 
head  presented  by  the  councillor  of  state,  Thibau- 
deau,  was  excellent,  but  that  would  not  have  saved 
it  had  it  not  contained  dispositions  against  the 
clergy.  They  decided  upon  its  adoption.  But  in 
the  order  of  presentation  it  should  have  come  in 
the  third  place.  It  was  introduced  second,  and 
voted  without  difficulty,  to  render  more  certain  the 
rejection  of  the  head  entitled,  "  On  the  enjoyment 
and  privation  of  civil  rights."  The  last  in  its  turn 
coming  on  for  discussion  was  rejected  by  an 
immense  majority  of  the  tribunate.  The  rejection 
of  it  by  the  legislative  body  was  not  to  be  doubted. 
Thus  the  series  of  difficulties  foreseen  reappeared 
in  entierty.  These  difficulties  could  not  fail  to  be 
much  increased  when  the  laws  upon  marriage, 
upon  divorce,  and  iipon  the  paternal  authority, 
came  to  be  de])ated  ;  as  to  the  concordat,  and 
to  the  bill  relative  to  public  instruction,  there 
was  evidently  no  chance  of  success  in  getting  them 
adopted. 

But  tliat  wliich  pushed  things  to  the  extreme 
was  a  new  ballot  for  members,  which  put  on  the 
character  of  direct  hostility  against  the  first  consul. 
The  election  of  the  abb^  Grdgoire  as  senator,  had 
been  carried  in  opposition  to  the  wishes  of  the 
government,  and  to  afford  a  sign  of  disapproba- 
tion of  its  religious  policy.  There  were,  as  just 
seen,  two  places  to  fill,  and  not  only  were  tiie 
assemblies  desirous  of  filling  them,  contrary  to  the 
propositions  already  known  as  having  been  made 
by  the  first  consul  in  favour  of  three  generals,  but 
they  were  determined  to  make  the  choice  which 


should  be  most  disagreeable  to  him.  This  choice 
was  that  of  M.  Daunou.  They  endeavoured  to 
force  the  obtainment  of  M.  Daunou  by  the  two 
legislative  authorities  at  once,  by  the  tribunate  and 
legislative  body,  which  rendered  his  nomination  by 
the  senate  nearly  an  inevitable  consequence. 

The  greatest  activity  was  displayed,  and  votes 
were  requested  with  a  degree  of  boldness  which 
excited  wonder  in  every  body,  when  in  opposition 
to  so  formidable  an  authority  as  the  first  consul. 

M.  Daunou  was  balloted  for  in  the  legislative 
body  with  general  Lamartilliere,  the  government 
candidate.  There  were  repeated  ballotings.  At 
last  M.  Daunou  received  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  votes  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  for 
general  Lamartilliere.  He  was,  accordingly,  pro- 
claimed the  candidate  of  the  legislative  body  for 
one  of  the  vacant  places  in  the  senate.  In  the 
tribunate  M.  Daunou  had  again  general  Lamartil- 
liere for  an  opponent,  and  he  obtained  forty-eight 
voices  in  place  of  thirty-nine  given  to  the  general. 
He  was  proclaimed  the  candidate.  He  had  conse- 
quently two  presentations  for  one.  The  scrutiny 
took  place  on  the  1st  of  January,  1802,  the  11th 
Nivose,  the  same  day  as  the  rejection  of  the  head 
of  the  civil  code  on  the  "  enjoyment  and  privation 
of  civil  rights." 

According  to  the  ordinary  rules  of  the  repre- 
sentative system,  it  ought  to  have  been  said  that 
the  majority  was  lost.  But  in  that  case,  the  per- 
son who  must  have  retired  was  the  first  consul, 
since  he  was  the  great  object  of  the  admiration  of 
France,  as  well  as  of  the  hatred  of  his  enemies. 
Still  no  one  had  come  forward  to  exclude  liim, 
because  there  was  no  one  had  the  means  of  so 
doing.  It  was,  therefore,  a  real  piece  of  trickery, 
wholly  unworthy  of  men  in  earnest.  It  was  the 
most  puerile,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  most  dan- 
gerous piece  of  spite,  because  they  were  urging  to  an 
extremity  a  violent  character,  full  of  the  feeling  of 
his  own  strength,  and  capable  of  any  thing.  Cam- 
baceies  himself,  commonly  so  moderate,  regarded 
these  pi'oceedings  as  decidedly  out  of  all  order:  he 
repeated  that  such  pointed  hostility  could  not  be 
suffered;  and  that,  for  his  own  part,  he  could  not  an- 
swer for  his  success  in  calming  the  anger  of  the  first 
consul.  The  anger  of  the  first  consul  was,  in  fact,  ex- 
treme ;  and  he  loudly  announced  his  determination 
to  break  down  the  obstacles  which  they  were 
endeavouring  to  place  in  the  way  of  all  the  good 
which  he  was  desirous  of  effecting. 

On  the  following  day,  the  2nd  of  January,  or 
12th  Nivose,  was  the  day  of  the  decade,  when 
he  gave  an  audience  to  the  senators.  A  great 
number  attended,  and  among  them  many  who  had 
acted  against  him.  They  came,  the  one  party  out 
of  curiosity,  the  other  out  of  weakness,  and  to  dis- 
avow, by  their  presence,  their  partici[)ation  in  what 
had  happened.  Sieyes  was  found  in  the  number  of 
those  who  were  present.  The  first  consul  was, 
according  to  custom,  in  uniform  ;  his  countenance 
appeared  animated,  and  all  expected  some  violent 
scene.  A  circle  was  formed  around  him.  "  You 
ai'o  determined  then  to  nominate  no  more  gene- 
rals ?"  said  he.  "  Yet  you  are  indebted  to  them 
for  peace  ;  this  would  be  a  good  time  for  showing 
them  your  gratitude."  After  these  introductory 
words,  the  senators  Kellermann,  Fran9ois  de  Neuf- 
cliateau,  and  others,  were  severely  lectured,  and 


Violent  measures  of  the  first 
consul  repressed  by  Cam- 

baccres. 


THE  TRIBUNATE. 


Cambactrt's'  plan  to  dissolve 
the  opposition. 


made  pooi-  defences.  The  conversation  then  be- 
came general  once  more,  and  the  fir.^t  consul,  look- 
in;];  towards  Sieves,  again  began  in  a  very  loud 
tone  :  "  There  are  people  who  want  to  give  us 
a  grand  elector,  and  who  are  thinking  of  a  prince 
of  the  house  of  Orleans.  This  system  has  its  sup- 
porters I  know,  even  in  the  senate."  These  words 
had  relation  to  a  scheme  truly  or  falsely  attributed 
to  Sieyes,  and  by  his  enemies  reported  to  the  first 
consuf.  Sieyes,  upon  hearing  these  offensive  words, 
retired  blushing.  The  first  consul,  then  addressing 
the  senators  around  him,  said  :  "  I  declare  to  you, 
that  if  you  nominate  M.  Daunou  a  senator,  I  will 
take  it  as  a  personal  affront ;  and  you  know  that  I 
have  never  yet  put  up  with  one.'' 

This  scene  frightened  most  of  the  senators  pre- 
sent, and  afflicted  the  wise  portion.  They  saw 
with  pain,  a  man,  so  necessary  and  so  great,  with 
sucli  little  command  over  himself  when  in  a  state 
of  irritation.  The  malevolent  went  away,  saying 
that  never  had  the  members  of  any  body  in  the 
state  been  treated  with  more  insupportable  inde- 
cency. Still  the  blow  told  home.  Fear  had  pene- 
trated into  their  spiteful  but  timid  minds,  and  their 


noisy  opposition  was  soon 


destined  to  humble  itself 


sadly,  before  the  man  it  had  attempted  to  brave. 

The  consuls  debated  among  themselves  upon  the 
course  which  should  be  taken.  General  Bonaparte 
seemed  bent  upon  some  act  of  violence.  Had  he 
possessed  the  legal  power  of  dissolving  the  tribunate 
and  legislative  body,  the  difficulty  would  have  been 
easily  overcome  in  a  regular  way  by  a  general 
election,  and  a  majority  would  liave  been  obtained 
favourable  to  the  ideas  of  the  first  consul.  It  is 
true  that  a  general  election  would  have  excluded 
the  mass  of  men  belonging  to  the  revolution,  and 
have  brought'forward  new  candidates,  more  or  less 
animated  by  royalist  sentiments,  such  as  those 
against  whom  it  had  become  neecssjiry  to  act  on 
the  18tli  Fructidor,  which  would  have  been  a  mis- 
fortune of  another  kind.  Thus  true  it  is  that  on 
the  morrow  of  a  sanguinary  revolution,  which  had 
so  dee|)ly  irritated  men  against  each  other,  the  free 
play  of  constitutional  institutions  was  impossible. 
In  order  to  escape  from  the  hands  of  the  unreflect- 
ing revolutionists,  the  government  must  fall  into 
the  hands  of  bad-intentioned  royalists.  But  here 
in  any  case  the  resource  of  a  dissolution  was  not  to 
be  found  in  the  laws,  and  some  other  means  must 
be  discovered. 

Tiie  first  consul  wished  to  withdraw  the  civil 
code,  an<l  to  let  the  legislative  body  an<l  the  tribu- 
nate keep  holyday,  submitting  to  them  nothing  but 
the  laws  of  tinance  ;  then  when  he  liad  made  all 
Franco  feel  tliat  tiiese  asstiiiblies  were  the  sole 
cause  of  the  interruption  experienced  in  the  benefi- 
cent operati<ins  of  the  government,  to  seize  an 
opportunity  for  breaking  tlni  inconvenient  instru- 
nieiits"  which  the  constitution  liad  imposed  u))on 
him.  Cambac(?rcs,  a  man  skilful  in  expedients, 
found  milder  means,  and  of  a  legality  perfectly 
defensible,  ami  in  fact  the  only  means  practicable 
at  the  moment.  He  dissuaded  the  general,  his 
colleague,  from  every  illegal  and  violent  measure  : 
"  You  can  do  any  thing,"  wiid  he;  "  people  will  jmt 
up  with  it  from  you.  They  even  hllowcd  the 
directory  to  do  what  it  pleased — the  directory 
which  hail  not  the  advaiitjige  of  your  glory,  iK.r  of 
your  moral  ascendancy,  nor  of  your  immense  mili- 


tary and  political  successes.  But  the  arbitrary 
proceedings  of  the  18tli  Fructidor,  necessary  as 
they  might  have  been,  ruined  the  directory.  It 
rendered  the  directorial  constitution  so  contempti- 
ble, that  no  one  would  afterwards  take  it  in  earnest. 
Ours  is  much  better.  For  having  the  art  to  use  it, 
much  good  may  be  effected  with  it.  Let  us  not 
then  deliver  it  up  to  public  contempt,  by  its  viola- 
tion, on  account  of  the  first  obstacle  which  it  pre- 
sents to  us." 

Cambac^res  admitted  that  it  would  be  right  to 
withdraw  the  civil  code,  interrupt  the  session, 
place  the  deliberate  bodies  in  idleness,  and  lay 
upon  their  shoulders  the  weight  of  so  grave  a 
reproach,  the  forced  inaction  to  which  the  govern- 
ment was  reduced.  But  this  inaction  was  an  im- 
possible strait,  out  of  which  they  must  get.  Camba- 
ceres  found  the  means  of  escape  in  article  38  of  the 
constitution,  which  was  thus  conceived:  "The  first 
renewal  of  the  legislative  body  and  of  the  tribunate 
will  not  take  place  until  some  time  in  the  course  of 
the  year  x." 

It  was  then  the  year  .\.,  1801-2.  The  govern- 
ment had  a  right  to  clioose  any  period  of  the  year 
it  might  select  for  the  renewal.  It  was  able,  for 
example,  to  jjroceed  in  the  course  of  the  winter, 
in  Pluviose  or  Ventose.  Then  to  dismiss  one-fifth 
of  the  tribunate  and  of  the  legislative  body,  which 
would  be  twenty  members  for  the  tribunate,  sixty 
for  the  legislative  body:  to  remove  in  tins  man- 
ner the  moi'e  hostile,  and  fill  their  places  with  pru- 
dent, peaceable  men  ;  and  next  to  open  an  extra- 
ordinary session  in  the  spring,  in  order  to  obtain  the 
adoption  of  the  laws,  the  passage  of  which  was  now 
arrested  by  the  bad  will  of  the  opposition.  This 
was  clearly  the  best  way  of  jiroceeding.  By  ex- 
cluding twenty  members  of  the  tribunate,  and  sixf;^- 
of  the  legislative  body,  the  government  would  dis- 
place those  restless  men  who  drew  in  the  inert 
mass,  and  intimidate  such  as  might  be  tempted  to 
resist.  But  if  it  wished  to  succei^d  in  (his  plan,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  gain  tlie  consent  of  the 
senate  to  two  things.  Firstly,  as  to  the  inter- 
pretation of  article  38,  in  the  sense  of  the  design 
jn-ojected  :  secondly,  the  exclusion  of  the  opponent 
members,  and  the  filling  up  of  their  places  by  men 
devoted  to  the  government.  Cambacdres,  well 
knowing  the  senate,  and  that  the  mass  was  timid, 
and  the  opposition  of  little  courage,  answered  for  it 
that  the  senate,  when  it  saw  to  what  an  extent  it 
was  likely  to  be  drawn  in,  beyond  the  limits  of  rea- 
son and  prudence,  would  lend  itself  to  all  that  the 
government  desired  of  it.  Article  38,  the  interpre- 
tation of  which  was  become  such  an  important 
point,  did  not  specify  the  mode  to  be  employed  for 
the  designation  of  the  fifth  part  of  the  members 
that  were  to  go  out.  Under  the  silence  upon  that 
point  in  the  article,  the  senate  charged  to  choose 
might,  if  it  pleased,  prefer  the  use  of  the  ballot  to 
that  of  the  lot.  Against  such  an  interpretation  of 
the  law,  it  might  be  urged  that  the  constant  usage, 
when  it  was  necessary  to  renew  an  assemldy  par- 
tially, was  to  have  recourse  to  the  lot,  in  order  to 
decide  tile  portion  which  should  be  first  excluded, 
'i'o  this  it  might  be  answered,  that  recourse  is  lia<l 
to  the  lot  when  no  other  mode  can  be  ado])ted.  It 
is  not  i)ossible,  in  fact,  to  denianil  of  several  hun- 
dred electoral  collei;<s  the  disignation  of  a  fifth 
that  is  to  go  out,  for  to  address  any  one  of  such 
Y  2 


The  civil  code  withdrawn 
from  the  legislature. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


would  be  to  designate  oneself  that  fifth ;  to  address 
all  would  be  to  have  recourse  to  a  general  election, 
and  in  a  general  election  it  is  impossible  to  fix 
beforehand  on  the  number  of  those  excluded,  for 
that  would  again  be  to  designate  oneself  the  fifth 
to  be  removed.  The  lot,  therefoi-e,  is  the  only 
resource  in  the  common  system  of  election  by  the 
electoral  colleges.  But  liaving  here  the  senate, 
charged  to  elect,  and  easily  able  to  designate,  by 
ballot,  the  fifth  to  be  excluded,  it  was  more  natural 
to  have  recourse  to  the  clearsightedness  of  its  votes 
than  to  the  blind  authority  of  any  kind  of  chance. 
It  made,  for  that  is  truth,  the  senate  the  arbiter  of 
the  question  ;  but  it  conformed  in  this  to  the  real 
spirit  of  the  constitution  ;  because  in  confei-ring 
upon  the  senate  all  the  prerogatives  of  the  electonil 
body,  it  would  be  rendered  a  judge  of  the  conflicts 
wliich  might  arise  between  the  legislative  majori- 
ties and  the  government.  In  a  word,  it  was  re- 
establishing by  a  subterfuge,  the  faculty  of  disso- 
lution, indispensable  in  every  regular  government. 

The  most  important  reason  in  favour  of  the  step 
was,  that  the  government  got  out  of  its  embarrass- 
ment without  extensively  violating  the  constitution. 
The  first  consul  said  that  he  would  admit  this  or 
any  other  plan,  if  it  only  got  rid  of  persons  who 
prevented  him  from  ])ursuing  measures  that  were 
conducive  to  the  interests  of  France.  Cambaceies 
took  the  charge  of  drawing  up  a  memorial  upon 
the  subject.  A  message  was  prepared  as  well, 
which  should  announce  to  the  legislative  body,  that 
the  civil  code  was  withdrawn.  Bonaparte  under- 
took to  draw  it  up  himself,  in  a  noble  and  austere 
style. 

Already  they  began  to  dread  tlie  outbreak  of  his 
anger,  a  manifestation  of  which  it  was  rumoured 
would  be  spee<lily  displayed.  The  day  following 
the  scene  with  the  senators,  tlie  3rd  of  January, 
or  lOih  Nivose,  a  message  was  sent,  by  tlie  pre- 
sident, to  the  le;rislative  body.  It  was  read  in  the 
midst  of  a  profound  silence,  which  indicated  a 
species  of  terror.  The  message  was  couched  in 
these  terms  : — 

"  Legislators, — The  government  has  resolved 
to  withdraw  the  bills  of  the  law  of  the  civil  code. 

"  It  is  with  pain  that  it  finds  itself  obliged  to 
delay  until  another  period,  laws  awaited  with  so 
much  anxiety  by  the  nation  ;  but  it  is  convinced 
that  the  time  is  not  yet  come,  when  such  important 
discussions  can  be  carried  on  with  the  calmness 
and  unity  of  purpose  whieii  they  demand." 

This  deserved  severity  produced  the  strongest 
effect.  Every  government  was  not  able  and  ought 
not  to  use  such  language  ;  but  it  must  still  be 
permitted  to  do  so  when  it  has  reason,  when  it 
has  conferred  upon  a  country  inmiense  glory  and 
great  benefit,  and  finds  itself  repaid  by  an  incon- 
siderate opposition. 

The  legislative  body,  recoiling  from  the  blow, 
fell  at  the  feet  of  the  goveninient  in  a  manner  not 
very  honourable.  They  demanded,  while  still 
sitting,  that  tiie  ballot  should  take  place  for  the 
presentation  of  a  candidate  for  the  third  and  last 
vacancy  in  the  senate.  Will  it  be  credited  ?  the 
same  men  who  had  so  spitefully  jjer.sisied  in  pre- 
senting Gr^goire  and  D.iunou,  voted  at  the  same 
instant  for  genera  I  Lamartilliere,  and  he  ^ot  two 
hundred  and  thirty-three  out  of  two  hiindreil  and 
fifty-two   votes.     It    was   impossible  for   them    to 


comply  more  quickly  with  the  desires  of  the  first 
consul.  In  consequence,  general  Lamartilliere  was 
declared  the  candidate  of  the  legislative  body. 

This  presentation  furnished  an  expedient  to  the 
senate  to  satisfy  tlie  first  consul  without  too  deep 
a  humiliation.  They  did  not  dream  any  more 
about  the  choice  of  M.  Daunou,  subsequent  to  the 
scene  before  the  senators,  at  the  audience  of  the 
2nd  of  January.  Siill,  W.  Daunou  had  been  pi"e- 
sented  by  two  of  the  state  assemblies  at  the  same 
time,  the  legislative  body  and  the  tribunate.  To 
prefer  the  candidate  of  the  government  to  a  can- 
didate who  had  upon  his  side  the  double  presenta- 
tion of  the  two  legislative  assemblies,  was  throwing 
themselves  on  their  knees  to  the  first  consul  a 
little  too  openly.  They  had  recourse  to  a  paltry 
subterfuge,  which  by  no  means  preserved  the  dig- 
nity of  the  senate,  and  which  served  only  to  put 
their  embarrassment  in  acleai-er  light.  The  senate 
assembled  on  the  following  day,  the  4th  of  January, 
or  1 4th  Nivose.  The  presentation  of  M.  Daunou, 
by  the  legislative  body,  had  been  determined  upon 
on  the  30th  of  Decemlier,  that  of  general  Lamar- 
tilliere on  the  3rd  of  January.  The  senate  affected 
to  suppose  that  the  resolution  of  the  30th  of  De- 
cember had  not  been  communicated,  while  that  of 
the  3rd  of  January  only  had  been,  and  that,  there- 
fore, general  Lamartilliere  was,  in  consequence, 
the  only  recognized  candidate  of  the  legislative 
body.  It  joined  to  this  subterfuge  a  trick  still 
more  base.  It  filled  up  the  second  of  the  three 
]ilaces  vacant.  Now  general  Lamartilliere  was  the 
first,  and  general  Jourdan  the  second,  on  the  first 
consul's  list.  It  affected,  therefore,  to  consider 
general  Jourdan  as  the  government  candidate  for 
the  place  still  vacant.  The  senate  thus  drew  up 
its  decisions  : — 

"  Having  seen  the  message  of  the  first  consul  of 
the  25tli  of  Frimaire,  by  which  he  presents  gene- 
ral Jourdan;  having  seen  the  message  of  the  tri- 
bunate of  the  11  ih  of  Nivose,  by  which  it  presents 
the  citizen  Daunou  ;  having,  lastly,  seen  the  mes- 
sage of  the  legislative  body  of  the  13th  of  Nivose, 
by  which  it  presents  general  Lamartilliere,  the 
senate  adojits  general  Lan)artilliere,  and  proclaims 
him  a  member  of  the  conservative  senate." 

By  this  mode  the  senate  appeared  to  have 
adopted,  not  the  candidate  of  the  first  consul,  but 
that  of  the  legislative  body.  This  was  adding  to 
the  shame  of  submission  the  disgrace  of  a  lie 
which  dec  ived  nobody.  Certainly  it  was  wise  to 
give  place  to  an  indispensable  man,  without  whom 
France  would  have  been  plunged  into  phaos,  with- 
out whom  not  one  of  his  opponents  was  secure  of 
keeping  a  head  upon  his  shoulders;  but  people  who 
knew  that  they  were  not  able  to  carry  out  the 
aft'ront,  .should,  at  least,  have  taken  care  not  to 
afiVont  him. 

The  ojtposition  in  the  tribune  uttered  loud  cries 
against  the  weakness  of  the  senate, — a  weakness 
wliiih  they  were  soon  to  imitate  themselves,  and 
even  sm-piiss. 

Tlie  plan  adopted  by  the  government  was  im- 
mediately carried  into  execution.  The  legislative 
labours  were  suspended,  and  it  was  publicly  an- 
nounced that  the  first  consul  quitted  Paris  to  go 
to  Lyons,  on  a  journey  wliich  would  last  nearly  a 
monti).  The  oiiject  of  this  journey  was  marked 
by    tlie   customary   quietness  of  the  acts  of  Bona- 


Measures  witlulrawn  by  the 
government. 


THE  TRIBUNATE. 


parte.  It  was  undertaken  in  order  to  constitute 
tiie  Cisalpine  republic;  anil  five  hundred  deputies 
of  every  a^^e  and  rank,  were  about  passing  the 
Alps,  in  that  rigorous  winter,  to  form  at  Lyons  a 
grand  diet,  under  the  name  of  a  consulta,  to  receive 
fronj  the  hands  of  general  Bonaparte,  laws,  magis- 
trates, and  an  entire  government.  It  had  been 
agreed  that  they  should  meet  him  iialf  way,  and 
Lyons  had  been  deemed,  next  to  Paris,  the  most 
convenient  place  for  such  a  rendezvous.  Vast 
preparations  liad  already  been  made  in  this  city 
for  an  imposing  public  spectacle.  He  was  also  to 
be  surrounded  by  a  great  military  display,  since 
twenty-two  thousand  men,  the  i-emainder  of  the 
army  of  Egypt,  disembarked  at  Marseilles  and 
Toul  n  by  the  English  navy,  were  on  their  march 
upon  Lyons,  to  be  there  reviewed  by  their  former 
general. 

Nobody  now  thought  any  tiling  more  of  the 
legislative  body  and  the  tribunate.  They  were 
abandoned  to  a  state  of  total  inactivity,  without 
any  sort  of  explanation  of  the  plans  which  the 
government  might  have  conceived.  The  consti- 
tution no  more  contained  the  faculty  of  prorogation 
than  that  of  dissolution.  The  two  assemblies  were 
neither  dismissed  nor  furnislieil  with  employment. 
The  government  had  widulrawn,  besides  the  bills 
of  the  civil  code,  a  law  relative  to  the  re-establish- 
ment of  bi-anding  for  the  crime  of  forgery.  This 
crime,  in  consequence  of  the  circumstances  of  the 
revolution,  had  increased  to  a  frightful  extent. 
Such  a  number  of  papers  were  required  by  the 
new  regulations  for  the  security  of  officers  ac- 
countable to  the  government  ;  so  many  certificates 
of  civism,  formerly  absolutely  needful  for  those 
who  would  not  be  considered  suspected  ;  so  many 
certificates  of  presence  demanded  on  the  part  of 
emigrants,  to  clear  themselves  of  the  efiect  of 
emigration  ;  so  many  verifications  of  every  kind 
required  and  furnished  in  writing,  had  given  birth 
(o  a  detestable  class  of  crimin;ds,  that  of  forgers. 
They  infested  the  avenues  of  business  as  bandits 
infest  the  highways.  The  first  consul  designed  to 
have  a  special  punishment  for  them,  as  he  had 
wished  to  jiave  a  special  juribdiction  for  the  rob- 
bei"8  on  the  liighway,  and  he  had  proposed  brand- 
ing. "The  crime  of  forgery  enriched,"  he  said, 
"  a  forger,  who  has  undergone  his  punishment; 
he  returns  into  society,  and  his  wealth  causes 
his  crime  to  be  forgotten.  'J'here  ought  to  be  an 
indelible  mark  .set  ujxin  him  by  the  executioner's 
hand,  which  would  forbid  those  complacent  per- 
sons, who  always  pay  their  court  to  opulence,  from 
sitting  at  the  table  of  the  enriched  forger."  This 
proposition  had  encountered  tile  same  difficulty  as 
tiie  civil  code.  It  was  wiilnlrawn,  and  there  no 
longer  remained  any  thing  for  deliberation,  because 
the  laws  relative  to  luibhc  instruction  and  the  re- 
CHlablishment  of  worship  had  not  been  presented. 
As  to  the  law  of  the  finances,  that  was  reserved 
to  form  the  pretext  for  an  extraordinary  session 
in  the  spring.  This  species  of  parliament  there- 
fore was  left,  neither  dissolved  n<ir  prorogued,  idle, 
U8ele8.s,  embarrassed  by  its  inaction,  and  carrying, 
in  the  sight  of  France,  the  responsibility  of  a  com- 
plete inlerru|>tion  of  the  good  and  useful  labours  of 
the  government. 

It  was  arranged  during  tlio  absence  of  the 
first  consul,  that  Cambaceres,  who  had  a  peculiar 


skill  in  managing  the  senate,  should  take  care  to 
get  such  an  interpretation  as  was  desiralile  put 
u|)on  article  38  of  the  c(mstitutioii,  and  that  he 
should  himself  superintend  the  exclusion  of  the 
twenty  and  sixty  members,  that  it  was  the  design 
to  remove  from  the  tribunate  and  legislative  bodies. 

Before  setting  out,  the  first  consul  had  to  super- 
intend two  important  affairs,  the  expedition  to  St. 
Domingo,  and  the  congress  at  Amiens.  The  second 
detained  him  beyond  the  term  fixed  for  his  de- 
parture. 

The  desire  to  hold  possessions  at  a  distance 
was  an  old  French  ambition,  that  the  reign  of 
Louis  XVI.,  very  favourable  to  the  navy,  had 
aroused,  and  which  the  subsequent  naval  reverses 
of  France  lia<l  not  yet  extinguished.  Colonics  were 
then  an  object  of  ardent  desire  on  the  part  of  all 
coinmereiiil  countries.  The  expedition  to  Egypt, 
conceived  for  the  purpose  of  disputing  with  Eng- 
land the  possession  of  India,  was  a  consequence  of 
that  general  wish,  and  its  unsuccesslul  issue  had 
rendered  very  strong  the  desire  of  compensating 
f(ir  the  loss  in  s<in)e  other  manner.  The  first  consul 
had  prepared  two  measures  fur  that  ])iirpose  :  one, 
the  possession  of  Louisiana;  the  other  of  St.  Do- 
mingo. He  had  given  Tuscany,  that  fine  and 
jirecious  jiart  of  Italy,  to  the  court  of  Spain,  iu 
order  to  obtain  Louisiana  in  exchange,  and  he  was 
at  this  moment  jiressing  the  execution  of  the  en- 
gagement entered  into  by  that  court.  He  was,  at 
the  same  time,  determined  to  recover  the  island 
of  St.  Domingo.  This  island  was,  before  the  re- 
volution, the  first  and  most  important  of  the  An- 
tilles, (jr  West  Indies,  and  the  most  desired  among 
all  tlie  colonies  which  produce  sugar  and  coffee. 
It  furnished  the  French  ports  and  shipping  with 
the  most  imjxirtant  articles  of  traffic.  The  im- 
]irudeiice  of  the  C(instituent  assembly  caused  the 
slaves  to  revolt,  and  led  to  those  lamentable  scenes 
of  horror  by  which  the  liberty  of  the  blacks  was 
first  signalized  in  the  world.  A  negro,  endowed 
with  real  genius,  had  completed  at  St.  Domingo 
S(nnetliing  similar  to  what  Bonaparte  had  done  in 
France.  He  had  quieted  and  governed  the  i-e- 
volted  population,  and  established  a  species  of 
order.  Thanks  to  him,  the  negroes  no  longer 
slaughtered  each  other  in  St.  Domingo,  and  were 
beginning  to  work.  Tou.ssaint  conceived  a  con- 
stitution, which  he  liad  submitted  to  the  first 
consul,  and  he  showed  for  the  mother  country  a 
sort  of  national  attachment.  This  negro  had  a 
strong  aversion  to  an  English  connexion;  he  de- 
sired to  be  free  and  to  be  French.  The  first  consul 
at  first  acquiesced  in  this  state  of  things  ;  but 
he  soon  conceived  doubts  of  the  fidelity  of  Tous- 
saint  rOuverture,  and,  without  desiring  to  bring 
back  the  negroes  to  slavery,  lie  devised  the  pro- 
fiting by  the  maritime  armistice  resulting  from 
the  preliminaries  of  jieace  signed  in  London,  to 
expedite  a  squadron  of  ships  and  an  army  to  St. 
Domingo.  With  regard  to  the  blacks,  the  first 
consul's  plan  was  to  retain  them  in  the  stmic  situ- 
ation as  they  had  been  ])lac<Ml  in  by  the  course  of 
events.  Ho  wished,  in  all  the  colonies,  where  the 
revolt  had  not  appeared,  to  continue  the  same 
slavery,  but  to  relax  its  rigour  ;  at  St.  Domingo  ho 
would  allow  the  freedom  which  could  not  be  again 
constrained.  Still  he  intendeil  to  establish  tho 
authority  of  the  mother  country  in  the  island,  and 


Objects  of  the  expedition. 
— Preparations. 


Distrust  of  tlie   British 
THIERS'   CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE,  ministry.  -  Negotia- 

tions at  Amiens. 


to  keep  an  army  there  for  the  purpose.  In  the 
event  of  the  blacks,  on  remainhig  free,  beeomhig 
unfaithful  subjects,  or  of  the  English  renewing  the 
war,  he  intended,  wliile  respecting  the  freedom  of 
the  blacks,  to  restore  tlieir  old  possessions  to  the 
colonists,  who  filled  Paris  with  their  miseries,  their 
complaints,  and  imprecations  against  the  govern- 
ment of  Toussaint  I'Ouverture.  A  considerable 
number  of  the  French  nobles,  deprived  already  of 
their  property  in  France  by  the  revolution,  were, 
at  the  same  time,  colonists  of  St.  Domingo,  de- 
spoiled of  the  rich  habitations  which  they  had 
formerly  possessed  in  that  island.  Their  estates 
in  France  were  refused  them,  from  having  become 
national  domains  ;  but  it  was  possible  to  restore 
them  their  sugar  houses  and  coffee  plantations  in 
St.  Domingo,  and  this  was  a  compensation  that 
might  in  some  measure  satisfy  them.  Such  were 
the  various  motives  that  govei-ned  the  proceedings 
of  the  first  consul.  To  recover  the  finest  of  the 
French  colonies;  to  hold  it,  not  by  the  doubtful 
fidelity  of  a  black  raised  to  dictatorial  power,  but 
by  force  of  arms  ;  to  keep  possession  of  it  against 
the  blacks  and  the  English;  to  restore  the  ancient 
colonists  to  their  property,  cultivated  by  free 
labour;  to  join,  finally,  to  that  queen  of  the  An- 
tilles, the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi,  by  acquiring 
Louisiana  ;  such  were  the  combinations  of  the  first 
consul,  combinations  to  be  regretted,  as  will  soon 
be  seen,  but  required,  so  to  say,  by  a  general  dis- 
position of  the  public  mind,  general  in  France  at 
that  moment. 

It  was  of  importance  to  hasten,  because  although 
the  definitive  treaty  of  peace,  negotiating  at  that 
moment  in  Amiens,  was  nearly  certain  to  be  con- 
cluded ;  yet  it  was  necessary  in  all  events,  in  case 
the  English  should  raise  new  and  inadmissible 
pretensions,  to  take  advantage  of  the  existing 
interval,  to  despatch  the  fleet  while  the  sea  re- 
mained open.  The  first  consul  caused  a  large 
armament  to  be  prepared  at  Flushing,  Brest, 
Nantes,  Rochefort,  and  Cadiz,  consisting  of  twenty- 
six  ships  of  the  line  and  twenty  frigates,  capable  of 
embarking  twenty  thousand  men.  He  gave  the 
command  of  the  squadron  to  admiral  Villaret 
Joycusc,  and  the  command  of  the  army  to  general 
Leclerc,  one  of  the  best  officers  of  the  army  of  the 
Rhine,  become  the  husband  of  his  sister  Pauline. 
He  insisted  that  his  sister  should  accompany  her 
husband  to  St.  Domingo.  He  loved  her  with  the 
tenderest  aff'ection  ;  he  therefore  sent  thither  one 
of  the  oVijects  dearest  to  him,  and  had  no  intention 
at  the  time,  as  party  rancour  since  charged  him, 
with  transporting  to  an  unhealthy  climate,  sub- 
ject to  dangerous  fever,  those  soldiei-s  of  the  army 
of  the  Rhine  who  had  given  him  offence.  Another 
circumstance  shows  the  intention  which  directed 
him  in  the  corps  sent  to  St.  Domingo.  As  the 
peace  seemed  likely  to  become  general  and  solid, 
military  men  began  to  fear  that  their  professional 
cai-eer  would  be  tei-minated.  A  great  number 
applied  to  be  employed  in  the  exjiedition,  and  it 
was  a  favour  which  he  was  obliged  to  bestow 
among  them  with  a  sort  of  i-egard  to  justice  and 
equality.  The  brave  Richepanse,  that  hero  of  the 
German  army,  was  given  as  a  lieutenant  to  general 
Leclerc. 

The  fii'st  consul  api)lied  himself  to  the  prepa- 
rations with  his  customary  celerity,  and  pressed  as 


much  as  possible  the  departure  of  the  naval  di- 
visions, in  ports  from  Holland  to  the  southern 
extremity  of  the  peninsula.  Still,  before  the  squa- 
dron could  set  sail,  he  was  under  the  necessity 
of  explaining  to  the  English  ministry,  to  whom  this 
large  armament  caused  considerable  misti-ust.  He 
had  some  trouble  to  satisfy  them  on  the  point, 
although  they  were  rather  desirous  the  expedition 
should  proceed.  They  were  not  then  as  ardent 
for  negro  emancipation  as  British  ministers  have 
since  appeared.  The  sight  of  the  freed  negroes  of 
St.  Domingo  made  them  apprehensive  for  their 
colonies,  above  all,  for  Jamaica.  They  therefore 
wished  success  to  the  French  enterprise  ;  but  the 
extent  of  the  means  disquieted  them,  and  they 
would  have  preferred  that  the  troops  had  been 
sent  over  in  transports.  They  became  accessible 
to  reason  ;  and  were  at  last  resigned  to  let  this 
vast  armament  pass,  at  the  same  time  despatching 
a  squadron  of  observation.  They  even  promised 
to  place  all  the  provisions  and  ammunition,  which 
the  resources  of  Jamaica  commanded,  at  the  service 
of  the  French  army,  of  course  subject  to  payment 
for  whatever  might  be  supplied.  The  chief  naval 
division,  formed  at  Brest,  set  sail  on  the  14  th 
of  December,  the  others  followed  at  a  short  dis- 
tance of  time  afterwards.  At  the  end  of  Decem- 
ber the  whole  armament  was  at  sea,  and  would 
consequently  arrive  at  St.  Domingo,  whatever 
might  be  the  result  of  the  negotiations  at  Amiens. 
These  negotiations,  conducted  by  lord  Cornwallis 
and  Joseph  Bonaparte,  proceeded  slowly,  without 
giving  any  reason  to  fear  a  ruptui-e.  The  first 
cause  of  delay  had  been  in  the  composition  of  the 
congress,  which  it  was  necessary  should  consist 
not  only  of  French  and  English  plenipotentiaries, 
but  also  of  plenipotentiaries  from  Holland  and 
Spain  ;  because,  after  the  preliminaries,  the  peace 
should  be  concluded  between  the  two  great  bel- 
ligerent nations  and  all  their  allies.  Spain,  which 
from  an  extreme  of  friendship  had  nearly  gone 
into  animosity,  thwarted  the  first  consul  by  not 
sending  a  plenipotentiary  to  the  congress.  A.s,  at 
bottom,  Spain  knew  that  the  peace  was  certain, 
and  that  she  would  only  figure  •  in  the  pi-otocol 
as  surrendering  Trinidad,  she  was  in  no  hurry 
to  send  a  negotiator.  The  English,  on  their  side, 
desired  to  see  at  the  congress  of  Amiens  a  Spanish 
plenipotentiary,  in  order  to  obtain  a  formal  cession 
of  the  island  of  Trinidad.  She  announced  that 
she  would  not  negotiate,  if  a  Spanish  plenipoten- 
tiary were  not  present.  The  first  consul  was 
obliged  to  take  with  the  court  of  Spain  a  tone 
which  should  rouse  it  from  its  apathy.  He  ordered 
general  St.  Cyr,  the  ambassador  in  place  of  Lucien, 
to  lay  before  the  king  and  queen  the  extravagant 
conduct  of  the  prince  of  the  peace,  and  to  declax'e 
to  them,  that  if  they  "  continued  to  conduct  them- 
selves on  the  same  system,  it  would  terminate  in  a 
thunder-stroke '." 


■  Here  is  a  letter  very  important  in  order  to  appreciate  the 
relations  of  France  witli  Spain  at  this  time  :— 

"  10th  Frimaire,  year  x.,  or  1st  December,  ISOl. 

"  I  can  understand  nothing,  citizen  ambassador,  of  the 

conduct  of  the  court  of  Madrid.     I  specially  charge  you  to 

take  every  step  to  open  the  eyes  of  this  cabinet,  so  that  it 

may  adopt  a  regular  and  becoming  conduct.    The  subject 


1802. 
Jan. 


Negotiations  relative  to 


THE  TRIBUNATE. 


the  peace  of  Amiens. 


327 


The  Spanish  minister  designed  to  figure  in  the 
congress  of  Amiens,  M.  Campo  Arlange,  was  ill  in 
Italy.  Spain  finally  decided  to  give  to  M.  Azara, 
ambassador  in  Paris,  an  order  to  proceed  to  the 
congress.  This  difticulty  over  with  the  Spaniards, 
there  was  another  with  the  Dutch  to  overcome. 
The  Dutch  plenipotentiary,  M.  Schimmelpenuiuck, 
would  not  admit  the  base  of  the  preliminaries, 
tliat  is  to  say,  the  cession  of  Ceylon,  before  know- 
ing how  Holland  would  be  treated  with  respect  to 
the  restitution  of  the  ships  in  the  possession  of 
England  ;  how  with  regard  to  the  indemnities  laid 
claim  to  on  behalf  of  the  stadtholder  dispossessed  ; 
relative,  finally,  to  some  questions  of  limits  on  the 
French  side.     Joseph  Bonaparte  was  ordered   to 

has  appeared  to  me  so  important,  that  I  have  thought  it  my 
duty  to  write  you  myself  upon  tlie  matter. 

"  The  most  intimate  union  subsisted  between  France  and 
Spain  when  his  majesty  thought  proper  to  ratify  fhe  treaty 
ofBadajoz. 

"  The  prince  of  the  peace  sent  at  (hat  time  to  our  am- 
bassador a  note,  a  copy  of  which  I  have  ordered  to  be  sent 
to  you.  This  note  was  too  full  of  offensive  terms  for  me  to 
pay  it  the  least  attention.  A  few  days  afterwards  he  sent  to 
the  French  ambassador  at  Madrid  a  note,  in  which  he  de- 
clared that  his  catholic  majesty  was  about  to  make  a  sepa- 
rate peace  with  England.  I  have  also  ordered  a  copy  of  that 
note  to  be  sent  to  you.  I  then  felt  how  little  I  was  able  to 
count  upon  the  support  of  a  power,  the  minister  of  which 
expressed  himself  so  imbecomingly,  and  exhibited  so  much 
inconsistency  in  his  conduct.  Knowing  well  the  intentions 
of  the  king,  I  would  liave  had  him  acquainted  immediately 
with  the  ill  conduct  of  his  minister,  if  his  majesty's  illness 
had  not  interfered  with  my  intention. 

"  I  several  times  intimated  to  the  court  of  Spain,  that  its 
refusal  to  execute  the  convention  of  Madrid,  in  other  words, 
to  occupy  a  fourth  of  the  Portuguese  territory,  would  lead  to 
the  loss  of  Trinidad.  No  attention  was  paid  to  these  re- 
marks. 

'•  In  the  negotiations  which  have  taken  place  in  London, 
France  discussed  the  interests  of  Spain  as  she  would  have 
done  her  own;  but  as  finally  his  Britannic  majesty  has 
never  refrained  from  insisting  upon  Trinidad,  I  could  no 
1  .nger  retain  it,  more  especially  as  Spain,  in  an  official  note, 
threatened  France  with  opening  a  separate  negotiation  :  we 
could  then  no  longer  rely  upon  her  succour  for  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  war. 

'•  The  congress  of  Amiens  is  sitting,  and  a  definitive  peace 
will  be  promptly  signed ;  still  his  catholic  majesty  has  not 
yet  published  the  preliminaries,  nor  made  known  in  what 
mode  he  is  willing  to  treat  with  England.  It  becomes, 
nevertheless,  highly  essential  for  his  consideration  in  the 
eyes  of  Europe,  and  for  the  interests  of  his  crown,  that  he 
should  immediately  decide;  without  doing  which,  the  defini- 
tive treaty  will  be  promptly  signed,  and  he  will  not  be  a 
participator. 

"  It  has  been  reported  to  me,  that  at  Madrid  they  wish  to 
abroKate  their  bargain  'n  the  cession  of  Louisiana.  France 
has  never  been  wanting  in  the  fulfilment  of  any  treaty 
made  with  her,  and  kIic  will  never  allow  any  power  to  be 
wanting  on  that  point  towards  her.  The  king  of  Tuscany 
is  upon  his  throne  and  in  possession  of  his  states  ;  and  his 
catholic  majesty  knows  too  well  how  to  keep  faith  in  his  en- 
gagements, to  refuse  much  longer  our  being  put  in  posses- 
sion of  Louisiana. 

"  I  desire  that  you  will  make  known  to  their  majesties 
my  extreme  discontent,  and  the  unjust. and  inconsistent 
conduct  of  the  prince  of  the  peace 

"  During  the  lait  month,  that  minister  hag  not  spared 
cither  intuiting  notes  or  hazardous  proceedings.  Ali  that 
lie  is  able  to  do  against  France  he  ha%  done.  If  this  system 
be  proceeded  in,  tell  the  queen  and  the  prince  of  the  peace, 
boldly,  that  it  will  end  in  some  unexpected  tliundcr-slroke." 


notify  to  M.  Schimmelpenninck,  that  he  would  only 
be  received  at  the  congress  on  the  condition  of  his 
first  admitting  the  preliminaries  of  London  as  the 
basis  of  the  negotiation.  Lord  Cornwallis  having 
expressed  himself  satisfied  with  this  formaUty,  the 
congress  thus  became  constituted. 

Still  the  English  were  anxious  to  introduce  Por- 
tugal, under  the  pretext  that  she  was  an  ally  of 
England.  The  secret  motive  was  to  obtain  an 
exemption  for  the  court  of  Lisbon,  from  the  con- 
tribution of  20,000,000  f.,  which  had  been  imposed 
upon  her  by  one  of  the  articles  in  the  treaty  of 
iladrid.  The  first  consul  refused,  by  declaring 
that  peace  had  been  made  between  France  and 
Portugal,  and  consequently  there  was  nothing 
more  to  be  done.  This  pretension  disposed  of,  the 
congress  set  at  work,  and  the  basis  was  soon  agreed 
upon. 

To  avoid  incalculable  difficujties,  it  was  agreed 
that  every  demand  out  of  the  letter  of  the  prelimi- 
naries should  be  rejected.  "  Nothing  more  nor 
less  than  the  articles  of  London,"  was  the  recipro- 
cal maxim  admitted.  The  English  had,  in  eftect, 
brought  into  the  discussion  the  abandonment  by 
France  of  the  island  of  Tobago.  The  first  consul, 
on  his  side,  had  demanded  an  extension  of  territory 
in  the  region  of  Newfoundland,  in  order  to  benefit 
the  French  fisheries. 

These  claims  were  mutually  rejected;  and  in 
order  to  finish,  it  was  agreed  not  to  entertain  any 
claims  in  the  way  of  concession,  that  were  not  con- 
tained in  the  preliminary  treaty.  Otherwise,  by 
reviving  difficulties,  heretofore  hap])ily  overcome, 
peace  itself  might  be  hazarded.  This  principle 
once  adopted,  it  only  remained  to  fix  it,  by  the 
drawing  up  formally  the  stipulations  of  London. 

There  were  two  important  ])oints  to  be  resolved; 
the  payment  of  the  expenses  of  the  jn-isoners,  and 
the  government  to  be  imposed  upon  Malta. 

England  had  maintained  a  great  many  more  pri- 
soners belonging  to  France  than  France  held  of 
England,  and  she  claimed  to  bo  reimbursed  the 
difference.  France  replied  that  the  principle  gene- 
rally acknowledged  was  that  each  nation  main- 
tained the  prisoners  whom  they  took  ;  that  if  a 
different  principle  were  admitted,  France  would 
have  to  demand  reimbursement  for  the  Russians, 
Bavarians,  and  other  soliliers  in  the  pay  of  Eng- 
land, whom  she  had  taken  and  supported  ;  that 
the  combatants  in  the  pay  of  England  ought  to 
figure  in  the  number  of  prisoners  which  she  was 
bound  to  maintain.  "  Besides,"  the  French  i)leni- 
potentiary  added,  "that  is  a  mere  question  of 
money,  which  can  be  settled  by  means  of  com- 
missioners, especially  appointed  for  the  liquidation 
of  such  balances." 

In  regard  to  Malta,  the  question  was  of  a  more 
serious  import.  The  English  and  French  were 
here  at  open  mistrust.  They  seemed  to  have  a 
glance  into  futurity,  and  to  fear  that  at  some  future 
period,  the  island  would  fall  into  the  hands  of  one 
or  the  other. 

The  first  consul,  by  a  singular  instinct,  proposed 
to  destroy  the  military  establishments  of  Malta  to 
the  very  fonndationa,  and  to  suffer  nothing  to 
remain  but  the  dismantled  town  ;  to  create  there  a 
sort  of  neutral  lazaretto,  common  to  all  nations, 
and  to  convert  the  order  into  an  hospital,  order, 
or  foundation,  which  would  mod  no  military  force. 


328     Negotiations  at  Amiens.     THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


ourney  of  the  first  consul   1802. 
to  Lyons.  Jan. 


Tlie  English  were  not  satisfied  with  this  pro- 
posal. They  said  that  the  rock  was  naturally  so 
strong  a  defence,  that  even  deprived  of  the  fortifi- 
cations accumulated  there  by  the  knights,  it  would 
still  be  a  fDrmidable  place.  They  alleged  the 
resistance  of  the  Maltese  population  to  the  total 
destruction  of  tiieir  fine  fortresses,  and  they  pro- 
posed the  reconstitutiun  of  the  order,  on  a  new 
and  solid  basis.  They  were  willing  to  have  a 
French  language,  provided  that  there  should  be 
instituted  an  English  language,  and  also  a  Maltese, 
the  last  being  granted  to  the  population  of  the 
island,  to  give  it  a  part  in  its  government ;  they 
wished  that  this  new  establishment  should  be 
placed  under  the  guarantee  of  some  great  power, 
Russia  for  example.  The  English  hoi)ed  that  with 
an  English  and  a  Maltese  languiige,  each  of  which 
would  be  devoted  to  them,  they  would  thus  get 
strength  in  the  island,  and  hinder  the  French  fi'om 
having  a  hold  upon  it. 

The  first  consul  insisted  upon  the  destruction  of 
the  fortifications,  saving  that  at  present  the  order 
would  be  very  difficult  to  reconstruct;  that  Bavaria 
had  already  seized  upon  their  property  in  Ger- 
many; that  Spain,  since  Russia  had  extended  her 
protection  to  Malta,  contemplated  acting  in  the 
same  manner,  and  to  take  possession  of  the  pro- 
perty in  her  dominions  ;  tliat  the  in.stitution  of 
proteslant  knights  would  be  a  decisive  reason  for 
so  doing  in  her  eyes  ;  that  the  pope,  already  very 
adverse  to  every  thing  which  was  done  respecting 
the  order,  would  not  consent,  at  any  cost,  to  tlie 
new  arrangements,  and  that,  finally,  France  was 
unable  to  furnish  a  French  language,  in  conse- 
quence of  her  existing  laws  in  no  way  admitting 
the  re-establishment  of  any  institution  of  nobility. 
The  first  consul  was  ready,  if  it  were  made  a  ques- 
tion, to  agree  to  the  re-establishment  of  Malta, 
upon  its  former  footing,  with  the  preservation  of 
the  existing  fortifications,  but  without  either  a 
French  or  English  language,  and  under  the  gua- 
rantee of  the  nearest  court,  that  of  Naples.  Rus- 
sia he  rejected  as  a  guaranteeing  power. 

None  of  the  continental  arrangements  had  been 
spoken  about.  The  first  consul  had  forbidden  any 
thing  relating  to  them  to  be  said  by  the  French 
legation.  Still,  as  the  king  of  England  took  a 
warm  interest  in  the  Ikjusc  of  Orange,  now  de- 
prived of  the  i>ost  of  stadtholder,  the  first  consul 
was  not  unwilling  to  secure  to  that  prince  a  terri- 
torial indemnity  in  Germany,  when  the  question 
of  the  German  indemnities  should  come  under 
consideration.  He  demanded,  in  return,  the 
restitution,  either  in  the  sliips  or  in  money,  of 
the  Batavian  Heet,  which  had  been  taken  away 
by  the  English. 

On  the  whole,  there  was  in  all  this  nothing 
absolute,  nothing  irreconcilable,  because  the  ques- 
tion of  the  ])risoners  was  one  of  money,  always 
easy  to  be  settled  by  means  of  two  arbitrators. 
The  question  of  Malta  was  the  most  difficult, 
because  it  was  a  matter  of  reciprocal  mistrust. 
It  was  needful,  and  this  was  possible,  to  discover 
a  plan  which  should  render  all  parties  secure 
against  the  contingency  of  a  sudden  occupation 
by  either  of  the  two  great  maritime  nations.  As 
to  the  affair  of  the  stadtholder,  nothing  was  more 
easily  settled,  because  both  parties  were  in  pretty 
close  agreement  upon  the  subject. 


The  first  consul  wished  to  conclude  affairs  as 
soon  as  possible.  He  wished  to  have  the  treaty 
quite  ready  against  his  return  from  Lyons,  seeing 
that  he  proposed  to  present  the  state  document  of 
the  general  peace,  with  the  concordat,  and  the  law 
of  finances  to  the  renewed  legislative  body.  He 
therefore  gave  orders  to  his  brother  Joseph  not  to 
place  any  difficulties  of  detail  in  the  way  of  the 
completion,  but  to  get  the  treaty  signed  as  quickly 
as  possible. 

The  first  consul  left  Paris  on  the  8th  of  January, 
or  18lh  Nivose,  with  his  wife,  and  a  part  of  his 
military  household,  in  order  to  reach  Lyons.  Tal- 
leyrand had  gone  there  before  him,  in  order  to 
arrange  every  thing  in  such  a  manner,  that  upon 
his  arrival  he  should  have  nothing  more  to  do  than 
to  give  his  sanction  to  the  results  by  his  presence. 
The  winter  was  very  rigorous,  and  yet  all  the 
Italian  deputies  were  already  assembled  there. 
They  were  impatient  to  see  general  Bonaparte,  the 
great  object  ot  their  journey  to  France. 

The  moment  had  arrived  to  regulate  the  affairs 
of  1  taly,  and  to  constitute,  a  second  time,  the  Cis- 
aljiine  republic.  Talleyrand  was  very  adverse  to 
such  a  constitution.  He  alleged  the  difficulty  of 
making  the  business  of  the  government  run  on 
smoothly  in  a  republic,  citing  the  republics  of 
Batavia,  Helvetia,  Liguria,  Rome,  and  Parthenope, 
and  the  embarrassments  which  had  occuri-ed  and 
were  still  occurring  in  their  regard.  He  said  there 
were  quite  enough  of  these  children  of  the  French 
republic,  and  that  not  one  more  was  necessary;  and 
proposed  a  principality  or  a  monarchy,  like  that 
of  Etruria,  which  might  be  given  to  some  friend  or 
dependent  upon  France.  He  would  not  have  ob- 
jected to  give  this  state  to  a  prince  of  the  house 
of  Austria, — to  the  grand  duke  of  Tuscany,  for 
example,  who  was  about  to  be  indemnified  in  Ger- 
many, if  he  were  not  indemnified  in  Italy.  This 
arrangement,  highly  agreeable  to  Austria,  would 
attach  her  more  strongly  to  the  peace.  It  would 
equally  satisfy  the  German  powers  who,  by  this 
plan,  would  have  had  one  claimant  less  to  in- 
demnification with  the  lands  of  the  ecclesiastical 
princes.  It  would,  above  all,  be  pleasing  to  the 
pope,  who  hoped  that  the  Legations  would  be 
restored  to  him,  when  France  was  relieved  from 
the  pi-omises  made  to  the  Cisalpine  i-epublic.  This 
combination,  in  one  word,  was  in  unison  with  the 
taste  of  every  body  in  Europe,  because  it  extin- 
guished a  republic,  left  one  territory  more  to  be 
a]>propriated,  and  made  a  correspondent  diminu- 
tion of  one  state  the  less  under  the  direct  dominion 
of  the  French  re|)ublic. 

It  was  certainly  a  weighty  reason  for  such  a 
measure  to  render  the  greatness  of  France  more 
supportable  to  Europe,  and  thus  to  give  a  better 
cliiince  of  the  duration  of  jieace.  Now  that  France 
had  the  Rhine  and  the  Alps  for  her  frontier;  now 
that  she  had  under  her  immediate  influence,  Swit- 
zerland, Holland,  Spain,  and  Italy;  when  she  ex- 
ercised her  power  directly  upon  Piedmont,  by  the 
general,  but.tacit,  consent  of  all  the  powers;  when 
she  had  arrived  at  that  degree  of  greatness,  the 
more  moderate  policy  was,  from  that  moment,  the 
more  prudent  and  rational.  In  this  view  of  things 
Talleyrand  had  reason  upon  his  side.  Still,  after 
all  that  had  been  effected,  France  was  compelled, 
by  her  engagements,  to  reconstitute  Italy  ;  and  a.s 


EstablUhmeut  of 


THE  TRIBUNATE. 


the  Cisalpine  republic. 


Austiia  had  been  already  deprived  of  it,  there  was 
a  necessity  ior  irrevocably  detaching  it  from  her, 
a  result  which  couiil  only  be  attained  by  consti- 
tuting it  in  a  mode  that  would  render  it  strong 
and  indepem'  it.  By  this  act,  the  danger  of  a 
collision  with  Austria  alone  was  increased  ;  and 
one  of  the  hundred  battles  since  fought  to  create 
French  kingdoms  in  Europe,  would  have  sufficed 
to  secure  the  definitive  existence  in  Europe  of  the 
state  of  things  which  France  chose  to  establish  in 
Italy. 

Under  tliis  system,  France  must  have  renounced 
the  possession  of  Piedmont,  because,  if  the  Italians 
preferred  the  French  to  the  Germans,  they  loved, 
in  reality,  neither  tlie  one  nor  the  other,  becjtnse 
both  the  one  and  the  other  were  strangers  to  them. 
This  was  a  natural  and  legitimate  sentiment.  The 
French  protecting  Italy  without  keeping  possession 
of  it,  would  have  attached  it  for  ever  to  them- 
selves, and  would  not  have  prepared  the  way  for 
those  sudden  revulsions  of  opinion,  of  which  it 
has  so  frequently  given  the  exam|)le  ;  since,  ban- 
died from  one  to  another,  the  Italians  have  done 
nothing  but  change  masters.  Under  this  arrange- 
ment, Etruria  ought  not  to  have  been  given  to  a 
Spanish  prince.  Uniting  Lombardy,  Piedmont, 
the  duchies  of  Parma  and  Modena,  Mantua,  the  Le- 
gations, and  Tuscany,  a  noble  kingdom  might  have 
been  formed,  extending  from  the  maritime  Alps  to 
the  Adige,  and  from  Switzerland  to  the  Roman 
states.  It  was  easy  to  detach,  either  in  Tuscany 
or  Romagna,  a  portion  of  territory  to  indemnify 
the  pope,  whose  attachment  to  France  could  not 
last  long,  uidess,  sooner  or  later,  something  was 
done  to  relieve  his  poverty.  It  would  bo  needful, 
in  Buch  a  case,  to  unite  the  difl'erent  provinces 
under  one  federal  government,  in  which  the  exe- 
cutive power  should  be  strongly  constituted,  that 
it  should  be  able  to  assemble  its  forces  jjromptly, 
and  give  the  French  armies  time  to  come  to  its 
assistance.  The  alliance,  in  fact,  ought  to  be  close 
between  this  state  and  France,  because  it  could 
only  sustain  itself  through  her  means;  and  Rome, 
on  her  part,  would  always  have  an  immense  and 
invariable  interest  in  its  existence. 

An  Italian  state  of  ten  or  twelve  millions  of  in- 
habitants, j)ossessing  the  finest  frontiers,  washed 
by  two  rivei-s,  having,  on  the  first  favourable  war, 
the  chance  of  increiuiing  its  territory  by  the  addi- 
tion of  the  Venetian  states,  and  of  extending  itself 
along  the  natural  frontiers  of  Italy,  that  is  to  say, 
to  the  Julian  Alps,  would  be  able,  subsequently,  to 
comprehend,  by  means  of  a  sim|)lc  federative  tie, 
which  left  to  each  principality  its  own  indepen- 
dcnc<',  the  (Jenot-se  republic  newly  constituted,  the 
po|K',  with  the  conditions  necessary  to  his  political 
and  religious  existence,  and  the  state  of  Naples, 
delivered  from  an  incapable  and  sanguinary  court ; 
such  a  state,  so  constituted,  and  with  the  accessions 
which  the  future  could  not  fail  to  prepare,  would 
be  the  foundation  of  Italian  regeneration,  and  give 
to  Europe  a  third  federation,  wliieh,  added  to  the 
two  already  in  existence,  the  German  and  Swiss, 
would  not  fail  to  render  immense  service  to  the 
general  balance  of  power. 

In  respect  to  the  difficulty  of  governing  lUily, 
that  could  be  resolved  by  its  being  placed  under  the 
protectorate  of  France,  which,  if  it  extended  over 
her  for  one  entire  reign,  would   thus  conduct  her 


by  the  hand  in  her  first  step  to  liberty  and  inde- 
pendence. 

The  plan  followed  at  this  moment  did  not  ex- 
clude this  bright  future,  because  Piedmont  might 
be  one  day  I'estored  to  the  new  Italian  state,  and 
the  duchy  of  Parma,  at  the  decease  of  the  duke,  an 
event  in  all  probability  then  not  far  distant;  Etru- 
ria itself  might  be  restored  if  it  were  fiund  needful. 
It  was  easy  then  to  adopt  this  plan  at  an  ulterior 
period;  and  a  firm  and  extensive  foundation  was 
now  laid,  by  making  an  independent  republic  of 
the  Cisalpine.  Besides,  it  was,  perhaps,  better  at 
that  moment,  not  to  avow  openly  the  entire  plan 
of  Italian  regeneration,  in  order  not  to  fiigliien 
Europe.  But  to  parcel  out  the  fine  provinces 
actually  in  our  jiossession,  as  was  ]n"oposed  by 
M.  Talleyrand,  to  construct  a  little  Austrian  mo- 
narchy, for  the  advantage  of  an  Austrian  prince, 
was  to  give  Italy  to  Austria,  because  this  |)rince, 
however  things  might  appear  to  be,  would  be  al- 
ways Austrian  ;  and  the  people  themselves,  whose 
hopes  Would  have  been  dishonestly  betrayed,  would 
conceive  towards  France  a  well-merited  hatred,  and 
turn  back  towards  the  Germans,  incited  by  despair 
and  resentment. 

Bonaparte,  who  had  acquired  his  first,  and  per- 
haps his  greatest  glory,  in  the  deliverance  of  Italy 
from  the  hands  of  Austria,  would  not  permit  him- 
self the  commission  of  this  fault.  He  adopted  a 
middle  course,  which  did  not  forbid  at  a  later 
time  a  vast  system  of  Italian  indepeiulence,  and 
which  indeed  might  even  now  be  at  its  commence- 
ment. 

He  bestowed,  therefore,  upon  the  Cisalpine  re- 
public all  Lombardy  as  far  as  the  Adige,  the 
Legations,  the  duchy  of  Modena,  all,  in  fact,  that 
it  possessed  at  the  treaty  of  Canipo-Formio.  The 
duchy  of  Parma  remained  in  suspense  ;  Piedmont 
at  the  moment  belonged  to  France.  The  Cisal- 
pine, as  thus  constituted,  counted  nearly  five  mil- 
lions of  inhabitants.  It  could  easily  be  made  to 
produce  a  revenue  of  70,000,000  f.  or  80,000,000  f., 
and  to  support  an  army  of  forty  thousand  men, 
which  would  not  absorb  more  than  half  the  re- 
venue, and  leave  resources  sufficient  to  pay  the 
other  ex|)enses  of  the  state  very  easily.  It  was 
covered  in  front  by  the  Alps  and  the  Adige  ;  it 
had  on  the  left  Piedmont,  now  become  French,  on 
the  right  the  Adriatic,  in  the  rear  Tuscany,  |ilaced 
under  the  protection  of  France.  It  was  thus  on 
every  side  surrounded  by  her  powerful  jiroteetion. 
Immense  fortified  works, ordered  by  general  Boiia- 
I)arte,  with  a  (juiekiuss  and  justness  of  view  as  to 
the  nature  of  the  country,  which  no  one  possessed  in 
an  equal  degree,  would  i-ender  it  impregnable 
to  the  Austrians,  and  always  att'ord  time  to  render 
French  succour  available.  The  Adige  was  fortified 
from  Rivoli  to  Legnago  in  such  a  numner  that  it 
was  impossible  lo  be  forced.  The  environs  of  the 
lake  of  Garda,  and  more  especially  the  Rocca 
d'Anfo,  were  so  well  closed, as  to  jirevcnt  thep<is8i- 
bility  of  the  lino  of  the  Adige  being  turned.  The 
Mincio  formed  a  second  line  in  the  rear.  I'esehiera 
and  Mantua,  with  a  large  augmentation  of  terri- 
tory, added  greatly  in  strength  to  this  second  line 
of  defence.  Manttui  more  especially,  improved 
under  every  aspect  both  of  defence  and  healthiness, 
might  defend  itself  if  the  Adige  were  forced. 
Other    works   erected    had   also   fur   their  object 


Constitution  of 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.       theCisalpii 


-ePuMie.       '1^: 


to  gain  time  for  the  arrival  of  the  French  armies. 
They  were  able  to  enter  first  hy  the  Valais  and 
the  "Milanese,  following  the  road  of  the  Simplon  ; 
secondjj-,  by  Savoy,  or  Provence,  and  Piedmont, 
following  the  routes  of  Mount  Cenis,  Mount  Ge- 
ne vre,  and  the  Col  de  Teude.  It  has  been  seen 
that  works  were  ordered  to  render  these  four 
roads,  approaching  the  country,  practicable  for 
every  kind  of  transport.  It  was  necessary  also  to 
create  solid  points  of  support  and  vast  military 
establishments  adapted  both  to  receive  the  French 
army,  which  might  be  suddenly  forced  to  evacuate 
the  country,  or,  if  necessary,  to  serve  the  same 
army  as  an  outlet  when  in  a  state  to  resume  the 
offensive.  For  this  two  places  had  been  chosen, 
and  were  become  objects  of  great  expense  :  the 
one  was  the  outlet  of  the  road  of  the  Simplon,  the 
other  at  the  opening  of  the  three  roads  of  Mount 
Cenis,  ]\Iount  Genevre,  and  the  Col  de  Tende. 
The  first,  and  the  least  of  the  two,  was  situated  at 
the  extremity  of  Lago  Maggiore.  As  it  was  marked 
out,  it  was  sufficiently  ample  to  contain  the  sick, 
the  wounded,  the  materiel  of  the  army  in  retreat, 
as  well  as  a  flotilla  on  the  lake,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
defend  itself  for  three  or  four  weeks,  until  an 
army,  traversing  the  road  of  the  Simplon,  could 
place  itself  in  advance  for  its  assistance.  The 
second  and  the  largest  work,  designed  to  restrain 
Piedmont,  to  receive  all  the  resources  of  the 
French  armies,  and  to  serve  for  a  point  of  support, 
and  the  means  to  descend  at  any  time  into  Italy — 
this  second,  as  large  as  Mayence,  Metz,  or  Lille, 
capable  of  enduring  a  long  siege,  was  constructed 
at  Alexandria  itself.  This  point,  bordering  on  the 
field  of  battle  of  Marengo,  was  i-ecognized  as  the 
most  favourable  to  the  great  military  combinations 
of  which  Italy  might  become  the  theatre.  Turin 
was  too  much  under  the  influence  of  a  numerous 
population,  in  some  cases  hostile.  Pavia  was  be- 
ycmd  the  Po.  Alexandria,  between  the  Po  and  the 
Tanaro,  at  the  real  outlet  of  all  the  roads,  united 
the  greatest  advantages,  and  was  preferred  upon 
that  account.  Vast  works  were  ordered.  These, 
being  in  Piedmont,  were  to  be  executed  at  the 
expense  of  the  French  treasury  ;  all  the  others 
were  to  be  executed  at  the  cost  of  the  Cisalpine 
government,  because  they  belonged  more  imme- 
diately to,  and  were  intimately  concerned  with  the 
security  of  that  state. 

From  these  ari-angements,  France  was  always  in 
a  position  to  succour  the  Cisalpine  republic,  liaving 
under  her  hand  middle  and  upper  Italy,  and  by 
her  influence  iniling  over  the  south.  She  was  able 
to  send  to  Rome  and  to  Naples  her  less  ostensible 
commands,  but  they  would  be  punctually  obeyed, 
as  at  Turin  or  Milan. 

It  was  necessary  to  give  a  civil  government  to  this 
Cisalpine  republic.  A  commencement  had  been 
made  by  composing  provisional  authorities,  con- 
sisting of  an  executive  council  of  three  members, 
M.  de  Somma-Riva,  M.  Visconti,  and  M.  Ruga, 
with  a  consulta,  a  species  of  legislative  assembly, 
not  numerous,  chosen  from  the  wisest  and  most 
devoted  men.  But  such  a  state  of  things  could 
not  be  long  continued. 

The  first  consul  had  with  him  in  Paris  M.  Ma- 
rescalchi,  and  as  well  Messrs.  Aldini,  Serbelloni, 
and  Melzi,  envoys  in  France  for  the  affairs  of 
Italy.   They  were  persons  of  the  utmost  considera- 


tion in  their  own  country.  He  consulted  them 
upon  the  organization  to  be  given  to  the  new 
republic,  and,  in  concurrence  with  them,  he  drew 
up  a  constitution,  resembling  both  the  French  and 
the  ancient  Italian. 

In  place  of  the  notables  of  Sieyes,  which  began 
to  be  undervalued  in  France,  the  first  consul  and 
his  colleagues  devised  three  electoral  colleges, 
permanent  for  life,  and  filling  up  their  own  vacan- 
cies in  case  of  death.  The  first  to  be  composed  of 
great  proprietors  of  land  to  the  number  of  three 
hundred  ;  the  second  of  commercial  persons  to  the 
number  of  two  hundred  ;  the  third  of  literary  and 
scientific  men,  and  the  more  distinguished  ecclesi- 
astics, to  the  number  of  two  hundred.  These 
three  colleges,  or  bodies,  were  to  choose  each  from 
its  own  body  a  commission  of  twenty-one  members, 
called  the  "  commission  of  the  censorship,"  whose 
duty  it  was  to  elect  all  the  bodies  of  the  state,  and 
to  perform  the  same  electoral  duty  which  the 
senate  fulfilled  in  France. 

This  creative  authority  was  afterwards  to  nomi- 
nate, under  the  title  of  the  "state  consulta,"  a 
senate  of  eight  members,  charged,  like  the  French 
senate,  to  watch  over  the  constitution,  to  deliberate 
under  extraordinary  circumstances,  to  order  the 
arrest  of  dangerous  individuals,  to  place  out  of  the 
pale  of  the  constitution  any  department  that  might 
require  it,  to  deliberate  upon  treaties,  and  to  name 
the  president  of  the  republic.  One  of  these  eight 
members  was  to  be  the  minister  for  foreign  affairs 
by  right. 

There  was  to  be  a  council  of  state  under  the 
name  of  the  legislative  bodj'.  composed  of  ten 
members,  who  were  to  draw  up  laws  and  regu- 
lations, and,  finally,  to  support  them  before  the 
legislative  body,  consisting  of  seventy-five  mem- 
bers ;  which  was  to  select  from  this  number  fif- 
teen orators,  whose  ^duty  it  would  be  to  discuss 
before  it  the  laws  upon  which  it  might  be  after- 
wards required  to  vote. 

Lastly,  at  the  head  of  the  republic  there  was  to 
be  a  president  and  vice-president,  named  for  ten 
years.  They  were,  as  has  just  been  stated,  to  be 
nominated  by  the  "  state  consulta,"  or  senate  ;  but 
all  the  other  authorities  could  only  be  made  on  the 
choice  of  the  "  commission  of  censorship." 

Considex'able  incomes  were  destined  to  the  func- 
tionaries of  all  ranks. 

It  may  be  seen  that  this  was  the  French  consti- 
tution with  certain  corrections,  which  were  emen- 
dations of  the  work  of  Sieyes.  For  the  list  of 
notables  were  substituted  three  electoral  colleges, 
which  were  constituted  for  life.  The  senate,  or 
"state  consulta,"  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
elections;  it  only  nominated  the  head  of  the  executive 
power,  but  it  deliberated  upon  treaties,  which 
by  their  means  were  withdrawn  from  tumultuous 
examinations  by  the  assemblies.  The  tribunate 
was  confounded  with  the  legislative  body,  and  iu 
place  of  three  consuls,  there  was  no  more  than  a 
president. 

When  the  first  consul  and  Messrs.  Marescalchi, 
Aldini,  Melzi,  and  Serbelloni,  had  agreed  upon  the 
plan,  it  was  necessary  to  occupy  themselves  with 
the  personal  relations  of  the  new  government.  The 
choice  of  these  was  of  the  more  importance,  be- 
cause the  permanence  of  the  principal  bodies  was 
greater,  and  the  good  or  evil  resulting  from  their 


Establishment  of 


THE  TRIBUNATE. 


the  Cisalpine  republic. 


coniiH)sitioii  must  be  of  the  longer  duration.  Italy 
too  was  divided,  like  France,  into  parties  difficult 
to  conciliate.  At  one  extremity  were  found  the 
partisans  of  the  past,  devoted  to  the  Austrian 
government  ;  at  the  other  extreme  the  outrageous 
patriots,  ready,  as  every  where  else,  for  the  most 
violent  excesses,  but  who  had  not  yet  shed  blood, 
from  which  they  had  been  restrained  hitherto  by 
the  French  armies.  Lastly,  between  the  two  were 
found  the  moderate  liberals,  charged  with  the 
weight  of  the  government,  and  the  unpopularity 
which  attached  to  it,  more  especially  in  a  time  of 
war,  wlieu  heavy  burdens  unavoidably  pressed 
upon  the  country.  With  these  different  iiarties 
the  elections  could  not,  any  more  than  hi  France, 
give  very  satisfactory  results.  The  first  consul,  in 
order  to  supply  the  place  of  the  elections,  hit  upon 
a  plan  which  was  not,  on  his  pai-t,  the  impulse  of 
ambition,  but  the  inspiration  of  sound  sense.  This 
was  to  nominate  the  personal  portions  of  govern- 
ment himself,  in  the  same  mode  as  he  had  decided 
upon  the  structure,  and  for  the  first  time  to  make 
all  tiie  nominations  of  his  own  authority.  He  was 
only  impelled  iu  the  present  case  by  a  sentiment  of 
good,  and,  in  any  case,  he  had  a  perfect  right 
to  act  thus;  because  the  new  state  had  birth  in  his 
own  pure  act  and  will,  and  in  creating  it  in  this 
sponUuieous  manner,  he  had  a  right  to  create  it 
conformably  to  his  own  idea,  which,  upon  this 
occasion,  was  just  and  elevated. 

But  among  all  tliese  nominations  the  most  diffi- 
cult to  make  was  that  of  the  president.  Ituly, 
always  governed  by  priests  or  strangers,  had  never 
been  in  a  situatiim  to  produce  statesmen  ;  she  had 
not  produced,  of  this  class  of  men,  one  single  name 
before  which  the  oiliers  would  consent  to  give  up 
their  pretensions.  The  first  consul,  therefore,  had 
the  idea  of  conferring  upon  himself  the  title  of  pre- 
sident, and  of  naming  a  viee-in-esident  chosen  from 
among  the  )>rincipal  personages  of  Italy,  to  whom 
he  might  delegate  the  distail  of  affairs,  and  reserve 
to  himself  the  superior  directions.  In  the  infancy 
of  the  republic  this  was  the  sole  practicable  system 
of  government.  If  it  had  been  handed  over  to  its 
own  choice,  and  to  an  Italian  president,  it  would 
soon  have  become,  like  a  vessel  without  a  compass, 
abandoned  to  the  mercy  of  the  waves.  Governed, 
on  the  conti'ary,  by  Italians,  and  directed  from  a 
distance  by  the  man  who  was  its  creator,  and  who 
would  be  for  a  long  time  its  protector,  it  had  a  good 
cliance,  under  this  system,  to  be  at  the  same  time 
both  independent  and  well  governed. 

For  the  foregoing  end  a  solemn,  imposing  in- 
auguration was  necessary,  during  which  the  con- 
stitution should  be  given  to  the  new  state  in  projier 
form,  and  all  the  authorities  be  proclaimed.  This 
creative  act  c<iuld  not  make  too  much  noise.  It 
was  necessary  it  should  speak  at  the  same  time  to 
Italy  and  to  Europe.  The  first  consul  devised  the 
plan  of  a  great  mitling  of  all  the  Italians  at  Lyons, 
because  it  was  too  far  for  them  to  come  to  Paris, 
and  too  far  for  him  to  proceed  to  Milan.  The  city 
of  Lyons,  placed  at  the  reverse  of  the  Alps,  and  in 
which  Italy  in  former  days  had  assembled  in  coun- 
cil, was  the  place  most  naturally  indicated.  More 
than  this,  the  first  consul  took  a  real  interest  in 
seeing  mingled  together  in  society  the  French  and 
Italians.  He  believed,  at  the  same  time,  that  he 
served  the  re-cstablishnient  of  the  commerce  of  the 


two  countries,  because  it  was  at  Lyons  that,  fox*- 
merly,  the  produce  of  Lombardy  was  exchanged 
for  the  pi-oduce  of  the  eastern  provinces  of  France. 

Some  portion  of  these  views  was  communicated 
by  Talleyrand  to  the  Italians  in  Paris,  or,  in  other 
v.ords,  to  Jlessrs.  Marcscalchi,  Aldini,  Serbolloni, 
and  Melzi.  He  was  silent  only  upon  the  project 
of  conferring  the  presidency  upon  the  first  consul. 
This  he  wished  to  obtain  from  the  consulta  by  an 
outbreak  of  enthusiasm  at  the  moment  when  it 
should  assemble  together.  The  views  of  the  first 
consul  were  too  conformable  to  the  true  interests 
of  the  entire  country  of  Italy  not  to  be  welcomed. 
These  individuals  set  out  for  Lyons  accordingly, 
accompanied  by  M.  Petiet,  the  minister  of  France 
at  Milan,  a  wise  and  influential  person,  to  labour 
at  the  accomplishment  of  the  plan  of  organization 
which  had  been  agreed  upon  at  Paris. 

The  plan  of  the  constitution  met  with  no  objec- 
tion. It  was  received  with  great  satisfaction,  be- 
cause the  peoj)le  were  eager  to  leave  the  precarious 
existence  in  which  they  had  lived,  and  to  acquire  the 
political  existence  which  would  be  assured  to  them. 
The  executive  committee  of  the  consulate,  chai'ged 
with  the  duties  of  the  provisional  government, 
accepted  the  plan  with  eagerness,  save  in  some 
slight  modifications  of  detail,  which  were  trans- 
mitted to  Pai'is,  and  accepted.  But  they  were 
much  puzzled  how  to  give  the  new  constitution 
vigorous  motion,  and  as  to  the  choice  of  the  persons 
who  were  to  set  it  going.  M.  Petiet  communicated 
in  secret  to  several  influential  pei'sonages  tlie  idea 
of  giving  to  the  first  consul  the  entire  nomination 
of  the  individuals  who  were  to  take  a  part  in  the 
government,  from  the  president  to  the  three  elec- 
toral colleges.  Scarcely  was  this  idea  of  a  supreme 
arbitrator,  so  well  situated  as  not  to  partake  in  any 
of  the  passions  which  divided  Italy,  and  having  no 
desire  but  for  her  happiness — scarcely  was  this  idea 
communicated  to  them,  than  it  met  instant  success, 
and  the  provisional  government  gave  to  the  first 
consul  the  power  of  selecting  all  the  authorities. 

A  message  was  addressed  to  him  for  the  purpose 
of  announcing  the  acceptance  of  the  constitution, 
and  of  expressing  to  him  the  wish  of  the  Cisalpine 
population,  that  the  first  magistrate  of  the  French 
republic  should  himself  choose  the  magistrates  of 
that  of  Italy. 

There  was  nothing  more  than  this  said — not  a 
word  of  the  presidency.  But  it  was  necessary  for 
this  purpose  to  induce  the  Italians  to  come  to 
Lyons,  and  that  became  the  subject  of  a  new  com- 
munication to  the  members  of  the  provisional  go- 
vernment. They  were  niade  sensible  of  the  great 
difticulty  of  constituting  the  Cisalpine  i-epublic, 
with  the  first  consul  remaining  in  Paris,  and  of 
selecting  seven  or  eight  humlred  jiersons  far  from 
the  individuals  and  their  I'csidences  ;  the  difiicnlty, 
on  the  other  hand,  for  the  first  consul  to  go  from 
Paris  to  Milan;  the  advantage,  on  the  contrary,  of 
dividing  the  distance,  of  uniting  the  Italians  at 
Lyons  in  a  body,  and  of  the  first  consul  meeting 
them  there  ;  the  forming  a  sort  of  Italian  diet,  in 
wliich  the  new  republic  should  be  constituted,  with 
a  pomp  and  brilliancy  which  would  give  more  of 
solemnity  to  the  engagement  made  by  the  first  con- 
sul upon  its  formation,  to  maintain  and  defend  it. 
This  i<lea  had  in  it  something  great,  which  couid 
not  fail  to  please  the  Italian  imagination.     It  sue- 


332 


The  consulta  assemble  at 
Lyons. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Arrival  of  the  first  consul 
at  Lyons. 


ceeded,  as  all  tlie  other  ideas  formed  beforehand 
had  done,  and  it  was  immediately  adopted.  A  plan 
was  prepared,  and  immediately  converted  into  a 
decree  by  the  provisional  government.  Deputa- 
tions were  selected  from  the  clergy,  the  nobility, 
the  great  landed  ])r<)prietors,  commercial  men,  the 
universities,  the  tribunals,  and  the  national  guards. 
Four  hundred  and  fifty-two  persons  were  designated, 
among  the  number  of  whom  were  found,  venerable 
prelates,  weighed  down  with  years,  of  whom  some 
might  even  succumb  mider  the  fatigues  of  the 
journey.  They  left  in  the  month  of  December,  and 
traversed  the  Alps  during  one  of  the  most  rigorous 
winters  that  jiad  for  a  long  time  been  experienced. 
All  were  anxious  to  attend  at  this  proclamation  of 
the  independence  of  their  country  by  the  hero  who 
had  achieved  it.  The  roads  of  the  Milanese,  of 
Switzerland,  and  of  the  Jura,  were  literally  en- 
cumbered with  travellers.  The  first  consul,  who 
thought  of  every  thing,  had  given  orders  that 
nothing  should  be  wanting,  as  well  upon  the  i-oads 
as  in  Lyons  itself,  to  the  representatives  of  Italian 
nationality,  who  had  come  to  recal  by  their  pre- 
sence the'  recollection  of  his  first  and  most  bril- 
liant triumphs.  The  prefect  of  the  Rhone  had 
made  immense  preparations  to  receive  them,  and 
had  fitted  up  grand  and  noble  halls  for  the  solem- 
nities which  were  about  to  take  place.  A  part  of 
the  consular  guard  had  been  sent  to  Lyons.  The 
army  of  Egypt,  formerly  the  army  of  Italy,  and 
recently  disemlmrked  on  their  return,  were  on 
the  point  of  arriving  also.  They  hastened  to  clothe 
them  magnificenily,  and  in  a  manner  adapted  to 
the  climate  of  France,  which  seemed  quite  new  to 
these  soldiers,  embrowned  by  the  sun  of  Egypt, 
and  transformed  into  real  Africans.  The  Lyonnese 
youth  had  been  collected,  and  formed  a  body  of 
cavalry,  with  the  arms  and  colours  of  the  ancient 
city  of  Lyons.  Talleyrand,  minister  for  foreign 
affairs,  and  Chaptal,  minister  of  the  interior,  liad 
preceded  the  first  consul  to  receive  the  members 
of  the  consulta.  General  Murat  and  M.  Petiet 
had  hastened  from  Milan,  as  well  as  M.  Mares- 
•calchi  from  Paris,  to  this  common  rendezvous. 
Tiie  prefects  and  authorities  of  twenty  departments 
were  collected  at  Lyons.  The  first  consul  kept 
them  all  in  attendance  at  Lyons,  because  of  the 
congress  of  Amiens,  of  which  the  negotiations  had 
required  his  presence  in  Paris  for  some  days 
longer.  The  Italian  deputies  began  to  be  impa- 
tient. In  the  view  of  occupying  them,  they  were 
divided  into  five  sections,  one  for  each  province  of 
Ihe  new  state,  and  the  project  or  scheme  of  the 
new  constitution  was  submitted  to  them.  They 
made  many  useful  observations,  that  Talleyrand 
was  requested  to  hear,  to  weigh,  and  to  admit, 
■.unless  they  were  calculated  to  affect  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  the  project.  Except  some 
dispositions  of  detail,  which  were  modified,  the  new 
constitution  obtained  the  general  assent.  It  was 
proposed  to  the  Cisalpine  deputies,  in  order  to 
■  beguile  their  impatience,  to  make  out  lists  of  can- 
didates, with  the  view  to  aid  the  first  consul  in  the 
numerous  selections  which  he  had  to  make.  This 
turning  over  of  names  usefully  occupied  their 
time. 

The  first  consul  arrived  on  the  11th  of  January, 
.  1 802,  or  21st  Nivose.  The  popuhiticm  of  the  country, 
collected  along  the  roads  by  which  he  passed,  had 


waited  for  him  by  day  and  night.  They  assembled 
around  immense  fires,  and  ran  in  advance  of  all  the 
carriages  coming  from  Paris,  crying,  "Long  live 
Bonaparte!"  The  first  consul  at  length  appeared,  and 
travelled  the  road  to  Lyons  in  the  midst  of  continued 
transports  of  enthusiasm.  He  entered  the  city  in  the 
evening,  accompanied  by  liis  wife,  his  adopted 
children,  and  his  aides-de-camp,  and  was  received 
by  the  magistrates,  the  civil  and  military  authori- 
ties, an  Italian  deputation,  the  Egyptian  staff,  and 
the  young  Lyonnese  cavalry.  The  city,  all  over 
illuminated,  was  as  resplendent  as  at  noon-day. 
He  passed  under  an  arch  of  triumph,  that  sur- 
mounted a  noble  emblem  of  consular  France, — a 
sleeping  lion.  He  descended  at  the  Hotel  de  Villa, 
which  had  been  so  fitted  up  as  to  serve  him  for  a 
very  convenient  residence. 

On  the  following  day  the  first  consul  was  em- 
ployed in  receiving  all  the  departmental  deputa- 
tions, and  after  them,  the  Italian  consulta,  which 
reckoned  four  hundred  and  fifty  members  present, 
out  of  four  hundred  and  fifty-two,  a  rare  examjile 
of  exact  attendance,  if  the  number  of  persons,  the 
season,  and  the  distance  are  considered;  and  still 
more,  wlien  it  is  known  that  one  of  the  two  ab- 
sentees was  the  respectable  archbishop  of  Milan, 
who  had  died  of  an  apoplectic  attack  at  the  resi- 
dence of  Talleyrand.  The  Italians,  to  whom  the 
first  consul  spoke  their  own  language,  were  de- 
lighted to  see  him  again,  and  to  find  united  in  him 
at  once  both  the  French  and  the  Italian. 

On  the  following  days  they  all  proceeded  to  the 
last  labours  of  the  consulta.  The  modifications 
prepared  in  the  constitution  having  been  agreed  to 
by  the  first  consul,  the  lists  of  candidates  were 
stated.  The  plan  was  proposed  of  a  committee  of 
thirty  members,  taken  out  of  the  entire  consulta, 
to  discuss  with  the  first  consul  the  long  series  of 
selections  which  were  to  be  made.  This  labour 
occupied  several  days,  during  which  the  first 
consul,  after  having  employed  a  part  of  the  day 
in  seeing  and  entertaining  the  Italians,  occupied 
himself  also  with  French  business,  received  the 
prefects,  the  departmental  deputations,  heard  the 
expression  of  their  wishes  and  their  necessities, 
and  thus  learned,  by  seeing  with  his  own  eyes,  the 
true  state  of  the  republic. 

The  enthusiasm  daily  increased,  and  in  the  midst 
of  this  general  excitement  it  was,  that  the  French 
and  Italians,  communicating  with  each  other,  the 
idea  was  promulgated  of  naming  the  first  consul 
president  of  the  Cisalpine  republic.  MM.  Petiet, 
Marescalchi,  Murat,  and  Talleyrand,  saw,  every 
day,  the  members  of  the  committee  of  thirty,  and 
conferred  with  them  on  the  choice  of  a  president. 
When  they  conceived  that  they  were  much  em- 
barrassed and  greatly  divided  in  their  choice, 
which  was,  in  reality,  a  very  difficult  matter,  it  was 
liinted  to  them  in  a  manner  as  if  to  lead  them  out 
of  their  embai-rassment,  that  they  might  confer 
the  post  of  vice-president  upon  any  Italian  they 
might  select,  and  then  cover  his  insufiiciency  by 
the  glory  of  the  first  consul,  who  might  be  named 
president.  This  idea,  so  simple,  and  still  more  useful 
to  the  Cisalpine,  even  more  important  to  its  exist- 
ence and  to  the  administration  of  its  affairs,  than 
to  the  greatness  of  the  first  consul,  was  generally 
approved,  but  still  with  the  condition  of  an  Italian 
vice-in-esident.      They  then    decided  that  citizen 


Bonaparte  nominated  president  of 
the  Italian  republic. 


THE  TRIBUNATE. 


He  returns  to  Paris. 


333 


Meizi  should  be  charged  with  the  vice-presidency 
under  the  first  consul.  All  being  ready,  one  of  the 
members  of  the  committee  of  thirty,  made  this 
priii)()sition  to  the  committee.  It  was  received 
with  joy,  and  in  a  moment  turned  into  the  draft  of 
a  decree.  No  time  was  lost ;  and  on  the  following 
day,  the  25th  of  January,  or  5lh  Pluviose,  the  pro- 
ject was  presented  to  the  assembled  consiilta.  It 
was  welcomed  with  acclamation,  and  Niipoleon 
Bonaparte  was  proclaimed  the  president  of  the 
Italian  republic.  This  was  the  first  occasion  in 
which  the  two  names  of  Napoleon  and  Bonaparte 
were  used  togetht^r.  The  general  was  now  to  add 
to  the  title  of  fii-st  consul  of  the  French  republic, 
that  of  president  of  the  Italian  republic.  A  depu- 
tation wiis  sent  to  him  accordingly,  in  order  to  ex- 
pres.s  this  desire. 

While  this  affair  was  under  deliberation,  the 
genei-al  of  the  armies  of  Italy  and  Egypt  passed 
his  old  soldiers  in  review.  Tlie  demi- brigades  of 
the  army  of  Egypt,  which  there  had  been  time  to 
assemlile,  had  been  united  with  the  consular  guard, 
nimierous  detjichments  of  troops,  and  the  Lyonnese 
militia.  On  that  day,  the  fogs  of  winter  were  in 
a  moment  dissipated  by  a  brilliant  sun,  amidst 
intense  cold.  Bonaparte  passed  along  the  ranks 
of  his  old  soldiei-s,  who  received  him  with  trans- 
ports of  joy  almost  inconceivable.  The  soldiers  of 
Egypt  and  Italy,  delighted  to  find  this  child  of 
their  labours  grown  so  great,  hailed  him  with  tlieir 
sliouts,  and  endeavoured  to  make  him  know  that 
they  bad  never  ceased  to  be  worthy  of  him,  al- 
though led  for  a  moment  by  chiefs  unworthy  of 
themselves.  He  called  some  of  the  old  grenadiers 
from  the  ranks,  spoke  to  then)  of  the  battles  in 
which  they  had  fought,  and  of  the  wounds  they 
had  received;  he  recognized  here  and  there  officers 
whom  be  had  seen  in  more  than  one  battle,  shook 
hands  with  them  all,  filling  them  with  a  sort 
of  intoxication,  of  which  he  himself  could  not 
escape  the  contagion,  in  the  presence  of  so  many 
brave  men  who  had  helped,  by  their  devotedness, 
to  produce  the  marvellous  good  fortune  which  he 
enjoyed,  and  which  Finance  enjoyed  with  him. 
Tliis  scene  occurred  amid  the  ruins  of  the  Place 
B«^llecour,  and  effaced  the  sad  recollections  of  that 
spot,  as  glory  effaces  those  of  unhappiness. 

It  was  on  entering  the  Hotel  de  Ville  after  this 
review,  that  the  first  consul  found  the  deputation 
of  the  con.HuIta,  received  the  ex))ression  of  its 
wishes,  declared  his  assent,  and  intimated,  that 
the  next  day  he  would  make  liis  reply  to  this  new 
act  of  the  confidence  of  the  Italian  people. 

The  next  day,  being  the  26tli  of  jamiary,  or  Gth 
riuvioso,  the  first  consul  proceeded  to  the  place 
wheie  the  general  sittings  of  the  consulta  were 
held.  It  w:w  a  large  church,  disposed  and  de- 
corated for  the  especial  purpose.  Every  thing 
paased  there  in  the  same  way  of  ceremony  as  is 
observed  in  Fnince  or  England,  when  the  monarch 
is  present  at  a  sitting.  The  fii-st  consul,  sur- 
rounded with  his  family,  tiie  French  ministers, 
and  a  great  number  of  gi-nerals  ami  prefect-s,  wa.s 
upon  a  dais,  lli;  spoke  in  the  Italian  language, 
which  he  pronounced  jierfectly  well,  a  speech,  pre- 
cise and  sinipli',  in  which  he  announced  his  ac- 
ceptiiMce  of  the  dignity,  his  views  regarding  the 
government  and  prosperity  of  the  new  republic, 
and  then  proclaimed  the  principal  selections  which 


he  had  made,  conformably  to  the  wishes  of  the 
consulta.  His  woi'ds  were  drowned  in  cries  of 
"Long  live  Bonaparte!"  "Long  live  the  first 
consul  of  the  French  republic  ! "  "  Long  live  the 
president  of  the  lUilian  republic!"  The  consti- 
tution was  then  read,  as  well  as  the  list  of  citizens, 
of  all  ranks,  who  were  to  carry  it  into  effect.  A 
long-continued  acclamation  expressed  the  harmony 
that  prevailed  between  the  Italian  people  and  the 
hero  who  had  freed  them.  This  sitting  was  very 
imposing  and  solemn  ;  it  commenced  in  a  worthy 
manner  the  existence  of  the  new  republic,  which 
was  thenceforth  to  be  called  the  Italian  Republic. 
On  this  occasion,  as  upon  many  others,  there  could 
be  only  one  thing  to  wish  in  favr)ur  of  general 
Bonaparte;  namely,  that  the  genius  of  preservation 
had  accompanied,  with  this  favourite  of  fortune, 
the  genius  which  created. 

The  first  consul  had  now  been  twenty-one  days 
at  Lyons.  The  government  of  France  demanded 
his  presence  in  Paris,  because  he  had  given  orders 
for  the  signature  of  the  definitive  treaty  of  peace, 
which  was  negotiating  at  the  congress  of  Amiens. 
During  this  interval  of  time,  the  consul  Camba- 
ceres  and  the  senate  were  labouring  to  disem- 
barrass themselves  of  the  unruly  members  who 
had  SI)  violently  opposed  the  first  consul  at  that 
moment  of  his  career  when  he  least  deserved 
opposition.  He  was  now  about  to  be  in  a  position 
to  resume  the  long  series  of  works  which  consti- 
tuted the  grandeur  and  happiness  of  France.  He 
was  therefore  pressed  to  return  to  Paris,  in  order 
to  proceed  with  his  customary  occupations,  and, 
]irobably,  to  receive  there,  as  the  price  of  his 
labours,  a  new  gi-eatness,  the  just  and  most  noble 
recompense  of  the  most  fertile  ambition  that  ever 
actuated  the  spirit  of  man. 

He  set  oft"  on  the  2«th  of  January,  or  8th  Plu- 
viose, leaving  behind  him  the  enthusiastic  Italians, 
full  of  hope,  leaving,  too,  the  Lyonnese  delighted  to 
have  possessed,  for  a  few  days,  the  extraordinary 
man  whose  name  filled  the  world,  and  who  ex- 
hibited for  their  city  such  ii  marked  predilection. 
He  had  received  from  the  emperor  Alexander  the 
reply  to  a  letter,  in  which  he  requested  from  that 
monarch  some  advantages  for  the  manufacturers 
of  Lyons.  This  letter,  which  amiounced  the  best 
dispositions  on  the  part  of  Russia,  was  published, 
in  substance,  and  produced  the  most  lively  satis- 
faction. Upon  his  de])arture,  the  first  consul  pre- 
sented three  scarfs  to  the  three  mayors  of  the  city 
of  Lyons,  in  memory  of  that  glorious  visit.  The 
inhabitants  of  Bordeaux  sent  a  deputation  to  him, 
requesting  he  would  jjass  their  city  walls.  He 
n'ade  tliem  the  promise  they  desired  as  soon  as 
the  definitive  peace  should  allow  him  a  little 
leisure  time  '. 

Passing  by  St.  Etienne  and  Ncver.s,  lie  arrived 
in  Paris  on  the  3Ist  of  January,  or  11th  Pluviose. 

•  The  followinp  are  some  extracts  from  the  correspondence 
of  tlie  lirjit  consul  during  hiu  stay  at  L}  ons  : — 

To  tlic  consuls  Cambaciris  and  Lcbrun. 

"  Lyons,  2<th  NivOse,  year  x.  (Mlh  January,  1802.) 

"  I  have  received,  citizen  ronsulu,  your  letter  of  the  21st. 

The  weather  in  rxcesxively  cold  here,  and  I  pass  the  morii- 

in;{ii,  from  noon  till  xtx  o'clock,  in   receiving  the  prelects 

and   the  notables  of  the  neiglibourini;  departments.     You 


334   Letters  from  the  first  consul    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND   EMPIRE.  while  at  Lyons. 


know  that  at  this  sort  of  conferences  one  must  talk  a  long 
while. 

"  This  evening  the  city  of  Lyons  gives  a  concert  and  ball. 
I  am  going  there  in  about  an  hour. 

"  The  labours  of  the  consulta  are  in  progress. 

"  The  troops  of  the  army  of  the  east  are  now  arriving  in 
strength  at  Lyons ;  I  am  taking  steps  to  have  them  clothed ; 
I    I  hope  to  review  tbem  on  the  28th. 

"  I  continue  to  be  extremely  satisfied  with  every  thing  I 
see,  hoth  with  the  people  of  Lyons,  and  with  those  of  the 
south  of  France. 

'■  The  negotiations  at  Amiens  appear  to  me  advancing. 

"  I  congratulate  you  on  the  manner  in  wliich  every  thing 
in  your  hands  proceeds. 

"  Joseph  writes  me  from  Amiens  that  lord  Cornwallis  told 
him  that  the  British  cabinet  has  received  favourable  news 
about  the  French  array  at  St.  Domingo,  and  thn:  division 
had  manifested  itself  in  Toussaint's  forces." 

To  the  same, 
"  Lyons,  26th  Nivose,  year  x.(lGth  of  January,  1S02.) 

"  I  have  received,  citizen  consuls,  your  despatches  of  the 
22nd  and  23rd  Nivose.  The  Lyonnese  have  given  us  a  most 
magnificent  fete.  Annexed  you  will  find  the  details,  with 
the  songs  sung  on  the  occasion. 

"  I  proceed  very  slowly  in  my  operations,  because  I 
pass  the  whole  of  my  mornings  in  receiving  the  deputations 
of  the  neiglibouring  departments. 

"  It  is  very  fine  to-ilay,  but  very  cold. 

"  The  well-being  of  the  republic,  during  the  last  two 
y«ars,  is  observable.  The  population  of  Lyons  has  increased 
during  the  years  viii.  and  ix.  more  than  20,000  souls  ;  and 
all  the  manufacturers  that  I  have  seen  from  St.  Etienne, 
Annonay,  &c.,  tell  me  that  their  works  are  in  great  activity. 

"  All  minds  seem  to  be  full  of  activity,— not  that  which 
disorganizes  empires,  but  that  which  re-establishes  them, 
and  conduces  to  their  prosperity  and  riches. 

"  I  shall,  in  a  few  days,  review  nearly  six  demi-brigades 
of  the  army  of  the  east." 

To  the  consul  Cambaceres. 
"  Lyons,  28th  Nivose,  year  x.  {18th  of  January,  1802.) 
"  I  have  just  received,  citizen  consul,  a  deputation  from 
Bordeaux.  It  has  presented  me  a  petition,  soliciting  me  to 
visit  their  city,  which  I  have  promised  to  do,  as  soon  as 
their  relations  with  the  Antilles  and  the  Isle  of  France  shall 
be  in  full  activity. 

"  Your  letter  of  the  25th  communicates  to  me  the  deli- 
berations of  the  senate.  I  beg  you  particularly  to  see  that 
the  twenty,  and  the  sixty  unruly  members  whom  we  have 
in  the  constituted  authorities,  are  everyone  got  rid  of.  The 
wish  of  the  nation  is,  that  the  government  should  not  be 
obstructed  in  its  endeavours  to  do  well,  and  that  the  head 
of  filedusa  shall  not  show  itself  any  more,  either  in  our 
tribunes,  or  in  our  assemblies. 

"  The  conduct  of  Siey^s  on  the  present  occasion  com- 
pletely proves  that,  having  contributed  to  the  destruction  of 
all  the  constitutions  since  17&1,  he  wants  now  to  try  his 
hand  against  the  present.  It  is  very  extraordinary  that  he 
cannot  see  the  folly  of  it.  He  ought  to  burn  a  wax  candle 
to  our  Lady,  for  having  got  out  of  the  scrape  so  fortunately, 
and  in  so  unexpected  a  manner;  but  the  older  I  grow,  the 
more  I  perceive  that  each  man  must  fulfil  his  destiny. 

"  I  take  it  for  granted  that  you  have  taken  the  proper 
measures  for  demolishing  the  Chatelet. 

"  If  the  minister  of  marine  has  need  of  the  frigates  of  the 
king  of  Naples,  he  may  make  use  of  them.  Indeed,  it  will 
be  as  well  to  despatch  them  to  America  as  soon  as  possible. 
Every  thing  shall  be  arranged  afterwards  with  the  king  of 
Naples. 

"  The  cold  is  much  diminished  to-day. 
"  General   Jourdan,   who  has  arrived  to-day  from  Pied- 
mont, gives  me  a  very  satisfactory  account  of  the  state  of 
that  province. 


"  The  operations  of  the  consulta  are  in  an  advanced  state, 
all  their  organic  laws  are  arranging. 

"  I  have  been  occupied  part  of  the  morning  in  a  confer- 
ence with  the  prefects. 

"  I  recommend  you  to  see  the  minister  of  marine,  to 
ascertain  whether  the  provisions  for  St.  Domingo  have  been 
sent  off." 

To  the  consuls  Cambaceres  and  Lebrun. 

"Lyons,  30th  Nivose,  year  x.  (20th  of  January,  1S02.) 
"  I  should  wish,  citizen  consuls,  the  minister  of  the 
public  treasury  to  send  Roger  to  tlie  16th  military  division, 
to  examine  into  the  accounts  of  the  paymaster,  and  of  the 
principal  receivers  of  the  departments  composing  that 
division. 

"  I  also  wish  the  minister  of  the  public  treasury  would. 
send  to  Rennes  some  individual  like  citizen  Roger,  to  per- 
form the  same  duty  in  the  13th  military  division. 

"  Despatch  also  the  councillors  of  state  Thibaudeau  and 
Fourcroy,  one  to  the  'Sth  military  division  and  the  other  to 
the  16th,  to  inspect  these  divisions,  in  the  same  way  as  they 
did  on  their  preceding  mission.  One  part  of  the  complaint 
is,  that  the  minister  of  war  has  not  caused  the  compensation- 
money,  in  lieu  of  forage  and  lodging,  for  the  first  three 
months  of  the  year  x.,  to  be  paid  over  to  the  officers;  that 
the  receivers  keep  the  funds  a  long  time,  and  that  the  pay- 
masters pay  it  as  late  as  they  can.  The  paymasters  and  the 
receivers  are  the  greatest  plagues  in  the  state." 

To  the  same. 
"  Lyons,  30th  Niv5se,  year  x.,  or  20th  Jan.  1802. 

"  I  have  received,  citizen  consuls,  your  letter  of  the  26th 
and  ?7th.  At  Lyons,  as  at  Paris,  the  weather  has  become 
considerably  milder. 

"  Yesterday  I  visited  several  factories.  I  was  pleased 
with  the  industry  and  with  the  severe  economy  which  I 
thought  I  perceived  exercised  by  the  manufacturers  in  the 
employment  of  their  workmen. 

"  I  ought  to-day  to  have  held  my  grand  review,  but  I 
have  postponed  it  till  the  Sth  Pluviose.  The  troops  of  the 
army  of  the  east  have  not  yet  been  clothed  anew ;  I  am  in 
hopes  that  by  the  Sth  they  will  be  all  ready,  so  that  they 
will  present  a  satisfactory  appearance. 

"  I  perceive,  with  much  pleasure,  the  decision  you  have 
come  to  about  the  Ciiatelet.  If  the  weather  should  become 
severe.  I  do  not  think  the  step  you  have  taken,  of  allowing 
four  thousand  francs  per  month  for  the  extraordinary  work- 
shops, will  be  sulficient. 

"  Besides  the  hundred  thousand  francs  which  the  minister 
of  the  interior  grants  monthly  to  the  committees  of  bien- 
faisance,  it  will  be  necessary  to  add  twenty-five  thousand 
francs  extraordinary  for  the  distribution  of  wood;  and  if  the 
cold  weather  continues,  it  will  be  necessary,  as  in  '8y,  to 
light  fires  in  the  churches  and  other  great  buildings,  to  warm 
a  great  many  people. 

"  I  calculate  on  being  back  in  Paris  in  the  course  of  the 
decade.  I  beg  you  to  consider  whether  it  will  not  be  ex- 
pedient to  insert  in  the  Moniteur  the  last  message  to  the 
senate,  and  to  add  two  lines  at  the  end,  to  state  that  the 
senate  has  appointed  a  commission,  which  made  its  report 
in  the  sitting  of  the  .  .  .  ,  it  is  decided  upon  to  proceed  to  a 
renewal  of  the  chamber,  in  conformity  with  the  38th  article 
of  the  constitution,  &c.  S:c. 

"  Many  rumours  which  have  reached  me  lead  me  to  be- 
lieve that  Caprara  requires  the  priests  to  sign  formula  or 
professions  of  faith,  couched  nearly  in  these  words:  'We 
rejoice,  moreover,  in  heretiy  making  a  solemn  profession  of 
filial  respect,  of  complete  submission,  and  perfect  obedience 
to,'  &c.  &c. 

"  This  information  has  reached  me,  amongst  the  rest, 
from  Maestricht.    I  beg  you  to  confer  with  Portalis.     This 
I  formula  appears  to  me  quite  inconceivable." 


1802, 
Jan. 


Letters  from  the  first  consul 


THE  TRIBUNATE. 


wliile  at  Lyons. 


To  the  same. 
"  Lyons,  2nd  Pluviose,  year  x.,  or  22nd  Jan.  1802. 

"  I  only  received  to-day,  citizen  consuls,  your  letter  of  the 
29th  Nivose,  which  reached  me  about  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon.  Tlie  thaw  and  the  inundations  retarded  your 
courier  some  hours. 

"  The  forage  department  is  entirely  disorganized  in  the 
department  of  the  Drome.  Ten  thousand  francs  must  be 
retained  out  of  the  ordonnance  of  Pluviose  until  this  branch 
of  the  service  is  in  due  course. 

"  The  civil  hospitals  which  are  allowed  only  fourteen  sous 
per  day  for  the  sick  military,  complain  that  they  have  not 
yet  received  any  thing  for  the  year  x.  That  of  Valence  de- 
mands, besides  the  whole  year  x.,  an  arrear  for  the  month 
of  Fructidor,  ix. 

"  The  order  issued  for  the  organization  of  the  Piedmontese 
troops,  which  I  signed  more  than  a  month  ago,  has  not  yet 
reached  Turin,  which  occasions  uncertainty  amongst  the 
troops.  Generally  speaking,  there  is  a  good  deal  of  back- 
wardness, and  little  activity,  in  the  war  department ;  this  is 
the  general  opinion  amongst  all  who  have  any  thing  to  do 
with  that  department. 

"  It  is  indispensable  that  the  minister  of  war  should  send 
a  good  and  experienced  commissary  to  Turin. 

"  All  the  most  important  arrangements  of  the  consulta 
are  decided  upon.  I  still  depend  upon  reaching  Paris  in  the 
course  of  the  decade. 

"  It  would  be  desirable  for  the  senate  to  name  a  dozen 
prefects,  either  to  the  tribunate  or  to  the  legislative  body. 
The  prefect  of  Mont  Blanc  should  be  amongst  them. 

"  I  should  wish  you  to  insert  in  the  journals  some  articles 
respecting  the  roguery  of  Fouilloux,  to  turn  into  ridicule  the 
foreign  gulls  who  spread  absurd  reports  founded  on  the 
manuscript  bulletin  of  a  small  rogue,  who  was  in  want  of 
a  dinner,  and  duped  them.  It  would  be  as  well  to  recur 
to  this  subject  several  times." 

To  the  same. 
"  Lyons,  6th  Pluviose,  year  x.,  or  2Cth  Jan.  1802. 
"  I  have  received,  citizen  consuls,  your  letter  of  the  2nd 
PluviBse. 
"  I  had  to-day  a  grand  review  on  the  place  Bellecour.  The 


weather  was  superb ;  the  sun  shone  as  if  it  were  the  month 
of  Floreal. 

"  The  consulta  has  appointed  a  committee  of  thirty  indi- 
viduals, which  has  made  a  report  to  the  effect  that,  consider- 
ing the  interior  and  e.\terior  circumstances  of  the  Cisalpine 
republic,  it  was  indispensable  to  leave  me  to  perform  the 
duty  of  the  chief  magistracy,  until  circumstances  should 
permit,  or  I  should  deem  it  expedient,  to  appoint  a  suc- 
cessor. To-morrow  I  calculate  upon  presenting  myself  to 
the  assembled  consulta.  The  constitution  will  be  read,  with 
the  list  of  the  appointments,  and  every  thing  will  be  con- 
cluded.   I  shall  be  in  Paris  on  decade." 

To  the  same. 

"  Lyons,  6th  Pluviose,  year  x.,  26th  Jan.  1802. 

"  I  have  received,  citizen  consuls,  your  letter  of  the  3rd 
Pluviose.  I  think  it  will  be  well  to  wait  till  the  peace  of 
Amiens  is  signed  before  we  raise  the  state  of  siege  of  the 
city  of  Brest. 

"  At  two  o'clock  I  went  to  the  hall  of  the  sittings  of  the 
extraordin*y  consulta.  I  delivered  a  short  speech  in 
Italian,  of  which  you  will  find  enclosed  a  French  translation. 
The  constitution  was  read,  the  first  organic  law,  and  one  re- 
lating to  the  clergy.  The  different  nominations  were  pub- 
lished. 

"  I  will  send  you  to-morrow  a  minute  of  the  whole  pro- 
ceedings of  the  consulta,  in  which  will  be  found  a  copy  of  the 
constitution.  The  two  ministers,  four  counsellors  of  state, 
twenty  prefects,  with  the  general  and  superior  oflScers,  ac- 
companied me.  This  sitting  exhibited  both  majefty  and 
great  unanimity ;  and  I  hope  from  the  congress  of  Lyons  all 
the  results  which  I  anticipated. 

"  I  think  it  is  useless,  unless  false  reports  are  circulated 
about  the  congress  of  Lyons,  to  publish  any  thing  before  the 
arrival  of  the  courier  whom  I  shall  send  you  to-morrow. 
Only  in  case  of  its  being  rumoured  that  the  consulta  has 
nominated  me  president,  you  can  print  the  two  papers  en- 
closed, which  will  make  known  the  exact  turn  that  matters 
have  taken. 

"  I  .<ihall  be  occupied  to-morrow  in  bringing  the  whole 
business  to  a  close,  and  I  shall  start  in  the  night.  On 
decade  I  shall  be  in  Paris  .  .  .  ." 


336       Objects  of  Bonaparte's       THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE,   journey  to  Lyoni  realized. 


BOOK  XIV. 

THE  CONSULATE  FOR  LIFE. 

ARRIVAL  OP  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  IN  PARIS.— SCRUTINY  OP  THE  SENATE,  WHICH  EXCLUDES  SIXTT  MEMBERS  OP  THB 
LEGISLATIVE  BOOT  AND  TWENTY  OF  THE  TRIBUNATE. — THE  EiCLUDED  MEMBERS  REPLACED  BY  PERSONS 
DEVOTED  TO  THE  GOVERNMENT. — TERMINATION  OF  THE  CONGRtSS  OF  AMIENS. — SOME  DlFPK'lfLI  lES  ARISE  AT 
THE  TERMINATION  OP  THE  NEGOTIATION,  IN  CONSESUENCE  OF  JEALOUSIES  EXCITED  IN  ENGLAND.— THE  FIRST 
CONSUL  OVERCOMES  THESE  DIFFICULTIES  BY  HIS  MODERATION  AND  FIRMNESS. — THE  DbFlXITIVE  TREATY 
SIGNED  ON  THE  25rH  OF  MARCH,  1802.  —  ALTHOUiM  THE  FIRST  ENTHUSIASMS  ABOUT  PEACE  ARE  COOLED 
BOTH  IN  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND,  THEY  WELCOME  WITH  NEW  JOY  THE  HOPE  OP  A  SINCERE  AND  DURABLE 
RECONCILIATION.  —  EXTRAORDINARY  SESSION  OF  THE  YEAR  X.,  DESTINED  TO  CONVERT  INTO  LAWS  THE  CON- 
CORDAT, THE  TREATV  OF  AMIENS,  AND  DIFFERENT  BILLS  OF  GREAT  IMPOHTANCE. — THE  LAW  REGULATINQ 
WORSHIP  ADDED  TO  THE  CONCORDAT  UNDER  THE  TITLE  OF  "ORGANIC  ARTICLES  "—PRESENTATION  OP  THAT 
LAW  AND  OF  THE  CONCORDAT  TO  THE  RENEWED  LEGISLATIVE  BODY  AND  TRIBUNATE. — COOLNESS  WITH  WHICH 
THOSE  DOCUMENTS  ARE  RECEIVED,  EVEN  AFTER  THE  EXCLUSION  OF  THE  OPPOSITION.  — THEY  ARE  ADOPTED. — 
THE  FIRST  CONSUL  FIXES  UPON  THE  FIRST  DAY  OF  EASTER  FOR  THE  PUBLICATION  OP  THE  CONCORDAT,  AND 
THE  FIRST  CEREMONY  OF  THE  RE-ESTABLI.MIED  WORSHIP —ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  NEW  CLERGY. — PART  GIVEN 
TO  THE  CONSTITUTIONALISTS  IN  THE  NOMINATION  OF  THE  BISHOPS.— CARDINAL  CAPRARA  RLFUSES,  IN  THE 
NAME  OP  THE  HOLY  SEE,  TO  INSTITUTE  TH  K  CONSTITUTIONALISTS. — FIB  .MNEbS  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL,  AND  SUB- 
MISSION OF  CARDINAL  CAPRAR  A.— OFFICIAL  RECEPTION  OF  THE  CARDINAL  AS  LEGATE  A  LATKRE. — CONSECRA- 
TION OF  THE  FIRST  PRINCIPAL  BISHOPS  AT  NOTRE  DAME,  (N  PALM  SUNDAY. — CURIOSITY  AND  I-.MOTION  OP 
THE  PUBLIC. — THE  VERY  EVE  BEFORE  EASTER  DAY,  AND  OF  THE  SOLEMN  TE  DEUM  WHICH  WAS  TO  BE 
CHANTED  IN  NOTRE  DAME,  CARDINAL  CAPKARA  WISHES  TO  IMPOSE  ON  THE  CONSTITUTIONALISTS  A  HUMILIAT- 
ING RETRACTION  OF  THEIR  PAST  CONDUCT. — NEW  RESISTANCE  ON  THE  PART  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL. — CAPRARA 
DOES  NOT  YIELD  UNTIL  THE  NIGHT  IS  ADVANCED  BEFORE  EASTER  DAY. — UEPUGNAvCE  OF  THE  GENERALS 
TO  PROCEED  TO  NOTRi:  DAME.— THE  FIRST  CONSUL  OBLIGES  THEM  TO  GO. — >OLEMN  TE  DEUM  AND  OFFICIAL 
RESTORATION  OF  RELIGION  .—  ADIIERI-NCE  OF  THE  PUBLIC,  AND  JOY  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  ON  SEEING  THE 
SUCCESS  OF  HIS  EFFORTS. — PUBLICATION  OF  THE  "  GESIE  DU  CHRISTI.ANISME." — PROJECT  OP  A  GENERAL 
AMNESTY  WITH  RE  .ARD  TO  THE  EMIGRANTS.  — THIS  MEASURE  HAVING  BEEN  DISCUSSED  IN  THE  COUNCIL  OF 
STATE,  BECOMES  THE  OBJECT  OF  A  SENATUS  CONSULTUM. — VIEWS  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  UPON  THE  ORGANIZA- 
TION OF  SOCIETY  IN  FHANCE. — HIS  OPINIONS  ON  SOCIAL  DISTINCTIONS  AND  ON  THE  EDUCATION  OF  YOUTH. — 
TWO  PROJECTED  LAWS  OF  HIGH  IMPORTANCE,  ON  THE  INSTITUTION  OP  THE  LEGION  OF  HONOUR  AND  ON 
PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION. — DISCUSSION  OF  THESE  TWO  PROJECTS  IN  A  FULL  COUNCIL  OF  STATE.— CHARACTER  OP 
THE  DISCUSSIONS  OF  THAT  GREAT  BODY.  — LANGUAGE  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL. — PRESENTATION  OF  THE  TWO 
PROJECTS  TO  THE  LEGISLATIVE  BODY  AND  TO  THE  TRIBUNATE.— ADOPTION.  BY  A  LARGE  .MAJORITY,  OF  THE 
PROJECT  OF  LAW  RELATIVE  TO  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION.— A  LARGE  MINORITY  PRONOUNCES  AGAINST  THE  PROJECT 
RELATIVE  TO  THE  LEGION  OF  HONOUR. — THE  'IREATY  OF  AMIENS  PRESENTED  LAST,  AS  THE  CROWNING  WORK 
OP  THE  FIRST  CONSUL.— RECEPTION  GIVEN  TO  THE  TREATY.— THEY  TAKE  THIS  0(  CASION  TO  SAY  EVERY  WHERE 
THAT  A  NATIONAL  RECOMPENSE  OUGHT  lO  BE  DECREED  TO  THE  AUTHOR  OF  ALL  THE  BENEFITS  WHICH 
FRANCE  THUS  ENJOY'S. — THE  BROTHERS  AND  PARTIZANS  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  MEDITATE  THE  RE-ESTABLISH- 
MENT OF  THE  MONARCHY.— THIS  IDEA  APPEARS  To  BE  PREMATURE.— THE  IDEA  OF  THE  CONSULATE  FOR  LIFE 
MORE  GENERALLY  PR  EVAILS.— THE  CONSUL  CAMBACERES  OFFERS  HIS  INTERVENTION  WITH  THE  SENATE. — 
DISSIMULATION  OP  THE  FIRST  CONSUL,  WHO  WILL  NOT  AVOW  THAT  OF  WHICH  HE  IS  PESIROUS. — EMBARRASS- 
MENT OP  THE  CONSUL  CA  M  BACEKES.— HIS  EFFORTS  TO  INDUCE  THE  SENATE  TO  CONFK.R  THE  CONSULSHIP  ON 
BONAPARTE  FOR  THE  REST  OF  HIS  LIFE. — THE  SECRET  ENEMIES  OF  BONAPARTE  PKOFIT  BY  HIS  SILENCE,  TO 
PERSUADE  THE  SENATE  THAT  A  PROLONGATION  OF  THE  CONSULATE  FoR  TUN  YKARS  SHOULD  SUFFICE.— 
VOTE  OF  THE  SENATE  UPON  THIS  CONSTRUCTION. — DISPLEASURE  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL. — HE  THINKS  OF 
REFUSING. — HIS  COLLEAGUE  CAMBACERES  DISSUADES  HIM  FROM  SO  DOING,  AND  PROPO-ES  AS  AN  EXPEDIENT 
TO  APPEAL  TO  THE  SOVEREIGNTY  OF  THE  NATION,  AND  TO  PUT  THE  aUESTION  TO  FRANCE,  ''  IP  BONAPARTE 
SHALL  BE  CONSUL  FOR  LIFE?" — THE  COUNCIL  OF  STATE  CHARGED  TO  DRAW  UP  THE  OUESTION.— OPENING  OP 
REGISTRIES  IN  THE  MAYORS*  OFFICES,  THE  TRIBUNALS,  AND  OFFICES  OF  THE  NOTARIKS  PUBLIC. —  EAGERNESS 
OP  ALL  THE  CITIZENS  TO  TENDER  AFFIRMATIVE  VOTES. — CHANGE  WROUGHT  IN  THE  CONSTITUTION  OP  SIEYES. 
— THE  FIRST  CONSUL  RECEIVES  THE  CONSULSHIP  FOR  HIS  LIFE,  WITH  POWER  OF  APPOINTING  HIS  SUCCESSOR. — 
THE  SENATE  IS  INVEsTKD  WITH  THE  CONSTITUENT  POWER.— THE  LISTS  OF  NOTABILITY  ARE  ABOLISHED,  AND 
REPLACED  BY  ELECTORAL  COLLEGES  FOR  LIFE.— THE  TRIBUNATE  REDUCED  TO  BE  A  SECTION  OF  THE  COUNCIL 
OP  STATE.  — THE  NKW  CONSTITUTION  BECOMES  COMPLETFLY  MONARCHICAL. — CIVIL  LIST  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL. — 
HE  IS  PROCLAI.MED  SOLEMNLY  BY  THE  SENATE. — GENERAL  SATISFACTION  AT  HAVING  FOUNDED  AT  LAST  A 
POWERFUL  AND  DURABLE  GOVERNMENT. — THE  FIRST  CONSUL  USES  THE  NAME  OF  NaPOLEON  BONAPARTE. — 
HIS  "moral"  POWER  IS  NOW  AT  ITS  CULMINATING  POINT.— RECAPITULATION  OF  THIS  PERIOD  OF  THREE 
YEARS. 


The  journey  of  the  first  consul  to  Lyons,  liad  for 
its  end  the  constitution  of  the  Itali;in  republic,  and 
to  secure  himself  the  government,  for  tlie  interest 
of  Italy  and  that  of  France.  He  had  also  the 
object  in  view  to  embarrass  the  o|)])osition,  and  to 
bring  it  into  discredit,  by  leaving  it  idle;  thus 


]>rovinc;  that  it  was  impossible  to  carry  out  good 
while  it  stood  in  the  way  ;  finally,  ti>  nive  the  con- 
sul Cambace'res  time  to  exclude  from  tiie  legislative 
body  and  from  the  tribunate  the  more  restless  and 
troublesome  members. 

All   thus   desired   was    realized.      The    Italian 


Measures  taken  Tor  re- 
newing the  fifth  of 


THE  CONSULATE  FOR  LIFE. 


the  tribunate  and  legis- 
lative body. 


:«7 


republic,  constituted  with  pomp,  found  itself  bound 
to  the  course  of  French  policy  without  losing 
its  own  defined  object.  The  opponents  in  the  tri- 
bun:ite  and  in  the  legislative  body,  struck  by  the 
message  which  withdrew  the  civil  code,  left  in 
Paris  without  a  single  projected  law  to  discuss, 
did  not  know  how  to  extricate  themselves  from 
their  embarrassment.  It  was  laid  to  their  charge 
every  where,  that  they  interrupted  the  best  labours 
of  tlie  government ;  every  where  they  were  cen- 
sured for  imitating  misihievously,  and  without 
reason,  the  agitators  of  the  old  time  ;  and  while 
thus  situated,  Cambac^res  gave  them  the  last  blow 
by  the  ingenious  cdmbinatiou  which  he  had  con- 
ceived. He  sent  for  M.  Tronchet,  the  learned 
lawyer,  introduced  into  llie  senate  by  his  influence, 
and  enjoying  in  that  body  the  double  weight  of 
wisdom  and  character.  He  communicated  to  him 
his  i)lan,  and  obtained  his  assent  to  it.  It  has 
been  seen  in  the  preceding  book  what  this  plan 
was  ;  it  has  been  seen  that  it  consisted  in  the  in- 
terpretation of  article  38  of  the  constitution,  which 
fixed  the  year  x.  for  the  going  out  of  the  first  fifth  of 
the  tribunate  and  the  legislative  body,  and  gave  to 
the  senate  lire  designation  of  the  fifth  which  was 
to  retire.  There  were  many  reasons  for  and 
againpt  this  mode  of  the  interpretation  of  ar- 
ticle 38.  The  best  of  ail  was  the  necessity  of  sup- 
plying to  the  faculty  of  dissolutiim  that  which  the 
constitution  had  not  attributed  to  the  executive 
power.  M.  Tronchet,  a  wise  man  and  excellent 
citizen,  admiring  and  fearing  at  the  same  time  the 
first  consul,  but  judging  him  indispensable,  and 
judging  with  Cambac^res,  that  if  he  were  not 
delivered  from  the  imi)ortunale  opposition  of  the 
tribunate,  he  would  have  recourse  to  violent  mea- 
sures even  from  his  anxiety  to  effect  the  good 
which  he  was  thus  prevented  from  effecting — 
M.  Tronchet  entered  into  the  views  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  charged  himself  with  the  task  of  pre- 
paring the  senate  for  the  ado])tion  of  the  projected 
measures.  He  succeeded  without  trouble,  because 
the  senate  felt  that  it  had  been  made  the  accom- 
plice and  dupe  of  tlie  bad  humour  of  the  opposition. 
This  body  had  already  receded  with  great  haste 
and  little  dignity  in  the  business  of  the  candidate- 
ships.  Ruled  by  that  love  of  repose  and  power, 
which  had  seized  upon  every  body,  it  consented  to 
turn  out  the  oppositionists,  whose  plans  it  had 
at  first  a|)provcd  and  seconded.  The  scheme  was 
well  received  by  the  principal  persons  of  the  body, 
LaccJpede,  Laplace,  Jac(|iieniinot,  and  others,  and 
they  proceeded  without  delay  in  its  execution, 
under  a  mess:ig<-,  dated  the  7lh  of  January,  1802, 
or  17th  Nivox-,  yar  x. 

"  Senators,"  said  the  message,  "  the  article  38 
of  the  constitution  commands  that  tlie  renewal  of 
the  first-fifth  of  the  hgislative  body  and  of  the 
tribunate  shall  take  jilace  in  the  year  x.,  and  we 
touch  <in  the  fourth  month  of  that  year.  The 
consuls  have  believed  it  their  duty  to  call  your 
attention  to  the  cin-umstanee.  Your  wisdom  will 
find  in  it  the  necessity  of  taking  into  consideration, 
without  delay,  the  operaiioim  wliieli  Mil  be  neces- 
BJiry  tr)  precede  this  ren('wal." 

This  message,  the  intiiilion  of  which  it  was  easy 
to  divine,  struck  with  surprise  tlic  opposilion  in  lh<- 
two  legislative  asKemblieH,  and  naturally  excited 
among  them  a  great  degree  of  irritation.     From 


levity,  or  by  impulse,  they  had  thrown  themselves 
into  the  career  of  opposition  without  foreseeing  the 
result,  and  they  were  strangely  suri)rised  at  the 
blow  which  impended,  a  blow  which  would  have 
been  more  severe  but  for  the  inteivention  of  the 
consul  Cambaceres.  They  met  for  the  purpose  of 
drawing  up  a  memorial,  and  they  presented  it  to 
the  senate.  Cambace'res,  who  knew  nearly  all  of 
them,  addressed  himself  to  those  who  were  the 
least  compromised.  He  made  them  sensible  that 
in  further  distinguishing  themselves  by  their  re- 
sistance, they  would  not  fail  to  attract  indi- 
vidually the  attention  of  the  senate,  and  the 
power  of  exclusion,  with  which  that  body  was  to  be 
invested.  This  observation  quieted  the  greater 
part  of  them,  and  they  waited  in  silence  the  de- 
cision of  the  supreme  authority.  In  the  sittings  of 
the  15th  and  18th  of  January,  the  25th  and  28th 
of  Nivose,  the  senate  resolved  the  question  arising 
out  of  the  message  of  the  consuls.  By  a  very 
large  majority  it  decided  that  the  renewal  of  the 
first-fifth  in  the  two  legislative  assemblies  should 
immediately  take  place,  and  that  the  designation  of 
this  fifth  should  be  made  by  ballot  and  not  by  lot. 
But  a  change  of  form  was  adopted,  and  in  place  of 
balloting  for  those  who  were  to  go  out,  it  was 
decided  that  the  ballot  should  be  on  the  names 
of  those  who  were  to  remain  members.  The  mea- 
sure had  thus  the  appearance  of  a  preference  in 
place  of  that  of  an  exclusion.  By  means  of  this 
softening  of  the  mode  of  proceeding,  they  set 
about  the  designation  of  the  two  hundred  and 
forty  members  of  the  legislative  body  without 
delay,  and  of  the  eighty-eight  members  of  tho 
tribunate  destined  to  continue  in  tlie  legislature. 
The  senators  more  immediately  under  the  influence 
of  the  government,  were  in  secret  i)ossession  of  the 
names  of  the  members  who  were  to  be  preserved  | 
from  exclusion,  and  during  the  last  days  of 
January,  or  the  end  of  Nivose,  and  commencement 
of  Pluviose,  the  ballots  constantly  repeated  in  the 
senate,  effected  the  separation  of  the  partisans  and 
adversaries  of  the  government.  Sixty  members  of 
the  legislative  body,  who  had  exhibited  the  greatest 
resistance  to  the  projected  miasures  of  the  first 
consul,  above  all,  to  the  project  for  the  re-establish- 
ment of  worship,  and  twenty  of  the  most  active  of 
the  tribunate,  were  excluded  ;  or,  according  to  the 
term  used  at  that  time,  were  "  eliminated."  The 
principal  among  these  twenty  were  Chc'nicr,  Gin- 
guend,  Cliazal,  Bailleul,  Comtois,  Ganiel,  Daunou, 
and  Benjamin  Constant.  The  others,  less  known, 
men  of  letters,  or  business,  ancient  conventionals, 
or  ]iriests,  had  no  other  title  to  enter  the  tribunate 
than  the  friendship  of  Sieyes  and  his  pai-ty  ;  the 
same  title  sent  them  out  of  it. 

Such  was  the  end  not  only  of  the  tribunate, 
which  continued  to  exist  for  some  lime  longer,  but 
of  the  momentary  importance  which  tliat  body 
had  ac(|uin(l.  It  was  desirable  that  the  first  con- 
sul, so  lull  of  (ilory,  so  indenmified  by  the  universal 
adhesion  of  France  for  an  unbecoming  oi)position, 
could  have  resigned  himself  to  bear  lor  a  moment 
with  a  few  impotent  detractors.  Tliis  resignation 
would  have  been  more  worthy  of  him,  and  also 
1.S8  hurtful  to  the  species  of  lib.  rty  which  ho 
would  have  been  able  to  leave  to  France  at  that 
lime,  in  ortl.r  to  prepare  her  at  a  later  jieriod  fc.r 
a  genuine  liberty.     But  in  this  world  wisdom  is 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Lucien   Bonaparte,  ,  ono 

Carnot,  and  Daru,  ,"„ 

selected.  "'^"• 


much  more  rare  than  ability,  more  perhaps  than 
even  genius,  because  wisdom  implies  a  victory 
over  our  own  passions,  a  victory  of  which  the 
great  men  are  no  more  capable  tlian  the  little.  The 
first  consul,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  wanted  wis- 
dom upon  this  occasion,  and  one  single  excuse  can 
alone  be  offered  in  his  favour  ;  it  is,  that  such 
an  opposition,  encouraged  by  his  patience,  would 
perhaps  become  more  inconvenient,  more  danger- 
ous, and  even  insurmountable,  if  the  majority 
of  the  legislative  body  and  of  the  senate  had  at 
last  borne  a  part  in  it,  which  was  very  possible. 
This  excuse  has  a  certain  foundation,  and  it  proves 
that  there  are  times  in  which  a  dictatorship  is 
needful  even  to  a  free  country,  or  one  destined  to 
be  so. 

As  to  this  opposition  of  the  tribunate,  it  did  not 
merit  the  praises  which  have  been  so  frequently 
given  to  it.  Uncertain  and  shuffling,  it  resisted 
the  civil  code,  the  re-establishment  of  the  altars, 
the  best  acts  of  the  first  consul,  and  regarded 
in  silence  the  proscription  of  the  unhappy  revo- 
lutionists, banished  without  a  trial,  on  account 
of  tlie  infernal  machine,  of  which  tliey  were  not 
the  authors.  The  tribunes  were  silent  then,  be- 
cause the  terrible  explosion  of  the  3rd  of  Nivose 
had  frozen  them  with  fear,  and  they  dared  not 
defend  the  principles  of  justice  in  the  persons 
of  men,  of  whom  the  greater  part  were  blood- 
stained. The  courage  which  they  could  not  ex- 
hibit to  censure  a  flagrant  injustice,  they  found  too 
sadly  in  order  to  impede  excellent  public  mea- 
sures. If,  on  the  other  hand,  a  sincere  sentiment 
of  liberty  inspired  many  of  them,  among  others 
there  may  be  perceived  the  vexatious  feeling  of 
envy  which  animated  the  tribunate  against  the 
council  of  state,  the  men  reduced  to  do  nothing, 
against  those  that  had  the  power  to  do  all  things. 
Tlicy  committed  then  very  serious  faults,  and  un- 
happily provoked  those  not  less  serious  upon  the 
part  of  the  first  consul :  a  deplorable  chain  of 
circumstances,  that  histoi-y  so  often  obscures  in 
our  agitated  universe,  the  passions  of  which  are  in 
eternal  motion. 

It  was  necessary  to  replace  the  excluded  fifths 
in  the  legislative  body  and  the  tribunate.  The 
majority  of  the  senate  which  had  pronounced  the 
exclusions,  nominated  the  new  admissions,  and  did 
so  in  a  manner  the  most  satisfactory  to  the  con- 
sular government.  They  made  use  for  the  new 
elections  of  the  lists  of  notability,  invented  by 
Sieyes  as  a  principal  basis  of  the  constitution. 
Despite  the  eff'orts  of  the  council  of  state  to  dis- 
cover a  convenient  manner  of  forming  these  lists, 
none  of  the  systems  it  devised  had  redeemed 
the  inconvenience  of  the  principle.  They  were  slow 
and  difficult  to  form,  because  they  inspired  little 
zeal  in  the  citizens,  wh(j  could  not  see  in  this  vast 
mass  of  candidates,  any  very  direct  and  immediate 
means  to  influence  the  composition  of  the  first  au- 
thorities. They  were,  in  reality,  only  a  mode  of 
saving  appearances,  and  of  dissiimilating  the  neces- 
sity then  inevitable,  for  the  comjiosition  of  the  great 
bodies  of  the  state  through  themselves ;  since 
every  election  turned  out  badly,  in  other  words, 
went  to  extremes.  They  had  the  greatest  ditti- 
culty  in  completing  these  lists;  and  out  of  a  hun- 
dred and  two  departments  then  existing,  of  which 
two,  those  of  Coraica,  were  beyond  the  rciicli  of 


the  law  ;  those  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine  were 
not  organized,  eighty-three  only  had  sent  in  their 
lists.  It  was  agreed,  therefore,  that  the  selections 
should  be  made  fi-om  the  lists  sent  in,  with  a  re- 
servation of  indemnity,  by  subsequent  elections,  to 
the  departments  which  had  not  yet  executed  the 
law. 

There  were  called  to  the  legislative  body  a  great 
number  of  the  larger  proprietors  of  land  in  the 
country,  whom  the  new  security,  which  they  had 
been  recently  made  to  enjoy,  had  brought  to  quit 
the  retirement  in  which  they  had  hitherto  en- 
deavoured to  live.  There  were  also  called  to  it 
some  prefects  and  magistrates,  w-lio  had  been,  for 
three  years  past,  training  to  the  practice  of  public 
business,  under  the  direction  of  the  consular  go- 
vernment. Among  those  introduced  into  the  tri- 
bunate, was  numbered  Lucien  Bonaparte,  returned 
from  Spain,  after  an  embassy  more  agitated  than 
useful,  affecting  to  desire  nothing  more  than  a 
quiet  existence,  employed  to  serve  his  brother  in 
one  of  the  great  assemblies  of  the  state.  With  him 
was  introduced  Carnot ',  who  had  just  quitted  the 
ministry  at  war,  where  he  had  not  possessed- the 
art  of  pleasing  the  first  consul.  The  last  was  not 
more  favourable  to  the  consular  government  than 
the  tribunes  i-ecently  excluded;  but  he  was  a  grave 
personage,  universally  respected,  whose  opposition 
could  not  be  very  active,  and  whom  the  revolution 
could  not  have  laid  aside  without  odious  ingratitude. 
This  nomination  was  a  last  homage  to  liberty. 
After  these  two  names  the  most  noted  was  that  of 
M.  Daru,  a  capable  and  upright  administrator  of 
a  sage  and  cultivated  intellect. 

During  the  time  that  these  operations  ^yere  in 
execution,  the  first  consul  had  reached  Paris,  after 
an  absence  of  twenty-four  days.  He  arrived  on 
the  31st  of  January,  in  the  evening,  or  on  the  11th 
of  Plnviose.  Every  where  there  was  submission, 
and  that  singular  movement  of  resistance,  that  had 
not  long  before  been  seen  in  both  legislative  as- 


'  "  After  the  ISth  Brumaire,  Carnot  was  recalled  by  the  first 
consul"  (he  had  fallen  in  Fructidor),  "and  placed  in  the  war 
department.  He  had  several  quarrels  with  the  minister  of 
finance,  Diifresne,  the  director  of  the  treasury;  in  wliich,  it 
is  but  lair  to  say,  that  he  was  always  in  the  wrong.  At  last 
he  left  the  department,  persuaded  that  it  could  not  longer 
go  on  for  want  of  money.  When  a  member  of  the  tribunate, 
he  spoke  and  voted  itgainst  the  establishment  of  the  empire; 
but  his  conduct,  open  and  manly,  gave  no  uneasiness  to  the 
administration.  At  a  later  period  he  was  appointed  inspector 
of  reviews,  and  received  from  the  emperor,  on  his  retire- 
ment from  the  service,  a  pension  of  twenty  thousand  frsncs. 
As  long  as  public  affairs  went  on  prospering,  tlie  emperor 
heard  nothing  of  Carnot  ;  but  after  the  campaign  of  Russia, 
at  the  time  of  the  disasters  of  France,  Carnot  asked  for  em- 
ployment. He  was  appointed  to  command  the  town  of 
Antwerp,  and  he  behaved  well  in  his  post.  On  liis  return 
in  1S15,  tlie  emperor,  after  a  little  hesitation,  made  liim 
minister  of  the  interior,  and  had  no  reason  to  repent  of  liis 
choice,  having  found  him  faithful,  laborious,  full  of  probity 
and  sincerity.  In  the  month  of  June,  1815,  Carnot  was 
named  one  of  the  commission  of  the  provisional  govern- 
ment, but  he  was  duped.'.'  Such  was  Napoleon's  account  of 
him.  He  wrote  upon  projectiles,  and  started  a  new  theory, 
■which  Napoledh  proclaimed  to  be  fallacious  in  practice. 
Carnot  died  in  1823,  exiled  by  the  Bourbons.  He  was  one 
of  the  comparatively  few  men,  wlio  figured  during  the  whole 
revolution,  of  whom  France  may  be  proud.  He  was  a 
scientific,  cool,  sincere,  courageous,  patriotic,  and  inde- 
pctidcnt  man. — Translator. 


Bonaparte  returns  to  Paris. 
—State  of  his  projected 
measures. 


THE  CONSULATE  FOR  LIFE. 


Negotiation  at  Amiens  i 
question  of  Malta. 


33y 


semblies,  was  now  completely  ended.  The  new 
authority  with  which  the  first  consul  was  clothed 
had  itself  acted  strongly  upon  the  public  mind.  It 
was  not  much,  most  assuredly,  in  addition  to  the 
power  of  the  first  consul,  that  the  Italian  republic 
Imd  been  added  to  that  of  France,  which  could 
thus  vanquish  and  disarm  the  world;  but  it  was 
that  exaniplc  of  deference  given  to  the  genius  of 
general  Bonapai'te  by  an  allied  people,  which  had 
produced  this  great  effect.  The  bodies  of  the  state 
all  came  eagerly  to  ofter  him  their  felicitations, 
and  tiv  address  to  liim  speeches,  in  which  was  per- 
ceptible, with  that  exaltation  of  language  which  he 
coninionly  inspired,  a  tone  of  marked  respect.  It 
seemed  as  if  there  were  already  seen,  on  that  do- 
minating head,  the  double  crown  of  France  and 
Italy. 

He  had  all  the  power  now  for  the  organization 
of  France,  which  was  his  first  object,  and  for  his 
personal  aggrandizement,  which  was  his  second. 
He  had  no  more  to  fear  that  the  codes  which  he 
liad  drawn  up,  and  which  he  had  again  caused  to 
l)e  revised,  that  the  arrangements  concluded  with 
the  pope  for  the  restoration  of  the  altars,  would  be 
defeated  in  intention  by  ill-will  or  the  jircjudices 
of  the  great  bodies  of  the  state.  These  plans  were 
not  the  whole  which  he  contemplated.  For  some 
months  he  had  been  preparing  a  vast  system  of 
public  education,  in  order  to  fashion  the  young,  in 
some  sort,  to  the  system  of  the  revolution.  Ho 
projected  a  plan  of  national  recompenses,  which, 
under  the  military  form,  adapted  to  the  time,  and 
to  the  warlike  imagination  of  the  French,  might 
also  serve  to  remunerate  the  great  civil  as  well  as 
military  actions  of  the  French.  This  was  the 
legion  of  honour,  a  noble  institution,  for  a  long 
time  meditated  in  secret,  and  certainly  not  the 
least  ditticult  of  the  labours  that  the  first  consul 
would  fain  make  agreeable  to  republican  France. 
He  desired  also  to  put  an  end  to  emigration,  one 
of  the  greatest  and  deepest  maladies  of  the  re- 
volution. Many  Frenchmen  were  still  living  in 
foreign  countries,  imbibing  there  those  bad  senti- 
ments which  are  inherent  in  exile,  destitute  of 
family,  fortune,  and  country.  With  the  design  to 
efface  the  traces  of  the  great  discords  of  France, 
and  to  preserve  all  that  the  revolution  possessed 
which  was  good,  while  discarding  all  which  was 
evil,  emigration  was  not  one  of  the  results  which 
could  bo  ptift'ertd  to  remain  in  existence.  Still,  on 
account  of  those  who  had  acquired  national  ])ro- 
perty,  who  were  ever  susceptible  and  distrustful, 
this  measure  was  one  of  the  most  difficult,  and  de- 
manded the  most  cour.age.  Nevertheless,  the  time 
approached  when  such  an  act  was  likely  to  become 
pohsible.  Finally,  if,  as  it  was  said  every  where,  it 
was  necesfary  to  consolidate  the  power  iu  the 
hands  of.  the  nmn  who  had  exercised  it  in  so  ad- 
mirable a  manner  ;  if  it  was  necessary  to  inii)art 
to  his  authority  a  new  character,  more  elevated, 
more  durable,  than  that  of  a  magistracy,  of  which 
ten  years,  three  had  already  pasHcd  away,  the  mo- 
ment was  again  come  ;  for  the  public  prosperity, 
the  fruit  of  order,  victory,  and  pesice,  was  at  its 
full ;  it  was  felt  at  the  instant  with  a  force  that 
time  might  cool,  but  could  not  lesHcn. 

Still  those  designs  for  the  public  good  and  per- 
sonal aggrandizement,  that  iio  nourished  at  the 
same  time,  needed  for  their  accomplishment  a  last 


act,  in  the  definitive  conclusion  of  a  maritime  peace, 
then  negotiating  in  the  congress  of  Amiens.  The 
preliminaries  of  London  had  laid  down  the  basis  of 
the  peace;  but  as  long  as  those  preliminaries  re- 
mained unconverted  into  a  definitive  treaty,  the 
alarmists  interested  in  disturbing  the  public  repose, 
did  not  fail  to  i-eport  weekly,  that  the  negotiation 
was  broken,  and  that  the  country  would  soon  be 
plunged  into  a  maritime  war,  and  by  a  maritime 
war  into  a  continental  one.  Thus,  after  his  return 
to  Paris,  the  first  consul  impressed  fresh  activity 
upon  the  negotiations  at  Amiens.  "  Sign,"  he  wrote 
every  day  to  Joseph  ;  "  because,  since  the  pre- 
liminaries are  agreed  upon,  there  is  no  more  any 
serious  question  to  debate."  That  was  true.  The 
])reliminaries  of  London  had  settled  the  only  im- 
portant question,  iu  stipulating  the  restituti^i  of 
all  the  maritime  conquests  of  the  English,  except- 
ing Ceylon  and  Trinidad,  which  the  Dutch  and 
Spaniards  were  to  sacrifice.  The  English  had, 
as  we  have  seen,  demanded,  at  the  congress  of 
Amiens,  the  little  island  of  Tobago;  but  the  first 
consul  had  held  it  fast,  and  they  had  renounced  it. 
From  that  time,  there  had  been  no  further  differ- 
ences beyond  questions  altogether  accessai-y,  such 
as  the  support  of  the  prisoners,  and  the  government 
to  be  given  to  the  isle  of  Malta. 

The  di^culty  relative  to  the  prisoners  has 
already  been  explained.  It  was  a  pure  question 
of  money  payment,  always  easy  to  arrange.  The 
government  to  be  given  to  Malta  presented  a  diffi- 
culty more  weighty,  and  a  reciprocal  mistrust 
rendered  the  views  of  the  two  powers  exceedingly 
complicated.  The  first  consul,  by  a  singular  pre- 
sentiment, wished  the  fortifications  of  the  island  to 
be  demolished,  to  reduce  it  to  a  rock,  and  make  it 
a  lazaretto  common  to  all  nations.  The  English, 
who  regarded  Malta  as  a  half-way  step  to  Egypt, 
said  that  the  rock  was  of  itself  too  important  to  be 
left  always  accessible  to  the  French,  that  from  Italy 
they  might  pass  to  Sicily,  and  from  Sicily  to  Malta. 
They  wished  the  re-establishment  of  the  order  upon 
its  ancient  basis,  with  the  creation  of  an  English 
language  and  a  Maltese  language,  the  last  composed 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  island  who  were  devoted 
to  them.  The  first  consul  had  not  admitted  these 
conditions,  because,  from  the  state  of  manners  in 
France,  it  was  not  possible  to  hope  for  the  compo- 
sition of  a  French  sufficiently  numerous  to  counter- 
balance the  creation  of  an  English  language.  At 
last  this  point  was  arranged.  The  order  was  to  be 
re-establishe<l  without  having  any  new  language. 
Another  grand  master  was  to  be  named,  because 
M.  de  Ilompesch,  who  had  in  179'J  delivered  up 
Malta  to  general  Uonaparto,  would  not  do  for  a 
governor  again.  During  the  time  that  the  order 
was  re-organizing,  it  was  decided  to  demand  of  the 
king  of  Naples  a  garrison  of  Neaiiolitan  soldiers, 
who  were  to  occtipy  the  island  on  the  evacuation 
of  it  by  the  English.  In  the  way  of  additional 
precaution,  it  was  desirable  that  sonio  great  power 
should  guarantee  this  arrangement,  iu  order  to 
shelter  Malta  from  any  of  those  enti  rprises  which 
in  five  years  had  made  it  fall  at  one  time  into  the 
power  of  France,  at  another  into  that  of  Englaiul. 
It  was  at  first  thought  of  re<|iiesting  this  guarantee 
of  Russia,  founding  the  ric|neHt  upon  the  intenst 
which  this  power  had  tistified  for  the  order  untlcr 
Paul  1.    On  all  these  points  the  two  parties  agreed 


340    English  jealousies  aroused.    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Conduct  of  Pitt. 


1802. 
feb. 


at  the  time  of  the  departure  of  the  first  consul  for 
Lyons.  The  fisheries  established  on  tht-ir  for- 
mer footing,  the  territorial  indemnity  promised 
in  Germany  to  the  house  of  Orange  for  the  loss  of 
the  stadtholdership,  the  peace  and  integrity  of  ter- 
ritory assured  to  Portugal  as  well  as  to  Turkey, 
only  presented  questions  already  resolved.  Slill, 
since  the  return  of  the  first  consul  to  Paris,  the 
negotiation  appeared  to  languish  ;  and  lord  Corn- 
wallis,  inquieted,  seemed  to  draw  back  a  step  at 
every  movement  made  by  the  French  negotiation 
towards  a  coiutlusion.  It  was  impossible  to  suspect 
lord  Cornwallis,  a  good  and  estimable  soldier  as  he 
was,  who  only  wished  for  an  amicable  termination 
of  the  difficulties  of  the  negotiation,  joining  to  his 
great  military  services  a  great  civil  service,  by 
giving  peace  to  his  country.  But  his  instructions 
were  become  all  of  a  sudden  more  rigorous,  and 
the  pain  that  he  felt  upon  this  account  was  very 
clearly  delineated  in  his  visage.  His  cabinet  had, 
in  effect,  enjoined  it  ujjon  him  to  be  more  par- 
ticular and  more  vigilant  in  the  woi-ding  of  the 
treaty,  and  had  imposed  upon  him  conditions  in 
detail,  which  he  did  not  feel  easy  in  submitting  to 
the  haughty  and  distrustful  humour  of  the  first 
consul.  This  brave  soldier,  who  had  thoughts  to 
crown  his  career  by  a  memorable  action,  had  rea- 
son to  dread  the  sight  of  his  old  renown  being 
tarnished  by  the  part  he  might  be  forced  to  play 
in  a  negotiatiiin  scandalously  broken  off.  In  his 
mortification  he  opened  his  mind  frankly  to  Joseph 
Bonaparte,  and  made  with  him  the  sincerest  efforts 
to  vanquish  the  obstacles  opposed  to  the  conclusion 
of  the  treaty. 

It  will  be  demanded  what  motive  could  have  all 
at  once  destroyed,  or,  at  all  events,  cooled  the 
pacific  disposition  of  Mr.  Addington's  cabinet.  The 
motive  it  is  very  easy  to  comprehend.  It  had 
made  a  sort  of  tack  about,  an  ordinary  thing  in 
free  countries.  The  preliminaries  had  been  signed 
for  six  months,  and  in  that  intermediate  state, 
which,  save  the  sound  of  cann(m,  was  near  to  war, 
little  of  the  benefit  of  peace  had  been  perceived. 
The  greater  commercial  men  who,  in  England, 
were  the  class  most  interested  in  tlie  I'enewal  of 
hostilities,  because  tbe  war  secured  to  them  a  uni- 
versal monopoly,  had  been  in  hopes  to  repay  them- 
selves for  what  they  were  losing  by  making  large 
shipments  to  the  ports  of  France.  They  had  met 
there  with  prohibitory  regulations,  which  had  ori- 
ginated during  a  violent  contest,  and  which  there 
had  not  been  time  to  ameliorate.  The  i)eo|)le,  who 
hoped  for  a  fall  in  the  price  of  provision,  had 
not  thus  far  seen  their  hopes  realized,  because  it 
required  a  definitive  treaty  to  overcome  the  specu- 
lators who  kept  the  price  of  corn  at  a  high  standai'd. 
Lastly,  the  great  landowners,  who  wished  a  reduc- 
tion of  all  the  taxes,  and  the  middle  classes,  who 
demanded  the  repeal  of  the  income-tax,  had  not 
yet  gathered  tlie  promised  fruits  from  the  i)acifica- 
tion  of  the  world.  A  little  disenchantment  had 
therefore  succeeded  to  that  infatuated  desire  for 
peace,  which  six  months  before  had  so  suddenly 
seized  upon  the  English  people  — a  people  as  subject 
to  infatuation  as  the  French.  But,  more  than  all 
the  rest,  the  scenes  at  Lyons  had  acted  on  its 
jealous  imagination.  The  taking  possession  of 
Italy,  thus  made  manifest,  had  appeared  for  France 
and  for  her  chief  something  so  great,  that  British 


jealousy  had  been  warmly  excited  by  it.  It  was 
another  argument  for  the  war  party,  which  already 
did  not  miss  saying,  that  France  was  always 
aggrandizing  hei-self,  and  England  lessening  in 
proportion.  The  recent  news  spread  abroad  acted 
equally  upon  their  minds,  namely,  that  of  the  con- 
siderable acquisition  made  by  the  French  in 
America.  Tuscany,  it  has  been  seen,  was  given 
away,  under  the  title  of  the  kingdom  of  Etruria,  to 
an  infant,  without  the  price  of  this  gift  to  Spain 
being  made  known.  Now  that  tlie  first  consul 
claimed  at  Madrid  the  cession  of  Louisiana,  which 
was  the  equivalent  stipulated  for  Tuscany,  this 
condition  of  the  treaty  was  divulged  ;  and  the  fact, 
joined  to  the  St.  Domingo  expedition,  revealed  new 
and  vast  designs  in  America.  To  all  this  was  to 
be  added,  that  a  considerable  jjort  was  acquired 
by  France  in  the  Mediterranean,  that  of  the  Isle 
of  Elba,  exchanged  for  the  duchy  of  Piombino. 

These  different  rumours,  spread  abroad  at  once 
while  the  consulta,  assembled  at  Lyons,  was  de- 
creeing to  general  Bonaparte  the  government  of 
Italy,  had  given  some  strength  to  the  war  party 
in  London,  which  had  been  before  obliged  to  keep 
itself  in  extreme  reserve,  and  to  greet  with  hypo- 
critical welcome  the  re-establishment  of  peace. 

Pitt,  who  had  quitted  the  cabinet  the  year  before, 
but  who  was  still  more  powerful  in  his  I'etirement 
than  his  upright  and  feeble  successors  were,  when 
in  full  possession  of  their  power,  was  silent  upon  the 
subject  of  the  preliminaries.  He  i)ad  not  saiil  any 
thing  of  the  conditions,  but  he  had  approved  of 
the  fact  of  the  peace  itself.  His  old  friends,  very 
inferior  to  himself,  and,  consequently,  less  moderate, 
Windham,  Dundas,and  Grenville,  had  censured  the 
weakness  of  the  Addington  cabinet,  and  declared 
the  preliminary  conditions  disadvantageous  to  Great 
Britain.  On  learning  the  departure  of  the  fleet, 
carrying  twenty  thousand  men  to  St.  Domingo, 
tiiey  cried  out  aloud  at  the  dupery  of  Addington, 
which  had  ])ermitted  a  squadron  to  pass  which 
would  not  fail  to  re-establish  tlie  French  power 
in  the  Antilles,  before  the  signature  of  the  defini- 
tive treaty  of  peace.  They  prophesied  that  he 
would  be  the  victim  of  his  imprudent  confidence. 
At  the  news  of  the  e^-ents  at  Lyons,  of  the  cession 
of  Louisiana,  and  of  the  acquisition  of  the  island  of 
Elba,  they  exclaimed  still  louder,  and  lord  Carlisle 
made  a  furious  onset  upon  the  gigantic  ambition  of 
France,  and  the  feebleness  of  the  new  cabinet  of 
England. 

Pitt  continued  silent,  thinking  that  it  was  ne- 
cessary to  suffer  this  attachment  to  peace,  with 
which  the  London  public  appeared  to  be  smitten, 
to  wear  itself  out,  and  that  it  became  him  to  pro- 
tect, at  least  for  a  time,  the  cabinet  destined  to 
satisfy,  in  all  ])robability,  a  passing  taste.  The 
English  cabinet  itself  appeared  to  be  moved  by  the 
effect  thus  produced  upon  public  opinion  ;  but  it 
much  more  dreaded  what  would  be  said  if  the 
peace  should  be  broken  as  soon  as  it  was  entered 
upon,  and  if  a  formal  treaty  were  not  to  rejilace 
the  preliminary  articles.  It  confined  itself  there- 
fore to  sending  out  some  ships  of  war  to  tlie  West 
Indies,  which  had  been  prematurely  re-called,  in 
order  to  observe  the  French  fleet,  which  had  sailed 
to  that  quarter;  and  it  sent  to  lord  Corr.wallis  in- 
structions, which,  without  changing  the  foundation 
of  any  thing,  aggravated  certain  conditions,  and 


Feb. 


New  demands  of  the 
KnglUli  cabiiic-t, 


THE  CONSULATE  FOR  LIFE. 


and  the  first  consul's 
reply. 


341 


overloaded  the  definitive  treaty  with  precautions, 
useless  or  disparaginj;  to  the  dignity  of  the  French 
government.  Lord  Hawkesbury  wished  for  a  pre- 
cise stipulation  of  tlie  money  to  be  paid  to  England 
for  tlie  prisoners  which  she  had  to  maintain;  he 
wisiicd  that  Holland  should  pay  tlie  house  of 
Orange  a  money  indemnity,  independently  of  the 
territorial  indemnity  promised  in  Germany;  he 
wished  it  to  be  formally  stipulated,  that  the  old 
grand  master  shoidd  not  be  again  placed  at  tlie 
liead  of  the  order  of  MalU.  He  wished,  above  all, 
that  a  Turkish  plenipotentiary  should  figure  at 
the  congress  of  Amiens,  because  always  full  of  the 
recollections  of  E^'ypt,  the  British  cabinet  held 
itself  determined  to  check  the  daring  of  the  first 
consul  in  the  East.  Ho  wished,  in  line,  to  be  an 
instrument  which  might  enable  Portugal  to  escape 
the  stipulations  of  the  treaty  of  Badajoz— stipula- 
tions by  virtue  of  which  the  court  of  Lisbon  lost 
Olivenza  in  Europe  and  a  certain  territorial  space 
in  America. 

Such  were  the  instructions  sent  to  lord  Corn- 
wallis;  still  there  was  one  proposition  which  was 
reserved  to  be  made  directly  by  lord  Hawkesbury 
to  M.  Otto.  Tills  related  to  Italy  :  "  We  see," 
siiid  lord  Hawkesbury  to  M.  Otto,  "  that  there 
is  nothing  to  be  got  from  the  first  consul  touching 
Piedmont.  To  make  any  demand  on  that  head, 
would  be  asking  what  is  impossible.  But  let  the 
first  consul  grant  to  the  king  of  Sardinia  the 
smallest  territorial  indemnity  in  any  corner  of 
Itiily  that  he  pleases,  and  in  return  for  this  con- 
cession, we  will  acknowledge  at  the  same  moment 
all  that  France  has  done  hi  that  country.  We 
will  acknowledge  the  kingdom  of  Etruria  and  the 
Ligurian  republic." 

The  changes  requested,  whether  by  lord  Corn- 
wallis  or  by  lord  Hawkesbury,  consisting  more  in 
form  than  in  substance,  were  neither  vexatious  to 
the  |)ower  nor  to  the  pride  of  France.  Peace  was 
too  fine  a  thing  not  to  accept  it  as  it  was  ofTered. 
But  the  first  consul,  unable  to  discover  if  these 
new  tlemands  were  oidy  a  pure  precaution  of  the 
Engli-sh  cabinet,  with  the  intention  of  rendering 
the  treaty  more  presentable  to  parliament,  or  if  in 
effect  this  going  back  from  points  already  con- 
ceded, accompanied  by  maritime  armaments,  con- 
cealed a  secret  idea  of  a  rupture,  acted,  as  he 
always  did,  by  going  resolutely  to  the  mark.  He 
conceded  what  he  thought  should  be  conceded,  and 
flatly  refused  the  rest.  Relatively  to  the  pri- 
soners, he  repelled  the  stipulation  of  the  precise 
sum  to  be  [)aid  to  England,  but  agreed  to  the 
formation  of  a  conmiission  which  was  to  regulate 
the  auKiunt  of  the  expenses,  considering  German 
or  other  HoldierH  who  had  been  in  the  English 
servici",  as  Englisii  prisoners.  He  would  not  agree 
that  Holland  should  p:iy  the  stadtholder  a  single 
florin.  'He  consented  in  a  formal  manner  to  the 
nomination  of  a  new  grand  master  for  Maltii,  but 
without  any  expression  applicable  to  M.  de  Hom- 
pesch,  which  might  induce  the  idea  that  France 
allowed  the  abamlonmcnt  of  any  who  had  done  her 
service  to  be  imp'sed  upon  her.  Ho  wished  that 
the  guarantee  of  Maltii  should  be  also  demanded  of 
Austria,  Prussia,  and  Spain  '.    Finally,  without  ad- 

■  At  tlic  possession  of  the  island  of  Malta  was  one  of 
those  points  upon  wlilch  the  two  countries  had  the  greatest 


mitting  a  Turkish  or  Portuguese  plenipotentiary,  he 
consented  to  an  article  in  whicli  the  integrity  of 

difficulty  in  completing  the  treaty,  that  part  which  related 
to  it  will  make  the  subject  hetter  understood  :  — 

"  The  islands  of  Malta,  Gozo,  and  Coniino,  shall  be  re- 
stored to  the  order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  to  be  held  on 
the  same  condition  on  which  it  possessed  them  before  the 
war,  and  under  the  following  stipulations  : — 

"  1.  The  knights  of  the  order  whose  languages  shall  con-, 
tinue  after  the  exchange  of  the  ratifica'ion  of  the  present 
treaty,  are  invited  to  letinn  to  Malta  as  soon  as  the  ex- 
change shall  have  taken  place.  They  will  there  form  a 
general  chapter,  and  proceed  to  the  election  of  a  grand 
master,  chosen  from  among  the  natives  of  the  nation  which 
preserve  their  language,  unless  that  election  lias  been  al- 
ready made  since  the  e.\cliange  of  the  preliminaries.  It  is 
understood  that  an  election  made  subsequent  to  that  epoch, 
shall  alone  be  considtred  valid,  to  the  exclusion  of  any  other 
that  may  have  taken  place  at  any  period  prior  to  that 
epoch. 

"  2.  The  governments  of  the  French  republic  and  of 
Great  Britain,  desiring  to  place  the  order  and  island  of 
Malta  in  a  state  of  entire  independence  with  respect  to 
them,  agree  that  there  shall  not  be  in  future  eilher  a  French 
or  English  language,  and  that  no  individual  belonging  to 
eitlier  the  one  or  the  other  of  these  powers  shall  be  admitted 
into  the  order. 

"  3.  There  shall  be  established  a  Maltese  language,  which 
shall  be  supported  by  ihe  territorial  revenues  and  commercial 
duties  of  the  island.  This  language  shall  have  its  peculiar 
dignities,  an  establishment  and  an  h6:el.  Proofs  of  nobility 
shall  not  be  necessary  for  the  admission  of  knights  of  this 
language;  and  ihey  shall  be  moreover  admissible  to  all 
offices,  and  shall  enjoy  all  jirivileges,  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  knights  of  the  other  languages.  At  least  half  of  the 
municipal,  administrative,  civil,  judicial,  and  other  employ- 
ments depending  on  the  government,  shall  be  tilled  by  in- 
habitants of  the  islands  of  Malta,  Gozo,  and  Comino. 

"4.  The  forces  of  his  Britannic  majesty  shall  evacuate  the 
island  and  its  dependencies  within  three  months  from  the 
exchange  of  the  ratifications,  or  sooner  if  possible.  At  that 
epoih  it  shall  bft  given  up  to  the  order,  in  its  present  state, 
provided  the  grand  master,  or  commissaries  fully  aulhorized 
according  to  the  statutes  of  the  order,  shall  be  in  the  island 
to  take  possession,  and  that  the  force  which  is  to  be  provided 
by  his  Sicilian  majesty,  as  is  hereafter  stipulated,  shall  have 
arrived  there. 

"  5.  One-half  of  the  garrison,  at  least,  shall  be  always  com- 
posed of  native  Maltese;  for  the  remainder,  the  order  may 
levy  recruits  in  those  only  w hich  lontinue  to  jiossess  the  lan- 
guage (possedur  Ics  langiies).  The  Maltese  troops  shall  have 
Maltese  officers  ;  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  garrison,  as 
well  as  the  nomination  of  the  cfficers,  shall  pertain  to  the 
grand  master;  and  this  right  he  cannot  assign,  even  tempo- 
rarily, except  in  favour  of  a  knight,  and  in  concurrence  with 
the  council  of  the  order. 

"  G.  The  independence  of  the  isles  of  Malta,  Gozo,  and 
Comino,  as  well  as  the  present  arrangement,  shall  be  placed 
under  the  protection  and  guarantee  of  France,  Great  Britain, 
Austria,  Spain,  Russia,  and  Prussia. 

"  7.  The  neutrality  of  the  order,  and  of  the  island  of  Malta, 
with  its  dependencies,  is  proclaimed. 

"  8.  The  ports  of  Malta  shall  be  opened  to  the  commerce 
and  navigation  of  all  nations,  who  shall  there  pay  equal  and 
moderate  duties;  these  duties  shall  be  applied  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  Maltese  language,  as  specified  in  jiaragraph  9; 
til  that  of  the  civil  and  military  establishments  of  the 
islands  as  well  as  to  that  of  a  general  lazaretto,  open  to  all 
ensigns. 

"  U.  The  states  of  Barhnry  are  excepted  from  the  condition 
of  the  preceding  paragrajihs,  until,  by  nuans  of  an  arrange- 
ment to  he  procured  by  the  contracting  parlies,  the  system 
of  hostilities  which  8Ul)Bi8ts  between  the  states  of  Barlmry 
and  the  order  of  St.  John,  or  the  powers  possessing  the  Ian- 


Signature  of  the 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.  treaty  of  Amiens. 


March. 


the  Turldsh  and  Portuguese  territory  should  be 
formally  guaranteed. 

As  to  the  acknowledgment  of  the  Italian,  of  the 
Ligurian  republic,  and  of  the  kingdom  of  Etruria, 
he  declared  that  he  would  pass  it  by,  and  that 
he  would  not  purchase  it  by  any  concession  made 
to  the  king  of  Piedmont,  whose  dominions  he  was 
determined  to  keep  definitively. 

After  having  sent  these  answers  to  his  brother 
Joseph,  with  ample  liberty  as  to  the  settlement,  in 
regard  to  the  mode  of  drawing  up,  he  i-ecom- 
mended  him  to  act  with  great  prudence,  in  order 
to  have  a  sufficient  proof  that  the  refusal  to  sign 
the»peace  came  from  England,  and  not  fi-om  him. 
He- caused  it  to  be  intimated,  whether  in  London 
or  at  Amiens,  that  if  they  would  not  accept  what 
he  proposed,  they  ought  to  terminate  the  affair  _: 
and  that  at  the  same  moment  he  would  instantly 
re-arm  the  old  Boulogne  flotilla,  and  form  a  camp 
opposite  to  the  English  coast. 

The  rupture  was  not  more  wished  in  London 
than  in  Paris  or  Amiens.  The  English  cabinet 
felt  that  it  must  succumb  under  the  ridicule,  if 
a  ti'uce  of  six  months,  following  the  preliminaries, 
liad  only  served  to  open  the  sea  to  the  French 
fleets.  Lord  Cornwallis,  who  knew  that  the  English 
legation  was  not  to  be  justified,  because  it  was  that 
which  had  raised  the  last  difficulties,  lord  Corn- 
wallis was  highly  conciliatoi-y  in  the  drawing  up. 
Joseph  Bonaparte  was  not  less  so,  and  on  the  25tli 
of  March,  1802,  in  the  evening,  or  4th  Germinal, 
in  the  year  x.,  the  peace  with  Great  Britain  was 
signed  upon  an  instrument  marked  with  all  sorts  of 
corrections. 

It  took  thirty-six  hours  for  the  translation  of 
the  treaty  into  as  many  languages  as  there  were 
powers  concerned.  On  the  27th  of  March,  or 
(Jtli  Germinal,  the  plenipotentiaries  met  together 
at  the  Hotel  de  Ville.  The  first  consul  wished 
that  all  should  take  place  with  the  greatest  parade. 
A  good  while  before  there  had  been  sent  to 
Amiens  a  detachment  of  the  finest  troops  newly 
dressed  ;  he  had   all   the   roads   from  Amiens  to 


guageSj  or  concurring  in  the  composition  of  the  order,  shall 
have  ceased. 

"  10.  The  order  shall  he  governed,  hoth  with  respect  to 
spirituals  and  tempor.ils,  by  the  same  statutes  which  were  in 
force  when  the  knights  left  the  isle,  as  far  as  the  present 
treaty  shall  not  deroftate  from  them. 

"  U.  The  regulations  contained  in  paragraphs  3,  5,  7,  8, 
and  10,  shall  be  converted  into  laws  and  perpetual  statutes 
of  the  order,  in  the  customary  inanner :  and  the  grand  mas- 
ter, (or  if  he  shall  not  be  in  the  island  at  the  time  of  its 
re.storation  to  the  order,  his  representative,)  as  well  as  his 
successors,  shall  be  bound  to  take  an  oath  for  their  punctual 
observance. 

"  12.  His  Sicilian  majeffy  shall  be  invited  to  furnish  two 
thousand  men,  natives  of  his  states,  to  serve  in  garrison  of 
the  different  fortresses  of  the  said  islands ;  that  force  shall 
remain  for  one  year,  to  bear  date  from  their  restitution  to 
the  knights;  and,  If  at  the  expiration  of  this  term,  the  order 
should  not  have  raised  a  force  sulhcient  in  the  judgment  of 
the  guaranteeing  powers  to  garrison  the  island  and  its  de- 
pendencies, such  as  is  specified  in  the  paragraph,  the  Nea- 
politan troops  shall  continue  there  until  they  shall  be  replaced 
by  a  force  deemed  sufficient  by  the  sai<l  powers. 

"  13.  The  different  powers  designated  in  the  6th  paragraph, 
viz.,  France,  Great  Britain,  Austria,  Spain,  Russia,  and 
Prussia,  shall  be  invited  to  accede  to  the  present  stipula- 
tions.' 


Calais,  and  Amiens  to  Paris,  newly  repaired,  and 
sent  relief  to  the  labourers  of  the  country  deprived 
of  work,  iu  order  that  nothing  might  inspire  the 
negotiator  of  England  with  an  unfavourable  idea 
of  France.  He  prescribed  certain  preparations  in 
the  city  of  Amiens  itself,  in  order  that  the  sig- 
nature might  be  given  with  a  sort  of  solemnity. 
On  the  27th,  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
detachments  of  cavalry  went  to  the  residences  of 
the  plenipotentiaries,  and  formed  an  escort  to  the 
Hotel  de  Ville,  where  an  apartment  had  been  pre- 
pared for  their  reception.  It  took  them  a  certain 
time  to  revise  the  copies  of  the  treaty,  and  about 
two  o'clock  admittance  was  given  at  last  to  the 
authorities  and  to  the  people,  who  were  eager  to  be 
present  at  the  imposing  spectacle  of  the  two  first 
nations  in  the  universe  becoming  recimciled  in  the 
face  of  the  world — becoming  reconciled,  alas  !  for 
too  short  a  period  !  The  two  plenipotentiaries 
signed  the  peace,  and  then  cordially  embraced 
each  other  amid  the  acclamations  of  those  present, 
full  of  emotion,  and  transported  with  joy.  Lord 
Cornwallis  and  Joseph  Bonaparte  were  reconducted 
to  their  i-esidences  in  the  midst  of  the  loudest 
acclamations  of  the  multitude.  Lord  Cornwallis 
heard  his  name  blessed  by  the  French  people,  and 
Joseph  entered  his  house  hearing  on  all  sides  the 
cry,  which  was  to  be  for  a  long  time,  and  which  it 
was  possible  might  have  alwaj's  been  the  cry 
of  France,  "  Long  live  Bonaparte  !" 

Lord  Cornwallis  set  out  immediately  for  Lon- 
don, in  spite  of  the  invitation  which  he  had  re- 
ceived to  visit  Paris.  He  feared  that  the  facilities 
in  drawing  up  the  treaty,  to  which  he  had  lent 
himself,  might  not  be  approved  by  his  government, 
and  he  wished  to  secure  the  ratification  of  the 
treaty  of  peace  by  his  presence. 

The  happy  issue  of  the  congress  of  Amiens,  if  it 
did  not  excite  among  the  English  people  the  same 
transports  of  enthusiasm  as  the  signature  to  the 
preliminaries  had  done,  still  found  them  joyful  and 
elated.  This  time,  they  said,  they  were  going  to 
enjoy  the  reality  of  the  peace,  the  low  price  of 
in-oduce,  and  the  abolition  of  the  income-tax. 
They  believed  it,  and  showed  themselves  truly 
satisfied. 

The  eff'ect  was  just  the  same  on  the  side  of 
France.  Less  of  external  demonstration,  but  not 
less  of  real  satisfaction  ;  such  was  t)ie  spectacle 
afforded  by  the  French  people.  Finally,  it  was 
felt  that  true  peace,  that  of  the  seas,  was  procured, 
the  necessary  and  certain  condition  of  a  continental 
peace.  After  ten  years  of  the  grandest,  the  most 
terrible  contest  that  was  ever  seen  among  men, 
they  had  all  laid  down  their  arms  ;  the  temple  of 
Janus  was  shut. 

By  whom  had  all  this  been  performed  ?  Who 
had  rendered  France  so  great  and  prosperous, 
Europe  so  calm  ?  One  sole  man  by  the  power  of 
his  sword,  and  by  the  depth  of  his  policy.  France 
proclaimed  this,  and  the  entire  of  Europe  echoed 
to  her.  He  had  subsequently  conquered  at  Jena, 
at  Friedland,  at  Wagram,  he  )iad  conquered  in  a 
hundred  battles,  had  dazzled,  startled,  subdued  the 
world  ;  but  he  was  never  so  great  as  then,  because 
he  was  never  so  wise  ! 

Thus  all  the  great  bodies  of  the  state  came  to 
tell  him  anew,  in  speeches  full  of  sincere  enthu- 
siasm, that  he  had  been  the  victor,  and  that  he  was 


Addresses  of  public 
bodies  to  the  first 
consul. 


THE  CONSULATE  FOR  LIFE. 


Regulations  of  the  police  of 
worship. — The  "Organic 
Articles." 


now  the  benefactor  of  Europe.  The  young  author 
of  so  much  good,  the  possessor  of  so  much  glory, 
was  very  far  from  thinking  he  approached  the  end 
of  his  laboui-s.  He  hardly  enjoyed  what  he  had 
done  before  he  was  impatient  to  do  more.  Devoted 
passionately  to  the  works  of  peace,  without  being 
certain  that  peace  would  last  long,  he  was  anxious 
to  complete  what  he  denominated  the  organiza- 
tion of  France,  and  to  reconcile  what  was  good 
and  true  in  the  revolution  with  what  was  useful 
and  necessary  at  all  times  in  the  old  monarchy. 
That  which  he  had  most  at  heart  at  this  time  was 
the  restoration  of  the  catholic  worship,  the  organiza- 
tion of  public  education,  the  i*eeal  of  the  emigrants, 
and  the  institution  of  the  legion  of  honour.  These 
were  not  the  only  things  that  he  contemplated  ; 
but  they  were,  in  his  view,  the  most  ui;gent.  Mas- 
ter, for  the  future,  of  the  minds  of  those  who  com- 
posed the  great  bodies  of  the  state,  he  used  the 
prerogatives  of  the  constitution  to  order  an  extra- 
ordinary session.  He  had  returned  on  the  31st  of 
January,  1802,  or  11th  of  Pluviose,  from  the  con- 
sulta  held  at  Lyons  ;  the  treaty  of  Amiens  had 
been  signed  on  the  25th  of  March,  or  4th  of  Ger- 
minal; the  promotions  to  the  legislative  body  and 
the  tribunate  were  finished  several  weeks  before, 
and  the  uewly-elected  members  had  taken  their 
seats ;  he  therefore  convoked  an  extraordinary 
session  for  the  5th  of  April,  or  15th  Germinal.  It 
was  to  last  until  the  20t.h  of  May,  or  30th  Flore'al, 
that  is  to  say,  about  six  weeks.  This  would  suffice 
for  his  plans,  however  great  they  might  be,  be- 
cause the  contradiction  which  he  was  likely  to 
encounter  for  the  future  would  not  occasion  him 
the  loss  of  nmch  time. 

The  first  of  these  projects  submitted  to  the 
legislative  body  was  the  concordat.  It  was  still 
the  more  difficult  of  them  to  get  adopted,  if  not  by 
the  pojjular  masses,  at  least  by  tiie  civil  and 
niiiit^iry  individuals  who  surrounded  the  govern- 
ment. The  holy  see,  which  had  been  so  slow  to 
grant  the  principles  of  the  concordat  at  one  time,  at 
another  the  bull  of  the  circumscriptions,  and  again, 
the  faculty  to  institute  the  new  bisliojis,  liad  long 
since  sent  all  that  was  necessary  to  cardinal 
Caprara,  that  he  might  be  able  to  display  the  full 
I)owers  of  the  holy  see,  at  the  moment  that  the 
first  consul  should  judge  most  opportune.  The 
first  consul  himself  liad  thought  with  reason  that 
the  proclamation  of  the  definitive  treaty  of  peace 
was  the  moment  when  he  should  bo  able,  under 
the  favour  of  the  public  joy,  to  aff"ord,  for  the  first 
time,  tho  spectacle  of  the  republican  government 
prostrate  at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  thanking  Pro- 
vidence for  the  blessings  which  had  been  conferred 
upon  it. 

He  made  every  disimsition  for  the  dedication  of 
thi-  first  day  of  Easter  to  this  iniiiortant  solemnity. 
But  the  fifteen  days  which  preceded  this  gnat  act 
were  not  less  critical  nor  less  laborious  than  that 
day  was  likely  to  be.  It  was,  in  the  first  j)lace, 
necessary,  besides  the  treaty  called  the  concordat, 
which,  under  the  name  of  a  treaty,  was  to  be  voted 
by  the  legislative  body,  it  was  necessary  to  draw 
up  and  to  [jrescnt  a  law  which  sliould  regulate  the 
police  of  worship,  in  unison  with  the  principles  of 
the  concordat  and  of  tin-  Galilean  church.  It  was 
necessary  to  appoint  the  new  (;lergy  who  wciv; 
designed  to  replace  tlio  former  bi8lioi>s,  whose  re- 


signation had  been  required  by  the  pope,  and 
almost  universally  obtained.  Sixty  sees  were  to 
be  filled  up  at  one  time,  by  the  selection,  from 
priests  of  all  parties,  of  the  most  respectable  in- 
dividuaks,  taking  every  pi-ecautiou  not  to  give 
ofi'ence  to  religious  opinions  by  those  selections,  nor 
to  renew  schism  through  an  excess  of  a  similar 
zeal  to  that  used  for  its  extermination. 

Such  were  the  difficulties  that  the  tenacity,  en- 
veloped in  mildness,  of  the  cardinal  Caprara,  and 
the  passions  of  the  clergy,  as  great  as  those  of 
other  men,  rendered  vex-y  serious  and  very  dis- 
quieting, up  to  the  latest  moment,  even  to  the 
evening  before  the  day  when  the  great  act  of  the 
re-establishment  of  the  altars  was  to  be  consum- 
mated. 

The  first  consul  began  with  the  law  designed  to 
regulate  the  police  of  worship,  or  that  which,  in 
the  French  code,  bears  the  title  of  '•  Organic  Ar- 
ticles."' It  was  voluminous,  and  regulated  the 
relations  of  the  government  with  all  religions, 
whether  catholic,  protestant,  or  Hebrew.  It  rested 
on  the  principle  of  the  liberty  of  worship,  granted 
to  it  security  and  protection,  imposing  on  all  re- 
spect and  toleration  to  each  other,  and  submission 
towards  the  government.  As  to  the  catholic  re- 
ligion, that  which  embraced  nearly  the  totality  of 
the  population  of  the  country,  it  was  regulated  ac- 
cording to  the  principles  of  the  Roman  church, 
sanctioned  in  the  concordat,  and  the  principles  of 
the  Galilean  church,  as  proclaimed  by  Bossuct. 
It  was  first  established  that  no  bull,  brief,  or 
writing  whatever  of  the  holy  see,  could  be  pub- 
lished in  France  without  the  authority  of  the 
government;  that  no  delegate  from  Rome,  except 
him  whom  she  publicly  sent  as  her  official  repre- 
sentative, should  be  admitted,  recognized,  or  tole- 
rated :  this  caused  the  disappearance  of  tlte  secret 
mandatories  that  the  holy  sec  employed  to  govern 
the  French  church  clandestinely  during  the  revo- 
lution. Every  infraction  whatsoever  of  the  rules, 
resulting  either  from  treaties  with  the  holy  see  or 
from  the  laws  of  France,  committed  by  a  member 
of  the  clerical  body,  was  denominated  an  "abuse," 
and  referred  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  council  of 
state,  a  political  and  administrative  body,  animated 
by  a  sound  spirit  of  government,  whieli  could  not 
feel  towards  the  clergy  the  hatred  which  the 
magistracy  had  avowed  towards  it  under  the  an- 
cient monarchy.  No  council,  general  or  particular, 
could  be  held  in  France  without  the  formal  order 
of  the  government.  There  was  to  be  one  catechism 
only,  approved  of  by  the  public  authorities.  Evei-y 
ecclesiastic  who  devoted  himself  to  the  education 
of  the  clergy  was  to  make  profession  of  the  de- 
claration of  1682,  known  under  the  name  of  the 
"  Propositions  of  Bossuet."  These  propositions, 
as  it  is  well  known,  contain  those  fine  i)rinciple3 
of  submission  and  independence,  which  so  parti- 
cularly characterize  the  Gallican  church,  while 
she,  always  submissive  to  the  catholic  iniity,  made 
it  triumphant  in  France,  and  defeixled  it  in 
Europe  ;  but  independent  in  her  internal  govern- 
ment, faithful  to  lier  sovereigns,  she  has  never 
ended  in  protestantism,  like  the  German  and  Eng- 
lish churches,  nor  in  the  incpiisition,  like  that  of 
Spain.  Submissive  to  the  head  of  tho  universal 
church  in  spirituals,  submissive  to  the  head  of  the 
state  in  temporals,  such  was  the  double  principle 


Alteration  in  the  decade, 
344        and    Sunday    acknow- 
ledged. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Advances  of  cardinal 
Caprara  refused  by 
the  first  consul. 


1802. 
April. 


upon  which  the  first  consul  desired  that  the 
French  church  sliould  rest  established.  For  this 
reason  he  formally  stipulated  that  the  clergy  should 
be  instructed  in  the  propositions  of  Bossuet.  It 
was  arranged,  iu  consequence,  in  the  organic  ar- 
ticles, that  the  bishops,  nominated  by  the  first 
consul,  and  instituted  by  the  pope,  should  choose 
the  cure's;  but  before  installing  them,  they  should 
be  obliged  to  submit  them  to  the  approval  of  the 
government.  Leave  was  granted  to  the  bishops 
to  form  chapters  of  canons  in  the  catiiedrals  and 
seminaries  of  the  dioceses.  Every  appointment  of 
professors  in  these  seminaries  was  to  be  approved  by 
the  public  authoritj'.  No  pupil  of  these  seminaries 
could  be  ordained  a  priest  until  he  was  twenty-five 
years  of  age,  unless  he  brought  forward  pniof  that 
he  possessed  })roperty  to  the  amount  of  300  f.  per 
annum,  and  that  was  approved  of  by  the  admi- 
nistration of  public  worship.  This  condition  of 
property  could  not,  in  reality,  be  carried  out '  ; 
but  it  was  desirable,  had  it  been  practicable,  be- 
cause, in  that  case,  the  spirit  of  the  clergy  would 
have  sunk  less  than  it  has  since  been  seen  to  do. 
The  archbishops  received  15,000  f.  of  revenue;  the 
bishops,  10,000  f.  ;  the  cures  of  the  first  class, 
1500  f.;  those  of  the  second  class,  1000  f.,  but 
without  the  addition  of  ecclesiastical  pensions, 
which  many  priests  enjoyed  in  compensation  for 
alienated  ecclesiastical  property.  The  casual,  or 
iu  other  words,  voluntary  contributions  of  the 
faithful,  for  the  administration  of  certain  sacra- 
ments, was  reserved,  on  condition  of  being  re- 
gulated by  the  bishops.  In  all  other  cases  it  was 
stipulated  that  the  offices  of  religion  sliould  be 
gratuitously  administered.  The  churches  were 
restored  to  the  newly-appointed  clergy.  The  pres- 
byteries and  the  gardens  attached,  called,  among  the 
rural  population,  the  "  cures'  houses,"  were  the 
only  portions  of  the  former  goods  of  the  church 
which  were  restored  to  the  priests,  on  the  under- 
standing that  this  formed  no  precedent  regarding 
such  a  ])ortion  of  tlie  goods  of  the  church  as  had 
been  sold.  Tlie  usage  of  bells  was  re-established 
for  the  purpose  of  calling  the  people  to  church  ; 
but  they  were  forbidden  to  be  used  for  any  civil 
purpose,  at  least,  without  permission  from  tlie  au- 
thorities. The  sinister  recollection  of  the  tocsin 
had  caused  this  precaution  to  be  adopted.  No 
fete  or  holiday,  except  that  of  Sunday,  could  be 
established  without  the  authority  of  the  govern- 
ment. Worship  was  not  to  be  performed  exter- 
nally, that  is,  outside  the  buildings,  in  towns 
where  there  were  edifices  belonging  to  different 
religious  denominations.  Lastly,  the  Gregorian 
calendar  was,  in  part,  made  to  coi-respond  with 
the  republican  calendar.  This  was,  certainly,  the 
most  serious  of  the  difficulties.  It  was  impossible 
to  abolish  completely  the  calendar,  which  I'ecalled, 
more  than  any  other  institution,  the  remembrance 
of  the  revolution,  and  which  liad  been  adapted  to 
the  new  system  of  weights  and  measures.  But  it 
was  not  possible  to  establish  the  catholic  religion 
again  without  the  re-establishment  of  tlie  Sunday, 
and  with  the  Sunday,  that  of  the  week.  In  otiier 
respects,  manners  had  already  done  that  which 
the  law  dared  not  yet  undertake,  and  the  Sunday 
had  again  become  every  where  a  religious  lioliday, 

1  It  was  not  abolished  until  February,  1810. 


more  or  less  observed,  but  universally  admitted  as 
an  interruption  to  the  labour  of  the  week.  The 
first  consul  adopted  a  middle  term.  He  decided 
that  the  year  and  the  month  should  be  named  after 
the  republican  calendar,  and  the  day  and  week 
after  the  Gregorian.  That  there  should  be  said, 
for  example,  for  Easter  Sunday,  Sunday,  28th 
Germinal,  year  x.,  which  answered  to  April  18, 
1802.  Lastly,  he  exacted  that  no  one  should  be 
married  in  a  church  without  the  production,  pre- 
viously, of  the  writ  of  civil  marriage;  and  as  to 
the  registers  of  births,  deaths,  iind  marriages,  that 
the  clergy  had  continued  to  hold  from  usage,  he 
caused  it  to  be  declared  that  these  registers  should 
never  be  of  any  value  in  courts  of  justice.  In  the 
last  ])lace,  every  testamentary  or  other  donation, 
made  to  the  clergy,  was  to  be  constituted  in  the 
public  funds. 

Such  is  the  substance  of  the  wise  and  profound 
law  which  bears  the  name  of  "  organic  articles."  It 
was  for  the  French  government  wholly  an  internal 
act  which  regarded  itself  alone,  and  which,  under 
this  title,  was  not  to  be  submitted  to  the  holy  see. 
It  sufficed  that  it  contained  nothing  contrary  to 
the  concordat,  so  that  the  court  of  Rome  had  no 
reasonable  ground  to  complain.  To  submit  it  to 
Rome  would  be  to  prepare  insurmountable  difficul- 
ties— difficulties  greater  and  more  in  number  than 
had  been  encountered  in  the  concordat  itself.  The 
first  consul  took  care  that  he  would  not  expose 
himself  to  these  difficulties.  He  knew  that  when 
once  religious  worship  was  publicly  re-established, 
the  holy  see  would  not  come  to  a  rupture  of  the 
peace  between  France  and  Rome  on  account  of 
matters  which  concerned  the  interior  policy  of  the 
republic.  It  is  very  true  that,  at  a  later  period, 
these  articles  became  one  of  the  grievances  of  the 
court  of  Rome  against  Napoleon  ;  but  they  were 
more  a  pretext  than  a  real  grievance.  They  had, 
besides,  been  communicated  to  cardinal  Caprara, 
who  did  not  appear  to  revolt  at  reading  them  •,  if 
a  judgment  can  be  formed  of  his  opinion  by  what 
he  communicated  in  writing  to  his  own  court.  He 
made  some  reservations,  advising  the  Iioly  father 
not  to  afflict  himself  about  them,  hoping,  he  said, 
that  the  articles  would  not  be  too  rigorously  exe- 
cuted. 

The  law  of  the  organic  articles  being  drawn  up 
and  discussed  in  the  council  of  state,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  give  some  attention  to  the  individual  ap- 
pointments of  the  clergy.  This  was  a  task  requiring 
considerable  labour,  because  there  was  a  multitude 
of  selections  to  be  made,  each  to  be  closely  ex- 
amined prior  to  a  definitive  decision.  Portalis, 
whom  the  first  cf>nsul  had  ai)])ointed  to  take  charge 
of  the  administration  of  worsliip,  and  who  was  emi- 
nently proper  either  to  treat  with  the  clergy,  or  to 
represent  that  body  in  the  council  of  state,  and  to 
defend  it  with  a  mild,  brilliant  eloquence,  impressed 
with  a  certain  religious  unction,  Poi-talis  ordinarily 
resisted  the  holy  see  with  a  respectful  firmness. 
On  this  occasion  he  made  himself  in  some  respects 
an  ally  of  the  cardinal  Caprara  in  a  pretension  of 
the  court  of  Rome,  that  of  completely  excluding 
the  constitutional  clergy  from  the  new  sees.  The 
pope,  affected  still  at  an  act  as  exorbitant  in  his 

'  These  assertions  are  founded  upon  the  correspondence 
of  cardinal  Caprara  himself. 


I 


1802. 
April. 


Speech  of  the  lirst  consul         THE  CONSULATE  FOR  LIFE. 


to  cardinal  Caprara. 


own  eyes  as  the  deposition  of  the  old  titularies,  wislied 
at  leiist  to  indemnifv  himself  for  it  by  keeping  from 
tile  episcopacy  tlie  ministers  of  tlie  worsiiip  tliat 
had  made  a  compact  with  tlie  Frencli  revolution, 
and  taken  an  oath  to  tlie  civil  constitution.  Since 
tile  concordat  was  signed,  tliat  is  to  say,  for  about 
eight  or  nine  months,  cardinal  Caprara,  who  was 
filling  inakinUo  the  functions  of  legate  a  latere,  and 
who  was  continually  seeing  the  first  consul,  insinu- 
ated to  him  with  mildness,  but  constancy,  the 
desires  of  the  Roman  church,  advancing  with  more 
boldness  when  the  first  consul  was  in  a  humour  to 
let  him  speak  on,  and  retiring  precipitately,  with 
humility,  when  he  was  of  a  contrary  humour. 
These  desires  of  the  Roman  church,  did  not  solely 
consist  in  e.\cluding  from  the  new  composition  of 
the  French  clergy  those  priests  whom  he  denomi- 
nated intruders,  but  were  directed  to  the  recovery 
of  the  lost  provinces  of  Bologna,  Ferrara,  and 
Romagna.  "  The  holy  father,"  said  the  cardinal, 
"  is  very  poor  since  lie  has  been  despoiled  of  his 
most  fertile  provinces;  he  is  so  poor  that  he  can 
neither  pay  troops  to  guard  him,  the  administra- 
tion of  his  states,  nor  the  sacred  college,  lie  has 
lost  even  a  part  of  his  foreign  revenues.  In  the 
midst  of  his  grievances,  the  re-establishment  of 
religion  in  Fi'ance  is  the  greatest  of  his  consola- 
tions ;  but  do  not  mingle  bitterness  with  this  con- 
s<ilation,  by  obliging  him  to  institute  priests  who 
have  apostatized,  thus  depriving  the  faithful  clergy 
of  the  places  already  so  much  diminished  by  the 
new  circumscription." 

"  Yes,"  replietl  the  first  consul,  "  the  holy  father 
is  poor;  I  will  assist  him.  All  the  boundaries  of 
Italy  are  not  irrevocably  fixed  ;  those  of  Europe 
are  definitively  arranged,  but  I  caimot  now  take 
away  the  pi-ovinces  from  the  Italian  republic 
which  has  made  me  its  chief.  Meanwhile,  the 
holy  father  is  in  want  of  more  money  than  he 
posseases.  He  x'equires  some  millions,  and  I  am 
ready  to  give  them  to  him.  As  to  the  intruders," 
he  added,  "  it  is  another  affair.  The  pope  pro- 
mised, when  tlie  negotiations  arc  sent  in,  to  recon- 
cile with  the  church  all  these  without  distinction, 
who  shall  submit  to  the  concordat.  He  has  pro- 
mised— he  must  keep  his  word.  I  shall  remind 
him  of  the  matter;  and  he  is  neither  a  man  nor  a 
[xjntiff  if  he  break  his  word.  Besides,  my  object 
is  not  to  make  any  one  party  triumph;  my  object 
is  to  reconcile  one  party  with  another,  holding  the 
balance  equal  between  each.  For  a  considerable 
time  you  have  obliged  me  to  read  the  liistory 
of  the  church.  I  have  seen  there  that  i-eligious 
(luarrels  do  not  differ  materially  from  political 
ones  ;  because  you  priests,  and  we  military 
men  or  magistrates,  are  all  alike.  They  end 
only  by  the  intervention  of  some  authority  suffici- 
ently strong  to  oblige  the  parties  to  draw  together 
and  amalgamate.  I  shall  therefore  mingle  some 
constitutional  bishops  with  those  whom  you  de- 
nomin.ite  tin;  faithful  ;  1  will  choose  but  a  few, 
and  I  will  choose  them  well.  You  will  conciliate 
them  with  the  Roman  church;  I  will  oblige  them 
to  submit  to  the  concordat,  and  all  will  go  tm  well. 
This  is  a  matter  resolved  upon — do  not  recur  to  it 
again." 

The  "great  consul,"  as  the  cardinal  called  him, 
because  he  admired,  loved,  and  f<;ared  hitn  in  an 
equal  degree,  said  to  the  holy  father,  "  Do  not  let 


us  irritate  this  man  !  he  alone  sustains  us  in  this 
omntry,  where  every  body  is  against  us.  If  his 
zeal  be  suffered  to  cool  for  a  numient,  or  if  unhap- 
pily he  should  die,  there  would  never  more  be  a 
religion  in  France." 

The  cardinal,  when  he  did  not  succeed,  obliged 
himself  to  appear  satisfied,  because  general  Bona- 
parte loved  to  see  people  content,  and  was  out  of 
liumour  when  any  one  presented  himself  with 
chagrin  in  his  countenance.  The  cardinal  always 
showed  himself  serene  and  mild,  and  had,  through 
this  means,  discovered  the  art  of  pleasing  him.  He 
observed,  besides,  the  troubles  wliich  beset  Bona- 
parte, and  he  was  not  willing  to  add  to  them.  The 
first  consul,  in  his  turn,  endeavoured  to  make  the 
cardinal  comprehend  the  susceptibility  and  jealousy 
of  the  Fi'ench  feeling,  and,  notwithstanding  liis 
power,  he  made  as  strong  efforts  to  convince  his 
mind,  as  the  cardinal  could  make  on  his  own  side 
to  bring  the  first  consul  to  his  views.  One  day, 
impatient  at  the  solicitations  of  the  legate,  he  made 
him  cease  them  by  these  words,  not  less  gracious 
than  profound:  "  Hold,  cardinal  Caprara  ?  Do  you 
still  pos.sess  the  gift  of  miracles  ?  Do  you  possess 
it  ?  In  that  case  employ  it  to  do  me  a  very  great 
service.  If  you  have  it  not,  leave  me  alone  ;  and 
since  I  am  reduced  to  human  means,  permit  me  to 
use  them  as  I  understand  how,  in  order  to  save  the 
church  1 ! " 

It  was  a  picture  very  striking  and  cui-ious,  pre- 
served entire  in  the  correspondence  of  cardinal 
Ca])rara,  of  this  jiowerful  warrior  displaying  by 
turns  a  finesse,  a  grace,  and  an  extraordinary 
vehemence  in  persuading  the  old  theological  diplo- 
matic cardinal  to  come  into  his  views.  Both  had 
thus  reached  the  moment  for  the  pultlication  of  th& 
cinicordat  without  the  one  having  worked  conviction 
upon  the  mind  of  the  other.  Portalis,  who  upon  this 
point  alone  agreed  in  opinion  with  the  vievvs  of  the 
holy  see,  did  not  dare,  as  he  would  willingly  do,  to 
exclude  altogether  the  constitutionalists  from  the 
])ropositions  for  filling  the  sixty  sees,  but  he  only 
presented  two  of  them.  Having  had  an  under- 
standing with  the  abbe'  Bernier  for  the  selections 
to  be  made  among  the  orthodox  clergy,  he  had 
|)roposed  the  wisest  and  most  eminent  members  of 
the  old  episcopacy  for  that  purpose,  and  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  estimable  cur^s  distinguished  by 
their  piety,  their  moderation,  and  the  continuance 
of  their  services  during  the  reign  of  terror.  He 
asserted  with  the  abbe  Bernier,  that  not  to  call 
any  member  of  the  old  episcopacy,  and  to  desig- 


'  It  was  what  was  called  the  faction  of  the  "communes" 
that  wound  up  the  crisis  of  materialism,  and  left  the  diflereiit 
creeds  tlie  Irgacy  of  the  last  change.  Thus  during  the 
revolution,  and  prior  to  the  above  measure  being  effected  by 
lionaparte,  there  was  the  ultramontane  Catholicism  followed 
by  the  refractory  clergy,  or  orthodox  or  unsworn  clergy, 
divided  into  the  unsworn  and  those  who  had  promised ;  there 
were  the  Jansenlst,  or  constitutional,  or  sworn  clergy;  there 
was  deism,  or  the  worship  of  the  Supreme  Being,  instituted 
by  the  committee  of  public  safety;  and  there  were,  at  last, 
the  materialists,  who  would  worship  only  reason  and  nature 
—the  creed  of  the  infamous  "  commune."  There  were  thus 
elements  suniciently  discordant  on  the  subject  of  religion, 
to  require  all  the  courage  and  ability  of  Bonaparte  to  over- 
come them.  There  were,  more  or  less,  numerous  professors 
of  all  these  opinions  at  that  time  in  every  part  of  France.— 
Trinislatur, 


Arrangements   regarding 
346       the  sees.-Ecciesiasti-      THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 
cal  appointments. 


1802. 
April. 


nate  none  but  cure's,  would  be  to  create  a  clergy 
too  new,  and  too  destitute  of  authority  :  that  on 
the  contrary,  to  nominate  the  old  bishops  alone  to 
the  sees  would  be  to  neglect  too  much  the  inferior 
clergy,  wlio  had  rendered  real  services  during  the 
revolution,  and  whose  honest  ambition  would  be 
thus  grievously  wounded.  These  views  were  rea- 
sonable, and  were  admitted  by  the  first  consul. 
But  as  to  the  two  constitutional  prelates,  he  was 
not  at  all  satisfied  about  them. 

"  I  mean  out  of  these  sixty  sees,"  said  the  first 
consul,  "  to  give  one-fifth  to  the  clergy  of  the 
revolution,  or,  in  other  words,  to  twelve.  There 
shall  be  two  constitutional  archbishops  to  ten,  and 
ten  constitutional  bishops  to  fifty^  which  is  not  too 
much."  After  having  consulted  with  Portalis  and 
Beruier,  he  made  with  them  the  best  selections 
which  could  be  conceived,  saving  one  or  two. 
M.  de  Belloy,  bishop  of  Mai'seilles,  tlie  oldest  and 
most  respectable  of  the  old  French  clergy,  and  the 
excellent  minister  of  a  religion  of  charity,  who 
joined  to  a  venerable  appearance  the  most  highly- 
endowed  piety,  was  nominated  archbishop  of  Paris. 
M.  de  Cice,  keeper  of  the  seals  mider  Louis  XVI., 
formerly  archbishop  of  Bordeaux,  an  ecclesiastic 
of  a  firm  and  politic  mind,  was  promoted  to  the 
archbishopric  of  Aix  ;  M.  de  Boisgelin,  a  noble  by 
birth,  an  enlightened  priest,  well-informed,  and  of 
a  mild  temper,  formerly  archbishop  of  Aix,  was 
made  archbishup  of  Tours  ;  M.  de  la  Tour-du-Pin, 
formerly  archbishop  of  Audi,  received  the  bishop- 
ric of  Troyes.  This  worthy  prelate,  as  illustrious 
by  his  knowledge  as  by  his  birth,  had  the  modesty 
to  accept  a  post  so  inferior  to  that  which  he  had 
resigned.  The  first  consul  subsequently  recom- 
pensed him  with  a  cardinal's  hat.  M.  de  Roque- 
laure,  formerly  bishop  of  Senlis,  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  prelates  of  the  former  church,  by  his 
union  of  amenity  and  pure  morals,  obtained  the 
archbishopric  of  Malines.  M.  Cambace'res,  brother 
of  the  second  consul,  was  called  to  the  archbishop- 
ric of  Rouen.  The  abbe'  Fesch,  uncle  of  the  first 
consul,  a  proud  priest,  who  made  it  his  glory 
to  resist  his  nephew,  was  made  archbishop  of 
Lyons,  in  other  words,  primate  of  the  Gauls. 
M.  Lecoz,  constitutional  bishop  of  Rennes,  a  priest 
of  good  moral  character,  but  an  ardent  and  un- 
accommodating Jansenist,  was  nominated  arch- 
bishop of  Besanjon.  M.  Primat,  the  constitutional 
bishop  of  Lyons,  formerly  an  oratorian,  a  well- 
instructed  and  mild  priest,  having  occasioned 
sad  scandal  in  regard  to  schisms,  but  none  in 
respect  to  morals,  was  promoted  to  the  archbishoj)- 
ric  of  Toulouse.  A  distinguished  cure',  M.  de 
Pancemont,  much  employed  about  the  affair  of  the 
resignations,  was  taken  from  the  parish  of  St.  Sul- 
pice  to  be  sent  to  Vannes  as  a  bishop.  Lastly,  the 
abb^  Bernier,  the  celebrated  cure-  of  St.  Laud 
d'Angers,  formerly  the  hidden  plotter  in  La  Ven- 
due, afterwards  its  pacificator,  and  under  the  first 
consul  tlie  negotiator  of  the  concordat,  received 
the  bishopric  of  OrlfJans.  That  see  was  not  com- 
mensurate with  the  high  influence  which  the  first 
consul  had  allowed  him  to  take  in  the  affairs  of  the 
French  church  ;  but  the  abbd  Bernier  felt  that 
the  recollections  of  the  civil  war  attaching  to  his 
name,  did  not  permit  an  elevation  too  sudden  and 
too  mai-ked;  that  the  real  influence  he  enjoyed 
was  of  more  value  than  external  honours.     The 


first  consul  had  in  view  for  him  besides  the  hat  of 
a  cardinal. 

When  these  nominations  were  all  arranged, 
they  were  not  to  be  published  until  after  the  con- 
version of  the  concordat  into  a  law  of  the  state  ; 
they  were  communicated  to  cardinal  Caprara,  who 
opposed  to  them  a  very  warm  resistance ;  he  even 
shed  tears,  said  that  he  was  unprovided  with 
powers,  though  he  had  received  from  Rome  an 
absolute  latitude,  extending  so  far  as  to  the  extra- 
ordinary faculty  of  instituting  prelates  without 
having  recourse  to  the  holy  see.  Portalis  and 
Bernier  declared  to  him  that  the  will  of  the  first 
consul  was  iiTCvocable ;  that  he  must  submit  or 
renounce  the  solemn  ceremony  of  the  restoration 
of  the  altar,  announced  to  take  place  in  a  few  days. 
He  submitted  at  last,  writing  to  the  pope  that  the 
salvation  of  souls,  deprived  of  religion,  if  he  per- 
sisted in  his  refusal,  had  in  his  mind  obtained  the 
advantage  over  the  interests  of  the  faithful  clergy. 
"  They  will  censure  me,"  said  the  cardinal  to 
St.  Peter,  "  but  I  have  obeyed  that  which  I  be- 
lieved was  a  voice  from  heaven." 

He  consented,  therefore,  but  reserved  to  himself 
the  right  of  exacting  from  the  newly-elected  con- 
stitutional clergy  a  recantation  which  might  cover 
this  last  condescension  of  the  holy  see. 

All  being  in  readiness,  the  first  consul  ordered 
the  concordat  to  be  laid  before  the  legislative 
body,  to  be  voted  into  a  law,  agreeably  to  the 
prescribed  rules  of  the  constitution.  To  the  con- 
cordat were  joined  the  "organic  articles."  It  was 
the  first  day  of  the  extraordinary  session,  or 
the  5th  of  April,  1802,  or  15th  Germinal,  that  the 
concordat  was  presented  to  the  legislative  body  by 
the  councillors  of  state,  Portalis,  Regnier,  and 
Reynault  St.  Jean  d'Angely.  Tlie  legislative  body 
was  not  in  session  when  the  treaty  of  Amiens, 
signed  the  25th  of  March,  had  become  known 
in  Paris.  It  had  not  in  consequence  been  among 
the  authorities  which  had  gone  up  to  congratulate 
the  first  consul.  At  this  first  sitting  it  was  pro- 
posed to  send  a  deputation  of  twenty-five  members 
to  compliment  the  first  consul  upon  the  occasion  of 
the  general  peace.  In  their  propositions  there 
was  no  mention  of  the  concordat,  which  exhibits 
the  spirit  of  the  time,  even  in  the  heart  of  the 
renewed  legislative  body.  The  deputation  was 
presented  on  the  6th  of  April,  or  16th  Germinal. 

"  Citizen  consul,"  said  the  president  of  the  legis- 
lative body,  "the  first  necessity  of  the  French 
people,  attacked  by  all  Europe,  was  victory,  and 
you  have  conquered.  Their  next  dearest  wish  was 
for  peace  after  victory,  and  that  you  have  given 
them.  What  glory  for  the  past — what  hopes  for 
the  future  !  All  this  has  been  your  work.  Enjoy, 
therefore,  the  eclat  and  happiness  which  the  re- 
public is  m  your  debt  !" 

The  president  terminated  this  address  by  the 
warmest  expression  of  gratitude,  but  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  the  concordat  he  was  perfectly  silent.  The 
first  consul  seized  the  opportunity  to  give  him 
a  species  of  lesson  upon  the  .subject,  and  to  speak 
to  those  who  spoke  only  of  the  treaty  of  Amiens, 
of  the  concordat  alone.  "  I  thank  you  for  the 
sentiments  you  express  toward  me,"  said  the  first 
consul  to  the  messengers  of  the  legislative  body. 
"  Your  session  begins  with  the  most  important 
operation  of  all,  that  which  has  for  its  end  to  ap- 


April. 


Ceremonies  on  the 


THE  CONSULATE   FOR  LIFE,      proclamation  of  the  concordat.      347 


pease  all  religious  differences.  The  whole  of  France 
is  solicitous  to  see  an  end  to  these  deplorable  dis- 
putes, and  to  observe  the  re-establishment  of  the 
altar.  I  hope  that  in  your  votes  you  will  be 
unanimous  upon  this  question.  France  will  see 
with  lively  joy  that  lier  legislators  have  voted 
peace  of  conscience,  peace  in  families,  a  hundred 
times  more  important  for  the  happiness  of  a  people, 
than  that  upon  the  occasion  of  which  you  have 
come  to  felicitate  the  government." 

These  fine  expressions  produced  the  effect  which 
the  first  consul  hoped  ;  the  projected  law,  cai-ried 
immediately  from  the  legislative  body  to  the  tri- 
bunate, was  there  seriously  examined,  even  fa- 
vourably, and  discussed  with  warmth.  On  the 
report  of  M.  Simeon,  it  was  declared  to  be  carried, 
by  seventy-eight  votes  to  seven.  In  the  legislative 
body  it  was  carried  by  two  hundi'cd  and  twenty- 
eight  for  to  twenty-one  against  the  measure. 

It  was  on  the  8th  of  April,  or  18th  Germinal, 
that  these  two  bills  were  converted  into  laws. 
There  were  no  more  obstacles.  It  was  Thursday, 
and  the  Sunday  following  was  Palm  Sunday;  the 
next  would  be  Easter-day.  The  first  consul  wished 
to  devote  those  solemn  days  in  the  catholic  religion 
to  the  great  festival  of  the  re-establishment  of 
)mblic  worehip.  He  had  not  yet  received  cardinal 
Caprara  officially  as  the  legate  of  the  holy  see.  He 
assigned  the  following  day,  Friday,  for  this  official 
reception.  The  usage  of  legates  a  latere  is  to  have 
a  gold  cross  carried  before  them.  This  is  the  sign 
of  the  exti'aordinary  power  that  the  holy  see  dele- 
gates to  its  representatives  of  this  character.  Car- 
dinal Caprara  wished,  conformably  to  the  views 
of  his  court,  that  the  exercise  of  worship  might  be 
as  public  and  pompous  as  possible  in  France,  and 
requested  that,  according  to  usage,  on  the  day 
when  he  went  to  the  Tuileries,  the  golden  cross 
might  be  carried  before  liim,  by  an  officer,  dressed 
in  red,  on  horseback.  This  was  a  spectacle  which 
there  was  some  fear  about  exhibiting  to  the  Pari- 
sians. A  negotiation  ensued,  in  which  it  was 
agreed  that  this  cross  should  be  carried  in  one  of 
the  carriages  which. were  to  precede  that  of  the 
legate. 

On  Friday,  the  9th  of  April,  the  cardinal  re- 
paired in  full  pomp  to  the  Tuileries,  in  the  carriages 
of  the  first  consul,  escorted  by  the  consular  guard, 
and  preceded  by  the  cross,  borne  in  one  of  the 
carriages.  Then  the  first  consul  received  him  at 
the  head  of  a  numerous  circle  of  persons,  con- 
sisting of  his  colleagues,  of  many  councillors  of 
state,  and  a  brilliant  staff.  Cardinal  Caprara, 
whose  exterior  was  mild  and  serious,  addressed  a 
speech  to  the  first  consul,  in  which  dignity  was 
mingled  with  the  cxpreasion  of  gratitude.  He  took 
the  oath  agreed  upon,  that  he  would  do  nothing 
contrary  to  the  laws  of  the  state,  and  to  vacate  his 
functions  as  soon  as  ho  should  be  requested  so  to 
do.  The  first  consul  re|)lied  to  him  in  elevated 
languagi',  destined,  jjarticularly,  to  resound  else- 
where than  in  the  palace  of  the  Tuileries. 

This  external  display  was  the  first  of  all  those 
which  were  prepared,  and  it  wsvs  but  little  noticed, 
because,  the  peojile  of  Paris  not  being  aware  of  it, 
were  unable  to  yiehl  to  their  ordinary  curiosity. 
The  next  day  but  one  w.-is  Palm  Sunday.  The 
first  consul  had  already  made  the  cardinal  consent 
to  the  uomiuation  of  some  of  the  principal  prelates 


before  agreed  upon<  He  wished  that  their  con- 
secration should-  take  place  upon  Palm  Sunday,  in 
order  that  they  might  be  able  to  officiate  on"  the 
Sunday  following,  which  was  Easter-day,  in  the 
great  solemnitj'  which  he  had  projected.  These 
were  il.  de  Belloy,  nominated  archbishop  of  Paris, 
JI.  de  Cambac^res,  archbishop  of  Ilouen,  M.  Ber- 
nier,  bishop  of  Orleans,  and  ^I.  de  Pancemont, 
bishop  of  Vannes.  Notre  Dame  was  still  occupied 
by  the  constitutional  clergy,  who  kept  the  keys. 
It  required  a  foi-mal  order  before  they  would  de- 
liver them  up.  That  fine  edifice  was  found  in  a 
sad  state  of  dilapidation  ;  and  nothing  there  was 
prepared  for  the  consecration  of  the  four  prelates. 
They  provided  for  this  omission  by  means  of  a 
sum  of  money,  furnished  by  the  first  consul,  and 
it  was  done  in  such  a  hurfy,  that  when  the  day 
of  the  ceremony  came,  there  was  no  place  found 
fitted  up  for  a  sacristy.  A  neighbouring  house 
was  obliged  to  be  applied  to  tliis  purpose.  There 
the  new  prelates  arrayed  themselves  in  their  pon- 
tifical ornaments,  and  in  this  dross  had  to  cross 
the  open  sjiace  before  the  cathedral.  The  people 
having  been  informed  that  a  grand  ceremony  was 
in  course  of  preparation,  repaired  to  the  spot,  and 
behaved  quietly  and  respectfully.  The  counte- 
nance of  the  venerable  archbishop  Belloy  was  so 
fine  and  noble,  that  it  affected  the  simple  hearts 
of  those  who  composed  the  crowd,  and  all  of  them, 
both  men  and  women,  bowed  respectfully.  The 
cathedral  was  full  of  that  class  of  serious  persons, 
who  had  grieved  over  the  misfoi-times  of  religion, 
and  who,  belonging  to  no  faction,  received  with 
thankfulness  the  present  made  thera  that  day  by 
the  first  consul.  The  ceremony  was  affecting,  even 
from  the  very  defect  of  pomp  by  the  sentiments 
which  attached  to  it.  The  four  prelates  were  con- 
secrated in  the  customary  manner. 

From  this  time,  it  must  be  stated,  that  the 
satisfaction  among  the  mass  was  general,  and  the 
approbation  of  the  public  was  secured  to  the  great 
manifestation  that  was  fixed  for  the  following 
Sunday.  Except  party  men,  revolutionists  hotly 
obstinate  in  their  own  systems,  or  factious  royalists, 
who  .saw  with  mortification  the  lever  of  revolt 
slipped  out  of  their  hands,  all  approved  of  what 
was  passing;  and  the  first  consul  was  able  to  re- 
cognize already,  that  his  own  views  were  more 
correct  than  those  of  his  councillors. 

Tiie  Sunday  following  being  Easter  Sunday,  was 
designed  for  a  solenni  Te  Deum,  in  celebration,  at 
the  same  time,  of  the  general  peace,  and  of  a  re- 
conciliation with  the  church.  This  ceremony  was 
announced  by  public  authority,  as  a  truly  national 
festival.  The  preparations  and  the  programme  of 
it  were  published.  The  first  consul  wished  to  pro- 
ceed to  it  in  grand  state,  accompanied  by  all  that 
was  most  elwated  in  the  government.  Through 
the  ladies  of  the  palace  it  was  conveyed  to  the 
wives  of  the  higher  functionaries,  that  (hey  would 
satisfy  one  of  his  most  ardent  wishes,  if  they  would 
attend  the  metropolitan  church  upon  the  day  of 
Te  iJeum.  The  greater  number  did  not  requii'o 
to  be  pressed  to  attend.  It  is  well  known  what 
frivolous  motives  are  joined  to  those  which  are 
most  pious  in  character,  to  augment  the  influx  of 
attendance  upon  those  solenmities  of  religion.  The 
most  brilliant  women  of  Paris  obeyed  the  wishes 
of   the  first   consul.     The  principal  among   them 


Objections  of  the  military. 
348        — ^^^'^  demand  of  cardi- 
nal Caprara  — The  first 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


consul  opposes  the  car-  ,_,„ 
dinars  demands.  — Pro-  ''*"y 
cession  to  Noire  Dame.        ■''I"'"- 


made  the  Tuileries  the  rendezvous,  in  order  to 
accompany  Madam  Bonaj)arte  in  the  carriages  of 
the  new  court.  The  first  consul  had  given  a  for- 
mal order  to  his  generals  to  accompany  him.  This 
was  the  most  difficult  tiling  of  all  to  obtain,  because 
it  was  every  where  said  that  they  held  very  un- 
worthy and  almost  factious  language.  The  con- 
duct of  Lannes  has  been  already  noticed.  Auge- 
reau,  tolerated  at  Paris,  was  actually  one  of  those 
who  spoke  loudest.  He  was  charged  by  his  com- 
rades to  go  to  the  first  consul,  and  to  express  to 
him  their  wish  not  to  attend  at  Notre  Dame.  It 
was  at  a  consular  sitting,  in  the  presence  of  the 
three  consuls  and  the  niinistei-s,  that  Bonaparte 
chose  to  receive  Augereau.  He  stated  his  message, 
but  the  first  consul  recalled  him  to  a  sense  of  his 
duty,  with  that  haughtiness  of  manner  that  he  so 
well  knew  how  to  assume,  more  particularly  with 
military  men.  He  made  him  sensible  of  the  im- 
propriety of  his  conduct,  and  recalled  to  his  re- 
collection that  the  concordat  was  then  the  law  of 
the  land,  and  that  the  laws  were  obligatory  upon  all 
classes  of  citizens,  as  well  upon  the  military  as 
upon  the  humblest  and  most  feeble  citizen  ;  that 
he  should  watch  their  execution,  in  his  double 
capacity  of  general  and  chief  magistrate  of  the 
republic  ;  that  it  was  not  for  the  officers  of  the 
army,  but  for  the  government,  to  judge  of  the 
adaptation  of  the  ceremonies  ordered  for  Easter 
Sunday;  that  all  the  authorities  had  orders  to  be 
present,  the  military  as  well  as  the  civil  authorities, 
and  tliat  all  should  obey;  that  as  to  the  dignity  of 
the  army,  he  was  himself  as  jealous  of  it,  and  as 
good  a  judge  of  it,  as  any  of  the  generals  his  com- 
panions in  arms  ;  and  tliat  he  was  sure  he  did  not 
compromise  it  by  assisting  in  person  at  the  cere- 
monies of  religion  ;  that,  to  put  an  end  to  the 
question,  they  had  not  to  deliberate,  but  to  execute 
an  ordei",  and  that  he  expected  to  see  them  all  on 
Sunday  at  his  side  in  the  metrojjolitan  church. 
Augereau  made  no  reply,  and  carried  to  his 
comrades  only  the  embarrassment  of  having 
done  a  thoughtless  act,  and  the  resolution  to  obey 
orders. 

Every  thing  was  ready,  when,  at  the  last  mo- 
ment, the  later  thoughts  of  cai'diual  Caprara  were 
nearly  defeating  these  noble  designs  of  the  first 
consul.  The  bishops  chosen  from  the  constitu- 
tional party  had  gone  to  the  residence  of  cardinal 
Caprai-a,  for  the  pruces  inforinatif,  which  is  drawn 
out  in  behalf  of  every  bishop  presented  to  the 
holy  see.  The  cardinal  had  required  from  them  a 
retractation,  by  which  they  abjured  their  former 
errors,  characterizing  in  the  most  self-condemna- 
tory way,  their  adhesion  to  the  civil  constitution 
of  the  clergy.  This  was  a  very  humiliating  step, 
not  only  for  them,  but  for  the  revolution  itself. 
The  first  consul,  upon  hearing  it,  would  not  allow 
it,  and  he  enjoined  the  clergy  not  to  yield,  pro- 
mising to  support  them,  and  to  force  the  represen- 
tative of  the  holy  see  to  renounce  such  unchristian 
pretensions.  The  cardinal  had  found  no  other 
excuse  for  his  condescension,  if  he  instituted  those 
whom  he  called  "intruders,"  than  in  a  formal  re- 
cantation of  their  past  errors.  But  the  first  consul 
did  not  understand  it  in  that  point  of  view.  "  When 
I  accept  for  bishop,"  said  he,  "  the  abbd  Bernier, 
the  apostle  of  La  Vende'e,  the  pope  may  be  satisfied 
with  Jansenists  and  oratorians,  who  have  had  no 


other  fault  than  that  of  abiding  by  the  revolution." 
He  directed  them  to  confine  themselves  to  a  simple 
declaration,  which  consisted  in  saying  that  they 
adhered  to  the  concordat,  and  the  wishes  of  the 
holy  see  expressed  in  that  treaty.  He  insisted, 
with  justice,  that  as  the  concordat  contiiined  the 
principles  upon  which  the  French  and  Roman 
churches  agreed,  no  more  was  to  be  exacted, 
without  an  intention  to  humiliate  one  party  to  the 
advantage  of  another,  which  he  declared  he  would 
never  allow. 

On  the  Saturday  night,  the  eve  of  Easter,  this 
dispute  was  not  terminated.  M.  Portalis  was  then 
charged  to  go  to  the  cardinal  and  announce  that 
the  ceremony  of  the  following  day  should  not  take 
place,  nor  slioukl  the  conconlat  be  published,  but 
that  it  should  remain  without  effect,  if  he  continued 
longer  to  insist  upon  the  recantation  thus  demanded. 
This  resolution,  furthermore,  was  serious,  and  the 
first  consul,  in  showing  himself  full  of  condescen- 
sion for  the  church,  would  not  give  way  upon  such 
points  as  appeared  to  compromise  the  end  itself, 
that  is  to  say,  the  complete  fusiim  of  parties.  He 
knew  that  it  was  necessary  to  be  energetic,  to  be 
a  conciliator,  since  it  is  nearly  as  costly  to  bring 
the  parties  to  agree  as  it  is  to  conquer  them. 

At  last,  the  cardinal  gave  way,  but  not  until  the 
night  was  far  advanced.  It  was  agreed  that  the 
prelates  newly  elected  from  among  the  constitu- 
ti(mal  clergy,  should  go  through  the  proces  infor- 
matif  at  the  cardinal's  house,  and  that  tliey  should 
profess,  viravoce,  their  sincere  um'on  to  the  church, 
and  that,  as  a  consequence,  a  declaration  should  be 
made  that  they  and  the  church  were  reconciled, 
without  saying  how, or  on  what  terms.  It  is  a  fact 
that  the  demanded  recantation  was  not  made. 

The  next  day,  being  Easter  Sunday,  the  18th  of 
April,  1802,  or  28tli  Germinal,  year  x.,  the  con- 
cordat was  published  in  all  quarters  of  Paris,  with 
grand  parade,  and  by  the  principal  authorities. 
While  this  publication  took  place  in  the  streets  of 
the  capital,  the  first  consul,  who  wished  to  solemnize 
on  the  same  day  all  that  was  for  the  good  of  France, 
was  exchanging  at  the  Tuileries  the  ratifications  of 
the  treaty  of  Amiens.  This  important  formality 
accomplished,  he  set  out  for  Notre  Dame,  followed 
by  the  chief  bodies  of  the  state,  and  a  great  num- 
ber of  functionaries  of  every  class,  a  brilliant  staff, 
and  a  crowd  of  ladies  of  the  highest  rank,  who 
accompanied  Madam  Bonaparte.  A  long  train  of 
carriages  composed  this  magnificent  assemblage. 
The  tniops  of  the  first  military  division,  united  in 
Paris,  formed  a  double  line  from  the  Tuileries  to 
the  cathedral.  The  archbishop  of  Paris  came  in 
procession  to  meet  the  first  con.-.ul  at  the  door  of 
the  church,  and  presented  him  with  the  holy 
water.  The  new  head  of  the  state  was  conducted 
under  a  dais,  in  a  place  reserved  for  him.  The 
senate,  the  legislative  body,  and  the  tribunate  were 
arranged  on  each  side  of  the  altai'.  Behind  the 
first  consul  were  seen  standing,  the  generals  in 
full  uniform,  more  obedient  than  converted,  and 
some  of  them  aiTecting  a  demeanour  not  very 
becoming.  As  to  himself,  dressed  in  the  red 
uniform  of  the  consuls,  motionless,  with  a  severe 
expression  of  countenance,  he  displayed  neither 
the  perplexity  of  some,  nor  the  devout  expression 
of  others.  He  was  calm,  grave,  in  the  attitude  of 
the  chief  of  an  empire,  who  was  performing  a  great 


1802. 
April. 


The  first  consul  rebukes  his 
generals.—  New  work  of 
M.  Chateaubriand. 


THE  CONSULATE  FOR  LIFE. 


Project  for  the  return  of  the 
emigrants. 


34.9 


act  of  liis  will,  and  commanded  by  his  look  submis- 
sion from  every  body. 

The  ceremony  was  long  and  dignified,  despite 
the  bad  humour  of  those  wlmm  it  had  been  deemed 
necessary  to  nssemble  together  there.  In  other 
respects  the  efffct  of  it  was  destined  to  be  decisive, 
because  the  example  once  given  by  the  most  im- 
posing of  men,  the  former  religious  habits  would 
be  resumed,  and  all  opposition  to  them  would 
subside. 

There  were  two  motives  for  this  fete,  the  csta- 
blisliment  of  worship,  and  the  general  peace.  The 
satisfaction  w;is  natuially  general,  and  all  who 
had  not  bad  party  feelings  in  tlieir  hearts,  were 
happy  at  the  public  welfare.  On  that  day  there 
were  grand  dinners  given  by  the  ministers,  at 
which  the  principal  members  of  tlie  different 
administrations  attended.  The  representatives  of 
the  foreign  powers  were  the  guests  of  the  minister 
for  foreign  affairs.  There  was  a  brilliant  banquet 
at  the  first  consul's,  to  which  were  invited  cardinal 
Caprara,  the  archbishop  of  Paris,  the  principal  of 
the  new  iler/y  just  aj^pointed,  and  the  highest  per- 
sonages of  the  slate.  The  first  consul  talked  a  long 
while  with  the  cai'dinal,  and  testified  to  him  his 
delight  at  having  achieved  so  great  a  work.  He 
was  proud  of  his  courage  and  of  his  success.  One 
light  cloud  passed  across  iiis  noble  brow  for  an 
instant,  and  that  was  when  casting  a  glance  at 
certain  of  his  generals,  whose  attitwle  and  lan- 
guage had  not  bt-come  tlic  occasion.  He  expressed 
liis  discontent  to  them,  with  a  firmness  of  maimer 
which  admitted  of  no  reply,  and  which  left  little 
fear  of  a  return  of  such  conduct. 

To  complete  the  effect  which  the  first  consul 
had  wished  to  produce  on  this  day,  M.  de  Fontanes 
gave  an  accomit,  in  the  Moniteur,  of  a  new  book, 
which  at  that  moment  made  a  great  noise  ;— the 
"  Genius  nf  Christianity."  This  book,  written  by  a 
young  Breton  gentleman,  M.  de  Cliatcanbriand, 
related  to  .Malesherbes,  and  long  absent  from  liis 
country,  desi-ribed,  with  infinite  brilliancy,  the 
beauties  of  Christianity,  and  extolled  the  moral 
ami  poetical  iuflueiice  of  religious  practices,  which 
had  been  exposed,  for  twenty  years,  to  the  bitterest 
raillery.  Criticised  severely  by  Ch^nier  and  Giii- 
guend,  who  charged  it  with  false  and  extravagant 
colouring,  and  praised  excessively  by  the  Jiarty 
attached  to  religious  restoration,  the  "  Genius  of 
Christianity,"  like  all  remarkable  books,  very  much 
praised  and  very  much  attacked,  produced  a  deep 
impression,  because  it  expressed  a  real  feeling, 
general  at  tliat  mimient  in  French  society  ;  this 
was  the  singular  indefinable  regret  for  that  whicli 
no  longer  exists — for  that  which  in  possession  was 
disdained  or  destroyed,  and  for  which,  when  lost, 
there  is  such  a  melancholy  desire.  Such  is  the 
human  heart  !  That  which  exists  fatigues  and 
oppresses  it,  and  that  whith  has  ceased  to  e.xist 
acquires  suddenly  a  powerful  charm.  The  social 
and  religious  customs  of  the  old  time,  odious  and 
ridiculous  in  17"^,  because  then  they  were  in  all 
their  force,  and  were  also  oftentimes  oppressive, 
now  that  the  eighteenth  century,  changing  towards 
its  close  into  an  impetuous  torrent,  had  swept  them 
away  in  its  devastating  course,  these  now  returned 
to  the  recollection  of  an  agitated  g<'neration,  and 
affected  its  luiart,  disposed  to  emotions  by  firt<;en 
years   of  tragic   scenes.     The    work   of    a   young 


writer,  strongly  tinctured  with  this  pri.found  feel- 
ing, acted  at  the  moment  on  men's  minds  strongly, 
and  was  marked  with  peculiar  favour  by  the  man 
who  then  dispensed  all  the  glories.  If  it  did  not 
exhibit  the  jjiire  taste,  the  simple  and  solid  faith  of 
the  writers  of  the  age  of  Louis  XIV.,  it  painted,  as 
with  a  charm,  the  old  religious  manners  that  were 
no  more.  There  is  no  doubt  but  the  work  might 
be  censured  as  the  abuse  of  a  fine  imagination;  but 
after  Virgil  and  Horace,  there  remained  in  the 
memory  of  mankind  a  place  for  the  ingenious 
Ovid,  and  for  the  brilliant  Lucan  ;  and  alone, 
perhaps,  among  the  books  of  its  day,  the  "  Genius 
of  Christianity  "  will  live,  sti'ongly  linked,  as  it  is, 
to  a  memorable  era  ;  it  will  live  as  an  ornament, 
sculptured  upon  the  marble  of  a  frieze,  lives  with 
the  edifice  that  bears  it. 

In  recalling  the  priests  to  the  altar,  and  in  draw- 
ing them  out  of  their  obscure  retreats  where  they 
practised  their  I'eligion,  and  often  conspired  against 
the  government,  the  first  consul  had  remedied  one 
of  the  most  vexatious  disorders  of  the  time,  and 
satisfied  one  of  its  greatest  moral  necessities.  But 
there  remained  still  another  disorder  of  a  very  sad 
character,  which  gave  to  France  the  aspect  of  a 
country  torn  up  by  factions;  this  was  the  exile  of  a 
considerable  number  of  Frenchmen,  living  in  fo- 
reign lands  in  indigence,  sometimes  in  hatred  of 
their  country,  and  receiving  from  an  enemy's  hand 
the  bread  that  many  among  them  paid  for  by  un- 
worthy acts  towards  France.  Exile  is  a  frightful 
invention  of  civil  discord  ;  it  renders  the  banished 
man  uidiappy;  it  denatui-alizes  his  heart;  it  leaves 
liiin  to  an  aims  doled  out  by  a  stranger,  and  exhi- 
bits afar  the  afflicting  picture  of  the  troubles  of  his 
native  land.  Of  all  the  traces  of  a  revolution,  this 
is  that  which  should  be  the  first  effaced.  Bona- 
parte considered  the  recal  of  the  emigrants  as  the 
indispensable  compliment  to  a  general  paciticator. 
It  was  an  act  of  reparation  of  which  he  was  impa- 
tient to  brave  the  difticulties,  and  gather  the  glory. 
There  already  existed  for  the  emigrants  a  system 
of  recal  very  incomplete,  ])artial,  and  irregular, 
which  had  all  the  inconveniences  of  a  general  mea- 
sure, and  yet  had  not  its  high  character,  or  its 
eclat  of  beneficence  ;  this  was  the  system  of  the 
evasures,  which  were  accorded  to  the  emigrants  best 
recommended,  under  the  pretence  that  they  liad 
been  unduly  ])hiced  upon  the  lists.  The  amnesty  in 
this  mode  was  not  always  given  to  the  most  excus- 
able or  the  most  deserving. 

The  first  consul  formed  the  resolution,  therefore, 
of  permitting  the  return  of  the  emigrants  in  the 
mass,  with  certain  exceptions.  Serious  objections 
were  made  against  this  measure.  At  first  all  the 
constitutions,  and  principally  the  consular  consti- 
tution, stated  formally  that  the  emigrants  should 
never  be  recalled.  They  said  this  more  particu- 
larly on  account  of  the  acquirers  of  national  pro- 
perty, who  were  very  suspicious,  and  regarded  the 
exile  of  the  former  jjosseswors  of  this  jjroperty  afl 
needful  for  their  safety.  The  first  consul  considered 
himself  as  the  firmest  supporter  of  these  holders; 
having  always  expressed  his  determination  to  de- 
fend them,  the  only  mortal  having  the  power  to  do 
so,  ho  bt'lievfd  himself  strong  enough  in  that  i)ub- 
lic  confidence  with  which  he  had  inspired  all,  to 
be  able  to  open  the  doors  of  l-'rancc  to  the  emi- 
grants.    He,  therefore,  ordered  a  resolution  to  bo 


Difficulties  of  the  question. 
3r.O      —Resistance  of  the  coun-    THIERS'  CONSULATE   AND  EMPIRE. 

oil  of   state  to   the   first 


consul's  measure  re- 
specting emigrants' 
property. 


1802. 
April. 


prepared,  of  which  the  first  clause  purported 
to  be  tlie  new  and  h-revocable  consecration  of  the 
sales  made  by  the  state  to  the  acquirers  of  the 
national  property.  He  then  had  inserted  in  the 
same  document  a  provision,  by  which  all  emigrants 
■were  recalled  in  a  body,  on  their  submitting  to  the 
surveyoi-ship  of  the  high  police,  and  those  who 
should  at  any  time  have  provoked  such  an  applica- 
tion, submitting  to  this  surveyorship  for  the  whole 
of  their  lives.  There  were  still  some  exceptions  to 
this  general  recai.  The  benefit  was  refused  to 
those  who  had  commanded  armies  against  the 
republic,  to  those  who  had  accepted  mink  in  the 
armies  of  the  enemies  of  France,  to  the  individuals 
who  had  jdaces  or  titles  in  the  households  of  the 
princes  of  the  house  of  Bourbon,  to  the  generals 
or  representatives  of  the  people  who  had  entered 
into  a  compact  with  the  enemy  (this  related  to 
Pichegru  and  certain  members  of  the  legislative 
assemblies),  and  finally,  to  such  arclibishoiis  and 
bishops  as  had  refused  the  resignations  demanded 
of  them  by  the  pope.  The  number  of  excluded 
persons  wa's,  therefore,  very  inconsiderable. 

The  most  difficult  question  to  resolve  was  that 
which  related  to  the  property  of  the  emigrants 
which  had  not  yet  been  sold.  If,  with  all  reason, 
the  sales  made  by  the  state  should  be  declared 
irrevocable,  it  might  appear  hard  not  to  restore  to 
the  emigrants  that  portion  of  their  property  still 
resting  entire  in  the  hands  of  the  government. 
"  I  do  nothing,"  said  the  first  consul,  "  if  I  restore 
these  emigrants  to  their  country,  and  do  not  restore 
to  them  their  patriniony.  I  wish  to  eff'ace  the 
traces  of  our  civil  wars,  and  in  filling  France  with 
returned  emigrants,  who  will  remain  in  poverty 
while  their  property  is  under  the  sequestration  of 
the  .state,  I  create  a  class  of  discontented  persons, 
who  will  not  leave  us  any  rest.  And  these  proper- 
ties, kept  under  a  state  sequestration,  who  do  you 
thiidi  will  purchase  them  in  presence  of  their 
former  owners,  now  returned  home  V  The  first 
consul  was,  therefore,  resolved  to  restore  all  the 
unsold  domains,  except  houses  or  edifices  used  for 
the  public  service. 

This  resolution,  thus  drawn  up,  was  submitted 
to  a  privy  council,  composed  of  the  consuls,  minis- 
ters, a  certain  number  of  councillors  of  state  and 
I  of  senators.  It  was  warmly  discussed  in  this 
assembly,  and  seemed  to  excite  considerable  jea- 
lousies. '  Still,  in  the  general  bent  towards  repara- 
tory  measures,  which  tended  to  efface  the  traces  of 
past  troubles,  the  prestige  of  the  general  peace, 
tlie  positive  will  of  the  first  consul,  all  these  causes 
in  union  led  to  the  adoption  of  the  principle  of  the 
recal  of  the  emigrants.  But  there  was  care  taken  to 
insert  in  the  resolutions  the  word  "amnesty,"  in  or- 
der to  attach  to  emigration  the  character  of  a  crimi- 
'lal  act,  that  a  victorious  and  hajipy  nation  was  will- 
mg  to  forget.  Tlie  first  consul,  wishing  to  do  al! 
things  in  the  most  complete  way,  was  repugnant  to 
the  employment  of  the  word  "amnesty."  He  said 
that  iliey  ought  not  to  humiliate  those  whose 
reconciliation  with  France  they  would  fain  bring 
about,  and  to  treat  them  as  criminals  receiving 
pardon,  would  be  to  humiliate  tliem  deeply.  He 
was  answered,  that  emigration  had  originally  been 
a  crime,  since  it  had  for  its  principal  object  to 
make  war  upon  France,  and  that  it  was  needful 
it  should  remain  condemned  by  the   laws.     The 


warmest  contest  took  place  relative  to  the  property 
of  the  emigrants.  The  councillors  called  upon  to 
deliberate,  obstinately  refused  the  restitution  of 
the  woods  and  forests,  that  the  law  of  the  2ud 
Nivose,  year  iv.,  had  declared  inalienable.  It  was 
in  their  opinion,  to  remit  immense  riches  into  the 
hands  of  the  great  emigration,  depriving  the  state 
of  enormous  resources,  and  above  all,  of  forests 
indispensable  for  the  service  of  war  and  of  the 
navy.  Notwithstanding  all  his  efforts,  the  first 
consul  was  obliged  to  give  way ;  and  he  thus  kept, 
without  thinking  of  it,  one  of  the  most  powerful 
means  of  influence  over  the  ancient  French  no- 
bility, that  which  afterwards  served  to  bring  them 
back  to  him  almost  wholly  :  this  means  was  an 
individual  restitution,  which  at  a  later  period  he 
made  of  their  properties,  to  those  of  the  emigrants 
who  submitted  to  his  government. 

The  resolution  thus  modified,  it  remained  to 
know  how  a  legal  character  should  be  conferred 
upon  it.  It  was  the  desire  to  make  it  a  law,  yet  it 
was  intended  if  possible  to  give  it  the  most  elevated 
character.  The  idea  was  suggested  of  making  it 
a  senatusconsultum.  The  resolution  affected  the 
constitution  itself,  and  in  that  sense  it  appeared 
more  particularly  to  appertain  to  the  senate.  Al- 
ready that  body,  by  two  considerate  acts,  that 
which  had  proscribed  the  Jacobins,  falsely  accused 
of  the  infernal  machine,  and  that  which  had  in- 
terpreted the  38th  article  of  the  constitution,  and 
excluded  the  oppositions  in  the  two  legislative 
assemblies,  had  acquired  a  species  of  power  supei'ior 
to  the  constitution  itself,  because  it  had  made  ex- 
traoi-dinary  measures  lawful,  and  new  constitutional 
dispositions,  of  which  the  government  believed  it 
had  need.  After  having  ])erformed  these  rigorous 
acts,  it  could  not  be  otlierw^ise  than  agreeable  to 
the  senate  to  be  charged  with  an  act  of  national 
clemency.  It  was  then  decreed  that  the  resolution 
pronouncing  the  recal  of  the  emigrants,  should  be 
first  discussed  in  the  council  of  state,  as  were  the 
regulations,  laws,  senatorial  consultations,  and  then 
be  submitted  to  the  senate,  to  be  there  deliberated 
upon  as  a  measure  aff'ecting  the  constitution  itself. 

The  thing  was  thus  performed.  The  projected 
amnesty,  discussed  in  the  council  of  state  of  the 
IGih  of  April,  or  2Gth  Germinal,  two  days  before 
the  publication  of  the  concordat,  was  carried  ten 
days  afterwards  to  the  senate  on  the  26th  of  April, 
I  1802,  or  6tli  of  Flore'al.  It  was  then  adopted 
without  any  contest,  and  with  some  remarkable 
reasons. 

"  Considering,"  said  the  senate,  "  that  the  pro- 
posed measure  is  commanded  by  the  actual  state 
of  things,  by  justice,  by  the  national  interest,  and 
that  it  is  in  conformity  to  the  spirit  of  the  consti- 
tution: 

"  Considering  that  at  different  epochs,  when  the 
laws  relating  to  emigration  were  enacted,  that 
Franco,  torn  by  intestine  divisions,  sustained 
against  nearly  the  whole  of  Europe,  a  war  of  which 
historj'  offers  no  example,  and  which  caused  a 
necessity  for  rigorous  and  extraordinary  measures: 

"  That  to-day  peace  being  made  abroad,  it  is  of 
importance  to  cement  it  at  home,  by  every  thing 
which  can  rally  Frenchmen,  tranquillize  families, 
and  cause  to  bo  forgotten  the  evils  inseparable 
from  a  long  revolution: 

'•  That  nothing  is  better  to  consolidate  peace  at 


1802. 
April. 


Reasons  of  the  senate  for 
agreeing  to  the  return 
of  the  emigrants. 


THE  CONSULATE  FOR  LIFE. 


The  first  consul's  reasoning  ( 
honorary  distinctions. 


351 


I 


home  than  a  measure  which  tempers  the  severity 
of  the  laws,  ami  causes  to  cease  the  uncertainty 
and  delay  n-sultiug  from  the  forms  established  for 
their  erasures: 

"  Considering  that  this  measure  can  only  be  an 
amnesty  which  grants  piirdon  to  the  greater  num- 
ber, always  more  misled  than  culpable,  and  that 
may  e.\tend  punishment  to  the  principal  culprits, 
by  keeping  them  definitively  upon  the  list  of 
emigi*ants: 

"  That  this  amnesty,  prompted  by  clemency, 
is,  however,  granted  only  upon  conditions,  just  in 
themselves,  tranquillizing  for  the  public  safety,  and 
wisely  combined  with  the  national  interest: 

"  That  particular  conditions  of  the  amnesty,  by 
defending  from  all  attack  the  acts  performed  by 
the  republic,  consecrates  anew  the  guarantee  of 
the  sales  of  the  national  property,  of  which  the 
maintenance  will  be  always  a  particular  object  of 
the  solicitude  of  the  conservative  senate,  as  it  is 
that  of  the  consuls,  the  senate  adopts  the  proposed 
resolution." 

This  courageous  act  of  clemency  was  certain  to 
obtain  the  approbation  of  every  wise  man  who  sin- 
cerely desired  the  end  of  the  civil  troubles  of 
France.  Tiianks  to  the  new  guarantees  given  to 
the  acquirers  of  national  property — thanks  to  the 
confidence  with  which  they  were  inspired  by  the 
first  consul,  this  hist  measure  of  the  government 
did  not  cause  them  too  great  an  inquietude,  and  it 
satisfied  that  honest  mass,  fortunately  the  most 
numerous,  of  the  royalist  party,  which  received 
with  a  murmur  the  benefit  conferred  upon  it.  It 
encountered  no  inquietude  but  wiili  the  men  of  the 
highest  class  of  emigrants,  who  were  living  in  the 
saloons  of  Paris,  and  there  paying  in  bad  language 
for  the  benefits  they  received  from  the  government. 
According  to  them,  this  act  was  insignificant,  in- 
complete, and  unjust,  because  it  made  certain  dis- 
tinctions between  the  persons — because  it  did  not 
restore  the  property  of  the  emigrants,  sold  or  un- 
sold alike.  The  approbation  of  these  idle  talkers 
could  be  well  passed  by.  Still  tlie  first  consul  was 
so  greedy  of  glory,  that  these  miserable  censures 
sometimes  disturbed  the  pleasure  which  he  I'eeeived 
in  the  universal  assent  of  France  and  of  Europe. 

But  his  ardour  in  doing  well  did  not  depend  on 
praise  or  censure,  and  scarcely  had  he  consum- 
mated the  grand  act  which  has  just  been  stated, 
when  he  began  to  prepare  others  of  the  highest 
social  and  political  importance.  Disembarrassed 
from  the  obstacles  presented  to  his  fertile  activity 
by  the  resistance  of  the  tribunate,  he  was  resolved, 
during  this  extraordinary  session  of  Germinal  and 
Flordal,  to  terminate,  or  at  least  to  advance  con- 
siderably the  re-organization  of  France.  It  is 
right  to  relate  his  ideas  in  this  respect. 

By  the  acts  of  the  first  consul  already  known, 
abovo  all,  by  the  establishment  of  worship,  it  was 
easy  to  divine  what  was  the  ordinary  tendency  of 
his  mind,  and  his  particular  manner  of  thinking 
upon  questions  of  social  organization.  In  general 
he  was  disposed  to  oppose  the  narrow  or  exagge- 
rated systems  of  the  revolution,  or,  to  sjicak  more 
correctly,  of  some  revolutionists,  because  in  its  first 
movements  the  revolution  bad  always  been  gene- 
rous and  true.  It  had  desired  to  abolisli  the  ir- 
regularities, the  cajirices,  the  unjust  distinctions, 
derived  from  the  feudal  system,  in  virtue  of  which, 


for  example,  a  Jew,  a  catholic,  a  protestant,  a 
noble,  a  priest,  a  citizen,  a  Burgundian,  a  Pro- 
veufal,  a  Breton,  had  not  the  s;ime  rights,  the 
same  duties,  did  not  support  the  same  burdens, 
nor  enjoy  the  same  advantages,  in  a  word,  did  not 
live  under  the  same  laws.  To  make  them  all  French- 
men, whatever  was  their  religion,  theii'  birth,  or 
natal  province,  equal  citizens  in  rights  and  duties, 
eligible  to  every  thing  according  to  their  individual 
merit — here  was  what  the  revolution  intended  to 
do  in  its  first  starting,  before  contradictions  had 
irritated  it  even  to  delirium;  this  is  what  the  first 
consul  wished  to  do,  since  that  delirium  had  given 
place  to  reason.  But  that  chimerical  equality,  of 
which  demagogues  had  been  for  a  moment  dream- 
ing, that  it  was  necessary  to  place  all  men  upon  the 
same  level,  which  scarcely  admitted  the  natural 
inequalities  arising  from  a  difierence  of  mind  or 
talent,  this  equality  he  despised,  either  as  a 
chimera  of  the  spirit  of  system,  or  as  a  revoltmg 
sense  of  envy. 

He  wished  then  for  a  social  hierarchy,  on  the 
different  grades  of  which  all  men,  without  dis- 
tinction of  birth,  should  place  themselves  accord- 
ing to  their  merit,  and  in  the  grades  of  which 
should  remain  fi..\ed  those  whom  their  ancestors 
had  borne  there,  but  without  any  obstacle  what- 
ever to  the  new  comers,  who  tend  to  elevate  them- 
selves in  their  turn. 

To  this  species  of  social  vegetation,  arising  from 
nature  itself,  observed  in  all  countries,  and  at  all 
times,  he  intended  to  afford  free  play  in  the  insti- 
tutions that  he  occupied  himself  in  founding.  As 
with  all  powerful  minds  that  apply  themselves  to 
discover  in  the  sentiment  of  the  masses  the  real 
instinct  of  humanity,  and  are  fond  of  opposing 
that  sentiment  to  the  narrow  views  of  the  spirit 
of  system,  he  searched  in  the  dispositions  mani- 
fested under  his  eyes,  by  the  people  itself,  for  the 
arguments  in  support  of  his  opinions. 

To  those  who,  in  matters  of  religion,  had  coun- 
selled indifference,  he  had  opposed  the  popular 
movement,  which  liad  been  recently  exhibited  at 
the  door  of  a  church  to  force  the  priests  to  give 
the  rights  of  sepulture  to  an  actress.  "  See,"  he 
said  to  the  partizans  of  indifference,  "  mark  how 
indifferent  the  people  are!  And  yourselves! — why 
have  you  proclaimed  the  Supreme  Being  in  the 
midst  of  a  great  revolutionary  paro.xysm  ?  because 
at  the  bottom  of  the  people's  hearts  there  is  some- 
thing, no  matter  what,  that  inclines  them  to  have 
a  God." 

"  In  respect  to  the  manner  of  classing  men  in 
society,"  he  said  to  those  who  would  have  no  dis- 
tinction," wherefore  then  have  you  decreed  nmskcts 
and  sabres  of  honour  ?  Is  not  this  a  distinction  ? 
an  invention  ridiculous  enough,  since  men  do  not 
carry  a  musket  or  sabre  of  honour  on  the  breast, 
and  in  such  cases  men  like  what  is  seen  at  a  dis- 
tance." The  first  consul  had  observed  a  singular 
fact,  and  would  voluntarily  remark  iq)on  it  to  those 
with  whom  ho  was  in  the  habit  of  conversing. 
Since  France,  the  object  of  the  respect  and  atten- 
tion of  Europe,  hati  become  filled  witli  the  minis- 
ters of  all  the  powers,  or  with  strangers  of  distinc- 
tion, who  had  come  as  visiters,  ho  was  struck  with 
the  curiosity  with  which  the  populace,  and  even 
persons  above  the  i)opulace,  followed  these  foreign- 
ers, and  were  anxious  to  see  their  rich  uniforms 


352   The  first  consul's  reasoning    THIERS"   CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE,      on  honorary  distinctions. 


1802. 
May 


and  brilliant  decorations.  There  was  often  a  crowd 
assembled  in  the  court  of  the  Tuileries  to  attend 
their  arrival  and  departure.  "  See,"  he  observed, 
"  these  futile  vanities  that  strong  minds  so  much 
disdain;  the  populace  is  not  of  their  opinion.  It 
loves  those  many-coloured  cordons  as  it  loves  reli- 
gious pomps.  The  democratic  philosophers  call 
that  vanity  idolatry,  and  let  it  be  vanity  and  idola- 
try. But  that  idolatry,  that  vanity,  aro  weak- 
nesses common  to  the  whole  human  race,  and  from 
one  and  the  other  great  virtues  may  be  made  to 
spring.  With  these  baubles,  so  much  despised, 
heroes  are  made!  To  the  one  as  to  the  other  of 
these  pretended  feeblenesses  external  signs  are 
necessary  ;  there  must  be  a  worship  for  religious 
sentiment,  and  there  must  be  visible  distinctions 
to  inspire  the  noble  sentiment  of  glory." 

The  first  consul  determined  to  create  an  order 
which  should  replace  the  old  honour  of  arms, 
which  might  have  the  advantage  of  being  given 
as  well  to  the  soldier  as  to  the  general,  to  the 
learned  as  well  as  to  the  military  man,  which  con- 
sisted in  decorations  alike  in  form  to  those  worn 
throughout  Eui-ope;  and,  in  addition,  useful  endow- 
ments— useful,  above  all,  to  the  simple  soldier 
when  he  should  return  to  his  rural  home.  This 
was,  in  his  view,  another  means  of  putting  new 
France  in  relation  with  other  countries.  Since  it 
was  thus  that  in  all  Europe  services  were  marked 
out  for  )niblic  esteem,  why  not  admit  the  same  sys- 
tem in  France'?  "  Nations,"  he  said,  "should  not 
seek  to  be  singular  any  more  than  individuals. 
The  affectatii'ii  of  acting  differently  from  the  rest 
of  the  world  is  an  affectaiion  reproved  by  sensible, 
and,  above  all,  by  modest  persons.  Cordons  are 
in  use  in  every  country,  let  them  therefore  be 
used  in  France,"  said  tlie  first  consul,  "it  will  be 
one  measure  more  established  in  common  with 
Europe.  In  France  alone  they  were  not  given  ; 
among  our  neighbours  they  are  only  given  to  men 
of  birth;  I  will  give  them  to  the  men  who  shall 
have  served  best  in  the  army  or  in  the  state,  or 
who  shall  produce  the  finest  works." 

A  remark  piirticularly  struck  the  first  consul, 
and  became  with  him  an  object  upon  which  he 
much  meditated;  it  was,  to  what  extent  the  men  of 
the  revolution  had  become  disunited,  without  any 
bond  between  them,  and  without  a  bond  of  strength 
against  their  common  enemies.  While  the  old 
nobles  gave  the  hand  to  each  other — while  the 
Vende'aiis  were,  although  weakened  and  subdueil, 
still  secretly  in  coalition  —  while  the  clergy,  although 
re-constituted,  still  formed  a  powerful  corporation. 


•  "  The  emperor  observed,  that  abroad  they  had  the  useful 
efTect  of  appearing  lo  be  ;in  aiiproxiination  lo  the  old  man- 
ners of  Eur'  pe,  wbilir,  at  the  same  time,  tliey  served  as  a 
toy  for  amusiii);  the  vanities  ol"  nuiiiy  individuals  at  home  ; 
'for,'  said  he,  '  hnw  maiiv  really  clever  men  are  cliildreii 
more  than  oii<  e  in  tlieir  lives.'  The  eni))eror  revived  deco- 
rations of  honour,  and  distributed  crosses  and  ribands;  but 
instead  of  con(inin{j  tliem  to  pirticular  and  exclusive  classes, 
he  extended  them  to  society  in  geneial.  as  rewards  lor  every 
descripiion  of  talent  and  pulilic  service.  By  a  happy  privilege, 
perhaps  peculiar  to  Napoleon,  it  happened  tliat  the  value  of 
these  honours  was  enhanced  in  proportion  to  the  number 
distiihuted.  He  estimated  that  he  had  lonCerred  about 
twenty-live  thousand  ilecoiations  of  the  lepion  of  honour; 
and  the  desire  to  obtain  the  honour,  he  said,  increased,  till 
it  became  a  kitid  of  mania."— Zm  Catas'  Notes. 


and  very  equivocal  friends  of  the  government — the 
men  who  had  formed  this  revolution  were  divided 
and  even  disavowed,  it  must  be  said  by  ungrateful 
and  deceived  opinion.  Scarcely  had  the  elections 
gone  on  alone  before  there  were  seen  starting  up 
new  i«i!Son:iges,  to  whom  neither  good  nor  evil 
could  be  charged,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  furious 
revolutionists,  the  recollection  of  whom  inspired 
terror.  In  the  eyes  of  a  new  generation,  which 
bestowed  no  thanks  for  their  efforts  to  those  who, 
from  1789  to  ISdO,  had  suffered  so  greatly  to  en- 
franchise France,  the  best  claim  was  to  have  done 
nothing.  The  first  consul  was  convinced,  and  with 
good  reason,  that  if  this  movement  were  aided,  there 
would  very  soon  not  be  one  of  the  actors  in  the 
rev(jlution  left  upon  the  stage.  That  there  would 
be  seen  soon  a  new  class  produced,  easy  to  incline 
towanls  royalty, — that  there  would  at  some  mo- 
ment be  a  revolutionary  reaction,  which  would 
cause  the  reappeaiatice  of  the  men  of  blood, — that 
the  electiotis  efTected  under  the  directory,  alter- 
nately royalist,  after  the  mode  of  the  club  of  Clicliy, 
or  revolutionist,  tifter  the  fashion  of  BabtKuf,  were 
a  proof  of  it,  and  that  from  convulsions  to  con- 
vulsions all  would  terminate  in  the  triumph  of  the 
Bourbons  and  of  the  foreigners,  or,  in  other  words, 
in  a  Complete  comiter-revolution. 

He  regarded  it,  therefore,  as  indispensable  to 
retard  the  movement  of  free  institutions,  and  by  so 
doing  to  mtiintain  in  power  the  generation  that 
had  worked  out  the  revolution,  to  maintain  them  in 
it,  with  the  exception  only  of  certain  individuals, 
stained  with  blood,  and  even  to  secure  to  these 
oblivion  for  their  jtast  errors  and  a  subsistence  ;  to 
found  with  this  generation  a  tranquil,  reguhir,  and 
brilliant  society,  of  which  he  should  be  the  head, of 
which  his  companions  in  arms  and  his  civil  col- 
leagues should  form  the  higher  class,  the  aristo- 
cracy, if  people  would  have  it  so,  but  an  aristocracy 
always  open  to  rising  merit,  in  which  they  and 
their  children  should  be  placed,  the  men  who  h;id 
rendered  the  gretitest  services,  and  in  which  would 
always  be  found  to  take  their  place,  men  capable  of 
rendering  new  services.  The  society  thus  formed, 
after  the  eternal  laws  of  nature,  he  would  wish  to 
see  surroutided  with  every  kind  of  glory,  and  em- 
bellished by  the  arts,  to  opjiose  with  advantage  to 
the  old  order  of  things,  existing  as  a  living  device 
in  the  recollection  of  the  emigrants,  existing  as  a 
reality  in  all  Europe  ;  and  he  hoped  to  attach  to 
it  the  emigrants  themselves,  when  time  shotild 
have  corrected  thetn,  and  the  attraction  of  high 
employments  should  tempt  them  ;  yet  only  upon 
the  condition  that  they  should  come,  not  as  dis- 
dtiinfnl  protectors,  but  as  useful  and  submissive 
servants.  What  degree  of  political  liberty  would 
he  concede  to  a  society  thus  constituted  ?  He  did 
not  know.  He  thought  that  the  present  moment 
was  not  much  fitted  for  it,  because  all  the  liberty 
conceded  titrned  into  cruel  reactions;  and  he  be- 
lieved that  liberty  would  arrest  his  own  creative 
genius.  In  other  res])ects,  he  then  thought  little 
of  the  matter  ;  and  the  country,  only  anxious  for 
the  restoration  of  order,  did  not  allow  much  time 
to  think  of  it.  He  wished  then  to  found  this 
society  upon  the  principles  of  the  French  revolu- 
tion, to  give  it  go.rd  civil  liiws,  a  powerful  govern- 
ment, wealthy  finances,  and  exterior  greatness,  in 
other  words,  every  good,  save  one  alone,  leaving  for 


1802. 
May. 


Constitution  of  the  le^on 
of  honour. — Objects  of 


THE  CONSULATE  FOR  LIFE. 


otliei-s,  at  a  subsequent  period,  the  care  of  inipart- 
ing  to  it,  or  of  letting  it  take,  as  much  public  liberty 
as  was  convenient. 

It  was  according  to  these  notions  that  he  con- 
ceived liis  system  of  civil  and  niihtary  recom- 
penses, as  well  as  his  plan  of  education. 

The  arms  of  jionour,  devised  by  the  convention, 
had  not  succeeded,  because  they  were  not  adapted 
to  the  manners  of  the  time.  They  had  besides 
attached  to  them  administrative  perplexities,  on 
account  of  tlie  double  pay  attached  to  some,  and 
refused  to  others.  The  first  consul  imagined  a 
military  order  in  form,  but  not  destined  for  the 
military  only.  He  denominated  it  the  "legion  of 
honour,"  wishing  to  impart  the  idea  of  a  body  of 
men  devoted  to  clierish  honour,  and  to  the  defence 
of  certain  principles.  It  was  to  consist  of  fifteen 
cohorts;  each  cohort  of  seven  great  officers,  twenty 
commamlers,  thirty  officers,  and  three  hundred 
and  fifty  legionarits,  in  all  six  thousand  individuals 
of  all  ranks.  The  oath  indicated  to  what  course 
the  members  were  to  devote  themselves,  when  they 
joined  the  legion  of  honour.  Eacii  member  pro- 
mised to  devote  himself  to  the  defence  of  the 
republic,  the  integrity  of  its  territory,  tlie  principle 
of  e<iuality,  and  the  inviolability  of  the  national 
property.  It  was  in  coiise<iuonce  a  legion  wliieh 
would  pledge  its  honour  to  make  the  princijdes  and 
interests  of  the  revolution  triumphant.  Decora- 
tions and  endowments  were  attaciied  to  every 
grade.  The  great  officers  had  an  income  of  5000f. ; 
the  commanders,  2000 f.;  tlie  officers,  lOOOf.;  and 
the  simple  legionaries,  250  f.  An  endowment  in 
the  national  domains  sufficed  to  cover  these  ex- 
penses. Each  cohort  was  to  have  its  seat  in  the 
province  where  its  particular  possessions  were 
situated.  The  united  cohorts  were  to  be  governed 
by  a  council,  formed  of  seven  members  ;  I  he  three 
consuls  first,  and  then  four  of  the  great  officers,  of 
whom  the  first  was  designated  by  the  senate,  the 
second  by  the  legislative  body,  the  third  by  the 
tribunatp,  and  the  f(Uirtli  by  the  council  of  state. 
The  ciUMcil  of  the  legion  of  honour,thus  composed, 
was  ciiarged  with  tlie  management  of  the  property 
of  the  legion,  and  with  deliberating  upon  tlie  choice 
of  the  niembei's.  Lastly,  that  whieli  aided  to  com- 
I)lete  the  in-iilution,  and  lo  indicate  its  spirit,  was 
that  civil  services  of  all  kinds,  su  li  as  the  adniinis- 
tniiion,  government,  sciences,  letters,  and  arts,  were 
equally  titles  to  admission  with  military  service. 
Stiirting  from  the  existing  state  of  things,  it  was 
decided  that  the  military,  who  had  arms  of  honour, 
sliould  be  ineinbcfs  of  the  legion  by  right,  and  be 
classid  4ii  its  ranks  according  lo  their  grade  in  the 
army. 

Tills  institution  numbers  now  not  more  than 
forty  years  of  existence,  and  it  is  already  as  much 
Siinitioiicd  as  if  it  had  been  ages  old;  to  such  a 
degree  lias  it  become,  in  these  forty  years,  the 
recompirise  of  liiroinin,  learning,  and  merit  of 
every  kind  ;  so  much  has  it  been  sought  by  the 
great  and  the  princes  of  Europe,  the  proudest  of 
thi-ir  oi-igin.  Time,  the  judge  of  institutions,  has 
therefore  pronounced  upon  the  dignity  and  llie 
utility  of  this.  Leaving  aside  the  abuses  which 
may  hiive  sometimes  bi-eii  made  o;  such  a  recom- 
pens4',  by  the  different  governments  that  have  suc- 
ceeded each  oiher,  abuses  inherent  in  all  recom- 
peuses  given  by  man  to  man,  and  recognizing  what 


was  beautiful,  profound,  and  new  to  the  world 
which  it  possessed,  an  institution  which  was  to 
place  on  the  breast  of  the  jjrivate  soldier,  of  tlie 
modest  man  of  letters,  the  same  decoration  which 
figured  upon  the  breast  of  the  heads  of  armies,  of 
princes,  and  of  kings  ;  let  it  be  acknowledged  that 
tiiis  creation  of  an  honorary  distinction,  was  the 
triumph  the  most  brilliant  of  equality  itself,  not  of 
that  which  equalized  in  degrading  men  to  a  level, 
but  that  which  equalized  in  elevating  them  ;  let  it 
be  acknowledged,  finally,  that  if  for  the  great  men 
of  the  civil  or  military  orders,  it  might  only  be  a 
mere  vain  gratification,  an  empty  satisfaction,  it 
was  for  the  simple  soldier,  returned  to  iiis  native 
fields,  an  aid  to  the  comforts  of  the  peasant,  at  the 
same  time  that  it  was  a  visible  proof  of  his  heroism 
and  good  conduct. 

After  this  fine  system  of  recompense,  the  first 
consul  employed  himself,  wiih  not  less  zeal,  upon  a 
system  of  education  for  the  youth  of  France.  Edu- 
cation, at  that  time,  was  nearly  null,  or  abandoned 
to  the  enemies  of  the  revolution. 

The  religious   corporations,  formerly  employed 
in  bringing  up  youili,  had   disajipeared  with   the 
ancient  order  of  things.    There  was  some  tendency 
towards  their  revival,  but  the  first  consul  had  no 
intention  of  giving  up  the  new  generation  to  them, 
as  he  considered  them  the  secret  workmen  of  his 
enemies.    The  institutions  by  which  the  convention 
had  sought  to  replace  them,  hail  proved  no  more 
than  a  chimera,  which  had  already  almost  wholly 
disai)i)eared.       The    convention    intended    to    give 
priiuary  instruction  gratuitously  to  the  people,  and 
secondary  instruction  to  the  middle  classes,  in  such 
a  way  as  to   make   accessible,  boih  one  and  the 
other,  to   every  family.     It   had    ended   in    doing 
nothing.     The  comnmnes  had  given   dwellings  to 
the  primary  instructors,  in  general  the  parsonage- 
houses  of  the  old  country  curds,  but  they  had  given 
them   no   salaries,    or  had    done   so   in   assigiiats. 
Poverty  soon  dispersed  these  unfortunate  teachers. 
The  central  schools,  in  which  secondary  instruction 
was  dispensed,  placed  in  each  chief  place  of  the 
ilepartment,   were,   in    a   certain  sense,   academic 
establishments,  in  which  public  courses  of  lectures 
took    place,   at   which   youth    might   attend   some 
lioui's  in  the  day,  and  return  afterwards  to  their 
families,  or  to  tlie  boarding  houses  established  by 
private  speculation.     The  nature   of  their  studies 
was  conformable  to  the  spirit  of  the  times.  Classical 
studies,   considered  as  an  old    routine,    had   been 
nearly  abandoned  in  them.     The  natural  and  exact 
sciences,  and  living  languages,  had  taken  the  jilace 
of  the  ancient  tongues.   A  museum  of  natural  history 
was   attached    to    each    sc-lmol.     Such   a  mode  of 
instruction  had  little  iiifliuiicc   in  lnruiiiig  youth  ; 
a  course   that    endured  but    one  or  two  hours  in 
the  day,   is    not    llii^    mode    lo    make   an    impres- 
sion iijion  youth.     Thus  it  was  lelt  for  its  mind  to 
be  formed    by  the   heads  of   the   bo.-.r.iing-schooks, 
for  the  most  part,  at  that  time,  enemies  to  the  new 
order   of   things,    or   greedy  speculators,   treating 
youth  as  an  object  of  trading  speeulalion,  not  as 
a  sacred  deposit  of  the  stale  or  of  families.     The 
central  schools,  besides  being   pLiced   in  the  hun- 
dred and  two  deparlineiits.  one  in  each  chief  ]ilaco 
were    too    numerous.       There    were    not   scholars 
enotigli  for  so  many  schools.     Thirty  two  only  had 
succeeded  in  attracting  auditors,  and  in  becoming 
A  a 


'S54 


Scheme  of  Bonaparte 
general  education. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Composition  of  the  school 
on  the  new  plan. 


1802. 
May. 


nurseries  of  instruction.  Some  distinguished  pro- 
fessors had  appeared  in  these,  preserving  still  the 
spirit  of  sound  leai-ning.  But  the  political  vicissi- 
tudes, there  as  well  as  elsewhere,  had  made  their 
baneful  influence  felt.  The  professoi-s,  chosen  by 
the  juries  of  instruction,  had  succeeded  each  other 
as  the  different  parties. in  power  had  done,  appear- 
ing and  disappearing  in  turn,  and  their  profits  with 
them.  In  fine,  these  schools,  without  bond,  without 
unity,  without  a  common  direction,  presented  only 
scattered  fragments,  and  not  a  great  edifice  of  pub- 
lic instruction. 

The  first  consul  formed  his  design  after  the  first 
intention,  with  the  resolution  of  mind  which  was  so 
natural  to  him. 

At  first,  the  finances  of  France  did  not  permit 
the  furnishing  every  where,  without  charge,  even 
primary  instruction  to  the  people,  who,  on  the 
other  hand,  had  not  leisure  to  receive  its  benefits, 
if  the  state  had  possessed  money  enough  to  bestow 
them.  It  was  as  much  as  could  be  done  to  provide 
for  the  expenses  of  the  new  clergy,  and  this  it  was 
possible  to  do,  owing  to  a  partieuLir  circumstance 
of. the  time,  namely,  the  mass  of  ecclesiastical  pen- 
sions, which  were  paid,  in  lieu  of.  salaries,  to  the 
greater  part  of  the  cure's.  It  was  impossible  to 
pay  a  primary  institution  in  each  commune.  They 
were,  therefore,  contented  to  establish  them  amidst 
those  populations  that  were  able  of  themselves  to 
defray  their  expenses.  The  commune  gave  a  re- 
sidence for  the  master,  and  a  school-room,  the 
scholars  paying  a  sum  for  their  instruction,  cal- 
culated according  to  the  wants  of  the  teacher.  This 
was  all  that  could  be  then  done. 

For  the  moment  the  most  important  was  the 
secondary  instruction.  The  first  consul  suppressed, 
in  his  plan,  the  central  schools,  which  were  no 
more  than  public  courses  of  lectures,  without  uni- 
formity, and  without  effect  upon  youth.  There 
were  thirty-two  central  schools,  which  had  suc- 
ceeded more  or  less.  This  was  an  indication  of 
the  lack  of  instruction  in  the  different  parts  of 
France.  The  first  consul  projected  thirty-two 
establishments,  which  he  named  "  Lyceums,"  a 
name  borrowed  of  antiquity.  There  were  boarding- 
schools,  Avhere  the  youth  lived,  and  where  it  was 
retained  during  the  principal  years  of  adolescence, 
subjected  to  the  double  influence  of  a  sound  literary 
instruction  and  of  an  education,  severe,  masculine, 
sufficiently  religious,  altogether  military,  and  mo- 
delled upo'n  the  system  of  civil  equality.  He  wished 
to  re-establisii  in  them  the  old  classical  system, 
which  gave  the  first  place  to  the  ancient  languages, 
and  only  the  second  to  the  mathematical  and 
physical  sciences,  leaving  to  the  special  schools 
the  care  of  completing  the  education  in  these  last. 
He  was  right  in  that  as  in  the  rest.  The  study 
of  tjie  dead  languages  is  not  only  a  study  of  words 
but  of  things;  it  is  the  study  of  antiquity,  with  its 
laws,  its  manners,  arts,  and  history;  so  moral  and 
deeply  instructive.  There  is  one  age  in  which  to 
learn  these  things,  that  of  boyhood.  Youth  and 
its  passions  overcome,  its  exaggerations  and  false 
tastes,  mature  age,  with  its  ))ositive  interests,  life 
passes  without  a  moment  having  been  given  to  the 
study  of  a  world  dead  as  the  languages  that  o])en 
the  sources  of  its  knowledge.  If  a  tardy  inclination 
leads  us  to  it  again,  it  is  through  the  medium  of 
faint  and  insufficient  translations  that  this  beautiful 


antiquity  is  to  be  explored.  And  in  a  time  when 
these  religious  ideas  are  weakened,  if  the  know- 
ledge of  antiquity  disappear  also,  there  would  be 
formed  only  a  society  without  a  moral  tie  to  the 
past,  informed  and  occupied  only  about  the  pre- 
sent; an  ignorant  society,  debased,  and  fitted  ex- 
clusively for  the  mechanical  arts. 

The  first  consul,  therefore,  wished,  that  in  his 
scheme,  the  classical  studies  should  resume  their 
place.  The  sciences  should  come  afterwards.  So 
much  of  them  was  to  be  taught  as  is  useful  in  all 
the  professions  of  life,  and  as  much  as  was  re- 
quired to  pass  from  the  secondary  to  the  special 
schools.  Religious  instruction  was  to  be  given  by 
the  chaplains,  military  instruction  by  old  officers 
of  the  army.  All  the  movements  were  to  be  made 
in  the  military  step  to  the  sound  of  the  drum. 
This  was  necessary  for  a  nation  destined  entirely 
to  handle  arms,  either  in  the  army  or  the  national 
guard.  Eight  professors  of  ancient  languages  or 
the  belles  lettres,  a  censor  of  the  studies,  a  steward 
charged  with  the  care  of  the  personal  chattels,  a 
head-master,  styled  a  proviseur,  constituted  these 
establishments. 

Such  were  the  schools  in  which  the  first  consul 
wished  to  form  the  French  youth  ;  but  how  was 
it  to  be  drawn  to  them.  That  was  the  difficulty. 
The  first  consul  provided  for  this  by  one  of  the 
means,  certain  and  bold,  which  he  was  accustomed 
to  employ  when  he  wished  seriously  to  obtain  his 
end.  He  devised  the  establishment  of  six  thou- 
sand four  hundred  gratuitous  exhibitions,  of  which 
the  state  should  bear  the  expense,  and  which  at  a 
moderate  rate  of  from  700  to  800  f.^,  would  re- 
present a  total  expense  of  five  or  six  millions''', 
at  that  time  a  very  considei'able  sum.  This  esta- 
blishment of  six  thousand  four  hundred  scholars 
would  be  sufficient  to  furnish  a  fund  for  the 
nucleus  of  the  population  of  the  Lyceums.  The 
confidence  of  families,  which  it  was  hoped  after- 
wards to  acquire,  would,  at  some  after-time,  dis- 
pense with  the  state  continuing  such  a  sacrifice. 
The  produce  of  these  six  thousand  exhibitions 
formed  at  the  same  time  a  resource  sufficient  for 
covering  the  greater  part  of  the  expense  of  the 
new  establishments. 

The  first  consul  wished  to  distribute  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner  the  exhibitions  which  the  govern- 
ment had  at  its  disposition  :  two  thousand  four 
hundred  were  to  be  given  to  the  childi*en  of  such 
retired  soldiers  as  were  most  straitened  in  their 
circumstances  ;  to  those  of  civil  functionaries  who 
had  served  the  public  usefully  ;  and  to  those 
inhabitants  of  the  provinces  recently  united  to 
France.  The  four  thousand  remaining  were  des- 
tined for  the  establishments  already  in  existence. 
There  were,  in  fact,  a  great  number  of  these  esta- 
blished by  private  speculation.  These  the  first 
consul  deemed  it  right  to  suffer  to  remain;,  but  he 
bound  them  to  Ins  plan  by  the  most  simple  and 
efficacious  means.  These  schools  could  not,  in 
future,  subsist  without  the  authorization  of  the 
state;  they  were  to  be  insjiected  every  year  by  the 
agents  of  the  government ;  they  were  obliged  to 
send  their  sclirjlars  to  the  courses  at  the  Lyceums, 
paying  a  trifling  remunei'ation.     Lastly,  the  four 

'  From  £28  to  £32  sterling. 
2  From  £200,000  to  £250,000. 


1802. 
May. 


Resistance  to  tlie  first  consul's 

measure  in  the  council  of    THE  CONSULATE  FOR  LIFE. 

state. 


355 


thousand  exhibitions  were,  after  an  annual  exami- 
nation, to  be  distributed  among  tlic  pupils  of  the 
different  schools,  in  proportion  to  the  reeosnized 
merit  and  good  order  of  each  school.  Thus  at- 
taclied  to  a  general  plan,  these  boarding-schools 
made,  in  every  sense,  a  part  of  it. 

Going  next  to  special  instruction,  the  first  consul 
employed  himself  in  completing  that  organization. 
The  study  of  jurisprudence  had  perished  with  the 
old  judicial  establishment ;  he  ci'eated  six  schools 
of  law.  The  schools  of  medicine,  less  neglected, 
were  three  in  number  ;  he  proposed  to  increase 
them  to  six.  The  polytechnic  school  existed;  it 
was  attached  to  this  organization.  There  was 
added  to  these  a  school  of  public  services,  under 
the  name  of  the  "School  of  Bridges  and  Roads;" 
a  school  for  the  mechanical  arts,  at  that  time  fixed 
at  Compeigne,  afterwards  at  Chalons-sur-Marne, 
being  the  first  model  of  the  schools  of  arts  and 
trades  at  the  present  day  judged  to  be  so  useful; 
lastly,  a  school  of  military  art,  intended  to  occupy 
the  palace  of  Fontainbleau. 

There  still  wanted  one  thing  to  complete  the 
entire  work,  namely,  a  body  of  learned  men,  that 
miglit  supply  these  schools  with  instructors,  which 
should  embrace  them  under  its  surveyorship;  in 
fact,  what  has  since  been  denominated  "  the  Uni- 
versitv."  But  the  moment  for  that  had  not 
arrived.  It  was  ahvady  doing  much  to  save  from 
shipwreck  the  establishments  for  public  instruc- 
tion, and  to  create,  all  at  once,  with  actual  pro- 
fessors, colleges  dependent  upon  the  state,  where 
the  youth  of  all  classes,  attracted  by  gratuitous 
education,  should  be  formed  on  one  connnon,  re- 
gular model,  conformable  to  the  principles  of  the 
French  revolution,  and  to  sound  literary  doctrines. 
The  first  consul  said  to  the  learned  Fourcroy, 
"  This  is  only  a  beginning;  by  and  by  we  will  do 
more  and  better." 

These  two  important  projects  were  first  taken 
before  the  council  of  state,  and  were  warmly  dis- 
cussed in  that  enlightened  body.  The  first  consul, 
who  did  not  like  public  discussion,  because  it 
agitated  those  minds  which  had  been  too  long  in 
a  disturbed  state,  sought,  and  oven  provoked  it, 
in  the  council  of  state,  I'liis  was  his  rejiresenta- 
tive  government.  There  ho  was  familiar  and 
elo(iuent ;  there  he  permitted  himself  every  lati- 
tude, and  permitted  the  same  to  others;  and  by 
the  collision  of  his  own  mind  on  that  of  his  oppo- 
nents, there  was  struck  out  more  brilliant  corrus- 
cations  than  can  be  attained  in  a  large  assembly, 
where  th'j  solenmity  of  the  tribune,  and  the  in- 
conveniences of  publicity,  continually  hinder  and 
repress  true  liberty  of  thought.  This  form  of  dis- 
cussion would  be  the  best  for  the  elucidation  of 
puijlic  affaii-8,  if  it  ilid  not  depend  upon  an  abso- 
lute master  to  confine  it  to  the  limits  which  his 
own  \vH\  may  dictate.  But  for  an  enlightened  des- 
potism, when  it  would  be  itself  enlightened,  it  is 
the  best  of  all  possible  institutions. 

Tiie  council  of  state,  conii)osed  of  all  the  men  of 
the  revolution,  and  ol  some  of  those  who  had  more 
recently  sprang  uj),  offered  in  its  <  ntirety  the  differ- 
ent shades  of  public  opinion  very  little  weakened,  be- 
cause if,  on  one  |)art,  tliei-e  were  Porialis,  Rifderer, 
Regnaud  St.  Jean  d'Angely,  and  Devaines,  repre- 
Benting  in  it  the  [Kirty  inclined  to  monarchical 
reaction  ;  Thibaudeau,  Berlier,  Truguet,  Eiinnery, 


and  Berenger,  represented  the  party  staunch  to 
tlie  revolution,  so  much  as  even  to  defend  some- 
times its  very  prejudices.  But  within  the  council 
of  state,  with  closed  doors,  the  discussions  were 
sincere,  and  eminently  useful. 

The  plan  of  the  legion  of  honour  was  violently 
attacked.  Here,  as  in  the  concordat,  the  first 
consul  was  in  advance  perhaps  of  the  intelligence 
of  the  day.  That  generation  which  very  quickly 
afterwards  threw  itself  at  the  foot  of  the  altars — 
that  soon  covered  itself  with  decorations  in  puerile 
vanity,  resisted  at  the  moment  the  re-establish- 
ment of  the  altars  and  the  institution  of  the  legion 
of  honour  ! 

It  was  discovered,  even  in  the  council  of  state, 
that  the  institution  of  the  legion  of  honour  would 
give  a  wound  to  equality,  that  it  renewed  the 
destroyed  aristocracy,  and  that  it  was  too  avowedly 
a  return  to  the  ancient  system.  The  object  ele- 
vated and  positive,  declared  in  the  oath,  in  other 
words,  the  maintenance  of  the  principles  of  the 
revolution,  only  slightly  convinced  its  opponents. 
They  demanded  if  the  obligations  contained  in  the 
oath  were  not  common  to  every  citizen,  if  all  did 
not  agree  to  concur  in  defending  the  territory, 
the  principles  of  equality,  the  national  property, 
and  the  like ;  if  to  particularise  this  obligation 
for  the  one.  was  not  to  render  it  less  strict  upon 
the  others.  They  inquired  whether  this  legion 
had  not  too  exceptional  an  object,  as,  for  example, 
that  r)f  defending  a  power  to  which  it  was  attached 
by  a  bond  of  benefits  '.  Others  alleging  the  con- 
stitution, objected  that  it  spoke  only  of  a  system  of 
military  recompenses.  They  added,  that  the  in- 
stitution would  be  better  understood,  that  it  would 
raise  fewer  objections,  if  it  had  for  its  object  to 
I'ecompense  warlike  actions  exclusively;  that  these 
actions  were  of  a  positive  character,  easily  ap- 
preciable, and  generally  recompensed  in  all  coun- 
tries, so  that  no  fault  could  be  found  if  it  were 
limited  to  this  clear  definable  object. 

The  first  consul  replied  to  all  these  objections  with 
the  most  forcible  arguments.  "  What  is  there 
aristocratic,"  he  said,  "in  a  distinction,  merely 
personal,  given  only  for  life,  granted  to  a  man  who 
h;is  displayed  civil  or  military  merit,  and  to  him 
alone,  not  descending  to  his  children  ?■  Such  a 
distinction  is  contrary  to  aristocracy ;  because  it  is 
the  property  of  aristocratic  titles  to  be  transmitted 
from  him  who  has  earned  them  to  one  who  has 
never  done  any  thing  deserving  of  them.  An 
order  is  the  most  personal,  the  least  aristocratic  of 
institutions.  It  may  be  said,  '  After  this  some- 
thing else  will  come.'  That  if-  possible,"  continued 
the  first  consul,  "  but  let  us  see  wjiat  is  now  given 
to  us:  we  will  judge  of  the  rest  by  and  by.  It  is 
demanded  what  this  legion,  composed  of  six  thou- 
sand individuals,  signifies  ?  Wiiat  are  its  duties! 
It  is  asked  whether  it  has  any  other  duties  than 
those  devolving  upon  the  universality  of  citizens, 
all  equally  boimd  to  defend  the  trrritory  of  France, 
the  constitution,  and  e(|uality  i  Firstly,  to  this 
([uestion  it  may  be  answered,  that  every  citizen  is 
bound  to  delend  the  common  country,  and  still 
there  is  an  army  upon  which  this  duly  is  more 
particularly  imposed.  Would  it  then  be  so  very 
astonishing  if  in  that  army  there  should  be  a  choice 
corps,  from  whjcli  more  devotion  to  its  duties 
should  bo  expected,  more  of  a  disposition  to  niako 
A  a  2 


356       Objections  answered  by      THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


the  first  consul. 


May. 


the  great  sacrifice  of  life  ?  But  do  you  want  to 
know  what  tiiis  legion  is  to  be  ?"  cried  the  first 
consul,  returning  to  his  fuvourite  idea;  "here  it  is 
— an  attempt  at  an  organization  for  the  men, 
authors,  or  partizans  of  the  revolution,  who  are 
neither  emigrants,  Vendeans,  nor  priests.  The 
anc'ien  regime,  so  battered  about  by  the  revolution, 
is  much  more  entire  than  it  is  believed  to  be.  All 
the  emigrants  take  each  other  by  the  hand  ;  tlie 
Vende'ans  are  still  covertly  enrolled  ;  and  with  the 
words,  legitimate  king  and  religion,  there  might 
be  assembled  in  a  moment  thousands  of  arms 
which  wduld  be  raised  to  strike,  be  sure  of  that, 
if  their  fatigue  and  the  strength  of  the  government 
did  not  restrain  them.  Tlie  priests  form  a  body, 
having  at  the  core  very  little  love  for  us  all.  It  is 
necessary  that  on  their  side  the  men  who  have 
taken  a  part  in  the  revolution  should  unite,  bind 
themselves  together,  form,  on  their  part,  a  solid 
body,  and  cease  to  depend  upon  the  first  accident 
that  might  strike  one  single  liead.  It  was  but 
little  that  was  wanting  to  fling  you  back  into 
chaos  by  the  explosion  of  the  3rd  of  Nivose,  and 
deliver  you  without  defence  to  your  enemies.  For 
ten  years  we  have  made  nothing  but  i-uiiis;  it  is 
now  necessary  to  construct  an  edifice  for  ourselves, 
in  which  we  may  establish  ourselves  and  live. 
These  six  thousand  legionaries  made  up  of  all  the 
men  who  eff'ected  the  revolution,  who  have  de- 
fended it  after  having  made  it,  who  wisli  to  con- 
tinue it  in  all  which  is  just  and  reasonable — these 
six  thousand  legionaries,  military  men,  civil  func- 
tioniiries  and  magistrates,  endowed  with  the  na- 
tional property,  that  is  to  say  with  the  patrimony 
of  the  revolution,  will  be  one  of  the  strongest 
securities  wliich  yovi  can  have  for  the  new  state  of 
things  Then  too,  depend  upon  it,  the  contest  in 
Europe  is  not  finished  ;  you  may  be  certain  tlint  it 
will  recommence.  Is  it  not  well  to  liave  in  our 
hands  so  easy  a  means  to  sustain  and  to  excite  the 
bravery  of  our  soldiers  ?  In  ])lace  of  that  chimeri- 
cal thousand  million  of  francs,  which  you  would 
not  dare  even  to  ))romise  again,  you  may,  with 
only  three  millions  of  revenue  in  national  property, 
raise  up  as  many  heroes  to  uphold  the  revolution 
as  there  were  found  for  undertaking  it." 

Such  were  the  arguments  used  by  the  first  con- 
sul. There  were  others  which  he  had  designed 
for  those  who  demanded  that  the  new  order  should 
be  purely  military,  and  only  given  to  the  army. 
"  I  am  not  inclined,"  he  replied,  "  to  form  an  army 
of  pretorians  ;  I  will  not  recompense  the  military 
alone.  My  idea  is,  tluit  the  meritorious  of  ail  kinds 
should  be  bretlircn  ;  that  the  courage  of  the  ])resi- 
dent  of  the  convention  resisting  the  populacer, 
should  mid;  with  that  of  Kle'ber  mounting  to  the 
assault  of  St.  Jean  d'Acre.  Some  sj)eak  of  the 
terms  of  the  constitution.  People  ought  not  to 
sutler  themselves  to  be  so  tied  down  by  words. 
The  constitution  wished  to  say  every  thing,  and 
liiis  not  always  been  able  to  do  so  :  it  is  for  you  to 
supply  the  dt  ficiency.  It  is  right  that  civil  virtues 
should  have  their  sluire  of  reward  as  well  as  mili- 
tary ones.  Those  who  op|)ose  this,  reason  like 
barbarians ;  they  recommt  nd  to  us  the  religion  of 
brute  force.  Intelligence  has  iis  rights  before 
force  ;  force  itself  is  nothing  without  intelligence. 
In  the  heroic  times,  the  general  was  the  strongest 
and  most  dexterous  man   in   body ;  in   civilized 


times,  the  general  is  the  most  intelligent  of  the 
brave.  When  we  were  at  Cairo,  the  Egyptians 
could  not  understnnd  how  it  was  that  Kl^er,  with 
his  imjiosing  person,  was  not  the  commander-in- 
chief.  When  Murad  Bey  had  closely  observed 
our  tactics,  he  comprehended  that  it  was  myself, 
and  not  another,  who  must  be  the  general  of  an 
army  so  conducted.  You  reason  like  the  Egyptians, 
when  you  would  confine  recompenses  to  military 
valour.  The  soldiers,"  added  the  first  consul, 
"  reason  better  than  you.  Go  to  their  bivouacs  ; 
listen  to  them.  Do  you  think  that  among  their 
officers  he  who  is  largest  and  most  imposing  in 
stature,  inspires  them  with  the  highest  considera- 
tion ?  No,  it  is  the  bravest.  Do  you  believe  that 
it  is  even  the  bravest  that  is  precisely  the  first 
man  in  their  minds  ?  No  doubt  they  would  despise 
him  of  whose  courage  they  were  suspicious ;  but 
they  would  place  above  the  bravest  him  whom  they 
believed  most  intelligent.  Then  as  to  myself,  do 
you  suppose  that  it  is  only  because  I  am  reputed 
an  able  general,  that  I  command  in  France  1  No, 
it  is  because  they  attribute  to  me  the  qualities  of 
a  statesman  and  a  magistrate.  France  will  not 
tolerate  a  government  of  the  sabre  ;  those  who 
believe  it  strangely  deceive  themselves.  There 
must  be  fifty  years  of  subjection  before  it  would 
come  to  tliat.  France  is  a  country  too  noble,  too 
intelligent,  to  submit  merely  to  a  material  power, 
and  to  inaugurate  wiili  her  the  worship  of  brute 
force.  Honour,  in  a  word,  then,  intelligence,  virtue, 
the  civil  qualitits,  in  all  the  professions;  recom- 
pense them  equally  in  all." 

These  reasons,  stated  with  warmth  and  energy, 
and  coming  from  the  greatest  soldier  of  modern 
days,  enchained  and  charmed  the  entire  council  of 
state.  They  were,  it  must  be  owned,  sincere  and 
interested  at  the  same  time.  The  first  consul  was 
desirous  that  it  shouhl  be  well  understood,  above 
all,  by  the  military,  that  it  was  not  as  a  general 
only,  but  as  a  man  of  genius  and  intellect  that  lie 
was  the  ruler  of  France. 

As  it  was  not  possible  to  make  him  renounce  his 
project,  he  was  exhorted  to  adjourn  it,  by  telling  him 
that  it  was  too  soon  ;  that  iiaving  advanced  per- 
haps before  the  public  intelligence  in  regard  to  the 
concordat,  it  would  be  needful  to  stop  a  moment, 
and  give  to  opinion  some  short  resjiite.  He  would 
listen  to  none  of  these  counsels.  His  nature  was 
ever,  in  all  things,  to  be  impatient  of  results. 

His  project  relative  to  a  system  of  public  educa- 
tion, encountered  also  .serious  objections  in  the  coun- 
cil of  state.  The  party  that  was  for  monarchial  reac- 
tion was  not  far  from  the  desire  of  seeing  religious 
corporations  again  established.  The  opposite  party 
su]ipi>rted  the  central  schools,  and  rather  desired 
the  amelioration  than  the  abrogation  of  the  sys- 
tem. This  last  party  also  discovered  some  dis- 
trust on  the  subject  of  the  six  thousand  four 
hundred  exhibitions  left  to  the  disposal  of  the 
goverrnnent. 

"The  ancient  corporations  do  not  belong  to 
these  days,"  said  the  first  consul  ;  "  besides,  they 
are  enemies.  The  clergy  accommodate  tliemselves 
to  the  actual  government,  they  prefer  it  to  tiie 
convention  or  the  directory,  but  they  would  much 
more  j)refer  the  Br>urbons.  As  to  the  central 
schools,  they  no  longer  exist ;  they  are  a  cipher. 
A  vast  system  of  public  education  must  be  created 


I 


i 


1802. 
May. 


Opinion  delivered  by  tlie  first 
consul  on  the  lyceunii. 


THE  CONSULATE  FOR  LIFE. 


Reception  of  the  project  of  the 
legion  of  honour. 


357 


and  or<;anized  in  France.  Some  may  imagine  that 
it  was  for  the  sake  of  influence  these  exhibitions 
were  created.  Tliis  is  to  view  the  matter  in  a 
very  narrow  way.  Tlie  actual  government  has 
more  influence  tlian  it  desires ;  tliere  is  notliing, 
in  fact,  whicli  it  cannot  do  at  this  moment,  espe- 
cially if  it  proposes  to  act  -igainst  the  revohition — to 
destroy  wiiat  that  created,  and  to  re-establish  that 
which  it  destroyed.  This  is  called  for  on  all  sides. 
It  is  attacked  by  confidential  writings  of  all  kinds, 
in  which  each  proposes  the  restoration  of  some 
[lart  of  the  old  system.  It  is  needful  to  heware 
of  yielding  to  such  an  impulse.  Here  six  thousand 
exhibitions  are  necessary  to  organize  a  new  society 
and  to  imbue  it  with  the  spirit  of  the  age.  In  the 
first  place  it  is  needful  to  provide  f..r  the  military 
and  their  children,  for  to  them  we  owe  every  thing. 
They  have  not  yet  touched  the  thousand  millions 
promised  them.  The  least  that  can  be  done  for 
tliem  is  to  secure  them  the  necessaries  of  life.  The 
exhibitions  are  an  indispensnble  supplement  to  the 
smallness  of  their  jiay.  The  civil  functionaries 
deserve,  in  their  turn,  to  be  rewarded  and  en- 
couraged, when  they  sliall  have  served  well  and 
faithfully.  They  are,  besiiles,  as  poor  as  the 
militjiry.  Both  will  give  us  their  children  to 
educate,  and  fashion  under  the  new  system.  The 
five  thousand  exhihitioiis  which  we  take  in  the 
boartling-schools,  will  be  a  nursery  of  subjects, 
which  we  shall  secure  for  the  same  end.  We  are 
bound  to  form  a  new  society,  npt.n  the  principles 
of  civil  equality,  in  which  every  one  finds  his 
place,  neither  presenting  the  injustice  of  the 
feudal  system,  nor  the  confusion  of  anarchy.  It  is 
urgent  to  lay  the  foundation  of  this  society,  be- 
cause no  such  thing  exists.  In  order  to  found 
it,  materials  are  necessary  ;  the  sole  good  ones  are 
the  young.  We  must  consent  to  take  them  ;  and  if 
we  do  not  draw  them  to  us  by  the  attraction  of 
gratuitous  education,  the  parents  will  not  give 
them  to  us  of  their  own  accord.  We  are  all  sus- 
pected as  authors,  accomplices,  or  defenders  of 
the  revolution  ;  so  nmch  do  people  change — so 
much  are  they  fallen  away  from  the  illusions  of 
1789.  We  shall  not  easily  get  the  children  of  good 
families  unless  we  take  the  measures  to  attract 
them.  If  we  form  lyceums  without  exhibitions, 
they  will  be  yet  more  deserted  than  the  central 
schools — a  hundred  times  mr)re,  for  parents  can 
semi  their  children  without  fear  to  a  public  course, 
in  which  Latin  and  mathematics  are  tiiught ;  but 
they  would  not  be  sent,  without  relucUmce,  to 
Loardiiig-schools,  in  which  the  supreme  authority 
wholly  governed.  There  is  but  one  way  of  attract- 
ing them,  and  that  is  by  exhibitions  ;  and  then  the 
inhabitants  of  the  departn)ents  recently  united  to 
France  will  become  French  also.  To  accomplish 
this  end,  tliere  is  again  only  one  way,  and  that 
is  t«)  t;ike  their  children,  even  Hometliing  against 
their  will,  and  to  i>lace  them  with  the  sons  of  your 
officcrH,  of  your  functionaries,  and  of  your  families 
in  narrow  circumsUmceB,  that  the  advantage  of  a 
gratuitous  education  shall  have  disposed  to  a  confi- 
dence whicii  they  have  not  natui-ally.  Then  these 
children  will  learn  tiie  French  language  ;  and  they 
will  imbibe  the  French  spirit.  We  shall  thus  min- 
gle together  the  French  of  the  former  time  with 
those  of  today  :  the  French  of  the  centre,  the  bor- 
dere  of  tlie  Rhine,  the  Escaut  and  the  I'o." 


These  sound  reasons,  repeated  at  more  than  one 
sitting,  and  under  a  thousand  different  forms,  of 
whicli  this  repetition  is  only  the  substance,  obtained 
the  acceptance  of  the  projected  law.  M.  Fourcroy 
was  commissioned  to  carry  it  to  the  legislative 
body,  and  to  support  it  in  the  discussion. 

This  project  and  that  of  the  legion  of  honour, 
were  presented  to  the  legislative  body  at  nearly 
the  same  time,  because  the  first  consul  would  not 
suff"er  this  short  session  to  ])ass  over  without  having 
laid  the  principal  basis  of  his  vast  edifice.  The 
law  of  public  instruction  did  not  meet  any  great 
obstacle,  and  supported  by  M.  Fourcroy,  who,  after 
the  first  cimsul,  was  half  its  author,  it  was  adopted 
by  a  considerable  majority.  In  the  tribunate  it 
obtained  eighty  white  balls  to  nine  black;  in  the 
legislative  body,  two  hundred  and  fifty-one  against 
twenty-seven.  But  it  was  not  thus  with  the  law 
relative  to  the  legion  of  honour.  This  encountered 
in  the  two  assemblies  a  resistance  equally  warm. 
Lucien  Bonaparte  was  nominated  reporter  ;  and 
by  the  warmth  with  which  he  urged  its  defence,  it 
was  but  too  evident  that  it  was  a  family  idea.  The 
institution  was  strongly  attacked  in  the  tribunate 
by  M.  Savoie-Rollin  and  M.  de  Cliaiivelin,  the  last 
making  a  species  of  pretension  to  defend  the  prin- 
ciple of  equality,  in  spite  of  the  name  which  he 
bore.  Lucien,  who  had  the  gift  of  public  speaking, 
but  who  had  not  sufficiently  practised  it,  answered 
with  too  little  temper  and  moderation,  whicli  much 
contributed  to  dispose  the  tribune  niii'avourably. 
Notwithstanding  the  purgation  to  which  the  body 
had  been  submitted,  the  project  obtained  only 
fifty-six  white  balls  to  thirty-eight  black.  In  the 
legislative  body,  the  discussion,  although  entirely 
leaning  one  way,  since  the  tribunate,  having  adopted 
the  proposition  of  the  government,  had  sent  only 
orators  to  supjiort  it,  was  not  successful  in  gaining 
over  many  minds.  There  were  there  only  a  hun- 
dred and  sixty-six  favourable  votes  to  one  hundred 
and  ten  against  it.  The  project  of  law  was  then 
ado[)ted;  but  it  was  rare  that  the  majority  had 
been  so  weak  and  the  minority  so  stron;,',  even  be- 
fore the  opposition  members  were  expelled.  This 
arose  from  the  shock  which  had  been  given  to  the 
feeling  of  equality,  which  was  the  only  one  that 
survived,  and  was  still  upiiermost  in  the  hearts 
of  the  men  of  that  time  '.      This  sentiment  was 

'  The  following  remarks  are  stated  by  Mignet  to  be  taken 
from  Thil)audeau's  unpublished  memuirs,  and  exhil>it  the 
ideas  of  Bonaparte  upon  this  measure.  Thibaudeau  was  a 
councillor  of  state. 

"  In  discussing  this  project  of  law  in  the  council  of  state, 
he  fearlessly  made  known  his  aristocratic  intentions.  Ber- 
licr,  a  councillor  of  stale,  having  disapproved  of  an  institu- 
tion so  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  republic,  said  that  '  di.<i- 
tinctions  were  the  baubles  of  monarchy."  '  1  defy  you,'  re- 
joined the  first  consul,  '  to  show  nic  a  republic,  ancient  or 
modern,  in  which  there  were  no  distinctions.  Vou  spoke  of 
baubles.  Well,  it  is  by  baubles  that  we  delude  mankind.  I 
should  not  say  Ibis  to  a  tribune,  but  in  a  council  of  s.igcs 
and  statesmen  we  ought  to  8<iy  every  thing.  I  do  not  believe 
that  the  French  people  love  liberty  and  equality.  The 
French  are  not  changed  by  ten  years  of  revolution ;  they 
have  only  one  sentiment— honour.  We  muNt,  therefore, 
give  aliment  to  this  sentiment ;  we  must  create  distinctions. 
Do  you  see  how  the  people  prostrate  themselves  before  the 
ribl)ons  and  stars  of  the  foreigner-.  I  they  ha\  e  been  surprised 
by  it ;  neither  do  they  fail  to  wear  them.  We  have  destroyed 
everything;  we  must  now  rebuild.   Wc  have  a  government. 


Proposition  to  confer         THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND   EMPIRE.        the  consulate  for  life. 


May. 


assumed  erroneously,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  be- 
cause there  can  be  nothing  less  aristocratic  than 
an  institution  which  has  for  its  object  to  decree  to 
the  soldiirs  and  to  the  learned  a  distinction  purely 
for  life,  and  the  same  that  was  to  be  borne  by 
generals  and  princes.  But  every  feeling  which  is 
too  lively  is  susceptible  and  distrustful.  The  first 
consul  proceeded  too  i-apidly,  and  he  admitted  this. 
"  We  ought  to  have  waited,"  he  said;  "that  is 
true.  But  we  were  right;  and  when  we  are  right 
we  ought  to  be  able  to  venture  something.  Besides, 
the  project  was  badly  supported,  and  the  best  ar- 
guments were  not  well  urged  home.  If  they  had 
known  how  to  urge  them  with  truth  and  vigour, 
the  opposition  would  have  yielded." 

The  end  of  this  session,  so  abundant  in  business, 
approached,  and  still  the  treaty  of  Amiens  had 
not  been  laid  before  the  legislative  body  to  be  con- 
verted into  a  law.  This  great  act  had  been  re- 
served for  the  last.  It  was  intended  to  be,  in  a 
degree,  the  crowning  measure  of  the  first  consul's 
labours  and  of  the  deliberations  of  this  extra- 
ordinary session  ;  and,  more,  it  was  deemed  a 
fitting  occasion  for  exhibiting  the  gratitude  of  the 
public  towards  the  author  of  the  blessings  which 
were  then  enjoyed  by  the  nation. 

For  some  time,  in  fact,  people  had  been  asking 
if  there  should  not  be  given  to  the  man  who,  in 
two  years  and  a  half,  had  drawn  France  out  of  a 
chaos,  and  had  reconciled  her  with  Europe,  the 
church,  and  herself,  having  already  organized  her, 
some  great  testimony  of  the  national  gratitude. 
This  sentiment  of  gratitude  was  as  universal  as  it 
was  well-merited.  It  was  easy  to  make  this  feel- 
ing subservient  to  the  latent  desires  of  the  first 
consul,  which  were  bent  towards  the  obtainment, 
in  perpetuity,  of  that  power  which  had  been  en- 
trusted to  him  for  ten  years  only.  The  minds  of 
most  people  too  were  already  made  up  upon  the 
subject,  and  except  a  small  number  of  Jacobins 
and  royalists,  no  one  wished  to  see  the  supreme 
power  lodged  in  any  otlier  hands  than  those  of 
general  Bonaparte.  The  indefinite  continuation 
of  his  authority  was  regarded  as  a  simple  and 
most  inevitable  thing.  To  convert  this  notorious 
disposition  of  the  popular  mind  into  a  legal  act 
was,  therefore,  an  easy  matter  ;  and  if,  eighteen 
months  before,  when  the  famous  "  parallel  between 
Csesar,  Cromwell,  and  general  Bonaparte,"  too 
early  provoked  the  discussion  of  this  question, 
which  then  encountered  considerable  opposition, 
this  was  now  no  longer  the  case.  It  required  now 
that  only  the  word  should  be  suddenly  spoken, 
offering  to  the  first  consul  a  real  sovereignty,  under 
whatever  title  might  be  chosen.     It  was  sufficient 


we  have  powers;  but  the  rest  of  the  nation,  what  is  it?— 
grains  of  sand.  We  have  in  the  midst  of  us  ancient  privi- 
leges, organized  from  principles  and  interests,  and  which  well 
know  what  they  want.  I  can  reckon  our  enemies ;  but  as 
for  us,  we  are  scattered  without  system,  without  union, 
without  contact.  So  long  as  I  live  I  can  answer  for  the 
welfare  of  the  republic  ;  but  we  must  provide  lor  the  future. 
Do  you  believe  the  republic  is  finally  settled  ?  you  would  find 
yourselves  greatly  mistaken.  We  are  able  to  do  it ;  but  we 
have  not,  nor  shall  we,  if  we  do  not  throw  upon  the  soil  of 
France  some  masses  of  granite.'  Bonaparte  announced  in 
these  declarations  a  system  of  government  directly  opposite 
to  that  which  the  revolution  proposed  to  establish,  and  which 
the  new  state  of  society  demanded." — Mir/net's  Hislory, 


to  choose  any  fitting  occasion,  and  to  announce 
such  a  proposition,  that  it  should  be  immediately 
welcomed  for  adoption. 

The  moment  when  many  memorable  acts  suc- 
ceeded each  other  so  rapidly,  was  that,  in  reality, 
which  the  first  consul,  in  his  calculations,  and  his 
friends,  in  their  intej-ested  impatience,  and  minds 
gifted  with  foresight,  in  their  considerations,  had 
designated,  and  that  the  public,  sincere  and  plain 
in  its  sentiments,  was  i-eady  to  accept  for  a  grand 
manifestation.  General  Bonaparte  wished  for  the 
supreme  power,  which  was  natural  and  excusable. 
In  dohig  good  he  had  followed  the  bent  of  his 
genius,  and  in  so  doing  he  had  hoped  for  his  re- 
ward. There  was  nothing  blameable  or  culjjable 
in  such  a  desire;  besides  the  conviction  of  the  truth 
that  in  fully  achieving  this  good,  an  all-powerful 
chief  would  be  required  for  a  long  while  to  come. 
In  a  country  which  could  not  dispense  with  a 
strong  and  creative  authority,  it  was  perfectly  law- 
ful to  aspire  to  the  supreme  power,  when  a  man 
was  the  greatest  of  his  age,  and  one  of  the  greatest 
men  of  ail  ages.  Washington,  in  the  midst  of  a 
democratic  republican  society,  exclusively  com- 
mercial, and  for  a  long  while  pacific — Washington 
was  just  in  exhibiting  little  ambition.  In  a  society, 
republican  by  accident,  monarchical  by  nature, 
surrounded  by  enemies,  military  in  consequence, 
and  not  able  to  govern  or  to  defend  itself,  without 
unity  of  action,  Bonaparte  had  right  upon  his  side 
in  aspiring  to  the  supreme  power,  no  matter  under 
what  title.  He  was  in  error,  not  in  taking  the 
dictatorship,  then  necessary,  but  in  not  having  al- 
ways employed  it  when  he  did  take  it,  as  in  the 
first  years  of  his  career. 

General  Bonaparte  concealed  in  the  profoundest 
depths  of  his  heart  those  desires  which  all  the 
world,  even  the  simplest  of  the  people,  plainly  per- 
ceived. If  he  mentioned  his  wishes  to  his  brothers, 
it  was  as  much  as  he  ever  did.  He  never  said  that 
the  title  of  first  consul  for  ten  years  had  ceased  to 
satisfy  him.  Without  doubt,  when  the  question  pre- 
sented itself  under  a  theoretic  form,  when  the  neces- 
sity of  a  strong  authority  was  spoken  of  in  a  general 
way,  he  came  out,  and  spoke  his  thoughts  fully  upon 
the  matter;  but  lie  never  concluded  by  asking  for 
a  prolongation  of  his  own  power.  At  the  same 
time  dissimulating  and  confiding,  he  communicated 
certain  things  to  one,  certain  things  to  others, 
and  concealed  something  from  all.  To  his  col- 
leagues, above  all  to  Cambaceres,  of  whose  great 
prudence  he  had  a  high  opinion  ;  to  Talleyrand 
and  Fouch^,  to  whom  he  conceded  a  great  share 
of  influence,  he  spoke  out  fully  of  all  that  con- 
cerned public  aflairs,  much  more  than  to  his 
brothers,  to  whom  he  was  far  from  entrusting  the 
secrets  of  state.  Of  those  things  which  personally 
concerned  himself,  he  said  little  to  his  colleagues 
or  to  his  ministers,  but  much  to  his  brothers.  Still 
he  did  not  discover  to  them  the  secret  ambition  of 
his  heart ;  but  it  was  so  easy  to  guess,  and  his 
family  were  so  anxious  to  bring  it  about  success- 
fully, that  they  spared  him  the  trouble  to  be  the 
first  to  declare  it.  They  spoke  to  him  of  it  con- 
tinually, and  left  him  in  the  more  commodious 
position  of  having  rather  to  temper  than  to  excite 
a  zeal  for  liis  aggrandizement.  They  asserted  to 
him,  therefore,  that  the  moment  was  come  to  con- 
stitute in   his  behalf  something    better   than  an 


1802. 
May. 


Proposition  to  confer  the 
consulate  for  life. 


THE  CONSULATE  FOR  LIFE. 


Apprehensions  of  Madam 

Uoiiaparte.  —  Advice  of         359 
Fouche. 


ephemeral  and  fleeting  power ;  that  he  ought  to 
think  of  attaching  to  himself  a  solid  and  durable 
authority.  Jo.-seph,  with  the  peaceable  mildness 
of  his  character,  and  Lucien,  with  his  natural 
petulance,  tended  openly  to  the  same  object.  They 
had  for  confidants  and  co-operators  tlie  men  with 
whom  they  lived  in  intimacy,  who,  whether  in  the 
council  of  state,  or  in  the  senate,  partook  their 
sentiments,  from  conviction,  or  from  the  desire 
to  please.  Regnaud,  Laplace,  Talleyrand,  and 
Roederer,  the  last  always  most  ardent  iu  the  cause, 
were  firmly  of  opinion  that  monarchy  must  be 
restoi-ed  as  soon  and  ^^s  completely  as  was  possible. 
Talleyrand,  the  calmest,  and  not  the  least  active 
among  them,  was  strongly  attached  to  a  monarchy, 
as  elegant  and  brilliant  as  it  had  been  in  the  palace 
of  Versailles,  but  without  the  Bourbons,  with  whom 
he  believed  it  to  be  then  incompatible.  He  re- 
peated incessantly,  with  an  authority  which  could 
belong  to  no  one  but  him,  that  to  negotiate  witli 
Europe  it  would  be  much  easier  to  ti-eat  in  the 
name  of  a  monarchy  than  in  that  of  a  republic; 
that  the  Buurbons  were,  for  kings,  just  like  un- 
accommodating and  disestecmed  guests;  that  ge- 
neral Bonaparte,  with  his  glory,  his  power,  his 
courage  in  repressing  anarchy,  was  the -most  de- 
sirable for  them,  and  the  most  e.xpected  of  all  sove- 
reigns ;  that  as  to  himself,  minister  for  foreign 
aflaiirs,  he  affirmed,  that  to  add,  no  matter  how, 
to  the  existing  authority  of  the  first  consul,  was  to 
conciliate  Europe  in  place  of  offending  her.  Those 
intimate  confidants  of  the  Bonaparte  family  had 
much  debated  among  themselves  the  question  of 
the  moment.  Still,  to  leap  at  one  spring  into  an 
hereditary  sovereignty,  whether  to  royalty  or  to  an 
empire,  would  be  too  great  a  temerity.  It  would, 
perhaps,  be  better  to  reach  it  by  passing  through 
several  intermediate  stages.  But  without  changing 
the  title  of  first  consul,  which  was  much  more  con- 
venient, it  would  be  possible  to  give  him  an  equi- 
valent for  the  royal  power,  and  even  an  equivalent 
for  the  hereditary  succcbsion  :  this  was  the  con- 
sulate for  life,  with  the  power  to  designate  his 
successor.  In  making  a  few  modifications  in  the 
constitution, — modifications  easy  to  obtain  of  the 
senate,  which  had  become  a  sort  of  constituting 
power,  it  was  possible  to  create  a  true  sovereignty 
under  a  republican  name.  There  would  even  be 
given  to  him  the  faculty  of  appointing  a  successor, 
tl'.e  only  advantage  of  an  hereditary  succession 
actually  desirable  ;  because  the  fii-st  consul  not 
having  children,  and  having  only  brothers  and 
nejiliews,  it  would  be  better  to  confide  the  right  of 
choice  to  those  among  them  whom  hesliould  judge 
most  wortliy  of  succeeding  to  the  power. 

This  idea  appearing  the  wisest  and  the  most 
prudent,  seemed  to  be  that  adopted  by  consent  in 
tiie  Byiiaparte  family  as  preferable.  This  family 
was  at  the  moment  in  a  state  of  singular  agitation. 
The  brothers  of  the  first  consul,  who  had  on  their 
foreheads  a  ray  of  hi»  glory,  but  which  they  did 
not  deem  sufficient,  desired  to  see  him  become  a 
real  monarch,  in  order  that  they  might  be  princes 
by  right  of  blood.  They  were  restless,  complaining 
that  they  were  nothing  ;  that  they  had  aided  in  the 
elevation  of  their  brother,  and  had  no  rank  in  the 
state  in  proportion  to  their  merits  and  seryicea, 
Joseph,  more  peaceable  in  character,  satisfied  be- 
sides with  the  character  of  ordinary  negotiator  of 


peace,  wealthy,  and  held  in  consideration,  was  less 
impatient.  Lucien,  who  gave  himself  out  for  a 
republican,  was  still  of  all  the  brothers  he  who 
showed  himself  that  he  most  desired  to  see  tlij^ 
sovereign  power  of  his  brother  elevated  upon  the 
ruins  of  the  republic.  Very  recently  he  had  re- 
fused to  dine  with  Madam  13onaparte,  sayijig  that 
he  would  go  when  there  should  be  a  place  there 
marked  out  for  the  brothers  of  the  first  consul. 
In  the  bosom  of  that  family,  jMadam  Bonaparte, 
the  more  worthy  of  interest,  since  she  felt  none  of 
those  ambitious  longings,  and  had.  her  apprehen- 
sions of  them,  she,  on  the  contrary,  was,  according 
to  her  usual  custom,  more  afraid  than  satisfied  at 
the  changes  which  were  in  preparation.  She 
feared,  as  has  been  alroiidy  observed,  that  her 
husband  would  be  urged  to  ascend  too  soon  the, 
steps  of  the  throne  where  she  had  beheld  thet 
Bourbons  sit,  and  upon  which  it  seemed  incredible- 
to  her  that  any  other  person  should  be  seated. 
She  feared  that  his  inconsiderate  I'elatives,  anxious 
to  partake  the  grandeur  of  their  brother,  would 
imprudently  hasten  on  his  elevation,  and  by  making 
him  ascend  too  fast,  precipitate  her,  him,  and 
themselves,  all,  in  fact,  together  into  an  abyss. 
In  a  certain  degree  relieved  by  the  tendei-ness  of 
her  husband  from  the  apjireheusion  of  a  speedy 
divorce,  she  was  haunted  at  the  moment  by  one 
image  alone,  that  of  a  new  Ctesar,  struck  by  the 
blow  of  a  dagger  at  the  moment  when  he  at- 
tempted to  place  the  diadem' upon  his  brow. 

Madam  Bonaparte  honestly  avowed  her  fears 
to  her  husband,  who  made  her  hold  her  tongue  by 
imposing  silence  sharply  upon  her.  Repulsed  here, 
she  addressed  herself  to  those  who  had  some 
influence  over  him,  supplicating  them  to  combat  the 
counsels  of  his  ill-advised  and  ambitious  brothers, 
and  thus  she  gave  to  her  dislikes  and  apj)rehen- 
sions  a  vexatious  notoriety,  which  was  displeasing 
to  the  first  consul. 

Among  the  personages  admitted  to  the  interior 
of  the  family,  the  minister  Fouche  entered  more 
than  any  other  into  the  views  of  ^Iadan\  Bona- 
parte. Not  that  he  had  more  pride  of  feeling  than 
the  other  men  by  whom  Bonaparte  was  sur- 
rounded, or  that  he  was  the  only  one  among 
them  all  who  was  careless  about  pleasing  his 
inevitable  master,  it  was  not  that  ;  but  he  was 
endowed  with  great  good  sense,  and  observed  with 
apprehension  the  impatience  of  the  Bonaparte 
family.  He  heard  nearer  than  any  other  person 
the  sullen,  stifled  cries  of  the  vanquished  republi- 
cans, few  in  number,  but  indignant  at  such  a 
])rompt  usurpation  ;  even  he  himself,  amid  the 
agitation  of  the  hour,  felt  some  emotions  on  ac- 
count of  what  was  about  to  be  undertaken.  Al- 
though he  did  not  desire  to  lose  the  confidei\ce  of 
the  first  consul,  which  he  was  more  than  ever 
desirous  of  retaining,  since  the  first  consul  was 
more  than  ever  to  become  the  arbiter  of  all 
destinies,  he  still  permitted  others  to  guess  a  part 
of  what  he  thought.  Intimate  as  a  friend  with 
Madam  Bonaparte,  he  had  listened  to  her  cx- 
jiression  of  the  apprehensions  with  which  she  was 
assailed  and.  fearful  of  the  resentment  of  her 
husband,  had  endeavoured  to  tranquillize  them. 
"  Ms^dam,"  lie  said,  "  remain  calm  and  (juiet. 
You  cro.ss  your  hu.sl)and  to  no  pnri)ose.  He  will 
be  consul   for  life,  king,  or  emperor,  all  that  is 


360       Conduct  of  Cambaceres      THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE,    on  the  consulate  for  life. 


1802. 
May. 


very  pofsible  to  occur.  Your  fears  annoy  him  ; 
my  counsels  would  wound  his  feelings.  Let  us 
remain  in  our  places,  and  leave  those  events  to 
their  accomplishment,  which  neither  you  nor  I  can 
prevent." 

The  winding  up  of  this  agitated  scene  approached, 
in  proportion  as  the  term  arrived  of  the  extraordi- 
nary session  of  the  year  x.,  and  the  leaders  of  the 
party  for  the  measure  were  heard  repeating  oftener 
and  louder,  that  it  was  necessary  to  give  stability 
to  power,  and  a  testimony  of  acknowledgment  to 
the  benefactor  fjf  France  and  of  the  world.  Still 
they  would  not  have  been  able  to  bring  about  the 
last  act  in  a  safe  and  natural  manner,  without  the 
aid  of  one  man  in  particular,  and  that  man  was  the 
consul  Cambaceres.  His  occult  but  real  influence 
and  able  management  of  the  mind  of  the  first  con- 
sul has  been  already  alluded  to.  His  power  over 
the  senate  was  equally  gi-eat.  That  body  had  a 
real  deference  for  the  old  lawyer,  become  the  con- 
fidant of  the  new  Caesar.  Sieyes,  creator  in  some 
respect  of  the  senate,  had  at  first  enjoyed  there  a 
certain  ascendancy.  But  soon  his  evident  inten- 
tion of  turning  that  body  into  an  opposition  having 
been  detected  and  foiled,  Sieyes  was  no  more  than 
he  had  always  been,  that  is  to  say,  a  superior 
mind,  chagrined,  impotent,  reduced  at  last  to  the 
part  of  finding  fault  with  every  thing  at  his  seat  of 
Crosne — the  vulgar  price  of  his  great  services. 
Cambaceres,  on  the  contrary,  had  become  the 
secret  director  of  the  senate.  In  the  actual  con- 
juncture, Bonaparte  was  not  able  to  proclaim  him- 
self consul  lor  life  or  emperor,  having  need  in  con- 
sequence of  somebody  that  should  take  the  initiative 
— this  was  evidently  the  senate,  and  in  the  senate, 
the  person  who  directed  it  was  evidently  the  man 
of  the  greatest  importance. 

Cambacdres,  although  devoted  to  the  first  consul, 
could  not  see  witii  any  great  degree  of  pleasure 
the  change  which  tended  to  place  him  at  yet  a 
greater  distance  from  his  illustrious  colleague. 
Still  knowing  well  that  things  could  not  remain  as 
they  were,  that  it  would  be  trouble  lost  to  throw 
an  obstacle  in  the  way  of  general  Bonaparte,  and 
that  besides,  within  tlieir  actual  limits,  these  de- 
sires were  legitimate,  Cambace'res  determined  to 
interfere  spontaneously  in  order  to  cause  all  this 
internal  agitation  to  terminate  in  a  rational  result, 
and  to  impart  to  the  government  a  stable  form, 
which  ought  to  satisfy  the  ambition  of  the  first  C(msul 
without  effacing  too  much  the  republican  forms, 
which  were  still  cherished  in  many  hearts. 

While  those  who  surrounded  the  first  consul 
were  in  lively  conversation  upon  this  subject,  he 
himself  listening,  and  even  affecting  to  keep  silence, 
Cambacdres  put  an  end  to  the  state  of  constraint, 
by  speaking  the  first  to  his  colleag\ie  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  what  was  passing.  He  did  not  dissimulate 
to  him  the  danger  of  precipitation  in  an  affair  of 
such  a  nature,  and  the  advantage  there  would  be 
in  preserving  a  modest  and  republican  form  alto- 
gether, to  a  power  as  real  and  as  great  even  as  his 
own.  Nevertheless  in  off"ering  him,  in  his  own 
name  and  in  the  name  of  the  thii'd  consul  Lebrun, 
a  devotedness  without  reserve,  he  declared  to  him 
that  they  were  ready,  both  one  and  the  other,  to  do 
whatever  he  wished,  and  to  spare  him  the  inter- 
vention of  his  own  person  in  the  matter,  particu- 
larly under  circumstances  in  which   he  ought  to 


appear  to  receive  and  not  to  take  the  title  himself, 
which  it  was  in  contemplation  to  give  him.  The 
first  consul  expressed  his  gratitude  for  such  an 
overture  and  at  such  a  moment  ;  he  conceded  the 
danger  that  there  would  be  in  going  too  fast,  and 
doing  too  much  ;  he  declared  that  he  had  formed 
no  particular  desire,  being  content  wiih  his  exist- 
ing position  ;  that  he  had  not  pushed  forward  any 
change,  and  should  take  no  steps  to  quit  it ;  that 
siill  the  constitution  of  the  supreme  power  of  the 
state  was  in  his  view  precarious,  and  did  not  ])re- 
sent  a  character  sufficiently  solid  and  enduring  ; 
that  in  his  opinion  there  were  several  changes  which 
ought  to  be  effected  in  the  form  of  the  government, 
but  that  he  was  too  directly  interested  in  the  ques- 
tion to  mix  himself  up  in  it ;  that  he  would,  there- 
foi'e,  wait,  and  not  take  any  initiative. 

Cambaceres  answered  the  first  consul,  that  with- 
out doubt  his  personal  dignity  demanded  much 
reserve,  and  interdicted  him  from  ostensibly  taking 
the  initiative,  but  that  if  he  would  fully  and  clearly 
ex])lain  himself  to  his  two  colleagues,  and  make 
them  clearly  acquainted  with  his  innermost 
thoughts,  they  would  spai'e  him,  when  once  his 
intentions  were  clearly  understood  by  them,  the 
trouble  of  manifesting  them,  and  would  go  to  work 
without  delay.  Whether  he  felt  a  certain  degree 
of  embarrassment  which  prevented  his  saying  what 
he  desired,  or  whether  he  desired  more  than  was 
then  destined  for  him,  perhaps  the  sovereignty,  the 
first  consul  covered  himself  with  a  new  veil,  and 
was  contented  to  repeat  that  he  had  no  fixed  idea 
on  the  matter,  but  that  he  should  see  with  pleasure 
his  two  colleagues  watch  over  the  movement  of  the 
public  mind,  and  even  direct  it,  in  order  to  prevent 
those  imprudent  actions  which  might  be  committed 
by  unskilful  friends. 

The  first  consul  would  never  avow  his  thoughts 
upon  the  matter  even  to  his  colleague  Cambaceres. 
To  the  natural  restraint  he  felt  in  such  a  matter, 
he  added  an  illusion.  He  thought  that  without 
any  interference  upon  his  own  part,  the  ])eople 
would  come  and  lay  a  crown  at  his  feet.  This  was 
an  error.  The  public,  tranquil,  happy,  and  grate- 
ful, was  disposed  to  sanction  whatever  might  be 
done  by  the  government ;  but  having  in  a  certain 
sense  abdicated  every  participation  in  the  affairs  of 
the  state,  it  was  not  forward  to  mix  itself  up  with 
them  even  to  testify  the  gratitude  of  which  it  was 
full.  The  bodies  of  the  state,  save  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  interested  leaders,  were  taken  all  at 
once  with  a  sort  of  modesty,  at  the  idea  of  coming 
in  the  face  of  heaven,  to  abjure  the  republican 
forms,  which  they  had  again  recently  sworn  to 
maintain.  Many  individuals,  little  versed  in  politi- 
cal secrets,  went  so  far  as  to  believe  that  the  first 
consul,  satisfied  with  the  omnipotence  which  he 
possessed,  above  all,  since  he  had  disencumbered 
l)imself  of  the  opposition  of  the  tribunate,  had  con- 
tented himself  with  the  ])ower  to  do  all  that  he 
pleased,  and  to  assume  to  himself  the  easy  glory  of 
a  new  Washington,  with  much  more  genius  and 
glory  than  he  of  America.  Thus  when  the  ma- 
nagers and  leaders  in  the  matter  asserted  that 
nothing  had  been  done  for  the  first  consul,  who 
had  done  every  thing  for  Prance,  certain  simple- 
minded  persons  answered  in  this  innocent  way  : 
"  What  would  you  have  us  do  for  him  ?  What 
would  you  have  us  offer  him  ?     What  recompense 


1802.       Honours  moved  in  tlie  Iri- 
May.  bunate  to  the  first  consul. 


THE  CONSULATE  FOR  LIFE.         The  proposition  adopted. 


361 


would  be  proportioned  to  the  services  which  lie 
has  rendered  to  us  I  His  true  recompense  is  his 
glory." 

Cambac^t-es  was  too  wise  to  reveng;e  himself  for 
the  dissimulati  i  of  the  first  consul,  by  leaving 
things  in  a  sta-nunt  state.  He  felt  it  necessary  to 
finish  the  matter,  and  determined  to  set  about  the 
task  immediately.  In  his  opinion,  and  in  that  of 
many  enlightened  men,  a  prolongation  of  jiower 
for  ten  years  granted  to  tlie  first  consul,  whiili 
with  seven  years  of  the  first  term  yet  remaining, 
would  carry  up  to  seventeen  years  the  duration  of 
his  consulship,  was  fully  sufficient.  This  would,  in 
fact,  whether  in  Fntnce  or  in  Europe,  be  crossing 
the  enemies  who  had  calculated  on  the  existing 
legal  term  of  his  power.  But  JL  Cambaceres  well 
knew  that  this  woulil  not  content  the  first  consul, 
that  something  more  nuist  be  offered  him,  and 
that  with  the  consulshi|>  for  life  must  be  accom- 
panied the  right  of  naming  iiis  successor  ;  all  the 
advantages  of  an  hereditary  monarchy  would  be 
thus  attained  without  the  inconvenience  of  a  change 
of  title,  and  without  the  displeasure  that  this 
change  would  cause  to  many  persons  of  good  in- 
tentions and  honest  feelings.  He,  therefore,  stopped 
at  this  idea,  and  endeavoured  to  propagate  it  in  the 
senate,  the  legislative  body,and  the  tribunate.  But 
if  there  were  members  ready  to  vote  any  thing, 
there  were  others  that  hesitated,  and  would  go  no 
further  tlian  a  prolongation  for  ten  years. 

The  first  consul  had  deferred  until  now,  with  the 
full  intention  of  so  doing,  the  presentation  of  the 
treaty  of  Amiens  to  tiie  legislative  body,  to  be  con- 
verted into  a  law.  Cambace'res,  comprehending 
that  this  was  the  circumstance  to  use  for  drawing 
out  a  species  of  general  approval  of  the  proposed 
changes,  disposed  every  thing  in  order  to  bring 
about  such  a  result.  The  6th  of  May,  or  16th  of 
Flor(?al,  had  been  chosen  to  carry  up  to  the  legis- 
lative body  the  treaty  w  Inch  comjileted  the  general 
peace.  The  president  of  the  tribunate,  who  was 
M.  Chabot  de  I'Allier,  was  one  of  the  frieiuls  of  the 
consul  Cambac(?res.  This  last  sent  for  him,  and 
arranged  with  him  the  steps  to  be  taken.  It  was 
settled  between  them,  that  when  the  treaty 
should  be  carried  from  the  legislative  body  to  the 
tribunate,  M.  Simeon  should  propose  a  deputation 
to  the  first  consul,  in  order  to  testify  the  satisfac- 
tion of  the  assendjly  ;  tluit  then  the  president,  M. 
Chabot  de  r.\llier,should  quit  the  chair,and  should 
propose  the  following  vote  : — 

"  The  senate  is  invited  to  give  to  the  consuls  a 
testimony  <if  the  national  gratitude.' 

Things  being  disposed  in  this  manner,  the  pro- 
ject of  law  was  carried  on  the  6th  of  May,  or  16tit 
of  I'lordal,  by  three  councillors  of  the  legislative 
body.  These  councillors  were  M.  Roederer,  ad- 
miral Bruix,  and  M.  Beilier.  In  the  ordinary 
course  of  things,  the  projects  were  communicated 
jjurely  and  simply  by  the  legislative  body  to  the 
tribunate  ;  this  time,  seeing  the  importance  of  the 
subject,  the  governuunt  determined  to  commimi- 
cate  directly  to  thi;  tribunate  the  treaty  submitted 
to  the  legislative  deliberations.  Thre<!  councillors 
of  state,  Regnier,  Thibaudeau,  and  Bigot  Prdame- 
neu,  were  cliarged  with  tliis  duly.  .Scarcely  had 
they  finished  making  the  comnmnieation,  wlien  the 
tribune  Simeon  a-skijd  leave  to  speak.  "  Since  the 
government,"  said  he, "  has  communicated  to  us,  in 


a  manner  so  solemn,  the  treaty  of  jieace  concluded 
with  Great  Britain,  it  is  our  duty  to  answer  this 
|iroceeding  by  one  of  a  similar  natin-e.  I  propose 
that  a  deputation  be  addressed  to  the  goverimient, 
to  congratulate  it  upon  the  re-establishment  of  the 
general  peace."  This  ])roposi:ion  was  immediately 
adopted.  The  pre.sident,  M.  Chabot  de  I'Allier, 
having  given  up  tlie  chair,  and  been  replaced  by 
M.  Stanislaus  de  Girardin,  and  placing  himself  in 
the  tribune,  spoke  as  follows  : — 

"  Among  all  nations  public  honours  have  been 
decreed  to  those  men  who,  by  their  brilliant  acti<ins, 
have  honoured  their  country  and  saved  it  from 
great  dangers. 

"  What  man  has  ever  had  a  greater  right  than 
I  general  Bonaparte  to  the  national  gratitude  1 

"  What  man,  whether  at  the  head  of  armies,  or 
at  the  head  of  the  government,  honours  his  country 
more,  or  has  rendered  it  more  signal  services  ? 

"  His  valour  and  his  genius  have  saved  the 
French  people  from  the  excesses  of  anarchy  and 
the  evils  of  war.  The  French  people  are  too  great, 
too  magnanimous,  to  suffer  such  benefits  to  remain 
without  some  grand  recompense. 

"  Tribunes  !  be  you  its  organs.  It  is  to  us, 
above  all  others,  that  it  belongs  to  take  the  lead, 
when  the  object  is  to  express,  under  circumstances 
so  memorable,  the  sentiments  and  will  of  the 
French  people." 

At  the  conclusion  of  his  sjieech,  M.  Chabot  de 
I'Allier  proposed  to  the  tribunate  the  vote  of  some 
great  manifestation  of  the  national  gratitude  to- 
wards the  first  consul.  He  j)roposed,  besides,  to 
communicate  this  wish  to  the  senate,  the  legislative 
body,  and  to  the  government.  The  proposition  was 
unanimously  adopted. 

This  deliberation  was  soon  known  in  the  senate, 
and  that  body  decided  immediately  upon  forming  a 
special  commission,  in  order  to  present  its  own 
ideas  respecting  the  testimony  of  national  gratitmle 
which  it  would  be  suitable  to  give  to  the  first 
consul. 

The  deputation  which  Simeon,  the  tribune,  had 
proposed  to  send  to  the  government,  was  received 
on  the  day  following,  the  7th  of  May,  or  17th  Flo- 
real,  at  the  Tuileries.  The  first  consul  was  sur- 
rounded with  ids  colleagues,  a  great  number  of 
high  functionaries  and  generals.  His  attitude  was 
modest  hiid  serious.  M.  Simeon  spoke  :  he  cele- 
brated the  great  exploits  <if  general  Bonaparte  ; 
the  marvellous  things  effected  by  his  government, 
more  gieat  ihan  those  achieved  by  Ids  sword.  He 
attributed  to  him  the  victories  of  the  republic,  the 
jieace  which  followed  them,  the  re-establishmcnt  of 
order,  the  return  of  prosperity  ;  and  terminated  at 
length  with  the  following  words  :  "  I  must  break 
off  in  haste.  I  fear  I  shall  appear  to  praise, 
when  I  only  endeavour  to  be  just,  and  to  express 
in  a  few  words  a  profound  feeling,  that  ingratitude 
could  alone  liave  stifled.  Wo  expect  the  first  body 
in  the  nation  to  become  the  interpreter  of  tho 
general  sentiment,  the  expression  of  which  it  is 
only  permitted  to  the  tribunate  to  desire  and  to 
vote." 

The  first  consul,  after  having  thanked  the  tri- 
bune Simeon  for  the  scntimenis  which  he  had  just 
testified  in  his  behalf ;  after  having  said  that  he- 
saw  in  it  only  the  result  of  the  more  intimate  com- 
munications established  between  the  government 


302       The  first  consul's  reply.      THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


The  consulship  voted 
for  ten  years  by  the 
senate. 


1802. 
May. 


and  the  tribunate, — making  tl)us  a  dii-ect  allusion 
to  the  changes  operated  in  that  body, — the  first 
consul  finished  in  these  noble  words  : — 

"  As  for  me,  I  receive  with  the  deepest  gratitude 
the  wish  expressed  by  the  tribunate.  I  desire  no 
other  glory  than  that  of  having  fulfilled  to  the 
fullest  extent  the  task  imposed  upon  me.  1  have 
no  ambition  for  any  other  recompense  than  ;the 
affection  of  my  fellow-citizens  ;  happy  if  they  are 
well  convinced  that  the  evils  which  they  may 
encounter  will  always  be  to  me  the  most  serious  of 
misfortunes ;  that  life  is  dear  to  me  only  for  the 
services  that  it  may  enable  me  to  render  to  my 
country;  that  death  itself  has  no  bitterness  for  me, 
if  my  last  glances  will  but  enable  me  to  see  the 
happiness  of  the  republic  as  well  assured  as  its 
glory." 

It  now  only  remained  to  fix  upon  the  testimony 
of  national  gratitude  to  be  given  to  general  Bona- 
parte. No  one  was  deceived  about  its  nature  ; 
every  body  well  knew  that  it  was  by  an  extension 
of  power  that  the  illustrious  general  must  be  paid 
for  the  immense  benefits  which  had  been  received. 
Some  simple-minded  pei-sons  imagined  when  voting 
that  the  public  testimony  in  contemplation  was  a 
statue  or  monument.  13ut  those  simple  people 
were  few  in  number.  The  mass  of  the  tribune 
and  senators  perfectly  well  knew  how  it  was  to 
express  its  gratitude.  During  that  day  and  the 
day  following,  the  Tuileries  and  the  hotel  of  Cam- 
bac^res,  who  resided  out  of  the  palace,  were 
thronged  with  people.  The  senatcjrs  came  in 
great  numbers,  eager  to  know  how  they  should 
act.  Their  zeal  was  very  warm  ;  it  was  only 
necessary  to  speak  the  word,  and  they  were  ready 
to  decree  whatever  was  desired.  One  of  them  even 
went  so  far  as  to  say  to  the  consul  Cambace'res, 
"  What  does  the  general  wish  ?  Does  he  wish  to 
be  king  ?  Only  let  him  say  as  much  ;  I  and  my 
colleagues  of  the  constituent  body  are  quite  ready 
to  vote  the  re-establishment  of  royalty,  and  more 
willingly  too  for  him  than  for  other.s,  because  he  is 
more  worthy  the  honour."  Curious  to  know  the 
real  sentiments  of  the  first  consul,  the  senators 
approached  as  near  to  him  as  they  were  able,  and 
tried  in  a  hundred  ways,  to  have  at  least  one  word 
from  his  mouth,  however  trifling  and  insignificant. 
But  he  constantly  refused  to  I'eveal  his  wishes, 
even  to  the  senator  Laplace,  who  was  one  of  his 
particular  friends,  and  who  for  that  reason  was 
charged  to  fathom  his  secret  wishes.  He  uniformly 
answered,  that  whatever  they  did  he  should  receive 
with  gratitude,  and  that  he  had  not  fixed  his  mind 
upon  any  thing.  Some  wished  to  know  if  a  pro- 
longation of  ten  years  of  his  consulship  would  be 
agreeable.  He  replied  with  affected  humility,  that 
any  testimony  of  the  public  confidence,  that  or  any 
other,  would  be  sufficient  for  him,  and  satisfy  his 
wishes.  The  senators  learning  little  from  these 
communications  of  the  fii-st  consul,  returned  to  the 
consuls  Cambacdres  and  Lebrun,  to  get  informa- 
tion as  to  the  conduct  which  they  had  to  pursue. 
"  Name  the  consul  for  life,"  they  replied,  "  that  is 
the  best  step  you  can  take."  "  But  it  is  .said  he 
does  not  desire  it,"  replied  the  more  sim))le  of  the 
enquirers,  "and  that  a  prolongation  for  ten  years 
will  satisfy  him — why  go  beyond  his  own  wishes  ?" 

Lebrun  and  Cambac^res  had  difficulty  to  per- 
suade them.    The  consuls  apprized  Bonaparte  of 


it.  "  You  are  wrong,"  they  said,  "  not  to  explain 
yourself.  Your  enemies,  for  you  have  enemies 
left  in  spite  of  your  services,  even  in  the  senate, 
will  abuse  your  reserve."  The  first  consul  neither 
appeared  surprised  nor  flattered  by  the  officious- 
ness  of  the  senators.  "Let  them  alone,"  he  re- 
phed  to  Cambace'res;  "the  majority  of  the  senate 
is  always  ready  to  do  more  than  is  demanded  of 
them.  They  will  go  further  than  you  would 
believe." 

Cambacdres  replied  that  he  was  mistaken.  But 
it  was  impossible  to  overcome  this  obstinate  dis- 
sembling, and  as  will  be  seen,  the  consequences 
were  singular.  Despite  the  advice  of  Cambacdres 
and  Lebrun,  many  good  people  who  deemed  it 
more  convenient  to  give  less  than  more,  believed 
that  the  first  consul  thought  a  prolongation  of  the 
consulship  for  ten  years  a  sufficient  testimony  of 
the  public  confidence,  and  a  grand  consolidation  of 
his  power  considerable  enough.  The  party  of 
Sieyes,  always  spiteful,  awoke  up  on  this  occasion, 
and  acted  secretly.  The  senators  who  were  secretly 
allied  to  his  party,  circumvented  their  uncertain 
colleagues,  and  affirmed  that  the  idea  of  the  fii'st 
consul  was  well  known,  and  that  he  was  contented 
with  a  prolongation  of  ten  years,  which  he  pre- 
ferred to  any  thing  else,  that  every  body  knew 
besides  that  it  was  better  in  itself;  that  by  this 
combination,  the  public  power  was  consolidated, 
the  republic  maintained,  and  the  dignity  of  the 
nation  preserved.  As  in  the  afiair  of  the  elections 
of  the  senate,  the  gallant  Lefebvre  was  one  of  those 
who  listened  to  these  persuasions,  and  who  be- 
lieved that  in  voting  for  a  ten  years'  prolongation, 
they  were  doing  that  which  general  Bonaparte 
wished.  They  had  been  forty-eight  hours  de- 
liberating, and  it  was  necessary  to  conclude  the 
matter.  The  senator  Languinais,  with  all  the 
courage  of  which  he  had  given  so  many  proofs, 
attacked  that  which  he  styled  the  flagrant  usurpa- 
tion with  which  the  republic  was  threatened.  His 
speech  was  heard  with  pain,  and  considered  as 
somewhat  superfluous.  More  able  enemies  had 
proposed  a  better  manoeuvre.  They  had  gained  a 
majority  in  favour  of  the  plan  for  prolonging  the 
powers  of  the  first  consul  for  ten  years.  This  reso- 
lution was  in  fact  adopted  on  the  8th  of  May,  or 
18th  Floreal,  towards  the  evening  of  the  day. 
Lefebvre  ran  one  of  the  first  to  the  Tuileries,  to 
announce  what  had  taken  place,  believing  that 
he  brought  the  most  agreeable  of  intelligence. 
It  soon  arrived  from  all  quarters,  and  caused  a 
surprise  as  unforeseen  as  it  was  painful. 

The  first  consul,  surro\mded  by  his  brothers 
Joseph  and  Lucien,  learned  this  result  with  great 
displeasure.  At  the  first  moments  he  thought  of 
nothing  less  than  of  refusing  tlie  proposition  of 
tiie  senate.  He  sent  for  his  colleague  Cambac(?res 
immediately.  He  came  to  him  forthwith.  Too 
discreet  and  prudent  to  triumph  at  his  own  fore- 
sight and  the  fault  of  the  first  consul,  he  said  that 
what  had  occurred  was  without  doubt  very  vexa- 
tious, but  it  was  easy  to  remedy ;  that  before  all 
things  it  was  necessary  not  to  exhibit  any  ill 
humour;  that  in  twice  twenty-four  hours  all  might 
be  altered,  but  that  it  was  necessary  in  order  to  do 
that  to  give  the  affair  an  entire  new  face,  and  tliat 
he  would  take  the  matter  upon  himself.  "The 
senate  offers  you  a  prolongation  of  power,"  said  M. 


I 


,  oAo        The  exped  lent  of  Cambacerts 

to  annml  the  vote  of  the     THE  CONSULATE  F(JR  LIFE, 
senate. 


May. 


AUIitional  questions  of 
M.  Koederer. 


Cambace'res  ;  "  answer  that  you  are  most  gi-ateful 
for  tlie  pro]iosition,  but  that  it  is  not  from  the 
senate,  but  from  the  suffrages  of  the  nation  alone 
that  you  should  hold  your  authority  ;  that  it  is 
from  the  nation  alone  that  you  should  receive 
the  prolongation  ;  and  that  you  wish  to  consult 
the  nation  by  the  same  means  which  were  em- 
ployed for  the  adoption  of  the  consular  constitution, 
or  in  other  words  by  registers  opened  all  over 
Frajice.  We  will  then  have  drawn  up  by  the 
council  of  state,  the  formula  wliich  shall  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  national  sanction.  By  thus  making  it 
an  act  of  deference  to  the  jjopular  sovereignty, 
we  shall  obtain  the  substitution  of  one  plan  for 
another.  Wc  will  propose  tlie  question,  not  so  as 
to  know  if  general  Bonaparte  ought  to  receive  a 
prolongation  for  ten  years  of  the  consular  power, 
but  if  he  ought  to  receive  the  consulate  feu-  life.  If 
the  first  consul  were  to  do  such  a  thing  himself," 
continued  M.  Carabace'ies,  "  decorunj  would  be 
wounded.  But  I,  who  am  the  second  consul,  and 
wholly  disinterested  in  the  matter,  am  able  to  give 
the  impulse.  Let  the  general  set  out  in  a  public 
manner  for  Malmaison  ;  I  will  remain  alone  in 
Paris  ;  I  w  ill  convoke  the  council  of  state,  and  by 
the  council  of  state  it  is  that  I  will  have  the  new 
proposition  drawn  up,  which  shall  afterwards  be 
submitted  for  the  national  acceptance." 

Tliis  able  expedient  was  adopted  with  great  satis- 
faction by  general  Bonaparte,  and  by  his  brothers. 
Cambace'res  was  heartily  thanked  for  his  ingenious 
combination,  and  the  eutii'e  affair  abandoned  to 
him.  It  was  agreed  that  the  first  consul  should 
set  out  on  the  following  day,  after  having  himself 
agreed  with  Cambaceres  upon  the  draft  of  the 
answer  to  be  made  to  the  senate. 

The  draft  was  made  the  next  morning,  being  the 
9th  of  ilay,  or  19th  Flor^al,  by  Cambaceres  and 
the  first  consul,  and  addressed  immediately  to  the 
senate,  in  reply  to  its  message. 

"  Senators,"  said  the  first  consul,  "  the  honour- 
able proof  of  esteem  delivered  in  your  deliberation 
of  the  18  th,  will  remain  for  ever  engraven  in  my 
heart. 

"  In  the  three  years  which  have  just  terminated, 
fortune  has  smiled  upon  the  republic:  but  fortune 
is  incoastant;  and  how  many  men  whom  she  has 
loaded  with  her  favours  have  lived  a  few  years  too 
long! 

"  The  interest  of  my  glory,  as  well  as  that  of  ray 
happiness,  seems  to  have  marked  the  term  of  my 
public  life  at  the  moment  when  the  peace  of  the 
world  is  proclaimed. 

"  But  tlie  glory  and  happiness  of  the  citizen 
ought  to  be  silent,  when  the  interest  of  the  state 
and  the  |)ublic  kindness  d^'mand  him. 

"  You  judge  tiiat  I  owe  to  the  people  a  new 
sacrifice;  I  will  make  it,  if  the  will  of  the  people 
command  what  your  suffrages  authorize." 

Tlie  first  consul,  witiiout  an  explanation,  in- 
dicated clearly  enough  that  lie  did  not  exactly 
accept  such  a  resolution  of  the  senate,  lie  set  out 
for  .Malmaison  immediately,  leaving  to  his  col- 
league Cambacdrcs  to  terminate  the  great  business 
conformably  to  his  wishes.  Cambaceres  summoned 
those  of  the  council  of  state  who  were  the  most 
li.abituatcd  to  second  the  views  of  the  government, 
and  concerted  with  th<ni  the  measures  which  it 
would  be   best  to   adopt  at   the    meeting  of  the 


council.  The  following  day,  being  the  lOlh  of 
Jl.ay,  or  20th  of  Flordal,  the  council  of  state  had  an 
extraordinary  meeting.  The  two  consuls  and  all 
the  ministers,  except  FouclnJ,  attended.  Camba- 
ceres presided.  He  announced  the  object  of  the 
meeting,  and  appealed  to  the  understanding  of 
that  grand  body,  under  the  important  circum- 
stances in  which  the  government  was  placed. 
Bigot  de  Prdameneu,  lloederer,  Rcgnaud,  and 
Portalis,  at  once  spoke  in  turn,  and  alleged  that 
the  stability  of  the  government  was,  at  present, 
the  first  necessity  of  the  state  ;  that  the  foreign 
powers,  to  treat  with  France,  that  public  credit, 
commerce,  industry,  and  a  return  to  prosperity, 
had  need  of  confidence  ;  that  the  perpetuity  of  the 
power  of  the  first  consul  was  tlie  most  certain 
means  to  inspire  it ;  that  this  authority,  conferred 
for  ten  years  only,  was  an  ephemeral  authority, — 
without  solidity,  without  grandeur,  because  it  was 
without  duration  ;  that  the  senate,  limited  by  the 
constitution,  had  not  thought  it  possible  to  add  more 
than  a  prolongation  of  ten  years  to  the  power  of 
the  first  consul;  but  that  in  addressing  the  national 
sovereignty,  as  had  been  done  before  for  all  the 
anterior  constitutions,  there  was  no  more  limiting 
by  the  existing  law,  for  then  they  should  mount 
to  the  source  of  all  the  laws,  and  that  it  was 
necessary  purely  and  simply  to  put  this  question, — 
"Shall  the  first  consul  be  consul  for  life?" 

The  prefect  of  police,  Dubois,  a  member  of  the 
council  of  state,  a  man  of  a  character  independent 
and  decided,  stated  the  opinion  generally  held  by 
the  people  of  Paris.  On  all  sides  the  proposition 
of  the  senate  was  deemed  ridiculous  ;  every  body 
said  that  it  was  necessary  France  should  have  a 
government  ;  that  one  had  been  found  at  last, 
strong,  able,  fortunate,  and  that  such  an  one  ought 
to  be  preserved;  that  there  ought  to  have  been  no 
necessity  for  touching  the  constitution;  but  if  it 
wci-c  to  be  interfered  with,  it  had  better  be  done 
once  for  all,  and  the  government  be  so  organized 
as  to  be  always  preserved.  That  which  was  thus 
stated  by  Dubois  was  true.  Opinion  was  so  fa- 
vourable to  the  first  consul,  that  the  people  were 
for  settling  the  question  at  once,  and  giving  to  his 
power  the  duration  of  his  life.  After  having  heard 
the  different  speeches, Cambaceres  in(iuired  whether 
any  member  had  objections  to  make  to  the  pro- 
posed step;  btit  the  oppositionists  remaining  silent, 
being  only  five  or  six  in  number,  as  Bertier,  Thi- 
buuileau,  Emmery,  Dossoles,  and  Bercnger,  the 
resolution  was  put  to  the  vote,  and  adopted  by  an 
immense  majority.  It  was  then  agreed  that  a 
public  vote  should  be  taken  upon  the  questiori, — 
Shall  Napoleon  Bonapaiite  be  consul  for  life  ? 
This  resolution  being  jtasscd  affirmatively,  llie- 
derer,  who  was  the  boldest  of  all  the  members  on 
the  monarchical  side,  pri>|K>sed  to  add  a  second 
question  to  the  first ;  it  was  the  following  : — Shall 
the  first  consul  have  the  faculty  of  desig- 
nating his  successor? 

Up(ni  this  question  M.  lloederer  was  extremely 
tenacious,  and  with  reason.  If  they  acted  with 
good  faith,  if  they  contealod  no  after-thought  of 
returning  at  some"  future  time  to  what  they  were 
doing  that  day,  if  tli.y  wished  to  constitute  de- 
finitively a  new  jiower,  the  faculty  of  designing  a 
successor  was  the  best  erpiivalcnt  to  hereditary 
succession;  sometimes   superior   to  the  effects  of 


Decree  of  the  consuls. 
— The  appeal  lo  llie 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND"  EMPIRE. 


people  in  favour  of  the      18n2. 
consulship  for  life.  May. 


hereditary  succession  itself,  because  it  was  by  that 
means  that  the  reign  of  the  Antonines  was  given 
to  the  world.  A  consul  for  life,  with  the  power  of 
naming  his  successor,  was  a  real  monarchy  under 
a  republican  appeamnce.  It  was  a  fine  and  power- 
ful government,  which,  at  least,  saved  the  dignity 
of  the  existing  generation,  which  had  sworn  to  live 
a  republic  or  to  die.  M.  Roederei',  who  was  ob- 
stinate in  favour  of  his  own  ideas,  insisted  upon 
the  second  question  being  put.  It  was  put  and 
adopted  as  the  (ireceding  had  been. 

It  was  necessary,  in  consequence,  to  decide  on 
the  form  to  be  given  to  both.  Some  thought  that 
this  appeal  made  to  the  French  people  by  means 
of  registers  opened  in  the  communes,  was  an  act 
which  should  belong  to  the  government,  because 
it  was,  so  to  say,  a  simple  convocation;  that  it  was 
natural,  therefore,  that  it  should  be  debated  in  the 
council  of  state;  that  the  publication  of  this  deli- 
beration, which  had  taken  place  in  presence  of  the 
second  and  third  consuls,  and  in  absence  of  the 
first,  preserved  all  decent  appearances,  and  that 
it  was  only  necessary  to  find  a  suitable  form  of 
drawing  up.  A  commission,  composed  of  sevei-al 
councillors  of  state,  was  charged,  during  the  sitting, 
with  the  drawing  up  of  the  result  of  the  delibera- 
tion. This  commission  proceeded  immediately  to 
the  task,  and  returned  an  hour  after,  with  the  act 
destined  to  be  published  on  the  following  day. 

The  following  was  the  document : — 

"  The  consuls  of  the  republic,  considering  that 
the  resolution  of  the  first  consul  is  a  striking 
homage  paid  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  people;  that 
the  people,  consulted  upon  their  dearest  interests,  onght 
to  know  no  other  limit  than  its  interests  themselves; 
decree  as  follows  :"  &c.  &c.  "  The  French  people 
shall  be  consulted  upon  these  two  questions  : — 

"  1.  Shall  Napoleon  Bonaparte  be  consul  for 

LIFE? 

"  2.  Shall  he  have  the  faculty  of  appointing 
his  successor? 

"  Registers  will  be  opened  to  this  effect  at  all 
the  mayoralties,  at  the  offices  of  the  clerks  of  all 
the  tribunals,  at  the  houses  of  the  notaries,  and 
those  of  all  public  offices." 

The  period  allowed  for  giving  the  votes  was 
three  weeks. 

Cambac^res  went  off  immediately  to  the  first 
consul,  to  submit  to  him  the  resolution  of  the 
council  of  state.  The  first  consul,  from  a  disposi- 
tion of  mind  difficult  to  account  for,  obstinately 
resisted  the  second  question. 

"  Whom,"  said  he,  "  would  you  that  I  should 
appoint  for  my  successor  ?  my  brother  ?  But 
France,  which  has  so  well  consented  to  be  go- 
verned by  me  —  would  France  consent  to  be 
governed  by  Joseph  or  Lucien  ?  Shall  I  nominate 
you  consul,  Cambac^res  ?  Will  you  venture  to 
undertake  such  a  task  ?  And  then  the  will  of 
Louis  XIV.  was  not  respected;  is  it  at  all  probable 
that  mine  would  be  ?  A  dead  man,  let  him  be 
whom  he  may,  is  nothing."  The  second  consul  could 
not  get  over  him  upon  this  point ;  he  was  even 
angry  with  Roederer,  who,  without  taking  the 
opinion  of  any  one,  and  following  the  impulse  of 
his  own  mind,  had  put  forward  the  idea.  He, 
therefore,  ordered  the  second  question,  relative  to 
the  choice  of  a  successor,  to  be  struck  out. 

The  motive  of  thte  first  consul  in  the  foregoing 


matter  is  very  obscure.  Did  he  wish,  by  leaving 
a  vacancy  in  the  organization  of  the  government, 
to  manage  so  as  to  have  a  sure  pretext  to  say 
another  time,  and  at  a  period  a  little  later,  that 
the  governnient  was  without  a  future,  without 
greatness,  and  it  would  be  necessary  to  convert 
it  into  an  hereditary  monarchy  ?  Did  he  dread 
family  rivalries,  and  the  troubles  that  would  come 
upon  him  from  possessing  the  faculty  of  choosing 
a  successor  from  among  his  brothers  or  nephews  ? 
To  judge  of  his  language  upon  the  occasion,  this 
last  conjecture  appears  to  be  the  most  probable. 
However  it  was,  he  struck  out  the  second  question 
of  the  act  as  it  emanated  from  the  council  of  state; 
and  as  they  would  not  lose  time  by  assembling  the 
council  ajiain,  the  resolution,  thus  shortened,  was 
sent  to  the  official  journal. 

It  ajipeared  on  tlie  morning  of  the  lith  of  May, 
or  21st  Flore'al,  in  the  Mouiteur,  two  days  after 
that  of  the  senate.  To  announce  that  such  a  ques- 
tion was  put  to  France,  was  to  announce  that  it 
was  determined  upon.  If  public  opini<in  become 
passive,  did  not  take  the  initiative  of  great  reso- 
lutions, it  might  be  counted  upon  for  sanctioning 
every  thing  with  interest  that  might  be  proposed 
to  it  in  favour  of  the  first  consul.  It  had  for  liim 
confidence,  admiration,  gratitude,  all  the  senti- 
ments that  a  lively  and  enthusiastic  people  is 
capable  of  feeling  for  a  great  man,  from  whom  it 
has  received  at  tme  time  so  many  benefits.  Doubt- 
less, if  the  questions  of  form  had  preserved  any 
importance,  at  a  time  when  constitutions  had  been 
seen  to  be  made  and  remi.de  so  often,  it  would 
have  been  deemed  strange  that  the  senate,  having 
proposed  a  simple  prolongation  of  ten  years,  this 
proposition  emanating  ircjm  the  sole  authority 
which  had  the  power  to  make  it,  should  be  con- 
verted into  a  proposition  of  a  consulship  for  life, 
made  by  a  body  that  was  neither  the  senate,  nor 
the  legislative  body,  nor  the  tribunate,  but  only  a 
council  dependiint  upon  the  government.  It  is 
true  that  the  council  of  state  had  at  that  time 
a  high  degree  of  importance,  which  rendered  it 
nearly  the  equal  of  a  legislative  assembly  ;  that  the 
appeal  to  the  national  sovereignty  was  a  species  of 
corrective,  which  covered  all  the  irregularities  of 
tliis  mode  of  proceeding,  and  gave  to  the  council  of 
state  the  apparent  character  of  a  simple  arranger 
of  the  question  to  be  submitted  to  France.  Be- 
sides, at  that  time  people  did  not  examine  so 
closely  into  matters.  The  i-esult,  that  is  to  say, 
the  consolidation  and  perpetuation  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  first  consul  was  agreeable  to  all  the 
world  ;  and  that  which  conduced  to  such  a  result 
in  the  most  direct  way  possible,  appeared  the  most 
natm-al  and  the  best.  The  senate  was  exposed  to 
some  raillery,  in  fact,  it  was  tolerably  confused  and 
ashamed,  at  not  having  been  better  acquainted 
with  the  wishes  of  general  Bonaparte;  and  it  kept 
silence,  having  nothing  suitable  to  say  nor  to  do, 
because  it  was  unable  either  to  recall  its  determi- 
nation or  to  appi'opriate  to  itself  the  resolution 
of  the  council  of  state.  '  As  to  offering  any  oppo- 
sition, it  had  not  the  means,  nor  even  the  idea. 
Without  doubt,  the  torrent  was  not  so  general  but 
that  censure  was  to  be  heard  in  some  places;  for  ex- 
ample, in  the  obscure  retreats  where  the  faithful  re- 
jmblicans  hid  their  despair,  in  the  brilliant  liotels  of 
the  faubourg  St.  Germain,  where  the  royalists  were 


1802. 
May. 


Presentation  of  the  financial 
law. 


THE  CONSULATE  FOR  LIFE. 


Slate  of  the  budget. 


3C5 


detesting  tlie  new  power  in  the  government  whicli 
they  hail  iiot  yet  began  to  serve.  But  this  cen- 
sure, nearly  indistinguishable  in  the  chorus  of 
pi-aises  that  from  all  sides  arose  around  the  first 
consul,  aixl  mounted  even  to  his  own  ear,  was 
of  very  little  moment.  Reflecting  men  only,  and 
these  are  always  very  few  in  number,  were  capable 
of  making  singular  reflections  upon  the  vicissitudes 
tif  revolutions,  upon  the  inconsistency  of  this  gene- 
r.iti'.n  overturning  a  royalty  of  twelve  centuries, 
endeavouring  in  vain,  anndst  its  delirium,  t>i  over- 
throw all  the  monarchies  of  Europe,  and  then 
reverting  fr.>m  its  first  enthusiasm  to  rebuild  a 
ruined  throne  piece  by  piece,  and  eageily  seeking 
some  one  on  whom  to  bestow  it.  Hii|)pily  it  had 
found  for  this  purpose  an  extraordinary  man. 
Nations,  under  sudi  a  necessity,  do  not  always  en- 
counter a  ni.ister  who  ennobles  in  the  same  degree 
tlieii-  inconsistencies.  The  enibarr.issment  of  mo- 
desty had  at  the  moment  seized  upon  every  body  ; 
the  m.oster  himself,  not  daring  at  first  to  avow  his 
wisjies  himself,  the  senate  afterwards  not  daring  to 
guess,  and  hesitating  to  satisfy  them,  until  the 
council  of  sUite,  throw  jng  off  sill  its  false  shame,  had 
the  courage  to  avow  what  was  needful  to  be  said 
an<l  (lone  by  all. 

These  temporary  difficulties  soon  gave  jilace  to 
a  true  ovation.  The  legislative  body  and  the 
tribunate  determined  to  go  to  the  first  consul, 
in  oriier  to  give  the  signal  of  adhesion,  by  voting  in 
a  body  the  power  into  his  hands  for  a  perpetuity. 
The  object  to  colour  the  step  which  they  had 
devised  was,  that  the  members  of  the  legislative 
body  and  of  the  tribunate  being  detained  during 
this  extraordinary  session  in  their  seats  as  legis- 
lators, were  not  able  to  be  in  their  communes 
to  give  their  votes  there.  This  was  deemed  a 
valid  reason,  and  they  repaired  to  the  Tuileries 
accordingly  in  a  body.  M.  de  Vaublanc  sjioUe  in 
the  name  of  the  legislative  body,  and  M.  Chabot 
dWllier  in  the  name  of  the  tribunate.  To  quote 
here  the  speeches  made  upon  this  occasion  would 
be  tedious.  They  all  exjiresseil  alike  the  same 
confidence  in  the  government  of  the  flrst  consul. 
Such  an  example  would  not  have  failed  to  draw 
after  it  the  citizens  to  the  same  vote  had  it  been 
at  all  needful  ;  but  such  a  strong  impulse  was  not 
necessary.  Tlie  |)eople  went  with  alacrity  to  the 
mayoralties,  to  the  notaries,  and  to  the  oflices 
of  the  clerks  of  the  tribunals,  to  inscribe  their 
votes  of  approbation  in  the  registers  ojien  tor  their 
reception. 

The  end  of  FloriJal  had  arrived,  and  the  govern- 
ment made  haste  to  close  this  short  and  memorable 
session  by  the  presentation  of  the  financial  law. 
The  budget  pro|>osed  was  most  satisfactory.  All 
the  sources  of  revenue  were  discovered  to  have 
augmented,  for  which  the  peace  nmst  b»  assigned 
as  the  cause,  while,  at  the  same  time,  the  expenses 
of  the  army  and  navy  were  much  diminished. 
Th.-  budget  of  the  year  x.  amounte.l  to  500,000  OOOf., 
or  2G,000,000  f.  iJss  than  that  of  the  xar  ix.';  it 
was  raised  to  5J(;,000,000  f.  by  the  more  recent 
estimates;  and  if  to  this  be  added  the  additii>nal 
centiiucB  for  the  service  of  the  departments,  wliicli 


I  The  amount  for  the  year  ix.  was  at  firit  fixed  at 
4IS,r>U0,0li0  r,  then  at  i2C,000,000  f.,  and  finally  at 
ftl5,U0O,U0Of. 


at  that  time  were  separately  calculated,  and 
amounted  to  CO ,000,000  f. ;  if  ihere  were  added 
the  expenses  of  collection,  which  were  not  carried 
to  the  general  budget,  because  each  de|)artment  of 
the  taxes  paid  its  own  expenses,  whieli  amounted 
ti>  70,000.000  f,  the  total  might  be  estimated  at 
025,000,000  r.  or  030.000,000  f.,  the  definitive  budget 
of  France  at  that  moment. 

Peace  brought  with  it  an  economy  or  saving  in 
some  branches  of  the  |)ublic  service,  and  an  increase 
in  others  ;  but  by  elevating  considerably  the 
])rodnct  of  all  the  taxes,  it  jirepared  the  way  for 
the  re-establishment  of  an  even  balance  between 
the  revenue  and  expenditure,  a  balance  so  much 
ilesired,  and  so  far  from  being  ftireseen  two  years 
before.  The  war  administration,  divided  into  two 
branches,  that  of  the  personal,  and  that  of  the 
wath-iel,  was  to  cost  210  000,0001".  in  lieu  of 
250,0(10,000  f.  It  will,  no  doul.t,  appear  astonish- 
ing that  there  should  be  lure  no  more  than 
40,000,0011  f.  between  a  state  of  war  and  that  of 
peace  ;  but  it  nnist  be  recollected  that  the  vic- 
torious French  armies  had  lived  upon  a  foreign 
soil,  and  that  having  returned  home,  with  the 
exception  only  of  one  hundred  thousand  men,  they 
were  now  supported  out  of  the  French  treasury. 
The  navy,  which  it  had  at  first  been  deemed  right 
to  estimate  at  80,('00,000f.,  had,  since  the  conclusion 
of  the  peace,  been  raised  to  105,000,000  f.  by  the 
first  consul,  whose  opinion  it  was  that  a  time 
of  peace  was  most  advantageously  eniijloyed  in 
organizing  the  navy  of  a  great  empire.  Other 
expenses  consideiably  reduced,  proved,  by  their 
reduction,  the  fortunate  advance  of  credit.  The 
obligations  of  the  receivers-general,  of  which  the 
origin,  utility,  and  success  have  been  seen,  had  at 
first  been  discounted  at  only  one  per  cent,  per 
month,  and  afterwards  at  three-quarters.  These 
were  now  discounted  at  one-half  per  cent,  per 
month,  or  six  per  cent,  per  annum.  Hence  the 
government  had  been  able,  without  injustice,  to 
reduce  the  interest  of  the  securities  from  seven  to 
six  per  cent.  All  these  savings  had  operated  to 
the  reduction  of  the  costs  of  the  treasury  nego- 
tiations from  32,000.000  f.  to  15,000,000  f.  There 
was  no  reduction  which  did  so  much  honour  to  the 
government,  nor  better  proved  the  high  credit 
which  it  enjoyed.  The  five  per  cents.,  which  had 
I'isen  fii"st  from  twelve  to  forty  or  fifty  francs, 
were  at  that  moment  at  sixty. 

With  these  diminutions  of  expense  there  oc- 
curred some  augmentations,  which  were  the  conse- 
quence of  the  wise  financial  arrangements  pro- 
posed in  the  year  ix.,  and  so  unjustly  censured  in 
the  tribunate.  The  government  had  wished,  as 
has  been  said  in  the  proper  place,  to  complete  the 
inscription  of  the  consolidated  third,  in  other 
word.s,  the  third  of  the  old  debt,  the  only  one 
excepted  from  the  bankruptcy  of  the  directory. 
In  regard  to  the  "  mobilized"  two-thirds,  that  is  ti> 
say,  the  unli(iuidateil  |)ortion  of  the  debt,  it  li.id 
wihlied  to  give  ihat  a  sort  of  value,  by  admitting  it 
in  payment  for  certain  national  property,  or  by 
permission  lo  convert  it  into  five  per  cent,  consoli- 
dated, at  the  rate  of  oiie-twentieih  of  the  capital 
which  corrcspondeil  wiih  the  actual  currency.  The 
first  consul,  desirous  of  tcrniiiiaiing  lliese  nrrangc- 
ment«  as  soon  an  pofsible,  had  it  decided  under  the 
law  of  the  finances  for  the  year  X.,  that  the  two- 


36G       Details  of  the  budget.        THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.       Details  of  the  budget. 


1802. 
May. 


thirds,  "mobilized,"  should  be  converted  by  com- 
pulsion into  the  five  per  cent,  stock,  at  the  i-ate 
fixed  in  the  law  of  Ventose,  year  ix.  The  defini- 
tive inscription  of  the  consolidated  thirds,  the  con- 
version of  the  two-thirds,  "mobilized,"  into  five 
per  cent.,  other  liquidations  which  remained  to 
make  for  the  old  credits  of  the  emigrants,  and  for 
the  transfer  into  the  great  book  of  the  debts  of  the 
conquered  countries,  would  cai'ry  the  total  amount 
of  the  public  debt  to  5a,000,006  f.  or  60,000,000  f. 
of  five  per  cent,  annuities.  In  the  mean  time 
it  was  of  importance  to  satisfy  the  public  mind 
regarding  the  sum  to  which  these  various  liqui- 
dations were  likely  to  raise  the  public  debt.  It 
was  in  consequence  decided  by  an  article  of  the 
budget  itself  of  the  year  x.,  that  it  should  not  be 
carried,  whether  by  loan,  or  whether  in  conse- 
quence of  terminating  payments,  beyond  50,000,000f. 
of  annuities.  It  was  hoped  that  the  redemption  of 
the  sinking  fund,  largely  endowed  with  national 
property,  would  absorb,  before  it  had  time  to  be 
produced,  that  foreseen  excess  of  9,000,000  f.  or 
10,000,000  f.  But  in  any  case,  by  an  article  of  the 
budget  to  be  added,  at  the  moment  when  the 
inscriptions  should  exceed  50,000,000  f.,  such  a 
portion  would  be  created  for  redemption,  as  should 
in  fifteen  years  absorb  the  sum  exceeding  the 
amount  thenceforward  fi.\ed  for  the  national  debt. 

Tlie  title  of  this  was  also  to  be  properly  regu- 
lated. The  different  denominations  of  "  consoli- 
dated thirds,"  "  mobilized  two-thirds,"  "  Belgian 
debt,"  and  others,  were  abolished,  and  replaced  by 
the  unique  title  of  "  five  per  cent,  consolidated."  It 
was  arranged  that  this  debt  should  be  the  first  in- 
scribed in  the  budget;  that  the  interest  of  it  should 
be  paid  before  any  other  expen.'je,  and  miiformly  in 
the  month  following  every  half  year.  It  was  esti- 
mated that  the  life  debt,  at  that  instant  amounting 
to  -10,000,000  f.,  might  ascend  to  24,000,000  f. ;  but 
it  was  imagined  that  the  extinctions  jjroceeding  as 
fast  as  the  new  liquidations,  it  would  always  be 
kept  on  the  level  of  20,000,000  f.  The  expenses 
which  were  susceptible  of  greater  augmentation, 
were  those  of  the  interior,  for  the  roads  and  public 
works  ;  those  of  the  clergy,  for  the  successive 
establishment  of  ne»v  cures, — expenses  rather  to 
be  greeted  than  regretted.  As  for  those  of  public 
instruction  and  the  legion  of  honour,  they  were 
lately  provided  for,  as  before  seen,  by  means  of  an 
endowment  out  of  the  national  domains. 

In  regard  to  these  increasing  expenses,  the  pro- 
gress of  the  revenue  afforded  the  prospect  of  an 
income  still  more  rapidly  accruing.  The  customs, 
the  posts,  the  registration,  the  domains  of  the 
state,  gave  a  con.siderable  surplus. '  Besides  these, 
there  remained  as  a  I'esource,  tlie  indirect  taxes, 
which  had  been  re-established  at  this  time  only  for 
the  advantage  of  the  towns  and  the  service  of  the 
ho.spitals.  Heavy  complaints  had  been  made  in 
the  legislative  body  and  in  the  tribunate  this  year, 
of  the  burden  of  the  direct  contributions,  and  new 
arguments  had  been  urged  for  the  re-establishment 
of  taxes  upon  articles  of  consumption.  Accurate 
calculations  had  exhibited,  in  a  stronger  light  than 
ever,  the  enormous  proportion  of  the  direct  con- 
tribu lions.  The  tax  on  land  and  houses  reached 
210,000,0001'.;  on  personal  and  moveable  pro- 
perty, to  :}2,000,000  f.  ;  on  doors  and  windows,  to 
16,000,000  f.;  on   patents,  to  21,000,000  f.  ;  total, 


270,000.000  f.,  more  than  one-half,  consequently,  in 
a  budget  of  receipts  of  502,000,000  f.  The  public 
compared  these  sums  with  those  paid  during  the 
administration  of  Turgot  and  of  Necker,  and  de- 
manded the  re-establishment  of  a  more  just  pro- 
portion between  the  diff"ereut  taxes.  Before  1789, 
in  fact,  the  land  and  personal  tax  had  produced 
221,000,000  f.  ;  the  indirect  taxes,  294,000,000  f.  ; 
in  all,  51 5,000,000  f.  The  natural  conclusion  from 
all  these  complaints,  was  the  re-establishment  of 
the  old  duties  upon  provisions, — tobacco,  salt,  and 
the  like.  The  first  consul  lieard  these  remon- 
strances with  pleasure  ;  they  furnished  him  with  a 
potent  reason  for  a  new  financial  creation,  which 
he  had  long  secretly  resolved  upon  in  Ills  mind, 
but  which  was  not  yet  fully  matured. 

The  situation  of  the  finances  was,  therefore,  ex- 
cellent, and  it  was  every  day  becoming  better  regu- 
lated. The  90,000,000  f.  directed,  by  means  of  a 
creation  of  stocli,  for  clearing  oft'  the  ari'ears  of  the 
years  v.,  vi.,  and  vii.,  before  the  consulate,  were 
found  to  be  competent  to  that  purpose  ;  the 
21,000,000  f.  devoted  to  the  liquidation  of  the 
debts  of  the  year  viii.,  the  first  year  of  the  con- 
sulate, sufficed  equally  for  acquitting  the  entire 
service  for  vhich  that  sum  was  designed.  Lastly, 
the  service  of  the  year  IX.,  the  first  which  had 
been  regularly  established,  although  amounting  to 
520,000,000  f.,in  place  of  415,000,000  f.,  was  wholly 
liquidated  by  the  extraordmary  increase  in  the 
product  of  the  revenue.  It  has  been  already  seen 
that  the  estimates  of  the  current  year,  that  of  the 
year  x.,  exactly  balanced  in  income  and  expen- 
diture. 

To  simi  up,  a  debt  in  perpetual  stock  of 
50,000,000  f.,  perfectly  regulated,  and  reduced  to 
one  denomination,  provided  for  by  a  sufficient  en- 
dowment in  the  national  d<jmains;  a  debt  in  life 
annuities  of  20,000,000  f.  ;  in  civil  pensions,  to  the 
amount  of  20,000,000  f.  ;  21 0,000,000  f;  assigned  to 
the  war  department ;  105,000,000  f.  to  the  navy  ; 
these  composed,  with  other  expenses  less  in  amount, 
a  budget  of  500,000,000 f.;  not  excluding  the.addi- 
tional  centimes  and  expenses  of  the  collection  ;  a 
budget  covered  by  a  revenue,  which  was  manifestly 
increasing  with  rapidity,  and  that  without  reckon- 
ing the  re-establishment  of  the  indirect  contribu- 
tions, left  as  a  resource  for  new  necessities  that  it 
was  possible  might  subsequently  arise. 

Thus  after  a  war  of  ten  years,  and  after  splendid 
conquests,  the  estimates  returned  a  budget  of 
500,000,000  f.,  the  budget  of  1789,  with  this  differ- 
ence, that  the  debt  composed  a  A'ery  small  portion 
in  a  comparison  with  the  revenue  ;  and  that  this 
amount  of  500,000,000  f.,  raised  to  625,000,000  f. 
by  the  additional  centimes  and  the  cost  of  collec- 
tion, represented  the  entire  outgoing  of  the  country, 
in  fact,  all  the  cliarges ;  while  the  revenue  of 
500,000,000  f.  of  the  budget  of  Louis  XVI.  omitted, 
not  only  the  expenses_of  the  collection,  but  the  re- 
venues of  the  clergy,  the  feudal  rights,  the  corv^es, 
that  is  to  say,  many  hundreds  of  millions  of  charges 
more.  If  in' 1802  France  paid  025,000,000  f.  equally 
divided,  Fiance  paid  in  1789  from  1 100,000,000 f. 
to  1200,000,000  f.,  with  a  territory  one-quarter  less. 
The  revolution,  without  reckoning  the  benefits  of  a 
complete  social  refoi-m,  had  therefoi-e  produced,  at 
least  in  a  most  important  point  of  view,  something 
besides  calamity.      In  all  this  prosperity  iu  the 


Result  of  the  appeal  to 
the  people. 


THE  CONSULATE  FOR  LIFE. 


Changes  in  the  constitution 
niaUe  by  Uonaparte. 


367 


finances  there  was  but  one  thing  to  be  regretted, 
this  was  the  bankruptcy,  the  result  of  paper-money ; 
but  this  was  m  no  way  imputable  to  the  consular 
government. 

These  financial  propositions  were  not  now  re- 
ceived as  those  of  tiie  year  ix.  had  been,  by  a  vio- 
lent opposition  ;  they  were  satisfactory  to  the  two 
legislative  assemblies,  and  were  voted  merely  with 
some  observations  on  the  direct  and  indu-ect  con- 
tributions,— observations  such  as  the  government 
itself  would  have  dictated,  if  they  had  not  been 
thus  spontaneously  elicited. 

The  foregoing  was  the  last  act  of  this  session  of 
forty- five  days,  consecrated  to  these  great  and  im- 
portant objects. 

The  tribunate  and  the  legislative  body  separated 
on  the  20th  of  May,  or  30th  of  Flordal,  leaving 
France  in  a  state  in  which  she  had  never  been 
before,  and  perhaps  never  will  be  again. 

At  this  time  the  population  was  flocking  to  the 
mayoi'altie.s,  to  the  offices  of  the  clerks  of  the  tri- 
bunals, and  to  the  notaries,  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  an  affirmative  reply  to  the  question  put  to 
the  country  by  the  council  of  state.  The  number 
of  votes  which  were  or  were  about  to  be  given,  was 
estimated  at  between  three  and  four  millions.  This 
is  apparently  but  a  small  proportion  out  of  a  popu- 
lation of  thirty-six  millions  of  souls;  but  it  is  a  large 
one,  larger  than  is  expected,  and  such  as  was  not 
obtained  in  the  greater  part  of  the  known  constitu- 
tions, in  which  three,  four,  or  five  hundred  thou- 
sand votes  at  most  expressed  the  national  will.  In 
fact,  of  thirty-six  millions  of  persons,  one-half 
belong  to  the  sex  which  has  no  political  rights.  Of 
the  remaining  ei>,'htecii  :nillions,  there  are  old 
people  and  children  *,  who  reduce  the  valid  popu- 
lation of  the  country  to  twelve  millions  at  most.  It 
is  therefore  an  extraordinary  number,  if  the  men 
who  labour  with  their  hands  are  considered  mostly 
illiterate,  and  scarcely  knowing  under  what  govern- 
ment they  live ;  it  is  an  extraordinary  number,  that 
four  millions  out  of  twelve,  were  thus  brought  to 
form  an  opinion,  and  not  only  to  form  an  opinion, 
but  to  express  it. 

It  is  true,  there  were  republicans  and  royalists 
who  were  di.ssentients,  and  came  to  express  a  nega- 
tive to  the  question,  while  they  attested  by  their 
lirescnce  at  such  an  act,  the  perfect  freedom  left  to 
the  public  upon  the  matter.  But  it  was  a  small 
and  almost  imperceptible  minority.  As  to  the  rest, 
whether  voting  pro  or  con,  they  were  tranquil,  and 
produced  by  their  attendance  upon  the  act  no  sen- 
sible agitition,  so  satisfied  and  peacefully  disposed 
were  the  peo|)le. 

Around  the  government,  on  the  other  hand,  there 
existed  a  species  of  fermentation  of  mind,  on  ac- 
count of  the  changes  which  were  sure  to  be  made 
in  the  constitution,  in  consequence  of  the  prolouga- 

>  According  to  the  returni  of  the  English  population,  of 
10,000  males  living:,  5038  would  be  twenty  years  of  age  and 
undf-r,  988  only  being  in  their  twentieth  year.  If  this  pro- 
portion be  app.ied  to  18,000,000  of  males  in  France,  who  at 
twenty  years  of  age  and  ui.iler  could  hardly  exercise  political 
rights,  the  rcnuli  will  be  O.OOn.uOO  above  twenty  years  old. 
Prom  these  the  inlirin.  very  aged,  dissentient  politically,  and 
the  lowest  and  most  iniioiaiil  clans,  nuiiil  still  be  deducted. 
The  number  does  then-f  ire  appear  very  considerable,  proving 
the  great  popularity  of  Uonaparte  at  that  moment— the  mo- 
ment of  his  brightest  ^\oTy.—Trntiilator. 


tion  of  the  consulship  for  life.  A  thousand  difi'erent 
rumours  were  spread  abroad  relating  to  the  sub- 
ject, having  an  origin  in  the  wishes  of  each  par- 
ticular party. 

The  brothers  of  Bonaparte,  Lucien  in  particular, 
had  not  entirely  renounced  his  idea  of  a  regular 
monarchy,  which  might  immediately  confer  upon 
the  brothers  the  rank  of  princes,  and  place  them 
beyond  a  level  with  the  great  functionaries  of  the 
state.  Roederer,  the  friend  and  confidant  of 
Lucien,  was,  of  all  others,  the  person  who  was 
most  ready  to  give  his  opinion,  being  the  most 
advanced  in  monarchical  advocacy,  much  more 
from  his  natural  inclination  than  through  any  in- 
terested suggestion.  He  was  a  councillor  of  state, 
who  had  the  charge  of  public  instruction,  under 
Chaptal,  the  minister  of  the  interior  ;  and  he  made 
use  of  his  post  in  order  to  address  circular  letters 
to  the  prefects,  which  were  totally  in  opposition  to 
the  nature  of  his  office,  and  had  a  direct  relation 
to  the  questions  which  at  that  moment  occupied  the 
attention  alike  of  the  government  and  the  public. 
These  circulars,  in  which  particulars  of  a  certain 
kind  were  contained,  requiring  a  reply,  and  requir- 
ing it  in  a  truly  monarchical  sense,  not  emanating 
from  the  minister  himself,  but  still  being  issued  by 
a  very  distinguished  authority,  seemed  to  reveal 
some  concealed  scheme,  that  perhaps  had  its  origin 
in  a  higher  authority.  They  agitated  the  minds  of 
the  people  in  the  provinces,  and  gave  place  to  a 
thousand  reports. 

Roederer,  and  those  who  were  of  his  opinion, 
would,  if  possible,  have  raised  in  the  departments 
a  sort  of  spontaneous  wish,  that  would  authorize 
more  boldness  than  had  been  recently  exhibited. 
They  did  not  fail  to  address  the  first  consul  with 
most  earnest  solicitations  to  arrange,  in  a  more 
courageous  mode,  the  questions  which  had  1  i  en 
mooted.  But  the  first  consul  was  fixed.  He 
believed  with  all  the  more  discreet  and  prudent 
friends  of  the  government,  that  it  was  sufficient, 
at  least  for  the  present,  to  establish  the  consulship 
for  life  ;  that  it  was  perfect  monarchy,  more  par- 
ticularly if  the  power  of  designating  a  successor 
was  appended  to  it.  A  movement  of  opinion  easily 
enough  perceptible  among  the  men  surrounding 
the  supreme  power,  and  even  among  the  most 
devoted,  had  warned  the  first  consul  that  no  more 
ought  to  be  attem|)ted.  He  therefore  determined 
to  halt;  and  he  qu."ijified  as  most  indiscreet,  all  that 
was  said  and  done  by  the  ill  judging  friends  about 
him,  whose  zeal  was  far  from  displeasing  him,  but 
was  not  partaken  enough  by  others  to  meet 
approval. 

In  the  mean  time  he  employed  himself  to  make 
certain  changes  in  the  constitution,  which  appeared 
indispensable  to  him.  Although  ho  was  per- 
fectly disposed  to  censure  the  work  of  Sicjes,  he 
thought  it  right  to  preserve  the  groundwork  of  it, 
adding  to  it  merely  some  conveniences  for  the 
government  that  were  new. 

A  singular  disposition  of  mind  was  produced  in 
some  i)ersoii8.  They  demanded  that  the  monarchy 
should  be  re-established,  since  the  force  of  circum- 
Btimccs  seemed  to  re(iiiiro  it ;  but  that  in  return 
there  should  be  granted  to  France  those  liberties 
which  in  a  monarchy  .ire  compatible  with  loyalty, 
that  is  to  say,  that  there  should  be  given  to  it 
purely  and  simply  the  English  monarchy,  with  on 


Bonaparte's  ideas  on  the      THIERS'   CONSULATE  AND   EMPIRE. 


English  constitution.       j^^^ 


liereditary  royalty,  and  two  independent  chambers. 
Upon  this  subject  M.  Camiile  Jordan  had  pub- 
lished a  work,  very  much  a  suliject  of  remark  by 
the  small  number  of  persons  who  still  intermingled 
with  political  questions,  because  the  large  mass  of 
the  people  had  no  other  mind  in  the  matter  than 
to  let  the  first  consul  do  as  he  pleased.  Thus  this 
idea  of  a  representative  monarchy,  that  at  the 
opening  of  the  revolution  had  presented  itself  to 
Lally  Tollendal  and  to  Mounier,  as  the  form 
necessary  for  the  government  of  France,  and 
whidi  fifty  years  later  was  designed  to  become 
the  last  form,  this  idea  again  appeared  to  some 
persons  like  one  of  those  elevated  and  far-off 
mountains,  that  in  a  long  journey  are  perceived 
more  than  once  before  they  are  reached. 

The  sincere  royalists  who  wished  for  a  monarchy, 
even  that  of  the  Bourbons,  if  that  of  the  Bourbons 
were  not  discovered  to  be  impracticable,  and  with 
general  Bonaparte,  if  it  were  not  practicable  with- 
out him,  were  strongly  of  this  opinion,  so  were 
those  also  of  the  royalist  party,  but  these  last  from 
different  motives.  They  hoped  that  with  the 
elections  and  a  free  press,  every  thing  would  soon 
fall  into  confusion,  as  was  the  case  under  the 
directory,  and  that  fnmi  such  a  renewal  of  the 
chaos,  there  would  finally  arise  the  legitimate  mo- 
narchy of  the  Bourbons,  as  the  necessary  term  to 
the  calamities  of  France. 

The  first  consul  had  no  idea  of  adhering  to  such 
a  project,  although  it  might  bring  with  it  royalty 
to  his  own  person.  It  was  not  only  out  of  his  dis- 
like to  resistance  towards  his  objects  that  would 
make  him  oppose  such  a  form  of  government  ;  it 
was  from  the  sincere  conviction  of  the  impossibility 
of  such  an  establishment  in  the  existing  state  of 
things. 

Those  who  are  unwilling  to  see  in  him  any 
other  than  the  soldier,  or  at  most  an  administrator 
of  the  government,  not  the  statesman,  imagine  that 
he  had  no  idea  of  the  English  constitution.  This  is 
a  complete  error.  Seeing  in  England  the  only 
formidable  enemy  France  had  in  Europe,  he 
kept  his  eyes  constantly  fixed  upon  her,  and  he 
had  penetrated  into  the  most  secret  relations  of 
her  constitution.  In  his  frequent  conversations 
upon  matters  of  g.ivermTient,  he  reasoned  with 
rare  sagacity.  One  thing  much  displeased  him  in 
the  English  constitution,  and  he  expressed  his  sen- 
timents in  its  regard  with  that  vivacity  of  language 
which  was  peculiar  to  him  ;  this  was,  to  see  the 
great  affairs  of  slate,  such  as  demand,  in  order 
to  ensure  success,  long  meditation,  a  great  suc- 
cession of  views,  profound  secrecy  in  the  execu- 
tion, laid  open  to  publicity  and  to  hazard  through 
intrigue  or  eloquence. 

"Let  Fox,  Pitt,  or  Addington,"  he  said,  "be 
more  clever  one  than  the  other  in  the  management 
of  parliamentary  intrigue,  or  more  eloquent  in  one 
sitting  of  parliament,  and  we  shall  have  war  in- 
stead of  peace  ;  the  world  will  be  on  fire  anew  ; 
France  will  destroy  England,  or  she  will  be  de- 
stroyed by  her.  Give  up,"  he  exclaimed  angrily, 
"give  up  the  fate  of  the  world  to  such  inHueiices!" 
That  great  mind,  exclusively  preoccupied  with 
the  condition  of  a  perfect  execution  in  the  affairs 
of  state,  forgot  that  if  those  affairs  are  not  sub- 
mitted to  parliamentary  inffuences,  which  are  only, 
after  all,  the  national  inffuences,  represented  by 


passionate  men,  fallible  there  is  no  doubt,  as  all 
men  are,  they  fall  under  inffuences,  miscliievous 
enough  in  a  different  way,  under  those  of  a  Madam 
de  Maintenon  in  an  age  of  devotees,  or  of  a  Madam 
de  Pompadour  in  a  dissolute  age,  and  even  if  a 
nation  has  the  transient  good  fortune  to  possess  <\ 
great  man,  like  Frederick  or  Napoleon,  they  fall 
under  the  influence  of  amliitii  n,  which  will  waste 
it  to  exhaustion  in  the  chance  of  ba tiles. 

This  error  aside,  an  error  very  natural  with 
Bonaparte,  he  was  struck,  he  agreed,  with  that 
liberty,  free  from  stoi-nis,  that  the  British  constitu- 
tion conferred  upon  England.  He  appeared  only 
to  doubt  whether  it  would  suit  the  French  charac- 
ter, so  hasty  and  lively.  In  this  jioint  of  view  he 
was  in  complete  uncertainty.  But  he  regarded  it 
as  perfectly  impossible  to  suit  France  under  exist- 
ing circumstances. 

The  first  consul  insisted  that  such  a  constitution 
required  in  the  first  place  a  strong  dose  of  lieredi- 
tary right;  that  it  required  hereditary  |)eers  and  an 
hereditary  king;  that  in  Fiance  these  notions  were 
cast  aside  ;  that  the  people  in  Fiance  were  ready 
to  take  him  (Bonaparte)  for  a  dictator,  but  that 
they  would  not  lake  him  as  an  hereditary  monarch, 
(whiih  at  that  moment  was  true  enough,)  that  it 
was  the  same  thing  with  the  senate,  to  which  no- 
body would  agree  to  grant  hereditary  rank, although 
ready  to  grant  it  an  extraordinary  constituent 
jjower  ;  that  the  want  of  siaiiility  was  felt  so  much 
by  France,  as  that  she  would  readily  grant  to  any 
body  the  most  extensive  authority,  but  it  must 
only  be  for  life  ;  that  such  was  really  the  disposi- 
tion of  tlie  public  mind  ;  that  Fiance  had  not 
within  reach  the  elements  of  English  royalty, 
because  it  had  neither  king  nor  peers  ;  that  the  se- 
nators of  Sieyes,  aristocrats  of  yesterday,  the  greater 
part  without  fortune,  living  up<in  )uil)lic  salaries, 
would  become  ridiculous  if  it  were  attempted  to 
convert  them  into  English  lords  ;  that  if  in  default 
of  these  the  great  landed  proprietors  should  be 
selected,  that  would  be  to  ffing  themselves  into  the 
arms  of  their  most  formidable  enemies,  because 
they  were  royalists  in  their  hearts,  more  friends  of 
the  English  and  the  Austrians  than  the  French, 
thus  they  had  not  wherewith  to  make  an  upper 
chamber  ;  that  by  takiiig  the  speakirs  from  the  tri- 
bunate, and  dumb  members  of  the  legislative  body, 
there  might  be  found  materials,  in  name  at  least, 
for  forming  a  lower  chamber;  but  that  to  render  it 
seriously  an  imitation  of  England,  there  must  be  a 
tribune,  jiress,  and  elections  free,  all  these  would 
recommence  again  the  four  years  of  ilie  directory, 
of  which  he  had  been  a  witness,  and  which  would 
never  be  blotted  from  his  memory  ;  that  there 
were  then  seen  formed  in  the  electoral  colleges  a  ma- 
jority, which  under  the  pretext  of  dispersing  the 
men  stained  with  blood,  would  only  elect  royalists 
moi-e  or  less  openly  avowed  ;  that  there  had  been 
seen  at  the  same  time  a  hundred  journals,  all  filled 
with  raging  royalism,  all  moving  in  the  same  sense, 
and  that  but  for  the  18t,h  of  Fructidor,  without  the 
assistance  lent  to  the  diieciory  by  the  army  of 
Italy,  they  would  have  aided  in  the  triumph  of 
this  disguised  counter-revolution  ;  that  soon,  by  an 
inevitable  reaction,  those  royalist  th  ctioiis  were 
succeeded  by  terrorist  elections,  which  had  alarmed 
all  hduest  men,  who  demanded  that  they  should  be 
annulled  ;    that  if  the   way    was  again  opened  to 


I 


Bonaparte's  conversations  on 
the  government  needful 
for  France. 


THE  CONSULATE  FOR  LIFE. 


these  people,  the  country  would  go  on  from  con- 
vulsion to  convulsion,  to  the  ultimate  triumph  of 
tiie  Bourbon  and  the  forei;;ner  ;  that  it  was  neces- 
sary to  arrest  the  torrent  and  terminate  the  revo- 
lution, by  maintaining  in  authority  the  man  who 
had  accomplished  it,  and  by  consolidating,  in  wise 
laws,  its  just  and  necessary  principles. 

On  this  occasion,  the  first  consul  repeated  his 
favourite  thesis,  which  consisted  in  his  saying, 
that  in  order  to  preserve  the  revolution,  it  was 
necessary  first  to  prot<'Ct  its  authors,  and  place 
them  at  the  head  of  affairs;  and  that  without  his 
aid  they  would,  by  this  tinie,  have  all  disappear  d, 
through  the  ingratitude  of  the  existing  generation. 
"  See,"  cried  he,  "  what  have  become  of  Rewiiell, 
Barras,  La  Rdveillere  !  where  are  they  ?  Who 
thinks  of  them  ?  None  have  been  saved  but  those 
I  have  taken  by  the  hand,  placed  in  power,  and  sup- 
ported despite  the  movement  that  drags  us  along. 
See  Fouehd,  what  labour  I  had  to  defend  hiui  ; 
Talleyrand  cries  out  loudly  against  Fouchd  ;  but 
the  Malouets,  Talons,  and  Calonnes,  who  offered 
me  their  places  and  aid,  they  would  have  quickly 
got  rid  of  Talleyranil,  ha<l  I  chosen  to  lend  myself 
t>  them.  They  spare  military  men  a  little  because 
they  fear  them,  and  because  it  is  not  easy  to  take 
the  place  of  Lannes  or  Massena  at  the  head  of  an 
army.  But  if  they  spare  them  to-day,  they  will 
not  do  so  much  long;!-.  As  to  myself,  I  cannot 
tell  what  they  would  do  with  me.  Have  they  not 
proposed  to  get  me  named  constable  to  Louis 
XVII  [. J  Doubtless  the  spirit  of  the  revolution 
is  immortal  ;  it  will  survive  the  men  of  the  time. 
The  revolution  will  be  completed  triumjjhaiitly  ; 
but  by  the  hands  of  the  society  of  the  Manege  ? 
No;  for  there  would  be  continually  reactions,  con- 
vulsions, and,  for  the  conclusion,  counter-revolu- 
tion ! 

"  At  present,"  added  the  first  consul,  "  it  is 
necessary  to  make  a  government  first  with  the 
men  of  the  revolution,  of  those  who  have  ex- 
perience, and  performed  services  ;  of  those  whi» 
have  no  blood  upon  their  garments,  unless  it  be 
the  blood  of  the  Russians  and  Austrians;  next,  to 
join  with  them  a  small  number  of  men  who  have 
newly  arisen,  experienced  judges,  or  men  of  the 
old  times,  if  you  will,  tiiken  from  Versailles,  |)ro- 
vided  they  are  men  of  cajiacity,  provided  they  will 
come  in  as  submissive  adherents,  not  as  disdainful 
protectors.  The  constitution  of  Sieyes  is  good, 
with  some  modifications,  for  the  attainment  ot  this 
objrct.  It  is  necessary,  above  all,  to  consecrate 
the  great  principle  of  the  French  revolution,  which 
is  civil  ef|uality,  that  is  to  say,  equal  jusiice  in 
every  thing,  in  legislation,  the  tribunals,  the  ad- 
ministration, the  taxes,  the  iiiilit;iry  service,  the 
distribution  of  cfn))loymentH,  and  so  on.  At  pre- 
sent, each  department  is  on  an  equality  with 
another  department;  every  Frcnchnian  is  on  an 
e(|uality  with  any  other  Frenchman;  every  citizen 
tdicys  the  same  law,  appears  before  the  s.ime 
judge,  submits  to  the  same  pnnislnnent,  receives 
the  same  recompenco,  pays  the  same  taxes,  fur- 
nishes the  same  military  service,  arrives  at  the 
name  rank,  whatever  be  his  parentage,  his  religion, 
or  the  place  of  iiis  origin.  Here  are  the  grand 
social  ri'sults  of  the  revolution,  which  are  well 
worm  the  trouble  we  have  suffered  in  attaining 
them,  and  which  must  be  niaintjiincil  invariably. 


After  the.se  results  there  is  yet  another  that  must 
be  maintained  with  equal  energy,  and  that  is  the 
greatness  of  France.  The  efforts  of  the  press,  the 
speeches  of  the  tribune,  do  not  now  tjike  our  side; 
in  other  times  they  may  be  turned  round  in  our 
favour.  Now  we  must  needs  have  order,  repose, 
prosperity,  well-conducted  affairs,  and  the  pre- 
serviition  of  our  external  greatness.  To  preserve 
this  greatness,  the  contest  is  not  over,  it  will  re- 
commence; and  to  sustain  ourselves,  we  shall  have 
need  of  great  strength,  and  the  utmost  unity  of 
govenmient." 

Such  is  the  substance  of  successive  conversations 
of  the  first  consid,  with  those  whom  he  admitted 
to  communicate  to  him  their  ideas,  and  with  whom 
he  contemplated  modelling  anew  the  consular 
Constitution. 

1 1  is  easy  to  recognize  here  his  habitual  manner 
of  thinking.  Without  gainsaying  what  the  future 
might  present,  and  only  disquieting  himself  about 
the  present,  he  saw  that  the  welfare  of  France 
consisted  in  the  amalgamation  of  all  parties,  and  in 
the  maintenance  and  completion  of  the  social  re- 
form brought  about  at  the  revolution;  and,  finally, 
in  the  development  of  the  power  acquired  by  the 
French  arms.  In  regard  to  liberty,  he  rejected  it 
as  a  return  to  the  past  troubles  of  France,  and  as 
an  obstacle  to  all  the  good  he  wished  to  perform. 
It  left  in  his  mind  the  impression  of  a  difficult 
problem,  to  solve  which  was  no  business  of  his, 
since  twelve  years  of  agitation  had  laid  by  the  de- 
sire and  necessity  of  it  for  a  long  while  to  come. 
Sieyes,  with  his  aristocratic  constitution,  borrowed 
from  the  republics  of  the  middle  age  when  in  their 
decline,  with  his  senate  clothed  in  the  electoral 
power,  with  his  lists  of  notability,  a  sort  of  un- 
changeable golden  boolc,  had  discovered  the  con- 
stitution best  adapted  to  the  situation. 

The  first  consul  took  care  not  to  touch  the 
senate;  he  wished,  on  the  contrary,  to  render  it 
more  powerful;  but  he  projected  a  primary  altera- 
tion, which,  in  appearance  at  least,  was  a  conces- 
sion to  the  jjopular  influence. 

Tlio  lists  of  nolabilitv,  which  contained  the  five 
hundred  thousand  persons,  from  amongst  whom 
it,  was  necessary  to  choose  the  councils  of  the  ar- 
rondissements  and  of  the  departments,  and  the 
legislative  body,  the  tribunate,  and  the  senate  itself, 
which  lists  were  never  altered,  save  for  the  |)ur- 
pi.se  of  filling  up  the  places  of  those  who  had  died, 
or  those  caused  by  the  names  of  parties  struck  out 
as  im worthy,  such  as  bankrupts,  for  instance;  the 
lists  of  notability  appeared  too  illusory,  and  left 
the  government,  as  would  be  remarked  at  the  pre- 
sent time,  without  any  tie  in  common  with  the 
country.  They  were,  besides,  very  difficult  to 
form,  because  the  citizens  took  no  interest  what- 
ever ill  a  mutter  of  such  trifling  importance  to 
themselves. 

The  first  consul  thought  that  the  augmentation 
of  authority  which  he  was  destined  to  receive,  ami 
some  other  mollifications  favourable  to  the  power 
about  to  strengthen  the  ci>n8titutioii,  ought  to  be 
repaid  by  some  po|)ular  concession,  at  least  in  ap- 
pearance. He  therefore  determined  to  establish 
electoral  colleges. 

In  conse(|ueiice,  several  kinds  of  colleges  were 
di'vised.  At  first,  meetings  ol  the  cantons  were 
to  be  created,  composed  of  id  I  the  inhabitants  of 
B  D 


370  ^^-iieMloUegeT^'°'''    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Changes  in  the  senate. 


July. 


the  canton  that  possessed  the  age  and  quality  of 
citizens,  who  were  charged  to  choose  two  electoral 
colleges,  one  of  the  arrondissement,  the  other  of 
the  department.  The  college  of  the  arrondisse- 
ment was  to  be  formed  according  to  the  popula- 
tion, and  to  be  composed  of  one  individual  out  of 
five  hundred.  The  college  of  the  department  was 
to  be  formed  in  the  same  mode,  but  of  one  only 
in  a  thousand  persons.  But  the  number  of  electors 
was  not  to  exceed  six  hundred  of  those  who  were 
rated  highest  to  the  public  taxes. 

These  two  electoral  colleges  of  the  arrondisse- 
ment and  the  department  were  to  be  elected  for 
life  by  the  central  assemblies,  which  having  once 
performed  the  duty  of  a  general  nomination,  would 
have  nothing  more  to  do  but  to  replace  the  de- 
ceased or  excluded  members. 

The  government  ap[)ointed  the  presidents  of  all 
tliese  assemblies,  whether  of  those  of  the  cantons 
or  of  the  electoral  colleges.  It  was  to  possess  the 
power  of  dissolving  an  electoral  college.  In  this 
case,  the  assemblies  of  the  canton  were  to  be  con- 
voked, to  compose  anew  the  college  that  had  been 
dissolved. 

These  cantonal  assemblies  and  the  two  electoral 
colleges  of  arrondissement  and  department,  were 
to  present  candidates  to  the  consuls,  for  the  offices 
of  justices  of  the  peace',  and  the  municipal  and 
departmental  authorities.  The  colk-ge  of  arron- 
dissement presented  two  candidates  for  the  vacant 
places  in  the  tribunate;  the  college  of  department 
two  candidates  for  the  vacant  places  in  the  senate. 
Each  of  these  two  -colleges  presented  two  candi- 
dates for  the  vacant  places  in  the  legislative  body, 
which  made  four  togethei-.  Thus  the  tribunate 
originated  from  the  council  of  the  arrondissement; 
the  senate  from  the  council  of  the  department,  and 
the  legislative  body  from  both. 

The  senate  still  possessed  the  right  of  choosing 
the  members  of  the  tribunate,  the  legislative  body, 
and  also  its  own  members,  from  the  candidates 
thus  presented. 

Thus  the  kind  of  change  made  in  the  constitution 
may  be  easily  perceived.  In  place  of  the  various 
lists  of  notability,  completed  or  modified,  as  time 
might  render  necessary,  by  the  universal  body  of 
citizens,  electoral  colleges,  chosen  for  life  by  the 
same  univei'.sal  body,  were  now  to  elect  the  candi- 
date.s,  and  from  tliese  the  senate  was  to  select 
those  whom  it  saw  fit  as  being  the  body  which 
generated  all  the  rest.  The  alteration  thus  effected 
was  not  very  considerable,  because  the  electoral 
colleges  chosen  for  life,  sometimes  modified,  it  is 
true,  when  death  or  bankruptcy  might  cause  a 
vacancy,  were  very  nearly  as  immutable  as  the 
lists  of  notability,  but  still  they  occasionally  assem- 
bled to  elect  candidates.  Under  this  operation 
the  citizens  might  be  said  to  have  recovered  some 
l)art  of  the  power  of  the  composition  of  the  de- 
iibex'ative  assemblies.  Electoral  tumults  there 
was  very  little  reason  to  apprehend  with  such 
a  composition  of  citizens. 

The  legislative  body  and  the  tribunate  were  to 
be  separated  into  five  series  of  membcr.s,  going 
out  in  turn  one  after  another  every  year.  The 
senate  replaced  the  portion  which  went  out,  taking 
those  for  selection  from  among  the  candidates  pre- 

1  Justices  de  Paix. 


sented  to  them.  The  colleges  for  life  replaced 
afterwards  the  candidates  that  the  election  of  the 
fifth  had  absorbed  out  of  their  numbei'. 

After  this  concession,  which  at  that  time  ap- 
peared so  exorbitant  that  all  the  colleagues  of  the 
first  consul  went  so  far  as  to  say,  that  he  must 
feel  very  conscious  of  his  own  power,  and  very 
secure  in  his  post,  to  yield  so  much  to  the  popular 
influence ;  they  went  at  work  to  complete  the 
various  powers  of  the  senate  conformably  to  the 
indications  drawn  from  the  recent  events. 

The  senate  was  to  retain  at  first  the  privilege  of 
electing  all  the  bodies  of  the  state.  It  was  further 
wished  to  confer  upon  it  besides  a  more  perfect 
constituent  power.  Already  the  government  had 
made  it  exercise  that  power,  by  giving  it  the  riglit 
of  interpreting  the  38th  article  of  the  constitution, 
in  calling  upon  it  to  decide  upon  the  recall  of  the 
emigrants,  and  in  making  it  demand  a  prolongation 
of  the  authority  of  the  first  consul.  It  was  ex- 
ceedingly convenient  to  have  at  hand  a  constituent 
power,  always  ready  to  create  that  for  which  there 
might  be  any  necessity. 

It  was  then  settled  that  the  senate,  at  any  time, 
by  means  of  a  seiiatus-consuUum,  denominated  "  or- 
ganic," should  have  the  faculty  of  interpreting  the 
constitution  for  the  purpose  of  completing  it,  and, 
in  short,  to  do  every  thing  that  was  necessary 
to  make  it  work  in  its  due  course. 

It  was  also  arranged  that  by  the  senatus-consuUum 
simply,  the  senate  might  pronounce  the  suspension 
of  the  constitution,  and  of  trial  by  jury  in  certain 
departments,  and  determine  in  what  cases  an  indi- 
vidual, confined  on  any  extraordinary  occasion, 
should  be  sent  before  the  judges  for  trial  in  the 
ordinary  way,  or  be  detained  in  jirison.  Lastly,  there 
were  delegated  to  this  body  two  extraordinary  attri- 
butes, the  one  appertaining  to  royalty  in  a  mo- 
narchy, the  other  not  attaching  to  any  power  in  a 
regularly  constituted  state  ;  the  first  was  the 
faculty  of  dissolving  the  legislative  body  and  the 
tribunate  ;  the  second,  that  of  cancelling  the  judg- 
ments of  the  tribunals,  whenever  they  migiit  be 
thought  dangerous  to  the  safety  of  the  state. 

The  last  attribute  would  be  inconceivable  if  the 
circumstances  of  the  times  had  not  explained  it. 
Certain  tribunq,ls  had,  in  fact,  pronounced  judg- 
ments in  cases  relating  to  the  national  pi-operty, 
which  were  sufficient  to  drive  to  des[)air  the  nume- 
rous and  powerful  class  of  persons  who  had  become 
possessed  of  it. 

It  was  next  decided  that  the  senate,  which  in 
the  course  of  ten  years  was  to  be  increased  from 
sixty  to  eighty  members  by  means  of  two  nomi- 
nations annually,  should  be  at,  once  advanced  to 
eighty.  There  were  fourteen  nominations  to  be 
made  immediately.  The  first  ccmsul,  in  addition 
to  these,  had  the  power  of  appointing  forty  new 
senators,  thus  raising  the  number  to  a  hundred 
and  twenty.  By  these  means  the  government  was 
i-elieved  from  new  inconveniences,  such  as  those 
which  it  sustained  at  the  commencement  of  the 
session  of  the  year  x. 

The  tribunate  and  the  council  of  state  were 
equally  modified  in  their  organization.  While  the 
council  of  state  might  be  raised  to  fifty  members, 
the  tribunate  was  to  be  reduced  to  fifty,  by  the 
successive  extinction  of  the  members,  and  was  to 
be  divided  into  sections,  answering  to  the  sections 


1802.         ftuestion  of  a  council  of 
July.  state. 


THE  CONSULATE  FOR  LIFE. 


Regulations  of  the  succession. 
—Summary  of  the  changes      37I 


of  the  council  of  state.  It  was  to  make  a  fii-st 
examination  in  sections,  with  closed  doors,  of  the 
different  laws  preferred,  which  might  be  submitted 
to  them  afterwards  in  a  general  meeting  of  tiie 
whole  body.  These  bills  were  still  to  be  discussed 
by  the  three  orators  before  the  silent  legislative 
body,  opposed  to  three  councillors  of  state,  or  on 
the  same  side  with  them,  according  as  the  project 
of  the  law  might  be  approved  or  disapproved. 

Henceforth,  therefore,  the  tribunate  was  no 
more  than  a  second  council  of  state,  whose  duty  it 
was  to  criticise  with  closed  doors,  and  in  conse- 
quence without  energy,  such  measures  as  the  first 
consul  miglit  prepare. 

Finally,  the  prerogative  of  voting  treaties  was 
taken  away  from  the  legislative  body  and  from 
the  tribunate.  The  first  consul  recollected  what 
liad  happened  to  the  treaty  with  Russia,  and  would 
not  again  be  exposed  to  a  scene  of  the  same  kind. 
He  devised  a  privy  council  composed  of  consuls, 
ministers,  two  senators,  two  counsellors  of  state, 
and  two  members  of  the  legion  of  honour,  having 
the  rank  of  great  officers,  the  one  and  the  other 
alike  designated  by  the  first  consul  for  each  im- 
portant occasion.  This  privy  council  alone  was  to 
be  consulted  upon  the  i-atification  of  treaties.  It 
was  also  empowered  to  draw  up  the  organic  smatus- 
consultum. 

The  creation  of  a  privy  council  was  a  wrong 
done  to  the  council  of  state,  because  it  touched 
upon  its  duties;  and  of  this  that  body  appeared 
sensible.  By  such  means  the  first  consul  withdrew 
from  the  cognizance  of  th.e  council  of  state  the 
treaties  which  it  had  before  been  accustomed  to 
consider,  because  he  began  to  think  that  thirty 
or  forty  individuals  were  too  many  to  receive  com- 
munications of  this  nature. 

It  remained  to  organize  the  executive  power 
upon  the  new  basis  of  the  consulate  for  life.  The 
first  consul  wished  that  the  same  power  which  was 
given  to  him  for  life,  should  also  be  conferred  upon 
his  colleagues  for  the  same  term.  "  You  have 
done  enough  for  me,"  he  said  to  the  second  consul 
Cambaceres,  "  I  ought  now  to  assure  to  you  your 
position."  The  principle  of  the  contiimance  for 
life  was  then  fixed  in  regard  to  the  two  other 
consuls,  as  well  for  the  present  as  for  the  future. 
The  great  question  of  the  designation  of  a  succes- 
sor to  the  first  consul,  remained  still  to  be  ar- 
ranged, for  by  this  the  right  of  hereditary  succes- 
sion Wius  in  the  present  case  to  be  determined. 
General  Bonaparte  wished  at  first  to  decline  the 
power  which  it  wa.s  desired  to  confer  uj)on  him  of 
designating  his  successor.  At  Icngtli  he  yielded, 
and  it  was  agreed  that  he  should  have  the  power  of 
Buch  a  designation  during  his  life.  In  case  of  such 
an  appointment,  the  person  named  was  to  be  pre- 
sented in  great  state  to  the  senate  ;  he  was  to  t:ike 
aa  oath  to  the  republic  before  the  senate,  in 
presf^nce  of  the  consuls,  the  ujinisters,  the  legis- 
lative body,  the  tribunate,  the  council  of  state,  tho 
tribunal  of'  cassation,  the  archbiHlio|)s  and  bishops, 
the  presidents  of  the  electoral  colleges,  the  great 
officers  of  the  legion  of  honour,  and  the  mayors  of 
twenty-four  great  cities  of  the  republic.  After 
this  Holeiunily  he  was  adopted  by  the  existing  con- 
sul and  the  French  nation.  He  was  to  take  rank 
in  the  senate  with  the  consuls  immediately  after 
the  third. 


If,  however,  to  spare  the  feelings  of  his  family, 
the  first  consul  should  not  during  his  life-time 
nominate  a  successor,  and  should  only  nominate 
him  by  will,  in  such  a  case  he  was,  before  his 
decease,  to  remit  his  will,  so  nominating  his  suc- 
cessor, sealed  with  his  seal,  to  the  other  consuls,  in 
presence  of  the  ministers  and  the  presidents  of 
the  counsellors  of  state.  This  will  was  to  be 
deposited  in  the  archives  of  the  republic.  But  in 
that  ease  it  was  necessary  that  the  senate  should 
ratify  the  voluntary  testament  which  had  not  been 
produced  during  the  life  of  the  testator. 

If  the  first  consul  should  not  have  made  liis 
adoption  during  his  life,  or  if  he  should  not  leave  a 
will,  or  the  will  should  not  be  ratified,  then  the 
second  and  third  consuls  were  empowered  to  dp- 
))()int  a  successor.  They  were  to  propose  him  to 
the  senate,  whose  duty  it  was  to  elect  him. 

Such  were  the  forms  employed  for  securing  iJhe 
regular  transmission  of  the  consular  authority.  It 
was  a  substitute  in  place  of  hereditary  succession; 
but  there  was  nothing  to  prevent  its  being  hefe- 
ditarj',  because  the  chief  of  the  state  was  left  free 
to  select  his  own  son  if  he  had  one.  He  was  only 
empowered  to  propose  naming  his  heirs,  or  h\ni 
whom  he  should  deem  to  be  most  worthy. 

The  consuls  were,  by  right,  members  of  the 
senate,  and  were  to  preside  at  the  sittings. 

One  grand  prerogative  was  added  to  the  power 
of  the  first  consul.  He  received  the  right  of  grant- 
ing pardon  lor  offences.  This  was  to  assimilate  as 
much  as  possible  his  authority  to  that  of  royalty 
itself. 

On  the  accession  of  a  new  first  consul,  a  law  was 
to  fix  his  allowance,  or,  to  speak  more  correctly, 
his  civil  list.  On  the  present  occasion,  the  sum  of 
(5,000,000  f.i  was  fixed  for  the  first  consul,  and 
1,200,000  f.2  for  his  two  colleagues,  both  sums  were 
to  be  provided  for  in  the  budget. 

To  all  these  dispositions  there  were  some  new 
ones  added,  which  concerned  the  regulation  of  the 
tribunals.  The  duties  of  the  administrative  govern- 
ment were  better  conducted  tlian  those  of  justice, 
because  the  former  depended  more  immediately 
upon  a  firm  and  impartial  master;  the  oflicials 
being  revocable  every  moment  by  him,  the 
ministers  went  forward  exactly  in  his  s])irit.  Hit 
justice  used  its  independence,  as  all  the  liberty 
conceded  by  the  state  was  used,  in  delivering  itself 
over  to  the  ])assions  of  the  day.  In  some  places  it 
persecuted  the  acquirers  of  national  i)roperty,  in 
others  unjustly  favoured  them.  But  no  where  did 
it  exhibit  that  discipline  and  regularity  which  liiis 
been  seen  since,  and  which  giive  to  the  great  body 
of  the  magistracy  a  dignified,  but  still  a  defercntiAl, 
authority.  To  the  disposition  conferred  in  parti- 
cular cases  upon  the  senate  of  reviewing  the  jud]g- 
inents  of  the  tribunals,  a  disposition  quite  extraor- 
dinary, and  fortunately  not  permanent,  a  further 
power  of  regulating  them  was  added.  The  tri- 
Itunals  of  the  first  instance  were  jilaeed  inider  tho 
regulation  of  the  courts  of  ap])eal,  nn<l  the  ti^i- 
bunals  of  appeal  under  those  of  tho  tribunal  'of 
cassation.  A  judge  who  was  wanting  in  his  duty 
might  bo  called  before  a  superior  tribunal,  a/id 
reprimanded  or  8us])cnded.  At  tho  head  of  the 
whole   magistracy,   a   "grand  judge"    was  to    be 


About  £250,000. 


b2 


2  Nearly  £50,000. 


_^^  The  senate  made  a 

•>7^  mere  iiisiruinent 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EilPIRE. 


of  the  first  consul.- 
Refleclions. 


1802. 
July. 


placed,  having  the  power  to  preside  at  tlie  tri- 
bunals if  iie  saw  ht,  whose  duty  it  was  to  watch 
over  them,  and  to  regulate  them.  He  was  thus 
minister  of  justice,  while  he  was  a  public  magis- 
trate. 

Such  were  the  modifications  introduced  into  the 
consular  constitution,  some  devised  by  the  first 
consul  himself,  others  proposed  by  his  councillors. 
They  were  all  collected  in  the  form  of  an  organic 
senatus-consultum,  which  was  to  be  presented  to  the 
senate,  and  ailopted  by  that  body. 

They  consisted,  as  already  seen,  in  substituting 
for  the  lists  of  notal)ility  that  vast,  inert,  and 
deceptive  candidateship,  electoral  colleges  chosen 
for  life,  which  assembled  at  certain  times  to  pre- 
sent canilidates  to  the  choice  of  the  senate  ;  to 
give  to  the  senate  already  charged  with  electoral 
functions,  and  the  care  of  watching  over  the  con- 
stitution, the  power  of  modifying  that  constitution, 
of  perfecting  it,  and  of  removing  every  obstacle  in 
its  way;  in  tine,  the  power  to  dissolve  the  tribunate 
and  the  legislative  body  ;  to  confer  on  general 
Bonaparte  the  consulship  for  life,  with  the  faculty 
of  designating  his  successor  ;  to  give  him  besides, 
the  finest  of  the  prerogatives  of  royalty,  the  right 
of  pardoning  criminals  ;  to  take  from  the  tribunate 
its  numerical  strength,  and  nearly  that  of  all  pub- 
licity, making  it  in  lact  a  second  council  of  state, 
charged  with  censuring  the  labours  of  the  first;  to 
carry  away  from  the  legislative  body  and  the 
council  of  state  to  a  privy  council,  certain  im- 
portant public  affairs,  such  for  example  as  the 
approbation  of  treaties;  finally,  to  establish  among 
the  tribunals  a  discipline  and  a  hierarchy. 

It  was  still  tlie  aristocratic  constitution  of  Sieyes, 
apt  to  turn  round  to  aristocracy  or  despotism, 
according  to  the  hand  which  directed  it ;  at  this 
moment  turning  towards  absolute  power,  under 
the  hand  of  general  Bonaparte,  but  after  his 
decease,  as  capable  of  bting  transformed  into  a 
complete  aristocracy,  if  before  his  death  he  did  not 
precijiitate  the  whole  into  an  abyss. 

In  conferring  for  his  own  convenience  such  high 
attributes  upon  the  senate,  the  first  consul  had 
insured  to  himself  for  life  a  most  devoted  instru- 
ment, by  means  of  which  he  was  able  to  do  any 
thing  which  he  desired  ;  but  after  his  death,  that 
very  instrument  become  independent,  in  its  own 
turn  would  be  all-powerful.  Under  a  successor 
less  great,  less  glorious,  with  the  minds  of  men 
awakened,  after  a  long  slumber,  an  entirely  new 
spectacle  would  present  itself.  The  departmental 
aristocracy,  of  which  the  electoral  colleges  for  life 
were  composed,  and  the  national  aristocracy  of 
which  the  senate  was  formed,  one  presenting  can- 
didates to  the  other,  would  be  very  well  able,  by  a 
concurrence  of  objects,  natural  and  even  necessary, 
to  create  in  the  legislative  body  and  the  tribunate 
a  majority  which  could  not  but  be  invincible  to  the 
monarchical  power  qualified  as  first  consul,  and  thus 
to  cause  the  renewal  of  a  species  of  liberty,  an 
aristocratic  liberty  it  is  true,  but  which  is  one, 
under  ordinary  circumstances,  not  less  haughty, 
nor  less  consistent,  nor  the  least  durable  of  all 
others.  Moreover,  liberty  is  always  secured  when 
the  ])o\ver  is  divided,  and  its  exercise  subjected  to 
the  deliberations  ot  an  assembly.  'I'here  cannot  be, 
in  effect,  more  than  two  plausible  opinions  i-egard- 
ing  the  important  interests  uf  a  country.    If  the 


executive  power  has  in  its  front  an  authority 
capable  of  resisting  it,  this  last,  aristojyatic  or 
otherwise,  embraces,  by  an  irresistible  propensity 
for  contradiction,  the  opinions  which  tlie  former 
has  repelled.  It  tends  to  peace  in  the  jiresence  of 
an  executive  which  leans  to  war,  and  tends  to- 
wards war  in  presence  of  an  executive  j)ower  that 
leans  towards  peace :  it  adopts  a  liberal  policy 
wlun  the  government  is  inclined  to  conservative 
views.  In  a  word,  there  exists  contradiction,  from 
whence  arise  discussion  and  liberty  ;  as  liberty  in 
all  countries  principally  consists  in  the  free  and 
bold  discussion  of  the  affairs  of  state,  by  the  citi- 
zens, pro  or  con,  no  matter  how  it  originates.  This 
constitution  of  Sieyes,  therefore,  might,  it  is  possi- 
ble, at  some  future  day,  return  to  its  primitive  end, 
but  at  this  moment  it  was  no  more  than  a  mask  for 
a  dictatorship.  A  constitution,  of  whatever  kind, 
always  yields  results  conformable  to  the  existing 
state  of  public  opinion.  There  are  times  when 
opposition  is  the  prevalent  bias  ;  there  are  others 
when  there  is  a  general  tendency  to  support  the 
governing  power.  At  this  time  public  opinion  was 
inclined  to  adhere  to  the  government ;  the  form  of 
the  government  in  reality  at  the  moment,  was  a 
matter  of  indifference. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  this  nominal  republic 
possessed  unusual  greatness;  it  recalled,  in  some 
respects,  the  Roman  republic  converted  into  the 
empire.  The  senate  had  the  power  of  the  ar.cient 
Roman  senate,  a  power  that  it  resigned  to  the  em- 
peror when  he  was  strong,  and  took  back  for  its 
own  purposes  when  he  was  weak  or  liberal.  The 
first  consul  had,  in  fact,  the  power  of  the  Roman 
emperors;  he  had  the  hereditary  succession,  that 
is  to  Siiy,  the  choice  between  the  appointment  of 
his  natural  or  adopted  successors.  It  may  be 
added,  that  he  enjoyed  nearly  the  same  power 
over  the  world. 

The  new  constitution,  thus  remodelled,  was  now 
ready;  the  votes  demanded  of  all  the  French  citi- 
zens were  given.  The  consul  Cambac^ies,  ever 
conciliatory,  proposed  to  the  first  consul  a  very 
wise  step,  which  was,  to  confide  to  the  senate  the 
duty  of  counting  the  collected  votes,  and  of  i)ro- 
clainiiiig  the  numbers.  "  It  is,"  said  he,  with 
sound  reason,  "a  very  natural  mode  of  extricating 
a  great  body  from  a  false  position,  caused  by  a 
mistake."  The  senate  liad,  in  fact,  proposed  a 
])rolongation  of  ten  years,  and  the  first  consul  had 
assumed  the  consulship  for  life.  Since  that  time 
the  senate  had  become  silent,  and  had  not  taken, 
because  it  could  not  take,  any  steps  for  giving  that 
body  the  task  of  proclaiming  the  result  ;  it  would 
be  made  a  jiarty  to  the  measure,  and  would  be 
drawn  out  of  the  embarrassed  slate  in  wjiich  it 
was  placed.  "  Come,"  said  Cambacdres  to  the  first 
consul;  *'  come  to  the  assistance  of  men  wjio  made 
a  mistake  in  endeavouring  to  guess  your  wishes." 
The  first  consul  smiled  with  a  little  more  ot  sar- 
castic expression  in  his  face  than  was  customary, 
at  the  prudence  of  his  colleague,  and  quickly  con- 
sented to  the  politic  propo.sal  thus  made  to  liim. 

The  registers  in  which  the  votes  had  been  en- 
tered were  sent  to  the  senate,  to  be  counted  and 
made  uj).  A  total  of  3,577,259  citizens  had  voted, 
and  out  of  that  number,  3,6G8,8Ji5  had  voted  for 
the  consulate  for  Hie.  In  this  enormous  mass  of 
approving  voters,  there  were  only  eight  thousand 


i 


July. 


Result  of  the  popular  voting.      THE  CONSULATE  FOR  LIFE.       Result  of  the  popular  voting.       373 


ai)d  some  Innulred  dissentients;  an  almost  imper- 
ceptible minority.  Never  iiad  any  government 
obiaiiied  such  an  assent ;  and  none  ever,  in  an 
equal  degree,  deserved  it. 

This  result  being  verified,  tlie  senate  issued  a 
teiia.'us-cotisultum,  in  three  articles.  The  first  of 
these  articles  was  thus  stated  : — 

"  Tiie  French  people  nominate,  and  the  senate 
proclaints  Napoleon  Bonaparte  first  consul  for 
life." 

It  was  from  this  period  that  the  prcnomen  of 
Napoleon  began  to  ajipear  in  the  public  acts  of 
the  gnvernmeiit,  togetiier  with  the  family  name  of 
lionajjarte,  which  last  was  only,  up  to  that  mo- 
ment, known  to  the  world.  This  brilliant  i)re- 
numen,  that  the  voices  of  nations  have  so  often 
repi-ated  since,  had  been,  until  this  time,  but  once 
empl()ye<l,  namely,  in  the  constituent  act  of  the 
Italian  republic.  In  approximating  to  the  sove- 
reignty, the  prenomen,  being  gradually  separated 
fmin  the  family  name,  was  soon  to  figure  alone 
anil  conspicu  Hihly  in  the  universal  language  of  the 
world;  and  the  general  Bonaparte,  called  for  one 
moment  Napoleon  Bonap.irte,  was  soon  to  be 
called  Napoleon,  conforaiably  to  the  manner  of 
designating  monarchs. 

The  second  article  of  the  senatus-consultum  de- 
creed that  a  statue  of  peace,  holding  in  one  hand 
the  laurel  of  victory,  and  in  the  other  the  decree 
of  the  senate,  should  attest  to  posterity  the  grati- 
tude of  the  nation. 

Finally,  the  third  article  declared  that  the 
senate,  in  a  body,  should  go  and  present  to  the 
first  consul,  with  this  senatus-consultunt,  the  ex- 
pression of  the  "  confidence,  love,  and  admiration" 
of  the  French  people.  These  three  expressions 
are  those  of  the  decree  itself. 

A  day  for  a  grand  diplomatic  reception  was 
fixed  upon,  when  the  senate  should  proceed  to  the 
Tuileries.  It  was  on  the  morning  of  the  3rd  of 
August,  1802,  or  loth  of  Thermidor.  All  the 
ministei"s  of  the  different  courts  of  Europe,  now  at 
peace,  were  assembled  in  a  spacious  hall,  where 
the  first  consul  had  been  accustomed  to  receive 
them,  and  where  foreigners  of  distinction  were 
presented.  The  levee  had  hardly  begun  when  the 
senate  was  announced.  At  the  same  moment  the 
entire  body  was  introduced,  when  the  president 
Bartlielemy  spoke  as  follows  : — 

"  The  French  people,"  said  he,  addressing  the 
first  consul,  *'  the  French  people  acknowledge 
with  gratitude  the  immense  services  which  you 
have  rendere<i  it,  and  is  desirous  that  the  first 
magistracy  should  remain  immoveably  in  your 
hands.  In  securing  that  ofticc  to  you  during  the 
term  of  your  life,  it  only  expresses  the  desire  of 
the  senati-,  as  explained  in  the  senattis-consuUitm  of 
the  IHtli  Floreal.  The  nation,  by  this  solemn  act 
of  gratitude,  imparts  to  you  tlio  duty  of  consoli- 
dating our  institutions." 

Alter  this  exordium,  the  president  briefly  enu- 
merated the  grand  actions  of  general  Bonaparte, 
both  ill  war  and  j)eace;  predicted  prosperity  for 
tiin  future,  without  the  niisfortiineH  that  no  one 
then  foresaw;  and  repeated,  finally,  that  which,  at 
the  moment,  was  proclaimed  by  the  utmost  voice 
of  fame.  The  president  then  read  the  text  of  the 
decree;  and  the  first  consul,  bowing  to  the  senate, 
repHcd  in  these  fine  words  : — 


"  The  life  of  a  citizen  is  the  )>roperty  of  his 
country.  The  French  people  will  that  mine  should 
be  entirely  consecrated  to  its  service.  I  am  obe- 
dient to  its  will. 

"  By  my  efl'orts,  by  your  aid,  citizens,  by  the 
assistance  of  all  the  authorities,  by  the  confidence 
and  the  will  of  this  great  people,  the  liberty,  the 
equality,  the  prosperity  of  France,  will  be  sheltered 
from  the  caprices  of  fortune  and  the  uncertainties 
of  futurity.  The  best  of  jieople  will  be  the  most 
happy,  as  it  is  most  worthy  of  being,  and  its  hap- 
piness will  contribute  to  that  of  all  Europe. 

"  Content  thus  to  have  been  called  by  the  com- 
mand of  that  power  from  v,  hich  all  emanates,  to 
bring  back  to  this  land,  order,  justice,  and  equality, 
I  shall  attend  my  last  hour  without  I'egret  and 
without  inquietude,  reposing  upon  the  opiiiiou  of 
future  generations." 

After  receiving  the  afTectionate  thanks  of  the 
senate,  the  first  consul  accomjianied  that  body 
back  to  the  ante-chamber,  and  continued  his  re- 
ception of  strangei-s,  who  were  i)iesented  to  him 
by  the  ministers  of  England,  Russia,  Austria, 
Prussia,  Sweden,  Bavaria,  Hesse,  Wurtemberg, 
Spain,  Naiiles,  and  America,  for  the  whole  world 
was,  at  that  moment,  at  peace  with  France.  On 
the  same  day,  lords  Holland  and  Grey,  the  same 
that  are  known  to  the  present  genei'ation,  were  ])re- 
sented  to  the  first  consul,  with  a  number  of  other 
individuals  of  distinction. 

On  the  following  day,  the  4th  of  August,  the 
new  articles,  containing  the  modification  of  the 
ci institution,  were  submitted  to  the  council  of  state. 
The  first  consul  presided  at  this  solemn  sitting  ; 
he  read  the  articles  one  after  another,  and  ex- 
plained the  motives  for  each  with  energy  and  pi-e- 
cision.  He  expressed  his  ideas  upon  each  article, 
as  has  been  already  stated.  Ho  even  started  ob- 
jections to  them,  and  answered  them  himself.  On 
the  designation  of  a  successor,  there  was  a  short 
discussion,  in  which  might  be  perceived  still  some 
traces  of  the  resistance  which  he  had  before  oft'ered 
to  the  arrangement.  Petiet  and  Rojderer  asserted 
that  the  designation  of  a  successor,  made  by  will, 
should  be  as  binding  as  if  it  were  made  by  a  so- 
lemn adojition,  in  ])resence  of  the  great  bodies  of 
the  state.  The  first  consul  would  not  agree  that 
such  a  will  was  as  binding  upon  the  senate,  for  the 
reason,  that  when  a  man  was  dead,  however  great 
he  had  been,  he  was  then  nothing  ;  that  his  hist 
will  might  be  set  aside  or  disobeyed,  and  that  in 
submitting  it  for  the  ratification  of  the  senate,  he 
should  only  yield  to  an  unavoidable  necessity. 
Upon  this  occasion,  there  were  some  singular  ex- 
jire.ssioiis  which  he  let  fall,  which  prove  that,  for 
the  instant,  he  thought  nothing  more  of  hereditary 
succession.  He  remarked,  when  speaking  of  it,  at 
least  in  substance,  that  it  was  not  in  accordance 
with  ]>revailing  manners  and  o])iiiioiis.  His  nature 
did  not  lead  him  either  to  falsehood  or  hyixicrisy; 
but  placed  as  men  always  are  under  the  inlluonce 
of  the  jji'csent  moment,  he  re|itll('d  the  idea  of 
hereditary  succession,  because  he  perceived  that 
the  minds  of  the  people  were  very  little  disposed 
towards  its  adoption;  and  that,  invested  as  ho  was, 
besides,  with  a  power  altogether  monarchical,  ho 
was  satisfied  with  the  reality  without  the  title.  To 
judge  from  his  language  in  this  respect,  ho  had 
frankly  stated  his  mind  upon  the  subject. 


„_  .     Conduct  of  the  Bonaparte 
•^74        family. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.       Fouche  loses  his  post. 


1802. 
Aug. 


There  were  certain  objections  afterwards  made 
against  the  institution  of  the  privy  council,  on  the 
part  of  the  council  of  state,  the  power  of  which 
was'  somewhat  diminished  by  that  institution. 
Upon  this  subject  the  first  consul  discovered  a 
little  embarrassment,  respecting  a  body  which  he 
had  always  so  far  treated  with  a  marked  predilec- 
tion, and  that  he  thus  seemed  to  despoil  of  a  pai-t 
of.'its  importance.  He  said  that  the  privy  council 
wis  only  instituted  for  very  rare  cases,  which  re- 
quired a  rigorous  secrecy,  impossible  to  preserve 
in  a  body  of  forty  or  fifty  individuals;  that  still 
the  council  of  state  would  preserve  continually  the 
saAne  importance  as  before,  and  take  cognizance  of 
all  great  affairs. 

After  some  modifications  of  detail,  the  senatus- 
cotisultum  was  carried  to  the  senate,  and  after  a 
species  of  homologue,  converted  into  an  organic 
seiiatus-constillum.  The  following  day,  being  the 
5lh  of  August,  or  17th  Thermidor,  it  was  published 
with  the  customary  forms,  and  thus  became  the 
supplement  to  the  consular  constitution. 

France  exhibited  the  deepest  satisfaction.  The 
family  of  the  first  consul  had  seen  neither  all  their 
\\^shes  nor  all  their  fears  accomplished  ;  yet  still 
it?  shared  in  the  general  contentment.  Madame 
Bonaparte  began  to  be  more  tranquil,  now  all 
thoughts  of  royalty  seemed  to  have  evaporated. 
This  species  of  hereditary  succession,  which  left  to 
the  chief  of  the  state  the  cai'c  of  choosing  a  sue-' 
cesser,  was  all  which  she  desired,  because  she  had 
no  child  by  general  Bonaparte,  and  possessed  a 
beloved  daughter,  the  wife  of  Louis  Bonaparte,  who 
was  about  to  become  a  mother.  She  wished  to 
have,  and  she  flattered  herself  she  should  have,  a 
grandson.  She  tliouglit  to  see  in  him  the  successor 
to  the  sce])tre  of  the  world.  Her  husband  shared 
it  her  views.  The  brothers  of  Napoleon — he  will 
henceforth  be  called  by  that  name — were  less  satis- 
fied, at  least  Lucien,  whose  continual  activity  of 
mind  nothing  would  keep  quiet.  But  an  arrange- 
ment had  been  devised  to  please  them,  by  an  intro- 
duction into  the  organic  articles.  The  law  of  the 
legion  of  honour  had  enacted,  that  the  grand  council 
of  the  legion  should  be  composed  of  three  consuls, 
and  one  representative  from  each  of  the  great 
bodies  of  the  state.  The  council  of  state  had  no- 
minated Joseph  Bonaparte  to  this  post ;  the  tribu- 
nate, Lucien.  A  disposition  of  the  senahis-coimiltum 
enacted,  that  the  members  of  the  grand  council  of 
the  legion  of  honi'ir  should  be  senators  by  right. 
The  two  brothers  of  Napoleon  were  then  principal 
personages  in  that  noble  institution  charged  with 
the  distribution  of  all  the  recompenses,  and  they 
were,  as  members  of  the  senate,  naturally  called  to 
exercise  a  great  influence  in  that  body.  Joseph, 
moderate  in  his  wishes,  seemed  to  desire  nothing 
more.  Lucien  was  only  half  contented,  and  it  was 
not  in  his  nature  to  be  more  so.  The  first  consul, 
in  getting  his  colleagues  Cambaceres  and  Lebrun 
made  consuls  for  life,  had  endeavoured  to  keep 
near  his  person  imlividuals  who  were  pleased  at 
his  own  elevation.  He  had  succeeded.  One  per- 
sonage alone  at  this  period,  so  favourable  to  the 
advancement  of  every  other  person,  was  rather 
ill  used  ;  this  was  Fouche,  the  minister  of  police. 
Whether  his  advice,  personal  with  regard  to  the 
schemes  of  the  Bonaparte  family,  was  noticed,  or 
whether  the  efforts  made  to  injure  him  with  the 


master  were  successful,  or,  which  is  more  probable, 
that  the  first  consul  wished  to  add  to  all  his  recent 
acts  of  clemency  and  reconcilement,  a  measure 
which  had  still  more  than  others  the  aspect  of  con- 
fidence and  oblivion,  the  ministx-y  of  police  was 
suppressed. 

This  minister,  as  has  been  said  elsewhere,  then 
possessed  an  importance  which  he  could  never 
have  had  under  a  regular  regime,  thanks  to  the 
arbitrary  power  with  which  the  government  was 
invested,  and  thanks  to  the  funds  of  which  he 
disposed  without  controul.  Emigrants  returned 
or  about  to  return,  Vendeans,  republicans,  priests 
unsworn,  he  had  to  watch  all  these  agents  of  mis- 
chief, and  he  performed  his  duty  with  no  scrupu- 
lous feelings.  But  although  Fouche  executed  the 
duties  of  his  oflice  with  tact  and  a  great  deal  of 
intelligence,  he  was  still  odious  to  the  parties  whom 
he  thus  kept  under  restraint.  The  first  consul 
suppressed  the  ministry,  and  contented  himself 
with  making  of  the  police  merely  a  general  direc- 
tion attached  to  the  ministry  of  justice.  Real,  the 
councillor  of  state,  was  charged  with  that  direction. 
The  administration  of  justice  was  taken  from  M. 
Abrial,  a  clever  man,  wholly  devoted  to  his  busi- 
ness, but  whose  slow  and  laboured  method  of  ful- 
filling his  official  duties  was  disagreeable  to  the 
first  consul.  His  place  was  given  to  M.  Regnier, 
afterwards  duke  of  JNlassa,  a  learned  and  eloquent 
magistrate,  who  had  inspired  the  chief  that  dis- 
])osed  of  the  fortunes  of  all  with  regard  and  con- 
fidence. M.  Regnier  received  with  the  adminis- 
tration of  justice  the  title  of  grand  judge,  a  title 
newly  created  by  the  organic  senatus-consultum. 
The  nature  of  his  qualifications  rendered  him  little 
proper  to  direct  M.  Re'al  in  the  difficult  investiga- 
tions of  the  police  ;  and  thus  M.  R^al,  transacting 
business  immediately  with  the  first  consul,  became 
well  nigh  independent  of  the  minister  of  justice. 
Unfortunately,  with  ^I.  Fouche  was  lost  a  know- 
ledge of  men,  and  of  their  relations  with  different 
parties,  which  he  alone  possessed  in  the  same 
degree.  This  sacrifice,  hastily  made  in  subser- 
vience to  the  ideas  of  the  hour,  was  made  with 
too  little  reflection,  and,  as  will  soon  be  seen, 
consequences  followed  to  be  regretted.  Still  it 
must  not  be  .supposed  that  M.  Fouche  was  to 
appear  disgraced.  A  place  was  reserved  for  him 
iu  the  senate,  as  well  as  for  M.  Abrial.  In  the 
act  which  nominated  him  a  senator,  M.  Fouche 
obtained  a  flattering  mention  of  his  public  ser- 
vices. It  was  even  stated  in  the  document,  that 
if  the  necessities  of  the  time  should  cause  a  re- 
construction of  the  office,  then  suppressed,  M. 
Fouche  would  be  sought  for  to  fill  his  old  office 
of  police  minister,  even  on  the  benches  of  the 
senate. 

There  were  some  other  changes  in  the  personal 
part  of  the  government.  Roederer,  who  did  not 
very  well  coincide  with  M.  Chaptal,  the  minister 
of  the  interior,  in  his  views  upon  public  instruc- 
tion, which  duty  was  confided  to  his  care,  gave  up 
the  post  to  the  learned  Fourcroy,  and  received,  as 
Fouche  and  Abrial  had  done,  a  seat  in  the  senate 
as  an  indemnity.  The  first  consul  also  raised  to 
the  senate  the  respectable  archbishop  of  Paris,  M. 
de  Belloy.  In  acting  thus,  he  had  no  design  to 
give  the  clergy  any  influence  in  political  affairs, 
but  he  wished  that  all  the  great  social  interests 


1802. 

Aug. 


THE  CONSULATE  FOR  LIFE. 


Bonaparte  inhabits  St.  Cloud. 
— Summary  of  events. 


375 


should  be  represented  in  the  senate,  the  interest  of 
religion  a.s  well  as  every  other. 

On  the  loth  of  August,  or  27th  Theriindor,  for 
the  first  time,  the  birth-day  anniversary  of  the 
first  consul  was  celebrated  in  France.  This  was 
the  progrte-sive  introduitioii  of  monarchical  usages, 
in  making  the  birth-day  of  the  sovereign  a  national 
festival.  On  the  moi-ning  of  that  day,  the  first 
consul  i-eceived  the  senate,  the  tribunate,  the 
council  of  state,  the  clergy,  the  civil  and  military 
authorities  of  the  capital,  the  diplomatic  bodies, 
who  came  to  congratulate  him  on  the  public  joy, 
and  his  own  private  happiness.  A  Te  Dettiii  was 
sung  at  noon  in  the  church  of  Notre  Dame,  and  in 
all  the  churches  of  the  republic.  In  the  evening, 
there  were  brilliant  illuminations,  rciu-esenting  in 
Paris,  here  a  figure  of  victory,  there  one  of  jjcace, 
and  further  on,  upon  one  of  the  towers  of  Notre 
Dame,  the  sign  of  the  zodiac,  under  which  was 
born  the  author  of  all  these  benefits,  for  which  the 
nation  had  to  be  thankful  to  Heaven. 

Some  days  afterwards,  on  the  2lfet  of  August,  or 
3rd  Fructidor,  the  first  consul  went  in  great  pomp  to 
take  possession  of  the  presidency  of  the  senate.  All 
the  troops  of  the  division  were  formed  en  hale,  from 
the  Tuileries  to  the  palace  of  the  Lu.\emburg.  The 
carriage  of  the  new  master  of  France,  escorted  by 
a  numerous  staft",  and  by  the  mounted  consular 
guard,  was  drawn  by  tight  magnificent  horses,  as 
were  formerly  the  carriages  of  the  French  kings. 
No  one  partook  with  him  the  honour  of  its  occupa- 
tion. In  the  carriages  which  followed  came  the 
second  and  third  consuls,  the  ministers  and  presi- 
dents of  the  council  of  state.  On  arriving  at  the 
Luxemburg,  the  first  consul  was  welcomed  by  a 
deitutatiou  of  ten  senators.  Seated  upon  a  chair 
very  similar  to  a  throne,  he  received  the  oaths  of 
liis  two  brothers,  Lucien  and  Joseph,  become 
senators  by  right,  in  their  quality  of  members  of 
the  grand  council  of  the  legion  of  lionour.  After 
this  formality  wius  completed,  the  councillors  of 
state,  chosen  especially  for  that  purpose,  presented 
five  j>rojects,  each  in  the  shape  of  a  senatiis-con- 
hiUhih,  relative,  the  first  to  the  ceremonials  to  be 
observed  by  the  great  authorities  ;tlie  second,  to 
the  renewal,  by  series,  of  the  legislative  body  and 
of  the  tribunate ;  the  third,  on  the  mode  to  be  fol- 
lowed in  case  of  the  dissolution  of  these  two  assem- 
blies ;  the  fourth,  on  the  designation  of  the  twenty- 
four  great  cities  of  the  republic ;  and,  lastly,  the 
fifth,  upon  the  union  of  the  isle  of  Elba  with  the 
French  territory. 

In  order  to  attach  to  tlie  senate  the  influence 
promised  it,  in  the  greater  affairs  of  state,  Talley- 
rand read  a  report  of  great  moment,  upon  the 
arrangements  which  were  preparing  in  Ciermany, 
under  the  direction  of  France,  for  indenniifying 
with  the  ecclosiaHtical  princijialilies  the  hereditary 
princes  who  had  been  dispossessed  of  property  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Uliine.  This  was,  as  will  sub- 
Heijucnlly  be  seen  in  the  course  of  this  history,  the 
greatest  affair  of  the  time.  That  business  being 
once  concluded,  the  world,  it  Hcenicd  ])robable, 
would  remain  at  rest  for  a  crjuhiderable  time.  In 
publishing  t<j  the  senate  in  this  rejiort  the  views  of 
France,  the  first  consul  announced  to  Europe  his 
ideas  ujxm  this  important  subject  ;  or,  to  be  more; 
explicit,  he  intimated  his  will,  because  it  was  well 
known  that  ho  was  not  a  man  to  withdraw  from 


I  givin;j  effect  to  a  resolution  which  he  had  once 
I  publicly  announced.  The  reading  of  the  report 
I  finished,  Napoleon  withdrew,  leaving  to  the  senate 
'  the  care  of  examining  the  five  scnatus-consuUa 
wliich  had  been  submitted  to  them. 

Accompanied  back  again  by  the  ten  senators 
who  had  received  him  upon  his  arx-ival,  and 
greeted  on  his  way  by  the  acclamations  of  the 
people  of  Paris,  the  first  consul  reentered  the 
palace  of  the  Tuileries  like  a  constitutional  mo- 
narch who  had  just  held  a  royal  sitting. 

The  summer  was  now  far  advanced,  and  the  end 
of  August  approaching.  The  first  consul  took  pos- 
session of  the  chateau  of  St.  Cloud,  which  he  had 
refused  when  it  was  first  offered  him  for  a  counti'y 
residence.  Having  changed  his  determination  upon 
the  matter,  he  had  ordered  repairs  to  be  made  in 
the  building,  which,  at  first  inconsiderable,  soon 
extended  over  the  whole  chateau.  They  had  been 
just  finished.  The  first  consul,  therefore,  profited 
by  such  a  moment  to  take  up  his  residence  in  that 
beautiful  edifice.  There  he  received,  on  fixed 
days,  the  great  functionaries  of  the  state  of  all 
classes,  foreigners,  and  ambassadors.  On  Sunday 
mass  was  said  in  the  chapel  ;  and  those  who  had 
opposed  the  concordat  soon  began  to  attend,  as 
in  former  times  they  had  attended  at  Versailles. 
The  first  consul,  accompanied  with  his  wife, 
heard  a  short  mass,  and  afterwards  held  conver- 
sations in  the  gallery  of  the  chateau  with  those 
who  were  on  a  visit  to  him.  These,  arranged  in 
two  lines,  awaited  him,  and  listened  to  his  words  as 
they  listened  to  those  of  royalty,  or  to  those  of  men 
of  genius.  In  this  circle  no  one  was  heard  or  re- 
garded but  him.  No  potentate  upon  earth  ever 
obtained  or  merited  in  the  same  degi-ee  the  pure 
homage  of  which  he  was  at  that  time  the  object, 
both  on  the  part  of  France  and  of  the  whole  world. 
It  was  already  the  imperial  authority  which  he 
subsequently  assumed,  but  it  was  with  the  universal 
consent  of  the  people,  with  forms  less  regal,  but 
more  worthy  of  that  dignity,  as  there  still  remained 
a  certain  republican  modesty,  which  agreed  well 
with  the  new  authority,  and  which  reminded  the 
spectator  of  Augustus,  retaining,  amidst  the  su- 
preme power,  the  external  habits  of  a  Roman 
citizen. 

At  times,  after  pursuing  a  long  route  over  a  very 
extensive  and  beautiful  country,  the  traveller  stops 
for  a  moment  upon  some  elevated  spot,  in  order  to 
contemplate  the  district  over  which  he  has  jour- 
neyed :  let  us  imitate  his  example  here,  let  us 
pause  for  a  moment,  and  casting  a  glance  at  the 
past,  contemplate  the  prodigious  labours  of  Bona- 
parte subsequently  to  the  IJhh  lirumaire.  What 
a  profusion  of  events,  what  variety,  what  greatness 
of  achievement  are  displayed  ! 

After  traversing  the  seas  by  a  miracle  and  at- 
taining France,  surprised  and  delighted  at  his  sud- 
den re-appearance,  he  overthrew  the  directory, 
took  the  reins  of  i)ower,  acce])ted  the  constitution 
of  Sieyes,  modified  in  regard  to  the  executive 
power  in  some  measure,  and  having  introduced  a 
degree  of  order  into  the  ailministration,  re-esta- 
blished on  a  fresh  system  tlic!  collection  and  pay- 
ment of  the  taxes,  he  raised  public  credit,  sent  off 
the  first  relief  to  the  armies  then  in  a  state  of  pri- 
vation, profited  by  the  winter  season  to  overwhelm 
La  Vendue  by  a  sudden  union  of  troops,  rapidly 


376  Summary  of  events.  THIERS'   CONSULATE   AND  EMPIRE.        Summary  of  events. 


1802. 
Aug. 


brought  these  troops  back  to  the  frontier,  and  in 
the  midst  of  the  apparent  confusion  of  tliese  move- 
ments, created  at  the  foot  of  tlie  Alps,  wholly  un- 
noticed, an  improbable  army,  destined  to  fall 
suddenly  in  the  midst  <>f  the  enemy  that  still  re- 
fused to  credit  its  e.xistence.  Every  thing  being 
ready  to  enter  upon  the  campaign,  he  had  offered 
to  Europe  the  choice  of  peace  or  war,  and  war 
having  been  preferred  by  Europe,  he  had  ordered 
the  passage  of  the  Rhine  to  take  place,  sent  Mo- 
reau  on  to  the  Daiuibe,  placed  Massena  in  Genoa, 
there  to  stop  and  i-etain  the  Austrian  forces  ;  then 
Moreau  having  thrown  general  Kray  ujion  UIra, 
Massena  having  upon  the  other  side  kept  Melas 
before  Genoa  by  his  heroic  defence  of  tliat  place, 
he  had  himself  on  a  sudden  jiassed  the  Alps  over 
an  unbeaten  track,  with  his  artillery  drawn  in  the 
excavated  trunks  of  trees,  appeared  in  the  centre 
of  astonished  Italy,  cut  off  the  retreat  of  the  Aus- 
trians,  and  in  one  decisive  battle,  sevei-al  times 
lost  and  gained,  had  taken  their  army,  crushed  all 
the  designs  of  the  coalition,  and  e.Ktorted  from 
Europe,  in  a  state  of  utter  consternation,  an  ar- 
mistice of  six  months'  duration. 

It  was  during  these  six  months  of  truce  that  the 
labours  of  the  first  consul  became  even  more  sur- 
prising still.  Negotiating  and  attending  to  tlie 
government  ot  the  same  time,  he  had  changed  the 
political  aspect  of  things,  turned  the  affections  of 
Europe  towards  France  and  against  England,  gained 
the  heart  of  Paul  I.,  brought  the  uncertain  court  of 
Prussia  to  a  decision,  inijjarted  to  Denmark  and 
Sweden  the  courage  to  resist  maritime  violence,  of 
which  their  commerce  was  the  object,  united  the 
league  of  the  neutral  powers  against  Great  Britain, 
closed  against  her  the  ports  of  the  continent  from 
the  Texel  to  Cadiz  and  from  Cadiz  to  Otranto,  and 
])repared  immense  armaments  for  the  succour  of 
Egypt.  While  performing  all  these  things,  he  had 
completed  the  re-organization  of  the  finances,  re- 
stored credit,  ])aid  the  obligations  of  the  state  in 
hard  coin,  created  the  bank  of  France,  repaired 
the  roads,  repressed  highway  robbery,  opened  mag- 
nificent communications  over  the  Alps,  founded 
hospitals  on  their  summits,  undertaken  the  great 
fortifications  of  Alexandria,  improved  Mantua, 
opened  canals,  erected  new  bridges,  and  com- 
menced the  compilation  of  the  codes  of  law.  At 
length,  Austria  still  hesitating  to  conclude  a  peace, 
he  pushed  Moreau  in  advance,  and  that  general, 
after  destroying  the  ])Ower  of  Austria  in  the  me- 
morable battle  of  Hohenlinden,  had  forced  the  pro- 
mise of  that  peace  under  the  very  walls  of  Vieima, 
which  was  soon  afterwards  signed  at  Lun^ville. 

It  was  at  this  moment  that  a  frightful  crime,  in 
the  infernal  machine,  put  into  hazard  the  life 
of  the  first  consul,  and  having  irritated  his  fiery 
spirit,  he  was  urged  to  the  commission  of  the  only 
fault  of  which  he  was  guilty  during  the  time  when 
he  exhibited  such  unequalled  talent  and  mode- 
ration, this  was  the  transportation,  without  trial,  of 
the  hundred  and  thirty  revolutionists.  Sad  are 
the  vicissitudes  of  violent  men  in  revolutionary 
times  !  Tlie  assassins  of  September,  in  their  turn 
thus  struck  down,  neither  found  laws  nor  courage 
for  their  defence  ;  while  the  tribunate,  which 
opposed  itself  to  the  best  measures  of  the  first 
consul,  did  not  dare  to  offer  one  word  on  behalf  of 
these  proscribed  persons. 


All  powerful  on  the  continent,  having  thrown 
into  discredit  and  then  expelled  from  office  the 
two  ministers  who  had  formed  all  the  coalitions 
against  France,  M.  Thugut  of  Vienna,  and  Pitt  of 
London,  the  first  consul  had  thrown  upon  Eng- 
hind  the  entire  of  Europe.  Nelson,  by  the  blow 
inflicted  on  the  Danes  in  Copenhagen,  and  the 
Russians  by  assassinating  their  em|)eror,  had 
saved  England  from  the  disasters  which  threatened 
her ;  but  in  thus  saving  her  from  these  disasters, 
they  had  not  imparted  to  her  the  courage  or  the 
means  to  carry  on  the  war. 

The  English  nati<m,  struck  alike  with  fear  and 
admiration  of  the  achievements  of  Bonaparte,  had 
finally  consented  to  the  peace  of  Amiens,  the  finest 
ever  concluded  by  France. 

The  temijle  of  Jaims  was  thus  closed;  and  then 
the  first  consul  wished  to  add  to  the  peace  with 
the  European  powers  a  peace  with  the  church. 
He  hasteiie<l,  therefore,  to  negotiate  the  concordat, 
to  reconcile  Rome  with  the  revolution,  to  i"e-erect 
the  altars,  to  render  to  France  all  that  was  neces- 
sary to  civilized  society  ;  and  having  arrived  at  the 
third  year  of  his  consulship,  he  presented  himself 
to  the  two  legislative  assemblies,  bearing  peace  in 
his  hand,  both  on  land  and  sea,  peace  with  heaven, 
an  amnesty  to  all  proscribed  persons,  a  magnificent 
code  of  laws,  an  effectual  system  of  public  edu- 
cation, and  a  glorious  scheme  of  public  honour.s. 
Although  he  presented  himself  with  his  hands  full 
of  tliese  gifts,  he  h;id  still  encountered  an  unex- 
|)ected,  violent,  and  senseless  opposition,  arising 
out  of  good  and  evil  feelings,  from  envy  in 
some,  and  in  others  from  the  desire  of  a  liberty 
impracticable  at  that  time.  Delivered  from  this 
by  the  cleverness  of  his  colleague  Cambaceres, 
which,  in  his  anger,  he  would  else  have  violently 
crushed,  he  had  at  this  point  attained  the  end  of 
his  toils,  and  had  succeeded  in  procuring  the 
national  assent  to  the  treaties  concluded  with 
Europe,  to  the  concordat,  to  his  system  of  lay  and 
national  education,  and  to  the  legion  of  honour, 
and  in  receiving,  as  the  recompense  of  his  ser- 
vices, the  consular  power  for  life,  and  the  greatness 
of  a  Roman  emperor.  At  this  moment  he  resumed 
the  labour  of  forming  the  codes  of  law,  became 
arbiter  of  all  the  clashing  continental  interests, 
reformed  the  German  constitution,  and  distributed 
the  territories  to  the  different  princes,  with  an 
equity  .and  justice  acknowledged  by  all  Europe. 

Now,  if  forgetting  all  which  has  passed  subse- 
quently, we  imagine  for  a  moment  this  dictator, 
then  so  necessary  to  France,  remaining  as  discreet 
as  lie  was  powerful,  uniting  those  ojiposite  qualities, 
which  God,  it  is  true,  has  never  yet  united  in  the 
same  individual,  that  vigour  of  genius  which  consti- 
tutes the  great  soldier,  with  that  patience  which  is 
the  distinctive  trait  in  the  founder  of  an  empire, 
calming, .by  a  long  pea<je,  the  agitated  state  of  the 
French  social  body,  and  preparing  it  by  degrees 
for  that  freedom  which  is  both  the  honour  and 
necessity  of  modern  nations  ;  then  after  having 
made  France  so  great,  appeasing  in  place  of  irri- 
tating the  jealousies  of  the  European  nations ; 
changing  into  permanency  the  general  policy  and 
the  territorial  demarcations  settled  at  Luudville 
and  Amiens,  finally  terminating  his  career  by  an 
act  worthy  of  the  Antonines,  by  finding,  no  matter 
where,  the  most  worthy  successor  to  himseli,  and 


1802. 
Aag. 


Summary  of  events. 


THE  SECULARIZATIONS. 


Summary  of  events. 


:i77 


leavinj;  to  him  this  organized  France,  prepared  to 
enjoy  liberty,  and  for  ever  aggrandized  ;  what  man 
would  have  equalled  him  !  But  this  man,  in  war 
great  as  Caesar,  politic  as  Augustus,  virtuous  as 
M.ircus  Aurelius,  would  have  been  more  than  man; 
aiid  Providence  has  given  the  world  no  divinities 
to  be  its  rulers. 

Yet  still  at  this  pei-iod  he  appeared  so  moderate 
after  luiving  been  so  victorious  ;  he  exhibited  him- 
self so  profound  a  legislator  after  proving  his 
greatness  as  a  soldier  ;  he  showed  so  much  love 
fur  the  arts  of  peace,  having  so  much  excelled  in 
those  of  war,  that  he  might  well  be  able  to  raise 
illusions  in  France  and  in  the  world.  Only  a  few 
among  those  who  were  iu  his  councils,  and  were 


capable  of  observing  the  future  through  the  pre- 
sent, wei-e  affected  with  uneasiness  as  well  as 
admiration  in  observing  the  indelatigable  activity 
of  his  mind  and  body,  the  energy  of  liis  will,  and 
the  impetuosity  of  his  desirts.  They  trembled 
even  at  seeing  him  do  good  in  the  way  he  per- 
formed it,  so  great  was  his  impatience  to  acconi- 
j>lish  it  rapidly,  and  upon  such  an  extended  scale. 
The  wise  Tronchet,  notwithstanding,  who  at  once 
admired  and  loved  him,  regarding  him  as  the 
saviour  of  France,  observed  one  day  to  Camba- 
ceres,  with  melancholy  feeling,  "  This  young  man 
has  commenced  like  Caesar ;  1  fear  that  he  will  end 
like  Caesar." 


BOOK  XV. 


THE  SECULARIZATIONS. 


CONCRATULATIOSS  ADDRESSED  TO  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  BY  THE  FOREIGN  CADIKETS,  UPO!J  HIS  ACCESSION  TO  THE 
CONSULATE  FOR  LIFE. — FIRST  EFFECTS  OF  THE  PEACE  WITH  ENGLAND. — ENGLAND  DESIRES  A  TREATY  OF  COM- 
MERCE WITH  FRANCE  —DIFFICULTY  OF  RECONCILING  THE  MERCANTILE  INTERKSTS  OF  THE  TWO  COUNTRIES. — 
PAMPHLETS  WRITTESJ  IN  LONDON  BY  THE  EMIGRANTS  AGAINST  THE  FIRST  CONSUL.  — RE-ESTABLISHMENT  OF  A 
COOU  ONDERSTANDING  WITH  SPAIN.— THE  DUCHY  OF  PARMA  BECOMES  VACANT,  AND  THE  COURT  OF  MADRID 
WISHES  TO  ADD  THAT  DUCUY  TO  THE  KINGDOM  OF  ETRURIA. — THE  NECESSITY  OF  ADJOURNING  ANY  RESOLU- 
TIOS  UPON  THE  SUBJECT. — DEFINITIVE  UNION  OF  PIEDMONT  WITH  FRANCE. — ACTUAL  POLICY  OF  THE  FIRST 
CONSUL  I.S  REGARD  TO  ITALY.— GOOD  UNDERSTANDING  WITH  THE  HOLY  SEE.— MOMENTARY  DISPUTE  ABOUT 
THE  PROMOTION  OF  FRENCH  CARDINALS — THE  FIRST  CONSUL  OBTAINS  THE  GRANT  OF  FIVE  AT  ONCE. — HE 
-MAKES  A  PRESENT  TO  THE  POPE  OP  TWO  BRIGS  OF  WAR,  CALLED  THE  "  ST.  PETER  "  AND  "ST.  PAUL." — 
aUARREL  WITH  THE  DEY  OP  ALGIERS  PRO.MPTLY  TERMINATED. — TROUBLES  IN  SWITZERLAND. — DESCRIPTION  OF 
THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  CONSTITUTION.— THE  UNITED  AND  THE  OLIGARCHICAL  PARTIES. — JOURNEY  TO  PARIS  OP 
THE  LANDAMMAN  REDING. — HIS  PROMISES  TO  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  SOON  BELIED  BY  EVENTS. — EXPULSION  OP 
THE  LANDAMMAN  REDING,  AND  RETURN  OF  THE  MODERATE  PARTY  TO  POWER.— ESTABLISHMENT  Op  THE  CON- 
STITUTION OF  THE  2UTH  OF  MAY,  ASD  DANGER  OF  NEW  TROUBLES,  IN  CONSEQUENCE  OF  THE  FEEBLENESS  OP 
THE  HELVETIC  GOVERNMENT.— EFFORTS  OF  THE  OLIGARCHICAL  PARTY  TO  DRAW  THE  ATTENTION  OF  THE 
GREAT  POWERS  TOWARDS  SWITZERLAND. — THEIR  ATTENTION  DRAWN  E.XCLUSIVELY  TO  THE  AFFAIRS  OF  GER- 
MANY—STATE OF  GERMANY  AFTER  THE  TREATV  OF  LUNEVILLE. — PRINCIPLE  OF  THE  SECULARIZATIONS  LAID 
DOWN  BY  THAT  TREATY.— THE  SUPPRESSION  OF  THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  STATES  BRINGS  WITH  IT  GREAT  CHANGES 
IS  THE  GERMANIC  CONSTITUTION. — DESCRIPTION  OF  THIS  CONSTITUTION.— THE  PROTESTANT  AND  CATHOLIC 
PARTIES;  PRUSSIA  AND  AUSTRIA;  THEIR  VARIOUS  PRETENSIONS. — EXTENT  AND  VALUE  OF  THE  TERRITORIES 
TO  PE  DISTRIBUTED.— AUSTRIA  ENDEAVOURS  TO  OBTAIN  INDEMNIFICATION  FOR  THE  DOMAINS  OF  WHICH  THE 
ARCHDUKES  HAD  BEEN  DESPOILED  IN  ITALY,  AND  MAKES  USE  OF  IT  TO  DISPOSSESS  BAVARIA  OF  THE  TERRI- 
TORY FROM  THE  INN  TO  THE  ISAR.  — PRUSSIA,  UNDER  THE  PRETEXT  OP  INDEMNIFYING  HERSELF  FOR  WHAT 
SHE  HAS  LOST  UPON  THE  RHINE,  AND  TO  INDEMNIFY  THE  HOUSE  OP  ORANGE  FOR  ITS  LOSSES,  IS  IN  HOPES  TO 
CREATE  FOB  ITSELF  A  CONSIDERABLE  ESTABLISHMENT  IN  FRANCONIA. — DESPAIR  OF  THE  SMALLER  COURTS, 
THREATENED  BY  THE  AMBITION  OP  THE  GREATER  ONES. — ALL  IN  GERMANY  FIX  THEIR  REGARD  UPON  THE 
FIRST  CONSUL.- HE  DETERMINES  TO  INTERFERE,  IN  ORDER  TO  SEE  THE  PROPER  EXECUTION  OP  THE  TREATV 
OP  LUNEVILLE,  AND  TERMINATE  A  BUSINESS  WHICH  MIGHT  IN  A  MOMENT  EMBROIL  ALL  EUROPE. — HE 
(HOOSES  TO  ALLY  HIMSELF  WITH  PRUSSIA,  AND  SUPPORT  TO  A  CERTAIN  EXTENT  THE  PRETENSIONS  OP  THAT 
POWER— THE  SCHEME  OF  INDEMNITY  AGREED  UPON,  IN  CONCERT  WITH  PRUSSIA  AND  THE  LESSER  GERMAN 
PRINCES. — THIS  SCHEME  COMMUNICATED  TO  RUSSIA.  — AN  OFFER  MADE  TO  THIS  COURT  TO  CONCUR  WITH 
PRANCE  IN  THE  GREAT  MEDIATORY  INTERFERENCE.— THE  EMPEROR  ALEXANDER  ACCEPTS  THE  OFFER. — 
FRANCE  AND  RUSSIA  PRESENT  TO  THE  DIET  AT  RATI8BON,  IN  QUALITY  OP  MEDIATING  POWERS,  THE  SCHEME 
OP  INDKMNITV  AGREED  UPON  AT  PA  RIS.— DESPAI R  OF  AUSTRIA,  ABANDONED  BY  ALL  THE  OTHER  CABINETS, 
AND  HER  RESOLUTION  TO  OPPOSE  TO  THE  SCHEME  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL,  THE  HLUGGISHN  ESS  OF  THE  GER- 
MANIC CONSTITUTION.— THE  FIRST  CONSUL  DEFEATS  1HI8  CALCULATION  OP  AUSTRIA,  AND  OBTAINS  THE  ADOP- 
TION, BY  AN  EXTRAORDINARY  DEPUTATION,  OF  THE  PROPOSED  PLAN,  WITH  SOME  MODI  FICATIONS.— AUS- 
TRIA, TO  INTIMIDATE  THE  PRUSSIAN  PARTY,  THAT  FRANCE  SUPPORTS,  OCCUPIES  PA8SAU.— PROMPT  RESOLU- 
TION OP  THE  FIRST  CONSUL,  AND  HIS  THREAT  TO  HAVE  RECOURSE  TO  ARMS.— GENEl 
TINUATION    OP   THE    N  EGDTI ATION.  — DEBATES    IN    THE    DIET.— THE    SCHEME    SHACKLED 


•IMIDATION.  — CON- 
MOMENT     BY    TUB 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.       the  consulate  for  life. 


1802. 
Aug. 


AVIDITY  OF  PRUSSIA. — THE  FIRST  CONSUL,  TO  PUT  AN  END  TO  IT,  MAKES  A  CONCESSION  TO  THE  HOUSE  OF 
AUSTRIA,  AND  GRANTS  TO  IT  THE  BISHOPRIC  OF  AlCHSTEDT. — THE  COURT  OF  VIENNA  YIELDS,  AND  ADOPTS 
THE  TERMS  OP  THE  DIET.— THE  REGISTRY  OF  THE  RESOLUTIONS  OF  FEBRUARY,  1803,  AND  DEFINITIVE  REGU- 
LATION  OF   THE    AFFAIRS    OF   GERMANY. — CHARACTER   OF   THIS    FINE   AND   DIFFICULT   NEGOTIATION. 


The  elevation  of  general  Bonaparte  to  the  supreme 
power,  under  the  title  of  "  consul  for  life,"  neither 
surprised  nor  tli-spleased  the  European  cabinets. 
The  larger  part  among  them,  on  the  contrary,  saw 
in  it  a  new  pledge  of  repose  for  every  state.  In 
England,  where  they  observed  with  suspicious 
attention  every  thing  that  passed  in  France,  the 
premier  Addington  expressed  himself  to  M.  Otto 
the  satisfaction  of  the  British  government,  and  the 
entire  approbation  with  which  it  saw  an  event 
destined  to  consolidate  order  and  government  in 
that  country.  Although  the  ambition  of  Bonaparte 
began  to  inspire  some  fears,  he  was  still  so  far 
pardoned,  because  at  that  moment  he  was  employed 
in  rendering  dominant  the  French  republic.  The 
re-establishment  of  the  altars,  and  the  recall  of  the 
emigrants,  had  delighted  the  English  aristocracy 
and  the  pious  George  III.  in  particular.  In  Prus- 
sia the  evidences  of  the  same  thing  had  not  been 
less  significant.  This  court,  compromised  in  the 
esteem  of  the  European  diplomacy  for  having  con- 
cluded a  peace  with  the  national  convention,  felt 
itself  proud  to  maintain  relations  of  amity  with 
a  government  so  full  of  genius,  and  esteemed  itself 
happy  to  see  the  affairs  of  France  definitively 
placed  in  the  hands  of  a  man  of  whom  it  hoped  to 
obtain  the  concurrence  in  its  own  ambitious  objects 
regarding  Germany.  M.  Haugwitz  addressed  the 
warmest  congratulations  to  the  French  ambassa- 
dor, and  he  went  so  far  as  to  say,  that  it  would 
have  been  more  simple  to  have  finished  at  once, 
and  to  have  converted  into  an  hereditary  sove« 
reignty  that  life  dictatorship  which  had  been  con- 
feri-ed  upon  the  first  consul. 

The  emperor  Alexander,  who  affected  to  appear 
a  stranger  to  the  prejudices  of  the  Russian  aris- 
tocracy, and  who  carried  on  with  the  head  of  the 
French  government  a  frequent  and  amicable  cor- 
I'espondence,  expressed  himself,  as  far  as  regarded 
the  later  changes,  in  terms  of  courtesy  and  appro- 
bation. He  complimented  the  new  consul  for  life 
with  as  nmeh  earnestness  as  frankness.  The 
ground  of  these  congratulations  was  always  the 
same.  They  were  as  full  of  praises  in  Petersburg 
as  in  Berlin  or  London,  at  seeing  order  secured  in 
France  in  a  manner  that  promised  to  be  durable 
through  the  indefinite  prolongation  of  the  authority 
of  the  first  consul.  At  Vienna,  where  they  were 
fuller  of  resentful  recollections,  besides  those  arising 
from  the  blow  struck  by  the  sword  of  the  con- 
queror of  Marengo,  a  sort  of  good  feeling  seemed 
to  be  generated  towards  him.  The  hatred  to  the 
revolution  had  been  so  great  in  that  capital  of  the 
old  Germanic  empire,  that  the  victories  of  the 
general  were  pai'doned  to  the  energetic  and  obeyed 
chief  magistate.  They  even  affected  to  consider 
his  government  as  altogether  oi)po.sed  to  the  revo- 
lution, when  in  reality  it  was  no  more  than  repara- 
tion. The  ai'chduke  Charles,  who  then  governed 
the  war  department,  said  to  M.  Cliampagny,  that 
the  first  consul  had  made  himself,  by  his  cam- 
paigns, the  greatest  soldier  of  modern  times  ;  that 
by  his  administration  of  the  government  for  three 
years,  he   had   shown  liimself  the  most  able   of 


statesmen  ;  and  that  in  thus  joining  the  merit 
of  good  government  to  that  of  arms,  he  had  put  tlie 
seal  to  his  glory.  That  which  seemed  more  re- 
mai'kable  still  was,  that  the  celebrated  queen  of 
Naples,  Caroline,  mother  of  the  empress  of  Austria, 
a  determined  enemy  of  the  French  revolution, 
being  in  Vienna,  and  seeing  there  M.  Champagny, 
charged  him  with  her  hearty  congratulations  for 
the  chief  of  the  French  republic.  "  General  Bona- 
parte," she  said,  "  is  a  great  man.  He  has  done 
me  much  mischief,  but  the  mischief  he  has  done 
do'  s  not  pi-event  my  acknowledgment  of  his  ability 
and  genius.  In  repressing  disorder  in  your  coun- 
try, he  has  rendered  a  service  to  us  all.  If  he  has 
arrived  to  be  the  head  of  the  state  in  his  own 
country,  it  is  because  he  was  most  worthy  of  the 
honour.  I  constantly  hold  him  up  as  the  model 
for  the  young  princes  of  the  imperial  family ;  I 
exhort  them  to  study  the  conduct  of  thatextraordi- 
nai-y  personage;  to  learn  from  him  how  to  govern 
nations — how,  by  the  power  of  genius  and  glox-y,  to 
render  "supportable  the  yoke  of  authority." 

No  suffrage  in  his  favour  could  certainly  be  so 
flattering  to  the  first  consul  as  that  of  this  queen,  a 
vanquished  enemy,  as  remarkable  for  her  talent  as 
for  the  warmth  of  her  passions.  The  holy  fathei-, 
who  had  joined  in  common  with  the  first  consul  in 
putting  a  hand  to  the  great  work  of  re-establishing 
public  worship,  and  who,  despite  many  things  to 
produce  a  contrary  idea,  deemed  this  the  glory  of 
his  reign— the  holy  father  himself  was  delighted  to 
see  mount,  step  by  step,  towards  the  throne,  the 
man  whom  he  regarded  as  the  most  solid  support 
of  religion  against  the  irreligious  prejudices  of  the 
age.  He  expi-essed  his  satisfaction  with  a  feeling 
of  true  paternal  affection.  Finally,  Spain,  where 
the  frivolous  and  disjointed  policy  of  the  favoui-ite 
liad  for  a  moment  estranged  Fi-ance,  did  not 
remain  silent  upon  this  occasion,  and  showed  itself 
satisfied  at  an  event  which  she  agreed  with  the 
other  courts  in  regarding  as  fortunate  for  all 
Europe. 

It  was,  therefore,  in  the  midst  of  the  applauses 
bestowed  upon  him  by  all  the  world,  that  this 
repairer  of  so  many  evils,  this  author  of  so  much 
good,  laid  hold  of  the  new  power  with  which  the 
nation  was  about  to  invest  him.  He  was  treated 
as  the  real  sovereign  of  Fi-ance.  The  foreign 
ministers  spoke  of  him  to  those  of  France  witli 
such  forms  of  respect  as  are  only  employed  when 
speaking  of  monarchs  themselves.  The  etiquette 
already  observed  was  nearly  monarchical.  The 
French  ambassadors  had  taken  the  livery  of  the 
first  consul,  which  was  green.  This  was  found  a 
simple,  natural,  and  necessary  thing.  The  unani- 
mous adhesion  to  an  elevation  so  sudden  and  pro- 
digious, was  sincere.  Some  secret  apprehensions 
mingled  here  it  is  true  ;  but  they  were  in  any  case 
prudently  dissimulated.  It  was  possible,  in  fact, 
to  discover  in  the  elevation  of  the  first  consul  his 
ambition,  and  in  his  ambition  the  approaching 
humiliation  of  Eurojje  ;  but  tiiey  were  only  those 
minds  which  were  most  gifted  with  foresight  that 
were  able  to  penetrate  thus  deeply  into  the  futui'e; 


1802.  Discontent  of  the  English 

Aug.  mtrciiants. 


THE  SECULARIZATIONS. 


Addinj^ton  presses  a  commercial 
treaty. 


but  these  were  the  minds  that  felt  most  strongly 
the  imnien.sity  of  the  benefit  already  received  from 
the  consular'  government.  Still  congratulations 
are  but  passing  things  ;  real  business,  as  in  the 
case  of  individuals,  conies  back  to  load  the  exist- 
ence of  govornmenls,  with  its  uniform  and  heavy 
preponderance. 

In  England  they  began  to  be  sensible  of  the 
real  ett'ects  of  peace.  These  effects,  as  almost 
always  happens  in  the  world,  did  not  answer  to 
the  expectiitions  formed  of  its  benefits.  Three 
hundred  British  vessels  arrived  at  once  in  the 
French  ports,  but  were  not  able  to  dispose  of  their 
entire  cargoes,  because  they  brought  over  mer- 
chandize prohibited  by  the  laws  of  the  revolution. 
The  old  treaty  of  ]TS(i,  having  opened  impru- 
dently the  French  markets  to  the  productions  of 
Great  Britain,  those  of  France,  more  particularly 
the  cotton  manufacture,  had  iu  a  little  time  been 
destroyed.  Since  the  renewal  of  the  war,  the  pro- 
hibitory measures  adopted  by  the  revolutionary 
government  hail  operated  as  a  principle  of  new 
life  to  the  manufactures  of  the  country,  that  iu  the 
midst  of  the  most  fearful  political  convulsions  had 
renewed  their  flight,  and  soared  to  a  remarkable 
elevation.  The  first  consul,  as  already  noticed 
here,  at  the  moment  of  the  signature  of  the  pre- 
liminary treaty  in  London,  had  taken  care  nut  to 
alter  this  state  of  things,  nor  to  renew  the  evils 
which  had  resulted  from  the  treaty  of  1786.  Im- 
portations friini  England  were  in  consequence  ren- 
dered very  difficult  of  entry,  and  the  merchants  of 
the  city  of  London  made  heavy  complaints.  Still  a 
contraband  trade  remained,  which  was  carried  on 
to  a  great  extent,  either  by  the  frontiers  of  Bel- 
gium, which  were  ill  guarded,  or  by  way  of  Ham- 
burg. The  merchants  of  this  last  place,  while 
introducing  English  merchandize  on  the  continent, 
and  disguising  its  origin,  managed  as  well  to  pene- 
trate into  France,  as  into  the  countries  placed 
under  its  power.  Despite  the  legal  prohibitions, 
which  attended  the  import  of  British  goods  into 
French  ports,  the  contraband  trade  was  able  to 
discover  inlets  for  itself.  The  manufactures  of 
Manchester  and  Birmingham  were  disposed  of 
with  great  activity. 

This  activity,  tlie  low  price  of  bread,  and  the 
announced  suppression  of  the  income-tax,  were 
subjecti  of  satisfaction,  which,  to  a  certain  point, 
balanced  the  discontent  of  the  larger  merchants. 
But  this  discontent  was  considerable,  because  the 
larger  merchants  profited  little  by  speculations 
founded  upon  contraband  trade.  They  found  the 
.sea  covered  with  the  flags  of  rivals  or  enemies ; 
they  were  deprived  of  the  monopoly  of  navigation, 
which  secured  trade  during  the  war,  and  had 
now  no  longer  an  indemnity  for  them.selvcs  in  the 
financial  operations  of  Mr.  I'itt.  Thus  they  com- 
plained loudly  enough  of  the  illusions  of  the  policy 
that  Bupporte<l  peace,  its  inconveniences  for  Eng- 
land, and  its  exclusive  aflvaiitages  for  France.  Tlie 
disanning  of  the  fleets  left  idle  an  immense!  number 
of  seamen,  to  whom  the  commercial  marine  of 
England  couhl  not,  at  that  nioment,  give  employ- 
ment; these  unfortunate  men  were  seen  wandering 
about  on  the  wliarls  of  tin-  Thames,  sometimes 
even  reduced  to  great  misi  ly ;  a  Hpectncle  as 
afflicting  to  the  Euglihli  as  it  would  be  for  the 
French    to   sec   the  victors  of  Mai-engo  and  Ho- 


henlinden  begging  their  bread  in  the  streets  of 
Paris. 

Addington,  always  actuated  by  amicable  feelings, 
had  made  the  first  consul  sensible  of  the  necessity 
of  making  some  commercial  arrangements  which 
should  be  satisfactory  to  the  two  countries,  and 
had  pointed  it  out  as  the  means  most  capable  of 
consolidating  the  peace.  The  first  consul  partook 
iu  the  disposition  of  Addington  ;  he  had  consented 
to  nominate  an  agent  for  the  purpose,  and  to  send 
him  to  London,  in  order  to  seek,  in  concert  with 
the  English  ministers,  what  would  be  the  best 
manner  to  adjust  the  interests  of  both  nations,  with- 
out sacrificing  French  industry. 

But  this  was  a  problem  difficult  to  solve.  The 
impression  upon  the  public  mind  in  London  was 
such  regarding  every  thing  which  concerned  the 
commercial  arrangements,  that  the  arrival  of  the 
French  agent  made  a  great  noise.  He  was  called 
Coquebert ;  they  called  him  Colbert ;  they  said 
he  was  a  descendant  of  the  great  Colbert,  and 
nmch  commended  the  suitableness  of  such  a  choice 
for  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty  of  commerce. 

Despite  the  capacity  and  good  will  of  this  agent, 
a  hap|)y  result  from  liis  labours  was  hardly  to  be 
hoped.  Both  on  one  side  and  the  other,  the  sacri- 
fices to  be  made  were  considerable,  and  nearly 
destitute  of  compensation.  The  manufactures  of 
iron  and  cotton  constitute,  at  this  day,  the  better 
portion  of  the  riches  arising  from  the  industry 
both  of  France  and  England,  and  are  the  principal 
objects  of  commercial  rivalry.  The  French  have 
succeeded  in  forging  iron,  in  spinnmg  and  weaving 
cotton,  in  an  immense  quantity,  and  at  a  very  low 
price,  and  are  naturally  little  disposed  to  sacrifice 
these  two  branches  of  manufacture.  The  manu- 
facture of  iron  was,  at  that  time,  not  very  con- 
siderable. It  was,  above  all,  in  the  weaving  of 
cotton  and  in  hardware  that  the  two  nations  sought 
to  rival  each  other.  The  English  demanded  that 
France  should  open  her  markets  to  their  cotton 
and  iron  goods.  The  first  consul,  sensitive  to  the 
alarm  of  the  French  manufacturers,  and  impatient 
to  develop  in  France  manufacturing  wealth,  refused 
every  concession  which  was  contrary  to  these  pa- 
triotic intentions.  The  English,  on  their  side,  were 
then  no  more  inclined  than  they  are  now,  to  favour 
the  special  products  of  France  '.  The  wines  and 
silks  of  France  were  the  articles  which  Fr&nce 
wished  to  introduce  into  England.  They  refused 
to  admit  them  for  two  reasons  :  the  treaty  binding 
England  to  give  a  preference  to  Portuguese  wines, 
and  the  desire  to  promote  the  silk  manufacture 
in  England,  which  had  begun  to  develop  itself 
there.  Whilst  the  interdiction  of  the  connnuni- 
cations  between  the  two  countries  liad  made  the 
cotton  manufacture  valued  in  France,  the  English, 
in  like  manner,  had  set  a  value  upon  the  manufac- 
ture of  silk.  It  is  true,  that  the  development  of 
the  manufacture  of  cotton  in  France  had  become 
immense,  because  nothing  hindered  its  complete 
success;  while  that  of  silk  in  England,  on  the  con- 
trary, found   only  a   middling   success,  in  consc- 


'  Tliis  is  hardly  correct.  French  wine  now  pay*  no  more 
duty  than  that  of  other  coiintricB.  Then  it  paid  a  higher 
duty  than  I'orluKUcbc,  nndcr  a  treaty  cxhibiliiiR  a  deplor- 
ahlc  ignorance  of  the  first  principles  of  commerce,  happily 
now  au  more. — Tramtalor. 


380 


Scheme  for  a  commercial 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Scheme  for  ; 
treaty. 


commercial      1802. 
Aug. 


quence  of  the  climate,  and  because  of  a  certain 
inferiority  of  taste.  Yet,  still,  the  English  would 
not  Siicrifice  to  France  either  the  Methuen  treaty, 
which  bound  them  to  Portugal,  nor  their  be- 
ginning silk  nianufactui-e,  of  which  they  had  con- 
ceived sucli  exaggerated  lio|)es. 

To  adjust  such  clashing  interests  was  well-nigh 
impossible.  It  had  been  proposed  to  establish,  upon 
the  entry  into  both  countries,  on  the  merchandize 
imported  into  either  the  one  or  the  other,  duties 
equal  to  the  benefits  which  the  conti'ab;indist  i-e- 
ceived,  in  such  a  mode  as  to  render  free  and  pro- 
fitable to  the  treasury  of  the  public  a  commerce 
very  beneficial  to  the  smuggler.  This  iimposiiion 
alarmed  the  French  and  English  manufacturers. 
Besides  tliis,  the  first  consul,  convinced  of  the  ne- 
cessity of  gre;it  means  to  i)i-oduce  great  results, 
considering  at  this  time  the  interests  of  the  cntton 
manufacturers  to  be  the  principal,  the  most  de- 
sirable of  all,  determined  to  insure  to  it  the  vast 
encouragement  of  an  absolute  prohibition  of  the 
rival  manufacture. 

To  escape  all  these  difficulties,  tlte  French  agent 
conceived  a  system  very  seducing  at  first  sight,  but 
nearly  imjjracticable.  lie  ])roposed  to  suffer  tlie 
entrance  into  France  of  the  productions  of  Eng- 
land, whatever  they  might  be,  with  moderate 
duties,  on  the  condition,  that  the  ships  whicli  in- 
troduced them  should  immediately  export  an  equi- 
valent value  in  Frencli  productions  '.  It  was  to  be 
the  same  for  the  vessels  of  France  ju-oceeding  to 
England.  This  w^as,  in  a  certain  manner,  to  en- 
courage the  national  industry  in  the  same  propor- 
tion as  that  of  the  stranger.  There  was,  iu  this 
combination,  another  advantage,  it  was  to  take 
from  the  Englisli  a  means  of  influence,  of  which  they 
made  a  formidable  usage  in  some  cnuntiies,  thanks 
to  their  vast  capital — a  means  of  influence  which 
consisted  in  giving  credit  to  the  nations  witli  which 
they  traded,  and  thus  rendering  them  creditors  in 
considerable  sums,  and  in  some  sort  make  them- 
selves masters  of  their  commerce.  This  conduct 
they  had  held  in  Russia  and  in  Portugal.  They 
were  become  possessors  of  a  part  of  tlie  caj)ital 
circulating  in  these  states.  In  giving  this  credit, 
they  encouraged  the  consumption  of  their  n)er- 
chandize,  and  assm-ed  themselves  besides  of  the 
supei-iority  of  him  who  lends  over  him  who  bor- 
rows. The  impossibility  that  the  trade  of  Russia 
should  pass  out  of  their  hands,  an  impossibility  so 
great,  that  the  emperors  wei'e  not  free  in  tlie 
choice  of  peace  or  war,  nnle.ss  they  chose  to  die 
under  the  i)oignard,  sufficiently  proves  the  danger 
of  this  sui)eriority. 

The  Combination  proposed,  which  tended  to  in- 
close the  commerce  of  England  within  certain 
limits,  presented,  unfortunately,  so  many  difficul- 

'  A  remarkable  example  of  the  ignorance  of  true  com- 
mercial principles  existing  at  that  time  is  found  liere.  How 
is  all  trade  carried  on  but  by  the  exchange  of  manufactures 
in  the  same  way,  only  the  operation  is  less  direct,  and  not 
being  perceptible,  is  on  that  account  not  credited?  Wine 
is  even  now  Irequently  exchanged  for  coals,  directly  con- 
veyed from  England  to  tlie  souih  of  France,  in  the  natural 
course  of  trade,  wliich  is  tlie  same  thing  as  if  directly 
brought  about  by  a  .similar  treaty.  They  did  not  acknowledge 
this  in  1802;  and  many  do  not  think  now,  on  the  continent, 
that  all  trade  is  but  this  same  exchange  more  indirectly 
Translator. 


ties  in  the  execution,  that  it  was  not  possible  to 
adopt  it.  But,  in  the  meanwhile,  it  employed  the 
imaginations  of  the  public,  and  left  a  certain  hope 
to  spread  itself  abroad.  This  incompatibility  of 
commercial  interests  did  not  in  itself  suffice  to 
cause  the  renewal  of  the  war  between  the  two 
countries,  if  their  political  views  could  be  con- 
ciliated, and  above  all,  if  Mr.  Addington  should 
succeed  in  sustaining  himself  against  tlie  ministry 
of  Mr.  Pitt. 

Mr.  Addington,  regarding  himself  as  the  author 
of  the  peace,  well  knew  that  it  was  his  sole  advan- 
tage against  Mr.  Pitt,  and  he  wi.>-hed  to  preserve 
the  advantage.  In  a  long  conversation  with  M. 
Otto,  he  had  spoken  upon  the  subject  in  the  most 
sensible  and  amicable  manner.  A  treaty  of  com- 
merce, he  said,  would  be  the  safest  guarantee,  and 
the  most  lasting  for  the  duration  of  the  peace.  In 
the  mean  time,  it  must  be  understood,  that  some 
management  of  the  first  consul,  upon  particular 
heads,  will  be  found  necessary  to  keep  up  a  good 
disposition  in  the  English  public  towards  France. 
You  have,  in  reality,  taken  possession  of  Italy  by 
uniting  Piedmont  to  France,  and  in  conferring  upon 
the  first  consul  the  jiresideney  of  the  Italian  repub- 
lic; your  troops  occupy  Switzerland;  and  you  re- 
gulate the  political  affairs  of  Germany.  Let  us  pass 
over  all  these  extensions  of  the  power  of  France; 
we  leave  to  you  the  continent.  But  there  are 
countries  about  which,  at  certain  times,  the  minds 
of  the  English  people  are  vei-y  apt  to  get  into  an 
excitement  ;  as  Holland  and  Turkey.  You  are 
masters  of  Holland;  this  is  a  natural  consequence 
of  your  position  upon  the  Rhine.  But  do  not  add 
any  thing  ostensible  to  the  real  dcmination  which 
you  actually  exercise  in  that  country.  If  you 
would  wish,  for  exam]ile,  to  do  as  you  have  already 
done  in  Italy,  by  seeking  to  manage  for  the  first 
consul  to  obtain  the  presidentship  of  that  republic, 
the  commercial  men  of  England  will  see  in  that 
a  manner  of  uniting  Holland  to  France,  and  will 
become  at  once  in  a  state  of  great  alarm.  As  to 
Turkey,  any  new  manifestation  whatever  of  the 
ideas  that  produced  the  expedition  to  Egypt  will 
cause  iu  England  a  sudden  and  a  universal  ex- 
plosion. I  pray  you  then,  do  not  create  for  us 
any  difficulty  of  that  nature;  conclude  an  arrange- 
ment upon  the  subject  of  our  commercial  affiiirs; 
obtain  the  guarantee  of  the  powers  for  the  order  of 
Malta,  so  that  we  may  be  able  to  evacuate  that 
island,  and  you  will  see  the  ))eace  consolidated, 
and  the  last  signs  of  animosity  disappear  ^. 

These  words  of  Mr.  Addington's  were  sincere, and 
he  gave  a  proof  of  it  in  making  use  of  the  utmost 
diligence  to  obtain  from  the  different  powers  the 
guarantee  of  the  new  order  of  things  constituted  at 
Malta  by  the  treaty  of  Amiens.  Unfortunately 
M.  Talleyrand,  by  a  negligence  which  he  suffered 
sometimes  to  prevail  in  the  most  important  busi- 
ness, had  omitted  to  give  to  the  French  agents  the 
proper  instructions  relative  to  the  subject,  and  he 
left  the  English  agents  to  solicit  by  themselves  the 
guarantee  which  was  the  previous  condition  of  the 
evacuation  of  Malta.  Hence  there  resulted  the 
most  vexatious  slowness,  and  still  later  the  most 

•  These  words  are  an  exact  summary  of  several  conversa- 
tions given  in  the  despatches  of  M.  Olio.— Note  of  the 
Author. 


Aug!        Conduct  of  Pitt  and  his  party.        THE  SECULARIZATIONS.      Conduct  of  the  press  in  England.      381 


disagreeable  cniiseqiiences.  Mr.  Aildiiigton  was 
therefore  in  piod  taitli  in  liis  desire  to  inaintaiii 
peace.  Pri>vi(led  lie  was  not  overcome  by  tlie 
ascendancy  of  Mr.  Pitt,  he  was  justified  in  ho])ing 
for  its  preservation.  But  Mr.  Piit  out  of  the 
cabinet  was  as  powerful  as  ever.  Wliile  Dundas, 
Wyndliani,  and  Grenville,  had  pubhcly  attacked 
the  prehniinaries  of  London  and  the  treaty  of 
Amiens,  lie  kept  himself  at  a  distance,  leaving  to 
his  friends  the  odium  of  these  open  provocations  to 
war,  profiting  by  their  violence,  keeping  an  im- 
posing silence,  preserving  uniformly  tlie  sympathies 
of  the  old  majority  of  which  he  had  had  the  sup]>ort 
during  eighteen  years,  and  abandoning  it  to  Mr. 
Addington  when  lie  believed  the  moment  came  for 
liis  retirement.  He  did  not  allow  himself  to  per- 
form any  act  which  could  be  construe<l  into  the 
resemblance  of  an  hostile  bearing  towards  the 
minister.  He  always  called  Mr.  Addington  his 
friend,  but  he  knew  at  tiic  same  time  he  liad  oidy 
to  give  the  signal  for  the  overthrow  of  parliament. 
Tiie  king  hated  him,  and  wished  him  to  remain 
out,  but  the  commercial  men  of  England  were  de- 
voted to  him,  and  had  confidence  in  him  alone. 
His  friends,  less  pru<lent  than  he,  carried  on  an 
undisguised  war  against  Mr.  Addington,  and  they 
were  believed  to  be  the  true  organs  of  Pitt's  I'eal 
o|)inions.  To  this  tory  opposition  there  joined, 
without  any  understanding  with  him,  and  even 
while  combating  it,  the  old  whig  opposition  of  Fox 
and  Sheridan.  These  had  constantly  called  for 
peace,  and  s:nce  he  had  procured  it,  had  obeyed 
the  common  inclinaiioii  of  the  human  heart,  always 
tending  to  love  that  least  which  it  has  in  its  pos- 
session. They  seemed  to  appreciate  no  longer  this 
peace,  before  so  nuich  cried  up,  and  they  suffered 
the  exaggerating  friends  of  Mr.  Pitt  to  talk  as  they 
liked  when  they  declaimed  against  France.  Be- 
sides, the  French  revolution,  under  the  new  ami 
less  liberal  form  which  it  had  assum(d,  appeared 
to  liave  lost  a  part  of  the  sympathy  of  the  whigs. 
Mr.  Addingt<in  bad  therefore  two  species  of  adver- 
saries, the  tory  opposition  and  friends  of  Mr.  Pitt, 
who  had  always  com])lained  of  the  peace  and 
assailed  it,  and  the  whig  ofiposition,  which  had 
begun  to  assail  it  but  little  less.  H'  the  ministry 
had  been  overturned,  Pitt  was  the  sole  person  who 
could  have  become  minister,  and  with  him  a  re'nrn 
to  war  would  appear  inevitable,  an  exasperated,  cruel 
war,  without  any  other  end  than  th  •  ruin  of  one  of 
the  two  nati<ins.  By  a  misfortune,  one  of  those 
faults  which  the  imiiatieiice  of  oppositions  often 
makes  them  commit,  had  jirocurcd  for  Mr.  Pitt  an 
unheard-of  triinn|)h.  Although  attacking  alreatly 
the  minister  Addingttm,  in  common,  though  not  in 
concert,  with  the  ajigiavating  friends  of  Pitt,  the 
whig  opposition  iiad  f.»r  the  last  an  implacable 
hatred.  Sir  Francis  Burdett  made  a  motion  tend- 
ing to  provoke  an  iii(|ulry  into  the  actual  situation 
in  which  Pitt  had  left  tli'-  coinitry  at  tlie  end  of  his 
long  administration.  The  friends  of  the  minister 
rose  with  great  warmtli,  and  for  this  proposition 
substituted  another,  which  coiiHistcd  mainly  of  a 
motion  to  demand  from  the  king  some  mark  of 
national  gratitude  for  the  great  HUitesman  who  had 
saved  iho  English  constitution  and  doubled  its 
power.  These  were  for  going  at  once  to  the  vot(!. 
The  opposing  parly  then  drew  back,  and  demanded 
an   adjournment   of  some   days.      Pitt  ajjrued  to 


grant  the  adjournment  with  a  sort  of  disdain.  The 
motion  was  ultimately  resumed,  and  Pitt  thought 
jiroper  to  be  absent,  and  in  his  absence,  after  a 
very  warm  discussion,  ?in  immense  majority  re- 
jected the  motion  of  Burdett,  and  substituted  one 
which  contained  the  finest  possible  expression  of 
national  acknowledgment  for  the  ex-minister.  In 
the  middle  of  the  contest  the  minister  Addington 
disappeared.  Pitt  then  became  aggrandized  by  the 
hatred  of  his  enemies,  and  his  return  to  the  head 
of  affairs  was  at  once  a  hazard  for  the  repose  of 
the  world.  Still  more  was  supposed  than  was  real, 
from  the  want  of  kimwledge  of  his  designs,  while 
he  never  let  fall  a  word  from  which  it  was  possible 
to  infer  that  he  intended  peace  or  war. 

The  English  news])apers,  without  returning  to 
their  former  violent  language,  were  evidently  more 
cool  towards  the  first  consul,  and  began  to  declaim 
anew  against  the  amhition  of  France.  They  did 
not,  however,  make  any  approach  to  the  odious 
violence  to  which  they  descended  at  a  later  period. 
This  character  was  left,  it  must  be  sixiken  with 
sorrow,  to  the  French  emigrants,  whom  the  peace 
had  de]irived  of  all  their  hopes,  and  who  sou;;ht 
in  outrages  upon  the  first  consul  and  their  country, 
to  revive  the  discord  between  two  nations,  whom 
it  was  but  too  easy  to  irritate  against  one  another. 
A  pamphleteer,  named  Peltier,  devoted  to  the 
service  of  the  Bourbon  princes,  wrote  against  the 
first  consul,  against  his  wife,  his  sisters,  and  bro- 
thers, the  most  abominable  pamphlets,  in  which 
he  attributed  to  them  all,  every  sort  of  vice.  These 
])ainphlets,  received  by  the  English  with  a  disdain 
which  a  free  nation,  accustomed  to  the  freedom  of 
the  press,  condemned  for  its  excesses,  produced 
an  effect  in  Paris  totally  different.  They  filled 
with  bitter  resentment  the  heart  of  the  first  consul; 
and  vulgar  writers,  the  instruments  of  the  basest 
passions,  had  the  power  of  reaching,  amidst  his 
glory,  the  greatest  of  men;  like  those  insects  that, 
by  their  nature,  direct  themselves  to  torment  the 
noblest  animals  in  the  creation.  Happy  is  the 
nation  a  long  while  accustomed  to  that  freedom! 
The  vile  agents  of  defamation  are  there  dejirived 
of  the  means  of  effecting  mischief ;  they  are  there 
so  known,  so  despised,  that  they  have  no  more 
the  power  to  annoy  gretit  minds. 

With  these  outrages  were  joined  the  intrigues 
of  the  famous  Georges,  and  those  of  the  bishops  of 
Arras  and  of  St.  Pol  de  Leon,  who  were  at  the 
head  of  the  recusant  bishops.  The  police  had  sur- 
prised the  emissaries  of  the  party  <  arrying  about 
jiamphlets  in  La  Vend<;t',  and  endeavouring  to 
arouse  the  hatred  and  animosity  not  yet  quite 
extinct.  These  causes,  despicable  as  they  were, 
nevertheless  produced  a  truly  uneasy  feeling,  tind 
finished  by  a  demand  on  the  part  of  the  Fr(>hch 
cabinet,  very  embarrassing  for  that  of  England. 
The  first  consul,  too  sensitive  to  these  attacks, 
more  Worthy  of  scorn  than  anger,  rciimsted,  in 
virtue  of  the  alien  bill,  the  expulsion  of  Peltier, 
Georges,  and  the  bishops  of  Arras  iind  Si.  Pol 
from  Englaml.  Mr.  Addington,  place<l  in  tlio 
midst  of  adversaries  ready  to  reproach  him  with 
iho  smallest  condescension  towards  I'ranco,  <lid 
not  i)recis(tly  refuse  what  was  thus  desired,  and 
was  fully  authorized  by  the  English  law;  but  he 
eudeavoiin  cl  to  temporize,  and  alleged  tin;  neces- 
sity of  managing  public  opinion,  remarkably  bus- 


Affairs  of  Spain. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Inconsiderate  conduct 
of  Spain. 


1802. 
Aug. 


ceptible  in  England,  and  at  the  moment  ready  to 
shift  under  the  influence  of  pai'ty  declamation. 
The  first  consul,  accustomed  to  despise  parties, 
but  little  comprehended  such  reasons,  and  com- 
plained of  the  feebleness  of  Addington,  the  English 
minister,  in  a  way  so  haughty,  as  to  be  nearly 
offensive.  During  all  this  time,  the  relations  of 
the  two  cabinets  did  not  cease  to  be  friendly.  Both 
did  their  utmost  endeavour  to  prevent  a  renewal 
of  the  war,  scarcely  just  before  terminated.  Mr. 
Addington  attached  to  that  his  honour  and  his  ex- 
istence as  a  minister.  The  first  consul  saw  in  the 
continuance  of  the  peace,  the  ground  of  new  glory 
for  himself,  and  the  accomplishment  of  noble  ideas 
connected  with  the  public  prosperity. 

Spain  had  begun  to  breathe  after  its  long 
misery.  The  galleons  were,  as  formerly,  the  sole 
resource  of  the  government.  Large  quantities  of 
dollars,  kept,  during  the  warj  in  the  captain  gene- 
ralship's treasuries  in  Peru  and  Mexico,  had  been 
now  brought  into  Europe.  There  had  already 
been  near  three  hundred  millions  of  francs  re- 
ceived. If  any  other  government  than  that  of  an 
incapable  and  careless  favourite  had  l)een  in  charge 
of  her  destiny,  Spain  had  been  able  to  redeem  her 
credit,  to  restore  her  naval  power,  and  to  place 
herself  in  a  state  to  appear  in  a  manner  worthy 
of  herself  in  the  wars  with  which  the  world  was 
still  threatened.  But  the  metallic  wealth  of  Ame- 
rica, received  and  dispensed  by  the  most  unskilful 
hands,  was  not  employed  for  the  noble  purposes  to 
which  it  should  have  been  directed.  The  smallest 
part  served  to  sustain  the  credit  of  the  paper 
money;  the  larger  pax-t  to  pajt  the  expenses  of  the 
court.  Nothing,  or  nearly  nothing,  was  devoted 
to  the  arsenals  of  Ferrol,  Cadiz,  or  Carthagena. 
All  that  Spain  knew  how  to  do,  was  to  complain  of 
the  French  alliance,  to  impute  to  it  the  loss  of  Trini- 
dad, as  if  she  had  to  impute  to  France  the  dis- 
graceful part  that  the  prince  of  the  peace  had 
played  her,  whether  in  war  or  in  negotiation.  An 
alliance  is  not  profitable,  unless  it  brings  to  an  ally 
a  real  strength,  which  the  ally  appreciates,  and 
which  it  is  obliged  to  regai'd  as  of  great  conse- 
quence. But  Spain,  when  she  made  common  cause 
with  France,  drawn  into  a  maritime  war  by  the 
clearest  evidence  of  her  own  interests,  did  not 
know  how  to  support  that  cause  in  which  she  was 
engaged;  became  almost  an  embarrassment  rather 
than  a  help  to  her  ally,  and  so  conducted  herself 
subsequently  as  to  be  always  discontented  with 
herself  and  with  others.  It  was  thus  that  she 
passed,  by  little  and  little,  from  a  state  of  intimate 
connexion  to  a  state  of  hostility  in  regard  to 
France.  The  French  division  of  the  army  sent 
into  Portugal,  had  been  treated  with  indignity,  as 
has  been  shown,  and  it  had  required  one  of  the 
thundering  menaces  of  the  first  consul  to  jiut  a 
stop  to  the  consequences  of  this  insensate  conduct. 
From  that  time  the  relations  between  the  two 
countries  had  become  a  little  better.  There  liad 
been  between  the  two  powers,  besides  general  in- 
terests, which  for  a  century  were  common  to  both 
countrie.s,  certain  interests  of  tiie  moment,  which 
were  strongly  borne  in  the  hearts  of  the  king  and 
queen  of  Spain,  and  which  were  of  a  nature  to 
make  them  draw  near  to  the  first  consul.  These 
were  the  interests  arising  out  of  the  creation  of  the 
kingdom  of  Etruria. 


The  court  of  Madrid  complained  of  the  tone  of 
superiority  which  the  minister  of  France,  general 
Clarke,  assumed  at  Florence.  The  first  consul 
had  rectified  this  complaint,  ordering  general 
Clarke  to  give  fewer  counsels  and  milder  advice  to 
the  young  infants  who  had  been  called  in  to  reign 
there.  In  regard  to  the  court  of  Spain,  the  first 
consul  had  suffered  the  old  grand  duke  of  Parma, 
the  brother  of  queen  Louisa,  to  die  in  full  enjoy- 
ment of  the  grand  duchy.  That  prince  being  no 
more,  the  grand  duchy  belonged  to  France,  in 
virtue  of  the  treaty  by  whicli  the  kingdom  of 
Etruria  was  constituted.  Chai'les  IV.  and  the 
queen,  his  wife,  coveted  Parma  ardently  for  their 
children,  because  by  this  addition  Etruria  would 
become  the  second  state  in  Italy.  The  first  consul 
did  not  absolutely  oppose  by  a  direct  refusal  the 
wishes  of  the  royal  family  of  Spain,  but  he  de- 
manded time,  not  to  give  too  much  offence  to  the 
greater  courts  bj'  doing  an  all-powerful  act.  By 
keeping  this  duchy  in  reserve,  too,  he  left  to 
the  cabinets,  Avliicli  protected  the  old  rulers  of 
Piedmont,  the  hope  of  an  indemnity  for  that  un- 
lucky dynasty  ;  he  left  the  pope  to  see  the  hope  of 
an  amelioration  in  his  present  condition,  so  painful 
to  him  after  the  loss  of  the  Legations;  he  left  the 
affairs  of  Italy,  in  fact,  to  their  repose  for  a  short 
time,  having  been  so  much  before  the  eyes  of 
Europe  for  many  years  ])ast.  Although  differing, 
the  new  transactions  on  the  subject  of  Parma  had 
soon  brought  the  two  cabinets  of  Paris  and  Madrid 
back  again  towards  one  another.  Charles  IV.  had 
gone  to  Barcelona  with  his  queen  and  court  in 
gi-eat  pomp  to  celebrate  a  double  marriage,  that  of 
the  presumptive  heir  of  the  crown  of  Spain,  Fei'di- 
nand  VII.,  with  a  princess  of  Naples,  and  that  of 
the  heir  of  the  crown  of  Najjles  with  an  infanta  of 
Spain.  There  was  exhibited  in  the  capital  of 
Catalonia  upon  this  occasion  the  most  extraordinary 
luxury,  much  too  costly  for  the  existing  state  of 
the  Spanish  finances.  From  this  city  the  most 
gracious  professions  of  kindness  were  exchanged 
with  the  consular  government.  Charles  IV.  was 
impressed  with  the  idea  of  announcing  this  double 
marriage  of  his  childi'en  to  the  first  consul  as  to  a 
sovereign  friend.  The  first  consul  had  answered 
with  the  same  earnestness,  and  in  a  tone  of  the 
most  frank  cordiality.  Always  occupied  with  grave 
interests,  he  had  profited  of  that  moment  to  ame- 
liorate the  commercial  relations  of  the  two  coun- 
tries. He  had  not  been  able  to  obtain  the  intro- 
duction of  the  cotton  goods  of  France,  because  the 
government  of  Charles  IV.  wished  to  nurture  the 
incipient  manufacturers  of  Catalonia,  but  he  had 
obtained  the  establishment  of  the  old  advantages 
accorded  in  the  peninsula  to  the  larger  part  of  the 
productions  of  France.  He  was,  above  all,  de- 
sirous of  succeeding  in  the  introduction  into  France 
of  the  fine  races  of  Spanish  sheep,  an  object  in  liis 
sight  of  the  greatest  importance.  Anterior  to  this, 
the  national  convention  had  had  the  happy  idea  of 
inserting  in  the  treaty  of  Basle  a  secret  article,  by 
which  .Sjiain  should  be  obliged  to  permit  to  pass 
out  of  that  country,  for  five  years, a  thousand  ewes, 
a  hundred  merino  rams  per  aimum,  with  fifty 
stallions,  and  a  Imndred  and  fifty  Andalusian 
mares.  In  the  midst  of  the  troubles  of  that  time, 
neither  sheep  nor  horses  had  been  purchased  for 
that  purpose.     By  an  order  of  the  first  consul,  the 


1802. 
Aug. 


Negotiation  with  Algiers. 
— Tlie  dey  of  Algiers 
makes  his  submission. 


THE  SECULARIZATIONS. 


State  of  Italy.— Union  of 
Piedmont  to  France. 


•.i83 


minister  of  the  interior  was  ordered  to  send  agents 
into  tlie  peninsula,  with  the  mission  of  purL-hasin<^ 
in  one  year  that  which  it  had  been  agreed  to 
execute  in  five.  The  goverament  of  Spain,  always 
jealous  about  the  exclusive  possession  of  these  fine 
animals,  obstinately  refused  what  liad  been  thus 
required  of  it,  and  alleged  as  an  excuse  the  great 
mortality  of  several  preceding  yeare.  There  were 
still  seven  millions  of  these  merino  sheep  calculated 
to  be  i-eraaining,  and  five  or  six  thousand  it  could 
not  be  difficult  to  find.  After  a  considerable  re- 
sistance, the  Spanish  government  gave  way  to  the 
wishes  of  the  first  con.sul,  stipulating  for  some 
delays  in  the  acconiplishnient.  The  relations  be- 
tween the  two  courts  had  thus  become  all  at  once 
amicable.  General  Beurnonville,  recently  ambas- 
sador at  Berlin,  quitted  that  city  in  order  to  take 
up  his  residence  at  Madrid.  He  was  invited  to 
attend  the  festivities  of  the  royal  family  given  at 
Barcelona. 

The  security  of  navigation  in  the  Mediterranean 
in  a  ])articular  manner  occupied  at  this  time  the 
siilicitude  of  the  first  consul.  The  dcy  of  Algiers 
had  been  so  ill  advised  as  to  treat  France  as  he 
treated  the  Christian  powei*s  of  the  second  order. 
Two  French  vessels  had  been  stoi)i)ed  on  their 
voyage,  and  conducted  to  Algiers.  A  French 
officer  had  been  molested  in  the  road  of  Tunis 
by  an  Algcrine  officer.  The  crew  of  a  vessel, 
wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Africa,  had  been  retained 
prisoners  by  the  Arabs.  The  fishery  for  coral  was 
interrupted,  and,  in  fact,  a  Neapolitan  vessel  had 
been  captured  by  African  corsairs,  in  the  waters 
of  the  Hyeres  Isles.  On  being  questioned  upon 
these  diflerent  occurrences,  the  Algerine  govern- 
ment dared  to  demand,  in  order  to  do  France 
common  justice,  the  payment  of  the  same  tribute 
a-s  that  exacted  from  Spain  and  the  Italian  powers. 
The  first  consul,  indignant,  sent  oft"  instantly  an 
officer  of  his  palace,  the  adjutant  Hullin,  with  a 
letter  for  the  dey.  In  that  letter  he  reminded  him 
that  he  had  destroyed  the  empire  of  the  Mame- 
lukes, and  announced  to  him  that  he  would  send  a 
s<juadron  and  an  army  ;  he  threatened  him  with 
the  conquest  of  all  that  part  of  the  coast  of  Africa, 
if  the  French  and  Italians  were  detained,  and  the 
captured  vessels  were  not  immediately  restored, 
:ind  if  a  promise  were  not  made  to  respect  in 
future  the  flags  of  France  and  Italy.  "  God  has 
ilecided,"  he  wrote,  "  that  alHhosc  who  are  unjust 
tiiwards  me  shall  he  pimished.  I  will  destroy 
your  city  and  your  port ;  I  will  invade  your  shores 
myself,  if  you  do  not  respect  France,  of  which  I 
am  chief,  and  Italy,  where  I  command." 

That  which  he  thus  said,  the  first  consul  had 
thoughts  of  executing,  because  he  had  before  made 
the  remark,  that  the  north  of  Africa  wiis  a  country  of 
great  fertility,  and  was  able  to  admit  of  cultivation 
by  the  hands  of  Europeans,  in  place  of  serving  for 
the  abode  of  a  den  of  jjirates.  Three  vessels  left 
Toulon,  two  were  in  the  road,  and  five  were 
ordered  from  the  ocean  up  the  Mediterranean. 
But  all  the  ])r(paratiiinH  were  useless.  The  dey 
soon  leaniing  with  what  sort  of  power  he  was 
dealing,  threw  himself  at  the  ff-et  of  the  conqueror 
of  Egypt,  gave  up  all  the  ChriMtian  captives  whom 
he  haij  deUiined,  the  Neapolitan  and  French  ves- 
sels which  had  been  tjiken,  pronouncerl  Hcntcnco  of 
death  against  the  agents  of  whom  the  French  had 


to  complain,  and  only  granted  them  their  lives 
u])on  the  demand  made  for  mercy  towards  them 
by  the  minister  of  France.  He  re-established  the 
coral  fishery,  and  promised  for  the  French  and 
Italian  flags  an  equal  and  perfect  respect. 

Italy  was  quite  tranquil.  The  new  Italian  re- 
public had  begun  to  be  organized  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  president  which  it  had  chosen,  and  who 
by  his  powerful  authority  repressed  the  disorderly 
movements  to  which  a  new  republican  state  is 
always  exposed.  The  first  consul  had  at  last  de- 
cided the  official  union  of  the  Isle  of  Elba  and 
l'iedm<int  with  France.  The  Isle  of  Elba  was  ex- 
changed with  the  king  of  Etruria  for  the  princi- 
jiality  of  Piombino,  that  had  been  obtained  of  the 
court  of  Naples,  and  had  now  been  evacuated  by 
the  English.  It  had  also  been  declared  a  part  of 
the  French  territory.  The  union  of  Piedmont, 
consummated  in  fact  two  yeais  before,  ^^as  passed 
over  in  silence  during  the  negotiations  of  Amiens, 
admitted  by  Russia  herself,  who  was  bound  to  de- 
mand some  kind  of  indemnity  for  the  house  of  Sar- 
dinia, it  was  suffered  as  an  inevitable  necessity  by  all 
the  great  courts.  Prussia  and  Austria  were  ready 
to  confirm  it  by  their  adhesion,  provided  tliev  were 
promised  a  good  portion  in  the  distribution  of  the 
ecclcsiasticai  states.  This  union  of  Piedmont, 
officially  announced  by  an  organic  senatus-consultum 
of  the  24th  Fructidor,  year  x.,  or  September  1 1, 
1802,  astonished  nobody,  and  was  scarcely  noticed 
as  an  event.  Besides,  the  duchy  of  Parma  was 
left  vacant,  as  a  hope  for  all  the  interests  that  had 
suffered  in  Italy.  The  fine  country  of  Piedmont 
was  divided  into  six  departments  :  the  Po,  the 
Doire,  Marengo,  the  Sesia,  the  Stura,  and  the 
Tanaro.  These  sent  six  deputies  to  the  legislative 
body.  Turin  was  declared  one  of  the  great  cities 
of  the  republic.  This  was  the  first  step  taken  by 
Napoleon  beyond  that  limit  which  may  be  styled 
the  natural  boundary  of  France,  in  other  words, 
beyond  the  Alps,  the  Rhine,  and  the  Pyrenees. 
In  the  eyes  of  the  cabinets  of  Europe,  an  aggran- 
dizement is  never  a  fault,  to  judge  at  least  by  their 
ordinary  conduct.  But  there  are  still  aggrandize- 
ments which  are  real  faults,  and  the  sequel  of  the 
present  history  will  show  this.  They  may  be  so 
considered  when  they  jiass  the  limits  that  are  ea.sy 
to  be  defended,  and  when  they  injure  i-espectable 
and  resisting  nationalities.  But  it  must  be  ac- 
knowledged, that  of  all  the  extraordinary  acquisi- 
tions made  by  France  in  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
that  of  Piedmont  was  least  to  be  censured.  If 
it  had  been  i)ossibl,e  to  constitute  Italy  immediately, 
that  which  it  would  have  been  wisest  to  do  was  to 
unite  it  entirely  in  one  national  body  ;  but  however 
powerful  the  first  consid  was  at  that  lime,  he  was 
not  then  sufficiently  master  of  Europe  to  jiermit 
himself  the  creation  of  such  a  kingdom.  He  had 
been  obliged  to  leave  a  part  of  Italy  to  Austria, 
which  possessed  the  ancient  Venetian  states  as  far 
as  the  Adige  ;  another  jjart  belonged  to  Spain, 
which  had  required  for  its  two  infants  the  forma- 
tion of  the  kingdom  of  Ktruria.  He  was  bound  to 
support  the  papal  existence  for  the  interest  of  re- 
ligion, and  the  Bourbons  of  Naples  for  the  interest 
of  the  general  jieacc.  To  organize  Italy  definitively 
and  con)pletely,  was  therefore  iinp(ih.sible  at  that 
moment.  All  that  the  first  consul  was  able  to  do, 
was  to  nnmage  thhigs  there  in  a  transitory  way. 


Relations  of  France  with 

384        the   pop?. — Two  ships 

presented    by    Fiance 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


to    his   holiness. — The 
pope  makes  five  French 


18U2. 
Aug. 


better  than  in  tlie  preceding  times,  and  pi-oper  to 
prepare  for  its  future  state.  In  constituting  in  tlie 
iieart  of  Italy  a  republic  wliich  occupied  tlic  midst 
of  the  valley  of  the  Po,  he  had  there  deposited  the 
germ  of  liberty  and  of  independence.  In  taking 
Piedmont,  he  hnd  formed  a  solid  basis  for  opera- 
tions in  combating  the  Austrians.  He  also  gave 
them  rivals  when  he  called  in  the  Spaniards.  In 
leaving  the  pope  and  trying  to  attach  him,  and  in 
supporting  the  Bourbons  of  Najiles,  he  fell  in  with 
the  ancient  jiolicy  of  Europe,  yet  without  sacri- 
ficing to  it  the  policy  of  France.  That  which 
he  actually  did  was,  in  one  word,  a  beginning, 
which  excluded  nothing  at  a  later  period,,  but 
prejjared,  on  the  contrary,  for  a  better  and  a 
definitive  state. 

The  relations  of  the  first  consul  with  the  court 
of  Rome  became  every  day  better  afi'ected.  The 
first  consul  heard  with  great  kindness  the  com- 
plaints of  the  holy  father  upon  the  subjects  which 
grieved  him.  The  sensibility  of  the  venerable 
pontiff  was  extreme  in  ail  that  affected  the  affairs 
of  the  church.  The  loss  of  the  Legations  had 
much  reduced  the  finances  of  the  holy  see.  The 
abolition  of  a  number  of  dues  formerly  levied  in 
France,  ati  abolition  which  threatened  to  extend 
itself  to  Spain,  bad  yet  more  impoverished  his 
holiness.  Pius  VII.  complained  bitterly  of  this, 
not  for  himself,  because  be  led  the  life  of  an. an- 
chorite, but  lor  his  clergy,  whom  it  was  with  diffi- 
culty he  could  sup|)ort.  Still,  spiritual  interests 
were,  in  the  eyes  of  this  worthy  i)(mtiff,  much 
above  temporal  ones,  and  he  complained  with 
mildness,  but  with  a  feeling  of  deep  chagrin,  of  the 
famous  organic  articles.  It  will  be  recollected,  that 
the  first  consul,  having  entered  upon  the  treaty  with 
Rome,  qualified,  iu  the  concordat,  the  general 
comlitions  of  the  re-establishment  of  the  altars, 
and  had  throv.-n  into  a  law  all  which  related  to  the 
police  of  worship.  He  had  drawn  up  this  law  ac- 
cording to  the  maxims  laid  down  in  the  old  French 
monarchy.  The  i)rohibitio.n  to  publish  a  bull  or 
writing  without  the  permission  of  the  j)ublic  au- 
thority ;  the  interdiction  to  every  legate  of  the 
holy  see  to  exercise  his  functions  without  the  pre- 
vious acknowledgment  of  his  powers  by  the  French 
government  ;  the  jurisdiction  of  the  council  of 
state  in  appeal  for  abuses  of  the  laws  ;  the  or- 
ganization of  seminaries  under  severe  reguUitions; 
the  obligation  to  profess  the  declaration  of  1682; 
the  introducti<m  of  tiivorce  into  the  Fi'ench  laws; 
the  prohibition  to  perform  the  religious  rites  before 
the  civil  bond  of  marriage;  the  complete  and  de- 
finitive altaihment  of  the  registers  to  the  civil 
power  and  the  municipal  magistrates;  were  also 
objects  upon  which  tiie  pope  addressed  remon- 
strances, that  the  first  con.sul  heard  without  being 
willing  to  admit  their  validity,  considering  those 
subjects  iis  regulated  wisely  and  decisively  by  the 
organic  articles.  The  ])ope  perseveringly  remon- 
strated, without  yet  having  the  desire  to  push  his 
remonstrances  lo  a  rupture.  Lastly,  the  religious 
affairs  of  tlie  Italian  republic,  the  secularizations 
in  Germany,  in  consecjuence  of  which  the  church 
would  lose  a  portion  of  the  German  territory,  put 
the  finish  to  his  tmubles;  and  without  the  plesisurc 
which  the  re-establishment  of  the  catholic  religion 
in  France  brought  to  him,  his  life  would  have 
been  no  more,  he  said,  than  a  long  martyrdom. 


His  language  in  other  respects,  breathed  the  sin- 
cerest  regard  for  the  first  consul. 

This  last  suffered  the  pope  to  go  on  with  his 
complaints,  showing  an  extreme  patience  under 
them,  foreign  to  his  character. 

As  to  the  loss  of  the  Legations  and  the  impo- 
verishment of  the  holy  see,  he  thought  of  it  fre- 
quently, and  nurtured  a  vague  idea  of  increasing 
the  domains  of  St.  Peter  ;  but  he  did  not  know 
how  to  obtain  them,  placed  as  he  was  between  tlie 
Italian  republic,  which,  far  from  being  disposed 
to  part  with  the  Legations,  demanded,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  duchy  of  Parma;  between  Spain,  that 
coveted  the  same  duchy,  and  between  the  high 
protectors  of  the  court  of  Sardinia,  who  wished 
to  make  it  an  indemnity  to  that  house.  Thus  he 
had  offered  money  to  the  ])ope,  until  he  could 
ameliorate  his  position  by  extending  his  territories, 
— an  offer  which  the  jjope  would  have  accepted  if  the 
dignity  of  the  church  had  permitted  him  so  to  do. 
In  default  of  this  kind  of  aid,  the  first  consul  took 
good  care  to  pay  fur  the  support  of  the  French 
troops  during  their  jiassage  across  the  Roman 
states.  He  ordered  Ancona  to  be  evacuated  at 
the  same  time  as  Otranto,  and  all  the  south  of 
Italy;  he  had  forced  the  Neapolitan  government 
to  evacuate  Ponte-Corvo  and  Benavente.  Lastly, 
in  the  affiiii-s  of  Germany  he  showed  himself  dis- 
posed to  defend,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  ecclesias- 
tical party,  which  the  protestant  party,  or,  iu  other 
words,  Prussia,  wished  to  weaken,  even  to  de- 
struction. 

To  the  foregoing  efforts  for  the  satisfaction  of 
the  holy  see,  he  joined  actions  of  the  most  conde- 
scending courtesy.  He  bad  made' the  dey  free  all  the 
subjects  of  the  pope  detained  at  Algiers,  and  had 
sent  them  to  the  holy  father.  As  that  sovereign 
prince  did  not  possess  a  single  ship  to  keep  bis 
coast  clear  of  the  African  pirates,  the  first  c-on.«!!l 
had  taken  from  the  Toulon  arsenal  two  fine  brigs, 
had  them  completely  fitteil  out,  armed,  handsomely 
decorated,  named  them  the  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul, 
and  sent  them  as  a  present  to  Pius  VII.  As  a 
Scrupulous  mark  of  attention,  a  corvette  followed 
these  vessels  to  Civiia  Veccliia,  to  bring  back  the 
crews  to  Toulon,  and  spare  the  pontifical  treasury 
the  smallest  kind  of  expense.  The  venerable  pon- 
tiff wished  to  receive  the  French  .seamen  at  Rome, 
to  show  them  the  pomp  of  the  catholic  worship  iu 
the  great  church  of  -St.  Petex",  and  to  send  them 
back  loaded  with  the  modest  presents  which  the 
state  of  his  fortune  ))ermitted  him  to  make  them. 

A  wish  of  the  first  consul,  prompt  and  strong  as 
were  all  those  which  he  conceived,  tended  to  raise 
up  a  difficulty  with  the  holy  see,  happily  transient, 
and  soon  passed  away.  He  desired  tliat  the  new 
church  of  France  should  possess  cardinals,  as  the 
old  church  had  done  iu  past  times.  France  had 
formerly  reckoned  as  many  as  eight,  nine,  and 
even  ten.  The  first  c<insul  wished  to  have  at  iiis 
disposition  as  many  hats  as  then,  or  even  more,  if 
it  were  ]>o.-^sible  to  obtain  them,  because  he  saw 
through  this  means  a  valuable  mode  of  influencing 
the  Fr«iich  clergy,  greedy  of  high  dignities,  and 
further,  a  means  of  influence,  still  more  desii-able, 
in  the  .sacred  college  which  elects  the  popes,  and 
regulates  the  great  affairs  of  the  church.  In  17^!), 
France  counted  five  cardinals,  de  Bernis,  la  Roche- 
foucauld, de  Lom^uie,  Ruhan,  and  Montmorency. 


1802.         The  pope  makes  five  Trench 
A\ig.  cardinals. 


THE  SECULARIZATIONS. 


The  three  fii-st  of  these  were  deail.  M.  de  Rohan 
had  ceased  to  be  a  Frenchman,  as  his  archbishopric- 
had  become  a  German  one.  Jl.  de  Montmorency 
was  one  of  those  who  had  resisted  the  holy  sec, 
when  the  resignations  were  demanded.  Cardinal 
Manry,  nominated  since  1/^9,  was  an  emigrant, 
and  then  considered  as  an  enemy.  Belgium  and 
Savoy  comprehended  two  others,"  cardinal  Frank- 
enborg,  formerly  archbishop  of  Malines,  and  the 
learned  Gerdil.  The  former  ai-chbishop  of  Ma- 
lines was  separated  from  his  see,  and  thought  no 
more  of  repairing  to  it  again.  Cardinal  Gerdil 
had  always  resided  at  Rome,  plunged  deeply  in 
theological  studies,  and  not  attached  to  any  country. 
Neither  the  one  nor  tlie  other  could  he  considered 
French.  The  first  consul  wished  that  seven  car- 
dinals should  be  immediately  granted  to  France. 
This  was  many  more  than  it  was  possible  for  the 
pope  to  giant  at  the  moment.  He  had,  it  is  true, 
several  vacant  hats,  but  the  promotion  of  the 
crowns  approached,  and  he  had  to  provide  for 
that. 

The  promotion  of  the  crowns  was  a  custom, 
become  nearly  a  law,  in  virtue  of  which  the  pope 
authorized  six  Catholic  powers  to  designate  to  him 
a  subject  each,  whom  he  might  gratify  with  a  hat 
upon  their  presentation.  These  powers  were 
Austria,  Poland,  Venice,  France,  Spain,  and  Por- 
tugal. Two  of  these  no  longer  existed,  namely, 
Venice  and  Poland.  Cut  there  still  remained  four, 
comprising  France,  and  he  had  not  hats  enough 
vacant  to  till  up  these,  and  to  meet  the  demands  of 
the  first  consul.  The  pope  made  this  a  valid  rea- 
son for  resisting  what  was  thus  i-equired  of  him. 
Tlio  first  consul,  imagining  that  he  had,  beside  the 
difiiculty  iirising  from  the  number  vacant,  \Yhich 
was  real,  the  fear  of  cxhiljiting  too  much  conde- 
scension towards  France,  carried  himself  warmly, 
and  declared  that  if  ho  rel'used  him  the  hats  which 
lie  required,  he  should  pa!<s  over  France  in  the 
promotion  of  the  crowns,  because  he  would  not 
liave  one  only  ;  it  was  not  to  be  stiffered  that 
the  French  church,  if  it  had  cardinals  at  all, 
should  have  less  than  other  Christian  churches. 
The  pojie,  who  did  not  like  to  make  the  first  consul 
discontented,  agreed,  and  consented  to  grant  him 
five  cardinals.  But  as  there  were  hats  wanting 
to  suffice  for  this  extraordinary  promotion  and 
that  of  the  crowns  at  tlu;  same  time,  the  popo 
begged  of  the  courts  of  .Vustria,  Spain,  and  Por- 
tugal, to  consent  to  the  adjournment  of  their  just 
pretensions,  which  they  all  three  agreed  to  do  with 
nmch  good  feeling  ami  grace.  They  were  pleased 
thus  to  satisfy  K])ontaneousiy  tho.sc  desires  which 
they  would  soon  have  been  obliged  to  execute  by 
command. 

The  first  consul  consented  to  give  the  hat  to  ]\I. 
do  Bayanne,  for  a  long  time  auditor  of  the  rota  for 
I'rance  and  dean  of  that  tribunal.  He  proposed 
afterwards  to  the  pope,  M.de  Belloy,  archbishop  of 
Paris  ;  the  abbe  Fescli,  arclibishop  of  Lyons,  and 
his  imele  ;  M.  Cambac^res,  archbishop  of  Rouen, 
brother  of  the  second  consul  ;  finally,  M.  do  Uois- 
gelin,  archbishop  of  Tour.s.  To  these  five  he 
would  have  joined  a  sixth,  in  the  abbd  Bernier, 
aicnoisho])  of  Orleans  and  pacificator  of  La  Vinder, 
the  principal  negotiator  of  the  concordat.  But  the 
Wca  of  including  in  a  promotion  so  prominent  and 
signal  a  nan  who  had  been  bo  much  noted  in  the 


civil  war,  much  embarrassed  the  first  consul.  He 
opened  his  mind  upon  the  subject  to  the  pope,  and 
begged  him  to  decide,  immediately,  that  the  firet 
vacant  hat  should  be  given  to  the'  abb(J  Bernier, 
but  to  keep  this  i-esolution  in  petto,  as  they  f-ay 
at  the  court  of  Rome,  and  to  write  to  the  abb(5 
Bernier  the  reason  of  the  adjournment.  This  was 
done,  and  it  was  this  which  became  a  matter  of 
much  mortification  to  that  prelate,  so  far  very  little 
recompensed,  considering  the  services  he  had  ren- 
dered; he  knew  the  goo(l-will  of  the  first  consul  to- 
wai'ds  him,  but  he  suffered  cruelly  from  the  dis- 
tress he  felt  to  avow  it  ])ublicly  : — the  just  punish- 
ment for  a  civil  war,  fallen  in  other  i-espects,  upon 
a  man  who  by  his  services  de.sei-vcd  more  than  any 
other  the  indulgence  of  the  government  and  of  the 
country. 

The  pope  sent  to  France  the  jirince  Doria,  as 
the  bearer  of  the  cap  to  the  cardinals  nc^wly  elected. 
Frfim  that  moment  the  French  church,  clothed 
with  so  large  a  |)art  of  the  Roman  purple,  became 
one  of  the  most  favoured  and  most  glorious  of 
Christian  churches. 

There  still  remained  the  task  of  organizing  the 
Italian  church,  and  of  placing  it  in  perfect  union 
with  the  holy  see.  The  first  consul  made  a  de- 
mand of  the  pope  for  a  concordat  in  the  Italian 
republic;  but  upon  this  occasion  the  pope  was  not 
to  lie  ovei'come,  and  maintained  an  inflexible  re- 
sistance to  the  request.  The  Italian  republic  com- 
prehended the  Legations,  and  having  once  been 
the  property  of  the  holy  see,  to  concede  such  a 
point  would  have  been,  according  to  his  holiness, 
to  acknowledge  tlie  abandonment  of  those  pro- 
vinces, because  it  would  be  entering  into,  a  treaty 
with  the  parties  who  had  taken  them  away.  It 
was  arranged,  finally,  to  settle  the  business  by 
means  of  a  succession  of  bi-iefs,  addressed  to  the 
regulation  of  each  separate  case  in  a  special 
manner.  Lastly,  pope  Pius  VII.  entered  entirely 
into  the  views  of  the  first  consul  in  regard  to  the 
definitive  constitution  of  the  order  of  l\lalta.  The 
l)riors  or  hVads  of  the  order  were  assembled  in  the 
differ(;nt  parts  of  Europe,  that  they  might  pro- 
vide for  the  electiim  of  tlie  new  grand  master,  and 
ill  order  to  facilitate  the  election,  they  agreed  this 
time  to  remit  to  the  pope  the  power  of  choosing 
their  head.  On  the  advice  of  the  first  consul,  who 
wished  to  organize  the  order  as  soon  as  possible, 
that  the  island  of  Malta  might  be  placed  under  the 
grand  master's  authority,  the  jiojie  cliose  an  Italian, 
the  bailiff  Ruspoli,  a  Roman  jirince  of  a  high  and 
ancient  family.  The  first  consul  preferred  that  a 
Roman  should  fill  the  office  rather  than  a  German 
or  Neapolitan.  The  per.son  thus  cho.scn  was,  be- 
sides, a  discreet  and  enlightened  individual,  well 
worthy  of  the  honour  wWch  was  adjudged  to  him. 
The  only  fear  was,  that  his  acceptance  of  the  ofiico 
did  not  appear  a  jirobablo  event.  The  greatest 
haste  was  made  to  ascertain  this  by  writing  to 
Hu^land,  where  he  lived  in  rctiicineiit. 

Th(!  l"rcnch  troojis  had  evacuated  Ancona  and 
the  gulf  of  Tarentuin.  They  had  entered  within 
the  limits  of  the  Italian  republic,  which  they  were 
to  occupy  until  that  re|iiiblie  lia.l  formed  its  army. 
Th(!  execution  of  th<-  roads  acro.sH  the  Alp.s,  and  of 
the  fortificatioiiH  of  AN'xandria,  Mantua.  Legnngo, 
Verona,  and  Peschiera,  was  in  full  activity,  .'^ix 
thousand  men  wert!  kept  in  Etruria,  awaiting  (he 
Co 


^   „        Chanpe  in  the  Swi 
uoG  cantons. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND   EMPIRE.        state  of  Switzerland. 


1S02. 
Aug. 


arrival  of  a  Spnnish  corps.  All  tlie  conditions  of 
the  treaty  of  Amiens  relative  to  Italy  had,  there- 
fore, been  executed  on  the  part  of  Friuiee. 

While  the  public  mind  in  the  greater  part  of  the 
states  of  Europe  began  to  be  calmed  down  under 
the  beneficent  iiifluenee  of  the  peace,  in  Switzer- 
land traii(|uillity  was  far  from  being  established. 
The  iuhabitants  of  the  n)ountain  country  were 
the  last  to  be  in  a  state  of  disturbance,  and  were 
now  in  violent  agitation.  It  might  be  said  that 
discord,  driven  from  France  and  Italy  by  Bona- 
parte, bad  taken  refuge  in  the  inaccessible  fast- 
nesses of  the  Alps.  Under  the  names  of  "Uni- 
tarians" anil  "  Oligarchs,"  two  parties  had  come  to 
blows,  the  party  of  the  revolution  and  that  of  the 
old  order  of  things.  These  two  parties  balanced 
pretty  evenly  in  regard  to  strength,  did  not  rest 
in  equililiriiun,  but  were  in  a  continuous  and  uii- 
liappy  state  of  oscillation.  During  eighteen  months 
they  "were,  by  turns,  in  possession  of  the  chief 
power,  and  exercised  it  without  wisdom,  justice, 
or  humanity.  It  will  be  pro])er  to  state,  in  a  few 
words,  the  origin  of  these  parties,  and  their  con- 
duct from  the  commencement  of  the  Helvetic 
revolution. 

Switzerland  was  composed,  prior  to  the  year 
17}!9,  of  thirteen  cantons.  Six  of  these  were  de- 
mocratic, Schwitz,  Uri,  Unterwalden,  Zng,  Claris, 
and  Appeiizel  ;  seven  oligarchic,  Berne,  Soleure, 
Zurich,  Lucerue,  Friburg,  Bale,  and  Schaffhausen. 
The  canton  of  Neul'cbatel  was  a  principality,  de- 
pendent upon  Prussia.  The  Orisons,  tlie  Vaiais, 
and  Geneva,  foi-med  three  separate  republics,  allied 
to  Switzerland,  but  living  each  under  its  own  par- 
ticular and  independ  nt  government.  The  first  of 
these,  that  of  the  Orisons,  by  its  geograi)liical 
l»osition,  was  drawn  into  an  attachment  for  Austria; 
the  two  others,  the  Vaiais  and  Oeneva,  for  the 
same  reason,  were  attached  to  France. 

The  French  republic  brought  .ibout  a  change  in 
this  state  of  things.  To  indemnify  itself  for  the 
war,  it  seized  U|)on  the  county  of  Bieinie,  and  the 
ancient  principality  of  Porentruy,and  made  of  them 
the  dei)artment  of  Mont  Terrible,  adding  a  por- 
tion of  the  former  bishopric  of  Biile.  It  also  took 
Geneva,  of  which  it  formed  the  department  of  the 
Leman.  It  iudenmified  the  Swiss  by  adding  to 
their  territory  those  of  the  Orisons  and  Vaiais. 
At  the  same  time  it  reserved,  in  the  Vaiais,  the 
right  to  a  military  road,  which  should  pass  from 
the  exti-cmity  of  the  lake  of  Geneva  towards  Vilie- 
neuve,  ascend  the  valley  of  the  Rhone,  by  Mar- 
tigny  and  Sion,  as  far  as  Brigg,  from  which  point 
the  celebrated  road  of  the  Siniplon  commenced  and 
opened  upon  the  Lago  Maggiore.  After  these  terri- 
torial changes,  which  were  the  act  of  the  French 
republic,  followed  those  which  were  the  natural 
consequence  of  their  ideas  of  justice  and  e(|uality, 
which  the  i-evolutionary  party  wished  to  see  pre- 
vail in  Switzerland,  in  imitation  of  what  had  been 
accomplished  in  France  in  tiie  year  178!). 

The  revolutionary  ])arty  in  Switzerland  was  com- 
posed of  all  the  men  who  were  opjjosed  to  the 
oligarchical  regimen,  and  these  aboimded  as  nu- 
merously in  the  democratical  as  in  the  aristo- 
cratical  cantons,  because  they  suffered  as  much 
in  the  one  as  in  the  other.  Thus  in  the  small 
cantons  of  Uri,  Unterwalden,  and  Schwitz,  where 
the  whole  of  the  people  assembled  once  a  year, 


chose  their  magistrates,  and  verified  their  ailmi- 
nistration  in  a  few  hours,  this  universal  suffrage, 
destined  to  flatter  for  a  moment  the  ignorant  and 
corrupt  multitude,  was  nothing  more  than  a  de- 
lusion. A  small  number  of  powerful  families, 
become  masters  of  every  thing  through  time  and 
corruption,  arbitrarily  disposed  of  every  emjiloy- 
ment,  and  governed  all  public  affairs.  In  Schwitz, 
for  examjjlo,  the  family  of  Reding,  at  its  own 
pleasure,  distributed  the  commissions  of  rank  in  a 
Swiss  regiment  in  the  service  of  S|)ain'.  These 
were  the  great  objects  of  solicitude  in  the  canton, 
because  they  were  the  sole  objects  of  ambition 
among  all  those  wlio  did  not  desire  to  remain 
herdsmen  or  peasants.  The  small  cantons  had, 
besides,  a  dependence,  in  the  way  of  the  Italian 
bailwicks,  and  they  were  governed  in  the  most 
arbitrary  manner  like  the  subject  countries.  These 
democracies,  therefore,  were  not,  as  other  pure 
democracies  had  come  to  be  in  the  progress  of 
time,  oligarchies  disguised  under  popular  forms: 
and  this  it  is  which  explains  how  it  happened  tliat 
even  in  the  democratic  cantons,  the  popular  mind 
was  deeply  averse  to  the  former  state  of  things. 
Provinces  thus  subjected  in  the  mode  of  Italian 
bailwicks,  were  found  belonging  to  more  than  one 
canton.  Thus  Berne  harshly  governed  the  Pays 
de  Vaud  and  Argovia.  Finaliv.  in  the  aristo- 
cratical  cantons,  the  inferior  citizens  were  ex- 
cluded from  all  employments.  Thus  as  soon  as 
the  signal  was  given  for  the  entry  of  the  French 
army  into  Switzerland  in  1798,  the  insurrection 
of  tlie  people  was  prompt  and  universal.  In  tlie 
cantons  that  were  subject  provinces,  the  bailwicks 
opj)ressed  rose  against  the  chief  places  that  op- 
pressed them ;  while  in  the  heart  of  the  chief 
governing  cities,  the  middle  class  rose  against  tl.e 
oligarchy.  Of  thirteen  cantons  they  desired  to 
form  nineteen,  all  equal,  all  uniformly  administered, 
and  ])laced  under  a  central  single  authority,  re- 
sembling the  unity  of  the  French  government. 
They  were  governed  in  this  by  the  necessity  they 
felt  for  the  even  distribution  of  justice,  and  above 
all,  by  the  ambition  to  leave  that  state  of  nullity 
peculiar  to  federal  governments.  The  hope  to 
figure  a  little  more  actively  on  the  world's  stage, 
was  at  that  time  very  strongly  felt  in  the  hearts 
of  the  Swiss,  proud  of  their  former  fame  as  a 
valorous  people,  and  of  the  high  character  which 
they  had  once  sustained  in  J^urope,  wearied,  too, 
of  that  perpetual  neutrality  which  had  compelled 
them  to  sell  their  blood  to  foreign  nations. 

In  this  application  to  Switzerland  of  the  ideas 
of  the  French  revolution,  arising  as  much  from  the 
necessity  as  from  the  spirit  of  imitation,  they 
broke  up  some  cantons  in  order  to  make  others, 

'  Tlicro  were  four  Swiss  regiments  in  the  Spanish  service. 
The  entire  caiitcn  of  Schwitz  contained  but  tliiriy  six  tliiiu- 
sand  souls,  of  which  not  a  fourth  pait  were  males  in  pos>cs- 
sion  of  politlral  rights.  The  larf?er  part  were  ii.tiinent 
peasantry.  That  two  or  three  families,  1)}  the  influence  of 
property  and  poimlarity,  .should  possess  considerable  weight, 
is  not  wonderful,  witliout  attnliuting  corruption  to  tliis  gal- 
lant people.  Another  of  tlie  family  in  Spain,  in  1808,  de- 
feated Dnpnnt,  the  French  general,  at  Biiylen,  and  captured 
his  entire  army.  The  Redings  have  ever  been  disiingnishid 
for  their  patriotic  conduct.  The  head  of  the  family,  Alojs 
Reding,  who  died  in  I.'itS,  was  always  o|)po.sed  to  Bonaparte. 
—  Tia7isl(itor. 


State  of  Switzerland. 


THE  SECULARIZATIONS. 


Reasons  for  non-interference 

by   Fraiire.— Advice  given  387 

by  tlie  first  consul. 


as  they  liad  joined  several  separate  districts  to  | 
make  a  single  canton.  They  divided  tlie  territory 
of  IJerne,  wliicli,  with  Argovia  and  tlie  Pays  do 
Vaud,  formed  a  fourth  of  Switzerland,  and  made  , 
of  Argovia  and  the  Pays  de  Vaml  two  separate  j 
cantons.  Uri  was  detached  from  tlie  Italian  bail- 
wicks,  to  create  with  these  tlie  canton  of  Tessin. 
Tiie  lanton  of  Appeiizel  was  increased,  liy  joining 
to  it  St.  Gail,  the  Tokenburg,  and  the  Rheinthal; 
to  the  canton  of  Claris  the  bailwicks  <>f  Sargans, 
Werdcnberg,  Ga.ster,  Uznach,  and  Riipei-schwill, 
were  ad<led.  These  additions  granted  to  the  can- 
tons of  Appenzel  and  Claris  had  for  their  object 
to  destroy  for  ever  the  ancient  democratic  system 
of  rule,  and  to  make  tin  m  of  such  an  extent  as 
sliniild  render  a  return  to  such  a  system  impos- 
sible. These  nineteen  cantons  were  constituted 
dependent  upon  a  legislative  body,  which  gave 
tlieni  uniform  laws,  and  an  executive  power  that 
executed  those  laws  for  all  and  in  all  the  cantons. 
They  had  a  ministry,  too,  in  Switzerland,  with  ])re- 
fects  and  sub-|>refects. 

The  opposing  party,  against  which  all  this  uni- 
formity was  directed,  adopted  the  contrary  plan,  | 
and  sought  to  establish  the  federative  order  of 
things,  in  its  most  e.\aggerated  cluiracter,  with  the 
iiio>t  extraordinary  irregularities,  ami  a  complete 
isolation  of  tlie  federal  states,  the  one  in  respect 
to  the  other.  They  desired  it  also,  because,  under 
favour  of  these  irregularities  and  of  this  isolation, 
each  little  oligareliy  would  bo  able  to  retain  its 
own  dominion.  The  aristocracies  of  Heme,  Zurich, 
and  Bale,  made  an  alliance  with  the  democracies 
of  Siliwitz,  Uri,  and  Unterwalden,  and  among 
thcmselvts  perfectly  unnerrftood  each  other,  be- 
cause, at  bottom,  they  all  desired  the  same  thing, 
in  other  words,  tlie  domination  of  several  powerful 
fiimilies,  as  well  in  the  little  mountainous  cantons 
as  ill  the  more  opulent  cities.  The  one  party  was 
known  under  the  appellation  of  "  O.igarclis;'  the 
others,  wiio  desired  to  see  justice  and  equality  in 
the  uniformity  of  the  government,  received  the 
name  of  "  Unitarians."  Both  the  one  jiarty  and 
the  other  had  been  scufHing  lor  years,  without 
ever  being  able  to  govern  the  unfortunate  Swiss 
with  something  of  moderation  and  constancy.  Con- 
Htiuitions  had  succeeded  each  other  as  rajddly  as 
in  France,  and  at  this  moment  they  were  agitated 
about  the  fabrication  of  a  new  one. 

One  circuiustaiice  rendered  still  more  serious 
the  troubles  in  Switzerlanil,  and  that  was,  the 
disposition  of  parties  tiiere  to  seek  for  support 
from  foreigners, — a  circumstance  which  always  oc- 
cui-s  ill  a  country  too  feeble  to  elevate  itself,  iind 
tfto  iiiiporUint,  from  its  geograjibical  position,  to 
be  regarded  with  an  indifl'ereiit  i-yo  by  its  neigh- 
bours. The  oligarchical  jiarty  iiad  considerable 
connexions  in  Vienna,  Lon<ion,  and  even  St. 
Petersliurgh,  where  a  Swiss,  colonel  la  Harjie,  had 
formed  the  mind  and  iucliiied  the  lieart  of  the 
young  emperor,  and  besieged  all  the  courts,  in  the 
iiMist  pressing  manner,  on  their  hide.  He  suppli- 
cated them  not  to  suffer  that  l''raiic(?,  in  con-oli- 
diiliiig  in  Sivitzerlami  tiie  revolutionary  order  of 
things,  should  also  make  it  submit  to  its  inHiience, 
a  count ly  which,  in  a  military  point  of  view,  was 
the  most  important  upon  the  continent.  The  party 
had  also  iutiinatc  connexiouH  in  England.  The 
citizens  of  Berne,  and  of  several  governing  towns, 


had  lodged  the  capital  of  their  municipal  economies 
in  the  bank  of  London,  a  step  which  did  them 
great  honour,  because  while  the  free  cities  through- 
out Europe,  and  more  especially  in  Cermany,  were 
iiTecoverably  in  debt,  the  cities  of  Switzerland  ha^ 
amassed  considerable  sums.  The  English  govern- 
ment, under  pretext  of  tlie  French  occupation  of 
the  country,  had,  without  scruple,  seized  upon  the 
funds  thus  deposited.  Since  the  |)eace,  the  money 
had  not  been  restored.  The  oligarchs  of  Berne 
sui)plicated  England,  that  if  it  did  not  come  to  their 
aid,  it  would,  at  least,  retain  the  money  they  had 
remitted  to  the  bank  of  London.  They  had  con- 
fided to  the  bank  of  England  ten  millions,  and  two 
millions  were  lodged  in  that  of  Vienna. 

The  revolutionary  ])arly  naturally  sought  its 
support  from  France;  ami  it  was  easy  to  avail  it.self 
of  this  aid,  when  the  Frcncli  armies  had  not  ceased 
to  occupy  the  Helvetic  territory.  But  a  similar 
occupation  could  not  be  continued  for  a  long  time. 
Switzerland  must  soon  be  evacuated  as  Italy  had 
been.  For  though  the  obligation  to  evacuate  it 
was  not  as  formally  stipulated  as  the  obligation  to 
evacuate  Italy,  still  the  treaty  of  Luneville  gua- 
ranteed the  independence  <if  Switzerland;  and  the 
fulfilment  of  the  treaties  must  be  regarded  as 
imiierfeet  and  the  i)eace  as  tmsafe,  until  the  French 
troops  had  been  withdrawn.  Thus  the  political 
observers  of  things  had  their  eyes  fixed  upon 
Switzerland  most  particularly  as  well  as  upon 
Cermany,  where  the  division  of  the  ecclesiastical 
states  was  taking  jilace,  in  order  to  discover  if  the 
attempt  at  a  general  i>aeification  just  attempted 
was  likely  to  be  durable.  'J'lie  first  consul  had 
formed  the  i-esolution  in  the  plainest  manner  not  to 
Compromise  peace,  on  account  of  what  might  hap- 
pen either  in  one  or  the  other  of  these  countries, 
at  least  while  the  counter-revolution,  of  which 
lie  would  have  none  on  the  Fieiich  frontiers,  did 
not  attempt  to  establish  itself  in  the  middle  of  the 
Alps.  He  would  have  had  no  ob.stacle  in  getting 
himself  accepted  as  the  legislator  tor  Helvetia,  as 
he  had  been  for  the  Italian  republic,  but  the  con- 
sulta  of  Lyons  had  jirodiiced  such  an  effect  in 
Europe,  particularly  in  England,  that  he  dared  not 
re])eat  the  same  spectacle  a  second  time.  He  kept 
himself  therefore  to  tendering  his  ndvice,  wjiicli 
had  been  heard,  but  was  litle  followed,  notwith- 
standing the  presence  of  the  Fremii  troops.  He 
advised  the  Swiss  to  renounce  the  chimera  of  an 
absolute  unity  ;  a  unity  impossible  in  a  country  so 
uncertain  as  theirs,  insup|)ortable  besides  to  the 
little  cantons,  that  could  neither  pay  iieavy  taxes, 
like  those  of  Bale  ami  Berne,  nor  bind  themselves 
under  the  yoke  of  a  common  government.  He 
reeommended  them  to  create  a  central  govern- 
ment for  the  exterior  business  of  the  confederation; 
and  as  to  the  interior  affairs,  to  havi;  to  the  local 
governments  the  care  of  orgnnizing  them,  accord- 
ing to  the  soil,  the  m;iniiers,  and  mind  of  the 
inhabitants.  He  advisrd  them  to  lake  from  the 
French  revolution  that  wbieh  was  i.eneficial  and 
iiicontestably  useful,  erpiality  between  all  classes  of 
the  citizens,  equality  in  all  parts  of  the  territory  ; 
to  leave  detached  ft'oui  each  oilier  those  provinces 
de<"med  incompatible,  sin  h  as  V.-md  and  Berne, 
and  the  Italian  bailwicks  of  Uri.  I'Ut  to  renounce 
ei'rlain  junctions  of  territory,  which  would  de- 
nationalize several  cantons,  huch  as  tho.so  of  Ap- 
cc  2 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Opposition  of  the  lesser        i802. 
cantons.  Aug. 


penzel  and  Glari.s  ;  to  put  a  stop  in  tlie  large 
cities  to  the  alternate  domination  of  the  oligarchs 
and  the  populace,  and  to  finish  by  a  government  of 
the  middle  class  of  citizens  without  the  systematic 
exclusion  of  any  class  ;  in  fine,  to  imitate  that 
policy  in  action  between  all  parties  which  had 
given  France  tranquillity.  This  advice,  understood 
and  felt  by  those  of  a  clear  comprehension,  but 
contemned  by  pa.ssionate  persons,  who  always  form 
the  largest  number,  remained  without  effect. 
Meanwhile  as  this  advice  tended  to  leave  the 
revolution  somewhat  behind,  the  oligarchical  fac- 
tion, at  that  time  oppressed,  welcomed  it  with 
pleasure,  nourishing  illusions  very  similar  to  those 
made  by  certain  French  emigrants  in  Paris,  and 
believing,  because  he  was  moderate,  the  first  con- 
sul wished  in  reality  to  establish  the  old  oi-der  of 
things. 

A  question  relating  to  territory  added  a  serious 
complication  to  this  position  of  affairs.  During 
the  revolution,  Switzerland  and  France  being  to  a 
certain  extent  confounded  one  with  anotlier,  had 
passed  fnmi  a  system  of  neutrality  to  one  of  offen- 
sive and  defensive  alliance.  Under  this  system 
she  had  not  hesitated  to  concede  to  France,  by  the 
treaty  of  179^,  the  militai-y  road  of  the  Valais 
bordering  upon  the  foot  of  the  Simplon.  In  the 
later  treaties,  Europe  had  not  ventured  to  remon- 
strate against  this  state  of  things,  the  result  of 
a  long  war  ;  it  had  limited  itself  to  a  stipulation 
for  the  independence  of  Switzerland.  The  first 
consul,  preferring  upon  system  the  neutrality  of 
Switzerland  to  its  alliance,  intended  to  use  the 
road  of  the  Simplon,  without  being  reduced  to 
,traverse  the  Helvetic  tijrritory,  which  was  incom- 
patible with  its  neutrality,  and  he  therefore  con- 
ceived the  design  for  that  jjurpose  of  obtaining 
possession  of  the  property  in  the  Vahiis.  Tliis  was 
no  great  demand,  because  it  was  through  France 
that  Switzei'land  held  the  Valais,  which  had  be- 
fore been  independent.  But  the  first  consul  did 
not  ask  it  without  a  compensation  :  he  offered  in 
exchange  a  province  that  Austria  had  ceded  to 
him  by  the  treaty  of  Lun^ville.  This  was  the 
Frickthal,  a  small  territory,  very  important  as 
a  frontier,  containing  the  road  of  the  Forest  Towns, 
and  extending  fi'om  the  confluence  of  the  Aar  with 
the  Rhine  as  far  as  the  limit  of  the  canton  of 
Bale,  and  connecting  in  consequence  that  canton 
with  Switzerland.  This  little  country,  fronting 
the  Black  Forest,  had  besides  its  own  value,  a 
value  arising  from  convenience  by  no  means  of 
small  moment.  By  means  of  this  exchange,  France 
become  proprietor  of  the  Valais,  had  no  necessity 
of  the  Helvetic  territory  for  the  passage  of  her 
armies,  and  would  be  enabled  to  return  from  the 
system  of  alliance  to  one  of  neutrality.  The  Swiss, 
as  well  the  unitarians  as  the  oligarclis,  talked 
loudly  upon  the  subject,  having  botli  one  and  the 
other  the  same  wish.  They  were  not  willing  at 
any  price  to  cede  the  Valais  for  the  Frickthal. 
They  demanded  other  concessions  of  territory, 
along  the  Jura  more  particularly,  the  country  of 
Bienno,  Erguel,  and  some  detached  portions  of 
the  Porentruy.  This  was  to  give  up  to  them  a 
part  of  the  department  of  Mont  Terrible.  Even 
under  these  conditions  they  were  repugniint  to 
cede  the  Valais  ;  and  as  under  the  interests  do- 
nominated  "general,"  there  are   often   concealed 


those  which  are  very  "  particular,"  the  little  can- 
tons, dreading  the  rivalry  of  the  Simjjlon  road 
over  that  of  the  St.  Gothard,  positively  refused  the 
proposed  exchange.  The  first  consul  had  i)ro- 
visionally  oceuoicd  the  Valais  with  three  batta- 
lions, and  W(]uli!  not  take  any  further  step  until 
the,  general  arrangement  of  the  Helvetic  affairs. 

In  awaiting  the  definitive  organization  of  Swit- 
zerland, there  had  been  formed  a  temporary  go- 
vernment, composed  of  an  executive  council  and  a 
legislative  body,  small  in  number.  Different  pro- 
jects for  a  constitution  had  been  drawn  up,  and 
secretly  submitted  to  the  first  consul.  He  had 
preferred  one  among  the  others,  which  appeared  to 
liim  conceived  in  the  wisest  way,  and  had  sent  it 
to  Berne  accompanied  with  a  species  of  recom- 
mendation of  its  adoption.  The  provisional  go- 
vernment, composed  of  the  more  moderate  patriots, 
had  themselves  adopted  this  constitution,  and  had 
presented  it  for  the  acceptance  of  a  general  diet. 
The  unitarian  party  increased,  numbered  a  con- 
siderable majority  in  the  diet,  or  no  less  than  fifty 
votes  out  of  eighty.  It  soon  declared  the  diet 
constituted,  and  drew  up  a  new  project  after  the 
idea  of  an  absolute  unity,  affecting  even  to  brave 
France,  proclaiming  the  Valais  an  integral  part  of 
the  soil  of  the  Helvetic  confederation. 

The  rejjresentatives  of  the  lesser  cantons  with- 
drew, declaring  that  they  would  never  submit 
themselves  to  such  a  constitution.  Masters  of  the 
provisional  government,  the  moderate  patriots, 
seeing  how  matters  were  proceeding,  concerted 
ujion  the  subject  with  the  French  minister  Ver- 
ninac,  and  issued  a  decree,  by  which  they  dis- 
solved the  diet  for  having  exceeded  its  powers, 
and  having  made  itself  a  constituent  assembly 
when  it  had  not  been  called  upon  to  become  .so. 
They  themselves  placed  in  action  the  new  consti- 
tution of  the  29th  of  May,  1801,  and  proceeded  to 
the  election  of  the  authorities  which  that  consti- 
tution instituted.  These  authorities  were  the 
senate,  the  leiser  council,  and  the  landamman. 
The  senate  was  composed  of  twenty-five  members  ; 
it  nominated  the  lesser  council,  which  was  com- 
posed of  seven  persons,  and  the  landamman,  who 
was  the  chief  of  the  republic.  The  senate  not 
only  nominated  these  two  authorities,  but  it  also 
advised  them  as  a  council.  As  the  moderate 
patriots  had  upon  their  hands  the  exalted  uni- 
tarians, who  were  dispersed  upon  the  breaking  up 
of  the  diet,  they  were  obliged  to  manage  with  the 
opposite  or  oligarchical  party.  They  chose  from 
among  them  the  more  sage  and  discreet,  in  order 
to  add  them  to  their  number  and  place  them  in  the 
senate.  They  mingled  them  with  the  revolutionists 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  preserve  a  majority  of  the 
last.  But  in  their  irritation,  five  of  the  revo- 
lutionists i-efused  to  accept  the  offer  made  to  them. 
The  majority  on  that  account  changed  in  a  vexa- 
tious manner,  since  when  once  formed,  the  senate 
would  proceed  to  complete  itself.  It  did,  in  fact, 
do  this,  and  on  the  oligarchical  side.  Thus  when 
it  came  to  nominate  the  landamman,  and  had  the 
choice  of  two  candidates,  M.  Reding,  who  was  the 
chief  of  the  oligarchical  party,  and  M.  Dolder, 
who  was  at  the  head  of  the  moderate  revolutionists, 
Reding  carried  the  djiy  by  one  vote.  Dolder  was 
a  discreet  man,  of  considerable  ability,  but  j>os- 
sessed   only    of    a   moderate    degree    of    energy 


Aug. 


Conduct  of  M.  Reding  and 
the  oligiirchy. 


THE  SECULARIZATIONS. 


The  government  of  Reding 
overturned. 


Reding  was  an  old  officer,  not  very  enlightened, 
but  energetic  ;  he  had  served  in  the  Swiss  troops 
that  were  in  foreign  pay,  and  had  carried  on  with 
great  intelligence  the  mountain  war  against  the 
French  army  in  1708.  He  belonged  to  (he  little 
canton  of  Schwitz,  and  was  at  the  head  of  a  privi- 
leged family,  which  cli^llosed  of  all  the  commis- 
sions in  the  regiment  of  Reding.  The  oligarchy 
of  Switzerland  had  adopted  this  head  of  a  kind  of 
clan,  and  had  given  him  its  coniidence.  Rough  as 
he  was,  Reding  did  not  want  a  certain  degree  of 
finesse.  He  was  flattered  with  his  new  dignity, 
and  endeavoured  to  preserve  it.  He  knew  that  he 
would  not  long  be  able  to  retain  it  against  the  will 
of  France.  In  accordance  with  his  parly,  he  de- 
termined to  proceed  rapidly  to  Paris,  to  endeavour 
to  persuade  the  fii-st  consul,  that  the  oligarchical 
party  was  that  of  honourable  men,  whom  he  ought 
to  suffer  in  power,  and  permit  to  have  their  way, 
and  that  on  these  conditions  he  would  find  Switzer- 
land devoted  to  France.  The  first  consul  received 
M.  Reding  with  consideration,  and  listened  to  him 
witii  some  attention.  Reding  aff"ected  to  exhibit 
himself  destitute  of  all  partiality,  and  more  of  a 
Sfddier  than  an  oligarch  ;  he  appeared  flattered  at 
the  approbation  of  the  first  general  of  modern 
times,  disposed  as  he  was  to  place  himself  above 
parly  i)assions.  He  off"ered  to  make  certain  ad- 
justments, which  were  accei)ted  in  order  to  see 
if  his  conduct  answered  to  his  promises.  Accord- 
ing to  these  adjustments,  the  senate  was  to  be 
increased  to  thirty  members,  and  the  choice  of  five 
new  ones  was  to  be  made  exclusively  among  the 
patriots.  A  second  landamman  was  to  be  chosen 
equally  among  that  l)arty,  and  to  hold  the  reins  of 
power  alternately  with  t!ie  first.  Cantonal  com- 
missions, composed  half  by  the  senate,  and  half  by 
the  cantons  themselves,  were  to  be  charged  with 
the  task  of  giving  to  each  the  constitution  which 
best  fitted  it.  It  was  besides  agreed,  that  Argovia 
and  the  Pays  de  Vaud  should  remain  detached 
from  Berne  ;  and  in  return,  that  the  agglome- 
rations of  territories,  which  had  disfigured  certain 
small  cantons,  should  be  revoked.  Under  the.se 
reservations  the  first  consul  promised  to  acknow- 
ledge the  integrity  of  Switzerland,  to  replace  it  in 
a  state  of  perpetual  neutrality,  and  to  withdraw 
the  French  troops.  In  order  to  assure  to  France 
the  military  road  which  was  required,  the  Valais 
wa.s  dismembered  by  ceding  to  France  that  por- 
tion which  is  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Rhone. 
France,  in  exchange,  obliged  herself  to  cede  the 
Frickthal  and  an  arrondissement  of  the  territory 
on  the  side  of  the  Jura.  Reding  left  Paris  full 
of  liope,  believing  lie  had  acquired  the  favour 
of  the  first  cou.sul,  and  would  be  enabled  to  do  in 
Switzerland  thenceforth  just  what  he  chose. 

But  scarcely  was  the  head  of  the  oligarchical 
party  arrived  at  Berne,  before,  drawn  in  by  his 
friends.  Reding  became  all  that  couhl  and  all 
that  might  be  expected  under  such  intluences, 
and  will" ideas  of  government  as  little  changed  as 
liis  own.  There  were  five  n<w  members  added  to 
the  senate,  t;ikcn  from  the  v«  ry  heart  of  the  jiatriot 
party,  and  a  colleague  was  given  to  Reding, 
charged  to  perform  alternately  «ith  iiiin  the  func- 
tions of  landamman.  This  cullciigue  was  not  M. 
iJolder  himself,  but  M.  Rugg.-r,  a  coiiHiderable 
personage  among  the  moderate  revolulioni.tts.  The 


newly  chosen,  that  in  the  lesser  coinicil  charged 
with  the  executive  power,  procured  a  m.njority 
for  the  revolutionary  party,  left  the  majority  in 
the  senate  to  the  oligarchs.  Further,  Reding, 
being  landamman  for  this  year,  selected  the  au- 
thorities in  the  interest  of  his  own  ))arty.  He 
sent,  whether  to  Vienna  or  to  other  courts,  agents 
devoted  to  the  cause  of  the  counter-revolution, 
with  instructions  hostile  to  France,  which  soon 
bec:ime  known  to  her.  Reding  more  especially 
demanded  that  there  should  be  accredited  to  him, 
rei)resintatives  of  all  the  powers,  in  order  to 
second  him  against  the  influence  of  M.  Verninac, 
the  chargd  d'affaires  of  France.  The  only  agent 
whom  he  did  not  venture  to  replace  was  M.  Stap- 
fer,  the  Swiss  minister  at  Paris,  a  respectable  man, 
devoted  to  his  country,  who  had  known  how  to 
obtain  the  confidence  of  the  French  government, 
and  for  that  reason  difficult  to  recall.  Reding 
had  promised  to  leave  indejiendent  the  Pays  de 
Vaud  and  Argovia ;  nevertheless,  from  every 
part  there  came  jjetitions  to  provoke  the  restitu- 
tion of  these  jirovinces  to  the  canton  of  Berne. 
Despite  the  promise  to  free  the  Italian  bailwicks, 
Uri  demanded,  in  a  high  tone,  and  with  threats, 
the  Levantine  valley.  The  cantonal  connnissions 
that  were  charged  to  draw  up  the  particular  con- 
stitution of  each  canton,  were,  except  two  or  three, 
composed  in  a  spirit  contrary  to  the  new  order  of 
things,  and  favourable  to  the  re-establishment  of 
the  old.  There  was  no  more  a  qviestion  made  of 
the  Valais,  nor  of  the  road  promised  to  France. 
Finally,  the  Vaudois,  seeing  a  counter-revolution 
imminent,  were  in  a  state  of  insurrection,  and 
sooner  than  submit  to  the  govermnent  of  Reding, 
they  solicited  a  reunion  with  France. 

Thus  unfortunate  Helvetia,  delivered  over  a 
year  before  to  the  extravagances  of  the  absolute 
unitarians,  was  this  year  a  prey  to  the  counter- 
revolutionary attempts  of  the  oligarchs.  The 
first  consul  therefore  took  his  ])art  in  regard  to 
the  Valais,  and  declared  that  he  detached  it  from 
the  confederation,  :ind  restored  it  to  its  former 
indci)endeiice.  This  was  evidently  the  best  so- 
lution of  the  diflicidty,  because  giving  one  bank 
of  the  Rhine  to  France  and  another  to  Switzer- 
land, was  clearly  contrary  to  the  natural  course  of 
things.  In  Raving  it  entirely  to  Switzerland,  and 
in  creating  a  road  and  French  military  establish- 
ments, the  llelvelic  neiitraliiy  was  rendered  im- 
possible. When  he  was  a]>prised  of  this  resolu- 
tion. Reding  made  a  noise  about  it,  a.sserting  that 
the  first  consul  had  broken  his  primuses,  which 
was  untrue;  and  he  proposed  to  the  le.s.ser  council 
a  letter  so  violent,  that  the  council  drew  back 
from  it  in  fear.  The  situation  of  the  oligarchs  of 
the  large  and  small  cantons  was  not  longer  tenable, 
labouring  as  tluy  were  to  reconstruct  the  old  order 
of  things,  and  the  revolutionists,  arisen  in  the  I'ays 
<le  Vaud,  to  obtain  a  union  with  France.  M.  Dol- 
der  and  his  friends,  in  the  lesser  council,  tmited 
themselves.  In  thiii  lesser  council,  charged  with 
the  executive  jHiwer,  they  were  six  against  three. 
They  profited  them.selvesof  the  absence  of  Reding, 
who  had  gone  for  some  days  into  the  smaller  can- 
tons; they  annulled  all  that  had  been  done  by  him; 
they  broke  up  the  cantonal  conmiissionK.and  called 
together  at  Berne  an  asHcnibly  of  notables,  eon- 
bisling   of    forty-seven    individuals    chosen    from 


„-    Withdrawal  of  the  French 
.iUO       troops. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  E:VIPIRE. 


Separation  of  the 
Valais. 


1802. 
Aug. 


among  the  most  respectable  and  moderate  men 
of  all  opinions.  They  then  submitted  to  them  the 
constitution  of  the  •2yth  of  May,  recommended  by 
France,  making  in  it  the  modifications  which  were 
judged  indispensable  ;  and  they  immediately  or- 
ganized the  public  authorities  according  to  that 
same  constitution. 

To  take  from  the  oligarchical  pnrty  the  support 
of  the  senate,  in  which  they  had  a  majority,  they 
prnnounced  the  suspension  of  that  body.  On  re- 
ceiving intelligence  of  this  event,  Reding  iiastened 
to  protest  against  the  resolutions  thus  taken.  But 
deprived  of  the  support  of  the  senate,  which  had 
been  suspended,  he  retired,  declaring  that  he  did 
not  renounce  his  character  of  chief  magistrate; 
and  he  went  into  the  smaller  cantons  in  order  to 
foment  the  insurrection.  They  considei-ed  him 
as  having  resigned,  and  confided  to  citizen  Rutti- 
mann  the  office  of  first  landamman.  Thus  the 
Swiss,  pulled  about,  in  turn  by  the  hands  of  the 
absolute  unitarians  and  by  those  of  the  oligarchs, 
found  themselves,  by  a  succession  of  small  coups 
d'etat,  replaced  in  the  power  of  the  moderate 
revolutionists.  Unfortunately,  these  last  had  not 
at  their  head,  as  the  nmderate  French  had  when 
they  brought  about  the  18th  Brumaire,  a  powerful 
chief  to  give  to  their  wisdom  the  aid  of  strength. 
Still,  enlightened  by  events,  the  partizans  of  the 
revolution,  whatever  was  their  difference  with  each 
other,  were  disjjosed  to  come  to  an  understanding, 
and  to  accept  as  a  boon  the  constitution  of  the  29th 
of  May,  introducing  certain  changes.  But  Reding 
was  at  work  in  tiie  small  cantons  to  arouse  them 
into  insurrectiiin,  and  the  necessity  of  having  re- 
course to  some  powt-rfid  external  aid,  because  there 
was  none  to  be  obtained  in  Switzerland,  was  at 
last  inevitable.  However  evident  was  this  neces- 
sity, no  one  dared  to  avow  it.  The  oligarchs,  who 
saw  in  the  intervention  of  France  their  assured 
ruin,  made  it  a  crime  in  the  revolutionists  to  desire 
such  an  interference.  These,  in  order  not  to  supply 
their  adversaries  with  such  a  valid  ground  of  com- 
plaint, repelled  the  charge  in  lofty  terms.  Lastly, 
the  first  consul  himself,  wishing  to  spare  inquietude 
to  Europe,  was  decided,  unless  in  case  of  any  very 
extraordinary  event,  not  to  compromise  the  French 
troops  in  the  trouliles  of  Switzerland.  Thus,  al- 
though thirty  thousai.d  French  were  spread  over 
the  middle  of  tiie  A1|)S,  none  of  their  generals 
obeyed  the  requisitions  of  the  difierent  parties; 
and  the  French  soldiers  were  present,  with  arms 
idle  on  their  shoulilers,  amidst  all  these  disordei-s. 
Their  immobility  became  a  subject  of  reproach, 
and  the  patriots  said,  with  some  appearance  of 
reason,  that  a  general  ])eace  reigning  in  Euroi)e, 
the  French  army  not  having  to  defend  them 
against  the  Austrinns,  would  not  defend  tin  m 
against  internal  insurrections,  that  they  gatlnred 
no  otl-.er  fruit  Irom  their  presence,  th;,n  the  trouble 
of  sustaining  tliet.i,  and  the  disagi-eeabie  effect  of 
a  foreign  occupation.  The  retreat  of  the  French 
troops,  therefore,  became  a  sort  of  patriotic  satis- 
faction, that  the  moderate  party  tliought  them- 
selves obliged  to  agree  to  with  all  the  other 
parties;  and  they  demanded  it  of  the  first  consul, 
while  Reding  aroused  the  flame  of  insurrection 
in  the  mountains  of  Sehwitz,  Uri,  and  Unter- 
walden  It  seemed  the  more  necessary  to  grant 
the  request  thus  made,  because  the  separation  of 


the  Valais,  definitively  resolved  upon,  was  an  act 
that  was  a  .sensible  displeasure  to  the  Swiss  pa- 
triots. The  first  consul  consented  to  the  evacua- 
tion, willing  to  give  to  the  moderate  party  the 
fullest  and  most  entire  moral  support  possible,  but 
in  I'cality  nuich  doubting  the  soundness  of  the  ex- 
periment which  he  was  going  to  niake.  Ordei-s  for 
the  evacuation  were  immediately  sent.  There  re- 
mained at  the  disposal  of  the  new  government 
three  thousand  Swiss  troops.  But  there  were  left, 
besides,  near  the  frontiers,  the  Helvetic  dtmi- 
brigades  in  the  service  of  France,  and  it  was  hojied 
that  recourse  might  be  had  to  them  if  needful, 
without  any  ulterior  a])i)lication  to  the  Frencli 
army.  A  momentary  cahu  succeeded  to  these 
agitated  scenes.  The  constitution  of  the  29ih  of 
May,  adopted  with  certain  modifications,  was  every 
where  accepted.  The  lesser  cantons  alone  refused 
to  ]iut  it  in  force  within  their  limits.  Still  they 
appeared  willing  to  remain  tranquil,  at  least,  for 
the  passing  moment. 

The  se])aration  of  the  Valais  was  accomplislied 
without  difficulty.  This  country  was  anew  con- 
stituted an  independent  state,  under  the  protection 
of  France  and  the  Italian  republic.  Fiance,  as  a 
sole  mark  of  sovereignty,  reserved  to  herself  a 
military  road,  that  she  was  to  support  at  her  own 
expense,  providing  the  magazines  and  barracks. 
The  road  was  declared  to  be  e.xempt  from  every 
kind  of  toll,  a  thir.g  of  immense  benefit  to  the 
Country.  In  thus  ojiening  the  Simjjlon,  there  was 
created  that  grand  highway  which  now  traverses 
it.  France  thus  made  to  the  Valais  a  magnificent 
gift,  equal  in  value,  most  assuredly,  to  the  price 
which  was  exacted  from  her  in  obtaining  it. 

Thus  the  affairs  of  Switzerland  remained  in  a 
sort  of  suspense.  The  oligarchs,  at  first,  joyful 
at  the  retreat  of  the  French  troops,  soon  became 
alarmed.  They  dreaded  in  thus  losing  no  very 
agreeable  masters,  that  they  had  lost  a  useful  pro- 
tection in  the  ]>robalile  contingency  <if  a  revolu- 
tionary convulsion.  Those  who  thus  reasoned  were, 
it  is  true,  among  the  wiser  and  better  informed. 
The  rest,  flattering  themselves  that  they  should 
again  be  able  to  oveiturn  the  rule  of  the  moderate 
patriots,  ardi-ntty  wished  that  the  present  evacua- 
tion of  the  French  should  be  final ;  and  through 
the  niediation  of  their  secret  agents,  they  lequested 
the  different  European  courts  not  to  consent  that 
the  French  troops  should  again  enter  Switzerland. 
They  had,  ihey  said,  been  able  to  tolerate  their  re- 
maining as  a  consequence  of  the  war ;  but  their 
return  could  oidy  be  considered— in  case  it  should 
so  happen — as  the  violation  of  r.n  independent  ter- 
ritory, the  integrity  of  which  was  guaranteed  by 
all  Europe. 

The  fiist  consul  was  well  acquainted  with  their  in- 
trigues, because  the  correspondence  of  the  landam- 
man Reding  liad  been  discovered  and  forwarded 
to  Paris.  It  had  little  effect  upon  liis  feeling;  he 
even  explaintd  his  intentions  freely  and  uncon- 
strainedly  upon  the  matter,  as  had  been  his  custom 
upon  such  occasions.  He  said  that  he  did  not  want 
to  possess  Switzerland,  that  he  preferred  a  general 
peace  to  the  conquest  of  such  a  territory  ;  but  that 
lie  would  not  suffer  a  government  there  which 
should  be  at  enmity  with  France  ;  that  upon  this 
point  his  resolution  was  iiTevoeable. 

In  England  the  solicitations  of  the  oligarchical 


1802. 

Aug. 


Austria  endeavours  to 
repair  her  dilapidated 
linances. 


THE  SECULARIZATIONS. 


Conduct  of  Prussia  and 
Russia  regarding  Ger- 
many. 


391 


p.irty  were  not  applied  without  a  considerable 
effect;  not,  indeed,  in  the  cabinet,  but  upon  the 
party  of  Grenville  and  Wyndhani,  which  endea- 
voured, out  of  every  thin-;,  to  raise  up  new  grounds 
of  comphiint  against  France.  In  Austria  and 
Prussia  they  were  too  much  occupied  with  tiie  ter- 
ritorial arrangements  of  Gerinany  to  minjjle  them- 
selves up  witli  the  affairs  of  Helvetia  ;  they  had 
tliere  too  much  need  of  the  favour  of  the  first 
consul  to  dream  of  giving  him  tlie  least  ground  oi' 
offence.  Cobentztl,  at  Vienna,  went  so  far  in  his 
attention  as  to  show  to  the  French  ambiissador, 
M.  de  Champagny,  all  the  correspondence  which 
had  been  forwarded  to  him  by  the  party  of  Reding, 
and  the  replies  which  he  had  sent,  discouraging 
the  pressing  entreaties  of  that  party.  Russia,  per- 
fectly aware  of  the  views  and  intentions  of  the  first 
consul,  comprehended  clearly  enougii  that  the 
troubles  of  Switzerland  were  a  source  of  en>barrass- 
nient  to  him,  from  which  he  would  have  been 
njo-it  willing  to  escape,  much  sooner  th;in  to  find 
ill  it  an  opportunity,  artificially  prepared,  to  pro- 
cure for  himself  further  influence  or  additional 
teiTJtory. 

However  serious  in  themselves  were  the  affairs 
of  Switzerland,  however  serious,  more  particularly, 
they  might  become  if  the  French  troops  were 
marched  back  upon  the  Helvetian  territory,  they 
had  not  the  power  at  the  moment  to  detach  the  at- 
tention of  the  great  powers  from  the  affairs  of  Ger- 
many. It  has  been  before  seen,  that  the  cession  of 
the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine  to  France,  had  deprived 
of  tlu  ir  suites  a  crowd  of  princes,  and  that  it  was 
agreed  at  Luiie'ville  to  indemnify  them  by  seculariz- 
ing the  ecclesiastical  principalities,  of  which  old 
Germany  was  full.  This  was  the  necessary  course 
of  a  general  remodelling  of  the  Germanic  territory. 
.Such  an  important  question  left  no  attention  to  be 
spar  d  for  any  other  in  most  of  the  northern 
courts. 

Austria,  wasted  by  a  long  contest,  endeavoured 
to  repair  her  dilapidated  finances,  and  to  elevate 
the  credit  of  her  paper  money.  Tiie  archduke 
Charles  had  obtained  all  the  influence  which  M. 
Thugut  had  lost.  This  prince,  who  had  commanded 
in  war  with  great  distinction,  wiis  the  declai'ed 
partizaii  of  peace.  He  had  seen  in  a  moment  the 
1,'lory  lie  had  acipiireil  on  the  borders  of  the  Rhine, 
in  combating  tin-  generals  Jourdaii  and  Aloreau, 
iffaced  c)n  the  hanks  of  the  Tagliamento,  in  con- 
flicting with  general  Bonaparte,  and  he  was  not 
inclined  to  make  any  new  attempt  against  this  for- 
mid.ible  ailversary.  Motives  still  more  elevated  had 
H  share  In  influencing  his  political  preilispositions. 
He  saw  his  own  reigning  house  ruined  by  long  and 
sanguinary  wars,  which  passion  had  more  to  do  in 
promoting  than  reanon  ;  and  he  said  that  Austria 
was  fortunate  enough,  although  beaten,  in  finding 
in  the  acquisition  of  the  Venetian  states,  an  indem- 
nity for  the  loss  of  the  Low  Countries  and  of  the 
Milanese,  which,  in  case  of  a  third  war,  would,  in 
all  probability,  be  t;iken  from  her  witlu'Ut  compen- 
sation. This  prince,  now  he  was  minister,  set  about 
the  formation  of  an  army  which  should  be  better 
organized,  and  be  iess  expensive  than  that  which 
Austria  had  possessed  for  ten  years  jireviously,  and 
opposed  in  vain  to  the  troops  of  I'ranci'.  The 
emperor,  of  a  sober  and  more  soliil  than  brilliant 
intellect,  paitook  in  the  opinions  of  the  archduke, 


and  thought  of  nothing  but  of  drawing  the  utmost 
j)ossible  ailvanlage  from  the  business  of  the  indem- 
nities, hoping  to  find  in  that  a  favourable  juncture 
for  repairing  the  later  reverses  of  his  house. 

Prussia,  that  in  1795  separated  herself  from 
the  coalition,  in  order  to  conclude  at  Bale  a  peace 
with  the  French  republic,  and  which  since  that 
time  had  re-establish. d  her  finances  through  the 
medium  of  her  neutrality,  had  gained  new  pro- 
vinces in  consequence  of  the  last  division  of  Poland, 
now  endeavoured  to  obtain  a  shai'e  of  the  good 
things  belonging  to  the  German  church,  and  an 
opportunity  to  aggrandize  herself  in  Germany, — a 
I  sjiecies  of  aggrandizement  which  she  preferred  to 
any  other.  She  had  a  very  young  and  discreet  sove- 
reign, who  made  it  a  matter  of  moment  to  pass  for 
an  upright  man,  and  who  was  so  in  effect,  but 
was  unboundedly  fond  of  territoi-ial  acquisitions,  on 
condition,  still,  that  they  were  not  purchased  by  a 
war  ;  besides,  they  possessed  in  Prussia  a  singular 
means  of  explaining  every  thing  in  the  most  ho- 
nourable way  in  his  regard.  All  equivocal  acts,  or 
such  the  uprightness  of  which  might  be  contested, 
were  attributed  to  M.  Haugwitz,  to  whom  they 
ordinarily  im|)uted  every  thing  which  they  could 
not  tell  how  to  justify,  while  M.  Haugwitz  suffered 
himself  to  be  immolated  to  the  reputation  of  the 
king  his  master,  with  the  utmost  good  grace.  This 
court  having  some  degree  of  intellect  and  few  pre- 
judices, had  known  how  to  be  on  tolerable  terms 
with  the  French  convention  and  dii-ectory,  and  on 
very  good  terms  with  the  first  consul.  On  the 
accession  of  the  firsts  consul,  she  had  shown  herself 
willing  for  a  moment  to  interfere  between  the  bel- 
ligerent powers,  in  order  to  force  them  to  make 
peace;  and  when  the  first  consul  had  effected  this 
without  her  aid,  she  put  forth  the  value  of  her  good 
intentions  at  the  least.  She  fawned  upon  him 
incessantly,  and  glanced  at  a  treaty  of  offensive 
and  defensive  alliance  at  a  future  time,  provided 
he  favoured  her  m  partitioning  the  spoils  of  the 
German  church. 

Russia,  wholly  disinterested  in  the  territorial 
question  that  then  occnpieil  Germany,  was  neither 
required  nor  authorized  to  mix  herself  up  with 
them  by  the  treaty  of  Luneville,  but  she  would 
willingly  jilay  a  character  in  the  scene.  To  be 
required  as  an  arbitrator  flattered  the  vanity  of  the 
young  emperor — a  vanity  which  began  to  a])pear 
through  his  apparent  modesty  and  ingenuousness. 
This  prince  at  first  suffered  himself  to  be  guided 
by  the  two  individuals  who  had  placed  him  upon 
the  throne  by  means  of  a  horrible  catastrophe,  the 
counts  Pahleii  and  Panin.  But  his  integrity  and 
liride  equally  suHered  umler  such  a  yoke.  It  cost 
him  nmch  to  have  irt  his  side  continually  the  men 
who  recalled  the  most  terrible  recollections  to  his 
mind  ;  and  he  felt  humiliated  to  luivc  ministers 
who  treated  him  as  a  prince  that  was  still  a  minor. 
It  h;iM  been  already  said  that  ho  was  surrounded 
by  the  companions  of  his  early  years,  l)e  Strogo- 
noff,  Nowosiltzotf,  and  Czartoryski,  with  a  friend 
of  riper  age  in  M.  Kotschoubey,  but  he  delayed  to 
ponAess  hnnself,  in  connexion  with  them,  of  the 
management  of  public  aH'airs.  lit-  took  occasion 
of  an  o|>portunity  which  ))resentcd  its<ir,  through 
the  imp(!rious  characif-r  of  count  Pahleii,  to  send 
him  into  Courland.  H(!  did  much  the  same  thing 
with   count  Panin,  and  he    introduced    M.  Kots- 


392^lL'iTniH'!,°^""^'""^"    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


The  indemnities  explained,    ,„., 
and  patties  to  be  indem-     . ,  " 


choubey  into  the  cabinet.  For  his  vice-chancellor, 
he  took  a  former  member  of  the  Russian  govern- 
ment, prince  Kurakin,  a  statesman  of  an  easy 
temper,  fond  of  the  eclat  of  power,  and  willing 
to  lend  his  name,  well  known  in  Europe,  with 
perfect  complacency  to  four  or  five  young  per- 
sonages, who  began  to  govern  the  empire  in  secret. 
Under  this  singular  association  of  a  czar,  twenty- 
four  years  old,  and  some  Russian  and  Polish 
nobles  of  the  same  age,  he  indulged,  as  has  been 
already  stated,  very  odd  ideas  about  every  thing. 
Paul  I.  and  Catherine  herself  vvere  considered  as 
barbarous  unenlightened  sovereigns.  The  partition 
of  Poland  was  regarded  as  an  outrage  ;  and  the 
war  against  the  French  revolution  as  the  result  of 
blind  prejudices.  Russia  in  future  was  bound  to 
give  her  policy  a  new  direction  ;  she  was  bound  to 
protect  the  feeble,  to  restrain  the  powerful,  to 
oblige  France  and  England  to  keep  themselves 
within  the  bounds  of  justice,  to  force  both  to 
respect  the  rights  and  intei'ests  of  other  nations  in 
the  midst  of  their  disputes.  Happy  intentions — 
noble  ideas,  if  they  had  been  real  ;  if  they  had  not 
resembled  those  liberal  intentions  of  the  French 
nobility,  brought  up  in  the  school  of  Voltaire  and 
Rousseau,  ever  expressing  liberty  and  humanity, 
up  to  the  time  when  the  French  revolution  re- 
quired them  to  render  their  theory  and  their 
actions  conformable  to  each  other  !  Then  these 
philoso])hical  nobles  became  the  emigrants  of  Cob- 
lentz.  Thus  too,  as  there  liad  been  in  France  a 
minority  of  the  nubility  faithful  to  the  end  to  the 
sentiments  they  first  avowed,  it  was  the  same  with 
these  young  rulers  of  Russia  ;  two  distinguished 
themselves  by  their  stable  upright  principles,  and 
by  characters  more  in  earnest.  These  were 
prince  Adam  Czartoryski  and  M.  Strogonoff.  The 
last  exiiibited  a  mind  equally  sincere  and  solid. 
Prince  Czartoryski,  steady,  well  instructed,  an  J 
serious,  was  twenty-five  years  old,  having  gained  a 
species  of  ascendancy  over  Alexander,  lie  was  full 
of  the  hereditary  feelings  attaching  to  his  family, 
in  other  words,  of  the  desire  to  restore  Poland  to 
her  rights,  and  he  bent  hiihself,  as  will  soon  be 
seen,  to  make  the  combinations  of  the  Russian 
policy  contribute  to  that  end.  These  distinguished 
youths,  with  the  inclinations  that  moved  them, 
began  to  be  anxious  to  commence  in  Germany 
that  ecjuitable  and  decided  arbitration  which  was 
so  strongly  seducing  in  their  view.  Austria,  with 
her  usual  ability,  had  well  known  how  to  discover 
what  were  their  dispositions,  and  had  thought  of 
serving  herself  through  them.  Clearly  perceiving 
the  predilection  of  the  first  consul  for  Prussia,  she 
turned  herself  to  the  emperor  Alexander:  flattered 
him,  and  offered  him  the  part  of  arbitrator  in 
German  affairs.  There  was  no  lack  of  ambition  in 
the  ('zar  to  take  upon  himself  such  a  character  ; 
but  it  was  not  easy  to  take  it  in  presence  of  general 
Bonaparte,  that  a  formal  treaty  invested  with  the 
right  and  duty  of  interfering  in  the  question  of  the 
German  indemnities,  and  who  was  not  the  man  to 
leave  that  for  others  to  do  which  it  appertained  to 
himself  to  perform.  But  the  emperor  Alexander, 
although  impatient  to  figure  upon  the  woi-ld's  great 
scene,  exhibited  a  reserve  meritorious  at  his  ago, 
above  all  with  the  ambitious  feelings  of  which  his 
heart  was  full. 

It  is  neces.sary  now  to  penetrate  into  the  obscure 


and  difficult  question  of  the  German  indemnities. 
This  question,  entered  upon  at  the  congress  of 
Rastadt  after  the  peace  of  Campo-Formio,  aban- 
doned in  consequence  of  the  assassination  of  the 
French  plenipotentiaries,  and  of  the  second  coa- 
lition, resumed  after  the  peace  of  Luneville,  often 
begun,  and  never  terminated,  was  a  serious  ques- 
tion for  Europe,  a  question  it  was  impossible,  when 
placed  before  it,  that  it  could  know  how  to  arrange. 
It  could  not,  in  fact,  be  resolved  but  by  the  strong 
will  of  the  fii'st  consul,  because  it  was  impossible 
that  Germany  was  sufficient  of  herself  to  settle  it. 

By  the  treaties  of  Caiupo-Formio  and  of  Lune- 
ville, the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine  became  French 
property  from  the  point  where  that  fine  river 
leaves  the  Swiss  territory,  between  Bale  and 
Huninguen  as  far  as  where  it  enters  the  Dutch 
dominions,  between  Emerick  and  Nimiguen.  But 
by  the  cession  of  this  bank  to  France,  the  German 
j)rinces  of  every  i-ank  and  state,  as  well  hereditary 
as  ecclesiastical,  had  sustained  considerable  losses 
in  territory  and  revenue.  Bavaria  had  lost  the 
duchy  of  Deux  Pouts,  the  palatinate  of  the  Rhine, 
and  the  duchy  of  Juliers.  Wurtemberg  and  Baden 
had  been  deprived  of  the  principality  of  Mont- 
beliard  and  other  domains.  The  three  ecclesiastical 
electors  of  Mayence,  of  Treves,  and  of  Cologne, 
remained  nearly  without  any  estates  at  all.  The 
two  Hesses  had  lost  several  lordships  ;  the  bishops 
of  Liege  and  of  Bale  had  been  completely  dispos- 
sessed of  their  bishoprics.  Prussia  had  been 
obliged  to  renounce,  for  the  advantage  of  Fi'ance, 
the  duchy  of  Gueldres  and  a  part  of  that  of  Cleves, 
as  well  as  the  little  principality  of  Moeurs,  terri- 
tories situated  on  the  inferior  course  of  the  Rhine. 
Finally,  a  crowd  of  princes  of  the  second  and  third 
order  had  seen  their  principalities  and  fiefs  disap- 
pear. These  were  not  all  the  losses  brought  about 
by  the  war.  In  Italy  two  Austrian  archdukes 
had  been  forced  to  renounce  the  one  Tuscany,  and 
the  other  Modena.  In  Holland  the  house  of 
Orange  Nassau  allied  to  Prussia,  had  lost  the 
stadtholdership,  as  well  as  a  great  quantity  of 
personal  property. 

According  to  the  strict  regulations  of  justice, 
the  German  princes  should  .alone  be  indemnified  on 
the  German  territory.  The  archdukes,  uncles  or 
brothers  of  the  emperor,  having  for  a  long  time 
had  the  rank  of  Italian  princes,  had  no  claim 
to  the  obtainment  of  establishments  in  Germany, 
save  from  being  relations  of  the  emperor.  But  it 
was  the  emperor  who  had  forced  unhappy  Ger- 
many into  the  w.ar,  and  thus  exposed  it  to  these 
considerable  losses  of  territory,  and  the  emperor 
now  came  to  force  it  to  indemnify  his  own  re- 
lations, thus  drawn  in,  against  their  will,  to  take  a 
part  in  a  foolish  and  badly-conducted  war.  The 
same  m.ay  be  said  of  the  claim  of  the  stadtholder  ; 
for  if  this  prince  lost  his  estates,  it  was  not  for 
Germany  to  pay  for  the  faults  which  he  had  him- 
self committed.  But  the  stadtholder  was  the 
brother-in-law  of  the  king  of  Prussia,  and  that 
king,  not  willing  to  do  less  for  his  own  family  than 
the  emperor  had  done  for  his,  demanded  an  in- 
demnification in  Germany  for  the  house  of  Orange 
Nassau.  It  was  therefore  necessary  besides  the 
German  princes,  to  indemnify  as  well  the  arch- 
dukes deprived  of  their  Italian  estates,  and  Orange 
Nassau  dispossessed   of  the   stadtholdership.      It 


1S02. 
Aug. 


The  indemnities  explained, 
and  parlies  to  be  indem- 
iiiued. 


THE  SECULARIZATIONS.  Value  of  the  secularizations. 


had  been  demanded  of  France  at  tlie  treaty  of 
Lune'ville,  and  before  that  at  the  treaty  of  Canipo- 
Formio,  to  consent  tliat  the  arclidiikes  should 
receive  an  indemnity  in  Germany.  Prussia  at  the 
congress  of  Bale,  and  England  at  that  »)r  Amiens, 
liad  exacted  that  the  stadtholder  should  Le  in- 
demnitied  without  designating  the  [)lace,  but  with 
the  avowed  intention  of  choosing  that  ])laee  some- 
where on  the  surface  of  the  German  territory. 
France,  that  had  only  to  consider  the  indenniities 
in  tiie  point  of  view  that  atteeteil  the  general 
balance — France,  to  whom  it  im])orted  little  that 
it  was  a  bisho])  or  a  prince  of  Nassau  who  was 
established  at  Fulda,  that  it  was  an  archbishop  or 
an  archduke  who  might  be  indemnified  at  Salzberg, 
had  seen  tit  to  consent. 

The  treaty  of  Lune'ville  being  ratified  by  tlie 
diet,  the  weight  with  which  the  emperor  pressed 
upon  the  German  territory  was  accepted  with 
regret,  but  in  a  formal  maimer.  The  treaties  of 
Bale  and  Amiens,  that  stipulated  an  indemnity  for 
the  stadtholder,  were,  it  is  true,  strangers  to  the 
confederation  ;  but  England,  with  the  influence 
which  procured  her  the  possession  of  JIanover, 
Prussia  with  her  power  in  the  diet,  assured  besides, 
both  one  and  the  other,  of  the  concurrence  of 
France,  had  not  a  refusal  to  apprehend  in  re- 
quiring a  territorial  indemnity  fur  the  stadtholder. 
It  was  therefore  agreed,  by  a  consent  almost 
unanimous,  that  the  stadtholder,  as  well  as  the  two 
Italian  archdukes,  should  have  a  p:irt  of  the 
secularized  bishoprics.  To  indemnify  the  German, 
Itiklian,  and  Dutch  princes,  there  were  certainly 
line  domains  not  wanting  in  Germany.  There 
were  many  of  these  very  considerable,  under  the 
ecclesiastical  order.  In  secularizing  them,  there 
would  be  found  a  vast  extent  of  country,  covered 
with  inhabitants,  and  rich  enough  in  revenue  to 
furnisli  states  to  all  the  victims  of  the  war. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  tell  the  e.xact  value  in 
territory,  revenues,  and  inhabitants  of  the  entire 
of  the  German  principalities  susceptible  of  secu- 
larization. The  peace  of  Westphalia  had  already 
secularized  a  great  number;  but  iliose  which  re- 
mained formed  about  one-sixth  of  Germany,  pro- 
perly so  called,  as  well  in  regard  to  extent  as  to 
l)opulation.  In  regard  to  reveime,  if  reported  ac- 
cording to  the  estimates  of  the  day,  very  incom- 
plete and  nmch  contested,  it  might  amount  to 
thirteen  or  fourteen  millions  of  Horins.  But  it 
would  be  an  error  to  consider  this  sum  as  the  total 
revenue  of  the  principalities  in  (jnestion  here.  It 
was  tile  revenue,  making  the  deduction  of  the  ex- 
penses of  collection  and  of  administration;  the 
deduction  also  must  be  made  of  a  nunrtjer  of  ec- 
clesiastical benefices,  such  jus  abbeys,  canonicals, 
and  the  like,  wiiich  are  not  comprised  in  the  net 
product  thus  announced,  and  which  would,  by  the 
secularization,  appertain  to  the  new  possessor  ; 
that  is  to  say,  if  the  ])roduce  of  the  country  be 
calculated  its  it  was  calculated  in  France  in  HiO'S; 
atid  as  calculations  are  more  accurately  made  in 
the  present  day,  it  wouhl  lead  to  an  estimate  three 
or  four  times  as  considerable,  and,  consei|uently, 
to  forty  or  fifty  millions  of  Horins,  or  from  a  hun- 
dred to  a  hundred  and  twenty  millions  of  francs. 

It  is,  therefore,  impossible  to  value  exactly  the 
just  amount  of  these  csUitirs,  otherwise  than  in 
affirming  that  they  conii>rised  about  the  sixth  part 


of  Germany,  properly  so  called.  It  suffices,  besides, 
to  cite  them,  in  order  to  show  that  several  of  them 
are  composed,  at  the  present  time,  of  Hourishing 
provinces,  and  some  of  them  the  finest  of  the  con- 
federatioii.  Commencing  on  the  east  and  south  of 
Germany,  there  are,  in  the  Tyrol,  the  bishoprics 
of  Trent  and  of  Brixen,  that  Austria  considered  as 
belonging  to  her.self,  and  that  for  this  reason,  she 
would  not  jiermit  to  figure  in  the  mass  of  German 
indemnities,  but  which  had  been  arranged,  in  spite 
of  her  opposition,  in  the  number  of  the  disposable 
properties.  The  valuation  of  their  product  varied 
from  two  hundred  th.jusand  to  nine  hundred  thou- 
sand Horins.  In  passing  from  the  Tyrol  into  Ba- 
varia, the  superb  bi.shopric  of  Salzburg  presented 
itself,  now  one  of  the  most  important  provinces 
of  the  Austrian  monarchy,  comprising  the  valley 
of  the  Salza,  producing,  by  one  account,  one  million 
two  hundred  thousand  Horins,  by  another,  two  mil- 
lion seven  hundred  thousand  Horins,  and  possessing 
a  race  of  excellent  soldiers,  as  able  tirailleurs  as 
the  Tyrolians.  lit  the  bishopric  of  Salzburg  was 
comprised  the  ])revotal  of  Berchlolsgaden,  valuable 
by  the  production  of  salt.  Ui)on  entering  directly 
into  Bavaria,  there  were  encountered,  upon  the 
Lech,  the  bishopric  of  Augsburg;  on  the  Isar  that 
of  Freisingen,  and,  finally,  at  the  confluence  of  the 
Inn  and  the  Danube,  that  of  Passau,  all  three 
much  desired  by  Bavaria,  the  territory  of  which 
they  would  very  advantageously  complete.  The 
produce  together  of  these  was  valued  at  about 
eigjit  hundred  thousand  Horins;  but  like  the  others, 
ditferentiy  valued,  according  to  custom,  by  those 
aspirants  who  disputed  about  them.  On  the  other 
side  of  the-Danube,  in  other  words,  in  Franconia, 
was  found  the  rich  bishopric  of  Wurtzburg,  the 
bishops  of  which  formerly  arrived  at  the  title  of 
dukes  of  Franconia,  and  were  opulent  enough  to 
build  at  Wurtzburg  a  (lalace  almost  as  fine  as  that 
of  Versailles.  The  revenue  of  this  benefice  was  esti- 
mated atone  million  four  hundred  thousand  Horins, 
and  including  the  bishopric  of  Bamberg,  which  was 
contiguous,  at  more  than  two  million.  This  was  the 
lot  which  would  best  indenmify  Bavaria  for  her  im- 
mense losses,  and  round  oft' her  territory  exceedingly 
well.  Prussia  had  an  eye  upon  these,  because  of  their 
value,  and  their  contiguity  with  the  niarquisates  of 
Anspach  and  Bareuth.  The  bishopric  of  Aich- 
stedt,  in  the  same  province,  might  be  added,  very 
inferior  to  the  two  preceding,  but  still  very  con- 
siderable. 

There  remained,  too,  the  archbishoprics  of  May- 
ente,  Treves,  and  Cologne,  situated  on  the  right  of 
the  Rhine,  archbishoprics  and  electorates  at  tin- 
same  time,  having  a  revenue  very  difficult  to  esti- 
mate. There  remained  portions  of  the  electorate 
of  Alayence,  enclosed  in  Thuringia,  such  as  Erfurih, 
and  the  territory  of  Eischsfeld.  Then  in  descend- 
ing towards  Westphalia,  the  same  duchy  of  West- 
phalia, the  revenue  of  which  was  estimated  at  four 
or  five  hundred  thousand  florins  ;  the  bishopries  of 
Paderborn,  Osnabruek,  and  llildensheim,  which 
were  each  supposed  able  to  return  four  hundred 
thousand  florins.  And  lastly,  the  vast  bishopric 
(d'  Munster,  the  third  in  revenue  of  all  Germany, 
the  most  extended  in  territory,  bringing  in  at  tluit 
time  one  million  two  hundred'  thousand  florins. 

If  to  tinse  arclihishopries,  bishoprics,  and 
duchies,  to  the  nund)er  of  lourteen,  there  bo  joined 


The  German  constitution. 


elfctoral  eoUese.— Forms 


Aug. 


tlie  remains  of  the  Jincient  ecclesiastical  electorates, 
and  the  fragments  of  the  hisimprics  of  Spires, 
Worms,  Strasburg,  Bale,  Constance,  a  quantity  of 
rich  abbeys,  finally,  f  irty-niiie  free  towns,  which  it 
was  not  wished  to  secularize,  hut  to  incorjiDriite  in 
the  neighbouring  states,  which  was  then  styled  "to 
mediatise"  them,  :in  idea  may  be  formed, somewliat 
near  exactness,  of  all  the  iiroi)erty  which  was  dis- 
posable, to  make  the  secular  princes  forget  the 
misfortunes  they  had  incurred  by  the  war.  It 
must  be  .added,  that  if  there  had  been  no  intention 
to  indemnify  the  archdukes  and  the  stadtholtler, 
who,  among  the  three  of  them,  would  ask  a  ([uarter 
part  at  least  of  the  dis])osable  domains,  it  would 
not  have  been  nece.ssary  to  suppress  all  the  eccle- 
siastical principalities,  and  that  they  would  have 
been  enabled  to  sj)are  to  the  Germanic  constitution 
the  destructive  blow  by  which  it  was  soon  to  be 
laid  low. 

It  was,  in  effect,  to  give  to  the  Germanic  con- 
stitution a  very  deep  wound,  thus  to  secularize  all 
the  ecclesiastical  statt-s  at  one  time,  because  they 
l)layed  in  that  constitution  a  very  considerable 
part.  Some  details  are  necessary  here,  to  make 
known  tills  old  constitution,  the  most  ancient  in 
Europe,  the  must  respectable  after  that  of  England, 
ab<iut  to  perish  by  the  cupidity  of  the  German 
piiiK-es  themselves. 

The  Germanic  em]>ire  was  elective.  Although 
for  a  long  time  the  im]>erial  crown  had  not  been 
borne  out  of  the  house  of  Austria,  it  was  needful  to 
have  a  formal  election  at  the  coniniencement  of 
each  reii;n.  This  iiad  fallen  to  the  heir  of  the 
house  of  Austria,  who  was  in  his  own  right  king  of 
Boliemia  and  Hungary,  archduke  of  Austria,  duke 
of  Milan,  Carinthia,  Styria,  &c.,  but  not  chief  of 
the  empire.  The  electitm  was  formerly  made  by 
seven,  and  at  the  ejjocli  now  alluded  to,  by  eight 
princes  electors.  Of  these,  five  were  lay  princes 
and  three  ecclesiastical.  The  five  lay  princes  wi  re 
the  house  of  Austria  for  Bohemia  ;  the  elector 
palatine  for  Bavaria  and  the  ])alatiiiate  ;  the  duke 
of  Saxony  for  Saxony  :  the  king  of  Prussia  for 
Brandenljurg;  and  the  king  of  England  lor  Hanover. 
Tiie  three  ecclesiastical  electors  were  the  arcli- 
bisho])  of  Mayenee,  possessing  a  part  of  both  banks 
of  tiie  Riiine  in  the  vicinity  of  Mayenee,  the  city  of 
Mayenee  itself,  and  the  banks  of  the  Main  as  far 
as  above  Aschaffenbiirg;  the  archbishop  of  Treves, 
possessing  the  county  of  Treves,  in  other  woi-ds, 
'the  valley  of  the  Moselle  fn.m  the  frontiers  of  old 
France  as  far  as  the  junction  of  that  river  with  the 
Rhine  towards  Coblentz  ;  lastly,  the  archbishop  of 
Cologne,  possessing  the  left  shore  <if  the  Rhine, 
from  Bonn  as  far  as  the  borders  of  Hollaml.  These 
three  ai'chbishops,  following  the  general  custom  of 
the  church,  every  wh<  re  when  royalty  had  not  en- 
grossed the  ecclesiastical  nominations,  were  elected 
by  their  ciiapters,  save  in  canonical  institution, 
which  was  resei-ved  to  the  jiope.  The  canons, 
members  of  the  chapters  ami  electors  of  their  arch- 
bishops, were  chosen  from  among  the  highest  of 
the  German  nobility.  Thus  for  Mayenee,  they 
must  be  members  of  the  "  imimdiate"  nobility,  in 
other  words,  of  the  noliiliiy  elevated  directly  by 
the  empire,  and  not  by  the  territorial  ])riuces  witli 
whom  their  domains  might  be  situated.  In  such  a 
mode  neither  the  arciibishop  nor  the  caixins  charged 
ito  elect, could  be  subjects  dependent  upon  any  prince 


whatever,  the  emperor  himself  excepted.  This  pre- 
caution was  needful  for  so  great  a  personage  as  the 
archbishop  elector  of  Mayenee,  who  was  chancellor 
of  the  confederation.  He  it  was  who  presided  at  the 
Germanic  diet.  The  archbishops  electors  of  Treves 
and  Cologne  had  no  other  title  than  that  cf  an  old 
function,  which  had  passed  away  with  time.  The. 
archbishop  of  Cologne  was  anciently  chancellor  of 
the  kingdom  of  Italy;  the  archbishop  of  Treves, 
chancellor  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Gauls. 

These  eiy;ht  princes  decreed  the  imperial  crown. 
During  the  first  half  of  the  last  century,  and  the 
war  of  the  Austrian  succession,  they  were  obliged  to 
choose  for  an  emperor  a  prince  of  Bavaria;  but  they 
soon  returned,  out  of  their  old  habits  and  a  respect 
for  traditiiin,  to  the  succession  of  the  house  of  Ro- 
doljihe  of  Hapsburg.  Besides,  the  catholic  electors 
found  themselves  in  a  majority,  that  is  to  say,  as 
five  to  three  ;  and  the  preference  of  the  catholics 
for  Austria  was  natural  and  secular.  The  empire 
was  not  only  elective,  it  wiis, — if  it  may  be  so  ex- 
jiressed  in  regard  to  an  era  having  no  analogy  with 
our  own, — it  was  representative.  The  electors  de- 
liberated in  a  general  diet,  which  met  at  Ratisbon, 
under  the  presidency  of  the  chancellor,  the  arch- 
bishop of  Mayenee. 

This  diet  was  composed  of  three  colleges  :  the 
electoral  college,  in  which  the  eight  electors  sat 
that  have  been  just  enumerated  ;  the  college  of 
princes,  iu  which  all  the  lay  and  ecclesiastical 
princes  sat,  each  of  them  for  tiie  territory  of  which 
lie  was  the  immediate  sovereign,  some  houses 
having  several  votes,  accoi'ding  to  the  importance 
of  the  principalities  which  they  repi-esented  in  the 
diet,  othei's,  on  the  contrary,  having  but  a  part  of 
a  vote,  as  for  example,  the  counts  of  Westphalia; 
thirdly  and  lastly,  the  college  of  the  cities,  where 
they  sat  to  the  number  of  forty-nine,  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  free  cities,  nearly  all  ruined,  and 
having  only  a  very  slight  influence  in  the  govern- 
ment of  old  Germany. 

The  forms  adopted  in  collecting  the  votes  were 
extremely  comjilicated.  When  the  protocol  was 
opened,  each  of  the  three  colleges  voted  separately. 
The  electors,  besiles  their  representation  in  the 
college  of  electors,  had  representatives  in  the  col- 
lege of  ])rinces,  and  thus  they  sat  in  two  colleges  at 
once.  Austria  sat  in  the  electoral  college  for  Bo- 
hemia, and  in  the  college  of  princes  for  the  arch- 
duchy of  Anstiia  Prussia  sat  in  the  electoral 
college  for  Brandenburg,  and  in  the  college  of 
]u-inces  for  Anspach,  Bareutli,  &c.  Bavaria  sat 
in  the  college  of  electors  for  Bavaria,  and  in  the 
college  of  ])rinces  for  Deux  Fonts,  Juliers,  &c., 
and  the  like  with  the  otiier  powers.  They  dis- 
cussed nothing  in  a  jiarticular  manner;  but  each 
state,  called  in  hierarchical  order,  verbally  gave 
its  opinion  through  the  intermediate  agency  of  a 
minister.  The  votes  were  several  times  taken,  so 
that  each  hail  fiine  to  alter  or  modify  its  own. 
When  the  colleges  were  of  different  opinions,  (hey 
held  conferences  for  the  purpose  of  coming  to  an 
understanding.  This  was  styled  the  "relative- 
ness"  and  "  correlativeness"  between  the  colleges. 
They  then  made  concessions  to  each  other,  and 
terminated  by  a  common  opinion,  which  was  styled 
a  conchisiim. 

The  imiiortance  of  these  three  colleges  was  not 
equal.     That  of  the  cities  was  scarcely  reckoned 


1802. 
Aug. 


Constitution  of  tlie  electoral 
colleges. 


THE  SECULARIZATIONS. 


DitTerences  occasioned  on  the 
division  of  the  patrimony  of         395 
the  church. 


at  all.  Formerly,  in  the  middle  a^es,  when  all  the 
wealtli  was  ceiitred  in  the  free  cities,  they  had  the 
means,  in  givinj;  and  refusing  money,  of  being 
i  heard,  and  of  maintaining  their  due  intluence.  It 
was  no  longer  thus,  since  Nuremburg,  Augsburg, 
and  Cologne,  ceased  to  be  the  centre  of  commercial 
and  financial  power.  Besides,  the  forms  employed 
regarding  them,  forms  which  were  humiliating, 
made  little  attention  be  jiaici  to  their  votes.  The 
electoi-s,  in  other  words,  the  great  houses,  with 
their  votes  in  the  college  of  electors,  and  with 
their  votes  and  patronage  in  the  college  of  princes, 
decided  nearly  all  the  questions  for  deliberation. 

This  constitution  cannot  be  entirely  understood, 
without  it  be  further  remai'ked,  that  independently 
of  the  general  government,  there  was  also  one 
which  was  local,  for  the  protection  of  iiarticiilar 
interests  and  a  common  partition  of  the  charges 
of  the  confederation.  This  local  government  was 
that  of  circles.  The  whole  of  Germany  was  divided 
into  ten  circles,  of  which  the  last,  that  of  Bur- 
gundy, was  no  more  than  an  empty  title,  because 
it  comprehended  provinces  which,  for  a  long  space 
of  time,  had  been  beyond  the  power  or  domination 
of  the  empire.  Tiie  most  powerful  prince  of  the 
circle  was  the  director.  He  summoned  the  estates 
which  composed  it  to  mt/et  and  delibHrate  ;  he 
executed  the  resolutions  there  agreed  upon,  and 
came  forward  to  the  succour  of  those  that  were 
threatened  with  violence.  Two  tribunals  of  the 
empire,  one  at  Wetzlar,  another  at  Vieima,  ren- 
dered justice  among  the  members  of  a  conleilera- 
tion  so  different  from  each  other,— kings,  princes, 
bishops,  abbeys,  and  republics. 

As  it  was,  this  constitution  existed  a  venerable 
monument  of  perished  ages.  It  offered  every  one 
of  the  characters  which  discriminate  real  liberty, 
not  that,  indeed,  which  protects  individuals  in 
modern  society,  but  that  which  protects  feeble 
states  against  the  aggressions  of  those  which  are 
more  powerful,  by  admitting  of  the  defence,  in  the 
midst  of  a  confederation,  of  their  existence,  their 
property,  and  their  particular  rights,  and  in  ap- 
pealing'from  the  most  i)owerful  tyranny  to  the 
sense  of  justice  in  all.  Hiiice  there  was  germinated 
a  ccrtJiin  development  of  opinion,  a  deep  study  of 
the  law  of  nations,  a  considerable  skill  in  managing 
the  members  in  the  assemblages,  very  much  re- 
sembling that,  although  with  apparent  differences, 
which  is  practised  in  the  re|)resentalive  govern- 
ments existing  in  our  lime. 

The  secularizations  could  not  but  jiroduce  in 
such  a  constitution  changes  very  c(uisiderable. 
At  first  they  caused  the  disaitpearance  from  the 
electoral  colleg'.*s  of  the  three  eccl(!siastical  electors, 
and  from  the  cillegc  of  princis  of  a  great  number 
»)f  catholic  members.  The  catholic  m;ijority,  which 
ha<l  existed  in  the  si^cond  college,  of  fifty  voices 
against  forty-three,  was  thus  changed  into  a  mi- 
nority, because  the  primres  who  were  called  in  to 
replace  the  ecclesiuslical  votes  were  nearly  all 
jnoteHtants.  This  was  a  great  grievance  to  the 
constitution  and  to  tin;  balance  of  Ktrength.  There 
is  no  doubt  but  the  toler.nico  of  the  age  has  taken 
away  from  the  words  catholic  and  protestaiit  party 
their  old  icligioUH  siiinifii-ation  ;  but  these  words 
had  acquired  a  political  signification  of  a  very 
grave  character.  Tlio  proKfslant  party  signilied 
the  party  of  Prussia,  the  catholic  that  of  Austria. 


These  two  influences  liad  for  a  good  while  divided 
Germany  between  them.  It  might  be  said  that 
Prussia  was  at  the  head  of  the  opposition  in  the 
empire,  and  that  .\nstria  was  at  the  head  of  the 
government  party.  Frederick  the  Great,  in  raising 
Prussia  to  be  a  jiower  of  the  first  rank,  by  means 
of  the  spoils  of  Austria,  had  kindled  between  the 
two  great  German  states  a  violent  animosity.  This 
animosity  towards  each  other,  a  moment  neutral- 
ized in  presence  of  the  French  revolution,  wiis 
quickly  revived  when  Prussia,  separating  herself 
from  the  coalition,  had  made  peace  with  France, 
and  enriched  herself  by  her  neutrality,  during  the 
time  that  Austria  was  weakening  herself  to  sup- 
port the  war  that  had  been  undertaken  in  common. 
Now  more  particularly,  the  war  being  over,  and 
tiiat  it  was  necessary  to  divide  the  patrimony  of 
the  church,  the  greediness  of  the  two  courts  added 
a  new  fermentation  to  the  hatred  which  they 
nuitually  partook. 

Prussia  naturally  desired  to  profit  by  tlie  occa- 
.sion  of  the  secularizations  to  enfeeble  Austria  for 
ever.  Austria  was,  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  as  she  had  been  in  the  thirty  years'  war, 
and  in  the  wars  of  Charles  V.,  the  great  support 
of  the  catholic  party;  not,  indeed,  that  in  all  cases 
the  protestants  had  supported  Prussia  and  the 
catholics  Austria  ;  the  jealousies  of  too  close  a 
vicinity,  on  the  contrary,  often  altered  such  a  re- 
lation to  each  other.  Thus  Jiavaria,  fervently 
catholic,  but  incessantly  alarmed  at  the  designs  of 
Austria  upon  her  territory,  connuonly  voted  with 
Prussia.  Saxony ',  although  protestant,  was  often 
opposed  to  Prussia,  in  consequence  of  the  jealousy 
of  her  neighbourhood,  and  voted  with  Austria;  but 
in  general,  the  supporters  of  Austria  were  the 
catholic  i)rinces,  and  above  all,  the  ecclesiastical 
states.  These  last  voted  in  its  favour  when  the 
•juestion  of  the  head  of  the  empire  was  to  be 
settled;  they  also  supported  the  same  vote  in  the 
assemblies,  when  the  general  affairs  of  Germany 
were  discussed.  Not  levying  troops  themselves, 
tliey  suffered  the  Austrians  to  recruit  for  soldiers 
in  their  dominions;  and  further,  they  furnished 
a])|ianages  to  the  younger  children  of  the  imperial 
house.  The  archduke  Charles,  for  example,  luid 
received  a  rich  benefice  in  the  grand  privilege  of 
the  Teutonic  order,  which  had  recently  been  con- 
ferred upon  him.  The  bishop  of  Munster  and  the 
archbishop  of  Cologne  being  dead,  the  chajjlers  of 
the  two  sees  had  named  the  archduke  Antony  to 
replace  these  defunct  prelates.  As  in  all  the 
aristocratic  countries,  the  church  in  Germany  was 
devoted  to  furnish  places  for  the  younger  sons  of 
the  higher  fiimilies.  Prussia  naturally  bore  no  good 
will  to  the  ecclesiastical  states,  that  thus  furnished 
Austria  with  soldiers,  appanages,  and  votes  in  tlie 
diet. 

Gnco  engaged  in  constitutional  reforms,  the 
German  princes  wci-e  brought  to  effect  other 
changes  still,  more  i)articularly  the  suppression  of 
the  free  cities  and  the  "  immediate"  nobility. 

The  free  cities  owed  their  origin  to  the  em- 
I)erors.  In  the  same  way  as  the  kings  of  France 
had  formerly  freed  the  communes  from  the  tyranny 

1  It  must  at  the  same  time  bu  ohservcd,  that  at  tills 
moment  llie  elector  of  Saxony  was  a  catholic,  while  hu 
peoiile  were  protestant,  and  were  reckoned  as  iiich. 


The  free  cities,  their  origin 
396      and  state. — The  "imme- 
diate "  nobility. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Austria  wishes  further  to 
indemnify  the  twoarcli- 
dukes. 


1802. 
Aug. 


of  the  lords,  the  emperors  had  given  to  the  Ger- 
man cities,  enriclied  by  industry  and  commerce, 
an  independent  existence,  acknowledged  rights, 
and  oftentimes  peculiar  privileges.  It  was  thus 
that  there  liad  been  introduced  into  the  vast  Ger- 
man feudality,  by  the  side  of  feudal  lords,  and 
sovereign  priests  carrying  the  coronets  of  counts 
and  dukes,  democratic  republics,  known  by  their 
wealth  or  their  talents.  Augsburg,  Nuremburg, 
and  Cologne,  for  arts,  manufactures,  and  coni- 
mei'ce,  had  formerly  well  merited  the  praise  of 
Germany  and  of  all  mankind.  All  these  cities  had 
fallen  under  the  yoke  of  small  local  aristocracies, 
and  for  the  most  yiart  were  very  deplorably  go- 
verned. Those  which  had  supported  their  trade 
and  commercial  prosperity,  had  escaped  the  general 
wreck  of  tlie  past,  and  even  presented  republics 
tolerably  prosperous.  But  they  became  objects 
of  jealousy  to  the  bordering  princes,  who  coveted 
them  for  additions  to  their  territories.  Prussia 
particularly  had  the  desire  to  incorporate  Nurem- 
burg in  her  own  state,  and  Bavaria,  Augsburg. 
Both  these  cities  were  nnich  decayed  from  their 
ancient  splendour. 

The  "  immediate''  nobility  had  its  origin  in  a 
mode  very  similar  to  that  of  the  free  cities,  be- 
cause its  title  accrued  from  the  imperial  iJioteetion 
granted  to  the  lords  who  were  too  feeble  to  defend 
themselves.  Thus  this  species  of  nobility  abounded 
more  particularly  in  Fiancoiiia  and  Suabia,  be- 
cause at  the  time  of  the  destruction  of  the  liouse 
of  Suabia,  the  lords  of  that  country,  finding  tiiem- 
selves  without  a  sovereign,  were  attached  to  the 
emperor.  They  were  called  "  immediate,"  because 
they  held  directly  from  the  emperor,  and  not  the 
princes  among  whom  their  estates  were  situated. 
The  same  title  of  "immediate"  was  given  to  every 
State,  city,  fief,  or  abbey,  holding  directly  of  the 
empire.  They  denominated  "mediate"  every 
estate  dependent  directly  upon  the  territory  in 
which  it  happened  to  be  enclosed.  This  "imme- 
diate "  nobility,  whose  obedience  was  partaken 
between  the  local  lord  and  the  emperor,  whom 
they  acknowledged  as  their  only  sovereign,  were 
proud  of  tlieir  more  elevated  vassalage,  served  in 
the  armies  and  in  the  imperial  ch.ancelleries,  and 
gave  over  to  the  Austrian  recruiting  officers,  the 
population  of  the  hamlets  and  villages  which  be- 
longed to  them. 

The  territorial  princes,  of  whatever  party  they 
were,  desired  tlie  double  incorporation  into  their 
estates  of  the  "immediate"  nobility  and  of  the 
free  towns.  Austria,  cool  enough  upon  the  main- 
tenance of  the  integrity  of  the  free  towns,  of  which 
she  coveted  a  cei-tain  number  for  herself,  was,  on 
the  contrary,  ardent  in  support  of  the  "  immediate" 
nobility,  for  which  she  showed  the  most  particular 
I'egard.  Still  she  wished  to  preserve  in  its  existing 
state  all  that  she  was  able  to  retain  in  that  position. 

In  a  modern  point  of  view,  nothing  can  appear 
more  natural  and  legitimate  than  the  union  of  all 
these  and  similar  parcelled  out  territories,  cities, 
and  lordships,  with  the  body  of  every  state.  This, 
there  is  no  doubt,  would  have  been  still  more 
valuable,  if,  as  in  France  in  1789,  they  had  re- 
placed in  Germany  these  local  liberties,  by  some 
system  of  general  freedom,  guaranteeing  at  the 
same  time  all  the  existences  and  all  the  laws 
belonging  to  such  a  state  of  things.     But  these 


incorporations  only  went  to  increase  the  absolute 
power  of  the  kings  of  Prussia,  tlie  electors  of 
Bavaria,  and  the  dukes  of  Wurtembnrg.  For 
that  reason  the  world  cannot  I'ail  to  view  them 
with  i-egret. 

In  the  history  of  European  monarchies  there 
are  two  revolutions  very  different  both  in  date  and 
object  ;  the  first,  that  by  means  of  which  royalty 
conquered  from  feudality  the  smaller  local  sove- 
reignties, thus  absorbing,  to  form  a  single  state, 
numerous  ])articular  existing  ones  ;  secondly,  that 
by  means  of  which  royalty,  after  having  formed  a 
single  state,  is  obliged  to  reckon  in  accordance 
with  the  nation,  and  to  grant  a  degree  of  general 
liberty,  uniform  and  regular  in  its  character,  most 
assuredly  very  preferable  to  the  liberties  ex- 
clusively afforded  under  a  feudal  system.  France, 
in  178!),  after  having  achieved  this  first  revo- 
lution, undertook  the  second.  Germany,  in  1803, 
attempted  the  first,  and  she  has  not  completed 
even  that  at  the  present  hour.  Austria,  without 
any  other  object  than  ti>  preserve  her  influence  in 
the  empire,  would  defend  the  old  Germanic  consti- 
tuti(jn,  and  with  that  the  feudal  privileges  of  Ger- 
many. Prussia,  on  the  contrary,  eager  for  in- 
corporations, wished  to  absorb  the  free  cities  and 
the  immediate  nobility,  became  an  innovator  by 
amliition,  and  aimed  at  giving  to  Germany  tlie 
forms  of  modern  social  life,  or,  in  other  words,  to 
commence,  without  the  desire  to  do  so,  and  without 
the  knowledge  of  the  fact,  the  work  of  the  French 
revolution  in  the  old  Germanic  emjiire. 

Thus  if  the  constitutional  objects  of  these  two 
great  jiowers  were  different,  their  territorial  pre- 
tensions were  not  less  in  uniformity. 

Austria  wished  to  indemnify  largely  the  two 
archdukes,  and  inuler  that  pretext  to  extend  and 
amend  the  irontier  of  lier  own  states.  She  troubled 
herself  but  little  about  the  duke  of  Modena,  a  long 
while  indemnified  by  the  treaties  of  Campo-Formio 
and  Lune'ville,  with  the  Brisgau,  a  small  province 
of  Baden,  which  he  regarded  little,  as  he  pre- 
ferred more  to  enjoy  in  quiet  at  Venice  his  im- 
mense wealth,  accumulated  by  sterling  avarice. 
But  Austria  occupied  herself  in  good  earnest  about 
the  archduke  Ferdinand,  the  former  sovereign  of 
Tuscany.  She  coveted  in  his  behalf  the  fine  arch- 
bishojiric  of  Salzburg,  which  would  again  attacli 
the  Tyrol  to  the  main  body  of  the  Austrian 
monarchy,  and,  further,  slie  desired  the  provost  of 
Berehtolsgaden,  enclosed  in  the  archbishopric. 
These  two  principalities  were  formally  promiseil  to 
her,  but  she  wished  to  obtain  more.  She  wished 
to  get  for  the  same  archduke  the  bishopric  of 
Passau,  which  would  assure  to  her  the  important 
fortified  town  of  Passau,  situated  at  tlie  confluence 
of  the  Inn  and  Danube  ;  the  superb  bishopric  of 
Augsburg,  extending  lengthwise  on  the  river  Lecli 
even  to  the  middle  of  Bavaria  ;  and,  finally,  the 
county  of  Werdenfels'  and  tiie  abbey  of  Kempten, 
two  possessions  placed  on  the  slope  of  the  Tyrolese 
Alps,  dominating  both  one  and  the  other  over  the 
sources  of  the  rivers  which  traverse  Bavaria,  as 
the  Inn,  Isar,  Loisach,  and  Lecli.  If  to  these  be 
added  nineteen  free  towns  in  Suubi;i,  twelve  more 
great  "immediate'' abbtys,  and  if  it  is  recollected 

■■  This  county  was  dependent  upon  the  hishopric  of 
FieisinL'eii. 


1S02. 
Aug. 


THE  SECULARIZATIONS. 


of  the  indemnities.— Of  the 
ecclesiastical  elec'.oratcs. 


397 


that  Austria,  independent  of  wliat  she  demanded 
for  the  archduke  in  Suabia,  had  a  number  of  old 
possessions  in  that  country,  it  is  easy  from  tliat 
circumstance  to  judge  of  her  designs.  Slie  wished 
by  means  of  the  pretended  indemnity  of  the  arch- 
duke Ferdinanii,  to  take  a  position  in  the  middle  of 
Bav.-iria  by  Augsburg,  above  by  Werdenfels  and 
Kempten,  and  below  by  her  posse.s.sions  in  Suabia, 
and  in  thus  grasjiing  with  the  talons  of  the  imperial 
eagle,  to  obtain  the  cession  of  a  part  of  the  estates 
which  she  had  fur  a  long  while  coveted,  that  is  to 
say,  the  course  of  the  Iiui,  and  perhaps  also  that  of 
the  Isar. 

It  was  one  of  the  oldest  desigitS  of  Austria  to 
extend  tun-  territory  in  Bavaria,  in  order  to  secure  a 
bett'.r  frontier,  and  at  the  same  time  to  prolong  her 
posts  in  the  Tyrolean  Alps  as  far  as  the  frimtiers 
of  Switzerland.  The  jwssession  of  the  line  of  the 
Isar  was  the  dearest  of  lier  wishes,  and  would  not 
have  been  the  last  had  it  been  gratified.  To  have 
possession  of  the  Inn,  Austria  would  have  to  aban- 
don to  the  house  of  Bavaria  the  bishopric  and  city 
of  Augsburg,  and,  further,  all  her  posses-sions  in 
Suabia.  Under  this  plan  the  city  of  Munich, 
situated  on  the  Isar,  would  be  found  on  the  fron- 
tier, and  could  no  longer  be  the  seat  of  the  Ba- 
varian government;  Augsburg  would  have  been  the 
new  capital  offered  to  the  elector  ])alatine.  But 
this  was  to  absorb  nearly  one-half  of  the  electorate, 
and  throw  back  the  pahitino  house  entirely  upon 
Suabia.  In  defaidt  of  the  nonl'ulfilment  of  this 
too  beautiful  dream,  the  course  of  the  km  would 
console  Austria  for  her  misfortunes.  She  pos- 
sessed iinly  the  lower  jiart  of  the  Inn  from  Braunau 
as  far  as  I'assau  ;  but  above,  between  Braunau  and 
the  Tyrolean  Alps,  Bavaria  ])os.sesscd  both  banks 
of  that  river.  Austria  would  have  preferred  to 
possess  the  Iim  through  its  entire  course,  from  its 
entry  into  Bavaria  at  Kufstein  as  far  as  its  union 
with  the  Danube.  This  line  would  have  embraced 
less  surface  of  country  than  that  of  the  Isar,  but  it 
was  very  much  tinir,  and,  speaking  in  a  militjiry 
sense,  much  more  solid.  It  was  in  the  mode  of 
exchange  that  Austria  proposed  to  herself  to  ac- 
quire one  or  the  other  of  these  frontiers.  Thus 
she  did  not  cea.sc,  since  the  question  of  indemnities 
had  occupied  the  different  cabinets,  to  besiege  with 
her  offers,  and  when  she  was  not  listened  to,  with 
her  threats,  the  unfortunate  elector  of  Bavaria, 
who  immeiliately  communicated  his  anxieties  to 
his  two  natural  protectors,  France  and  Prussia. 

The  foregoing  is  the  mode  in  which  Austria 
intended  to  save  herself  in  the  distribution  of  the 
indemnities — the  folhuving  is  the  mode  in  which 
she  intended  to  distribute  those  of  the  other 
claimants. 

For  the  losses  of  Bavaria  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
llhin<!,  which  Hurpassed  those  of  all  the  other 
(jennan  priiicis,  bicause  that  house  had  lost  the 
duchy  of  |)<-ux-I'ontH,  the  palatinate  of  the  llhine, 
the  duchy  of  Juliers,  the  nianpiisate  of  Bergen-ap- 
Zooni,and  a  nuiltitudeof  est.-ites  in  Alsace,  Austria 
assigned  her  two  bishoprics  in  Franconia,  those  of 
Wurtzburg  and  Baniburg,  very  well  placed  in 
situation  in  regard  to  Bavaria,  because  they  were 
close  to  the  high  palatinate,  Itut  scarcely  «M|ual  in 
value  to  two-thirds  of  what  she;  ha<l  lost.  IVfliaps 
Austria  would  have  added  to  this  lot  the  bishopric 
of  Freisingen,  situated  on   the  ls;ir,  very  near  to 


Munich.  To  Prussia,  Austria  intended  to  give  a 
large  northern  bishopric,  Paderborn  for  example, 
perhaps  two  or  three  abbeys  besides,  a-s  Essen  and 
Werden  ;  lastly,  to  the  stadtholder  a  territory 
somewhere  in  Westphalia,  or,  in  other  words, 
about  a  ipiarter  of  what  the  house  of  Brandenburg 
desired  lor  itself  and  its  relatives.  After  having 
conceded  to  the  two  Hesses,  to  Baden,  and  to 
Wurtemburg,  some  of  the  spoils  of  the  inferior 
clergy,  and  a  certain  number  of  abbeys  to  a  crowd 
of  little  hereditary  princes,  who,  she  said,  would 
think  themselves  happy  to  take  what  was  tendered 
to  them,  Austria  wished  with  the  three  considera- 
ble tci-ritorics  in  the  north  and  centre  of  Gennany, 
such  as  Munster,  Osnabruck,  Hildesheim,  Fulda, 
with  the  remains  of  the  electorate  of  Cologne, 
Mayence,  and  Treves,  to  preserve  the  three  ec- 
clesiastical electors,  and  thus  save  her  influence  in 
the  empire. 

Of  these  three  ecclesiastical  electorates,  the  first, 
that  of  Mayence,  had  passed  to  the  coadjutor  of 
the  last  archbishop.  Tliis  new  titulary,  a  member 
of  the  house  of  Dalberg,  was  learned,  ingenious, 
and  a  man  of  the  world.  The  elector-ate  of  Treves 
belonged  to  a  Saxon  prince,  still  alive,  who  had 
retired  into  the  bishopric  of  Augsburg,  of  which  he 
had  tlie  title,  with  that  of  Cleves,  forgetting,  in  the 
assiduous  observation  of  his  religious  duties,  and  in 
the  opulence  that  the  pensions  bestowed  upon  his 
family  had  procured  for  him,  his  lost  electoral 
greatness.  The  electorate  of  Cologne  was  become 
vacant  by  th.e  death  of  the  recent  titulary.  The 
bishops  of  Munster,  Freisingen,  Ratisboii,  and 
the  provost  of  Berchtolsgaden,  were  also  become 
vacant.  Whether  Austria  was  or  was  not  an  ac- 
complice of  the  chapters,  she  had  suffered  the 
nomination,  in  presence  of  an  imperial  commis- 
sioner, of  the  archduke  .\ntony,  to  the  bishopric  of 
Munster  and  the  archbishopric  of  Cologne.  Prussia, 
irritated,  had  complained  loudly,  saying  that  Aus- 
tria, by  this  nomination  of  new  titularies,  wi.shed  to 
create  obstacles  to  the  secularizations,  and  hinder 
the  free  execution  of  the  treaty  of  Lune'ville.  These 
complaints  had  for  their  object  to  hinder  the  tilling 
up,  in  the  same  niann<  r,  of  the  benefices  of  Frei- 
singen, Ratisbon,  and  Berchtol.sgaden,  which  were 
at  that  moment  vacant. 

An  idea  tolerably  just  may  be  formed  of  the 
designs  of  Prussia,  by  considering  them  exactly  as 
counter  designs  to  those  put  forward  by  Austria. 
At  first  she  ju<lged,  with  some  reason,  that  the 
losses  of  the  archduke  of  Tuscany  were  exaggerated 
to  at  !ea.st  double  the  truth.  It  was  juetended  at 
Vienna  that  he  had  sustained  a  loss  of  tour  millions 
of  florins  in  revenue.  This  was  an  exaggerated  as- 
sertion, and  was  founded  upon  a  confusion  of  the 
rough  with  the  net  revenue.  The  net  loss  sus- 
tained by  the  grand  duke  was  two  millions  five  hun- 
dred thousaml  florins,  at  most.  Prussia  asserted  that 
Salzburg,  Passau,  and  Berchtolsgaden,  i-qualled  in 
revenue,  if  they  did  not  surpai^s,  Tuscany  ;  without 
the  addition  that  Tuscany,  deUiclu  <l  from  the  Aus- 
trian monarchy,  had  in  that  relation  no  value  of 
position,  while  Salzburg,  Herchlolsgailcn,  and  Pas- 
sau, were  closely  atf.-iclicd  to  the  very  body  of  that 
monarchy,  gave  it  an  cxci  llent  frontier,  and  in  the 
mountains  of  Sal/.burg  a  numerous  military  popu- 
lation. It  was  thought  that  Austria  would  he  able 
to  levy  there  twenty-five   thousand  men.     There 


Views  of  Prussia  in  reference  .  Prussia  offers  to  a'ly  herself  ,an» 

to    ll.e    secuUrizHtions—  THIERS'  CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE,     to  France,  ifshe  will  assist   '°"-- 
Her  claims.  her  in  her  claims.  ■""^' 


was,  therefore,  no  proper  ground  to  add  to  tlie  l<it 
of  the  archduke  the  bishoprics  of  Au<;sburg,  Aich- 
stadt,  the  abbey  of  Kempten,  tlie  county  of  Wer- 
denfels,  as  well  as  all  the  free  towns  and  abbeys 
demanded  by  Austria  in  Suabia.  Still  Prussia  not 
less  insisted  on  tiie  exaj;gerated  pretensions  of 
Austria,  than  she  insisted  on  tiie  lawfulness  of  lier 
own.  She  estimated  at  double  their  real  value  tlie 
los.-ies  which  she  asserted  that  she  had  sustained, and 
diminished  a  full  half  the  value  of  the  territory  she 
claimed  as  an  indemnity.  At  first  she  partook  in 
one  of  the  desires  of  Austria, — that  of  carrying 
herself  towards  the  centre  and  south  of  Germany. 
Siie  wanted  to  do  that  in  Francoiiia  which  Austria 
endeavoured  to  do  in  Suabia  ;  she  would  double 
her  territory  there  if  possible.  It  was  the  constant 
atiiijition  of  these  two  great  powers  to  take  advanced 
positions  in  the  midst  of  Germany,  whether  against 
one  another  or  against  France,  or  whether  to  keep 
under  their  influence  the  states  in  the  centre  of  the 
ciinfederation.  Under  the  first  impulse  of  ambition, 
Prussia  had  not  demanded  less  than  the  bishoprics 
of-  Wurtzburg  and  Bamburg,  contiguous  to  the 
niarquisates  of  Anspach  and  Bareutli,  and  intended, 
in  the  view  of  all  the  world,  to  indemnify  Bavaria. 
This  demand  met  with  so  many  objections,  par- 
ticularly in  Paris,  that  she  was  obliged  to  re- 
nounce it. 

In  default  of  Wurtzburg  and  Bamburg.  Prussia, 
which  had  only  lost  the  duchy  of  Guildres,  a 
portion  of  the  duchy  of  Cleves,  the  small  princi- 
pality of  Moeurs,  some  tolls  suppressed  upon  the 
Rhine,  and  the  enclosed  territories  of  Savenaer, 
Huissen,  and  Marburg,  ceded  to  Holland,  repre- 
senting 700,000  florins  of  revenue  according  to 
Russia,  and  1,200,000  according  to  France, — 
Prussia  would  have  no  less  than  a  part  of  the 
north  of  Germany,  in  other  words,  the  bishop- 
rics of  Munster,  Paderb^rn,  Osnabruck,  and  Hil- 
desheim,  besides  the  remains  of  the  electorate 
of  Mayence  in  Thuringia,  such  as  Eichsfeld 
and  Erfurth  ;  then  finally,  Franconia,  where  she 
had  not  given  up  her  pretensions,  the  bishopric 
of  Aichstedt,  and  the  celebrattd  city  of  Nureni- 
bur-. 

Making  in  regard  to  the  indemnity  of  the  stadt- 
holder  the  same  kind  of  calculati..ns  as  Austria  in 
ri'gard  to  the  indemnity  for  the  duke  of  Tuscany, 
she  demanded  for  the  house  of  Orange-Nassau  an 
establishment  contiguous  to  the  Prussian  territory, 
comprehending  the  following  countries : — the  duchy 
of  Westphalia,  the  coui\try  of  Recklinghausen,  and 
the  remains  of  the  electorates  of  Cologne  and 
Treves  on  the  right  of  the  Rhine.  It  therefore 
resulted  for  the  stadtholder,  besides  the  advantage 
to  be  backed  by  Prussia, — a  great  advantage  both 
for  her  and  himself, — that  he  was  placed  as  well 
close  to  Hollanil,  with  the  power  of  profiting  on 
the  turn  of  fortune.  Now,  if  the  falsity  of  the 
Prussian  valuation  is  considered,  if  it  is  considered 
that  after  having  exaggerated  nearly  double  or 
even  triple  the  amount  of  her  losses,  slie  dissimu- 
lated in  the  same  proportion  about  the  va  ue  of  the 
objects  slie  demanded  as  an  indeinnifiiatinn  ;  that, 
for  example,  she  valued  at  350,000  florins  the 
bisho]>ric  of  Munster,  which  in  Paris,  after  the 
most  impartial  calculations,  was  valued  at  1.200,000; 
that  she  estimated  at  150,000  florins  value  that 
which  at  Paris  was  valued  at  309,000,  and  thus  of 


the  rest,  an  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  idle  exag- 
geration of  her  pretensions. 

She  showed  her.self  a  little  more  genei'ous  than 
Austria  towards  the  princes  of  the  second  and 
third  order,  because  they  were  all  protestants  to 
be  introduced  into  the  diet.  She  was  of  opinion 
that  the  ecclesiastical  electors  of  Cologne  and 
Treves  should  be  suppressed,  but  that  of  Mayence 
was  to  be  suffered  to  remain  in  existence,  with 
the  wrecks  of  his  electorate  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Rhine  ;  to  rejjlace  the  two  ecclesiastical 
electors  thus  suppressed  by  protestaut  electors, 
taken  from  among  the  princes  of  Hesse,  of  Wnr- 
temburg,  of  Baden,  or  even  of  Orange- Nassau,  if  it 
were  possible.  Tlie  support  of  her  pretensions 
which  Austria  endeavoured  to  gain  from  Russia, 
Prussia  sought  to  obtain  from  France.  She  offered, 
if  the  first  consul  would  seciud  her  in  her  claims, 
to  unite  her  policy  with  that  of  the  first  consul ;  to 
engage  herself  to  him  by  a  formal  alliance  ;  to 
guarantee  all  the  arrai.gements  that  had  been 
made  in  Italy,  such  as  the  kingdom  of  Etrnria,  the 
new  constitution  given  to  the  Italian  republic,  and 
the  union  of  Piedmont  with  IVance.  She  made,  at 
the  same  time,  the  greatest  efforts  to  bring  the 
negotiations  to  Paris,  which  Austria  endeavoured 
to  carry  to  St.  Petersburg.  She  knew  that  out  of 
Paris  she  would  not  be  judged  very  favourably ; 
that  in  all  the  other  courts,  they  reproached  her 
with  having  abandoned  the  cause  of  Europe  for 
that  of  the  French  revolution  ;  that  if  the  jireten- 
.sions  of  the  emperor  were  criticised,  hers  would  he 
judged  with  much  more  severity,  because  she 
wanted  the  excuse  of  the  great  losses  sustained  by 
the  house  of  Austria  during  the  last  war;  she 
knew,  finally,  tiiat  she  had  no  hope  of  support  but 
on  the  side  of  France  ;  that  to  lend  herself  to  the 
displacing  of  the  negotiation,  would  be  to  disoblige 
the  first  consul,  and  to  accept  arbitrators  ill  dis- 
j  posed  towards  his  views.  Thus  had  she  refused 
j  all  the  overtures  of  Austria,  who  in  despair  of  the 
cause,  made  the  offer  that  they  shoald  come  to  an 
understanding,  take  both  one  and  the  other  the 
lion's  share,  and  sacrifice  all  the  princes  of  the 
second  and  third  order,  and  then  to  address  St. 
Petersburg  directly  afterwards,  in  order  to  obt:iin 
the  sanction  of  the  jiartition  which  they  should 
iiave  made,  with  the  object,  before  all  «)thers, 
of  delivermg  Germany  from  the  yoke  of  the 
French. 

The  German  princes,  following  the  example  of 
Prussia,  addressed  themselves  to  France.  In 
])lace  of  soliciting  for  their  cause  in  London, 
Petersburg,  Vienna,  or  Berlin,  tliey  solicited  in 
Paris.  Bavaria  tormented  by  Austria;  the  dukes 
of  Baden,  of  Wurtemburg,  and  of  Hesse,  jealous 
one  of  the  other;  tiie  lesser  families  affrighted  at 
the  avidity  of  the  greater;  the  free  towns  threatened 
with  losing  their  privileges;  the  "immediate" 
nobility  exi)osed  to  the  same  danger  as  the  free 
towns;  all,  great  and  little;  reimblics or  hereditary 
sovereigns;  all  pleaded  their  cau.se  at  Paris,  the 
one  intermediately  by  their  ministers,  the  othei-s 
<liiectly  and  in  person.  The  late  stadtholder  sent 
his  son  there,  the  prince  of  Orange,  since  then 
king  of  Holland,  a  distinguished  pi-ince,  whom  the 
first  consul  regarded  with  much  favour  ;  many 
other  princes  came  there  as  well.  All  of  them 
sedulouslv  attended  the  palace  of  St.  Cloud,  where 


ISO? 
Aug. 


Conduct  of  the  great 
powers  and  of  tlie 
firsl  consul. 


THE  SECULARIZATIONS. 


The  views  of  the  tirst  consul 
in  reftrence  to  the  alliuuce        QQQ 


tlie  general  of  a  republic  was  courted  as  the  equal 
of  kinj]^. 

Singular  was  the  spectacle  which  Europe  then 
presented, — a  striking  proof  of  the  uncertainty  of 
huniau  passions,  and  of  the  depth  of  the  designs  of 
Providence  ! 

Prussia  and  Austria  had  drawn  Germany  into 
an  unjust  Wiir  against  the  Fi-eneh  revolution,  and 
they  had  been  vanquished.  Fr.ince,  by  the  l;iw 
of  victory,  a  law  incontest^ible  when  the  victorious 
power  has  been  attacked,  had  conquered  the  left 
bank  of  the  Rhine.  A  part  of  tlie  Uerinan  princes 
tliu.s  ft)Und  themselves  de|>rived  of  their  estates. 
It  was  natural  that  they  sJiould  be  indemnified  in 
'jcrmany,  and  that  they  only  shoiiM  have  an  in- 
demnity. Nevertheless,  Prus.sia  and  .\ustria,  which 
had  compromised  them,  wished  to  indemnify,  at  the 
expense  of  this  s;inie  unfortunate  Germany,  their 
own  relatives,  whether  Italians,  as  the  arcliduUe.s, 
or  Dutchmen,  like  the  stadtholder;  and  that  which 
is  more  strange  still,  under  the  name  of  their  re- 
latives, they  wished  to  indenmify  themselves,  but 
always  at  the  expense  of  Germany,  the  victim  of 
their  faults.  Tlien  these  indeumifie;itions — where 
did  they  seek  for  them  I  Why,  in  the  property  of 
the  Church  itself  !  fn  other  words,  the  deleuilers 
of  the  throne  and  altar,  returned  home  after  being 
themselves  beaten,  undertake  to  indenmify  iheiii- 
.selves  for  the  unfortunate  issue  of  the  war  b_, 
despoiling  the  aUar,  which  they  went  i)ut  to  defend 
in  the  battle-field,  and  by  imitating  the  Ftencli 
revolution,  which  they  were  come  back  from  at- 
tacking. And  a  m(n*e  extraordinary  thing  yet,  if 
it  be  possiljle,  they  demanded  of  the  victorious 
representative  of  this  very  revolution  upon  which 
they  had  been  making  war,  to  divide  among  them 
the  spoils  of  their  altiirs,  which  they  were  not 
capable  of  dividing  honestly  among  themselves  ! 

Tlie  first  consul  disturbed  but  little  the  move- 
ment going  on  around  him  to  draw  the  negotiations 
to  this  or  that  place.  He  knew  that  it  could  take 
place  only  in  Paris,  because  it  was  his  desire  it 
should  do  so,  and  that  was  the  most  decisive  point. 
Free  in  his  movements  since  the  signature  of  the 
general  peace,  he  listened  successively  to  the 
parties  interested;  to  Prussia,  which  only  desired 
to  act  with  him  and  by  him  ;  to  Austria,  which, 
while  endeavouring  to  carry  the  negotiation  to  the 
arbitration  of  St  Petersburg,  neglected  in  the 
meanwhile  nothing  to  dispose  liiin  in  her  favour; 
to  Uavaria,  whicli  requested  counsel  and  supi)ort 
against  the  threatening  otters  of  Austria;  to  the 
house  of  Oninge,  which  had  sent  itsj  heir  tcj  Paris; 
to  the  houses  of  Baden,  Wurteiiiburg,  and  Hesse, 
which  proffered  him  their  entire  devotediiess  if  he 
would  act  for  their  advantage  ;  lastly,  to  the  lcs.ser 
princes,  who  claimed  from  their  old  alliance  with 
France.  After  having  heard  the  different  pre- 
tensions of  the  parties,  the  first  c(misuI  soon  saw 
that  witli^t  tlio  intervention  of  a  jjowerful  will, 
the  repohf;  of  Germany,  ami,  as  a  coii»eqiieiico,  that 
of  the  whole  continent,  woulil  remain  indefinitely 
in  peril.  Ho  tlierelore  decided  to  offer,  and,  in 
reality,  to  impose  his  mediation,  by  i>re.seiiting 
arrangements  which  might  do  justice  to  tlie  wisdom 
of  France  as  well  as  her  |)olicy. 

Nothing  could  be  mure  sensible  nor  more  ad- 
mirable than  the  views  of  the  fii«t  consul  at  this 
liuj'py  period  of  his  life,  when  with  as  much  glory 


as  that  with  which  he  ever  covered  his  name,  he 
had  not  enough  of  material  force  to  contemn 
Europe,  and  to  dispense  with  a  system  of  policy 
profoundly  calculated.  He  saw  well  that  with 
the  disp,,sitioiis  of  England  so  very  uncertain,  it 
would  be  right  to  consider  and  to  prevent  the 
danger  of  a  new  and  general  war;  that  to  this  end 
it  w:is  urgently  iiecessjiry  to  manage  for  the  pro- 
vision of  a  solid  continental  alliance;  that  the  al- 
liance of  Prussia  was  the  most  convenient;  that 
this  court,  ail  innovator  naturally,  by  origin  and 
by  interest,  had  with  the  French  revolution  certain 
afiinities,  which  noother  court  was  likely  to  possess; 
that  in  attaching  it  seriously,  coalitions  would  be 
rendered  impossibli!  ;  because,  according  to  the 
degree  of  power  which  France  hail  attained,  woulil 
be  that,  more  or  less,  which  would  venture  to 
attack  her,  when  all  the  powers  should  be  united 
against  her;  but  if  one  power  was  wanting  to  the 
coalition,  and  if  the  power  so  wanting  was  gone 
over  to  the  side  of  Fiance,  the  chances  of  a  new 
war  would  not  be  tempted.  Still,  in  considering 
about  allying  himself  with  Prussia,  the  first  consul 
comprehended  with  a  rare  correctness  of  judg- 
ment, that  he  must  not  make  lier  so  strong  as  that 
she  might  crush  Austria,  for  then  she  would  be- 
come in  her  turn  the  more  dangerous  power,  in 
place  of  being  a  useful  ally;  that  he  must  sacrifice 
neither  the  lesser  princes,  the  old  friends  of 
France,  nor  the  ecclesiastical  &tates,  without  ex- 
ception, estates  little  consistent,  little  military,  and 
preferable  as  neighbours  to  lay  princes  and  sol- 
diers; nor,  in  fine,  the  free  cities,  respectable  by 
the  recollections  attached  to  them,  respectable 
above  all  by  the  title  of  republics,  for  the  republic 
of  France;  that  to  sacriHce  at  the  same  time  to 
Prussia  all  the  little  states,  hereditary,  ecclesias- 
tical, and  rei)ublican,  this  was  to  favour  the  reali- 
zation of  that  German  unity,  more  dangerous  for 
the  European  equilibrium,  if  it  were  even  con- 
stituted, than  all  the  Austrian  jK)wer  had  been  of 
old;  that  in  making  the  balance  incline,  in  a  word, 
towards  the  innovating  protestant  l>arty,  it  would 
only  be  needful  to  incline,  and  not  to  overturn  it, 
because  that  would  be  to  push  Austria  to  despair, 
perhaps  to  hasten  it  to  a  fall,  to  re|)lace  one  enemy 
by  another,  and  in  some  future  time  prepare  for 
France  a  rivalry  with  the  house  of  Brandenburg, 
to  the  full  as  formidable  as  that  which  had  caused 
war  with  the  house  of  Austria  during  several 
centuries. 

Full  of  these  wi.so  rpHections,  the  first  consul 
endeavoured  to  bring  Prussia  into  more  moderate 
views.  Arrived  at  an  understanding  with  her, 
lie  wisheil  to  negotiate  with  the  interests  of  the 
second  order,  and  to  get  them  to  be  satisfied  with 
n  just  portion  of  the  indemnity;  he  then  designed 
to  open  at  once  at  St.  Petersburg  a  negotiation 
entirely  courteous,  to  flatter  the  |uide  of  the  young 
emperor,  which  he  had  discovered  clearly  under  a 
feigned  modesty,  and  ti>  obtain  his  alliance,  by  fair 
proceedings,  to'the  territorial  airaiigements  which 
should  be  decree<l.  \\'itli  the  concurrence  of  I'rus- 
sia  salislied,  and  of  Russia  flattered,  ho  hoped  to 
render  ineviuible  tin;  assent  of  Austria,  if,  at  the 
Biime  time,  care  were  taken  not  to  exnspcrato  her 
too  much  by  the  arrangements  adopted. 

Ill  combinaiioiis  ho  veiy  complicated,  it  was 
necessary  to  wait,  ami   to  pass  over  several  plans 


400       Different  plans  of  action.        THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Mecklenburg  refuses 
the  offers  of  Prussia 
and  France. 


1802. 

Aug. 


before  arriving  at  that  which  should  be  definitive. 
The  idea  of  the  first  consul  relative  to  the  distri- 
bution of  the  German  territory,  had  been,  at  first, 
to  separate  one  from  the  other  of  the  thi-ee  great 
central  powers  of  the  continent,  Austria,  Prussia, 
and  France,  and  to  place  between  them  the  entire 
mass  of  the  German  confederation.  In  this  view, 
the  first  consul  would  have  conceded  to  Austria, 
not  the  total  of  her  pretensions,  that  is,  the  course 
of  the  Isar,  because  in  that  case  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  transport  the  palatine  house  into  Suabia 
and  Franconia;  but  he  would  have  conceded  the 
Inn  in  its  whole  course,  that  is  to  say,  the  bishopric 
of  Salzburg,  the  provostship  of  Berchtolsgaden,  the 
country  comprised  between  the  Salza  and  the  Inn, 
and  further,  the  bishoprics  of  Brixen  and  Trente, 
situated  in  the  Tyrol.  Austria  thus  iiidenniified 
on  her  own  account  and  that  of  the  two  archdukes, 
should  have  been  bound  to  renounce  all  posses- 
sions in  Suabia;  she  would  have  been  placed  be- 
hind the  Inn  entirely  ;  she  would  have  been  com- 
pact, and  covered  by  an  excellent  frontier  ;  she 
would  finally  have  found  I'est,  and  have  given  it  to 
Bavaria,  through  the  solution  of  tlie  old  question 
of  the  Inn. 

At  the  same  time  that  Austria  would  have  re- 
nounced her  establishment  in  Suabia,  Prussia 
would  have  been  made  to  renounce  liers  in  Fran- 
conia, by  demanding  her  abandonment  of  the 
margraviates  of  Anspach  and  Bareuth.  With  the 
margraviates  and  the  contiguous  bishoprics  of 
Wurtzburg  and  Bamburg,  and  witli  the  possessions 
of  which  Austria  had  made  the  sacrifice  in  Suabia, 
with  the  bishoprics  of  Freisingen  and  Aichstedt, 
enclosed  in  the  Bavarian  dominions,  there  would 
have  been  composed  for  the  palatine  house  a  terri- 
tory well  rounded,  extending  at  once  over  Bavaria, 
Suabia,  and  Franconia,  capable  of  serving  as  a 
barrier  between  France  and  Austria.  At  this 
price  the  palatine  house  would  have  been  enabled 
to  abandon  the  rest  of  the  palatine  on  the  Rhine 
and  the  fine  duchy  of  Bei'g,  placed  at  the  other 
extremity  of  Germany,  that  is  to  say,  towards 
Westphalia.  Prussia,  separated  from  Franconia, 
as  Austria  from  Suabia,  would  have  been  carried 
back  entirely  to  the  north.  To  be  wholly  carried 
back  it  would  be  needful  to  remove  the  obstacle 
which  intervened,  that  is  to  say,  the  two  branches  of 
the  house  of  Mecklenburg;  and  these  two  families 
might  be  established  in  the  territories  become 
vacant  in  the  centre  of  Germany.  Prussia  would 
be  found  upon  the  shoies  of  the  Baltic;  she  having 
received,  besides,  the  bishoprics  of  Munster,  Osna- 
bruck,  and  Hildesheim.  Indemnified  thus  for  her 
losses,  new  and  old,  she  would  have  to  abandon  all 
the  duchy  of  Cieves,  of  which  a  part,  situated  on 
the  left  of  the  Rhine,  had  passed  to  Fi-ance,  and 
of  which  the  part  situated  on  the  right  bank  would 
have  increased  the  mass  of  indemnities.  Then, 
ali'eady  separated  from  Austria  by  the  abandon- 
ment of  Franconia,  she  had  been  so  from  France 
by  her  distance  from  the  banks  of  tlie  Rhine. 

There  would  remain  in  the  vacant  duchies  of 
Cieves,  of  Berg,  and  of  Westphalia,  in  the  remains 
of  the  electorates  of  Cologne,  Treves,  and  Mayence, 
in  the  enclosed  de))endencics  of  Mayence,  Erfurth, 
and  Eichsfeld,  in  the  bishopric  of  Fulda,  and  other 
ecclesiastical  properties,  in  the  fragments  of  the 
palatinate   of  the   Rliine,  in  a  great  number  of 


"  mediate"  and  also  of  "  immediate"  allies,  spread 
over  all  Germany — there  would  remain  enough  of 
which  to  compose  a  state  for  the  house  of  Meck- 
lenburg and  that  of  Orange  ;  to  indemnify  tlie 
houses  of  Hesse,  Baden,  and  Wurtemburg,  and  a 
crowd  of  inferior  princes.  Finally,  in  the  sees  of 
Aichstadt,  Augsburg,  Ratisbon,  and  Passau,  there 
would  have  been  enough  to  keep  two  of  the  ecclesi- 
astical electors  out  of  three,  a  thing  which  had  been 
contemplated  by  the  first  consul,  because  he  did  not 
wish  to  change  too  much  the  Germanic  constitution, 
and  he  was  pleased  besides  to  protect  the  church 
in  every  country. 

In  this  plan,  profoundly  conceived,  Austria, 
Prussia,  and  France,  were  established  the  one  at  a 
distance  from  the  other  ;  the  Germanic  confede- 
ration was  united  in  one  sole  body,  and  placed  in 
the  midst  of  the  great  continental  powers,  with 
a  useful  character,  important  and  honourable,  of 
separating  them,  and  preventing  collisions  between 
them  ;  the  German  states  thus  acquiring  a  perfect 
limitation,  the  Germanic  constitution  was  usefully 
reformed,  and  not  destroyed. 

The  pian  which  the  first  consul  at  first  ]>ropoRed 
to  Prussia,  was  not  immediately  refused.  It  was  an 
advantage  to  this  power  to  become  as  coniijact  in 
territory  as  possible,  to  border  on  the  Baltic,  and 
to  occupy  all  the  northern  part  of  Germany.  Her 
definitive  consent  depended  upon  the  extent  or 
quantity  of  territory  offered  to  her  when  the 
details  of  the  partition  came  to  be  settled.  But  if 
the  princes  of  the  centre  of  Germany,  whose  states, 
at  that  moment  vested  in  them  only  upon  the 
changeable  will  of  the  negotiators,  were  al)le  to  be 
moved  with  ease  to  the  north  or  to  the  south, 
the  east  or  west,  it  became  another  matter  for  the 
jjrinces  confined  to  the  northern  part  of  the  con- 
federation like  the  princes  of  Mecklenburg,  strongly 
established  in  the  midst  of  their  subjects,  whose 
affection  they  had  possessed  for  many  ages,  stran- 
gers to  all  the  territorial  vicissitudes  brought 
about  by  the  war,  and  difticult  to  be  per.suaded 
into  a  displacement  so  very  considerable.  Besides, 
if  they  said  a  word  to  England,  she  would  not  fail 
to  make  a  scheme  misca'rry  which  should  deliver 
over  the  shores  of  the  Baltic  to  Prussia. 

Spontaneously  or  not,  the  princes  of  Mecklen- 
burg refused,  in  a  peremptory  manner,  the  ex- 
change which  was  offered  to  them.  Yet  Prussia, 
which  had  been  charged  with  the  opening  o^'  the 
negotiation,  had  clearly  hinted  to  them  that  France, 
in  making  neighbours  of  them,  wished  also  to 
make  them  her  friends,  and  would  show  herself 
liberal  towards  them  in  the  distribution  of  the  in- 
demnities. 

Howsoever  important  that  part  of  the  plan  of 
the  first  consul  might  have  been  which  was  thus 
refused,  it  was  still  worth  while  to  carry  out  the 
realization  of  the  rest.  It  was  always  a  good 
object  if  possible  to  keep  Austria  behind  the  Inn, 
and  thus  to  concede  to  her  for  once  the  long  con- 
tinued object  of  her  wishes  ;  it  was  always  bene- 
ficial to  concentrate  Prussia  in  the  north  of  Ger- 
many, and  to  exclude  her  from  Franconia,  wliere 
her  presence  was  of  no  advantage  to  any  body,  and 
might  possibly  become  dangerous  to  herself  in  ease 
of  a  war,  since  the  i)rovinces  of  Anspach  and 
Bareuth  lay  directly  upon  the  route  of  the  French 
and  Austrian  armies,  and  thus  it  would  be  difficult 


Aug. 


Prussia  renews  her  former  pre- 
tensions.—  Her  losses  and 
diminution  of  revenue. 


THE  SECULARIZATION."' 


Termination  to  the  preten- 
sions uf  Russia  to  the 
inUenmitie!-. 


to  pay  respect  to  her  neutrality.  The  sequel  of 
this  history  will  reveal  the  serious  inconveuier.ee 
of  such  a  situation. 

But  Prussia  and  Austria  were  very  exacting  in 
every  thinj^  that  concerned  themselves.  Though 
Austria  found  the  frontier  of  the  Inn  e.\ceediiigly 
attractive,  she  was  unwilling  to  cede  any  thing  in 
Suabia  ;  she  made  demands  of  possessions  tliere, 
even  after  she  might  acquire  the  frontier  of  the 
Inn.  She  demanded  besides  Salzburg  and  Berch- 
t.ilsgaden,  and  besides  tiie  country  between  the 
Salza  and  the  Inn,  the  bishopric  of  Passau.  The 
bish'ips  of  Bri.xen  and  of  Trent,  which  would  be 
given  over  to  her,  were  not  in  her  view  a  gift, 
because  they  were  in  the  Tyrol,  and  to  Austria  all 
which  was  in  the  Tyrol,  all  which  was  in  that 
country,  appeared  so  much  her  own  property,  that 
she  affected  to  believe,  in  receiving  them,  she 
received  nothing  new.  Prussia,  on  her  side,  would 
not  depart  from  any  of  her  pretensions  in  Franconia. 
Under  this  aspect  of  things  the  first  consul 
adopted  the  plan  of  abandoning  the  beneficial  for 
the  possible,  a  painful  necessity,  but  often  needful 
in  great  and  important  affairs  of  state.  He  di- 
rected himself  to  the  object  of  a  clear  tinderstand- 
ing  ttitlv  Prussia,  in  order  to  concert  measures 
subsequently  with  Russia,  reserving  for  the  latter 
part  of  the  negotiation  the  agreement  with  Austria, 
that  exhibited  a  despairing  obstinacy  in  the  mat- 
ter, which  it  was  not  possible  to  succeed  in  over- 
coming but  by  the  accession  of  united  adhesions  to 
the  side  opposed  to  her. 

He  announced  primarily  his  firm  resolution  not 
to  suffer  any  interest  to  be  sacrificed  ;  to  give 
nothing  to  the  greater  states  at  the  expense  of  the 
smaller  ;  not  to  suppress  all  the  free  towns,  not 
utterly  to  destroy  the  catholic  party.  General 
Beurnonville,  the  French  ambassador  at  Berlin, 
was  at  the  same  moment  upon  leave  in  Paris.  He 
had  been  ordered  in  the  course  of  May,  1802,  or 
Flor(?al,  year  x.,  to  hold  a  conference  there  with 
M.  Lucchesini,  the  minister  of  Prussia,  and  to 
sign  a  convention,  in  which  should  be  stipulated 
the  particular  arrangements  for  the  houses  of 
Brandenburg  and  Orange. 

Prussia  now  reproduced  all  her  former  preten- 
sions, but  she  had  no  chance  of  treating  advan- 
tjigeously  with  anybody  but  with  P'raiice.  She 
was  then  obliged  to  resign  herself  to  an  arrange- 
ment, which,  although  much  inferior  to  that  she 
desired  to  have,  could  not  fail  to  ap|)ear  to  the 
whole  of  Germany  an  act  of  great  partiality  to- 
wards her. 

This  powfi-  had  lost,  as  already  seen,  the  duchy 
of  Gueldres,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine,  a  i)art 
of  the  duchy  of  (Aleves,  and  the  little  principality  of 
Muiurs  ;  she  had  ceded  to  Holland  some  estates 
enclosed  in  that  territ<jry  ;  and  lastly,  she  had 
been  deprived  of  the  revenue  arising  from  the 
Udls  on  the  Rhine,  in  consequence  of  a  general 
disposition  relative  to  the  navigation.  These  losses 
united  drew  after  them  a  diminution  of  revenue, 
which  Prussia  valued  at  2,0()(»,0(»0  ..f  flcrins,  that 
Austria  estimated  at  only  7'»'*'l'")  II.,  Riis-sia  at 
1,000,00011.,  and  France,  wisliini;  to  favour  her 
clami,  at  1,200,000  fl.  or  1,300,00011.  By  a  con- 
vention, signed  on  the  "JSrd  i,{  May,  1802,  or  3rd 
Priarial,  year  x.,  France  promised  to  dbtnin  for 
Prussia  the  bishoprics  of  Paderborn  and  llildes- 


heim,  a  part  of  the  bishopric  of  Munster,  the  terri- 
tories of  Erfurth  and  Eichsfeld,  the  remains  of  the 
ancient  electorate  of  Mayence,  and,  lastly,  some 
abbeys  and  free  cities,  the  whole  representing  in 
value  about  1,800,000  florins  of  revenue,  or  just 
500,000  florins  more  than  the  estimated  amount  of 
the  losses  they  were  intended  to  compensate. 
Prussia  obtained  nothing  in  Franconia,  which  was 
to  her  a  subject  of  deep  regret,  because  her  whole 
ambition  wa-s  perseveringly  directed  to  that  quar- 
ter ;  but  Eichsfeld  and  Erfurth  were  intermediate 
points,  which  might  serve  for  stations  towards  her 
arrival  in  the  provinces  of  Franconia.  While 
feigning  to  resign  herself  to  enormous  sacrifices, 
she  signed  the  treaty,  satisfied  at  bottom  with  the 
acquisitions  which  she  had  obtained.  On  the  fol- 
lowing day  a  particular  convention  was  concluded 
with  iter  for  the  indenniity  of  the  house  of  Orange- 
Nassau.  This  house  was  not  placed  in  the  state  of 
Westphalia,  as  it  would  have  wished,  but  in  that  of 
Upper  Hesse.  The  bishopric  and  abbey  of  Fulda, 
the  abbey  of  Corvey,  at  a  little  distance  from 
Fulda,  that  of  Weingarten  and  some  others,  com- 
posed this  indemnity.  By  this  arrangement,  without 
being  placed  too  near  to  Holland  and  the  relations 
of  the  stadtholdei-ate,  it  was,  notwithstanding,  suffi- 
ciently near  the  country  of  Nassau,  where  all  the 
branches  of  this  family  were  or  ought  to  be  in- 
demnified. 

These  advantages  were  granted  to  Prussia  and 
to  her  relative  with  the  object  of  insuring  their 
alliance.  Thus,  too,  the  first  consul  designed  to 
profit  hy  the  opportunity — to  obtain  from  her  a 
formal  adhesion  to  all  which  he  had  done  in 
Euroi)e.  He  demanded  and  obtained  from  the 
head  of  the  house  of  Orange-Nassau,  the  acknow- 
ledgment of  the  Batavian  republic,  and  the  re- 
nunciation of  the  stadthoklerate  ;  he  demanded  of 
Prussia  an  acknowledgment  of  the  Italian  republic 
and  of  the  kingdom  of  Etruria,  and  an  implicit 
approbation  of  the  union  of  Piedmont  to  France. 
The  king,  Frederick  William,  thus  found  him.self 
bound  to  the  policy  of  the  first  consul,  in  what 
to  all  the  rest  of  Europe  was  the  most  objec- 
tionable. He  still  did  not  hesitate,  but  gave  the 
adhesions  required  in  the  same  document  which 
iissigned  to  him  his  own  share  of  the  German  in- 
demnities. 

After  having  thus  put  a  terminaticm  to  the  pre- 
tensions of  Prussia  to  the  indenniities,  the  first 
consul,  faithful  to  his  scheme  of  coming  to  an 
understanding  successively  and  individually  with 
the  ])rincii)als  interested,  signed  on  the  same  day  a 
convention  with  Bavaria.  He  treated  this  coinitry 
ill  the  convention  as  the  old  ally  of  France.  He 
insured  to  it  all  the  ecclesiastical  ])rinci])alitics 
enclosed  in  its  own  territory,  the  Ijishopric  of 
Augsburg,  but  without  the  town,  which  was  to  be 
preserved  as  one  of  the  free  citii  s,  and  the  bishop- 
ric of  Freisingen  ;  the  ])hu"es  brjnlering  on  tha 
Tyrol,  nmcli  desired  by  Austria,  such  us  the  abbey 
of  Kemplen,  and  the  country  <if  Werdenfels  ;  the 
fortress  of  Passau,  without  the  bishopric,  enclosed 
in  the  Austrian  territfiry,  and  destined  for  tha 
archduke  Ferdinand  ;  the  bishopric  of  Aichstadt, 
on  the  borders  of  the  Danube  ;  the  two  graiul 
bishoprics  of  Wurtzburg  and  of  Banibnrg,  forming 
a  noted  jiart  of  Franconia  ;  fiinilly,  several  fn-o 
towns  and  abbeys  of  Suabia,  that  Austria,  in  her 
D  D 


Partkipaiioii  of  Russia 
4Q2  ill  llie  Germanic  ne- 

giitiatiuii. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Proposition  of  the  first 
ciiiibul  to  the  em- 
peror Alexander. 


180)!. 
Aug. 


amliitidus  ilreams.  had  demanded  for  herself,  par-  | 
tic-iilaily  Uhii,  Meniniingeii,  Biichorn,  and  olliers. 
The  question  of  the  Inn  between  Austria  and 
Bavaria  was  not  detemiined  ;  tlie  case  was  left  to 
the  two  powers  interested  to  decide  in  the  waj'  of 
exchange.  'J'he  jialatine  house,  concentrated  in 
Su:il>)a  and  Francouia,  thus  obtained  a  compact 
territory.  There  was  only  the  duchy  <  f  Berg, 
placed  on  the  confines  of  Westphalia,  which  was 
separated  from  the  main  body  of  the  state.  Willi 
the  view  of  agglomerating  the  Bavarian  territory, 
that  state  had  been  made  to  abandon  all  the  pahi- 
tinate  of  the  Rhine;  but  it  was  comjjletely  iiidem- 
nifiid  for  all  which  was  thus  taken  away,  because 
if  it  lost  3  000.000  of  florins  in  revenue,  it  had 
received  3,000,000  and  several  thousand  florins 
moi-e  in  the  way  of  compensation. 

The  inili-miiities  of  Prussia  and  of  Bavaria  being 
thus  fixetl,  the  most  difficult  part  of  the  labour  was 
coiicluileil.  Two  of  the  friends  of  France  were 
conti-nted,  the  two  most  considerable  of  the  Ger- 
man states  after  Austria.  No  insiirmouiitahie 
opposilii'ii  was  alierwai'ds  to  be  apprehended.  It 
remained  still  to  make  the  agreement  with  Baden, 
Wurteml  ui^',  and  the  two  Hesses.  Baden  and 
Wurtenibiirg  were  clients  and  relatives  of  Russia. 
It  was  with  Russia  that  their  portion  slnuld  be 
arranged.  1 1  entered  into  the  first  consul's  jilaii, 
as  lias  been  already  observed,  to  give  the  empeior 
Alexander  a  participation  in  the  German  ariange- 
nu-nis,  to  interest  him  by  treating  those  he  patron- 
ized well,  by  flattering  his  pride,  and  by  appearing 
to  make  a  great  account  oF  his  influence.  First, 
he  was  obliged  to  follow  this  course  by  the  secret 
articles  annexed  to  the  last  treaty  of  peace,  by 
whii  h  he  was  bound  to  enter  into  the  affair  of  the 
German  imlenmities  in  concert  with  Russia.  The 
first  ronsul  had  thought  it  best  not  to  leave  the 
emperor  time  to  ]nit  forward  his  right  of  interven- 
tion, and  in  his  personal  correspondence  with  the 
yotmg  emperor,  he  unbosomed  himself  with  the 
utmost  confidence  regarding  all  the  great  affairs 
of  Europe,  and  demanded  his  intentions  in  regard 
to  the  houses  of  Wnrlemburg  and  Baden,  which 
had  the  Imnoiir  of  being  allied  t()  the  imperial 
family.  In  fact,  the  dowager  empress,  widow  of 
Paul  I.,  mother  of  Alexander,  was  a  princess  of 
Wiirtimburg,  and  the  reigning  empress,  the  wife 
of  Alexander,  was  a  prinCess  of  Baden.  This  last 
WHS  one  of  the  three  brilliant  sisters,  born  at  the 
little  court  of  Carlsruhe,  that  were  at  this  moment 
seated  upon  the  thrones  of  Bavaria,  Sweden,  and 
Russia. 

The  czar,  flattered  at  these  advances,  voluntarily 
accepted  the  offers  of  the  first  consul,  and  did  not 
for  a  moment  think  of  entering  into  the  idea  of 
Austria,  that  wished  the  negotiation  to  juoceed  at 
St.  Petersburg.  However  plea.sed  he  miglit  have 
been  to  see  the  most  important  business  of  Europe 
transacted  in  the  imperial  city,  he  had  the  good 
sense  not  for  a  moment  to  pretend  that  he  should  be 
so.  He  authorized  M.  Markoff",  his  minister,  to 
ne;;otiate  the  matter  in  Paris.  Wurtemburg  and 
Baden  were  for  the  emperor  the  last  interests  in 
this  negotiation.  His  essential  interest  was  to  ))ar- 
ticipate  ostensibly  in  the  entire  work.  The  first 
consul  left  the  emperor  Alexander  nothing  to  desire 
in  respect  to  the  exterior  of  the  character  he  dtsired 
to  play,  and  offered  him  a  participation  iu  a  man- 


ner whicli  alliiwed  him  to  figure  upon  an  equality 
with  the  Cabinet  of  France,  in  |>roposing  to  liini 
that  France  :iiid  Russia  should  be  constituted 
mediating  powers  between  the  different  states  of 
the  Germanic  confederation. 

This  idea  was  one  of  the  most  happy  possible. 
It  was  nece.s.sary,  in  fact,  after  having  arranged 
with  the  principals  interested,  the  part  which 
should  be  made  their  own,  to  open  a  coumiunica- 
lion  with  the  Germanic  body  assembled  at  Katis- 
bon,  and  to  bring  it  to  ratily  the  engagenrtnts 
individually  subscribed.  The  first  consul  had  the 
idea  of  uniting  these  arryiigeuunts  in  a  gtneral 
plan,  and  of  ]iresenting  them  to  the  diet  at  R;itis- 
bin,  in  the  nanus  of  France  and  Russia  spouia- 
neously,  ci  iistituting  themselves  mediating  poweis. 
This  lorm  ot  proceediiu  wtiuld  spare  the  dignity  of 
the  Gei-mauic  body,  which  would  no  nure  apptar 
to  be  dietatorially  organized  by  France,  but  thi.t  in 
the  eiiibarrassmcnt  into  which  it  had  betu  cast  by 
the  ambitious  rivals  raised  u|)  iu  its  own  bosom, 
it  acci  pted  as  arbitrators  the  two  greatest  pi.weis 
of  the  continent  as  the  nioht  disinteresteil.  It  was 
nut  iio.ssiblu  to  conceal  under  a  form  more  agree- 
able to  Germany,  more  flattering  to  the  young 
sovereign,  yet  scarcely  entered  uiion  the  stage  of 
the  world,  the  real  will  of  France.  'J  he  first 
c<  nsul,  in  thus  accepting  an  equality  of  character 
with  a  laiiice  who  had  yet  done  nothing,  han.-eJf 
covered  with  glory,  consunmiattly  versed  in  arms 
and  politics,  had  exhibited  the  most  able  conduct, 
because  owing  to  a  little  niauagement  he  had 
briiiglit  Europe  into  his  views.  The  character  of 
a  true  jiolicy  is  alwaxs  to  ])lace  the  real  result 
before  the  exteri<  r  tfl'tct.  Besides  this,  the  effect 
is  inevitably  productd  when  the  i-eal  result  is 
obtained. 

The  proposition  of  the  first  consul  to  the  emperor 
Alexander  being  acct|>ted,  it  was  agreed  to  presiut 
a  note  to  the  Girmanic  diet,  signed  by  the  two 
cabinets,  and  containing  a  rpoiitaneous  offer  of 
their  mediation.  It  then  remained  to  ha\e  an 
undtrstauding  upon  the  arrangements  to  be  L-tated 
in  tlie  note  itsell.  The  first  con.'-ul  iiad  niiicji 
trouble  to  make  M.  ]\lark(tt' accept  the  stipnlatit.DS 
already  agreed  upon  with  the  principal  German 
[loweis,  contrary  to  the  views  of  Austria,,  without 
bei!:g  seriously  |)iejudiced.  Whilst  the  y<  ung  Alex- 
ander affected  to  jiartake  in  none  of  the  passicus  of 
the  Eniopeaii  aristocracy,  M.  Markoff  in  Paris, 
and  M.  Won.nzott'  in  Liiidoii,  displayed  without 
any  reserve  all  the  jiassions  that  a  Frei.cli  emi- 
grant, an  English  tory,  or  a  grandee  of  Austria 
could  have  exhibited.  ]\1.  Markoff' was  a  Ru.-sian 
full  of  stateliniss,  and  wholly  destitute  of  that 
attractive  flexibiiiiy  which  is  so  often  met  with 
in  the  distiiigui.shed  men  of  his  o«ii  country, 
having  .some  mind,  btit  more  pritle,  and  continually 
giving  of  the  power  of  bis  own  cabinet  a  picture 
at  that  time  altogether  exaggerated.  1  he  fiist 
consul  was  not  a  man  to  tolerate  the  ridiiuhnis 
haughtiness  of  M.  Maiki.ff',  and  kiitw  how  to  Keep 
the  ambassador  in  bis  proper  place,  w  bile  observing 
lor  the  sovereign  he  represented  the  jiropi  r  degree 
of  legard.  The  first  consul  offered  lor  Wurtem- 
burg, Baden,  and  Bavaria,  advantages  ctrtainly 
superior  to  the  losses  that  these  three  houses  had 
sustained.  But  M.  Markoff",  indiffiient  to  the  im- 
perial   relationship,   eveu    to   the    Uussiau  policy, 


Particulars  of  the  indemnities.       THE  SECULARIZATIONS.        Particulars  of  the  indemnities.        403 


which  begun  after  the  peace  of  Teschen,  to  favour 
the  smaller  German  powers,  in  his  zeal  for  the 
cjuise  of  old  Europe,  exhibited  himself  not  Russijin 
but  Austrian.  It  was  for  Austria  that  he  appeared 
to  interest  himself  exclusiveh-.  Prussia  was  odious 
to  him  ;  he  contested  all  its  statements,  admitted 
on  the  contraiy  those  of  Austria,  and  demanded 
for  that  power  as  much  as  they  would  have  asked 
for  in  Vienna.  The  bishopric  of  Salzburg,  the 
prevost  of  Bercht"lsgaden,  accorded  by  general 
consent  to  the  archduke  Ferdinand,  produced  very 
nearly  as  much  as  Tuscany,  or  in  other  words, 
2,500,000  florins.  There  were  added  further  to 
thtse  two  principalities  the  bishoprics  of  Trent 
and  Brixen.  But  M.  Markoff  would  not  admit  of 
this  addition  going  into  the  account.  These  last 
bishoprics  were  in  the  Tyrol,  and  on  that  account, 
according  to  him,  so  much  Austrian,  that  it  was  to 
toke  them  away  from  the  emperor  to  give  them  to 
an  archduke.  This  was  answered  by  tlie  statement 
that  Trent  and  Brixen  were  ecelisiastical  j)rin- 
cipalitifs,  wholly  independent,  although  enclosed  in 
the  Austrian  territories,  and  that  they  could  not 
become  Austrian  property  until  they  should  be 
formally  conft-rred  upon  her. 

Austria  wished  to  have  besides  the  bishopric  of 
Pas>au,  which  would  secure  to  her  the  important 
fort  e&s  of  Passau,  situated  at  the  confluence  of  the 
Inn  and  the  Danube, and  forming  a  fortified  bridge- 
head towards  Bavaria.  It  was  agreed  to  give 
Austria  the  bishopric  without  the  town,  which  was 
very  possible,  and  at  the  same  time  convenient, 
because  the  territory  of  this  bishopric  is  entirely 
comprised  witiiin  the  dominions  of  Austria,  and  the 
fortified  town  of  Passau  in  Bavaria.  To  give  Pas- 
sau to  Austria  would  be  to  give  up  to  her  a  threat- 
ening offensive  position  iii  regard  to  Bavaria  ; 
nothing,  therefore,  was  more  consistent  nor  more 
natural,  than  to  grant  the  bishopric  to  the  archduke 
Ferdinand,  and  Passau  to  the  elector  i)alatiiie. 
But  Austria  rt-'.jarded  Passau  as  a  capital  position, 
and  M.  Markoff  sup|)orted  its  grant  to  Austria  with 
extreme  warmth.  However,  it  became  necessary 
to  terminate  this  long  negotiation  ;  and  M.Markoff 
feeling  the  pi>ssibility  that  it  might  finish  without 
Rus.sia,  consented  at  l;ist  to  agree,  and  went  into 
an  arrangement  with  M.  Talleyrand  upon  the  de- 
finitive plan. 

The  advantages  already  conceded  by  the  first 
consul  to  Prus^iaand  the  house  of  Orange,  although 
warmly  contested  by  M.  Markoff,  were  inserted 
entire  in  the  definitive  plan.  These  were,  as  has 
l»eeii  already  slated,  for  Prussia  the  bishoprics  of 
Hildcsheim,  Paderborn,  and  Munstcr  ;  this  took 
only  in  part  Eichsfeld,  Erfiirth,  and  some  abbeys 
and  free  towns  besides:  ami  for  the  house  of 
Orange- Nassau,  P'ulda  and  Corvey.  Tiurc  was 
inserted  in  the  same  plan  the  coiulilions  already 
Ktipulated  for  Bavaria,  in  other  wordrf,  the  bishop- 
rics of  Freisingen  and  Augsburg,  the  county  of 
Wifilenfels,  ihu  abbey  of  Keniplen,  the  city  of 
P.iMsau  without  the  bishopric,  the  bishoprics  of 
AichstJidt,  Wurlzburg,  and  Bamburg,  with  several 
free  towns  and  abbeys  of  Suabia. 

Austria  was  to  r<(!eive  lor  the  archduke  of  Tus- 
cany, the  bishopries  of  Biixen,  Trent,  Salzburg, 
and  E'aHBiin,  the  l.-ist  without  the  lortress',  and  the 
j.revost  of  B  irehtolsgaden.  This  was  a  revenue  of 
3,500,000  florins,  as  an  indcnuiity  for  a  net  revenue 


of  2.5(10,000,  with  the  advantage  of  a  contiguity  of 
territory  which  was  not  oflered  by  Tuscany.  Aus- 
tria obtained  nothing  in  Suabia,  but  she  kept  her 
old  possessions  there.  It  was  at  lier  option  to 
exchange  these  for  the  frontier  of  the  Inn.  The 
Brisgau  was,  as  in  anterior  treaties,  insured  to  the 
duke  of  Modeiin. 

The  house  of  Baden  was  very  well  treated,  a 
matter  that  seemed  to  interest  M.  Markoff  in  a 
very  moderate  degree.  The  house  had  lost  various 
lordships  and  estates  in  Alsace  and  Luxemburg, 
representing  in  value  a  sum  of  315,000  florins  of 
revenue  at  the  utmost.  Baden  was  secured  terri- 
tories at  its  own  doors,  such  as  the  bishoiiric  of 
Constance,  the  remiumtsof  the  bishoprics  of  Spii'es, 
Strasburg,  and  Bale,  the  baihvicks  of  Ladenburg, 
Bretten,  and  Heidelburg,  which  amounted  to 
450,000  florins  of  revenue,  without  adding  the 
electoral  dignity  which  it  was  destined  to  receive. 

The  house  of  Wurteinbiirg  was  iiot  treated  less 
favourably.  To  this  was  conceded  the  prevost  of 
Ellwangen  and  difTerent  alibeys,  forming  a  revenue 
of  :i8O,60O  florins,  in  compensation  fur  the  250,000 
that  it  had  lost. 

The  houses  of  Hesse  and  of  Nassau  were  equally 
indemnified  by  means  of  territories  situated  at 
their  own  dr)ors,  and  proportioned  to  their  losses. 
The  inferior  princes  were  carefully  defended  by 
France,  and  preserved  revenues  pretty  nearly 
equivalent  to  those  of  which  they  had  been  de- 
spoiled. The  houses  of  Aremburg  and  Solms  were 
placed  in  Westphalia.  The  counts  of  Westphalia 
obtained  the  low  bishopric  of  Munster.  There  was 
little  notice  taken  of  England  in  this  matter;  she 
did  not  seem  to  take  any  great  interest  in  the  ques- 
tion of  the  German  indemnities.  Still  it  was  not 
forgotten  that  George  111.  was  elector  of  Hanover, 
and  that  he  set  a  great  value  upcjii  this  ancient 
inheriuince  of  his  family.  He  regarded  it  even  as 
a  last  resource  in  moments  of  melancholy,  when  he 
believed  that  he  saw  England  overturned  by  a  re- 
volution. It  was  wished  lo  dispose  him  favourably 
to  the  measure  :  ami  as  he  was  also  requested  to 
abandon  certain  rights  in  favour  of  the  cities  of 
Bremen  and  Hambuig.  and  to  make  some  small 
sacrifices  in  favour  of  Prussia,  he  received  as  an 
inde^nnity  the  bishopric  of  Osnabruck,  contiguous 
to  Hanover,  an  iodenmity  very  snjierior  to  all  that 
he  had  lost,  but  which  had  for  its  object  to  interest 
him  in  a  streimous  way  in  the  success  of  the  nego- 
tiation. 

A  certain  number  of  the  "  mediate  "  abbeys  was 
reserved  to  complete  the  indenniities  of  the  princes 
who  might  have  been  ill  treated  in  the  first  parti- 
tii  II,  and  also  to  fiunish  pensions  to  the  members 
of  the  suppres.std  clergy.  In  general,  the  princes 
who  received  the  ecclesiastical  i>roperty  were  bur- 
dened with  the  payment  of  the  pensions  to  all  the 
living  titularies,  bisho|  s,  abbots,  membei-s  of  chap- 
ters, and  oflicers  attached  to  their  service.  It  was 
the  most  obvious  duty  of  humanity  towards  the 
incumbents  from  whom  they  look  the  jiroperty,  and 
of  whom  they  destroyed  ilie  princely  rank.  But  if 
the  suppressed  clergy  on  tin-  right  bank  of  the 
Khine  were  thus  piln  ided  (..r,  there  remained 
those  dispossessed  n|»>n  (lie  hit  lank;  and  these 
being,  in  conse(|uenci;  <if  treaties,  without  any  re- 
source against  France,  they  wore  without  the  means 
of  u  livelihood.  It  was  for  the  sustenance  of  ihcBo 
D  d  2 


The  division  of  the 
indemnities. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Organization  of  the 
colleges. 


1802. 
Aug. 


that  a  good  many  of  the  "  mediate  "  abbeys  re- 
served were  destined. 

Such  were  the  territorial  dispositions  agreed 
upon  witli  M.  Markoff.  There  had  been  distributed 
nearly  14.000,000  of  florins  in  indemnities,  to  meet 
13,000,000  of  loss.  That  which  well  exhibits  the 
greediness  of  the  great  courts,  is  the  fact  that 
Austria  took  nearly  4,000,000  for  the  arclidukes  ; 
Prussia  two  for  herself  and  half  a  million  for 
the  stadtholder  ;  Bavaria  3,000,000,  the  exact 
equivalent  of  her  loss  ;  Wurtemburg,  Baden,  the 
two  Hesses,  and  Nassau,  about  two;  all  the  smaller 
princes  united,  about  two  and  a  half.  Austria  and 
Prussia  tliei'efore  obtained  the  larger  part  for  them- 
selves, or  for  princes  who  made  no  part  of  the 
Germanic  confederation. 

The  constitutional  dispositions  still  remained  to 
be  made,  and  it  was  necessary  to  complete  them. 
The  first  consul  was  at  first  inclined  to  preserve 
two  ecclesiastical  electors,  but  was  afterwards 
thwarted  by  the  obstinacy  of  Austria  ;  deprived  of 
resources  by  the  greediness  of  the  great  courts,  he 
found  himself  reduced  to  the  preservation  of  only 
one.  The  elector  of  Cologne  was  dead,  and  was 
replaced,  for  form's  sake  alone,  by  the  archduke 
Antony,  but  without  any  intention  on  the  part  of 
Austria  to  make  the  election  valid.  The  elector- 
archbishop  of  Treves,  a  Saxon  prince,  i-etired  to 
his  second  benefice,  the  bishopric  of  Augsburg,  iuid 
nothing  of  which  to  complain  or  regret.  Tliere 
was  adjudged  him  a  pension  of  100,000  florins. 
The  actual  elector  of  Mayence  was  a  prince  of  the 
house  of  Dulbui-g,  of  whom  mention  has  been 
already  made.  He  liad,  independently  of  his  per- 
sonal qualities,  a  claim  to  be  maintained  by  the 
importiince  of  his  see,  to  which  was  attached  the 
chancellory  of  the  empire  of  Germany,  and  the 
presidency  of  the  diet.  The  quality  of  arehchan- 
cellor  of  the  empire  was  therefore  preserved  to 
him,  as  well  iis  the  presidency  of  the  diet.  The 
bishopric  of  Ratisbon  was  given  to  him  where  the 
diet  held  its  sittings.  Bt-sides  the  bailwick  of 
Aschaffenburg,  he  iiad  left  him  the  remains  of  the 
ancient  electorate  of  Mayence  ;  and  it  was  agreed 
to  make  up  for  him,  by  means  of  reserved  pro- 
perty, a  revenue  of  a  million  of  florins. 

There  would  in  consequence  remain  out  of  the 
three  ecclesiastical  electors,  and  with  the  five  lay 
electors,  in  all  but  six.  The  first  consul  wished  to 
augment  the  number,  and  to  render  it  unequal  ; 
he  proposed  to  have  nine  electors.  The  title  was 
conferred  on  the  margrave  of  Baden,  for  the  good 
conduct  of  that  prince  towards  France,  and  from 
his  relationshii)  with  Russia  ;  on  the  duke  of  Wur- 
temburg and  landgrave  of  Hesse,  from  their  weight 
in  the  confederation.  These  were  three  protestant 
electors  more,  which  made  six  protestants  against 
three  catholics.  The  majority  was  thus  changed 
in  the  electoral  college  to  the  advantage  of  the 
protestant  side  ;  but  it  was  not,  on  that  account, 
any  way  nearer  taking  away  its  legitimate  influence 
from  Austria,  because  Austria  was  at  all  times 
certain  of  the  votes  of  Bohemia,  Saxony,  and  May- 
ence, most  frequently  of  that  of  Hanover,  and  in 
certain  cases  of  those  belonging  to  Baden  and 
Wurtemburg. 

It  was  agreed  upon,  that  the  princes  indemnified 
with  the  ecclesiastical  lands,  should  sit  in  the  col- 
lege of  princes  for  the  lordships  of  which  they  had 


acquired  the  title.  This  step  yet  more  changed 
the  majority  in  the  college  of  princes  to  the  advan- 
tage of  the  protestant  party  ;  but  thanks  to  the 
i-espect  inspired  by  the  house  which  had  for  so  long 
a  time  been  impei-ial,  and  thanks  to  the  interest 
that  the  ])etty  princes  have  in  preserving  the  Ger- 
manic constitution,  the  protestant  votes  newly  in- 
troduced were  not  all  hostile  votes  to  Austria.  If 
it  be  supposed  that  the  protestant  or  Prussian 
])arty,  as  it  shall  be  called,  had,  in  consequence  of 
the  new  arrangements,  acquired  a  numerical  ma- 
jority in  the  colleges  of  electors  and  princes,  Aus- 
tria, with  the  old  prestige  with  which  she  was 
surrounded,  with  the  prerogatives  attached  to  the 
imjierial  crown,  with  her  influence  directed  on  the 
elector  (if  Ratisbon,  with  the  power  of  ratification 
which  she  possessed  in  regard  to  all  the  resolutions 
of  the  diet,  would  have  still  the  means  to  counter- 
balance the  opposition  of  Prussia,  and  to  remain 
sufficiently  powerful  to  prevent  anarchy  from  in- 
troducing itself  into  the  Germanic  body.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  in  taking  fi'om  Austria  the  numerical 
majority,  there  had  been  taken  from  her,  in  a 
greater  or  less  degree,  the  power  to  domineer  over 
Germany  at  her  will,  and  to  draw  it  into  war  on  the 
promptings  of  her  pride  or  her  ambition.  This 
was  the  opinion  of  the  new  arclichancelJor,  who 
was  well  versed  in  the  practical  knowledge  of  the 
German  constitution. 

It  was  needful  to  organize,  lastly,  the  colleges  of 
the  cities,  having  little  influence  at  any  former 
time,  and  destined  not  to  have  more  in  the  time  to 
come.  Altliough  the  treaty  of  Luneville  had  not 
spoken  of  the  suppression  of  the  free  towns,  but 
only  of  the  suppression  of  the  principal  ecclesiastics, 
still  the  existence  of  many  of  these  towns  was  so 
illusory,  their  administration  so  onerous  for  them- 
selves, the  exception  that  they  formed  in  the  midst 
of  the  Germanic  territory  so  troublesome  and  so 
i-epeated,  that  it  became  necessary  to  suppress  the 
greatest  number.  The  protection  which  they  had 
sought  of  old  in  their  quality  of  "  intermediate" 
cities,  that  is  to  say,  cities  dependent  oidy  upon 
the  emperor,  tliey  now  found  in  the  sense  of  justice 
belonging  to  the  present  day,  and  in  the  observa- 
tion of  laws  much  more  punctually  executed  than 
formerly.  Still,  to  sujipress  all  would  have  been 
too  rigorous;  yet  it  may  be  affirmed,  that  but  for 
the  first  consul,  the  most  celebrated  would  have 
sunk  under  the  ambition  of  the  surrounding 
governments.  But  he  held  it  a  matter  of  honour 
to  preserve  the  principal  among  them.  He  would 
maintain  the  cities  of  Augsburg  and  Nuremburg, 
because  of  their  historical  celebrity;  Ratisbon,  on 
account  of  the  presence  of  the  diet;  Wetzlar,  from 
the  imperial  chamber  being  held  there;  Frankfort 
and  Lubeck,  because  of  their  commercial  impor- 
tance. He  devised  the  junction  of  two,  which, 
although  considerable,  even  the  most  considerable 
of  all,  Hamburg  and  Bremen,  had  not  the  rank  of 
iini)erial  cities.  Bremen  depended  upon  Hanover. 
It  was  detached  at  the  jirice  of  a  part  of  the 
bishopric  of  Osnabruck.  Hamburg  enjoyed  real 
independence,  but  it  had  no  voice  in  the  college 
of  cities.  It  was  now  comprised  among  them,  and 
the  first  consul  added  some  useful  privileges  to  the 
excejjtional  existence  of  the  free  towns  left.  They 
were  declared  neutral  for  the  future  in  the  wars 
of  the  empire,  exempt  from  all  military  charges. 


1802. 
Aug. 


France  combines  with  Russia 
to  perfect  the  seculariza- 
tions. 


THE  SECULARIZATIONS. 


Interview  between  the 
sovereigns  of  Russia 


I 


such  as  reciniiting,  financial  contingents,  and  the 
quartering  of  troojis.  Tliis  was  a  means  of  legiti- 
matizing and  rendering  respected  the  neutrality 
which  had  been  granted  to  them.  Another  benefit 
which  they  were  to  enjoy  beyond  any  part  besides 
of  the  Germanic  states,  was  the  suppression  of 
the  tolls,  vexatious  and  onerous  as  they  were, 
established  on  the  great  rivers  of  Germany.  The 
feudal  tolls  on  the  Rhine,  the  Weser,  and  Elbe 
were  .euppressed.  The  losses  which  resulted  from 
this  suppression  by  the  states  bordering  on  these 
rivers  had  been  calculated  and  compensated  for 
beforehand.  Some  princes  who  had  a  property  in 
certain  free  towns,  such  as  Augsburg,  Frankfort, 
and  Bremen,  were  obliged  to  renounce  them  at  the 
price  of  an  augmentation  of  indemnity.  It  is  to 
France  alone,  and  its  obstinate  efforts,  that  these 
benefits  were  due.  Thus  the  number  of  these 
cities  was  reduced  in  regard  to  such  as  had  lost 
their  importance,  and  augmented  as  to  those  that 
were  ricliest,  which  until  then  had  remained  with- 
out the  like  advantages.  Their  position  was  aggran- 
dized and  improved  ;  while  they  were  placed  in  a 
situation  to  render  great  services  to  the  freedom  of 
trade,  and  to  gather  the  benefits. 

This  work  when  completed,  was  embodied  in  a 
convention,  signed  on  the  4th  of  June  by  M.  Mai-- 
koft"  and  by  the  French  plenipotentiary.  Austria, 
informed  day  by  day  of  the  proceedings  of  M. 
Markoff,  held  herself  back.  On  his  side,  the  first 
consul  having  considered  the  matter  a  little,  de- 
tennined,  as  he  had  done  at  the  beginning,  to 
obtain  tlie  consent  of  the  individual  ])arties,  in 
order  to  overcome  the  reluctant,  by  the  gather- 
ing together  of  the  consenting  voices.  With  this 
view,  direct  conventions  made  with  Wurtemburg 
and  the  other  states,  finished  the  details  of  the 
])lan,  as  well  as  the  particular  or  separate  treaties 
of  France  with  the  countries  indemnified. 

M  Markoff  would  only  enter  into  a  conditional 
engagement,  and  refer  it  to  his  court.  It  was 
agreed  upon,  that  if  his  court  accepted  the  projjosed 
plan,  the  note  which  should  contain  the  accejjtance 
should  be  immediately  taken  to  Ratisbon,  and  pre- 
sented to  the  diet  in  the  names  of  France  and 
Russia,  constituting  the  mediators  to  the  Germanic 
body.  The  first  consul,  in  thus  joining  Russia  to 
his  project,  in  accord  besides  on  the  same  thing 
with  Prussia,  Bavaria,  and  the  jirincipal  states  of 
the  second  and  third  order,  would  not  fail  to  over- 
come the  resistance  of  Austria.  But  lie  was  fearful 
of  the  efTorts  she  might  make  in  St.  Petersburg  to 
stagger  the  young  emperor  in  his  resolution,  to 
awaken  his  scruples,  and  interest  his  justice  against 
his  vanity,  flattercil  as  it  was  by  the  part  he  had 
been  offered  to  play.  He  therefore  desired  general 
H<5douville,  the  French  ambassador  at  Petersburg, 
to  declare  that  he  could  not  wait  longer  than  ten 
days  for  the  consent  of  the  Russian  cabinet,  and  the 
ratification  r)f  the  convention  of  the  4th  of  Jime. 
He  was  to  make  this  declaration  in  cautious  but 
positive  terms.  It  clearly  signified,  that  if  Russia 
di<l  not  ai)iircciato  sufficiently  the  honour  of  regu- 
lating, ill  common  with  Fnincc,  the  new  state  of 
Germany,  that  the  first  consul  would  pass  on,  and 
constitute  himself  flic  sole  mediator.  There  ha<l 
not  been  leas  of  ability  tlian  timelinr-ss  in  the  con- 
descension exhibited  towards  the  court  of  Russia  ; 
and  there  had  not  been  less  in  the  firmness  which 


was   thus   shown   at   the   end   of  the   negotiation 
entered  upon  in  conjunction  with  her. 

At  this  moment,  the  emperor  Alexander  was 
absent  from  St.  Petersburg  ;  he  had  had  an  inter- 
view at  Memel  with  the  king  of  Prussia.  Although 
the  Russian  diplomacy  was  entirely  favourable  to 
Austria,  and  unfavourable  to  Prussia,  of  which  it 
severely  criticised  the  ambition  and  condescension 
towards  France,  the  emperor  Alexander  did  not 
participate  in  these  dispositions.  He  was  per- 
suaded, without  well  knowing  wherefore,  that 
Prussia  was  a  much  more  formidable  power  than 
Austria;  he  believed  that  the  secret  of  the  great  art 
'  of  war  had  remained,  since  the  death  of  Frederick 
II.,  in  the  ranks  of  the  Prussian  army,  and  he 
■  remained  of  that  opinion  even  up  to  the  time  of  the 
I  battle  of  Jena.  He  had  heard  the  world  speak  of 
the  king  who  governed  Prussia,  of  his  youth,  his 
virtues,  his  enlightened  opinions,  and  his  resistance 
to  his  ministers  ;  and  he  believed  he  saw  between 
that  king's  position  and  his  own,  more  than  one 
analogy  ;  he  had  also  conceived  the  wish  to  be 
personally  acquainted  with  him.  In  consequence  he 
had  proposed  an  interview  at  Memel.  The  king  of 
Prussia  had  met  the  proposition  with  much  eager- 
ness, because  lie  was  ever  full  of  his  design  of 
being  a  mediator  between  Russia  and  France,  and 
always  persuaded  that  he  could  exercise  a  useful 
influence  upon  their  relations,  that  he  could  make 
them  live  in  perfect  harmony,  that  holding  the 
balance  between  them,  he  held  that  of  Europe,  and 
that  to  the  importance  of  such  a  character  was 
added  that  of  the  certainty  of  preserving  peace,  of 
which  the  maintenance  was  become  the  most  con- 
stant of  his  occupations.  This  character,  of  which 
he  dreamed  for  a  moment,  under  the  emperor 
Paul,  became  much  more  easy  of  attainment  under 
Alexander,  of  whom  the  age  and  inclinations 
seemed  to  approximate  to  his  own.  Confirmed 
in  these  ideas  by  M.  Haugwitz,  he  wont  to  Memel 
with  his  head  full  of  the  most  honourable  illu- 
sions. 

Frederick  William  and  Alexander  having  met, 
ap[)eared  to  agree  well  together,  and  they  swore 
eternal  friendship  for  each  other.  The  king  of 
Prussia  was  simple  in  his  nianners,  and  a  little 
awkward  ;  the  emperor  Alexander  was  neither 
simple  nor  awkward  ;  he  was,  on  the  contrary, 
amiable,  forward,  and  prodigal  of  demonstrations. 
He  did  not  at  all  fear  making  some  advances 
towards  the  descendant  of  the  great  Frederick,  and 
to  express  towards  him  the  kindliest  affection.  The 
beautiful  queen  of  Prussia  was  present  at  this  in- 
terview ;  the  emperor  Alexander  directed  towards 
her  from  that  time  an  attention  respectful  and 
chivalrous.  They  separated  perfectly  charmed 
with  each  other,  and  fully  convinced  that  they 
loved  one  another  not  as  kings,  but  as  men.  It 
was,  in  fact,  a  known  pretension  of  the  emperor 
Alexander  to  appear  a  man  niion  the  throne. 
He  returned,  repeating  to  all  those  who  came  near 
liim,  that  he  had  at  last  found  a  friend  worthy  of 
him.  To  all  that  was  stated  to  him  regarding  the 
Prussian  cabinet,  its  greediness  and  ambition,  he 
answered  by  the  common  ex|)la nation  constantly 
employed  when  people  spoke  of  Prussia,  that  what 
was  remarked  was  very  true  of  M.  Haugwitz,  but 
false  ap|>lied  to  the  young  and  virtuous  king.  He 
could  nut  have  desired  a  better  thing  than  to  see 


406 


The  emperor  Alexander 
unites  with  France  in 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


repulating  German 
affairs. 


ISO?. 
Aug. 


explained  in  the  same  mode  all  the  actions  of  the 
court  of  Russia. 

At  the  moment  when  the  two  monarchs  were  on 
the  point  of  takin;;  leave  of  each  other,  a  courier 
arrived  at  Meniel,  ami  brought  a  letter  to  the  king 
Frederick  William  from  tlie  first  consul.  This 
letter  contained  a  mention  of  the  advantages 
accorded  to  Pnissin,  and  of  tlie  definitive  plan 
agreed  upon  with  M.  Markoff.  "All  now  depends," 
added  the  first  consul,  "  upon  the  consent  of  the 
emperor  of  Russia."  The  king  Frederick  William, 
delighted  at  such  a  result,  wished  to  profit  by  the 
occ:isii)n,  and  to  speak  of  German  affairs  to  his 
young  friend,  whom  ho  believed  he  ha<l  secured  for 
life.  But  this  friend  evaded  the  topic,  refused  to 
listen,  yet  promised  to  reply  as  soon  as  he  had 
received  from  his  ministers  a  communication  of 
the  plan  agreed  upon  in  Paris. 

It  was  the  middle  of  June,  1802,  or  the  end  of 
Priarial,  year  x.,  and  couriers  awaited  the  emperor 
Alexander  in  St.  Petersburg,  where  general  He'dou- 
ville,  very  exact  in  his  obedience,  had  already  pre- 
sented one  note  to  announce,  that  if  at  the  end  of 
the  time  fixed  fur  the  delay,  there  was  no  explana- 
tion made  to  him,  pro  or  con,  he  would  consider 
it  a  negative  reply,  and  send  word  to  Paris.  The 
vice-cliancellor  Kurakin,  who  was  better  disposed 
towards  France  than  his  colleagues,  requested 
general  Heilouville  to  rec:ill  his  note,  in  order  not 
to  offend  the  emperor  Alexander,  promising  that 
on  the  ai-rival  of  that  monarch,  the  matter  should 
be  immediately  submitted  to  him,  and  a  re))ly  be 
given  without  delay.  The  emperor,  on  his  return 
to  the  capital,  heard  what  his  ministers  had  to  say, 
and  was  much  |>ressed  by  several  simong  them  to 
refuse  his  assent  lo  the  proposed  plan.  The  cabinet 
appeared  divided,  but  still  more  disposed  for  Aus- 
tria than  for  Prussia.  Alexander,  seeing  well 
enough  with  his  precocious  finesse,  that  the  master 
of  the  affairs  of  the  west  abantloned  to  him  but 
the  appearance  of  a  character  of  which  he  himself 
kept  the  reality  ;  although  he  well  understood  that 
the  conditions  whi,li  were  to  be  dictated  in  com- 
mon at  Ratisbon,  had  arrived  ready-made  from 
Paris,  Alexander  was  moved  liy  the  external  show 
of  respect  observed  towards  his  empire,  and  satis- 
fied with  a  precedent,  which,  added  to  that  of 
TeSchen,  established  in  future  the  right  of  Russia^, 
to  mingle  itself  uj)  in  German  affairs.  He  was 
convinced  that  the  first  consul  would  go  on  without 
him  if  the  Russian  cabinet  hesitated  longer  ;  fur- 
ther, the  pretensions  of  Austria,  which  made  at 
that  moment  their  last  efforts  at  St.  Petersburg, 
appeared  to  him  entirely  unreasonable;  and  finally, 
the  letters  of  the  kmg  of  Prussia  were  every  day 
more  pressing  :  from  all  ihese  motives,  he  decided 
in  favour  of  the  pmposed  plan,  and  ratified  the 
convention  of  the  4ih  of  June,  it  may  be  said,  in 
spite  of  his  ministers.  While  he  gave  his  consent, 
the  prince  Louis  of  Baden  arrived  in  St.  Peters- 
burg, to  invoke  the  cause  of  his  relatives,  and 
obtain  approval  of  a  plan  which  augmented  his 
fortune  and  the  titles  of  his  house  ;  but  he  found 
his  wishes  already  granted.  Some  days  afterwards 
this  unfortunate  prince  died  in  Finland,  through 
an  accident  to  his  carriage,  in  going  from  visiting 
his  sister  the  empress  of  Russia,  to  see  his  bister 
the  queen  of  Sweden. 

Tlie  emperor  Alexander,  though  he  had  given 


his  consent,  had  made  two  reservations,  not  ex- 
pressly, but  verbally,  which  he  left  to  the  courtesy 
of  the  first  consul  to  take  into  consideration.  The 
first  was  relative  to  the  bishop  of  Lubeck,  duke  of 
Oldenburg,  and  his  uncle.  This  prince  lost  by  the 
suppression  of  the  toll  of  Elsfleth  on  the  Weser  a 
considerable  revenue,  and  requested  an  augmenta- 
tion of  indemnity.  There  were  some  thousands  of 
florins  to  be  made  up.  The  second  reservation  of 
the  emperor  was  in  relation  to  the  electoral  dignity, 
which  he  wished  to  have  conferred  upon  the  house 
of  JNIecklenburg  ;  he  did  not  mucli  regard  the 
course  of  events  as  to  the  other  states.  This  was 
more  difficult,  because  the  new  favours  bestowed 
ali-eady,  carried  to  six  the  number  of  electors,  and 
placed  another  i)rotestant  in  the  electoral  college. 
This  was  a  point,  however,  to  be  rectified  at  an 
ulterior  time  by  the  diet. 

All  had  been  disi)osed  in  such  a  way,  that  the 
couriers  returning  from  St.  Petersburg,  were  to 
make  their  route  by  Ratisbon,  and  remit  the  orders 
of  Russia  and  France  to  act  immediately.  Russia 
had  appointed  as  her  minister-extraordinary  for 
this  negotiation  M.  Biihler,  her  r)rdin:iry  repre- 
sentative at  the  court  of  Bavaria.  The  fii-st  consul, 
on  his  side,  had  chosen  for  the  same  post  M.  de 
Laforest,  minister  of  France  at  Munich.  M.  de 
Laforest,  to  his  knowledge  of  German  affairs  and 
his  activity,  united  qualities  well  adapted  to  the 
difficult  functions  with  which  he  was  charged. 
The  note  announcing  the  mediation  of  the  two 
courts  had  been  drawn  up  beforehand,  and  sent  to 
the  two  ministers  of  France  and  Russia,  that  they 
might  be  able  to  present  ihem  on  the  return  of  the 
couriers  from  St.  Petersburg.  Both  ministers  had 
orders  to  quit  Munich  in  order  to  ])roceed  imme- 
diately to  Ratisbon.  M.  de  Laforest  executed  the 
order  immediately,  and  il.  Buhlev  engaged  to 
follow  him  without  delay. 

They  arrived  at  Ratisbon  on  the  1 6th  of  August, 
or  28tii  Thermidipr. 

The  diet  had  disburthened  itself  of  the  difficult 
labour  of  the  new  Germanic  organization,  by  an 
extraordinary  deputation  composed  from  each  of 
the  principal  German  states.  This  was  in  imita- 
tion of  that  which  had  been  done  at  other  times 
and  in  similar  circumstances,  more  i)articularly  at 
the  peace  of  Westphalia,  The  eight  state-  chosen 
were  Brandenburg  by  Prussia  ;  Saxony,  Bavaria, 
and  Bohemia,  by  Austria  ;  Wurtembui-g,  the  Teu- 
tonic order,  by  the  archduke  Charles  ;  Maytiice, 
and  Hesse-Cassel.  Tlie.se  eight  states  were  repre- 
sented in  the  extraor<liuary  deputation  by  the  min- 
isters transacting  the  business  according  to  the 
instructions  of  their  respective  governments. 

All  the  niiuistei's  were  not  present ;  M.  de  La- 
forest had  great  efforts  to  make  in  order  to  induce 
them  to  come  to  Ratisbon, — efforts  the  more  labo- 
rious, because  Austria,  reduced  to  despair,  bad 
taken  the  determination  to  oppose  to  the  vivacity 
of  French  action,  ihe  delays  available  in  the  Ger- 
manic constitution.  The  note  before  alluded  to,  in 
the  form  of  a  declaration,  was  delivered,  in  the 
name  of  the  two  courts  of  France  and  Russia,  on 
the  18th  of  August,  or  30th  Thermidor,  to  the 
directorial  minister  of  the  diet,  who  had  the  duty 
of  presiding  over  all  the  official  conmiunicatioiis. 
A  copy  was  also  given  to  the  imperial  plenipoten- 
tiary, because  there  was  placed  in  the  grand  depu- 


1802. 
Aug. 


Noie  of  France  and  Kussia.        THE  SECULARIZATIONS. 


Austria  occupies  Passau. 


407 


tatinn,  as  well  as  in  tlie  diet  itself, a  plenipoteiitiisry 
exercisiii};  the  imperial  premgative,  wiiith  preroga- 
tive cojiMstetl  in  receiving  cnnimuiiications  of  pro- 
positions addressed  to  the  confederation,  in  ex- 
aminiiiij  them,  and  in  nitifving  or  rejecting  them 
on  the  emperor's  behalf. 

The  note  of  the  mediating  powers,  excellent, 
amicable,  but  firm,  staled  simply  that  the  G.  rnum 
states  not  having  yet  been  able  to  come  to  an  un- 
dei-staniling  for  the  execution  of  the  treaty  of  Lune- 
ville,  and  the  whole  <if  Europe  being  interested  that 
the  work  of  the  peace  should  receive  its  last  coui- 
plinient  in  the  arraugetni'nt  of  the  affairs  of  Ger- 
inMuy,  France  and  Russia,  powers  i'riendly  and 
disinterested,  had  offered  their  mediation  to  the 
diet,  had  presented  it  with  a  plan,  and  had  de- 
clared : — 

"  That  the  interest  of  Gemiany,  the  consolidation 
of  the  peace,  ami  the  general  tran(inillity  of  Eurojie, 
demanded  that  all  which  concerne<l  the  regulations 
of  the  Gernuinic  iiulemnitien,  should  be  terminated 
within  the  space  ol  two  months." 

The  time  to  be  thus  fixeil  hail  in  itself  something 
iniperiotis,  without  doubt,  but  it  made  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  two  courts  more  serious  in  aspect;  and, 
under  all  the  bearings  of  the  case,  it  appeared  to 
be  indis|iensable. 

This  declaration  must  have  produced  a  very 
great  effect.  The  directorial  minister,  in  other 
words  the  president,  immediately  transmitted  it  to 
the  (Ktraordinary  deputation. 

While  things  proceeded  in  this  determined  man- 
ner at  llatisbi'ii,  an  official  j)roceeding  took  place 
at  Vienna  on  the  part  of  the  French  ambassador, 
in  order  to  communicate  to  the  Austrian  court  the 
scheme  of  the  mediating  powers,  to  declare  that 
they  had  no  intention  willingly  to  liurt  its  feelings, 
nor  wished  to  do  so  now  ;  but  that  the  impossibility 
of  coming  loan  understanding  with  her  had  obliged 
them  to  take  a  definitive  part. — a  part  imp  riously 
demanded  f  r  the  repose  of  Europe.  It  was  in- 
sinuated at  the  s:nne  time,  that  the  plan  did  not 
regulate  every  thing  in  an  irrevocable  manner  ; 
that  there  remained  besiiles  means  enough  to  serve 
tin;  court  of  Vieima,  whether  in  its  negotiations 
with  Bavaria,  or  in  its  efforts  for  seeming  to  the 
grand  duke  the  succession  of  the  'i'eutonic  order 
and  of  the  last  ecclesiastical  electorate  ;  that  in  all 
these  things  the  condescension  of  the  first  consul 
would  be  proportioned  to  the  condescension  of  the 
empiTor.  As  to  the  rest,  M.  de  Champagny,  the 
Fie  ch  ambassailor,  had  orders  not  to  go  into  any 
di'tail,  but  to  state,  so  as  to  be  clearly  comprehended, 
that  all  s'-rious  discussion  should  be  exclusively 
entered  u|ion  at  Ilalisboii. 

In  the  midst  of  thew;  inevitable  delays  of  diplo- 
macy, the  indemnified  princes  were  very  impatient 
to  occupy  the  territories  which  had  devolveil  upon 
I  hem  by  virtue  <.f  the  arrangements  made  ;  and 
they  jiad  demanded  their  inunediate  possession. 
Frane(;  had  consenteil,  in  order  to  render  the  plan 
proposed  as  nearly  as  possihlo  irrevocable.  Imme- 
diately Prussia  occupi<-<l  iiiidesheini,  I'aderhorn, 
Minister,  Kichsfeld,  and  Erfurth.  VVurtemburg 
and  liavaria  wen?  not  le  h  impatient  than  Prussia, 
and  Sent  detachments  of  troops  into  the  ecch-sias- 
lical  principalities  which  were  assinned  to  them. 
The  resiHtancc  on  the  part  of  the  priucipaliiieR  could 
not  be  considerable,  because  they  were  in  the  liaiids 


I  of  old  jirelates,  or  of  chapters  administering  vacant 
j  benefices,  not  having  means  nor  will  to  defend 
them.  The  hardship  to  these  occupants  was  i-ec- 
koned  of  no  moment, — a  hardship  which,  in  a  case 
of  a  sim  lar  kind,  was  made  a  rei)roach  formerly 
against  the  French  revolutionists.  The  natural 
protector  of  these  unhappy  ecclesiastics  was  Aus- 
tria, whose  duty  it  was  to  exercise  the  imperial 
power.  But  the  greater  part  of  those  who  suffered 
were  placed  far  away  from  the  Austrian  territory  ; 
and  those  that  were  near  its  frontiers,  as  the  bishops 
of  Augsburg  and  Freisingen,  were  not  able  to  re- 
ceive succour  without  a  violation  of  the  Bavarian 
territory,  which  would  have  been  an  act  of  the 
gravest  character.  In  the  mean  lime,  there  was 
one  of  those  bishoprics  that  it  was  easy  enough  to 
protect  from  Bavarian  occupation, — the  bishopric 
of  Passau.  To  undertake  its  defence  was  an  act  of 
vigour  well  adapted  to  elevate  Austria  from  her 
very  abased  situation. 

The  geographical  position  of  this  bishopric  has 
been  already  indicated.  Entirely  enclosed  in  Aus- 
tria, it  had  only  one  i)oint  on  the  Bavarian  terri- 
tory, and  that  was  the  city  of  Passau.  The  court 
of  Vienna  wished,  as  already  shown,  that  this  place 
should  be  given  to  the  archduke  with  the  bishopric 
itself.  •  The  Austrian  troops  were  at  the  gates  of 
Pas.sau,  and  had  oidy  one  step  to  take  in  order  to 
enter  the  city.  The  tem|)tation  was  great,  and  the 
pretext  was  not  wanting.  In  fact,  the  unliai)py 
liisliop,  on  seeing  the  Bavarian  troops  approaching, 
had  addressed  himself  to  the  emperor,  the  natural 
protector  of  every  state  in  the  empire  exposed  to 
such  a  violence.  The  plan  which  gave  his  bishopric 
partly  to  Bavaria,  and  partly  to  the  archduke 
Ferdinand,  was  as  yet  only  a  project  or  scheme, 
not  a  law  of  the  empire;  and  until  it  was  so,  the 
execution  of  the  plan  might  be  considered  an 
illegal  act.  Acts  of  a  similar  kind,  it  is  true,  were 
conmiitted  throughout  all  Germany;  but  where  it 
was  possible  to  prevent  them,  why  not  do  so— why 
not  give  some  sign  of  spirit  and  vigour  ? 

Austria  had  aroused  herself  to  the  highest  pitch 
of  exasperation.  She  complained  of  every  one  ; 
of  France,  that  without  saying  ii  word  had  nego- 
tiated with  Russia  the  phin  which  changed  the 
face  of  Germany;  of  Russia  herself,  that,  at  St. 
Petersburg,  had  kept  secret  her  adoption  of  the 
plan  of  mediation;  of  Prussia  and  her  confederates, 
who  sought  their  supiiort  fnun  foreign  govern- 
ments to  overturn  completely  the  German  empire, 
'i'liese  complaints  had  very  little  foimdation  in  fact. 
She  had  no  one  to  reproach  but  herself,  her  ex- 
aggerated jiretensions,  and  her  own  ill-managed 
craftiness,  for  the  state  of  abiindonmeiit  in  which 
she  was  left  at  that  moment.  She  had  wished  to 
negotiaie  with  Russia,  concealing  it  from  France, 
and  France  hail  negotiated  with  Russia,  ci  ncealing 
it  from  her.  She  Jiad  been  desirous  of  introducing 
foreigners  into  tin;  affairs  <if  the  empire,  in  having 
recourse  to  the  emperor  Alexander  of  Russia;  and 
Prussia  and  Bavaria,  imitating  her  example,  had 
called  in  France;  with  this  difference,  that  J'russia 
and  Bavaria  had  obtained  the  intervention  of  a 
power  friendly  to  the  Germanic  body,  and  bound 
to  interfere  by  the  obligations  of  treaties  them- 
selves. 'J'hen  as  to  the  previous  occupations,  they 
were  premature  measures,  it  is  true,  and  in  the 
Blrictueas  of  the  law,  iUegal ;  but  unfortunately  for 


408     Austria  occupies  Fassau.     THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


1802. 
Sept. 


the  logic  of  Austria,  she  had  herself  occupied  Salz- 
burg and  Berchtolsgaden. 

However  these  things  might  be,  still  Austria, 
exasperated,  determined  to  show  that  her  courage 
was  not  lowered  by  a  coincidence  of  unfortunate 
circumstances,  and  she  did  an  act,  in  consequence, 
little  in  unison  with  her  ordinary  circumspection. 
She  commanded  her  troops  to  pass  the  suburbs 
of  Passau,  and  to  occupy  that  fortress  ;  at  the 
same  time  she  acconipaiiied  her  act  with  ex- 
planations tending  to  extenuate  their  effect.  She 
declared  that  in  acting  thus,  she  answered  only 
the  formal  demand  of  the  bishop  of  Passau;  that 
she  did  not  intend  to  decide  by  force  one  of  the 
litigated  questions  submitted  to  the  Germanic  diet; 
that  she  only  intended  to  do  an  act  purely  con- 
servative ;  and  that  as  soon  after  the  decision 
of  the  diet  as  possible,  she  would  withdraw 
her  troops,  and  leave  the  contested  city  to  the 
proprietor  who  might  be  legally  invested  with 
it,  by  the  definitive  plan  of  the  general  indem- 
nities. 

The  troops  of  Austria  entered  Passau  on  the 
18th  of  August.  While  they  were  marching  there 
the  Bavarian  troops  approached  on  the  opposite 
side.  Little  more  was  necessary  to  produce  a 
serious  collision,  which  might  have  set  all  Europe 
in  a  flame.  Fortunately,  tlie  prudence  of  the 
officei's  charged  with  the  execution  of  this  duty 
prevented  sucli  a  misfortune ;  the  Austrians  re- 
mained masters  of  the  place. 

This  was  rather  bold  conduct,  the  bolder  in  that 
the  place  did  not  belong  to  Austria,  and  it  was  on  an 
important  point,  opposing  a  formal  act  of  resistance 
to  the  declarations  of  the  mediating  powers.  The 
effect  produced  by  this  act  at  Ratisbon  was  very 
great,  among  the  numerous  public  men  of  Ger- 
many who  were  there  assembled.  There  were  in 
that  city  representatives  of  all  the  states  ;  those 
maintained  or  sui>pressed,  satisfied  or  discontented, 
searching,  the  one  to  support  and  carry  into  effect 
the  proposed  plans,  the  others  to  change  them  in 
relation  to  what  concerned  themselves.  Magis- 
trates of  free  towns,  abbots,  prelates,  and  "im- 
mediate" nobles,  were  there  in  great  abundance. 
The  immediate  nobles,  above  all,  who  filled  the 
armies  and  the  chancellories  of  the  German  courts, 
figured  in  great  numbers  as  ministers  of  the  diet. 
Even  those  who  represented  the  courts  which  were 
benefited  by  the  change,  and  which,  under  the 
circumstances,  had  appeai-ed  to  be  content,  pre- 
served notwithstanding  their  personal  passions, 
and  like  German  nobles,  were  very  far  from  being 
perfectly  satisfied.  M.  Goetz,  for  example,  the 
minister  of  Prussia  at  Ratisbon,  was  the  partisan 
of  the  plan  of  indemnities  on  account  of  his  court; 
but  in  his  quality  of  an  "  immediate"  nobleman,  he 
deeply  regretted  the  loss  of  the  old  order  of  things. 
Several  other  ministers  of  German  courts  were  in 
the  same  situation.  These  personages  composed 
in  themselves  an  impassioned  public  body,  leaning 
strongly  in  favour  of  Austria.  It  was  not  from 
France  that  they  wished  for  more,  because  they 
saw  jilainly  that  she  was  wholly  disinterested 
about  the  whole  matter,  and  had  no  other  end  but 
to  put  a  term  to  the  conflicting  affairs  of  Germany; 
but  they  cast  the  severest  blame  upon  Prussia  and 
Bavaria.  The  greediness  of  these  courts,  their 
connexion  with  France,  their  desire  to  destroy  the 


old  Germanic  constitution,  of  these  they  spoke  in 
terms  of  unqualified  bitterness. 

The  news  of  the  occupation  of  Passau  produced 
in  the  midst  of  such  a  public  body  the  most  lively 
and  grateful  sensation.  There  was  a  necessity, 
they  said,  for  a  vigorous  step  ;  France  had  no 
troops  on  the  Rhine;  the  peace  with  England  was 
not  so  solid  that  France  was  able  to  engage  herself 
easily  in  the  affairs  of  Germany;  besides,  the  first 
consul  had  received  a  sort  of  monarchical  au- 
thority, as  a  recompense  for  the  peace  procured 
for  the  world;  he  would  not  so  soon  withdraw  a 
benefit  for  which  so  high  a  price  had  been  paid. 
They  had  only,  therefore,  to  show  energy,  to  pass 
the  Inn,  and  give  a  lesson  to  Bavaria,  and  thus 
lower  the  numerous  hands  lifted  up  at  the  mo- 
ment for  the  destruction  of  the  Germanic  consti- 
tution. 

The  effect  thus  produced  at  Ratisbon  was  soon 
spread  over  all  Europe.  The  first  consul,  who 
had  been  attentive  to  the  progress  of  the  nego- 
tiations, was  much  surprised.  Up  to  this  time 
he  had  carefully  abstained  from  every  step  that 
might  have  a  chance  of  causing  injury  t<>  the 
general  ])eace.  His  object  had  been  to  consulidate, 
not  to  put  into  peril.  But  he  was  in  no  humour 
to  suffer  himself  lo  be  publicly  braved,  and  above 
all,  to  have  a  result  compromised,  which  he  had 
pursued  with  so  much  labour  and  with  the  best 
intentions.  He  felt  what  effect  this  hardihood  of 
Austria  might  possibly  produce  at  Ratisbon,  if  he 
did  not  repress  it,  above  all,  if  he  appeared  to 
hesitate.  He  immediately  sent  for  M.  LucchesinI, 
the  Prussian  minister,  and  M.  Cetto,  the  minister 
of  Bavaria.  He  made  them  both  sensible  of  the 
importance  of  a  prompt  and  energetic  resolution, 
in  presence  of  the  new  attitude  which  Austria  had 
thought  fit  to  take,  and  the  danger  to  which  the 
plan  of  indemnities  would  be  exposed  in  conse- 
quence, if,  under  the  circumstances,  the  least  hesi- 
tation were  exhibited.  These  two  ministers  felt, 
as  well  as  any  person,  that  the  interest  of  their 
courts  sufficed  to  enlighten  their  minds  upon  such 
a  subject.  They  adhered  without  a  moment's 
consideration  to  the  ideas  of  the  first  consul.  He 
proposed  to  them  to  bind  liimself  by  a  formal 
agreement,  in  which  it  should  be  declared  anew, 
that  he  was  disposed  to  emjjloy  all  the  necessary 
means  to  carry  into  effect  the  plan  of  the  mediation, 
and  that  if  in  the  sixty  days  assigned  for  the  pur- 
pose of  the  labours  of  the  diet,  the  city  of  Passau 
should  nut  be  evacuated,  France  and  Prussia  would 
unite  their  arms  to  those  of  Bavaria,  to  secure  to 
the  last  the  territory  promised  her  in  the  plan  of 
indemnity.  This  convention  was  signed  the  even- 
ing of  the  same  day  when  it  had  been  proposed, 
that  is  to  say,  on  the  6th  of  September,  1802,  or 
18tli  Fructidor,  year  x.  The  first  consul  did  not 
send  for  iM.  Markoff,  because  he  would  have  raised 
a  thousand  difficulties  upon  his  own  part,  caused 
by  the  interest  he  felt  for  the  house  of  Austria. 
The  first  consul  had  not,  besides,  any  need  of  the 
assistance  of  Russia  to  perform  an  energetic  act. 
The  convention  itself  became  more  threatening, 
thus  signed  by  two  powers,  the  convention  that 
each  of  the  two  was  seriously  resolved  to  execute. 
The  first  consul  therefore  contented  himself  with 
communicating  the  fact  to  M.  Markoff,  and  re- 
quested him  to  transmit  a  copy  to  St.  Petersburg,. 


1802. 
Sept. 


The  extraordinary  deputation         THE  SECULARIZATIONS. 


assembles  at  Ratisbon. 


40  a 


in  order  that  his  cabinet  might  be  able,  if  it  saw 
fit,  to  adhere  to  the  resolution. 

On  the  following  day  the  fii-st  consul  sent  off  his 
aid-de-canip,  Lauriston,  with  the  convention  which 
had  been  signed,  and  with  a  letttr  for  the  elector  j 
of  Bavaria.  In  this  letter  he  requested  the  elector 
to  be  assured,  that  he  guaranteed  to  him  anew  all  | 
that  part  of  the  indemnity  whicli  had  been  pro- 
mised him,  and  announced  to  him,  that  at  tiie 
time  fi.xed  a  French  army  should  enter  Germany, 
to  make  tlie  faith  of  France  and  of  Prussia  re- 
spected. The  aid-de-camp,  Lauriston,  had  ordere 
to  visit  Passau,  to  see  things  for  himself,  and  to 
judge  with  his  own  eyes  what  might  be  the  number 
of  Austrians  that  liad  been  assembled  upon  the 
frontiere  of  Bavaria.  He  was  after  this  to  show 
himself  at  Ratisbon,  to  go  to  Berlin,  and  to  return 
through  Holland.  He  was  the  bearer  of  despatches 
also  for  most  of  the  German  princes. 

This  was  more  than  was  necessary  to  operate 
powerfully  on  the  minds  of  the  Germans.     Colonel 
Lauriston   set   off    immediately,   and    arrived    at 
.Munich   without  losing  a  moment.     His  presence 
there  was  the  occasion  of  great  joy  to  the  unfortu-  j 
nate    elector.      All    the   details   contained    in    the 
despatch  from  the  first  consul  were  repeated  from 
mouth  to  mouth.     Colonel  Lauriston  continued  his  ! 
tour   without   delay,  made  certain    with   his  own  i 
eyes  the  conviction  that  the  Austrians  were  in  too  i 
few  numbers  upon  the  Inn,  to  do  any  thing  more  j 
than  exhibit  in  bravado,  and  he  then  proceeded  to  | 
Ratisbon,  and  from  Ratisbon  to  Berlin.  j 

This  promptitude  of  action  surprised  Austria  ; 
struck  with  alarm  all  the  oppositionists  in  the  diet, 
and  jiroved  to  them  that  a  power  like  France  had 
not  jtublicly  engaged  herself  with  another  power 
like  Prussia,  in  the  success  of  a  plan  which  she 
did  not  seriously  desire  to  effect.  Besides,  the 
intention  of  the  mediators  was  so  evident,  it  had 
so  nnich  for  its  aim  the  repose  of  the  continent,  by 
terminating  the  disputed  affairs  nf  Germany,  that 
reason  must  have  united  itself  with  the  sentiment 
of  a  superior  force,  to  make  futile  all  resistance. 
There  remained  to  be  overcome,  it  is  true,  more 
formal  differences,  of  which  Austria  had  availed 
herself  to  delay  the  adoption  of  tin;  plan,  at  least 
until  she  liad  obtained  some  concession  which 
might  alleviate  her  chagrin,  and  preserve  the 
dignity  of  the  hca<l  of  the  empire,  which  had  been 
so  much  compromised  upon  this  occasion. 

The  extraordinary  deputation,  which  had  been 
charged  by  the  diet  to  prepare  a  coiiclusum  for  sub- 
n)ission  to  the  body,  was  at  the  same  moment 
assembled.  The  eiglit  stiites  which  composed  it, 
Brandenburg,  Saxony,  Bavaria,  Bohemia,  Wur- 
temburg,  the  Teutonic  order,  Mayence,  and  Ilessc- 
Cassel,  were  present  in  tlie  persons  of  their  minis- 
ters. The  protocol  was  opened,  and  each  began 
to  give  his  opinion.  Of  the  eight  states,  four  ad- 
mitted, without  hesitation,  the  i)lan  of  the  medi- 
ating powers.  Brandenburg,  liavaria,  Hesse-CasscI, 
and  VVurtcmburg,  ex|>re88ed  their  gratitude  to  the 
great  jiowers,  which  had  been  inclined  to  come  to 
the  succour  of  the  Germanic  body,  and  to  draw 
them  out  of  their  cmbarra.s«ment  by  a  disinterested 
arbitration  ;  declaring,  be»i<le8,  that  the  plan  pro- 
posed was  wise,  acceptable  in  its  contents,  save  in 
some  petty  details,  in  regard  to  which,  the  grand 
dc])ut;ition    w.mld  be  able,  without  inconvenience, 


to  give  its  opinion,  and  to  propose  useful  modi- 
fications. They  added,  finally,  relatively  to  the 
delay  fixed,  that  it  was  urgent  to  finish  as  soon  as 
possible,  as  much  for  the  peace  of  Germany  as  for 
that  of  Europe.  Still  the  four  approving  states 
did  not  explain  themselves  in  a  precise  manner 
about  the  term  of  two  months,  which  had  been 
fixed  for  limiting  their  proceedings.  It  would 
have  been  a  compromise  of  their  dignity  to  i-eeall 
that  rigorous  term,  or  propose  to  submit  them- 
selves to  it,  but  they  were  right  in  what  they  were 
understood  to  intend,  when  they  recommended  to 
their  brother  states  to  finish  their  proceedings  as 
soon  as  possible. 

It  was  proper  to  await  the  approval  of  Mayence, 
when  that  old  ecclesiastical  electorate  was  the  only 
one  ]>reserved,  and  provided  with  a  revenue  of 
a  million  of  florins.  But  the  baron  Albini,  the 
representative  of  the  archbishop  elector,  a  man  of 
mind,  and  very  adroit,  wishing  from  the  bottom  of 
his  heart  full  success  to  the  mediation,  was  very 
embarrassed  to  give  his  approval,  in  presence  of 
all  the  ecclesiastical  party,  to  a  plan  which  an- 
nihilated the  old  feudal  church  of  Germany,  and 
to  ap])rove  it  alone,  because  the  electorate  of  his 
archbishopric  was  preserved.  More  than  this,  the 
archbislioi>  was  not  perfectly  satisfied  at  the  com- 
binations which  related  to  himself.  The  bailwick 
of  Aschaffeuburg,  the  last  fragment  of  the  electorate 
of  Mayence,  formed  the  sole  poi-tion  of  the  re- 
venue secured  to  him,  arising  out  of  territorial 
acquirement.  The  rest  was  to  arise  fi-<>m  different 
assignments  on  the  reserved  goods  of  the  church  ; 
and  for  this  part  of  the  promised  million,  by  far 
the  most  considerable  portion,  as  the  bailwick  of 
Aschaffeuburg,  .scarcely  reached  300,000  florins  in 
value,  he  was  therefore  not  without  much  dis- 
quietude. 

^I.  Albini,  for  Mayence,  therefore,  gave  in  an 
opinion  somewhat  ambiguous,  thanking  the  high 
mediating  powers  for  their  amicable  intervention, 
deploring  at  length  the  unhappy  circumstances  of 
the  German  church,  and  distinguishing  in  the  plan 
two  different  heads,  one  comprehending  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  territories,  the  other  the  general 
considerations  which  accompanied  it.  As  to  the 
distributions  of  the  territory,  except  the  smaller 
indemnities,  the  minister  of  Mayence  ajiproved  the 
propositions  of  the  mediating  jiowers.  In  regard 
to  the  general  considerations,  containing  the  indi- 
cation of  the  regulations  to  be  made,  he  thought  they 
wei'e  insufficient,  and  the  pensions  of  the  clergy  in 
a  more  particular  manner  did  not  seem  to  him  suffi- 
ciently well  secured.  Under  this  head,  it  is  jiroju-r 
to  acknowledge  that  the  observations  of  the  repre- 
sentative of  Mayence  were  not  destitute  of  reason. 
His  opinion,  therefore,  did  not  convey  a  formal 
approbation. 

Saxony  requested  to  reserve  her  vote  at  present; 
this  was  a  step  fi'equently  adopted  in  the  delibera- 
tions of  the  Germanic  diet.  As  the  suffrages  were 
several  times  taken,  it  was  possible  for  any  mem- 
ber to  reserve  tlie  statement  of  his  opinion  until  a 
subsequent  sitting.  This  state,  very  disinterested 
and  discreet,  commonly  acting  under  the  influence 
of  Prussia,  but  in  its  heart  giving  a  preference  to 
Austria,  being  also  catholic  as  respected  the  re- 
ligion of  its  prince,  although  the  people  were  pro- 
testant,  suH'ered  painful  scruples,  divided  as  it  was 


410 


Complaints  made  by 
Austria. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


1802. 
Sept. 


between  reason  and  inclination — its  inclination, 
which  clung  to  old  Germans,  and  its  reason,  which 
spoke  strongly  for  the  plan  of  the  mediating 
powers. 

Bohemia,  and  the  Teutonic  order,  were  states 
altogether  Austri;in.  As  to  the  first,  it  was  more 
suitable  to  its  position,  the  emperor  being  king  of 
Bohemia  ;  and  in  relation  to  the  second,  the  cause 
was  equally  evident,  when  the  archduke  Charles, 
the  brother  of  the  emperor,  his  generalissimo,  and 
his  minister  at  war,  was  the  grand  master  of  the 
Teutonic  order.  They  affected,  both  at  Vienna 
and  Ratisbon,  to  make  a  difference  between  the 
minister  oF  Bohemia,  for  example,  and  the  im- 
perial minister.  The  minister  of  Bohemia,  es- 
pecially representing  the  house  of  Austria,  was  by 
this  enabled  to  deliver  himself  up  freely  to  the 
ex|)restiion  of  the  ))assions  of  that  family  ;  thus  he 
was  made  to  say  the  most  cutting  things  regarding 
the  question  under  consideration.  The  imperial 
minister,  speaking  in  the  name  of  the  emperor, 
aff'ected  a  much  more  grave  expression,  and 
made  it  a  point  of  view  to  address  iiimselt'  to  the 
general  interest  of  the  empire.  He  was  less  faith- 
ful to  the  truth,  and  nmch  more  pedantic.  M. 
Sfhraut  was  the  minister  for  Bohemia,  M.  Hugel 
for  the  emperor.  The  last  was  the  most  consum- 
mate of  formalists  ;  he  was  besides  this  very 
crafty,  as  most  of  those  Germans  are  who  have 
grown  old  in  the  diet,  and  who  under  the  ridicu- 
lous pedantry  of  these  forms,  conceal  all  the  cun- 
nijig  of  the  inmates  of  the  ])alace.  In  respect  to 
the  minister  of  the  grand  master  of  the  Teutonic 
order,  M.  Rabenau,  he  submitted  entirely  to  the 
Austrian  deputation,  that  instructed  him  even  in 
his  notes,  in  the  sight  and  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
diet  ;  from  the  character  which  this  estimated 
minister  thus  played  he  felt  much,  and  complained 
openly  himself.  M.  Hugel,  the  minister  for  the 
emperor,  directed  the  Austrian  votes  ;  he  was 
ordered  to  struggle  wiih  artific  sand  delays  against 
the  Prussian  party  and  the  mediating  powers. 

During  the  first  sitting,  M.  Schraut,  on  the  part 
of  Bohemia,  complained  in  high  terms  of  the  con- 
duct shown  towards  Austria,  and  answered  wiih 
bitterness  the  reproach  which  had  been  addressed 
to  his  court,  of  never  liaving  drawn  towards  a 
conclusion,  a  reproach  on  which  was  ])rincipally 
grounded  the  interference  of  tiie  mediating  powers. 
This  minister  declared  that  foi-  nine  months  pre- 
viously, the  imperial  cabinet  had  not  been  able  to 
obtain  a  smgle  reply  on  the  part  of  the  French 
cabinet  to  the  overtures  it  had  proffered ;  that  it  had 
been  left  in  the  most  coni])lete  ignorance  of  all  that 
had  been  treated  of  in  Paris  ;  that  its  ambassador 
had  not  been  able  to  obtain  an  initiation  into  the 
secret  of  the  mediation,  and  that  the  jjlan  of  the 
same  mediation  had  not  been  known  to  Austria 
until  the  same  moment  when  the  communication 
had  been  made  at  Ratisbon.  M.  Schraut  after- 
wards complained  ol  the  lot  assigned  to  the  arch- 
duke Ferdinand,  pretended  that  the  treaty  of 
Lun^ville  was  violated,  because  the  treaty  secured 
to  the  archduke  an  indenmiiy  for  the  entire  of  his 
losses,  and  he  had  been  assigned  as  an  equivalent 
for  the  4,000,000  of  florins  he  had  lost,  1,350,000H. 
at  most.  Salzburg,  according  to  M.  Schraut,  pro- 
duced no  more  than  900,000  florins,  Merchtols- 
gaden  200,000  ti.,  Passau  250,000  fl.     This  was  a 


pure  falsehood.  To  finish,  Bohemia  did  not  concur 
in  the  plan. 

The  Teutonic  order,  more  moderate  in  its  lan- 
guage, would  only  admit  the  plan  as  a  docunient 
which  the  diet  might  discuss. 

There  were  thus  four  approving  votes,  Branden- 
burg, Bavaria,  Hesse-Cassel,  and  Wurtemburg  ; 
one,  that  of  Mayence,  which  at  bottom  was  ap- 
proving, but  which  it  was  necessary  to  bring  i-ound 
to  be  so  openly  ;  one.  Saxony,  which  would  follow 
the  majority,  when  that  majority  was  clearly  pro- 
nounced ;  lastly,  Bohemia  and  the  Teutonic  order 
opposed  the  plan  wholly  as  far  as  concerned  the 
satisfaction  given  to  Austria. 

This  result  was  immediately  communicated  to  the 
first  consul.  As  soon  as  he  became  acquainted 
with  the  sentiments  put  forth  by  Bohemia,  which 
imputed  to  the  obstinate  silence  of  France  the 
impossibility  of  putting  an  end  to  the  negotiations 
upon  the  affiiirs  of  Germany,  he  became  de- 
termined not  to  remain  silent  under  such  an  im- 
putation. He  replied  immediately  by  a  note,  which 
iM.  de  Laforest  was  commanded  to  comnmuicate  to 
the  diet.  In  this  note  he  expre.ssed  his  regret 
to  be  forced  to  publish  any  thing  relating  to  nego- 
tiations, which,  from  their  nature,  should  have 
remained  secret ;  but,  he  added,  that  he  was 
obliged  to  do  so,  because  his  intentions  had  been 
publicly  calumniated  ;  he  declared  that  the  pre- 
tended overtures  of  Austria  to  the  French  cabinet 
had,  for  their  object,  not  the  general  arrangement 
of  the  affair  of  the  indenmities,  but  the  extension 
of  the  Austrian  frontier  from  the  Isar  as  far  as 
the  Lech,  or,  in  other  words,  the  suppression  of 
Bavaria  from  the  number  of  German  powers  ; 
that  the  pretensions  of  Austria,  taken  from  Paris, 
where  they  had  not  succeeded,  to  St.  Petersburg, 
where  they  had  succeeded  no  better,  finally,  to 
Munich,  where  they  had  become  thi-eatening,  had 
obliged  the  mediating  powers  to  intervene,  in  order 
to  secure  the  jjcace  of  Germany,  and  with  the 
peace  of  Germany,  that  of  the  entire  contine..t. 

This  reply,  so  well  merited,  but  in  one  point 
exaggerated,  namely,  the  imputation  that  Austria 
had  endeavoured  to  extend  herself  to  the  Lech,  she 
liaving  in  fact  s])oken  only  of  the  Isar,  very  nmch 
mortified  the  imperial  cabinet.  That  cabinet  now 
saw  clearly  that  it  was  doing  business  with  an  ad- 
versary as  resolute  in  politics  as  he  was  in  war- 
fare '. 

'  Tlie  following  is  a  copy  of  the  document  itself,— a  re- 
markable one  of  the  coiibular  era  : — 

"  The  undersigned  minister-extraordinary  of  the  French 
republic  lo  ihe  diet  of  ihe  Germanic  en.pire,  lias  taken  the 
earliKSt  opportunity  of  traiismiiting  to  his  goveriinient  the 
rescript  communicated  liy  the  sub-delegate  of  Boheniia  to 
the  extraordinary  deput.Uion  of  the  empire  in  the  sitiing  of 
the  241  h  of  August,  and  communicated  also  to  the  under- 
sianed  on  the  28ih  of  tlie  said  month.  He  is  charged  lo 
transmit  lo  the  deputation  Ihe  following  observations.  The 
first  consul  has  bem  much  affected  to  see  that  liis  inteniions 
for  Securing  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  Germanic  body 
have  been  misunderstood,  since  they  reproaih  him  with  not 
having  answered  the  overtures  made  by  liis  imptiial  and 
royal  majeslj  since  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  of  Luneville, 
anil  having  thus  retaided  to  Germany,  that  imercsting  por- 
tion of  Europe,  the  advantages  of  the  peace;  he  must  de- 
clare that  the  o\eriurcs  which,  though  confulential  and 
(■ecret,  are  at  pieseiit  publicly  alluded  to  by  the  court  of 
Vienna,  fur  from  being  calculated  to  procure  the  execution 


Mayence  decides  against  Austria.     THE  SECULARIZATIONS.      Mayence  decides  against  Austria.     411 


Nevertlieless,  it  was  neces.sary  to  proceed  with 
the  iieg<)tiati.in9,aiid  M.  de  L;if..rest,  wiih  the  autho- 
rity ol'  liis  cabinet,  employed  the  requisite  ineaiis  to 
bring  about  Mayence  to  give  a  decided  vote.  He 
l)roniised  M.  Aibini,  the  representative  ot  the  elector 
of  Mayence,  to  secure  liis  revenue  to  tlie  archbishop 
chancellor,  not  in  the  stocks,  but  in  the  "immediate" 
territories  not  taken  Ironi  any  of  the  jjiiiices.  To 
this  promise,  which  wsis  made  iu  a  formal  manner, 

of  the  9th  article  of  the  treaty  of  Luneville,  could  tend  only 
to  remove,  rather  than  to  iiidicaie,  the  means  of  providing 
for  the  indemnification  of  so  many  bceular  uriiices  who  had 
su^tained  such  con»ideralile  losses;  their  only  object  «as  to 
regulaie  the  indemnification  c.{  the  archduke  Ferdinand,  hy 
employinR  lay  and  hereditary  dominions.  The  project  of  tlie 
court  of  Vienna  tended  to  exlenil  its  territory  beyond  tlie 
Lech,  and  their  effect  con?equently  would  have  been,  to 
erase  Bavaria  from  ihe  number  of  the  powers.  Justice  and 
generosity,  which  are  always  the  first  heard  in  the  heait  of 
Ihe  first  consul,  made  it  a  law  with  him  to  forget  what 
wrong.1  the  elector  might  have  done  to  the  republic,  and  not 
to  suffer  to  perish  a  state  weakened  and  threatened,  but, 
however,  hitherto  secuied  by  the  policy  of  the  governments 
interested  in  maintaining  a  ju»t  equilibrium  in  Germany. 
For  if  the  equilibrium  ol  Europe  requires  that  Austria  should 
be  great  and  powerful,  that  of  Germany  requires  that  Bavaria 
should  be  preserved  entire,  and  protected  from  all  further 
invasion.  What  would  become  ot  the  Germanic  body  if  the 
principal  states  which  compose  it  bh.uild  see  their  inde- 
pendence every  moment  endangered  ?  And  would  not  the 
honour  of  that  ancient  federation  suffer,  by  weakening  a 
prince  whose  house  has  concurred,  in  so  honourable  a  man- 
ner, to  the  establishment  and  support  of  the  Germanic  con- 
stitution? It  is  not,  then,  at  Paris  that  the  insinuations  of 
the  court  of  Vienna,  in  rejiard  to  the  affairs  of  Germany, 
could  be  received  ;  and  though  it  lias  since  renewed  them  at 
St.  Petersburg,  they  could  not  meet  with  better  success; 
the  great  and  generous  soul  of  the  emperor  Alexander  could 
not  permit  him  to  negUct  the  interests  of  Bavaria,  which 
were  recommended  to  liim  also  by  the  ties  of  blood,  and  by 
every  consideration  of  sound  policy.  Having  been  unable 
to  succeed  cither  at  St.  i'eterslmrg  or  Paris,  the  court  of 
Vienna  nevertheless  pursued  at  Munich  the  execution  of  iis 
project.';  and  it  was  the  communication  of  his  uneasiness, 
made  by  the  elector  to  the  French  and  Russian  govern- 
ments, which  contributed  above  all  to  make  them  leel  the 
necessity  of  uniting  their  influence  to  protect  the  hereditary 
princes,  secure  the  execution  of  the  I7ih  article  of  the  treaty 
of  Luneville,  and  not  to  suffer  to  fall  to  the  lowest  rank  one 
of  the  oldest,  and  not  long  auo  one  of  the  most  pnwerful, 
houses  of  Germany.  1  he  undersigned,  therefore,  is  chaiged 
to  declare  to  the  deputation,  that  the  states  of  his  serene 
highness  the  elector  palatine  of  Bavaria,  as  well  as  the  pos- 
sessions destined  to  him  as  indemnities,  and  as  necessary 
for  re-establishing  Ihe  equilibrium  of  Germany,  are  naturally 
and  indispensably  placed  under  the  protection  of  the  medi- 
ating powers;  that  the  first  consul,  personally,  will  not 
suffer  the  important  place  of  Fasxau  to  remain  in  the  hands 
of  Austria,  nor  allow  it  to  obtain  any  part  of  the  territories 
which  Bavaria  possesses  on  Ihe  ri«hl  of  the  Inn  ;  (or  he  con- 
siders that  there  would  be  no  independence  for  Bavaria  the 
moment  when  the  troopt  of  Annlria  khonld  be  near  its 
capital.  It  remains  lo  the  undersigned  to  express  to  the 
deputation  ihe  regret  whirli  the  first  con*.,,  feels  fordivulgiiig 
n-gntiations  which  took  p'acc  only  under  ihc  seal  of  con- 
fidence, and  the  secrecy  of  which  ought  eonsequi^ntly  to  have 
remained  sacred ;  hut  he  ha»  bc-n  coiiHtralned  lo  it  by  just 
reprisals,  and  by  the  value  which  he  atinches  lo  the  opinion 
and  esteem  of  the  brave  and  loyal  German  people. 

(Signed)  La  FOREST. 

[The  Russian  document  wjis  shorter,  nearly  to  the  same 
eflecl,  but  less  circumstantial;  it  bore  the  same  dale,  and 
was  signed  by  the  baron  De  Buhler  ] 


were  ailded  certain  threats,  very  intelligi  nt  in  their 
character,  in  case  liie  plan  .should  be  rendered  abor- 
tive. Thus  the  vote  of  M.  Albiiii  was  decided.  But 
still  it  was  not  possible  to  obtain  the  pure  and  sim- 
ple admission  of  the  jjliin.  The  honour  of  the 
Uernianic  body  demanded  that  the  exiraordiiiiiry 
deputation,  in  setiiiiig  upon  it  as  the  basis  of  its 
labours,  should  at  least  introduce  some  small  altera- 
tions. 'J'he  interests  of  several  of  the  i)etty  princes 
demanded  many  modifications  iu  detail;  and  Prus- 
sia besides,  from  motives  scarcely  avowable,  was 
of  accord  with  Mayence  in  desiring  to  separate  the 
general  consideraiions  of  the  ])lan  itself,  and  to 
draw  it  up  under  a  new  form.  In  these  considera- 
tions there  was  in  fact  one  discoverable,  relative  to 
the  "immediate"  property  of  the  church,  which 
had  been  reserved  to  serve  either  to  complete 
several  of  the  compliments  of  the  indemnity,  or  for 
ecclesiastical  pensions.  Many  of  these  particular 
properties  were  enclosed  in  the  Prussian  territory, 
and  that  jiower,  iilready  so  favourably  treated, 
cherished  the  hope  to  preserve  them  to  herself  by 
some  new  assignment,  and  thus  exclusively  api>ro- 
priate  them.  She  therefore  entered  into  the  itieas 
of  Mayence,  and  agreed  with  that  state  to  remodel 
the  |iart  of  the  plan  which  included  these  general 
eoiisiilerations;  but  she  agreed  at  the  same  time  to 
adopt  the  principal  basis  of  the  territorial  partition, 
in  a  previous  cundtisum,  stating  that  the  charges 
which  were  there  made,  were  in  common  agree- 
ment with  the  ministers  of  the  mediating  powers. 
It  was  further  to  be  understood,  that  the  entire 
labour  was  to  l)e  terminated  by  tiie  24th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1802,  or  2iid  Brnmaire,  year  xi.,  which  just 
made  two  months,  to  be  dated,  not  from  the  day  of 
the  declaration  of  the  powers,  but  the  day  when 
their  note  had  been  dictated  to  the  deputation,  that 
is  to  say,  read  and  transcribed  in  the  proces  verbal 
of  the  diet. 

On  the  8tli  of  September,  or  21st  Fructidor,  this 
previous  covclusum  was  adopted  in  spite  of  all  the 
efforts  of  the  imperial  minister,  M.  Iliigel.  Bran- 
denburg, Bavaria,  Wurtemburg,  Hesso-Casbel, 
Mayence,  or  five  states  out  of  eight,  admitted  the 
jirevious  cti«c/«s«t«(,  comprehending  the  whole  of  the 
plan,  and  some  accessory  modifications,  that  were 
introduced  in  accordance  with  the  ministers  of  the 
mediating  powers.  In  this  sitting.  Saxony  took  a 
step,  and  gave  an  opinion  between  the  two  ex- 
tremes. This  state  desired  that  the  plan  might  be 
received  as  a  clue  of  directions  iu  the  labyrinth  of 
indemnities. 

Bohemia  and  the  Teutonic  order  were  opposed 
to  tile  adoption  of  the  conclusum.  According  to  the 
constitutional  forms,  the  minister  was  bound  to 
hiivc  communicated  the  cundusum  thus  voted  to  the 
mediating  ministers.  M.  Hugel  was  determined 
to  do  nothing  of  the  sort.  In  other  respects,  he 
unceasingly  endeavoured  to  excuse  himself  for  tlio 
obstacles  wiiich  he  had  caused  in  the  negotiiition, 
and  made  every  possible  effort  to  obtain  an  amica- 
ble overture  from  the  ministers  of  Franco  and 
Russia,  every  day  repeating  to  them  that  the  least 
ailvantagH  conceded  to  tiie  house  of  Austria,  for 
the  purpose  of  saving  its  iionour  at  least,  would 
d(!ciil<;  it  in  suffering  the  labour  to  be  concluded. 
The  whole  of  iis  policy  now  consiHted  in  tiring  out 
the  two  legations  of  France  and  Russia,  in  order  to 
wring  Iroiii  the  first  consul  a  concession  of  territory 


412 


Provisions  made  for  THIERS'   CONSULATE  AND   EMPIRE.         the  arch-chancellor. 


on  the  Inn,  or  a  combination  of  votes  iu  the  three 
colleges,  which  should  secure  to  Austria  the  preser- 
vation of  her  influence  in  the  empire.  The  con- 
duct M.  de  Laforest,  consummate  in  this  species 
of  tactic,  adopted,  and  that  he  made  liis  cabinet 
adopt,  was  to  march  determinately  forward  to  the 
end,  in  spite  of  the  Austrian  legation;  to  concede 
nothing  at  Ratisbon,  but  to  send  the  Austrian 
minister  to  Paris,  by  saying  that  there  perhajjs 
they  might  obtain  something  of  what  they  desired, 
not  before,  but  after  the  facilities  which  might  be 
obtained  from  them  in  the  future  course  of  the 
negotiation. 

The  imperial  legation,  in  order  to  gain  time  to 
negotiate  in  Paris,  directed  itself  to  the  object  of 
passing  a  newly-modified  conchtsum,  which  should 
be  sent  to  the  mediating  ministers,  in  order  to 
ome  to  an  understanding  with  them  upon  the 
changes  which  it  appeared  most  convenient  to 
adopt.  This  attempt  ended  in  nothing,  but  to 
impart  a  sort  of  ill-humour  to  the  Saxon  legation, 
and  to  attach  that  member  of  the  grand  deputation 
to  the  majority  of  six  voices  which  had  already 
been  given. 

Although  the  imperial  plenipotence  interposed 
itself  '•  firm  as  a  wall,"  according  to  the  despatches 
of  M.  de  Laforest,  between  the  extraordinary  depu- 
tation and  the  mediating  ministers,  because  she 
was  still  obstinate  in  not  communicating  to  them 
tlie  acts  of  the  extraordinary  deputation  ;  it  was 
nevertheless  agreed  that  the  reclamations  addressed 
to  the  diet  by  the  petty  princes,  should  be  officiously 
communicated  to  those  two  ministers,  that  all  this 
might  be  done  by  simple  notes,  and  that  the  modi- 
fications, admitted  in  consequence  of  such  reclama- 
tions, should  be  introduced  into  the  resolutions,  of 
which  the  whole  together  would  form  the  definitive 
conclusiim. 

As  soon  as  the  road  was  open  for  reclamations, 
they  did  not  lag  behind,  as  it  may  be  well  imagined; 
but  tliey  came  from  the  petty  princes  only,  because 
the  greater  houses  had  made  them  in  Paris  during 
the  time  the  general  negotiations  were  pi'oceeding. 
These  petty  princes  moved  heaven  and  earth  to 
get  themselves  secured.  Unhappily,  and  it  was 
the  only  thing  to  be  regretted  in  this  memorable 
negotiation,  the  persons  in  the  employment  of  the 
French,  individuals  brought  up  amid  the  disorders 
of  the  directory,  suffered  their  hands  to  be  soiled 
by  pecuniary  gifts,  that  the  German  princes,  impa- 
tient t(i  ameliorate  their  condition,  lavished  upon 
them  without  discernment.  For  the  most  part,  the 
miserable  agents  who  received  those  gifts,  sold  a 
credit  which  they  did  not  possess.  M.  de  Laforest, 
a  man  of  the  strictest  integritj^,  and  principal 
representative  of  Fi'ance  at  Ratisbon,  listened 
little  to  the  recommendations  that  were  addressed 
to  him  in  favour  of  such  or  such  a  house,  and  he 
denounced  them  to  his  own  government.  The  first 
consul,  made  aware  of  it,  wrote  many  letters  to  the 
minister  of  police,  in  order  to  put  a  stop  to  so 
odious  a  traffic,  which  could  only  make  dupes, 
because  these  pretended  recommendations,  ])aid 
for  in  money,  would  not  exercise  the  least  influ- 
ence over  the  arrangements  concluded  at  Ratisbon. 

The  greatest  difficulty  to  be  encountered  did  not 
by  any  means  consist  in  regulating  the  supplemental 
indemnities,  but  in  burthening  the  reserved  pro- 
perty with  them,  which  was  designed  for  the  pen- 


sions of  the  clergy  who  had  lost  their  places.  The 
efforts  of  Prussia,  to  save  from  this  double  chai-ge 
the  property  situated  in  her  territory,  caused  great 
contests,  and  lowered  exceedingly  the  dignity  of 
that  court.  It  was  necessary  at  first  to  find'  the 
sums  required  to  make  up  the  revenue  promised  to 
the  prince  arch-chancellor  the  elector  of  Mayence. 
A  means  was  devised  to  satisfy  this  demand. 
Among  the  number  of  the  free  cities  preserved, 
were  Ratisbon  and  Wetzlar,  the  last  maintained  in 
its  character  of  a  free  city,  because  of  the  imperial 
chamber  which  met  there.  Badly  governed,  both 
the  one  and  the  other,  as  the  greater  part  of  all 
the  free  towns  were,  they  had  no  very  desirable 
existence  longer  in  that  character.  Tiiey  were 
assigned  to  the  prince  arcii-chancellor.  There  was 
in  this  a  real  convenience,  because  Ratisbon  was 
the  place  where  the  diet  sate,  and  Wetzlar  that 
where  the  supreme  court  of  the  em])ire  held  its 
meetings.  It  was  natural  to  give  this  to  the  prince 
director  of  the  affairs  of  Germany.  These  two 
cities,  that  of  Ratisbon  before  all,  were  rejoiced  at 
their  new  distinction.  The  prince  arch-chancellor, 
possessing  Aschaffenburg,  Ratisbon,  and  Wetzlar, 
had  650,000  florins  of  revenue  secured  in  territory. 
It  was  necessary  to  find  him  three  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  more.  It  was  also  required  to  have 
fifty-three  thousand  for  the  house  of  Stolberg  and 
Isemburg;  and  ten  thousand  for  the  duke  of  Olden- 
burg, uncle  and  ward  of  the  emperor  Alexander. 
There  was  thus  in  all  413,000  florins  to  press  upon 
the  reserved  property  of  the  church,  independently 
of  the  ecclesiastical  pensions.  Baden  and  Wnrtem- 
burg  had  already  accepted  the  part  to  be  paid  from 
the  reserved  property  situated  in  their  states. 
Prussia  and  Bavaria  had  each  to  support  half  the 
charge  of  413,000  florins  remaining  deficient. 
Bavaria  was  heavily  charged  in  lier  finances,  both 
by  the  number  of  pensions  that  had  fallen  to  her, 
and  by  the  debts  which  had  been  transferred  fi-om 
the  old  states  upon  the  new.  Prussia  would  not 
even  support  the  payment  of  200,000  florins  out  of 
the  413,000  still  wanting.  She  had  devised  a  means 
of  procuring  them,  which  was  to  lay  the  burthen  of 
these  413,000  florins  upon  the  free  cities  of  Ham- 
burg, Bremen,  and  Lubeck,  of  which  she  was 
extremely,  jealous.  This  greediness  of  spirit 
caused  much  scandalous  talk  at  Ratisbon,  and 
the  minister  of  Prussia,  I\I.  Goertz,  was  so  much 
mortified  at  it,  that  he  was  very  near  giving  in  hi? 
resignation.  M.  de  Laforest  only  restrained  him 
on  account  of  the  interests  of  the  negotiation  itself. 
The  power  of  reclamation  accorded  to  the  petty 
princes,  renewed  a  number  of  almost  forgotten 
pretensions.  Another  cause  had  contributed  to 
the  renewal  :  this  was  the  rumour,  already  very 
largely  bruited  abroad  at  Ratisbon,  that  Austria 
was  obtaining  in  Paris  a  supplementary  indemnity 
in  favour  of  tlie  archduke  Ferdinand.  Hesse- 
Cassel,  jealous  of  what  had  been  done  for  Baden, 
Hesse-Darmstadt,  of  all  that  had  been  done  for 
Hesse-Cassel,  Orange- Nassau,  of  what  was  ru- 
moured to  be  done  for  the  former  duke  of  Tuscany, 
demanded  supplementary  indemnities  to  such  an 
extent,  that  the  other  claimants  would  have  been 
unable  to  obtain  any.  The  occupation  of  the 
diff'erent  territories  by  force  of  arms,  continuing 
without  interruption,  added  to  the  general  confu- 
sion.    The  Germanic  body  found  itself  exactly  ia 


Efforts  made  by  the 
mediating  ini::is- 


THE  SECULARIZATIONS. 


413 


the  state  wliicli  tliey  had  experienced  in  Fi-ance 
under  the  constituent  ussemhly  at  the  moment  of 
the  aboHtii)n  of  the  feudal  regime.  The  margrave, 
who  iniierited  Manheitn,  fornjerly  the  property  of 
the  house  of  Bavaria,  was  in  dispute  with  the  last 
house  about  a  collection  of  pictures.  Detachments 
of  troops  behinging  to  the  two  princes  had  just  missed 
coming  to  bhiws.  To  ctmi])lete  this  sad  spectacle, 
Austria,  having  over  a  number  of  estates  in  Suabia 
certain  pretensions  of  feudal  origin,  had  the  posts 
torn  up  with  the  arms,  in  the  different  towns  and 
abbeys  assigned  in  the  plan  of  the  indemnities  to 
Baden,  Wurtemburg,  and  Bavaria.  Lastly,  Prus- 
sia seized  tlie  bisliojtric  of  Munster,  and  would  not 
put  in  possession  the  counts  of  the  empire,  co-part- 
ners with  herself  in  that  bishopric. 

In  the  midst  of  these  disorders,  Austria  feeling 
that  she  must  ultimately  agree,  ottered  immediately 
to  adhere  to  the  plan  of  the  mediating  powers,  if 
the  bank  of  the  Im^i  was  conceded  to  her,  provided 
she  would  abandon  all  her  possessions  in  Suabia 
in  favour  of  Bavaria.  She  proposed  anew  to  this 
power  the  making  Augsburg  its  capital.  She  de- 
manded another  thing  in  the  creation  of  two  new 
electors,  of  which  one  should  be  the  archduke  of 
Tusc.iny,  now  made  the  sovereign  of  Salzburg,  and 
the  other  the  archduke  Charles,  the  actual  grand 
master  of  the  Teutonic  order.  Upon  these  condi- 
tions, Austria  was  ready  to  regard  the  archdukes 
as  sufficiently  indemnified,  and  to  give  herself  up 
to  the  wishes  of  the  mediating  powers. 

The  first  consul  was  no  hmger  able,  after  what 
had  passed  in  regard  to  Passau,  to  bring  Bavaria 
to  consent  to  cede  the  frontier  of  the  Inn  ;  and, 
above  all,  it  would  be  difficult  for  him  to  make 
.  GeiTOany  accept  three  electors  at  once,  taken  alone 
I  from  the  house  of  Austria — Bohemia,  Salzburg,  and 
the  Teutonic  order.  He  was  not  willing  to  sacrifice 
the  free  town  of  Augsburg.  He  rejilied,  that  dis- 
posed to  demand  some  sacrifices  of  Bavaria,  it  was 
impossible  for  him  to  exact  from  her  the  conces- 
sion of  the  frontier  of  the  Inn.  He  insinuated 
that  he  might  ])erlia|)s  go  as  far  as  to  propose  to 
Bavaria  to  abandon  a  bishopric  like  that  of  Aich- 
stadt,  but  that  it  was  impossible  to  go  beyond  that 
cession. 

The  time  passed  away;  it  was  now  Venddmiaire, 
or  October,  and  the  final  term  ap])roached,  fixed 
for  the  2nd  Brumaire,  or  24th  of  October.  The 
mediating  powers  were  in  a  hurry  to  finish  the 
affair.  They  had  lieard  all  the  petty  reclamations, 
received  all  those  which  were  worthy  of  hearing, 
and  put  all  in  order,  as  well  as  the  regulations 
which  were  to  accompany  the  distribution  of  the 
territories.  The  electoral  dignity,  requested  by 
the  cmperr)r  of  Russia,  had  not  ajipeared  to  any 
one  proper  to  be  granted,  because  it  was  a  new 
protcstant  electorate  added  to  the  six  which  already 
existed  in  a  college  of  only  nine.  The  dispivjpor- 
tion  was  too  great  to  be  increased  yet  further. 
This  reclamation  was  therefore  discarded.  A  new 
distribution  had  been  made  of  the  "  virile  votes," 
for  thus  the  votes  in  the  college  of  princes  were 
denominated  ;  and  they  had  transferred  to  the  new 
states  the  voles  of  the  princes  dispossesst^d  upon 
the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine.  There  resulted  in  the 
college  of  the  princes  as  in  that  of  the  electors,  a 
considerable  change  in  favour  of  the  protcslants, 
because  they  had  replaced  tho  prelates  or  abbots 


by  secular  princes  of  the  reformed  religion. 
Finally,  to  establish  a  sort  of  counterpoise,  they 
had  attached  new  votes  to  Austria,  Salzburg, 
Styria,  Carniola,  and  Carinthia.  But  the  catholic 
princes  wanted  the  principalities,  which  might 
serve  them  as  a  pi-etext  for  the  creation  of  new 
voices  in  the  diet.  In  spite  of  all  that  they  had 
done,  the  proportion  which  w^as  formerly,  as  has 
been  said,  fifty-four  catholic  voices  against  forty- 
three  protestants,  was  now  actually  tliirty-one 
catholics  against  sixty-two  protestants.  Still  it 
must  not  be  concluded  that  Austria  was  inferior 
in  proportion  to  these  numbers.  All  the  protestant 
suffrages,  as  before  said,  were  not  suffrages  secured 
to  Prussia ;  but  with  the  imperial  prerogatives 
with  respect  to  the  house  of  Austria,  which  was 
still  in  power,  and  with  the  fears  that  the  house  of 
Bi-andenburg  had  begun  to  inspire,  the  balance 
was  able  still  to  be  kept  up  between  the  two  i-ival 
houses. 

As  to  the  college  of  the  cities,  it  had  been 
organized  in  an  independent  manner,  and  had 
attempted  to  render  it  less  inferior  to  the  other 
two.  The  eight  free  towns  were  reduced  to  six, 
when  Ratisbon  and  Wetzlar  had  been  granted  to 
the  archbishop  chancellor.  Prussia  wished  to  sup- 
l)ress  the  third  college,  and  to  attribute  to  each  of 
the  six  cities  a  voice  in  the  college  of  princes. 
This  would  have  been  a  means  of  suppressing  one 
or  two  more,  especially  Nuremburg,  of  which 
Prussia  was  ambitious  to  have  possession.  The 
French  legation  refused  to  agree  to  this,  and  gave 
a  determined  negative. 

Nothing  was  said  upon  the  state  of  the  "imme- 
diate" nobility,  which  remained  in  the  most  cruel 
anxiety,  because  Prussia  and  Bavaria  threatened 
them  openly. 

At  last,  the  term  of  the  2nd  Brumaire  appi-oach- 
ing,  the  new  plan  was  submitted  for  deliberation  in 
the  extraordinary  deputation.  Brandenburg,  Ba- 
varia, Hesse-Cassel,  Wurtemburg,  and  Mayeiice, 
approved  of  it.  Saxony,  Bohemia,  the  Teulonie 
order,  declared  that  they  would  fake  it  into  consi- 
deration, but  that  before  they  pronounced  defi- 
nitely, tliey  desired  to  wait  the  terminatior.  of  the 
negotiation  going  on  in  Paris  on  the  i)art  of  Aus- 
tria, because  otherwise,  they  said,  they  should  be 
exposed  to  vote  for  a  plan  that  it  would  be  needful 
to  modify  subsequently. 

The  extraordinary  deputation  had  to  deliver  its 
definite  vote,  and  there  remained  only  three  or 
four  days  to  complete  the  term  of  the  two  months' 
delay.  It  was  needful  for  the  honour  of  the  great 
mediating  powers,  to  obtain  the  adoption  of  their 
j)lan  within  the  time  fixed.  M.  de  Laforest  and 
M.  Buhkr,  who  moved  forward  freely  in  accord- 
ance, made  the  greatest  efforts  in  order  that  on  the 
2yth  Venddiniaire,  or  2.1st  of  October,  the  cunchisum 
should  be  finally  adopted.  They  encountered  infi- 
nite diHiculties  in  consequence  of  M.  Hugel  rcpoit- 
ing  every  where  that  a  courier  from  Paris,  bringing 
imi)ortaiit  alterations,  was  every  moment  expected 
to  arrive;  that  at  Paris  even  they  wished  for  delay. 
He  went  so  far  as  to  threaten  M.  Albini,  telling 
him  that  according  to  jiosilive  advices,  orders 
would  be  received  by  him  Iroiii  the  elector  of 
Mayence,  disavowing  his  conduct,  and  enjoining  it 
upon  him  not  to  vote.  This  was  done  to  shako 
one  of  the  five  favourable  votes,  and  thus  far  one 


414     The  cor.ci«.Bm  adopted.      THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Alteration  of  feeling         ISOJ. 
towards  Austria.  Nov. 


of  the  most  faitliful.  Tlie«e  menaces  were  pushed 
SI)  far  tliat  M.  Albiiii  became  ofteniled,  and  in  con- 
sequence becanie  mure  firm  in  the  resohition  he 
had  laken.  To  increase  the  embarrassment  4>f  the 
time,  Prussia  commenced  at  the  latest  instant  to 
create  new  obstacles  ;  she  desired  sucli  a  dii;est  of 
the  business  as  sliould  dispense  witli  her  furnishing 
out  of  llie  reserved  priiperties  her  part  of  the 
4i:{,000  florins,  which  remained  to  be  made  up. 
Slie  even  aspired  to  self-appro] iriate  certain  (le|)en- 
dencies  of  the  ecclesiastical  property  enclosed  within 
her  territories,  and  attrihiiied  to  different  i)rincts 
by  tiie  plan  of  the  indemnities.  She  had,  in  a 
Word,  a  thousand  pretensions,  more  vexations,  more 
out  of  ])lace  the  one  than  the  other,  whiili  arising 
in  a  iiKist  unpx])ected  manner,  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  negotiations,  were  of  a  nature  to  make  tlie 
whole  proceeding  miscarry.  It  was  not  the  mitiis- 
tei-  of  Prussia,  M.  Goeriz,  a  very  worthy  personage, 
who  thus  cast  a  blush  ui)on  the  cliaracter  which  he 
WMs  made  to  play,  it  was  a  financier  whom  tliey 
hail  made  his  adjimet  that  caused  these  difficulties. 
At  length,  M.  de  Ltiforest  and  M.  Buhlir  gave  a 
last  impulse  to  the  affair,  and  on  the  29th  of  Ven- 
ilemiaire,  or  21st  of  October,  the  definitive  con- 
clumm  was  adopted  by  the  extraordinary  deputa- 
tion of  tlie  eight  states,  and  the  mediation  mi;ilit 
Ite  said  in  a  certain  sense  to  be  accomplished, 
within  the  term  assigned  by  the  mediating  powers. 
On  the  last  day,  Saxony  voted  with  the  five  states, 
forming  the  ordinary  majority  out  of  respect  to 
ih.it  majority. 

There  still  remained  a  number  of  details  to  be 
arranged.  The  partition  of  the  territ'  ries  and  the 
regulations  for  the  organization  did  not  form  the 
same  act.  It  was  required  that  the  two  sliould 
form  but  one  resolution,  which  should  take  a  title 
already  known  in  the  Germanic  piotocol,  as  that 
of  ihe  recez,  a  term  applied  by  custom  to  the  regis- 
tration of  the  resolutions  of  tile  impei-ial  diet. 
.Mterwards,  the  labours  of  the  deputation  being 
accomiilished,  it  was  necessary  to  caii-y  the  result 
to  the  Germanic  diet,  of  which  the  extraordinary 
deputation  was  only  a  commission.  Tlie  ])i'ecautioii 
had  been  taken  in  the  declaration  of  the  difjoiiive 
coiiclusum,  of  slating  that  the  recez  woidd  be  directly 
coinimmicaied  to  the  mediating  ministers.  They 
desired  by  this  means  to  prevt  iit  the  n-fusal  of  the 
communication  being  made  on  the  part  of  the  ini- 
peiial  ministers  to  the  niediating  ministers,  a  re- 
fusal which  had  already  been  llie  cause  of  the  most 
vextitious  delays. 

They  now  set  to  work  immediately  to  resolve 
into  one  sole  digest  the  principal  act  and  the  regu- 
lations. This  was  a  now  i  pportonity  for  M.  Huge! 
to  raise  up  embarr.issing  iiuestions.  Thus,  on  the 
proposal  for  the  definitive  digest  being  com|)ieted, 
liK  obstinately  demanded,  if  there  was  imt  to  be 
coini)rehended  in  the  registry  the  charge  on  the 
.salary  of  413,000  florins,  ilue  to  'he  arch-chancellor, 
to  the  duke  of  Oldenburg,  and  to  the  houses  of 
Isi'inburg  and  Stolburg  ;  he  dtnianded  if  this  was 
not  the  moment  to  provide  the  |)insious  of  the 
archbishop  of  Treves,  the  bishops  of  Lii  ge.  Spires, 
and  Strasburg,  the  states  of  which  had  gone  with 
the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine  to  France,  and  «ho  did 
not  know  to  whom  to  address  ihemselves  to  obtain 
a  provision  ;  if  no  indeinnity  was  to  be  accorded  to 
the  "  immediate"  nobility  for  the  loss  of  their  feu- 


dal rights,  a  loss  for  which  they  liad  an  anterior 
promise  of  an  indemnity. 

To  all  the  demands  of  new  allocations,  Prussia 
replied  by  refusals,  or  by  referenjces  to  the  free 
cities.  Bavaria  said,  and  with  reason,  that  she 
was  much  in  debt,  and  that  she  saw  her  resources 
still  further  lessened  by  what  would  be  accorded  to 
Austria,  in  the  treaty  carrying  on  at  Paris.  M. 
Hngel  replied,  that  it  was  not  in  this  manner  that 
people  should  meet  their  sacred  debts. 

These  dis|)utes  produced  at  Ratisbon  an  ex- 
tremely vexatious  effect.  They  com])lained  there 
above  all  things  of  the  avidity  of  Prussia,  and  of 
the  complaisant  conduct  of  France  towards  lier  ; 
we  no  longer  acknowledge,  people  said,  the  great 
character  of  the  first  consul,  which  ])ermits  his 
mime  and  favour  to  be  so  abused.  Every  mind 
reverted  towards  Austriti,  even  those  which  did 
not  commonly  lean  towards  her  side.  People  said, 
that  in  submitting  to  a  preponderating  influenc'>  in 
the  empire,  it  was  better  to  submit  to  that  of  the 
ancient  house  of  Austria,  that  without  doubt  had 
formerly  aliused  its  supremacy,  but  had  at  the 
same  time  as  often  jirotected  as  oppressed  the 
Germans.  There  s])rung  up  among  tlie  states  of 
the  second  order,  such  as  Bavaria,  Wurtenibiirg, 
the  two  Hesses,  and  Baden,  a  disposition  to  form  a 
league  in  the  centre  of  Germany,  for  resisting,  as 
well  the  power  of  Prussia,  as  that  of  Austria. 

At  length,  in  spite  of  every  art  to  extend  these 
difficulties,  the  recez  was  digested  and  adopted  by 
the  extraordinary  dt'putation,  on  the  2nd  Frimaire, 
year  xi.,  or  23id  November,  1802.  No  resnurte 
was  indiciited  to  supjily  the  payment  of  the  413,0(10 
florins,  which  yet  remained  without  assignment. 
All  wished  al.so  to  know,  before  they  put  the  last 
hand  to  the  work,  the  result  of  the  negotiations 
between  Fiance  and  .Austria. 

The  imperial  legation  saw  itself,  therefore,  van- 
quished at  last,  by  the  activity  and  constancy  of 
the  mediating  niinisti  r.s,  who  proceeded  invariably 
on  their  way,  supported  upon  their  majority  of  five 
votes,  sometimes  even  of  six  out  of  eight,  when 
Saxony  was  brought  back  agtiin  to  the  mjijoriiy  by 
the  obstinate  resistance  of  Austria.  M.llugel  de- 
cided to  let  tilings  alone.  It  was  necessary  to 
carry  the  recez  of  this  specitil  commission,  called 
the  "  extraordintiry  deputation,"  up  to  the  diet 
itself.  In  order  to  ])ass  it  from  one  to  the  other 
of  these  bodies,  the  decision  was  taken  to  pass  it 
intermediately,  if  the  ministers  of  the  emperor 
refused  to  transmit  it.  Nevertheless,  the  Ger- 
mans, even  those  most  favourable  to  the  plan  of 
indemnity,  were  inclined  towards  the  exact  and 
faith lul  observation  of  the  constitutional  regula- 
tions. They  thought  that  the  empire  was  quite 
sufficiently  sluikeii,  and  besides,  in  the  overturn 
of  the  constitution,  they  discovered  a  new  .species 
4>f  domiiitition,  which  was  altogether  more  formid- 
able than  that  which  existed  before.  Evenih- se 
who  were  originally  the  ])artisans  of  Prussia,  now 
rallied  with  tliose  who  had  always  venerated  Aus- 
tria as  the  most  perfect  rejiresentative  <if  the  old 
order  of  things.  They  had  arrived  at  that  point, 
a  jioint  soon  arrived  at  in  revolutions,  where  the 
new  masters  are  distrusted,  and  the  old  ones  a 
little  less  hated.  'J'liey  did  not  wish,  therefore, 
that  the  imperial  ministers  should  be  passed  over 
in  the  matter,  and  the  intelligence  of  a  conlerence 


THE  SECULARIZATIONS. 


The  first  consul  closes  with 


at  Paris,  between  Austria  and  tlio  first  consiil, 
gave  birili  to  tlie  hope  of  :iii  iirraiigeinent,  wbiuli 
woiiKl  be  i-eceived  witii  ]ny  by  every  body. 

AI.  Hii«;el,  at  last  brought  back  to  a  system  of 
condescension,  consented  to  coiunuiuicate  the  aits 
of  the  extraordinary  deputation  to  the  mediating 
ministers,  to  tiie  end  that  tiie  last  should  be  able  to 
address  the  diet,  and  recjuire  the  adoption  of  the 
reciz,  as  the  law  of  the  empire.  But  with  the 
narrowness  of  mind  of  an  old  formalist,  M.  Huge! 
refused  to  send  the  recez  itself,  invested  in  the 
ini|ierial  colours  ;  lie  conmiunicated  a  simple  im- 
pression, with  a  despatch  guaranteeing  its  authen- 
ticity. 

Wiihont  losing  time,  on  the  4tli  of  December,  or 
13th  Frimaire,  tlie  two  ministers  of  France  and 
Russia  coninumicated  the  reccz  to  the  diet,  declar- 
ing that  they  entirely  approved  of  it  in  the  name  of 
their  respective  courts ;  that  they  retjuested  it 
should  be  immediately  caUeii  into  consideration  ; 
and,  as  soon  as  possible,  that  it  be  adopted  as  a 
law  of  the  empire.  This  promptitude  to  get  hold 
of  the  diet  was  a  means  to  bring  in  the  ministers  of 
the  Germanic  states  that  were  absent,  or  the  in- 
Kti-uctiuus  of  those  who  had  iiot  yet  reoeived 
them. 

New  precautions  at  this  moment  became  neces- 
sary in  relation  to  the  coiuposition  of  the  diet.  To 
admit  to  vote  all  the  states  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Rhine  suppressed  by  the  French  conquest,  and  on 
the  right  bank  by  the  system  of  secularizations, 
was  to  expose  the  diet,  on  their  part,  either  to  an 
invincible  opposition,  or  else  to  condetnn  them  to 
jironotince  themselves  their  own  suppression.  It 
was  agreed  with  the  directoritil  minister,  or  in 
other  wolds,  with  the  archchancellof,  to  convoke 
eKolusively'those  states  which  were  preserved  to 
the  empire,  whether  their  title  was  changed  or 
wlieiher  it  w;is  not.  Thus  they  did  not  convoke 
the  electors  of  Treves  nor  of  Colonne  to  the  college 
of  electors  ;  but  they  convoked  Mayence,  of  which 
the  title  was  constituted  ex  jure  vuro.  In  the  col- 
lege of  princes  there  were  some  suppressed  whose 
territories  had  been  incorporated  in  the  French  or 
Helvetian  republics  ;  such,  for  example,  as  the 
secular  and  ec.  lesiastical  jirinces  of  Ueux-Ponts, 
M<nitljalliard,  Liege,  Worms,  Spires,  ilale,  and 
strasburg.  Tho-e  princes  were  i)rovision:illy  main- 
tained, who  had  g^iined  new  principalities,  save  in 
the  regulation  of  the  titles,  at  a  later  time,  and  the 
makin;,'  tliem  transfer  themselves  to  the  secularized 
terriioriiH  wiiich  had  devolved  u[ion  them.  There 
were  suppressed  in  the  college  of  cities  the  whole 
niiWH  of  incorporated  places;  only  six  titles  were 
preserved,  —  Au;,'»l>ur(;,  Nuremburg,  Frankfort, 
UrenuMi,  Hamburg,  ami  Lubeck. 

Tlie»e  precautious  were  indispensable,  and  they 
obt.:i  ned  the  result  which  they  awaited.  None  of 
the  8U|>preMsed  states  miuie  their  appearance.  In 
the  hint  days  of  January  the  fliet  coinmeiiced  their 
deliberations.  The  protocol  was  opened.  The 
8t4iles  in  tli(!  three  colleges  were  snecessively  called. 
The  one  gave  their  opinions  immediately,  tlur  others 
reserved  llnirs  until  a  Inter  period,  according  to 
the  custom  of  the  diet.  They  waited  to  piiniounco 
(leKiiitively  on  the  last  sulimission  of  the  vote  of 
the  ppopos'd  conclanum,  until  the  negotiiitions  eu- 
tiTed  into  in  I'aris  lietwetMi  France  and  the  court 
of  Vieiuui  should  be  completed. 


Things  had  proceeded  so  far,  that  the  first  consul 
it  was  wished  should  grant  .'^ome  satisfaction  to 
Austria,  in  strictness,  they  might  iiave  jiassed  on 
witiiout  her  good  wishes  to  the  end  of  the  business, 
and  made  the  three  colleges  vote  in  si)ito  of  the 
Austrian  opposition.  The  Germans,  even  those  the 
uu)st  mortified,  felt  clearly  enough  that  it  was 
necessary  to  finish,  and  they  were  resolved  to  vote 
for  the  ncez,  after  which,  the  different  occupations 
already  consimniiated  would  have  been  clothed 
with  a  species  of  legality,  iiiul  the  refusal  of  his 
sanction  on  the  part  of  the  emperor,  would  not 
have  been  able  to  hinder  those  who  had  received 
the  indemnities  from  enjoying  peaceably  their  new 
territories.  Still  the  opposition  of  the  emperor  to 
the  new  constitution,  however  unreasonable  it  was, 
would  have  placed  the  enipire  in  a  false,  uncertain 
position,  litilo  coiilormable  to  the  pacific  intentions 
of  the  mediating  i>o\vers.  It  wjis  better  worth  to 
come  to  an  agreement,  and  to  obtain  the  adhesion 
of  the  court  of  Vienna.  This  was  the  intention  <;f 
the  first  consul.  He  would  not  have  waited  so 
long,  had  it  not  been  for  the  purpose  of  having 
fewer  sacrifices  to  make  to  Austria,  and  fewer  tti 
exact  of  Bavaria  ;  because  it  was  •i'  the  last,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  demand  all  that  should  be 
granted  to  the  former. 

In  efiect,  towards  tlic  end  of  December  the  first 
consul  consented  ti>  hold  a  conference  with  M. 
Cobeiitzel,  and  at  last  came  to  an  agreement  with 
him  upon  some  concessions  in  favour  of  the  house 
of  Austria.  Bavaria  had  shown  an  invincible  re- 
pugiuuice  to  cede  the  line  of  the  Inn  ;  whether 
bectiuse  of  the  valuable  stilt  mines  which  are  found 
between  the  Inn  and  the  Salza,  or  whether  on 
account  of  the  situation  of  Municii,  which  would  be 
then  too  mar  the  new  frontier,  it  had  been  deemed 
necessary  to  renounce  this  plan  of  arrangement. 
Then  the  first  consul  wiis  reduced  to  cede  the 
bishopric  of  Aichstedt,  placed  upon  the  Damibe, 
containing  70,000  inhabitants,  with  a  rumoured 
reveime  of  350,000  Horins,  and  primarily  destined 
for  the  paUitine  house.  Provided  this  augmenta- 
tion was  acceded  to  the  iirchdukc  Ferdinand,  the 
liishoprics  of  Brixen  iind  Trent  were  to  be  taken 
from  his  indemnification  among  the  secularizations 
to  the  profit  of  Austria.  This  power  avowed,  in  a 
maimer  cle;ir  enough,  the  interest  which  she  kept 
concealed  out  of  zeal  for  her  relation.  It  is  true, 
for  the  price  of  this  seculnriziition,  she  took  from 
her  own  domains  the  little  prefecture  of  Ortenau, 
in  order  to  increase  the  iiulemnity  of  the  duke  of 
Modena,  composed,  as  hits  been  already  said,  of 
the  Bris;;au.  Ortenau  was  iii  the  country  of 
Baden,  and  near  the  Brisgau. 

Austria  had  i'e(|uired  the  creation  of  two  new 
electors  in  her  own  house  ;  one  was  conceded  in 
the  archduke  Ferdiiuind,  thus  destined  to  be  the 
elector  of  Salzburg.  Thus  there  were  ten  electors 
in  the  room  of  nine,  which  was  the  niunber  eon- 
taincd  in  the  plan  of  the  mediating  powers,  in  place 
of  eight,  which  hiul  been  the  number  inuler  the  old 
Germanic  constitution.  This  wiis  an  improvement 
of  the  Austrian  position  in  the  electoral  college. 
There  were  now,  in  fact,  four  catholic  electors — 
Bohemia,  Bavaria,  Mayence,  anil  Salzburg — against 
the  six  piiitestants  of  Brandenburg,  Hanover, 
Saxony,  He.sso  {'assel,  Wurtembnrg,  and  Baden. 

These  eoiiditions  were  inserted  in   ;i  convention 


The  first  consul 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.        closes  with  Austria. 


1802. 
Uec. 


signed  at  Paris  on  the  2Gth  of  December,  1802,  or 
5th  Nivose,  year  xi.,  by  M.  Cubentzel  anJ  Joseph 
Bonaparte,  M.  Markoff  was  asked  to  accede  in 
the  name  of  Russia;  and  there  was  no  need  of 
begging  it  of  liini  as  a  favour,  devoted  as  he  was  to 
Austria.  Prussia  remained  cool,  but  ofiered  no 
resistance.  Bavaria  submitted  herself,  demanding 
to  be  indemnified  for  the  sacrifice  which  was 
exacted  of  her  ;  and  above  all,  not  to  be  forced  to 
pay  any  part  of  the  413,000  florins  that  nobody 
else  Would  pay. 

Austria  had  promised  to  oppose  no  further  ob- 
stacle in  the  way  of  the  mediation,  and  she  nearly 
kept  her  word.  Besides  the  concessions  obtained 
in  Paris,  she  wished  to  obtain  another,  whicli  she 
was  unable  to  negotiate  any  where  but  at  Ratisbon 
itself,  with  those  who  had  drawn  up  the  recez.  This 
coiicessi<in  related  to  the  number  of  virile  votes  in 
the  college  of  princes.  While  the  protocol  was 
open  in  the  diet,  and  they  there  expressed  their 
opinions  one  after  the  other,  the  extraordinary 
deputation  was  sitting  at  the  same  time,  and  re- 
considering once  more  the  plan  of  the  mediation 
since  the  convention  agi'eed  upon  in  Paris.  The 
diet  thus  delivered  its  opinion  upon  the  ])lan  that 
the  grand  deputation  was  daily  reconsidering  at  the 
same  time.  The  territorial  changes  agreed  upon 
in  Paris  were  included.  They  had  comprised  in 
their  proceedings  the  creation  of  the  new  elector  of 
Salzburg  ;  tliey  had,  in  fine,  introduced  the  new 
virile  votes,  which  changed  the  pi-oportion  of  the 
catholic  and  ])rotestant  votes  in  the  college  of 
princes,  carrying  the  votes  to  fifty-four  catholics 
against  seventy-seven  protestants,  in  lieu  of  thirty- 
one  against  sixty-two.  It  was  necessary  to  finish 
all  these  questions,  and  particularly  that  which 
related  to  the  413,000  florins.  Bavaria,  that  had 
lost  350,000  florins  with  Aichstedt,  was  not  able  to 
pay  200,000.  Siie  had  refused  to  pay  this  money, 
and  the  refusal  was  but  natural.  But  Prussia, 
although  she  had  lost  nothing,  was  unwilling  to 
support  her  part  of  this  light  burden.  "  They  will 
not  make  war  for  200,000  florins,"  said  M.  Haug- 
witz  ;  sad  words,  which  offended  every  body  at 
Ratisbon,  and  placed  the  character  of  Prussia  far 
beneath  that  of  Austria  ;  which  last,  in  her  resist- 
ance, at  least  defended  her  territories  and  her  old 
constitui  ional  principles. 

The  first  consul,  in  point  of  fact,  ought  to  have 
beaten  down  this  avaricious  spirit;  but  having  need 
of  Prussia,  even  to  the  last,  in  order  to  secure  the 
success  of  his  plans,  he  was  obliged  to  humour  hei'. 
They  knew  not  how  to  pay  neither  the  arch-chan- 
cellor, the  pensions  of  the  ecclesiastics,  nor  some 
other  debts  formerly  assigned  upon  the  reserved 
property.  To  repartition  this  charge,  under  the 
form  of  viois  romains^,  on  the  totality  of  the  Ger- 
manic body,  was  impossible,  seeing  the  difficulty, 
almost  insurmountalde  at  all  times  on  the  part  of 
the  confederation,  to  obtain  the  payment  of  the 
common  expenses.  The  state  of  the  dilapidation 
of  the  federal  fortresses  was  a  proof  of  this.  They 
were  compelled  to  devise  a  means  wliich  somewhat 
diminished  the  liberality  of  the  first  French  plan 
ill  regard  to  the  navigation  of  the  rivers.     They 

•  Mois  rnmnini  was  the  name  of  the  common  expenses 
divided  over  the  whole  of  the  confederjition,  after  the  old- 
established  proportions. 


had  suppressed  all  the  tolls  on  the  Elbe,  the  Weser, 
and  the  Rhine.  Still  it  was  necessary  to  provide 
for  some  indispensable  expenses  to  keep  things  in 
order  ;  such  as  the  towing-paths,  for  exanjple, 
without  which  the  navigation  would  have  been 
soon  interrupted.  It  was  agreed  to  establish  upon 
the  Rhine  a  moderate  octroi,  or  duty,  very  inferior 
to  all  the  tolls  of  a  feudal  nature  under  which  the 
river  had  formerly  been  oppressed  ;  and  upon  the 
excess  left  of  this  duty  to  take  350,000  florins  for 
the  prince  arch-chancellor,  the  10,000  for  the  duke 
of  Oldenburg,  the  53,000  for  the  houses  of  Isem- 
burg  and  Stolburg,and  some  thousand  florins  more 
yet,  to  place  in  accordance  different  princes  who 
sent  in  assignments.  In  this  way  was  satisfied  the 
avarice  of  Prussia.  The  200,000  florins  were  thus 
discharged  from  Bavaria,  that  she  was  bound  to 
furnish  for  her  part  of  the  413,000,  thus  reducing 
the  loss  which  slie  had  experienced  in  ceding  Aich- 
stedt ;  and  the  ])riiniise  made  to  the  archduke 
chancellor  was  fulfilled,  securing  to  him  an  inde- 
pendent revenue.  All  the  Germans  wished  tliis  to 
be  the  case,  because  they  judged  that  1,000,000  of 
florins  of  revenue  was  only  just  sufficient  lor  the 
prince  who  had  tlie  honour  to  preside  at  the  Ger- 
manic diet,  and  who  was  the  last  representing  the 
three  ecclesiastical  electors  of  the  holy  empire. 
He  was  constituted  the  only  administrator  of  this 
duty,  in  concert  with  France,  that  had  the  right  to 
watch  over  the  expenditure  laid  out  on  the  left 
bank.  Under  this  point  of  view,  France  had  not 
to  complain  of  this  arrangement,  because  from  that 
moment,  the  ])iince  arch-chancellor  had  every  in- 
terest to  maintain  kindly  relations  with  her. 

Finally,  the  plan,  revised  for  the  last  time,  was 
adopted  on  the  25th  of  February,  or  Gth  Venlose, 
year  XI.,  as  a  final  act,  by  the  extraordinary  depu- 
tation, and  sent  immediately  to  the  diet,  where  it 
was  voted,  very  nearly  unanimously,  by  all  three 
of  the  C(dleges.  It  met  with  no  opposition,  except 
on  the  ])art  of  Sweden,  of  which  the  monarch, 
already  beginning  to  exhibit  the  troubled  mind 
which  precipitated  him  from  the  throne,  astonished 
Europe  by  his  royal  follies.  He  cast  violent  blame 
upon  the  mediating  and  the  German  powers,  who 
liad  concurred  in  making  an  attack  .so  serious  u)>on 
the  ancient  Gei'inanic  constitution.  This  ridiculous 
fi'eak  of  a  jnince,  of  wliom  nobody  in  Europe  made 
the  least  account,  did  not  alter  the  general  salisl'ac- 
tion  which  was  felt  at  seeing  the  long  anxieties  of 
the  empire  terminated  at  last. 

The  Germans,  even  those  who  regretted  the  old 
order  of  things,  hut  |)reserved  some  small  remnant 
of  equity  in  their  judgments,  acknowledged  that 
they  had  gathered  u])on  this  occasion  the  inevitable 
fruits  of  an  imprudent  war;  that  the  left  bank  of 
the  Rhine  having  been  lost,  in  consequence  of  that 
war,  it  had  become  necessary  to  make  a  new  parti- 
tion of  the  Germanic  territory  ;  that  the  partition 
was,  without  doubt,  more  advantageous  for  the 
great  than  the  small  houses,  but  that  without 
France,  this  inequality  had  been  much  more  in- 
jurious still  ;  that  the  constitution,  modified  under 
several  heads,  was  still  preserved  in  the  base,  and 
could  not  be  reformed  in  a  clearer  spirit  of  con- 
servation. They  acknowledged,  in  fact,  that  with- 
out the  vigour  of  the  first  consul,  anarchy  would 
have  been  introduced  into  Germany,  in  consequence 
of  the  pretensions  of  all  kinds  at  that  moment  put 


Austria  seizes  tlie  funds 


THE  SECULARIZATIONS. 


of  the  German  princes. 


417 


forward.  The  circumstance  which  proves  better 
than  mere  words  the  sentiment  thus  indulged  for 
the  chief  of  the  French  government  is,  tliat  on  the 
consideration  of  several  questions,  still  remaining  in 
susj)ense,  they  desired  that  his  powerful  hand 
should  not  be  too  suddenly  withdrawn  from  the 
afiairs  of  Germany.  They  wished  that  France,  in 
the  character  of  a  guarantee,  should  be  obliged  to 
watch  over  her  work. 

In  point  of  fact,  thei*e  remained  more  than  one 
question,  general  and  particular,  which  the  me- 
diation had  not  settled.  Prussia  was  in  an  o])en 
quarrel  with  the  city  of  Nuremburg,  and  acted 
towards  it  in  the  most  tyrannical  manner.  The 
same  graspiiig  power  would  not  place  the  counts  of 
Westphalia  in  possession  of  their  part  of  the 
bishopric  of  Munster  which  it  had  seized.  Fraidc- 
fort  was  involved  in  a  contest  with  tlie  neighbour- 
ing princes,  about  a  charge  which  had  been  im- 
posed upon  it  in  their  favour,  in  the  way  of  com- 
pensation for  certain  pi-opcrties  ceded  by  them. 
Prussia  and  Bavaria  wished  to  take  advantage  of 
tjie  silence  of  the  reccz,  in  order  to  incorporate  in 
their  estates  the  "immediate"  nobility.  Austria 
turned  to  her  advantage  in  Suabia  a  quantity  of 
feudal  claims,  of  an  obscure  origin,  being  an  inva- 
sion of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  sovereignty  of  the 
dukes  of  Wurtemburg,  Bailon,  and  Bavaria.  She 
committed,  more  particularly,  a  violation  of  pro- 
perty unheard  of  before.  Tlie  ecclesiastical  prin- 
cipalities recently  secularized,  deposited  their  funds 
in  the  bank  of  Vienna,  funds  belonging  to,  and 
arising  out  of,  those  principalities,  which  were  to 
pass,  with  the  principalities,  to  the  princes  whom 
tlii-y  indemnified.  The  Austrian  administration 
laid  its  han<ls  u[)on  these  funds,  amoimting  to  no 
K  ss  than  30,0110,000  of  Horiiis,  an  act  which  nearly 
reduced  some  of  these  ])rinces  to  despair.  All 
these  acts  of  violence  made  it  a  matter  exceedingly 
desirable  that  an  authority  should  be  instituted, 
which  should  watch  over  the  execution  of  the  reccz, 
like  that  which  was  set  on  foot  after  the  peace  of 
Westphalia.  The  recomposition  of  the  old  circles, 
charged  to  watch  over  the  defence  of  particular 
interests,  was  at  this  time  much  desired.  It  re- 
mained, finally,  to  reorganize  the  German  church, 
which  having  been  deprived  of  its  priucely  exist- 


ence, had  need  of  receiving  an  organization  alto- 
gether new. 

The  first  consul  had  not  been  able  to  take  upon 
himself  the  solution  of  these  difficulties,  because  to 
have  done  so,  it  would  have  been  necessary  that  he 
should  constitute  himself  the  permanent  legislator 
of  Germany.  He  had  only  deemed  it  his  duty  to 
oecu]iy  himself  with  the  preservation  of  the  equili- 
brium of  the  empire,  which  was  a  part  of  the 
equilibrium  of  Europe,  and  for  this  purpose  detcr- 
inining  what  property  should  revert  to  each  state, 
whether  in  territory  or  influence  in  the  diet.  The 
remainder  that  was  to  be  done  could  only  in  per- 
formance belong  to  the  diet  itself,  which  was  alone 
charged  to  exercise  the  legislative  power.  This 
was  fully  sufiicient,  seconded  at  times  by  Fi-ance, 
to  guarantee  the  new  Germanic  constitution,  as  it 
had  been  able  to  do  the  old.  The  feeble  tlu-eatened 
by  the  strong,  ah-eady  invoked  this  guarantee.  It 
was  for  the  more  powerful  courts  of  Germany,  to 
prevent  by  their  moderation  a  new  intervention  of 
a  foreign  jiower.  Unhappily,  it  was  not  long  that 
it  was  possible  to  calculate  thus,  on  observing  the 
actual  conduct  of  Prussia  and  Austria. 

The  emperor,  after  having  delayed  his  ratifica- 
tion, sent  it  at  last,  but  with  two  reservations  :  one 
had  for  its  object  the  maintenance  of  the  privileges 
of  ail  the  "immediate"  nobility;  the  other  a  new 
distribution  of  the  protestant  and  catholic  votes  in 
the  diet.  This  was  to  keep  only  half  his  word,  as 
given  to  the  first  consul,  for  the  value  received  at 
the  convention  of  the  2Gth  of  December. 

In  other  respects,  the  difliculties,  which  might 
be  truly  denominated  European,  as  those  of  terri- 
tory, were  overcome,  thanks  to  the  enei'getic  and 
prudent  intervention  of  general  Bonajiarte.  If  any 
thing  had  rendered  evident  his  ascendancy  in  the 
affairs  of  Europe  at  this  time,  it  was  a  negotiation 
thus  ably  conducted,  in  which,  united  with  justice, 
address,  and  firmness,  the  ambition  of  Prussia,  and 
the  pride  of  Russia  were  niade  to  serve  by  turns  a 
resistance  to  Austria,  red\icing  her  power  without 
pushing  her  to  despair.  Thus  had  the  first  consul 
imposed  his  own  will  upon  Germany,  for  the  benefit 
alike  of  Germany  and  the  repcise  of  the  world  ;  the 
.sole  case  in  which  it  is  permissible  and  useful  to 
interfere  in  the  affaii-s  of  another  couutry. 


418 


Remarks  on  the 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.        European  colonies. 


1802. 
Feb. 


BOOK  XVI. 


RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENS. 


EPPORTS  MADE  BY  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  TO  RE-ESTABLISH  THE  COLONIAL  GREATNESS  OF  PRANCE. — THE  SPIRIT  OP 
HER  FORMER  COMMERCE.— AMBITION  OF  ALL  THE  POWERS  TO  POSSESS  COLONIES.— AMERICA,  THE  ANTILLES, 
AND  THE  EAST  INDIES.  — MISSION  OF  GENERAL  DECAEN  TO  INDIA.— EFFORTS  MADE  TO  RECOVER  ST.  DOMINGO. 
DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  ISLAND.  — REVOLUTION  OF  THE  BLACKS  —CHARACTER,  POWER,  AND  POLICY  OF  TOUSSAINT 
LOUVERTURE.  —  HE  ASPIRES  TO  BECOME  INDEPENDENT. — THE  FIRST  (ONSUL  SENDS  OUT  AN  EXPEDITION  IN 
ORDER  TO  SEtCRE  THE  AUTHORITY  OP  THE  MOTHER  COUNTRY.— DISEMBARKMENT  OF  FRENCH  TROOPS  AT  ST. 
DOMINGO,  AT  THE  CAPE,  AND  AT  PORT-AOPRINCE. — BURNING  OF  THE  CAPE. — SUBMISSION  OF  THE  BLACKS. — 
MOMENTARY  PROSPERITY  OF  THE  COLONY. —  APPLICATION  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  TO  THE  RESTORATION  OF  THE 
MARINE. — MISSION  OF  COLONEL  SEBASTIANl  TO  THE  EAST. — CARE  DIRECTED  TO  INCREASE  THE  INTERNAL 
PROSPERITY  OF  THE  COUNTRY.— THE  SIMPLON,  MOUNT  GENEVRE,  THE  FORTRESS  OF  ALEXANDRIA.— CAM  P  OF 
VETERANS  IN  THE  CONQUERED  PKOVINCES.-NEW  TOWNS  FOUNDED  IN  LA  VENDEE. — ROCHELLE  AND  CHERPURG. 
THE  CIVIL  CODE,  THE  INSTITUTE,  AND  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  CLERGY.— JOURNEY  TO  NORMANDY  OF 
THE  FIRST  CONSUL. — ENGLISH  JEALOUSY  INSPIRED  BV  THE  GREATNESS  OF  FRANCE.— THE  MONEY  MKRCHANTS 
OF  ENGLAND  MORE  HOSTILE  TO  FRANCE  THAN  THE  ARISTOCRACY. — OUTBREAK  OF  THE  JOURNALS  -WRITTEN  BY 
THE  EMIGRANTS.— PENSIONS  GRANTED  TO  GEORGES  AND  THE  CHOUANS.— REMONSTRANCES  OF  THE  FIRST 
CONSUL.— EVASIONS  OP  THE  BRITISH  CABINET. — ARTICLES  IN  REPRISAL  INSERTED  IN  THE  "  MONITEUR." — 
CONTINUA  IION  OF  THE  AFFAIRS  OF  SWITZERLAND. — THE  S.MALLER  CANTONS  REVOLT  UNDER  THE  CONDUCT  OF 
THE  LANDAMMAN  REUING,  AND  MARCH  UPON  BERNE — THE  MODERATE  PARTY  IN  THE  GOVERNMENT  OBLIGED 
TO  FLY  TO  LAUZANNE. — THE  DEMAND  OF  AN  INTERVENTION  AT  FIRST  REFUSED,  BUT  SUBSEQUENTLY  AGREED 
TO,  BY  THK  FIRST  CONSUL.— NEY  ORDERED  TO  MARCH  WITH  THIRTY  THOUSAND  MEN.— THE  DEPUTIES  CHOSEN 
FROM  ALL  THE  PARTIES  ARE  SUMMONED  TO  PARIS,  TO  FRAME  A  CONSTITUTION  FOU  SWITZERLAND.— AGITATION 
IN  ENGLAND;  CRIES  OF  THE  WAR  PARTY  AGAINST  FRENCH  INTERVENTION.— THE  ENGLISH  CABINET,  ALARMED 
BY  THE^E  CRIES,  COMMITS  THE  FAULTS  OF  COUNTERMANDING  THE  EVACUATION  OF  MALTA,  AND  OP  SENDING 
AN  AGENT  INTO  SWITZERLAND,  TO  UPHOLD  THE  PARTY  IN  A  STATE  OF  INSURRECTION. — PROMPTIIUDE  OF  THE 
FRENCH  INTEIlVKNTION.  — GENERAL  NEY  MAKES  THE  SWISS  SUBMIT  IN  A  ^'EW  DAYS. — THE  SWISS  DfPUTIES 
INVIIED  TO  PARIS  ARE  PRESENTED  TO  THE  FIRST  CONSUL.— DISCOURSE  WHICH  HE  HELD  WITH  THEM.  — ACT 
OF  MEDIATION. — ADMIRATION  OF  EUROPE  AT  THE  WISDOM  OF  THIS  ACT. — THE  ENGLISH  CABINET  IS  EMBAR- 
RASSED AT  THE  PROMPTITUDE  OF  THE  PROCEEDING,  AND  AT  THE  EXCELLENCE  OF  THE  RESULT. — WARM  DIS- 
CUSSION IN  THE  BRITISH  PARLIAMENT.— VIOLENCE  OP  THE  PARTY  OF  GRENVILLE,  WYNDHAM,  AND  THEIR 
FRIENDS. -^NOBLE  SAYING  OF  FOX  IN  FAVOUR  OF  PEACE.— PUBLIC  OPINION  CALMED  FOR  A  MO.MENT. — ARRIVAL 
OP  LORD  WHITVVORTH  IN  PARIS,  AND  OP  GENERAL  ANDREOSSY  IN  LONDON.— GOOD  RECEPTION  OF  THE  AMBAS- 
SADORS BV  BOTH  NATIONS  RESPECTIVELY.— THE  BRITISH  CABINET  REGRETS  HAVING  RETAINED  MALTA,  AND 
WISHES,  OUT  DARES  NOT,  EVACUATE  IT.— ILL-TIMED  PUBLICATION  OF  THE  REPORT  OP  GENERAL  SEBAS- 
TIANl OS  THE  STATE  OF  THE  EAST.— MISCHIEVOUS  tPFECT  OF  THIS  REPORT  ON  ENGLAND.- THE  FIRST  CONSUL 
WISHES  TO  HAVE  A  PERSONAL  EXPLANATION  WITH  LORD  WIIITWORTH  —LONG  AND  REMARKABLE  CONVERSA- 
TION—THE OPENNESS  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  ILL  COMPREHENDED  AND  BADLY  INTERPRETED.— EXPOSE  OP 
THE  STATE  OF  THE  REPUBLIC,  CONTAINING  A  PHRASE  MORTIFYING  TO  THE  PRIDE  OF  THE  ENGLISH.— ROYAL 
MESSAGE  IN  ANSWER. — THE  TWO  NATIONS  ADDRESS  TO  EACH  OTHER  A  SORT  OF  DEFIANCE. —  IRRITATION  OF 
THE  FIRST  CONSUL,  AND  PUBLIC  SCENE  WITH  LORD  WHITWORTH  IN  PRESENCE  OF  THE  DIPLOMATIC  BODY. — 
THE  FIRST  CONSUL  PASSES  SUDDENLY  FROM  IDEAS  OF  PEACE  TO  THOSE  OF  WAR — HIS  FIRST  PREPARATIONS. 
— CESSION  OF  LOUISIANA  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES,  FOR  EIGHTY  MILLIONS  —TALLEYRAND  SETS  HIMSELF 
TO  CALM  THE  FIRST  CONSUL,  AND  OPPOSES  HIS  EFFORTS  CALCULATED  ACCORDING  TO  THE  INCREASING  IRRITA- 
TION   OF   THE    TWO    GOVERNMENTS.  — LORD  WHITWORTH  SECONDS   THE  EFFORTS   OF   TALLEYRAND.— PROLONGATION 

OF  THIS  Situation  of   things.— necessity    for  terminating   it.— the   British   cabinet   finishes   it  by 

AVOWING  THAT  IT  INTENDS  TO  KEEP  MALTA.— THE  FIRST  CONSUL  ANSWERS  BY  A  SUMMONS  TO  EXECUTE 
SOLEMN  TREATIES. — THE  MINISTER  ADDINGTON,  OUT  OP  FEAR  OF  BEING  BEATEN  IN  PARLIAMENT,  PEHSISTS 
IN  DEMANDING  MALTA. — SEVERAL  MEANS  DEVISED  TO  ARRANGE  WITHOUT  SUCCESS. —  OFFER  OF  FRANCE  TO 
PLACE  MALTA  AS  A  DEPOSIT  IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  EMPEROR  ALI.XAN  DER.— REFUSAL  OP  THAT  OFFER. — 
DEPARTURE  OF  THE  TWO  AMBASSADORS. —  RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENS. — PUBLIC  ANXIETY  IN  LONDON 
AND  PARIS— CAUSES  OP  THE  BREVITY  OP  THE  PEACE.— TO  WHOM  THE  FAULT  OP  THE  RUPTURE  IS  TO  BE 
ASCRIBED. 


While  tlie  first  consul  regulated,  as  supreme  ar- 
biter, the  iiffiiirs  of  the  European  coiiiineiit,  liis 
anient  activity,  einbracinj;  two  worlds,  extended 
as  far  as  America  and  both  Indies,  with  tiie  view 
of  re-esiablisliing  the  former  colonial  greatness  of 
France. 

At  this  day,  when   the  nations  of  Europe  are 
become  more  of  manufacturers  than  merchants  ; 


at  this  day,  when  they  have  arrived  at  the  power 
of  iniita;in<f  all  they  once  sought  beyond  the  seas, 
if  they  do  not  surpass  it  ;  at  this  day,  in  fine,  that 
the  greater  colonies,  freed  from  the  yoke  of  the 
mother  country,  have  arisen  to  the  rank  of  inde- 
j  pendent  states;  the  as|)ect  of  the  world  is  becnnie 
b(>  altered,  that  it  is  difficult  to  recognize  it.  New 
objects  of  ambition  have  succeeded  to  those  which 


Reigning  1 


RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENS.        for  manufacturing.       419 


tlieii  divided  it,  and  it  is  not  witlioiit  trouble  that 
it  is  now  p.iss.ble  to  conipnliend  the  niotives  for 
which,  wiiiiin  a  century,  the  hlood  of  man  was 
jionred  out  so  lavishiv.  England  possessed  North 
America  under  the  mime  of  a  colony  ;  Spain, 
und<?r  the  sjune  name,  possessed  South  America  ; 
France  possessed  tlie  principal  Antilles,  or  ishinds 
of  tlie  West  Indies,  and,  indeed,  the  finest  of  all, 
in  St.  Doniinjjo.  EMj;l;ind  iind  Fiiince  disputed 
for  India.  Each  of  these  powers  imposed  upon  its 
cfilonies  the  nblijjation  not  to  export,  save  to  itself, 
the  tmpical  productions,  nor  to  receive  hut  from 
itself  the  productions  of  Europe,  and  only  to  ndniit 
its  vessels,  and  bring  u|i  seamen  solely  for  its  own  I 
marine.  Each  colony  was  thus  a  plantation,  a  | 
market,  and  a  close  jiort.  Eiighind  wished  to  1 
driiw  exclusively  from  her  provinces  of  America  | 
the  sugars,  the  timber,  and  the  raw  cottrm  which  ' 
siie  wanted  ;  Spain  would  only  permit  herself  to 
extract  from  Mexico  and  Peru  the  ricli  metals  1 
BO  desired  in  all  countries  ;  llngland  and  France  i 
wished  to  domineer  in  India;  to  export  thence  \ 
the  cotton  thread,  the  nmslins,  and  the  calicoes, 
objects  nnivpisally  coveted  ;  they  desired  to  fur- 
nish their  own  jiroductions  in  exchange,  and  to 
carry  on  that  trade  .solely  imder  their  own  flags. 
At  this  day  these  ardent  desires  of  the  nations 
liave  given  place  to  others.  The  sugar  which  it 
was  necessary  to  extract  from  a  plant  indigenous 
to  and  cultivated  in  a  land  ninier  the  hottest  suu, 
is  taken  from  a  plant,  culiivated  on  the  Elbe  and 
Escaut.  The  cottons  woven  with  such  skill  and 
patience  by  Indian  hanils,  are  woven  in  Europe 
by  machines,  which  are  set  in  movement  by  tlie 
combustion  of  fossil  coal.  Muslin  is  woven  in  the 
mountains  of  Switzerland  an<l  of  F'irez.  Calicoes 
woven  in  .Scotland,  Ireland,  Noruiamly,  and  Flan- 
ders, printed  in  Alsace,  fill  America,  and  spread 
over  the  world  even  as  far  as  the  Indies.  Except 
coffee  and  tea,  pr.iductitms  which  art  is  unable  to 
imitate,  all  these  things  are  efpialled  in  excellence, 
if  not  surpassed.  Europi-an  cliemistry  h.ns  already 
replaced  most  of  the  colouring  materials  which 
were  once  sought  for  under  the  tropics.  Metals 
are  produced  from  the  sides  of  tlie  European 
mountains.  Gol<l  is  brought  from  Oural  ;  and 
Spain  begins  to  find  silver  in  her  r)wn  bosrjin.  A 
great  political  revolution  has  formed  a  coiijuuctiim 
with  these  revolutions  of  industry.  France  favoured 
the  iiiHurrectioii  of  the  EngliHli  colonies  of  North 
America  ;  Piugland  contributed  in  return  to  the 
insnrn-ctioii  of  ilie  c<ilouieH  in  South  America. 
Both  the  Olio  and  the  other  are  either  great 
natiiins,  or  are  destined  to  become  so.  Under  the 
iiiHuenco  of  the  same  causis  an  Afiiean  society, 
the  sUito  of  which  is  hid  in  the  future,  has  de- 
veloped itself  ill  St.  D..miugo.  Finally,  India, 
under  the  sway  of  England,  is  no  other  than  a 
Conquest  ruined  by  the  progress  of  European  in- 
dustry, and  employed  in  hupporiing  a  iiuuiber  of 
ofH  ers,  cleiks,  anil  magistrates  from  the  mother 
country.  In  our  days,  natioim  desire  to  produce 
every  thing  for  ihemselviH.  To  make  their  neigh- 
iMiurn  jioHsesHiiig  1<jss  skill,  accept  the  excess  of 
their  produitions,  and  not  to  be  satisfiid  to  borrow 
more  than  the  raw  material,  cvimi  searching  to 
obtjiiii  the  material  as  iie.ir  as  possible  to  th«' 
limits  of  their  own  territory  :  wiluess  the  efforts 
making  to  naturalize  cotton  in  Egypt  and  Algiers. 


To  the  grand  spectacle  of  colonial  ambiiion  there 
has  Succeeded,  in  this  maimer,  a  spectacle  of 
manufacturing  ambition.  Thus  the  world  changes 
without  ceasing,  and  each  stage  stands  in  need  of 
some  efforts  of  memory  and  of  intelligence  to  com- 
prehend that  which  preceded  it. 

This  immense,  industrious,  and  commercial  re- 
volution, commenced  under  Louis  XVI.  with  the 
American  war,  was  completed  under  Napoleon  by 
the  continental  blockade.  The  hug  contest  of 
England  and  France  had  been  the  priiieipal  cause; 
because,  while  the  first  wished  to  monopolize  to 
lierself  all  the  exotic  productions,  the  second 
avenged  herself  by  imitating  them.  The  inspirer 
of  this  imitation  was  Napoleon,  of  whom  the 
destiny  was  thus  marked  out  to  renew,  under 
every  bearing,  the  face  of  the  world.  But  before 
throwing  France  ujion  the  continental  and  manu- 
facturing system,  as  ho  did  at  a  later  time,  Na- 
poleon, the  consul,  full  of  the  ideas  <if  the  age 
which  was  just  comph'ted,  more  confident  in  the 
French  marine  than  he  ever  was  afterwards,  at- 
tempted vast  enterprises  in  order  to  I'estore  the 
colonial  prosperity  of  France. 

This  prosperity  had  been  formerly  great  enough  to 
justify  the  regrets  and  attemjitsof  which  it  was  then 
the  object.  In  17(17,  France  drew  from  her  colonies 
to  the  value  of  250,000,0li0  f.  ]>er  aimuiii,  in  sugar, 
coffee,  cotton,  iiuligo,  and  similar  proilneiions.  She 
consumed  herself  from  JiO.OOO.OOof.  to  U)0,()00.000f., 
and  re-exported  I50,00(t,000f.  This  she  disposed 
of  all  over  Europe,  principally  in  the  form  of  re- 
fined sugar.  It  would  be  needful  to  double  this 
amount  in  value  to  find  its  corres|)oiideiit  worth 
in  the  present  day;  and  most  assuredly  the  colonies 
were  deserving  of  esteem,  and  should  be  placed  in 
the  fir-st  rank  of  the  iiaiional  interests,  that  thus 
could  furni.sh  a  sum  of  5lt0,()00,()()0  f.  to  commerce. 
France  discovered  in  this  commerce  a  means  of 
attracting  to  herself  a  portion  of  the  money  of 
Spain,  that  gave  her  silver  in  exchange  for  colonial 
and  manufactured  i)roductions.  At  the  time  of 
which  mentii.n  is  now  making,  that  is  to  say,  in 
1802,  France,  dei)rived  of  colonial  proiluce,  and 
more  jiarticularly  of  sugar  and  coffee,  not  having 
enough  even  for  her  own  use,  demanded  it  of  the 
Americans,  the  Hanaeatic  towns,  of  liollaml,  Genoa, 
ami,  after  the  jieace,  of  the  English.  She  paid 
lor  them  in  bullion,  not  having  as  yet  in  her  in- 
dustry, scarcely  re-established,  the  means  to  pay 
in  the  pro<luce  of  her  maiiul'actures.  Money  having 
never,  since  the  assignats,  reappeared  with  its 
former  abundance,  was  often  wanting;  which  was 
shown  by  the  continual  ett'orts  of  the  new  bank  to 
acquire  the  dollars  which  got  out  of  Spain  in  a 
contraband  manner.  Thus  there  was  nothing  more 
common  among  the  inereliaiits  and  commercial 
classes,  than  to  hear  complaints  upon  the  rarity 
of  money,  and  on  the  inconveiiii  nee  of  purchasing 
with  money,  the  sugar  and  coHee  formerly  drawn 
from  the  French  colonies.  This  kind  of  language 
nmst,  without  doubt,  bo  attributed  to  some  erro- 
neous ide.-iH  about  the  mode  of  establisliiiig  the 
balance  of  commerce.  Hut  it  must  be  aitiibuted 
also  to  a  real  fact,  namely,  the  difficulty  of  pro- 
curing colonial  produce,  and  the  yet  greater  diili- 
eulty  of  paying  for  eiilu  r  in  uK.ney,  become  scarce 
Biiicc  the  assignats,  or  in  the  still  less  abundant 
produce  of  French  industry. 
K  e  2 


420      The  French  West  Indies      THIERS'   CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE.         and  their  products. 


180>. 
Feb. 


Tf  there  be  added  to  this,  the  numerous  colonists 
formerly  rich,  now  ruined,  who  at  that  time  filled 
Paris,  and  joined  their  complaints  to  those  of  the 
emi<;rants,  it  will  be  easy  to  have  a  complete  idea 
of  the  motives  which  moved  the  mind  of  the  first 
consul,  and  dii'ected  his  attention  towards  great 
colonial  enterprises.  It  was  under  these  powerful 
influences,  that  he  had  given  to  Charles  IV. 
Etruria,  in  oi'der  to  possess  Louisiana.  The  con- 
ditions of  the  contract  were  accomplished  upon 
his  side,  when  the  infants  were  placed  upon  the 
throne  of  Etrui'ia,  and  acknowledged  by  all  the 
continental  powers;  he  now  wished  that  the  con- 
ditions should  be  accomplished  on  the  side  of 
Charles  IV.,  and  he  demanded  that  Louisiana 
should  be  immediately  delivered  to  France.  An 
expedition  of  two  vessels  and  of  several  frigates 
was  assembled  in  the  waters  of  Holland,  at  Hel- 
voetsluys,  to  caiTy  troops  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mis- 
sissip]ii,  and  place  that  fine  country  under  the 
dominion  of  France.  The  first  consul,  having  to 
dispose  of  the  duchy  of  Parma,  was  ready  to  cede 
it  to  Spain  for  the  Floridas,  and  for  the  abandon- 
ment of  a  small  part  of  Tuscany,  the  .Siennese, 
which  he  wished  to  have  as  an  indemnity  for  the 
khig  of  Piedmont.  The  indiscretion  of  the  Spanish 
government  having  suffered  the  knowledge  of  these 
details  of  the  negotiations  to  become  known  to  the 
English  ambassador,  the  jealousy  of  England  sup- 
plied a  thousand  obstacles  to  the  conclusion  of  this 
new  contract.  The  first  consul  at  the  same  time 
occupied  himself  with  India,  and  had  confided  the 
govei-nment  of  Pondicherry  and  of  Chandernagore 
to  one  of  the  most  valiant  officers  u{  the  army  of 
the  Rhine,  general  Decaen.  This  officer,  whose 
intelligence  equalled  his  courage,  and  who  was 
adapted  to  the  greatest  enterprises,  had  been 
selected  for  the  jiurpose,  and  sent  to  India,  under 
far-seeing  and  profound  views.  The  English,  the 
first  consul  had  said  to  general  Decaen,  in  ad- 
dressing to  him  his  admirable  instructions,  the 
English  were  the  masters  of  the  Indian  continent; 
they  were  restless  and  jealous  in  that  country;  he 
must  not  give  them  any  offence,  but  conduct  him- 
self with  mildness  and  ))lainness,  to  support  in 
those  countries  every  thing  that  honour  allows  to 
be  supported  ;  not  to  have  with  the  neighbouring 
princes  any  relations  but  what  were  indispensable 
to  the  entertainment  of  the  French  troops,  and 
the  objetts  of  the  factories.  "  But,"  added  the 
first  consul,  "  it  is  necessary  to  observe  the  con- 
duct of  these  princes  and  people,  who  resign 
themselves  wiih  grief  to  the  English  yoke  ;  to 
study  their  manners,  their  resources,  and  the 
means  of  coninuniicating  with  them  in  case  of  a 
war  ;  to  inquire  out  what  European  army  would 
be  necessary  to  aid  them  to  shake  off  the  domi- 
nation of  the  English  ;  with  what  vuitcrid  such  an 
army  should  be  provided;  what,  above  all,  should  be 
the  means  of  subsisting  it;  to  discover  the  port  which 
would  be  best  adaptid  for  the  jjlace  of  embarka- 
tion of  a  fleet  carrying  troo])S  ;  to  calculate  the 
time  and  means  necessary  to  take  such  a  i)ort  by 
a  coup  de  main ;  to  digest,  after  six  months'  re- 
sidence in  the  country,  a  fir.st  memoir  upon  these 
different  questions;  to  send  by  an  officer  intelligent 
and  ca)>able  of  being  relied  upon,  who  having  seen 
every  thing,  is  capable  of  a<l(ling  verbal  explana- 
ticns  to  the  written  ones  of  which  he  will  be  the 


bearer;  six  months  afterwards  to  be  able  still  to 
throw  light  upon  these  same  points,  according  to 
the  knowledge  newly  obtained,  and  to  send  this 
other  memoir  by  a  second  officer,  equally  sure  and 
intelligent;  in  order  to  recommence  the  same  work 
and  the  same  kind  of  envoy  every  six  months;  to 
weigh  well,  in  getting  up  the  memoirs,  the  value 
of  every  expression,  because  a  single  word  might, 
it  was  possible,  have  an  influence  in  forming  the 
gravest  resolutions  ;  finally,  in  case  of  a  war,  to 
act  according  to  circumstances,  either  to  remain  in 
Hindostan  or  to  withdraw  to  the  Isle  of  France, 
sending  several  light  vessels  to  the  mother  country, 
to  make  known  the  determination  come  to  by  the 
captain-general." 

Such  were  the  instructions  given  to  general 
Decaen,  in  the  view,  not  of  rekindhng  tlie  war,  but 
to  profit  ably  by  war,  if  it  should  be  declared  anew. 

But  the  greatest  efforts  of  the  first  consul  were 
directed  towards  the  Antilles,  the  principal  seat  of 
the  colonial  power  of  Fi-ance.  It  was  witli  Mar- 
tinique, Guadaloupe,  and  St.  Domingo,  that  French 
commerce  had  formei'ly  kept  up  its  most  advan- 
tageous relations.  St.  Domingo,  above  all,  figured 
for  three-fifths,  at  least,  in  the  250,000,000  f.  which 
France  formerlj-  drew  from  her  colonies.  St.  Do- 
mingo was  then  the  most  desired,  and  most  envied 
of  all  the  French  possessions  beyond  the  seas. 
Martinique  had  been  fortunate  enough  to  escape  the 
consequences  of  the  negro  revolt ;  but  Guadaloupe 
and  St.  Domingo  had  been  overturned  from  the 
foundation,  and  nothing  less  than  an  entire  army  was 
necessary  to  establish  there,  not  slavery  again, 
which  was  become  impossible,  at  least  in  St.  Do- 
mingo, but  the  legitimate  dominion  of  the  mother 
country. 

In  this  island,  a  hundred  leagues  long  and  thirty 
wide,  happily  situated  at  the  entrance  of  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  resplendent  in  fertility,  adapted  to  the 
culture  of  sugar,  coffee,  and  indigo  ;  on  this 
magnificent  island  twenty  and  some  odd  thousand 
whites  were  proprietors  of  estates.  Twenty  and 
some  thousand  free  men  of  colour,  and  four  hun- 
dred thousand  slaves  cultivated  the  ground,  and 
drew  from  the  soil  an  amazing  profusion  of 
colonial  produce,  valued  at  1 50,000,000  f.,  which 
thirty  thousand  French  seamen  were  employed  to 
trans])ort  to  Europe,  in  order  to  exchange  it  for  a 
proportional  value  in  the  pi-oductions  of  the  national 
industry.  What  should  we  think  at  the  present 
day  of  a  colony  which  should  give  France 
300,000,000  f.  in  "produce,  and  procure  for  the 
country  3(10.000,000  f.  in  value  of  exports,  since 
150,ii00.000  f.  in  178.9,  answers  at  least  to 
300,000,000  f.  in  1845  ?  Unhapijily,  among  these 
whites,  mulattos,  and  blacks,  violent  passions  be- 
came at  work,  owing  to  the  climate,  and  to  a  state 
of  society  in  which  the  two  social  extremes  met — 
arrogant  riches,  and  horrible  slavei-y.  There  were 
never  seen  in  any  colony  whites  so  ojiulent  and  so 
infatuated  ;  nmlattos  so  jealous  of  the  superiority 
of  the  white  races  ;  nor  blacks  so  detemiined  to 
fling  oft"  the  yoke  both  of  one  and  the  other.  The 
opinions  professed  at  Paris  in  the  constituent  as- 
seml)ly,  being  again  repeated  in  the  midst  of  the 
passions  natural  to  such  a  country,  could  not  fail 
to  provoke  a  frightful  tempest,  like  the  stoums 
which  are  cau.sed  in  the  sea  by  the  sudden  meet- 
ing of  contrary  winds.     The  whites  and  mulattos 


^®J'2;  The  French  West  Indies     RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENS.  and  their  products.        421 


were  scarcely  sufficient  to  defend  themselves  if 
tliey  had  been  united,  they  were  divided;  and  after 
having  coniinunicated  to  the  blacks  the  ct)ntagion 
of  their  passions,  they  had  brought  them  to  an 
open  insurrection.  They  had  undergone  at  first 
their  cruelty,  then  their  triumph,  and,  lastly,  their 
domination.  There  had  tiien  come  to  pass  that 
wiiieh  happens  in  all  societies  where  there  arises  a 
war  against  classes  ;  the  first  had  been  vjin<iuished 
by  the  second  ;  the  first  and  second  by  the  third. 
But  there  was  the  difference  here,  not  seen  in  such 
cases  elsewiiere,  they  ail  bore  on  their  visages  the 
marks  of  their  different  origins  ;  their  hatred  was 
similar  to  thit  connected  with  the  violence  of 
physical  instinct,  and  their  rage  was  as  brutal  and 
ferocious  as  that  of  the  most  savage  animals.  Thus 
the  horrors  of  this  revolution  in  St.  Domingo  had 
far  surpassed  all  that  had  been  seen  in  France  in 
1793,  and  despite  the  distance  which  commonly 
attenuates  sensation,  Europe,  so  deeply  stricken 
by  the  spectacles  which  had  been  witnessed  on  the 
continent,  had  been  profoundly  moved  by  the  un- 
paralleled atrocities,  to  which  imprudent  masters, 
sometimes  themselves  cruel,  ])rovoked  the  fero- 
cious slaves.  The  laws  of  society,  every  where  the 
same,  gave  birth  here  as  elsewhere,  after  long 
storms,  to  that  fatigue,  which  calls  for  a  master  to 
rule,  a  superior  intelligence,  proper  to  become  a 
leader.  Such  a  master  was  found  who  wore  the 
black  colour  of  the  triumphant  race.  He  was 
called  Toussaint  Louverlure.  lie  was  an  old 
slave,  not  having  the  generous  audacity  of  Spar- 
tacus,  but  possessing  deep  dissimulation,  and  a 
talent  for  government,  altogether  of  the  most 
extraordinary  kind.  A  middling  soldier,  knowing 
more  or  less  of  the  art  of  laying  ambuscades  in  a 
country  difficult  of  access,  and  even  inferior  to 
some  of  his  lieutenants  in  this  respect,  according 
to  report,  had  by  his  intelligence  and  skill  in 
directing  the  entire  mass  of  public  affairs,  ac- 
quired a  prodigious  ascendancy.  This  barbarous 
race,  which  it  had  been  the  will  of  Europeans  to  con- 
t<inn,  wa.s  proud  to  have  in  its  ranks  a  being  of 
whom  the  whites  themselves  acknowledged  the 
powerful  mental  faculties.  It  saw  in  him  a  living 
claim  to  freedom,  and  to  the  consideration  of  other 
men.  Thus  did  he  accept  the  iron  yoke  of  toil, 
a  Inmdred  times  heavier  than  tliat  of  the  old 
coli>niHts,  and  endure  the  hard  obligation  to  labour, 
an  obligation  which,  in  a  state  of  slavery,  was  that 
which  he  liad  most  detested.  This  black  slave 
f>ecome  dictator,  had  re-established  at  St.  Do- 
mingo a  tolerable  state  of  society,  and  accom- 
plished things  which  one  might  venture  to  call 
graml,  if  the  theatre  had  been  different,  and  if  they 
Iiad  been  less  ephemeral. 

Upon  this  land  of  St.  Domingo,  as  in  every 
country  that  is  a  prey  to  a  civil  war,  there  was  a 
division  made  between  the  race  of  soldiers  fit  for 
arms,  and  atlaehi,-d  to  the  profession,  and  the 
labouring  race,  less  given  to  conHicts,  easy  to 
bring  back  to  labour,  and  ready  to  fling  itself 
anew  upon  danger  if  the  public  freedom  hhould  be 
threatened.  Very  naturally  the  first  class  was  ten 
times  h'HH  ntmieroiis  than  th<!  second. 

Toussaint  Louverturo  composed  with  the  first  of 
these  classes  a  permanent  army  of  about  twenty 
thousand  men,  organised  in  demi- brigades,  on  tiie 
model  of  the  French  armies,  having  black  oiKcers, 


with  some  mulattos  and  whites.  This  force,  well 
fed  and  paid,  sufficiently  formidable  under  a 
climate  which  they  alone  wei-e  able  to  sustain,  and 
upon  a  broken  surface  covered  with  brushwood, 
toui^h  and  full  of  thorns,  was  formed  into  several 
divisions,  and  commanded  by  generals  of  his  own 
colour,  the  greater  part  intelligent  enough,  but 
more  ferocious  than  intelligent  ;  such  were  Chris- 
tophe,  Dessalines,  MoYse,  Maurepas,  and  Laplume. 
All  were  devoted  to  Toussaint  ;  they  acknow- 
ledged his  genius,  and  submitted  to  his  authority. 
The  rest  of  the  population,  under  the  name  of 
cultivators,  had  been  recalled  to  labour.  They 
kept  their  muskets,  which  might  serve  them  in 
case  of  need,  or  if  the  mother  country  should  make 
an  attem])t  upon  their  liberty  ;  but  they  were 
constrained  to  return  to  the  plantations  abandoned 
by  the  colonists.  Toussaint  bad  proclaimed  them 
free,  but  obliged  tliem  to  labour  five  years  more 
upon  the  estates  of  their  old  masters,  with  a  claim 
to  one-fourth  of  the  raw  produce. 

The  white  proprietors  had  been  encouraged  to 
return,  even  those  who,  in  a  moment  of  despair, 
had  associated  themselves  with  the  attemjjt  of  the 
English  upon  St.  Domingo.  They  had  been  well 
received,  and  obtained  their  habitations  again, 
covered  with  negi'oes,  who  called  themselves  free, 
to  whom  they  abandoned,  according  to  the  regu- 
lation of  Toussaint,  a  fourth  of  the  raw  j)roduee, 
valued  in  usage  in  the  most  arbitrary  manner.  A 
considerable  immber  of  the  former  rich  proprietors 
of  estates,  whether  they  had  fallen  in  the  troubles 
of  the  colony,  or  whether  they  bad  emigrated  with 
the  old  French  nobility,  of  which  they  had  been  a 
part,  had  neither  reappeared  nor  sent  delegates. 
Their  property  sequestered,  as  the  national  do- 
mains had  been  in  France,  had  been  confirmed  to 
black  officers,  at  a  price  which  easily  allowed  them 
to  enrich  themselves.  Certain  genei-als,  as  Chris- 
tophe  and  Dessalines,  had  acquired  in  this  manner 
more  than  a  milliim  of  francs  in  annual  revenue. 

These  black  officers  had  the  quality  given  them 
of  inspectors  of  culture,  in  the  arrondissement 
where  they  happened  to  command.  They  made 
continual  turns  of  inspection  under  this  duty,  and 
they  treated  the  negroes  with  a  severity  peculiar 
to  new  masters.  Sometimes  they  watched  to  see 
that  justice  was  rendered  them  by  the  colonists  ; 
but  more  commonly  they  condenmed  them  to  be 
flogged  for  idleness  or  insubordination,  and  they 
k(])t  up  a  species  of  continued  hunt,  with  the 
object  of  making  those  return  to  culture  who 
had  contracted  a  taste  for  vagabondage.  Frequent 
insi)cctions  in  the  parishes  proeui-ed  a  knowledge 
of  what  cultivators  had  left  their  original  habita- 
tions, and  thus  was  furnished  the  means  to  bring 
them  back.  Often  even  Christophe  and  Dessalines 
had  them  hung  under  their  own  eyes.  Thus  the 
culture  of  the  land  recommenced  with  incredible 
activity  under  the  new  chiefs,  who  employed  to 
their  own  ])rofit  the  submi.ssion  of  the  blacks  pre- 
tending to  b(!  free;  nor  is  it  right  to  contemn  such 
a  scene,  because  these  chiefs  knew  how  to  im- 
pose labour  upon  their  own  kind,  even  for  tiicir 
own  exclusive  advantage  ;  the  negroes  knowing 
how  to  submit,  without  any  great  benefit  to  them- 
selves, were  indemnified  solely  by  the  idea  that 
they  were  free.  This  feeling  inspires  more  esteem 
than  the  sight  of  an  ignoble  and  barbarous  idle- 


422     Prosperity  of  St.  Domingo    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


under  the  blacks. 


1802. 
Feb. 


ness,  given  by  tlie  negroes  left  to  themselves,  in 
tlie  colonies  recently  emancipated. 

Thanks  to  the  order  established  by  Toussaint, 
the  grenter  part  of  the  forsaken  liabitations  had 
been  again  occupied,  and  in  1801,  after  ten  years  of 
trouble,  the  island  of  St.  Domingo,  watered  with 
so  much  blond,  offered  an  aspect  of  fertility  very 
nearly  equal  to  that  which  it  presented  in  1789. 
Toussaint,  independent  of  France,  had  given  to  the 
colony  a  freedom  of  commerce  very  nearly  perfect. 
Such  a  state  of  liberty,  dangerous  in  colonies  of 
only  a  middling  fertility,  that  produce  little  at  a 
high  cost,  and  therefore  have  an  interest  in  taking 
the  produce  of  the  mother  country  for  the  object 
of  her  taking  theirs— such  a  state  of  liberty  is 
excellent,  on  the  contrary,  for  a  rich  and  fertile 
colony,  having  no  need  of  any  favour  for  the  debit 
of  her  productions,  and  interested  from  that  circum- 
stance in  treating  freely  with  all  nations,  and  in 
seeking  objects  of  necessity  or  of  luxury,  where 
they  are  best  to  be  had,  and  at  the  lowest  cost. 
This  was  the  case  at  St.  Domingo.  The  island  had 
felt  the  effects  of  the  free  presence  of  foreign  flags, 
more  particu  arly  that  of  America,  and  found  it  of 
infinite  advantage.  Provisions  were  abundant  ; 
the  merchandise  of  Europe  was  sold  there  at  a 
good  price  ;  aiul  the  productions  of  the  island  were 
taken  off  by  purchase  the  moment  they  appeared 
in  the  market.  In  addition  to  this,  the  new  colo- 
nists, some  black,  become  what  they  were  by  the 
insurrection  ;  others,  white  persons  reinstated,  all 
free  from  their  engagements  towards  the  capi- 
talists of  the  mother  country,  were  not,  like  the  old 
colonists  of  1780,  borne  down  iy  debts,  and  obliged 
to  deduct  from  their  profits  the  interest  of  enor- 
mous borrowed  capitals.  They  were  more  opulent 
with  the  less  property.  The  towns  of  the  Cape, 
of  Poi-t-au-Prince,  of  St.  JIark,  and  Caves,  had 
recovered  a  species  of  splendour.  The  traces  of 
the  war  were  neaily  obliterated  ;  there  were  seen 
in  most  of  them  elegnnt  dwellings,  constructed  for 
the  black  officers,  inhabited  by  them,  and  resem- 
bling in  all  respects  the  fine  houses  of  the  old 
white  proprietors  of  the  island,  formerly  so  arro- 
gant, so  renowned  by  their  luxury  and  their  fall. 

The  chief  black  of  the  colony  had  put  the  fini-h 
to  the  recent  prosperity,  by  the  bold  occupation  of 
the  Spanish  part  of  St.  Domingo.  This  island  was 
formerly  divided  lengthways  into  two  parts,  of 
which  one  to  the  east,  first  jiresenting  itself  on 
coming  from  Europe,  belonged  to  the  Spaniards  ; 
the  other  part,  placed  to  the  west,  turning  towards 
Cuba  and  the  interior  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  be- 
longed to  the  French.  This  western  ])art,  com- 
jjosed  of  two  advanced  promontories,  which  formed 
besides  a  vast  interior  gulf,  a  multitude  of  roads 
and  small  ports,  was  better  fitted  for  planta- 
tions than  the  other,  as  they  have  need  to  be 
situated  near  the  places  of  embarkation.  Thus  it 
wa.s  covered  with  rich  establishments.  The  Span- 
ish part,  on  the  other  hand,  little  mountainous, 
presented  few  gulfs  or  inlets,  and  contained  fewer 
sugar  and  ci^ffee  plantations  ;  but  in  return,  it  fed 
numerous  herds,  horses,  and  nmles.  United,  these 
two  portions  of  the  island  were  capable  of  render- 
ing a  great  service  to  each  other,  while  .separated 
by  an  exclusive  colonial  government,  they  were 
like  two  isles  far  distant,  one  having  that  of  which 
the  other  stood  in  need,  and  yet  not  being  able  to 


help  each  other  ivom  their  want  of  proximity. 
Toussaint,  after  having  expelled  the  English,  had 
turned  all  his  ideas  towards  the  occupaiion  of  the 
Spanish  ])art  of  the  island.  Affecting  a  scrupulous 
submission  to  the  mother  country,  every  thing  was 
conducted  accordinj;  to  bis  sole  will;  he  was  armed 
with  the  treaty  of  Bale,  by  which  Spain  ceded  to 
France  tlie  possession  of  the  whole  of  the  island  of 
St.  Domingo,  and  he  had  summoned  the  authorities 
of  Spain  to  deliver  up  to  him  the  province  which 
they  had  still  retained.  He  found  at  the  moment 
a  French  commissioner  at  St.  Domingo,  because 
since  the  revolution,  the  mother  country  had  not 
been  i-epresented  in  the  island,  except  by  such 
commissioners,  who  were  scai'cely  listened  to. 
This  agent,  dreading  the  comi)licalions  which 
might  result  in  Euroi)e  frcjm  such  a  step,  and 
besides,  not  having  received  from  France  any 
order  upon  the  sul)ject,  had  uselessly  endeavoured 
to  Combat  this  resohition  of  Tousfaiut.  The  last, 
taking  little  account  of  the  objections  which  were 
addressed  to  him,  had  put  in  movement  all  the 
divisions  of  his  army,  and  had  demanded  from  the 
Spanish  authorities,  inca])alile  of  the  smallest  re- 
sistance, the  keys  of  Santo- Domingo.  The  ke\s 
had  been  sent  to  him,  and  he  proceeded  liimself 
at  once  to  take  possession  of  all  the  towns,  mider 
no  other  title  than  that  of  the  representative  of 
France,  but  compoiling  himself  m  i-eality  as  a 
sovereign,  and  making  himself  be  received  in  the 
churches  with  holy  waier  and  the  dais. 

The  union  of  the  two  different  jiarts  of  the  island 
under  one  government  had  pn  duced  great  and 
instantaneous  results  in  favour  of  trade  ai.d  interior 
good  order.  The  French  part,  abundantly  provided 
with  all  the  products  of  the  two  worlds,  had  given 
a  considerable  quantity  to  the  Spanish  colonies,  in 
exchange  for  cattle,  nmles,  and  liorses,  of  whicli  it 
had  great  need.  At  the  same  time,  the  negroes 
who  wished  to  withdraw  from  labour,  by  becoming 
wandering  vagabonds,  no  longer  found  in  the  Sjjan- 
ish  i)artof  the  island  an  asylum  against  the  unceas- 
ing researches  of  the  black  police. 

It  was  by  these  united  means  that  Toussaint  had 
made  the  colony  again  flnurish  in  the  s-pace  of  two 
years.  No  one  could  have  had  an  e.xact  idea  of 
his  system  of  policy,  if  it  had  not  been  known  at 
the  same  time  how  he  conducted  himself  between 
France  and  England.  This  slave,  become  free  and 
a  sovereign  in  power,  preserved  at  the  bottf.m  of 
his  heart  an  involuntary  sympathy  for  the  nation 
whose  chains  he  had  borne,  and  felt  a  great  iej>ug- 
nance  to  see  the  English  in  St.  Domingo.  Thus  he 
nuide  noble  efforts  to  expel  them,  and  in  this  he 
succeeded.  His  political  com])reheusi<  n,  profound, 
though  uncultivated,  confirmed  him  in  his  natural 
sentiments,  and  made  him  understand  that  the 
English  were  the  most  dangerous  masters,  because 
they  jiossessed  a  maritime  ])ower  which  rendered 
their  authority  over  the  island  effective  and  abso- 
lute. He  would  not,  therefore,  at  any  price,  sub- 
mit to  their  rule.  The  English,  on  evacuating 
Port-au-Prince,  had  offered  him  the  royal  j.ower 
in  St.  Domingo,  and  the  immediate  acknowledg- 
ment of  that  power,  if  he  would  consent  to  insure 
to  them  the  commerce  of  the  colony.  He  had 
refused  this,  whether  because  he  still  clung  fast 
to  the  mother  country,  or  whether,  affrighted  at 
the  news  of  the  peace,  he  feared  a  I  reuch  expe- 


1802. 
Feb. 


Character  of 


RUPTURE  OF  THE   PEACE   OF  AMIENS.      Toussaint  Louverture.     423 


dition,  capable  of  reducing  liis  royalty  to  a  cipher, 
is  imt  known.  Besides  the  vanity  of  belnngin^ 
to  tiie  first  military  nation  in  the  world,  the  secret 

f ratification  to  be  a  general  in  the  service  of 
'ranee,  under  the  hand  even  of  the  first  consul 
himself,  had  taken  away  Toussaint  from  all  the 
offei-s  of  the  English.  He  wished  then  to  remain 
French,  to  liold  the  English  at  a  distance,  but 
to  live  jieacefjlly  with  them  ;  to  acknowledge  the 
nominal  authority  of  France,  and  to  obey  her  ju^t 
so  far  as  not  to  provoke  any  display  of  her  forces  ; 
such  wi»s  the  policy  of  this  singular  man.  He  had 
received  conmiissioners  from  the  directory,  and 
they  had  sent  him  men,  particularly  general  He- 
douville,  pretending  that  they  had  overlooked  the 
interests  of  the  mother  country,  while  they  re- 
quested of  iiim  things  that  could  not  be  expected, 
or  that  were  unfortunate  for  her  interests. 

His  policy  within  was  not  less  worthy  of  atten- 
tion ihan  his  policy  out  of  the  island.  His  manner 
of  acting  towards  all  classes  of  inhabitants,  blacks, 
whites,  or  nnilattos,  answered  to  that  about  to  l)e 
described.  He  detested  the  midattos,  because  they 
bordered  more  upon  his  own  race,  and  on  the  con- 
trary, took  extreme  care  to  make  much  of  the 
whites,  provided  that  he  obtained  a  few  testi- 
monies of  their  esteem,  which  made  him  feel  that 
his  genius  caused  his  colour  to  )je  forgotten.  He  ex- 
liibited  in  this  i-egard  the  vanity  of  a  black  upstart, 
of  which  all  the  vanity  of  the  white  ujistarts  of  the 
old  world  cannot  afford  an  idea.  As  to  the  blacks, 
he  treated  them  with  incredible  severity,  but  still 
with  a  due  attention  to  justice  ;  he  made  use  of 
religion,  which  he  professed  with  great  energy, 
and  above  all,  he  spoke  of  liberty,  which  he  jjro- 
raised  to  defend,  even  to  death.  Of  this  indeed, 
he  was  for  all  men  of  his  colour  the  glorious 
image,  because  there  was  seen  in  him  that  which, 
through  liberty,  a  negro  might  become.  His 
savage  eloquence  charmed  his  nation.  From  the 
elevation  of  the  pulpit,  where  he  often  mounted, 
lie  bpoke  to  them  of  God,  of  the  e(iuahty  of  the 
human  races,  and  in  speaking  of  tlu^m,  used  the 
strangest  and  most  happy  *innlitndes.  One  day, 
for  example,  wishing  to  give  them  confidence  in 
themselves,  he  filled  a  glass  with  grains  of  black 
luaise,  and  mingling  with  them  some  giains  of 
white,  he  then  shook  the  glass,  and  made  ihcm 
remark  how  quickly  the  white  grains  disappeared 
among  the  black  ones  :  "  There,"  he  said,  "  are 
the  widtes  in  the  nddst  of  you.  Work  ;  secure 
your  well  being  by  your  labour;  and  if  the  whites 
«)f  the  mother  country  wish  to  take  from  us  our 
liberty,  w'e  will  resume  our  muskets  again,  and  we 
shall  a^jaiii  vanquish  them."  Reverenced  for  tin  se 
motives,  he  was  at  the  same  time  feared  for  his 
cxtraordinaiy  vigilance.  Endowed  with  a  snr- 
prining  activity  lor  his  age,  he  had  placed  in  the 
interior  of  the  island  relays  of  extremely  fleet 
horses,  and  thus  he  transported  himself,  followed 
by  several  guards,  with  prodigious  rajiidity,  from 
one  part  of  the  island  to  another,  sonielimes 
making  f.irty  leagues  on  hoi-seback  on  the  same 
day,  coming  to  punish,  like  a  thunder-clap,  the 
oft'ence  of  which  ho  had  received  an  account. 
Far-seeing  and  avaricious,  he  made  hoards  of 
arms  and  money  in  the  mountains  of  the  interior, 
where  he  buried  them,  it  is  said,  in  a  place  called 
the  '^  Monies  du  Chaos,"  near  a  habitation  which 


had  become  his  ordinary  dwelling.  These  were 
resources  for  a  coming  time  of  combat,  which  he 
did  not  cease  to  regard  as  probable  and  even  ap- 
pi'oacliing.  Attached  continually  to  imitating  the 
first  consul,  he  gave  himself  a  guard,  and  an  enclosed 
circle,  with  a  sort  of  princely  dwelling.  He  re- 
ceived in  this  dwelling  the  proprietors  of  land  of 
all  colours,  above  all  the  whites,  and  used  the 
blacks  roughly  who  had  not  a  bearing  and  manner 
sufficiently  good.  Frightful  to  the  sight,  even 
imder  his  dress  of  a  lieutenant-general,  he  had 
his  flatterers,  and  his  complaisant  courtiers ;  and 
a  thing  melancholy  to  state,  he  obtained  more  than 
once  the  white  females  belonging  to  the  oldest  and 
w  ealthiest  families  in  the  island,  who  gave  up  tlieir 
persons  to  him  in  order  to  benefit  by  his  pro- 
tection. His  courtiers  jiersuaded  him  that  he  was 
in  America  the  equal  to  Bonajiarte  in  Europe,  and 
that  he  ought  to  occupy  the  same  situation.  At 
the  time  when  he  heard  of  the  si^jnature  of  the 
peace  in  Europe,  and  that  he  bigan  to  foresee  the 
re-establishmeut  of  the  iiuthority  of  the  mother 
country,  he  hastened  to  invoke  a  council  in  the 
coliiny,  for  the  purpose  of  digesting  a  constitution. 
This  council  assembled,  and  did,  in  fact,  draw  up 
the  scheme  of  a  constitution,  that  was  sufficiently 
ridiculous.  According  to  the  disi)ositions  of  this 
crude  work,  the  council  of  the  colony  decreed  all 
the  laws,  the  governor-general  sanctioned  them, 
and  fulfilled  the  duties  of  the  executive  power  in 
full  plenitude.  Toussaint  was  naturally  nominated 
governor-general,  governor  for  life,  with  the  power 
of  designating  his  successiir.  'J'his  imitation  of 
what  had  been  done  in  France  could  not  be 
plainer  nor  more  puerile.  As  to  the  authority  of 
the  mother  country,  that  was  no  longer  a  question 
of  any  moment.  The  constitution  ahine  was  to  be 
submitted  to  it  for  approval,  but  that  ajiprobation 
being  once  given,  the  mother  country  had  no  longer 
any  power  over  the  colony,  because  the  laws  were 
enacted  by  the  council.  Toussaint  governed,  and 
was  able,  whenever  he  saw  fit,  to  deprive  the 
commerce  of  Fi-ance  of  every  advantnge  it  might 
]iossess  at  the  time;  thus  the  state  of  things,  which 
at  that  moment  existed,  and  which  the  war  liad 
rendered  excusable,  was  that  which  could  not  be 
tolerated  for  any  longer  time.  When  it  was  de- 
manded of  Toussaint  wh.at  were  the  relations  be- 
tween St.  Domingo  and  France,  he  replied,  "  The 
first  consul  will  send  commissioners  to  have  a 
conference  with  me."  All  his  wiser  friends,  and 
more  especially  colonel  Francis  Vincent,  who  had 
imder  his  care  the  management  of  the  fortifica- 
tions, gave  him  advice  in  regard  to  the  danger 
incurred  by  this  course  of  coinluct,  telling  him  that 
he  should  defend  himself  from  flatterers  of  every 
colour,  that  he  would  provoke  the  sending  of  a 
French  expedition  to  the  island,  and  that,  he  would 
fall  before  it.  The  self-love  of  this  slave  then  be- 
come his  dictator,  carried  him  away  com])letely. 
lie  would  have  it,  as  he  said,  that  the  first  of  the 
blacks  should  be,  both  by  right  and  fact,  at  St. 
Diimingo,  that  which  the  first  of  the  whites  was  in 
France,  in  other  words,  that  he  shoulil  be  chief  for 
life,  with  the  power  of  naming  his  successor.  He 
despatched  colonel  Vinciiit  to  Fnrope,  with  the 
view  of  explaining,  and  making  the  first  consul 
auree  to  his  new  constitutional  establislnnent.  He 
demanded  besides,  the  confirnmtiou  of  all  the  niili- 


424       The  expedition  arrives       THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


at  St.  Domingo. 


1S02. 
Feb. 


tary  grades  which  had  been  conferred  upon  the 
black  officers. 

This  imitation  of  his  own  greatness,  and  this  pre- 
tension to  an  assimilation  with  himself,  made  the 
first  consul  smile,  and  had  not,  it  may  be  supposed, 
any  effect  upon  his  resolutions.  He  was  ready  to 
let  himself  be  called  the  first  of  the  whites,  by  him 
■who  called  himself  the  first  of  the  blacks,  on  the 
condition,  that  the  tie  of  the  colony  with  the  mo- 
ther country  should  be  that  of  obedience,  and  that 
the  ownership  of  the  island,  which  had  been  French 
for  centuries,  should  be  real,  and  not  nominal.  To 
confirm  the  military  grades  that  belonged  to  the 
black  officers,  was,  iu  the  eyes  of  the  first  consul,  a 
point  of  no  difficulty.  He  confirmed  them  all,  and 
made  Toussaint  a  lieutenant-general,  and  com- 
mandant of  St.  Domingo  for  France.  But  the  first 
consul  would  have  thei'e  a  ca])tain-general,  to  whom 
Toussaint  should  be  the  first  lieutenant  ;  without 
this  condition  St.  Domingo  could  no  longer  be  any 
thing  more  to  France  than  it  was  at  that  moment. 
He  resolved,  therefore,  to  send  out  a  general  and 
an  army.  The  cohjny  had  begun  to  flourish  again ; 
and  it  was  now  worth  all  which  it  had  been  worth 
in  times  gone  by  ;  the  colonists  in  Paris  demanded 
their  property  with  loud  entreaties;  peace  was  at 
present  enjoyed,  it  might  not  be  for  a  very  long 
time;  there  were  plenty  of  idle  troops,  and  of 
officers  full  of  spirit,  who  only  wanted  an  occasion 
to  be  on  active  service,  no  matter  in  what  part  of 
the  world;  he  could  not  therefore  resign  himself 
to  see  such  a  fine  possession  slip  out  of  the  hands 
of  France,  without  some  attempt  to  retain  it  by 
means  of  the  forces  at  his  disposal.  Such  were  the 
motives  of  the  expedition  of  which  the  departure 
has  already  been  stated.  General  Leclerc,  the 
brother-in-law  of  the  first  consul,  received  his  in- 
structions how  to  manage  with  Toussaint;  to  offer 
him  the  post  of  lieutenant  of  France  in  the  island, 
the  confirmation  of  tiie  rank  and  property  acquired 
by  his  officers,  a  guarantee  for  the  freedom  of  the 
blacks,  but  all  with  the  authority  of  the  mother 
country,  represented  by  the  captain-general.  In 
order  to  prove  to  Toussaint  the  fair  intentions  of 
the  government,  his  two  sons,  who  were  educated 
in  France,  were  sent  over  to  him  at  the  same  time, 
together  with  their  preceptor,  M.  Coisiion.  To  this 
the  first  consul  added  a  noble  and  flattering  letter, 
in  which,  treating  Toussaint  as  the  first  man  of  his 
race,  he  appeared  to  lend  himself,  in  a  kind  way, 
to  a  comparison  between  the  pacificator  of  France 
and  him  of  St.  Domingo. 

But  the  first  consul  had  provided  against  re- 
sistance to  his  intentions,  and  every  measure  was 
taken  to  conquer  obstacles,  if  necessary,  by  main 
force.  If  he  had  been  less  impatient  to  pi-ofit  by 
the  signature  of  the  preliminaries  of  peace,  in 
order  to  pass  the  seas,  now  become  free,  the 
squadrons  would  have  been  obliged  to  wait  for  one 
another  in  some  convenient  place,  in  order  that 
they  might  arrive  altogether  at  St.  Domingo,  and 
thus  have  sui-prised  Toussaint  before  he  could  place 
himself  in  a  posture  for  defence.  Unfortunately, 
in  the  uncertainty  in  which  they  were  at  the  mo- 
ment of  the  expedition,  about  the  signature  of  the 
definitive  treaty  of  peace,  it  was  necessary  to  send 
the  vessels  from  the  portsof  Brest, Rochefort, Cadiz, 
and  Toulon,  without  obliging  them  to  wait  for  each 
other,  and  with  an  order  to  arrive  as  soon  as  pos- 


sible at  the  place  of  their  destination.  Admiral 
Villaret  Joyeuse,  sailing  from  Brest  and  I'Orient 
with  sixteen  vessels,  and  a  force  of  about  seven  or 
eight  thousand  men,  had  received  orders  to  cruise 
some  time  in  the  Gulf  of  Gascony,  in  order  to  attempt 
a  junction,  if  possible,  with  adnnral  Latouche  Tre- 
ville,  who  was  to  sail  from  Rocliefort  with  six  ships, 
six  frigates,  and  three  or  four  thousand  men. 
Admiral  Villaret,  if  unable  to  meet  and  join  admiral 
Latouche,  was  to  pass  on  to  the  Canary  Islands,  in 
order  to  discover  there,  if  possible,  the  division  of 
admiral  Linois  coming  from  Cadiz,  and  the  division 
of  Ganteaume,  which  was  to  sail  from  Toulon,  both 
the  one  and  the  other,  with  a  convoy  of  troops.  He 
was,  lastly,  to  visit  the  Bay  of  Samana,  the  first 
presenting  itself  to  a  squadron  arriving  from  Eu- 
ro])e. 

In  conformity  to  the  orders  which  they  had  tints 
received,  the  dift'erent  squadrons  searching  for 
each  other  without  losing  time  in  uniting,  arrived 
at  dift'erent  periods  at  the  common  rendezvous  at 
Samana.  Admiral  Villaret  appeared  there  on  the 
29th  of  January,  1802.  Admiral  Latouche  followed 
close  after.  The  divisions  which  had  sailed  from 
Cadiz  and  Toulon  did  not  reach  St.  Domingo  until 
a  very  considerable  time  afterwards.  But  admiral 
Villaret,  with  the  squadrons  from  Bi-est  and  I'Orient, 
and  admiral  Latouche  Treville,  with  the  squadron 
from  Rocliefort,  did  not  carry  less  than  eleven  or 
twelve  thousand  men.  After  a  conference  with  the 
commanders  of  the  fleet,  the  captain-general  Le- 
clerc thought  that  it  was  of  the  utmost  importance 
not  to  lose  time,  and  that  it  was  the  best  course  to 
present  themselves  before  all  the  ports  at  once,  in 
order  to  seize  upon  the  colony  before  giving  Tous- 
saint time  to  take  measures  upon  his  own  part. 
Moreover,  many  tidings  coming  from  the  Antilles, 
gave  the  exi)edition  ground  to  fear  a  reception  by 
no  means  of  an  amicable  character. 

In  consequence  of  these  impressions,  general 
Kerversau,  with  two  thousand  men  embarked  in 
frigates,  was  ordered  to  appear  before  the  town  of 
Santo-Domingo,  the  capital  of  the  Spanish  part  of 
the  islands.  Admiral  Latouche  Treville,  with  his 
squadron,  which  carried  the  division  of  general 
Boudet,  was  to  attempt  Port-au-Prince  ;  lastly, 
the  ca])tnin-general  himself,  with  the  squadron  of 
admiral  Villaret,  was  to  make  sail  for  the  Cape, 
and  obtain  possession  of  it.  The  French  part 
comprehends,  with  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
island,  the  two  promontories  which,  advancing 
westwards,  divide  it  into  the  departments  of  the 
north,  west,  and  south.  In  the  department  of  the 
north,  the  principal  part  was  the  Cape,  as  well  as 
the  chief  place  ;  in  the  department  of  the  west  it 
was  Port-au-Prince.  The  Cayes  and  Jacmel  were 
rivals  in  riches  and  inflnence  in  the  south.  In 
occui)jing  Santo-Domingo  for  the  Spanish  part, 
with  the  Cape  and  Port-au-Prince  for  the  French, 
nearly  the  whole  island  was  kept  in  hand,  except, 
it  is  true,  the  mountains  of  the  interior,  a  conquest 
of  which  time  alone  could  insure  the  achievement. 

These  naval  divisions  next  quitted  the  bay 
where  they  had  been  moored,  in  order  to  proceed 
to  their  appointed  destinations  during  the  first 
days  of  February.  Toussaint,  informed  that  a  great 
number  of  vessels  were  anchored  in  the  liay  of 
Samana,  proceeded  thither  in  person,  in  order  to 
judge  with  his  own  eyes  of  the  danger  with  which 


1802. 
Feb. 


The  expedition  lands       RUPTURE   OF   THE   PEACE   OF   AMIENS. 


St.  Domingo. 


he  was  thus  threatened.  No  longer  doubting,  at 
the  sight  of  the  French  squadron,  the  lot  which 
had  fallen  to  him,  he  took  the  resolution  of  having 
recourse  to  the  last  extremities  sooner  than  submit 
to  the  authority  ■  f  the  mother  country,  lie  was 
a.ssured  that  the  negroes  would  not  be  again  dragged 
into  slavery  ;  he  was  not  himself  possessed  with 
such  a  belief  ;  but  he  thought  that  they  might 
place  themselves  in  allegiance  to  France,  and 
this  motive  sufficed  him  to  decide  upon  resistance. 
He  resolved,  in  consequence,  to  persuade  the 
blacks  that  their  liberty  was  in  danger,  to  bring 
them  back  from  agriculture  to  war,  to  ravage  the 
maritime  towns,  massacre  the  whites,  burn  tiie 
houses,  and  then  retire  to  the  Mornes,  a  name 
given  to  mountains  of  a  peculiar  form,  with  which 
the  French  part  of  the  island  was  every  where 
covered,  and  to  wait  in  those  retreats  until  the 
climate  weakened  the  whites  so,  that  they  might 
be  able  to  fall  upon  them  and  complete  their  ex- 
termination. Moreover,  hoping  to  stop  the  French 
army  by  simple  menaces,  pei-haps  also  fearing,  if 
he  too  early  commanded  the  performance  of  atro- 
cious actions,  he  should  not  be  punctually  obeyed 
by  the  black  chiefs,  who,  following  his  example, 
had  imbibed  a  taste  for  forming  connexions  with 
the  whites,  he  ordered  his  officers  to  answer  to  the 
firet  summons  of  the  squadron,  that  they  had  no 
orders  to  receive  those  on  board  ;  that  then,  if  they 
insisted  on  landing,  to  threaten  them,  in  such  a 
case,  with  tiie  total  destruction  of  the  towns, 
and,  finally,  if  the  disembarkation  was  effected,  to 
destroy  every  thing,  massacre  all  around  them, 
and  retire  into  the  interior  of  the  island.  Such 
were  the  orders  given  to  Christophe,  who  governed 
in  the  north,  to  the  ferocious  Dessalines,  chief  in 
the  west,  and  to  Lajdume,  a  more  humane  black, 
commanding  in  the  south. 

The  squadron  of  Villaret  having  arrived  as  far 
as  Monte  Christo,  demanded  pilots  to  take  the 
shi])3  into  the  roads  of  Fort  Dauphin  and  the  Cape, 
but  had  great  trouble  to  |)rocure  them.  Uetaehing 
the  division  of  Magon  towards  Fort  Dauphin,  it 
arrived  on  the  3rd  of  February,  or  14th  Pluviose, 
before  the  Cape.  All  the  drawbridges  were  ele- 
vated, the  forts  armed,  and  a  disposition  to  resist 
every  where  demoiistrable.  A  frigate,  sent  to 
effect  a  communication  witli  the  land,  received  the 
answer  which  Toussaint  had  dictated.  He  had 
no  instructions,  was  the  reply  of  Christo|)he  ;  he 
must  await  an  answer  from  the  commaiider-in- 
chief,  wlio  was  at  that  moment  absent ;  he  would 
resist  by  fire  and  nixssacre  every  attemi)t  at  dis- 
embarkation by  main  force.  The  municipality  of 
the  Cape,  consisting  of  whites  and  men  of  colour, 
went  to  express  their  terror  to  the  captain-general 
Leclerc.  They  were,  at  tile  sa'ne  time,  happy  to 
see  the  soldiers  of  the  mother  country  arrive, 
and  yet  full  of  fear  in  considering  the  fearful 
threats  of  Christophe.  The  mind  of  the  captain- 
general  was  much  agitated,  in  finding  himself 
placed  under  the  necessity  of  fulfilling  his  mission, 
and  at  the  same  time  exposing  the  white  French 
population  to  the  fuiy  of  the  blacks.  He  reflected, 
he  must  land  at  all  events.  He  therefore  pro- 
mised the  inhaliitiints  of  the  Cape  that  he  would 
act  with  promptituile  and  vigotn*,  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  surprise  Christophe,  and  not  leave  him  time 
to  fulfil  his   horrible    instructions.     He    exhorted 


them  strongly  to  arm  in  order  to  defend  their 
persons  and  property,  and  he  sent  on  shore  a  pro- 
clamation of  the  first  consul,  designed  to  make  the 
blacks  acquainted  with  the  object  of  the  expe- 
dition. 

It  became  necessai-y  afterwards  to  bear  seawards 
in  conseijuence  of  the  state  of  the  wind,  which  in 
that  latitude   is  perfectly  regular.     The   captain- 
general,  once  out  at  sea,  arranged  a  plan  of  dis- 
embarkation with  admiral  Villaret-Joyeuse.      This 
plan  consisted  in  ])lacing  the  troops  in  the  frigates, 
and  landing  them    in   the  environs  of    the  Cape, 
j  beyond  the  heights  which  command  the  town,  near 
a   place   called    tho    embarking   place  of   Limb^ ; 
then,  while  they  attempted  to  turn  the  town  of  the 
Cape,  to   penetrate    with   the   squadron   into   the 
passes,  and  thus  to  make  at  once  a  double  attack 
I   by  sea  and    land.     It  was  hoped,  that  in  acting 
j  with  great  celerity  the  town  would  be  tjvken  before 
!  Cliristo|)he  had  time  to  realise  his  sinister  threats. 
I  Captain  Magon  and  general  Rochambcau,  if  they 
I  succeeded    at    Fort    Dauphin,    which    they    were 
I  ordered  to  occupy,  were  to  second  the  movements 
j  of  the  captain-general. 

I  On  the  following  day  the  troops  were  transferred 
I  to  the  frigates  and  light  vessels,  and  they  were 
landed  near  the  embarking  i)lace  of  Limbe'.  This 
operation  took  up  the  whole  day.  The  day  follow- 
ing, the  troops  moved  on  their  march  to  turn  the 
town,  and  the  squadron  became  engaged  in  the 
passages.  Two  vessels,  the  Patriot  and  Scipio, 
anchored  before  the  Fort  Picolet,  which  fired  red- 
hot  shot,  were  soon  reduced  to  silence.  The 
day  was  advanced  ;  the  land  breeze,  which  in  the 
evening  succeeded  that  from  the  sea,  obliged  the 
squadron  to  move  again  to  sea,  not  to  approach  the 
land  until  the  morning.  While  they  thus  stood 
out  they  had  the  grief  to  see  a  red  light  rise  above 
the  waves,  and  in  a  little  time  the  Hames  had 
destroyed  the  town  of  the  Cape.  Christophe,  al- 
though less  ferocious  than  his  commander,  had  still 
obeyed  his  orders  ;  he  had  set  fire  to  the  principal 
quarters,  and  limiting  himself  to  the  massacre  of 
a  few  whites,  he  obliged  the  others  to  follow  him 
to  the  Mornes.  While  a  part  of  these  unfortunate 
whites  expired  under  the  swords  of  the  negroes,  or 
were  carried  away  by  them,  the  rest,  following  the 
municipality  in  a  body,  had  escaped  from  Chris- 
tophe, and  sought  for  security  by  throwing 
themselves  into  the  hands  of  the  French  army. 
j  The  anxiety  was  gi-eat  during  that  horrible  night 
among  the  unfortunate  jiersons  exposed  to  so  many 
dangers,  and  among  the  troops  on  sea  and  land,  who 
saw  the  town  on  fire,  and  the  frightful  situation 
of  their  countrymen,  without  the  pi)wer  of  getting 
to  their  succour '. 

The  day  following,  being  the  Cth  of  February, 
while  general  Leclerc  marched  from  all  parts  u|>on 
the  Cape,  turning  the  heights,  the  admiral  set  sail 
towards  the  port,  and  getting  there,  drop])ed 
anchor.  All  resistance  had  ceased  by  tlu;  retreat 
of  the  negroes.  He  innnediately  disembarked 
twelve  hundred  seamen   under  the    command    of 

'  Nothing  can  exhiliit  more  tlic  inferiority  of  the  French 
in  naval  affairs  than  this  landiiiK  at  the  Cape.  It  is  worthy 
of  being  compared  by  the  reader  with  the  landing  of  the 
Englisli  army  in  Egypt,  see  page  240,  wlierc  two  divisions  of 
COOO  men  eacli  were  landed  in  one  day,  with  their  artillery, 
in  face  ofa  French  army,  bt  two  disembarkations. — Trans. 


426     Leclerc  lands  at  the  Cape.     THIERS'  CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE.  Cape  Towj  burned. 


general  Humbert,  in  order  to  succour  tlie  town 
and  snatch  tl»e  wrecks  from  the  iiiry  of  tlie  lilacks, 
while  a  ccmiiexion  was  thus  kept  up  with  tlie 
captain-general.  The  hist  arrived  on  his  side, 
without  being  able  to  meet  Christiiplie,  wlio  had 
already  taken  flight.  They  found  that  i)art  of  the 
hihaliitants  which  had  followed  the  municii)aliiy 
wandering  about  and  cast  down,  but  they  were 
soon  restored  to  joy  on  seeing  themselves  prom])tly 
aided  and  definitively  saved  from  the  danger  which 
threatened  them.  Tliey  ran  to  the  burning  houses. 
The  marine  force  helped  to  extinguish  the  fire, 
while  the  troops  pursued  Christophe  into  the 
country.  This  pursuit,  actively  followed  up,  pre- 
vented the  blacks  from  destroying  the  rich  (Ivvell- 
ings  oil  the  ])lains  of  the  Cape,  and  enabled  the 
French  to  save  from  the  enemy  a  number  of  whites 
whom  they  had  not  time  to  carry  away  with  them. 

While  these  events  were  passing  at  the  Cape, 
the  brave  captniii  Magon  had  disembarked  the 
division  of  Rochambeau  at  the  entrance  of  the  l^ay 
of  Maneenille  ;  he  then  jjenetraied  with  his  ves- 
sels into  tile  snme  bay,  to  second  the  movement  of 
the  troops.  This  vigorous  conduct,  which  already 
presaged  that  which  he  exhibited  at  Trafalgar, 
concurred  so  well  with  the  atiack  of  Rociiambiau's 
division,  that  they  were  ciialiled  to  take  Fort 
Dauphin  so  suddenly,  as  to  be  masters  of  it  before 
tlie  negroes  were  able  to  commit  any  ravages.  This 
second  disembarknient  achieved  the  work  of  driving 
the  enemy  from  the  environs  of  the  Cape,  and 
obliging  Christophe  to  retire  at  ouce  into  the 
Ml  lines. 

The  captain-general  Leclerc  was  established  in 
the  tiwn  of  the  Cape,  where  the  fire  had  heen  ex- 
tinguished. Happily  the  disaster  iiad  not  corre- 
sponded to  the  fearful  menaces  of  the  lieutenant  of 
Toussaint.  The  sole  fact  was  that  the  houses  iiad 
been  burned.  The  number  of  whi  es  massacred 
was  not  so  great  as  there  was  at  first  reason  to 
apprehend.  Many  of  them  came  back  again  suc- 
cessively accompanied  by  their  servants,  who  had 
remained  faithful  to  them.  The  rage  of  the  hlack 
hordes  was  above  all  glutted  In'  the  plunder  of  the 
rich  magazines  of  tiie  town.  The  troups  and  po))u- 
lation  employed  themselves  in  the  best  way  they 
were  able  to  efface  the  traces  of  tlie  ruin  wroiiglit 
by  the  fire.  An  appeal  was  made  to  the  iiusbandry 
negroes,  who  were  tired  of  the  life  of  ravage  and 
bloodshed  in  which  their  countrymen  would  iiivohe 
tiiem  anew,  and  a  number  of  them  were  now  seen 
to  return  to  their  masters  and  to  their  accustomed 
labours.  In  a  few  days  the  town  resumed  a  cer- 
tain air  of  order  and  activity.  The  captain-gene- 
ra! then  sent  vessels  towards  the  continent  of 
America,  to  endeavour  to  procure  provisions,  and 
replace  the  resources  which  had  been  destroyed. 

During  this  interval  the  S(juadron  of  admiral 
Latouche  'I'reville,  which  had  gone  to  the  west, 
had  doubled  the  point  of  the  island,  and  had  come 
before  the  bay  of  Port-au-1'rincH,  in  order  to  dis- 
embark a  division  of  the  ti-oo[)S  there.  A  white, 
engaged  in  the  service  of  the  blacks,  named  Age, 
an  officer  full  of  good  feeling,  conimniided  at  that 
jilace  in  the  absence  of  Dessalines,  residing  at  St. 
Marc.  His  repugnance  to  execute  the  orders  he 
had  received,  the  vigour  of  admiral  Latouche  Tre- 
ville,  the  (iromptitude  of  general  Bondct,  the  good 
fortune,  in  fact,  tlxat  favoured  this  part  of  the  ope- 


rations, saved  the  town  of  Port-au-Prince  from  the 
misfortunes  which  had  befallen  that  of  the  Cape. 
Latouche  Treville  ordered  raits  to  be  constructed 
armed  with  artillery,  then  getting  the  troops  dis- 
embarked suddenly  at  the  point  of  Lamentin,  he 
made  sail  in  all  haste  towards  Port-au-Prince. 
During  this  quick  movement  of  the  vessels,  the 
ti-oops  on  their  side  advanced  ujion  the  town.  The 
fort  of  Bizoton  lay  in  their  road.  The.\  approached 
it  without  firing:  ''Let  us  kill  without  firing,  if 
possible,"  said  general  Bondet,  "in  order  to  pre- 
vent a  collisidu,  and  save  if  we  are  able  our  un- 
happy countrymen  from  the  fury  of  the  blacks  " 
It  was,  in  fact,  the  sole  means  to  avoid  the  mas- 
sacre with  which  the  whiles  were  threatened.  The 
black  garrison  of  the  Fort  Biznton,  on  seeing  the 
amicable  and  resolute  attitude  of  the  French 
troops,  surrendered,  and  took  their  place  in  the 
ranks  of  the  division  of  lioudet.  They  arrived  at 
Port-au-Prince  at  the  same  time  as  admiral  La- 
touche Treville  approached  it  with  his  vessels. 
Four  thousand  bhicks  formed  the  garrison  there. 
Froiii  the  heights  on  which  the  army  marched  the 
blacks  were  stt-n  lining  the  jirincipal  forts,  or 
jiosted  in  advance  tif  the  walls.  General  Boudet 
ordered  the  tOwn  to  be  turned  by  two  liattalions, 
and  with  the  main  Iwd}'  of  his  force  marclud  upon 
the  redoubts  which  covered  it :  "  We  are  friends," 
the  nearest  black  troojis  cried  out,  "  do  not  fire  !  " 
Trusting  in  these  exehmiaii<.ns,  the  French  soldiers 
advanced  wiih  their  arms  on  their  sh<.uhlers.  But 
a  discharge  of  musketry  and  giajie,  given  nearly 
at  the  mnzzle,  struck  do'-n  two  liundred  among 
them,  some  killed,  others  wounded.  The  gallant 
general  Pamphile  Lacroix  was  in  the  number  of 
the  last.  The  French  instantly  sprung  on  these 
miserable  blacks  with  the  bayonet,  and  immolated 
all  those  that  had  not  time  to  make  their  escape. 
Admiral  Latouche,  who,  during  the  passage  had 
said  without  ceasing  to  the  gi  nerals  of  the  army, 
that  a  S(|uadron  was  ]>y  its  file  suiieiior  to  any 
land  ])osition,  and  that  he  would  soon  convince 
them  of  it,  ])laced  himself  under  the  batteries  of 
the  blacks,  and  in  a  few  moments  .succeeded  in 
silencing  them.  The  blacks  cannonaded  so  near, 
and  assailed  in  the  stn  ets  by  the  troops  of  Bou- 
det's  division,  fled  in  disorder,  without  setting  fire 
to  the  place,  leaving  the  ]iublic  chest  full  of  money, 
and  magazines  containing  an  immense  quantity  of 
colonial  produce.  Unfortunately  they  took  with 
them  numbers  of  whites,  treating  them  without 
pity  in  their  jirecipitate  flight,  and  marking  its 
traces  by  incendiarism  and  the  jiillage  of  the  habi- 
tations. Columns  of  smoke  designated  the  line  of 
their  retrejit  in  the  distance. 

The  ferocious  De.ssaliiies,  on  leartiing  the  dis- 
embarkation of  the  Frencii,  had  quitted  St.  Mare, 
passed  behind  Port-au-1'iince,  and  by  a  rapid 
mardi  occii|iied  Leogane,  in  oriier  to  dispute  with 
the  French  the  department  of  the  South.  General 
Boiidet  sent  there  a  detachment,  which  chased 
Dessalines  from  Leogane. 

Inforination  was  received  tliat  general  Laplnme, 
less  barbarous  than  liis  frieJids,  distrusting,  besides, 
a  country  full  of  mulattos,  the  implacable  enemies 
of  tlie  blacks,  was  disposed  to  surrender  himself. 
General  Boudet,  as  soon  as  possible,  despatched 
emi.ssaries  to  him,  and  Laiilume  surrendered  him- 
self, and  gave  over  entire  to  the  French  troops 


RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENS. 


427 


that  rich  department,  comprclienJinji  Leoganc,  the 
great  and  little  Goave,  Tibuion,  the  Cayes,  and 
Jacinel.  This  was  a  fortunate  event.  The  sub- 
mission of  the  black  chief  L:iplunie  saved  a  third 
of  the  colony  fcom  the  ravages  of  the  barbarians. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  Spanish  part  of  the  island 
fell  under  the  dominjaion  of  the  French  troops. 
General  Kerversau,  sent  to  Santo-Doniiiigo  with 
some  frigates  and  two  thousand  men,  disembai-ked 
there.  Seconded  by  the  inhabitants  and  by  the 
influence  of  the  French  bishop  Mauvielle,  ho  took 
possession  of  one-half  of  the  Spanish  part,  in  which 
Paul  Louverture,  the  brother  of  Toussaint,  was 
the  governor.  On  the  other  coast,  captain  l\lagon, 
established  at  Fort  Dauphin,  had  succeeded,  by 
adroit  negotiations,  and  the  influence  of  the  same 
bishop  Mauvielle,  in  gaining  over  the  mulatto  gene- 
ral Clervaux,  and  in  securing  the  rich  plain  of 
St.  Jago. 

Tliu-t,  in  the  first  six  days  of  February,  the 
French  troops  occupied  the  flat  country,  the  ports, 
the  chief  places  of  the  island,  and  the  larger  part 
of  the  cultivated  land.  There  remained  ia  Tous- 
saint's  possession  no  more  than  three  or  four 
black  denii-brigades,  the  generals  Maurepas,  Chris- 
toi)lie,  and  Dessalines,  with  their  treasures,  and  his 
C'lllection  of  arms,  hidden  in  the  Mornes  of  the 
Cliaos.  But  there  were  with  him,  most  unfor- 
tunately, a  number  of  whites,  carried  away  as 
hostages,  and  cruelly  treated,  waiting  until  they 
should  either  be  massacred  or  surrendered.  It 
was  necessary  for  the  French  to  ])rofit  by  the 
sejison,  which  was  favourable,  in  order  to  complete 
the  reduction  of  the  island. 

The  mountainous  and  itpturned  region  in  which 
Toussjiiut  had  shut  himself  up,  is  placed  to  the 
westward,  between  the  s:'a  and  mount  Cibao,  this 
being  the  central  knot  to  which  are  attached  all  the 
mountain  chains  of  the  island.  This  region  pours 
forth  its  scanty  waters  by  several  streams  into  ihe 
river  of  Ariibonite,  which  fails  into  the  sea,  be- 
tween Gfinaives  and  Port-au-Prince,  very  near  St. 
Marc.  It  was  necessary  to  march  there  from  all 
points  at  the  same  time,  in  such  a  way  as  to  place 
the  blacks  between  two  fires, and  to  drive  them  on 
GonVives,  in  order  to  surround  tlu-m  there.  But 
to  penetrate  into  the  Mornes,  it  was  needful  to 
pass  through  narrow  gorges,  rendered  nearly  im- 
pitssable  by  the  vegetation  of  the  tropics,  and  in  the 
depths  of  which  the  blacks,  lying  close  as  tirailleurs, 
presented  a  resistance  difficult  to  surmount.  Yet 
the  old  soldiers  of  the  Rhine,  trans|)orted  from 
thence  across  the  Atlantic,  had  nothing  to  tear 
but  the  climate.  That  alone  was  able  to  overcome 
them;  that  alone  had  overcome  them  in  this  heroic 
age;  they  never  succumbed  exco|)t  inider  the  sun  of 
St.  Ditrningo,  or  upon  the  ice  of  .Moscow. 

The  captain-general  Leclerc  was  resolved  to 
profit  by  the  months  of  February,  March,  ami 
April,  in  order  to  com|)lcto  the  occupation  of  the 
island,  because  at  a  later  p'-riod  the  extreme  heat 
and  tlic  rains  made  military  operations  imprac- 
ticable. Thanks  to  the  arrival  of  the  naval  divi- 
sions from  the  Meiliierr.inean,  commanded  by 
admirals  G.inteaume  and  Linois,  the  army  dis- 
embarked wiiH  now  carrit!i|  U|i  to  a  force  of  seven- 
teen or  eighteen  Ihonsaml  miMi.  Somu  of  the 
troops  were  ill,  it  is  true  ;  but  there  remained 
fifteen  thousand  in  a  aUto  fit  for  duty.     Tlio  cap- 


tain-general, therefore,  had  all  the  means  at  hand 
to  accomplish  his  task. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  execution  of  his  pur- 
pose, he  determined  to  send  a  summons  to  'J'ous- 
saint.  This  black  leader,  who  was  capable  of  the 
greatest  atrocities  in  order  to  render  his  designs 
successful,  was,  nevertheless,  susceptible  of  the 
natural  affections.  The  captain-general,  by  the 
orders  of  the  first  consul,  had  brought  with  him, 
as  already  said,  the  two  sons  of  Toussaint,  grown 
up  in  France,  in  order  to  try  the  influence  of  filial 
solicitation  upon  his  heart.  The  preceptor  who 
had  charge  of  their  education  was  designed  to  con- 
duct them  to  their  father,  to  take  him  a  letter 
from  the  first  consul,  and  to  try  and  attach  him 
to  France,  by  promising  him  the  second  authority 
in  the  island. 

Toussaint  received  his  two  sons  and  their  pre- 
ceptor in  his  habitation  of  Ennery,  his  ordinary 
retreat.  He  pressed  them  for  a  long  while  in  his 
arms,  and  appeared  for  a  moment  to  be  subdued 
by  his  emotion.  His  old  heart,  devoured  by  am- 
bition, was  moved.  The  sons  of  Toussaint  and 
the  respectable  man  whose  pupils  they  had  been, 
then  described  to  him  the  power  and  the  humanity 
of  the  French  nation,  the  advantages  attached  to 
a  submission,  which  would  leave  yet  greater  still 
his  situation  in  St.  Domingo,  and  which  secured 
to  his  children  a  future  prospect  so  brilliant ;  the 
danger  of  a  ruin  almost  certain,  on  the  contrary, 
if  he  continued  to  resist.  The  mother  of  one  of 
the  youths  joined  them  in  attempting  to  overcome 
Toussaint.  Affected  by  these  pressing  entreaties, 
he  wished  to  take  some  days  to  consider,  and 
during  these  days  he  appeared  to  struggle  greatly, 
now  startled  at  the  danger  of  the  unequal  contest, 
now  governed  by  the  ambition  to  be  the  sole 
master  of  the  fine  empire  of  Haiti,  now  revolting 
at  the  idea  that  the  whites  would  perhaps  replunge 
the  blacks  into  slavery.  Ambition  and  the  love  of 
liberty  obtained  the  victory  over  |)aternal  tender- 
ness. He  sent  for  his  two  children,  he  pressed 
them  in  his  arms  again,  ho  left  to  them  the  choice 
between  France,  which  was  inhabited  by  civilized 
men,  and  himself,  who  had  given  them  being,  and 
he  declared  that  he  should  continue  to  cherish 
tlicm,  even  if  tliey  belonged  to  the  ranks  of  his 
enemies.  These  'unfortunate  children,  agitated 
and  afl'ected  like  their  father,  hesitated  as  he  had 
doni'.  One  of  them,  nevertheless,  flmi'j;  himself 
on  his  neclc,  and  declared  that  he  would  die  a  free 
black  at  his  side;  the  other,  uncertain,  followed 
his  mother  to  one  of  the  estates  of  the  dictator. 

The  answer  of  Toussaint  no  longer  left  any 
doubt  of  the  necessity  of  the  immediate  resump- 
tion of  hostilities.  The  ca])tain-general  Leclerc 
made  his  preparations,  and  then  commenced  ope- 
rations on  the  i7th  of  February. 

His  plan  was  to  attack  at  one  time,  by  the  north 
and  tilt;  west,  the  thicket-covered  country,  nearly 
inaccessible,  into  which  Toussaint  had  retired  with 
his  black  generals.  Maurepas  occupied  the  narrow 
I'  jrge  called  Three  Rivers,  which  opened  towards 
the  sea  at  I'ort-<le-Paix.  ChriHtophe  was  esta- 
blished on  the  sides  of  the  Mornes  towards  the 
plain  of  the  Cape.  Dessalines  was  at  St.  Marc, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Artibonite,  with  onlers  to 
burn  St.  Marc,  and  to  defend  the  Mornes  du  Chaos 
ou  the  west  and  uouth.      Ho   had   fur  support  a 


428         Toussaint  defeated,         THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


and  his  artillery  laken.     j^j'^?^' 


fort,  well-constructed  and  defended,  full  of  the 
munitions  of  war,  amassed  by  the  foresiglit  of 
Toussaint.  This  fort,  called  Crete-a-Pierrot,  was 
placed  in  the  flat  country  that  the  Artibonite 
traverses  and  inundates,  forming  there  a  thousand 
sinuous  windings  before  it  falls  into  the  sea.  In 
tlie  centre  of  this  region,  between  Christophe, 
Maurepas,  and  Dessalines,  Toussaint  held  himself 
in  reserve  with  a  clmsen  band. 

On  the  17tli  of  February  the  captain-general, 
Leclerc,  marched  with  his  army  formed  in  three 
divisions.  On  the  left,  the  division  of  Rocham- 
beau,  leaving  Fort  Dauphin,  was  to  march  upon 
St.  Raphael  .and  St.  Michel;  the  division  of  Hardy 
was  to  march  by  the  plain  of  the  north  upon  Mar- 
malade ;  the  division  of  DesCouriieanx,  by  the 
Limbe',  was  to  reach  Plaisance.  These  three 
divisions  had  narrow  gorges  to  pass,  and  steep 
heights  to  escalade,  in  order  to  penetrate  into  the 
region  of  the  Mornes,  and  to  possess  themselves 
of  the  streams  which  form  the  up])er  course  of 
the  Artibonite.  General  Humbert,  with  a  detach- 
ment, was  charged  to  disembark  at  Port-au-Paix, 
rcmiiunt  the  gi>rgc  of  the  Three  Rivers,  and 
drive  back  the  black,  Maurepas,  on  ihe  Gros 
Jlorne.  General  Boudet  had  orders,  while  these 
five  corps  marched  from  north  to  south,  to  re- 
mount from  south  to  north,  and  leaving  Port-au- 
Prince,  to  occu|)y  Mirebalais,  the  Verettes,  and 
St.  Marc.  Thus  assailed  on  all  sides,  the  blacks 
had  no  other  refuge  than  towards  the  Gonaives, 
where  the  French  had  the  hope  to  enclose  tiiem. 

These  dispositions  would  have  been  wise  against 
an  enemy  that  it  was  desirable  to  surround  and 
pursue  in  front,  rather  than  fight  in  a  regular 
way.  Each  of  the  French  corps  had,  in  fact,  a 
sufficiency  of  force  to  prevent  it  from  receiving  in 
any  i)art  a  serious  check.  But  against  an  experienced 
commander,  iiaving  European  troops,  able  to  con- 
centrate themselves  suddeidy  upon  a  single  corps 
of  their  assailants,  the  plan  would  have  been 
defective. 

Marching  on  the  17th,  the  three  divisions  of 
Rochambeau,  Hardy,  and  Desfourneaux,  fulfilled 
their  task  with  great  gallantry,  scaling  the  most 
frightful  heights,  they  travelled  through  dense  and 
difficult  thickets,  and  surprised  the  blacks  by  the 
boldness  of  their  march,  scarcely  firing  at  all  on  an 
enemy  that  ])oured  his  fire  upon  them  from  all 
parts.  On  the  18th,  the  division  of  Desfourneaux 
was  in  the  environs  of  Plaisance,  the  division  of 
Hardy  at  Dondon,  that  of  Rochambeau  at  St. 
Raphael. 

(Jn  the  19th,  the  division  of  Desfourneaux  occu- 
pied Plaisance,  which  was  given  up  to  him  by  Jean 
Pierre  Dumesnil,  a  black  tolerably  humane,  who 
surrendered  to  the  French,  with  all  his  troops. 
The  division  of  Hardy  penetrated  by  main  force 
into  Marmelade,  overturning  Christophe,  who  was 
at  the  head  of  two  thousand  four  hundred  negroes, 
half  of  them  troops  of  the  line,  the  remainder  cul- 
tivators. Tiie  division  of  Rochambeau  cai'ried  St. 
Michel.  The  blacks  wei-e  surprised  at  so  rough 
an  attack,  not  having  before  seen  such  troops 
among  the  whites.  One  only  of  the  black  lea<lers 
vigorously  resisted  the  French.  This  was  Maure- 
pas, who  defended  the  gorge  of  the  Three  Rivers 
against  general  Humbert.  Tiiis  last,  not  liaving 
troops  enough,  general  Debelle  had  been  sent  by 


sea  to  his  aid,  with  a  reinforcement  of  twelve  or 
fifteen  hundred  men.  General  Debelle  was  not 
able  to  disembark  until  very  late  at  Port-au-Paix, 
and  thwarted  in  his  attacks  by  a  frightlul  rain,  he 
gained  but  little  ground. 

The  ca])tain-general,  after  having  remained  two 
days  in  the  same  place,  in  order  to  suffer  the  bad 
weather  to  pass  away,  pushed  forward  the  division 
of  Desfourneaux  upon  the  Gonaives,  the  division  of 
Hardy  upon  Ennery,  and  that  of  Rochambeau  upon 
the  formidable  position  of  the  Ravine  aux  Col- 
leuvres.  On  the  23rd  of  February,  the  division 
of  Desfourneaux  entered  into  Gonaives,  which  they 
found  in  flames;  the  division  of  Hardy  took  Ennery, 
the  principal  habitation  of  Toussaint ;  and  the  gal- 
lant division  of  Rochambeau  carried  the  Ravine 
aux  Cullcuvres.  To  force  this  last  position,  it  was 
necessary  to  penetrate  into  a  close  gorge,  bordered 
with  heights,  as  if  cut  with  a  tool,  bristling  with 
gigantic  trees  and  thorny  bushes,  and  defended  by 
blacks,  who  were  good  marksmen.  Then  it  was 
necessary  to  open  ujion  a  small  plain,  that  Tous- 
saint occupied  with  three  thousand  grenadiers  of 
his  own  colour,  and  all  his  artillery.  Tlie  intrepid 
Rochambeau  penetrated  boldly  into  the  goi'ge,  in 
spite  of  a  very  annoying  fire  from  the  black  tirail- 
leurs, scaled  two  high  banks,  killing  with  the  bayo- 
net those  blacks  tiiat  were  too  late  in  retreat,  and 
then  came  out  upon  the  plain.  On  arriving  there, 
the  old  soldiers  of  the  Rhine  completed  the  affair 
by  a  single  charge.  Eight  hundred  blacks  remained 
on  the  field,  and  all  the  artillery  of  Toussaint  was 
taken. 

During  this  contest,  general  Boudet,  executing 
the  orders  of  the  captain-general,  had  left  in  Port- 
au  Prince,  general  Pamphile  Lacroix,  with  six  or 
eight  hundred  men  for  a  garrison,  and  liad  marched 
himself,  with  the  rest  of  his  forces,  upon  St.  Marc. 
Dessalines  was  there,  ready  for  the  committal  of 
the  greatest  atrocities.  He  himself,  torch  in  hand, 
led  the  way  in  setting  fire  to  a  fine  mansion,  which 
he  possessed  in  St.  Marc,  and  he  was  imitated  by 
his  followers  ;  then,  on  retiring,  they  massacred  a 
party  of  whites,  and  dragged  the  rest  after  them 
into  the  horrible  refuge  of  the  Mornes.  General 
Boudet  could  oidy  occupy  ruins  iimndated  with 
human  blood.  While  he  pursued  Dessalines,  the 
last,  by  a  rapid  march,  appeared  before  Port-au- 
Prince,  which  he  imagined  to  be  but  feebly  de- 
fended, but  it  was  effectively  held  by  a  very  small 
garrison.  General  Pamphile  Lacroix  united 
his  little  troop,  and  warmly  harangued  them. 
Admiral  Latouche  Tre'ville,  learning  the  danger, 
landed  with  his  sailors,  saying  to  general  Lacroix  : 
"At  sea,  you  are  under  my  orders;  on  land  I  will 
be  under  yours  ;  let  us  defend  in  common  the  lives 
and  properties  of  our  countrymen."  Dessalines, 
repulsed,  was  tlius  unable  to  satiate  his  barbarity, 
and  flung  himself  into  the  Mornes  du  Chaos.  Gene- 
ral Boudet,  returning  in  all  haste  to  Port-au-Prince, 
found  it  saved  by  the  union  of  the  land  and  sea 
forces  ;  but  in  the  midst  of  these  marches  and 
counter-marches,  he  had  found  it  impossible  to 
second  the  movements  of  the  general-in-chief. 
The  blacks  they  had  not  been  able  to  surround, 
nor  to  ])nsh  on  to  the  Gonaives. 

No  vertheless,the  blacks  were  every  where  beaten. 
The  cajjture  of  the  Ravine  aux  Colleuvres  from 
Toussaint  had  completely  discouraged  them.     The 


1802. 
April 


RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENS.     Toussaint  Louverture.     429 


captain-general  Lcclerc,  wished  to  put  a  finisli  to 
this  (liscuuragement,  by  destroying  tiie  black  gene- 
ral jMauivpas,  who  ably  sustained  himself  iigainst 
generals  Humbert  and  Debelle,  at  the  bottom  of 
the  gorge  <if  the  Three  rivers.  Assailed  on  all 
sides,  the  black  Maurepas  had  no  other  resource 
than  to  surrender.  He  submitted,  witii  two  thou- 
sand of  the  bravest  blacks.  This  was  the  rudest 
blow  yet  given  to  the  moral  power  of  Toussaint. 

It  yet  remained  to  capture  the  fort  of  Crete-a- 
Pierrot,  and  the  Monies  du  Chaos,  having  forced 
Toussaint  in  his  last  asylum,  unless  indeed  he 
should  go  and,  retiring  into  the  mountains  of  the 
interi  )r  of  the  island,  live  as  a  partizan,  deprived 
of  all  means  of  action,  and  despoiled  of  every  pres- 
tige of  j>ower.  The  captain-general  ordered  the 
divisions  of  Rocliambeau  and  Hardy  on  one  side, 
and  that  of  Boudet  on  the  other,  to  march  upon 
the  fort  and  the  Monies.  Several  hundred  men 
were  lost  in  attacking  with  too  much  confidence 
tlie  works  of  Crcte-a-Piei-rot,  which  were  better 
defended  than  could  have  been  supposed.  It  was 
necessary  to  undertake  a  species  of  regular  siege, 
to  execute  works  of  ai)proach,  and  to  establish 
batteries.  Two  thousand  blacks,  good  soldiers, 
commanded  by  some  oflicei's  less  ignorant  than 
the  othei-s,  guarded  this  depository  of  the  resources 
of  Toussaint,  who  endeavoured,  seconded  by  Dessa- 
lines,  to  interrupt  the  siege  by  night  attacks  ;  but 
they  did  not  succeed,  and  in  a  little  time  the  fort 
was  pressed  so  near  that  an  assault  became  pos- 
sible. The  garrison  in  despair,  then  took  the  reso- 
lution to  make  a  nocturnal  sally,  to  pass  the  lines 
of  the  besiegers,  and  take  to  flight.  At  first,  they 
succeeded  in  deceiving  the  vigilance  of  the  troops, 
and  in  traversing  the  encampments  ;  but  being 
soon  recognized,  assailed  on  all  sides,  one  part  was 
driven  back  into  the  fort,  and  the  other  destroyed 
by  the  French  soldiers.  On  taking  this  species  of 
arsenal,  there  was  found  a  considerable  quantity 
of  arms  and  warlike  munitions,  and  a  good  many 
whites  cruelly  assassinated. 

The  capt;iin-gencral  immediately  afterwards  had 
all  the  Monies  around  scoured  over,  in  order  not 
to  leave  any  asylum  to  the  fugitive  bands  of  Tous- 
saint, and  to  reduce  them  before  the  great  heats  of 
the  season  came  on.  At  Verettes,  the  army  was 
tlie  witness  of  a  iiorrible  sjiectacle.  The  blacks 
had  for  a  long  time  conducted  with  them  troops  of 
white  persons,  whom  they  forced  by  beating  to 
march  as  fast  as  they  did.  Not  hoping  longer  to 
be  able  to  k(rep  iheni  from  the  army  that  was 
pursuing  tiiem,  and  was  tlu'U  vt'ry  near,  they 
massacred  eiglit  hundred,  men,  women,  infants, 
and  aged  persons.  'l"he  ground  was  found  covered 
with  this  frightful  hecatomb  ;  and  the  French  sol- 
diers, who  wen;  so  generous,  who  had  fought  so 
much  ill  all  parts  of  the  world,  who  had  been  pre- 
sent at  so  many  scenes  of  carnagi-,  )»ut  hail  never 
before  seen  women  and  infants  massacred,  were 
struck  with  the  deepest  horror,  and  a  degree  of 
anger  from  humanity,  which  became  fatal  to  the 
blacks  whom  they  were  able  to  overtake.  They 
hunted  them  down  to  the  last,  giving  no  quarter 
to  any  whom  they  encountered. 

It  was  Ai)ril.  The  blacks  had  no  more  resources, 
at  least  for  the  present.  Their  discouiagement  was 
very  great  The  chiefs,  struck  with  the  kind  con- 
duct of  the  captain -general  towards  thoao  who  had 


surrendered,  and  to  whom  he  had  left  their  rank 
and  estates,  thought  of  laying  down  their  arms. 
Cliristophe  addressed  himself  to  the  captain- 
general,  tlirou;;h  the  medium  of  the  blacks  already 
submitted,  and  oft'ered  to  give  in  his  submission,  if 
the  general  would  ])romise  the  same  treatment  to 
him  as  to  generals  Laplume,  Maurepas,  and  Cler- 
vaux.  The  captain-general,  who  was  possessed  of 
as  mucli  humanity  as  good  sense,  consented  with 
all  his  heart  to  the  propositions  of  Cliristophe,  and 
accei)ted  his  offers.  The  surrender  of  Cliristophe 
soon  brought  that  of  the  ferocious  Dessalines,  and 
finally,  that  of  Toussaint  himself.  He  was  left 
nearly  alone,  or  only  followed  by  a  few  trusty 
blacks  attached  to  his  person.  To  continue  his 
wandering  career  u])  and  down  the  interior  of  the 
island,  without  attempting  any  thing  important 
which  could  retrieve  his  credit  with  the  negroes, 
appeared  to  him  a  thing  altogether  useless,  and 
only  adapted  to  weaken  yet  more  the  zeal  of  his 
former  partizans.  Besides,  he  was  beaten,  and 
could  preserve  no  ho])e  of  future  success  but  such 
as  might  be  inspired  by  the  fatal  nature  of  the 
climate.  He  had,  in  fact,  been  long  accustomed 
to  see  the  Euroi)eans,  and  before  all  others,  the 
military,  disappear  under  the  action  of  that  de- 
vouring climate,  and  he  flattered  himself  that  he 
should  soon  find  the  yellow  fever  his  frightful 
auxiliary.  He  then  said  to  himself  that  he  must 
await  in  peace  the  propitious  moment,  and  that 
when  it  arrived,  perhaps  a  new  attempt,  by  force 
of  arms,  would  give  him  the  success  he  desired. 
In  consequence,  he  oft'ered  to  come  to  terms.  The 
captain-general,  who  did  not  hope  much  that  he 
should  be  able  to  take  him,  even  in  pursuing  him 
to  the  utmost,  throughout  the  numerous  and  re- 
moter retreats  of  the  island,  consented  to  grant 
him  a  capitulation,  similar  to  that  which  he  had 
accorded  to  his  lieutenants.  He  was  restored  to 
his  rank  and  his  properly,  upon  condition  that  he 
lived  on  a  designated  spot,  and  did  not  change  his 
residence,  unless  by  the  permission  of  the  captain- 
general.  His  habitation  of  Ennery  was  the  j)lace 
fixed  upon  for  his  retreat.  The  cajHain-general 
Leclerc  ha<l  great  dcmbts  that  the  submission  of 
Toussaint  was  honest  ;  but  he  kept  a  good  watch 
upon  him,  ready  to  have  him  arrested  on  the  very 
first  act  that  implied  ui)nn  his  jiart  a  breach  of  faith. 
To  set  ott'  from  ibis  |)eriod  of  time,  being  the  end 
of  April  and  commencement  of  May,  order  was 
re-established  in  the  colony,  and  the  revival  of  that 
])rosperity  was  seen  returning  which  it  had  en- 
joyed under  the  dictator.  The  regulations  which 
he  had  devised  were  put  in  force.  The  cultivators 
had  nearly  all  entered  again  upon  their  plantations. 
A  black  genilarmerie  pursued  all  idle  vagabonds, 
and  brought  them  back  to  the  estates  to  wliiih,  in 
virtue  of  the  antirior  census,  they  had  been  at- 
tached. Tlu!  troo|is  of  Toussaint,  reduced  in  num- 
ber, and  submitted  to  the  French  authority,  were 
franiiuil,  and  showed  no  symptoms  of  any  ilispo- 
sition  to  revolt,  if  they  were  but  preserved  in  their 
existing  state.  Christo|ihe,  Maurepas,  Dessalines, 
and  Clervaux,  maintained  in  their  former  rank  and 
property,  were  as  rea<ly  to  iiccommodato  them- 
selves to  the  new  order  of  things  as  they  had  been 
to  that  of  Toussaint  Louverture.  it  only  sufliced 
for  that  purpose  to  secure  to  them  the  preservation 
of  their  riches  and  their  liberty. 


430  ^'G^^lfouSe."""'"""'""    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Colonel  Sebastian!  sent 
to  the  East. 


1802. 
May. 


The  captain -general  Leclerc,  who  was  a  brave 
soldier,  mild  and  discreet,  applied  himself  to  re- 
establish order  and  security  in  the  colony.  He 
had  continued  to  admit  foreijifn  flags,  in  order  to 
favour  the  introduction  of  provisions  and  neces- 
saries. He  had  assigned  them  four  principal  ports 
of  entry,  the  Cape,  P<>rt-au-Prince,  the  Cayes,  and 
Santo-Domingo,  forbidding  them  to  touch  else- 
where, in  ordei-  to  impede  the  landing  of  arms 
upon  the  coasts.  He  had  not  restrained  importa- 
tion, except  so  far  as  related  to  European  ]iroduce, 
of  which  he  li;id  exclusively  reserved  the  monopoly 
to  the  French  merchants  of  the  mother  country. 
There  had,  in  fact,  arrived  a  great  number  of 
merchant  vessels  from  Havre,  Nantes,  and  JJor- 
deaux,  and  there  was  reason  to  hope  that  soon  the 
])rosperity  of  St.  Domingo  would  be  re-estnblished, 
nut  to  the  advantage  of  the  English  and  the 
Americans,  as  under  the  government  of  Toussaint, 
but  to  the  profit  of  France,  without  the  colony 
being  deprived  of  any  of  its  advantnges. 

Still  there  was  a  double  danger  to  be  appre- 
hended ;  on  one  jjart  there  was  the  climate, 
always  fatal  to  European  troops  ;  on  the  other, 
there  was  the  incurable  mistrust  of  the  negro 
population,  wliiL-h  it  was  impossible,  do  all  tluit 
might  be  done,  to  prevent  from  appi'ehending  a 
return  to  slavery. 

To  the  seventeen  or  eighteen  thousand  men 
already  transported  to  the  colony,  new  naval  equip- 
ments, sailing  from  Holland  inid  France,  had 
added  three  (u*  four  thousand  more,  which  raised 
to  twenty-one  or  twenty-two  thousand  the  number 
of  soldiers  sent  ui)on  the  expedition.  But  four  or 
five  thousand  were  already  dead  ;  an  equal  inim- 
ber  was  in  the  hospitals,  and  only  twelve  thousand 
and  a  few  more  remained  to  meet  a  new  contest,  if 
the  negroes  should  again  have  recmu-se  to  arms. 
The  ciiptain-g 'neral  took  every  care  to  procure 
rest  and  ri-freshment  for  the  troops,  with  salubiious 
cantonments,  neglectin'j  nothing  to  render  <lefini- 
tive  and  complete  the  success  of  the  expedition 
which  had  been  confided  to  his  care. 

At  Guadaloupe  the  gallant  Richei)ause  landed 
with  a  force  of  thi-ee  or  four  thousand  men  under 
his  connnanil,  had  daunted  the  revcjited  negroes, 
and  had  again  subjected  them  to  slavery,  after 
having  destroyed  the  heads  of  the  revolt.  This 
species  of  counter-revolution  was  possible,  and  was 
effected  without  danger  in  an  island  of  so  small  an 
extent  as  that  of  Guadaloupe  ;  but  it  jiroduced 
this  serious  inconvenience,  that  it  alarmed  the 
blacks  of  St.  Domingo  about  the  fate  ultimately 
reserved  ffir  them.  In  other  respects  the  affairs  of 
the  French  Antilles,  or  West  Indies,  went  on  as 
prosperously  as  could  be  hoped  for  in  so  short  a 
space  of  time.  In  all  parts  vessels  were  pre])aring 
to  recommence  the  rich  traffic  that  France  had 
formerly  carried  on  with  these  islands ;  they  were 
principally  fitted  out  in  her  great  European  com- 
mercial ports. 

The  first  ciinsnl,  pursuing  his  task  with  great 
perseverance,  had  sent  to  sea  the  depots  of  the 
demi-brigades  serving  in  the  colonies.  He  con- 
stantly forwarded  recruits  there,  and  availed  him- 
self of  every  c^unmercial  or  naval  expedition  to 
send  off  fresh  detachments.  He  bad  augmented 
the  credits  accorded  to  the  naval  service,  and  ha<l 
carried  to  130,000,000  f,  the  special  budget  of  that 


departmen*,  a  crmsiderable  sum  in  a  budget,  the 
total  of  which  was  but  58!),(IOO,00()  f.,  which  may 
be  reckoned  equivalent  to  72O,0(((>,000  f.  in  the 
present  day.  He  ordered  that  20,000,000  f.  should 
be  expended  annually  in  the  purchase  of  naval 
stores  and  materials  in  all  countries  where  they 
were  jjrocurable.  He  arranged  besides  for  the  con- 
struction and  launching  of  twelve  vessels  of  the 
line  every  year.  He  perpetually  i-epeated,  that  it 
was  during  the  peace  lie  nmst  create  a  navy, 
because  duiing  j)eace,  the  sea,  the  field  for  ma- 
noeuvring was  free,  and  the  road  to  provide  all 
things  m-cessary  was  ojien.  "  The  first  year  of  the 
minister,"  he  wrote  to  admiral  Decres  on  the  14th 
February,  1803,  "  is  y<iur  year  of  apprenticeship. 
The  second  c(mimences  your  ministry.  You  have 
the  French  navy  to  re-establish  :  what  a  fine 
career  for  a  man  in  the  full  vigour  of  his  age,  ami 
yet  finer,  because  our  i)ast  misfortunes  have  been 
stronger  evidence  for  us  of  its  necessity.  Fulfil 
your  task  without  delay.  Erery  hour  lost  in  tlie 
epoch  (lurivij  which  ice  lire  is  irrepanible." 

From  thir  Indies  an<l  America  the  active  mind  of 
the  first  consul  directed  itself  towards  the  Ottoman 
empire,  the  approaching  fall  of  which  appeared 
pi-oliable,  and  of  wbich  he  was  not  inclined  to  see 
the  wrecks  serve  to  extend  the  possessions  of  the 
Russians  and  English.  He  had  renounced  all 
thoughts  oi  E::ypt  while  England  respected  the 
peace  ;  but  if  the  peace  were  broken  on  their  jiart, 
lie  kept  himself  free  to  revert  to  his  original  ideas 
about  a  countiy  which  he  always  regarded  as  the 
road  to  India.  In  other  res])ects,  he  projected 
nothing  at  the  moment  ;  his  intention  was  solely 
to  prevent  the  English  from  taking  an  advantage 
of  the  peace,  to  establish  themselves  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Nile.  A  formal  engagement  obliged  them 
to  evacuate  Eg.\pt  within  three  months;  but  there 
had  passed  twelve  or  thirteen  fiom  the  signature 
of  the  jireHminaries  of  London,  and  seven  or  eight 
froni  the  signature  of  the  treaty  of  Amiens,  and 
they  (lid  not  yet  seem  dis])osed  to  quit  Alexandria. 
The  first  consul  llien  sent  for  colonel  Sebasliani, 
an  officer  endowed  with  great  intelligence  and 
judgment,  and  ordered  liim  to  embark  on  board  a 
frigate,  and  to  sail  along  the  shores  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, to  visit  Tunis  and  Tripoli,  in  order  to  make 
those  slates  acknowledge  the  flag  (if  the  Italian 
republic,  and  tin  n  to  proceed  to  Egypt  to  examine 
the  positii^i  of  the  Knglish  tliere,  and  the  nature  of 
their  establishment  ;  to  try  and  discover  how  long 
this  establishment  was  to  continue  ;  to  observe 
what  was  passing  between  the  Turks  and  Mame- 
lukes ;  to  visit  the  Arab  sheiks,  and  to  complinunt 
thtm  ill  the  first  consul's  name;  to  go  into  Syria  and 
visit  the  Chiisiians,  and  place  them  under  French 
protection  ;  to  have  an  interview  with  Djezzar- 
Pacha,  who  had  dei'euded  St.  Jean  d'Acre  against 
the  French,  and  to  promise  him  the  good  friend- 
ship of  France,  if  he  would  well  treat  and  protect 
the  Christians,  and  show  favour  to  Frencii  com- 
merce. Colonel  Sebastiani  had  orders,  lastly,  to 
return  by  Constantinojile,  to  renew  to  general 
Biune,  tlie  I'reiich  ambassad(jr  there,  the  in- 
structions of  his  cabinet.  These  instructions  en- 
joined general  Prune  to  display  great  magnificence, 
1(1  make  much  of  the  sultan,  to  give  him  hopes  of 
the  Continued  support  of  France  against  all  ene- 
mies, whoever  they  might  be,  and,  in  one  woid,  to 


1802. 
June. 


Estab!ishnieiit  of 
mi  ii.Tiy  colonies 
in  I'icdmiiiit. 


RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENS. 


Completion  of  the 

iKivifTiiiion     of         431 
the  Blaviit. 


neglect   iKitliiiiir    to    render  France  imposing  and 
respectid  in  ilie  E;ist. 

Alihiiu^ii  mucli  occupied  with  these  distant 
enterprises,  tlie  first  consul  did  not  cease  to  f;ive 
all  due  care  to  llie  interior  prosperity  of  France. 
He  had  again  taken  up  the  dig -st  of  the  civil  code. 
A  section  of  the  council  of  ^tat'e  and  one  of  the 
tribunate  united  thenisidves  daily  at  the  house 
of  tiie  second  consul  Canibac<Jies,  to  resolve  the 
difficulties  natural  to  a  work  of  such  inai;nitnde. 
The  reparation  of  the  roads  had  been  followed  up 
with  the  sjinte  dei^ne  of  aitivity.  The  first  consid 
had  distributed  them,  as  iias  been  already  saiil,  in 
series  of  twenty  each,  reporting  successively  the 
one  to  the  other  the  extraordinary  allocations 
which  they  had  been  allolt^d.  The  execution  <if 
the  canals  of  Ouic<i  and  of  St.  Qnentin,  had  not 
been  for  a  mom.  nt  interrupted.  The  works  or- 
dered in  Italy,  as  well  tlmse  of  ihe  roads  as  of  the 
fortifications,  had  cnniinued  to  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  the  first  consul.  He  wished  if  (he  mari- 
time war  should  recommence,  anl  bring  back  a 
continentid  war,  that  Italy  shoidd  be  definitively 
allied  to  France  by  great  public  cummunlcations, 
and  by  powerful  defensive  works.  The  ])ossession 
of  the' Valais  liavhig  facilitated  the  execution  of  the 
great  road  of  the  Simplnn,  that  wonderful  creation 
was  now  very  nearly  completed.  The  works  on 
the  Mont  Cenis  road  had  been  slackened  in  order 
to  throw  all  the  disposable  strength  possible  upon 
the  I'oad  of  Mount  Genevre,  that  at  least  one  or  the 
other  might  be  completed  in  1803.  As  to  the  for- 
tress of  Alexandria,  it  had  become  a  subject  of 
daily  correspondence  with  the  able  engineer  Chas- 
sehiup.  There  were  prepared  in  that  place  bar- 
i-acks  for  a  i)ermanent  garrisou  of  si,\  thousand 
men,  l)0Ki>ilals  for  three  thousand  sick  or  wonndeil, 
and  magazines  I'm-  a  large  army.  The  recasting  of 
ail  the  Italian  artillery  hatl  been  commenced,  with 
the  object  to  bring  the  calibre  of  the  whole  train 
to  six,  eight,  and  twelve  p'-vids.  The  first  consul 
recommended  to  the  jnesident  Melzi  a  great  stock 
of  muskets  to  be  made.  "  You  have  only  fifty  | 
thousand  stand,"  he  wrote  t<t  him,  "that  is  nothing. 
I  have  in  France  five  hundred  thousand,  inde- 
pendently of  those  in  the  hands  of  the  army.  1 
shall  not  stf)p  until  I  am  in  possession  of  a  million." 

The  first  consul  lia<l  begun  to  think  of  military 
colonies,  the  idea  of  which  was  first  borrowed 
from  the  Romans.  He  had  ordered  a  selection  to 
be  ma<le  in  tin,'  army  of  soldiers  and  olHccrs  who 
had  served  long,  and  receivetl  honourable  woinnls, 
in  order  that  tli'-y  might  be  conducted  into  Pied- 
mont, and  receive  a  di.--triliulion  of  the  national 
domains  situated  arouml  Alexandria,  in  a  value 
proportionate  to  their  siinatiou,  from  the  soldier  up 
to  the  otticer.  These  veterans  thus  endowed,  would 
many  I'iedmoniese  fei.iales.  They  would  meet 
twice  a  year  to  mana-uvre,  and  at  the  first  alarm 
of  hostile  danger  fling  thtmselves  i<ito  the  for- 
tress of  Ab-xaiidria  with  their  most  valuable 
property.  This  was  a  mode  of  introtlucing  at  ihe 
BJiine  time  the  blood  ami  feelingH  of  Frenchnnn 
into  Italy.  The  same  kind  of  iimtitulion  was  dr- 
BJgned  to  be  esljiblished  in  the  new  departments  of 
the  Rhine,  near  Mayenee. 

The  author  of  tins.!  lino  ideas  meditated  Fomo- 
thing  of  a  similar  kiinl  in  the  iirovinces  of  the  re- 
public still  infected  with  a  bad  feeling  of  insubordi- 


nation, such  as  La  Vendee  and  Britany.  He  wished 
to  found  there  at  the  same  time  both  great  esta- 
blishments and  towns.  The  agents  of  Georges 
coming  from  Englaml  landed  from  the  isles  of  Jer.«ey 
and  Guerns  y.  bordering  on  the  northern  coasts  ; 
traversed  the  peninsula  of  Britany  by  Loud^ac  and 
Poniivy,  and  spread  themselves  either  over  the 
Morbihan  or  the  Loiie  Inferieure, in  or<ler  to  keep 
up  distrust  among  the  population,  and,  if  need  be, 
pre|)are  it  for  re\oIt. 

The  first  consul,  corresponding  with  the  gen- 
darmerie, and  himself  <lirecting  the  different 
movements  and  researches  that  took  place  there, 
foreseeing  the  possiliility  of  new  troubles,  liad 
fhooght  of  constructing  in  the  principal  ]iassages 
of  the  mountains  and  of  the  forests,  towers  sur- 
mounted with  a  piece  of  artillery  turning  upon  a 
l)iv')t,  and  capable  of  coniaining  a  garrison  of  fifty 
men,  holding  some  provisions  and  anmiunitinu,  in 
order  tti  serve  as  a  support  to  the  moveable  co- 
lunnis.  Full  of  the  idea  that  he  must  tiiink  of 
civilizing  a  country  as  well  as  of  retaining  it,  he 
comuKinded  the  completion  of  the  navigation  of 
the  Blavet,  in  order  to  render  the  water-course 
navigable  as  far  as  Pontivy.  It  was  thus  that  he 
formed  tlie  first  de.-ii^n  of  that  fine  navigation 
which  passes  along  the  coasts  of  Britany  from 
Nantes  as  far  as  Brest,  penetrating  by  many  na- 
vigable channels  into  the  interior  of  the  country, 
and  assuring  at  all  times  the  necessary  provisions 
and  stores  for  the  arsenal  at  Brest."  The  first 
consul  had  determined  to  construct  at  Pontivy  large 
vessels  to  receive  troojjs,  a  numerous  staff,  tribu- 
nals, a  military  administration,  and  manufactories, 
which  he  would  create  at  the  expense  of  the  state. 
He  had  ordere<l  researches  to  be  made  of  places 
most  i)roper  for  the  foundation  of  new  towns,  whe- 
ther in  Britany  or  in  La  Vendee.  He  made  the 
works  proceed  at  the  .'^ame  lime  upon  the  fortitica- 
lions  of  Quiberon,  Belle  Isle,  and  Isle  Dieu.  The 
fort  Bayard  was  begun,  after  his  own  plans,  with 
the  object  of  niai  ing  the  basin  com])rised  between 
La  Rochelle,  Rochelort,  the  islands  of  Rhe'  and 
Oleron,  one  vast  road,  safe,  and  inaccessible  to  the 
liiiglish.  C'herburg  naturally  attracted  all  his  no- 
lice.  Not  ho])ing  to  be  able  to  finish  the  d\kesoon 
enough,  he  ordered  the  execution  to  be  pressed 
more  particularly  upon  three  points,  in  order  to 
make  liiem  approach  in  the  water  as  near  as  pos- 
sible to  each  other;  and  to  establish  three  batte- 
ries, capable  of  keeping  an  enemy  at  a  respectlul 
distance. 

In  the  midst  of  these  works,  undertaken  for  the 
maritime,  connncrcial,  and  military  greatness  of 
France,  the  first  C'lisnl  knew  how  to  find  time  to 
occupy  himself  wiih  ihe  business  of  the  schools,  of 
the  institute,  tlie  jjrogress  of  science,  and  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  clergy. 

His  sister  Lliza  and  his  brother  Lucien  formed, 
with  Sicard,  Morellet,  and  Fontanes,  what  has  been 
styled  in  the  literary  history  of  France,  a  bureau 
d\9prU.  They  affected  there  a  great  taste  for  the 
recollections  of  jtast  lime,  above  all  for  its  literature ; 
and  it  nmst  be  avowed,  that  if  the  taste  of  the  past 
time  is  to  be  ilefended  in  any  thing,  it  is  above  all 
for  this  branch  of  knowli  il;,'e.  But  with  n  tiuly 
legitimate  taste  they  mingled  other  and  very  puerile 
ones.  They  affected  to  pn  ler  the  older*  literary 
bodies  to  the  institute  ;  and  they  talked  very  largely 


432 


The  first  consul  changes 
one  class  of  the  Insti- 
tute. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Refractory  conduct 
of  some  of  the 
bishops. 


1S02. 
Aug. 


of  a  design  to  reconstruct  the  French  Academy  out 
of  tlie  men  of  letters  who  had  survived  tlie  revolu- 
tion, and  did  not  feel  much  love  for  it,  such  as 
Sicard.  La  Harpe,  Morellet,  and  others.  The  re- 
ports upon  this  subject  which  got  abroad  produced 
a  very  vexatious  effect.  The  consul  Cambace'res, 
attentive  to  all  the  circumstances  wjiich  might  pre- 
judice the  government,  made  the  first  consul  ac- 
quainted with  what  was  passing  ;  and  in  his  turn, 
the  first  consul  made  his  brother  and  sister  ac- 
quainted, in  a  rough  way,  with  the  displeasure 
which  this  kind  of  affectation  had  caused  him. 

On  this  occasion  he  himself  took  liis  place  in  the 
Institute.  He  declared  tiiat  every  literary  society 
which  took  any  other  title  than  that  of  the  Insti- 
tute,—that  would,  for  example,  call  itself  "The 
French  Academy," — should  be  dissolved,  if  it  af- 
fected to  give  itself  any  juiblic  character.  The 
second  class,  that  which  then  answered  to  the  old 
French  Academy,  remained  devoted  to  the  belles 
lettres.  But  lie  suppressed  the  class  of  moral  and 
political  science,  out  of  an  aversion,  before  strongly 
pronounced,  not  exactly  against  philosophy, — as  it 
will  be  seen  hereafter  vvhat  his  mode  of  tiiinking 
was  upon  the  subject, — but  against  certain  persons 
who  affected  to  profess  the  philosophy  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  in  that  which  it  held  most  con- 
trary to  the  ideas  of  religion.  He  merged  this 
class  in  that  devoted  to  the  belles  lettres,  saying 
that  their  object  was  a  common  one  ;  that  philoso- 
phy, politics,  morals,  and  the  observation  of  human 
nature,  were  the  foundation  of  all  literature  ;  that 
the  art  of  writing  was  no  more  than  the  form  ; 
that  it  was  not  necessary  to  sejiarate  that  w  hich 
should  remain  united  ;  that  a  class  consecrated  to 
the  belles  lettres  would  be  futile  indeed,  a  class 
consecrated  to  the  moral  and  political  sciences  very 
pedantic,  if  they  were  to  be  separated  in  good 
earnest  ;  that  the  writers  who  were  not  thinkers, 
and  the  thinkers  who  were  not  writers,  would  be 
neither  one  thing  nor  another  ;  and  that,  in  fine, 
an  age  even  affluent  in  talent  was  able  scarcely  to 
furnisli  a  single  one  of  sucli  establishments  witii 
members  worthy  of  it ;  they  must  therefore  descend 
for  them  to  mediocrity. 

Tliese  ideas,  true  or  false,  were  with  the  first 
consul  more  of  a  pretext  than  a  reason  to  defeat  a 
literary  society  which  arose  conti'ary  to  his  political 
views  in  regard  to  the  estalilishment  of  public 
worship.  Of  the  two  classes  he  made  only  one, 
adding  to  it  Sicard,  Morellet,  and  Foiitanes  ;  and 
he  declared  it  to  be  the  second  class  of  the  Institute, 
answering  to  the  old  French  Academy.  While  he 
effected  this  union,  lie  requested  of  the  learned 
Haiiy  an  elementary  work  on  pliysics,  which  was 
yet  wanting  for  public  instruction  ;  aiitl  he  replied 
to  Laplace,  who  had  addressed  to  him  the  dedica- 
tion of  his  great  work,  the  Mecanique  Celeste,  in 
these  words,  so  proudly  elevated  :  "  I  thank  you 
for  your  dedication.  I  wish  that  the  coming  gene- 
ration, when  reading  your  work,  may  not  forget  the 
esteem  and  friendship  I  l)ore  towards  its  author '." 

The  first  consul  marked  with  attention  tlie  con- 
duct of  the  clergy  since  the  restoration  of  public 
worsliip.  The  bishops  a|)i>ointed  were  nearly  all  of 
them  established  in  their  dioceses.  Most  of  them 
conducted  themselves  well;  but  some  were  still  full 

'  Dated  Nov.  2Cth,  1802. 


of  the  sectarian  spirit,  and  committed  the  error  of 
not  carrying  themselves  with  mildness  in  their  new 
functions,  and  with  that  evangelical  kindness  which 
can  alone  put  an  end  to  schism.  If  de  Belloy  at  Paris 
de  Boisgelin  at  Tours,  Bernier  at  Orle'ans,  Camba- 
c^res  at  Rouen, and  de  Paneemont  at  Vannes,showed 
themselves  to  be  true  pastors,  pious  and  sage,  there 
were  others  who  had  suffered  mischievous  tenden- 
cies to  appear  in  the  exercise  of  their  ministry.  The 
bishop  of  Basaiiriiii,  for  example,  a  Jansenist  and 
old  constitutionalist,  wished  to  prove  to  the  priests 
that  the  civil  constitution  of  the  clergy  was  an  in- 
stitution truly  evangelical  and  conformable  to  the 
spirit  of  the  primitive  church.  Thus  troubles  arose 
in  his  diocese.  It  must  still  be  acknowledged  that 
he  was  the  only  constitutionalist  of  whom  there  was 
any  reason  to  complain.  The  faults  which  were  to 
be  com])lained  of  among  the  clergy  principally,  were 
from  the  intolerance  of  the  orthodox  bishops. 
Several  of  these  affected  the  pride  of  a  victorious 
party,  -and  harshly  repelled  the  unsworn  priests. 
The  bishops  of  Bordeaux,  Avignon,  and  liennes, 
removed  the  priests  from  service  in  their  parishes, 
endeavoured  to  humiliate  them,  and  thus  came  into 
collision  with  that  ])art  of  the  population  which  was 
personally  attached  to  them. 

Nothing  could  be  more  energetic  upon  this  sub- 
ject than  the  language  of  the  fiist  consul.  He  wrote 
himself  to  certain  of  the  bishop.'^,  or  obliged  the 
cardinal  legate  to  write  to  them;  he  threatened  to 
take  away  their  sees,  and  to  call  before  the  council 
of  state  those  jirelates  w  ho  thus  troubled  the  repose 
of  the  new  church.  "  I  am  willing,"  Jie  said,  "  to 
restore  the  altars  thrown  down,  to  put  an  end  to 
religious  quarrels,  but  not  to  sufler  one  party  to 
triumph  over  the  other,above  all,  that  jiarty  which  is 
the  enemy  of  the  revolution.  When  the  constitutional 
priests  have  been  faithful  to  the  regulations  of  their 
estate,  and  observers  of  good  morals  ;  when  they 
have  caused  no  scandal,  I  ])refer  them  to  their  ad- 
versaries, because,  after  all,  they  are  only  decried 
for  having  embraced  the  cause  of  the  revolution, 
which  is  our  own  cause;"  so  he  wrote  to  the  pre- 
fects. Cardinal  Fcsch,  his  uncle,  seeming,  iu  the 
diocese  of  Lyons,  to  forget  the  instructions  of  the 
government,  the  first  consul  wrote  to  him  in  the  fol- 
lowing terms: — "To  wound  the  minds  of  the  con- 
stitutional priests,  to  remove  them,  is  to  be  wanting 
to  justice,  to  the  interest  of  the  state,  to  my  inter- 
est, to  your  own,  M.  le  Cardinal;  it  is  to  be  wanting 
to  my  express  wishes,  and  to  displease  nie  very 
sensibly." 

There  was  no  limit  in  the  extent  of  his  gifts  fo 
the  bishops  who  conformed  to  his  firm  and  concili- 
atory policy.  To  one  he  gave  ornaments  for  his 
church;  to  others  furniture  for  their  hotels;  and  to 
all  considerable  sums  for  their  poor.  He  granted 
two  or  three  times  in  a  single  winter  fifty  thousand 
francs  to  M.  de  Belloy,  to  distribute  himself  among 
the  indigent  in  his  diocese.  He  sent  to  the  bisho]) 
of  Valines,  who  was  the  model  of  an  accomplished 
prelate,  mild,  pious,  and  benevolent,  ten  thousand 
francs  to  furnish  his  episcopal  liotel;  ten  thousand 
to  remunerate  the  priests  of  whose  conduct  he  ap- 
proved; and  seventy  thousand  to  be  given  to  the 
poor,  in  the  current  year,  that  of  the  year  xi.,  he 
sent  two  hundred  thousand  francs  to  bishop  Bernier, 
for  the  purpose  of  secretly  helping  the  victims  of 
the  civil  war  in  La  Vendde,  a  sum  of  which  that 


1802. 
Sept. 


Napoleon  visits  Nor- 
mandy. 


RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE   OF  AMIENS.         His  reception  there.      433 


prelate  made  a  humane  and  able  employment.  He 
drew  for  these  largesses  upon  the  chest  of  the  mi- 
nister of  the  interior,  aided  by  difterent  sums  that 
did  not  then  enter  the  treasury,  and  of  which  he 
purified  the  source  by  devoting  them  to  the  noblest 
purposes. 

It  was  in  the  autumn  of  1802;  the  weather  was 
superb;  nature  seemed  to  dispense  to  this  happy 
year  a  second  spring.  Owing  to  a  temperature  of 
extreme  mildness  the  trees  budded  a  second  time. 
At  this  period  the  firet  consul  expressed  a  wish  to 
visit  a  district  of  which  people  had  spoken  to  him 
in  many  different  ways,  the  province  of  Normandy. 
Then,  as  at  present,  this  fine  country  offered  the 
interesting  spectacle  of  rich  manufactures,  existing 
in  the  midst  of  the  greenest  and  best  cultivated 
lands.  Participating  in  the  general  activity  which 
at  this  time  was  awakened  at  once  all  over  France, 
it  presented  the  most  animated  appearance.  Still 
some  persons,  and  among  them  the  consul  Lebrun, 
had  endeavoured  to  ])ersuade  the  first  consul  that 
Normandy  was  royalist  in  feeling.  It  was  easy  to 
imagine  this,  upon  recollecting  with  what  energy 
it  declared  itself  against  the  excesses  of  the  revolu- 
tion in  1792.  The  first  consul  wished  to  proceed 
there,  to  see  things  with  his  own  eyes,  and  to  ob- 
serve what  effect  his  jiresence  would  have  upon  the 
inhabitants  on  appearing  in  the  ordinary  way. 
Madame  Bonaparte  was  to  accompany  him. 

He  employed  fifteen  days  on  his  journey.  He 
passed  through  Rouen,  Elbeuf,  Havi-e,  Dieppe, 
Gisors,  and  Beauvais.  He  visited  the  open  coun- 
try and  the  manufacturing  districts,  examining 
every  thing  himself,  showing  himself  without  any 
guard  to  the  population  anxious  to  behold  him. 
The  pressing  attentions  he  received  delayed  his 
journey.  Every  moment  on  his  routelie  found  the 
country  clerjry  presenting  him  with  the  holy  water; 
the  niayoi"s  offering  him  the  keys  of  their  towns, 
and  addressing  to  himself,  and  not  only  liimself, 
but  to  madame  Bonaparte,  speeches  such  as  they 
formerly  addressed  to  the  kings  and  queens  of 
France.  He  was  delighted  at  his  reception,  and 
above  all,  at  the  rising  prosperity  which  he  every 
where  remarked.  The  town  of  Elljeuf  pleased  him 
much  by  the  increase  which  it  had  received. 
"  Elbeuf,"  lie  wrote  to  his  colleague  Cambac<?res, 
"  is  increased  one-third  since  the  revolution.  It  is 
nothing  else  than  one  entire  manufactory."  Havre 
struck  him  in  a  singular  way ;  he  foresaw  the 
great  commercial  destiny  to  which  that  port  was 
to  be  called.  "  I  find  every  where,"  he  still  writes 
to  Camt)aci?reK,  "  only  the  best  spirit.  Normandy 
is  not  that  which  Lebrun  represented  to  me.  It  is 
frankly  devoted  to  the  government.  F  discover 
here  that  unanimity  «)f  sentiment  which  rendered 
so  fine  the  days  of  17H9." 

What  he  thus  caid  was  perfectly  coiTcct.  Nor- 
mandy waM  well  selected  to  express  to  him  the  sen- 
timenlH  cif  Franci'.  She  well  represented  the  honest 
and  sincere  population  of  '8fi,  at  first  enthusiastic 
for  the  ri'vohitiiin,  then  fearlul  of  its  excesses,  ac- 
cused of  niyalism  by  the  pro-consuls,  whoso  mad 
conduct  bIk;  coiideiiuied,  and  now  enchanted  to  find 
in  a  manner  not  hoped  fur,  order,  justice,  e(|ualily, 
glory,  liberty,  lei-s,  it  is  true,  of  the  last,  of  which, 
unhappily,  she  was  out  of  conceit. 

The  first  consul,  by  the  middle  of  November, 
was  on  his  return  to  St,  Cloud, 


In  imagining  an  envious  person  present  at  the 
success  of  a  formidable  rival,  an  idea  may  be 
gained  approaching  pretty  near  the  truth,  of  the 
sentiments  which  were  at  this  time  felt  in  England 
at  the  spectacle  of  the  prosperity  of  France.  This 
powerful  and  eminent  nation  had  still  enough  left 
of  its  own  greatness  to  console  it  for  the  greatness 
of  another  ;  but  a  singular  jealousy  preyed  upon  it. 
So  far  as  the  success  of  general  Bonaparte  had 
been  capable  of  use  as  an  argument  against  Pitt, 
they  had  welcomed  it  in  England  with  a  species  of 
applause.  But  since  these  successes,  continued 
and  accumulating,  were  those  of  France,  alone  ; 
since  they  had  beheld  her  aggrandized  by  peace  as 
well  as  by  war,  through  policy  as  well  as  arms;  since 
they  had  seen,  in  eighteen  months,  the  Italian  re- 
public become,  under  the  presidency  of  general 
Bonaparte,  a  French  province  ;  Piedmont  added 
to  France  with  the  agreement  of  the  continent ; 
Parma,  Louisiana,  added  to  the  French  possessions 
by  the  sim])lo  execution  of  treaties  ;  Germany,  in 
fine,  reconstituted  by  the  sole  influence  of  France  ; 
since  they  had  seen  all  this  peaceably  accomplished, 
and  naturally  enough,  as  a  thing  flowing  from  a 
situation  of  affairs  universally  accepted,  a  manifest 
vexation  seized  upon  every  English  lieart ;  and 
this  vexation  was  not  dissimulated,  any  more  than 
sentiments  are  ordinarily  dissimulated  among  a 
passionate  j)eople,  proud  and  free. 

The  classes  which  ])artook  least  in  the  advan- 
tages of  the  peace  suffered  more  than  anj-  others, 
their  jealousy  too  became  visible.  It  has  been 
already  observed,  that  the  minuifaeturers  of  Bir- 
mingham and  Manclu'ster,  recompensed  by  a  con- 
traband trade  for  the  difficulties  which  they  en- 
countered in  the  French  ports,  complained  very 
little  ;  but  the  larger  merchant.?,  finding  the  seas 
covered  with  rival  flags,  and  the  source  of  their 
financial  profits  dried  up  with  the  loans  which 
were  no  longer  necessary,  regretted  openly  the 
discontinuance  of  the  war,  and  showed  themselves 
more  discontented  than  even  the  aristocracy  itself. 
The  aristocracy,  ordinarily  so  proud  and  s6  pa- 
triotic, that  did  not  leave  to  any  class  in  the  nation 
the  honour  of  serving  or  loving  more  than  it  did 
itself  the  greatness  of  England,  was  not  displeased 
upon  this  occasion  to  be  distinguished  fi-om  the 
mercantile  interest  by  more  elevated  and  generous 
views.  It  regarded  Pitt  somewhat  less  than  it 
had  done,  since  he  was  made  so  much  of  by  the 
commercial  world  ;  it  ranged  itself  with  eagerness 
around  the  prince  of  Wales,  a  model  of  the  manners 
and  licentiousness  of  the  aristocracy,  and  more 
than  all  around  Fox,  who  pleased  them  by  the 
nobleness  of  his  sentiments  and  his  incomparable 
eloquence.  But  the  mercantile  interest,  all  power- 
ful in  London  and  the  out-ports,  having  for  its 
organs  in  i)arliament,  Windliam,  Grenville,  and 
Uundas,  smothered  tlu;  voices  of  the  rest  of  the 
nation,  and  reanimated  all  the  i)assions  of  the 
English  jiress.  Thus  the  Londun  newspapers  be- 
gan to  bo  liostile,  and  abandoned  to  the  papers 
edited  by  French  emigrants  llie  care  of  outraging 
and  maligning  the  first  consul,  his  brotliers,  sisters, 
and  all  his  family  without  leproof. 

Unfortunately  the  ministei-  Addington  was  des- 
titute of  all  energy,  and  solleied  every  thing  to 
move  before  the  tempestuous  gah;  that  had  begun 
to  blow.  He  committed,  through  his  feebleness, 
F  V 


434      Conduct  of  the  English.      THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.    Feebleness  of  Addington. 


Nov. 


acts  of  the  grossest  want  of  faith.  He  still  paid 
Georges  CadouJitl,  whose  perseverance  in  con- 
spiring against  the  government  of  France  was 
notorious;  he  ))laced  at  his  disposition  considerable 
sums  of  money  for  the  support  of  his  dependents, 
of  whom  a  number  passed  incessantly  fi-om  Ports- 
mouth to  Jersey,  and  from  Jersey  to  the  coast  of 
Britany.  He  continued  to  suffer  in  London  the 
presence  of  the  pamphleteer  Peltier,  despite  the 
legal  means  wliicli  he  possessed  in  the  Alien  Bill 
•of  silencing  him  ;  he  treated  the  exiled  princes 
with  a  respect  very  natural,  but  he  did  not  confine 
himself  in  bis  conduct  to  mere  respect,  they  were 
invited  to  reviews  of  troops,  and  were  received 
there  with  all  the  insignia  of  the  former  royalty. 
He  acted  thus,  it  is  proper  to  repeat,  out  of  real 
feebleness  of  mind,  because  no  one  doubted  the 
probity  of  Addington.  Had  he  been  delivered 
from  party  influence,  he  would  have  been  repug- 
nant to  such  cond)ict.  He  well  knew  that  in  pay- 
ing Georges  he  was  supporting  a  conspirator  ;  but 
he  did  not  dare  in  the  face  of  the  party  of  Wind- 
ham, Dundas,  and  Grenville,  to  send  away,  and 
perhaps  to  alienate  these  old  tools  of  the  policy  of 
the  English  cabinet. 

The  first  consul  was  deeply  hurt  at  such  con- 
duct. To  the  reiterated  demands  for  a  treaty  of 
commerce,  he  replied  by  demanding  the  supjiress- 
ing  of  certain  journals,  the  expulsion  of  Georges 
and  Peltier,  sind  the  sending  av/ay  of  the  French 
princes.  Grant  me,  he  said,  the  satisfaction  which 
is  due  to  me,  and  which  you  cannot  refuse  me 
without  declaring  yourselves  the  accomjdices  of 
my  enemies,  and  I  will  endeavour  to  find  the 
means  to  meet  to  your  satisfaction  the  difficulties 
which  affect  your  commercial  interests.  But  in 
the  demands  of  the  first  consul  the  English  ministry 
could  find  none  which  they  had  a  right  to  make. 
As  to  the  sui)pression  of  certain  journals  both 
Addington  and  Hawkesbury  answered  with  reason, 
the  press  is  free  in  England  ;  imitate  us,  despise 
its  licentiousness.  If  yon  wish  we  will  institute  a 
prosecution,  but  it  will  be  at  your  risk  and  peril  iu 
running  the  chance  of  procuring  a  triumph  to  your 
enemies.  In  regard  to  Georges,  Peltier,  and  the 
emigrant  princes,  Addington  liad  no  legid  excuse 
to  make  that  was  of  any  weight,  because  tlie  Alien 
Bill  gave  him  the  power  to  remove  them  whenever 
he  pleased  to  do  so.  He  replied  by  observing 
upon  the  necessity  there  was  of  managing  public 
opinion  in  England  ;  a  very  poor  argument  it 
must  be  agreed,  in  regard  to  any  of  the  parlies 
whose  expulsion  was  thus  requested. 

The  first  consul  would  not  allow  himself  to  be 
thus  beaten  upon  the  point;  at  first,  he  said,  "the 
counsel  that  you  give  me  to  despise  the  licentious- 
ness of  the  press  would  be  good,  if  it  aided  me  to 
despise  the  licentiousness  of  the  French  press  in 
France.  It  can  be  understood  that  in  one's  own 
country  it  n)ay  be  decided  upon  to  su|)port  the 
inconveniences  of  the  freeilom  of  the  liberty  of 
writing,  in  c<msideration  of  the  advantages  that  it 
mav  procure.  'I'hat  is  a  question  altogether  of 
interior  policy,  in  which  each  nation  is  the  best 
judge  of  that  which  it  is  the  most  convenient  for  it 
to  do.  But  it  ought  never  to  be  suffered  that  thi- 
daily  press  should  malign  foreign  governments,  and 
thus  change  the  relations  iietween  stiite  and  state. 
This  is  a  serious  abuse,  a  danger  witiiout  any  com- 


pensation, and  the  proof  of  tliis  danger  is  in  the 
actual  relations  of  France  with  England.  We 
should  be  at  peace  without  the  journals,  and  here 
we  are  very  nearly  in  a  state  of  war.  Your  legis- 
lation is  therefore  bad  in  relation  to  the  press. 
You  are  at  liberty  to  permit  what  you  please 
against  your  own  government,  but  not  against  the 
goverimients  of  foreigners.  Nevertheless,  I  lay 
aside  the  libels  of  the  English  papers.  I  respect 
your  laws  even  in  that  which  they  have  in  them 
vexatious  for  other  countries.  It  is  a  disagreeable 
thing  arising  out  of  our  vicinity  to  which  I  must 
resign  myself.  But  the  French,  who  niake  in 
London  so  odious  a  usage  of  your  institutions,  who 
write  such  disgraceful  and  injurious  things,  where- 
fore are  they  suffered  to  proceed  in  this  way  in 
England  ?  You  possess  the  Alien  Bill,  which 
has  justly  for  its  object  to  jirevent  strangers  from 
doing  mischief;  why  not  apply  that  law  to  them? 
'i'lien  there  are  Georges  and  his  accomplices,  as 
shown  in  the  conspiracy  of  the  infernal  machine  ; 
there  are  the  bishops  of  Arras  and  St.  Pol  de  Leon, 
publicly  exciting  to  revolt  the  population  of  Bri- 
tany,— why  do  you  refuse  to  expel  them  ?  What 
thus  becomes  in  your  hands  of  the  treaty  of 
Amiens,  which  stipulates  in  express  terms  that  no 
underhand  practices  should  be  suffered  in  either 
one  of  the  countries  against  the  other  ?  Yon  give 
an  asylum  to  the  emigrant  princes,  that  is  without 
doubt  considerate  and  kind.  But  the  head  of  the 
family  is  at  Warsaw,  why  not  let  them  all  go  to 
him  ?  Wherefore,  above  all,  permit  them  to  carry 
those  decorations  which  the  French  laws  no  longer 
acknowledge,  and  which  are  the  occasion  of  very 
great  inconvenience,  when  they  are  borne  by  the 
side  of  the  ambassador  of  France  in  his  presence, 
and  too  frequently  at  the  same  table  ?  You  ask 
from  me  a  treaty  of  commerce  and  of  close  re- 
lations between  the  two  countries  ;  begin  then  by 
showing  a  less  antipallietic  spirit  towards  France, 
ami  then  I  shall  be  able  to  search  out  if  there  is 
any  mode  of  conciliating  our  nmtual  interests." 

There  is  nothing  certainly  that  can  be  deemed 
reprehensible  in  these  reasonings,  nothing  but  the 
feebleness  of  a  great  man,  who,  governing  in  Eu- 
rope, could  give  himself  the  trouble  to  put  them 
forih.  Of  what  importance,  in  effect,  to  the  all- 
powerful  victor  of  Marengo,  were  Georges,  Pel- 
tier, and  the  count  d'Aitois  with  his  royal  decora- 
tions? Against  the  daggers  of  the  assassin  he  had 
to  oppose  his  good  lortune  ;  against  the  outrages  of 
pam])hleteers  he  had  to  oppose  his  glory  ;  against 
the  legitimacy  of  the  Bourbons  he  had  to  place 
the  enthusiastic  love  of  France.  Yet,  0  the  weak- 
ness even  of  great  minds  !  this  man,  placed  on 
6u<;h  a  jiiimacle,  annoyed  himself  by  what  was 
really  so  contemptible.  H.s  error  in  this  respect  has 
been  already  deplored,  and  we  are  unable  to  pi-e- 
vent  ourselves  from  again  deploring  it  on  aj)- 
proaching  the  moment  when  it  produced  such 
unhappy  consequences. 

The  first  consul  could  no  longer  keep  his  temper, 
and  he  avenged  himself  by  replies  inserted  in  the 
Mon'Uevr,  often  written  by  himself,  and  when  so, 
easily  recognised  in  their  origin  by  their  incom- 
parable vigour  of  style.  He  complained  of  the  com- 
plaisance of  the  British  ministry  for  the  conspirator 
Georges  and  the  lihellcr  Peltier.  Ho  demanded 
why  such  guests  were  suffered  in  England,  why 


Troubles  in  the 


RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENS. 


Swiss  cantons. 


435 


such  acts  were  pcrniitteil  towards  a  friendly  go- 
vernment, wIk'II  to  remove  tliem  Iiad  become  a 
duty  by  treaties,  and  an  existing  law  allowed  the 
means  of  repressing  tlieni  ?  The  first  consul  went 
yet  further,  and  addressing  the  English  government 
himself,  he  demanded  in  the  articles  inserted  in  the 
itoniteur,  if  the  government  approved,  if  it  wished 
to  see  these  odious  practices  continued,  these  in- 
famous diatribes,  when  it  thus  tolerated  them  ;  or 
whetiier,  if  it  did  not  wish  to  see  them,  it  was  too 
feeble  to  hinder  them  ?  And  he  concluded  that 
no  government  could  exist,  where  they  were  not 
able  to  repress  calumny,  prevent  assiissination, 
and  protect  social  European  order. 

Then  the  English  ministry  complained  in  its 
own  turn.  They  said  that  the  journals  in  Eng- 
land, the  language  of  which  was  so  offensive,  were 
not  official  ;  we  are  unable  to  answer  for  them  ; 
but  the  Monitcur  is  the  avowed  organ  of  the  French 
government,  ami  it  is  besides  easy  to  discover  in 
tlie  language  the  source  that  inspires  it.  It  calum- 
niates us  every  day  ;  we  also, — and  with  much 
better  ground, — we  demand  satisfaction. 

These  are  the  lamentable  recriminations  with 
wliich,  during  many  months,  the  despatches  be- 
tween the  two  govenmients  were  filled.  But  all 
oil  a  sudden  events  nmch  more  serious  intervened, 
which  furnished  to  the  irascible  dispositions  of 
both  a  more  dangerous  subject  it  is  true,  but  at 
lea.xt  one  nmch  more  worthy. 

Switzerland,  snatched  from  the  hands  of  the 
oligarch  Reding,  liuil  fallen  into  those  of  the  lan- 
dannnan  Dolder,  the  h<  a-i  of  the  party  of  the  mo- 
derate revcjlutioiiists.  The  retrtat  of  the  French 
troops  was  a  concession  made  to  tlii.s  ))arty  in 
order  to  confer  upon  it  poimlarity,  and  to  furnish 
a  proof  of  the  impatience  of  the  first  consul  to 
disembarrass  himself  of  the  affairs  of  Switzerland. 
Still  he  did  not  gather  the  fruits  of  his  good  in- 
tentions. Nearly  all  the  cantons  liad  adopted  the 
new  constitution,  and  welcomed  the  men  who  were 
charged  to  carry  it  into  vigorous  execution  ;  but 
in  the  little  cantons  of  Scliwitz,  Uri,  Unterwalden, 
App»^nzell,  Claris,  and  the  Orisons,  the  spirit  of 
revolt,  eJccited  by  Reding  and  his  friends,  had 
soon  aroused  all  the  inliabiUiiits  of  the  mountains. 
The  oligarchs  flattered  themselves  that  they  shoidd 
be  able  to  carry  every  thing  by  force,  since  the 
Fi-ench  troops  had  left  the  Swiss  territory.  Tliey 
had  HMSi-mbled  the  people  in  the  churches,  and  had 
led  them  to  reject  the  proposed  constiintion.  They 
had  spread  the  rumour  abroail,  tliai  Milan  was  be- 
biegcd  by  an  Anglo- Russian  army,  and  the  French 
rej)ulilic  was  as  ni  ar  its  fall  as  in  1790. 

The  coiiHtitutioii  being  thus  rejected,  they  had 
still  not  been  able  to  push  evenU  forward  so  far 
OH  to  conmicnco  a  civil  war.  'i  be  little  cantons 
limited  themHelves  to  sending  d<p-itie8  to  Berne, 
to  declare  to  the  Fn  ncli  minister  there,  Verninac, 
that  they  had  no  intention  to  overturn  the  new 
government,  but  that  tli-y  wished  to  separate 
tlieraselves  from  the  ll<lvetic  confederation,  to 
cons'.itutc  their  own  government  apart  in  the 
mountains,  and  to  return  to  their  own  suitiMc 
Hystem,  wliich  was  a  pure  deinocmcy.  Tliey  even 
requesUrd  to  regulate  tli<ir  new  relations  with  the 
central    gr)vernmint   estal-li^'licil  at   H<riie,   inich-r 


L-ry 


natuiiillv  the 


the  auspices  <if  France, 

nister  Verninac  had  thought  it  his  duty  to  refuse 


to  listen  to  these  communications,  and  to  declare 
that  he  Icnew  no  other  Helvetic  goveruuient  than 
that  whieli  sat  at  Berne. 

In  the  Orisons  there  were  passing  scenes  of 
tumult,  which  revealed  better  than  any  thing  else 
the  influences  under  which  Switzerland  was  at  that 
time  set  in  a  state  of  agitation.  In  the  middle  of 
the  valley  of  the  superior  Rhine,  that  was  culti- 
vated by  the  superior  Orison  mountaineers,  is  the 
lordship  of  Bazuns,  belonging  to  the  emperor  of 
Austria.  This  lordship  conferred  uimn  the  em- 
peror the  rank  of  a  member  of  the  Orison  league, 
and  gave  him  a  direct  action  upon  the  coni|iowition 
of  the  government.  He  chose  the  landamnian  of 
the  country  from  three  can<iidates  that  were  pre- 
sented to  him.  Since  the  Orisons  had  been  united 
by  France  to  the  Helvetic  confederati'^n,  the  em- 
peror remained  the  proprietor  of  Bazuns,  but 
managed  his  property  by  a  superintendent  This 
superintendent  had  phued  himself  at  the  head  of 
the  Orison  insurgents,  and  had  taken  a  part  in  all 
the  meetings,  in  which  tliey  had  declared  that  they 
would  separate  themselves  from  the  Helvetic  eon- 
federation,  in  order  to  return  to  the  ancient  order 
of  things.  He  had  received  and  accepted  the 
mission  to  bear  their  wishes  to  the  feet  of  the 
emperor,  and  with  their  wishes,  the  (irayer  to  be 
taken  immediately  under  his  protection. 

Certainly  nothing  could  more  clearly  show  upon 
what  European  party  these  Swiss  endeavoured  to  | 
support  themselves.  To  all  this  mental  agitation 
there  was  joined  something  still  more  serious  ; 
they  took  up  arms;  they  rejiaired  the  muskets  left 
by  the  Austrians  and  Russians  during  the  last 
war;  they  ottered  and  jiaid  eighteen  sous  per  day 
to  the  old  soldiers  of  the  S\\i^s  regiments  which 
were  exi)elled  from  France,  and  gave  ilieni  the 
same  officers  they  had  before.  The  poor  inh.abit- 
ants  of  the  mountains,  believing  in  their  simple 
minds  that  their  religion  and  iiulepeudence  were 
threatened,  came  tumultuousiy  to  fill  the  ranks 
of  the  insurgent  troops.  Money  was  scattered 
about  in  abundance,  advanced  by  the  rich  Swiss 
oligarchs,  out  of  the  millions  deposited  in  London, 
and  soon  to  be  realized  if  ihey  were  triumphant. 
The  landamnian  Reding  was  declared  the  chief 
of  the  league.  Morat  jiinl  S.  mjiach  were  the  re- 
collections recalled  by  these  new  martyr.s  for 
Helvetic  inde])eiidence. 

It  is  scarcely  possible  to  com]ireheiid  an  great 
an  independence  upon  their  part ;  for  the  French 
army  lay  bordering  njion  every  side  of  the  Swiss 
frontiers.  But  they  had  ln-en  persuaded  that  the 
first  consul  had  his  hands  tied  ;  that  the  great 
powers  would  intervene,  and  that  he  wrjuld  not  be 
able  to  send  a  regiment  into  SwitKerlaiid,  without 
exposing  himself  to  a  general  war.  a  menace  that 
he  certainly  would  not  brave,  merely  to  sustain  the 
landamnian  Dolder  and  his  co|lea<;ius. 

Meantime,  in  spiie  of  this  agnation,  the  poor 
mountaineers  of  Ori,  Scliwitz,  and  Unterwalden, 
those  most  engaged  in  this  siiil  ad*  eiiture,  had  not 
cnme  forward  as  last  as  their  chi<  Is  di-wired,  and 
they  had  declared  that  they  would  not  leave  their 
caiitoiin.  The  Hilvelie  goveiimieiit  had  nt  its 
disposal  about  four  or  live  thousand  nun,  of  whom 
a  thousand  or  twelvt;  homlred  were  employed  to 
guanl  Berne;  some  hinnlitds  wt  re  disnibuted  in 
different  garrisons,  and  three  lhou»atid  in  the  ctui- 
Pf2 


436     The  Swiss  in  open  revolt.    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


A  truce  agreed  upon  by        1802. 
the  government.  Nov. 


ton  of  Lucerne,  upon  the  border  of  Unterwalden ; 
the  last  were  designed  to  watch  the  insurrection. 
A  troop  of  the  insurgents  was  posted  close  in  the 
village  of  Hergyswil.  In  a  little  time  they  came 
to  firing  at  eacii  other,  and  there  were  some  men 
killed  and  wounded  on  both  sides.  While  this 
collision  took  place  on  the  frontier  of  Unterwalden, 
general  Andei-matt,  commanding  the  government 
troops,  wished  to  place  some  companies  of  infantry 
in  the  city  of  Zurich,  in  order  to  guard  the  arsenal, 
and  preserve  it  from  the  hands  of  the  oligarchs. 
The  aristocratical  citizens  of  Zurich  resisted  this, 
and  shut  the  gates  of  the  city  against  the  soldiers 
of  general  Andermatt.  He  fired  some  shells  into 
the  city  in  vain  ;  the  citizens  answered  him,  that 
they  would  sooner  burn  it  than  surrender,  and 
thus  deliver  Zurich  to  the  oppressors  of  tlie  inde- 
pendence of  Helvetia.  At  the  same  moment,  the 
partizans  of  the  ancient  aristocracy  of  Berne,  in 
the  county  of  Argovia  and  in  Oberland,  became  so 
agitated,  that  there  was  reason  to  fear  they  were 
on  the  pcjint  of  open  insurrection.  In  the  Pays  de 
Vaud,  the  ordinary  cry  was  heard  for  a  union  with 
France.  The  Swiss  government  knew  no  means 
of  extricating  itself  from  this  perilous  situation. 
Combated  with  open  force  by  the  oligarchs,  it  had 
neither  on  its  side  the  ardent  patriots,  who  desired 
an  absolute  unity,  nor  the  peaceable  masses,  who 
were  enough  inclined  for  a  revolution,  but  that 
they  knew  nothing  of  such  an  event  save  the 
horrors  of  war,  and  the  presence  of  ibreign  troops. 
It  may  hence  be  judged  what  was  the  value  of  the 
popularity  acquired  at  the  pi'ice  of  the  retreat  of 
the  French  army. 

In  this  embarrassment  the  government  con- 
cluded an  armistice  with  the  insurgents,  and  then 
addressed  itself  to  the  first  consul,  soliciting,  in  a 
most  pressing  maimer,  the  intervention  of  France, 
which  had  been  demanded  by  the  insurgents  in 
like  manner  upon  their  side,  when  they  wished 
that  their  i-elations  with  the  central  government 
should  be  regulated  under  the  auspices  of  the 
minister  Verninac. 

When  tliis  demand  of  an  intervention  was  made 
known  in  Paris,  the  first  consul  repented  himself 
of  having  listened  too  readily  to  the  ideas  of  the 
party  of  Dolder,  as  well  as  to  his  own  wishes  to 
get  clear  of  Swiss  affairs,  and  thus  prematurely 
withdi-awn  the  French  troops.  To  make  tliem 
re-enter  now  in  presence  of  England,  so  malevo- 
lently disposed,  complaining  as  she  was  already  of 
the  action  of  Fi'ance  being  too  manifest  upon  the 
Continental  states,  was  an  act  extremely  serious. 
Besides,  he  knew  not  yet  all  that  had  taken  place 
in  Switzerland,  nor  to  what  an  extent  the  pi"o- 
vokers  of  the  movement  in  the  little  cantons  had 
revealed  their  real  designs,  in  order  to  sliow  what 
they  really  were,  in  other  words,  the  actors  in  a 
counter-European  revolution  and  the  allies  of 
Austria  and  England.  He,  therefore,  refused  an 
intervention,  universally  demanded,  of  which  the 
inevitable  consequences  would  liave  been  the  re- 
turn of  the  French  troops  into  Switzerland,  and 
the  military  occupation  of  a  state,  the  independence 
of  \vl#cli  was  guaranteed  by  all  Europe. 

This  reply  threw  the  Helvetic  government  into 
consternation.  At  Berne  they  knew  not  what  to 
do,  tlireatened  as  they  vvere  by  the  approaching 
rupture  of  the  armistice,  and  an  insurrecti(jn  of 


the  peasants  of  Oberland.  Some  members  of  the 
government  proposed  the  sacrifice  of  M.  Dolder, 
the  landamman,  and  head  of  the  moderate  party, 
who  under  this  title  was  detested  equally  by  the 
oligarchs  and  the  unitarian  patriots.  Both  the 
one  and  the  other  promising  to  become  tranquil 
upon  this  condition.  They  went  to  citizen  Dolder, 
and  committing  a  sort  of  violence  upon  him,  ob- 
tained his  resignation,  which  he  had  the  weak.:ess 
to  give  up  to  them.  The  senate,  behaving  with 
moi'e  firmness,  refused  to  accept  his  resignation; 
but  citizen  Dolder  persisted  in  giving  it.  Then 
they  had  recourse  to  the  means  ordinarily  adopted 
in  assemblies  that  know  not  what  resolution  they 
shall  come  to.  They  named  an  extraordinary 
commission,  authorized  to  discover  the  best  means 
to  be  adopted.  But  at  this  moment  the  armis- 
tice was  bi'oken  ;  the  insurgents  advanced  upon 
Berne,  obliging  general  Andermatt  to  retii-e  be- 
fore them.  These  insurgents  were  composed  of 
peasants,  to  tlie  number  of  fifteen  hundred  or  two 
thousand,  carrying  crucifixes  and  carbines,  and 
preceded  by  the  soldiers  of  the  Swiss  regiments, 
formerly  in  the  service  of  France,  old  wrecks  of 
the  10th  of  August.  They  soon  appeared  at  the 
gates  of  Berne,  firing  some  rounds  of  cannon  with 
the  bad  pieces  they  had  drawn  after  them.  The 
municipality  of  Berne,  under  the  pretext  of  saving 
the  city,  interfered  and  negotiated  a  capitulation. 
It  was  agreed  that  the  government,  in  order  not 
to  expose  Berne  to  the  horrors  of  being  stormed, 
should  retire  with  the  troops  of  general  Andermatt 
into  the  Pays  de  Vaud.  This  capitulation  was 
immediately  executed;  the  government  pro'-cedod 
to  Lausanne,  where  it  was  followed  by  the  French 
minister.  Its  troops,  concentrated  since  it  had 
ceded  the  country  to  the  insui-gents,  were  at  Payern, 
to  the  number  of  four  tliousand  men,  very  well 
disposed,  encouraged,  besides,  by  the  dispositions 
which  prevailed  in  the  Pays  de  Vaud;  but  they 
were  incapable  of  reconquering  Berne. 

The  oligarchic  party  soon  established  itself  at 
Berne,  and  to  make  the  state  of  things  more  com- 
plete, reinstated  the  "avoyer,"  or  magistrate,  who 
was  on  duty  in  1798,  at  the  same  epoch  when  the 
first  revolution  took  place.  This  avoyer  was  M. 
de  Mulinen.  There  wanted  nothing  then  to  this 
counter-revolution,  neither  the  foundation,  nor  the 
form ;  and  without  the  silly  illusions  of  parties, 
without  the  ridiculous  reports,  spread  abroad  in 
Switzerland,  on  the  unfounded  want  of  power  in 
the  French  government,  it  is  impossible  to  com- 
prehend an  attempt  so  exceedingly  extravagant. 

Still  things  being  brought  to  this  point,  it  was 
not  possible  to  count  much  longer  upon  the  pa- 
tience of  tiie  first  consul.  The  two  governments 
sitting  at  Lausanne  and  Berne,  both  came  to  the 
resolution  of  despatcliing  envoys  to  him  ;  the  one 
party  to  supplicate  for  his  intervention,  the  other 
to  conjure  him  to  do  notiiing  in  their  affairs.  The 
envoy  of  the  oligarcliical  government  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  same  family  of  Mulinen.  He  was  com- 
missioned to  renew  those  promises  of  good  conduct 
of  which  M.  Reding  had  been  so  prodigal,  and 
which  he  had  so  badly  kept,  as  to  confer  at  the 
same  time  with  the  ambassadors  of  all  the  powers 
at  Paris,  and  to  put  Switzerland  under  theu-  special 
protection. 

Supplications  to  do  or  not  to  do,  were  henceforth 


Resolutions  taken  by 
Bonaparte  respect- 
ing Switzerland. 


RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENS. 


The  French  troops 

marrh   towards        437 
Switzerland. 


useless,  made  to  the  fii-st  consul.  In  presence  of  a 
flagrant  counter-revolution,  which  liad  for  its  ob- 
ject to  deliver  over  the  Alps  to  the  enemies  of 
France,  he  was  not  the  man  to  hesitate  about 
action.  He  refused  to  receive  the  agent  of  the 
oligarchical  govenmient ;  but  he  answered  the 
intermediate  party,  ordei-ing  him  to  say  to  the 
agent  of  Berne,  that  his  resolution  was  taken  :  "  I 
cease,"  said  he,  "  to  be  neuter  and  inactive.  I  have 
wished  to  respect  the  independence  of  Switzerland, 
and  to  spare  the  suscepiibiiitits  of  Europe;  I  pushed 
my  scruples  to  a  real  fault  in  the  retreat  of  the 
French  troops.  But  that  is  condescension  enough 
for  the  enemies  of  France.  As  long  as  I  have  seen 
in  Switzerland  any  conflicts  which  could  alone  ter- 
minate in  rendering  one  party  a  little  stronger  than 
another,  I  have  thought  it  my  duty  to  leave  it  to 
itself;  but  now,  when  a  privileged  counter-revolu- 
tion is  agitated,  accom|plished  by  soldiers  for- 
merly in  the  service  of  the  Bourbons,  and  since 
passed  into  the  pay  of  England,  I  will  not  suffer 
myself  to  be  cheated.  If  these  insurgents  wish  to 
keep  me  under  an  illusion,  they  nmst  let  their  con- 
duct be  marked  with  a  little  more  dissimulation, 
and  not  place  at  the  head  of  their  colunms  the 
soldiers  of  the  regiment  of  Bachmann.  I  will  not 
suffer  a  counter-revolution  any  where,  neither  in 
Switzerland,  Italy,  Holland,  nor  in  France  itself. 
I  will  not  deliver  over  to  fifteen  hundred  mercena- 
ries, paid  by  England,  '  the  formidable  bastions  of 
those  Alps,'  that  the  European  coalition  was  in  two 
campaigns  unable  to  snatch  from  our  toil-worn 
soldiers.  They  speak  to  me  of  the  will  of  the 
Swiss  people;  I  cannot  see  it  in  the  will  of  two 
hundred  aristocratical  families.  I  esteem  that 
brave  people  too  much  to  believe  that  they  wish  to 
be  under  such  a  yoke.  But  in  any  case,  there  is 
something  which  1  place  to  more  account  than  the 
will  of  the  Swiss  people,  and  that  is  the  safety  of 
forty  millions  of  souls  over  whom  I  rule.  I  shall 
go  to  declare  myself  the  mediator  of  the  Helve- 
tie  confederation,  and  give  to  it  a  constitution 
founded  upon  etiual  riglils  and  the  nature  of  the 
soil.  Thirty  tiiousand  men  will  be  on  the  frontier 
to  insure  the  execution  of  my  beneficent  intentions. 
But  if,  contrary  to  my  hope,  I  am  not  able  to  se- 
cure the  repose  of  this  interesting  people,  to  whom 
I  would  fain  do  all  the  good  wiiich  they  merit,  my 
part  is  taken.  I  will  unite  to  France  all  that  part 
whicli,  by  the  soil  and  manners,  resembles  Franche- 
Comtc'  ;  I  will  unite  the  rest  to  the  mountaineers 
of  the  small  cantons,  giving  them  the  same  govern- 
ment which  they  had  in  the  fourteenth  century, 
and  thus  leave  them  to  themselves.  My  principle 
Lb  iienceforth  fixed  ;  either  Switzerland  the  friend 
of  P' ranee,  or  no  .Switzerland  at  all." 

The  first  consul  enjoined  upon  Tallcyr.and  to 
order  the  envoy  of  Berne  to  leave  Paris  in  twelve 
hours,  and  U)  inform  him  that  he  was  no  better 
able  to  serve  those  who  sent  him  any  where  than  ho 
would  be  at  Berne,  by  counselling  them  to  separate 
that  moment,  if  they  would  not  bring  a  French  army 
int<i  Switzerland.  He  then  wrote  with  his  own 
hand  a  proclamation  to  the  Helvetic  people,  sliort 
and  energetic,  couched  in  the  following  terms  : — 

"Inhabitants  of  Helvetia,  you  have  oflered  for 
two  years  an  afflicting  spectacle.  Opposing  fac- 
tions iiave  HuceesHively  seized  upon  the  govern- 
ment ;  they  have  signalized  their  inilc  by  a  system 


of  partiality  which  proves  their  feebleness  and 
incompetency. 

''  In  the  course  of  the  year  x.,  your  government 
desired  that  the  small  number  of  French  troops 
that  were  in  Helvetia  should  be  withdrawn.  The 
French  government  voluntarily  seized  upon  the 
occasion  to  do  honour  to  your  independence  ;  but 
soon  afterwards  your  different  parties  became  agi- 
tated with  fresh  fury  :  the  blood  of  the  Swiss 
flowed  by  the  hands  of  the  Swiss. 

"  You  have  disputed  among  yourselves  for  three 
years  withdut  understanding  each  other.  If  you 
are  left  much  longer  to  yourselves,  you  will  de- 
stroy each  other  for  three  years  to  come,  without 
coming  to  an  understanding.  Your  history  proves 
besides,  that  your  intestine  wars  you  have  never 
been  able  to  terminate  w  ithout  the  intervention  of 
France. 

"  It  is  true  that  I  had  determined  not  to  mingle 
myself  in  your  affairs  ;  I  have  seen  constantly  your 
different  rulers  demand  advice  of  me  and  not  fol- 
low it,  and  sometimes  abuse  my  name,  according  to 
their  interests  or  their  passions.  But  I  am  not 
able,  nor  ought  I  to  remain  insensible  to  the  mis- 
chief of  which  you  are  a  prey;  I  recall  my  deter- 
mination. I  will  be  the  mediator  of  your  dififer- 
ences  ;  but  my  mediation  shall  be  efficacious,  such 
as  will  be  consonant  with  the  great  people  in  the 
name  of  which  I  speak." 

To  this  noble  preamble  were  joined  certain  im- 
perative dispositions.  Five  days  after  the  notifica- 
tion of  this  proclamation,  the  government  which 
had  taken  refuge  at  Lausanne  had  transported 
itself  to  Berne,  the  insurrectional  government  had 
dissolved  itself,  all  the  assembled  armies,  except 
that  of  general  Andermatt,  had  dispersed  them- 
selves, and  the  soldiers  of  the  old  Swiss  regiments 
had  deposited  their  arms  in  the  coiumimes  to 
which  they  belonged.  In  fine,  all  those  men  who 
had  exercised  public  functions  for  three  years,  to 
whatever  party  they  belonged,  were  invited  to 
come  to  Paris,  in  order  to  confer  with  the  first 
consul  on  the  best  means  to  terminate  the  troubles 
of  their  country. 

The  first  consul  ordered  his  aide-de-camp,  colo- 
nel Rapp,  to  go  immediately  to  Switzerland,  in 
order  to  carry  the  proclamation  to  all  the  legal  or 
insurrectionary  authorities,  to  proceed  first  to  Lau- 
sanne, then  to  Berne,  Zurich,  and  Lucerne;  every 
where,  in  fact,  where  he  found  there  was  any 
resistance  to  be  overcome.  Colonel  Rapp  was 
besides  to  concert  measures  for  the  movement  of 
the  troops  with  general  Ney,  who  conunanded 
them.  Orders  were  already"  issued  for  the  troops 
to  march.  The  first  detachment  assembled  at 
Geneva,  was  drawn  from  the  Valais,  from  Savoy, 
and  the  departments  of  the  Rhone,  and  consisted 
of  seven  or  eight  thousand  men.  Six  tltousand 
were  united  at  Pontarlicr,  six  thousand  at  Hunin- 
guen  and  Bale.  A  division  of  equal  force  was 
concentrated  in  the  Italian  republic,  in  order  to 
be  introduced  into  Switzerland  by  the  Italian  bail- 
wicks.  General  Ney  was  to  wait  at  Geneva  the 
advices  that  he  would  receive  from  colonel  Rapp, 
and  at  the  first  signal  from  the  colonel,  march  into 
the  Pays  do  Vaud  with  the  colnimi  formed  at  Ge- 
neva, joining  in  its  march  that  which  had  penc- 
tnited  by  PontJirliir,  and  so  to  march  upon  Berne 
witli  twelve  or  fifteen  thousand  men.     The  troops 


The  French  army  enters 
43o        Switzerland. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


English  intrigues  with  ,„., 
Austria  respecting  "  ' 
Switzerland. 


Nov. 


coming  from  Bale  had  orders  to  join  in  the  smaller 
cantons  tlie  detachment  which  would  arrive  by  the 
Italian  bailwicks. 

All  these  dispositions  were  arranged  with  extra- 
ordinary promptitude,  because  in  forty-eight  hours 
the  resolution  was  taken,  the  proclamation  drawn 
up,  and  the  order  to  march  expedited  to  all  the 
different  corps,  in  which  time  colonel  Rapp  had  set 
off  for  Switzerland.  The  first  consul  awaited  with 
audacious  tranquillity  the  efTeet  which  would  be 
produced  in  Europe  by  so  bold  a  resolution,  which, 
added  to  all  that  he  had  done  in  Italy  and  in 
Germany,  contributed  to  render  yet  more  apparent 
a  power  that  already  obscured  all  eyes.  But  let 
what  would  result,  even  war  itself,  his  resolution 
was  an  act  of  wisdom,  because  he  performed  it  for 
the  purpose  of  keeping  the  Alps  out  of  the  reach 
of  an  European  coalition.  Energy  employed  iu 
the  service  of  prudence,  is  the  finest  spectacle  that 
can  be  presented  in  the  science  of  politics. 

The  agent  of  the  Bernese  oligarchy  sent  to  Paris, 
had  not  missed,  seeing  himself  so  rudely  received, 
addressing  himself  to  the  ambassadors  of  the  courts 
of  Austria,  Russia,  Prussia,  and  England.  M. 
Markoff",  although  he  every  day  declaimed  against 
the  conduct  of  France  in  Europe,  did  not  of  himself 
dare  to  reply.  All  the  other  representatives  of  the 
powers  were  also  silent,  except  Mr.  Merry,  the 
minister  of  England.  The  last,  after  having  a 
conference  with  the  envoy  of  Berne,  immediately 
despatched  a  courier,  in  order  to  inform  his  court 
of  all  which  had  passed  in  Switzerland,  and  to 
announce  that  the  Bernese  government  formally 
invoked  the  protection  of  England. 

The  courier  of  Mr.  Merry  arrived  at  lord 
Hawkesbury's  at  the  same  time  that  the  French 
papers  i-eached  London.  Immediately  there  was 
wotliing  but  a  cry  all  over  England  in  favour  of  the 
brave  ])eople  of  Helvetia,  who  were  defending,  it 
was  said,  their  religion  and  liberty  against  a  barba- 
rous oppressor.  This  emotion,  which  we  have  seen 
in  our  own  d.iys  communicated  to  the  whole  of 
Europe,  in  favour  of  the  Greeks  massacred  by  the 
Turks,  they  affected  to  feel  in  England  for  the 
Bernese  oligarchy,  that  had  been  exciting  the  un- 
happy peasants  to  arm  in  behalf  of  their  aristocra- 
tical  privileges.  They  affected  in  England  great 
zeal  for  the  Swiss,  and  opened  subscriptions  for 
them.  Still  the  emotion  was  too  factitious  to  be 
general  ;  it  did  not  descend  below  the  elevated 
classes,  who  ordinarily  set  themselves  in  agitation 
upon  the  political  affairs  of  the  day.  Grenville, 
Windham,  and  Dundas  commenced  in  turn  to 
alarm  the  jjublic  mind,  and  attacked  with  fresh 
vehemence  that  which  they  denominated  the  fee- 
bleness of  Addington.  Parliament  was  about  to  be 
dissolved  and  to  be  again  assembled,  in  consequence 
of  a  general  election.  The  English  cabinet,  between 
the  Pitt  party,  which  began  sensibly  to  withdraw 
its  support  from  the  measures  of  Addington,  and 
the  Fox  party  that,  somewhat  milder  since  the 
peace  liad  been  concluded,  did  not  cease  to  be  its 
opponent,  was  at  a  loss  to  know  where  it  should 
look  for  support.  It  very  much  dreaded  the  first 
meeting  of  the  new  parliament,  and  it  deemed 
itself  bound  to  take  certain  diplomatic  steps,  that 
might  serve  as  arguments  to  be  used  against  its 
adversaries. 

The  first  step  thus  undertaken  was  to  transmit 


a  note  to  Paris,  to  remonstrate  in  favour  of  Swiss 
independence,  and  to  protest  against  all  active 
intervention  on  the  part  of  France.  This  was  not 
a  mode  to  put  a  stop  to  the  proceedings  of  the 
first  consul,  and  was  only  a  means  of  simply  ex- 
citing an  exchange  of  disagreeable  communica- 
tions. But  the  cabinet  of  Addington  did  not 
sto])  here  ;  it  sent  an  agent  to  the  spot,  j\Ir.  Moore, 
with  a  commibsion  to  see  and  come  to  an  under- 
standing with  the  insurgent  leaders,  in  order  to' 
judge  whether  they  wei-e  well  resolved  to  defend 
themselves,  and  to  offer  them  in  that  case  pe- 
cuniary aid  from  England.  He  had  an  order  for 
the  purchase  of  arms  in  Germany,  that  they 
might  be  sent  forward  to  them.  This  j>roceed- 
ing  was,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  neither  in  good 
faith,  nor  easy  to  be  justified.  Communications, 
fe'till  more  serious  in  import,  were  addressed  to  the 
Austrian  court,  in  order  to  awaken  its  old  aversion, 
and  to  iri'itate  its  recent  resentment  against 
France  in  consequence  of  the  affairs  of  Germany, 
and,  above  all,  to  alai'm  it  on  account  of  the  fron- 
tiers of  the  Alps?.  It  went  so  far  as  to  offer  Austria 
a  subsidy  of  100,000,000  florins,  or  225,000,000  f. 
if  she  would  take  a  decided  part  in  behalf  of 
Switzerland.  This  is,  at  least,  the  information 
which  was  sent  to  Paris  by  M.  Haugwitz  himself, 
who  had  taken  great  care  to  observe  every  thing 
passing  wjiich  could  in  any  way  be  of  moment  to 
the  maintenance  of  peace.  A  less  open  attempt 
was  made  on  the  emperor  Alexander,  who  was 
well  known  to  be  deeply  enough  engaged  in. 
supporting  the  policy  of  France,  in  pursuance  of 
the  mediation  which  both  had  exercised  at  Ralisbon. 
England  took  no  account  of  the  Prussian  cabinet, 
which  was  then  notoriously  attached  to  the  first 
consul,  and  which  on  that  account  was  treated  with 
I'eserve  and  coldness. 

These  proceedings  of  the  British  cabinet,  how- 
ever little  agreeable  they  were  in  a  period  of  per- 
fect peace,  could  not  then  have  any  material 
consequence,  because  that  cabinet  had  found  all 
the  courts  of  the  continent  more  or  less  leagued 
in  the  policy  of  the  first  consul ;  the  one,  as  with 
Russia,  because  they  were  at  jjresent  associated  in 
his  labours,  the  others,  as  Prussia  and  Austria, 
because  they  were  at  the  moment  endeavouring  to 
obtain  from  him  advantages  altogether  personal. 
It  was,  in  fact,  the  moment  when  Austria  solicited 
and  ftnished  by  obtaining  an  extension  of  indemni- 
ties in  favour  of  the  archduke  of  Tuscany.  But 
the  English  cabinet  conmiitted  a  much  more  serious 
act,  and  one  wiiich  had  at  a  later  period  the  most 
momentous  consequences.  The  order  to  evacuate 
Egypt  had  been  sent  out  ;  that  for  evacuating 
Malta  had  not  been  yet  forwarded.  The  delay  so 
far  arose  from  excusable  motives,  and  was  more 
imputable  to  the  French  tlij^n  to  the  English 
chancellory.  Talleyrand,  as  must  be  borne  in  mind, 
had  neglected  to  complete  the  sequel  to  one  of  the 
stipulations  of  the  treaty  of  Amiens.  This  stipu- 
lati<m  purported  that  a  demand  was  to  be  made  on 
Prussia,  Russia,  Austria,  and  Spain,  for  their  con- 
sent to  guarantee  the  new  order  of  things  esta- 
blished at  jMalta.  From  the  first  days  of  the 
signature  of  the  treaty,  the  English  ministers 
jiressed  to  obtain  this  guai'antee,  beibre  the  evacua- 
tion of  Malta,  had  shown  tlie  greatest  activity  in 
endeavouring  to  obtain  it  from  all  these  courts. 


1303. 
Nov. 


Neglect  respecting 
guardiitce  of 
Malta. 


RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENS. 


English  ministry 
remonstrate 
with  France. 


439 


Bat  the  French  agents  had  received  no  instructions 
frona  their  government.  JI.  de  Cliampagny  hud 
tlie  prudence  to  act  at  Vienna  as  if  he  had  re- 
ceived tiic  order,  and  the  guarantee  of  Austria  was 
given.  The  young  emperor  of  Russia,  on  tiie  con- 
trary, partaking  very  httle  in  the  passion  of  his 
father  for  any  thing  which  comerned  the  order  of 
St.  Joini  of  Jerusalem,  thought  the  guarantee 
wliich  liad  been  demanded  of  him  a  bui'densomc 
thing,  because  it  might,  sooner  or  hiter,  draw  him 
into  the  obligation  of  tiiking  a  part  against  one 
power  or  the  other,  against  either  France  or  Eng- 
land, and  he  was  not  then  well  disposed  to  give 
what  was  thus  demanded  of  him.  Theamlassador 
of  France  having  no  instructions  to  sicond  the 
English  minister  in  the  business,  would  not  ven- 
ture to  act  in  the  matter,  and  the  Russian  cabinet 
was  thus  not  pressed  to  explain  itself,  and  took 
advantage  of  that  circumstiince  to  give  no  answer 
at  ail.  The  same  circumstance,  and  from  the  same 
motive,  occurred  at  Berlin.  Owing  to  tiiis  negli- 
gence, prolonged  for  many  months,  the  question  of 
the  guarantee  had  remained  in  su.spense,  and  the 
English  ministers,  without  any  ill  intention,  were 
fully  authorized  to  defer  the  evacuation.  The 
Neapolitiin  garrison,  wliich,  according  to  the  treaty, 
WHS  to  be  sent  to  Malta,  to  be  there  during  tlie 
time  of  the  reconstitution  of  the  order,  had  been 
received  and  landed,  but  it  remained  wiihoutside 
of  the  fortifications.  The  French  chancellory  was 
at  liist  set  ill  motion,  but  it  was  too  late.  This 
time  the  emperor  of  Russia,  upon  being  pressed 
for  an  explanation,  refused  his  guarantee.  An- 
other embarrassment  had  supervened.  The  grand 
master  nominated  by  the  pope,  the  bailly  Riispoli, 
alarmed  at  the  fate  of  his  predecessor,  M.  Hom- 
pesch,  seeing  too  that  the  cliarge  of  the  oi-der  of 
Malta  no  longer  consisted  in  combating  the  in- 
fidels, but  in  holding  the  balance  in  equilibrium 
between  two  great  maritime  nations,  with  the  cer- 
tainty ill  the  end  to  fall  a  prey  either  to  the  one  or 
the  other,  was  unwilling  to  accept  the  onerous  and 
empty  dignity  which  was  thus  tendered  to  h'm, 
and  resisted  all  the  entreaties  of  the  Roman  court, 
as  well  as  the  pressing  invitations  of  the  first 
consul. 

Such  were  the  circumstanceswhich  had  caused  the 
evacuation  of  Malta  to  be  deferred  until  November, 
1802.  Theretlien  resulted  the  dangerous  temptation 
to  the  English  cabinet  of  defening  it  yet  longer.  In 
point  of  fact,  on  the  same  day  when  its  agent 
Mo  re  left  England  for  Switzerland,  a  frigate  sailed 
for  the  .Mediterranean,  to  carry  an  order  to  the 
garri«<»n  of  .Malta  to  remain  there.  This  was  a 
BerioUH  fault  on  the  part  of  the  English  minister 
who  wished  to  preserve  the  peace,  because  it 
went  to  excite  in  England  a  national  covetousness, 
which  no  one  would  be  able  to  resist  after  being 
once  excited.  What  wa-s  more,  it  was  a  formal 
breach  of  the  treaty  of  Amiens,  in  presence  of  an 
adversary  who  had  taken  a  pride  in  executing 
it  with  piiiKrtiiality,  and  who  had  set  himself  yet 
further  upon  sj-eing  that  it  was  executed  by  all 
who  had  signed  it.  It  was  a  conduct  at  the  same 
time  imprudent  and  irregular. 

The    retnoiistraiiccs    of   the    British    cabinet    in 
favour  of  the   independenc<*   of   Switzerland  were 
very  ba<lly  received  in  the  Fn-nch  cabinet,  and  the  \ 
consequences  uf  this  bad  reception  it  wsia  easy  to  1 


foresee  ;  the  first  consul  was  not  for  a  moment 
shaken.  He  persisted  more  than  ever  in  his  reso- 
lution. He  reiterated  his  orders  to  general  Ney, 
and  prescribed  to  him  the  most  prompt  and  de- 
cisive execution  of  them.  He  desired  to  prove  that 
this  pretended  national  movement  of  the  Swiss  was 
no  more  than  a  ridiculous  attempt,  provoked 
through  the  interest  of  certain  families,  and  as 
soon  repressed  as  it  was  attempted. 

He  was  convinced  that  he  obeyed  in  this  in- 
stance a  grand  national  interest ;  but  he  was  again 
excited  to  it  by  a  species  of  defiance  wliich  was 
thrown  at  him  in  the  face  of  Europe,  because  the 
insurgents  said  loudly,  and  their  envoys  every 
where  repeated,  that  the  first  consul  had  his  hands 
bound,  and  that  he  would  not  venture  to  act.  The 
reply,  addressed  by  his  orders  to  lord  Hawkesbury, 
had  something  of  the  truth  in  it,  which  was  very 
extraordinary.  It  is  here  given  in  substance, 
without  imagining  that  it  will  be  ever  imitated  : 
'•  You  are  desired  to  declare,"  wrote  Talleyrand  to 
M.  Otto,  "  that  if  the  British  ministry,  for  the  in- 
terest of  its  parliamentary  situation,  has  recourse 
to  any  notification  or  any  publication,  from  which 
it  niiiy  be  inferred  that  the  first  consul  has  not 
done  such  or  such  a  thing,  because  he  has  been 
prevented,  at  that  very  moment  he  will  not  fail  to 
do  it.  In  other  respects,  as  to  Switzerland,  what- 
ever may  be  said  or  not  said,  his  resolution  is 
irrevocable.  He  will  not  deliver  the  Alps  to  fif- 
teen hundred  mercenaries  in  the  pay  of  England. 
He  will  not  have  Switzerland  converted  into  an- 
other Jersey.  The  first  consul  has  no  desire  for 
war,  because  he  believes  that  the  French  people 
will  find  in  tiic  extension  of  their  commerce  as 
much  advantage  as  in  the  extension  of  their  teri'i- 
tory.  But  no  consideration  shall  arrest  it  if  the 
honour  or  the  interest  of  the  republic  demand  that 
he  shall  take  up  arms.  You  will  not  speak  of 
war,"  Talleyrand  wrote  to  M.  Otto,  "  but  you  will 
not  permit  that  it  shall  be  spoken  of  to  you.  The 
least  menace,  however  indirect  it  may  be,  must  be 
taken  with  tlie  greatest  haughtiness.  With  what 
kind  of  war  besides  do  you  threaten  us  ?  With  a 
maritime  war  '.  But  our  commerce  has  as  yet 
scarcely  had  time  to  renew  itself,  and  the  prizes 
which  we  shall  thus  resign  to  the  English  will  be 
of  very  small  value.  Our  West  India  islands  are 
provided  with  acclimated  soldiers  ;  St.  Domingo 
alone  contains  twenty-five  thousand.  They  will 
blockade  our  ports,  it  is  true  ;  but  at  the  same 
instant  that  war  is  declared,  England  will  find 
her.stif  blockaded  in  her  turn.  The  coasts  of 
Hanover,  Holland,  Portugal,  Italy,  as  far  as  Ta- 
rentuni,  will  be  occupied  by  our  troops.  Those 
countries  which  we  are  accused  of  governing  too 
ojieiily,  Liguria,  Lombardy,  Switzerland,  and  Hol- 
land, in  place  of  being  left  in  an  uncertain  situa- 
tion, by  which  they  occasion  us  a  thousand  embar- 
rassments, will  be  converted  into  French  provinces, 
from  which  we  shall  draw  immense  ivsources;  and 
we  shall  thus  be  forced  to  realize  that  empire 
of  the  Gauls,  with  whieli  Europe  will  never 
eea.se  to  be  attrighted.  And  what  would  nexthap- 
|)en  if  the  first  consul,  quilting  I'.nis  for  the  pur- 
po.se  of  establishing  liiinsell  at  Lillet  or  St.  Omer, 
uniting  all  the  fiat-bottomed  boats  of  Flanders  aii*l 
of  Holland,  preparing  the  nunns  of  lrans|)nrt  for  a 
hundred  thousand  men,  should  make  England  live 


Singular  demonstra- 
440  tion    of   the    first 

consul. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Angry  reply  of  the 
■   first    consul     to 
England. 


1802. 
Nov. 


in  the  fear  of  an  invasion,  always  possible,  and 
very  nearly  certain  to  be  accomplished  ?  Can 
England  support  a  continental  war  ?  But  where 
will  she  find  allies  ?  Is  it  in  Prussia  or  Bavaria, 
who  owe  to  France  the  justice  which  they  have 
obtained  in  the  territorial  arrangements  of  Ger- 
many ?  It  is  not  surely  in  Austria,  already  worn 
out  by  having  volunteered  to  serve  the  cause  of 
British  policy  ?  In  any  case,  if  the  war  on  the 
continent  be  renewed,  it  will  be  England  that  will 
have  obliged  us  to  conquer  Europe.  The  first 
consul  is  but  thirty-three,  he  has  not  yet  destroyed 
any  states  but  those  of  the  second  order.  Who 
knows  what  he  may  be  made  to  do  in  time,  if 
he  is  forced,  to  change  anew  the  face  of  Europe, 
and  resuscitate  the  empire  of  the  west !" 

All  the  miseries  of  Europe,  and  all  those  of 
France,  were  contained  in  these  formidable  words, 
which  it  might  be  believed  were  written  after  the 
blow  was  struck,  they  are  so  very  prophetic^. 
Thus  it  was  that  the  lion  become  full  grown,  felt 
his  strength,  and  made  himself  ready  to  exert  it. 
Covered  by  the  barrier  of  the  ocean,  England  was 
pleased  thus  to  excite  him.  But  this  barrier  it 
was  not  impossible  to  pass  over  ;  it  wanted  but 
very  little  that  it  was  not  passed  ;  and  if  it  had 
been,  England  had  bitterly  mourned  the  excite- 
ment to  which  she  had  been  carried  by  an  in- 
curable jealousy.  It  was,  besides,  a  cruel  policy 
in  regai'd  to  the  continent,  because  that  had  to 
suffer  all  the  consequences  of  a  war  provoked,  on 
its  own  part,  without  reason  or  justice. 

M.  Otto  had  ordei's  neither  to  speak  of  Malta 
nor  of  Egypt,  because  it  was  not  to  be  even  sup- 
posed tliat  England  would  violate  a  solemn  treaty 
signed  in  the  face  of  the  whole  world.  He  was 
limited  to  the  circumscription  of  the  wjiole  of  the 
French  policy  in  these  words  :  "  All  the  treaty  of 
Amiens  ;  nothing  but  the  treaty  of  Amiens." 

M.  Otto,  who  was  a  very  discreet  individual,  and 
very  submissive  to  the  first  consul,  but  capable,  in 
regard  to  a  useful  object,  of  putting  a  little  of  his 
own  discretion  into  the  performance  of  the  orders 
he  received,  softened  very  considerably  the  haughty 
words  dictated  by  his  government.  Nevertheless, 
even  with  this  softened  reply,  he  much  embarrassed 
lord  Hawkesbury,  who,  alarmed  at  the  approach- 
ing meeting  of  parliament,  wished  to  have  had 
something  satisfactory  to  say.  He  therefore  in- 
sisted on  having  a  note,  which  ]M.  Otto  had  ordei's 
to  decline  giving,  and  consequently  refused  him, 
declaring,  at  the  same  time,  that  the  meeting  of 
the  principal  citizens  of  Switzerland  at  Paris  had 
by  no  means  for  an  object  the  imitation  of  the 
ceremony  which  had  taken  place  at  Lyons, 
where  the  Italian  consulta  was  held  there,  but 
merely  to  give  to  the  Swiss  a  wise  constitution, 
based  upon  justice,  and  adapted  to  the  nature  of 
the  country,  witliout  suffering  one  party  to  triumph 
over  another.  Lord  Hawkesbury,  who  during 
tliis  conference  with  M.  Otto  was  expected  by  the 
English  cabinet,  assembled  at  this  moment  to  re- 
ceive the  answer  of  France,  felt  himself  much 
troubled  and  discontented.     To  the  declaration  : 


'  The  despatch  here  spoken  about,  and  of  which  the  sub- 
stance is  thus  given,  is  dated  the  1st  of  Brumaire,  year  x. ; 
it  is  written  by  Talleyrand  to  M.  Otto,  under  the  dictation 
of  the  first  consul. 


"  All  the  treaty  of  Amiens,  nothing  but  the  treaty 
of  Amiens,"  of  which  he  well  comprehended  the 
drift,  because  it  made  the  allusion  to  Malta,  he 
replied  by  another  maxim  as  follows  :  "  The  state 
of  tlie  continent  at  the  epoch  of  the  treaty  of 
Amiens,  nothing  but  that  state." 

This  manner  of  placing  the  question  provolced, 
on  the  other  side  from  the  first  consul,  a  reply 
immediate  and  to  the  purpose.  "  France,"  said 
Talleyrand,  by  his  orders,  "  France  is  ready  to 
accept  the  conditions  proposed  by  lord  Hawkes- 
bury. At  the  time  of  the  signature  (5f  the  treaty 
of  Amiens,  France  had  ten  thousand  men  in  Swit- 
zerland, thirty  thousand  in  Piedmont,  forty  thou- 
sand in  Italy,  and  twelve  thousand  in  Holland — is 
it  desired  that  all  these  shall  be  placed  upon  the 
same  footing  again  ?  At  this  time  the  offer  was 
made  to  England  to  place  her  in  an  understanding 
upon  the  affairs  of  the  continent,  but  it  was  upon 
the  condition  that  she  should  acknowledge  and 
guarantee  the  states  newly  constituted.  She  re- 
fused this  ;  she  chose  to  remain  a  stranger  to  the 
kingdom  of  Etruria,  and  to  the  Italian  and  Ligu- 
rian  republics.  She  had  thus  the  advantage  of 
n(jt  giving  her  guarantee  to  the  new  states,  but 
then  she  lost  also  the  right  to  mix  herself  up 
afterwards  in  what  concerned  them.  In  other 
respects,  she  knew  all  that  was  already  done,  all 
that  was  to  be  effected.  She  knew  of  the  presi- 
dency conferred  by  the  Italian  republic  upon  the 
first  consul ;  she  was  well  aware  of  the  design  to 
unite  Piedmont  to  France,  seeing  that  it  had  been 
refused  when  an  indemnity  was  demanded  for  the 
king  of  Sardinia,  and  in  the  front  of  all  she  signed 
the  treaty  of  Amiens  !  Of  what  then  does  England 
complain  ?  She  sti;  ulated  one  single  thing,  the 
evacuation  of  Tarei^tum  in  three  months,  and 
Tarentum  was  evacuated  in  two.  Then  in  regard 
to  Switzerland,  it  was  w  ull  known  that  France  had 
laboured  to  constitute  the  government  there,  and 
was  it  to  be  im:i;:iiied  by  any  one  that  France 
would  suffer  a  counter-revolution  to  be  effected 
in  that  country  ?  But  in  any  case,  even  under  the 
view  of  strict  right,  what  is  there  to  object  to  it  ? 
The  Helvetian  government  had  claimed  the  media- 
tion of  France.  The  little  eantons  had  also  claimed 
that  mediation,  by  demanuing,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  first  consul,  the  estal  lishmentof  their  rela- 
tions with  the  central  authority.  The  citizens  of 
all  the  parties,  even  those  of  the  oligarchical  party, 
as  M.  de  Mulinen  and  M.  d'Affry,  are  in  Paris 
conferring  with  the  first  consul.  Are  the  affairs  of 
Germany  new  to  England  ?  Are  they  not  the 
literal  execution  of  the  treaty  of  Lune'ville,  well 
known  to  the  world,  having  been  published  before 
the  treaty  of  Amiens  ?  Wherefoi-e  has  England 
signed  the  arrangements  adopted  in  regard  to 
Germany,  if  she  thought  it  was  a  wrong  step  to 
secularize  that  country  ?  Why  did  the  king  of 
Hanover,  who  is  also  king  of  England — why  did 
lie  approve  of  the  Germanic  negotiation,  by  ac- 
cepting the  bishopric  of  Osuabruck  1  Wherefore, 
besides,  was  it  that  the  house  of  Hanover  was  so 
largely  endowed  out  of  the  indemnities,  if  it  was 
not  in  consideration  of  England  ?  The  British 
cabinet  lias  not  for  six  months  mingled  itself  up 
in  the  affairs  of  the  continent;  it  chooses  to  do 
so  now  ;  let  it  do  as  it  pleases.  But  has  it  more 
interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  continent  than  Prussia 


Angry  reply  of  the 
tiist  consul  to 
England. 


RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENt 


441 


Russia,  or  Austria  I  Very  well,  tlien  these  three 
powers  give  in  their  adhesion  at  that  moment  to 
all  that  is  passing  in  Germany.  How  is  England 
more  able  to  judge  of  the  interests  of  the  continent 
than  these  states?  It  is  true  that  in  the  great 
Germanic  negotiations,  the  name  of  the  king  of 
England  has  not  appeared.  There  is  no  question 
about  that,  and  it  may  perhaps  mortify  his  people, 
who  desire  to  hold,  and  who  have  a  right  to  hold, 
a  great  place  in  Europe.  But  whose  fault  was  it, 
if  not  that  of  En^lanil  hei-self  ?  The  first  consul 
desired  nothing  better  than  that  friendship  and 
confidence  should  be  exhibited,  to  resolve  in 
common  with  England  the  great  questions  that  he 
had  settled  in  unison  with  Russia  ;  still  for  friend- 
ship and  confidence  shown  there  must  be  some 
return.  But  he  finds  shouted  in  England  only 
cries  of  hatred  towards  France.  They  say  that 
the  English  constitution  is  the  reason  why  things 
are  so.  So  be  it  ;  but  that  cimstitution  does  not 
command  that  there  be  suffered  to  live  in  London 
French  pamphleteers,  the  inventors  of  the  infernal 
machine,  or  that  the  reception  and  treatment  of  the 
Bourbon  priucts  should  be  with  all  the  honours 
due  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  members  of  that 
house.  When  England  shall  show  better  feelings 
towards  the  first  consul,  lie  will  be  brought  to 
exhibit  other  feelings  also,  and  to  divide  with 
England  that  European  influence  which  he  has 
hitherto  partaken  with  Russia." 

Unknowing  whether  or  not  our  patriotic  sen- 
timents obscure  our  eyes,  most  assuredly,  in 
searching  out  the  truth,  without  sutt'ering  national 
considerations  to  prevail,  it  seems  to  us  that  there 
is  no  reply  to  be  made  to  the  vigorous  reasoning  of 
the  first  consul.  England,  when  signing  the  treaty 
of  Amiens,  was  not  at  all  in  ignorance  that  the 
influence  of  France  domineered  in  the  bordering 
states,  in  Italy,  Switzerland,  and  Holland,  occupied 
too  by  her  troops,  nor  that  France  was  about  to 
proceed  to  the  settlement  of  the  German  indemni- 
ties; England  was  not  ignorant  of  these  things,  and 
pre&sed  to  make  peace,  she  signed  it  at  Amiens, 
without  at  all  embarrassing  herself  with  the  inter- 
ests of  the  continent.  Yet  as  soon  as  the  peace  had 
less  attraction  in  her  view  than  during  the  earlier 
days  after  it  was  concluded  ;  now  that  her  com- 
merce found  none  of  the  advantages  which  she 
had  at  first  hoped  for  ;  now  that  the  party  of  Pitt 
began  again  to  lift  its  head  ;  now,  finally,  that  a 
calm  succeeding  to  the  agitations  of  the  war,  per- 
mitted lier  to  perceive  more  distinctly  the  power 
and  the  glory  of  France,  England  was  seized  with 
a  fit  of  jealousy,  and  without  the  power  to  produce 
any  single  violatiou  of  the  treaty  of  Amiens,  she 
ventured  the  thought  of  its  violation  upon  her 
own  part,  in  the  most  audacious  and  unheard  of 
manner. 

It  would  seem  that  M.  Haugwitz,  with  his  rare 
correctness  of  judgment,  had  well  appreciated  the 
British  cabinet,  when  u])on  one  occasion  he  re- 
marked to  the  French  ambassador,  "That  feeble 
minister,  Addington,  was  so  pressed  to  conclude 
a  peace,  that  he  pjuiscd  over  every  thing  without 
making  any  objection  ;  he  now  perceives  that 
France  is  great  and  powerful,  that  siio  draws 
consequences  from  her  greatness,  and  he  would 
tear  to  pieces  the  treaty  which  ho  signed," 

During  the  interchange  of  such  warm  communi- 


cations between  France  and  England,  Russia,  that 
had  received  the  remonstrances  of  the  Swiss  insur- 
gents, and  the  complaints  of  the  English  cabinet, 
had  written  to  Paris  a  very  cautious  despatch,  in 
which,  without  reproducing  any  of  the  recrimina- 
tions of  England,  she  insinuated,  notwithstanding, 
to  the  first  consul,  that  it  was  necessary  in  order 
to  preserve  the  peace,  to  calm  certain  distrusts 
excited  in  Europe  by  the  increased  power  of  the 
French  republic,  and  that  it  appertained  to  him, 
by  his  moderation,  and  by  his  respect  for  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  neighbouring  states,  to  do  away 
with  those  suspicions.  This  was  very  wise  counsel, 
that  implied  a  hint  at  Switzerland,  which  had 
nothing  of  a  nature  to  wound  the  first  consul,  and 
which  suited  well  the  character  of  the  impartial 
moderator,  a  character  that  the  young  emperor 
seemed  at  that  time  willing  to  make  the  chief 
glory  of  his  reign.  As  to  Prussia,  she  had  declared 
that  she  fully  approved  of  the  conduct  of  the  first 
consul,  in  not  suffering,  Switzerland  to  be  made  the 
focus  of  English  and  Austrian  intrigues  ;  that  he 
had  reason  for  hastening,  and  for  not  permitting 
his  enemies  to  obtain  time  to  profit  by  similar 
embarrassments  ;  that  he  would  thus  have  a  better 
reason  still,  if  he  took  away  from  them  every  pre- 
text to  complain  of  him,  and  kept  himself  from 
renewing  in  Paris  the  consulta  of  Lyons.  As  to 
Austria,  in  the  last  place,  she  affected  not  at  all  to 
mingle  lierself  up  in  the  question,  and  she  did  not 
dare  to  do  it,  having  need  of  France  still,  in  order 
to  wind  up  the  affairs  of  Germany. 

The  first  consul  was  of  the  opinion  of  his  friends: 
he  wished  to  act  quickly,  and  not  to  imitate  at 
Paris  the  consulta  of  Lyons,  that  is  to  say,  not  to 
make  himself  be  proclaimed  the  president  of  the 
Helvetian  republic.  As  to  the  rest  of  the  affair, 
this  desperate  resistance,  which  the  patriotism  of 
the  Swiss  might  oppose  to  liini,  he  said,  had  been 
only  that  which  might  be  expected,  an  extravagant 
story  of  the  emigrants.  As  soon  as  colonel  Rjtpp 
arrived  at  Lausanne,  he  presented  himself  before 
the  advanced  jjosts  of  the  insurgents,  without  being 
followed  by  a  single  soldier,  and  bringing  with  him 
only  the  proclamation  of  the  first  consul,  he  found 
all  the  party  very  well  disposed  to  submit.  General 
Bachmann  expressed  his  regret  not  to  have  had 
twenty-four  hours  more  time  left,  in  order  to  fling 
the  Helvetic  government  into  the  lake  of  Geneva; 
nevertheless,  he  retired  upon  Berne.  There, 
colonel  Rapp  found  some  disposition  to  resistance 
on  the  part  of  the  oligarchs.  This  party  wished 
France  absolutely  to  employ  force,  believing  they 
should  thus  compromise  her  with  the  other 
European  powers.  Their  desires  were  on  the 
point  of  being  satisfied,  since  force  now  arrived  in 
great  haste.  In  effect,  the  French  troops  placed 
upon  the  frontiers,  under  the  orders  of  general 
Ney,  entered  the  country,  and  from  that  moment 
the  insurrectional  government  no  longer  hesitated 
to  dissolve  itself.  The  members  of  which  it  was 
composed  withdrew  themselves,  declaring  that  they 
only  gave  way  to  force.  They  every  where  sub- 
mitted easily,  except  in  the  little  cantons,  where 
the  agitation  was  greater,  and  where,  indeed,  it 
liad  begun.  Still,  as  well  as  in  the  others,  the 
opinions  of  the  reasonable  people  prevailed  here  at 
the  ai)proach  of  tlie  French  troops,  and  all  serious 
resistance  ceased  in  their  presence.     The  French 


442   The  S^wUs  deputies  assemble  THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.      ^|jhVsv^s"rpu^ 


general  Serras,  at  the  head  of  some  battalions, 
seized  upon  Lucerne,  Stanz,  SL-hwitz,  and  Altorf. 
M.  Rediug  was  arrested  with  several  other  agita- 
tors ;  the  insurgents  suffered  themselves  to  be 
successively  disarmed.  Tiie  Helvetic  government, 
wliicli  had  taken  refuge  at  Lausanne,  returned  to 
Berne,  under  the  escort  of  general  Ney,  who  went 
thither  in  person,  followed  only  by  one  demi- 
brijrade.  For  a  few  days,  the  town  of  Constance, 
in  wliich  the  English  agent,  Moore,  had  placed 
himself,  was  full  of  emigrants  bdonging  to  tlie 
oligarchical  party,  returning  after  having  uselessly 
expended  their  money  in  England,  and  declaring 
aloud  the  ridiculous  character  of  the  whole  enter- 
prise. Mr.  Moore  returned  to  London,  to  give  an 
account  of  the  bad  success  of  this  Vende'an-Helvetic 
insurrection,  which  he  had  endeavoured  to  support 
among  the  Alps. 

This  promptitude  of  submission  had  one  great 
advantage,  since  it  proved  that  the  Swiss,  of  whose 
courage  there  could  be  no  doubt,  even  against  very 
superior  forces,  did  not  feel  bound,  either  in  honour 
or  interest,  to  resist  the  intervention  of  France. 
Tliere  thus  fell  to  the  ground  at  once  every  reason 
u])()n  which  the  remonstrance  of  England  was 
grounded.  It  was  necessary  to  achieve  this  im- 
portant work  of  the  pacification,  by  giving  a  con- 
stitution to  Switzerland;  founding  that  constitution 
upon  reason,  and  upon  tiie  nature  of  the  country. 
The  first  consul,  to  take  away  from  the  mission 
of  general  Ney  the  too  military  character  which 
it  appeared  to  possess,  conferred  upon  him,  in 
place  of  the  title  of  general-in-chief,  that  of  Fi-ench 
minister,  giving  him  at  the  same  time  very  precise 
instructions  to  conduct  himself  with  moderation 
and  mildness  towards  all  the  parties.  He  had,  be- 
sides, no  more  than  six  thousand  men  in  Switzei'- 
land;  the  rest  remained  upon  the  frontiers. 

Tlie  first  consul  assembled  at  Paris  the  indi- 
viduals of  all  shades  of  opinion,  ardent  revolutionists 
as  well  as  decided  oligarchists,  provided  they  were 
individuals  of  influence  in  the  country,  and  en- 
titled to  some  C(jnsideration.  The  revolutionists 
of  every  colour,  designated  by  the  cantons,  came 
without  hesitation.  The  oligarchs  refused  to  name 
representatives.  They  wished  to  remain  strangers 
to  all  that  was  passing  in  Pai'is,  and  thus  to  re- 
serve the  right  to  protest  against  the  proceedings 
there.  It  was  needful  that  the  first  consul  should 
designate  himself  the  parties  that  were  to  repre- 
sent them.  He  chose  several;  three  of  those 
chosen  were  very  well  known,  M.  de  Mulinen,  M. 
d'Affry,  and  M.  de  Watteville,  all  distinguished  by 
their  families,  talents,  and  characters.  These  in- 
dividuals persisted  in  not  attending.  Talleyrand 
made  them  understand  that  it  was,  on  their  part, 
only  mistaken  spite  ;  that  their  presence  was 
not  requested  with  any  view  of  making  them 
parties  to  the  sacrifice  of  opinions  which  were 
dear  to  them;  that,  on  the  contrary,  they  would 
thus  hold  the  balance  equal  between  them  and 
their  opponents;  that  they  were  good  citizens,  men 
of  understanding,  and  that  they  ought  not  to 
re'"use  to  contribute  their  aid  to  a  constitution, 
by  which  it  was  endeavoured,  in  good  truth, 
to  conciliate  all  the  legitimate  interests,  and  by 
which,  besides,  the  fate  of  their  country  would  be 
settled  for  a  long  time  to  come.  Moved  by  this 
invitation,  they  were  ia  a  good  disposition  to  re- 


strain themselves  from  the  influence  of  faction, 
and  they  answered  the  honourable  appeal  thus 
made  to  them,  by  setting  out  immediately  for 
Paris.  The  first  consul  received  them  with  great 
distinction,  informed  them  what  were  his  wishes, 
that  all  the  moderate  men  of  every  side  ought  to 
be  of  his  opinion,  because  he  wished  the  constitu- 
tion to  be  of  such  a  character  as  nature  herself 
had  designed  f<ir  the  Swiss,  that  was  to  say,  the 
old  one,  with  less  inequality  between  citizen  and 
citizen,  canton  ami  canton.  After  having  en- 
deavoured to  encourage  them,  and  particularly  the 
oligarchical  parly,  because  it  was  against  that  he 
had  been  obliged  to  employ  force,  he  designated 
four  members  of  the  senate,  Bartlielemy,  Rcederer, 
Fouche,  and  Demeunier,  and  charged  them  to 
assemble  the  Swiss  deputies,  to  confer  with  them, 
separately  or  together,  and  to  bi'ing  them  back  as 
expeditiously  as  possible  to  reasonable  views,  i-e- 
serving  to  himself  always,  it  was  to  be  clearly 
understood,  the  decision  of  those  questions,  upon 
which  they  had  been  unable  to  arrive  at  a  mutual 
agreement. 

Before  they  commenced  their  labours,  the  first 
consul  gave  an  audience  to  the  principal  of  those 
deputies,  who  were  chosen  by  their  colleagues  for 
the  purpose  of  being  there  presented,  and  he  ad- 
dressed them  in  an  off-hand  speech,  which  was 
full  of  good  sense,  of  depth,  and  of  originality  of 
language.  It  was  taken  down  at  the  instant  by 
several  persons,  in  order  to  be  transmitted  entire 
to  the  whole  deputation. 

"It  is  necessary,"  he  told  them  in  substance, 
"  to  remain  as  nature  designed  you,  that  is  to  say, 
in  a  union  of  petty  confederated  states,  different 
in  the  rule  of  your  internal  government  as  you 
differ  in  soil,  attached  the  one  to  the  other  by  a 
sim])le  federal  lien — a  lien  which  shall  neither  be 
onerous  nor  expensive.  It  is  also  necessary  to  put 
a  stop  to  the  unjust  domination  of  canton  over 
canton,  which  goes  to  render  one  territory  subject 
to  another :  the  govei'ument  of  the  aristocratic 
citizens  must  be  put  an  end  to.  This  in  the  great 
towns  occasions  one  class  to  be  subject  to  another 
class.  These  are  among  the  barbarisms  of  the 
middle  ages,  that  France,  called  upon  to  give  you 
a  constitution,  cannot  tolerate  in  your  laws.  It  is 
more  important  that  true  and  real  equality,  such 
as  that  wliich  is  the  glory  of  the  French  revo- 
lution, should  triumph  among  you,  as  it  has  done 
among  us  ;  that  every  territory,  every  citizen, 
should  be  the  equal  of  another  in  the  sight  of  the 
law  and  in  his  social  duties.  This  being  granted, 
you  will  not  admit  inequalities,  save  the  difterences 
that  nature  herself  has  established  between  you. 
I  do  not  imagine  for  you  an  uniform  and  central 
govei-nment  like  that  of  France.  None  will  per- 
suade me  that  mountaineers,  the  descendants  of 
William  Tell,  are  capable  of  being  governed  like 
the  rich  inhabitants  of  Berne  or  Zurich.  There 
must  for  the  former  be  an  absolute  democracy,  and 
a  government  without  taxation.  Pure  democracy, 
on  the  other  hand,  would  be  for  the  last  class  con- 
trary to  common  sense.  Besides,  what  good  is  a 
central  government  ?  Is  it  to  possess  greatness  ? 
It  will  no  more  come  to  you  thus,  than  through  the 
dreams  of  ambition  of  your  unitarians.  Would 
you  have  greatness  after  the  mode  of  that  in 
France  ?     It  must  then  be  a  central  government, 


Address  of  Bona- 
parte to  the  Swiss 
deputies. 


RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENS. 


richly  endowed,  having  a  permanent  army.  Would 
you  pay  for  all  this — would  you  be  able  to  do  so  I 
And  then  by  the  side  of  France,  that  counts  five 
hundred  thousand  men  ;  by  the  side  of  Austria, 
that  reckons  three  hundred  thousand  ;  or  by  that 
of  Prussia  with  two  Imndred  thousand;  what  would 
you  do  with  fifteen  or  twenty  thousand  permanent 
and  regular  troops  \  You  made  a  figure  with  great 
brilliancy  in  the  fourteenth  century  against  the 
dukes  of  Burgundy,  because  at  that  time  all  the 
states  of  Europe  were  parcelled  out,  and  their 
forces  disseminated.  To-day  Burgundy  is  hut  a 
point  in  France.  You  must  measure  your  strength 
with  France  or  with  Austria  entirely.  If  you 
desire  this  species  of  greatness,  do  you  know  what 
it  will  infallibly  do— it  will  make  you  become 
French,  confound  you  with  a  great  people,  make 
you  participator  in  the  cost  to  obtain  its  advan- 
tages, and  then  you  will  be  associated  in  all  the 
chances  of  its  high  fortunes.  But  you  do  not  wish 
it  ;  and  more,  I  am  not  willing  it  should  be  so. 
The  interest  of  Europe  connnands  very  differently. 
You  have  a  greatness  of  your  own,  and  it  is  well 
worth  any  other.  It  is  your  duty  to  be  a  neutral 
people,  wiiose  neutrality  will  be  respected  by  all 
the  world,  because  it  will  oblige  all  the  world  to 
pay  it  respect.  To  be  in  one's  own  home,  free, 
invincible,  and  re.';pected,  is  the  noblest  mode  of 
Imman  existence.  To  this  end  the  federal  system 
is  the  most  valuable.  It  has  less  of  that  unity 
which  dares,  but  it  has  more  of  that  inertia  which 
resists.  It  is  not  to  be  vanquished  in  a  day  like  a 
central  government,  because  it  resides  every  where, 
in  every  part  of  the  confederation.  For  the  same 
reason  a  militia  i.s  better  for  you  than  a  standing 
army.  You  are  bound  to  bo  all  soldiers  the 
moment  that  the  Al\is  are  threatened.  Then  the 
permanent  army  is  tlie  entire  people,  and  in  your 
mountains  your  intrepid  chasseurs  are  a  force 
respectjible  both  by  sentiments  and  numbers.  You 
need  no  soldiers  jiaid  and  permanent  like  tho.se  you 
see  exist  among  your  neighbours,  in  order  to  teach 
you  the  military  art.  A  confederation  that  leaves 
to  each  his  native  indei)endence,  the  differt-nce  of 
his  maiHiei*s,  and  of  his  soil,  such  a  confederation 
is  invincible  in  the  mountains  ;  liore  is  your  true 
moral  grandeur.  If  I  was  not  a  .sincere  friend  to 
Switzerland — if  I  thought  to  retain  it  dependant 
upon  myself,  I  should  desire  a  central  govenmient, 
which  could  unite  every  part  in  one  entire  wliole. 
In  such  a  case  I  should  say, '  do  this' — '  do  that,' 
or  I  shall  pass  your  frontiers  in  twenty-four  hours. 
A  federal  government,  on  the  contrary,  preserves 
itself  even  by  the  impossibility  of  replying  promptly; 
it  saves  itself  by  its  very  slowness  of  action.  In 
gaining  two  months  of  time,  it  escapes  from  all 
external  exigency.  But  in  wishing  to  remain  in- 
dependent, do  not  forget  that  it  is  necessary  you 
be  the  friends  of  France.  Her  friendship  is  neces- 
sary to  you  J  you  have  had  it  for  many  centuries, 
and  to  her  you  are  indebted  for  your  indepeinlencc. 
It  must  not  be  allowed,  at  any  price,  that  Switzer- 
land should  become  a  focus  of  intriguers,  and 
dumb  hostility  ;  that  she  be  to  Franche-Comte 
and  to  Alsace  that  which  the  IhIcs  of  Jersey  and 
Guernsey  arc  to  Brilany  and  La  Vendee.  She 
neither  owes  it  to  lierseU  nor  to  France.  Besides, 
I  will  never  suffer  it.  I  spi':ik  now  only  of  your 
geuei-al  constitution  :  in  that  I   have  spoken  what 


I  know.  About  your  cantonal  constitutions,  it  is 
you  who  are  to  enlighten  me,  and  to  put  me  in 
possession  of  what  you  stand  in  need.  1  will  liear 
you  ;  I  will  endeavour  to  satisfy  you  ;  by  re- 
trenching at  times  in  your  law.s  tlie  barbarous 
injustice  of  days  that  are  past.  During  all,  do  not 
forget  that  you  must  have  a  just  government, 
worthy  of  an  enlightened  age,  confoi-mable  to  tho 
nature  of  your  country,  simple,  and,  above  all, 
economical.  On  these  conditions  it  will  endure, 
and  I  wish  that  it  should  endure  ;  because,  if  the 
government  which  we  are  about  to  constitute  to- 
gether should  fail,  Euro])e  will  say  either  that 
I  have  willed  it,  in  order  to  seize  upon  Switzerland 
myself,  or  that  I  did  not  know  how  to  do  better  ; 
but  I  am  not  willing  to  leave  it  the  power  to  doubt 
my  good  faith,  any  mni-e  than  my  knowledge'." 

Such  was  the  exact  sense  of  the  words  of  the 
first  consul.  We  have  not  changed  the  languttge 
except  for  its  abridgmi  nt.  Jt  was  impossible  to 
think  with  more  strength,  justice,  or  loftiiuss. 
The  hand  was  iiumediattly  set  to  the  work.  The 
federal  constitution  was  discussed  at  a  meeting  of 
all  the  Swiss  deputies.  The  cantonal  constitutions 
were  prepared  by  the  deputies  of  each  canton 
themselves,  and  then  revised  in  the  general  as- 
sembly of  all.  When  the  passions  are  cooled,  and 
good  sense  is  supposed  to  prevail,  the  constitution  of 
any  people  is  easy  to  form,  because  it  only  consists 
in  uniting  some  just  ideas,  which  are  found  to 
dwell  in  the  minds  of  all  the  wiirid.  Tiie  passions 
of  the  Swiss  were  far  from  being  completely 
ai>peased  ;  but  their  deputies  at  Paris  were  al- 
ready much  calmer.  The  change  of  place,  the 
presence  of  a  supreme  authority,  beneficent,  and 
enlightened,  had  sensibly  nioditied  their  feelings. 
The  more  as  this  authority  was  there  to  impose 
upon  them  just  ideas,  few  in  number,  which  would 
subsist  alone  after  the  stormy  passions  of  the  time 
had  subsided. 

The  following  dispositions  were  agreed  upon  : — 
The  chimera  of  the  unitarians  was  discarded  ;  it 
was  settled  that  each  canton  should  have  its  own 
constitution,  its  civil  legislation,  its  judicial  forms, 
and  its  own  system  of  taxation.  The  cantons  were 
confederated  only  for  the  common  interests  of  all 
the  confederations,  and  more  particularly  for  the 
relations  of  the  country  with  foreign  states.  This 
confederation  was  to  have  for  its  representation  a 
diet,  composed  of  an  envoy  from  each  canton  ;  and 
this  envoy  was  to  enjoy  one  or  two  voices  in  the 
deliberations,  according  to  the  extent  of  the  popu- 
lation which  he  re|)reKented.  The  representatives 
of  Berne,  Zurich,  Vaud,  .St.  Gall,  Argovia,  and  the 
Grisons,  of  which  the  population  was  more  than 
one  hundred  thousand  souls,  was  to  possess  two 
voices.  Tho  other  ciintons  were  only  to  possess 
one  each.  Thus  the  diet  consisted  of  twenty- five 
members.  It  was  bound  to  sit  for  one  month  in 
every  year,  and  each  year  to  change  its  residence 
alternately  in  tho  following  cantons  :  Friburg, 
Berne,  Soleure,  Bale,  Zurich,  and  Lucerne.  The 
canton  in  which  the  diet  sat  was  for  tho  year  the 

1  This  speech  wns  taken  down  by  several  persons;  there 
exist  diO'en.'nt  versions  of  it.  of  which  two  are  found  in  the 
arcliives  of  foreign  alTnirs  I  have  put  toRethrr  that  which 
wan  common  to  all.  and  tlial  whiili  aftrees  with  the  letters 
written  upon  tlic  subject  by  the  (irst  consul.— .iuMor'*  note. 


444  The  new  Swiss  constitution.   THIERS'  CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE.     Division  of  the  cantons. 


directing  canton.  Tlie  chief  of  that  canton,  avoyer 
or  burgomaster,  as  he  niii^ht  be,  was  for  that  year 
landamman  for  the  whole  of  Switzerland.  He 
received  the  foreign  muiisters,  accredited  the  Swiss 
ministers  abroad,  convoked  the  militia,  exercised, 
in  one  word,  tlie  functions  of  the  executive  power 
of  the  confederation. 

Switzerland  was  to  have  at  the  service  of  the 
confederation  a  permanent  force  of  fifteen  thousand 
men,  carrying  an  expense  of  490,300  f.  The  divi- 
sion of  the  amount  of  tiiis  contingent  for  each  can- 
ton, both  in  men  and  money,  was  made  by  the  con- 
stitution itself  upon  all  the  cantons,  in  the  due 
proportion  of  their  population  and  their  i-iches. 
But  every  Swiss  of  sixteen  years  of  age  was  a 
soldier,  a  member  of  the  militia,  and  could,  if 
required,  be  called  to  defend  the  independence  of 
Helvetia. 

The  confederation  had  only  one  class  of  money 
common  to  the  whole  of  Switzerland. 

It  had  no  longer  any  tariffs  or  customs'  duties, 
save  at  the  general  frontiers,  and  the  duties  thus 
levied  must  be  approved  by  the  diet.  Each  can- 
ton placed  to  the  account  of  its  profits  the  sums 
which  it  might  have  collected  on  its  own  frontier. 

The  tolls  of  a  feudal  character  were  wholly 
suppressed.  None  remained  but  such  as  were 
necessary  to  keep  the  roads  in  order  and  preserve 
navigation.  A  canton  which  violated  a  decree 
of  tlie  diet,  could  be  brought  before  a  tribunal, 
composed  of  the  presidents  of  all  the  criminal 
tribunals  of  the  other  cantons. 

The  attributes  of  the  central  government  were 
very  much  restrained  in  power.  The  other  attri- 
butes of  the  sovereignty,  not  stated  in  the  federal 
act,  were  left  to  the  care  of  the  sovereignty  of  the 
cantons.  There  were  nineteen  cantons  formed 
altogether,  and  the  questions  of  territory,  so  much 
debated  and  disputed  between  the  former  sovereign 
states  and  the  subject  ones,  were  resolved  into  the 
separation  or  advantage  of  the  last.  Vaud  and 
Argovia  formerly  subjects  of  Berne  ;  Thurgovia 
formerly  subject  to  SchafFhausen  ;  the  Tessin 
formerly  subject  to  Uri  and  Unterwalden,  were 
constituted  independent  cantons.  The  small  can- 
tons, such  as  Glaris  and  Appenzel,  which  had  been 
enlarged  in  order  to  change  their  character,  were 
disembarrassed  of  the  inconvenient  additions  which 
had  been  made  to  them.  The  canton  of  St.  Gall 
was  composed  of  all  that  territory  which  had  been 
bestowed  upon  Appenzel,  Glaris,  and  Schwitz. 
Schwitz  alone  retained  some  addition  of  territory. 
If  to  the  nineteen  cantons  which  follow,  viz., 
Appenzel,  Argovia,  Bale,  Berne.  Friburg,  Glaris, 
Grisons,  Lucerne,  St.  Gall,  Schafi'iiausen,  Schwitz, 
Soleure,  Tessin,  Thurgovia,  Unterwalden,  Uri, 
Vaud,  Zug,  and  Zurich,  Geneva  be  added,  then  a 
French  department,  the  Valais,  constituted  sepa- 
rately, and  Neufchatel,  a  principality  belonging  to 
Prussia,  there  are  the  twenty-two  cantons  which 
are  at  present  in  existence. 

In  regard  to  the  particular  system  of  govern- 
ment imposed  upon  eacii  canton,  this  was  made 
in  all  respects  conformable  to  the  former  consti- 
tution of  each  state,  with  the  exception  that  it  was 
purged  of  all  feudal  and  aristocratical  abuses.  The 
landsgemeinde,  or  assemblage  of  all  the  citizens  of 
the  age  of  twenty  years,  who  met  together  once 
annually,  to  determine  all  public  matters,  and  to 


nominate  a  landamman,  was  re-established  in  the 
small  democratic  cantons  of  Appenzel,  Glari.s, 
Schwitz,  Uri,  and  Unterwalden.  They  could  do 
no  otherwise  than  reject  this  assemblage  during 
the  revolt.  The  government  of  the  citizens  was 
re-established  in  Berne,  Zurich,  Bale,  and  the 
cantons  of  the  same  character,  but  on  condition 
that  it  remained  open  to  all  ranks  of  citizens. 
Provided  th.at  an  individual  possessed  a  property 
of  1000  f.  1  income  at  Berne,  and  500  at  Zurich  2, 
he  might  become  a  member  of  the  body  of  govern- 
ing citizens,  and  eligible  to  all  the  public  functions. 
There  were  in  the  cities,  as  formerly,  a  great 
council,  to  which  the  charge  of  making  the  laws 
was  committed,  and  a  little  council,  whose  duty 
it  was  to  see  that  they  were  properly  carried  into 
execution,  an  avoyer  or  burgomaster  being  charged 
with  the  executive  functions,  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  the  lesser  council.  In  the  cantons  in 
which  nature  had  given  rise  to  particular  adminis- 
trative divisions,  as  the  Rhodes  interior  and  exterior 
in  Appenzel,  and  the  Lhjues  in  the  Grisons,  these 
divisions  were  respected  and  maintained.  The 
whole  was,  in  fact,  the  ancient  Helvetic  constitu- 
tion, corrected  after  the  principles  of  justice  and 
the  superior  knowledge  of  the  time.  It  was  old 
Switzerland  remaining  federative,  but  having  iti 
addition,  the  subject-countries  raised  to  the  rank 
of  cantons,  maintained  in  a  state  of  pure  demo- 
cracy, in  those  places  where  nature  had  clearly 
marked  out  that  it  should  be  so,  and  in  the  state 
of  citizen  government,  but  not  exclusive  of  rank, 
where  the  nature  of  things  seemed  to  require  that 
form. 

In  this  undertaking,  so  just  and  so  wise,  each 
party  gained  and  lost  something  —  gained  what 
it  wished  that  was  just,  but  lost  that  which  it 
desired  if  it  were  unjust  and  tyrannical.  The  uni- 
tarians saw  their  chimera  of  unity  and  absolute 
democracy  disappear,  but  they  gained  the  freedom  of 
the  subject-territories,  and  the  opening  of  the  ranks 
of  the  citizenship  in  the  oligarchical  cantons.  The 
oligarchs  saw  the  subject-cantons  disappear,  Berne 
particularly,  losing  Argovia  and  Vaud,  they  saw 
the  patrician  pretensions  put  aside  ;  but  they  ob- 
tained the  suppression  of  the  central  government, 
and  the  consecration  of  the  rights  of  property  in 
the  rich  cities,  such  as  Zurich,  13ale,  and  Berne. 

Still  this  work  remained  incomplete,  inasmuch  as 
that,  in  arranging  the  form  of  the  institutions,  they 
did  not  at  the  same  time  settle  the  choice  of  the 
individuals  who  were  to  put  it  into  action.  In  pre- 
senting the  French  constitution  to  the  country  in 
the  year  viii.,  and  the  Italian  constitution  in  the 
year  x.,  the  first  consul  had  designated  in  the  con- 
stitution itself  the  individuals  who  were  charged 
with  the  great  constitutional  functions.  This  was 
wise,  because  when  lie  was  acting  for  the  purpose 
of  placing  a  country  long  agitated  in  a  state  of 
peace,  the  men  who  were  to  contribute  to  that 
object  were  not  of  less  importance  than  the  things. 

The  ordinary  tendency  of  the  first  consul's  con- 
duct was  to  remit  every  thing  immediately  to  its 
own  proper  place.  To  recall  the  higher  classes  of 
society  to  power,  without  making  the  men  descend 
who,  by  their  merit,  had  elevated  themselves  in 
the  social  body  ;  and  to  secure  to  all  those  who 


About  £41  \Zt.  id. 


About  £20  16f.  8i.  sterling. 


M.  Affry  made  Lan- 
damman. 


RUPTURE  OF  TIIU  PEACE  OF  AMIENS. 


The  deputies  sent  back 
to  Switzerland. 


should  at  a  later  time  be  worthy  of  it,  the  means  to 
elevate  themselves  in  their  turn, — here  is  the  sys- 
tem that  he  would  have  immediately  followed  in 
France  if  he  had  been  able.  But  he  had  not 
attempted  it,  because  the  old  aristocracy  of  France 
had  enii!i;ratcd,  was  scarcely  returned  from  emigra- 
tion, and  from  having  been  emigrant,  w'as  wholly 
strange  to  the  country,  its  feelings,  and  puhlic 
business.  More  than  this,  he  was  obliged  to  take 
his  points  of  support  in  France  itself,  out  of  one  of 
the  parties  into  which  the  country  was  dividoil ; 
and  naturally  he  had  chosen  tiiat  point  of  support 
in  the  revolutionary  party  which  was  his  own.  In 
France,  then,  he  was  exclusively  surrounded,  at 
least  during  that  time,  by  men  belonging  to  the 
revolution.  But  in  Switzerland  he  was  more  free 
to  act  ;  he  had  not  to  search  for  support  in  an 
exclusive  party,  because  he  acted  from  without, 
and  from  the  'summit  of  French  power  ;  he  had 
no  more  any  thing  to  do  with  an  emigrant  aristo- 
cracy. He  "did  not  therefore  hesitate  in  giving  way 
to  the  natural  bent  of  his  inclination,  and  he  called 
into  power,  accordingly,  an  equal  portion  of  the 
partizans  of  the  old  and  new  order  of  things. 
Commissions  nominated  in  Paris  were  sent  into 
each  canton,  in  order  to  carry  into  effect  the  can- 
tonal constitution,  and  to  choose  there  the  indivi- 
duals who  were  designated  to  take  their  i)lace 
among  the  new  authorities.  He  had  taken  care  to 
place  equal  numbers  in  each,  thus  balancing  in 
equal  strength  the  revolutionists  and  oligarchs. 
Having  finally  to  choose  the  landamman  of  the 
Helvetic  confederation,  being  the  first  who  was  to 
execute  that  office,  he  boldly  selected  the  most  dis- 
tinguished personage,  but  the  most  moderate  of 
the  oligarchical  party,  M.  Affry. 

M.  Affry  was  a  discreet  but  firm  man,  devoted 
to  the  profession  of  arms,  formerly  belonging  to  the 
service  of  France,  a  citizen  of  the  canton  of  Fri- 
burg,  at  that  time  the  least  agitated  of  the  cantons 
of  the  confederation.  In  becoming  landamman, 
M.  Affry  elevated  his  canton  to  the  dignity  of  can- 
ton director.  He  was  a  man  of  the  olden  times, 
rational,  military  in  his  habits,  attached  to  France 
by  feeling,  and  the  member  of  a  tranquil  canton. 
These  were  in  the  sight  of  the  first  consul  very 
decisive  reasons  for  the  preference,  and  he  nomi- 
nated M.  Affry.  Besides,  after  iiaving  braved  all 
Europe  by  his  intervention,  it  was  not  necessary  to 
multiply  before  it  any  more  painful  impressions,  by 
installing  in  Switzerland  the  demagogues  and  their 
turbulent  chiefs.  He  did  not  think  it  needful  to 
do  that,  nor  to  attribute  to  himself  the  ])residency 
of  the  Helvetic  republic,  as  he  had  attributed  that 
of  the  Italian  republic.  To  settle  Switzerland  in  a 
state  of  wise  and  discreet  reform,  to  snatch  it  out 
of  the  hands  of  the  <iieniie8  of  Fi-ance,  and  to 
leave  it  neuter  and  indepcmlent,  such  was  the 
problem  to  be  resolved,  and  it  was  resolved  in  a 
few  days,  courageously  and  prudently. 

When  this  fine  work,  which,  under  the  title  of 
the  "  Act  of  Mediation,"  had  procured  for  tiie  Swiss 
a  longer  period  of  re|mse  and  good  government 
than  they  had  enjoyed  for  fifty  years  before — when 
this  great  work  was  finished,  the  first  consul  as- 
8cmble<l  the  united  deputi.-s  in  Paris,  and  remitted 
it  to  tluni  in  presence  of  the  four  senators  who  had 
presided  over  the  progress  of  the  undertaking  ; 
made  to  them  a  short  and  energetic  address  ;  re- 


conimeniled  to  them  union,  moderation,  impar- 
tiality, the  same  conduct,  in  fact,  which  he  had 
adopted  himself  in  France  ;  and  then  sent  them 
back  to  their  own  country,  to  replace  the  provi- 
sional and  impotent  government  of  the  landamman 
Bolder. 

In  Switzerland  there  was  astonishment  enough  ; 
tlie  feelings  of  some  were  deceived,  distrust  re- 
mained with  many  ;  but  in  the  masses,  uniformly 
susceptible  of  the  real  truth,  there  was  submission 
and  gratitude.  This  sentiment  was  more  parti- 
cularly conspicuous  in  the  smaller  cantons,  that 
having  been  defeated  in  their  object,  were  not 
treated  as  if  they  had  been  so.  M.  Reding  and 
his  friends  were  immediately  set  at  liberty.  In 
Eui'ope  there  was  as  much  surprise  as  of  admira- 
tion at  the  promptitude  of  the  mediation,  and  at 
its  perfect  equity.  It  was  a  new  act  of  moral 
power,  similar  to  those  which  the  first  consul  had 
accomplished  in  Germany  and  in  Italy,  but  much 
more  able,  and  more  meritorious  still,  if  it  be  pos- 
sible, because  Europe  was  braved  and  respected  in 
the  performance  of  tlie  act ;  braved  as  far  as  that 
act  willed  the  interest  of  France,  respected  in  its 
legitimate  interests,  which  were  the  independence 
and  the  neutrality  of  the  Swiss  people. 

Russia  congratulated  the  first  consul  warmly  on 
having  made  so  prompt  and  so  good  an  end  to  an 
affair  so  difficult.  The  Prussian  cabinet,  through 
the  medium  of  M.  Haugwitz,  expressed  its  opinion 
to  him  in  terms  of  the  strongest  appi'obation.  Eng- 
land was  stupified  and  embarrassed  at  being  de- 
prived of  a  grievance  about  which  she  had  made 
such  a  great  noise. 

Parliament,  so  formidable  to  Addington  and 
Hawkesbury,  had  consumed  in  animated  discussions 
that  time  which  the  first  consul  had  employed  in 
reconstituting  Switzerland.  These  discussions  had 
been  stormy,  brilliant,  and  particularly  worthy  of 
admiration,  when  Fox  made  the  voice  of  justice 
and  humanity  heard  against  the  burning  jealousy 
of  his  countrymen.  They  had  revealed  beyond  a 
doubt  the  insufficiency  of  the  Addington  cabinet  ; 
but  they  had  made  reappear  with  fresh  violence 
the  war  party,  which  had  been  for  the  moment 
much  weakened  in  j)arliament,  and  that  Adding- 
ton now  somewhat  strengthened.  According  to  that 
minister,  the  peace  had  recovered  every  one  of  its 
lost  chances. 

It  was  the  speech  from  the  throne,  delivered  on 
the  23rd  of  November,  which  had  become  the 
theme  of  these  discussions. 

"  In  my  relations  with  foi-eign  powers,"  his  Bri- 
tannic majesty  iiad  said,  "  I  have  been  hitherto 
animated  with  a  sincere  desire  to  maintain  the 
pi  ace.  But  still  it  is  impossible,  in  my  view,  to 
lose  sight,  for  a  single  instant,  of  that  wise  and 
ancient  system  of  ])olicy  which  so  intimately  bound 
up  our  own  interests  with  the  interests  of  other 
nations.  I  camiot  therefore  be  indifferent  to  any 
change  in  this  strength,  and  in  this  relative  posi- 
tion. My  conduct  will  be  regulated  invariably  by 
a  just  appreciation  of  the  actual  situation  of  Eu- 
rope, and  by  a  vigilant  solicitude  for  tli<-  permanent 
good  of  my  people.  You  will,  wiilidut  doubt,  think 
with  me,  that  it  is  our  duty  to  adopt  those  mea- 
sures of  security  which  are  the  most  proi>er  to  give 
to  my  subjects,  the  hofie  of  preserving  the  advan- 
tages of  peace." 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.        British  parliament. 


To  this  speed),  which  designated  the  new  posi- 
tion taken  by  the  British  cabinet  in  respect  to 
France,  there  was  found  joined  a  demand  for  sup- 
plies in  order  to  carry  out  the  peace  armament  to 
the  extent  of  fifty  thousand  seamen,  an  armament 
wliich,  in  agreement  with  the  previous  statements 
of  Addington,  was  only  to  consist  of  thirty  thou- 
sand. The  ministers  asserted,  that  in  less  than  one 
month,  on  the  first  occasion  that  required  it,  they 
should  be  able  to  send  to  sea  front  the  ports  of 
England  fifty  sail  of  the  line. 

The  debate  was  long  and  stormy,  and  the  minister 
was  now  well  able  to  perceive  how  very  little  he 
had  gained  by  any  of  his  concessions  to  the  party 
of  Grenville  and  Windham.  Pitt  affected  absence. 
His  friends  took  upon  themselves,  on  his  behalf, 
that  violent  character  which  he  disclaimed.  "  How," 
cried  Grenville  and  Canning,  "  how  have  the  mi- 
nistry conie  at  last  to  discover  that  we  have  in- 
terests upon  the  continent,  and  that  the  care  of 
those  interests  has  ever  been  an  important  part  of 
English  policy,  and  that  those  important  interests 
have  not  ceased  to  be  sacrificed  since  the  deceptive 
and  fraudulent  peace  has  been  signed  with  France  ? 
What!  is  it  then  the  invasion  of  Switzerland  which 
has  led  the  ministry  at  last  to  jierceive  this?  Is  it 
only  now  that  it  has  begun  to  discover  that  we  were 
excluded  from  the  continent,  and  that  our  allies 
were  there  immolated  to  the  insatiable  ambition  of 
this  pretended  French  republic,  Which  had  not 
ceased  to  threaten  the  whole  of  European  society 
with  a  denuigogical  overturn,  before  it  threatened 
to  govern  it  with  a  military  despotism  ?  Your 
eyes,"  they  said  to  Addington  and  Hawkesbury, 
"  were  your  eyes  closed  to  the  truth  during  the 
time  that  you  negotiated  the  preliminaries  of  peace 
— during  tiie  negotiation  of  the  definitive  treaty, 
and  during  the  time  that  treaty  began  to  be 
carried  into  effect?  You  had  scarcely  signed  the 
preliminaries  of  London,  before  our  eternal  enemy 
seized  openly  upon  the  Italian  republic,  under  the 
pretext  that  it  had  decreed  to  him  the  presidency; 
adjudged  Tuscany  to  himself  under  the  pretext  that 
it  was  conceded  to  the  infant  of  Sjiain;  and  as  the 
price  of  this  false  concession,  seized  upon  tiie  finest 
part  of  the  American  continent  in  Louisiana.  Here 
is  what  was  openly  done  on  the  very  morrow  of  the 
preliminary  treaty,  while  you  were  occupied  with 
your  negotiations  in  the  city  of  Amiens,  and  even 
this  never  carried  conviction  to  your  sight.  You 
had  scarcely  signed  the  delinitive  treaty,  the  wax 
with  which  you  had  stamped  upon  that  treaty  the 
arms  of  England  was  hardly  cold,  when  already  our 
indefatigable  enemy  witlnlrevv  from  concealment 
the  intentions  which  lie  had  so  adroitly  hidden 
from  yon,  united  I'iedmont  to  France,  and  de- 
throned the  worthy  king  of  Sardinia,  that  constant 
ally  of  England,  who  remained  invariably  faithful 
to  her  during  a  contest  of  ten  years;  who,  when 
enclosed  in  his  ca])ital  by  the  troops  of  general 
Bmaparte,  was  unable  to  save  iiimself  but  by  a 
capitulation,  which  he  was  unwilling  to  sign,  be- 
cause it  contained  an  obligation  to  declare  war 
against  Great  Britain!  When  Portugal  and  even 
Naples  closed  their  ]>orts  against  us,  the  king  of 
Sardinia  opened  his,  and  he  fell,  because  he  was 
willing  to  have  kept  them  always  open  to  our  ves- 
sels. But  this  is  not  all:  the  definitive  treaty  was 
concluded  in  March;  in  June,  Piedmont  was  united 


to  France;  and  in  August  the  consular  government 
merely  signified  in  plain  and  simple  terms  to  Eu- 
rope, that  the  Germanic  constitution  had  ceased  to 
exist.  All  the  German  states  were  confounded, 
shared  out  in  the  lots  that  France  distributed  to 
whom  she  pleased;  and  Austria,  the  sole  power, 
n])on  the  strength  and  perseverance  of  which  we 
had  reason  to  count  to  restrain  the  ambition  of  our 
enemy,  has  been  so  much  enfeebled,  abased,  and 
humiliated,  that  we  scarcely  know  whether  she  will 
ever  be  able  to  lift  up  her  head  again  !  Then  the 
stadtholder,  to  whom  you  had  promised  an  indem- 
nity should  be  made  equal  to  his  losses,  this  stadt- 
holder has  been  treated  in  a  manner  utterly 
ridiculous  towards  himself  —  ridiculous  on  your 
part,  that  constituted  yourselves  the  protectors  of 
the  house  of  Orange.  This  house  received  for  the 
stadtholderate  a  miserable  bishopric;  it  is  the  same 
with  the  house  of  Hanover,  which  is  seen  disdain- 
fully despoiled  of  its  personal  property.  It  has 
been  often  said,"  rejieated  lord  Grenville,  "that 
England  has  heretofore  suffered  on  account  of 
Hanover;  it  need  not  be  said  this  time,  because  it 
is  on  account  of  England  that  Hanover  has  suffered. 
It  is  because  he  is  king  of  Engkind  that  the  king  of 
Hanover  has  been  thus  despoiled  of  his  ancient 
])atrimonial  i)i()])erty.  They  liave  not  even  ob- 
serve<l  the  forms  of  civility,  which  have  been  the 
usage  among  all  powers  of  the  same  rank;  there 
was  no  conmRUiication  made  to  your  sovereign, 
that  Germany,  his  former  country,  at  this  diiy  bis 
associate  in  the  confederation — that  Germany,  the 
largest  couniry  on  the  continent,  was  about  to  be 
overturned  from  the  loundations.  Your  sovereign 
knew  nothing — nothing  but  what  he  was  able  to  ac- 
quire in  the  way  of  information  through  a  message 
from  the  minister  Talleyrand  to  the  conservative 
senate!  Germany  is  nut  therefore  one  of  those 
countries  of  which  the  situation  is  of  any  importance 
to  England.  Omitting  that,  the  ministers  tell 
us  out  of  his  majesty's  mouth  that  they  will  not  re- 
main insensible  to  every  considerable  change  in 
Europe,  having  now  quitted  their  stupor  and  in- 
sensibility. Finally,  within  a  few  days,  Parma 
has  disapi)eared  from  the  list  of  independent 
states— Parma  is  become  a  territory  of  which  the 
first  consul  of  the  French  republic  is  free  to  do  as 
he  jileases,  or  to  dispose  of  at  his  own  will.  All 
tin  se  things  were  accom|)lished  under  your  own 
eyes,  and  nearly  without  interruption.  Not  a 
month  since  the  fruition  of  this  unhappy  peace — 
not  a  month  has  ])assed  away  without  being  marked 
by  the  fall  of  an  allied  slate,  or  friend  of  England. 
You  have  seen  nothing — perceived  nothing  of  all 
this!  Now  on  a  .sudden  you  awaken — wherefore  ? 
Why  now  ?  in  favour  of  what  object?  In  favour 
of  the  brave  Swiss — a  deeply  interesting  people 
most  assuredly,  and  well  worthy  of  all  the  sym- 
pathy of  England;  but  are  they  more  interesting, 
more  worthy  of  sympathy,  than  Piedmont,  Lom- 
bardy,  or  Germany  ?  What  have  you  discovered 
there  so  very  extraonlinary,  so  very  injurious,  above 
all  wliich  has  been  passed  over  during  the  last 
fourteen  months?  What!  nothing  attracted  your 
attention  on  the  continent,  neither  Piedmont,  Lom- 
bardy,  nor  Germany  ?  Why  do  the  Swiss  alone 
bring  you  to  think  that  England  ought  not  to 
i-cmain  insensible  to  the  equilibrium  of  the  Euro, 
pean  balance  of  power?"   *'  You  have  shown  your- 


Speech  of  Fox  in  the      RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENS.         British  parliament. 


selves,"  said  Ginning,  "  tlie  most  incapable  of  men; 
since,  in  renionsiraiiiig  about  Switzeiliiml,  you 
have  made  England  look  ridii-ulous,  you  liuvo  ex- 
posed your  coumry  to  the  contempt  of  your  enemy. 
At  Const;ince  there  was  an  Enj^lish  :igent\vell  known 
to  every ImkIv;  will  you  favour  us  with  an  account  of 
what  he  dij  tlure,  of  what  the  character  was 
which  he  playt-d  I  It  is  publicly  notorious  that  you 
have  addressed  remonstrances  to  tlie  fii-st  consul  of 
the  French  republic  in  favour  of  Switzerland  ;  will 
you  favour  us  with  the  answer  which  he  made  to 
you  \  What  we  all  know  is,  that  since  your  re- 
monstrances, the  Swiss  have  laid  down  their  arms 
before  the  French  troops;  and  that  the  deputies  of 
all  the  cantons,  asst-mlded  in  Paris,  have  received 
laws  fi-om  the  lii-st  consul.  You  remonstrate  then 
in  the  name  of  England,  without  requiring  that  you 
shall  be  listened  to  !  It  woidd  be  better  to  have 
been  silent,  as  you  were  when  Piedmont  disap- 
peared, and  when  Gt-rniany  was  overturned,  rather 
than  to  remonstrate  without  being  heaid.  And  it 
must  be  thus,  when  that  is  inc<jnsiderately  spoken 
which  should  be  concealed  ;  when  jjcople  speak 
without  having  prepared  the  means  to  be  heard 
— without  having  a  tluet,  an  ai-my,  or  an  ally.  It  is 
necessary  to  be  <|uiet,  or  to  elevate  the  voice  with 
a  certainty  of  being  heard  and  comprehended.  The 
dignity  of  a  great  nation  ought  not  thus  to  be  \nit 
in  hazard.  You  demand  supplies  from  us;  to  what 
purpose  do  you  mean  to  apply  them  ?  If  they  are 
for  peace,  you  ask  t<io  nmch;  if  they  are  for  war, 
you  do  not  ask  for  enough.  We  will,  nevertheless, 
grant  them  to  y<.u;  but  it  must  be  upon  the  condi- 
tion, that  you  leave  the  care  of  employing  them  to 
him  whom  you  replaced,  and  who  is  alone  aiiie  to 
save  England  in  the  crisis  into  which  you  have  so 
imprudently  brought  b<r." 

The  English  njinisters  did  not  obtain  even 
the  price  of  their  conressions  to  the  party  inimical 
to  the  peace,  because  it  rei)roached  them  for  their 
remonstraiices  in  favour  of  Switzerland  ;  and  it 
must  be  a»know  iedged,  they  had  only  that  fault,  but 
then  that  fault  was  too  well  foumled  not  to  justify 
the  reproacliis  of  their  adversaries.  Their  con- 
duct under  that  head  had  been  very  puerile. 

Still,  ill  the  midst  of  these  declamatory  speeches, 
lord  Gnnville  had  advanced  something  of  a  serious 
diameter,  and  particularly  mo  for  a  former  minister 
of  foreign  aH'airs.  In  repi-oaching  Addington  and 
Hawkehbiiry  lor  having  laid  uji  the  fleet,  dismissed 
the  army,  cvacuateil  E'^ypt  am!  the  Cape,  he 
pniised  th.;m  f.r  one  point,  which  was,  that  of  not 
liaving  yet  willhlrawn  the  English  tr<iops  from 
MaltJi.  "  B'-  it  bv  n'-;;ligence  or  by  fickleness  that 
you  havo  acted  ui  this  way,"  he  said;  "fortunate 
fickleness,  the  only  thing  that  we  are  able  to  ap- 
prove in  your  con-luct!  We  hope  that  you  will 
not  let  this  last  ple<lg«  escape  you,  remaining  by 
accident  in  our  han<ls,  but  tliat  you  will  retain  it, 
in  order  to  indenniify  us  for  all  the  infractions  of 
the  treaties  comtnitted  by  our  insatiable  enemy." 

It  was  iin|>oHHiblir  to  (iroclaini  more  openly  or 
boldly  the  violation  of  any  treaty. 

In  the  midst  of  thin  outr.ig<-<uis  language,  the 
eloqueiit  and  generous  Fox  made  liis  voice  be 
heard  on  the  hiile  of  ^ood  Hense,  moderation,  and 
the  national  honour,  in  tho  real  acceptance  of  this 
l&Ht  word.  "  I  have  litilu  of  relation  with  tho 
tiicmbers  of  the  cabinet,"  said  he,  on  addressing 


himself  in  reply  to  Grenville  and  Canning;  "and 
I  am,  besides  this,  very  little  habituated  to  Uiking 
up  the  defence  of  his  majesty's  ministers;  but  I 
confess  my  astonishment  at  all  that  I  now  hear; 
I  am  astonished  still  more  at  reflecting  upon 
the  individuals  who  speak  these  things.  I  am 
certsvinly  sorry,  moi-e  so  than  any  of  the  honourable 
colleagues  and  friends  of  Mr.  Piit,  at  the  increasing 
greatness  of  Finance,  which  every  day  extends,  both 
in  Europe  and  America.  I  regret  it,  although  I 
do  )iot  partake  in  the  prejudices  of  the  honourable 
members  against  the  French  republic.  But,  in 
fact,  this  extraordinary  increase  of  power,  wliich 
so  surprises  you,  which  so  alarms  you,  when  was 
it  produced  ?  Was  it  under  the  ministi-y  of  Mr. 
Addington  and  l^rd  Hawkcsbury,  or  under  that 
of  Mr.  Pitt  and  1  .rd  Grenville?  Under  the 
ministry  of  Pitt  and  Greinillo,  had  not  France 
acquired  the  line  of  the  Rhine,  overrun  Holland, 
Switzerland,  and  Italy,  as  far  as  Naples  ?  WaS 
it  because  she  had  not  been  resisted,  because  she 
bad  been  suffered  to  act,  through  remissness  on 
the  part  of  others,  that  she  had  thus  extended  her 
vast  arms  ?  It  appeai-s  to  me  not;  because  Mr. 
Pitt  and  lord  Grenville  had  united  the  most  for- 
midable of  coalitions,  in  order  to  put  a  stop  to  this 
ambitious  France  !  They  besieged  Valenciennes 
and  Dunkirk,  and  had  already  designated  the  first 
of  these  towns  for  Austria,  the  second  for  England. 
This  France,  w  hich  is  so  accused  of  interfering  by 
force  in  the  affairs  of  ariothcT  countiy,  they  en- 
deavoured at  that  time  to  conquer  themselves  for 
the  ])nri)0se  of  imposing  upon  her  a  regime  to 
which  she  would  not  submit — to  make  her  accept 
the  fan>ily  of  the  Bourbons,  wiiose  yoke  she  re- 
pelled :  an<l  by  <me  of  those  mighty  movements, 
of  which  history  will  preserve  the  eternal  recid- 
lection  and  advise  the  imitation  of  the  example, 
France  drove  out  her  invaders.  They  did  not 
succeed  in  seizing  Valenciennes  and  Dunkirk  ; 
they  did  not  dictate  laws  to  France  ;  she,  on  the 
contrary,  dictates  them  to  others  !  Very  well; 
we,  although  deeply  attached  to  the  cause  of 
England,  we  experienced  an  involuntary  move- 
ment of  sympathy  for  that  generous  effort  of 
liberty  and  ])atrioiism,  and  we  are  far  from  wish- 
ing to  conceal  such  a  fact.  Did  not  our  fathers 
applaud  the  resistance  that  Holland  made  to  the 
tyranny  of  the  Spaniards?  Did  not  old  England 
applaud  every  nolile  effort  of  free  inspiration  in 
every  nation?  And  yon,  who  to-day  deplore  the 
greatness  of  France,  is  it  not  you  yourselves  who 
have  provoked  her  victorious  career?  Is  it  not 
you,  who,  in  endeavouring  to  take  from  her 
Valenciennes  and  Dunkirk,  brought  her  to  con- 
quer Belgium;  you,  who  in  wishing  to  impose  laws 
upon  her,  have  made  htr  give  them  to  half  the 
continent?  Yon  speak  of  Italy;  but  was  not  that 
in  lh(!  power  of  I'rance  when  you  entereil  into  a 
treaty  with  her  ?  Did  yon  not  know  it  ?  Was  not 
that  one  of  yiuir  lamen'tations  ?  Did  this  circum- 
stance prevent  your  signing  the  treaty  of  peace  ! 
And  you,  colleagues  of  Mr.  I'itt,  who  then  felt  that 
this  peace  was  l)ecoine  necessary,  from  the  suffer- 
ings of  a  war  of  ten  years'  duration,  how  nmch  it 
was  needful  to  heal  the  evils  which  were  the  work 
of  your  own  hands,  you  were  consenting  parti(K 
to  all  that  which  the  existing  ministers  signed  for 
you  !     Wliy  did  you  not  oppose  them  then  ?     And 


448       Speech  of  Fox  in  the      THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


British  parliament. 


1802. 

Nov. 


if  you  did  not  then  oppose  them,  why  not  suffer  them 
now  to  carry  out  the  stipulations,  and  to  execute 
the  conditions  which  you  approved  1  The  king 
of  Piedmont  seems  strongly  to  interest  you  :  be  it 
so  ;  but  Austria,  of  whom  he  was  a  closer  ally 
than  he  was  yours,  Austria  had  given  him  up. 
She  did  not  even  mention  him  in  the  negotiations, 
for  fear  that  the  indemnity  which  would  be 
granted  to  that  prince  should  diminish  the  portion 
of  the  Venetian  states,  which  she  coveted  for  her 
own  use.  England  had  no  pretence  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  independence  of  Italy  to  i)lace  by 
that  of  Austi'ia  !  Y(ju  speak  of  the  overturn  of 
Germany;  but  what  has  been  done  in  Germany? 
They  have  secularized  the  ecclesiastical  states  to 
indemnify  the  hereditary  princes,  in  virtue  of  a 
formal  article  in  the  treaty  of  Luneville, — a  treaty 
signed  nine  months  before  the  preliminaries  of 
London,  and  more  than  twelve  months  before  the 
treaty  of  Amiens, — and  signed  at  what  period  ? 
Why,  during  the  time  that  Mr.  Pitt  and  lord 
Grenville  were  ministers  of  England ;  when  Mr. 
Addington  and  lord  Hawkesbury  came  into  power, 
this  pretended  partition  of  Germany  was  arranged, 
promised,  decreed,  in  the  sight  and  to  the  perfect 
cognizance  of  all  Europe.  This,  in  your  under- 
standing, is  the  overturning  of  all  Germany  ;  jou 
should  complain  also,  in  this  instance,  of  Russia, 
who  with  France  consummated  one-half  of  the 
affair.  The  elector  of  Hanover,  you  say,  because, 
unhappily  for  him,  he  was  king  of  England,  has 
been  very  ill-treated.  I  have  never  heard  it  said 
before  that  he  was  very  discontented  with  his  lot 
in  Germany  ;  because,  without  any  loss,  he  has 
obtained  a  rich  bishopric.  As  to  the  rest,  I 
strongly  suspect  that  those  who  interest  them- 
selves so  strongly  for  the  elector  of  Hanover,  who 
show  so  much  solicitude  upon  his  account,  are 
seeking  to  obtain,  by  that  intermediate  means,  the 
confidence  of  the  king  of  Enghmd,  and  by  this 
medium  to  worm  themselves  into  his  councils. 
Without  doubt  France  is  great,  nmch  greater  than 
a  good  Englishman  wishes  to  see  her  ;  but  her 
greatness,  of  whicli  the  English  ministers  were  the 
authors,  we  all  knew  before  the  preliminaries  of 
London  were  signed,  and  before  the  negotiations 
at  Amiens,  and  that  ought  not  to  be  a  motive  for 
violating  solemn  treaties.  Watch  over  the  exe- 
cution of  those  treaties;  if  they  are  violated,  re- 
claim against  broken  faith  :  it  is  your  right  and 
your  duty.  But  because  France  ai>pears  in  your 
view  to-day  to  be  too  great,  greater  than  you  had 
at  first  thought  her  to  be,  to  break  a  solemn  en- 
gagement, to  retain  Malta,  for  example,  it  would 
be  an  unworthy  broach  of  faith,  and  would  com- 
promise the  honour  of  England.  If,  in  truth,  the 
conditions  of  the  treaty  of  Amiens  are  not  fulfilled, 
and  as  far  as  it  may  be  the  case  that  they  are  not, 
we  may  keep  Malta  ;  but  not  a  moment  longei-. 
I  hope  that  the  ministry  are  not  able  to  say  among 
themselves,  that  which  was  said  by  the  French 
ministers  after  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  that 
they  signed  it  with  the  secret  determination  to 
violate  it  upon  the  first  opportunity.  I  believe  i 
Mr.  Addington  and  lord  Hawkesbury  incapable  j 
of  doing  this  ;  it  would  be  a  blot  on  the  honour  of  , 
England  if  they  were.  After  all,  these  continual  I 
invectives  against  the  greatness  of  France,  those  ; 
torrors   which    it  is   continually   endeavoured    to 


excite,  they  can  only  serve  to  nourish  troubles  and 
hatred  between  two  great  people.  I  am  certain 
that  if  there  were  in  Paris  an  assembly  similar  to 
that  which  meets  for  discussion  here,  it  would 
speak  of  the  English  navy,  and  of  the  dominion 
of  the  seas,  as  we  speak  here  in  this  place  of  the 
French  armies,  and  of  their  domination  over  the 
continent.  I  comprehend  well  enough  a  noble 
rivalry  between  two  powerful  nations ;  but  to 
think  of  war,  to  propose  it  been  use  any  nation  be- 
comes great,  because  it  prospers,  would  be  sense- 
less and  inhuman.  If  it  was  announced  to  you 
that  the  first  consul  had  made  a  canal  to  bring  the 
sea  from  Dieppe  to  Paris,  there  are  persons  who 
wiiuld  believe  it,  and  who,  I  doubt  not,  would  im- 
mediately propose  a  war  on  that  account.  The 
manufactures  of  France  and  their  progress  are 
si)oken  about.  I  have  seen  those  manufactures, 
and  I  have  admired  them;  but  if  I  must  speak  my 
real  sentiments,  I  fear  them  no  more  than  I  fear 
the  French  navy.  I  am  certain  that  the  English 
manufactures  will  bear  off  the  prize  when  a  con- 
test is  established  between  them  and  the  French. 
Let  them  then  essay  their  strength  ;  let  them  but 
sustain  the  combat  at  Manchester  and  St.  Quentin. 
It  is  in  those  jjlaces  that  tiie  lists  are  open;  it  is 
in  those  close  fields  that  the  two  nations  sliould 
try  their  strength.  To  make  war  to  ensure  success 
either  for  one  side  or  the  other,  would  be  bar- 
barous. We  reproach  the  French  that  they  in- 
terdict our  j)roduce  arriving  in  their  j)orts ;  but 
is  that  not  the  right  which  you  yourselves  exer- 
cise ?  And  you  complain  ;  is  there  any  nation 
which  issues  prohiljitions  as  actively  as  you  have 
done  yourselves  ?  A  ]nirt  of  our  commerce  may, 
it  is  possible,  suffer  in  consequence;  but  that  is 
the  result  seen  at  every  similar  period,  after  the 
peace  of  1763,  and  after  the  peace  of  1782.  There 
were  then  certain  products  of  industry  developed 
by  the  war  above  their  ordinary  proportion,  which, 
at  the  peace,  were  found  to  enter  within  narrower 
limits,  and  thei-e  were  others  which  in  their  turn 
partook  of  a  more  extended  develojiment.  What 
of  all  that  ?  Should  we,  to  gratify  the  ambition 
of  some  of  our  merchants,  shed  torrents  of  Eng- 
lish blood  ?  As  for  me,  my  side  of  the  question  is 
taken.  If  it  is  necessary  for  the  gratification  of 
the  mad  passions  of  men,  that  millions  be  immo- 
lated, I  will  go  back  to  the  madness  of  antiquity; 
because  I  prefer  sooner  that  blood  should  be  spilled 
in  the  romantic  expeditions  of  an  Alexander,  than 
in  gratifying  the  gross  cupidity  of  a  few  traders 
greedy  of  sordid  gain." 

These  few  words,  in  which  the  most  sincere 
patriotism  could  not  overshadow  the  dictates  of 
humanity,  because  the  two  sentiments  should  be 
conciliated  in  eveiy  generous  lie:irt,  produced  a 
great  effect  in  the  English  parliann  nt.  They  had 
l)rodigiou8ly  exaggerated  the  French  manufactures 
and  navy.  Both  the  one  and  the  other  had  no 
doubt  commenced  flourishing  ;  but  they  spoke  of 
that  as  done  and  accomplished  which  was  but  just 
commenced  ;  and  these  exaggei-ations,  .spread 
abroad  by  the  higher  class  of  merchants,  were 
rumoured  in  a  most  unhappy  manner  among  all 
classes  of  the  British  people.  Tiie  eloquent  and 
wise  rea.sonings  of  Fox  came  at  a  j>?'oper  moment 
to  weaken  the  force  of  such  mischievous  reports, 
and    they    were    accompanied    with  good    effects, 


1802. 
Nov. 


The  affairs  of 
England. 


RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENS. 


4-19 


while  tlicy  wounded  the  national  sympathies.  Be- 
sides, althoujjh  discontented,  and  alarmed  at  the 
greatness  of  Fi-ance,  they  were  not  yet  willing  to 
go  to  war.  The  party  of  Grenville  and  Windham 
compromised  itself  by  its  violence.  Fox  was 
honoured  by  lending  a  support  to  the  cabinet. 
Some  thougiit  he  was  approximating  to  office  by 
this  conduct,  so  entirely  new.  It  was  pretended 
that  he  would  soon  support  more  openly  the 
feeble  minister,  who  had  played  in  debate  a  cha- 
racter full  of  mediocrity  and  uncertainty,  ap- 
proving all  that  was  said  on  behalf  of  the  peace, 
without  daring  to  speak  himself  in  its  defence.  In 
other  respects,  the  address  proposed  in  answer  to 
the  speech  from  the  crown,  was  adopted  without 
any  amendment ;  and  the  supplies  were  voted  in  the 
same  way.  For  a  certain  time  the  ministry  ap- 
peared to  be  saved,  a  thing  which  pleased  Adding- 
ton,  although  ho  had  little  ambition,  but  was  more 
pleasing  to  lord  Mawkesbury,  who  earnestly  de- 
sired to  keep  a  minister's  place.  This  species  of 
success  disposed  these  two  statesmen  to  better 
relations  with  France,  because  they  desired  peace, 
knowing  well  that  they  had  not  come  into  office 
without  it,  and  that  if  it  passed  away  they  should 
go  out  of  office  immediately.  In  fact,  at  the 
firing  of  the  first  cannon,  Pitt  could  not  fail  to  be 
called  to  take  the  reins  of  government  by  all  classes 
of  the  nation. 

The  Swiss  business  terminated  wisely  and 
promptly,  and  removed  the  principal  grievance. 
Lord  llawkesbury  too  desired  that  genei-al 
Andreossy,  the  French  ambassador,  might  be 
directed  to  proceed  to  London,  offering  at  the 
same  time  to  send  lord  Whitworth  to  Paris,  as 
ambassador  from  Great  Britain.  The  firet  consul 
readily  agreed  to  the  request,  because,  not  with- 
out some  feelings  of  anger  which  had  been  excited 
in  his  mind  by  the  bad  spirit  shown  towards  him 
in  England,  and  in  spite  of  the  images  of  unequalled 
greatness  which  he  sometimes  fore.saw  in  the  event 
of  a  war,  his  mind  was  entirely  directed  to  peace. 
When  he  was  provoked  or  irritated,  indeed,  he 
would  bring  himself,  at  times,  to  say,  that  after 
all,  war  was  his  natural  vocation,  his  original 
calling,  perhaps  his  only  destiny  ;  that  he  knew 
how  to  rule  in  a  superior  way,  but  that  before 
governing  he  had  known  how  to  fight ;  that  it  was 
his  profession,  "  par  excellence  ; "  and  that  if  Mo- 
reau,  with  a  French  army,  had  reached  as  far  as 
the  gates  of  Vienna,  he  could  go  beyond  that. 
He  repeated  these  things  too  often,  and,  in  fact,  at 
this  moment  Rini:'il.ir  visions  sometimes  arose  in 
liis  mind.  He  saw  empires  destroyed,  Europe 
remodilled,  and  his  consular  power  clianged  into 
a  crown,  whiih  should  not  be  less  than  the  crown 
of  Charlemagne  ;  whosoever  threatened  or  in-itated 
hiro,  raised,  one  after  another,  in  the  vast  extent  of 
his  intellect,  fatally  seducing  images  of  power  and 
grandeur  that  b<  come  ascendant.  It  was  easy  to 
perceive  these  in  the  singular  elevation  of  his 
daily  convei-sation,  in  the  despatches  which  he 
dictated  to  his  miniKU^r  for  foreign  affairs,  in  the 
thousand  Utters,  in  fact,  which  he  addressed  to  the 
different  agents  of  the  government.  At  times  he 
would  remark,  that  this  greatmss  would  certainly 
not  be  wanting  to  him,  sooner  or  later;  but  he  found 
that  the  peace  had  been  of  too  short  a  duration, 
that  St.  Domingo  was  not  definitively  conquered, 


that  Louisiana  was  not  occupied,  that  the  French 
marine  was  not  re-estiiblislied.  According  to  his 
own  opinion,  he  wanted,  before  war  should  be  re- 
commenced, four  or  five  yeai-s  to  come  of  continual 
efibrts  in  the  bosom  of  profound  peace.  The  fii-st 
consul  shared  in  that  passion  for  constructing  great 
works,  which  has  been  deemed  a  part  of  the  natu- 
ral character  of  flie  founders  of  empires;  he  took  a 
great  interest  in  the  strong  fortresses  which  he 
constructed  in  Italy,  in  the  extensive  and  grand 
roads  which  he  cut  through  the  Alps,  in  the  plans 
of  the  new  towns  which  he  ])rojected  in  Britany, 
and  in  the  canals,  by  means  of  which  it  was  his 
intention  to  unite  the  waters  of  the  Seine  and 
Escaut.  He  enjoyed  absolute  power,  and  attracted 
universal  admiration,  and  all  this  in  the  midst  of  a 
state  of  profound  peace,  which  could  not  but  be 
acceptiible  to  him  after  haviiig  fought  so  many 
battles,  traversed  so  many  countries,  and  com- 
mitted to  so  many  hazards  his  fortune  and  his 
life. 

The  first  consul,  then,  was  sincerely  desirous  of 
the  preservation  of  the  jjcace,  and  he  consented 
readily  to  every  thing  which  might  contribute  to 
ensure  its  duration.  In  consequence  of  this  wish, 
he  sent  off  general  Andreossy  to  London,  and 
received  lord  Whitworth  with  great  distinction 
in  Paris.  This  personage,  designed  to  represent 
George  III.  in  Fi-ance,  was  a  ti-Ue  English  gentle- 
man, simple  in  himself,  although  magnificent  in  his 
x-epresentative  character,  discreet,  straightforward, 
but  stiff  and  proud,  as  his  countrymen  in  general 
are  found  to  be,  and  wholly  incapable  of  that  nice 
and  delicate  system  of  management  which  was  so 
necessary  with  a  character,  by  tui'ns  passionate 
and  kind,  as  was  that  of  the  first  consul.  There 
was  wanted  in  such  a  position  a  man  of  ingenuity 
and  comprehension  rather  than  a  great  lord,  and 
both  one  and  the  other  blended,  if  it  had  been 
possible,  in  order  to  act  successfully,  in  contact  with 
a  new  government,  which  had  need  of  being 
fiattered  and  managed.  Still  it  was  not  at  the 
first  instant  that  these  defects  of  character  exhi- 
bited themselves  in  their  relations  with  each  other. 
At  the  commencement,  all  passed  oft"  well.  Lord 
Whitworth  was  received  with  marvellous  distinc- 
tion';  his  wife,  the  duchess  of  Dorset,  a  high-born 


'  "Lord  Wliitwortli's  presentation  to  the  first  consul  took 
place  on  the  5th  of  December,  I8U2,  and  was  marked  l)y 
the  most  distinguished  lionuurs.  He  was  received  wiih  every 
possible  attention  which  could  be  paid  to  the  representative 
of  the  British  sovereign.  There  were  no  less  than  eighty 
foreinners  presented  the  same  day,  among  whom  were  thirty- 
twi)  English ;  but  the  English  ambassador  occupied  nearly 
tic  whole  of  the  first  consul's  care  and  respect;  and  the 
chief  magistrate  of  the  French  republic  seemed  particularly 
anxious  to  give  the  most  public  and  satisfactory  proofs  of 
his  sincere  desire  to  preserve  unimpaired  (he  established 
relations  of  peace  and  amity  between  llie  t«o  countries." 
Such  is  the  account  of  his  lordship's  reception  from  a  peri- 
odical work  published  at  the  time  in  England.  Our  author 
is  correct  in  his  tharacler  of  lord  Whitworth,  who  was  a 
plain  common-sense  English  gentleman,  kulHcicntly  stilT, 
arislocratical,  and  well  bred,  but  no  more.  Lord  Curnwallis, 
or  some  man  of  a  higher  order  of  mind,  and  more  accus- 
tomed to  deal  with  newly-founded  governments,  was  re- 
quired fur  such  an  embassy,  a  man  of  a  hirgc  scope  of  mind  ; 
a  mere  English  otiicfal  gentleman  was  a  nonentity  in  such  a 
position. — TruHildlor. 

Go 


450    Russia  and  Prussia  assent    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


to  the  guarantee. 


English  lady,  was  the  object  of  the  most  distin- 
guished and  scrupulous  atteniii>n.  The  first  oonsul 
gave  to  the  ambassador  aiid  his  lady  splendid  en- 
tertainments, lioth  at  Versailles  and  at  the  Tuileries. 
Talleyrand,  in  order  to  do  them  the  utmost  honour 
in  liis  power,  disjjlayed  for  their  recejition  all  that 
elegance  and  perfect  good  breeding  for  which  he 
was  so  distinguished.  The  two  consuls,  Camba- 
cdres  and  Lebrun,  liad  orders  to  show  every 
attention  to  them,  and  they  did  the  best  that  was 
in  their  power.  To  all  this  was  added  the  more 
flattering  mark  of  respect  in  publishing  these 
attentions. 

There  entered  into  the  feelings  of  England  in 
regard  to  France,  a  great  deal  of  wounded  piide, 
although  interest  had  much  to  do  in  giving  them 
their  bias.  These  attentinns,  lavished  by  the  first 
consul  u|)()n  the  British  ambassador,  produced  the 
most  sensible  effect  upon  the  i)ublie  mind  in  Lon- 
don, and  recalled  for  a  moment  better  feelings 
and  sentiments  in  every  heart.  General  Andreossy 
felt  the  effects  of  the  same  momentary  reaction,  and 
was  receivfd  in  a  most  flattering  manner,  in  every  . 
way  similar  to  that  widi  which  lord  Wliitworth 
had  been  received  in  Paris.  The  montlis  of  De- 
cember and  January  renewed  a  species  of  general 
tranquillity.  The  funds,  which  in  both  countries 
liad  fallen,  rose  considerably,  and  stood  at  the 
rate  at  which  they  had  been  during  the  time  that 
the  greatest  conHd<nce  liad  i)revailed.  The  five 
per  cents,  were  at  57  f.  and  58  f.  iu  France. 

The  winter  of  i80;{  was  nearly  as  brilliant  as 
that  of  1802.  It  even  appeared  to  be  more  calm, 
because  within  tin;  limits  of  France  every  thing 
went  on  in  a  smooth  course,  whilst  in  the  preceding 
year,  the  ojjposition  of  the  tribimatc,  without  caus- 
ing any  thing  fearful,  occasioned  a  certiiin  degree 
of  uneasiness.  Ail  the  hi;;h  functionaries,  consuls, 
and  ministers,  had  orders  to  keep  open  their  houses, 
as  nmcli  for  the  reception  of  those  employed  under 
them  as  for  that  of  the  society  of  Paris,  and  for 
foreigners  who  might  be  in  the  capital.  The  com- 
mercial classes  were  well  satisfied  with  the  general 
position  and  aspect  of  affairs.  A  sensation  of  well- 
being  was  every  where  prevalent,  and  finished  by 
gaining  over  even  the  circles  of  the  returned  emi- 
grants. Every  day  there  w:!S  seen  some  personage 
bearing  a  great  name,  detaching  himself  from  the 
idle,  agitated,  calumniaiing  group  of  the  ancient 
French  nobility,  in  order  tn  go  and  solicit  a  place, 
either  magisterial  or  financial,  in  the  grave  and 
monotonous  diawing-rooms  of  the  consuls,  Cam- 
bace'res  and  Lebiuii.  Others  went  as  far  as  to 
S(dicit  madam  Bonajjarte  to  ask  places  for  them 
in  the  new  court.  Those  who  had  obtained  them 
were  spoken  of  contcmi)tuously  by  those  who  at  the 
bottom  envied  them,  and  were  not  very  far  behind 
iu  following  their  example. 

This  state  i>f  things  had  endured  a  part  of  the 
winter,  and  would  have  lasted  longer  still,  but  for 
a  circumstance  which  began  to  make  embar- 
rassment be  felt  ill  the  British  cabinet  ;  this  was 
the  delay  whii.li  had  occurred  in  the  evacuation  of 
Malta.  In  committing  the  serious  error  of  coun- 
termanding the  evacuation,  tjiere  had  been  gene- 
rated with  the  Engli.sh  people  a  temjiiation  exceed- 
ingly difticidt  to  overconie,  namely,  that  of  keeping 
a  posiiiou  which  should  domineer  over  the  Mediter- 
ranean. It  was  necessarjr  to  have  either  a  powerful 


ministry  in  England,  or  a  concession  on  the  part  of 
France,  to  render  pcs-sible  the  aliandonment  of  so 
precious  a  pledge.  But  a  powerfi^l  ministry  did 
not  exist  in  England,  and  the  first  consul  was  not 
inclined  to  be  so  accomwiodating  as  to  create  facili- 
ties for  that  which  did  exist,  by  making  sacrifices. 
All  that  could  be  obtained  from  him,  under  exist- 
ing circumstances,  was,  that  he  sliould  not  uisist 
upon  the  execution  of  the  treaty  with  a  precipita- 
tion too  great  for  their  position. 

A  new  circumstance  rendered  yet  more  pressing 
the  danger  of  the  present  situation  of  things.  Until 
now  there  had  been  a  pretext  for  deferring  the 
execution  of  the  treaty  of  Amiens  in  regard  to 
Malta  ;  this  was  the  relusal  of  the  Russian  cabinet 
to  become  one  of  the  guarantees  of  the  new  order 
of  things  established  in  that  island.  But  the  Rus- 
sian cabinet,  a])preciating  the  danger  of  its  refusal, 
and  wishing  sincerely  to  concur  in  the  maintenance 
of  the  peace,  h:tstened  to  recall  its  first  determina- 
tion, by  a  movement  of  good  feeling  which  did 
honour  to  the  young  Alexander.  Solely  in  order 
to  afford  some  motive  for  his  change  of  opinion,  he 
had  attached  some  insignificant  conditions  to  the 
guarantee,  such  as  the  acknowledgment  by  all  the 
])Owers  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  order  of  the  island 
of  Malta,  the  introduction  of  natives  into  the  go- 
verimient,  and  the  suppression  of  the  Malte.se  lan- 
guage. These  conditions  changed  nothing  in  the 
treaty,  becau.se  they  are  found  nearly  all  contained 
in  it '.  Prussia  being  also  equally  impressed  with 
Russia  upon  the  necessity  of  preserving  peace,  had 
equally  with  her  reviewed  her  first  determination, 
and  gave  her  guarantee  in  the  same  terms  as 
Russia.  The  first  consul  was  equally  inclined  to 
adhere  to  the  new  conditions,  added  to  the  article 
of  the  treaty  of  Amiens,  and  accordingly  he  formally 
adojited  them. 

The  English  cabinet  could  no  more  keep  back;  it 
must  acce})t  the  gtiarantee  as  it  was  given,  or  it 
would  ])lace  itself  in  the  ]iosiiion  of  evident  bad 
faith,  because  the  new  clauses  devised  by  Russia 
were  in  themselves  so  insignificant,  that  they  were 
not  able,  with  any  show  of  rea.son,  to  decline  them. 
Altluuigh  embarrassed  by  the  difficulties  which 
they  had  created  themselves,  they  wei'e  still  dis- 
posed to  seize  upon  this  last  act  of  the  Russian 
government  as  a  natural  excuse  for  evacuating 
Malta,  save  in  exacting  some  apparent  precautions 
ill  regard  to  Egypt  and  the  east,  when  there  came, 
all  on  a  sudden,  an  unfortunate  incident,  which 
served  as  a  ])retext  for  their  bad  faith,  if  it  was 
bad  faith,  and  not  a  scarecrow  to  their  feebleness, 
if  it  was  only  feebleness. 

It  has  been  already  seen,  that  colonel  Sebastiani 
had  been  sent  to  Tunis,  and  from  Tunis  to  Egyjit, 

'  If  the  reader  will  turn  to  page  241,  he  will  find  intro- 
duced  in  a  note  by  the  translator,  the  stipulations  reKariiing 
Malta  annexed  to  the  iirlicle  X.  of  the  treaty.  These  stipu- 
l.itioiis,  signed  by  Jo.sepli  lioi.aparie  and  lord  Ccrnwallis, 
expre.-sly  stntc  lliat  a  M;iltese  languaj;e  shall  be  establiblied, 
to  be  supported  out  of  the  land  revenues  of  the  island.  Vide 
Stipulation  3  Alexander  could  liave  no  right  to  change  llie 
slipulaiioiis  of  a  treaty  as  a  rrservaiion  of  his  guarantee, 
unless  Prance  and  England  as^enttd  to  the  .'.Iteration.  The 
guarantee  thi:s  proffered  was  tlierefore  no  guarantee  at  all, 
without  England's  express  consent.  How  then  can  the 
author  say,  that  conditions  changed  nothing  in  a  treaty  which 
violated  its  express  stipulations  t— Translator. 


1803. 
Jan. 


Colonel  Sebastian! 
report. 


RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENS. 


Perplexity  of  the  Eng- 
lish iiiiiiistry. 


451 


to  examine  whether  tlie  English  were  or  were  not 
ready  to  evacuate  Alexandria;  to  observe  all  that 
was  passing  between  the  Mamelukes  and  Turks  ; 
ta establish  a  Fieneli  protection  to  the  Christians  ; 
and  to  take  to  general  Brune,  the  French  ambas- 
sador at  Constantinople,  the  new  contirniati(»n  of 
Ills  former  instructions.  The  colonel  had  properly 
fulfilled  his  mission;  he  Iiad  found  the  Englisji  still 
established  in  Alexandria,  and  making  no  prepara- 
tions to  leave  it;  the  Turks  engaged  in  an  obstinate 
war  with  the  Mamelukes  ;  and  the  Fremii  deejjly 
regretted,  since  the  inhabit;ints  had  now  a  com- 
parison of  their  system  of  government  with  that  of 
the  Turks,  the  east  resounded  still  with  the  name 
of  general  Boniipnrte.  He  had  stated  all  these 
things  to  his  government,  and  had  added,  that  in 
thej)rescnt  situation  of  Egypt,  ])l;tced  between  the 
Turks  and  Mamelukes,  it  would  not  require  six 
thousand  French  to  reconquer  it.  This  rejiort, 
although  made  in  measured  terms,  it  was  impos- 
sible to  publish  without  producing  disagreeable 
effects,  because  it  had  been  written  confidentially 
and  solely  for  the  government,  and  there  were 
many  things  stated  in  it  wliiih  it  was  only  proper 
should  be  said  to  the  government  itself.  For  ex- 
ample, colonel  Sebastiani  ci>m|)lained  bitterly  of  the 
English  general  Smart,  who  then  comnianiled  in 
Alexandria,  and  who,  by  his  discourse  respecting 
him,  had  nearly  got  him  assassinated  at  Cairo. 
This  report  showed  that  the  English  did  not  yet 
think  of  evacuating  Egypt'.  The  last  circumstance 
made  the  first  consul  come  to  the  decision  to  insert 
an  article  in  the  Monilintr  which  related  to  the  sub- 
jwt.  He  found  that  the  English  had  taken  great 
liberties  in  relation  to  the  execution  of  the  treaty  of 
Amiens;  and  although  ho  had  not  yet  w  shed  to 
sImw  himsi.lf  pressing  upon  the  subjects  of  Malta 
and  Alex.indria,  still  he  was  not  .sorry  to  put  the 
English  in  their  proper  lii;lu,  by  niakiog  known  a 
document,  showing  their  shiggislnuss  in  fulfilling 
their  engagements,  and  the  bad  will  their  officers 
bore  towards  those  of  France.  This  refjort  was  in- 
serted in  the  Moniteur  of  the  :iOth  of  January. 
Very  little  noticed  in  France,  it  prodncetl  in  Eng- 
l.inil  a  »<nsiition  iis  striking  as  it  was  nnroreseen. 
The  expedition  to  Egypt  had  left  in  the  English 
nil  extreme  susceptibility  for  all  that  related  to  ih:.t 
country;  and  ihey  coiuinually  believed  they  saw  an 
army  of  Frenchmen  always  reaily  to  embark  at 
Toulon  for  Alexandria.  Tlie  recital  of  an  ofKcer 
exposing  the  miserable  state  of  the  Turks  in 
Egypt,  the  facility  with  which  they  might  be  ex- 
pelled, and  the  fri-hliness  of  the  recollection  lij't 
behiml  them  by  the  French,  and  above  all,  the 
vouiplaint  of  the  bad  conduct  of  a  Uritinli  officer, 
aliiriiied,  hurt  them,  and  took  them  out  of  that  state 
of  calm  feeling  into  which  they  had  begun  to  re- 
enter. Still  this  aspect  would  have  been  onlv  a 
puMsing  thing  if  the  spirit  of  parly  had  not  set 
aUiut  the  t;isk  of  aggr.ivating  it.     Winilham,  Dun- 

duH,aiid  Gleliville,  sirt  theiimelvcH  re  laboriously 

at  wuric  than  ever,  and  sniothertd  the  voices  of  the 


'  Tfic  EnRliBli  were  bound  by  llio  treaty  of  Amiens  to 
evariiatc  E^ypt  in  three  niunili^  after  tlii.-  Amv  ufilic  iri-iity, 
or  after  the  27lli  of  Mnrcti,  180'.'.  It  wiii  nrariy  a  year 
after  ihe  iiiciiiiture,  lliiil  lord  Whituortli  imnoinu'ed  lu 
lisvliig  oreiirrrJ .  this  wan  un-loubtcdly  iin  iiifr.icliuii  ol  tliu 
treaty. — Traiitlalor. 


I  more  generous  and  unprejudiced  men,  as  Fox  and 
Iiis  friends  were.  These  last  wearied  themselves 
vainly  in  saying,  that  there  was  nothing  in  the  re- 
port so  very  extraordinary;  and  if  the  first  consul 
had  designs  ujjon  Egypt,  he  would  not  thus  make 
them  public  to  all  the  world.  They  would  not  hear 
these  truths  ;  they  declaimed  only  more  violently  ; 
they  said  that  the  English  army  was  insulted,  and 
that  there  must  be  a  public  reparation  made  to 
avenge  its  outraged  honour.  The  impre.ssion  thus 
produced  in  London  returned  to  Paris,  as  if  it  Iiad 
resounded  there  by  numberless  echoes.  The  first 
consul,  wounded  to  see  his  intenii<  ns  continually 
misinterpreted,  lost  all  patience  at  last.  He  found 
it  singular,  that  iiidiviiktals,  who  were  themselves 
so  behindhand  upon  two  essential  points  of  the 
treaty,  the  evacuation  of  Egypt  and  Malta,  were  so 
ready  to  complain  when  there  were,  on  the  con- 
trary, any  complaints  to  be  ])referred  against  them- 
selves. He  therefore  ordered  Talleyrand  at  Paris, 
and  general  Andreossy  at  Lond<in,  to  conclude  all, 
and  to  have  a  categorical  explanation  upon  the  exe- 
cution of  the  treaty  deferred  lor  so  long  a  time. 

The  demand  for  an  explanation  came  very 
awkwardly  at  that  moment.  The  English  minis- 
ters, scarcely  daring  to  evacuate  Malta  before  the 
publication  of  colonel  Sibastiani's  report  took 
place,  were  still  much  less  capable  of  effecting 
it  afterwards.  They  refused  to  enter  into' any  ex- 
planation, resting  their  refusal  ujion  motives  that, 
for  the  first  time,  suffei-ed  the  sus))ieion  of  their 
intentions  to  be  perceived.  Lord  Whitvvorth  was 
ordered  to  state,  that  some  compen.-.ation  was  due 
to  England  for  every  advantage  obiained  by  France; 
that  the  treaty  of  Amiens  had  been  founded  upon 
this  principle,  because  it  was  in  consideration  of 
the  con<iuests  made  by  one  of  these  two  powers  in 
Europe,  that  there  had  been  granted  to  the  other 
numerous  posse.ssisiis  both  in  America  and  India; 
that  France  having  been  adjudged, since  the  peace, 
new  territories  ancl  a  new  extensi^m  of  influence, 
there  were  equivalents  due  to  England;  that  from 
this  motive  England  would  have  been  justified  in 
refusing  to  give  up  Malta;  but  iliat  from  the  de- 
sire to  preserve  peace,  she  was  ready  to  evacuate 
that  island,  without  the  idea  of  demanding  any 
such  compensation,  when  the  report  of  colonel 
Sebastiani  made  its  appearame;  an<l  that  since  the 
publicatiim  td'  that  report,  the  British  cabinet  had 
iletermiiujd  to  agree  to  nothing  in  relation  to 
Malta,  but  on  the  condition  of  receiving  a  double 
satislaciion;  first,  for  the  outrage  committed  by  it 
upon  the  I'^nglish  army  ;  tiixl  .secondly,  on  the 
views  of  the  first  consul  in  regard  to  Egypt— views 
which  were  expressed  in  the  re  port  in  question  in 
Hueh  A  manner  as  to  injure  iind  disquiet  his  Bri- 
tannic majesty. 

When  ibis  declaraticm  was  aildressed  to  Talley- 
rand, he  discov<ri-d  the  most  extraordinary  sur- 
pri.se.  Ahhough  he  well  eompreliended  the  dis- 
trust whieh  was  certain  to  be  eaosid  in  England 
by  all  that  related  to  Egypt,  \\v  was  »  holly  unable 
to  imagine  that  the  inelinaiion  to  );ive  up  Malta 
being  true,  this  iiielinatioti  could  be  changed  for 
a  motive  so  insigiiifieaiit  as  thtr  report  ui  colonel 
Sebastiani  lie  connnunieateil  the  matter  to  the 
first  consul,  who  was.  in  his  turn,  eipially  surprised, 
and  as  well,  afti-r  his  natural  clnnaeter,  greatly 
irritated.  Ho  judged,  and  Tulle^rand  with  hiui, 
o  'i  2 


452    Conversation  between  lord    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.    Whitworth  and  Bonaparte. 


1803. 
Jan. 


that  he  must  remove  himself  from  a  situation  so 
intolerable,  so  painful,  and  so  much  worse  than 
war.  The  first  consul  at  once  said,  that  the 
English  wished  to  keep  Malta,  and  that  all  their 
recriminations  were  but  pure  pretexts,  desia;ned  to 
conceal  that  desire,  that  he  must  himself  enter 
into  an  explanation  clearly  and  fully  with  them, 
and  give  them  to  understand,  that  upon  this  sub- 
ject to  cheat  liim,  tire  him  out,  or  move  him,  was 
equally  im;iossible;  that  if,  on  the  contrary,  the 
uiquietude  which  they  stated  they  felt  was  really 
sincere,  he  should  be  able  to  remove  thtir  fears  by 
making  them  acquainted  with  his  intentions  in 
language  so  true,  that  they  could  not  remain  in  the 
least  uncertainty  upon  the  matter.  He  therefore 
resolved  to  see  lord  Whitworth,  and  to  speak  to 
the  ambassador  with  unlimited  frankness,  in  order 
to  convince  him  that  his  mind  was  made  up  upon 
two  points,  the  evacuation  of  Malta,  which  he  was 
determined  to  exact  absolutely  and  imperatively, 
and  the  peace,  which  he  desired  to  maintain  in 
perfect  good  faith,  when  he  once  obtained  the  exe- 
cution of  the  treaty.  This  was  a  new  essay  which 
he  was  thus  about  to  make;  that  of  speaking  out 
all,  absolutely  all,  even  in  that  wliich  he  had  not 
otherwise  ever  said  to  an  enemy,  with  a  view  to  calm 
their  mistrust,  if  they  were  really  mistrustful,  or  to 
convict  them  of  falsehood,  if  they  wei'e  of  bad  faith. 
From  this  resolution  there  resulted,  as  will  be 
observed,  a  very  strange  scene. 

On  the  18th  of  February,  in  the  evening,  lie 
sent  an  invitation  to  lord  Whitworth  to  come  to 
the  Tuilleries,  and  he  received  the  ambassador 
there  with  perfect  kindness.  A  large  writing- 
table  occupied  the  middle  of  his  cabinet  ;  he  made 
the  ambassador  sit  at  one  end  of  this  table  while 
he  took  his  seat  at  the  other  •. 

Bonaparte  observed  to  lord  Whitworth,  that  he 
had  wished  to  see  him  in  order  to  converse  with 
him  directly,  with  the  object  of  convincing  him  of 
what  were  his  real  intentions  and  feelings,  that 
none  of  his  ministers  could  so  well  express  as  he 
could  himself.  He  then  immediately  recapitulated 
his  relations  witii  England  from  their  commence- 
ment, the  care  he  had  taken  to  make  the  tender  of 
peace  the  same  day  that  he  had  come  to  the  con- 
sulate, the  i-efusal  witii  which  his  offer  had  been 
met,  the  eagerness  with  which  he  had  renewed  the 
negotiations  as  soon  as  he  was  able  to  do  so  with 
honour,  and,  finally,  he  spoke  of  the  concessions  he 
had  made  in  order  to  arrive  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  treaty  of  Amiens.  He  next  expressed  the 
disappointment  he  experienced  to  see  all  his  efforts 
to  live  in  amity  with  Gi'eat  Britain  meet  with  so 
ill  a  return.  He  recalled  to  recollection  the  bad 
proceedings  which  had  immediately  followed  the 
cessation  of  hostilities,  the  outi'ageous  abuse  in  the 

•  The  first  consul  recited  this  conversation  the  same  day 
to  the  minister  for  foreign  afTairs,  in  order  that  he  might 
make  it  known  to  tlie  ministers  of  France  at  foreign  courts. 
He  also  spoke  of  it  to  his  colleagues,  and  to  many  persons 
who  preserved  it  in  memor)'.  Lastly,  lord  Whitworth  trans- 
mitted it  in  its  proper  state  to  his  own  cabinet.  It  was  cir- 
culated througliout  all  Europe,  and  was  reported  in  many 
different  ways.  It  is  from  these  versions,  and  by  taking  that 
which  was  ineontestably  true,  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  that  I 
have  reproduced  it  here.  I  give  not  the  exact  words,  but 
the  real  8en^e  of  the  passages,  of  which  I  guarantee  the  cor- 
rectness.—./iulAor'*  note. 


English  papers,  the  license  given  to  the  journals 
of  the  emigrants,  a  license  unjustifiable  by  the  laws 
of  the  British  constitution  ;  he  spoke  of  the  pen- 
sions granted  to  Georges  and  his  accomplices,  of 
the  continual  descents  of  the  Chouans  from  the 
Isles  of  Jersey  and  Guernsey  ;  of  the  treatment 
shown  to  the  French  princes,  who  were  received 
with  the  insignia  of  former  royalty  in  France  ;  of 
the  sending  agents  into  Switzerland  and  Italy, 
in  order  every  where  to  increase  difficulties  to 
France.  "  Every  bi-eeze,"  said  the  first  consul, 
"  every  breeze  that  blows  from  England  brought 
me  nothing  but  hatred  and  outrage.  Now,"  he 
added,  "  we  are  in  a  situation  from  which  we  must 
absolutely  get  out.  Will  you  or  will  you  not 
execute  the  treaty  of  Amiens  ?  I  have  on  my  own 
part  executed  it  with  scrupulous  fidelity.  The 
treaty  obliged  me  to  evacuate  Naples,  Tarentuni, 
and  the  Roman  states,  in  three  months  ;  and  in 
less  than  two  months  the  French  troops  had  quitted 
ail  these  countries.  There  are  ten  months  passed 
away  since  the  exchange  of  the  ratifications,  and 
the  English  troops  have  not  yet  evacuated  Malta 
and  Alexandria.  It  is  useless  to  endeavour  to 
deceive  us  in  these  facts  :  will  you  have  peace  or 
war  ?  If  you  will  have  war,  it  is  only  for  you  to 
say  as  much  ;  we  will  make  it  with  obstinacy  until 
one  nation  or  the  other  is  ruined.  Do  you  desire 
peace  1  then  you  must  evacuate  Alexandria  and 
Malta.  Because,"  said  the  first  consul  in  the  ac- 
cent of  unshaken  resolution,  "this  rock  of  Malta,  on 
which  so  many  fortifications  have  been  constructed, 
has,  there  is  no  doubt,  a  very  great  maritime 
importance;  but  it  has  in  my  view  a  much  greater 
importance  than  that — it  is  the  interest  it  has 
connected  with  the  highest  point  of  French  honour; 
what  would  the  world  say  if  we  suffered  the  vio- 
lation of  a  solemn  treaty  entered  into  with  us  ? 
It  would  cast  doubts  upon  our  strength,  upon  our 
energy.  As  to  me,  my  part  is  taken  ;  I  would 
much  sooner  see  you  in  possession  of  the  heights  of 
Montmartre  than  of  IMalta  !" 

Portentous  words  !     Unfortunately  but  too  truly 
realized  to  the  misfortune  of  France. 

Lord  Whitworth,  silent,  and  fixed  to  his  seat, 
not  understanding  sufficiently  the  scene  in  which 
he  was  a  performer,  replied  briefly  to  these  decla- 
rations of  the  first  consul.  He  alleged  the  im- 
possibility of  calming  in  a  few  months  the  feelings 
of  hatred  that  a  long  war  had  generated  between 
the  two  nations  ;  he  made  much  of  the  impedi- 
ment of  the  English  laws  in  not  giving  the  means 
of  repressing  the  licentiousness  of  writers  ;  he  ex- 
plained, lastly,  that  the  pensions  given  to  the 
Chouans  were  a  remuneration  for  past  services, 
but  not  as  rewards  for  those  to  come  (a  singular 
avowal  in  the  mouth  of  an  ambassador  !)  ;  that  the 
reception  given  to  the  emigrant  princes  was  an  act 
of  liospitality  towards  the  unfortunate,  an  hos- 
pitality customary  with  the  British  nation.  All 
this  did  not  justify  the  toleration  afforded  to 
Fx-ench  emigrant  pamphleteers,  the  pensions  al- 
lotted to  assassins,  nor  the  insignia  of  the  old 
regime  permitted  to  be  woni  by  the  Bourbon 
princes  upon  public  occasions.  Tiie  first  consul 
remarked  to  the  ambassador  how  little  tenable  liis  ( 
reply  was  upon  all  these  ])oints,  and  then  returned 
to  the  more  immediate  object,  the  deferred  evacua- 
tion of  Egypt  and  Malta.    In  regard  to  the  evacua- 


ConverMtionoflord       RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENS.  Whitworth  and  Bonaparte.  453 


tion  of  Alexandria,  lord  Whitworth  asserted,  that 
it  had  taken  place  while  it  was  the  subject  of  the 
present  conference.  In  regard  to  Malta,  he  ex- 
plained that  the  retardation  had  arisen  from  the 
difficulty  of  obtaining  the  guarantees  of  the  great 
powers,  and  through  the  obstinate  refusal  of  the 
grand  master  Ruspoli  ;  but,  he  added,  that  they 
were  on  the  point  of  finally  evacuating  the  island, 
when  changes,  unlooked  for  in  Europe,  and,  above 
all,  the  report  of  colonel  Sebastiani,  had  raised 
new  difficulties.  Here  the  first  consul  interrupted 
the  English  ambassador  by  saying :  "  Of  what 
changes  do  you  speak — surely  not  of  the  presi- 
dency of  the  Italian  republic,  which  was  conferred 
upon  me  before  the  signature  of  the  treaty  of 
Amiens  I  It  cannot  be  the  erection  of  the  kiiig<lom 
of  Etruria,  which  was  well  known  to  you  before 
that  same  treaty,  because  it  was  asked  of  yon,  and 
you  gave  hopes  of  your  approaching  acknow- 
ledgment of  that  kingdom  ;  it  cannot  be  of  that 
which  yon  speak  ?  Is  it  of  Piedmont  ?  Is  it  of 
Switzerland?  In  truth,  it  can  scarcely  be  these, 
since  these  two  incidents  have  added  little  to  the 
reality  of  existing  things.  But,  however,  it  may 
be,  you  have  not  the  right  to  complain,  because, 
as  regards  Piedmont,  even  before  the  treaty  of 
Amiens,  I  stated  to  all  the  world  what  it  was  my 
intention  to  do  ;  I  stated  it  to  Austria,  to  Russia, 
to  you.  I  have  never  consented,  when  it  has  been 
requested  of  me  to  promise  the  re-establishment  of 
the  house  of  Sardinia  to  its  states  ;  I  liave  never 
even  been  willing  to  stipulate  in  its  behalf  for  a 
determinate  indenmity.  You  were  then  well  ac- 
quainted with  my  intention  of  annexing  Piedmont 
to  France  ;  and  besides,  this  arrangement  changes 
nothing  in  my  influence  upon  Italy,  which  is 
absolute  :  I  wish  it  should  be  so,  and  so  it  will 
remain.  In  regard  to  Switzerland,  you  must  be 
well  aware  that  I  will  never  suffer  a  countei-- 
revolution  to  take  place  in  that  country.  But  all 
these  allegations  can  never  be  seriously  intended. 
My  power  in  Europe,  since  the  treaty  of  Amiens, 
is  neither  more  nor  less  than  it  was  at  that  time. 
I  should  have  called  upon  you  to  have  taken  a 
part  in  the  affairs  of  Germany,  if  you  had  exhibited 
tf)ward3  mo  different  sentiments.  You  well  know 
that  in  all  which  I  have  done,  I  have  ever  wisiied 
to  complete  the  fulfilment  of  the  treaties,  and  to 
secure  the  general  peace.  Now  look,  examine ;  is 
there  any  part  of  any  state  that  I  have  threatened, 
or  of  which  I  am  contemplating  the  invasion  ? 
There  ia  none,  you  arc  aware  there  is  none.  That 
of  which  you  speak  in  relation  to  colonel  Sebas- 
tian!, is  not  worthy  of  mention  in  the  relations  of 
two  great  nations  with  each  other.  If  you  have 
suspicions  regarding  my  views  upon  Egypt,  njy 
Irird,  I  will  attempt  to  remove  your  ai)prehensions. 
Yes,  I  have  thought  nnicli  upon  Egypt,  and  I 
shall  yet  think  about  it,  if  you  oblige  mu  to  com-  j 
menco  war.  But  I  shall  not  connnit  the  peace 
which  wo  have  enjoyed  for  so  short  a  lime,  in  } 
order  to  attempt  tlio  re-conquest  of  that  country.  | 
The  Turkish  empire  is  threatened  with  ruin  ;  for 
myself,  I  shall  contribute  to  make  it  endure  as  I 
long  as  possible  ;  but  if  it  gives  way,  I  shall  wish 
that  France  should  have  her  share.  For  all  that, 
be  you  sure  that  I  shall  not  precipitate  events.  If 
I  had  wished  it,  the  extensive  armament  which  I 
sent  t-;  St.  Domingo,  I  could  have  directed  upon 


Alexandria.  The  four  thousand  men  which  you 
have  there  would  have  been  no  obstacle  in  my 
way.  They  might  have  been,  upon  the  contrary, 
my  valid  excuse.  I  might  have  invaded  Egypt 
on  a  sudden,  and  this  time  you  would  not  have  been 
aijle  to  snatch  it  from  me  any  more.  But  I  never 
imagined  any  thing  of  such  a  character.  Do  you 
believe  that  1  deceive  myself  in  regard  to  the 
power  which  I  exci'cisc  at  present  upon  the  opinion 
of  France  and  Europe  ?  No,  that  power  is  not 
sufficiently  great  to  allow  me  to  cnnunit  with  impu- 
nity any  motiveless  aggression.  The  public  opinion 
of  Europe  would  innnediately  turn  against  me  if 
I  did  ;  my  jiolitical  ascendancy  would  be  lost ; 
then  as  to  Fi'ance,  I  am  under  the  necessity  to 
prove  to  her  that  war  has  not  been  made  by 
me,  that  I  have  not  provoked  it,  in  order  to  obtain 
from  her  that  impulse,  that  enthusiasm  which  I 
should  wish  to  excite  against  you,  if  you  bring  me 
back  to  the  contest.  It  is  necessary  that  you  cari-y 
all  the  wrong,  and  that  I  have  not  a  single  one  to 
answer  for.  I  do  not  meditate  a  single  aggression. 
All  that  I  had  to  do  in  Germany  and  Italy  is 
done  ;  and  I  have  done  nothing  that  I  had  not 
announced,  avowed,  or  arranged  beforehand  by 
treaty.  Now  if  you  doubt  my  desire  to  preserve 
])eace,  hear  me,  and  judge  how  far  I  am  sincere. 
Still  toll  rably  young,  I  have  arrived  at  a  degree  of 
))()wer,  at  a  degree  of  renown,  to  which  it  will  be 
difficult  to  add  any  thing.  This  power,  this  re- 
nown, do  you  believe  I  am  waiting  to  risk  in  a 
desperate  contest?  If  I  have  a  war  with  Austria, 
I  know  very  well  how  to  find  the  way  to  Vienna. 
If  I  go  to  war  with  you,  I  shall  take  from  you 
every  continental  ally  ;  I  shall  interdict  your  ac- 
cess from  the  Baltic  to  the  gulf  of  Tarentum.  You 
will  blockade  us,  but  I  will  blockade  you  in  turn  ; 
you  will  make  the  continent  a  prison  for  us,  but  I 
shall  make  one  for  you  upon  the  extent  of  the 
ocean.  Nevertheless,  to  end  the  mattci",  more 
direct  means  are  necessary.  I  must  assemble  a 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men,  an  immense 
flotilla,  attempt  to  pass  the  straits,  and  perhaps 
bury  at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  my  fortunes,  my 
glory,  and  my  life.  It  is  a  singular  temerity,  ray 
lord,  to  attempt  a  descent  upon  England  !"  After 
thus  speaking,  the  first  consul,  to  the  great  as- 
tonishment of  his  interlocutor,  begun  to  eiuimerate 
himself  the  difficulties  and  the  dangers  of  such  an 
enterprise  ;  the  quantity  of  material,  of  men,  of 
vessels  which  he  must  throw  upon  the  sti'aits, 
which  he  would  not  fail  to  throw  there  to  attempt 
the  destruction  of  England  ;  and  always  at  the 
same  time  insisting  more,  always  showing  that  the 
chance  of  perishing  was  superior  to  the  chance  of 
success.  Then  ho  added,  with  an  accent  of  extra- 
ordinary energy,  "  This  temarity,  my  lord,  is  so 
great  a  temerity,  that  if  you  oblige  me,  I  am  re- 
solved to  tempt  it.  I  shall  thus  expose  to  loss  my 
army  and  myself;  but  with  me  this  great  enterprise 
will  obtain  chances  of  success  which  it  would  iu>t 
have  with  another.  I  have  passed  the  .\lps  in 
winter  ;  1  know  how  to  render  that  possible  which 
appears  impossible  to  men  in  general  ;  and  if  1 
succeed,  your  latest  descendants  will  deplore  in 
tears  of  blood  tiie  resolution  which  you  have  forced 
me  to  take.  Consider,  if  it  bo  probable,  j)oworful, 
contented,  peaceable  as  I  now  am,  that  I  should 
desire  to  risk  power,  iiappiucss,  and  quiet,  in  such 


Opening  of  the  session  of 
454        the  le;;i.-lative  body  by 
the  tirst  consul. 


TIIIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Annual  expose  of  the  ,  „„, 

stale  ofihe  French  '^X 

republic.  ■^''"• 


an  enterprise,  and  if  when  1  say  that  peace  is  my 
desire,  1   must  not  be  sincere !" 

Then  in  a  calmer  tone  the  first  consul  added, — 
"  It  will  be  best  for  you  and  for  me,  to  give  the 
satisfaction  prescribed  by  treaty.  Let  ]\lalta  be 
evacuated  ;  do  not  suffer  those  who  attempt  my 
assassination  to  have  an  asylum  in  England  ;  let 
me  be  libelled  if  you  will  by  the  English  news- 
papers, but  not  by  the  miserable  emigrants  who 
so  dishonour  the  protection  which  you  have  ac- 
corded to  them,  and  whom  the  alien  bill  permits  you 
to  expel  from  England.  Act  cordially  towards 
me,  and  I  promise  you,  on  my  part,  the  most  cor- 
dial and  entire  i-eturn  :  I  promise  you  continual 
efforts  to  conciliate  our  interests  wherever  they 
are  reconcileable.  Consider  what  a  powerful  in- 
fluence we  might  exercise  over  the  world,  if  we 
could  attain  the  nearer  approximation  of  the  two 
nations!  You  have  a  navy  that  in  ten  years  of 
consecutive  efforts,  and  in  employing  all  my  re- 
sources, 1  should  not  be  able  to  equal;  but  I  have 
five  hundred  thousand  men  ready  to  march  under 
my  orders,  wherever  I  choose  to  lead  them.  If 
you  are  masters  of  the  sea,  I  am  master  of  the 
land.  Think,  tlien,  sooner  of  our  becoming  united 
than  of  making  war  upon  each  other,  and  we  may 
at  will  regulate  the  destinies  of  the  v/orld.  Every 
thing  is  possible  within  the  interest  of  humanity 
with  our  double  power, — France  and  England  in 
union." 

This  language,  so  extraordinary  by  its  frankness, 
surprised  as  well  as  troubled  the  English  ambas- 
sador, who,  unfortunately,  though  a  very  poliie, 
obliging  man,  was  not  capable  of  ajipreciating  the 
greatness  and  the  sincerity  of  the  language  of  the 
first  consul.  It  would  have  been  necessary  for  the 
two  assembled  nations  to  have  lieard  a  similar 
conversation  and  to  have  replied  to  it. 

The  first  consul  had  not  failed  to  inform  lord 
Whitworth  that  he  was  going,  in  two  days,  to  open 
the  session  of  the  legislative  body,  confornuibly  to 
the  presci'iption  of  the  consular  constitution,  that 
fixed  this  opening  for  the  1st  of  Ventose,  or  20tli 
of  Februai-y  ;  that  according  to  usage,  he  \\ve- 
sented  upon  that  occasion  an  annual  expose  of  the 
state  of  thj  repuldic,  and  that  they  nmst  not  feel 
surprised  in  England,  if  they  saw  expressed 
therein,  as  freely,  the  intentions  of  the  Frtiich 
government,  as  they  had  been  expressed  to  the 
ambassador  hitnself.  Lord  Whitworth  then  with- 
drew to  send  an  account  to  his  own  cabinet  of  all 
he  had  just  Si'en  and  heard. 

The  fact  was,  tlint  the  first  consul  had  himself 
drawn  up  the  statement  of  the  situation  of  the 
republic;  and  it  rtiust  be  acknowledged,  that  the 
government  never  had  to  make  so  fine  a  statement 
of  its  situation,  an<i  never  made  it  in  terms  and 
language  so  noble.  The  calm  which  had  entered 
into  every  grade  of  the  jiublic  mind  ;  the  re- 
establishment  of  public  worsliip,  completed  with 
wonderful  promptitude,  and  without  any  disturb- 
ance ;  the  traces  of  civil  discord  every  where 
effaced  ;  coni:nerce  resuming  its  activity  ;  agri- 
culture makini;  great  progress;  the  revenue  of  the 
state  increasing  to  the  sif^ht;  the  jinblic  works 
develo|)ing  themselves  with  jtrodigious  rapidity  ; 
the  defensive  works  upon  the  Alps,  on  tlie  Riiine, 
on  all  sides,  moving  ibrward  with  equal  ra|)i(lity; 
Europe    directed    entirely    by    the    influence    of 


France,  and  without  being  under  a  difference  witii 
any  power  except  England  :  such  was  the  j)icture 
which  the  first  consul  had  to  present,  having 
traced  it  with  the  hand  of  a  master.  The  day 
following  the  oi)ening,  the  21st  of  February,  or 
2nd  of  Vent6.se,  three  of  the  government  orators 
took  the  document  to  the  legislative  body,  accord- 
ing to  the  custom  under  the  consulate,  and  the 
reading  produced  that  startling  effect  which  it  pro- 
duced every  where  else.  But  the  passage  relative 
to  England,  the  object  of  the  general  curiosity, 
was  pregnant  with  haughtiness  little  softened,  and, 
above  all,  was  marked  with  a  precision  so  cate- 
gorical, that  it  could  not  fail  to  bring  a  quick 
explanation.  After  having  retraced  the  happy 
conclusion  of  the  afi'airs  of  Germany,  the  pacifica- 
tion of  Switzerland,  the  conservative  policy  of 
Turkey  in  relation  to  the  Turkish  empire,  the 
document  added,  that  British  troops  still  occu])ied 
Alexandria  and  Malta;  that  the  French  government 
had  a  right  to  complain;  that  it  had,  nevertheless, 
heard  that  the  vessels  charged  to  transi>ort  the 
garrison  of  Alexandria  to  Europe  were  in  the 
Mediterranean.  That  as  to  the  evacuation  of 
Malta,  it  did  not  say  if  that  event  was  a])proaching 
or  not;  but  it  added  these  significant  words  : — 

"  The  government  guarantees  to  the  nation  the 
peace  of  the  continent,  and  it  allows  itself  to  hope 
i'or  the  continuation  of  a  maritime  peace.  Such  a 
|)cace  is  required  and  wished  by  every  i)eo|>le. 
In  order  to  preserve  it,  the  goverimient  will  do 
whatever  is  compatible  with  the  national  honolir, 
essentially  connected  with  the  strict  execution  of 
treaties. 

"  But  in  England  two  parties  dispute  for  power. 
One  has  concluded  the  peace,  and  appears  de- 
cidedly inclined  to  maintain  it  ;  while  the  other 
has  sworn  an  implacable  hatred  to  France.  From 
this  arises  tlnit  fluctuation  in  opinion,  and  in  the 
councils  that  attitude  which  is  at  once  pacific  and 
threatening. 

"  As  long  as  this  contest  of  parties  continues, 
there  are  certain  prudential  measures  necessary 
on  the  part  of  the  government  of  the  republic. 
Five  hundred  thousand  men  must  and  will  be 
re;idy  to  defend  and  avenge  it. 

"  What  a  strange  necessity  is  imposed  by 
miseralile  passions  upon  t«o  nations,  whose  at- 
tachment arises  from  the  same  intere.st,  and  an 
equal  inclination  attaching  them  to  peace  ! 

"  But  whatever  m;iy  be  the  success  of  intrigue 
in  London,  it  will  not  succeed  in  drawing  other 
nations  into  new  leagues  ;  and  the  government 
informs  it,  with  well-founded  pride,  that  alone, 
Eii'^land  cannot  now  contest  against  France  ! 

"  But  let  us  entertain  lietter  hopes,  and  rather 
believe,  that  in  the  British  cabinet  there  will  be 
nothing  heard  but  the  counsels  of  wisdom  and  the 
voice  of  humanity. 

"  Yes  ;  without  dimbt  the  peace  will  be  con- 
solidated, and  the  connexion  between  the  two 
governments  will  assume  that  character  of  good- 
will, so  congenial  to  their  mutual  interests  ;  a 
happy  repose  will  cause  the  long  calamities  of  a 
disastrous  war  to  be  utterly  forgotten,  and  France 
and  England,  by  contributing  to  their  reciprocal 
hapjiiness,  merit  the  approbation  of  the  whole 
world." 

To  judge  well  the  character  of  this  document, 


^lessase  of  (leorce  III. 

to  the-  liritish  house    RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENS. 

of  commons. 


Dilemma  of  the  Eng- 
lit^h  ministry. 


455 


we  must  not  compare  it  with  what  is  called  in  the 
present  day,  both  in  France  and  Engiaml,  the 
"speech  from  the  crown,"  hut  rather  with  the 
*'  message"  of  the  president  of  the  United  Slates. 
In  that  were  explained  and  justified  the  different 
details  of  public  business  into  which  the  first  con- 
sul had  entered.  He  had  wished  to  speak  abso- 
lutely of  the  parties  which  divided  England,  to  the 
end  of  having  the  means  of  expressing  himself 
freely  to  his  enemies,  without  it  being  possible  to 
apply  liis  words  to  the  English  government  itself. 
It  was  a  manner  of  acting,  both  bold  and  danger- 
ous, thus  to  intermeddle  himself  in  the  affairs  of 
a  neiglibouring  country;  above  all,  it  was  to  inflict 
upon  British  pride  a  wound  equally  sevei-e  and 
useless,  by  advancing  the  pretension,  in  such 
haugiity  terms,  that  Enijland  was  not  able,  re- 
duced to  her  own  forces,  to  combat  France.  The 
first  consul  thus  inflictiil  an  injury,  in  form,  at 
least,  although  it  was  really  nothing  at  bottom. 

When  this  document,  describing  the  situation 
of  the  rei>ublic,  fine  as  it  was  in  display,  but  too 
lini:-lity,  arrived  in  London,  it  |)i-oduced  a  far  greater 
effi-ct  than  the  report  of  colonel  Sebastiani  had 
done,  much  more  too  than  the  ticts  which  the  fii-st 
consul  was  reproached  with  having  done  in  Italy, 
Switzerland,  and  Germany '.  These  intemperate 
words,  on  the  inability  of  England  to  encounter 
France  alone,  aroused  all  the  spirit  of  the  English 
people.  Added  to  this,  the  first  consul  had  ac- 
companied this  last  document  with  a  note,  which 
demanded  of  the  Hritish  government  a  definitive 
e.xplanation  relative  to  the  evacuaiion  of  Malta. 

The  English  cabinet  was  at  last  obliged  to  re- 
solve npon  something,  and  to  declare  to  the  first 
ci'nsul  its  intentions  in  regard  t>i  the  island  -so 
much  disputed,  and  the  cause  of  such  great  events. 
Its  embarrassment  was  veiy  great,  because  it 
Would  not  avow  its  intention  to  violate  a  solemn 
treatv,  nor  give  a  promise  of  the  evacuation  of 
tlie  island,  become  impossible  through  its  own 
feebleness.  Presse<l  by  piil)lic  opinion  to  do  some- 
thing, and  not  knowing  what  to  dn,  it  determined 
to  send  down  a  message  to  parliament, — a  step 
Kometimcs  tiken  in  representative  govcrmnents, — 
a.s  a  way  of  occupying  the  jmblic  mind,  and  de- 
luding its  impatience,  but  a  step  wliiiii  may  pos- 
sibly become  very  dangerous,  when  it  is  not  clearly 
known  liow  far  it  may  go,  or  to  what  end  it  may 
had,  and  is  only  put  forward  in  order  to  discover 
anil  procure  n  moinentJiry  satisfaction. 

In  tiie  ](arliami'ntjiry  silting  of  the  8lh  «)f  March, 
the  following  mci«K»ge  was  brought  down  to  the 
liouse  of  commons  : — 
"CmncE  Rex, 

"  His  maj<'Hty  tiiinks  it  necessary  to  acquaint  the 
house  of  commons,  that  as  very  considerable  mili- 
tiry  i)rei)ar»tionH  are  carrying  on  in  the  ports  of 
France  and  Holland,  he  had  judged  it  expedient  to 
adopt  additional   nicasurcH  uf  prccauliuii   for  the 


■  I  have  qfiyf-lf  heard  n  (treat  perionngc,  and  one  ot  the 
moat  rcspectalile  meml.cr»  nl  lli«  Eni!!!-.!!  di|ilomatic  body, 
•late,  after  forty  yiurK,  when  time  had  clTuicd  iu  hiui  all  llie 
panniiitiii  of  that  epoch,  th.it  (lioc  MonlH— where  it  wax  said 
Ihiit  England,  alone.  wa«  not  ahle  to  toml.at  nitaoxt  France 
—  bail  aniuud  all  the  ipirit  of  the  EiiKliili,  mid  that  dalin;; 
fyotn  that  day,  the  declaration  of  war  was  considereil  a*  iii- 
evlUble. 


security  of  his  dominions.  Though  the  pi-epara- 
tions  lo  which  his  majesty  refers  are  avowedly 
directc'l  to  the  colonial  service,  yet  as  discussions 
of  great  impintance  arc  now  subsisting  between 
Ills  majesty  and  the  French  government,  the  result 
of  which  must  at  present  be  uncertain,  his  majesty 
is  induced  to  make  this  communication  to  his  faith- 
ful commons,  in  the  full  persuasion  that,  whilst 
they  jiartake  of  his  majesty's  earnest  and  imvary- 
ing  solicitude  for  the  continuance  of  peace,  he  may 
rely  with  jierfect  confidence  on  their  jiublic  sjiirit 
and  liberality,  to  enable  his  majesty  to  adopt  such 
measures  as  circumstances  may  appear  to  require, 
for  supporting  the  honour  of  his  cmwn,  aud  the 
essential  interests  of  his  people. —  G.  R." 

It  is  impossible  to  imagine  a  message  more 
untimely,  or  more  ill  conceived.  It  rested  its 
whole  tenor  upon  errors  in  fact,  and  had  besides 
something  exceedingly  offensive  to  the  good  faith 
of  the  French  goveriiment.  In  the  fir.st  place, 
there  was  not  a  single  disposable  vessel  in  any  of 
the  French  ports  ;  all  the  nation  possessed,  in  a 
state  fit  for  sea,  were  at  St.  Domingo,  armed,  the 
greater  part  of  them,  en  flute,  and  employed  in  the 
transport  of  troops.  Many  were,  it  is  true,  upon 
the  stocks,  and  that  was  no  mystery  to  any  one  ; 
but  there  was  no  thought  of  the  equi|)nient  of  a 
single  vessel.  France  po.ssessed  in  the  Dutch  port 
of  Helvoetsluys  alone,  a  weak  expedition  of  two 
sail  of  the  line,  and  two  frigates,  carrying  three  or 
four  thousand  men,  notoriously  destined  for  Louisi- 
ana. They  had  been  detained  some  months  by  the 
ice,  and  the  object  of  the  voyage  was  well  known  to 
all  Europe.  To  say  that  these  armaments,  in  ap- 
pearance destined  for  the  colonies,  had  another 
object  in  view,  was  an  insiiuiation  ^if  a  most  offen- 
sive character.  To  jiretend,  too,  that  there  existed 
discussions  of  great  importance  between  the  two 
governments,  was  exceedingly  imprudent,  because, 
up  to  that  time,  all  discussions  bad  been  limited  to 
some  few  words  relating  to  Malta,  jiut  by  France, 
and  remaining  unanswered  by  England.  To  make 
a  contested  matter  of  these  was  to  declare  at  once, 
that  England  refused  to  fulfil  the  treaty  she  had 
signed,  for  it  caimot  be  iirctended  that  some  expres- 
sions taken  out  of  tin;  rejiort  of  colonel  Sebastiani, 
or  from  the  document  cx|)lanatory  of  the  state  of  the 
French  republic,  constituted  a  sufficient  grievance 
to  oblige  the  whole  of  the  forces  of  England  to  be 
set  in  activity.  This  message,  therefore,  would  not 
bear  a  scrniiny,  and  was  at  the  same  lime  both 
incorrect  and  injurious. 

Lord  Whitworth,  who  now  began  to  be  a  little 
better  acquainted  with  the  goverinnent  to  which 
he  had  been  accredited,  divined  instantly  the  ini- 
jiression  that  the  message  to  the  parliaim'iit  would 
))roiliice  on  the  mind  of  Bonaparte.  He  did  not 
deliver  a  copy  to  M.  de  Talleyrand  without  ex- 
pressing ft  deep  regret,  and  pressing  that  minister 
to  go  to  the  general  to  calm  him,  and  jiersuade 
him  that  it  was  not  a  declaration  of  war,  but  oidy 
a  simple  measure  of  precaution.  Talleyrand  went 
off  immediately  to  the  Tuileries,  and  did  not  very 
well  succeed  with  the  furious  nuister  who  occupied 
that  palace,  lie  found  him  deejily  angry  at  the 
iintiativo  so  sharply  taken  up  by  the  Hritish  cabi- 
net, because  this  strange  message,  for  which  there 
was  no  cause,  seemed  to  be  intended  oh  a  provoca- 
tion, delivered  in  the  face  of  all  tlie  world.     H© 


Anger  of  the  first  consul, 
and    his    intemperate 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


address  to  the  English 
ambassador. 


1803. 
Feb. 


felt  himself  publicly  braved,  he  believed  himself 
grossly  outraged,  and  demanded  very  justly  where 
the  British  cabinet  had  been  able  to  gather  all  the 
glaring  falsehoods  contained  in  the  message,  be- 
cause there  was  not  in  existence,  he  said,  a 
single  armament  in  all  the^ports  of  France,  and 
there  liad  not  been  even  a  declared  subject  of 
difference  between  the  two  cabinets. 

M.  de  Talleyrand  obtained  the  concession  fi-om 
the  first  consul,  that  he  should  put  a  rein  upon  his 
resentment,  and  that  if  war  was  to  be  resorted  to, 
he  should  leave  to  the  English  the  onus  of  the 
provocation.  This  was  the  intention  of  the  first 
consul  himself,  but  it  was  exceedingly  difficult  to 
make  him  bridle  his  resentment,  so  much  did  he 
feel  himself  injured.  The  message  was  communi- 
cated to  parliament  in  England  on  the  8th  of 
March,  and  it  was  known  in  Paris  on  the  11th. 
Unhappily,  the  next  day  but  one  was  Sunday,  the 
day  on  which  the  diplomatic  body  was  received  at 
the  Tuileries.  A  very  natural  curiosity  had  at- 
tracted to  the  court  all  the  foreign  ministers,  who 
were  very  curious  to  see  the  attitude  which  the 
first  consul  would  assume  under  the  circumstances, 
and  above  all,  that  of  the  English  ambassador. 
While  waiting  the  moment  for  the  audience,  the 
first  consul  was  standing  near  madam  Bonaparte, 
in  his  apartment,  playing  with  an  infant,  which 
would  then  have  been  his  heir,  the  newly-born  son 
of  Louis  Bonaparte  and  Hortense  de  Beauharnois. 
M.  de  Remusat,  prefect  of  the  pakice,  announced 
to  the  first  consul,  that  the  circle  was  formed,  and 
among  other  names,  reported  that  of  lord  Whit- 
worth.  The  name  thus  suddenly  pronounced, 
made  a  visible  impression  upon  the  first  consul ; 
he  left  the  infant  with  which  he  had  been  playing, 
hastily  took  the  hand  of  madam  Bonaparte,  passed 
through  the  door  which  opened  into  the  drawing- 
room  where  strangers  were  received  on  state  occa- 
sions, passed  along  before  the  foreign  ministers,  who 
pressed  upon  his  footsteps,  went  straight  up  to  the 
ambassador  of  England,  and  said  to  him,  in  a  state 
of  extreme  agitation, — 

"  My  lord,  have  you  news  from  England  ?  " 

Then,  without  scarcely  awaiting  a  I'eply,  he  con- 
tinued : — 

"  You  wish  for  war,  then  1 " 

"No,  general,"  replied  the  ambassador,  with 
much  deliberateness  of  manner,  "  we  feel  too  much 
the  advantages  of  the  peace." 

"You  wish  for  war,  then,"  continued  the  first 
consul,  in  a  very  loud  tone  of  voice,  and  in  such  a 
way  as  to  be  heard  by  all  who  were  present;  "we 
have  fought  for  ten  years — you  wish,  then,  that  we 
should  fight  for  ten  years  to  come  ?  How  can  they 
dare  to  say  that  France  is  arming  itself  ?  They 
have  imposed  upon  the  world.  There  is  not  a 
vessel  in  our  ports;  all  the  ships  cai)able  of  service 
have  been  sent  to  St.  Domingo.  The  sole  arma- 
ment that  exists  is  at  this  moment  in  the  harbours 
of  Holland,  and  no  one  has  been  ignorant  for  four 
months  past  that  it  is  destined  for  Louisiana.  They 
say  there  is  a  difference  between  France  and  Eng- 
land ;  I  know  of  none.  I  only  know  that  the  isle 
of  Malta  has  not  been  evacuated  within  the  pre- 
scribed time  ;  but  I  do  not  imagine  that  your 
ministers  will  be  wanting  in  good  faith  on  the  part 
of  England,  by  refusing  to  execute  a  solemn  treaty. 
At  least,  they  have  not  yet  made  the  assertion.     I 


cannot  suppose,  further,  that  by  your  armaments, 
you  have  any  desire  to  intimidate  the  French  peo- 
ple ;  it  is  possible  to  kill  them,  my  lord,  but  never 
to  frighten  them  !  " 

The  ambassador,  surprised,  and  somewhat  con- 
founded, in  spite  of  his  presence  of  mind,  replied 
that  England  neither  wished  for  the  one  nor  the 
other  ;  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  she  would  en- 
deavour to  live  on  a  good  understanding  with 
France. 

"  Then  she  must  respect  treaties,"  replied  the 
first  consul ;  "evil  be  to  them  who  do  not  respect 
treaties ! " 

The  first  consul  then  passed  on  befoi-e  M.  Azara, 
and  M.  Markoff,  and  said  to  them,  in  a  voice  suffi- 
ciently elevated,  that  the  English  would  not  eva- 
cuate Malta,  that  they  refused  to  hold  by  their 
engagements,  and  that  hereafter  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  cover  the  treaty  with  black  crape.  He 
continued  to  pass  on,  and  perceiving  the  minister 
of  Sweden,  whose  pi-esence  recalled  to  his  mind 
the  ridiculous  despatches  addressed  to  the  Ger- 
manic diet,  and  at  that  moment  made  public,  he 
said, — 

"  Your  king  forgets,  then,  that  Sweden  is  no 
longer  as  she  was  in  the  time  of  Gustavus  Adol- 
phus— that  she  has  descended  to  the  third  rank 
among  the  powers  of  Europe  ? " 

He  went  round  the  circle,  completed  it,  continu- 
ally in  agitation,  his  glance  sparkling  and  alarming 
as  that  of  power  is  .when  in  anger,  and  wholly  des- 
titute of  the  calm  dignity  which  usually  sat  so  well 
upon  him. 

Feeling,  nevertheless,  that  he  had  gone  out  of 
the  proper  track,  in  completing  the  circle,  he 
came  again  to  the  English  ambassador,  and  made 
enquiry,  in  a  mild  tone  of  voice,  for  the  duchess 
of  Dorset,  his  wife,  expressing  the  hope  that, 
after  having  passed  the  bad  season  in  France, 
she  might  be  able  to  pass  the  good  there ;  he 
added,  "that  this  did  not  depend  upon  him,  but 
upon  England  ;  and  that  if  recourse  was  obliged 
to  be  had  to  arms,  the  responsibility  wholly  and 
entirely,  in  the  eyes  of  God  and  man,  would  rest 
upon  those  who  refused  to  fulfil  their  engage- 
ments ^" 

1  There  is  something  of  difference  between  the  statement 
of  our  author  as  to  this  dialogue,  and  that  put  forth  at  the 
time  in  the  English  government  papers.  It  is  very  probable 
that  the  latter  exaggerated  the  language  used  ;  for  there  was 
at  that  moment  so  much  prejudice,  and  so  little  of  reason 
prevalent,  to  say  nothing  of  the  disregard  of  facts  in  party 
statements  of  all  kinds  at  the  time,  that  our  author  may 
very  probably  be  correct.  The  statement  given  in  the  go- 
vernment papers  of  England  was  as  follows  :— 

"  Bonaparte  entered  with  an  unusual  alertness  of  manner, 
and  after  saluting  the  company  he  addressed  liimself  to  lord 
Whitworth,  in  a  tone  sufficiently  loud  to  be  lieard  by  all 
present.  '  You  know,  my  lord,  that  a  terrible  storm  has 
arisen  between  England  and  France.' 

"Lord  Whitworth.— ' Yes,  general  consul ;  but  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  this  storm  will  be  dissipated  without  any  serious 
consequences.' 

"  Bovaparte.—' It  wni  he  dissipated  when  England  shall 
have  evacuated  Malta;  if  not,  the  cloud  will  burst,  and  the 
bolt  must  fall.  The  king  of  England  has  promised  by  treaty 
to  evacuate  that  place;  and  who  is  to  violate  the  faith  of 
treaties  ?' 

"  Lord  TfAJtoor/A  (surprised  at  finding  himself  questioned 
in  this  manner,  and  before  so  many  persons).—'  But  you 


Desiim  of  Bonacarte 


England. 


of     RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENS. 


He  makes  prepara- 
tions for  war. 


457 


This  scene  must  needs  have  deeply  irritated  the 
self-love  of  the  English  people,  and  brought  about 
a  vexatious  reciprocity  of  ill-feeling.  The  Eng- 
lish were  wrong  in  the  main,  because  their  ambi- 
tion, so  little  dissimulated  in  regard  to  Malta,  had 
become  a  real  scandal.  It  was  more  proper  to 
have  left  the  real  wrong  upon  them,  and  not  to 
have  laid  npnn  himself  that  of  mere  form.  But 
the  first  consul,  when  ofttnded,  felt  a  species  of 
gratification  in  the  outbreaks  of  his  anger  being 
re-echoed  from  one  end  ot  the  world  to  another. 

The  scene  with  lord  Wliitworth  soon  became 
public,  because  nearly  two  hundred  persons  were 
witnesses  of  it.  Each  rendered  it  in  his  own  man- 
ner, and  exaggerated  it  as  he  saw  fit.  It  caused 
a  very  painful  feeling  throughout  Europe,  and 
adiled  greatly  to  the  perplexity  of  the  English 
cabinet.  Lord  Whitworth,  ottended  and  hurt,  com- 
plained to  Talleyrand,  and  declared  that  he  would 
never  again  appear  at  the  Tuileries  unless  he  re- 
ceived the  formal  assurance  that  he  should  no 
more  be  subjected  to  similar  treatment.  Talley- 
rand replied  verbally  to  these  just  complaints.  It 
was  in  such  circumstances  that  his  calmness  of 
mind,  address,  and  self-confidence,  were  a  great  aid 
to  the  political  business  of  the  cabinet,  compromised 
by  the  natural  vehemence  of  character  of  the  first 
consul. 

A  sudden  revolution  at  this  time  took  place  in 
the  changing  and  passionate  mind  of  Napoleon. 
From  the  perspective  views  during  a  fruitlul  and 
laborious  peace,  with  which  he  recently  loved  to 
feed  his  active  imagination,  he  passed  at  once  to 


know,  general  consul,  the  circutnstances  which  have  hitherto 
delayed  the  evacuation  of  Malta.  The  intention  of  my 
sovereign  is  to  fulfil  the  treaty  of  Amiens.  And  you  also 
know ' 

"  Bonnparte. — '  You  know'  (with  impetuosity)  'that  the 
French  have  carried  on  the  war  for  ten  years,  and  you  can- 
not doubt  but  they  are  in  a  condition  to  wage  it  again.  In- 
form your  court,  that  if  on  the  receipt  of  your  despatches 
orders  are  not  issued  for  the  immediate  surrender  of  Malta, 
then  war  is  declared.  I  declare  my  firm  resolution  is  to  see 
the  treaty  carried  into  cfTcct;  and  I  leave  it  to  the  ambassa- 
dors of  the  several  powers  that  are  present  to  decide  who  is 
in  the  wrong.  You  flattered  yourselves  that  France  would 
not  dare  to  show  her  resentment  whilst  her  squadrons  were 
at  St.  Dnminuo;  I  am  happy  thus  publicly  to  undeceive  you 
on  that  head.' 

"Lord  Whitworlh. — 'But,  general,  the  negotiation  is  not 
yet  broken ;  and  there  is  even  reason  to  believe ' 

"  Bonofiarlr.  — 'Of  what  negotiation  docs  your  lordship 
■peak  ?  Is  it  necesiary  to  negotiate  what  is  concluded  hy 
treaty — to  negotiate  the  fulfilment  of  engagements  and  the 
duties  of  good  faith  ? '  (L<ird  Whitworth  was  about  to  reply, 
Bonaparte  made  a  sign  with  his  hand,  and  continued  in  a 
less  elevated  tone.)  '  My  lord,  your  lady  is  indisposed  ;  she 
may  proliably  breathe  her  native  air  rather  sooner  than  you 
or  I  expected.  I  wish  most  ardently  for  peace;  but  if  my 
Just  demand  be  not  instantly  complied  with,  then  war  must 
follow,  and  Go<l  will  decide.  If  tieaties  are  not  (uflicicnt  to 
bind  to  peace,  then  the  van(|uished  must  not  be  left  in  a 
condition  to  ofT.r  injury.'" 

The  al>ove  statement,  that  Bonaparte  waved  his  hand  in 
the  mirUt  of  the  dialogue,  is  not  so  consonant  with  proba- 
bility as  the  statement  of  M.  Thiers,  that  he  came  back  to 
lord  Whitworth,  with  whom  he  had  begun  the  conversa- 
tion, upon  the  completion  of  his  going  round  the  circle  in 
attendance.  Moreover,  it  w,is  nut  Malta,  but  the  king's 
threatening  message,  that  caused  the  conversation. —  Trant- 
lalnr. 


the  future  views  of  war,  to  the  greatness  that 
might  be  obtained  by  victory,  to  the  renewal  of 
the  face  of  Europe,  and  to  the  re-establishment  of 
the  empire  of  the  west,  which  presented  itself  too 
frequently  to  his  mind.  He  suddenly  flung  him- 
self from  one  of  these  objects  towards  the  other. 
The  benefactor  of  France  and  of  the  world,  he 
had  once  flattered  himself  with  becoming,  he  now 
wished  to  become  its  astonishment.  A  degree  of 
anger,  at  once  personal  and  patriotic,  seized  upon 
him;  and  to  conquer  England,  to  humiliate,  to 
humble,  to  destroy  her,  became  from  that  day  the 
passion  of  his  life.  Persuaded  that  all  things  are 
possible  to  man,  having  the  circumstances  granted 
of  sufficient  intelligence,  followers,  and  a  deter- 
mined will,  he  suddenly  took  up  the  idea  of  passing 
the  straits  of  Dover,  and  of  carrying  into  England 
one  of  those  armies  which  had  vanquished  Europe. 
He  had  said  to  himself  three  years  before,  that  the 
St.  Bernard  and  the  snows  of  winter,  reported  in- 
vincible obstacles  by  men  in  connnon,  had  not  been 
so  for  him;  he  repeated  the  same  thing  of  the  arm 
of  the  sea  which  is  between  Dover  and  Calais,  and 
he  applied  himself  to  consider  the  mode  of  crossing 
it,  with  the  deepest  conviction  of  success.  It  was 
from  that  moment,  in  other  words,  from  the  day 
when  the  message  of  the  king  of  England  was 
known,  that  he  dated  his  first  orders;  and  it  was 
then  that  this  extraordinary  mind,  which  the  convic- 
tion of  its  own  power  led  astray  in  politics,  became 
again  a  prodigy  of  human  nature,  when  it  acted  in 
foreseeing  and  surmounting  all  the  difficulties  of  a 
vast  enterprise. 

He  at  once  sent  off  colonel  Lacu^e  into  Flanders 
and  Holland,  to  visit  the  ports  of  these  countries, 
to  examine  their  form  and  extent,  their  population 
and  naval  stores.  He  enjoined  it  upon  him  to 
procure  a  statement,  approaching  as  near  as  pos- 
sible to  fact,  of  all  the  vessels  usid  for  the  coasting 
service  and  for  the  fishery,  from  Havre-de-Grace 
to  the  Texel,  and  capable  of  following  under  sail  a 
squadron  of  men-of-war.  He  sent  other  officers  to 
Clierburgh,  St.  Malo,  Granville,  and  Brest,  with 
orders  to  make  an  examination  of  all  the  boats 
serving  for  the  larger  fisheries,  in  order  to  ascer- 
tain their  number.^,  value,  and  total  tonnage.  He 
began  to  commence  the  repair  of  the  gun-boats 
which  had  composed  the  old  Boulogne  flotilla  in 
lUOI.  He  ordered  the  engineers  of  the  navy  to 
present  him  models  of  flat-bottomed  boats  capable 
of  carrying  heavy  camion;  and  lie  required  from 
them  the  plan  of  a  large  canal  between  Boulogne 
and  Dunkirk,  with  the  object  of  putting  these  two 
[lorts  in  communication.  He  ordered  the  arma- 
ment to  proceed  along  all  the  coasts  and  tlie  islands 
from  Bourdeaux  as  far  as  Antwerp.  He  prescribed 
an  immediate  inspection  of  all  the  forests  which 
bordered  upon  the  coasts  of  the  channel,  with  the 
object  of  examining  the  nature  and  quantity  of 
timber  which  they  contained,  and  to  discover  what 
l)art  it  might  be  possible  to  use  for  the  construction 
of  an  immense  warlike  flotilla.  Hearing  from  cer- 
tain rumours  that  the  emisssaries  of  the  English 
government  bought  the  wood  of  the  Roman  states, 
ho  despatched  agents  there,  with  the  necessary 
funds  to  buy  that  wood,  and  with  recommendations 
which  did  not  leave  the  pope  but  little  will  in  the 
choice  of  piu'chaserH. 

Tiiree  things  ought,  according  to  him,  to  sig- 


458       Duroc  sent  to  Berlin.        THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Louisiana  sold  to  the 
United  States. 


1803. 
March. 


nalize  tlie  commeiicenieiit  of  hostilities;  the  occu- 
pation of  Hanover,  of  Foitujjal,  and  of  tiie  Gulf  of 
Tai'entuin,  in  order  to  effect  immediately  the  abso- 
lute shutting  up  of  the  coasts  of  the  continent,  from 
Dunlcirk  to  the  Adriatic.  With  this  view  he  began 
by  the  coniposition  at  Bayoiine  of  the  artillery  of  a 
corps  of  the  army;  he  united  at  Faenza  a  division 
of  ten  thousand  men,  and  twenty-four  pieces  of 
cannon,  designed  to  i)ass  into  the  kingdom  of 
Naples;  he  landed  the  troops  embarked  at  Helvo- 
etsluis  for  Louisiana.  Tiiinking  that  it  was  too 
dangerous  to  send  them  to  sea  on  the  eve  of  a 
declaration  of  war,  he  directed  a  part  of  tliem 
upon  Flushing,  a  port  aiipertaining  to  Holland, 
but  placed  under  the  power  of  France  while  she 
was  in  the  occupation  of  that  country.  He  sent 
there  a  military  officer,  with  a  commission  to  put 
on  all  the  powers  which  belong  ti  a  military  com- 
mandant in  time  of  war,  and  ordered  him  to  arm 
the  place  without  delay.  The  i-est  of  the  troops 
Were  sent  to  Breda  and  Nimigueii,  two  ])oints  of 
assemblage  intended  for  the  formation  of  a  cori)S 
of  twenty-four  thousand  men.  This  corps,  placed 
inuler  the  orders  of  general  Mortier,  was  to  invade 
Hanover  upon  the  first  act  of  hostility  cunnnitted 
by  England. 

Still  it  was  not  a  thing  politically  easy  to  invade 
Hanover.  The  king  of  Englan<l,  on  the  part  of 
Hanover,  was  a  member  of  the  Germanic  confede- 
ration, and  had  a  right  in  certain  cases  to  the  pro- 
tection of  the  ciuilederated  states.  The  king  of 
Prussia,  the  director  of  the  circle  of  Lower  Saxony, 
in  which  Hanover  was  comprised,  was  the  natural 
protector  of  that  state.  It  was  necessary,  there- 
fore, to  have  recourse  to  him  for  his  consent, 
which  coidd  not  fail  to  cost  him  much  trouble, 
because  to  consent  would  be  to  compromise  the 
uiprtli  of  Germany  in  the  formidable  quarrel  in 
which  France  was  about  to  be  engaged,  and  per- 
haps to  exjiose  the  Elbe,  the  Weser,  and  the  Oder, 
to  be  blockaded  by  the  English.  The  cabinet  of 
Potsdam  had  affected,  it  was  true,  much  attach- 
ment to  France,  which  had  procured  ibr  it  such 
extensive  indemnities;  this  atiachmeiit  would,  no 
doubt,  be  able  to  secure  a  refusal,  on  the  part  of 
Prussia,  to  all  the  objects  of  a  coalition,  and,  in 
fact,  infinence  that  court  to  make  every  effort  to 
prevent  it,  and  even  go  as  far  as  to  indnce  it  to 
give  th-;  first  consul  notice  of  such  an  intention; 
but  in  the  existing  state  of  things  this  intimacy  was 
not  converted  into  a  positive  alliance,  so  that,  if 
France  had  neetl  of  some  great  devotional  act,  it 
might  be  seriously  counted  upon  in  the  ijerform- 
ance. 

The  first  consul,  in  consequence,  made  his  aide- 
de-camp  Duroc  leave  Paris  immediately  for  Berlin, 
knowing  well  Jis  he  did  the  Prussian  court;  and  he 
gave  him  the  commission  to  state  to  that  conn  the 
danger  of  an  a|i|iroaching  rupture  between  England 
and  Frince;  the  intention  of  the  French  govern- 
ment to  push  the  war  to  the  utmost  extremity, and 
its  oljject  of  seizing  upon  Hanovei-.  General  Duroc 
was  ordered  to  add,  tliat  the  first  consul  did  not 
wish  to  make  war  lor  the  sake  of  war,  and  that  if 
the  monarchs  who  were  strangers  to  the  quarrel, 
as  the  king  of  Prussia  and  the  emperor  of  Russia, 
could  find  a  means  of  arranging  the  differences, 
and  of  bringing  England  to  pay  a  respect  to  trea- 
ties, he  would  instantly  put  a  sU>p  in  a  road  lead- 


ing to  the  unsparing  hostility  into  which  he  was 
ready  to  precipitate  himself. 

The  first  consul  believed  that  he  was  hound  thus 
to  make  a  step  agreeable  to  the  emperor  of  Russia. 
He  had  treated  up  to  this  time  with  that  sovereign 
upon  some  of  the  most  weighty  affairs  of  Europe, 
and  he  now  desired  to  interest  him  on  his  own  side 
and  cause,  and  to  constitute  him  a  judge  of  what 
passed  between  France  and  England.  He  wrote 
him  a  letter,  of  which  colonel  Colbert  was  to  be  the 
bearer,  and  in  which,  recalling  all  the  past  events 
from  the  treaty  of  Amiens,  he  showed  himself  dis- 
])0sed,  without  directly  demanding  it,  to  submit 
himself  to  the  emperor's  mediation,  in  case  Great 
Britain  would  submit  upon  her  side;  so  much  did 
he  reckon,  he  said,  upon  the  goodness  of  his  cause, 
and  the  justice  of  the  emperor  Alexander. 

To  all  these  determinations,  so  i>romi)tly  taken, 
another  and  last  must  bo  added  relative  to  Loui- 
siana. The  four  thousand  men  destined  to  occupy 
that  country  were  to  be  disembarked.  But  what 
was  to  be  done — what  part  taken  in  regard  to  that 
valuable  j)ossession?  There  was  no  reason  to  be 
alarmed  about  the  other  colonies.  St.  Doiuingo 
was  full  of  troops,  and  there  had  been  embarked  in 
haste,  in  all  the  trading  vessels  ready  to  sail,  the 
disposable  soldiers  of  the  colonial  depots.  Guada- 
loupe,  Martinique,  and  the  Isle  of  France,  were 
also  provided  with  strong  garrisons,  and  it  would 
have  demanded  iiumense  expeditions  to  have  dis- 
puted them  with  France.  But  Louisiana  did  not 
contain  a  single  soldiei-.  It  was  a  vast  province 
that  four  thousand  men  Avere  not  sufficient  to 
occupy  in  time  of  war.  The  inhabitants,  although  of 
French  origin,  had  so  often  changed  masters  during 
the  century  past,  that  they  regarded  nothing  more 
than  their  inde])endenee.  The  North  Americans 
were  little  satisfied  to  see  the  French  in  possession 
of  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi,  and  of  their  prin- 
cipal passage  with  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  They  were 
even  at  the  moment  making  advances  to  France, 
with  the  object  of  managing  their  commerce  and  na- 
vigation upon  advantageous  conditions  of  transit,  in 
the  port  of  New  Orleans.  It  was,  therefore,  neces- 
sary to  I'eckon  if  France  wished  to  keep  Louisiana, 
upon  great  efforts  against  the  colony  upon  the  part 
of  the  PJnglish  ;  upon  perfect  indifference  on  that 
of  the  inhabitants;  and  upon  real  ill-will  on  the 
])art  of  the  Americans.  These  last  in  reality  only 
wished  to  have  the  Spaniards  for  neighbours.  All 
the  colonial  visions  of  the  first  consul  had  vanished 
therefore  upon  the  a])pearance  of  the  message 
of  George  111.,  and  his  resolution  was  immediately 
formed  in  consequence  at  tliat  very  moment. 

"  I  will  not  keep,"  said  the  first  consul  to  one  of 
the  ministers,  "a  possession  which  will  not  be 
secure  in  our  hands,  that  may  jierhaps  embroil 
me  with  the  Americans,  or  may  place  me  in  a  state 
of  coolness  with  them.  1  shall  make  it  serve  me, 
on  the  contr.iry,  to  attach  me  to  them,  to  get  them 
into  differences  with  the  English,  and  I  shall 
create  for  them  enemies  who  will  one  day  avenge 
us  if  we  do  not  succeed  in  avenging  our.selves.  My 
determination  is  fixed  ;  I  will  give  Louisiana  to 
the  United  States.  But  as  they  have  no  territory 
to  cede  to  me  in  exchange,  I  shall  demand  of  them 
a  sum  of  money  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  extra- 
ordinary armament  that  1  am  projecting  against 
Great  Britain."     The  first  consul  would  not  con- 


1«03. 
March. 


Ratification  of  the 
treaty  lor  the  sale 
of  LouUiana. 


Politic  conduct  of  Talley- 

RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENS,     rand.  -  Diilicuiiies  of   459 

the  English  ministry. 


tract  a  loan  ;  he  hoped  with  a  large  sum  which  he 
should  jnocure  by  extraordinary  nu-ans,  by  a 
moderate  augmentation  of  the  taxes,  and  by  some 
sales  of  national  |iro])erty  slowly  carried  into 
effect,  to  support  the  expenses  of  the  war.  He 
sent  for  M.  de  Marbois,  minister  of  the  treasury, 
formerly  employed  in  America,  and  for  M.  Dccres, 
minister  of  the  marine,  and  wished,  alihough  he 
had  made  up  liis  mind,  to  listen  to  their  rea.soning 
upon  the  subject.  M.  de  Marbois  sjjoke  in  favour 
of  the  alienation  of  the  colony,  and  M.  Dccres 
against  it.  Tlie  first  consul  listened  to  them  very 
attentively,  without  appearing  to  be  aft'ected  the 
least  in  tli«<  world  by  the  reasoning  either  of  one  or 
the  other  ;  he  heard  them  as  he  would  often  do, 
even  when  he  had  already  made  up  his  own  minil, 
in  order  to  convince  himself  that  he  had  not  been 
ignorant  of  some  great  point  of  the  question  sub- 
mitted to  his  judijnunt.  Confirmed  rather  than 
shaken  in  his  determination  by  what  he  had  hciird 
stated,  he  requested  -M.  de  Marbois  to  call,  without 
losing  a  moment,  upon  Mr.  Livingston,  the  Ameri- 
can minister,  and  to  enter  into  a  negotiati<in  with 
him  upon  the  subject  of  Louisiana.  Mr.  Monro 
liad  just  arrived  in  Europe  to  regulate  with  the 
English  the  question  of  maritime  law,  and  with  the 
French  flie  question  of  the  transit  on  the  Jlissis- 
sip|ti.  Upon  his  arrival  in  Paris,  he  was  wel- 
comed with  the  unexpected  proposition  of  the 
French  cabinet.  He  was  offered  not  merely  some 
facilities  of  transit  in  passing  through  Louisiana, 
but  tlie  addition  of  the  whole  territory  to  the 
United  States.  He  was  not  embarrassed  a  moment 
by  any  defect  in  his  powers ;  lie  treated  imme- 
diately, except  as  far  as  the  ratification  of  his 
government  was  concerned. 

M.  de  Marbois  demanded  the  sura  of  00,000,000f., 
of  which  20,000,000  f.  were  to  indemnify  the 
Americans  for  the  cultures  illegally  made  during 
the  last  war,  and  CO  000,000  I.  for  the  French 
trea-fury.  The  '20,000.000  f.  devoted  to  the  first 
object  would  assure  to  France  the  good  will  of  all 
the  merchants  of  the  United  States.  Li  regard  to 
the  other  sum  of  60,000,000  f.  designed  for  France, 
it  was  agreed  that  the  cabinet  of  Wiushington  should 
create  annuities,  and  that  they  should  be  nego- 
tiated with  Dutch  houses  at  an  advantageous  price 
some  little  di.^tance  from  par.  The  treaty  was, 
therefore,  c  included  on  this  basis,  and  sent  to 
Washington  in  order  to  be  ratified.  It  was  thus 
that  the  Americans  acquired  this  vast  territory, 
which  has  completed  their  domination  in  North 
America, and  rendered  them  masters  of  the  Gulf  uf 
Mexico  now  an<l  for  all  future  lime.  They  are 
therefore  indebted  for  their  rise  and  their  great- 
neiw  to  the  long  conteHt  between  France  and  Eng- 
land. To  the  lii-st  act  in  this  contest  they  owe 
their  in<lepind'-nce  ;  to  the  second,  this  large 
addition  to  tlnir  territory.  We  shall  see  soon  to 
what  use  this  00,000,000  f.  was  applied,  and  of  what 
result  it  mit.sed  the  attainment. 

These  precautions  once  taUen,  tho  first  consul 
followed  out  with  more  patience  the  winding  up 
of  the  negotiation.  The  invohmlary  fit  of  anger 
which  he  wa-H  unable  to  defend,  on  receiving  the 
n>es.saL'e  of  the  king  of  England,  being  pas.sed,  he 
pnimised  himself  to  maintain  in  future  an  unalrer- 
able  modenition,  to  sufler  hinjwdf  even  to  proceed 
to  the  end  bu  openly,  that  Franco  and  all  Europe 


could  not  po.ssibly  deceive  themselves  about  the 
real  authors  of  the  war. 

Talleyrantl,  under  the  existing  circumstances, 
conducted  himself  with  rare  wisdom,  and  con- 
tributed more  than  any  to  inspire  the  fii>t  consul 
with  new  dispositions.  This  mini.ster  well  under- 
stood that  a  war  with  England,  looking  at  the 
difficulty  of  making  it  decisive,  and  seeing  that  the 
iuHucnce  of  British  subsidies  soon  making  it  conti- 
nental, would  be  but  the  renewal  of  the  war  of 
the  revolution  with  Europe,  for  the  purpose  of  ]>re- 
venting  the  miscliief  of  a  universal  conflagiatit)n, 
decided  to  make  use  of  the  inertia,  which  he  had 
sometimes  found  to  serve  with  the  first  consul,  as  a 
jet  of  water  cast  upon  an  ardent  fire  to  moderate 
its  violence.  If  on  some  occasiims  this  inertia  had 
its  inconveniences,  it  was  this  time  a  succour  of 
very  great  importance  ;  and  with  any  other  cabi- 
net than  that  which  then  reigned  so  feebly  in 
England,  it  would  have  succeeded  in  preventing  a 
rui)ture,  or  at  least  in  retiuding  one  for  a  lung 
while  to  come.  In  consequence,  after  having  had 
an  interview  with,  and  brought  the  first  consul  to 
agree,  he  drew  up  a  calm,  frank  communication  to 
the  British  cabinet,  having  for  its  object  to  make 
known  to  that  cabinet  that  military  precautions 
would  commence  on  the  side  of  France,  but  com- 
mence (Mily  from  that  day,  in  other  words,  from  the 
date  of  the  message  of  George  HI.  to  parliament. 
When  arming  is  Ijcgun  in  England,  said  M.  de 
Talleyrand,  the  British  cabinet  must  not  be  sur- 
prised if  Switzerland,  which  was  just  on  the  point 
of  being  evacuated,  is  not  so  :  if  a  body  of  troops 
be  set  in  march  towards  the  middle  of  Italy  with 
the  view  of  occupying  Tarentum  ;  if  a  corps  of 
twenty  thousand  men  .should  enter  Holland,  and 
take  up  the  nearest  possible  position  to  Hanover  ; 
if  the  matirid  of  a  military  division  is  united  at 
Bayonne,  to  act  in  case  of  need  against  Portugal  ; 
if,  in  fine,  works  of  mere  construction  in  the  French 
ports  are  changed  into  those  of  armament ;  doubt- 
kss  there  will  result  a  redoubled  movement  of  the 
pnlilie  mind  in  England,  the  ordinary  exciters  of 
public  opinion  will  conclude  again  that  France 
meditates  fresh  aggressions — but  what  to  do  ? 
There  it  nmst  resign  iiself ;  when,  in  fine,  the 
British  cabinet  has  taken  the  initiative,  by  its  own 
measures  of  precaution,  which  finish  by  being 
really  nn-asures  of  provocation.  \\\  facft,  they  arc 
arming  actively  in  England,  and  press-gangs  are 
at  work  on  tho  quays  of  the  Thames  in  the  very 
heart  of  the  city  of  London.  They  are  there  pre- 
paring to  send  to  sea  fifty  sail  of  the  line,  that 
according  to  the  announcement  made  in  parlia- 
ment, will  be  ready  iii  case  of  rupture,  to  set  sail 
upon  the  tlay  of  the  declaration  of  war  ! 

The  minister  Addington,  feeling  that  he  was  not 
equal  to  the  circumsumces  of  his  position,  liad 
made  some  overtures  to  Pitt,  in  order  to  engage 
him  to  enter  the  cabinet,  but  Pitt  had  repelled  his 
overtures  with  great  haughtiness,  and  continued 
to  live  nearly  always  far  from  London,  and  the 
agitations  of  party.  Feeling  his  own  strength, 
foreseeing  the  events  which  would  arise  to  render 
it  necessary,  he  much  preferred  relying  upon  the 
power  of  those  events,  than  on  the  feeble  ministers 
who  wer<!  the  ephemeral  holders  of  his  place.  He 
refused  their  iitters,  leaving  them,  by  his  refusal, 
in  a  Hlalu  of  cruel  embarrassment.     The  ministry 


Embarrassment  of  the 
English  ministry. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.        New  proposition. 


had  taken  these  steps  witliout  the  consent  of 
George  III.,  wlio  would  have  desired  to  keep  his 
existing  cabinet,  because  he  had  for  Pitt  a  dislike 
scarcely  to  be  overcome.  He  found  in  Pitt,  with 
opinions  that  were  his  own,  a  minister  who  was 
nearly  his  master.  He  found  in  Fox,  with  his 
noble  and  attractive  character,  opinions  which 
were  odious  to  him.  He  did  not  wish  to  have 
either  the  one  or  the  other.  He  desired  to  keep 
in  Addington,  the  son  of  a  physician,  of  whom  lie 
was  fond  ;  lord  Hawkesbury,  the  son  of  lord  Liver- 
pool, his  intimate  confidant  ;  he  wished  also  to 
preserve  the  peace  unbroken,  if  it  were  a  thing 
possible  to  be  done,  and  if  not  possible,  he  then 
would  resign  himself  to  a  state  of  war,  which  to 
him  was  become  a  sort  of  habit,  but  then  he 
wished  it  to  be  carried  on  with  the  existing  minis- 
try. Addington  and  Hawkesbury  were  strongly 
of  this  opinion  ;  still  they  would  wish  if  possible  a 
reinforcement  of  strength  ;  and  after  having  been 
a  ministry  of  peace,  to  constitute  themselves  a  war 
administration.  In  default  of  Pitt,  who  had  re- 
fused to  join  them,  it  was  not  practicable  to  unite 
themselves  with  Windham  and  Grenville,  because 
their  violence  far  surpassed  the  opinion  of  the 
English  public.  Addington  and  Hawkesbury  would 
willingly  have  addressed  themselves  to  Fox,  whose 
pacific  ideas  were  in  consonance  with  theirs  ;  but 
liere  the  will  of  the  king  was  an  insurnioimtable 
obstacle,  and  they  were  reduced  at  last  to  remain 
as  they  were,  alone,  feeble,  isolated,  in  parliament, 
and  on  that  account  kept  at  bay  by  the  different 
parties.  But  the  party  which  had  at  that  moment 
the  greatest  strength,  because  it  displayed  the 
national  passions,  was  that  of  Grenville,  which  on 
account  of  its  violence  had  begun  to  be  distin- 
guished from  that  of  Pitt,  and  which  avenged  itself 
for  not  arriving  at  the  ministry,  by  obliging  those 
in  power  to  do  that  which,  if  there,  it  would  have 
done  itself.  Tlie  feebleness  of  the  cabinet  then 
would  bring  on  the  war  with  nearly  as  much  cer- 
tainty as  if  it  had  numbered  among  its  members 
Windham,  Grenville,  and  Dundas. 

Addington  and  Hawkesbury  were  now  much 
embarrassed  on  account  of  all  the  noise  they  had 
made,  whether  about  the  events  which  had  taken 
place  in  Switzerland,  whether  on  the  question  of 
the  retention  of  Malta,  or  in  making  answer  to  a 
hauglity  phrase  of  the  first  consul,  by  a  message  to 
parliament.  They  would  have  been  heartily  willing 
to  find  some  expedient  which  might  relieve  them 
from  their  embarrassment  ;  but  unhappily  they 
were  placed  in  a  situation  jfrom  which  any  thing 
sliort  of  the  definitive  con(iuest  of  Malta  would 
appear  insutticient  in  England,  and  provoke  an 
outrage  under  which  they  would  have  succumbed. 
As  to  Malta,  there  was  no  hope  of  obtaining  that 
island  with  the  consent  of  the  first  consul. 

Talleyrand,  to  afford  them  aid,  hinted  to  them 
the  proposal  of  a  convention,  in  which  there  might 
be  arranged,  for  example,  the  evacuation  of  Swit- 
zerland and  of  Holland  as  the  ])rice  of  the  evacua- 
tion of  Malta,  in  whicli  there  should  be  an  engage- 
ment to  respect  the  integrity  of  the  Turkish 
empire,  as  a  means  of  calming  public  opinion  in 
England,  and  of  dissipating  its  suspicions. 

This  proposition  did  not  answer  the  expectations 
of  the  English  ministers,  because  Malta  was  the 
absolute  condition   which    the    masters    of  their 


feebleness  had  imposed  upon  them.  It  was  ne- 
cessary either  to  satisfy  the  covetousuess  which 
was  brought  about  by  their  own  fault,  or  to  succumb 
before  the  parliament.  Nevertheless,  they  felt 
that  they  should  finish  by  covering  themselves 
with  ridicule  in  the  sight  of  England,  of  France, 
and  of  all  Europe,  if  tliey  continued  to  remain  in 
an  equivocal  position,  not  daring  to  say  a  word 
which  they  wished  to  say.  They  produced  their 
pretensions  at  last  on  the  I3th  of  April,  1803. 
The  first  consul  had  given  them  inquietude  upon 
the  subject  of  Elgypt,  .and  it  was  necessary,  they 
said,  to  have  possession  of  Malta  as  a  means  of 
overlooking  that  quarter  to  be  capable  of  securing 
themselves.  They  offered  two  hypotheses  ;  either 
the  possession  by  England  of  the  forts  of  the  island 
for  ever,  leaving  the  civil  government  of  the  island 
to  the  order  ;  or  the  possession  of  the  island  for 
ten  years,  and  to  give  up  the  forts,  not  to  the 
order,  but  to  the  Maltese  themselves.  In  cither 
case  France  should  oblige  itself  to  second  a  nego- 
tiation with  the  king  of  Naples  to  obtain  the 
consent  of  that  monarch  to  cede  to  England  the 
island  of  Lampedosa,  situated  at  a  short  distance 
from  Malta,  for  the  avowed  end  of  forming  there  a 
naval  establishment '. 

Lord  Wliitworth  attempted  to  gain  the  assent 
of  M.  Talleyrand  to  these  demands,  and  addressed 
himself  the  same  request  to  the  brother  of  the  first 
consul.  Joseph,  who  feared  no  less  than  M.  Tal- 
leyrand the  chances  of  a  desperate  contest,  in 
which  must  be  risked  perhaps  all  the  greatness 
of  Bonaparte,  Joseph  promised  to  use  with  his 
brother  all  his  influence,  but  at  the  same  time 
without  holding  out  a  chance  of  succeeding.  The 
only  proposition  which  appeared  to  him  to  have 
any  prospect  of  success,  was  to  leave  some  time, 
but  only  for  a  short  time,  the  possession  of  the 
fortresses  of  Malta  to  the  English,  maintaining  the 
existence  of  the  order  with  great  care,  in  order 
that  it  might  be  possible  to  give  up  the  fortresses 
to  it  soon,  and  to  grant  to  France,  in  the  way  of 
compensation,  the  immediate  acknowledgments  of 
the  new  states  of  Italy.     In  consequence,  Joseph 

I  The  following  is  the  statement  put  forth  by  the  Adding- 
ton ministry  in  England  as  the  proposal  on  their  part  alluded 
to  above,  and  also  in  page  4e3  : — 

1.  The  French  government  shall  engage  to  make  no  oppo- 
sition to  the  cession  of  the  island  of  Lampedosa  to  his  ma- 
jesty by  the  king  of  the  Two  Sicilies. 

2.  In  consequence  of  the  present  state  of  the  island  of 
Lampedosa,  his  majesty  shall  remain  in  possession  of  the 
island  of  Malta  until  such  arrangements  shall  be  made  by 
him  as  may  enable  his  majesty  to  occupy  Lampedosa  as  a 
naval  station,  after  which  period  the  island  of  Malta  shall 
be  given  up  to  the  inhabitants,  and  acknowledged  as  an  in- 
dependent state. 

3.  The  territories  of  the  Batavian  republic  shall  be  evacu- 
ated by  the  French  forces  within  one  month  after  the  con- 
clusion of  a  convention  founded  on  the  principles  of  this 
project. 

4.  The  king  of  Etruria  and  the  Italian  and  Ligurian  re- 
publics shall  be  acknowledged  by  his  majesty. 

5.  Switzerland  shall  be  evacuated  by  the  French  forces. 
G.  A  suitable  territorial  provision  shall  be  assigned  to  the 

king  of  Sardinia  in  Italy. 

Secret  Article.— His  majesty  shall  not  be  required  by 
the  French  government  to  evacuate  the  island  of  Malta 
until  after  the  expiration  often  years.  Articles  ■),  5,  6,  may 
be  entirely  omitted,  or  must  all  be  inserted. 


1803. 
April. 


Its  refusal  by  the 
first  cunsul. 


Defence  of  the  Addington 
RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENS.       ministry  for  not  evacu-    461 

ating  Malta. 


Bonaparte  and  M.  <le  Talleyrand  made  the  greatest 
efforts  ill  their  ])o\vcr  to  move  the  first  ei>nsul  to 
assent  t<>  this  state  of  things.  They  made  it  a 
point  with  him  to  maintain  the  order  of  St.  Jdlin 
of  Jerusalem  as  an  evidence  before  the  eyes  of  the 
public  that  the  occupation  of  the  forts  was  but 
temporary,  by  this  means  preserving  the  dignity 
of  the  French  <;overmnent. 

To  this  the  first  consul  opposed  an  unflinching 
and  obstinate  resistance.  All  these  tamperings 
with  the  question  appeared  beneath  his  character. 
He  said  that  it  was  much  better  to  give  uj)  the 
island  of  Malta  purely  and  simply  to  the  English  ; 
that  this  would  be  a  sort  of  indemnification  granted 
voluntarily  to  England  for  the  pretended  encroach- 
ments of  France  since  the  treaty  of  Amiens  ;  that 
the  concession  thus  explained  had  something  frank, 
clear,  and  offered  rather  the  appearance  of  an  act 
of  justice  voluntarily  accorded  than  the  appearance 
of  a  weakness  ;  that,  on  the  contrary,  the  pos- 
session of  Malta  granted  in  reality  (because  the 
forts  were  in  fact  all  the  island,  and  some  years 
were  the  same  as  for  ever),  and  thus  covered  by 
dissimulation,  was  unworthy  of  him  ;  that  nobody 
should  delude  him,  and  that  even  in  the  efforts 
which  he  would  make  to  dissimulate  such  a  con- 
cession, the  sentiment  of  his  own  weakness  would 
be  recognised.  "No,"  said  he,  "either  Malta  or 
nothing  !  But  Malta,  it  is  the  dominion  of  the 
Mediterranean.  No  person  can  believe  that  I  can 
consent  to  give  up  the  dominion  of  the  Medi- 
terranean to  the  English  without  its  being  supposed 
that  I  fear  to  contest  it  with  them.  I  lose  at  one 
time  the  most  important  sea  in  the  world  in  the 
opinion  of  Europe,  which  gives  credit  to  my  energy, 
which  believes  it  superior  to  every  danger." — 
"  But,"  observed  Talleyrand,  "  after  all,  the  English 
hold  Malta,  and  in  breaking  with  them,  you  will  not 
take  it  from  them." — "  Yes,"  replied  the  first 
consul,  "  but  I  shall  not  ceile  it  without  a  contest 
at  an  immense  advantage  ;  1  shall  dispute  it  with 
arms  in  my  hanrls,  and  I  hope  to  bring  the  English 
to  such  a  state  that  they  will  be  forced  to  give  u|) 
Malta  and  more  than  that  ;  without  counting  that 
if  I  arrive  at  Dover,  it  is  all  finished  with  these 
tyrants  of  the  seas.  Besides,  when  one  must  com- 
bat, sooner  or  later,  with  a  people  to  whom  the 
greatness  of  France  is  insupportable,  very  well,  it 
is  better  worth  doing  it  to-day  than  at  a  later  time. 
The  national  energy  has  not  been  enervated  by  a 
long  peace  :  I  am  young  :  the  English  are  in  the 
wrong,  more  in  the  wrong  than  they  have  ever 
been  ;  I  should  love  better  to  finish  now.  Malta 
or  nothing,"  he  npeated  unceasingly,  "  I  am  re- 
solved— they  shall  not  have  Malta." 

Still  the  first  consul  consented  that  the  cession 
of  Lampedosii  to  the  EiigliHli  should  be  negotiated, 
or  any  otlxr  small  iHhiiul  in  the  north  of  Africa,  on 
the  condition  that  Malta  shonld  be  immediately 
evacuated.  "  That  they  should  be  given,"  sjiid  he, 
"a  harbipur  in  the  .Mi-iliierrnnean,  well  and  good. 
But  I  will  not  constiit  that  they  shall  iiave  two 
GibralL'irs  in  that  sea,  one  at  tiie  entrance,  and  one 
in  the  middle." 

This  reply  caused  groat  disappointment  to  lord 
Whitworlh,  and  acconnnodatingas  he  showed  him- 
self at  first,  when  her  lia<l  hopes  of  suecesH,  ho 
l)ecame  stiff,  haughty,  and  alniost  unbecoming. 
But  M.  dc  Talleyrand  promised  lie  would  do  all 


he  could  to  support  him,  to  prevent,  or  at  least  to 
delay,  the  rupture.  Lord  Wliitworth  told  M.  de 
Talleyrand,  that  whether  the  first  consul  regarded 
it  as  a  matter  of  honour  or  not,  was  of  little  im- 
portance to  England;  that  she  was  not  one  of  those 
petty  states  to  which  he  was  able  to  dictate  his 
will,  and  force  submission  to  all  his  modes  of 
explaining  honour  and  policy.  Talleyrand  replied 
with  calmness  and  dignity,  that  England,  upon  her 
side,  had  no  right,  under  the  pretext  of  distrust,  to 
exact  the  abandonment  by  France  of  one  of  the 
most  important  points  on  the  globe;  that  there  was 
no  power  in  the  world  that  had  a  right  to  impose 
upon  others  the  consequences  of  its  own  suspi- 
cions, whether  well  founded  or  not ;  that  a  similar 
course  would  be  a  very  commodious  vay  of  making 
conquests;  and  that  in  such  a  case  it  need  only  be 
said,  one  party  suffered  disquiet,  to  be  authorized 
to  place  a  hand  upon  any  territory. 

Lord  Wliitworth  communicated  this  reply  to  the 
English  cabinet,  which  seeing  itself  placed  between 
the  evacuation  of  JLalta,  which  it  regarded  as  its 
own  downfall,  or  to  commence  war,  took  the  culpa- 
ble resolution  of  preferring  war — a  war  against  the 
only  man  who  was  able  to  run  England  into  the 
most  serious  perils.  This  resolution  once  taken, 
the  cabinet  thought  that  it  must,  in  order  more  to 
please  the  party  under  whose  domination  it  was 
placed,  be  hasty,  arrogant,  and  prompt  to  come  to 
a  rupture.  Lord  Wliitworth  was  enjoined  to  de- 
mand the  occupation  of  Malta',  at  least  for  ten 

•  The  defence  made  by  the  Addington  ministry  for  not 
evacuating  Malta  is  in  the  main  embodied  in  the  following 
extract  of  its  own  declarations  against  France. 

"  Whilst  his  Britannic  majesty  was  actuated  by  these 
sentiments,  he  was  called  upon  by  the  French  government 
to  evacuate  the  island  of  Malta;  his  majesty  had  manifested 
from  the  moment  of  the  signature  of  the  definitive  treaty,  an 
anxious  disposition  to  carry  into  full  effect  the  stipulations 
of  the  treaty  of  Amiens  relative  to  that  island.  As  soon  as 
he  was  informed  that  an  election  of  a  grand  master  had 
taken  place  under  tlie  auspices  of  the  emperor  of  Russia, 
and  that  it  had  been  agreed  by  the  different  priories  as- 
sembled at  St.  Petersburgh  to  acknowledge  the  person 
whom  the  court  of  Rome  should  select  out  of  those  who  had 
been  named  by  them  to  be  grand  master  of  the  order  of 
St.  John,  his  majesty  proposed  to  the  French  government, 
for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  any  diflicuUics  which  might 
arise  in  the  execution  of  this  arrangement,  to  acknowledge 
that  election  to  be  valid  ;  and  when,  in  the  motith  of  August, 
the  French  government  applied  to  his  majesty  to  permit 
the  Neapolitan  troops  to  be  sent  to  the  island  of  Malta,  as  a 
preliminary  measure  for  preventing  any  unnecessary  delay, 
his  majesty  consented  without  liesitation  to  thi.s  proposal, 
and  gave  directions  for  the  admission  of  the  Neapolitan 
troops  Into  the  island.  His  majesty  had  thus  shown  his 
disposition  not  only  to  throw  no  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the 
execution  of  the  treaty,  but,  on  the  contrary,  to  facilitate  the 
execution  of  it  by  every  means  in  hii  power. 

"  His  majesty  cannot,  however,  admit  that  nt  any  period 
since  tlie  conclusion  of  the  treaty  of  Amiens  the  French 
I  government  have  had  a  right  to  call  upon  him,  in  conformity 
to  the  stipulations  of  that  treaty,  to  withdraw  his  forces  from 
the  island  of  Malta.  At  the  time  when  this  demand  was 
made  by  the  French  government,  several  of  the  most  im- 
portant stipulations  remained  uncxet  uted.  The  election  of 
a  grand  matter  had  not  been  riinied  Into  efTect.  The  lOth 
article  had  siipulated  ihat  tlie  Independence  of  the  island 
►hould  be  placed  under  the  guarantee  and  protection  of 
(ireat  Ilritaln  and  France,  Austria,  Russia,  Spain,  and 
Prussia.      The  emperor  of  Germany  had  acceded  to  the 


Defence  of  the  Addint;ton 
4g2      imriistry  for  not  evacu- 
aiing  Malta. 


Fresh  negotiation  between 
THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE,     lord  whUworth  and  M. 

de  TiUeyrand. 


May. 


years,  the  cession  of  the  isle  of  Lampedosa,  tlie 
immediate  evacuation  of  Switzerland  and  Holland, 
a  precise  and  determined  indemnity  for  tlie  king  of 
Sardinia,  and  in  return,  an  acknowledgment  of  the 
Italian  stales.  To  tisese  orders  to  the  ambassador 
were  added,  an  injunction  to  demand  his  passports 

gu.iranfee,  but  only  on  condition  of  a  like  accession  on  the 
part  of  the  otiier  powers  specified  in  the  article.  The 
emperor  of  Russia  liad  refused  his  accession  except  on  the 
condition  tliat  tlie  Maltese  lan^'uage  should  be  ahrogated; 
and  the  king  of  Prussia  had  given  no  an>wer  whatever  to 
the  aiiplication  which  had  been  made  to  him  to  ace,  de  to  the 
arrangement.  But  the  fundamental  principle,  upon  the 
existence  of  which  depended  the  execution  of  the  oiher 
parrs  of  the  article,  had  been  defeated  by  the  changes  which 
had  taken  place  in  the  constitution  of  the  order  since  the 
com  lu.^ion  of  the  treaty  of  peace.  It  was  to  the  order  of 
St.  John  o;  Jerusalem  that  his  m  jesty  was,  by  the  first 
stipulation  of  the  lOih  article,  bound  to  restore  the  island  of 
M.ilta.  The  order  is  defined  to  consist  of  those  languages 
which  were  in  existence  at  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty,  the 
tliiee  French  languages  having  been  abolished,  and  a  Mai 
tese  language  added  to  the  institution.  The  order  con- 
si-ted  therelbre  at  that  time  of  the  following  languages, 
viz.,  the  languages  of  Arragon,  Casiile,  Germany,  Bavaria, 
and  Russia.  Since  the  conclusion  of  the  definitive  treaty, 
the  languages  of  Arragon  and  Casiile  have  been  separated 
(rom  tlip  order  by  Spain  ;  a  part  of  the  Italian  language  hns 
been  abolislied  hy  the  annexation  of  Piedmont  and  Parma  lo 
Fiance.  There  is  strong  reason  to  believe  that  it  has  been 
in  contemplation  to  sequestrate  the  property  of  the  Bavarian 
languages,  and  the  inie'ition  has  been  avowed  of  keeping  the 
Russiiin  languages  within  the  dominions  of  the  emperor. 
Under  these  circumstances,  the  order  of  St.  John  cannot 
now  he  considered  as  that  body  to  which,  according  to  the 
stipulations  of  the  treaty,  the  island  was  to  be  restored;  and 
the  funds  indispensably  necessary  for  its  support,  and  fur 
the  maintenance  of  the  independence  of  the  island,  have 
l)een  nearly,  if  not  wholly,  sequestered.  Eien  if  this  had 
arisen  irom  circumstances  which  it  was  not  in  the  power  of 
any  of  the  contracting  parties  to  control,  his  majesty  would 
nevertheless  have  had  a  right  to  defer  the  evacuation  of  the 
island  hy  his  forces  until  such  time  as  an  equivalent  arrange- 
ment had  been  concluded  for  the  preservaliun  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  island.  But  if  these  changes  have  taken 
I)la  e  in  consequence  of  any  a':ts  of  the  tjlher  parties  to  the 
treaty;  if  the  French  government  shall  appear  to  have  pro- 
ceeded upon  a  system  of  rendering  tht-  order  whose  indepen- 
dence they  had  stipulated,  incapable  of  maintaining  that  in- 
dependence, his  majesty's  right  to  continue  in  the  occupa- 
tion of  the  island  under  such  circumstances  will  hardly  be 
c  mtested.  It  is  indisputable,  the  revenues  of  the  two 
Spanish  languages  have  been  withdrawn  from  the  order 
by  his  catholic  majesty ;  a  part  of  the  Italian  language 
has,  in  fact,  been  ahnlished  hy  France,  through  the  unjust 
anni'Xation  of  Piedmont,  Parma,  and  Placentiii,  to  the 
I'reiich;  the  elector  of  Bavaria  has  been  instigated  by  the 
French  tiovernment  to  sequestrate  the  property  of  the  order 
within  his  territories;  and  it  is  certain  they  have  not  only 
sanctioned,  but  encouraged,  the  idea  of  the  propriery  of  sepa- 
rating the  Russian  languages  from  the  remainder  of  the 
order.  As  the  conduct  of  the  governmenis  of  Frame  and 
Spain  have,  therefore,  in  some  instances  directly,  and  others 
indirectly,  contributed  to  the  changes  which  have  taken 
place  in  the  order,  and  thus  destro>ed  its  means  of  support- 
ing its  independence,  it  is  to  these  governments,  and  not  to 
his  majesty,  the  non-execution  of  the  lOtli  article  of  the 
irea-y  of  Amiens  must  be  ascribed.  Such  would  he  the  just 
conclusion  if  the  lOth  article  of  that  treaty  were  consiaered 
as  an  arrangement  by  itself.  It  must  be  observed,  however, 
that  tins  article  forms  a  part  only  of  a  treaty  of  ])eace,  the 
wlnde  of  which  is  connected  together,  and  the  stipulations 
of  which  must,  upon  a  principle  Common  to  all  treaties,  be 
construed  as  having  a  reference  to  each  other. 


immediately,  if  the  conditions  of  England  were  not 
accepted. 

The  despatch  was  dated  the  23rd  of  April,  and 
reached  Paris  upon  the  25tli.  The  2nd  of  May 
was  tlie  fatal  term.  Lord  Whitworth  made  several 
attempts  to  accommodtite  affairs  with  M.  de  Talley- 
rand, because  he  was  equally  tilarmed  at  the  effects 
of  such  a  rupture.  M.  de  Talleyrand,  on  tlie  otlier 
hand,  made  him  understand,  that  there  was  no  hope 
of  his  obtaining  Mtilta,  neither  for  ten  years,  nor 
for  a  less  term,  and  tlitit  he  must  think  of  some 
other  arrangement.  But  in  the  meanwhile,  he 
applied  himself  so  to  word  his  despatches,  as  to 
evade  an  immediate  conclusion.  Lord  Whitworth, 
entering  entirely  into  his  views,  was  still  resolved 
not  to  extend  the  term  beyond  the  2nd  of  May. 
There  was,  in  fact,  nobody,  however  bold  he  might 
be,  who  did  not  contemplate  with  dread  the  conse- 
quences of  such  a  war.  There  were  none  who 
were  unshaken  in  mind  about  a  conflict  that  the 
English  ministers  would  inflict  upon  the  world,  in 
order  to  become  the  price  of  their  miserable  exist- 
ence, and  the  first  consul,  braving  all  the  chances 
of  a  frightful  conflict,  would  sustain  for  the  honour 
of  his  government,  and  the  preponderance  of 
France  in  the  Mediterranean.  Lord  Whitworth 
and  M.  de  Talleyrand  reached  the  seventh  day 
without  a  rupture. 

Finally,  on  the  2nd  of  May,  lord  "Whitworth,  not 
daring  to  disobey  the  orders  of  his  court,  demtinded 
his  passports.  T'llleyrand,  in  order  to  gain  a  little 
more  time,  replied  that  he  was  about  to  submit  his 
demand  for  passports  to  the  first  consul,  exhorted 
him  not  to  be  too  much  in  a  hurry  in  any  thing, 
affirming,  that  perhaps  by  dint  of  effort,  some  un- 
foreseen mode  of  arrangemv'iit  might  be  discovered. 
Talleyrand  had  an  interview  with  the  first  consul, 
iiud  a  long  confert  nee  with  him,  and  from  this  con- 
ference, in  order  to  keep  the  peace,  there  arose  a 
new,  and  it  may  be  tidded,  a  very  ingenious  jiropo- 
sitioii.  This  pro])osition  was  lo  place  the  isltind  of 
Malta  in  the  hands  of  the  "iiiperor  of  Russia,  and 
to  let  it  rem.'iin  in  his  possession  as  a  deposit  to 
iiwait  the  conclusion  of  the  unexpected  differences 
between  France  and  Engliind.  Such  a  combina- 
tion ought  to  deprive  the  English  of  all  ground  of 
mistrust,  beciiuse  the  good  faith  of  the  young  em- 
peror could  not  for  a  moment  be  tontestetJ,  and 
that  might  constitute  him  a  good  judge  of  the 
difference  between  the  two  countries.  By  a  sort 
of  a])t  concurrence  of  events,  this  prince  had  writ- 
ten, in  reply  to  the  communiciitioiis  of  the  first 
consul,  that  he  was  quite  ready  to  offer  his  media- 
tion, it  it  would  be  the  means  of  preventing  a  war; 
and  the  king  of  Prussia,  ptirtaking  in  the  same 
wish,  had  joined  the  enii)eror  in  making  the  same 
offer.  It  was,  therefore,  very  certain  that  both 
these  monarchs  would  be  found  disposed  to  take 
upon  themselves  the  task  of  mediating  between  the 
two  iiiitions.  If  the  off"er  were  relustd,  it  was  suffi- 
ci-^nt  to  prove  satisfactorily,  that  liiere  were  no 
real  fears  interposed,  neither  regarding  Malta  nor 
Egypt,  when  an  impartial  depositary  for  the  island 
could  not  succeed  in  removing  their  fears,  but 
thiit  the  ministry  wished  to  have  a  triumph  for  the 
nation,  as  well  as  an  acquirement  and  an  argument 
to  use  in  parliament. 

Talleyrand,  thinking  himself  fortunate  to  have 
hit  upon  such  an  expedient,  went  to  loi'd  Whit- 


ISO.").       Continuation  of  the 
May.  nrgotiatiiins. 


RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENS. 


Lord  Wliiiworlhtle- 
niaiKls  liis    pass-         4fJ3 
piiris. 


wortli,  in  order  to  pci-suade  him  to  defer  his  depar- 
ture, and  to  request  him  to  transmit  a  r.ew  propo- 
sition to  liis  cabinet.  The  ordei-s  wliicli  the  am- 
bassador of  England  iiad  ivceived  were  so  positive, 
that  he  liid  not  dare  to  disobey  them.  Still  lie 
suffered  himself  to  be  moved  by  the  fear  of  adi>pt- 
in;;  pcrliaps  an  irreparalde  step  in  inunediately 
Uiking  his  passports.  He  therefore  despatelied  a 
courier  to  Lond'Mi,  to  transmit  these  hist  offers  of 
the  Frencii  cabinet,  and  to  excuse  himself  for  the 
delay  whicli  he  had  permitted  himself  to  use  in  the 
execution  of  the  orders  of  his  court. 

M.  de  Talleyrand,  in  like  manner,  sent  off  a  cou- 
rier to  general  Andreossy,  who  had  not  seen  the 
En;;lish  ministers  since  lluir  last  commnnieation, 
and  ordered  him  to  make  them  a  decisive  offer. 
General  Andreossy  was  not  wanting  in  obedience, 
and  made  them  listen  to  the  voice  of  an  honourable 
man.  If  it  was  not  Malta  which  they  wished  to 
acquire,  in  defiance  of  treaties,  it  was  not  possible 
they  could  have  any  motive  for  refusing  to  deposit 
this  precious  |)ledge  in  hands  powerfid  enough, 
disintereste<l,  and  perfectly  safe.  Addington  ap- 
peared to  be  nuich  moveil,  because  in  reality  he 
wished  for  a  pacific  termination  of  the  affair.  The 
head  of  the  cabinet  replied,  in  terms  plain  enough, 
that  he  desireil  to  be  better  imornied  on  the  mat- 
ter, expressed  his  regret  not  t.»  be  sufficiently  so 
for  sueh  a  serious  jimcture.  and  remained  sus- 
pended between  tlic  double  fear  of  committing  an 
act  of  weakness,  or  of  provokim;  an  unhappy  war. 
Loi-d  Hawkesbury,  more  ambitious  and  firmer, 
exhibited  himself  unshaken.  The  cabinet  liaving 
deliberated,  refuseil  the  proposition.  The  desire 
to  gratify  the  national  ambition,  and  to  resi;;n 
Malta  into  the  hamls  of  a  tiiird  and  disinterested 
party,  was  to  miss  the  end  they  had  in  view.  Be- 
sides, to  give  up  the  islanil  to  a  third  party,  was 
most  probably  to  lose  it  for  ever  ;  because  it  was 
very  well  known  that  there  was  no  arbitrator  in 
the  world  who  would  have  decided  in  favour  of 
England  upon  a  similar  question.  They  employed, 
in  order  to  colour  this  refusal  of  the  last  projiosi- 
tion  tendered,  an  argument  which  was  altogether 
false.  They  had,  they  said,  the  certain  knowledge 
that  Russia  wi.uld  not  accept  the  conunissinti  with 
which  it  was  projioscd  to  charge  iier.  But  the 
contrary  was  really  the  fact,  because  Russia  had 
Clime  forward  to  offer  her  mediation;  and,  at  a 
later  period,  on  learning  the  last  proposition  of  the 
French  government,  she  had  hastened  to  declare 
her  assent,  notwiilistanding  the  dangers  attached 
to  the  deposit,  which  it  was  at  the  titne  coutem- 
plating  U}  coimnit  into  her  hands. 

The  Ennlish  ministers,  however,  still  reserved 
to  themsi-lves  another  expedient,  by  which  tht-y 
liad  another  chance  of  keeping  Malta,  and  ihey, 
in  coiiMequence,  devised  an  expedient  which  it  was 
impossible  to  accept.  Judging  of  ihc  fiist  consul 
by  themselves,  they  beli<;ved  that  he  was  anxious 
to  keep  the  treaty  re-pectiiig  .Malta  solely  out  of 
fear  of  the  public  opinion.  They  proposed,  there- 
fore, in  adding  several  patent  articles  to  the 
treaty  of  Amiens,  to  throw  into  the  treaty  a 
secret  article,  which  should  make  it  obligalory 
upon  the  English  troops  to  remain  in  .Malta.  The 
articles  |)ropoHed  were  to  sUiio  that  Switzerland 
nnd  Holland  should  he  innnedialcly  evacuated; 
that  the  king  of  Sai-dinia  should  receive  a  terri- 


torial indcnmily;  that  the  English  sin  uld  obtain 
the  island  of  i^ampedosa;  and,  finally,  that  they 
should  remain  in  Malta.  The  secret  article  was 
to  limit  their  occupation  of  the  island  lo  ten  years. 
This  answer,  the  result  of  a  deliberation  on  the 
7th  of  May,  was  sent  off  on  the  same  day,  and 
arrived  in  Paris  on  the  9th  ;  on  the  10. h.  lord 
Whitworth  conmmnicated  it  in  writing  to  Talley- 
rand, with  whom  he  was  imable  to  have  a  i)er- 
sonal  interview,  that  minister  being  detained  with 
the  first  consul's  illness,  caused  by  tiie  overturn- 
ing of  his  carriage.  When  this  proposal  was 
made  to  the  first  consul,  he  rejected  at  once  the 
idea  of  a  secret  article,  repulsini;  it  haughtily  al- 
together, an  1  would  not  again  stiffer  it  to  be  spoken 
of  under  any  consideration.  In  his  turn,  he  de- 
vised a  last  expedient,  which  was  an  adroit  mode 
of  maintaining  the  ambition  of  both  nations  in 
equilihrium,  not  in  regard  to  any  real  advantages, 
so  much  as  to  those  which  were  apparent.  This 
expedient  consisted  in  leaving  the  English  in 
Malta  an  indeterminate  space  of  time,  on  condi- 
tion that  the  French,  during  the  same  space  of 
time,  should  occupy  the  Gulf  of  Tarentum.  In  this 
there  were  advantages  (|uite  great  enough  on  the 
side  of  consisten:y.  The  English  ministers  ob- 
tained that  s]>ecies  of  pledge  which  they  had 
formed  in  obtaining  Malta ;  the  French  would 
occujiy  an  equal  position  in  the  Mediterranean  ; 
very  soon  all  the  other  powers  woidd  be  tempted 
to  intervene,  and  force  the  English  to  leave  Malta, 
and  the  French  to  abandon  the  territory  which 
belonged  to  Naples.  Still,  the  first  consul  would 
not  propose  this  new  arrangement  unless  he  had 
the  hope  to  see  it  accepted.  Talleyrand  was, 
therefore,  instructed  to  use,  in  this  last  proposal, 
an  extreme  measure  of  caution. 

The  following  day,  or  the  11th  of  May,  M  de 
Talleyrand  saw  lord  Whitworth  at  noon,  and  told 
him  that  a  secret  article  was  not  acceptable,  be- 
cause the  first  consul  wcnild  not  consent  to  deceive 
the  people  of  France  abuut  the  extent  of  the  con- 
cessions which  were  accorded  to  England  in  the 
treaty;  that,  nevertheless,  he  had  one  jiroposition 
ntore  to  present,  the  residt  of  which  would  be  to 
cede  Malta,  on  the  condition  of  an  equivalent 
cession  to  France.  L<>rd  Whitwurth  declared 
that  he  was  unable  to  admit  any  jiropositimi  cx- 
cc|)t  that  which  had  been  sent  by  his  own  cabinet; 
and  that  after  having  taken  ui)on  himself  to  defer 
his  departure  once,  he  was  not  able  to  retard  it  a 
second  time,  without  a  formal  adliesion  to  the  jiro- 
posal  made  by  his  government.  M.  de  Talleyrand 
made  no  reply  to  this  declaration  ;  and  the 
ministers  quilted  each  other,  both  very  des)ioiiding 
at  not  having  been  :iblc  to  bring  about  an  accom- 
modalion.  Lord  AVbitworth  demanded  his  pass- 
jiorls  for  the  follow  ing  day,  saying  he  should  travel 
slowly,  and  that  he  should  liiive  time  to  write  to 
London  and  to  reciive  an  answer,  before  he  should 
be  able  to  embark  at  Calais.  It  was  agreed  that 
the  ambassadors  shonhl  be  exchanged  on  the 
frontiers,  and  that  lord  Whitworth  sliould  wait  at 
Calais  until  general  Andreossy  had  arrived  at 
Dover. 

Curiosity  in  Paris  was  on  Iho  tiptoe  of  expecta- 
tion. A  u-owd  pressed  around  the  door  of  the 
hotel  of  the  English  ambassador,  in  i  rder  to  ob- 
scrvc    wliether    he    madi;    preparations    for     his 


Departure  of  the  Eng- 
lish and  French  am- 
bassadurs  : 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


And  final  termina- 
tion of  the  peace 
of  Amiens. 


1803. 

May. 


journey.  On  tlie  following  daj',  the  12th  of  May, 
after  liaving  waited  during  the  whole  day,  and 
left  the  French  cabinet  all  the  time  possible  for 
reflection,  lord  Whitworth  set  out  on  the  road  to 
Calais  by  easy  journeys.  The  rumour  of  his  de- 
parture produced  a  great  sensati(jn  in  Paris,  and 
everybody  foresaw  that  great  events  would  soon 
signalize  the  new  period  of  approaching  war. 

Talleyrand  had  sent  a  courier  to  general  An- 
dx-eossy  to  carry  to  him  the  new  proposition,  to  let 
Tarentum  be  occupied  by  the  French,  in  compen- 
sation for  the  occupation  of  Malta  by  the  English. 
It  was  by  M.  Schimmelpenniuk,  minister  of  Hol- 
land, that  this  new  proposition  was  made,  and 
not  in  the  name  of  France,  but  as  a  personal  idea 
of  the  minister  of  Holland,  and  of  the  success  of 
which  he  was  well  assured.  The  idea,  submitted 
to  the  British  cabinet,  was  not  received  favourably, 
and  general  Andreossy  had  no  choice  but  to  quit 
England.  The  an.\iety  manifested  at  Paris  was 
not  greater  than  that  manifested  in  London.  The 
house  of  commons  was  filled  for  several  days  suc- 
cessively, every  one  demanding  of  the  ministers 
what  was  the  news  relative  to  the  negotiation. 
At  the  moment  of  this  great  attention  to  the  state 
of  things,  the  bolt  of  war  fell,  and  all  were  as- 
tonished while  they  dreaded  tiie  consequences  of  an 
exasperated  contest.  The  people  of  London  little 
desired  the  renewal  of  the  war.  The  Grenville 
party  and  the  trading  money-lenders  were  alone 
satisfied. 

General  Andreossy  was  accompanied  on  his  de- 
parture; from  England  with  great  respect  and  very 
sensible  regret.  He  aiuived  at  Dover  at  the  same 
time  that  lord  Whitworth  reached  Calais,  on  the 
17th  of  May.  Lord  Whitworth  was  conveyed 
across  the  straits.  On  the  moment  of  his  arrival 
he  hastened  to  visit  the  French  ambassador,  paid 
him  the  greatest  testimonies  of  his  esteem,  and 
conducted  him  on  board  the  vessel  himself,  in 
which  lie  was  about  to  return  to  France.  The  two 
ambassadors  separated  in  presence  of  a  crowd  of 
persons,  moved  at  the  scene,  both  disquieted  and 
saddened.  In  that  solemn  moment,  the  two 
nations  seemed  to  bid  adieu,  no  more  to  be  visible 
to  each  other  until  after  a  frightful  war,  and  the 
overturn  of  the  whole  world.  How  very  different 
had  their  destinies  been,  if,  .as  the  first  consul  said, 
these  two  powers,  the  one  maritime  and  the  other 
continental,  had  been  in  coini)lete  and  perfect 
union  for  the  purpose  of  regulating  in  peace  the 
interests  of  the  universe  !  General  civilization 
would  have  made  more  rajiid  strides  ;  the  future 
independence  of  Europe  would  have  been  for  ever 
assured;  and  the  two  nations  would  not  have  pre- 
pared a  domination  for  the  north  over  a  divided 
west. 

Such  was  the  melancholy  termination  of  the 
short  peace  of  Amiens. 

We  do  not  dissimulate  the  vivacity  of  our 
national  sentiments  :  to  give  blame  to  France 
we  reckon  upon  ;  we  shall  do  it  without  hesi- 
tation, if  she  seems  to  us  to  merit  its  reception  ; 
and  we  know  how  to  do  it  when  unhappily  she 
should  receive  it,  because  truth  is  the  ftr.st  duty  of 
the  historian.  Nevertheless,  after  long  reflection 
upon  a  subject  so  serious,  we  are  wholly  unable  to 
blame  France  for  the  renewal  of  tlie  war  between 
the  two  countries.     In  this  instance  the  first  con- 


sul conducted  himself  with  the  most  perfect  good 
faith.  He  committed,  we  are  ready  to  avow,  faults 
in  form,  but  of  these  faults  even  he  did  not  com- 
mit all.  In  a  single  essential  point  he  was  not  to 
blame.  The  complaints  of  England,  bearing  upon 
the  changes  operated  in  the  relative  situation  of 
the  two  states  subsequent  to  the  peace,  were  with- 
out foundation.  In  Italy  the  Italian  republic  had 
chosen  the  first  consul  for  a  president  ;  but  this  in 
reality  did  not  change  any  thing  in  the  state  of 
dependence  of  that  republic  upon  France,  which 
existed  but  by  means  of  France,  and  could  not 
exist  without  her  support.  Besides,  this  event 
took  place  in  February,  and  the  treaty  of  Amiens 
did  not  take  place  until  the  month  of  March,  1802. 
The  constitution  of  the  kingdom  of  Etruria,  the 
cession  of  Louisiana  and  of  the  duchy  of  Parma  to 
France,  were  all  well-known  jiublic  facts  before 
the  same  period  of  March,  1802.  It  must  be 
added,  that  England,  at  the  congress  of  Amiens, 
had  well-nigh  given  her  promise  to  recognize  the 
new  Italian  states.  The  union  of  Piedmont  was 
equally  known  and  avowed  in  the  negotiations  at 
Amiens,  when  the  English  negotiator  made  several 
efforts  to  obtain  an  indemnity  in  favour  of  tlie 
king  of  Piedmont.  Switzerland  and  Holland  had 
never  ceased  to  be  occupied  by  French  troops, 
whether  during  the  war  or  since  the  peace  ;  and 
in  more  than  one  conversation,  lord  Hawkesbury 
had  acknowledged  that  the  influence  of  France 
over  those  states  was  a  consequence  of  the  war  ; 
that  provided  their  independence  was  definitively 
recognized,  there  would  be  no  ground  of  complaint 
made.  England  could  not  then  imagine  that 
France  would  suffer  a  counter-revolution  to  be  ac- 
complished in  Switzerland  or  in  Holland,  in  other 
words,  at  her  own  door,  without  interfering  with  it. 
As  to  the  secularization,  that  was  an  act  obliged  to 
be  executed  by  treaty,  an  act  full  of  justice  and 
moderation,  in  part  executed  as  well  by  Russia, 
consented  to  by  all  the  states  of  Germany,  com- 
prising Austria  herself,  and  enforced  by  the  ad- 
hesion of  the  king  of  England  himself,  who  had,  as 
king  of  Hanover,  adhered  to  a  partition  of  the 
indemnities,  extremely  advantageous  for  himself. 
For  what  then  had  France  upon  the  continent 
merited  to  be  reproached  { — for  her  greatness  oidy, 
a  greatness  secured  by  treaties,  and  admitted  by 
England  in  the  congress  of  Amiens,  become,  it  is 
true,  more  sensibly  witnessed  during  the  tran- 
quillity of  the  peace,  and  in  the  midst  of  nego- 
tiations, that  her  influence  and  ability  decided  in 
an  irresistible  manner. 

The  rei)roach  of  jiretended  designs  upon  Egypt 
was  a  false  pretext,  because  the  first  consul  had 
none  at  the  time,  and  colonel  Sebastiani  had  been 
sent  merely  to  observe  what  was  g<jing  forward, 
with  the  sole  end  of  discovering  whether  the 
English  were  ready  to  evacuate  Alexandria.  The 
examination  of  the  more  secret  documents  of  this 
missicm  leave  not  the  least  doubt  upon  the  matter. 

On  what  then  were  they  able  to  found  a  charge 
of  that  strange  violation  of  the  treaty,  of  Amiens 
relative  to  Malta?  It  is  necessary,  in  order  to 
explain  more  fully,  to  recall  to  memory  the  events 
which  had  occurred  during  fifteen  months. 

The  English,  pas.sionate,  as  all  great  nations  are, 
wished  in  1801,  after  ten  years  of  war,  to  have 
some  respite,  and  they  desired  it  ardently  as  tliey 


May!    Summaryof  the  chapter.    RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF   AMIENS.    Summary  of  the  chapter.    465 


would  desire  every  change  from  the  actual  state  of 
things.  This  feeling,  rendered  stronger  by  the 
misery  of  the  working-classes  in  1801,  became  one 
of  those  impulsions  that,  under  free  governments, 
overturn  or  raise  up  ministries.  Pitt  retired  from 
oflRce  ;  the  feeble  minister  Addington  succeeded 
him,  and  the  peace  was  made  upon  the  clearest 
and  most  explicit  conditions,  perfectly  well  known 
to  the  nation  and  to  the  whole  world.  It  conceded 
the  advantages  acquired  by  France  during  the 
preceding  ten  years,  because  on  other  conditions 
the  peace  would  have  been  impossible.  After 
several  months,  this  peace  did  not  seem  to  bring 
all  the  benefit  which  was  expected  to  the  country  : 
has  it  ever  occurred  that  the  reality  is  equal  to 
the  anticipations  of  hope  ?  The  English  came  to 
France,  grown  great  by  the  war,  become  great  by 
negotiation,  and  great  by  her  works  of  manu- 
facture aj.d  trade.  Jealousy  was  anew  lit  up  in 
their  hearts.  They  demanded  a  treaty  of  com- 
merce, which  the  first  consul  refused  to  grant, 
convinced  that  the  French  manufactures,  recently 
created,  could  not  sustain  themselves  except  under 
a  strong  protection.  Notwithstanding  this,  the 
English  manufacturers  were  satisfied,  because  the 
contraband  trade  opened  to  them  still  an  outlet 
sufficiently  large  for  their  products.  But  the 
monied  merchants  of  London,  affrighted  at  the 
appearance  which  threatened  them  from  the  flags 
of  France,  Spain,  Holland,  and  Genoa,  being  once 
more  upon  tlie  seas,  deprived  of  the  advantnge  of 
loans  and  contracts,  allied  themselves  with  the  war- 
party  of  Pitt,  Windham,  and  Grenville,  thus  be- 
coming openly  hostile,  more  hostile  than  the  Eng- 
lish aristocracy  itself.  It  had  intimate  connexions 
with  Holland,  and  complained  continually  of  the 
influence  which  France  exercised  over  that  coun- 
try. A  counter-revolution  taking  place  in  Switzer- 
land, owing  actually  to  the  good  faith  of  the  first 
consul,  who  had  been  too  hasty  in  evacuating  that 
country,  he  was  again  necessitated  to  enter  it. 
TliLs  was  a  new  pretext.     Very  soon  the  whole 


discontent  broke  loose  ;  and  the  war-party,  com- 
posed of  the  monied  men,  having  Pitt  at  their  head, 
absent  from  parliament,  and  Grenville  present  at 
every  discussion,  pushed  affairs  visibly  on  towards 
a  rupture.  The  press  of  England  gave  itself  up  to 
frightful  outrages,  and  the  French  emigrant  press 
took  the  opportunity  of  greatly  outdoing  all  the 
violence  of  the  English  papers. 

Unfortunately  a  feeble  ministry,  wishing  to  have 
peace,  but  in  continual  dread  of  the  war-party, 
affrighted  at  the  noise  which  had  been  made  about 
tlic  invasion  of  Switzerland,  committed  the  fault  of 
countermanding  the  evacuation  of  Malta.  From 
that  moment  peace  was  irrevocably  sacrificed, 
because  this  rich  prey  of  Malta  at  once  became  an 
object  indicated  to  English  ambition  ;  and  it  was 
no  longer  possible  to  deny  the  gratification.  The 
promptitude  and  moderation  of  the  French  inter- 
vention in  Switzerland  having  dissipated  the 
grievance  which  it  had  created,  the  English  mi- 
nistry would  have  been  willing  to  evacuate  Malta, 
but  it  dared  not  take  such  a  step.  The  first  consul 
summoned  them,  in  the  language  of  justice  and  of 
wounded  pride,  to  execute  the  treaty  of  Amiens  ; 
and  summons  upon  summons  only  led  to  the  de- 
plorable rupture  which  has  been  just  related. 

Thus  the  English  commercial  ai-istocracy,  much 
more  active  in  the  matter  than  the  old  aristocratic 
nobility,  leagued  with  the  ambitious  among  the 
Tory  party,  aided  by  French  emigrants,  ill  re- 
strained by  a  debilitated  minister, — this  commercial 
aristocracy  and  its  associates  excited  to  the  utmost 
a  character  natui'ally  impetuous,  full  of  the  double 
sentiment  of  the  justice  of  his  cause  and  of  its 
strength  ;  such  were  the  rea(  authors  of  the  war. 
We  believe  ourselves  to  be  correct  and  just  in 
signalizing  them  under  this  view  to  that  posterity 
which,  in  other  respects,  will  weigh  our  wrongs  to 
all  in  balances  much  more  exact  than  our  own ; 
we  say  more  exact,  because  it  will  hold  them  with 
cold  and  impassive  hands. 


I„ 


Hb 


466 


Difficulties  of  a 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


^ar  with  England. 


1803 
June. 


BOOK  xvn. 


THE  CAMP  OF  BOULOGNE. 


MESSAGE  OF  THE  FIKST  CO>'SUI.  TO  THE  GREAT  BODIES  OF  THE  STATE,  AKD  REPLT  TO  THE  MESSAGE. — WORDS  OF 
M.  FOKTANES. — VIOLENCE  OF  THE  ENGLISH  NAVY  IN  ITS  CONDUCT  TO  J-RENCH  MERCHANT  VESSELS. — RE- 
PBISALS. — THE  rOMMUNES  AND  DEPARTMfNTS,  BY  A  SPONTANEOUS  MOVEMKNT,  OFFER  TO  THE  GOVERNMENT 
FLAT-BOTTOMED  BOATS,  FRIGATES,  AND  SHIPS  OF  THE  LINE.— GENERAL  ENTHUSIASM. — RETURN  OP  THE  FRENCH 
NAVY  TO  THE  EUROPEAN  SEAS — STATE  IN  ^VHICH  THE  WAR  PLAt'ED  THE  COLONIES — SEQUEL  OF  THE  EXPEDI- 
TION TO  ST.  DOMINGO. — ATTACK  OF  THE  YELLOW  FEVER. — DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  FRENCH  ARMY. — DEATH  OF 
THE  CAPTAIN-GENERAL  LECLERC  —INSURRECTION  OF  THE  BLACKS.— DEFINITIVE  RUIN  OF  THE  COLONY  OF  ST. 
DOMINGO. —  KETURN  OF  THE  SQUADRONS.— CHARACTER  OF  THE  WAR  BETWEEN  FKANlE  AND  ENGLAND. — FORCES 
OF  THE  TWO  COUNTKIES  COMPAEED.  — THE  FIRST  CONSUL  RESOLVES  BOLDLY  TO  ATTEMPT  A  DESCENT. — HE  PRE- 
PARES F0.1  IT  WITH  EXTRAORDINARY  ACTIVITY. —  CONSTRUCTION  OF  VESSELS  IN  THE  DIFFERENT  PORTS  AND 
IN  THE  INTERIOR  BASINS  OP  THE  HIVERS.  —  FORMATION  OF  SIX  CAMPS  WITH  TROOPS,  PROM  THE  TEXEL 
TO  BAYONNE — FINANCIAL  MEANS. — THE  FIRST  CONSUL  WILL  NOT  HAVE  RECOURSE  TO  A  LOAN. — SALE  OF 
LOUISIANA. — SUBSIDIES  OF  ALLIES. — CONCURREN'^E  OF  HOLLAND,  ITALY,  AND  SPAIN. — INCAPACITY  OF  SPAIN. — 
THE  FIRST  CONSUL  DISPENSES  WITH  THE  EXECUTION  OF  THE  TREATY  OF  ST  ILDEFONSO,  UPON  THE  CONDITION 
OP  A  SUBSIDY.— OCCUPATION  OP  OTRANTO  AND  OF  HANOVER. — MANNER  OF  THINKING  AMONG  ALL  THE 
POWERS  ON  THE  SUBJECT  OF  THE  NEW  WAR. — AUSTRIA,  PRUSSIA,  AND  RUSSIA.— THEIR  ANXIETIES  AND  VIEWS. 
— RUSSIA  PRETENDS  TO  LIMIT  THE  MEANS  OP  THE  BELLIGERENT  POVTERS- SHE  OFFERS  HER  MEDIATION, 
■WHICH  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  ACCEPTS  WITH  CALCULATING  EAGERNESS. — ENGLAND  REPLII-S  COLDLY  TO  THE 
OFFERS  OF  RUSSIA. — DURING  THESE  INTERCHANGES  OF  COMMUNICATION,  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  SETS  OUT  ON  A 
JOURNEY  TO  THE  COASTS  OF  FRANCE,  IN  ORDER  TO  PRESS  FORWARD  THE  PRl  PARATIONS  FOR  THE  GRAND 
EXPEDITION. — MADAM  BONAPARTE  ACCOMPAMES  HIM.— THE  MOST  ACTIVE  LABOUR  IS  MINGLED  WITH  THE 
POMPS  OF  ROYALTY.— AMIENS,  ABBEVILLE,  BOULOGNE.— MEANS  DEVISES  BY  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  TO  TRANSPORT 
AN  ARMY  FROM  CALAIS  TO  DOVER.— THREE  SPECIES  OF  VESSELS. — THEIR  QUALITIES  AND  DEFECTS.— FLOTl  LLA 
OF  WAR  AND  FLOTILLA  OF  TRANSPORT.  — IMMENSE  MARITIME  ESTABLISHMENT  RAISED  AT  BOULOGNE,  AS  IF  BY 
ENCHANTMENT — PROJECT  TO  CONCENTRATE  TWO  THOUSAND  VESSELS  AT  BOULOGNE,  WHEN  THE  CONSTRUCTION 
SHALL  BE  COMPLETED  IN  THE  PORTS  AND  RIVERS. — PREFERENCE  GIVEN  TO  BOULOGNE  BEFORE  DUNKIRK  OR 
CALAIS.— THE  STRAITS,  THE  WINDS,  AND  THE  CURRENTS.— EXCAVATIONS  OF  THE  PORTS  OF  BOULOGNE,  ETAPLES, 
WIMEREAUX,  AND  AMBLETEUSE. — WORKS  DESTINED  TO  PROTECT  THE  ANCHORAGE.— DISTRIBUTION  OF  TROOPS 
ALONG  THE  SEA-SHORE.  — THEIR  LABOUR  AND  MILITARY  EXERCISES. — THE  FIRST  CONSUL,  AFTER  HAVING  SEEN 
AND  REGULATED  ALL  THINGS  NECESSARY,  QUITS  BOULOGNE  in  VISIT  DUNKIRK,'  CALAIS,  OSTEND,  AND  ANTWERP. 
—PROJECTS  REGARDING  ANTWERP.  — SOJOURN  AT  BRUSSELS.— ASSEM  BLAGE  IN  THAT  CIIY  OF  MINISTERS,  AMBASSA- 
DORS AND  BISHOPS.— CARDINAL  CAPRARA  IN  BELGIUM.— JOURNEY  OF  M,  I.IMBARD  TO  BRUSSELS,  THE  SECRE_ 
TARY  OF  THE  KING  OF  PRUSSIA.— THE  FIRT  CONSUL  ENDEAVOURS  TO  REMOVE  THE  FEARS  OF  KING  PREDE. 
RICK  WILLIAM,  BY  THE  FRANKNESS  OF  HIS  COMMUNICATIONS. — RETURN  TO  PARIS — THE  FIRST  CONSUL  TER- 
MINATES THE  MEDIATION  OF  RUSSIA,  AND  ANNOUNCES  WAR  TO  THE  UTMOST  EXTREMITY  AGAINST  ENGLAND. — 
HE  IS  AT  LAST  OBLIGED  TO  OBTAIN  AN  EXPLANATION  FROM  THE  KING  OF  SPAIN,  AND  TO  FORCE  THE  EXECU- 
TION OP  THE  TREATY  OF  SI.  ILDEFONSO,  LEAVING  HIM  THE  CHOICE  OF  THE  M  FANS.- STRANGE  CONDUCT  OF 
THE  PRINCE  OP  THE  PEACE.— THE  FIRST  CONSUL  TAKES  THE  STEP,  IN  REGARD  TO  THE  KING  OF  SPAIN,  OF 
DENOUNCING  TO  HIM  THE  FAVOURITE  AND  HIS  BASENESS. — MELANCHOLY  ARASKMENTOF  THE  COURT  OF  SPAIN. 
—  SHE  SUBMITS,  AND  PROMISES  A  SUBSIDY. —  CONTINUATION  OF  THE  PREPARATIONS  .AT  BOULOGNE. — THE  FIRST 
CONSUL  FEELS  DISPOSED  TO  EXECUTE  HIS  ENIERPRIZE  IN  THE  WINTER  OF  1S03.— HE  MAKES  FOR  HIMSELF  A 
TEMPORARY  RESIDENCE  NEAR  BOULOGNE,  AT  PONT-AUBRIQUES,  WHERE  HE  FREQUENTLY  MAKES  HIS  VISITS. — 
CNION  IN  THE  CHANNEL  OF  ALL  THE  DIVISIONS  OF  THE  FLOTI LLA.  — BRILLIANT  COMBAT  OF  THE  GUN-BOATS 
AGAINST  THE  BRIGS  AND  FRIGATES.— CONFl  DENCE  ACQUIRED  IN  THE  I- XP 1  DITION.  — INTIMATE  UNION  OF  THE 
SOLDIERS  AND  SEAMEN. —  HOPE  OF  THE  APPROACHING  EXECUTION  OF  THE  DESUN.— UNEXPECTED  EVENTS, 
WHICH    FOR   A    MOMENT   RECALL   THE    ATTENTION    OF   THE   FIRST   CONSUL   TO   THE    AFFAIRS   OF   THE    INTERIOR. 


The  taste  for  war  wliich  it  may  be  naturally  sup- 
posed was  possessed  l>y  tlie  first  consul,  would  liave 
tended  to  render  him  suspected  by  the  public 
opinion  of  France,  and  perlia])s  made  him  be 
accused  of  too  much  precipitation  in  coming  to  a 
rupture,  if  England,  by  the  manifest  violation  of 
the  treaty  of  Amiens,  had  not  completely  acquitted 
him  of  tiie  charge.  For  it  was  evident  to  every 
mind  t!i:it  she  had  not  been  able  to  resist  the 
temptation  of  ap|)riipriatiiig  Malta  to  lierse'f,  and 
thus  of  procuring  some  compeiisatiou  lor  French 


jrreatness  by  means  not  very  legitimate.  The 
French  people  then  accepted  the  rupture  as  a 
necessity  both  of  honour  and  interest,  although 
they  maile  no  allusion  to  the  consequences.  It  vviis 
well  known  tluit  a  war  with  England  might  always 
become  a  war  with  Europe  ;  that  its  duration  was 
as  incalculable  as  its  extent,  because  it  was  not  as 
facile  to  go  and  finish  the  contest  in  London  as  it 
was  to  go  and  terminate  at  the  gates  of  Vienna  a 
quarrel  with  Austria.  Such  a  war,  it  was  more, 
could  nut  fail  to  du  a  mortal  injury  to  commerce, 


Address  of  M.  Fon- 
taiies  to  I  he  fIr^t 
consul. 


THE  CAMP  OF  BOULOGNE. 


Decree  of  tlie  first  cimsiil,  and 
delentioii  of  ihe  English  ia        4fJ7 


because  the  sea  would  soon  be  closed.  Nevertlieless, 
tliere  were  two  considei'ations  wliieli  much  lessened 
the  chagrin  of  France.  Under  such  a  chief  as 
Napoleon,  war  could  not  any  more  be  the  sij^nal 
tor  new  internal  disordei-s,  and  ]>eo|)le  flattered 
themselves,  that  by  the  a.ssistance  of  soniethiiii^ 
marvellous  in  his  genius,  a  sin;;le  blow  might  tenni- 
uate  the  long  rivalry  of  the  two  nations. 

The  first  consul,  who  upon  this  occasion  wished 
to  take  great  care  in  managing  public  opinion, 
conducted  himself  as  he  would  have  been  enabled 
to  do  in  the  representative  government  that  was 
more  anciently  established.  He  convoked  the 
senate,  the  legislative  body,  and  the  tribunate,  and 
communicated  to  them  all  those  papers  relating  to 
the  negotiation  which  it  was  necessary  should  be 
known.  He  was  able,  in  fact,  to  dispense  with  ail 
concealment  in  what,  with  the  exception  of  some 
display  of  warmth  in  temper,  he  had  in  reality 
nothing  with  which  to  reproach  hiniself.  The 
three  bodies  of  the  stJite  replied  to  the  .idvances  of 
the  first  consul,  by  means  of  their  deputations, 
which  were  ordered  to  carry  to  the  head  of  the 
government  the  most  complete  apiu'obation  of  his 
measures.  An  individual,  who  excelled  in  that 
species  of  eloquence,  studied  and  grave,  which  sits 
so  well  on  one  who  is  at  the  heail  of  a  great  as- 
sembly, M.  de  Fontanes,  recently  introduced  into 
the  legislative  body  through  the  infKience  of  the 
IJonaparte  family,  came  to  express  to  the  first 
consul  the  sentiments  of  that  body,  and  addressed 
him  in  terms  fit  to  be  recorded  in  history. 

"  France,"  said  he,  "  is  ready  a^'ain  to  place 
herself  under  the  protection  of  tlmse  weapons 
which  have  before  vaiiqnifthed  Eiu-ope.  Evil  befall 
the  ambitious  government  which  recalls  us  to 
the  field  of  battle,  and,  envying  humanity  so  short 
an  interval  of  repose,  would  again  jjlunge  it  into 
the  calamities  from  which  it  h;id  but  just  befme 
escaped.  England  will  no  more  be  able  to  say  that 
she  defends  the  conservative  principles  of  society — 
menaced  in  their  very  foundations  ;  it  is  we  who 
are  now  able  to  u-^e  that  language,  if  the  flame  of 
war  be  again  kindled  ;  it  is  we  who  shall  then 
avenge  the  rights  of  the  people  and  the  cause  of 
humanity  in  repelling  the  mijnst  attack  of  a  nation 
which  enters  into  a  negotiation  for  the  purpose  of 
deception;  that  asks  for  peace  only  to  reconuncnce 
war,  and  signs  treaties  fur  the  object  of  breaking 
them  alone.  Do  not  doubt  if  the  signal  is  once 
giv(-n,  that  Fninee  will  rally  at  a  unanimous 
movement  around  the  lu-ro  w!)om  she  admires. 
Every  party  that  he  holds  in  silent  respect  around 
him  will  dispute  no  more  except  in  ze;il  and 
couRigc.  Ail  think  that  they  have  need  of  his 
geniuH,  and  acknowledge  that  he  alone  is  able  to 
bear  the  weight  and  the  greatness  of  our  new 
de-^tinieR. 

"  Citizen  first  consul,  the  French  people  will  in 
future  have  sentiments  as  lofty  and  heroic  as  vonr 
own.  It  conqueied  before  in  order  to  obtain 
peace  ;  it  desired  it  as  you  do,  but,  as  with  you,  it 
will  never  feel  appreheuHion  from  the  chances  of 
war.  England  believes  herself  well  protected  by 
the  ocean;  why  will  site  not  reflect  that  the  world 
sometimes  |>roduces  men  of  rare  power,  of  whom 
their  genius  executcH  that  which,  before  they  made 
their  a])])e:>i-ancc,  was  deemed  impoHsible  to  human 
skill}     And  if  one  of  these  rare  men  bhould  now 


have  Clime  before  the  world,  ought  she  to  bid  him 
an  iin|>rndent  di  fiance,  and  force  him  to  obtain  all 
th:it  justice  from  his  good  fortune  «liieli  he  had  a 
ri^lit  to  expect  he  should  receive  at  her  hsinds  ?  A 
trrcat  people  are  capable  of  performing  every  thing 
with  a  hero  at  their  head,  determiin-d  never  to  se- 
jiarate  from  him  its  glory,  interests,  and  liap- 
l)iness." 

In  this  brillinnt  and  pointed  language  it  is  not 
possible  to  recognize  the  enthusiasm  of  1789,  but 
there  tnay  be  traced  in  it  the  innnense  confidence 
that  ail  the  world  reposed  in  the  hero  who  held  in 
his  liiuid  the  destinies  of  France,  and  from  whom 
it  awaited  that  humiliation  of  England  which  was 
so  ardently  (iesired.  One  circimibtj\nce,  easy  bc- 
sitles  to  foresee,  singularly  increa.sed  the  public 
indignation.  •  Almost  at  the  moment  of  the  de- 
parture of  the  two  amba.ssadors,  before  any  regular 
manifestaticm  or  any  notice  whatever  of  the  com- 
mencement of  hostilities,  the  vessels  of  th.-  English 
navy  were  let  loose  upon  the  commerce  of  France. 
Two  frigates,  in  the  bay  of  Andierne,  captured 
Slime  merchant  vessels  that  were  seekinj;  a  shelter 
in  the  harbour  of  Brest.  To  these  acts  there  were 
soon  added  many  others,  of  which  intelligence  was 
received  in  all  the  ports.  This  was  a  violence  little 
in  conformity  with  the  law  of  nations.  There  had 
been  a  formal  stipuhition  on  the  subject  in  the  last 
treaty  signed  between  America  and  France  on  the 
30th  of  September,  1800,  art.  8;  there  was  no 
parallel  example,  it  is  true,  in  the  treaty  of  Amiens. 
That  treaty  did  not  stipulate,  in  c:ise  of  rupture, 
any  delay  in  commencing  hostilities  against  the 
commerce  of  either  country.  But  this  delay  natu- 
rally resulted  from  the  moral  iiriiuiples  of  the  law 
of  nations,  which  must  be  jilaced  f;ir  above  all 
their  written  stipulations.  The  first  consul,  in 
whom  this  new  sitnntion  of  aR'airs  called  up  all  the 
natural  ardour  of  his  character,  determined  to  use 
rcpris:ils  at  the  same  moment,  and  drew  up  a 
decree  which  declared  prisoners  of  war  all  the 
English  who  were  travelling  in  France  at  the 
moment  of  the  rupture.  When  they  nia<le  fall  upon 
simple  merchants,  innocent  of  the  politics  of  their 
own  government,  the  consequences  of  those  po- 
lities, the  government  is  fully  authorized  to  re- 
taliate, and  to  assure  itself  the  nieiins  of  exchange 
by  constituting  prisoners  of  war  the  subjects  of 
England  actually  remaining  upon  the  French  soil. 
This  measure,  although  prompted  by  the  conduct 
of  Great  BriUiin,  nevertheless  presented  a  cliiii-iicter 
of  rigour  which  it  was  probable  might  shock  public 
opinion,  and  rai.se  the  fear  of  a  ntnrn  to  the 
violences  of  the  last  war.  Cambacifrfes  remonstrated 
.'itrongly  on  the  snbjict  with  the  first  consul,  and 
olit;iiued  a  modificaticm  of  the  |i!djeeted  dispo- 
sitions. Thanks  to  these  efforts,  the  dispositions 
only  applied  to  those  British  subjects  who  served 
in  the  militia,  or  who  held  any  connnission  what- 
ever from  their  goveriuneut  ;  these  were  to  be 
prisoners  of  war ;  the  rest  were  >imply  to  be 
prisoners  upon  their  parole  in  difl'erent  foriifieil 
towns, 

■  This  decree  was  dated  Pariit,  May  2Slh,  1803,  and  wan  h 
fullowM :  — 

"  The  maritime  prefect  of  BrcKt  having  announced  the 
capture  liy  ilie  English  of  two  vcKHel:*  in  the  bay  of  Audierne, 
it  in  in  coii9e()Ucncc  decreed  a»  folluwii : — 

"  .\rt.  1.— ll  is  prcBtribtd  to  evety  comraander  of  a  squa 
II  h  2 


Vessels  presented  by  the 
cities  and  communes 
for  invading  England. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Patriotic  gifts  towards 
the  Boulogne  flotilla. 


A  considerable  commotion  was  soon  visible 
throughout  all  France.  Since  the  last  century, 
that  is  to  say,  since  the  English  navy  had  appeared 
to  gain  an  advantage  over  the  French,  the  idea  of 
terminating  by  an  invasion  the  maritime  rivalry  of 
the  two  nations  had  entered  into  every  mind. 
Louis  XVI.  and  the  directory  had  made  prepara- 
tions for  such  a  descent.  The  directory,  more 
especially,  had  kept  during  many  years  a  certain 
number  of  flat-bottomed  boats  on  the  coasts  of 
the  channel ;  and  it  must  be  remembered,  that  in 
1801,  not  long  before  the  signature  of  the  preli- 
minaries of  peace,  the  admiral  Latouche-Tre'ville 
had  repulsed  the  reiterated  efforts  of  Nelson  to 
carry  away  by  boarding  the  flotilla  of  Boulogne. 
It  was  a  sort  of  tradition  become  popular,  that 
with  flat-bottomed  boats  an  army  might  be  trans- 
ported from  Calais  to  Dover.  By  a  move  altoge- 
ther electric,  the  departments  and  the  large  towns, 
each  according  to  its  means,  offered  the  govern- 
ment flat-bottomed  boats,  corvettes,  frigates,  and 
even  vessels  of  the  line.  The  department  of  Loiret 
was  first  taken  with  this  patriotic  idea.  It  im- 
posed upon  itself  a  sum  of  300,000f.  in  order  to 
construct  and  arm  a  frigate  of  thirty  guns.  At 
this  signal  the  communes,  the  departments,  and 
even  the  corporations,  answered  to  the  same  call, 
at  one  universal  impulse.  The  mayors  of  Paris 
opened  subscriptions,  which  were  soon  covered 
with  a  multitude  of  signatures.  Among  the  models 
of  the  boats  proposed  by  the  navy,  there  were 
many  of  different  dimensions,  costing  each  from 
8000f.  to  SO.OOOf. 

Each  locality  was  enabled  in  consequence  to 
proportion  its  zeal  to  the  means  which  it  possessed 
of  meeting  it.  The  small  towns,  such  as  Coutances, 
Bernay,  Louviers,  Valogne,  Foi.x,  Verdun,  Moissac, 
gave  simple  flat- bottomed  boats  of  the  first  or 
second  dimensions.  The  more  considerable  towns 
voted  frigates,  and  even  vessels  of  the  line.  Paris 
voted  a  vessel  of  a  hundred  and  twenty  guns, 
Lyons  one  of  a  hundred,  Bordeaux  one  of  eighty, 
and  Marseilles  one  of  seventy-four.  These  gifts  of 
the  cities  were  independent  of  those  made  by  the 
departments;  thus,  although  Bordeaux  had  offered 
a  vessel   of  eighty  guns,  the   department  of   the 

dron  or  division  of  republican  ships,  to  attack  all  those  of 
the  king  of  England  and  his  subjects,  and  to  bring  them 
into  the  ports  of  the  republic. 

"  Art.  2— Commissions  shall  be  delivered  to  the  owners 
of  French  privateers,  conformably  to  the  existing  laws  and 
regulations. 

"  Art.  3.— All  the  English  enrolled  in  the  militia  between 
the  ages  of  eighteen  and  sixty,  or  who  hold  commissions 
from  liis  Britannic  majesty,  now  in  France,  sliall  be  imme- 
diately constiiuted  prisoners  of  war,  to  answer  for  tlie  citi- 
zens of  the  repubhc  who  may  have  been  detained  and  made 
prisoners  by  tlie  vessels  or  subjects  of  his  Briiannic  majesty 
before  the  diclaration  of  war.  It  is  with  re  uctance  that  the 
government  of  the  republi-;  has  seen  itself  compelled,  in 
order  to  make  reprisals,  to  declare  prisoners  of  war  all  the 
English  who  are  in  the  French  torriiory.  It  will  leave  to 
England  the  task  of  commencing  every  thing  ill  beral ;  but 
the  French  people  are  bound  to  act  towards  England  as 
England  ans  with  respect  to  France." 

Every  officer  bearing  an  English  commission  and  a  pri- 
soner of  war,  was  entitled  to  and  had  his  parole.  What  dif 
ference  our  author  can  make  between  these  and  others  in 
this  trealmi-nt,  it  is  not  easy  to  discover;  there  was  rially 
none. — Translator, 


Gironde  subscribed  l,600,000f.  to  be  employed  in 
naval  construction.  Although  Lyons  had  given  a 
vessel  of  a  hundred  guns,  the  department  of  the 
Rhone  added  a  patriotic  gift,  amounting  to  one- 
eighth  of  its  contributions  in  taxes.  The  depart- 
ment of  the  Nord  added  a  million  to  the  funds 
voted  by  the  city  of  Lille.  The  departments 
generally  imposed  ui)on  themselves  a  gift  from 
200,0001'.  up  to  DOO.OOOf.  or  a  million.  Some 
brought  their  contributions  in  merchandize  of  the 
country  which  was  necessary  for  naval  jiurposes. 
Thus  the  department  of  the  Cote  d'Or  made  a  pre- 
sent to  the  state  of  a  hundred  pieces  of  cannon  of 
large  calibre,  which  were  cast  at  Creuzot.  The 
department  of  the  Lot  and  Garonne  agreed  to  an 
addition  of  five  centimes  to  their  direct  contribu- 
tions, during  the  payments  of  the  years  xi.  and 
xii.,  to  be  expended  in  sail-cloth  in  the  depart- 
ment. The  Italian  republic,  following  this  im- 
pulse, made  an  offering  to  the  first  consul  of  four 
millions  of  francs  in  Milanese  currency,  to  con- 
struct two  frigates,  to  be  called  the  President  and 
the  Italian  Republic,  and  twelve  gun-boats,  to  bear 
the  names  of  the  twelve  Italian  departments.  The 
great  bodies  of  the  state  would  not  remain  behind, 
and  the  senate  presented  on  its  own  part  a  vessel 
of  a  hundred  and  twentj-  guns.  The  simple  com- 
mercial houses,  as  the  house  of  Barillon,  the  per- 
sons employed  in  the  finance  department,  such  as 
the  receivers-general  for  example,  offered  flat- 
bottomed  boats.  Such  a  resource  was  not  to  be 
despised,  because  it  amounted  in  value  altogether  to 
40,000,000f.,  which,  upon  a  budget  of  500,000,000f., 
was  of  very  great  importance.  Joined  to  the 
price  of  Louisiana,  which  was  60,000,0001.,  to  the 
different  subsidies  obtained  from  the  allies,  and  to 
the  natural  augmentation  of  the  produce  of  the 
taxes,  it  enabled  the  government  to  dispense  with 
having  recourse  to  any  expensive  means  of  raising 
money,  and  nearly  impossible  at  such  a  moment 
that  of  borrowing  upon  stock. 

The  creation  of  the  flotilla  will  shortly  be  de- 
tailed. It  was  to  be  capable  of  carrying  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  men,  four  hundred  pieces 
of  cannon,  and  ten  thousand  horses,  which  could 
not  fail  to  complete  in  a  moment  the  conquest  of 
England,  if  it  made  the  passage.  For  the  present 
it  suffices  to  state,  that  the  conditions  imposed  by 
the  navy  for  the  dimensions  of  the  flat-bottomed 
boats  of  all  sizes  were,  that  they  should  not  draw 
more  than  six  or  seven  feet  of  water  when  all  was 
on  board,  and  when  empty  not  more  than  three 
or  four.  They  were  thus  able  to  be  set  afloat 
upon  all  the  rivers  of  France,  and  to  descend  to 
their  mouths,  to  be  afterwards  united  in  the  ports 
of  the  channel,  and  sent  along  the  coast.  This  was 
a  great  advantage,  because  the  ports  of  France 
would  not  have  been  equal,  from  their  want  of 
timber,  planks,  and  workmen,  to  the  construction 
of  1500  or  2000  vessels,  which  it  would  be 
necessary  to  complete  in  a  few  months.  By  con- 
structing them  in  the  interior  of  the  country,  this 
difficulty  was  removed;  the  banks  of  the  Gironde, 
of  the  Loire,  the  Seine,  the  Somme,  the  Oisc,  the 
Schelde,  the  Mouse,  and  the  Rhine,  were  suddenly 
covered  with  timber-yards.  The  workmen  of  the 
country,  directed  by  the  masters'  mates  of  tiie 
navy,  sufficed  perfectly  well  to  achieve  these  singular 
creations,  which  at  first  astonished  the  population. 


1803. 
June. 


THE  CAMP  OF  BOULOGNE. 


Breaking  out  of  the  plague 
amongst  the  Fieiich 
troops. 


469 


at  times  furnishing  them  witli  subjects  of  rail- 
lery, but  that  soon,  nevertheless,  became  for  Eng- 
land the  cause  of  serious  alarm.  At  Paris,  from 
La  Rape'e  to  the  Invalids,  there  were  ninety  gun- 
boats building,  in  the  constructioji  of  which  were 
employed  more  than  a  thousand  workmen. 

The  first  care  taken  upon  the  breaking  out  of  the 
new  war  was  to  rally  the  French  navy,  then  spread 
over  the  West  Indies,  and  occupied  in  reducing 
the  colonies  under  the  authority  of  the  mother 
country.  It  was  to  this  that  Napoleon  had 
directed  his  first  thoughts.  He  felt  himself  obliged 
instantly  to  recall  the  different  squadrons,  ordering 
tiiem  to  leave  at  Martinique,  at  Guadaloupe,  and 
at  St.  Domingo,  all  that  they  could  spare  of  men, 
munitions,  and  stores.  The  frigates  and  light 
vessels  were  alone  to  remain  in  the  islands.  But 
it  was  not  possible  to  deceive  himself.  The  war 
with  England,  if  she  were  unable  to  capture  the 
smaller  islands,  such  as  Guadaloupe  and  Marti- 
nique ',  must  infallibly  occasion  the  loss  of  the 
most  precious  of  them  all,  that  for  the  preservation 
of  which  an  army  had  been  sacrificed,  it  is  need- 
less to  say,  that  allusion  is  here  made  to  St.  Do- 
mingo. 

It  has  already  been  seen,  that  the  captain-general, 
Leclerc,  after  operations  exceedingly  well  conducted 
upon  his  part,  but  with  the  loss  of  a  considerable 
number  of  men,  had  become  master  of  the  colony, 
and  able  to  flatter  himself  that  he  had  restored  it 
to  France;  that  Toussaint  had  retired  to  his  habi- 
tation of  Ennery,  regarding  the  month  of  August 
as  the  term  of  the  reign  of  the  Europeans  on  the 
soil  of  Hayti.  This  terrible  black  had  predicted 
justly,  in  foreseeing  the  triumph  of  the  climate  of 
America  over  that  of  the  soldiers  of  Europe.  But 
he  was  not  to  enjoy  his  triumph,  since  he  was 
destined  to  succumb  himself  under  the  rigour  of 
the  French  climate.  Melancholy  retaliation  in 
the  war  of  two  races,  obstinate  in  disputing  between 
them  the  regions  of  the  equator  ! 

Scarcely  had  the  army  begun  to  re-establish 
itself,  than  the  plague,  so  common  in  these  burning 
regions,  but  this  year  more  murderous  than  ever, 
made  its  appearance,  and  struck  down  the  noble 
soldiers  of  the  Rhine  and  of  Egypt,  who  had  been 
conveyed  to  the  Antilles.  Whether  the  climate 
this  year,  by  some  unknown  decree  of  Providence, 
was  more  destructive  than  ordinary;  whether  its 
action  was  more  great  and  rapid  upon  the  fatigued 
and  toil-worn  soldiers,  accumulated  together  in 
considerable  numbers,  thus  forming  a  more  power- 
ful r<cus  of  infection;  or  whatever  might  be  the 
cause,  death  seized  upon  them  with  a  rapidity 
and  violence  of  the  most  frightful  character. 
Twenty  generals  were  taken  oH"  nearly  at  the  same 
time;  the  officers  and  soldiers  perished  by  thou- 
sands. To  twenty-two  thousand  men  that  arrived 
in  the  various  expeditions,  of  whom  five  thousand 
had  fallen  in  action,  and  five  thousand  had  been 
attjicked  with  vari.ius  disorders,  the  first  consul 
had  added,  towards  the  end  of  1U02,  about  twelve 
thousand  men  mr)re.  Those  who  had  newly  ar- 
rived were  attacked  at  the  moment  of  their  dis- 
embarkation.    Fifteen  thousand  men   perished  in 

'  Roih  were  subBequently  loit  lo  France,  but  came  Into 
her  pomicidion  again  by  restoration  In  the  peace  of  18M.— 
Trantiator. 


less  than  two  months,  and  the  army  was  reduced 
to  nine  or  ten  thousand  only,  acclimated,  it  is  true, 
but  the  greater  part  of  them  convalescent,  and 
very  unfit  at  the  moment  to  take  up  arms  '. 

(3n  the  first  ravages  of  the  yellow  fever,  Tous- 
saint Louverture,  enchanted  to  see  his  sinister 
predictions  realized,  seemed  to  feel  the  renewal  of 
all  his  hopes.  From  the  retirement  of  his  i-esi- 
dence  at  Ennery,  he  set  himself  to  correspond 
secretly  with  his  confidential  friends,  ordering 
them  to  keep  ready,  recommending  them  to  in- 
form him  exactly  what  progress  the  sickness  was 
making,  and  more  particularly  of  the  state  of 
health  of  the  captain-general,  upon  whose  head 
his  cruel  impatience  was  eager  for  the  fever  to 
strike  the  blow.  His  secret  practices  were  not  so 
Weil  concealed  but  that  some  of  them  reached  the 
ears  of  the  captain-general,  and  more  particularly 
the  black  generals.  These  hastened  to  inform  the 
French  authorities  of  it.  They  were  jealous  of 
Toussaint,  though  all  of  them  obeyed  him,  and 
this  feeling  had  not  a  little  cimtributed  to  their 
prompt  submission.  Those  "gilt  blacks,"  or  noirs 
dores,  as  they  were  denominated  by  Napoleon,  were 
content  with  the  ease  and  the  opulence  which  they 
enjoyed.  They  had  no  desire  to  recommence  the 
war,  and  they  feared  to  see  Tous^^aint,  agam  be- 
come all  powerful,  make  them  expiate  their  deser- 
tion of  his  cause.  They  therefore  made  known 
what  they  knew  to  general  Leclerc,  in  order  to 
engage  him  to  seize  the  recent  dictator.  The  con- 
cealed act  contemplated  by  Toussaint,  revealed 
itself  in  an  alarming  manner.  The  negroes  who 
formerly  composed  his  guard,  and  who  were  scat- 
tered abroad  among  the  colonial  troops  which  had 
passed  over  to  the  service  of  the  mother  country, 
quitted  their  ranks  to  return,  they  said,  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  ground,  but  in  reality,  to  throw 
themselves  into  the  Mornes  around  Ennery.  The 
captain-general,  pressed  between  a  double  danger, 
the  yellow  fever,  which  destroyed  his  army,  on  one 
hand,  and  on  the  other  by  the  revolt,  which  was 
announced  on  every  side  as  about  to  take  ])lace, 
having  also  instructions  from  the  first  consul, 
which  enjoined  him,  on  the  first  sign  of  dis- 
obedience, to  disembarrass  himself  of  the  black 
chiefs,  resolved  to  have  Toussaint  arrested.  Be- 
sides these  orders,  intercepted  letters  sufficiently 
authorized  this  step.  But  it  was  necessary  to 
dissimulate  in  order  to  seize  this  potent  chief, 
surrounded  as  he  was  already  by  an  army  of  in- 
surgents. A  demand  was  made  of  him  in  the 
way  of  advice,  regarding  the  best  means  of  making 
the  negroes  who  liad  escaped  from  the  cultivation 
of  the  land  return  to  their  duty,  and  about  the  choice 
of  the  best  stations  for  re-establishing  the  health 
of  the  army.  This  was  the  means  of  drawing 
Toussaint  to  an  interview,  because  it  attracted 
his  vanity  to  be  thus  consulted.     "  You  see,"  said 

'  Tliis  is  an  enormous  mortality,  even  for  the  West  Indies, 
and  must  be  ascribed  to  some  unusual  cause,  besides  the 
landing  at  an  improper  season.  At  a  period  of  more  than 
usual  sickness  in  Jamaica,  the  deaths  of  the  soldiers  at  Up 
Hill  Camp,  for  six  years,  averaged  only  one  in  Ave,  in 
otiier  stations  one  in  six,  seven,  or  eight;  in  the  healthier 
stations  of  the  island,  one  in  ten,  fourleeii,  or  sixteen  ;  and  on 
the  heiglitof  Maroon  town,  in  the  interior,  only  one  in  sixty- 
four.  One  in  three  have  died  on  sovero  visits  of  fever  in  a 
very  unhealthy  season. 


Apprehensions  of  tlie  blacks 
470      irom  slavery  being  re-ebta-    THIERS'   CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE. 

blislieu  at  Guadaloupe. 


Suspicion  of  the 
blacks,  and  the 
result. 


1803. 
June. 


he,  "  tliese  whites  cannot  get  on  without  old  Tous- 
saint."  He  attended  the  phice  of  rendezvous 
accordingly,  surrounded  by  a  troop  of  blacks. 
Scarcely  had  he  arrived  before  he  was  laid  iiold 
of,  disarmed,  and  conducted  as  a  prisoner  on  board 
a  vessel.  Surprised,  abashed,  yet  resigned,  he 
said  nothing  but  a  few  fine  words: — "  In  over- 
throwing me,  you  have  only  overthrown  the  trunk 
of  flie  tree  of  negro  liberty  ;  but  the  roots  remain  ; 
they  will  jiush  out  again,  because  tiiey  are  nume- 
rous, and  go  deep  into  the  soil."  He  was  sent  to 
Europe,  where  lie  was  kept  in  the  fort  of  Joux. 

Unhappily,  the  spirit  of  insurrection  had  pro- 
pagated itself  among  the  blacks;  it  had  entered 
into  their  hearts,  from  a  distrust  of  the  object  of 
the  whites,  and  with  the  h(>])e  to  con(|uer  them. 
The  news  of  what  had  happened  at  Guadaloupe, 
wiiere  slavery  had  been  re-established,  had  reached 
as.  far  as  St.  Domingo,  and  had  produced  there  a 
most  extraordinary  impression.  Certain  words 
pronounced  in  the  tribune  of  the  French  legisla- 
tive body,  on  the  re-establishment  of  slavery  in 
the  Antilles, — words  which  could  only  be  a]ipli- 
cable  to  Martiniiiue  and  Guadaloupe,  but  whicli 
they  were  able,  with  a  little  mistrust,  to  extend  to 
St.  Domingo,  had  contributed  to  inspire  the  blacks 
with  the  conviction  that  it  was  intended  to  reduce 
them  again  into  slavery.  From  the  simple  culti- 
vators of  the  ground  up  to  the  generals,  the  idea 
of  tilling  again  under  the  yoke  of  slavery  made 
them  tremble  wiiii  indignation'.  Some  of  the 
black  officers,  more  civilized,  more  worthy  of  new 
fortunes,  such  as  Laplume,  Clervaux,  even  Cliris- 
tophe,  who  did  not  aspire,  as  Toussaint  had  done, 
to  be  dictators  in  the  island,  acconmiodated  them- 
selves perfectly  to  the  state  of  things,  that  gave 
the  predominance  to  the  mother  country,  jirovided 
she  would  respect  the  liberty  of  their  race;  and 
they  expressed  themselves  with  a  warmth  which 
did  not  permit  any  doubt  of  the  real  state  of  their 
sentiments.  "  We  are  willing,"  they  said,  "  to 
remain  French  and  submit  ;  to  serve  the  mother 
country  faithfully,  because  we  do  not  desire  to 
recommence  a  life  of  rapine;  but  if  the  mother 
country  intends  to  make  slaves  of  our  brethren 
and  our  children,  she  must  make  up  her  mind  to 
slaughter  us  to  the  last  man."     Genei-al  Leclerc, 

'  What  coulil  1)6  more  natural  than  such  an  effect?  It 
was  a  just  inference,  that  those  wiio  had  restored  slavery  in 
the  other  isl'inds,  from  the  facility  of  its  restoraiion  there, 
would  restore  it  in  St.  Domintro,  if  tliey  possessed  the  power. 
It  was  also  an  irresistible  conclusion,  that  thi  se  who  made 
professions  based  only  upon  the  inability  of  acting  opposite 
to  tliem  at  the  moment,  would  take  the  first  opportunity  of 
violating  those  professions;  and  tlierefore  the  blacks  were 
justified  in  securin;{  themselves  l)y  every  means.  Had  the 
French,  establishing  tlieinselves  by  their  overwhelming  force 
in  Guadaloupe  and  Martiiiitiue,  made  the  slaves  in  those 
islands  free  labourers,  they  would  i)ave  kept  St.  roiiiiii(,'o. 
England  may  congratulate  herself  on  her  own  wisdom  in 
slave  emanci;iaf.on,  when  !.he  contemplates  this  picture  of  a 
government  acting  justly  only  upon  compulsion,  and  unjustly 
upon  choice ;  preferring  policy  to  justice  in  a  matter  of 
humanity,  and  by  adopting  a  conduct  morally  wrong  on  the 
same  question  in  one  place,  from  possessing  power  to  do  so, 
and  morally  right  in  another,  from  not  havinu'  the  power  of 
doing  wrong,  commending  the  poisoned  chalice  to  its  own 
lips.  Would,  in  thcatrairs  of  allgovernmeuis,  the  result  could 
be. the  anme,  then  there  might  at  last  be  seen  that  analogy 
80  long  desired  between  moral  and  political  justice  ! — Tram. 


whom  their  fidelity  much  affected,  put  them  in  con- 
fidence for  some  days,  when  he  declared,  upon  his 
honour,  that  the  intentions  ascribed  to  the  whites 
were  utterly  unfounded;  but  at  bottom  the  distrust 
had  become  incurable.  Although  the  general-in- 
cl  lief  did  this,  it  was  impossible  to  ti'anquillize  them. 
If  Laplume  and  Clervaux,  sincerely  attached  to  the 
mother  country,  reasoned  as  is  here  stated,  Dessa- 
lines,  a  real  monster,  such  as  might  well  be  sup- 
])0sed  to  have  been  formed  by  slavery  and  by 
revolt,  only  thought  of  urging  on  with  deep  perfidy 
the  blacks  u|)on  the  whites,  and  the  whites  ujjon 
the  blacks,  to  irritate  the  one  by  means  of  the 
other,  and  to  triumph  in  the  midst  of  the  general 
massacte,  in  order  to  re])lace  Toussaint  Louver- 
ture,  of  whom  he  had  been  the  first  to  demand  the 
arrest. 

In  tliis  fearful  perplexity,  the  captain-general 
having  no  more  than  a  feeble  part  of  his  army 
left,  of  the  remains  of  which  he  saw  some  perish 
every  day,  menaced  at  the  same  time  by  an  ap- 
proaching insui'rection,  believed  it  was  his  duty 
to  disarm  the  negroes.  This  measure  appeared 
but  reasonable  and  necessary.  The  black  chiefs 
wh'i  were  faithful,  as  Laplume  and  Clervaux,  a])- 
proved  of  it;  the  black  chiefs,  filled  with  perfidious 
])nrposes,  such  as  Dessalines,  urged  the  mea.sure 
iorward  with  warmth.  It  was  proceeded  with 
inmiediately,  and  demai;ded  a  degree  of  violence 
to  succeed.  Many  of  the  negroes  fled  away  into 
the  Monies,  others  sooner  sufi'ered  themselves  to 
be  tortured  than  r<  sign  their  muskets,  which  they 
regarded  as  identical  with  their  liberty  itself. 
The  black  officers,  in  particular,  showed  them- 
selves unrelenting  in  tliis'  sjiecies  of  search  and 
exaction.  They  had  many  men  of  their  own 
colour  shot;  some  acting  in  this  manner  in  order 
to  |)revent  a  renewal  of  the  war,  and  others,  on  the 
contrary,  to  excite  it.  There  were  procured  in 
this  way,  notwithstanding,  about  thirty  thousand 
muskets,  the  greater  part  of  English  make,  ])ur- 
cliased  through  the  foresight  of  Toussaint.  These 
vigorous  proceedings  excited  insurrections  in  the 
north  and  in  the  west,  even  to  the  environs  of 
Port-au- Prince.  The  nephew  of  Toussaint,  Clntrles 
Belair,  a  black,  who  had  a  certain  superiority,  like 
those  of  his  rehitive,  in  his  manner,  mind,  and  in- 
telligence, and  who,  for  these  reasons,  his  uncle 
would  have  made  his  successor, — Charles  Belair, 
irritated  at  some  executions  which  had  taken 
place  in  the  western  department,  threw  himself 
into  the  Monies,  and  raised  the  flag  of  revolt. 
Dessalines,  then  resident  at  St.  Marc,  requested 
very  earnestly  to  be  ordered  in  his  pursuit,  and 
thus  gave  a  double  occasion  of  showing  the  de- 
ceptive zeal  which  he  put  on,  at  the  same  time 
avenging  himself  upon  a  rival,  who  had  been  the 
cause  of  great  suspicions  to  himself.  He  therefore 
directed  agtiinst  him  a  war  of  the  most  obstinate 
character.  He  succeeded  in  capturing  Belair  and 
his  unfortunate  wife,  and  sent  both  one  and  the 
other  before  a  military  commission,  which  ordered 
these  two  unfortunate  persons  to  be  shot.  Dessa- 
lines excused  his  conduct  to  the  blacks  by  alleging 
the  unrelenting  purposes  of  the  white  people,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  jirofiting  not  less  by  the  occasion 
to  get  rid  of  one  whom  lie  abhorred.  Horrible 
atrocities,  which  prove  tliat  the  passions  of  the 
human  heart  are  every  where  the  same,  and  that 


Treachery  of  Dessalin 


THE  tA.MP   OF   BUULUCiNt:.      Dtssalines  joins  the  revolters.        471 


climate,  time,  or  the  differences  of  visage,  do  not 
make  a  sensible  difference  in  the  character  of 
man!  All  now  seemed  to  portend  a  revolt  of 
the  blacks;  the  sombre  mistrust  which  made  itself 
apparent  among  them,  t!ie  vigorous  precautions 
it  was  necessary  to  t^ike  in  regard  to  them,  and 
the  ferocious  passions  wjiich  divided  them, — pas- 
sions which  were  obliged  to  be  suffered,  and  often 
even  to  be  employed. 

To  these  unfortunate  circumstances  in  situation, 
there  were  faults,  due  to  the  confusion  that  reigned, 
that  the  sickness,  the  danger  appearing  every 
where  at  the  same  time,  and  the  difficulty  of  com- 
municating between  one  part  of  the  island  and 
another,  had  begun  to  introduce  into  the  colony. 
General  Boudet  had  been  before  taken  from  Port- 
au-Prince,  in  order  to  be  sent  to  the  windward 
islands,  that  he  might  replace  general  Rieliepanse, 
who  had  died  of  the  yell<iw  fever.  General  Ito- 
chambeau  had  then  been  substituted  for  him,  a 
brave  soldier,  as  intelligent  as  he  was  intrepid,  but 
lie  had  C(jntracted  in  the  colonies  in  which  he  had 
served,  all  the  prejudices  of  the  Creoles  who  inha- 
bited them ;  he  hated  the  mulattos  as  did  the 
former  colonists  themselves.  He  declared  them 
dissolute,  violent,  and  cruel.  He  said  that  he  loved 
the  blacks  better,  because,  according  to  him,  tliey 
were  more  simple,  more  sober,  more  hardy  in  war. 
General  Rochambeau,  commanding  at  Port-au- 
Prince  and  in  the  south,  where  mulattos  abounded, 
showed  regarding  them,  on  the  approach  of  the 
insurrection,  as  much  mistrust  as  he  had  of  the 
blacks,  and  imprisoned  them  in  great  numbers. 
He  still  more  increased,their  irritation  hy  sending 
away  general  Rigaud,  the  former  chief  of  the 
mulattos,  for  a  long  while  the  rival  and  enemy  of 
Toussjiint,  vanfjuished  and  expelled  by  him,  who  na- 
turally profiting  by  the  victory  of  the  whites  to 
return  to  St.  Domingo,  was  entitled  to  hope  for  a 
giMjd  reception.  But  the  error  which  the  whites 
had  committed  in  .St.  Domingo  at  the  commence- 
ment <»f  the  revolution,  in  not  having  allied  them- 
selves with  the  people  t)f  colour,  they  persisted  in 
to  the  end.  General  Rochambeau  repelled  general 
Rigaud,  and  ordered  him  to  embark  again  for  the 
United  Sutes.  The  mulattos,  offended  and  ag- 
grieved, tended  from  that  time  to  unite  themselves 
to  the  blacks,  which  was  a  vexatious  thing,  more 
especially  in  the  south,  where  they  were  the  most 
numerous  class. 

Theitu  causes  united,  made  the  insurrection  gene- 
ral, which  at  first  was  only  partial.  In  the  north, 
Clervaux,  Maurepas,  and  Ciiristophe,  fled  into  the 
MorncH,  not  without  expressing  their  ngret,  but 
led  on  by  a  sentiment  much  stronger  in  their 
bosoms,  the  love  of  their  liberty,  wiiich  was  threat- 
ened. In  the  west,  the  barbarous  Dessalines, 
flinging  off  the  m;ihk,  joined  those  who  were  in  a 
Slate  of  revolt.  In  like  south,  the  mulattos  uniting 
themselves  with  the  blacks,  gave  themselves  to  the 
ravage  of  that  fine  province,  which  until  then  had 
stood  untouched  and  flourishing,  a»  in  the  fintst 
times  of  the  colony.  No  one  remained  faithful  but 
Laplume,  definitively  attached  to  ihe  mother  coun- 
try, preferring  it  to  the  barbarous  government  of 
the  nien  of  his  own  colour. 

Tlie  French  army,  reduced  to  eight  or  ten  thou- 
sand men,  scarcely  in  a  state  to  serve,  possessed  no 
more  territory  in  the  north  than  the  Cape  and  some 


of  its  surrounding  positions  ;  in  the  west,  Port-au- 
Prince  and  St.  Marc;  and  in  the  south.  Lis  Cayes, 
Jeremie,  and  Tiburon.  The  anguish  of  mind  of  the 
unfortunate  giuoral  Leclerc,  was  extreme.  He  had 
his  wife  with  him,  whom  he  had  sent  to  Turtle 
Island,  in  order  to  keep  her  out  of  the  way  of  the 
p.stilcnce.  He  had  seen  perish  the  wise  and  able 
M.  Benezech,  with  some  of  the  most  distinguished 
generals  of  the  armies  of  the  Rhine  and  Italy  ;  he 
had  just  learned  the  death  of  general  Rieliepanse  ; 
he  was  present  every  day  at  the  deaths  of  his  most 
valiant  soMiei-s.  without  the  power  to  aid  them,  and 
now  felt  the  moment  rapidly  approaching,  whew  he 
should  no  longer  be  aide  to  defend  against  the 
blacks  the  small  part  of  the  territory  that  remained 
in  his  possession.  Tormented  by  these  grievous 
reflections,  he  was  more  exposed  than  any  other 
person  to  the  attacks  of  tlie  malady  that  was 
destroying  the  army.  In  fact,  he  was  at  last  seized 
in  his  turn.  After  a  short  illness,  which,  taking 
the  eharac'ter  of  a  continued  fever,  finished  by  de- 
stroying all  the  strength  he  had  left,  he  expired, 
never  ceiising  to  speak  in  the  finest  manner,  and 
not  appearing  occupied  with  any  thing  but  his  wife 
and  his  companions  in  arms,  that  he  left  behind 
him  in  such  a  frightful  situation.  He  died  in  No- 
vember, 1802. 

General  Rochambeau  took  the  command,  as  the 
officer  of  senior  rank.  It  was  not  bravery  nor 
military  talent  that  was  wanting  to  the  new  go- 
vernor of  the  colony,  but  the  jjrudence,  and  the 
coo.'ness  of  a  chief  who  was  a  stranger  to  all  the 
[vassions  of  the  tropics.  General  Rochambeau 
thought  to  be  able  to  repress  the  insurrection 
every  where  ;  but  he  had  now  no  time  for  such  a 
purpose.  At  most,  if  he  liad  concentrated  his 
forces  at  the  Cape,  and  abandoned  the  west  and 
south,  he  might  have  been  able  to  sustain  himself 
there,  but  dpsiring  to  keep  a  front  upon  all  points 
at  once,  he  was  able  to  do  no  more  on  any  than  to 
make  energetic  and  unavailing  efforts.  He  had 
returned  to  the  Cape  in  order  to  take  the  chief 
command.  He  arrived  there  at  the  .same  moment 
as  Ciiristophe,  Clervaux,  and  other  black  chiefs  of 
the  north,  had  made  an  attack,  and  attempted  to 
take  this  capital  of  the  island.  General  Rocham- 
beau had  no  force  to  defend  the  jilace  except  a  few 
hundred  soldiers  and  the  national  guard  of  the 
Cape,  composed  of  landed  proprietors,  brave  as  all 
the  men  cf  tho.se  countries  are.  Ciiristophe  and 
Clery:'.ux  had  already  taken  one  of  the  forts  ;  gene- 
ral Rocliamhcau  retook  it  with  uncommon  gal- 
lantry, seconded  by  the  energy  of  the  national 
guards,  who  comported  themselves  so  well,  that 
the  blacks,  thinking  a  fresh  army  had  reinforced 
the  island,  beat  a  retreat.  During  this  heroic 
ilefence,  there  passed  in  the  roads  a  most  frightful 
seine.  Upwards  of  twelve  hundred  blacks  had 
belli  sent  on  board  the  vessels,  as  it  was  ni>t  known 
how  to  guard  them  on  shore,  and  to  suffer  them  to 
go  away  would  have  been  to  reinforce  the  enemy. 
Tlie  crews  of  the  ships,  decimated  by  the  fever, 
were  become  weaker  than  their  piisonej-s.  At  the 
moment  of  the  attack  on  the  Cape  by  the  blacks, 
daring  to  be  murdered  by  them,  the  cn-ws,  it  must 
be  stated  with  horror,  throw  overboard  a  good  part 
of  their  prisoners,  and  tiny  periHJiud  in  the  waves. 
At  the  same  time,  in  the  soullurn  part  of  tin- 
inland,  a  mulatto,  iiameil  Banlit,  was  subjected  lo 


472       St.  Domingo  evacuated       THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


the  same  treatment,  being  drowned  merely  from 
an  unjust  and  atrocious  mistrust  of  his  intentions. 
From  that  day  the  mulattos,  until  then  wavering, 
joined  the  negroes,  slaughtered  the  whites,  and 
completed  the  ravage  and  ruin  of  the  fine  southern 
distinct  of  the  island. 

Terminating  here  these  gloomj'  details,  in  which 
history  has  nothing  more  useful  to  record — at  the 
epoch  of  the  renewal  of  the  war  between  Fi-ance 
and  England — the  French,  shut  up  at  the  Cape,  at 
Port-au-Prince,  and  Aux  Cayes,  defended  them- 
selves with  great  difficulty  against  the  blacks  and 
mulattos  united.  The  European  war  then  came  to 
add  to  their  despair.  They  had  only  to  choose  be- 
tween the  blacks,  more  ferocious  than  evei',andthe 
English,  who  were  before  the  island,  and  they 
were  obliged  to  surrender  to  them,  being  sent  as 
prisoners  to  England,  after  having  been  despoiled 
of  the  wrecks  of  their  property  '. 

Of  from  thirty  to  thirty-two  thousand  men  sent 
from  the  mother  country,  there  did  not  remain 
more  than  eight  thousand  at  the  end  of  September. 
More  than  twenty  generals  perished,  among  them 
was  Richepanse,  the  most  regretted  of  them  ail. 
At  the  same  time,  Toussaint  Louverture,  that 
sinister  projihet,  who  had  predicted  and  heartily 
hoped  for  all  these  evils,  died  of  C(jld  in  France, 
a  prisoner  in  the  fort  of  Joux,  while  the  French 
soldiers  were  succumbing  beneath  the  effects  of  a 
burning  sun.  But  a  deplorable  compensation  this 
death  of  a  black  chief  of  genius  and  talent  for  the 
loss  of  so  many  heroic  whites  ! 

Such  was  the  sacrifice  made  by  the  first  consul 
to  the  old  commercial  system  of  France,  a  sacrifice 
with  which  he  was  bitterly  reproached.  Still,  to 
judge  truly  of  the  actions  of  the  chiefs  of  a  govex-n- 
ment,  it  is  necessary  to  keep  in  recollection  ail  the 
circumstances  under  which  they  have  acted.  When 
peace  had  been  made  with  the  whole  world,  when 

'  The  French  held  out  until  Septemher,  with  a  tonstancy 
and  bravery  worthy  of  a  better  cause.  St.  Marc  was  be- 
sieged by  Uessaliiies,  and  the  place  reduced  to  the  last  ex- 
tremity of  misery.  Captain  Walker,  of  tlie  Vanguard,  seventy- 
four,  being  off  the  coast,  interfered  to  prevent  his  putting 
the  garrison  to  death.  He  engaged  the  black  chief  to  march 
the  garrison  to  the  Mole,  and  he  would  take  them  off,  and 
secure  the  snipping;  but  the  French  commander,  general 
Hunin,  sent  a  flag  of  truce  on  board,  and  then  came  off  him- 
self. The  garrison  was  safely  embarked  ;  it  had  long  lived 
upon  horse-flesh.  The  number  was  850.  At  Aux  Cayes  the 
commander  entered  into  a  convention  with  the  British 
officers  off  the  coast.  Port  Dauphin  was  taken  by  the  The- 
seus man-of-war ;  the  acting  commandant,  surrendering  at 
discretion,  was  embarked  with  most  of  the  inhabitants,  and 
landed  under  a  flag  of  truce  at  the  Cape,  liy  captain  Bligh  of 
that  ship.  He  afterwards  spiked  the  guns,  and  brought 
away  a  frigate,  called  La  Sagesse,  which  he  had  found  there. 
Captain  Bligh  was  fortunate  enough  to  recover  general  Du- 
mont  and  suite,  who  had  fallen  into  the  hands  cf  the  blacks, 
and  he  was  also  sent  to  the  Cape.  General  Rochambeau 
behaved  in  a  manner  no  way  reflecting  credit  upon  his  clia- 
racter,  at  the  surrender  of  the  Cape.  He  had  entered  into  a 
treaty  with  Dessalines  for  the  surrender  of  the  forts  and 
town,  and  after  the  blacks  were  partially  admitted,  treated 
with  the  English,  who  were  fortunately  enabled  to  save  the 
garrison.  Dessalines  would  have  sunk  them  all  with  red- 
hot  shot ;  they  were  saved  with  great  difliculty  by  the  Eng- 
lish. General  Noailles  also  surrendered  to  the  British  at  the 
Mole.  The  French  troops  were  all  sent  to  Jamaica,  with 
the  frigates  and  other  light  vessels  captured  in  the  harbours. 
— Translator. 


the  notions  connected  with  the  old  commercial  sys- 
tem had  re-acted  like  a  torrent,  when  in  Paris  and 
in  all  the  ports  the  merchants  and  the  ruined 
colonists  called  aloud  for  the  re-establishment  of 
the  commercial  prosperity  of  France,  when  they 
required  that  the  government  should  give  back  to 
their  country  a  possession  which  had  formerly  been 
the  source  of  riches  and  of  pride  to  the  old  mo- 
narchy, when  thousands  of  officers  saw  with  morti- 
fication their  active  career  interrupted  by  the 
peace,  and  were  offering  to  serve  any  whei-e  that 
there  was  a  need  of  their  employment,  was  it  possi- 
ble to  refuse  to  the  requests  of  the  one,  or  to  the 
activity  of  the  others,  such  an  opportunity  of  re- 
storing her  old  commercial  advantages  to  Fi-ance  ? 
What  did  not  England  do  to  preserve  North  Ame- 
rica 1  Spain  to  preserve  South  America  ?  What 
did  not  Holland  do  to  keep  Java  ?  Nations  do  not 
suffer  any  of  their  great  possessions  to  escape 
without  attempting  to  retain  them  if  they  have  no 
chance  of  success.  It  will  be  seen  if  the  American 
war  will  serve  as  a  lesson  to  the  English,  and  if 
they  will  not  attempt  to  defend  Canada  the  day  that 
this  colony  of  the  north  shall  give  way  to  the  natu- 
ral feeling  which  draws  it  towards  the  United 
States  of  America. 

The  first  consul  had  recalled  to  Europe  ail  the 
ships  of  the  expedition  to  the  West  Indies,  except 
the  frigates  and  light  vessels.  They  had  all  come 
into  French  ])orts,  one  squadron  only  excepted, 
consisting  of  five  sail,  which  had  been  obliged  to 
put  into  Corunna.  A  sixth  vessel  had  taken  re- 
fuge in  Cadiz.  It  was  necessary  to  reunite  these 
scattered  elements,  in  order  to  undertake  a  contest 
strength  to  strength  with  England. 

It  was  a  difficult  task  for  the  most  able  and  most 
solidly-established  govi  rnment  to  enter  into  a  con- 
test with  England.  Mo;-^  assuredly  it  was  ejisy  for 
the  first  consul  to  place  himself  under  the  safe- 
guard of  his  own  power;  Init  it  was  also  as  easy  for 
England  to  place  herself  under  her  own.  England 
and  France  had  con([iii  '.ed  an  empire  pretty  nearly 
equal,  the  first  on  the  sea,  the  second  on  the  land. 
Hostilities  begun;  England  displayed  her  flag  in 
both  hemispheres,  took,  perhaps,  some  of  the  Dutch 
and  Spanish  colonies,  and  with  more  difficulty  some 
of  the  French.  She  attempted  to  interdict  the 
navigation  of  the  ocean  to  every  people,  and  to 
arrogate  it  to  herself  exclusively.  But  by  herself 
she  could  do  no  more.  The  appearance  of  English 
troops  upon  the  continent  had  only  been  to  her  the 
source  of  such  disasters  as  that  of  the  Haider  in 
1799.  France,  on  her  side,  was  able,  either  by 
force  or  by  influence,  to  interdict  to  England  the 
shores  of  the  European  continent  from  Copenhagen 
to  Venice  ;  to  reduce  her  merely  to  touch  the 
shores  of  the  Baltic;  to  oblige  her  to  cause  a  de- 
scent from  the  heights  of  the  pole,  of  those  colonial 
productions  of  which,  during  war,  she  became  the 
sole  depository  '.     But  in  this  contest  of  two  great 

'  The  disadvantage  here  is  greater  to  the  continent  than 
to  England.  The  carriage  of  goods  or  produce  into  the 
Baltic  from  England  is  the  merest  trifle  additional,  which  is 
inevitably  charged  on  the  continental  consumer,  who  has  to 
pay,  in  addition,  for  the  internal  carriage  of  such  goods  or 
produce  from  the  port  where  it  is  consigned  ;  so  that 
France,  by  this  exclusive  scheme,  taxed  the  people  of  the 
continent  grievously,  while  she  did  little  comparative  mis- 
chief to  England. — Translator. 


The  design  of  the  first 
consul  to  pass  the 
straits  of  Dover. 


THE  CAMP  OF  BOULOGNE. 


The  first  consul  makes  strenu- 
ous   efforts    to    restore    the       473 
French  navy. 


powers,  that  dominate  each  upon  one  of  two  ele- 
ments, withdut  tlie  means  of  going  bevond  tlieir 
bounds  to  combat  eacli  other,  it  was  to  be  feared 
that,  as  they  were  hardly  induced  to  menace  with- 
out iitrikini,',  the  world,  oppressed  by  them,  would 
not  remain  without  revolting  against  one  or  the 
other,  with  the  object  of  putting  an  end  to  the 
continuance  of  such  a  fearful  quarrel. 

In  similar  circumst.-mces,  success  would  apper- 
tain to  that  power  which  knew  how  to  pass  out  of 
the  element  in  which  she  governed  in  order  to 
reach  her  rival;  and  if  such  an  effort  became  im- 
possible, to  that  which  knew  how  to  render  her 
cause  sufficiently  popular  in  the  world  to  gain  over 
a  party.  To  att;tch  any  of  the  nations  to  them- 
selves was  ditlictilt  for  either  to  effect,  becaii.se 
England,  in  order  to  monopolize  commerce,  had 
been  induced  to  trouble  the  neutral  powers;  and 
France,  in  order  t'>  close  the  continent  against  the 
commerce  of  England,  had  been  induced  to  ofter 
violence  to  all  the  European  states.  It  was  then 
necessary,  if  the  conquest  of  England  was  resolved 
upon,  to  solve  all  of  these  problems;  either  how  to 
p:i.s3  the  ocean  and  march  to  London,  or  how  to 
domineer  over  the  continent,  and  oblige  it,  whether 
by  force  or  policy,  to  ivfiise  all  British  produce;  to 
realize,  in  one  word,  either  a  descent  or  a  conti- 
nental blockade.  It  will  be  seen,  in  the  course  of 
this  history,  by  what  a  chain  of  events  Napoleon 
was  successively  carried  from  the  first  of  these  en- 
terprises to  the  second;  by  what  a  chain  of  prodi- 
gies he  at  first  approached  his  object,  and  was  near 
its  attainment;  by  what  a  combination  of  faults 
and  misfortunes  lie  subsequently  fell  away  from  it, 
and  finished. by  succumbing.  Happily,  before  the 
arrival  of  that  deplorable  term,  France  had  done 
such  things,  that  a  nation  to  which  providence  has 
permitted  similar  accomplishments  must  remain  for 
ever  glorious  ;  perhaps  the  greatest  among  the 
nations. 

These  are  the  proportional  differences  which  the 
character  of  the  war  between  France  and  England 
would  inevitably  take.  The  war  had  been  from 
1792  to  1801  the  contest  of  the  principles  of  de- 
mocnicy  against  those  of  aristocracy  ;  without 
ceasing  still  to  carry  that  character,  it  had  become, 
umler  Napoleon,  the  contest  of  one  element  against 
another,  with  much  more  difficulty  on  the  side  of 
the  French  than  of  the  English,  because  the  entire 
continent,  through  its  hatred  for  the  French  re- 
volution, and  from  jealousy  of  the  power  of  France, 
hated  France  much  more  than  the  neutrals  de- 
tested England. 

With  his  piercing  glance  the  first  consul  soon 
perceived  how  the  war  bore,  atid  he  took  his  reso- 
lution unhesitatingly.  He  formed  the  design  of 
pii.ssing  the  straits  of  Dover  with  an  army,  and  of 
tenniiKiting  in  London  even  the  rivalry  of  the  two 
nati'iiiH.  He  will  b<!  seen  during  three  consecutive 
years  ap|>lying  all  liis  faculties  10  this  prodigious 
enterprise,  and  remaining  calm,  confident,  even 
liappy,  HO  much  was  lie  filled  witii  confidence,  in 
the  front  of  an  attempt  which  must  conduct  him 
eitlitr  to  the  ubsoluti;  mastersliip  of  the  worhl,  or 
to  the  cngulfment  of  hinmelf,  his  army,  and  his 
glory,  deep  to  th<;  bottom  of  tlie  ocean. 

It  will  be  saiil,  perhaps,  that  Louis  XIV.  and 
Louis  XVI.  had  not  been  reduced  to  such  a  neces- 
sity for  entering  into  a  contest  with  England,  and 


that  numerous  fleets  disputing  on  the  plain  of  the 
ocean  with  her  were  sufficient  for  their  objects. 
But  it  may  be  replied,  that  from  the  seventeenth 
to  the  tigiitecnth  centuries,  England  had  not  yet 
seized  upon  universal  commerce,  nor  acquired  the 
largest  maritime  population  upon  the  globe,  and 
that  the  means  of  the  two  navies  were  much  less 
unequal.  The  first  consul  had  decided  to  make 
immense  efforts  to  restore  the  French  navy;  but 
he  much  doubted  of  success,  although  he  possessed 
a  vast  extent  of  sea-shore — alth((iii;li  he  had  at  his 
disposition  the  ports  and  buiUling-yards  of  Holland, 
Belgium,  old  France,  and  Italy.  It  is  needless  also 
to  add  those  of  Spain,  which  were  at  that  Jme  too 
miserably  managed  to  be  a  useful  ally.  He  had 
not,  counting  all  his  naval  strength,  actually  united 
but  little  more  than  fifty  ships  of  the  line  to  send 
to  sea  in  the  course  of  the  year.  He  was  able  to 
procure  four  or  five  in  Holland;  twenty-one  or  two 
in  Brest ;  two  at  Lorient ;  si.\  at  Rochelle  ;  five  in 
port  at  Corunna;  one  at  Cadiz;  and  ten  or  twelve 
at  Toulon ;  in  all  about  fifty.  With  the  timber  which 
covered  his  extensive  empire,  and  which  arrived, 
descending  the  rivers,  at  the  ship-yards  of  Holland, 
tlie  Low  Countries,  and  Italy,  he  was  able  to  con- 
struct fifty  other  vessels  of  the  line,  and  to  make 
his  glorious  trieoloured  flag  be  borne  by  a  hundred 
ships  of  the  line.  But  then  he  must  have  more 
than  one  hundred  thousand  seamen  to  man  them, 
and  it  was  with  the  utmost  pains  he  could  muster 
si.xty  thousand.  England  had  seventy-five  sail  of 
the  line  quite  I'eady  to  send  to  sea;  it  was  easy  for 
her  to  carry  her  total  armament  to  a  hundred  and 
twenty  sail,  with  a  number  of  frigates  and  small 
vessels  in  proportion.  She  was  able  to  send  to 
sea  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  seamen,  and 
still  more,  if  giving  up  terms  with  the  neutrals,  she 
carried  the  impress  into  their  commercial  vessels. 
She  possessed  besides  experienced  admirals,  confi- 
dent, because  they  had  conquered,  who  comported 
themselves  upon  the  ocean  as  the  French  generals 
Lannes,  Ney,  and  Massdna  did  upon  the  land. 

This  disproportion  of  the  two  navies,  resulting 
from  time  and  circumstances,  was  therefore  very 
considerable ;  nevertheless,  the  first  consul  did  not 
despair.  He  wished  to  build  vessels  every  where, 
in  the  Texel,  the  Schelde,  at  Havre,  Cherburgh, 
Brest,  Toulon,  and  Genoa.  He  thought  of  com- 
prehending a  certain  number  of  land  soldiers  in 
the  composition  of  his  crews,  and  by  that  means  to 
lessen  the  inferiority  of  the  French  maritime  popu- 
lation. He  had  been  the  first  to  perceive  that  a 
vessel  having  a  crew  of  six  hundred  good  seamen 
and  two  or  three  hundred  well  chosen  landsmen, 
kept  for  two  or  three  years  at  sea,  exercised  in 
manoeuvring  and  firing,  was  capable  of  meeting 
any  opposing  force.  But  even  in  employing  this 
means  and  others  besides,  he  said  it  would  be 
necessary  to  have  ten  years  to  create  a  navy.  But 
he  was  not  able  to  wait  ten  years  with  his  arms 
crossed,  that  his  navy,  going  to  sea  in  small  detach- 
ments, might  in  time  bo  rendered  fit  to  meet  the 
English  in  a  day  of  battle.  To  emjilny  fen  years 
in  forming  a  fleet,  without  any  thing  of  moment  to 
execute  in  the  interval,  would  have  been  a  long 
confession  of  weakness  grievous  for  any  govern- 
ment, and  more  insupjiortable  for  liini  who  had 
made  his  fortune,  and  who  had  to  continue  it,  by 
dazxling  the  eyes  of  the  world. 


Formation  of  camps  from 
474       the  lexel  to  the  Pyre- 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Slate  of  the  coiiscrip- 


It  became  needful,  tiierefore,  to  apply  every 
means  to  reorganize  the  French  naval  force,  to 
attempt  boldly  the  passage  of  the  straits,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  serve  himself  by  the  fear  which 
his  sword  had  inspired,  in  obliging  Europe  to  shut 
out  England  from  all  access  to  the  continent.  If 
to  his  genius  for  the  execution  of  great  enterprises 
he  joined  good  policy,  he  thought  he  should  be  able 
by  these  means  united,  cither  to  destroy  in  London 
itself  the  British  power  altogether,  or  to  ruin  it 
at  length  by  ruining  its  commerce. 

Many  of  the  French  admirals,  more  especially 
the  minister  Decres,  advised  him  to  proceed  bj  a 
slow  recomposition  of  the  French  navy,  which 
should  consist  in  forming  small  naval  divisions, 
and  in  sending  them  to  sea  until  they  should  be 
well  enough  skilled  to  manoeuvre  in  large  squad- 
rons ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  exhorted  him  to  stop 
there,  regarding  as  very  doubtful  all  the  plans 
devised  for  passing  the  channel.  The  first  consul 
would  not  come  into  these  views  of  the  subject;  he 
proposed  as  well  to  x"estore  the  French  navy,  but 
at  the  same  time  to  make  a  more  immediate  and 
direct  attempt  to  strike  at  England. 

In  consequence  of  this  conclusion,  he  ordered 
numerous  vessels  to  be  built  at  Flushing,  of  which 
place  he  could  dispose  in  consequence  of  his  {)ower 
over  Holland  ;  at  Antwerp,  which  was  become  a 
French  port ;  at  Cherl)iirg,  Brest,  Lorient,  Toulon, 
and  at  Genoa,  which  France  occiqiied  in  the  same 
manner  as  Holland.  He  had  tiie  twenty-two  sail 
of  the  line  at  Brest  put  in  repair  and  made  ready 
for  sea  ;  he  had  the  two  at  Lorient  com])leted, 
an<l  the  five  at  Rochelle  set  afloat  and  armed.  He 
demanded  means  from  Spain  to  refit  and  revictual 
the  squadron  that  had  sheltered  in  Corunna,  and 
sent  from  Bayonne  all  that  it  was  possible  to  get 
conveyed  there  by  land  in  men,  stores,  and  niimey. 
He  took  the  same  precautions  respecting  the  vessels 
at  Cadiz.  He  ordered  the  completion  and  arma- 
ment of  the  fleet  at  Toulon,  consisting  of  twelve 
vessels.  These  different  squadrons,  joined  to  three 
or  four  in  Holland,  thus  carried  up,  as  already 
observed,  the  naval  force  of  France  to  about  fifty 
sail  of  the  line,  without  reckoning  those  which  it 
might  be  able  to  obtain  at  a  later  i)eriod  from,  the 
Dutch  and  Spanish  naval  forces,  or  counting  those 
which  it  might  be  possible  to  construct  in  the  ports 
of  France,  armed  with  a  mixttire  of  seami-n  and 
land  soldiers.  Still  the  first  consul  did  not  flatter 
himself,  with  such  a  force  as  this,  to  conquer  in 
a  regular  battle  the  superiority  or  even  a  Kuiritime 
equality  in  regard  to  England  ;  he  wished  it  to  go 
to  sea,  and  after  visiting  the  cohmies,  to  return, 
and  open  for  a  little  time  the  straits  of  Dover, 
through  the  movements  of  squadrons,  of  which  the 
deep  combination  will  soon  be  judged. 

It  was  towards  the  straits  that  he  concentrated 
all  the  efforts  of  his  genius.  Whatever  were  the 
means  of  conveyance  required,  he  must  first  have 
an  army,  and  he  formed  tiie  design  of  composing 
one  which  should  leave  nt)thing  to  desire  in  respect 
to  number  and  oi-ganization  ;  to  distribute  it  in 
several  camps  from  the  Texel  to  the  Pyrenees,  and 
to  dispose  it  in  such  a  manner  tiiat  he  miglit  bo 
able  to  concentrate  it  with  great  rapidity  u|)on 
points  of  the  shore  carefully  selected  for  that  i>ur- 
pose.  Independently  of  a  corps  of  twenty-five 
thousand  men  united  between  Breda  and  Nime- 


guen,  to  march  upon  Hanover,  he  ordered  the 
formation  of  six  camps,  one  in  the  environs  of 
Utrecht,  a  second  near  Ghent,  a  third  at  St.  Omer, 
a  fourth  at  Compeigne,  a  fifth  at  Brest,  and  a  sixth 
at  Bayonne,  this  last  destined  to  overawe  Spain 
fi-om  certain  motives  which  will  be  subsequently 
made  known.  He  commenced  '^y  forming  pai'ks 
of  artillery  on  each  of  the  six  points  of  assemblage, 
a  precaution  which,  he  ordinarily  took  before  any 
other,  saying  that  he  found  the  artillery  was  always 
the  most  difficult  thing  to  organize.  He  then 
directed  upon  each  of  the  camps  a  sufficient  number 
of  demi-brigadcs  of  infantry  to  carry  the  nun)bers 
up  at  least  to  twenty-five  thousand  men  each.  The 
cavalry  was  assembled  more  slowly,  and  in  a  less 
proportion  than  is  customary,  because,  on  the 
hypothesis  of  an  embarkation,  he  would  be  able  to 
carry  but  very  few  horse.  It  was  necessary  that 
the  quality  and  quantity  of  the  infantry,  the  ex- 
cellence of  the  artillery,  and  the  number  of  guns, 
should  compensate  in  such  an  army  for  the  nu- 
merical inferiority  of  the  cavalry.  In  this  double 
relation  the  French  infantry  and  artillery  united 
all  the  desirable  conditions.  The  first  consul  had 
taken  care  to  assemble  on  the  coast,  and  to  form  in 
four  grand  divisions,  all  the  dragoons.  This  class 
of  soldiers  being  able  to  serve  on  foot  or  on  horse- 
back, would  embark  only  with  their  saddles,  and  be 
useful  as  infantry  until  they  were  able  to  be 
moinited  as  horsemen,  when  a  sufficient  number  of 
hoi'ses  should  be  taken  from  the  enemy. 

The  dis])ositions  were  made  for  arming  and  har- 
nessing four  hundred  pieces  of  field  artillery,  inde- 
pendently of  a  vast  park  of  heavy  guns  for  sieges. 
The  demi-brigades,  which  were  then  in  three  batta- 
lions, were  to  furnish  two  vvar  battalions,  each  of 
eight  hundred  men,  taking  from  the  third  battalion 
to  complete  the  two  first.  The  third  battalion  was 
left  in  de])6t,  to  receive  the  conscripts,  instruct 
and  discipline  t-liem.  Still  a  certain  number  of 
these  conscripts  was  sent  innnediately  to  the  war- 
battalions,  so  that  among  the  old  soldiers  of  the 
republic  should  be  mingled  in  a  sufficient  pro- 
portion young  soldiers,  well  selected,  possessing  the 
ardour,  vivacity,  and  docility  of  youth. 

The  conscri|)tion  had  been  definitively  inti'o- 
duced  into  the  French  military  legislation,  and 
regulated  under  the  directory,  on  the  proposition 
of  general  Jourdain.  The  law  which  established  it 
still  pi'esented  some  deficiencies,  wliich  had  been 
made  up  by  a  new  law  of  the  26th  of  April,  1803. 
The  contingent  had  been  fixed  at  sixty  thousand 
men  per  annum,  levied  at  the  age  of  twenty  yeai-s. 
This  contingent  was  separated  into  two  divisions, 
of  thirty  thousand  men  each.  The  first  was  always 
to  be  levied  even  in  time  of  peace  ;  the  second 
formed  the  reserve,  and  might  be  called  out,  in 
case  of  war,  to  complete  the  battalions.  It  was 
the  middle  of  the  year  xi.,  or  June,  1803,  that 
the  demand  was  made  for  a  right  to  levy  the 
contingents  of  the  years  XI.  and  xii.,  without 
touching  the  reserve  of  these  two  years.  There 
were  then  sixty  thousand  conscripts  to  take  im- 
mediately. In  thus  calling  them  out  in  advance, 
thei'e  was  time  to  instruct  tliem,  and  to  accustom 
them  to  the  military  service  in  the  camps  formed 
along  the  coasts.  It  was  possible  to  recur,  if 
needful,  to  the  reserve  of  these  two  years,  which 
still   presented  sixty    thousand    disposable    men, 


Great  preparations  for 
tlie  iuva:>iuii  ol  Eng- 
land. 


THE  CAMP  OF  BOULOGNE. 


state  of  the  French  finances 
on  the  couimenLetuenl  of 
the  war. 


475 


whom  it  would  not  be  reckoned  needful  U>  c:ill 
upon  for  service  except  in  case  of  a  cimtineiital 
war.  Thirty  thousand  men  demanded  from  each 
class  was  a  trifling  sacriHee,  which  could  very  liitlo 
burthen  the  population  of  one  hundred  and  nine 
departments.  I3esides,  there  remained  to  call  out 
the  contingents  of  the  years  vm.,  i.\.,  and  x., 
which  had  not  been  require<l,  owing  to  the  peace 
enjoyed  under  the  cunsiilate.  An  arrearof  men  in 
this  way  is  as  difficult  to  recover  as  an  arrear 
of  taxes.  The  fir.<t  consul  made,  upon  this  matter, 
a  sort  of  liquidation  of  claims.  He  demanded  on 
the  contingents  in  arrear  a  certain  number  of  men, 
chosen  among  the  more  robust,  and  the  most  dis- 
posjtble  ;  he  exempted  a  greater  number  on  the 
coast  than  in  the  interior,  imposing  upon  the  last 
not  called  out,  the  duty  of  guarding  the  coasts.  In 
this  way  he  was  able  to  arm  still  an  army  of  fifty 
thousand  men,  older  and  stronger  tlian  the  con- 
scripts of  the  years  .\t.  and  xii.  The  army  was 
thus  raised  to  four  hundred  and  eigiity  thousand 
men,  spread  over  the  colonies,  Hanover,  Holland, 
Switzerland,  It;ily,  and  France.  Of  this  effective 
body,  about  one  hundred  thousand  employed  to 
guard  Italy,  Holland,  Hanover,  and  the  colonies, 
were  not  maintained  at  the  charge  of  the  French 
treasury.  Subsidies  in  money,  or  provisions  fur- 
nished on  tlie  spot  where  the  troops  were  stationed, 
covered  the  expense  of  their  maintenance.  There 
were  three  hundred  and  eighty-four  thousand  paid 
wholly  in  France,  and  entirely  at  the  public  dis- 
posal. The  deficiencies  in  this  number  of  three 
hundred  and  eighty  thousand,  might  be  reckoned 
forty  thousand  for  the  ordinary  deficiency,  in  other 
words,  for  the  sick,  those  absent  for  a  short  time, 
or  en  route,  &c.;  forty  thousand  for  gensdarmes, 
veterans,  invalids,  and  instructors  ;  about  three 
Imudred  thousand  men  might  therefore  be  reckoned 
upon  as  active  and  disposable,  disciplined,  and 
capable  of  entering  immediately  upon  active  ser- 
vice. If  of  the.se  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
were  destined  for  the  contest  in  England,  there 
stilt  remained  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
more,  of  whom  seventy  thousand,  An-ming  the  de- 
pots, were  sufficient  to  guard  the  interior,  and 
eighty  thousand  might  proceed  towards  the  Rhine, 
in  case  of  any  inquietude  arising  in  that  part  of 
the  continent.  It  is  not  of  its  numbers  by  wliicJi 
tile  value  of  such  an  anny  is  to  be  judged.  These 
three  hundred  thousand  men,  nearly  all  tried  men, 
broke  in  to  the  fatigues  and  toils  of  war,  conducteil 
by  experienced  officer.s,  were  worth  six  or  seven 
hundred  thousand,  or  perhaps  a  million,  of  those 
who  aro  found  ordinarily  at  the  close  of  a  long 
pence,  because  between  a  soldier  tried  and  one 
who  is  not,  the  difference  is  infinite.  Under  this 
head,  tlnrcfore,  the  first  consul  had  nothing  to 
desire.  Ho  commanded  the  finest  army  in  the 
world. 

The  groat  j>roblem  next  to  be  resolved  was,  the 
union  of  the  means  of  tranH|»ort,  in  order  to  trans- 
port this  army  from  Calais  to  Dover.  'J'ho  first 
consul  had  not  yet  <lefinilively  arranged  his  ideas 
in  this  respect.  One  thing  alone  was  definitively 
fixed  upon  after  a  long  «<  lies  of  observations,  this 
W!is  tho  form  of  the  vtssels  to  be  constructed. 
Vessels  with  a  flat  bottou),  adapted  to  run  aground, 
and  to  move  with  sail  ami  oar,  appeared  to  all  the 
naval  engineers   the   means  best  adajited   for  the 


l)assage  ;  besides  this,  there  was  the  advantage  of 
being  able  to  construct  them  everywhere,  even  in 
the  higher  basins  of  the  rivers.  But  it  remained 
to  unite  them,  and  to  shelter  them  in  jicnts  con- 
veniently placed,  to  arm  and  equi|)  tliem  ;  and, 
finally,  to  discover  the  best  system  of  manoeuvres 
to  move  them  in  order  before  the  enemy.  It  was 
needful  for  that  purpose  to  iiave  a  succession  of 
long  and  difficult  experiments.  The  first  consul 
had  the  design  of  establishing  himself  in  person  at 
Boulogne,  on  the  borders  of  the  channel,  to  live 
there  often  and  so  long,  as  to  study  the  jilaces,  the 
circumstances  of  the  sea  aiid  weather,  and  to 
organize  himself  all  the  vast  enterprise  which  he 
contemplated. 

While  waiting  until  the  different  works  con- 
structing in  all  parts  of  France  were  suffiujently 
advanced  to  make  his  presence  upon  the  coast 
of  service,  he  occupied  himself  in  Paris  with  two 
essential  things,  the  finances  and  the  relations 
of  France  with  the  powers  of  the  c<intinent,  be- 
cause on  one  i)art  there  must  be  funds  sufficient 
for  his  intended  enterprise,  and  on  the  other, 
there  must  be  the  perfect  certainty  of  not  being 
troubled  during  the  execution  of  his  scheme  by  the 
continental  allies  of  England. 

The  financial  difficulty  was  not  the  least  of  the 
difficulties  that  presented  themselves  iii)on  the 
renewal  of  the  war.  The  French  revolution  had 
devoured,  in  the  form  of  assignats,  an  innnense 
mass  of  national  property,  and  ended  in  bank- 
ruptcy. All  the  national  property  had  been  nearly 
consumed,  and  credit  for  a  long  time  ruined.  In 
order  to  preserve  from  alienation  the  400,000,000f. 
of  national  property  remaining  in  IfJOO,  it  had  been 
divided  between  different  public  services,  such 
as  public  instructi<in,  the  invalids,  the  lej;ion  of 
honour,  the  senate,  and  the  sinking  fund.  Changed 
also  into  dotations,  it  aided  the  budget  of  the  state, 
and  presented  an  immense  future  value,  owing  to 
the  augmentation  of  the  worth  of  landed  property, 
an  augmentation  constant  at  all  times,  but  always 
greater  on  the  morrow  of  a  revolution.  The  same 
property  too  had  been  diminished  by  certain  por- 
tions restored  to  the  emigrants,  not  very  consider- 
able indeed,  because  the  property  not  alienated 
had  been  in  nearly  its  entire  totality  the  i)roi)crty 
of  the  church.  There  nnist  be  added  to  these 
remains  the  property  situated  in  Piedmont  and  in 
the  new  departments  of  the  lUiiriC,  valued  at  about 
50,000,000  f.  or  (;o,000,000  f.  Sucli  were  the  re- 
sources disposable  in  national  domains.  In  respect 
to  credit,  the  first  consul  was  resolute  in  never 
having  recourse  to  it.  It  will  be  remembered,  that 
when  he  completed  in  the  year  ix.  the  liciuidation 
of  the  past  dibts,  he  took  advantage  of  the  ele- 
vation of  the  public  funds  to  ac(iuit  in  stock  a  ]>art 
of  the  arrears  of  the  years  v.,  vi.,  vii.,  and  vm.; 
but  this  was  the  sole  operation  of  the  kind  he  was 
ever  willing  to  permit,  and  ho  paid  fully  and  in 
money  the  liabilities  of  the  years  ix.  and  x.  In  tho 
year  X.,  the  last  budget  voted,  he  laid  it  down  as  u 
l)rineiple  that  the  public  debt  shoidd  never  surpass 
50,000,000  f.  in  stock,  and  that  if  such  a  cireum- 
Htiineo  should  occur,  theie  should  be  created  im- 
mediately a  resource  to  redeem  the  excess  in 
fifteen  years.  This  precaution  had  been  deemed 
needfid  in  order  to  sustain  confidence,  because  in 
spite  of  a  generally  healthy  state  of  things,  credit 


t^e    Tlie  budgets  of  the  years 
4/6        X.  and  XI. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Resources  to  meet  the 
expenses  of  the  war 


had  been  so  mucli  injured,  that  the  five  per  cent, 
stock  arose  but  Utile  above  fifty-six,  and  had  not 
passed  sixty  at  the  moment  when  it  was  the 
higViest  at  the  peace. 

For  a  long  time  in  England,  and  for  a  little  time 
in  France,  the  public  funds  have  been  an  object 
of  regular  traffic,  in  which  the  largest  houses  par- 
ticipate, always  disposed  to  treat  with  the  govern- 
ment, and  to  furnish  it  with  the  sums  of  which  it 
may  stand  in  need.  It  was  not  so  at  the  epoch  in 
question.  No  house  in  France  would  have  ex- 
pressed  a  wish  to  subscribe  to  a  loan.  It  would  j 
have  lost  all  credit  in  avowing  that  its  business 
was  connected  with  the  state;  and  if  the  boldest 
speculators  had  consented,  they  would  at  the  most 
have  given  fifty  francs  for  stock  of  five,  which 
would  have  exposed  the  treasury  to  support  the 
enormous  interest  of  ten  per  cent.  The  first  con- 
sul would  not  have  any  thing  to  do  with  a  resource 
so  costly.  There  was  then  another  mode  of  bor- 
rowing ;  it  was  to  get  into  debt  with  the  great 
companies  of  contractors,  who  had  the  duty  of 
supplying  the  armies,  by  not  paying  them  up  their 
full  demands.  They  indemnified  themselves  by 
charging  for  the  different  services  two  or  three 
times  more  than  the  things  supplied  were  worth. 
Then  the  bold  speculators,  who  were  fond  of  deal- 
ing largely,  in  place  of  attaching  themselves  to 
loans,  gave  themselves  up  with  eagerness  to  go- 
vernment couti'acts.  There  was  then  the  means 
in  consequence,  upon  addressing  them,  of  getting 
the  supplies  upon  credit  ;  but  this  means  was  ytt 
more  expensive  than  that  of  the  loans  themselves. 
The  first  consul  meant  to  pay  the  contractors  re- 
gularly, in  order  to  oblige  them  to  execute  their 
contracts  regularly,  and  at  reasonable  prices.  He 
would  not  avail  himself  of  any  resources  arising 
from  the  alienation  of  the  national  property,  which 
could  not  then  be  sold  to  advantage,  nor  of  the 
resource  of  loans,  then  too  difficult  to  obtain  and 
too  costly,  nor  of  the  great  contractors,  a  mode 
that  brought  in  its  train  abuses  difficult  to  cal- 
culate. He  flattered  himself,  with  great  order 
and  economy,  added  to  the  natural  increase  of 
the  product  of  the  taxes,  and  some  accessory 
receipts  which  will  be  presemtly  made  known,  to 
escape  the  hard  necessity  to  which  speculators  and 
money -mongers  make  governments  submit  that  are 
at  the  time  destitute  of  revenue  and  credit. 

The  last  budget,  that  of  the  year  x.,  or  from 
September,  1801,  to  September,  1802,  had  been 
fixed  at  500,000,000  f.  or  620,000,000  f.,  with  the 
expenses  of  collection,  and  including  the  additional 
centimes.  The  sum  had  not  been  exceeded,  a 
circumstance  due  to  the  peace.  The  taxes  alone 
liad  exceeded  in  their  produce  the  calculations 
of  the  government.  A  revenue  of  470,000,000  f. 
had  been  estimated,  and  a  very  small  alienation 
of  the  national  domains  had  been  voted  to  make 
the  receipts  and  disbursements  balance.  But  the 
taxes  had  surpassed  the  estimate  by  33,000,000  f., 
and  from  that  fortunate  circumstance  the  aliena- 
tion had  become  useless.  This  unexpected  aug- 
mentation of  the  resources  accruing  from  the 
registering,  which,  owing  to  the  number  of  private 
transactions,  had  produced  1 72,000,000  f.  in  place 
of  150,000,000  f. ;  the  customs  duties,  that  owing  to 
the  revival  of  conunerce,  had  produced  31,000,000  f. 
in  place  of  22,000,000  f. ;  finally,  from  the  posts 


and  some  other  branches  of  revenue  less  impor- 
tant. 

In  spite  of  the  renewal  of  the  war,  it  was  hoped, 
and  the  event  proved  there  was  no  deception 
in  the  expectation,  that  a  similar  augmentation 
of  the  produce  of  the  taxes  would  again  happen. 
Under  the  vigorous  government  of  the  first  consul, 
neither  disorders  nor  reverses  were  apprehended. 
Confidence  continued  to  maintain  itself,  private 
ti-ansactions,  the  internal  ti-ade,  the  exchanges 
every  day  becoming  more  considerable  with  the 
continent,  were  all  cei-tain  to  follow  an  increasing 
pi-ogression.  Maritime  trade  alone  was  ex- 
posed to  suffer,  and  the  revenue  of  the  customs, 
which  then  appeared  to  return  30,000,000  f.  to  the 
budget  of  receipts,  expressed  sufficiently  that  thei'e 
could  not  result  from  this  suffering  any  enormous 
loss  to  the  treasury.  They  counted,  therefore, 
and  with  reason,  on  more  than  500,000,000  f.  of 
receipts.  The  budget  of  the  year  xi.,  or  from 
September,  1802,  to  September,  1803,  was  voted 
in  March,  with  the  fear,  but  not  with  the  certainty, 
of  war.  It  had  been  fixed  at  589,000,000  f.,  with- 
out the  expenses  of  collection,  but  comprehending 
a  part  of  the  additional  centimes.  This  was, 
consequently,  an  augmentation  of  89,000,0001". 
The  navy  was  increased  from  105,000,000  f.  to 
126,000,000  f.;  the  war  department,  raised  from 
210,000,000  f.  to  243,000,000  f.,  had  obtained  a 
part  of  this  augmentation.  The  public  works, 
worship,  the  new  civil  list  of  the  consuls,  the  fixed 
expenses  of  the  departments,  inscribed  this  time 
in  the  general  budget,  took  up  the  remainder  of 
the  increase. 

This  augmentation  of  the  expenses  had  been 
met,  by  the  supposed  increase  in  the  produce  of 
the  taxes,  by  the  additional  centimes  before  de- 
voted to  meet  the  fixed  expenses  of  the  depart- 
ments, and  by  several  foreign  receipts  coming 
from  the  allied  countries.  The  current  budget, 
therefore,  might  be  considered  as  at  an  equilibrium, 
except  the  excess  indispensable  for  the  expenses 
of  the  war.  It  was  not  to  be  supposed,  indeed, 
that  20,000,000  f.  added  to  the  support  and  inci'ease 
of  the  navy,  and  30,000,000  f.  added  for  the  army, 
would  be  sufficient  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  new 
position  of  affairs.  The  war  with  the  continent 
oi'diuarily  cost  little  enough,  because  the  vic- 
torious troops  of  France,  passing  the  Rhine  and 
Adige,  from  their  entrance  upon  operations,  were 
fed  at  the  expense  of  the  enemy  ;  but  here  this 
was  not  the  case.  The  six  camps  that  were  esta- 
blished on  the  coast  from  Holland  to  the  Pyrenees, 
were  to  be  supported  on  the  French  soil  up  to  the 
day  when  the  soldiery  should  embark  to  pass  the 
straits.  It  was  necessary  to  provide,  besides,  for 
the  new  expenses  of  the  naval  constructions,  and 
to  place  along  the  coast  an  enormous  mass  of 
artillery.  A  hundred  millions  more  per  annum 
were  scarcely  sufficient  to  meet  the  necessities  of 
the  war  with  England.  The  following  are  re- 
sources which  the  first  consul  intended  to  serve 
for  the  purpose  of  meeting  this  increase. 

There  have  been  already  mentioned  some  sums 
as  received  from  foreign  countries,  and  cai-ried  to 
the  budget  of  the  year  xi.,  in  order  to  cover  a 
part  of  the  sum  of  89,000,000  f.,  at  least,  which 
89,000,000  f.  was  the  same  sum  the  budget  of  the 
year  xi.  surpassed  that  of  the  year  x.     These  re- 


Holland  and  Spain 
allied  with  France 
in  the  war. 


THE  CAMP  OF  BOULOGNE. 


Napok-un  demands  a 
subsidy  of  Spain. 


477 


ceipts  were  from  Italy.  The  Italian  republic  not 
having  yet  formed  an  army,  and  not,  therefore, 
being  able  to  do  witliout  the  French  in  their  coun- 
try, still  paid  1,600,000  f.  per  month,  or  19.200,000f. 
per  annum  for  the  French  ai-niy.  Liguria,  in  the 
same  position,  paid  1,200,000  f.  per  annum;  Parma, 
2,000,000  f.  This  was  a  resource  of  22,500,000  f., 
already  carried,  as  before  stated,  to  the  biuluet  of 
the  year  xi.  It  remained,  thei-efore,  to  find  tiie 
entire  sum  of  100,000,000  f.,  which  would  infallibly 
be  added  to  the  589,000,000  f.  of  the  budget  of  the 
year  xi.' 

Tiie  voluntary  gifts,  the  price  of  Louisiana,  and 
the  subsidies  of  the  allied  states,  these  were  the 
means  upon  which  the  first  consul  calculated  for  the 
foregoing  purpose.  Tiie  voluntary  gifts  of  the  cities 
and  departments  amounted  to  about  40,000,000  f., 
of  which  15,000,000  f.  were  receivable  in  the  year 
XI.,  15.000,000  f.  in  the  year  xii.,  and  the  remain- 
der in  the  vears  following.  The  ])rice  of  Louisiana, 
alienated  for  80.000,000  f.,  of  which  60,000,000  f. 
were  lodged  in  H(ill;ind,to  the  credit  of  the  French 
treasury,  and  54,000,000  f.  might  be  immediately 
made  available,  the  expense  of  the  negotiation 
deducted,  presented  a  second  resource.  The  Ame- 
ricans had  not  yet  accepted  the  agreement  in  a 
legal  form,  but  the  house  of  Hope  already  offered 
to  anticipate,  by  an  advance,  a  part  of  the  sum. 
In  distributing  between  two  years  this  resource  of 
54,000,000  f.,  there  were  27,000,000  f.  added  to  the 
15,000,000  f.,  accruing  from  voluntary  gifts,  which 
would  carry  up  to  42,000,000  f.,  or  nearly  the 
annual  supplemental  expenses  for  the  use  of  the 
years  xi.  and  xii.,  or  from  September,  1802,  to 
September,  1804.  Finally,  Holland  and  Spain 
were  to  furnish  the  surjilus  to  be  made  up.  Hol- 
land, delivered  from  the  stadtholderate  by  the 
French  army,  defended  against  England  by  the 
French  di|)lomacy,  that  had  secured  the  restoration 
of  the  greater  part  of  its  colonies,  would  have  now 
been  willingly  freed  from  an  alliance  which  involved 
it  anew  in  war.  Holland  wished  to  remain  neutral 
between  France  and  Great  Britain,  and  to  make  a 
jirofit  of  a  neutrality,  liappily  situated  as  she  was 
between  the  two  countries.  But  the  first  consul 
liad  tiikcn  a  resolution  of  which  the  justice  cannot 
be  denied  :  this  wiis,  to  make  all  the  maritime 
nations  concur  in  the  contest  of  France  against 
England.  Holland  and  Spain,  lie  said,  were  lost  if 
the  French  hhouM  be  vamiuished.  All  their  colo- 
nies ill  India  and  in  America  would  be  taken, 
de»troyeil,((r  piislied  into  revolt  by  England.  With- 
out doubt  these  two  ])Owers  vvould  have  found  it 
exceedingly  commodious  to  have  taken  no  i)art,  to 
have  aided  in  tlie  defeat  of  the  French,  had  they 
been  beaten,  or  to  have  profited  by  their  victories, 
if  they  came  off  victorious,  because  if  the  enemy 
were  beaten,  it  would  be  as  much  to  their  advan- 
tage as  lo  that  of  France.  But  they  knew  it  could 
not  be  so  ;  they  combated  with  France,  and  like 
her  on  an  equality.  Justice  sanctioned  it,  and  also 
tiieir  own  interests,  because  their  resources  were 
indispensable  to  the  success  of  France.      It  was  at 

'  Tlilu  sum  appears  very  small,  Judging  after  the  amount 
of  the  modern  budgcls  of  Fraiicf  ;  but  it  is  nece»i-ary  al- 
ways to  rcft-r  to  the  value  of  thlnus  at  the  time,  and  to  say 
lh.it  100,000,000  f.  then  would  answer,  perhaps,  to  200  or 
250,000,000  f.  at  the  present  day,  when  It  is  applied  to  niilitar>- 
expenses. 


the  most  a  question  whether  uniting  their  means  to 
all  the  rest,  the  French  might  be  able  to  conquer 
the  rulers  of  the  seas.  Isolated,  and  each  reduced 
to  its  own  strength,  that  of  the  French  would  be  in- 
sufficient for  the  contest,  and  be  beaten.  The  first 
consul,  therefore,  came  to  the  conclusion,  that 
Holland  and  Spain  must  render  their  aid  ;  and  it 
may  be  said,  with  perfect  truth,  that  when  he 
forced  them  to  concur  in  his  designs,  he  only 
obliged  them  to  look  forward  in  contributing  to 
their  own  interests.  However  this  may  be,  in 
order  to  make  the  language  of  reason  compre- 
hended, he  had  the  argument  of  force  as  respected 
Holland,  because  the  French  troops  occupied 
Flushing  and  Utrecht,  and  in  regard  to  Spain,  he 
had  the  ti-eaty  of  alliance  of  St.  Ildtfonzo. 

In  other  respects,  at  Amsterdam,  all  the  en- 
lightened and  really  patriotic  minds,  M.  Schimmel- 
penninck  at  their  head,  thought  as  the  first  consul 
did.  There  was,  therefore,  no  trouble  in  getting 
their  consent,  and  it  was  agreed  that  Holland 
should  give  her  assistance  in  the  following  manner. 
She  was  to  engage  to  feed  and  pay  a  corps  of 
eighteen  thousand  French  and  of  sixteen  thousand 
Dutch  soldiers,  in  all  thirty-four  thousand  men. 
To  this  land  force  she  promised  to  join  a  naval 
squadron,  composed  of  ships  of  the  line,  and  a 
flotilla  of  flat-bottomed  boats.  The  ships  of  the 
line  were  to  consist  of  five  vessels,  also  five  frigates 
in  addition, and  vessels  necessary  to  transport  twenty- 
five  thousand  men  and  two  thousand  five  hundred 
horses  from  the  Texel  to  the  coast  of  England.  The 
flotilla  was  to  consist  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  flat- 
bottomed  boats  of  all  dimensions,  adiijited  to  trans- 
port thirty-seven  thousand  men  and  fifteen  hundred 
horses,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Schelde  to  that  of 
the  Thames'.  In  return,  France  guaranteed  to 
Holland  her  independence,  the  independence  of 
her  empire,  European  and  colonial,  and  in  case 
of  success  against  England,  the  restitution  of  her 
colonies  lost  during  the  later  wars.  The  aid  ob- 
tained by  means  of  this  aiTangement  was  consi- 
derable, both  in  regard  to  men  and  money,  because 
eighteen  thousand  men  ceased  at  once  to  burden 
the  French  treasui-y  ;  sixteen  thousand  Dutchmen 
were  added  to  the  military  force  of  France,  and 
finally,  the  means  of  transport  for  sixty-two  thou- 
sand men  and  four  tiiousand  horses  were  added  to 
the  naval  resources  of  the  expedition.  It  will  be 
difficult  to  say  for  what  sum  such  an  aid  might 
figure  in  the  extraordinary  budget  of  the  first  consul. 

It  remained  to  obtain  the  coneui-reiice  of  Spain. 
This  power  was  still  less  disposed  to  devote  itself 
to  the  common  cause  than  even  Holland.  It 
has  been  already  seen,  under  the  capricious  influ- 
ence of  the  prince  of  the  peace,  that  she  wavered 
about  miserably  in  directions  the  most  contrary, 
now  drawing  towards  France,  in  order  to  obtain  an 
establishment  in  Italy,  now  towards  England,  to 
free  herself  from  the  efforts  imposed  upon  In  r  by  a 
courageous  and  indefatigable  ally,  and  by  these 
fluctuations  losing  the  i>recious  island  of  Trinidad. 

I  This  pressure  upon  so  small  a  territory  as  Holland,  was 
greatly  out  of  proportion  to  her  means  and  population  as 
compared  with  France,  bciUK  bound  to  find  means  for  trans- 
porting nearly  half  the  numerical  force  of  the  expedition. 
This  aiul  other  burdens  laid  upon  her  by  France  were  com- 
plained of  Hs  almost  insupportable  under  the  circumstances 
of  the  time.— 2rfafi»/a/or. 


._„      Napoleon  flemands  : 
4/0  subsidy  of  Spain. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Resources  of  France 
recapitulated. 


isns. 

June. 


As  a  friend  or  enemy  equally  powerless,  it  was 
not  possible  to  know  wiiat  to  ninke  of  her,  eitiier  in 
peace  or  war:  not  that  this  noble  nation,  full  of 
])ati-iotism,  not  that  the  magnificent  soil  of  the 
peniiisula,  containing  the  jjorts  of  Feri-ol,  Cadiz, 
and  Cartliagena,  was  to  be  contemned,  this  would 
be  a  great  niisiake  to  supi)Ose.  But  an  unworthy 
government  betrayed,  by  its  dejilorable  incnpacity, 
the  cause  of  Spain  and  that  of  all  the  mariunie 
nations.  Therefore,  having  well  reflected  upon 
the  matter,  the  first  consul  thought  only  nf  drawing 
from  the  treaty  of  itUiance  of  St.  Ildefonzo,  nothing 
more  than  a  grant  of  subsidies.  Tliis  treaty, 
signed  in  1706,  under  the  first  administration  of 
tlie  prince  nf  the  peace,  bound  Spain  to  furnish  to 
France  twenty-four  thousand  men,  fifteen  sail  of 
the  line,  six  frigates,  and  four  corvettes.  The  first 
consul  determined  not  to  demand  these  succours. 
He  said,  with  reason,  that  to  draw  Spain  into  the 
war  was  not  to  render  any  service  to  Siuiin  nor 
himself ;  that  she  would  make  no  very  brilli;int 
figure  in  the  contest ;  that  she  would  find  herself 
immediately  deprived  of  her  only  resource  in  the 
dollars  of  Mexico,  of  which  the  arrival  would  be 
interrupted  ;  that  slie  was  unable  to  equi[)  either 
an  army  or  a  fleet  ;  th;it  she  could  consequently 
be  of  no  service,  wliile  she  would  only  furnish  the 
English  with  a  pretext,  a  long  while  sought  for,  to 
raise  an  insurrectiim  in  the  whole  of  South  Ame- 
rica ;  that  if,  in  truth,  the  participation  of  Spain  in 
hostilities,  ch;inged  into  shores  inimical  to  the 
English  vessels  all  the  coasts  of  the  peninsula, 
none  of  its  ports  could  have  a  usefid  influt^nce  in 
the  contest,  like  those  of  Holland,  in  co-operation 
for  a  descent  upon  Great  Britain  ;  that  from  this, 
the  interest  which  she  could  have  in  such  a  dispo- 
sitioii  of  attairs  could  not  be  great  ;  that  under  the 
commercial  aspect  of  tiie  question,  the  Biitish  flag 
was  already  excluded  from  Spain  by  her  tarifts, 
and  that  the  produce  of  France  continued  to  find 
there  in  peace  its  in  war  a  decided  ju'eference. 
Under  these  united  considerations,  the  first  consul 
spoke  secretly  to  M.  Azara,  the  amhiissador  of 
Charles  IV.  at  Paris,  and  said  that  if  his  court 
was  repiigmint  to  the  war,  he  would  consent  to  its 
remaining  neuter,  ui)on  the  conditions  of  its  paying 
to  France  a  subsidy  of  6,000,000  f.  per  month,  or 
72,000,000  f '  per  annum,  and  the  signature  of  a 
treaty  of  commerce,  which  should  open  to  the 
French  manufacturers  a  larger  outlet  for  their 
goods  than  they  at  present  enjoyed. 

This  offer,  so  very  moder:ite,  did  not  encounter 
at  Madrid  the  reception  which  it  merited.  The 
l)rince  of  the  peace  was  then  in  intimate  relation 
with  England,  and  openly  lietrayed  the  alliance. 
It  was  from  this  motive  that  the  fir.st  consul,  sus- 
pecting the  treason,  had  ph^ced  at  Bayonne  itself 
one  of  six  camps  destined  to  operate  against  Eng- 
land. He  was  resolved  to  declare  war  against 
Spain,  sooner  than  to  permit  her  to  abandon  the 
common  cause.  He  ordered  general  Beurnonville, 
his  embassador,  to  explain  himself  in  this  respect 
in  the  most  peremptory  manner.  The  English,  in 
usurping  nn  absolute  authority  over  the  ocean, 
obliged  him  to  exercise  a  similar  authority  upon 
the  continent,  for  the  defence  of  the  general  in- 
terests of  the  world. 

'  About  £3,000,000  sterling  per  annum. 


To  the  .aid  of  the  allied  states  it  was  necessary 
to  join  that  which  might  be  obtained  from  the 
states  inimical  to  France,  or  at  least  ill  disposed 
towards  her.  Hanover  would  suffice  for  the  sup- 
port of  thirty  thousand  men.  The  division  formed' 
at  Faenza,  and  on  its  inarch  to  the  gulf  of  Taren- 
tum,  was  to  be  su))ported  at  the  expense  of  the 
Court  of  Naples.  Well  informed  by  his  ambassador, 
the  first  consul  knew  very  correctly  that  queen 
Caroline,  governed  by  her  minister  Acton,  was 
wholly  in  an  understanding  with  England,  and  that 
a  long  time  would  not  pass  before  he  should  be. 
obliged  to  expel  the  Bourbons  from  the  territory 
of  Italy.  He  therefore  did  not  refrain  from  ex- 
pressing his  determination  freely  to  the  queen  of 
Naples.  "  I  will  not  suffer,"  he  said,  "  the  English 
to  be  in  Italy  any  more  than  in  Sjjain  and  Por- 
tugal. On  the  first  act  of  concert  with  England,  a 
war  shall  do  me  justice  for  your  animosity  :  1  am 
able  to  do  you  much  good  and  a  great  deal  of 
mischief.  It  is  for  you  to  choose.  I  do  not  want 
to  take  your  territory  from  you ;  it  is  sufficient  for 
my  designs  if  it  serve  them  against  England  ;  but 
I  shall  certainly  take  ()ossession  of  them  if  they 
are  employed  so  as  to  be  useful  to  my  enemy." 
The  first  consul  spoke  with  sincerity,  because  he 
was  not  yet  made  the  chief  of  a  dyna-sty,  and  did 
not  think  about  conquerit)g  kingdoms  for  his 
brothers.  He  demanded,  in  consequence,  that  a 
division  of  fiftei'n  thousand  men,  established  at 
Tarentum,  should  be  sup])orted  by  the  Neapolitan 
treasury.  He  considered  this  charge  as  a  contri- 
bution imposed  upon  his  enemies,  as  well  as  that 
which  was  also  about  to  pi'ess  upon  the  kingdom 
of  Hanover. 

In  recapitulating  what  has  gone  before,  it  will  be 
found,  therefore,  that  the  resources  of  the  first 
consul  were  the  following  :  Naples,  Holland,  and 
Hanover,  were  to  support  about  sixty  thousand  men. 
The  Italian  republic,  Parma,  Liguria,  and  Spain, 
were  charged  with  the  payment  of  a  regular  sub- 
sidy. America  proposed  to  pay  him  the  price  of 
Louisiana.  The  patriotism  of  the  departments 
and  of  the  great  towns  furnished  him  with  supple- 
mental taxes  which  were  altogether  of  a  voluntary 
character.  Lastly,  the  public  revenue  promised 
an  augmentation  of  the  produce  of  the  taxes,  even 
during  the  war,  thanks  to  the  confidence  inspired 
by  a  vigorous  government  having  the  repute  of 
being  invincible.  It  was  with  all  these  means  that 
till'  first  consul  flattered  himself  to  add  to  the 
589,000,0001'.  of  the  budget  of  the  year  xi.  the 
extraordinary  resource  of  100,000,000  f.  per  an- 
num for  two,  three,  or  four  years.  He  had,  too, 
for  the  future,  the  indirect  taxes.  He  was  thus 
secure  of  the  ability  to  support  an  army  of  one 
hunilred  and  fifty  thou.'<and  men  ui)on  the  coasts ; 
another  army  of  eighty  thousand  upon  the  Rhine  ; 
the  necessary  troops  for  the  occupation  of  Italy, 
Holland,  and  Hanover  ;  fifty  vessels  of  the  line;  and 
a  floiilia  of  transports  of  unknown  extent,  without 
example  until  the  present  time,  by  which  he  con- 
tcmi)lated  the  embarkation  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  soldiers,  ten  thousand  horse,  and 
four  hundred  pieces  of  cannon. 

The  world  was  agitated  and  afl'righted,  it  may 
he  truly  said,  at  the  preparations  for  this  gigantic 
conquest  between  the  two  most  powerful  nations 
on  tiie  globe.     It  was  difficult  to  suppose  the  con- 


Anecdotes  of  Count  Cobentzel      THE  CAMP  OF  BOULOGNE. 


and  of  Francis  II. 


47!) 


sequences  tli:it  woulil  be  tlie  result;  would  llie  war 
remain  solely  between  France  and  England,  while 
the  neutrals  were  compelled  to  sustain  the  vexations 
inflicted  upon  them  by  the  British  naval  forces, 
and  would  tiiey  refrain  from  lending  themselves  to 
the  desifjns  of  the  fii-st  consul,  eiilier  in  shutting 
tlieir  ports  or  in  suffering  incommodious  and  ex- 
pensive occupations  of  their  territories?  In  reality, 
all  the  powers  gave  the  wrong  to  England  in  pro- 
voking the  rupture.  The  claim  to  retain  Malta 
liad  appeared  to  all,  even  to  those  least  given  to 
judge  in  favour  of  France,  as  a  manifest  vi(ilation 
of  the  faith  of  treaties  that  nothing  had  justitiLd 
which  had  occurred  in  Eurojie  since  the  peace  of 
Amiens.  Prussia  and  Austria  had  sanctioned  by 
formal  conventions  all  that  ha<l  been  done  iu  Italy 
and  Germany,  and  approved  by  notes  all  that  had 
taken  place  respecting  Switzerland,  Russia  had 
little  less  decidedly  expressed  lier  approbation  of 
the  conduct  of  France,  except,  indeed,  in  certain 
renvmstrances,  in  fonn  of  an  appeal,  made  in  behalf 
of  the  iiidemni'y  to  the  king  of  Sardinia,  which 
had  been  too  long  deferred  ;  she  had,  indeed,  ap- 
proved of  nearly  all  France  had  done.  She  had 
j)articulaily  remarked  u])on  the  intervention  of 
Fnince  in'regard  to  Switzerland  as  having  been 
ably  conducted  and  eiiniuibly  terminated.  None 
of  the  three  powers  of  the  continent  were  able  to 
discover,  in  the  events  of  the  last  two  years,  any 
justification  for  the  usurpation  and  appropriation 
of  MalUi,  and  they  explained  themselves  freely 
upon  the  subject.  Still,  in  spite  of  this  manner  of 
delivering  iluir  opinion,  it  was  plainly  to  be  seen 
that  they  leaned  more  towards  England  than 
France. 

Although  the  first  consul  had  taken  every  caro 
in  his  power  to  suppress  anarchy,  the  oilier  powers 
were  unable  to  hinder  themselves  from  contem- 
plating in  him  the  image  of  the  French  revolution 
triumphant,  and  much  more  glorious,  than  it  was 
agreeable  to  their  feelings  to  behold  it,  in  its 
cllects.  Two  among  them,  Prussia  and  Austria, 
had  too  little  of  maritime  interest  to  be  much 
touclied  witii  any  great  anxiety  aliout  the  liberty 
of  the  Bcas.  The  third,  that  is  to  say.  Russia,  had 
an  interest  in  this  liberty  too  distant  for  it  to  pre- 
occupy iier  attention  very  strongly  at  this  time. 
All  three  were  vuiy  diHerently  affected  by  the  pre- 
pon<lerance  of  the  French  on  the  continent  than 
by  the  preponderance  of  Englainl  upon  the  ocean. 
The  niuriiime  law  which  England  desired  to  esta- 
blish seemed  to  them  an  attack  n|Min  the  justice 
and  the  interest  of  connnerce  in  gener.il  ;  but  the 
domination  that  France  alreaily  exercised,  and  was 
about  to  exercise  still  more  in  Europe,  was  an 
immediate  and  pressing  danger  which  troubled 
them  deeply,  hm  coming  niorfc  home  to  themselves. 
Thus  they  were  not  pleased  with  Englaml  for 
having  provokeil  this  new  war,  and  they  Siiid  as 
nmch  alou<l  ;  but  they  returned  to  their  ill  dis- 
position towards  France,  which  tiie  wisdom  and 
glory  of  the  first  consul  had  suspended  for  an 
instant,  by  a  sort  of  Hurprise  that  liis  genius  had 
imparled  to  their  aver«i.iii. 

Several  words  escaped  from  llio  great  jx-rsonages 
of  the  day  which  proved,  better  ih.in  all  which  can 
be  Slid  upon  the  subject,  the  senlimentH  of  the 
European  powers  in  regard  to  France.  M.  Philip 
Cobeuti^cl,  ambassador  ut  I'aris,  said  cousiu  of  M. 


Louis  Cobentzel,  minister  for  foreign  affairs  at 
Vienna,  was  in  conversation  at  fcible  with  admiral 
Deeres,  who,  by  the  liveliness  and  vivacity  of 
mind,  jirovoked  vivacity  in  the  minds  of  other 
I'crsons,  when  M.  Cobentzel  was  not  aide  to  prevent 
liiniself  from  saying,  "  Yes,  England  is  all  in  the 
wrong  ;  she  i)nts  forth  pretensions  which  cannot  be 
sustained,  that  is  true.  But,  in  frankness,  you 
have  made  all  the  world  fear  you  too  much  to 
think  now  of  being  afraid  of  England  '." 

The  emperor  of  Germany,  Francis  II.,  who  ter- 
minated of  kite  years  a  long  and  good  life,  and  who 
hid  great  penetration  imder  the  aiipearance  of  .sim- 
plicity, one  day  S|)eaking  to  the  French  ambassador, 
M.  de  Chanjpagny,  resjjecting  the  new  war,  and 
expressing  his  mortification  with  evident  sincerity, 
affirmed  that  he  was,  as  far  as  regarded  himself, 
resolute  to  remain  in  peaee,  but  that  he  was  seized 
with  an  invohnitary  uneasiness  of  which  he  .scarcely 
dared  to  explain  the  motive.  M.  de  Champagny 
encouraging  the  emperor's  confidence,  he  said, 
after  a  thousand  excu  es  and  a  thousand  protes- 
tations of  esteem  for  the  first  consul,  "  If  general 
Bonaparte,  who  has  accomplished  .so  UKiny  miracles, 
should  not  accomplish  that  which  he  is  now  pre- 
paring ;  if  he  should  not  |)ass  the  straits,  it  is  we 
who  will  be  the  victims,  because  he  will  throw 
himself  back  upon  us,  and  combat  England  iu 
Germany." 

The  emperor  Francis,  who  was  timid,  seemed  to 
regret  advancing  so  far,  and  endeavoured  to  recall 
his  words  ;  but  there  was  not  time  to  do  so.  M. 
de  Champagny  forwarded  them  to  Paris  imme- 
diately by  tlie  first  courier  2.  This  remark  was 
u])on  the  part  of  the  empemr  a  proof  of  rare  fore- 
sight, which,  however,  was  of  very  little  service  to 
him,  because  it  was  he  himself  who  came  forward 
at  a  later  period  to  give  Napoleon  the  opportunity 
to  combat,  to  use  h;s  own  words,  "England  iu 
Germany." 

Furthermore,  of  all  the  great  powers,  Austria 
was  that  which  had  least  to  dread  the  consequences 
of  the  present  war,  if  she  had  known  how  to  resist 
the  suggestions  of  the  court  of  Lonilon.  She  had 
not,  in  fact,  any  maritime  interest  to  defend,,  be- 
cause she  neither  possessed  commerce,  ports,  nor 
colonies.  The  sandy  port  of  old  Venice,  which  had 
been  just  given  to  her,  could  not  have  created  for 
Austria  any  interest  of  this  character.  She  was 
not  situated  like  Prussia,  Si)ain,  or  Naples,  the 
sovereign  of  extensive  coasts,  that  France  desired 
to  occupy.  It  was  an  easy  matter  for  her  to  have 
rested  quiet  out  of  the  quarrel.  She  had  gained, 
on  the  contrary,  a  full  liberty  of  action  in  the 
afiairs  of  Germany.  France,  obliged  to  turn  her 
front  to  England,  was  now  unable  to  press  with  all 
her  weight  upon  Germany.  Austria,  on  the  con- 
trary, WSI8  enabled  to  have  her  full  play  in  regard 
to  the  questions  still  remaining  unsettled.  She 
wished,  as  has  been  seen  before,  to  change  the 
number  of  voices  in  the  college  of  princes,  to  appro- 
priate to  herself  in  a  fraudulent  manner  all  the 
moveable  wealth  of  the  secularized  estiites,  to  pre- 
vent the  incorporation  of  the  "  innncdiato  "  nobi- 


'  I  read  thin  .nnecdolc  in  a  n'<fo  written  in  'ho  liand  of  M. 
Decrts.  ;in<l  HildrcMied  ininiedlat'  ly  aflerwardK  to  Napoleon. 

*  It  need  scarcely  lie  remarked,  thin  recital  ii  ua  extract 
from  an  authentic  de«|iatcli  of  the  French  ambassador. 


Policy  of  Prussia. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Russia  offers  her 
mediation. 


lity,  to  seize  upon  the  Inn  from  Bavaria,  and  by 
all  these  means  united  regain  her  supei-iority  over 
the  empire.  The  advantage  of  resolving  all  these 
questions  as  she  desired  might  have  well  consoled 
her  for  the  renewal  of  the  war,  and  without  her 
extreme  prudence  have  served  to  inspire  her  with 
high  gratification. 

The  two  powers  of  the  continent  who  were  at 
this  moment  the  most  chagrined  were  Prussia  and 
Russia,  from  motives,  it  is  true,  very  different,  and 
not  in  the  same  degree.  The  most  affected  was 
Prussia.  It  is  easy  to  comprehend,  with  the 
known  character  of  her  monarch,  who  hated  war 
and  expense,  liow  much  the  prospect  of  a  new 
European  conflagration  must  have  been  painful  to 
him.  The  occupation  of  Hanover,  besides,  had  for 
his  kingdom  great  inconveniences.  In  order  to 
prevent  this  occupation,  he  had  attempted  an 
arrangement  which  would  have  been  able  to  ac- 
commodate both  France  and  England.  He  offered 
England  to  occupy  the  electorate  with  Prussian 
troops,  promising  that  it  should  be  no  more  than 
an  amicable  deposit,  upon  the  condition  that  the 
navigation  of  the  Elbe  and  Weser  should  be  allowed 
to  remain  open.  On  the  other  part,  he  offered 
the  first  consul  to  keep  Hanover  on  account  of 
France,  and  to  pay  over  into  the  French  territory 
the  whole  revenue  of  the  country.  This  double 
zeal,  shown  towards  the  two  powers,  had  for  its  ob- 
ject, first  to  preserve  the  navigation  of  the  Elbe  .and 
Weser  free  from  the  blockade  by  England;  secondly, 
to  spare  the  north  of  Germany  the  presence  of  the 
French  troops.  These  two  interests  were  for 
Prussia  most  important.  It  was  by  the  Elbe  and 
Hamburgh,  and  by  tl»e  Weser  and  Bremen,  that 
he  exported  all  the  produce  of  his  dominions.  The 
cloths  of  Silesia,  which  composed  the  largest  part 
of  the  exports,  were  bought  by  Hamburgh  and 
Bremen,  and  exchanged  in  France  for  wines,  and 
in  America  for  colonial  produce.  If  the  English 
blockaded  the  Elbe  and  Weser,  all  this  trade  would 
be  stopped.  The  interest  in  keeping  the  French 
out  of  the  north  of  Germany  was  no  less  important. 
In  the  first  place  their  presence  disquieted  Prussia. 
Then  she  was  exposed  to  the  bitter  reproaches  of 
that  portion  of  the  German  princes  which  made 
her  patronage  their  support.  They  said,  that  allied 
to  France  for  ambitious  purposes,  she  abandoned 
the  defence  of  the  German  soil,  and  even  contri- 
buted by  her  easy  complaisance  to  attract  the 
invasion  of  the  foreigner.  Tiiey  went  so  far  as  to 
argue  that  she  was,  by  the  law  of  Germany, 
obliged  to  intervene  for  the  purpose  of  preventing 
the  French  from  occupying  Hanover.  These 
princes  were  most  assuredly  wrong,  according  to 
the  rigorous  principles  of  national  law,  because  the 
German  states,  altliough  bound  to  each  other  by  a 
federal  alliance,  had  the  individual  right  of  peace 
and  of  war,  and  were  able  to  be,  each  upon  his 
own  account,  in  a  state  of  peace  or  war  with  any 
other  power,  the  confedei-ation  not  finding  itself  in 
the  same  circumstances  with  such  a  power.  It 
would  iiave  been,  in  fact,  strange  if  king  George  III. 
was  able  to  call  himself  at  war  for  England,  which 
is  inaccessible,  and  to  declare  himself  in  peace  for 
Hanover,  which  is  accessible.  Tiiis  manner  of 
understanding  the  state  of  public  law  would  be 
convenient,  and  the  first  consul,  when  they  wislied 
to  make  it  valid,  replied  by  an  apologue  equally 


true  and  ingenious.  "  They  had,"  said  he,  "among 
the  ancients  a  right  of  asylum  in  certain  temples. 
A  slave  sought  a  refuge  m  one  of  these  temples 
and  had  nearly  passed  the  threshold,  when  he  was 
seized  by  the  foot.  They  did  not  forget  the  law  so 
long  established — they  did  not  snatch  the  slave  from 
his  place  of  refuge,  but  they  cut  off  the  foot  that 
remained  outside  the  temple."  Prussia  negotiated 
then  before  deciding  definitively  herself  about  the 
occupation  of  Hanover,  when  it  was  announced  be- 
sides by  the  first  consul  as  near  and  certain. 

The  rupture  recently  broken  out  between  France 
and  England  was  a  disagreeable  surprise  to  the 
court  of  Russia,  in  consequence  of  the  cares  with 
which,  at  that  moment,  this  court  was  taken  up. 
The  young  emperor  had  adopted  a  new  step  in  the 
execution  of  his  projects,  and  delivered  to  liis 
young  friends  a  little  more  of  tlie  aftairs  of  the 
empire.  He  had  thanked  the  prince  Kourakin  for 
his  services,  and  had  called  to  the  head  of  his 
councils  a  considerable  personage  in  M.  Woron- 
zoft",  the  brother  of  count  Woronzoff,  who  was 
ambassador  of  Russia  in  London.  He  had  given 
to  M.  Woronzoft'  the  title  of  chancellor,  mini.ster 
of  foreign  affairs,  and  divided  the  government  of 
the  state  into  eight  departments  of  the  ministry. 
He  applied  himself  to  setting  at  the  head  of  these 
diffei-ent  departments,  men  of  well-known  merit, 
but  taking  care,  at  the  same  time,  to  place  near 
them  as  adjuncts,  his  friends  prince  Czartoryski, 
M.  Strogonoff,  and  NowosiltzofF.  Tlius  prince 
Adam  Czartoryski  was  attached  to  M.  Woronzoff,- 
as  adjunct  in  the  department  of  foreign  affairs, 
M.  Woronzoff,  on  account  of  his  health,  was  often. 
obliged  to  be  absent  on  his  estate,  and  prince 
Czartoryski  became  charged,  almost  alone,  with 
the  external  relations  of  the  empire.  M.  Strogo- 
noff was  the  adjunct  in  the  department  of  justice  ; 
M.  Nowosiltzoff,  in  that  of  the  interior.  These 
eight  ministers  were  to  deliberate  in  common  on 
the  affairs  of  the  state,  and  render  annual  accounts 
to  the  senate.  It  \yas  a  first  and  considerable 
change  to  make  the  ministers  meet  in  deliberation, 
and  a  still  greater  yet,  to  make  them  give  in  their 
accounts  to  the  senate.  The  emperor  Alexander 
considered  these  changes  as  approximations 
towards  the  institutions  of  free  and  civilized 
countries.  Entirely  occupied  with  internal  re- 
forms, he  was  painfully  affected  to  see  himself 
recalled  into  the  immense  and  perilous  field  of 
European  politics,  and  showed  a  sensible  dis- 
pleasure to  the  representatives  of  the  two  belli- 
gerent powers.  He  was  discontented  with  Eng- 
land, whose  unreasonable  pretensions  and  bad 
faith  in  relation  to  the  affair  of  Malta  troubled 
Europe  anew  ;  he  was  also  ill-contented  with 
France  from  other  motives.  France  had  made  a 
matter  of  no  great  moment  of  his  demand,  so  often 
reiterated,  of  an  indemnity  for  the  king  of  Pied- 
mont; and  more,  in  granting  an  apparent  influence 
to  Russia  in  the  aftairs  of  Germany,  she  had  too 
l>lainly  arrogated  to  herself  that  which  was  real. 
The  young  emperor  had  soon  seen  this.  Exceed- 
ingly jealous,  young  as  he  was,  he  began  to  mark 
with  a  sort  of  displeasure  the  glory  of  the  great 
man  who  governed  in  the  west.  The  disposition 
of  the  court  of  Russia,  therefore,  was  that  of 
general  discontent  with  all  the  world.  The  em- 
peror deliberating  with  his  ministers  and  friends. 


Russia  offers  her  meiSaiion 
bciwecii  France  and  Eng- 
land. 


THE  CAMP  OF  BOULOGNE. 


Napoleon  agrees  to  ac- 
cept the  arbitration 
of  Russia. 


decided  ujion  offering  tlie  mediation  of  Russia,  in- 
voked <)i)eiily  emmgli  as  it  litid  been  by  France, 
and  thus  u|)i.n  attempting  by  that  me;ins  to  pre- 
vent a  uuivei-sal  quarrel,  at  the  same  time  re- 
solving to  speak  the  trutli  to  all  ;  neither  to  dis- 
simulate to  England,  how  mueh  her  pretensions 
to  Malta  fell  short  of  being  legitimate,  nor  of 
making  tlie  first  consul  feel  the  necessity  of  ac- 
quitting himself  justly  towards  the  king  of  Pied- 
mont, and  of  managing  kindly,  during  this  new 
war,  the  smaller  powers,  that  composed  dependants 
or  solicitors  of  the  court  of  Russia. 

In  consequence,  through  the  medium  of  M. 
Woronzoff,  conferring  with  general  Hedouville, 
and  through  M.  Markoff  to  M.  Talleyrand,  the 
Russian  cabinet  expressed  its  lively  displeasure  at 
the  new  troubles  brought  to  the  general  peace  by 
the  ambitious  rivalry  of  France  and  England.  He 
acknowledged  that  the  pretensions  of  England  to 
Malta  were  ill-grounded;  but  he  made  it  be  under- 
stood that  the  continual  enterprises  of  France  had 
given  birth  t()  these  pretensions  without  justifying 
them  ;  and  he  added,  that  France  would  do  well 
to  moderate  her  actions  in  Europe,  if  she  did  not 
wish  to  render  peace  impossible  with  all  the 
powers.  He  offered  the  mediation  of  Russia,  how- 
ever painful  it  was  for  her  to  intermeddle  in 
differences,  that,  being  strange  to  him  so  far, 
would  perhaps  end,  if  he  meddled  with  them,  in 
becoming  personal  with  himself.  He  excluded 
by  saying,  that  if,  in  spite  of  his  good  will,  his 
efforts  to  establish  peace  should  be  without  succes.s, 
he,  the  emperor,  hoped  that  France  would  be 
rea.sonable  in  her  proceedings  with  the  friends  of 
Russia,  especially  with  the  kingdom  of  Naples, 
which  became  her  ally  in  1798,  and  the  kingdom  of 
Hanover,  guaranteed  by  Russia  the  title  of  a 
German  state.  Such  was  the  sense  of  the  com- 
munications of  the  Russian  cabinet. 

The  youth  brought  up  in  dissipation  is  ordinarily 
full  of  levity  in  his  conversation;  the  youth  bred 
up  seriously  becomes  too  readily  dogmatic,  because 
discretion  is  the  most  diflicult  thing  to  youth.  It 
is  this  which  fully  explains  how  the  young  go- 
vernors of  Russia  gave  lessons  to  the  two  most 
powerful  governments  u|)on  the  globe,  one  led  by 
a  gicat  man,  the  other  by  great  institutions.  The 
first  Consul  smiled,  since  he  had  divined,  for  a 
good  wiiile,  all  the  ine.xperience  and  pretensions 
which  the  cabinet  of  Russia  contained.  But 
knowing  how  to  govern  for  the  advantage  of  his 
own  viist  drsigns,  he  would  not  render  complicated 
the  afl'airs  of  the  continent,  nor  raise  uj)  on  the 
Rhin  r  a  war  which  should  attract  him  from  the 
war  for  which  he  was  preparing  upon  the  borders 
of  the  channel.  Receiving,  without  appearing  to 
uiid'i-stand,  the  lessons  which  he  received  from 
St.  Pttfr.->liurg,  he  wan  resolved  to  cut  short  all 
the  ri'iiroaclies  of  the  young  c/.ar,  and  to  constitute 
him  tin;  ah.solute  arbitrator  of  the  great  (|uarrel 
that  then  occupicfl  the  world.  lie  therefore 
off.-red,  by  M.  do  Talleyrand  and  general  Hedi.u- 
ville,  to  the  Russian  cabinet,  to  bind  himself  by 
a  promise,  in  virtue  of  which  he  would  engage 
liiuisilf  to  submit,  wliat(!ver  the  r«  suit  was,  to  the 
decision  of  the  emperor  Alexander,  trusting  en- 
tirely in  his  sense  of  justice.  This  propusition  WitH 
as  wise  as  it  was  dexterous.  If  E  igland  refuseil, 
she  avowed  that  she  mistrusted  either  her  cause 


or  the  emperor  Alexander  ;  she  would  thus  place 
herself  in  the  wrong;  she  would  justify  the  first 
consul  in  making  war  to  the  last  extremity.  The 
closing  of  all  the  ports  under  the  influence  of 
France,  and  the  occupation  of  all  the  territory 
ap])ertaining  to  England,  became  thus  a  legitimate 
consequence  of  the  war.  Still,  as  regarded  the 
kingdoms  of  Na])les  and  of  Hanover,  the  first  consul, 
taking  the  decided  tone  which  suited  his  objects, 
declared  that  he  would  do  all  the  war  that  had 
been  begun  required,  that  war  which  he  had  not 
commenced. 

After  having  adopted  the  altitude  which  to  his 
own  mind  appeared  the  best  at  the  moment  as  re- 
garded the  continental  powers,  the  first  consul 
proceeded  immediately  to  attend  to  the  occupations 
already  prepared  and  announced.  General  St.  Cyr 
was  at  Faenza  in  the  Romagna,  with  a  division  of 
fifteen  thousand  men,  and  a  considerable  artillery 
materiel,  such  as  he  required  for  the  defence  of  the 
road  of  Tarentum.  He  received  the  command, 
which  he  immediately  carried  into  execution,  to 
traverse  the  Roman  states  in  good  order,  and  to 
reach  the  extremities  of  Italy,  jiayingfor  all  on  the 
road,  not  to  incommode  the  holy  father.  After  the 
conclusion  of  a  convention  with  the  court  of  Naples, 
the  French  troops  were  to  be  supported  at  the 
expense  of  the  Neapolitan  government.  General 
St.  Cyr,  judged,  as  he  merited  to  be,  by  the  first 
consul,  that  is  to  say,  as  one  of  the  first  generals  of 
his  time,  principally  when  he  operated  alone,  had 
an  embarrassing  position,  in  the  midst  of  an 
enemy's  kingd(jm  ;  but  he  was  capable  of  making  a 
front  to  all  his  difficulties.  His  instructions,  be- 
sides, left  him  an  inmiense  latitude  of  action.  It 
was  prescribed  to  him,  on  the  first  sign  of  an 
insurrection  in  the  Calabrias,  to  quit  those  pro- 
vinces and  inarch  at  once  upon  the  Ciipital  of  the 
kingdom.  Having  already  conquered  Naples 
once,  he  knew  better  than  any  other  person  how  it 
must  be  taken  again. 

The  first  consul  ordered  Ancona  to  be  occupied 
besides,  after  having  given  the  ixipe  all  the 
Siitisfaction  which  might  tend  to  ameliorate  so  dis- 
agreeable an  act.  The  French  garrison  was  to 
pay  rigidly  for  every  thing  which  it  consumed,  in 
nothing  to  trouble  the  civil  government  of  the  holy 
see,  even  to  aid  against  the  disturber  of  the 
peace,  if  there  should  be  any  such. 

Orders  had  in  the  meanwhile  been  sent  for  the 
invasion  of  Hanover.  The  negotiations  of  Prussia 
had  remained  unsuccessful.  England  declared  that 
she  would  blockade  the  Elbe  and  Wescr  if  the 
states  of  the  house  of  Hanover  were  touched, 
whuthor  the  troops  employed  were  French  or 
Prussians.  This  was  assuredly  the  most  unjust 
of  pretensions.  That  she  should  hinder  the  French 
flag  from  circulating  in  the  Elbe  and  Weser  was 
perfectly  legitimate  ;  but  that  she  should  stop  the 
trade  of  Brenten  and  of  Hamburg,  because  the 
French  hud  invaded  the  territory  in  the  midst  of 
which  these  towns  found  themselves  enclosed,  that 
she  should  exact  that  the  entire  of  Germany 
should  bravo  the  war  with  France  for  the  interests 
of  the  house  of  Hanover,  and  that  she  should 
punish  a  forced  inaction  in  deslroyiog  their  com- 
merce, was  the  most  iui(|uitous  conduct.  Prussia 
was  reduced  to  complain  bitterly  of  the  injustice 
of  such  a  proceeding,  and  in  the  end  to  suffer  the 
I   I 


482 


General  Mortier  invades 
Hanover. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Surrender  of  the  Hano- 
verian army. 


British  flag  at  the  mouths  of  tlie  two  Gerrnnn 
rivers,  as  well  as  the  presence  of  the  Frendi  in 
the  heart  of  Hani)ver.  She  had  no  more  the  same 
interest  in  cliarging  herself  witli  the  occupation, 
since  her  trade  would  be,  in  any  case,  met  by  an 
interdiction.  The  first  consul  expressed  liis  regret 
to  Prussa,  promised  her  not  to  pass  tlie  limit 
of  Hanover,  but  excused  himself  for  the  invasion 
by  the  necessities  of  war,  and  tlie  immense  advan- 
tage that  it  gave  him  in  enabling  liim  to  close 
against  the  English  tlie  two  greatest  commercial 
highways  of  the  continent. 

General  Mortier  had  orders  to  march  on.  He 
passed  forwai'd  with  twenty-five  thousand  men 
to  the  northern  extremity  of  Holland,  on  tlie 
frontier  of  the  low  bishopric  of  Munster,  belonging, 
since  the  secularizations,  to  the  house  of  Aremberg. 
He  was  well  assured  of  the  consent  of  that  house, 
and  he  passed  from  thence  to  the  territory  of  tlie 
bishop  of  Osnabruck,  recently  joined  to  Hano- 
ver itself.  By  that  road  it  was  possible  to  dis- 
pense with  touching  upon  the  Prussian  territory,  a 
management  on  the  march  indispensalile  towards 
the  court  of  Prussia.  The  first  consul  had  recom- 
mended to  general  Mortier  to  be  Ciireful  to  act 
well  in  the  country  through  which  he  passed,  and, 
above  all  things,  to  show  himself  full  of  respect  for 
any  Prussian  authorities  which  he  might  encounter 
upon  the  frontiers  of  Hanover.  This  general,  dis- 
creet and  ujjright,  as  well  as  brave,  was  perfectly 
well  selected  for  such  a  difficult  mission.  He  set 
out  on  his  march  to  traverse  the  arid  sands  and 
marshy  heaths  of  Frisland  and  of  Lower  West- 
phalia ;  he  penetrated  by  Meppen  into  Hanovtr, 
and  arrived  in  June  on  the  shores  of  tlie  Hunte. 
The  Hano\eriaii  army  occui)ied  Diepholz.  After 
some  cavalry  skirmishes,  it  fell  back  behind  the 
Weser.  Although  composed  of  excellent  soldiers, 
it  knew  that  all  resistance  was  idle,  and  that  it 
would  only  be  to  draw  down  misfortunes  upon  the 
country  in  jjersisting  obstinately  to  resist.  It 
therefore  offered  to  capitulate  honourably,  to  which 
general  Mortier  willingly  consented.  It  was  agreed 
at  Suhlingen,  that  the  Hanoverian  army  should 
retire,  wiili  arms  and  baggage,  behind  the  Elbe; 
that  it  should  engage,  under  its  word  of  honour, 
not  to  serve  in  tlie  present  war,  unless  liy  means  of 
the  exchange  of  an  equal  number  of  French  pri- 
soners ;  that  the  government  of  the  country,  and 
the  colleciion  of  the  revenues,  should  thenceforth 
appertain  to  France  ;  res])ect  was  to  be  jiaid  to 
individuals,  to  private  property,  and  to  the  different 
forms  of  religious  worship. 

This  ctniveiiiion,  styled  that  of  Suhlingen,  was 
sent  to  the  first  consul  and  to  the  king  of  Enf^land, 
to  receive  tlieir  double  ratification.  The  first  con- 
sul gave  his  immediately,  not  being  willing  to  re- 
duce the  Hanoverian  army  to  despair,  by  imposing 
upon  it  harder  conditions.  When  the  convention 
was  presented  to  old  George  1 1 1,  he  was  seized 
with  a  violent  fit  of  anger,  and  went  so  far,  it  is 
said,  as  to  fling  it  in  the  face  of  the  minister  who 
presented  it  to  him.  This  old  king,  in  his  sombre 
reveries,  had  always  considered  Hanover  as  being 
one  day  to  become  the  last  asylum  of  his  family,  <if 
which  it  had  been  the  cradle.  The  invasion  of  Ids 
patrimonial  states  put  him  in  despair  ;  he  refused 
to  siiiii  the  convention  of  Suhlingen,  thus  exposing 
the  Hanoverian  soldiei's  to  the  cruel  alternative  of 


either  laying  down  their  arms,  or  of  being  slaugh- 
tered to  the  last  man.  His  cabinet  made  as  his  ex- 
cuse ujion  this  very  singular  determination,  that 
the  king  would  remain  a  stranger  to  all  which  iiad 
been  undertaken  against  his  states;  that  to  ratify 
this  convention  was  to  consent  to  the  occupation 
of  Hanover;  that  this  occupation  was  a  violation 
of  the  German  soil,  and  that  he  should  appeal  to 
the  diet  for  the  violence  done  to  his  sul)jects.  This 
was  the  strongest  sort  of  argument,  and  the  least 
sustainable  that  could  be  used  under  any  point  of 
view. 

When  this  news  reached  Hanover,  the  gallant 
army,  commanded  by  marshal  Walnioden,  was 
struck  with  consternation.  It  was  drawn  up  be- 
hind the  Elbe,  in  the  middle  of  the  territory  of 
Luneburg,  established  in  a  strong  position,  and  re- 
solute to  defend  its  honour.  On  tiie  other  side,  the 
French  army,  which  for  three  years  had  not  fired 
a  musket,  demanded  nothing  better  than  to  be  led 
to  a  brilliant  combat.  But  the  opinion  of  the  wisest 
prevailed.  General  Mortier,  who  joined  humanity 
to  valour,  did  all  that  was  in  his  power  to  soften 
the  fate  of  the  Hanoverians.  He  demanded  no 
more  than  that  they  should  surrender  prisoners  of 
war,  and  contented  himself  with  their  being  dis- 
b:!nded,  agreeing  that  they  should  leave  their  arms 
in  their  camp,  and  retire  to  their  homes,  pro- 
mising at  the  same  time  never  to  be  armed  or 
reunited  again.  'J  he  warlike  stores  contained  in 
the  kingdom  were  very  considerable,  and  were  all 
delivered  over  to  I  he  French.  The  revenue  of  the 
country  was  to  belong  to  them  as  well  as  the  per- 
sonal ])roperty  of  the  king  of  Hanover.  In  the 
number  of  these  were  found  the  fine  stallions  of 
the  Hanovei'ian  breed,  which  were  sent  to  France. 
The  cavalry  dismounted,  delivered  up  three  thou- 
sand five  hundred  superb  horses,  which  were  em- 
ployed in  remounting  that  of  the  French. 

General  Mortier  did  not  himself  interfere  in  the 
active  government  of  the  country  except  in  a  very 
indirect  mannei-  ;  he  left  the  greater  part  in  the 
hands  of  the  local  authorities.  Hanover,  if  it  were 
not  too  much  jn-essed,  could  perfectly  well  sup|)ort 
thirty  thousand  men.  This  was  the  amount  of 
force  which  it  had  been  intended  to  maintain  there, 
and  a  promise  had  been  made  to  the  king  of 
Prussia  that  the  number  should  not  be  exceeded. 
It  was  requested  of  this  monarch,  in  order  that  the 
French  might  avoid  the  long  circuit  by  Holland 
and  Lower  Westjilialia,  that  he  would  consent  to  a 
road,  with  establishments,  across  the  Prussian  ter- 
ritoi'y,  for  the  entertainment  of  the  troops  going 
to  or  i-eturning  from  Hanover,  paying  the  con- 
tractors exactly  and  in  advance  for  their  support. 
The  king  of  Prussia  consented  to  oblige  the  first 
consul.  A  communication  was  then  directly  esta- 
blished. This  communication  served  the  purpose 
also  of  sending  to  Hanover  a  great  number  of  horse- 
men on  foot,  who  returned  with  three  horses,  mount- 
ing one  and  leading  two.  The  possession  of  this 
part  of  Germany  became  very  useful  to  the  French 
cavalry,  and  served  soon  to  render  it  as  excellent 
in  regard  to  horses  as  it  was  already  hi  respect  to 
men. 

During  the  execution  of  his  various  occupations, 
the  first  consul  followed  his  preparations  on  the 
shores  of  the  channel.  He  had  caused  materials 
for  the  naval  service  to  be  purchased  in  Holland, 


Nupoleon  visits  Belgium 
and  the  north. 


THE  CAMP  OF  BOULOGNE. 


Detail  of  tlie  means  for 
invading  England. 


483 


and  more  especially  in  Russia,  in  oiiler  to  be  pi'o- 
vided  before  the  disposiiitiiis  i>f  that  power,  little 
encDuraging,  should  be  can ied  so  far  as  to  refuse 
to  dispose  of  naval  stores.  On  the  basin  of  the 
Gironde,  the  Loire,  the  Seine,  the  Soninie,  and  the 
Escaut,  there  were  flat  bottomed  boats  of  all 
diinensims  in  the  course  of  active  construction. 
Thousands  of  workmen  were  eniployed  in  cutting 
down  the  forests  near  the  coasts.  All  the  foun- 
deries  of  the  republic  were  in  activity  to  fabricate 
mortars,  liowitzeis,  and  artillery  of  the  largest 
caliijre.  The  Parisians  saw  on  tiie  quays  of  Bercy, 
of  the  Invalids,  and  of  the  military  school,  a  hun- 
dred gun-boats  in  the  course  of  construction. 
People  began  to  comprehend  that  such  a  prodi- 
gious degree  of  activity  could  not  be  for  a  simple 
demonstration,  destined  alone  for  the  purpose  of 
making  England  uneasy. 

The  first  consul  had  promised  to  set  cut  for  the 
sliorcs  of  the  channel  as  soon  as  the  naval  con- 
structions, thus  unileriaken,  should  be  a  little  more 
advanced,  and  he  should  have  put  in  order  some  of 
his  most  urgent  affairs.  Tiie  session  of  the  legisla- 
tive body  had  been  ])eacealily  devoted  to  offering 
the  government  perfect  a|iiirol)ati(ni  for  its  diplo- 
matic conduct  towards  Kngland,  in  order  to  lend  it 
the  most  complete  moral  sup])ort  possible,  to  vote 
the  budget,  of  wiiich  the  priiieipal  dispositions  have 
been  already  recorded,  and  finally,  to  discuss,  with- 
out noise,  but  with  dee|i  earnestness,  the  first 
titles  of  the  civil  code.  The  legislative  body  was 
at  this  time  no  nmre  than  a  great  council,  a 
stranger  to  politics,  and  uniformly  devoted  to  its 
public  duties. 

The  first  consul  found  himself  at  leisure  towards 
the  end  of  June.  He  proposed,  therefore,  to  pass 
along  the  coasts  as  far  as  Flushing  and  Antwerp, 
to  visit  Belgium,  which  he  had  never  yet  seen,  the 
departments  of  the  Rhine,  of  which  he  knew  no- 
thing, and,  in  a  word,  to  make  both  a  military  and 
a  political  journey.  Madam  Bonaparte  was  to 
accompany  him,  and  partake  in  the  honours  that 
awaited  him.  For  the  first  time,  he  requested  on  this 
occasion  from  the  minister  of  the  pultlic  treasury, 
who  had  them  under  his  care,  the  diamonds  of  the 
crown,  in  order  to  compose  a  set  for  iho  dress  of 
his  wife.  Ho  wished  to  show  himself  to  the  new 
departments,  and  on  the  b'lrders  of  the  Rhine, 
almost  in  sovereignty,  because  they  regarded  him 
as  a  sovereign  personage,  since  lie  svas  consul 
for  life,  and  was  empowered  to  choose  his  suc- 
cessor. His  ministerH  had  received  the  rendez- 
vous, sonv;  at  Dmdiii-k,  others  at  Lill.-",  Ghi.-nt, 
Antwerp,  and  BrusMols.  The  foreign  ainljassadors 
were  invited  to  the  same  places.  VVilliiig  to  exhi- 
bit to  the  people  a  fervent  spirit  of  Catholicism,  he 
judged  it  us.fu!  to  appc-ar  among  them  accon). 
panied  by  the  pope's  legate.  Upon  the  simple 
expression  of  his  ilesire  to  that  effect,  cardinal 
Caprara,  in  spite  of  his  great  age  and  infirinitiis, 
decided,  after  having  oltaineil  the  pope's  |)er- 
mission,  to  increase  the  eonsidar  attendance  in  the 
Low  Countries.  Orders  hail  been  accordingly 
;given  to  receive  this  |irin(;o  of  the  Roman  clinrch 
in  the  most  magnihci-nt  manner. 

The  first  consid  set  out  on  the  23rd  of  June. 
He  first  visited  Compic^ne,  where  liny  were  con- 
structing vessels  on  the  banks  of  the  Oise,  as  well 
u  Amiens,  Abbeville,  and  St.  Valery,  where  the 


.same  kind  of  work  was  going  (ui  upon  the  banks 
of  the  Sonune.  He  was  welcomed  with  enthu- 
siasm, and  received  with  the  honours  commonly 
paid  to  royalty.  The  city  of  Amitns  ofiered  him 
four  swans  of  dazzling  whiteness,  which  were  sent 
to  the  garden  of  the  Tuilcries.  His  presence  was 
every  where  signalized  by  attachment  to  his  per- 
son, aversion  hjr  the  English,  and  zeal  to  com- 
bat and  conquer  the  old  enemies  of  France.  He 
listened  to  the  authorities  and  the  inhabitants  with  j 
e.\treme  kindness;  but  his  attention  was  evidently 
absorbed  altogether  in  the  great  object  which  occu- 
l)ied  him  at  that  time.  The  building  yards,  the 
magazines,  and  the  stores  of  all  kinds,  exclusively 
attracted  his  ardent  solicitude.  He  visited  the 
troops  which  had  begun  to  nuister  in  Picardy, 
inspected  their  equipments,  treated  with  kind  no- 
tice the  old  soldiers  whose  countenances  were 
known  to  him,  and  left  them  all  lull  of  confidence 
in  his  vast  undertaking. 

Scarcely  had  he  completed  visits  of  this  kind, 
wlien  he  entered  within  doors,  and  although  worn 
out  with  fatigue,  dictated  a  multitude  of  orders, 
which  still  exist,  for  the  lasting  instruction  of 
governments  that  are  carrying  great  preparations 
tor  war  into  effect.  Here  tlie  treasury  had  delayed 
sending  the  funds  to  the  undertakers  of  the  work  ; 
there  the  minister  of  the  navy  had  neglected  to 
ensure  the  arrival  of  the  naval  stores  ;  besides 
this,  the  directors  of  the  foresls,  throu;;h  various 
formalities,  had  I'etarded  the  cutting  down  of  the 
necessary  timber  ;  in  another  ])lace,  the  artillery 
had  not  sent  on  the  cannon  nor  the  necessary 
ammunition.  The  first  consul  repaired  all  these 
evils  from  neglect,  and  removed  the  obstacles  in 
the  way  by  the  power  of  his  own  will.  He  thus 
arrived  at  Boulogne,  the  jnineipal  centre  to  which 
all  his  efforts  tended,  and  the  point  for  the  pre- 
sumed departure  of  the  grand  expedition  projected 
against  England. 

This  is  the  moment  to  make  known  in  detail 
the  immense  armament  devised  to  transport  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men.acro.ss  the  straits 
of  Dover,  with  the  number  of  horses,  cannon, 
stores,  and  provisions,  that  were  supposed  to  be 
required  for  such  a  force.  It  was  already  an  ex- 
tensive and  difficult  operation  to  transport  twenty 
or  thirty  thousand  men  across  the  sea.  The  exi- 
pedition  to  Egypt,  executed  fifty  years  ago,  and 
the  ex])edition  to  Algiers,  executed  in  the  present 
time,  prove  this.  What  then  must  the  diHieulty 
!)(•  attending  the  embarkation  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  men,  ten  or  fifteen  thonsainl  horses, 
and  three  or  four  hmnlred  ginis,  with  their  trains  ? 
A  vessel  of  the  line  might  cany  six  or  seven 
hundred  men,  in  a  condition  to  make  a  voyage  of 
some  time,  and  a  large  frig.ite  half  that  number. 
There  would  be  required  then  two  hundred  sail  of 
the  line  to  embark  such  a  force,  in  other  words, 
a  chimerical  navy,  that  the  allianee  of  England 
and  France  for  the  same  object  could  alone  render 
imaginable.  It  was  therefore,  in  consequence,  an 
impossible  enterprise  to  throw  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  men  into  England,  if  Ivngland  had 
been  situated  at  the  dislanci;  <if  Egypt  or  of  the 
Morea  ;  but  there  were  only  the  straits  of  Dover 
to  be  passed,  that  is  to  say,  about  eight  or  ten 
marine  leagues.  For  such  a  passage  there  was  no 
ueed  to  employ  large  vessels.  There  was,  indeed, 
I  1  2 


484 


Detail  of  the  means  for 
invading  England. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


The  gun-vessels  and  gun-     IS03. 
boats  described.  July. 


no  possibility  of  using  them  if  they  existed,  be- 
cause between  Ostend  and  Havre  there  is  not  a 
single  port  capable  of  receiving  them  ;  and  there 
is  not  even  upon  the  opposite  coast,  at  least  with- 
out a  considerable  circuit,  a  deep  port  where  they 
are  able  to  gain  access.  The  idea  of  small  vessels, 
seeing  the  nature  of  the  passage  and  that  of  the 
poi'ts,  had  therefore  presented  itself  to  every  body. 
Besides,  these  small  vessels  sufficed  for  all  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  sea  that  they  could  be  expected  to 
encounter,  or  to  which  they  could  be  otherwise  ex- 
posed. Long  observations,  collected  upon  the  coasts, 
had  conducted  to  the  discovery  of  all  those  circum- 
stances, and  had  determined  the  size  and  form  of 
the  vessels  which  were  best  adapted  to  meet  them. 
In  summer,  for  example,  there  are  in  the  channel 
nearly  perfect  calms,  sufficiently  long  to  be  able  to 
reckon  upon  forty-eight  hours  of  the  same  kind  of 
weather.  It  would  require  nearly  that  number  of 
hour.s,  not  to  cross  over,  but  even  to  get  out  of 
port  the  immense  flotilla  which  was  in  contem- 
plation. During  such  a  calm,  the  English  vessels 
being  immoveable,  those  which  were  constructed 
to  move  with  the  oar  as  well  as  the  sail  would  be 
able  to  pass  over  with  impunity,  even  in  sight  of 
an  enemy's  squadron.  Winter  had  also  its  favour- 
able moments.  The  thick  fogs  of  the  cold  season, 
met  with  when  the  winds  are  lulled  or  very  slight, 
offered  another  means  of  making  the  passage  in 
presence  of  an  enemy's  force  either  becalmed  or 
deceived  by  the  fog.  There  yet  remained  a  third 
favourable  occasion,  namely,  that  offering  at  the 
equinoxes.  It  often  happened  that,  after  the  tem- 
pests of  the  equinox,  the  winds  suddenly  died  away, 
and  left  a  sufficient  time  to  cross  the  straits  before 
the  return  of  an  enemy's  squadron,  obliged  by  the 
storm  to  keep  off  shore.  These  w^-e  circumstances 
univer.sally  pointed  out  by  the  sailors  living  upon 
the  borders  of  the  channel. 

There  might  be  a  case  in  which  at  any  season, 
whatever  the  weather  was,  short  of  a  storm,  that  it 
miglit  be  possible  to  pass  across  the  straits;  this  was 
when,  by  able  manoeuvring,  there  should  have  been 
brought  into  the  channel,  for  some  hours,  a  large 
squadron  of  line-of-battle  ships.  Then  the  flotilla, 
protected  by  such  a  squadron,  would  be  able  to  set 
sail  without  troubling  itself  about  the  enemy's 
cruisers. 

But  the  circumstance  tof  bringing  a  large  French 
squadron  between  Calais  and  Dover,  depended 
upon  such  a  variety  of  difficult  combinations,  that 
it  was  to  be  reckoned  upon  as  the  least  possible 
thing  that  could  happen.  It  was  necessary  then 
to  construct  the  flotilla  for  the  transjiort  of  the 
army  in  such  a  fashion,  that  it  should  be  able,  in 
appearance  at  least,  to  pass  without  any  auxiliary 
force,  because  if  it  had  demonstrated  by  its 
construction  that  it  was  impossible  to  keep  at  sea 
without  tile  succour  of  an  auxiliary  squadron,  the 
secret  of  the  grand  operaliim  would  have  been 
made  known  at  once  to  the  enemy.  Aware  of 
tliis,  they  would  Iiave  concentrated  all  their  naval 
force  in  the  straits,  and  prevented  every  manoeuvre 
or  attempt  of  the  French  squadrons  endeavouring 
to  proceed  there. 

To  the  considerations  of  the  nature  of  the  winds 
and  of  the  sea  in  the  straits,  were  join<;d  those 
arising  from  the  configuration  of  the  coasts.  The 
French  ports  in  the  straits  were  all  tide  ports,  or, 


in  other  words,  were  dry  at  low  water,  and  pre- 
sented no  more  tlian  a  depth  of  eight  or  nine  feet 
at  high  tide.  The  vessels,  therefore,  must  be  of 
such  a  class  as  that  when  they  were  laden  they 
should  not  need  more  than  seven  or  eight  feet  of 
water  to  float  them,  and  must  be  able  to  take  the 
ground  without  injury.  In  regard  to  the  English 
coast,  the  ports  situated  between  the  Thames, 
Dover,  Folkestone,  and  Brighton,  were  very  small; 
but  such  as  they  miglit  be,  it  was  necessary, 
in  order  to  effect  so  vast  a  disembarkation,  to 
run  simply  upon  the  shore,  and  for  this  reason 
vessels  that  would  take  the  ground  were  alone 
proper.  They  were  these  different  reasons  which 
had  made  flat-bottomed  boats  be  adopted,  able  to 
move  with  the  oar,  in  order  to  pass  whether  in 
calm  or  fog  ;  able  to  carry  heavy  cannon,  without 
drawing  more  than  seven  or  eight  feet  of  water,  in 
order  to  move  freely  in  the  French  ports  of  the 
channel,  and  to  run  agi'ound  without  injury  upon 
the  beaches  of  England. 

In  order  to  meet  these  several  objects,  large 
gun-vessels  were  devised,  having  flat  bottoms, 
solidly  constructed,  and  built  of  two  different 
classes.  The  vessels  of  the  first  class,  which  were 
more  especially  styled  gun-vessels,  were  con- 
structed in  such  a  manner  as  to  carry  four  heavy 
guns,  from  twenty-four  to  thirty-six  poundei-s,  two 
forward  and  two  astern,  and  thus  consequently,  by 
weight  of  metal,  to  answer  the  fire  of  the  ships 
and  frigates.  Five  hundred  of  these  gun-vessels 
would  thus  be  equal  to  the  fire  of  twenty  vessels  of 
a  hundred  guns '.  They  were  rigged  like  brigs, 
with  two  masts,  and  manoeuvred  by  twenty-five 
seamen.  They  were  each  capable  of  containing  a 
company  of  infantry  of  one  hundred  men,  with 
their  staff",  their  arms,  and  ammunition. 

The  boats  of  the  second  species  or  class,  in 
order  to  distinguish  them  from  the  first,  de- 
nominated gun-boats,  were  less  heavily  armed,  less 
wieldy,  but  designed  to  cari-y,  independently  of 
infantry,  the  field  artillery.  These  gun-boats  were 
provided  in  the  bow  with  one  twenty-four  pounder, 
and  had  a  piece  of  field  artillei'y  in  the  stern 
mounted  upon  its  carriage,  with  the  necessary 
apparatus  for  embarking  and  disembarking  in  a 
few  miimtes.  Each  carried,  besides,  an  artillery 
caisson,  filled  with  ammunition,  disposed  upon  the 
deck  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  hinder  the  work- 
ing of  the  vessel,  and  with  the  power  of  being 
landed  in  a  moment.  They  all  contained,  besides, 
in  the  centre  of  the  hold,  a  small  stable,  in  which 
were  lodged  a  couple  of  artillery  horses,  with  pro- 
visions for  several  days.  This  stalile,  placed  in  the 
centre,  opened  above,  having  a  moveable  covering, 
and  was  combined  with  the  mast  in  such  a  mode 
that  the  horse  could  be  seized  on  the  land  by 
means  of  a  yard,  be  rapidly  elevated,  and  then 
lowered  into  iiis  cabin  with  the  greatest  facility. 
These  gun-boats,  inferior  in  iheir  armament  to  the 

'  Only  in  number  alone,  not  in  effei-t;  because  each  boat 
would  have  a  separate  motion  from  the  waves,  and  its  can- 
non a  varying  direction  accordingly,  wliile  the  fire  of  the  line- 
of-battle  ship  would  be  concentrated  under  one  common 
movement,  far  less  in  the  aii^le,  <"■  a  vast  deal  slower,  and 
therefore  beyond  all  comp:irls.on  more  effective.  There  is 
no  analogy  between  the  lire  of  a  gunboat  in  motion  and  a 
battery  on  shore,  for  examjile,  the  last  lieiiig  much  more 
effective  from  its  absence  of  all  motion. — Translator. 


1803. 
July. 


Description  of  the  pinnaces.        THE  CAMP   OF   BOULOGNE.        Difficulties  of  the  expedition.       485 


pun-vessels,  but  able  to  throw  heavy  metal,  and  to 
fire  grape  by  means  of  a  field-piece  placed  on  the 
deck,  had  the  advantage,  besides,  of  carrying  a 
part  of  the  infantry  and  all  the  artillery  of  the 
army,  with  two  horses  to  draw  the  guns  into  line  at 
the  inoment  of  landing.  The  rest  of  the  artillery 
horses  were  to  be  placed  in  transports,  of  which 
the  <.rganizution  will  presently  be  seen.  Less  fit 
than  the  gun-vessel.s  to  manoeuvre  and  fight,  they 
were  rigged  like  the  huge  coasting  barks  of  the 
French  side  of  the  channel,  and  had  only  three 
large  sails  attached  to  three  masts,  without  top- 
mast or  topsail.  They  were  maimed  by  only  si.v 
seamen,  and  were  capable  of  containing,  as  well  as 
the  gun-vessels,  a  company  of  infantry  with  its 
officers,  two  artillery  drivers,  and  some  artillery 
men.  If  three  or  four  hundred  of  these  vessels  be 
supposed  ready,  they  would  be  able  to  carry,  in- 
dependently of  a  mass  of  infantry  very  consi- 
derable in  number,  thre  ■  or  four  hundred  field- 
pieces,  with  carriage  and  ammunition  sufficient  for 
one  battle.  The  rest  of  the  ammunition,  with  the 
other  artillery  horses,  would  follow  in  the  trans- 
port vessels. 

Such  were  the  flat-bottomed  boats  of  the  first 
and  second  class  or  species.  It  was  thought 
necessary  to  construct  a  third  kind,  yet  lighter  and 
more  manageable  than  the  jireceding,  drawing 
only  two  or  three  feet  of  water,  and  made  to  take 
the  shore  every  where.  They  were  large  ships' 
boats,  like  canoes,  sixty  feet  long,  having  a  move- 
able bridge,  which  could  be  projected  or  drawn  in 
at  ]>leasure,  and  were  distinguished  from  the  others 
by  the  name  of  pinnaces.  These  long  boats,  pro- 
vided with  sixty  oars,  could  carry  also,  if  it  were 
required,  a  light  sail,  and  move  with  extreme 
speed.  Wiien  sixty  soldiers,  brought  to  manage 
the  oar  aa  well  as  seamen,  set  them  in  movemetit, 
they  glided  over  the  sea  like  the  light  boats  that 
are  sent  from  large  vessels,  and  surprised  the  eye 
by  the  rapidity  of  their  way.  These  pinnaces 
could  each  take  sixty  or  seventy  soldiers,  besides 
two  or  three  seamen  to  work  them.  They  carried 
for  defence  a  small  howitzer,  and  a  four-pounder 
gun,  and  had  no  lading  beyond  the  arms  of  those 
on  board,  and  some  marching  provisions  disposed 
as  ballast. 

After  numerous  experiments,  these  three  kinds 
of  vessels  were  definitively  fi.\ed  upon  as  answer- 
ing every  end  for  the  passage,  and  when  ranged 
ill  order  of  battle,  presenting  a  formidable  line  of 
fire.  The  guii-vessels,  ea-sier  to  mantcuvre,  and 
more  heavily  armed,  occupied  the  first  line;  the 
gun-boats,  being  inferior  in  these  two  respects, 
were  to  form  the  second  line,  facing  the  intervals 
between  tin;  gun-vessels,  in  such  a  manner  that 
there  would  be  no  opening  not  covered  by  the 
effect  of  their  fire.  The  pinnaces,  which  only  car- 
ried small  howitzers,  and  which  were  formidable 
for  their  musketry,  disposed  sometimes  in  advance 
of  the  line  of  battle,  soinetiines  in  the  rear,  or  on 
the  wings,  would  be  able  to  pull  up  rajiidly,  to 
board  in  case  of  meeting  with  a  fleet  at  sea, 
to  throw  their  men  on  shore  if  they  wished  to 
effect  a  disembarkment,  or  to  steal  away,  if  they 
should  be  exposed  to  a  fire  of  heavy  artillery. 

These  three  species  of  boats  were  to  be  united 
to  the  number  of  twelve  <ir  fifteen  hundred.  They 
were  to  carry  at  least  three  thousand  cannon  of 


large  calibre,  without  reckoning  a  great  number  of 
pieces  of  artillery  of  small  dimensions,  in  other 
words,  their  fire  would  be  equal  in  metal  to  that  of 
the  strongest  squadron.  Their  effect,  too,  would 
be  dangerous,  because  their  tire  would  graze 
along  the  line  of  the  sea  level.  Engaged  against 
large  vessels,  they  presented  an  object  difficult  to 
strike,  firing  themselves  at  one  not  easy  to  miss. 
They  were  able  to  move  every  way,  to  disperse 
themselves,  or  to  surround  an  enemy.  But  if  they 
had  the  advantage  of  division,  they  had  also  its 
inconveniences.  To  introduce  oi-der  of  movement 
into  a  floating  mass  so  prodigiously  numerous,  was 
a  problem  extremely  difficult  to  solve.  In  order 
to  attain  this  object,  admiral  Bruix  and  Napoleon 
apjilied  themselves  to  it  incessantly  for  three  years. 
It  will  be  seen  hereafter  to  what  a  degree  of  pre- 
cision in  manoeuvring  they  had  reached,  and  how 
far  the  problem  had  been  resolved  by  them  >. 

What  effect  would  a  squadron  of  ships  of  the 
line  have  produced  dashing  at  full  sail  into  this 
mass  of  small  vessels,  pressing  them  together, 
running  down  tho.se  ahead,  sinking  those  which 
were  struck  by  their  shot,  but,  on  the  other  side, 
surrounded  by  a  cloud  of  enemies  receiving 
in  every  direction  a  dangerous  tire  in  return, 
assailed  by  the  musketry  of  a  hundred  thousand 
men,  and  perhaps  entered  by  intrepid  soldiers 
trained  to  boarding  ?  This  would  not  be  very  easy 
to  discover,  because  it  is  impossible  to  form  an 
idea  of  so  strange  a  scene,  one  which  never  had 
a  precedent  to  which  the  mind  might  have  re- 
course in  considering  the  different  chances  as  to 
the  result.  Admiral  Decres,  a  man  of  superior 
mind,  but  given  to  underrate  in  his  opinions,  ad- 

'  This  problem  never  could  have  been  resolved,  because 
in  no  case  did  the  Boulogne  flotilla  dare  to  venture  far 
enough  from  the  shore  in  a  mass  sufficient  to  make  the  trial. 
Confusion  in  presence  of  an  experienced  and  practised  enemy 
with  heavier  vessels  would  be  unavoidable  at  sea.  It  hap- 
pened from  the  time  spoken  of  by  our  author,  down  to  the 
aliandonment  of  the  enterprise,  that  a  number  of  these  craft 
were  captured  by  the  English  light  vessels,  such  as  brigs 
or  cutters,  and  many  driven  on  shore;  but  their  small 
draught  of  water,  and  the  artillery  moving  with  them  on 
land,  and  covering  them,  prevented  the  capture  of  a  large 
number,  as  they  stole  along  from  port  to  port.  Some  that 
were  taken  off  Audiernc,  it  was  not  thought  safe,  from 
their  fragile  charactt-r,  to  send  across  to  Plymouth,  the 
weather  being  but  moderately  fresh.  The  men  were  taken 
out,  and  they  were  sunk.  Ten  were  captured  in  one  week, 
with  tiieir  complement  of  soldiers  on  board.  The  resistance 
of  tliese  boats  was  in  no  case  formidable,  where  the  water 
admitted  of  an  approach  to  them,  and  the  shore  was  not 
armed  for  their  protection.  The  only  desire  of  the  English 
was  to  get  them  out  from  the  land.  The  late  lord  Exmoutli 
spoke  of  their  resistance  to  English  vessels  as  impossible. 
In  the  judgment  of  experienced  English  seamen,  such  an 
unmanageable  mass  of  l>oats  had  no  chance  of  crossing  but 
in  a  dead  calm,  which  could  hardly  be  expected  to  last  long 
enough  for  the  flotilla  to  embark  its  proposed  armament, 
move  out  of  port,  and  cross  the  channel  under  oars.  In 
case  of  the  lightest  breeze,  the  inevitable  destruction  of  the 
flotilla,  in  presence  of  an  English  squadron,  must  have  en- 
sued. There  were  between  four  and  five  hundred  English 
vessels  protecting  the  coast,  all  manned  by  experienced 
seamen.  The  fire  of  a  mass  of  boats  in  the  confusion  in- 
evitable upon  being  attacked  in  several  places  at  once,  would 
be  as  dangerous  to  themselves  as  to  an  enemy;  and  their 
crowded  state  would  enhance  the  confusion  and  the  havoc 
that  must  be  thus  inevitably  produced. —  Tranilator. 


486 


Inconveniences  in  the 
cuii&tructiuii  of  tlie 
flotilla. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Disadvantage  of  the 
currents. 


1803. 
July. 


raitted  that  by  sacrificing  a  hundred  of  the  boats 
and  ten  thousand  men,  it  might  be  possible  to  pass 
the  straits.  "  That  number  are  lost  in  a  single 
battle  continually,"  observed  the  first  consul  ; 
"and  then  what  single  battle  has  ever  produced 
such  results  as  we  may  hope  for  from  tlie  invasion 
of  England  V 

But  the  most  unfavourable  point  of  view  was 
taken  in  imaginiitg  there  would  be  a  rencontre 
with  the  Englis'h  cruisers.  There  always  remiiiiied 
the  chance  of  crossing  in  :i  calm,  during  which 
the  movements  of  the  English  would  be  paralyzed; 
or  during  a  fog,  which  would  conceal  the  flotilla 
from  view  ;  and,  lastly,  the  cluince  more  en- 
couraging still,  of  the  sudden  appearance  for  some 
hours  of  a  French  squadron  in  the  straits. 

In  any  ciise,  the  boats  had  strength  enough 
to  defend  themselves,  to  run  upon  the  shoi-e,  and 
to  sweep  it  with  their  fire,  thus  depriving  the 
enemy  of  all  hope  of  aid  from  a  friendly  squadron, 
and  to  afford  confidence  to  the  soldiers  and  seamen 
belonging  to  it.  Nevertheless,  these  boats  pre- 
sented certain  inconveniences,  arising  out  of  the 
form  adopted  in  their  construction.  Having  in 
place  of  a  keel  deeply  immersed  a  flat  bottom, 
which  went  but  a  little  way  beneath  the  water, 
and  being  heavily  masted,  they  possessed  but  little 
stability,  so  that  they  inclined  with  too  much 
facility  to  the  wind,  and  even  overset,  if  they  were 
taken  by  a  sudden  squall  ;  a  circumstance  that 
really  occurred  once  in  Brest  roads  to  a  gun-vessel 
badly  stowed.  This  accident  happened  before  the 
eyes  of  admiral  Ganteaume,  who,  under  consider- 
able apprehension,  inmiediately  wrote  to  the  first 
consul,  stating  the  occurrence.  But  this  kind  of 
accident  did  not  again  occur.  With  proper  pre- 
cautious in  the  mode  of  distributing  the  stores, 
which  were  made  to  serve  as  ballast,  the  boats 
belonging  to  the  flotilla  aequii-ed  sufficient  stability 
to  carry  themselves  in  rough  weather  ;  and  there 
occurred  no  further  accident  tlian  that  of  running 
aground,  which  was  a  natural  consequence  in  navi- 
gating along  shore,  and  was  often  voluntarily  done 
on  their  part  with  the  view  of  escaping  from  the 
English.  The  following  tide  got  them  afloat,  when 
they  had  thus  been  obliged  to  run  ashore. 

These  boats  offered  an  inconvenience  still  more 
vexatious,  which  was  that  of  driving,  or,  in  other 
words,  yielding  to  the  currents.  This  was  caused 
by  their  heavy  make,  wliich  presented  a  greater 
hold  to  the  water  than  their  masting  presented  to 
the  winds.  This  inconvenience  was  aggravated 
when,  deprived  of  wind,  they  were  under  tlie  oai*. 
They  had  no  more  than  the  strength  of  their 
I'owers  to  combat  the  force  of  the  current.  In 
such  a  case  they  might  possibly  be  carried  far 
from  their  object,  or,  what  was  still  worse,  might 
arrive  one  after  another  completely  separated, 
because  being  of  difi"erent  forms,  they  must  be- 
come subject  to  an  unequal  deflection.  Nelson 
had  himself  experienced  this  in  his  attack  upon 
the  Boulogne  flotilla  in  1801.  His  four  divisions 
were  unable  to  act  all  at  the  same  time,  and  made 
only  unconnected  efforts.  A  similar  obstacle,  vex- 
atious in  any  sea,  existed  yet  more  in  the  channel, 
where  two  very  strong  counter-currents  j)revailed 
every  tide.  When  tlie  tide  flowed  or  ebbed,  it 
produced  alternately  an  ascending  or  descending 
current,  the  direction  of  which  became  determined 


by  the  configuration  of  the  shores  of  France  and 
England.  The  channel  is  very  wide  at  the  western 
extreme,  between  Cape  Finisterre  and  the  Land's 
End,  Cornwall  ;  and  very  narrow  on  the  east, 
between  Calais  and  Dover.  The  tide  in  flowing 
enters  rapidly  by  the  larger  opening,  and  this 
produces  at  the  flow  an  ascending  current  from 
the  west  to  the  east,  or  from  Brest  to  Calais.  The 
same  effect  occurs  in  a  contrary  direction  at  ebb- 
tide, it  being  then  more  rapid  towards  the  larger 
issue,  and  there  results  in  consequence  a  current 
from  the  east  to  the  west,  from  Calais  to  Brest. 
This  double  current,  receiving  near  the  coasts, 
from  their  form  itself,  different  inflexions,  could 
not  fail  to  cause  a  degree  of  disturbance  in  the 
progress  of  these  two  thousand  vessels,  a  dis- 
turbance to  be  more  or  less  dreaded,  according  to 
the  weakness  of  the  wind  and  tiie  strength  of  the 
tide.  This  would  much  diminish  the  advantage  of 
crossing  in  a  calm,  the  time  otherwise  most  de- 
sirable. However,  the  channel  between  Boulogne 
and  Dover  was  not  only  very  narrow,  but  of  small 
depth,  permitting  anchorage  at  an  equal  distance 
from  both  shores.  The  admirals,  therefore,  thought 
it  was  practicable  to  anchor  in  case  of  too  great  a 
deflection  from  the  coui-se,  and  to  remain  until  the 
return  of  the  contrary  current,  a  delay  that  would 
not  cause  a  loss  of  more  than  three  or  four  hours. 
This  was  a  difficulty,  therefore,  but  one  not  insur- 
mountable '. 

The  foregoing  inconvenience,  arising  from  the 
currents,  caused  the  abandoimient  of  a  species  of 
boats  called  praams.  These  altogether  flat,  with- 
out any  curvature  in  the  sides,  having  three  keels, 
were  truly  floating  bridges,  or  pontons  intended 
for  the  carriage  of  a  good  many  men  and  horses. 
It  was  at  first  resolved  to  construct  fifty,  which 
would  offer  the  means  of  transporting  two  thousand 
five  hundred  horses,  and  six  hundred  pieces  of 
cannon  ;  but  the  inferiority  of  their  sailing  soon 
made  them  be  laid  aside,  and  no  more  than  twelve 
or  fifteen  were  constructed.  No  allusion  has  been 
made  to  the  heavy  barks,  short  and  broad,  armed 
with  a  twenty-four  pounder  astern,  which  were  de- 
(loininated  caiques,  nor  to  the  corvettes,  drawing 
little  water,  and  carrying  a  dozen  heavy  cannon, 
both  tlie  one  and  the  other  were  built  as  specimens, 
of  which  a  proper  experience  forbade  the  multipli- 
cation. The  total  of  the  flotilla  was  composed 
almost  exclusively  of  the  three  species  of  vessels 
of  which  a  description  has  been  before  given,  that 
is,  of  gun-vessels,  gun-boats,  and  pinnaces. 

Each  gun-vessel  and  gun-boat  yas  able  to  carry 
a  company  of  infantry  ;  ev(-ry  pinnace,  two-thirds 
of  a  C(mipany;  thus  five  hundred  gun-vessels,  four 
hundred  gun-boats,  and  three  hundred  pinnaces, 
united,  in  all,  twelve  liundred  conveyances,  would 
afford  the  means  to  embark  one  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  men.  Sujiposing  the  Brest 
s(|uadron  to  carry  fifteen  thousand  or  eighteen 
thousand   more,  and   that  of    the  Texel  twenty 

'  All  that  I  have  stated  here  is  extracted  from  the  volu- 
minous correspondence  of  the  admirals,  principally  that  of 
admiral  Bruix  with  tlie  minister  of  marine  and  with  Napo- 
leon. It  is  to  be  clearly  understood,  that  I  conjecture  no- 
thing myself,  but  that  I  make  a  summary,  as  far  as  I  am 
able,  and  with  historical  precision,  of  all  that  is  of  essential 
importance  in  this  correspondence,  that  I  believe  I  am  jus- 
tified fully  in  styling  admirable.— ^!/Wior's  note. 


July. 


Necessity  of  places  of 
naval  assemblage. 


THE  CAMP  OF  BOULOGNE. 


Characters  of  the  French  .__ 

admirals.  'iot 


thousand,  the  whole  would  anidunt  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  or  one  liundred  and  sixty  thou- 
sand men.  Thus  there  would  be  fluufj  upon  tiie 
English  shore  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
ill  one  mass  on  board  the  flotilla,  and  thirty  thou- 
Siind  or  forty  thousand  in  detached  divisions  on 
board  of  the  two  squadrons  that  would  sail,  the 
one  from  Holland,  the  other  from  Brest. 

This  would  be  a  force  sufficient  to  vanquish  and 
reduce  this  proud  nation,  which  pretended  to 
domineer  over  the  world  from  the  security  of  an 
inviolate  asylum. 

But  it  was  not  men  alone  that  were  to  be  car- 
ried; there  must  be  conveyed  besides  men,  stores, 
provisions,  arms,  and  hoi-ses.  The  war  Hotilla, 
l)roperIy  so  called,  would  Uike  the  men,  the  ainmu- 
niiiiin  indispensable  for  the  first  battles,  and  pro- 
visions for  twenty  days,  with  the  field  artillery,  and 
a  complement  of  two  horses  for  each  gun.  But 
there  must  also  be  conveyed  tlie  remainder  of  their 
trains,  not  less  than  seven  or  eight  thousand 
c.ivalry  horses,  munitions  for  an  entire  campaign, 
provisions  for  one  or  two  months,  a  large  park  of 
siege  artillery  in  case  there  should  be  wails  to 
breach  or  batter.  The  hoj-ses  more  ])articularly 
were  very  difficult  to  carry,  and  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  have  not  less  than  six  or  seven  hundred 
vessels  to  carry  seven  or  eight  thousand. 

For  this  last  purpose  there  was  no  necessity  to 
construct  vessels.  The  pilot  boats  and  those  be- 
longing to  the  deep  sea  fishery  furnished  a  naval 
supply  always  ready  at  hand  for  transport,  and  very 
consiilerable. 

There  could  be  bought  up  upon  the  entire  of  the 
coasts,  from  St.  Malo  as  far  as  the  Texel,  and  even 
in  the  interior  of  Holland,  ve.ssels  measuring  from 
twenty  to  thirty  tons,  built  for  pilotage  and  for  the 
cod  and  herring  fi.sherius,  perfectly  strong,  excel- 
lent sailors,  and  very  cajjable  of  receiving  any 
thing  with  which  it  was  wi.shed  to  load  them,  thus 
providing  a  convenient  mode  of  carriage.  A  com- 
mission was  formed  for  the  sole  purpose  of  buy- 
ing up  from  Brest  to  Amsterdam  all  the  suitable 
vessels  of  this  kind,  costing,  on  an  average,  from 
12  000f.  to  15,000r.  each.  Some  hundreds  were 
jturehased,  and  many  more,  if  required,  it  was  not 
difficult  to  olnain. 

Carrying  up  the  war-boat.s,  properly  so  called, 
to  twelve  or  thirteen  hundred,  the  transport  flotilla 
to  nine  hundred  or  a  thou.sand,  there  were  two 
thousand  two  liundred  or  two  thousand  three  hun- 
dred vessels  to  unite  together;  a  prodigious  naval 
assemblage,  without  precedent  in  jiast  times,  and 
jirobably  to  have  no  example  in  those  which  are  to 
come. 

It  is  proper  to  understand  now  how  it  was  pos- 
sible to  construct  upon  one  or  two  points  of  tlio 
co;ist  such  an  immense  number  of  vessels.  Small 
as  their  dimensions  might  be,  it  would  have  been 
iin|)o.H»ible  to  procure  at  one  place  the  materials, 
workmen,  and  building  yards  necessary  for  their 
construetion.  It  had  therelorc  been  indispensable 
to  make  all  tin;  ports  concur  in  that  sole  object  as 
well  iu»  all  the  basins  of  the  rivers.  It  was  (juito 
enough  to  reserve  to  the  ports  of  the  chaimel,  in 
which  lli<-y  were  to  be  united,  the  care  of  collecting 
and  retaining  these  two  thousand  vessels. 

But  after  having  built  tliein  very  far  apart  one 
from  another,  and  it  became  necessary  to  assemble 


them,  this  assemblage  must  be  at  one  point  between 
Boulogne  and  Dunkirk,  and  they  nuist  elude  the 
English  cruisers,  resolved  upon  their  destruction 
before  they  should  be  united.  It  was  iieedlul,  in 
consequence,  to  receive  them  in  three  or  four  ports, 
lying  as  much  as  possible  open  to  the  same  point 
of  the  compass,  at  a  small  distance  from  each  other, 
in  order  to  hoist  sail  and  depart  together.  It  was 
needful  to  accommodate  them,  without  confusion, 
sheltered  from  the  danger  of  fire,  to  place  the  troops 
in  such  a  manner  that  they  should  be  able  to  pass 
in  and  out  often;  and  to  learn  how  to  load  and  un- 
load them  rapidly  with  the  men,  cannon,  and  horses. 

All  these  difficulties  could  only  be  resolved 
at  the  places  themselves,  before  Napoleon,  who 
should  see  things  with  his  own  eyes,  while  sur- 
rounded by  officers  the  most  special  and  able.  He 
had  sent  to  Boulogne  M.  Sganzin,  the  engineer  of 
tlie  navy,  and  one  of  the  most  able  members  of 
that  distinguished  body;  M.  Forfait,  who  had  been 
the  minister  of  mariue  for  some  months,  and  who, 
though  not  above  mediocrity  in  the  duty  of  admi- 
nistration, possessed  very  superior  skill  in  the  art 
of  naval  construction,  full  of  invention,  and  devoted 
to  an  enterprize  of  which,  under  the  directory,  he 
had  been  one  of  the  most  ardent  supporters;  lastly, 
admiral  Dccres,  minister  of  the  marine,  and  ad- 
miral Bruix,  two  individuals  who  have  been  already 
mentioned,  and  who  merit  to  be  made  known  more 
particularly. 

The  first  consul  would  willingly  have  possessed 
a  smaller  number  of  good  generals  in  his  land 
forces,  and  a  few  more  good  admirals  in  his  navy. 
But  war  and  victory  can  alone  form  good  generals. 
A  naval  war  had  not  been  wanting  for  twelve  years 
preceding  thiit  time  ;  but  unhappily  the  Fi'eneh 
navy,  disorganized  by  emigration,  having  felt  itself 
greatly  inferior  to  that  of  the  English,  had  been 
obliged  almost  continually  to  remain  shut  up  in 
port,  and  the  French  admirals,  though  they  had 
not  lost  their  bravery,  had  lost  their  conhdence  in 
themselves.  Some  were  grown  old,  others  wanted  ex- 
perience. Four  at  that  moment  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  Napoleon,  Dccres,  Latouche-Treville,  Gant- 
eaume,  and  Bruix.  Admiral  Decrcs  was  a  man  of 
a  rare  understanding,  but  a  censurer,  only  seeing 
the  ill  side  of  things,  an  excellent  critic  of  the 
operations  of  others,  and  under  this  head  a  good 
minister ;  in  administration  displaying  little  ac- 
tivity, but  very  useful  by  the  side  of  Napoleon, 
who  in  activity  supplied  the  remissness  of  every- 
body, and  who  had  need  of  councillors  less  confi- 
dent than  he  was  himself.  For  these  reasons  admiral 
Decres  was  the  one  of  all  the  four  worth  most  at 
the  head  of  the  navy,  and  least  worth  at  the  head 
of  a  squadron.  Ganteaume  was  a  brave,  intelli- 
gent, well  experienced  officer,  able  to  conduct  a 
naval  division  under  fire,  but  out  of  action  hesita- 
ting, uncertain,  suffering  fortune  to  pass  without 
seizing  it;  he  was  therefore  only  adapted  for  the 
least  difficult  of  enterprizes.  Latouehe-TrcJville  and 
Biuix  were  the  two  most  distinguished  seamen  of 
the  time,  and  certainly  intended,  had  they  lived,  to 
dispute  with  the  English  the  empire  of  the  seas. 
Jjaiouche-Trdvillo  was  all  ardour,  all  audacity;  ho 
adiled  to  this  a  good  imderstanding,  experience 
as  well  as  courage,  inspiring  the  seamen  with  the 
sentiments  which  he  felt  himself,  and  in  this  re- 
spect the  most  valuable  of  the  whole,  because  he 


Characters  of  the  French 
admirals. 


Bonaparte  imparts  fresh     ,«„, 
THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.       activity  to  the  work;-    J'^^; 


had  that  of  which  the  French  navy  possessed  too 
little,  a  proper  confidence  in  himself.  Lastly, 
there  was  admiral  Bruix,  poor  in  health  and 
bodily  appearance,  wasted  by  pleasure,  endowed 
with  astonishing  intelligence,  a  rare  organization 
of  genius,  finding  resources  for  every  thing,  pro- 
foundly experienced,  the  only  officer  who  could  have 
commanded  forty  ships  of  the  line  at  once,  and  as 
capable  of  conceiving  as  of  executing;  he  had  made 
the  best  minister  had  he  not  been  so  well  adapted 
to  command.  These  wei'e  not  all  the  chiefs  of  the 
French  navy;  there  was  Villeneuve,  subsequently 
so  unfortunate;  Linois,  the  conqueror  at  Algesiras, 
then  in  India,  and  others,  who  will  be  known  in 
their  proper  places,  but  the  four  now  mentioned 
were  at  that  time  the  principal. 

The  first  consul  wished  to  confide  to  admiral 
Bruix  the  command  of  the  flotilla,  because  there 
all  was  to  be  created  ;  to  Ganteaume  the  Brest 
squadron,  which  had  no  more  to  do  than  to  trans- 
port troops;  lastly,  to  Latouche-Tre'ville  the  Toulon 
fleet,  wliich  was  commanded  to  execute  a  ditticult, 
bold,  and  decisive  manoeuvre,  that  will  be  here- 
after stated. 

Admiral  Bruix  having  to  organize  the  flotilla, 
was  continually  in  contact  with  admiral  Decres. 
Both  one  and  the  other  had  too  much  spirit  not  to 
be  rivals,  and  from  that  they  became  enemies  ;  be- 
sides, their  natures  were  incompatible.  To  point 
out  invincible  difficulties,  and  critici>se  the  attempts 
made  to  overcome  them,  was  the  part  of  admiral 
Decres;  to  perceive,  study,  and  endeavour  to  con- 
quer them,  was  the  part  of  admiral  Bruix.  It 
must  be  added,  that  they  were  mistrustful  of  each 
other;  tliey  never  ceased  to  fear,  admiral  Decres 
that  the  inconveniences  arising  out  of  his  inactivity 
would  be  denounced  to  the  first  consul,  admii-al 
Braix  those  arising  from  his  irregular  life.  They 
would,  under  a  feeble  master,  have  caused  trouble 
in  the  navy  by  their  divisions;  but  under  such  an 
one  as  Napolei>n,  they  were  useful  by  their  very 
diff"erences.  Bruix  proposed  his  combinations, 
Decres  criticised  them,  and  the  first  consul  pro- 
nounced judgment  with  almost  infallible  cori'ect- 
ness. 

It  was  amidst  these  men,  and  on  the  spot,  that 
Napoleon  decided  all  questions  left  in  suspense. 
His  arrival  at  Boulogne  was  urgent,  because  in 
spite  of  the  energy  and  frequency  of  his  orders,  a 
great  many  things  remained  in  ai-rear.  They  did 
not  build  at  Boulogne,  Calais,  or  Dunkirk,  but 
they  repaired  there  the  old  flotilla,  and  they  got 
forward  the  preparations  for  executing  what  was 
necessary  to  put  on  board  the  two  thousand 
vessels,  bought  or  built,  as  soon  as  they  should 
be  assembled  together.  Workmen,  timber,  ii'on, 
and  hemp,  were  wanted,  as  well  as  artillery  of  a  long 
range,  in  order  to  keep  ofl"  the  English,  who  em- 
ployed themselves  very  often  in  firing  upon  the 
vessels  with  incendiary  projectiles. 

The  presence  of  the  first  consul,  surrounded  by 
M.  Sganzin,  M.  Forfait,  and  admirals  Bruix,  De- 
cres, and  a  number  of  other  officers,  soon  imparted 
fresh  activity  to  the  enterprize.  A  measure  had 
been  taken  at  Paris  which  he  wished  to  apply  at 
Boulogne,  and  every  where  that  he  came,  lie 
took,  under  the  conscription,  five  or  six  thousand 
men,  that  belonged  to  all  the  trades  attached  to 
•working  in  wood  and  iron,  such  as  joiners,  car- 


penters, sawyers,  wheelwrights,  lock  and  black- 
smiths. Masters,  chosen  from  among  the  work- 
men belonging  to  the  navy,  superintended  and 
directed  them.  A  high  rate  of  pay  was  given  to 
those  who  exhibited  intelligence  and  goodwill. 
In  a  short  time,  the  ship-yards  were  covered  with 
a  population  of  working  ship-builders,  wjiose 
original  trade  it  would  have  been  hard  to  divine. 

Forests  were  found  in  abundance  in  the  vicinity 
of  Boulogne.  An  order  had  been  issued  to  deliver 
for  the  service  of  the  navy  all  that  was  in  tlie  en- 
virons. Timber  employed  at  the  moment  it  was 
felled  being  green,  was  good  to  serve  for  piles,  of 
which  thousands  were  required  in  the  ports  of  the 
channel.  They  were  thus  able  to  procure  planks 
and  floor  timber.  The  timber  for  the  bends  and 
ribs  was  brought  from  the  north.  The  naval 
stores  and  materials,  such  as  hemp,  masts,  pitch, 
and  tar,  brought  from  Sweden  and  Rus.sia  into 
Holland,  were  imported,  by  the  interior  navigation, 
fi'om  Holland  and  Flanders  to  Boulogne.  These 
had  been  stopped,  at  the  moment,  by  ditferent  ob- 
stacles, on  tiie  canals  of  Belgium.  Officei-s  were 
immediately  sent  with  orders  and  funds  in  order 
to  accelerate  the  arrival  of  the  materials  on  the 
way.  The  founderies  of  Douai,  Liege,  and  Stras- 
bui'g,  in  spite  of  their  activity,  were  found  behind- 
hand. The  learned  Monge,  who  followed  the  fii'st 
consul  nearly  wherever  he  went,  was  sent  on  a 
mission  to  accelerate  their  labours,  and  to  see  cast 
at  Liege  some  heavy  mortars  and  pieces  of  large 
calibre.  General  Marmont  had  tiie  charge  of  the 
artillery.  Aids-de-camp  were  every  day  sent  off" 
to  stimulate  his  zeal,  and  to  state  to  him  the  par- 
ticular expeditions  of  cannon  or  of  carnages  which 
were  delayed.  There  were  demanded,  indepen- 
dently of  the  artillery  fc:-  the  vessels,  not  less  than 
five  or  six  hundred  gui. ;  for  battery,  in  order  to 
keep  the  enemy  at  a  distance  from  the  buildhig- 
yards. 

These  primary  orders  given,  it  next  became 
necessary  to  consider  he  great  question  of  the 
ports  of  assemblage,  and  of  the  means  of  propor- 
tioning their  capacity  to  the  extent  of  the  flotilla. 
It  was  necessary  to  enlarge  some,  create  others, 
and  defend  all.  After  having  conferred  with  M. 
.Sganzin,  M.  Forfait,  and  nHmirals  Decres  and 
Bruix,  the  first  consul  came  lo  the  following  dis- 
positions. 

For  a  long  while  the  port  of  Boulogne  had  been 
indicated  as  the  best  point  of  departure  for  an 
expedition  directed  against  England.  The  coast 
of  France,  in  advancing  towards  that  of  England, 
jjrojects  in  a  cape,  called  Cape  Grisnez.  To  the 
right  of  tliis  cape  it  turns  to  the  east,  towards  tiie 
Schelde,  having  in  front  the  vast  expanse  of  the 
North  Sea.  To  the  left  it  encounters  that  of  Eng- 
land, forming  thus  one  of  the  two  sides  of  the 
strait ;  then  it  descends  suddenly  from  north  to 
south  towards  the  mouth  of  the  Somme.  The 
ports  situated  to  tlie  right  of  Cape  Grisnez,  such 
as  Calais  and  Dunkirk,  placed  out  of  the  strait,  are 
less  happily  situated  as  points  of  departure  ;  the 
poi-ts  to  the  left,  on  the  contrary,  such  as  Bou- 
logne, Ambleteuse,  and  Etaples,  placed  in  the 
strait  itself,  have  always  been  judged  preferable. 
In  fact,  it  is  necessary,  on  sailing  froni  Dunkirk 
or  Calais,  to  double  Cape  Grisnez,  in  order  to  enter 
the  strait,  to  overcome  the  baftiiug  winds  of  the 


1803. 
July. 


Ports  of  departure  for  the  expe- 
dition decided. —  Excavation 
in  Boulogne  harbour. 


THE  CAMP  OF  BOULOGNE. 


Troojis  are  marched  to 
and    encamped    at 


channel,  which  are  felt  in  doublinj^  the  cape,  and 
thus  to  get  oppoeite  Boulogne,  and  draw  towards 
the  lanil  between  Folkestone  and  Dover.  On  tlie 
contrary,  in  going  from  England  to  France,  the 
passage  is  more  naturally  made  towards  Calais 
than  towards  Boulogne.  In  order  to  pass  over 
into  EnijhuKl,  which  was  the  case  in  the  projected 
exi)editi.«ii,  the  ports  to  the  left  of  Cape  Grisnez 
were  much  better  situated  tiian  those  of  Calais  and 
DuiUvirk.  They  were  alone  inconvenient  from  pre- 
senting less  e.\tent  and  depth  than  Calais  and 
Dunkirk,  which  is  explained  by  the  accninulation 
of  sands  and  shingle  banks,  always  greater  in  a 
contracted  space  like  a  strait. 

Still  the  port  of  Boulogne,  consisting  of  the  bod 
of  a  little  marshy  river,  the  Liane,  was  susceptible- 
of  receiving  a  considerable  enlargement.  The 
basin  of  the  Liane,  formed  by  two  level  surfaces, 
which  separate  in  the  environs  of  Boulogne,  and 
leave  between  tliein  a  space  of  a  semicircular 
figure,  was  capable,  by  great  labour,  of  being  con- 
verted into  a  dry  port  of  very  large  extent.  The 
channel  of  the  Liane  presented  a  deptli  of  water 
of  six  ru'  seven  feet  at  high  water"  in  moderate 
tides.  It  w;us  very  possible,  by  excavation,  to  pro- 
cure a  depth  of  nine  or  ten  feet.  It  was,  therefoi-e, 
a  practicable  thing  to  create  in  the  marshy  bed  of 
the  Liane,  a  little  above  Boulogne,  a  basin  of  a 
figure  similar  to  the  shape  of  the  land,  that  is  to 
say,  semicircular,  and  capable  of  containing  some 
hundreds  of  boats,  more  or  less,  according  to  the 
space  determined.  This  basin,  with  the  bed  of 
the  Liane,  would  be  able  to  hold  twelve  or  thir- 
teen hundred  vessels,  and,  in  consequence,  the 
larger  part  of  the  flotilla.  But  it  wiis  not  enough 
to  liave  a  sufficient  surface  ;  there  must  be  quays 
of  very  great  extent,  iu  order  that  numerous 
barks  should  be  able,  if  not  at  once,  at  least  in  a 
very  large  number,  to  lie  alongside  the  shore  of 
the  basin,  and  take  on  board  their  lading.  The 
space  devoted  to  the  quays,  therefore,  was  as 
important  as  the  extent  of  the  port  it.self.  None 
of  these  things  had  been  thought  about  under  the 
directory,  because  its  designs  had  never  gone  so 
far  as  to  unite  together  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  men  and  two  thousand  vessels.  The  first 
consul,  in  spite  of  the  vastness  of  the  labour,  did 
nut  hesitate  to  order  the  deepening  of  the  bed  of 
the  Liane  to  commence  immediately.  The  same 
r)iie  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men,  that  consti- 
tuted by  their  number  the  difficulty  of  the  entcr- 
pri/.e,  were  to  be  employed  themselves  in  van- 
quishing that  difficulty,  by  deepening  the  basin  in 
which  they  were  to  emijark.  It  wius  arranged  that 
the  camps,  placed  originally  at  some  distance  from 
the  coast,  should  immediately  be  brought  near  the 
Hca,  and  that  the  soldiers  should  themselves  exca- 
vate the  enormous  mass  of  earth  which  it  would  be 
ncccssiiry  to  remove. 

\  sluice  was  ordercil  for  the  purpose  of  deepen- 
ing the  channel,  ami  procuring  the  necessary  depth 
of  water.  .Such  [xirts  as  arc  not  f.irmcil  like  that 
of  Brest,  by  the  siiuiosities  of  a  deep  coast,  and 
are  called  dry  port",  in  general  exist  at  the 
mouths  of  small  rivers,  wiiich  become  swollen  at 
high  tide,  forming  at  that  time  a  basin  in  which 
the  vessels  find  themselves  aHoat.  They  then 
diminish  in  depth  until  low  water,  when  nothing 
more  presents  itself  than   large  rivukts    nuiniiig 


amid  beds  of  slime,  leaving  the  vessels  dry  ashox-e  for 
some  houi-s.  The  sands  which  these  rivers  bring 
down  with  them,  gathered  up  by  the  sea,  and 
driven  back  towards  the  mouths  of  the  rivers, 
form  banks  or  bars,  which  ai-e  a  great  trouble 
to  navigation.  In  order  to  overcome  these  ob- 
stacles, sluice-gates  are  placed  in  the  beds  of  the 
rivers.  These  open  of  themselves  before  the  rising 
tide,  and  receiving  an  abundance  of  water,  retain 
it  by  shutting  of  themselves  when  the  tide  begins 
to  fall,  and  do  not  permit  the  water  to  escape 
until  the  moment  when  the  sluice  is  opened.  The 
moment  chosen  for  this  purpose  is  that  of  low 
tide,  when  the  water  rushing  out  with  great  force, 
drives  the  sand  before  its  artificial  torrent,  and 
thus  deepens  the  channel  or  ])assage.  These  gates 
are  called  by  cngmeers {echisesde  chassc)  "chasing" 
or  "  hunting  sluices ;"  and  it  was  a  sluice  of  a 
.similar  kind,  the  construction  of  which  was  hastened 
at  this  time  in  the  upper  basin  of  the  Liane. 

Twenty  thousand  trunks  of  the  trees  felled  in 
the  forest  of  Boulogne,  served  to  line  with  piles 
the  two  sides  of  the  Liane,  and  the  circumference 
of  the  semicircular  basin ;  a  part  of  such  trunks 
sawn  into  large  beams,  and  then  laid  as  a  flooring 
upon  the  piles,  were  used  to  form  large  quays  the 
whole  length  of  the  Liane  and  the  semicircular 
basin.  The  numerous  vessels  of  the  flotilla  were 
thus  enabled  to  come  close  and  range  along  the 
quays  to  embark  or  disembark  the  men,  horses, 
and  stores. 

The  town  of  Boulogne  was  placed  to  the  right  of 
the  Liane,  the  basin  to  the  left,  and  nearly  oppo- 
site. The  Liane  extended  itself  longitudinally 
between  the  two.  Bridges  were  constructed  to 
afford  an  easy  comnmnieation  from  one  side  to 
the  other,  placed  above  the  point  where  the  an- 
chorage or  mooring  ground  commenced. 

These  vast  works  were  far  from  sufficing.  A 
great  maritime  establishment  is  supposed  to  in- 
clude workshops,  building-yards,  magazines,  bar- 
racks, slaughter-houses,  hospitals,  in  short,  all  that 
is  necessary  to  afford  accommodation  to  a  vast 
mass  of  ditterent  materials,  to  serve  the  seamen  in 
health  or  sickness,  to  receive,  nourish,  clothe, 
and  arm  them.  From  this  it  may  be  readily 
imagined  the  cost  in  time  and  labour  to  form  such 
establishments  as  those  of  Brest  and  Toulon  !  It 
was  here  an  object  to  create  more  extensive  es- 
tablishments, because  there  were  wanted  work- 
shops, building-yards,  magazines,  and  hospitals,  to 
meet  the  wants  of  two  thousand  three  hundred 
vessels,  thirty  thousand  seamen,  ten  thousand  work- 
men, and  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  soldiers. 
If  these  creations  had  not  been  temporary,  they 
would  have  been  absolutely  impossible.  Still  al- 
though temporary,  the  ditticulty  of  their  execution, 
considering  the  quantity  of  things  to  be  united  at 
one  spot,  was  immense. 

In  the  town  of  Boulogne  all  the  houses  were 
hired  that  could  be  converted  into  offices,  maga- 
zines, or  hospitals.  The  country  ami  the  farm- 
hciu.s(s  in  the  same  neighl)ourhood  were  also  taken 
for  a  similar  jiurposc,  when  they  were  found 
adapted  to  the  object.  Wooden  houses  were  erected 
for  the  naval  workmen,  and  pl.aces  of  shelter  were 
built  nj)  of  plank  to  serve  a-s  stables  for  the  horses. 
As  to  tlie  troops,  they  were  encamped  in  the  open 
country  in  barracks  constructed  with  the  wrecks 


.    -  Additional  harbours 

490  selected. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Additional  harbours  1803. 

Selected.  July, 


and  waste  wood  of  the  surrounding  forests.  The 
first  consul  selected  the  right  and  left  of  the 
Liane,  on  the  two  level  spaces,  the  opening  between 
which  formed  the  basin  of  Boulogne,  for  the  ground 
which  the  troops  were  to  occupy.  Thirty-six  thou- 
sand men  were  here  distributed  in  two  camps  ;  the 
one  called  that  of  the  left,  the  other  of  the  right. 
The  troops  that  had  been  assembled  at  St.  Onier, 
placed  under  the  command  of  general  Soult,  were 
the  occupants  of  tliese  two  positions.  The  other 
corps  of  the  army  were  to  be  successively  brought 
near  the  coast  as  their  establishments  should  be 
prepared  for  them.  The  troops  thus  quartered 
found  themselves  in  pure  air,  exposed,  it  was  true, 
to  violfnt  and  cold  winds,  but  provided  with  a 
great  abundance  of  wood  to  shelter  and  warm 
them. 

Immense  stores  of  provisions  were  oi'dered  from 
all  parts  of  the  country,  and  brought  into  the 
magazines.  There  came  by  the  interior  navi- 
gation, which  was  very  perfect,  in  the  north  of 
France,  as  is  well  known,  flour  to  convert  into  bis- 
cuits, rice,  oats,  salt  meat,  wine,  and  brandy.  A 
great  quantity  of  cheese,  of  a  round  form,  was 
brought  from  Holland.  These  different  aliments 
were  to  serve  for  the  daily  consumption  of  the 
camps,  and  for  the  provision  stores  of  the  double 
flotilla  of  war  and  transport.  It  is  possible  to 
judge  of  the  vast  quantity  to  be  collected,  upi>n 
imagining  that  it  was  required  to  feed  the  army, 
the  navy,  the  numerous  population  of  workmen 
who  had  been  drawn  thithei',  at  first  during  all  the 
time  o*"  the  encampment,  then  during  two  months 
when  the  expedition  should  be  in  activity,  sup- 
posing the  provisions  to  be  for  nearly  two  hundred 
thousand  persons,  and  the  forage  for  twenty  thou- 
sand horses.  If  it  be  added,  that  all  that  was 
necessai'y  was  supplied  with  an  abundance  that 
left  nothing  to  be  desired,  it  will  be  comprehended 
that  a  more  extraordinary  creation  liad  never  been 
executed  among  any  people  by  the  head  of  an 
empire. 

But  one  port  alone  would  not  suffice  for  the 
entire  expedition.  Boulogne  would  not  contain 
more  than  twelve  or  thirteen  hundred  vessels,  and 
it  was  required  to  receive  two  thousand  three  hun- 
dred. Had  the  port  been  able  to  contain  all  the 
number  necessary,  it  would  have  taken  too  long  a 
time  for  them  to  get  out  to  sea  by  the  same  clian- 
nel.  Under  certain  circumstances,  of  the  sea  it  was 
a  great  inconvenience  to  have  only  one  place  of 
refuge.  If,  for  example,  a  considerable  number 
of  the  vessels  had  gone  out,  and  bad  weather  or 
the  enemy  had  obliged  them  to  enter  the  port 
again  suddenly,  they  would  have  got  foul  of  each 
other  at  the  entrance,  a  want  of  water  would  have 
come  on,  and  they  would  have  been  lost.  There 
was,  on  descending  the  shore  about  four  leagues  to 
the  south,  a  little  river,  called  the  Canclic,  the 
mouth  of  which  formed  a  tortuous  bay,  very  sandy, 
unhappily  open  to  every  wind,  and  offering  a  far 
less  secure  ancliorage  than  that  of  Boulogne.  It 
formed  a  little  fishing  port,  that  of  Et;iples.  Upon 
this  river  Canche,  at  about  a  league  in  tiie  interior, 
was  situated  the  fortified  town  of  Montreuil.  It 
was  difficult  to  excavate  a  basin  theie,  but  it  was 
very  possible  to  drive  a  succession  of  piles,  within 
which  the  vessels  might  be  nu)ored,  and  to  con- 
struct qu.ays  of  wood  upon  these  piles  proper  for 


the  embarkation  and  disembarkation  of  troops. 
It  was  a  safe  and  secure  shelter  for  three  or  four 
hundred  vessels.  It  was  i)cssible  to  get  out  with 
the  wind  in  the  same  points  as  from  the  harbour 
of  Boulogne.  The  distance  from  Boulogne,  which 
was  four  or  five  leagues,  off'ered  some  difficulty  as 
regarded  the  simultaneous  conduct  of  the  opera- 
tions ;  but  that  was  a  secondary  difficulty,  and  an 
asylum  for  four  hundred  vessels  was  too  important 
to  be  neglected.  There  the  first  consul  formed  a 
camp,  which  was  destined  for  the  troops  united 
between  Compiegne  and  Amiens,  of  which  the 
command  was  reserved  for  general  Ney,  on  return 
from  his  Swiss  mission.  This  camp  was  called  the 
Camp  of  Montreuil.  The  troops  received  orders 
to  place  themselves  there  as  they  were  in  the  camps 
around  Boulogne.  Establishments  were  prejjared 
accoi'dingly  for  the  preservation  of  the  necessary 
provisions,  for  the  iiospitals,  and,  in  fine,  for  all 
that  could  be  required  by  an  army  of  twenty-four 
thousand  men.  The  centre  of  the  army  being 
supposed  at  Boulogne,  the  camp  at  Etaples  would 
be  the  left. 

A  little  to  the  north  of  Boulogne,  before  arriving 
at  Cape  Grisnez,  there  are  two  other  bays  disco- 
verable, formed  by  two  small  rivers,  the  beds  of 
which  are  much  encumbered  by  sand  and  mud, 
but  in  which,  at  high  water,  the  sea  rises  six  or 
seven  feet.  The  one  is  aljout  a  league,  the  other 
two  leagues  from  Boulogne ;  they  are,  besides, 
placed  in  the  same  point  with  respect  to  the  wind 
as  Boulogne.  Upon  digging  out  the  earth,  and 
placing  sluice-gates,  it  was  possible  to  find  shelter 
there  for  several  hundred  vessels,  which  would 
complete  the  means  of  accommodating  the  entire 
flotilla.  The  nearest  of  these  two  small  rivers  was 
the  Wimereux,  opening  to  the  sea  near  a  village 
of  the  same  name.  The  other  was  the  Selacque, 
the  opening  of  which  was  near  a  fishing  village, 
called  Ambleteuse.  During  the  reign  of  Louis 
XVI.,  it  had  been  in  contemplation  to  deepen 
tliese  basins,  but  the  works  executed  at  that  time 
had  now  disappeared  under  the  sand  and  mud. 
The  first  consul  ordered  the  engineers  to  inspect 
both  these  places,  and  in  case  of  a  report  favour- 
able to  his  object,  the  troops  were  to  be  employed 
there,  and  encam])ed  in  huts,  as  at  Etaples  and  at 
Boulogne.  These  two  harbours  might  be  made  to 
contain,  the  one  two  hundred,  the  other  three  Imn- 
dred  vessels  ;  thus  there  were  five  hundred  more 
still  would  have  found  the  shelter  of  an  harbour. 
The  guard,  with  the  grenadiers  united,  the  re- 
serves of  cavalry  and  artillery,  and  the  different 
corps  which  were  forming  between  Lille,  Douai, 
and  Arras,  would  here  find  the  means  of  embarka- 
tion. 

There  yet  remained  the  Batavian  flotilla,  which 
was  designed  to  embark  the  corps  of  general 
Davout,  and  which,  according  to  the  treaty  con- 
cluded with  Holland,  was  independent  of  tiie 
squadron  of  the  line  assembled  in  the  Texel. 
Unfortunately,  the  Dutch  was  far  less  effectively 
armed  than  the  French  flotilla.  It  was  a  question 
whether  it  should  go  out  of  the  Schelde  direct  for 
the  coast  of  England,  under  the  escort  of  several 
frigates,  or  whether  it  should  proceed  to  Dunkirk 
and  Calais,  in  order  to  set  out  for  England  from 
the  ports  placed  to  the  right  of  Cape  Grisnez. 
Admiral  Bruix  had  the  order  to  settle  this  ques- 


1803. 
July. 


Works  ordered  for 
the  defence  of  tlie 
coast. 


THE  CAMP  OF  BOULOGNE. 


The  first  consul  visits  Ant- 
werp,   and    makes  it  a  491 
naval  slaiioti. 


tioii.  Tlie  corps  of  general  Davout,  wliicli  formed 
the  riglit  of  tlio  army,  would  be  thus  found 
ap])roacliing  to  the  centre.  They  did  not  even 
despair,  by  dint  of  enlarj^inji;  the  basins,  and  com- 
pressing the  encam])ment,  to  make  the  whole  duu- 
ble  Cape  Grisnez,  and  to  e.stabHsh  all  at  Anible- 
teuse  and  WimereU.x.  There  the  Frencli  aud 
Dutch  flotillas,  united  to  the  number  of  two  thou- 
sand three  hundred  vessels,  carrying  the  corps  of 
generals  Davout,  Suult,  and  Ney,  with  the  reserve 
besides,  that  is  to  say,  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  men,  would  be  able  to  go  to  sea  siuuil- 
taneously,  with  the  wind  at  ihe  same  puint,  from 
four  ports,  placed  in  the  interior  of  the  strait,  with 
the  certainty  of  being  able  to  act  ti>getlier.  The 
two  great  fleets  ready  to  sail,  the  one  from  Brest, 
the  other  from  the  Texel,  would  be  able  to  carry 
the  remaining  forty  thousand  men,  of  which  the 
object  and  employment  were  the  exclusive  secret 
of  the  first  consul. 

In  order  to  effect  the  completion  of  all  the 
various  parts  of  this  v:ist  organization,  it  was 
needful  to  place  the  coast  out  of  the  reach  of 
attack  by  the  English.  Besides  the  zeal  which 
they  would  infallibly  show  to  hinder  the  concen- 
tration of  the  Boulogne  flotilla,  by  guarding  the 
shore  from  Bordeaux  to  Flushing,  it  was  t<i  be 
presumed,  that  in  imitation  of  what  they  did  in 
1801,  they  would  attemjit  to  destroy  the  flotilla, 
either  by  fire  in  the  basins,  or  by  attacking  them 
at  their  moorings  when  they  came  out  to  manoeu- 
vre. It  was  necessary,  therefore,  to  render  the 
approach  of  the  English  impossible,  as  much  for 
the  security  of  the  ports  themselves  as  to  ensure  a 
free  outlet  and  entranee,"because  if  the  flotilla  was 
condemned  to  remain  immovable  within  the  har- 
bour, it  would  be  incapable  of  niauceuvring  or  of 
executing  any  great  operation. 

This  approach  of  the  English  it  was  not  easy 
to  prevent,  in  consequence  of  the  form  of  the  coast 
being  a  right  line,  which  presented  neither  hollow 
nor  salient  point,  and  for  this  reason  had  no  means 
to  carry  out  projectiles  to  any  considerable  distance. 
This  defect  was  j)rovided  for  in  a  very  ingenious 
manner.  In  advance  of  the  shore  at  Boulogne, 
two  points  of  roek  ])rojected  into  the  sea,  one  to 
ine  right,  called  the  ))oint  of  the  Creche,  the  other 
on  the  left,  denominated  that  of  the  Ileurt.  Be- 
tween these  two  points  there  was  an  open  space  of 
three  thousand  five  hundred  fathoms  (nearly  three 
miles),  perfectly  safe  and  very  commodious  for 
nifwring.  Two  or  three  hundred  vessels  would  be 
aljlc  to  moor  there  in  several  lines.  These  points 
of  rock,  covered  by  tlie  sea  at  high  water,  were 
uncovered  at  low  tide.  The  first  consul  ordered 
the  erection  of  two  forts,  in  heavy  masonry,  of  a 
semicircular  form,  solidly  casemated,  and  present- 
ing two  tier  of  guns,  which  would  be  able  to  cover, 
by  their  firo,  the  mooriiigground  which  extended 
from  one  to  the  other.  He  had  the  work  imme- 
diately commcnci'd.  The  engineers  of  the  navy 
and  army,  seconded  by  the  masons  taken  out  of 
thu  conscription,  at  <jncc  commenced  the  work. 
The  first  consul  ha<l  tin;  desire  to  see  tho  work 
completed  beion;  the  commencement  of  winter. 
But  ho  set  himself  so  much  to  nmlliply  precau- 
tions,  that  he  wished  to  secure  the  centre  of  the 
line  of  anchor;ige  as  well  by  a  third  point  of  sup- 
port.    This  point  was  chosen  in  tho  middle  of  tho 


line,  and  in  face  of  the  entrance  of  the  port ;  and 
as  it  was  uj)on  a  base  ^A'  moving  sand,  the  first 
consul  devised  the  construction  of  this  new  fort  in 
heavy  carpentry.  Numerous  workmen  were  set, 
at  low  water,  to  drive  hundreds  of  piles,  which 
might  serve  as  a  base  for  a  battery  of  eighteen 
twenty-four  pounders.  Oftentimes  they  continued 
the  work  under  the  fire  of  the  English. 

Independently  of  these  three  points,  advanced 
into  the  sea,  and  placed  parallel  with  the  coast  of 
Boulogne,  the  first  consul  placed  cannon  and  mor- 
tars on  all  parts  of  the  coast  that  projected  in  the 
smallest  degree,  and  did  not  leave  a  point  capable 
of  carrying  artillery,  without  arming  it  with  gons 
of  the  heaviest  calibre.  Precautions  less  extensive, 
but  yet  amply  sufficient,  were  taken  at  Etai)les, 
and  at  the  new  ports  which  they  had  begun  to 
deepen. 

Such  were  the  vast  projects  definitively  arranged 
by  the  first  consul,  in  the  view  of  the  localities  and 
with  the  concuri-ence  of  the  engineers  and  ofticers 
of  the  navy.  The  construction  of  the  flotilla 
rapidly  advanced,  from  the  coasts  of  Britany  to 
those  of  Holland  ;  but  before  being  able  to  effect 
the  union  at  Ambleteuse,  Boulogne,  and  Etaples, 
it  was  necessary  to  complete  the  excavation  of  the 
basins,  the  erection  of  the  forts,  the  carriage  of  the 
artillery  matcnel  to  the  coast,  the  concentration  of 
the  ti-oops  near  the  sea,  and  the  creation  of  the 
diff'erent  establishments  necessary  to  supply  their 
wants.  The  achievement  of  all  these  oljeets,  it 
was  calculated,  would  be  completed  by  the  winter. 

The  first  consul,  after  visiting  Boulogne,  went  to 
Calais,  Dunkirk,  Ostend,  and  Antwerp.  He  de- 
sired to  see  this  last  port  himself,  and  to  be  certain, 
by  bis  own  observation,  of  the  truth  of  what  he 
had  heard  in  the  very  diff'erent  accounts  which 
had  been  transmitted  to  him.  After  having  exa- 
mined the  situation  of  this  city  with  that  prompti- 
tude and  accuracy  of  glance  which  only  belonged 
to  himself,  he  had  no  doubt  upon  his  mind  about 
the  possibility  of  making  a  great  maritime  arsenal 
of  Antwerp.  This  city  had,  in  his  view,  very  par- 
ticular properties  attaching  to  it.  It  was  situated 
on  tho  Schelde,  opposite  the  Thames  ;  it  was  in 
immediate  communication  with  Holland  by  the 
finest  of  internal  navigations,  and,  in  consequence, 
was  adapted  for  a  rich  deposit  of  naval  stores.  It 
was  able  to  receive,  without  difficulty,  by  the 
Rhine  and  Meuse,  the  timber  of  the  Alps,  the 
Vo.sges,  the  Black  Forest,  the  Wetteravia,  and  tlie 
Ardennes.  Lastly,  the  workmen  of  Flanders, 
naturally  drawn  to  that  vicinity,  would  sujiply 
thousands  of  hands  for  the  construction  of  vessels. 
The  fir.st  consul  resolved,  therefore,  to  create  at 
Antwerp  a  fleet,  the  flag  of  which  should  be  con- 
tinually flying  between  the  Schelde  and  the 
Thames.  This  would  be  one  of  the  most  sensible 
amioyances  which  hv  was  able  to  cause  to  his 
irreconcilable  enemies,  the  English.  He  had 
the  ground  occupied  immediately  required  for  the 
construction  of  the  vast  basins,  which  still  exist, 
and  are  the  jiride  of  tho  city  of  Antwerp.  These 
basins  communicate,  by  a  sluice  of  tho  largest 
dimensions,  with  the  river  Schelde,  and  are  capable 
of  containing  an  entire  fleet  of  line-of-battle  ships, 
remaining  always  jirovided  with  thirty  feet  in 
depth  of  water,  wliatever  be  that  of  tho  river 
level.     The  first  consul  wished  to  have  constructed 


..„         The  first  consul  visits 
492  Brussels. 


The  secretary  of  the  king     ,„„- 

THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.       of  Prussia  sent  to  the    "*"•'• 

first  consul. 


July. 


twenty-five  sail  of  the  line  in  this  new  port  of  the 
republic,  and  while  waiting  the  new  experiments 
relative  to  the  possibility  of  the  navigation  of  the 
Schelde,  he  ordered  several  vessels  of  seventy-four 
guns  to  be  laid  down  on  the  stocks.  He  did  not 
renounce  the  project  of  constructing  them  at  a 
later  period  of  a  superior  burden;  and  he  hoped  to 
make  of  .Antwei'p  an  establishment  equal  to  those 
of  Brest  and  Toulon,  infinitely  better  placed  to 
trouble  the  repose  of  England. 

The  first  consul  went  from  Antwerp  to  Ghent, 
and  from  Ghent  to  Brussels.  The  Belgic  popula- 
tion, always  discontented  with  the  government 
which  ruled,  showed  itself  little  docile  under  the 
administration  of  the  French.  The  fervour  of  their 
religious  sentiments,  rendered  more  difficult  than 
that  of  other  nations  the  administration  of  public 
worship.  The  first  consul  at  first  encountered  here 
a  degree  of  coldness,  or  to  speak  more  correctly, 
a  less  expanded  vivacity  than  in  the  old  French 
provinces.  But  this  coldness  soon  disappeared 
when  the  young  general  was  seen  surrounded  by 
the  clergy,  pi-esent  and  respectful  at  their  religi<ius 
ceremonies,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  who,  in  spite 
of  her  fondness  for  dissipation,  had  in  her  hetirt 
the  piety  of  a  woman,  and  of  a  woman  of  the  old 
time.  M.  de  Roquelaui'e  was  archbishop  of 
Malines,  an  old  man,  possessing  great  amenity  of 
manners.  The  first  consul  received  him  with  in- 
finite regard,  gave  back  to  his  family  a  considera- 
ble property  that  remained  sequestrated  by  the 
state,  exhibited  himself  often  to  the  people,  ac- 
companied by  the  metropolitan  of  Belgium,  and 
succeeded  by  his  manners  and  bearing  in  calming 
the  religious  mistrust  of  the  country.  He  was 
attended  at  Brussels,  too,  by  cardinal  Caprara. 
Their  meeting  produced  the  best  effect.  The  pi'e- 
sence  of  the  first  consul  iii  the  city  was  prolonged; 
and  the  ministers,  with  the  consul  Cambace'res, 
came  there  to  hold  councils.  A  part  of  the 
diplomatic  body  also  arrived  to  obtain  audiences 
of  the  head  of  the  French  government.  Thus 
surrounded  by  ministers,  generals,  and  numerous 
and  brilliant  troops,  general  Bonaparte  held,  in 
this  capital  of  the  Low  Countries,  a  court  which 
bore  all  the  appearance  of  sovereignty.  It  might 
be  said  that  an  emperor  of  Germany  had  arrived 
to  visit  the  patrimony  of  Charles  V. 

Time  passed  away  much  faster  than  the  first 
consul  had  believed.  Numerous  public  affairs  de- 
manded his  presence  in  Paris  ;  there  were  the 
orders  still  to  give  for  the  execution  of  what  he  had 
determined  upon  at  Boulogne;  and  there  were  also 
negotiations  with  the  European  powers,  which  the 
pri'sent  crisis  rendered  moi'e  active  than  ever. 
He  therefore  renounced,  for  the  moment,  a  view 
of  the  provinces  of  the  Rhine,  leaving  to  a  second 
and  approaching  journey  that  which  he  had  ori- 
ginally intended  to  include  in  the  present.  But 
before  he  quitted  Brussels,  he  received  a  visit, 
which  was  much  noticed,  and  which  merited  to 
be  so,  on  account  of  the  personage  who  had  come 
to  see  him. 

This  personage  was  M.  Lombard,  secretary  to 
the  king  of  Prussia.  Tiie  young  Frederick  Wil- 
liam, in  his  diffidence  of  himself  and  of  others,  had 
adopted  the  custom  of  detaining  the  work  of  his 
ministers,  and  of  submitting  it  to  a  new  examina- 
tion, which  he  undei-toolc  with  his  secretary,  M. 


Lombard,  a  man  of  mind  and  acquirement.  M. 
Lombard,  owing  to  tliis  royal  intimacy,  had  ac- 
quired in  Prussia  very  great  impnrtance.  M. 
Haugwitz,  able  at  catching  every  kind  of  influ- 
ence, had  been  artiul  enough  to  secure  M.  Lom- 
bard to  his  interest  in  such  a  manner,  that  the 
king,  passing  from  the  minister  to  his  private 
secretary',  only  found  in  his  ideas  the  same  views 
as  those  of  his  minister,  Haugwitz.  M.  Lombard, 
(in  coming  to  Brussels,  represented,  at  the  same 
time,  tlierefore,  before  the  first  consul,  both  the 
king  and  the  prime  minister  in  one,  in  other  words, 
the  entire  of  the  Prussian  government,  except  the 
court,  which  arranged  itself  around  the  queen  ex- 
clusively, and  was  animated  by  a  different  feeling 
from  that  of  the  ruling  power. 

The  visit  of  M.  Lombard  to  Brussels  was  the 
consequence  of  the  agitation  of  the  cabinets  since 
the  renewal  of  the  war  between  France  and  Eng- 
land. The  court  of  Prussia  was  in  a  state  of  great 
anxiety,  wiiich  accrued  from  the  recent  commu- 
nicati(/ns  of  the  Russian  cabinet.  This  last  cabinet, 
as  has  been  already  seen,  returned  in  spite  of  in- 
clination for  its  own  internal  affairs,  to  those  of 
Europe,  wishing  to  indemnify  itself  by  playing  in 
them  a  character  of  some  consideration.  All  it 
endeavoured  at  first  was  to  get  the  two  belligerent 
powers  to  accept  its  mediation,  and  recommend 
the  estates  it  pr<;tected  to  Fi'ench  forbearance. 
The  result  of  these  its  first  efforts  had  not  been  of 
a  very  satisfactory  nature.  England  had  received 
the  overture  with  great  coldness,  refusing  at  once 
to  confide  Malta  to  Russian  keeping,  or  to  suspend 
hostilities  during  the  time  the  work  of  mediation 
was  proceeding.  She  had  solely  declared  she 
would  not  decline  the  interlerence  of  the  Russian 
cabinet,  if  the  new  negotiation  embraced  the  whole 
of  the  affairs  of  Europe,  and,  consequently,  in- 
cluded in  the  question  all  that  the  treaties  of 
Luneville  and  of  Amiens  had  stipulated. 

To  accept  these  conditions  was  to  repel  the 
mediation.  While  England  replied  in  this  mode, 
France,  on  her  side,  receiving  with  entire  defer- 
ence the  intervention  of  the  young  emperor,  had, 
nevertheless,  occupied  without  hesitation  the  terri- 
tories under  the  recommendation  and  protection 
of  Rus.sia,  namely,  Hanover  and  Naples.  The 
court  of  St.  Petersburg  was  singularly  hurt  to  find 
itself  so  little  regarded,  when  it  pressed  England 
to  accept  the  Russian  mediation,  and  France  to 
limit  the  extent  of  her  hostility.  Ru.ssia  had  tlien 
cast  her  eyes  upon  Prussia,  in  ox-der  to  engage  her 
to  form  a  third  party,  whicli  should  give  tiie  law 
to  the  French  and  English  ;  above  all,  to  tlie 
French,  who  were  much  more  alarming  than  the 
English,  although  more  polite.  The  emperor 
Alexander,  who  had  met  the  king  of  Prussia  at 
Meinel,  and  had  sworn  to  Jiim  at  that  meeting  an 
eternal  friendship,  who  himself  discovered  every 
kind  of  analogy  with  the  young  monarch,  analogies 
of  age,  mind,  and  virtue,  endeavoured  to  persuade 
him,  in  a  frequent  correspondence,  tJiat  they  were 
made  for  each  other,  that  they  were  tlio  only 
honest  people  in  Europe;  that  at  Vienna  there  was 
notiiing  but  falsehood,  at  Paris,  ambition,  and  in 
London,  avarice  ;  in  short,  that  they  owed  it  to 
themselves  to  unite  closely,  in  order  to  constrain 
and  govern  Europe. 

The    young     emperor,    exhibiting     precocious 


1803. 
Aug. 


Russia,  jealous  of  France, 
endeavours  to  influence 
Prussia. 


THE  CAMP  OF  BOULOGNE. 


Conference  of  Napoleon  _ 

with  M.  Lombanl.  '*'^'' 


cunning,  had  endeavoured,  before  all  tilings,  to 
persuade  tlie  king  of  Prussia,  that  he  was  the 
dupe  of  the  fii-st  consul's  wheedling,  and  that  for 
interests  of  a  mediocre  character,  he  had  made  to 
him  dangerous  political  sacrifices ;  that  owing  to 
liis  condescensiiin,  Hanover  liad  been  invaded  ; 
that  the  French  would  not  limit  their  occupations 
there  ;  that  the  na.son  they  urged  to  exclude 
England  fnun  the  continent  would  carry  them 
beyond  Hanover,  and  conduct  tliem  as  far  as  Den- 
marli  in  order  to  seize  the  Sound  ;  that  then  the 
English  would  blockade  the  Baltic  as  they  had 
blockaded  the  Elbe  and  Weser,  and  thus  shut  up 
the  last  outlet  remaining  for  the  commerce  of  the 
ontinent.  The  fear  thus  expressed  by  Russia, 
could  not  be  real  ;  because  the  first  consul  did  not 
think  of  pushing  forward  his  system  of  occupation 
as  far  as  Denmark,  it  was  not  possible  that  he 
dreamed  of  such  a  measure.  He  had  occupied 
Hanover  under  its  title  of  an  English  property; 
and  he  had  occupied  Tarentum,  in  virtue  of 
the  uncontested  domination  of  France  over  Italy. 
But  to  invade  Denmark,  by  passing  over  the  body 
of  Germany,  was  impossible,  unless  it  was  to  begin 
by  the  conquest  of  Prussia  herself;  and  then  most 
fortunately  the  policy  of  France  had  not  required 
80  great  an  extension  of  power. 

The  suggestions  of  Russia,  therefore,  were  false- 
hoods ;  but  they  bei'aine  sources  of  uneasiness  to 
the  king  of  Prussia,  already  much  troubled  at  the 
occupation  of  Hanover.  This  occupation  had 
caused  him,  besides  the  continual  complaints  of 
the  German  states,  very  cruel  commercial  suffer- 
ing. The  Elbe  and  the  Weser  were  closed  by  the 
English  ;  the  exportation  of  Prussian  produce  had 
oea.sed  all  at  once.  The  cloths  of  Silesia,  bought 
commonly  at  Hamburg  and  Bremen,  the  great 
trade  of  which  they  feil,  lia<l  been  refused  on  the 
same  day  that  the  blockade  had  commenced.  The 
great  merchants  of  Hamburg  in  particular  had 
shown  a  8|)ecies  of  malice  in  declining  every  kind 
of  commercial  business,  in  order  yet  more  to  stinm- 
late  the  court  of  Prussia,  and  to  make  it  feel  more 
sinsibly  the  inconvenience  of  the  occupation  of 
Hanover,  the  sole  cause  of  the  blockade  of  the 
Elbe  and  Weser.  From  that  date  the  great  Prus- 
sian nobles  had  sustjiined  immense  losses.  M. 
Haugwitz  himself  had  lost  one-half  of  his  in- 
come ;  a  circumstance  which  did  not  alter  in 
any  degree  the  calnmess  of  mind  that  made  one  of 
the  merits  of  his  ])olitical  character.  The  king, 
besieged  by  the  complaints  of  Silesia,  had  been 
obliged  to  len<l  a  million  of  crowns  to  that  pro- 
vince ',  a  sacrifice  great  enough  for  an  economical 
prince,  who  was  so  anxious  to  re-establish  the 
treasury  of  the  great  Frederick.  They  requested 
at  tlie  present  moment  double  tliat  sum. 

Agitated  by  the  suggestions  of  Russia,  and  by 
the  complaints  re<;arding  Prussian  commerce,  the 
king,  Frederick- William,  feared,  besides,  that  if  he 
Buflered  himself,  led  by  these  suggestions  and  com- 
plaints, to  become  engaged  in  hostile  relations  with 
France,  it  would  overturn  all  his  policy,  which 
for  several  years  had  rested  ujion  a  French  al- 
liance. It  was  to  extricate  himself  from  this 
painful  state  of  things,  that  M.  Lombard  came  to 
bo  sent  to  Brussels.     Ho  had  orders  to   observe 

>  5,000,000  r  or  about  £150,000. 


the  young  general  very  narrowly,  to  endeavour  to 
penetrate  into  liis  objects,  to  assure  himself,  if 
he  intended,  as  they  said  at  St.  Petersburg,  to 
push  his  occupations  as  far  as  Denmark  ;  if, 
finally,  as  they  still  said  too  at  St.  Petersburg,  it 
was  so  very  dangerous  to  trust  this  extraordinary 
man.  M.  Lombard  was  at  the  same  time  to  lay 
himself  out  for  obtaining  some  concessions  relative 
to  Hanover.  The  king,  Frederick-William,  would 
have  wished  that  the  corps  occupying  the  country 
should  be  reduced  by  some  thousand  men,  which 
would  have  cahned  the  fears,  sincere  or  affected, 
of  which  the  presence  of  the  French  in  Germany 
had  been  the  cause.  She  wished,  further,  the 
evacuation  of  some  small  i)ort  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Elbe,  such  as  that  of  Cuxhaven.  This  little  poi-t, 
situated  at  the  entrance  of  the  Elbe  itself,  was  the 
nominal  property  of  the  Hamburghers,  but  in 
reality  it  served  the  English  for  th  •  continuation 
of  their  trade.  If  that  had  been  left  unoccupied, 
from  its  claim  to  be  Hamburg  territory,  the  Eng- 
lish trade  would  be  carried  on  just  as  in  a  time  of 
l)rofouiid  peace.  With  such  a  proceeding,  the 
object  that  France  proposed  to  herself  would  have 
been  defeated  ;  and  so  correct  is  this  view  of  the 
matter,  that  in  1800,  when  Prussia  herself  had  taken 
Hanover,  she  occupied  Cu.xhaven. 

As  the  price  of  these  two  concessions,  the  king 
of  Prussia  offered  a  northern  system  of  neutrality, 
drawn  up  after  the  system  of  the  old  Prussi;in  neu- 
trality, which  would  comprehend,  besides  Prussia 
and  the  north  of  Germany,  the  new  German  states, 
perhaps  even  Russia  ;  at  least  so  king  Frederick 
William  flattered  himself.  This  was  according  to 
that  monarch  guaranteeing  to  France  the  immo- 
bility of  the  continent,  leaving  her  free  to  employ 
all  her  means  against  England,  and  consequently 
worthy  of  some  sacrifices.  Such  were  the  different 
objects  confided  to  the  prudence  of  M.  Lombard. 

The  secretary  of  the  king  of  Prussia  left  Berlin 
for  Brussels,  warmly  recommended  by  M.  Haug- 
witz  to  M.  de  Talleyrand.  He  felt  in  a  sensible 
manner  the  honour  of  approaching  and  of  con- 
versing with  the  first  consul.  Tlie  last,  made 
aware  of  the  object  with  which  M.  Lombard  had 
arrived,  received  him  in  the  most  brilliant  way, 
and  took  the  best  means  to  o|)en  an  access  to  his 
heart,  which  was  to  flatter  him  by  a  confidence 
without  limit,  by  the  develoimicnt  of  all  his  ideas, 
and  even  of  his  secret  thoughts.  Besides,  the  first 
consul  was  able  at  that  moment  to  unfold  himself 
wholly  without  losing  any  thing  by  it  ;  and  he  tlid 
.so  accordingly  with  much  frankness,  and  a  good 
deal  of  attractive  language.  He  did  not  wish,  he 
told  M.  Lombard,  to  acquire  a  single  territory 
more  upon  the  continent  ;  he  desired  no  more 
than  other  jjowers  had  recognised  in  French 
possession  by  open  or  secrcit  treaties  ;  the  Rhine, 
the  Alps,  Piedmont,  Parma,  and  the  maintenance 
of  existing  relations  with  the  Italian  republic  and 
with  Etruria.  He  was  ready  to  acknowledge  the 
independence  of  Switzerland  and  Holland.  He 
was  resolved  no  more  to  mix  himself  up  in  the 
affairs  of  Germany  from  the  date  of  the  recez  of 
1803.  He  intended  only  tin;  performance  of  one 
single  tiling,  which  was  to  repress  the  maritime 
despotism  of  England,  iu'^niiporlable  to  others 
certainly  as  well  as  to  liim,  when  Prussia,  Russia, 
Sweden,  and  Denmark,  had  imited  twice  in  twenty 


Conference  of  N'iipoleon 
with  M.  Luinljard. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Jealousy  of  France 
experienced  by 
Russia. 


Aug. 


years,  in  1780  and  1800,  in  order  to  put  a  stop  to 
it.  It  was  fiir  Prussia  to  aid  in  siicli  a  task;  fur 
Prussia,  the  natural  ally  of  France,  tliat  for  several 
years  had  received  nuniberh-ss  services  from  her, 
and  on  whom  yet  greater  ones  awaited.  If,  in 
fact,  he  were  viL-toriius,  grandly  vittorious,  what 
would  it  not  be  in  his  power  to  do  for  Prussia  ? 
Had  he  not  Hanovei-  then  nn<ler  his  hand,  a  com- 
plement So  natural  and  so  necessary  for  the  Prus- 
sian territory  ?  Was  not  that  the  price,  inmiense 
and  certain,  of  the  friendship  that  tlie  king  Frede- 
rick-William testified  for  him  under  the  existing 
circunistanoes  ?  But  in  order  that  he  should  be 
victorious  and  giMteful,  it  was  necessary  that  he 
sliould  be  seconded  in  an  efficaci<iiis  manner.  An 
ambiguous  good  will,  a  neutrality  more  or  less 
extended,  constituted  a  very  middling  aid.  He 
must  give  assistance  to  close  conriiletely  the  shores 
of  Germany,  benr  some  momentary  suffering,  and 
ally  himself  to  France  by  a  positive  union.  That 
called,  since  \1U5,  the  sysieni  of  Prussian  neu- 
trality, did  not  suffice  to  secure  the  peace  of  the 
continent.  It  was  necessary,  in  order  to  render 
this  ])eace  certain,  to  have  a  formal  alliance,  public, 
offensive  and  defensive,  of  Prus.sia  with  France. 
Then  none  of  the  continental  powers  would  dare  to 
enter  into  any  design  ;  England  would  be  mani- 
festly alone,  reduced  to  a  conflict,  man  to  man, 
with  the  army  of  Boulogne;  if  to  the  perspective  of 
such  a  conflict  were  joined  tlie  close  of  the  European 
markets,  she  would  be  either  brought  to  terms,  or 
crushed  by  the  formidable  expedition  whicii  was 
|)reparing  upon  the  shores  of  the  channel.  But 
the  first  consul  repeated  unceasingly,  that  in  order 
to  this  the  effective  alliance  of  Prussia  was  neces- 
sary, and  a  concurrence,  entire  and  earnest  on  her 
part,  in  the  objects  of  France.  Then  all  would 
succeeil;  then  France  woidd  be  able  to  heap  bene- 
fits upon  her  ally,  and  make  him  the  present  which 
he  had  never  demanded,  but  whicli  at  the  bottom 
of  his  heart  he  ardently  desired — namely,  Hanover. 

The  first  consul,  by  his  sincerity,  the  warmth  of 
his  explanations,  and  the  dazzling  brilliancy  of  his 
intellect,  did  not  dupe  M.  Lombard,  as  the  inimical 
faction  soon  afterwards  said  at  Berlin,  but  con- 
vinced and  enchained  him.  He  finished  by  per- 
suading him  that  he  contemplated  nothing  hostile 
to  Germany  ;  that  he  only  desired  to  procure 
means  of  action  against  England,  and  that  the 
price  of  a  frank  and  sincere  concurrence  would  be 
for  Prussia  a  magnificent  agnranrtizcment.  In  re- 
gard to  the  concessions  of  "liich  M.  Lombard  had 
made  the  demand,  the  first  consul  exhibited  to 
him  their  serious  inecmveniences ;  to  leave  the 
commerce  of  England  the  power  of  free  exercise, 
while  making  a  war  which,  np  to  the  uncertain  day 
of  the  descent,  would  be  without  bad  consequences 
to  that  country — would  be  to  abandon  to  hor  all 
the  advantages  of  the  contest.  The  first  consul 
went  even  so  far  as  to  declare  that  he  was  ready 
to  indemnify,  at  the  expense  of  the  French  ti-ea- 
sury,  the  suffering  commerce  of  Silesia.  That  in 
case  Prussia  would  consent  to  the  stipulations  of 
an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance,  lie  was  disposed, 
for  such  an  interest,  to  make  every  one  of  the  con- 
cessions which  the  king  Frederick-William  desired. 

M.  Lombard,  convinced,  dazzled,  enchanted  at 
the  familiarities  of  the  great  man,  of  whom  princes 
appreciated  with  pride  the  smallest  attention,  set 


out  on  his  return  to  Berlin,  disposed  to  communi- 
cate to  his  master  aifd  to  M.  Haugwitz  the  entire  of 
the  feelmgs  with  which  his  heart  was  full. 

The  first  consul,  after  having  held  a  brilliant 
court  at  Brussels,  nothing  more  occurring  to  detain 
him  in  Flanders,  and  the  works  undertaken  upon 
the  coast  not  being  more  advanced,  departed  for 
Paris,  where  he  had  every  thing  to  do  in  the 
double  labour  of  gcwernment  and  diplomacy.  He 
went  by  Liege,  Namur,  and  Sedan,  being  every 
where  received  with  enthusiasm,  arriving  on  the 
commencement  of  August  at  St.  Cloud. 

He  was  pressed,  wliile  continuing  to  order  from 
Paris  the  preparations  for  the  grand  expedition, 
to  clear  up  and  fix  definitivt-ly  his  relations  with 
the  great  })owers  of  ilie  continent.  In  the  uneasi- 
ness of  Prussia  he  had  clearly  discovered  the  influ- 
ence of  Russia;  he  found  this  influence  besides  in 
the  ill-will  whie-h  was  exhibited  towards  him  in 
jMadrid.  The  Spanish  cabinet,  in  effect,  refused 
any  explanation  about  the  execution  of  the  treaty  of 
St.  Ildfcfonzo,  and  said,  that  as  the  Russian  medi- 
ation gave  hojie  yet  of  a  pacific  termination,  it 
must  await  the  result  of  the  mediation  before 
taking  a  definitive  part.  Another  circumstance 
had  disagreeably  affected  the  first  consul;  this  was 
the  evident  partiality  of  Russia  in  the  attempt  at 
mediation  which  she  had  made.  While  the  first 
consul  had  accepted  the  mediation  with  entire 
deference,  and  England,  on  the  contrary,  had 
opposed  difficulties  of  every  nature,  refusing  to 
confide  Malta  in  the  hands  of  the  mediating  power, 
while  arguing  to  infinity  upon  the  extent  of  the 
negotiation,  the  Russian  diplomacy  inclined  more 
towards  England  than  towards  France,  and  seemed 
to  take  no  account  tif  the  deference  of  the  one,  nor 
of  the  bad  faith  of  the  other.  The  propositions 
recently  received  from  St.  Petersburg  revealed 
this  disposition  in  the  clearest  manner.  Russia 
declared  her  o])inion,  that  England  should  render 
Malta  to  the  order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem;  but 
that  in  return  it  would  be  proper  to  grant  to  her 
the  island  of  Lampedosa  ;  that  France  ougJit  to 
give  an  indemnity  to  the  king  of  Sardinia,  aclaiow- 
Icdge  and  respect  the  independence  of  the  states 
]ilaced  in  her  vicinity,  evacuate,  no  more  to  enter 
them,  not  only  Tarentum  and  Hanover,  but  the 
kingdom  of  Etruria,  the  Italian  republic,  Switzer- 
land, and  Holland. 

These  conditions,  acceptable  under  some  points 
of  view,  were  completely  unacceptable  under 
others.  To  concede  Lampedosa  in  compensation 
for  Malta,  was  to  give  the  English  the  means  of 
making  with  money,  which  they  never  wanted,  a 
second  Gibraltar  in  the  Mediterranean.  The  first 
consul  had  been  ready  to  consent  to  this,  in  order 
to  preserve  the  peace  from  being  broken.  Now 
launched  into  war,  full  of  the  hope  of  succeeding, 
he  would  no  longer  consent  to  such  a  sacrifice.  To 
indenmify  the  king  of  Sardinia  was  a  matter  of  no 
difficulty  with  him,  and  he  was  disposed  to  devote 
Parma  as  an  equivalent  to  this  object.  To  eva- 
cuate Hanover  and  Tarentum,  if  a  peace  were  esta- 
blished, was  but  the  natural  consequence  of  peace. 
But  to  evacuate  the  Italian  republic,  which  had  no 
army,  Switzerland  and  Holland,  which  were 
menaced  with  an  immediate  counter-revolution 
if  the  French  troops  were  withdrawn,  this  was  to 
demand  the  deliverance  to  the  enemies  of  France 


]»03. 
Aug. 


Napoleon  demands 
ex|ilanatioiis  from 
Spain. 


THE  CAMP  OF  BOULOGNE. 


DiflVrences  between  France 
and  Spam. 


of  the  states  of  wliidi  she  had  acquired  the  right 
to  dispose  by  t  ii  years  of  war  and  victory.  The 
first  consul  was  tinaltle  to  abide  by  such  conditions. 
That  which  decided  liim  mi>re  completely  still  in 
not  sufferin;!  such  a  mediation  to  proceed,  was  the 
form  umler  which  it  was  offered.  The  first  consul 
had  consented  to  the  sii|ireiiie  arbitration,  alisoliite 
and  without  a|ipeal,  of  the  youiifj  emperor  himself, 
because  it  intt- rested  the  honour  of  this  monarch  to 
be  just,  and  g.ive  the  sreatei'  certainty  of  terminat- 
ing the  question.  Jiut  submittinj^  the  c;ise  to 
the  partiality  of  the  Russian  ageiit.s,  all  of  them 
devoted  to  England,  Wits  to  assent  to  a  negotiation 
disadvantageous,  and  without  limit  in  duration. 

He  therefore  declared,  after  having  discussed 
the  Russian  propositions,  after  having  shown  the 
d:inger  and  injustice  of  them  all,  that  he  was  ever 
ready  to  accept  the  personal  arbitration  of  the  czar 
himself,  but  nut  a  negotiation  conducted  by  his 
cabinet  in  a  maim-r  by  no  means  amicable  towards 
France,  and  of  such  a  complicated  character,  that 
no  end  to  it  coulJ  be  hoped  for  ;  that  he  thanked 
the  cabinet  of  .St.  Petersburg  for  its  good  offices, 
yet  lie  renounced  its  aid  to  .serve  him  further, 
le.iving  to  the  war  the  care  of  bringing  back  peace. 
The  declaration  of  the  first  consul  ended  in  these 
words,  so  deeply  marked  with  his  peculiar  cha- 
racter :  — 

"  The  first  consul  has  done  all  to  preserve  peace; 
his  efforts  having  been  vain,  he  should  have  seen 
that  war  was  in  the  order  of  destiny.  He  will 
make  war,  and  he  will  not  bend  before  a  proud 
nation,  habituated  for  twenty  years  to  make  all  the 
other  i)owers  give  way  '." 

M.  Markoff  w:is  drily  treated,  and  merited  to  be 
so  by  his  attitude  and  language  in  Paris.  The 
constant  approver  of  England,  her  pretensions  and 
conduct,  he  was  the  avowed  detractor  of  France 
and  lier  government.  When  he  was  told  that  he 
did  not  conform  himself  in  this  way,  at  least  in 
appearance,  to  the  intentions  of  his  mtuster,  who 
professed  a  rigomus  impartiality  between  France 
and  England,  he  replieil  that  "  the  emi)eror  had 
his  own  opinion,  and  that  the  Russian^  had  theirs." 
It  was  t<i  be  fiared  that  he  would  draw  upon  him- 
self a  storm  like  that  which  l.trd  Wliitworth  had 
experienced,  and  even  nvire  di.s;igreeable  still,  be- 
cau.se  the  fii-st  consul  had  none  of  the  consideration 
for  M.  Markoff  which  he  professed  for  lord  Whit- 
worth. 

The  thread  «if  this  false  mediation  being  cut, 
still  not  bnaking  with  lUissia,  the  first  consul 
determined  to  f-.rce  Spain  to  an  explanation,  and 
to  make  her  wiy  h>iw  she  intended  to  execute  the 
treaty  of  .St.  Il<li-fonzo.  H.-  acted  thus  to  discover 
if  she  would  t.iko  a  part  in  the  wir,  or  if  she  would 
remain  neuter,  funiiKhing  a  subsidy  to  France  in 
place  of  Kucour  in  men  and  vessels.  The  first 
cr>n8ul  was  not  yet  able  to  give  his  entire  attention 
to  the  grand  expedition,  inasmuch  ns  this  question 
waH  not  resolved. 

Spain  slmwed,  in  deciding  this  point,  an  ex- 
treme rejmgiiauce,  which  had  raised  the  most 
vexatious  feilings  respecting  her  in  France.  It 
was  no  dotibt  an  onerous  thing  to  be  obliged  to 
follow  a  neighbouring  power  through  all  the  vicis- 
•itudcs  of  its  policy  ;  but  in  engaging  herself  by 

>  29th  Aui,^!!!,  1803. 


the  treaty  of  St.  lldefonzo,  in  the  bonds  of  an 
offensive  and  defensive  alliance  with  France,  Spain 
had  contracted  a  positive  obligation,  of  which  it 
was  impossible  to  contest  the  results.  Indepen- 
dently of  this  oliligation,  it  was  evident  that  this 
j;ower  must  have  most  unworthily  degenerated, 
to  desire  to  kee|>  herself  at  a  distance,  when  the 
question  of  a  maritime  supremacy  was  about  to  be 
agitated  for  the  last  time.  If  England  succeeded, 
it  was  evident  that  there  would  no  longer  be  for 
Spain  commerce,  colonies,  nor  galleons,  nothing, 
in  fact,  of  that  wliich  for  three  centuries  had  com- 
posed her  greatness  and  her  riches.  When  the 
first  consul  pressed  her  to  act,  he  pressed  her  not 
only  to  fulfil  a  formal  engagement,  but  the  most 
sacred  of  duties  towards  herself.  Taking  into 
account  her  present  incapacity,  he  had  left  her 
neuter,  and  in  thus  managing  for  her  to  retain  the 
power  of  receiving  the  dollars  of  Mexico,  he  de- 
manded that  she  .should  contribute  her  fiart  to 
a  war  made  f>ir  the  conmion  advantage;  ty  ])ay,  in 
other  words,  that  debt  in  money,  when  she  was  not 
able  to  pay  it  in  blood,  which  was  due  to  the  cause 
of  the  liberty  of  the  seas. 

The  relations  of  France  with  Spain  altered,  as 
has  been  seen,  on  the  question  of  Portugal,  a  little 
ameliorated  since,  thanks  to  the  vacancy  of  the 
duchy  of  Parma,  were  now  spoiled  anew,  ami  on 
the  point  cf  becoming  altogether  hostile.  They 
complained  daily  at  Madrid  of  having  ceded 
Louisiana  for  the  kingdom  of  Etruria,  which  they 
denominated  a  nominal  possession,  because  Frencli 
troops  guarded  Etruria,  which  was  incapable  of 
guarding  itself.  They  comjilained  yet  more  of  the 
cession  of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States.  They 
said  that  if  France  wishetl  to  alienate  that  precious 
colony,  it  was  to  the  king  of  Spain  that  he  should 
liave  addressed  himself,  not  to  the  Americans,  who 
would  become  dangerous  neighbours  for  the  Mexi- 
cans ;  that  if  France  had  rendered  back  that  colony 
to  Charles  IV.,  he  would  be  well  reconciled  to  the 
charge  of  preserving  it  from  the  Americans  or  the 
English.  It  was  ridiculous,  in  truth,  for  these 
people,  who  were  about  to  lose  .Mexico,  Peru,  and 
all  South  America,  to  pretend  that  they  had  the 
power  of  keeping  Louisiana,  which  was  neither 
Spanish  in  its  manners,  spirit,  nor  language.  At 
Madrid,  they  made  this  alienation  of  Louisiana  a 
great  grievance  against  .France,  and  with  so  grave 
a  character  did  they  clothe  it,  that  they  made  it  a 
ground  to  cancel  every  obligation  towards  her. 
The  real  motive  of  this  humour  was  to  be  found  in 
the  refusal  of  the  first  consul  to  add  the  duchy  of 
Parma  to  the  kingdom  of  Etruria;  a  refusal  at  that 
moment  ftuced  upon  him  from  being  compelled  to 
keep  some  territory  in  hand  to  indemnify  the  king 
of  Piedmont,  since  there  had  been  so  strong  a 
re()uestniade  to  grant  that  king  an  indemnity;  and, 
besides,  the  Floridas,  after  ilie  abandonnunt  of 
Louisiana,  were  not  an  object  of  exchange  that 
was  acceptable.  The  cabinet  of  Madrid  still 
kept  towards  France  the  attitude  of  bad  hum<iur, 
an<l  proceeded  to  more  injurious  aggravations. 
The  conunercc  of  Franco  was  most  unworthily 
treated.  Under  the  pretext  of  smuggling,  vessels 
had  been  seized,  and  the  crews  sent  to  Africa. 
All  the  remonstrances  of  the  French  government 
were  disregarded  ;  and  no  reply  was  made  to  the 
ambassador  upon  any  subject.      To  crown  these 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


and  the  prince  of  the 

peace. 


1803. 
Aug. 


outrages,  Spain  suffered  Frencli  sliips  to  be 
boarded  and  carried  off  at  the  anchorages  of 
Algesiras  and  Cadiz,  within  reach  of  the  fire  of 
the  Spanisli  guns,  which  constituted,  all  alliance 
apart,  a  violation  of  territory  it  was  unworthy  of 
Spain  to  permit.  The  fleet  which  had  sought  for 
refuge  in  Curunna,  ujion  a  false  allegation  of  qua- 
rantine, was  kept  beyond  the  anchorage-ground, 
where  it  would  have  found  itself  in  security.  The 
crews  were  suffered  to  perish  on  board,  for  want 
of  the  most  indispensable  resources,  and  more 
particularly,  that  most  essential  of  all,  the  bene- 
ficial air  on  land.  This  squadron,  blockaded  by 
an  English  fleet,  was  unable  to  sail  without  some 
rest,  a  considerable  refit,  and  a  supply  of  pro- 
visions and  ammunition.  These  were  all  refused, 
even  at  a  money  price.  Lastly,  by  a  bravado, 
which  put  a  finish  to  the  proceedings,  while  the 
Spanish  navy  was  left  in  a  state  of  dilapidation  tliat 
attracted  pity,  the  government  employed  itself  in 
singular  haste  about  the  army,  and  organized  the 
militia  as  if  it  would  have  wished  to  prepare  for  a 
national  war  against  France. 

What  could  have  thus  driven  into  an  abyss  the 
foolish  favourite,  whose  government  disgraced  the 
noble  blood  of  Louis  XIV.,  and  reduced  a  brave 
nation  to  the  most  disgraceful  imbecility  ?  The 
want  of  connexion  in  his  ideas,  wounded  vanity, 
idleness,  and  incapacity,  were  the  miserable  springs 
that  moved  this  usurper  of  Spanish  royalty.  He 
formerly  leaned  towards  France,  this  was  sufficient 
to  make  his  inconstancy  now  incline  towards 
England.  The  first  consul  had  not  been  able  to 
dissimulate  his  contempt  for  him,  while  the 
English  and  Russian  agents,  on  the  other  hand, 
overloaded  him  with  flattery  ;  this  more  particu- 
larly, when  France  required  courage,  activity,  and  a 
good  administration  of  Spanish  affairs  at  his  hands; 
no  more  than  this  was  necessary  to  bring  him  to 
detest  an  ally  who  exacted  so  much  from  liim. 
"All  that  will  finish,"  said  the  first  consul,  "by  a 
thunderbolt."  Thus  was  announced,  by  unlucky 
flashes,  the  thunder  concealed  in  the  thick  cloud, 
which  began  to  gather  iu  ominous  gloom  over  the 
old  throne  of  Spain. 

The  sixth  of  the  camps  formed  near  the  sea- 
shore of  France  had  been  assembled  at  Boulogne. 
The  preparations  were  accelerated  and  increased 
so  far  as  to  form  a  perfect  army.  Another  forma- 
tion of  troops  took  place  on  the  side  of  the  Pyre- 
nees Orientales.  Augereau  received  the  title  of 
general-in-chief  of  these  different  bodies  of  troops. 
The  French  ambassador  had  orders  to  demand  of 
the  Spanish  court  the  i-edress  of  all  the  grievances 
of  which  it  had  to  complain.  Tiie  enlargement  of 
the  French  subjects  that  iiad  been  detained,  with 
an  indemnification  for  the  losses  they  had  sus- 
tained ;  the  punishment  of  the  commandants  of 
the  forts  of  Algesiras  and  Cadiz,  who  had  suffered 
the  French  vessels  to  be  taken  within  range  of 
their  guns  ;  the  restitution  of  the  captured  ships  ; 
the  admission  into  the  basins  of  Ferrol  of  the 
squadron  which  had  sougiit  refuge  in  Corunna  ; 
its  refitting  and  revictualling  at  once,  under  an 
immediate  settlement  of  expense  with  franco ; 
the  disbanding  of  all  the  niiliiia  ;  and,  lastly,  on 
the  choice  of  Spain,  eitiier  a  stipulated  subsidy  or 
an  armament  of  filteen  ships  and  twenty-four 
thousand    men,    promised    by    the    treaty   of    St. 


Ildefonzo.  General  Beurnonville  was  also  to  de- 
clare to  the  prince  of  the  peace  the.se  expressed 
determinations,  to  tell  him  that  if  the  court  of 
Madrid  persisted  in  its  foolish  and  culpable  con- 
duct, it  was  upon  him  would  be  directed  the  just 
indignation  of  the  French  government  ;  that  in 
passing  the  frontier,  the  French  would  denounce 
to  the  king  and  people  of  Spain  the  shameful  yoke 
under  which  they  were  bowed  down,  and  from 
which  they  had  come  to  deliver  them.  The 
declaration  thus  made  to  the  prince  of  the  peace 
had  no  effect. 

General  Beurnonville,  impatient  to  put  an  end 
to  these  intolerable  outrages,  hastened  to  seek 
an  interview  with  the  prince  of  the  peace,  to 
tell  him  the  hard  truths  which  he  had  orders  to 
deliver  to  his  own  ears,  and  not  to  leave  liim  any 
doubt  upon  the  serious  nature  of  his  menaces,  to 
place  before  his  eyes  several  passages  in  the 
despatches  of  the  first  consul.  The  prince  of  the 
peace  grew  pale,  let  fall  some  tears,  was  liy  turns 
abject  and  arrogant,  and  finished  l)y  declaring  that 
M.  Azara  was  charged  at  Paris  to  con)e  to  an 
understanding  with  M.  de  Talleyrand ;  that,  more- 
over, it  did  not  regard  him,  the  |)rince  of  the 
peace ;  that  in  listening  to  the  ambassador,  he 
departed  from  Jiis  proper  character,  because  he 
was  generalissimo  of  the  S|)anish  armies,  and  had 
no  other  function  in  the  state ;  and  that  if  he  had 
any  declaration  to  make,  it  was  to  the  minister  for 
foreign  affairs  that  lie  ongiit  to  address  himself, 
and  not  to  him,  the  prince.  He  even  refused  a 
note,  that  general  Beurnonville  wished  to  give  him 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  conference.  The  general, 
thus  repulsed,  said, — "  Prince,  there  are  Ht'ty  per- 
sons in  your  ante-cliamber,  1  shall  go  .-md  make 
them  witnesses  of  the  refusal  you  have  given  to 
receive  a  note  which  relates  to  the  service  of  your 
king,  and  1  shall  state  that  if  I  have  not  been  able 
to  acquit  myself  of  my  duty,  the  fault  is  solely 
with  you,  and  not  with  myself."  The  prince,  inti- 
midated, then  took  the  note,  and  general  Beurnon- 
ville retired. 

Continuing  to  fulfil  his  instructions  to  their  full 
extent,  the  general  and  ambassador  wished  to  see 
the  king  and  queen  :  he  found  them  surprised  and 
astounded,  seeming  to  comprehend  nothing  that 
had  passed,  repeating  that  the  chevalier  Azara  had 
received  instructions  to  arrange  every  thing  with 
the  first  consul.  Tlie  French  ambassador  quitted 
the  court,  broke  off  all  communication  with  the 
Spanish  ministers,  and  hastened  to  acquaint  his 
government  with  what  he  had  done,  and  witii  the 
slender  result  which  he  had  obtained. 

M.  Azara,  in  fact,  had  received  the  most  singular 
and  most  inconsistent  communications,  very  dis- 
agreeable to  himself.  This  lively  and  clever 
Spaniard  was  a  sincere  partizan  for  the  alliance 
of  Spain  with  France,  and  the  personal  friend  of 
the  first  consul,  since  the  campaigns  in  Italy, 
where  he  had  played  a  conciliatory  character 
between  the  French  army  and  the  jx-pt".  Unhap- 
pily, he  iiad  not  sufficiently  concealed  the  distaste 
and  sorrow  which  the  existing  state  of  the  court  of 
Spain  caused  to  himself,  and  this  discontented 
court  wi  hdrew  its  consideration  from  the  ambas- 
sador that  thus  deplored  its  situation.  He  was,  it 
asserted,  in  the  despatches  that  they  had  written 
to  iiim  from  Madrid, — he  was  the  humble  servant 


1803. 
Aug. 


M.  Hermann  sent 
from  Paris  to 
Madrid. 


THE  CAMP  OF  BOULOGNE. 


Fresh  condition  imposed 
upon  Spain  by  the  first 
consul. 


497 


of  the  first  consul  ;  lie  had  not  informed  his  court 
of  any  thing,  and  he  did  not  know  how  to  serve  it 
under  an  exijjeney.  They  went  so  far  as  to  de- 
clare to  him,  that  if  tiie  first  consul  had  not  a 
desire  to  detain  him  in  Paris,  they  would  choose 
another  representative.  They  thus  provoked  him 
to  give  in  his  rtsignaliou  without  daring  to  demand 
it.  He  was  ordered,  as  a  conel'ision  of  the  affair, 
to  offer  PVance  a  subsidy  of  2,300,000  f.  per  month, 
declaring  that  this  was  all  Sj»ain  was  able  to  do,  as 
above  that  sum  she  was  too  much  reduced  to  pay 
by  her  utter  want  of  means.  M.  Azara  transmitted 
these  propositions  to  the  first  consul,  and  then  sent 
off  his  resignation  by  a  courier  to  Madrid. 

The  tii-st  consul  sent  for  M.  Hermaini,  secretary 
(if  emba.s.sy,  who  hud  had  personal  relations  with 
the  prince  of  the  peace,  and  gave  him  his  orders  to 
carry  to  Madrid.  M.  ilermann  was  to  signily  to 
the  [irinee  that  he  must  either  submit,  or  resign 
himself  to  an  immediate  downfall,  by  the  means 
that  M.  Hermann  had  iu  his  portfolio.  These 
means  were  as  follow : — The  first  consul  had 
written  a  letter  to  the  king,  in  which  he  de- 
nounced to  that  weak  monarch  the  misfortunes 
and  reproaches  of  his  crown,  in  such  a  manner, 
at  the  same  time  as  to  awaken  the  feeling  ot 
dignity  without  wounding  him  ;  and  he  placed 
hinj  in  a  position  between  the  dismission  of  the 
favourite,  or  the  immediate  entrance  of  a  French 
army.  If  the  prince  of  the  peace,  after  having 
seen  M.  Hermann,  did  not  immediately,  without 
evasion,  and  without  sending  any  new  message  to 
Paris,  give  full  and  entire  satisfaction  to  France, 
general  Beurnonville  was  to  demand  a  .solemn 
audience  of  Charles  IV.,  and  to  deliver  into  his 
own  hands  the  terrible  letter  of  the  first  consul. 
Twejity-four  hours  after,  if  the  prince  of  the  peace 
was  not  dismissed  or  sent  away,  general  Beurnou- 
ville  was  to  quit  Mailrid,  and  forward  to  general 
Augereau  the  injunction  to  pass  the  frontier. 

M.  Hermann  went  in  all  haste  to  Madrid.  He 
saw  the  prince  of  the  peace,  and  signiHed  to  hiiu 
the  will  of  the  first  consul  ;  this  time  he  found 
him  no  more  liase  and  arrogant,  but  solely  base. 
A  Spanish  minister  who  had  the  proper  con- 
viction of  Ills  duty  and  upheld  the  interests  of 
liirt  country,  representing  liis  king  with  honour, 
and  not  covering  him  with  ignominy,  would  have 
braved  disgrace,  and  even  death,  sooner  than  (tr- 
mit  such  a  display  of  foreign  authority.  But  the 
indignity  attaching  to  his  position  left  the  prince 
of  the  peace  no  energetical  resource.  He  .sub- 
mitted, and  aflirm'Ml  upon  his  word  of  honour  that 
instructions  should  be  sent  to  M,  Azara,  with 
p.iwer  to  consent  to  all  which  the  first  consid 
lerjuired.  This  answer  was  carried  to  gemral 
Beurnonville.  He  declared  that  he  had  orders  to 
exact  an  immediate  fulfilment,  and  not  to  |>ay 
another  nie.sseng>-r  to  Paris  ;  and  further,  that  he 
had  express  instructions  not  to  take  the  princes 
word,  but  to  have  a  si;;ned  document  in  Madrid  it- 
self, or  to  remit  the  fatal  letter  into  the  king's  hand. 

The  prince  of  the  peace  repeated  his  old  story, 
all  had  terniiiiate<l  at  Paris  at  that  moment, 
and  conformably  to  the  will  of  the  first  consul. 
This  miserable  court  bilieved  it  had  Haved  its 
honour  in  leaving  to  M.  Azara  the  melancholy 
t«8k  of  submitting  himself  to  the  will  of  France, 
aud  iu  sending  to  four  hundred  leagues'  distance 


the  spectacle  of  its  own  abasement.  General  Beur- 
nonville then  believed  it  was  his  duty  to  carry  to 
the  king  the  letter  of  the  first  consul.  The  directors 
of  the  king,  in  other  words,  the  queen  and  prince 
of  the  peace,  would  have  declined  an  audience,  but 
a  courier  would  have  ordered  Augereau  to  enter 
Spain.  Still  they  found  a  means  to  arrange  every 
thing.  They  advised  Charles  IV.  to  receive  the 
letter,  but  persuaded  him  not  to  open  it,  because  it 
contained  expressions  with  which  lie  would  be 
much  offended.  They  set  themselves  to  prove  to 
him,  that  by  receiving  the  letter  he  spared  Spain 
the  entrance  of  the  French  army,  and  that  by  not 
opening  it  he  saved  his  dignity  from  being  hurt. 
Things  being  thus  disposed,  general  Beurnonville 
was  admitted  to  the  Escurial  in  presence  of  the 
king  aud  queen,  out  of  the  presence  of  the  prince 
of  the  peace,  which  he  had  orders  not  to  suffer,  and 
he  handed  to  the  Spanish  monarch  the  crushing 
<ienunciation  of  which  he  was  the  bearer.  Charles 
IV.,  with  an  easiness  which  proved  his  ignorance 
of  affairs,  said  to  the  ambassador :  "  I  have 
received  the  letter  of  the  first  consul,  seeing  that 
it  must  be  so;  but  I  shall  give  it  back  to  you  soon 
without  opening  it.  You  will  know  in  a  few  days 
that  the  step  was  useless,  because  M.  Azara  has 
been  charged  to  settle  every  thini:  in  Paris.  I 
esteem  the  first  consul  ;  1  am  willing  to  be  his 
faithful  ally,  and  to  furnish  him  with  all  the  aid 
that  my  crown  has  at  its  disposal." 

After  this  official  reply,  the  king  took  up  that 
familiar  manner  so  little  worthy  of  the  throne  and 
of  his  present  situatiou  ;  he  spoke  in  terms  of  an 
enibarra.ssing  vulgarity  of  the  vivacity  of  his  friend 
general  Bonaparte,  and  of  his  resolution  to  pardon 
every  thing,  in  order  not  to  break  np  the  union 
between  the  two  courts.  The  French  ambassador 
retired  confounded,  having  suflered  painfully  during 
such  a  spectacle,  and  now  believed  he  was  bound 
to  await  the  arrival  of  a  new  courier  from  Paris, 
before  giving  general  Augereau  the  notice  to 
march. 

This  time  the  prince  of  the  peace  .spoke  the 
truth  ;  M.  Azara  had  received  the  authorization 
necessary  to  sign  the  conditions  imposed  by  the 
first  consul.  It  was  agreed  that  Spain  should  re- 
main neuter  ;  that  in  place  of  the  succours  stipu- 
lated in  the  treaty  of  St.  lldefonso,  she  should  pay 
to  France  a  subsidy  of  0,000,000  f.  i)er  month,  of 
which  a  third  should  be  retained  for  the  adjust- 
ment of  the  balances  existing  between  the  two 
governments  ;  that  Spain  should  acquit  at  a  single 
|)ayment  the  four  montiis  which  had  become  due 
since  the  commencement  of  the  war,  in  a  sinn  of 
1(>,000,000  f.  An  agent  named  Hervas,  who  trans- 
attid  in  Paris  the  financial  business  of  the  court 
of  Madrid,  was  to  go  into  Holland  to  negotiate 
a  loan  with  the  house  of  Hope,  and  to  deliver 
in  payment  dollars  drawn  from  Mexico.  It  was 
uiiiierstood  that  if  England  declared  war  against 
Spain,  the  subsidy  should  cease.  For  the  con- 
.sideratioii  of  this  aid,  it  was  stipidated  that  if  the 
projects  of  the  first  consul  against  England  suc- 
ceeded, France  should  restore  to  her  ally  Trinidad 
in  the  first  place,  and  in  case  of  a  complete  triumph, 
the  celebrated  fortress  of  Gibraltar. 

This  treaty  being  signed,  M.  Azara  insisted  no 
less  strenuously  on  giving  in  his  resignation,  al- 
though he  Wiis  destitute  of  fortune,  and  de()rived  of 
Kk 


Desipn  of  the  first  consul 
upon  Ireland. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Immense  activity  of 
the  tirst  consul. 


1803. 
Sept. 


every  kind  of  resource  to  solace  a  precocious  old 
age.  He  died  at  Paris  some  inontlis  ai'ttrwards. 
The  prince  of  the  peace  had  so  little  dignity  as  to 
■write  to  his  agent  Hervas,  and  to  desire  him, as  he 
said,  to  arrange  his  personal  concerns  with  tiie 
first  consul.  All  that  had  passed  was,  according 
to  liini,only  a  misunderstanding;  one  of  those  ordi- 
nary differences  between  persons  who  love  each 
other,  and  who  are  afterwards  greater  friends  than 
they  were  before  !  Such  was  this  personage,  and 
such  was  the  force  and  elevation  of  his  character. 

Autunm  had  arrived  ;  the  bad  season  ap- 
proached, and  one  of  the  three  opportuniiies  re- 
ported to  be  the  best  for  the  passage  of  the  straits 
■was  about  to  ])resent  itself  in  the  fogs  and  long 
nights  of  the  winter  season.  Then  the  first  consul 
occupied  himself  without  resjjite  with  his  great 
enterprise.  The  end  of  the  quarrel  with  Spain 
had  come  at  the  exact  moment,  not  only  to  pro- 
cure him  pecuniary  resources,  but  to  render  a 
part  of  his  troops  disposable.  The  assemblage  of 
troops  drawn  towards  the  side  of  the  Pyrenees 
was  dispers  d,  and  the  corps  which  composed 
it  marched  towards  the  ocean.  Several  of  these 
corps  were  quartered  at  Salutes,  to  be  all  c;irrie<l 
by  the  squadron  from  Rochefort,  others  were 
ordered  to  Britany  to  be  embarked  in  the  grand 
squadron  at  Brest.  Augereau  commanded  the 
cam])  formed  in  that  province.  The  design  of  the 
first  consul  ripened  in  his  head  by  liitle  and  little  : 
it  now  seemed  to  him,  that  in  order  to  trouliie  yet 
more  the  government  of  England,  he  nmst  attack  on 
several  points  at  once,  and  that  a  part  of  the  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  destined  for  the 
invasion  should  be  thrown  upon  Ireland.  This 
was  the  oliject  of  the  preparations  ordered  at 
Brest.  The  minister  Decres  had  conferred  with 
the  Irish  fugitives,  who  had  already  made  an 
attempt  to  detach  their  country  from  England. 
They  promised  a  general  insurrection  in  case  of 
the  disembarkation  there  of  eighteen  thousand 
men,  with  a  complete  iiiath'icl  and  a  good  quantity 
of  arms.  They  required  as  the  jtrice  of  their 
efforts,  that  France  should  not  make  peace  without 
exacting  the  independence  of  Ireland.  The  first 
consul  consented,  uptm  the  condition  tliat  a  body  of 
twenty  thousand  men  at  least  should  have  joined 
the  French  army  and  fought  with  it  during  the 
time  of  the  expedition.  The  Irish  were  confident, 
and  full  of  ]>romi.ses,  as  all  emigrants  are  sure  to 
be  ;  yet  there  were  among  them  those  wIki  did 
not  give  such  great  hopes,  and  who  did  not  promise 
any  effective  aid  on  the  part  of  the  population. 
Still,  according  to  these  last,  it  would  he  found 
well  wishers,  and  that  was  enough  to  ensure  sup- 
port to  the  French  army,  to  cause  serious  embar- 
rassment to  hJngland,  and  to  paralyze  perhnps  fnrty 
or  fifty  thousand  of  its  soldiers.  The  expedition 
to  Ireland  had  again  the  advantage  of  keeping  the 
enemy  uncertain  about  the  true  point  of  attack. 
Without  this  expedition  England  would  have  be- 
lieved in  only  one  oiiject  on  the  part  of  her  enemy, 
that  of  traversing  the  straits  to  direct  an  army 
upon  Loudon.  On  the  contrary,  with  the  prepa- 
rations at  Brest,  many  believed  that  those  made  at 
Boulogne  were  only  a  feint,  and  that  the  true 
design  consisted  in  a  great  expedition  to  Ireland. 
The  doubts  thus  inspired  were  productive  of  a 
primary  result  exceedingly  useful. 


The  fleet  that  had  put  into  Ferrol  was  at  lengtii 
introduced  into  the  docks,  in  due  course  of  repara- 
tion, provided  with  the  refi-eshments  of  which  the 
crews  stood  in  pressing  need.  That  at  Toulon 
was  in  course  of  preparation.  In  Holland  they 
began  to  equip  a  squadron  of  the  line,  and  to  unite 
a  mass  of  boats  neces.sary  for  the  formation  of  the 
Balavian  flotilla.  But  it  was  at  Boulogne  princi- 
pally that  every  thing  proceeded  with  marvellous 
order  and  I'apidity. 

The  first  consul,  full  of  the  persuasion  that  it  was 
necessary  to  see  every  thing  himself,  that  the  surest 
agents  are  often  incorrect  in  their  reports,  through 
default  in  attention,  or  want  of  sufficient  intelli- 
gence where  they  do  not  willingly  report  untruly, 
created  for  himself  a  dwelling  at  Boulogne,  where 
he  had  the  intenti.m  of  Ireqnentiy  sojourning.  He 
had  ordered  to  be  hired  a  small  chateau  in  a 
village  called  Pont  de  Briques,  and  he  had  ordered 
the  necessaries  re(|uired  to  inhabit  it  with  his  mili- 
tary household.  He  left  St.  Cloud  in  the  evening, 
passing  over  the  sixty  leagues  which  separate 
Paris  from  Boulogne  with  the  rapidity  that  ordi- 
nary princes  set  out  to  pursue  their  vulgar  plea- 
sures ;  he  arrived  the  following  day  by  noon  on  the 
theatre  of  his  immense  labours,  and  would  then 
examine  every  thing  befoi-e  g(!ing  to  sleep  for  a 
moment.  He  had  exacted  of  adniiial  Bruix,  worn 
down  with  fatigue,  sometimes  in  a  state  of  agi- 
tation from  his  quarrels  with  the  minister  Decres, 
that  he  should  not  lodge  at  Boulogne,  but  on  the 
shore,  upon  an  eminence  from  whence  he  could 
connnaud  the  port,  the  road,  and  the  camps.  There 
had  been  constructed  for  him  a  barrack  of  wood, 
well  caulked  and  secured,  in  which  this  officer,  so 
much  regretted,  terminated  his  earthly  career, 
having  continually  before  him  every  part  of  the 
immense  creative  labour  over  which  he  jjresided. 
He  resigned  himself  to  this  perilous  dwelling 
during  his  declining  existence,  in  order  to  satisfy 
the  uneasy  vigilance  of  the  chief  of  the  goveru- 
ment '. 

1  Here  is  an  extract  from  the  correspondence  of  the  min- 
ister Pecres,  wliicli  proves  tlie  devotion  of  admiral  Bruix  to 
Uie  eiiterprize,  and  well  dejiict.s  the  nature  of  his  cliaraiter, 
only  ihai  his  sufferiniis  were  less  imaginary  than  the  minister 
Decrfes  says,  because  he  died  in  the  following  year. 
"  The  minister  of  the  navy  and  colonies  to  the  first  cimsul. 
"  Boulogne,  7th  January,  1804. 

"  Cjtizen  Consul, — Admiral  Bruix  has  not  dissimulated 
jour  discontent;  he  appears  very  much  relieved  at  findin;; 
in  me  a  disposition  to  speak  to  him  with  confidence.  He 
always  sees  general  Latouche  at  the  gates  of  Boulogne,  and 
this  idea  is  any  thing  hut  agreeable  to  him. 

"  '  The  business  here  is  so  great  and  so  important/  he 
said  to  me,  very  nobly,  '  that  it  tannot  be  confided  except  to 
such  a  man  as  the  fir.st  consul  shall  judge  most  worthy  of  it. 
1  conceive  that  no  partial  considerations  should  be  admitted  ; 
and  if  the  first  consul  believes  Latouche  more  capable,  he 
will  nominate  him,  and  he  will  do  well.  For  myself,  at  the 
point  which  things  have  reached,  I  shall  not  be  able  to 
aiiandon  the  duty,  and  will  .^erve  under  the  orders  of  La- 
touclie.  But  will  my  health  permit  me?  Yes,  it  must 
permit  me;  and  I  am  nearly  sure  it  will  do  so.  The  first 
consul  demands  so  much  activity!  he  gives  an  example  so 
extraordinary!  "Very  well,  this  example  I  have  jeen  well 
enough  is  a  lesson  given  to  myself,  and  the  lesson  shall  not  be 
hist."  '  What,  then,  will  you  enter  into  all  the  details,  will  you 
inspect  every  vessel  V  '  Yes,  I  will  do  it  when  he  wislies  it, 
although  it  is  my  principle  that  this  method  is  not  equal  to 


180.1. 
Sept. 


Derensiv«  preparations 


THE  CAMP  OF  BOULOGNE, 


The  first  consul  lm<l  a  similar  barrack  con- 
structed for  liis  own  personal  use,  verj'  near  tluit 
of  the  admiral,  and  he  sometimes  passed  whole 
days  and  nights  there.  He  insistcil  that  tlie  gene- 
Pila  Davout,  Ncy,  and  Soult,  should  reside,  without 
iiiterniption,  in  the  midst  of  the  camps,  assisting 
ptTsonally  at  the  works,  and  at  the  manoeuvres, 
an<l  giving  him  every  day  an  acctiunt  of  the  mi- 
nutest circumsfcinees.  General  Sonit,  who  distin- 
guished iiimself  by  the  valuable  quality  of  vigilance, 
was  of  great  and  const:int  utility  to  him.  When 
the  first  consul  had  received  from  his  lieutenants 
his  daily  correspondence,  wliich  lie  always  an- 
swered at  the  moment,  he  set  out  to  verify  himself 
tile  exactness  of  tiie  reports  which  they  iiad  ad- 
dressed to  him,  never  trusting  for  any  thing  but  to 
his  own  eyes. 

The  Eiiglislj  had  set  themselves  to  annoy  the 
labourers  in  the  execution  of  the  works  designed 
to  protect  the  anchorage  at  Boulogne.  Tluir 
cruisers,  composed  generally  of  about  twenty 
vessels,  of  wliich  three  or  four  were  ships  of 
seventy-four  gims,  five  or  six  frigates,  and  ten  or 
a  dozen  brigs  and  sloops,  with  a  certain  nmnber  of 
•;un-boats,  made  a  continual  fire  upon  the  work- 
luiii.  Their  balls,  passing  ever  the  shoie,  had 
fallen  in  the  jiort  and  in  the  camp.  Although  their 
projectiles  had  caused  but  little  damage,  the  fire 
rt;i»  very  disagreeable,  and  might,  when  a  number 
of  ves-els  were  assembled,  cause  the  most  unfor- 
tunate ravages,  ami  perhaps  a  destructive  incen- 
diarism. One  night,  the  English  advanced  with 
ureiit  audacity  in  their  boats,  surprised  the  working 
place  where  the  labour  for  the  construction  of 
the  woodi-n  fort  was  going  forwards,  cut  away  the 
nioiikt-ys  that  served  to  drive  the  piles,  and  knocked 
lip  the  work  for  several  days.  The  first  consul 
shewed  great  discontent  at  this  attack,  and  gave 
new  orders,  so  as  effectually  to  prevent  a  similar 
attack  ill  future.  Armed  gun-boats  were  placed 
as  sentinels,  liaving  to  pass  the  night  around  the 
works.  Tije  labourers  encouraged,  their  honour 
pitpied,  like  that  of  soldiers  led  in  presence  of  an 
•-iieiny,  were  brought  to  labour  before  the  English 
v.-bsils,  and  nndi-r  the  fire  «if  their  artillery.  It 
was  at  low  tide  only  that  tl>ey  could  get  at  their 
work,  when  the  heads  of  the  piles  were  sufficiently 
iiiieovi-red  by  the  sea  to  be  able  to  drive  them; 
ilie  workmen  began  their  labours  even  before  the 

my  own  in  value— to  order  tilings  to  be  done,  and  to  sliow 
inynrir  >eliloin.'  '  litit  the  first  cunsul ! '  '  Oli !  lie  is  alwiiys 
.iliK-  to  make  himself  visible,  because  he  alw.iyg  makes 
oihcr*  >ubmil ;  but  we  who  are  not  he,  not  even  He|)hestions 
t'l  hilt  Alexander,  I  believe  must  act  with  a  (;rratvr_ reserve. 
Hut  be  wills;  he  underi-tands  matters  in  his  own  way,  and 
I  am  willing  that  he  should  see  that  1  know  how  to  do  what 
he  wisiics.' 

"  Here,  then,  citizen  con>ul,  is  a  summary  of  a  part  of 
my  dialiiKue  with  him.  He  behaved  marvellously  well  ; 
ind  I'inie  Rcni-riils  havinf;  come  in  at  the  end  of  our  cunfer- 
ence.  and  having  inquired  respeclinif  his  health,  lie  passed 
^uddnily  in  hi*  moribund  manner,  and  beitan  to  roniplnin 
In  a  iHiiientinn  tone  of  voice— a  sacri..re  involuntarily  paid 
tobi^old  habit. 

"  From  all  he  said  to  mc,  it  results  that  hn  trembles  lest 
vfiu  kliiiuld  take  the  cnnimand  from  hiiii ;  that  be  did  not 
ciiiiceal  fr<im  me  he  had  such  a  dread  ;  and  that  he  promised 
nieiodo.  in  the  fullest  dctiil,  all  that  of  which  you  liave 
Kivitn  him  the  example,  tu  commence  Tiom  to  day. 

"  1Je<  res." 


complete  retirement  of  the  tide,  resting  after  it 
had  risen,  one-half  of  their  bodies  in  tlie  waves, 
working  and  singing  under  the  bullets  of  the 
English.  Nevertheless,  the  first  consul,  with  his 
never-failing  fecundity  of  mind,  devised  new  pre- 
cautions to  keep  the  enemy  jit  a  distance.  He 
made  experiments  on  the  sliore,  in  trying  the 
eftect  of  the  fire  of  heavy  cannon  under  an  angle 
of  forty-rive  degrees  of  elevation,  in  the  same  way 
in  which  shells  are  discharged  ironi  a  mortar. 
The  experiment  succeeded,  :ind  the  balls  of  a 
twenty-four  pounder  were  sent  to  the  distance  of 
two  thousand  three  hundred  toises',  which  obliged 
the  English  to  keep  further  off.  It  did  better  still 
tiian  this;  thinking  continually  of  the  same  thing, 
he  was  the  first  to  devise  the  means  which,  in 
the  present  day,  causes  frij;htrttl  havoc,  and 
seems  about  to  exercise  a  gretit  influence  in  mari- 
time warfare,  that  of  hollow  projiclilcs  employed 
against  vessels.  He  ordered  them  to  fire  on  the 
vessels  with  large  shells,  which,  bursting  in  the 
timber  or  among  the  sails  and  yards,  would  pro- 
duce breaches  fatal  to  the  hull  of  the  vessel,  or 
great  destruction  in  the  rigging.  "  It  is  with  pro- 
jectiles that  explode,"  he  wrote,  "  that  timber 
must  be  assailed."  Nothing  is  done  easily,  above 
all,  w'hen  there  are  old  prejudices  to  conquer.  He 
had  continually  to  reiteiate  the  same  instructions. 
When  the  English,  in  place  of  the  solid  balls  which 
traversed  like  a  thunder-bolt  all  which  was  in  their 
passage,  but  left  no  more  extended  mischief  behind 
than  was  caused  by  their  own  diameter,  saw  a  pro- 
jectile, which  had  less  impulsion,  it  is  true,  but 
that  exploded  like  a  mine,  either  in  the  sides  of 
the  vessels,  or  over  the  heads  of  the  defenders, 
they  were  surprised,  and  kept  at  a  distance. 
Lastly,  to  obtain  greater  security,  the  first  consul 
devised  a  means  not  less  ingenious.  He  had  an 
idea  of  establishing  submarine  batteries,  in  other 
words,  he  had  placed,  at  the  level  of  low  water, 
heavy  camion  and  mortars,  which  were  covered  at 
high  tide  by  the  sea,  and  uncovered  at  the  ebb. 
It  cost  much  trouble  to  secure  the  platforms  upon 
which  the  guns  rested,  so  as  to  prevent  their  being 
covered  with  sand  and  an  accumulation  of  matter 
brought  up  by  the  sea.  Nevertheless,  the  plan 
succeeded,  and  at  the  time  of  low  water,  wliicti 
was  that  of  work,  when  the  English  advanced  to 
disturb  the  labourers,  they  Wire  received  by  dis- 
charges of  artillery  on  a  sudden  from  low  water 
mark,  in  such  a  way,  that  the  fire  advanced,"  in 
a  certain  sense,  and  retired  wiih  the  sea  itself. 
These  batteries  were  only  employed  during  the 
time  of  the  construction  of  the  forts;  the^  became 
useless  when  the  forts  were  completed*. 

The  wooden  fort  was  the  first  finished,  owing 
to  the  nature  of  the  construction.  Solid  plat- 
forms were  cstablisliid  upon  the  heads  of  the  piles, 
some  feet  above  the  highest  wati  r  mark.  This 
work  wiis  nionnted  with  ten  pieces  of  large  calibre, 
and  with  several  niortars  of  a  long  range.  When 
they  began  to  fire,  the  English  no  more  made 
their  appearance  at  the  entrance  of  the  port.  All 
the  heights  along  the  shore  were  mounted  with 

1  About  H.TOO  feet  Enplisb  measure,  or  2}  miles.— Trantf. 

•  All  the  details  thai  are  niven  lure  arc  extracted  from 
the  oriBinal  rorrcspoiideiiee  of  Admiral  Uruix  and  of  Napo- 
lu)n,  wliich  has  been  aucaily  (iiintcd. 
K  k  2 


I  Employment  of  the 

600  trooDs. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


1803. 
Sept. 


twenty-four  pounders,  thirty-six  poundei-s,  and 
mortars.  About  five  hundred  guns  were  placed 
in  battery,  and  the  coast,  rendered  unapproachable, 
received,  both  from  the  French  and  English,  the 
name  of  the  "  iron  coast."  In  this  interval  the 
forts  in  masonry  were  completed  without  any  other 
obstacle  than  that  arising  from  the  sea.  At  the 
commencement  <if  the  winter,  more  particularly, 
the  waves  sometimes  became  so  furious,  under  the 
influence  of  the  winds  from  the  channel,  that  they 
shook  and  inundated  the  loftiest  and  most  solid 
constructions.  Twice  they  lifted  entire  courses 
of  the  masonry,  and  precipitated  into  the  bottom 
of  the  sea  the  largest  blocks  of  stone,  from  the 
summit  of  the  walls  in  course  of  erection.  These 
two  imiiortant  constructions  were  continued,  not- 
withstanding, as  being  indispensable  to  the  security 
of  the  anchorage. 

During  the  construction  of  these  works,  the 
troops  drawn  near  to  the  coast  had  constructed 
their  barracks  and  traced  their  camps,  making  of 
them  perfect  milit,".ry  cities,  divided  into  quarters, 
and  traversed  by  long  streets.  This  necessary 
labour  first  completed,  they  were  divided  about 
the  basin  of  Boulogne.  The  task  was  apportioned 
among  them,  and  each  regiment  excavated  a  de- 
termined part  of  the  enormous  mass  of  sand  and 
slime  which  filled  up  the  bed  of  the  Liane.  Some 
dug  out  the  bed  of  the  Liane  itself,  or  the  semi- 
circular basin;  others  drove  the  ])iles  required  to 
form  the  quays.  The  works  at  Winiereux  and  at 
Ambleteuse,  of  which  the  practicability  of  the 
execution  had  been  acknowledged  possible,  were 
already  undertaken.  They  laboured  in  extracting 
the  mud  and  sand;  they  constructed  sluices,  in 
order  to  deepen  the  channel  by  repeated  discharges 
of  water;  while  other  detachments  were  occupied 
in  making  roads  to  unite  together  the  ports  of 
Wimereux,  Anibleteuse,  Boulogne,  and  Etaples, 
and  these  ports  themselves  with  the  neighbouring 
forests. 

The  troops  devoted  to  these  rough  labours  were 
relieved  after  tlie  accomplishment  of  their  task, 
and  those  who  had  ceased  to  remove  the  earth 
became  occupied  with  manoeuvres  of  all  kinds  jjroper 
to  perfect  their  military  instruction.  Dressed  in  the 
coarse  clothes  of  workmen,  secured  by  sabots  from 
the  humidity  of  the  soil,  well  lodged,  well  fed,  ov;ing 
to  the  prife  of  tlieir  labour  added  to  their  pay; 
living  in  the  open  air,  they  enjoyed  in  the  midst  of 
the  rudest  climate  and  the  worst  season  the  most 
perfect  healtii.  Content,  occu]5ied,  full  of  confi- 
dence in  the  enterprise  which  was  preparing,  tliey 
acquired  every  day  that  redoubled  physical  and 
moral  strength  which  might  well  serve  them  to 
conquer  the  world. 

The  moment  at  length  arrived  to  concentrate 
tlie  flotilla.  The  construction  of  the  boats  of  all 
kinds  was  nearly  achieved  every  where.  Tiiey  hud 
been  brought  down  to  the  mouths  of  the  different 
rivers  ;  and  they  had  been  rigged  and  armed  in  the 
ports.  The  workmen  in  timber  who  had  become 
idle  in  the  interior,  had  been  formed  into  com- 
panies, and  marched  as  well  to  Boulogne  as  to  tlie 
surrounding  jjorts.  It  was  proposed  they  should 
be  emi)loyed  in  furnishing  and  keeping  the  flotilla 
in  order  until  the  moment  it  was  wanted. 

It  was  then  necessary  to  proceed  to  the  work  of 
concentration,  which  was  waited  for  impatiently  by 


the  English,  with  the  confidence  of  destroying  to 
the  last  the  light  French  gun  flotilla.  Here  a 
judgment  may  be  formed  of  the  mental  resources 
of  the  first  consul.  The  divisions  of  the  flotilla 
which  had  to  reach  Boulogne,  were  to  depart  from 
all  the  points  on  the  coast  of  the  sea  from  Bayonne 
to  the  Texel,  in  order  to  rally  in  the  straits  of 
Calais.  They  were  to  coast  the  shore,  and  to  keep 
themselves  always  at  a  very  slight  distance  from 
the  land,  and  to  run  ashore  when  they  were  too 
closely  pressed  by  the  English  cruisers.  One  or 
two  accidents  which  occurred  to  the  vessels  of  the 
flotilla,  furnished  the  first  consul  with  the  idea  of 
a  system  of  succour  as  sure  as  it  was  ingenious. 
He  had  seen  some  boats  run  upon  the  shore  to 
avoid  the  enemy,  and  happily  and  effectually  suc- 
coured by  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighbouring 
villages.  Struck  by  this  circumstance,  lie  dis- 
tributed along  the  sea-shore  numerous  coi-ps  of 
cavalry  from  Nantes  to  Brest ;  from  Brest  as  far 
as  Cherburg;  and  from  Cherburg  to  Havre  and 
Boulogne.  These  corps  of  cavalry,  divided  by 
the  arrondissements,  had  with  them  batteries  of 
artillery  ready  horsed,  and  trained  to  move  with 
extreme  rapidity,  and  to  gallop  along  the  hard 
sands  which  the  sea  left  imcovered  upon  retiring. 
These  sands,  that  are  called  the  estran,  are  in 
general  so  solid  as  to  bear  horses  and  carriages. 
The  cavalry,  having  the  artillery  following  them, 
were  to  scour  the  shore,  continually  advancing  and 
retiring  with  the  sea,  protecting  by  fire  the  boats 
moving  along  in-shore.  Commonly  only  guns  of 
small  calibre  were  harnessed;  the  first  consul  had 
jnished  forward  the  employment  of  adequate 
means  so  as  to  harness  sixteen-pounders,  to  pro- 
ceed as  fast  as  seven  or  eight-pounder  field-pieces. 
He  ordered  each  horseman  to  be  trained  for  every 
part  of  the  duty  ;  to  dismount  and  serve  the  guns, 
or  run,  carbine  in  hand,  to  the  aid  of  the  seamen 
ashore  upon  the  beach.  "  It  is  necessary  to  make 
the  hussars  remember,"  he  writes  to  the  minister 
at  war,  "  that  a  French  soldier  ought  to  be  a 
horseman,  artilleryman,  and  foot-soldier,  that  he 
ought  to  cope  with  all  *."  Two  generals,  Leniar- 
rois  and  Sebastiani,  were  charged  with  the  com- 
mand of  this  cavalry.  They  had  orders  to  be  on 
horseback  continually,  to  make  the  squadrons 
manoeuvre  daily  with  the  guns,  and  to  keep  them- 
selves constantly  aware  of  the  movement  of  the 
convoys,  in  order  to  escort  them  on  their  way  2. 

>  Dated  the  29th  of  September,  1803. 

2  Tlie  following  letter,  written  at  the  moment  some  negli- 
gence had  been  shown,  proves  in  what  a  state  he  had  placed 
the  toast : — 

"  To  general  Davout. 

"  30th  October,  1803. 

"  Citizen  General  Davout,— I  have  not  seen  wiiliout 
pain,  by  the  report  of  the  brigadier  Seras,  that  the  English 
have  had  time  to  pillage  and  unrig  a  boat  that  was  on  shore 
between  Gravelines  and  Calais.  In  the  existing  situation  of 
the  coast,  never  will  a  like  event  happen  from  Bordeaux. 
Detachments  of  cavalry  and  flying  artillery  should  have 
arrived  to  prevent  the  English  from  pillaging  the  vessel. 
Here  is  the  second  time  that  the  vessels  on  shore  upon  the 
coast  have  received  no  succour.  The  fault  rests  with  whom- 
soever you  charged  with  the  care  of  that  part  of  the  coast. 
Order  two  generals  of  brigade  to  inspect  the  coast,  tlve  one 
from  Calais  to  Dunkirk,  the  other  from  Dunkirk  to  the 
Scheldt.  Let  picquets  of  cavalry  be  disposed  in  such  a  man- 


1803. 
Sept. 


Concentration  of  tlie  vessels 
at  Boulogne. 


THE  C.VMP   OF  BOULOGNE.          Opposition  of  the  English. 


501 


This  system  produced,  a-s  will  be  seen,  very  ex- 
cellent results.  The  vessels  were  divided  into  con- 
voys of  thirty,  fifty,  and  even  si.xty  sail.  •  They  be- 
gan to  arrive  towards  the  end  of  September  from 
St.  Ma!o,  Granville,  Clierburg,  the  river  of  Caen, 
Havre,  and  St.  Valiery.  Tliere  were  not  many 
between  the  last  and  Brest ;  but  the  Englisii 
watched  that  part  of  the  coast  with  too  niucii  care 
for  the  passage  to  be  hazarded,  after  having  made 
numerous  e.\periments '.  It  w;is  not  the  same 
commandant  who  conducted  the  convoys  all  the 
way  from  tiieir  point  of  departure  to  that  of  their 
arrival.  It  was  ill.  u^ht  that  the  naval  officer  wjio, 
for  example,  was  well  aeiiuainted  with  the  coasts 
of  Briuiny,  was  not  equally  so  with  those  of  Nor- 
mandy and  Picardy.  The  commanders  were  there- 
fore distributed  according  to  their  local  knowledge, 
and  as  pib  t  coasters  they  did  not  go  out  of  the  arron- 
diasement  which  was  fixed  upon  for  their  station. 

ner  as  to  watch  without  ceasing,  and  let  guns  be  ])laced 
ready  harnessed,  in  such  a  manner  that  at  the  first  signal 
they  will  be  able  to  arrive  in  the  least  possible  time  at  the 
places  where  the  boats  may  have  run  aground.  In  fine, 
I  these  general  inspectors  ought  to  be  always  on  horseback, 
I  making  the  land-artillery  manoeuvre,  inspecting  the  artillery- 
men, guarding  the  coast,  escorting  the  flotillas  on  the 
Strand  when  they  are  in  movement.  Let  me  know  the 
names  of  all  the  jiosts  which  you  may  place,  and  the  spot 
where  you  have  established  the  flying  artillery." 

'  This  arose  from  the  nature  of  the  coast  and  the  deeper 
water  than  on  the  flat  shores  found  more  to  the  north- 
ward, which  enabled  tlie  ships  of  war  to  approach  pretty 
near  the  land.  Sir  Sidney  Smith,  after  making  an  attack 
on  one  of  tliese  convoys  of  boats  oflf  the  northern  part  of  the 
coast,  corroborated  this  system  of  protection  as  very  effec- 
tual, owing  principally  to  the  shoal  water,  in  one  case  he 
wrote,  speaking  of  one  of  these  convoys,  "  Having  found  a 
passage  for  the  Antelope,  she  was  enabled  to  bring  her 
broadside  to  bear  upon  the  headmost  vessels  before  tliey  got 
the  length  of  Ostend.  The  leader  struck  immediately,  and 
her  crew  deserted  her.  She  was,  however,  lecovered  by  the 
followers;  the  artillery  from  the  town  and  camp  and  the 
rowing  gun-t)oats  kept  a  constant  fire  from  the  pier;  our 
shot,  however,  which  went  over  their  vessels,  going  on 
shore  among  the  horse  artillery,  interrupted  it  in  some  de- 
gree ;  still,  however,  it  was  from  the  shore  we  received  the 
greaUit  annoyance ;  for  the  vessels  crowding  along,  they 
could  not  bring  tlieir  guns  to  bear  without  altering  their 
course  towards  us,  which  tliey  would  not  venture  to  do;  and 
their  side  guns,  though  numerous  and  well  served,  were 
very  light.  .  .  .  Several  of  the  vessels  were  driven  on 
shore,  and  recovered  by  the  army.  ...  I  have  anchored 
in  such  a  positinn  as  to  keep  an  rye  uiinn  them ;  and  I  shall 
endeavour  to  close  with  them  again  if  they  move  into  deeper 
waUr.  I  have  to  regret,  that  from  the  depth  of  water  in 
ujhich  these  veitels  more,  gun-boats  alone  can  act  ayainsl 
them  with  effect."  The  consequence  was,  that  sir  Sidney, 
out  of  several  that  struck,  could  bring  oir  but  one.  To  take 
possession  of  the  o:hers,  he  must  have  gone  in  with  open 
boats,  when  the  fire  of  the  artillery  on  shore  would  have 
covered  effectually  those  that  ran  aground,  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  troops,  for  they  could  not  be  approached  without 
great  loss  of  men.  Sir  Sidney  thus  corroborates  the  effective 
nature  of  Napoleon's  plan  for  their  protection,  while  uniting 
I  at  Boulogne.  That  in  deep  water  their  own  means  of  de- 
fence would  hive  availed  them  little,  was  aliundantly 
proved,  and  when  filled  with  the  troops  they  were  intended 
I  to  embark,  they  would  have  offered  a  less  formidable  rcsist- 
I  ance,  from  their  crowded  slate.  The  only  wish  of  the 
I  English  was,  to  get  them  out  into  deep  water,  when  their 
I  numbers  would  rather  have  accelerated  than  impeded  their 
I  inevitable  fate,  had  their  squadrons  met  them. — Trans- 
lator. 


They  received  the  convoys  at  the  limit  of  their 
arrnndissenient,  and  conducted  them  as  far  as  tlie 
limitof  the  neighbouring  arroiidissement,  thus  trans- 
mitting them  from  hand  to  hand  until  they  reached 
Boulogne.  They  embarked  trooiis  in  those  vessels, 
even  horses  in  those  designed  to  receive  them;  they 
were,  in  fact,  laden  as  they  were  intended  to  be  du- 
ring the  passage  from  France  to  England.  The  first 
consul  had  oi-deied  an  examination  to  bem:ide  with 
the  greatest  care  how  they  carried  themselves  at 
sea  under  the  cargo  which  they  were  to  transport. 

Towards  the  end  of  September,  or  first  days  of 
Vende'miaire,  year  xii.,  a  first  division,  com])osed 
of  gun-ve.ssels,  gun-boats,  and  pinnaces,  left  Dun- 
kirk to  double  cape  Grisnez  and  enter  Boulogne. 
Captain  St.  Haouen,  an  excellent  officer,  wiio  com- 
manded this  division,  although  a  bold  man,  pro- 
ceeded with  the  utmost  precitulion.  Wlien  he  was 
off  Calais  he  suffered  Jiimself  to  be  alarmed  by  an 
uniniportant  circumstance.  He  saw  the  Etiglish 
cruisers  disappear,  as  if  going  in  search  of  other 
vessels.  He  feared  he  should  be  assailed  by 
a  numerous  squadron,  and  in  place  of  carrying  all 
.sail  to  reach  Boulogne,  he  took  refuge  in  the 
harbour  of  Calais.  Admiral  Bruix  having  re- 
ceived notice  of  this  error,  went  in  person  to  the 
jilace,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  rejiair  the  fault.  In 
fact,  the  English  soon  appeared  in  great  strength; 
and  it  became  evident  that  they  were  going  to  fall 
upon  the  port  of  Caltiis  to  prevent  tlie  pas.sage  out 
of  the  division  whicli  had  taken  refuge  there.  The 
admiral  proceeded  to  Dunkirk  in  order  to  hurry 
forward  tlie  organization  of  the  second  division, 
which  was  nearly  ready  in  that  port,  and  to  make 
it  come  to  the  aid  of  the  first. 

The  English  came  before  Calais  wi'th  a  con- 
siderable force,  and  more  particularly  with  several 
bomb-vessels.  During  the  27th  of  September,  or 
4th  Vende'miaire,  they  threw  a  great  number  of 
shells  into  the  town  and  port.  They  killed  two  or 
three  persons,  but  did  not  destroy  any  vessel.  The 
batteries  harnessed  went  to  the  shore  at  a  gallop, 
and  returned  a  well-sustaiiud  lire,  obliging  them 
to  retire.  They  went  off  much  nioriifieil  at  iiaving 
produced  so  .slight  an  efiect.  The  next  day  ad- 
miral Bruix  ortlered  the  division  of  St.  Haouen  to 
put  to  sea  to  insult  the  enemy's  cruisers,  and  to 
prevent  a  second  bombardment  of  the  town,  ac- 
cording to  circumstances  to  double  cape  Grisnez, 
and  ill  fact  enter  Boulogne.  The  second  divi.sion 
from  Dunkirk  was  to  set  s:iil  at  the  same  time, 
under  the  command  of  cajytain  I'evrieux,  to  sup- 
port the  fiist.  Rear-admiral  Magon,  who  com- 
nninded  at  Boulogne,  Jiad  orders  on  his  side  to 
come  out  of  the  ])ort  with  :ill  his  disjutsable  force, 
and  to  keep  under  sail  in  ovdtv  to  give  assistance 
to  the  divisions  of  St.  Haouen  and  Pevrieux  if  they 
proceeded  to  double  cape  Grisnez. 

On  the  28th  of  September,  in  tlic  morning,  or 
5th  of  Vendtimiaire,  year  XII.,  captain  St.  Haouen 
boldly  came  out  ol  Calais,  :ind  advanced  about  a  can- 
non-shot distiince.  Tlie  English  nnide  a  movement 
in  order  to  Ixtir  oH'  to  the  wind.  Cajitain  St. 
Hiioueii  profited  ably  by  t\\v.  movement,  whicli 
took  them  in  a  contniry  direction,  and  crowded  all 
sail  towards  cape  Grisnez;  but  he  \\a.s  soon  after- 
wards approached  by  the  English  a  little  beyond 
the  cape,  and  attacked  by  a  violi  lit  fire  of  artillery. 
It  seemed  as  if  about  twenty  of  tiie  enemy's  vessels. 


502  Concentration  of  the         THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.        vessels  at  Boulogne. 


every  one  of  large  size,  must  have  sunk  the  light 
vessels  of  the  Frencli,  but  no  mischief  was  done. 
Captain  St.  Haouen  continued  his  course  under  the 
halls  of  the  Enjilish  without  suffering  much.  A 
battalion  of  the  4«lh  and  a  detachment  of  the  22d, 
embarked  on  bojird  these  vessels,  managed  their 
oars  with  admirable  coolness  under  a  warm,  but, 
happily,  not  a  very  murdenius  fire.  At  the  same 
time  the  moveable  batteries  on  shore  hastened 
down  to  the  sea,  and  answered  with  eff'ect  to  the 
English  artillery.  Finally,  in  the  afternoon,  cap- 
tain St.  Haouen  moored  in  the  road  of  Botilogiie, 
and  was  joined  by  tlie  detachment  that  had  come 
out  of  port  under  the  orders  of  rear-admiral  Ma- 
gon.  The  second  division  of  Dunkirk,  which  had 
put  to  sea,  had  advanced  on  its  course  so  far  as  to 
come  within  sight  of  cape  Grisnez.  But  stopped 
by  tide  and  calm  it  was  obliged  to  anchor  on  that 
side  along  an  uncovered  coast.  It  remained  in 
this  position  until  the  moment,  when,  the  current 
changing,  they  were  enabled  to  jiroceed  to  Bou- 
logne. They  had  no  wind,  and  they  were  obliged 
to  use  their  oars.  F.fteen  English  vessels,  frigates, 
corvettes,  and  brigs,  awaited  tiiem  at  cape  Grisnez. 
At  this  place  the  water  was  deeper,  and  the  Eng- 
lish cruisers  could  approach  near  the  shore  without 
the  French  having  the  resource  left  them  of  run- 
ning aground,  and  in  consequence  great  fears  were 
entertained  in  their  behalf.  But  they  passed,  as 
those  of  the  iireceding  evening  had  done;  the 
French  soldiers  managed  the  oars  with  great 
boldness,  and  the  English  received  from  the 
land  batteries  more  mischief  than  they  were  able 
to  cause  to  the  French  gun-vessels.  The  flotilla  of 
Boulogne  and  the  division  of  St.  Haouen,  whiili 
had  reached  the  port  the  evening  before,  went  out 
again  in  order  to  join  the  division  of  Pevrienx. 
They  came  u])  with  it  at  the  heights  called  the 
Tour  de  Croy,  before  Wimereux.  There  the  three 
divisions  united,  stopped,  and  formed  a  line,  ju-e- 
senting  to  the  English  their  ])rows  armed  with 
cannon;  they  went  right  towards  them  and  fired 
upon  them  warndy.  The  fire  lasted  for  two  hours. 
The  light  French  vessels  sometimes  sti-uck  the 
larger  ones  of  the  English,  and  were  themselves 
rarely  hit.  In  the  end  the  English  retired,  every 
one  so  ill  treated  as  to  be  obliged  to  go  and  repair 
their  injui-ies  in  the  Downs.  One  of  the  Fieneh 
vessels,  the  only  one  to  which  the  accident  oc- 
curred, pierced  through  and  through  by  a  ball,  had 
time  to  reach  the  shore  before  sinking  '. 

•  This  shows  how  close  the  French  were  to  the  land,  and 
proves  tliat  lliiy  never  came  beyond  the  protection  of  their 
land  hatteries.  'lliat  they  were  not  lieyond  sliell  ran^e  of 
the  shore,  and  that  the  Erigiish  were  within  it,  is  j)roved  by 
the  fact,  that  a  sliell  from  the  shore  burst  on  hoard  the  Leda, 
one  of  the  sqiiadr^n.  The  mischief  done  to  the  squadron  by 
these  hoais,  as  thus  stated,  is  wholly  untrue.  Captain 
Honeymoon,  of  the  I.eila,  »ho  commanded,  wrote  to  lord 
Keith  as  follows,  under  date  of  September  29.  1833:— "At 
daylight  tliis  mornitiR,  another  squadron  of  the  enemy's 
gunboats,  twi-ntyfive  in  number,  was  discovered  coming 
from  the  eastward.  I  immediately  jjroceeded  to  attack 
them,  and  after  a  severe  cannonade  for  nearly  three  hours, 
they  anchored  in  the  situation  with  the  vessels  last  night, 
with  the  loss  of  two  of  them,  they  having  l)eeii  driven  on 
shore,  and  bilged  upon  tbe  rocks.  There  are  at  present 
fifty -five  gun  vessels  at  anchor  outside  the  port  of  Bonlogne. 
I  am  happy  to  add  that  I  have  no  reports  of  any  material 
injury  done  to  the  squadrou  under  my  command  ;  a  shell 


This  conflict,  followed  at  a  later  period  by  many 
others,  more  important  and  more  murderous,  jiro- 
duced  a  decisive  effect  upon  the  opinion  of  the 
navy  and  army.  They  saw  that  their  small  vessels 
could  not  be  so  easily  sent  to  the  bottom  by  the 
large  ships,  and  that  they  struck  much  oftener 
their  gigantic  adversaries  than  they  were  them- 
selves struck;  they  saw  what  aid  could  be  obtained 
from  the  co  operation  of  the  soldiery,  who,  without 
being  yet  exercised,  h;id  managed  the  oars,  served 
the  marine-artillery  with  rare  address,  and  had, 
more  ptirticularly,  shown  no  fear  of  the  sea,  and  a 
great  deal  <.f  zeal  in  seconding  the  seamen  ^. 

Scarcely  had  the  first  experiments  been  made, 
when    the   greatest  ardour   was  shown    to   renew 
them  ;    numerous    convoys    successively   departed 
from  all  the  ports  of  the  channel  for  the  general 
rendezvous  at   Boulogne.     Several   naval  officers, 
as  the  captains  St.  Haouen  and  Pevrienx,  whose   j 
names  have  been   quoted,  and    the    ctiptains  Ha-    i 
meliii  and  Daugicr,  distinguished  themselves  in  this   , 
kind  of  pilotage  by  their  courage  and  ability.     The 
vessels,  moved  now   by  the  oar,  now  by  the  sail, 
passed    along  the  coast   at  a  very   little  disttince 
from    the    detachments   of  cavalry    and    artillery, 
ready  to  protect  them.     They  were  rarely  obliged 
to   seek  refuge    by  running  ashore,   because  tliey 
nearly  always  navigated  in  sight  of  the  English, 
susttiining    their    fire,    and    scmietitnes    stopijiuL', 
w  hen  they  had  the  weather  in  their  favour,  to  face 
the  enemy,  and  exhibit  to  him  their  prows  armed 
with  cannon  of  heavy  metal.     Often  they  ntade  the 
brigs  recoil,  the  corvettes,  and  even  the  frigates. 
If  they  ran   ashore  upon   some  occasions,  it   was 
oftener  from  the  effect  of  the  bad  wetither  thiiii 
from  the  power  of  their  adversaries.     When  this 
happened,  the  English  entered  their  boats  to  sei  e 
the  vessels  or  pinnaces  on  shore.     But  the  Frencli    - 
artillery   galloped    with    their    guns   to    the   si)ot,   ! 
or  their  horsemen,  changed  at  once  into  infantry, 
nearly  into   sailors,   ran    into   the   middle  of   the    ' 
breakers  to  the  aid  of  the  seamen,  drove  off"  the   , 
English  by  the  fire  of  their  carbines,  and  obligeil    i 
them   to    put    to    sea,    without    carrying    off'   their   I 
prize,  often  after  having  been  deprived  of  all  their   i 
boldest  sailors.  | 

In  the  months  of  October,  November,  and  De-' 
cember,  nearly  a  thousand  vessels,  gun-vessels, 
gun-boats,  and  piimaces,  that  had  departed  from 
other  ports,  ente)-ed  Boulogne.  Of  this  number 
the  English  did  not  take  more  than  three  or  four, 
nor  the  sea  destroy  more  than  ten  or  a  dozen. 

These  short  and  frequent  passages  were  the 
causes  of  mtiny  useful  observations.  They  re- 
vealed the  superiority  of  the  gun  vessels  over  the 
gunboats.  The  last  were  more  difficult  to  move, 
deflected  more,  and  above  all,  wanted  weight  of 
fire.  The  defect  of  the  gun- boats  was  in  their 
construction,  and  their  construction  was  owing  to 
the  necessity  of  ])lacing  field  artillery  in  them, 
which  it  would  have  been  well  to  resign.  The 
pinnaces  left  nothing  to  be  wished  for  in  relation 
to  speed  and  management.     In  other  respects,  ali 

fell  on  hoard  the  Leda,  which  burst  in  her  bold,  doing  little 
injury  lo  the  ship,  and  not  liurtiiig  a  man."  Repairs  in  the 
Downs  were  therefore  out  of  tbe  question. — Transt.itcr. 

2  'J'hese  sentiments  are  found  expressed  in  all  tbe  corrp- 
spon'lence  written  at  Boulogne  tbe  day  after  these  two 
ai:l'\oitS.— J ullior's  note. 


1803. 
Oct. 


Alterations  made  in  the 
vessels. 


THE  CAMP  OF  BOULOGNE. 


Arrangcraents  of  the  troops 
on  board  the  vessels. 


503 


the  vessels  made  tolei-able  way,  even  without  the 
aiil  of  a  sail.  There  were  divisions  that  came 
fi-om  Havre  to  Boulogne,  nearly  always  under 
oars,  with  a  middling;  speed  of  about  two  leagues 
an  hour.  Some  changes  in  stowage,  that  is  to  say, 
in  loading  them,  would  have  mended  their  navi- 
gating qualities. 

The  experience  of  these  voyages  led  to  a  change 
in  the  disposition  of  the  artillery,  which  was  im- 
mediately executed  thr.iughout  all  the  flotilla.  The 
heavy  cannon,  placed  in  the  b.>w  and  stern,  ran  in 
grooves,  in  wliich  they  could  only  mi.ve  or  recoil 
in  a  right  line.  From  this  it  resulted  that  the 
vessels  were  obliged  to  come  round  in  order  to  fire 
and  to  present  eitht-r  the  head  or  stern  to  the 
enemy.  It  was  imjiossible  then,  when  they  were 
making  way,  to  reply  to  the  fire  of  the  English, 
because  at  that  time  they  only  presented  their 
sides.  When  coasting,  the  currents  made  them 
keep  a  positiim  paniUel  with  the  shore,  or,  in  other 
words,  offer  their  disarmed  flanks.  This  arrange- 
ment w;is  changed  when  the  stability  of  the  vessels 
liad  been  proved,  and  it  had  been  further  secured 
by  a  better  calculated  system  of  stowage.  Car- 
riages were  constructed  resembling  those  used  in 
military  service,  which  permitted  of  their  being 
fired  en  belle,  that  is  to  say,  in  every  direction,  in 
this  way  the  vessels,  on  their  passage  or  in  the 
roads,  were  able  to  fire,  whatever  was  their  posi- 
tion, without  being  obliged  to  come  roimd.  The 
gun-vessels  could  thus  make  four  discharges  in  ail 
directions.  With  a  little  habit,  the  landsmen  and 
Riilors  came  to  practise  this  kind  of  firing  with 
exactness,  and  without  risk. 

It  was  thought  more  particularly  useful  to 
cement  a  i)erfect  intimacy  between  the  seamen 
and  wddiers,  by  means  of  appi-opriating  the  same 
vessels  to  the  same  troops.  The  capacity  of  the 
gnn-vi-ssels  and  the  gun-boats  had  been  calculated 
on  the  supposition  of  their  being  able  to  carry  a 
coiniiany  of  infantry,  besides  ariillerymen.  That 
was  the  foundation  which  served  for  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  general  organization  of  the  flotilla. 
The  batUilions  were  then  composed  of  nine  com- 
panies, and  the.demi-bri^adesof  two  war  battalions, 
the  lliiid  remaining  at  the  depot.  The  gun-vessels 
and  boats  were  distributed  according  to  this  com- 
jiosition  of  the  troops.  Nine  gun-vessels  or  nine 
gmi-boa(8  formed  a  section,  and  cai'ried  nine  com- 
p.inies,  or  one  battalion.  Two  sections  formed  a 
divi.sion,  and  carrieil  a  demi-brigade.  Thus  the 
vessel  or  boat  answerud  to  the  company,  the  section 
to  the  battalion,  and  the  division  to  the  deini- 
briij.ide.  Naval  officers  of  a  corresponding  grade 
of  riink  connnanded  the  vessel,  the  section,  and 
the  division.  To  arrive  at  a  perfect  nnifonnity  of 
the  troops  with  the  flotilla,  cai-h  division  was  as- 
signed to  a  demi-brigade,  each  section  to  a  bat- 
tiilion,  and  each  vessel  to  a  company;  and  this 
assigmnent,  once  made,  reuutincd  unalterable.  The 
troops  were  thus  always  eiiiibled  to  preserve  the 
wime  vessels,  attached  to  it  as  a  cavalry  soldier  to 
his  horse.  The  navul  and  miliutry  oflicers,  soldiers 
and  seamen,  came  by  this  means  to  a  knowledge  of 
each  other,  ae<iuired  mutual  confidence,  and  were 
more  inclined  to  give  help  among  tliemselves. 
Ejich  company  was  to  furnish  the  vi'ssel  to  which 
it  belonged  with  a  garrison  of  twenty-five  men 
always  embarked.     These  twenty-five  men,  form- 


ing ono-<]uarter  of  a  company,  remained  about  a 
month  on  board.  During  all  this  time  they  lodged 
in  the  vessel  with  the  crew,  whether  it  were  at 
sea  manoeuvring,  or  remaining  in  port.  They  did 
every  tiling  that  was  done  by  the  sailors  them- 
selves, joining  in  all  the  petty  manoeuvres,  and, 
above  all,  exercising  themselves  in  managing  the 
oars  and  firing  the  cannon.  When  they  had  been 
for  a  month  inured  to  this  kind  of  life,  tliey  were 
replaced  by  twenty-five  other  soldiers  of  the  same 
coin|)any,  who  came,  for  the  same  space  of  time, 
to  conmience  the  same  naval  exercises.  Thus  suc- 
cessively the  entire  company  played  its  i)art  on 
board  the  gun-vessels  or  gun-boats.  Each  man 
was  thus  a  soldier  on  land  and  on  sea;  alternately 
an  artilleryman,  infantry  man,  sailor,  and  even  a 
workman  of  engineers,  in  consequence  of  the 
labours  he  executed  in  the  basins.  The  seamen 
also  took  a  part  in  this  reciprocal  instruction. 
They  had,  when  on  board,  the  arms  of  the  infantry, 
and  when  in  port  went  through,  upim  the  quay, 
during  the  day-time,  the  exercise  of  the  foot 
soldier.  This  was,  in  consequence,  a  reinforce- 
ment of  fifteen  thousand  infantry,  that  after  a 
disembarkation  in  England,  would  be  able  to  de- 
fend the  flotilla  along  the  shores  where  it  had 
run  aground.  In  leaving  with  them,  as  reinforce- 
ments, a  dozen  thousand  men,  they  would  be  able 
to  await  with  impunity  on  the  shore  the  victories 
of  the  army  of  invasion. 

The  pinnaces  at  first  were  left  out  of  this  system 
of  organization,  because  they  could  not  carry  an 
entire  company,  and  were  better  able  to  land  troops 
rapidly  than  they  were  to  meet  the  enemy  face  to 
face  at  sea.  Still  at  a  later  period  they-were  ar- 
ranged in  divisions,  ami  the  advanced  guard  was 
especially  confided  to  them,  composed  of  the  gre- 
nadiers of  the  army  united.  In  the  mean  time, 
they  were  ranged  in  thirds  of  companies  in  port, 
and  every  day  the  troops  to  whom  boats  were  not 
yet  assigned,  went  to  exercise  either  at  the  move- 
ment of  the  oars,  or  at  firing  a  light  howitzer, 
with  which  the  pinnaces  were  armed. 

This  being  arranged,  it  was  necessary  to  attend 
to  another  dut_>  not  less  important,  that  of  stowing 
the  vessels.  The  first  consul,  in  one  of  his  jour- 
neys, had  made  gun-vessels,  gmi-boats,  and  pin- 
naces, be  laden  and  unladen  several  times  before 
his  own  eyes,  and  arranged  their  stowage  himself. 
As  balhist,  he  assigned  ball,  shells,  and  munitions 
of  war,  in  quantity  suftieient  fm-  a  long  campaign. 
He  stowed  in  the  hold,  biscuit,  wine,  brandy, 
salted  meat,  anil  Dutch  cheese,  sufficient  for 
twenty  days'  provision  for  all  the  mass  of  men 
coni|)osing  the  expedition.  Thus  the  war  flotilla 
Would  carry,  besides  the  army  and  its  four  hun- 
ilred  |iieces  of  artillery,  harnessed  with  a  couple  of 
h  irses  each,  the  nmnitions  for  a  campaign,  and 
provisions  for  twenty  days.  The  transport  flotilla 
would  carry,  as  already  said,  the  surplus  of  the 

1  "  To  citizen  Flciiricu. 

"Boulogne,  IG  November,  1803. 
"  I  have  passeil  the  day  here  to  observe  the  installation  of 
a  pun-vexsel  and  gnn-biiat.  Tlie  stowage  is  one  of  the 
most  important  manoeuvres  of  the  plan  of  the  campaign,  in 
order  that  nothing  may  be  forgotten,  and  that  all  may  be 
equally  ilivided. 

••  Kvery  thing  begins  to  take  a  satislactiiry  turn." 


Exercises  of  embarkation 
504      anj  disenibaikation. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Exercises  of  the  troops       1803. 
"     '  Nov. 


artillery  train,  tlie  liorses  required  for  one  half  of 
the  cavalry,  two  or  three  months'  provisions,  and, 
finally,  all  the  hawgage.  To  each  division  of  the 
war  flotilla,  there  was  an  answering  division  of  the 
flotilla  of  transport,  the  one  to  navigate  after  the 
other.  In  each  vessel,  a  sub-officer  of  artillery 
had  the  care  of  the  munitions,  and  a  sub-officer  of 
infantry  of  the  provisions.  All  ought  to  be  con- 
stantly eniliaihed  in  the  two  flotillas,  and  there 
ought  to  remain  nothing  to  put  on  board  at  the 
signal  of  departure,  but  tiie  men  and  horses.  The 
men,  frequently  exercised  to  take  their  arms  and  to 
go  on  board  the  flotilla,  by  demi-brigades,  batta- 
lions, and  companies,  did  not  require  more  time 
than  was  necessary  to  go  from  the  camps  to  the 
port.  As  to  the  horses,  they  had  arrived  at  a 
mode  of  simplifying  and  accelerating  their  em- 
barkation in  a  surprising  manner.  However  great 
was  the  extent  of  ihe  quays,  it  was  still  impossible 
to  arrange  all  the  boats  alongside  them.  They 
were  obliged  to  dispose  them  to  the  number  of 
nine,  one  by  the  side  of  the  other,  the  first  alone 
touching  the  quay.  A  horse,  with  a  harness  that 
passed  round  its  belly,  was  lifted  from  the  ground 
by  means  of  a  yard,  was  transmitted  nine  times  Irom 
yard  to  yard,  and  disposed  in  two  or  three  minutes 
in  the  ninth  vessel.  In  such  a  mode,  the  men  and 
horses  were  all  able  to  be  phiced  on  board  the  flo- 
tilla of  war  in  a  couple  of  hours.  It  would  require 
three  or  four  hours  to  embark  the  nine  or  ten 
thousand  horses  in  the  flotilla  of  transport.  Thus 
all  the  heavy  baggage  being  constantly  on  board, 
they  would  always  be  ready  in  a  few  hours  to 
weigh  the  anchor  ;  and  as  it  was  not  possible  for 
such  a  vast  number  of  boats  to  leave  the  port  in 
the  space  of  a  single  tide,  the  embarkation  of  the 
men  ;ind  horses  vvuuld  never  be  the  cause  of  any 
loss  of  time. 

After  exercises  continually  repeated,  all  the 
manoeuvres  required  were  soon  successfully  exe- 
cuted, with  as  much  jiromptitude  as  decision. 
Every  day,  in  all  weather  short  of  a  storm,  there 
went  out  from  a  hundred  to  a  hundred  and  fifty 
boats  to  manoeuvre  or  moor  in  the  roads  before 
the  enemy.  They  then  practised  upon  the  beach 
the  operations  of  a  disembarkation.  They  exer- 
cised themselves  on  board  in  sweeping  the  beach 
by  a  continual  fire  of  artillery,  then  approaching 
the  shore,  landing  there  the  men,  liorses,  and 
guns.  Often,  when  they  were  unable  to  reach  tiie 
land,  the  men  were  flung  into  the  water  where  it 
was  five  or  six  feet  dreji,  but  none  of  them  were 
ever  drowned,  so  much  address  and  ardour  did 
they  display.  Sometimes  even  the  horses  were 
differently  disembarked.  1  hey  were  let  down  into 
the  sea,  and  men  in  b:)at3  led  them  by  means  of  a 
halter  towards  the  shore.  In  this  way  of  exer- 
cising there  could  not  any  accident  occur  in  dis- 
embarking upon  an  enemy's  coast,  that  was  not 
foreseen,  and  several  times  braved,  and  to  these 
were  added  all  the  difficulties  that  it  might  be  sup- 
posed possible  to  vanquish,   even  that  of  night ', 

'  "  To  the  consul  Cambacerds. 

"  Boulogne,  9  November,  1803. 
"I  passed  a  part  of  last  niplit  in  making  the  troops  iicr- 
form  night  evolutions,  a  species  of  manoeuvre  that  a  corps 
well  taught  and  well  disciplined,  will  sometimes  be  alile  to 
do  very  advantageously  against  levies  en  masse." 


excepting  under  a  hostile  fire.  But  this  would 
rather  be  an  excitement  than  an  obstacle,  for  the 
bravest  soldiers  in  the  universe  by  nature  and  war- 
like habit. 

This  variety  of  exercise,  by  land  and  sea,  these 
manoeuvres  intermingled  with  rough  labours,  in- 
terested these  adventurous  soldiers,  full  of  imagina- 
tiiin,  and  ambitious  as  their  illustrious  chief.  A 
nourishing  food,  considerably  augmented,  owing  to 
the  jirice  of  their  labour,  added  to  their  pay,  con- 
tinual activity,  air  the  most  inspiriting  and  healthy, 
all  these  could  not  but  impart  to  them  extraordi- 
nary ])hysical  energy.  The  hope  to  execute  a 
prodigy,  added  a  moral  power  ])roportioually  great. 
It  was  thus  that  the  unparalleled  army  was  ])re- 
jiared  by  degrees,  which  was  to  make  the  conquest 
of  iMirope  in  two  years. 

The  first  consul  passed  a  great  part  of  his  time 
in  the  midst  of  the  men.  He  felt  himself  full  of 
confidence  at  seeing  them  so  ■  well  disposed,  so 
alert,  and  animated  with  his  own  ideas.  In  their 
turn  they  received  from  his  presence  a  continued 
excitement.  They  saw  him  on  horseback,  now  on 
the  heights  of  the  shore,  now  at  their  head,  gal- 
lo]iiiig  over  the  hard  sands  that  the  sea  had  de- 
serted, and  thus  passing  over  the  strand  from  one 
port  to  another '  ;  sometimes  embarked  in  the 
light  pinnaces,  going  to  assist  at  the  petty  actions 
between  the  gun-vessels  and  the  English  cruisers, 
pushing  them  upon  the  enemy  so  far  as  to  make 
the  frigatee  and  corvettes  fall  back  before  the  fii-e 
of  his  frail  vessels.  He  was  often  obstinate  in 
braving  the  sea;  and  once  having  a  wish  to  visit 
the  line  of  anchorage,  in  spite  of  bad  weather,  he 
was  overset  not  far  from  the  shore,  in  re-entering 
his  boat.  Fortunately,  the  men  with  him  found 
bottom  with  their  feet.  The  sailors  threw  them- 
selves into  the  sea,  and  forming  a  close  group,  to 

'  He  wrote  from  Etaples  to  the  consul  Cambaceres,  on  the 
1st  of  January,  1804  :— 

"  I  arrived  yesterday  morning  at  Etaples,  where  I  write 
to  you  from  my  barrack.  There  blows  a  frightful  south- 
west wind.  Tliis  country  resembles  quite  enough  the  terri- 
tory of  Eolus.  I  mount  my  horse  in  an  instant  to  proceed 
to  Boulogne  by  the  strand." 

He  had  written  before,  on  the  12th  of  November: — 

"I  received,  citizen  consul,  your  letter  of  the  18th  (Bru- 
maire).  Ihe  sea  continues  to  be  stormy,  and  the  rain 
continues  to  fall  in  torrents.  I  was  yesterday  on  horseback 
and  in  boats  all  the  day ;  this  is  to  tell  you  that  I  have  been 
constantly  wet.  In  the  present  season,  there  is  nothing  to 
be  done  if  one  does  rrot  encounter  the  water.  Happily,  as 
far  as  I  am  concerned,  it  suits  me  perfectly ;  I  have  never 
been  so  well. 

"  Boulogne,  November  12." 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1804,  he  wrote  again  to  the  minis- 
ter of  the  navy  :— 

"To  morrow,  at  eight  in  the  morning,  I  shall  make  an 
inspection  of  all  the  flotilla ;  I  shall  see  it  by  divisions.  A 
commissary  of  the  navy  will  call  over  all  the  officers  and 
soldiers  that  compose  the  crews.  Every  one  will  hold  his 
post  of  battle  in  the  most  perfect  order.  At  the  moment 
when  I  set  foot  in  each  vessel,  they  will  salute  thrice  with 
'  Long  live  the  republic!'  and  three  times  'Long live  the  first 
con^ul !  '  I  shall  be  accompanied  in  this  visit  by  the  chief 
engineer,  the  commissary  of  the  armament,  and  the  colonel- 
comniaMdant  of  the  artillery. 

"  During  all  the  time  of  the  inspection,  the  crews  and  the 
garrisons  of  the  flotilla  will  remain  at  their  posts,  and  senti- 
nels will  be  placed  to  prevent  any  body  from  passing  on  the 
quay  that  overlooks  the  flotilla." 


Letter  of  Bonaparte  to 
consul  t'anibacerCs 
specting  England. 


THE  CAMP  OF  BOULOGNE. 


Impatience  of  the  first  consul 
to  commence  the  grand  at-        505 
tempt  on  England. 


resist  the  waves,  bore  liim  on  their  shoulders  in 
the  midst  of  tlieni  as  they  broke  over  their  heads. 

One  day,  when  tlius  passing  along  the  shore,  he 
became  animated  at  tiie  sight  ot  England,  and 
wi-ote  to  the  consul  Cambaceres  :— 

"  I  have  passed  the  last  three  days  in  the  midst 
of  the  camp  and  the  port :  I  have  seen  the  coasts 
of  England  from  the  heights  of  Ambleteuse,  as  one 
sees  Calvary  from  the  Tuileries.  One  could  dis- 
tinguish the  houses  and  the  movement.  It  is  a 
ditcii,  which  will  be  passed  when  one  shall  have  the 
boldness  to  attempt  it '." 

His  impatience  to  execute  this  grand  undertaking 
was  extreme  '.    He  had  at  first  thought  of  attempt- 

'  Depdt  of  secretary  of  state's  office,  November  16th,  1803. 

»  The  following  letters  will  exhibit  this  impatience,  and 
his  desire  to  execute  his  plan  of  the  expedition  in  N'ivdse  or 
Pluviose,  that  is,  in  January-  or  February.  One  of  these 
letters  is  addressed  to  admiral  Ganteaume,  who  was  at  that 
moment  commander  of  the  Toulon  fleet,  before  he  com- 
manded that  of  Brest.  The  cyphers  contained  in  these 
letters  are  not  exactly  the  same  as  those  which  have  been 
already  given  in  the  present  recital,  because  the  first  consul 
did  nothimse.f  fix,  until  a  little  later,  on  the  definitive  num- 
ber of  men  and  vessels.  The  cyphers  here  adopted  are 
tho^e  that  were  definitively  arranged. 

"Paris,  23rd  November,  1803. 

"You  will  please  to  go  to  Toulon.  You  will  remit  the 
accompanying  letter  to  general  Ganteaume;  you  will  there 
take  cognizance  of  the  situation  of  the  navy,  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  crews,  and  of  the  number  of  vessels  in  the  road, 
or  that  wi.l  be  ready  to  go  there.  You  will  remain  at  Toulon 
for  a  new  order.  I'orty-eight  hours  after  your  arrival,  you 
will  send  me  an  extraordinary  courier,  with  the  reply  of  the 
general  Gmtcaume  to  my  letter.  The  extraordinary  courier 
despatched,  jou  will  write  me  daily  all  that  you  have  done, 
and  you  will  enter  into  the  greatest  detail  on  all  parts  of  the 
adnjinistration.  You  will  go  every  day,  for  one  or  two 
hours,  to  the  ar&enal.  You  will  inform  me  of  the  day  when 
the  3rd  battalion  of  the  8th  lij-ht,  which  left  Antibes,  will 
pass,  it  having  orders  to  march  to  St.  Omer,  to  form  part  of 
the  expedition  ;  you  will  proceed  yourself  to  the  place  near- 
est to  I'oulon  that  it  will  pass,  in  order  to  inspect  it,  and 
you  will  let  me  know  its  condition. 

"  You  will  visit  the  Hieres  Isles,  to  see  in  what  manner 
they  are  guarded  and  armed.  You  will  make  me  a  detailed 
report  on  all  the  objects  which  you  see." 

"To  general  Ganteaume,  councillor  of  state,  and  maritime 
prefect  at  Toulon. 

"Paris,  23  November,  1803. 

"CiTiZF.H  Gkneral, — I  have  sent  to  you  general  Kapp, 
one  of  my  aides-de-camp  ;  he  will  sojourn  some  days  in 
your  port,  and  will  learn  in  detail  all  which  concerns  your 
dt-partment.  I  have  acquainted  you,  two  months  ago, 
that  in  the  course  of  Friinaire,  I  counted  upon  having  ten 
sliip*  of  the  line,  five  frigates,  and  four  corvettes,  ready  to 
■e:  sail  from  Toulon,  and  that  I  desired  this  squadron 
should  be  provisioned  for  four  months,  to  support  25,U0U 
men  of  good  infantry  soldiers,  who  will  embark  on  board.  I 
request  that  forty  eijjht  hours  after  the  reception  of  this 
letter,  by  the  extraordinary  courier  of  general  Kapp,  you 
will  let  me  know  the  prccine  day  when  a  like  squadron  will 
be  able  to  set  sail  from  Touhm,  and  what  you  may  have  in 
the  road,  and  ready  to  sail  at  the  moment  of  receiving  my 
letter,  and  what  you  will  have  on  the  15th  Frimaire  and  Ist 
Nivdse.  My  wish  will  be  that  your  expedition  shall  be  able 
to  put  to  sea.  at  the  latest,  in  the  first  days  of  Nivose. 

"  i  have  come  from  lioulogne,  where  at  this  moment  there 
reigns  the  greatest  activity,  and  I  hope  to  have,  towards  the 
middle  of  Nivdse,  300  guii-vesscU,  500  gunboats,  and  500 
pinnaces  united,  each  pinnace  carrying  an  howitzer  of  30 


ing  it  at  the  end  of  autumn  ;  now  he  proposed  the 
commencement  or  at  the  latest  the  middle  of  win- 
ter. But  the  labour  of  the  task  extended  itself  at 
each  fresh  glance;  and  every  day  some  new  design 
to  make  the  plan  more  perfect  jiresented  itself  to 
him  or  to  admiral  Bruix,  which  demanded  a  sacri- 
fice of  time  to  introduce.  The  instruction  of  the 
soldiers  and  sailors  gained  by  these  inevitable 
delays,  which  bore  with  themselves  their  own 
indemnity.  In  strictness,  the  projected  expedi- 
tion might  have  been  attempted  alter  this  eight 
months'  apprenticeship.  Still  it  required  si.K 
months  more,  if  it  was  desired  that  all  should  be 
ready,  that  the  equipment  and  the  armament 
should  be  complete,  and  that  the  education  of 
the  sea  and  landsmen  should  be  deficient  in 
nothing. 

But  decisive  considerations  demanded  a  new 
delay;  these  regarded  the  Batavian  flotilla,  which 
was  to  carry  the  right  wing,  commanded  by  gene- 
ral Davout.  On  a  wish  expressed  by  the  first  con- 
sul, tliat  there  should  be  despatched  to  him  a  dis- 
tinguished officer  of  the  Dutch  navy,  there  had 
been  sent  to  him  the  rear-admiral  Verhuel. 
Struck  with  the  intelligence  and  coolness  of  this 
man  of  the  sea,  the  first  consul  demanded  that 
he  should  have  the  management  <>f  all  which 
concerned  the  organization  of  the  Dutch  flotilhi. 
This  was  conceded  agreeably  to  his  X'equest,  and 
there  was  soon  imi)ressed  upon  itV^organization 
all  the  desired  rapidity.  This  flotilla,  prepared 
in  the   Scheld,  was   to   be   conducted  to  Ostend, 

pounds;  each  gun-vessel  three  24-ponnders,  and  each  gun- 
boat one  of  24.  Let  me  know  your  ideas  aliout  this  flotilla. 
Do  you  believe  that  we  shall  attain  the  shores  of  Albion? 
We  shall  be  able  to  carry  over  100,000  men.  Eight  hours  of 
a  night  favourable  to  us  will  decide  the  fate  of  the  universe. 

"  The  minister  of  the  navy  has  continued  his  tour  towards 
Flushing,  visiting  the  Batavian  flotilla,  composed  of  a  hun- 
dred gun-vessels,  three  hundred  gun-boats,  capable  of  carry- 
ing 30,000  men,  and  the  fleet  of  the  Texel,  capable  of  carry- 
ing 30,000  men. 

"  I  have  no  need  to  stimulate  your  zeal,  I  know  that  you 
will  do  all  that  is  possible.    Count  upon  my  esteem." 

"  Paris,  12  January,  1804. 
"  To  citizen  Daugier,  capitaine  de  Vaisseaii,  commanding 
the  battalion  of  seamen  of  the  guard. 

"  CiTiZEV  Daugiek, — I  desire  that  you  start  in  a  day's 
time  from  Paris,  in  order  to  proceed  in  a  right  line  to 
Cherbourg.  You  will  give  orders  for  the  departure  of  the 
vessels  of  the  flotilla,  which  are  to  be  found  in  that  port,  and 
you  will  remain  there  the  time  necessary  to  remove  all  ob- 
stacles, and  to  accelerate  the  expedition. 

"  You  will  visit  all  the  ports  out  of  your  way,  where  you 
know  that  there  are  vessels  belonging  to  the  flotilla;  you 
will  press  their  departure,  and  you  will  give  instructions 
that  the  vessels  do  not  remain  for  entire  months  in  those 
ports,  particularly  at  Ditlette. 

"  You  will  fulfil  the  same  mission  at  Cherhourg,  at  Gran- 
ville, and  St.  Malo.  You  will  write  me  from  these  two 
ports. 

"You  will  fulfil  the  same  mission  at  Lorient,  Nantes, 
Ro(hcfort,  Bordeaux,  and  Bayonne. 

"The  season  advances;  all  that  shall  not  have  reached 
Boulogne  in  the  course  of  Pluviose,  will  not  be  of  any  ser- 
vice to  us.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  that  you  push  the 
works  to  activity  in  consequence. 

"  You  will  assure  yourself  that  the  dispositions  which 
have  been  marie  to  furnish  the  complements  for  the  vessels 
are  suflicient  in  each  port." 


Chances  of 
506  throuRh  a  cover- 

ing fleet. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Napoleon  suddenly  re- 
calleil  to  the  affairs  of 
the  interior. 


they  had  recognised  the  dniiger  of  setting 
out  from  points  so  f;ir  apart  as  the  Sciield  and 
Boulogne.  Lastly,  from  Osteud  thei-e  was  the  hope 
of  getting  them  to  Aniljleteuse  and  Winierenx, 
when  these  two  ports  siiould  be  completed.  There 
would  then  be  the  advantage  of  having  an  immense 
expedition  all  at  one  point,  and  thus  making  set  out 
together  one  lunnJred  and  twenty  thousand  men, 
ten  thousand  horses,  with  fifteen  thousand  sailors, 
placed  under  the  same  direction  of  the  compass,  at 
four  ports  contiguous  to  eat-h  other.  Lut  in  order 
to  do  that,  several  mouths  more  were  required,  for 
the  perfect  equipment  of  the  Batavian  flotilla,  and 
the  completion  of  the  ports  of  Wimereux  and  Ani- 
blettuse. 

Two  other  portions  of  the  army  of  invasion  were 
not  yet  ready  ;  the  sqiuidron  at  lirest,  destined  to 
throw  the  corps  of  Augereau  into  Ir^^land,  and  the 
Dutch  K(iuadron  in  the  Texel,  which  was  to  em- 
bark the  twenty  thousand  men  encamped  between 
Utrecht  and  Amsterdam.  It  was  these  two  corps 
which  were  designed,  when  joined  to  the  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  thousand  men  at  Boulogne,  to 
carry  the  total  force  to  one  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand  men,  which,  without  the  sailoi-s,  was  the 
total  of  the  army  of  invasion.  It  yet  wanted  seve- 
ral months  before  the  fleet  at  the  Texel  and  that 
at  Bi'est  would  be  completely  i-eady  for  service. 

There  remained  a  last  condition  to  ensure  suc- 
cess, and  this  condition  the  first  consul  regarded 
as  bringing  for  bis  enterju-ise  the  certainty  itself. 
The  vessels  were  now  proved  perfectly  able  to 
pass  the  six  leagues  across  the  straits,  when  the 
greater  part  of  them  had  navigated  a  hundred  and 
two  hundred  leagues  in  order  to  reach  Boulogne, 
and  often  by  their  fire,  divided  and  grazing,  had 
answered  with  advantage  to  the  dominant  and  con- 
centrated fire  of  the  shipping.  They  had  the 
ciiance  of  passing  without  being  touched  or  seen, 
whether  in  the  calms  of  sjiring  or  in  the  fogs  of 
winter  ;  and  on  the  most  unfavourable  suppnsitinn, 
if  they  were  exposed  to  encounter  the  twenty-five 
or  thirty  corvettes,  brigs,  or  frigates  of  the  English, 
they  would  be  able  to  pass,  if  it  must  be  by  the 
sacrifice  of  a  hundred  gun-vessels  or  gim-boats, 
out  of  the  two  thousand  three  hundred  of  which 
the  flotilla  was  composed  ^  But  there  was  one 
case  in  which  every  bad  liazard  disappeared,  and 

'  The  following  is  an  extract  of  a  letter  from  the  minister 
Decres,  who  was  of  all  the  men  employed  near  Napoleon, 
the  one  who  had  the  fewest  illusions,  and  who  shows  that 
with  till;  saciilice  of  a  hundred  vessels,  he  believed  it  possi- 
ble to  cross : — 

"BoulogiiR,  7  Januar.v,  1S04. 

"  The  mini'ter  of  the  navy  to  the  first  consul. 
"They  begin  to  believe  firmly  in  the  flotilla,  that  the  de- 
parture is  nearer  than  most  people  suppose,  and  they  pro- 


that  was  the  chance  of  a  great  French  squadron 
appearing  upon  a  sudden  in  the  straits,  driving 
away  the  English  cruisers,  domineering  in  the 
channel  for  two  or  tliree  days,  and  thus  covering 
tlie  ])assage  of  the  flotilht.  In  this  case  tliere 
could  be  no  doubt ;  all  the  objections  raised  against 
the  enterprise  fall  before  it  at  once,  unless  indeed 
th:it  of  a  sudden  tenijiest  be  admitted,  an  improba- 
ble chance  if  the  seasons  were  well  ch(jsen,  and 
besides,  always  left  out  of  the  calculation.  But  it 
w:is  necessary  the  third  squadron  of  three  being  line 
of  battle  ships,  thtit  of  Toulon,  should  be  entirely 
equipped,  and  it  was  not  ready.  The  first  consul 
destined  it  to  execute  a  grand  combination,  of 
wiiich  no  one  had  the  secret,  not  even  the  minister 
of  tlie  navy.  He  ripened  this  combination  in  his 
own  mind  by  degrees,  not  saying  a  word  to  any 
individual,  and  leaving  the  English  fully  persuaded 
that  the  flotilla  was  to  snfiicc  of  itself^  when  it  was 
so  completely  armed,  and  every  day  presented 
itself  in  such  order  to  their  frigates  and  vessels. 

This  mill)  so  audacious  in  his  conceptions,  was  in 
their  execution  the  most  jirudent  of  soldiers.  Al- 
thtjugh  lie  had  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
men,  united,  and  in  hand,  he  would  not  proceed 
without  the  concurrence  of  the  Texel  fleet,  carry- 
ing twenty  thousiind  men  ;  the  fleet  of  Brest, 
carrying  eighteen  thousand  ;  witiiout  the  fleets  of 
Itochelle,  Fernil,  and  Touhm,  destined  to  clear  the 
straits  by  a  profound  manceuvre.  He  made  evei-y 
effort  to  have  all  these  means  ready  by  February, 
1804,  and  flattered  himself  they  would  be  ready, 
when  serious  and  unexpected  events  in  the  interior 
of  the  re|)ublic  at  once  seized  all  his  attention,  and 
snatched  him  away  for  a  moment  from  the  grand 
enterprise  which  had  attracted  the  eyes  of  the 
whole  world. 

iiiise  me  to  think  seriously  ahout  it.  They  begin  to  shake 
otfall  tears  of  the  danger;  each  of  them  only  sees  Caesar  and 
his  fortunes. 

"  J'he  ideas  of  the  subalterns  do  not  go  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  road  and  its  current.  They  reason  resjiectiiig  the 
wind,  the  niooriiif/s,  and  the  line  of  anchorage,  like  angels. 
A'<  to  the  passage,  that  is  your  affair.  You  know  better 
than  iliey,  and  your  eyes  are  worth  more  than  their  spying- 
glas^es.    The.\  are  for  all  you  are  ready  to  do. 

"  The  admiral  himself  is  so  He  has  never  presented  you 
wiih  a  plan,  because  in  point  of  fact  he  has  none.  It  will 
be  the  moment  of  the  execution  that  will  decide  him.  It  is 
very  possible,  being  obliged  to  sacrifice  a  hundred  vessels  by 
drawing  tl;e  enemy  upon  them,  that  the  rest,  passing 
at  the  moment  of  their  rout,  would  proceed  without  an 
obstacle. 

"  For  the  rest,  a  volume  in  folio  would  not  contain  the 
development  of  his  ideas,  already  prepared  upon  the  subject. 
What  will  be  that  which  he  will  adopt?  It  is  for  circum- 
stances to  decide." 


BOOK  XVIII. 

THE  CONSPIRACY  OF  GEORGES. 


PEAKS  OP  ENGLAND  AT  THE  SIGHT  OF  THE  niKPARATIONE  AT  BODLOGNE.— WAR  A  THING  OP  ORDINARY  OCCOR- 
RENCE  WITH  HER— THE  OPINION  AT  FIRST  HELD  IN  LONDON  REGARDING  THE  ODJECTS  OP  THE  FIRST  CONSUt; 
TERROR   WITH   WHICH    THE   VIEW   OF   THEM    CONCLUDES.— IM AGIN AKY    MEANS   TO   RESIST    THE     FRENCH.— DISCUS- 


Difference  of  war  to  England    THE  CONSPIRACY   OF  GEORGES. 


and  other  countries. 


SIGN  OF  THOSE  MKASS  IN  PARLI AMEXT.— PITT  AGAIN  COMES  TO  THE  HOUSE  OF  COMMONS.— HIS  ATTITUDE  AKD 
THAT  OF  HIS  FRl  F.S  DS.— M ILITARY  SIKENGTU  OF  THE  FNGLI^H. — WINDHAM  DEMANDS  THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF 
A  REGULAR  ARMY,  IN  IMITATION  OF  THE  FRENCH— THEY  LIMIT  THEMSELVES  TO  THE  CREATION  OP  AN-ARMV 
OF  RESERVE,  AND  TO  A  LEVY  OF  VOLUNTEERS — PRECAUTIONS  TAKEN  TO  GUARD  THE  COAST.— THE  BRITISH 
CABINET  RESORTS  TO  THE  MEANS  FORMERLY  PRACTISED  BY  PITT,  AND  SECONDS  THE  PLOTS  OP  THE  EMI- 
GRANTS.—INTRIGUES  OF  THE  ENGLISH  DIPLOMATIC  A>iENTS,  DRAKE,  SMITH,  AND  TAYLOR — THE  PRINCES  WHO 
HAD  TAKEN  REFUGE  IN  LONDON  UNITE  THEMSELVES  WITH  GEORGES  AND  PICHEGBU,  AND  ENTF.R  INTO  A  PLOT, 
THE  OBJECT  OF  WHICH  IS  TO  ATTACK  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  WITH  A  TROOP  OF  CHOUANS,  ON  THE  ROAD  TO  MAL. 
MAISON.— IN  ORDER  TO  INSURE  THE  ADHESION  OF  IHE  ARMY,  UNDER  THE  SUPPOSITION  OF  SUCCESS,  THEY 
ADDRESS  THEMSELVES  TO  GENERAL  MOREAC,  THE  CHIEF  OF  THE  DI.<CONTENTED.— INTRIGUES  OF  LAJOLAIS.— 
FOOLISH  HOPES  CONCEIVED  UtON  CERTAIN  PROPOSALS  OP  GENERAL  MOREAU.  — PI  RST  DEPARTURE  OF  A  TROOP 
OF  CHOUANS,  CONDUCTED  BY  GEORGES.— THE  I R  DISEMBARKATION  ON  THE  STRAND  AT  BIVILLE;  THEIR  ROUTE 
ACROSS  NORMANDY.— GEORGES,  HID  IN  PARIS,  PREPARES  THE  MEANS  OF  EXECUTIO 
TION,  COMPOSED  OF  PICHEGRU  AND  SEVERAL  EMIGRANTS  OF  HIGH  RA> 
WITH  MOREAU.- HE  FINDS  HIM  IRRITATED  AGAINST  THE  FIRST  CONSUL,  W 
BUT  IS  IN  NO  WAY  DISPOSED  TO  SECOND  THE  RETURN  OF  THE  BnURBO! 
SPIRATORS. — THEIR  DISCOURAGE.MENT,  AND  THE  LOSS  OP 
CONSUL,    WHO   IS     ILL-SERVED    BY   THE    POLICE     SINCE 


-SECOND  DISEMBARKA- 
-PICHEGRU  HAS  A  CONFERENCE 
ING  FOR  HIS  FALL  ASD  DEATH  ; 
F  THE  BiiURBONS.— DISAPPOINTMENT  OF  THE  CON- 
IME  THAT  DISCOURAGEMENT  ENTAILS.— THE  FIRST 
THE  RETIREMENT  OF  FOUCIIE.  DISCOVERS  THE  DANGER 
WITH  WHICH  HE  IS  MENACED. — HE  ORDERS  SOME  CIIOU  tNS,  RECENTLY  ARRESTED,  TO  BE  DELIVERED  OVER  TO 
A  MILITARY  COMMISSION,  IS  ORDER  THAT  THEY  MAY  BE  CONSlRAINED  TO  STA I  E  ALL  THEY  KNOW.— HE  THUS 
PROCURES  AN  EVIDENCE— THE  WHOLE  PLOT  DkNOUNCED.  — SURPRISE  AT  LEARNING  THAT  GEORGES  AND 
PICHEGRU  ARE  IN  PARIS,  AND  THAT  MOREAU  IS  THEIR  ACCOMPLICE. —AN  EXTRAORDINARY  COUNCIL,  ASD  THE 
RESOLUTION  TAKEN  TO  ARREST  MOREAU.— DISPOSITIONS  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL.  — HE  IS  FULL  OP  INDULGENCE 
TO  THE  REPUBLICANS,  AND  OF  ANGER  AGAINST  THE  ROYALISTS. — HIS  DE I EBM  IN  ATION  TO  STRIKE  THEM  IN 
THE  MOST  UNSPAIiING  MANSER— HE  ORDl-.RS  THE  GRAND  JUDGE  TO  BRING  MOREAU  TO  HIM,  THAT  HE  MAY 
TERMINATE  ALL,  AS  REGARDS  HIM,  IN  A  PERSONAL  AND  AMICABLE  IXPLANATION. — THE  ATTITUDE  OF  MO- 
REAU BEFORE  THE  GRAND  JUDGE  RENDEIlS  ABORTIVE  THIS  KIND  RESOLUTION.- THE  CONSPIRATORS  ARRESTED 
ALL  DECLARE  THAT  A  FRENCH  PRINCE  IS  TO  BE  AT  THEIR  HEAD,  AND  THAT  HE  HAD  A  DESIGN  TO  ENTER 
FRANCE  BY  THE  BEACH  AT  BIVELLE— RESOLUTION  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL  TO  SEIZE  HIM,  AND  DELIVER  HIM 
OVER  TO  A  MILITARY  COM  MISSION.— COLONEL  SAVARY  SENT  TO  THE  SEASHORE  AT  BIVELLE,  TO  AWAIT  THE 
ARRIVAL  OF  THE  PHISCl-  AND  ARREST  HIM.  —  A  TERRIBLE  LAW,  PUNISHING  WITH  DEATH  WHOSOEVER  SHOULD 
AFFORD  AN  ASYLUM  TO  THE  COSSPIRATciRS.  — PA  RIS  CLOSED  AT  THE  GATES  FOR  SEVERAL  DAYS  — SUCCESSIVE 
ARRESTS  0^  PICHEGRU,  M.  DE  POLIGNAC,  M.  DE  RIVIEKE,  AND  OF  GEORGl.S  HIMSELF. — DECLARATION  OF 
CTEORGES  :  HE  HAD  COME  TO  ATTACK  THE  i'lRST  CONSUL  BY  FORCE  OF  ARMS.  — NEW  DECLARATION  THAT,  A 
PRINCE  WAS  TO  BE  AT  THE  HEAD  OP  THE  CONSPIRATORS. — INCREASING  IRRITATION  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL. — 
USELESS  ATTEMPT  OF  COLONEL  SAVARY  ON  THE  SHORE  AT  BIVELLE. —TII EY  ARE  INDUCED  TO  EXAMINE  WHERE 
ALL  THE  PRINCES  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  BOURBON  ARE  TO  BE  F»*'?;D  AT  THE  MOMENT.— THE  DUKE  d'eNGHEIN  IS 
THOUGHT  OF,  WHO  WAS  AT  ETTENHEIM,  ON  THE  BANKS  OF  THE  RHINE. — A  SUB-OFFICER  OP  GENDARMERIE  IS 
SENT  TO  MAKE  O  CSKRV  ATIO.NS  — ERRON  EOUS  REPORT  MADE  BY  THAT  SUB  OFFICER,  AND  FATAL  COINCIDENCE 
OF  HIS  REPORT  WITH  A  NEW  DEPOSITION  OF  A  DOMESTIC  OF  GEORGES  —  ERROR  AND  BLINDFOLD  ANGER  OF 
THE  FIRST  CONSUL.- EXTRAORDINARY  COUNCIL,  AT  THE  TERMINATION  OP  WHICH  THE  SEIZURE  OF  THE 
PRINCE  IS  RESOLVED  UPON  — HIS  SEIZURE  AND  REMOVAL  TO  PARIS — A  POIITION  OP  THE  ERROR  COMMITTED 
IS  DISCOVERED  TOO  LATE, — THE  PRINCE,  SENT  BEFORE  A  MILITARY  COMMISSION,  IS  SHOT  IN  THE  FOSSE  OF 
THE    CHATEAU   OF   VINCENNES. — CHARACTER   OF   THAT    UNFORTUNATE    EVENT. 


Enoi-and  bcg.nn  to  be  moved  at  the  aspect  of  the 
lireparalioii.s  which  were  niakiiif,'  ill  face  of  lierown 
Hhores  ;  t-he  had  at  first  atuiched  to  them  but  Uttle 
importance. 

Wai-  in  peneral  for  an  insular  country,  which 
takes  no  part  in  the  great  contests  carried  on  by 
otlicr  nations,  except  with  vessels  tliat  are  gene- 
Rilly  victorious,  and  more  or  less  with  armies  that 
act  in  the  character  of  auxiliaries,  to  such  war  is  a 
stjitc  of  little  uneasiness,  and  does  not  alter  the 
public  repose  more  than  the  night  itself  disturbs 
the  daily  prr>;:ress  of  business.  The  stability  of 
crcilit  ill  London,  aniidHt  the  most  lavish  efl'usions 
of  liiinian  blood,  is  a  siriUing  proof  of  this  fact.  If 
it  be  added  to  these  considerations,  that  the  army 
is  recniited  with  mercenaries,  that  the  fleet  is 
manned  with  seainen  lo  whom  it  matters  little 
whether  they  live  on  board  the  vessels  of  war  or 
on  board  those  of  commerce,  but  for  whom,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  prizes  have  an  infinite  attraction, 
it  may  be  better  again  conceived,  that  for  such  a 
country  war  is  a  change  which  resolves  itself 
simpiy  into  a  matter  of  taxation,  a  snrt  of  specu- 
lation, in  which  millions  are  expended  in  order  to 
obuin  more   extended   commercial    outlets.     For 


the  aristocratic  classes'  alone  commanding  the  fleets 
and  armies,  who  spilled  their  blood  in  coinnianding 
them,  as|)ired,  in  fact,  to  extend  the  glory  of  their 
country  as  well  as  to  acquire  new  territory,  war 
resumed  all  ils  seriousness,  iis  perils,  but  never  at 
any  time  its  greatest  anxiety,  because  the  danger 
of  invasion  did  not  appear  to  exist. 

It  was  a  war  of  this  kind,  and  waged  in  this 
manner,  that  Windham,  Grenville,  and  the  feeble- 
minded minister,  whom  they  dragged  in  their  train, 
believed  they  had  dniwii  upon  their  country.  They 
had  heard  Hatbnttnmed  boats  spoken  about  under 
the  directory,  but  so  often  and  with  so  little  eft'ect, 
lint  they  came  to  the  conclusion  of  believing  nothing 
about  them.  Sir  Sidney  Smith,  inoi-c  experienced 
in  the  matter  than  his  fellow-countrymen,  beeau.se 
he  had  seen  by  turns  the  French,  Turks,  and 
English  disembaik  in  Egypt,  now  in  spile  of  for- 
midable cruisers,  now  despite  vigorous  and  good 
soldiers  posted  upon  the  shore  ;  Sir  Sidney  Smith 

'  NoihiiiR  can  be  more  unfounded  ns  respect*  the  naval 
Bcrviccof  EnRliind;  llio  hirRe  niujority  of  the  dislinguisheil 
roiiiniandcrg  i,f  which  have  not  arisen  from  the  aristocracy, 
thou^li  they  liave  been  rewarded  by  its  dlKtinciiuns  for  their 
services. —  Tramlator. 


Uneasiness  of  Englam 
508         ''''  ^''^  prospect  of  in 
vasion. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


1803. 
Aug. 


had  said  in  his  seat  in  parliament,  that  it  was  pos- 
sible at  the  utmost  to  unite  si.xty  or  eiglity  gun- 
vessels  in  tlie  cliannel,  or  a  hundred,  if  it  was  de- 
sirable to  exaggerate,  but  tliat  they  could  never 
unite  more  ;  and  that  twenty-five  or  thirty  thou- 
sand men  were  the  exti'eme  limit  of  the  forces  that 
it  was  possible  to  transport  into  England.  Ac- 
cording to  this  officer,  the  greatest  danger  that 
could  be  apprehended  after  that  was,  the  descent 
of  a  Freueh  army  in  Ireland,  double  or  tri|)le  in 
force  to  that  which  had  been  formerly  thrown 
upon  the  island  ;  an  army,  which  having  moi-e  or 
less  ravaged  and  agitated  the  country,  would  finish 
as  the  former  had  done,  by  succumbing  and  laying 
down  its  arms.  There  remained,  besides,  the 
animosities  always  silently  existing  on  the  conti- 
nent against  France, — animosities,  that  soon 
awakened  again,  would  recall  towards  the  conti- 
nent the  forces  of  the  first  consul.  There  was, 
therefore,  moi-e  or  less  reason  to  fear  the  war 
of  the  first  times  of  the  revolution,  signalised 
anew  by  victories  of  genei-al  Bonaparte  over  Aus- 
tria, but  with  all  the  ordinary  hazards  of  a  com- 
plete overturn  in  a  country  so  fickle  as  France, 
which  during  fifteen  years  had  not  supported  f(jr 
three  successively  the  same  government,  and  with 
the  permanent  advantage  for  England  of  new 
maritime  conquests.  These  anticipations  were 
realized,  owing  to  many  misfortunes  and  faults  ; 
but  it  will  be  seen  that  during  several  years  dan- 
gers of  the  most  serious  kind  menaced  the  existence 
of  Great  Britain. 

The  confidence  of  the  English  soon  gave  way  at 
the  aspect  of  the  prepai-ations  which  were  made 
on  the  coast  of  I3ou!ogne.  They  heard  of  a 
thousand  or  twelve  liundrcd  flat-bottomed  boats 
(they  were  ignorant  that  they  numbered  two 
thousand),  and  were  surprised  ;  nevertheless  they 
encouraged  themselves  by  doubting  their  union, 
and,  above  all,  doubting  the  possibility  of  their 
finding  shelter  in  the  ports  of  the  channel.  But 
tile  concentration  of  these  flat- bottomed  boats 
in  the  straits  of  Dover  was  made  in  spite  of 
the  numerous  English  cruisers  ;  their  good  bear- 
ing at  sea,  and  under  fire,  the  construction  of 
vast  basins  to  receive  them,  the  establishment 
of  formidable  batteries  to  protect  tliem  at  anchor, 
the  union  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men, 
reaJv  to  embark  in  them,  made  the  English  lose, 
one  by  one,  the  illusions  of  a  presumptuous  se- 
curity. They  well  saw  that  such  preparations 
could  not  be  a  mere  feint,  and  that  they  had 
too  lightly  ])rovoked  the  boldest  and  most  able  of 
men.  There  were,  it  is  true,  old  Englishmen,  con- 
fident in  the  inviolability  of  their  island,  who  had 
no  faith  in  the  peril  with  which  they  were  threat- 
ened ;  but  the  government  and  the  leaders  of  the 
different  parties  did  not  think  doubtful  the  hazard 
that  threatened  the  soil  of  England.  Twenty  or 
thirty  thousand  French,  however  brave,  however 
well  commanded  they  might  be,  would  not  have 
alarmed  them  ;  but  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand men,  having  general  Bonaparte  at  their  head, 
caused  a  sensation  of  fear  in  all  classes  throughout 
every  part  of  the  nation.  This  was  no  proof  of 
want  of  courage,  because  the  bravest  people  in  the 
world  would  have  been  rendered  uneasy  in  presence 
of  an  army  which  had  accomplished  such  great  things, 
and  was  going  to  accomplish  greater  things  yet. 


One  circumstance  added  nmcli  to  the  serious- 
ness of  this  situation,  the  immoveable  position  of 
the  continental  powers.  Austria  would  not  agree 
for  a  hundred  or  two  hundred  millions  to  draw 
upon  herself  the  blow  intended  for  England. 
Prussia  was  in  a  connnunity  of  interests,  not  of 
sympathies,  with  France.  Russia  censured  both 
belligerent  parties,  and  erected  itself  into  a  judge  of 
their  conduct,  but  did  not  pronounce  formally  for 
any.  If  the  French  went  not  north  beyond  Han- 
over, there  was  no  chance,  at  least  at  the  moment, 
of  drawing  the  Russian  empire  into  a  war;  and  it 
was  evident  that  there  was  no  idea  of  giving  Russia 
this  niotive  to  take  up  arms. 

The  prei)arations  of  England  should  therefore  be 
proportioned  to  the  extent  of  the  danger.  There 
was  little  to  do  under  the  head  of  the  navy  to  pre- 
serve the  superiority  over  France.  At  first  sixty 
vessels  of  the  line  were  placed  in  commission,  and 
eighty  thousand  seamen  raised  at  the  eve  of  the 
rupture.  The  number  of  vessels  of  the  line  was 
carried  up  to  seventy-five,  and  that  of  seamen  to 
one  hundred  thousand,  when  the  war  was  openly 
declared.  A  hundred  frigates  and  an  infinite  quan- 
tity of  brigs  and  of  corvettes  completed  this  arma- 
ment. Nelson,  at  the  head  of  a  chosen  fleet,  occu- 
])ied  the  JMediterranean,  blocked  uj)  Toulon,  and 
hindered  any  new  attempt  upon  Egypt.  Lord 
Cornwallis ',  at  the  head  of  a  second  fleet,  was 
charged  with  the  blockade  of  Brest  liimself : 
Rochefort  and  Ferrol  were  jilaced  under  his  infe- 
rior officers.  Lastly,  lord  Keith,  commanding  all 
the  naval  forces  in  the  cliannel  and  the  north  sea, 
liad  to  guard  the  coasts  of  England  and  to  watch 
those  of  France.  He  liad  for  his  lieutenant  Sir 
Sidney  Smith,  who  cruised  with  vessels  of  sixty- 
fiiur  guns,  frigates,  brigs,  and  corvettes,  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Thames  to  Portsmouth,  and  from  the 
mouth  of  tlie  Scheld  to  the  Sonmie,  covering  a 
]):irt  of  the  English  shore,  and  blocking  up  the 
other  ports  of  France.  A  chain  of  light  vessels, 
corresponding  by  signals  over  the  whole  expanse 
of  this  sea,  gave  the  alarm  at  the  least  movement 
perceived  in  the  French  ports  ^. 


1  Our  author  here  confounds  lord  Cornwallis  with  admiral 
Cornwallis,  so  well  known  in  the  navy  for  keeping  the  sia 
(iff  Brest  with  his  large  fleet  during  tlieenlire  winter  season, 
in  a  way  no  admiral  ever  did  before.  M.  Thiers  has  com- 
mitted the  error  of  making  the  plenipotentiary  of  Amiens 
an  admiral,  when  he  had  before  spoken  of  him  as  a  military 
officer.  — Tz-nns/cr/oc. 

2  111  the  last  chapter  our  author  alluded  to  the  English 
light  squadron  that  cruised  off  the  coast  tf  France,  as  if  its 
25  or  30  corvettes,  brigs,  and  frigates,  were  all  the  expedi- 
tion, liad  it  come  out,  would  have  liad  to  cope  with  in  the 
channel,  and  before  which  it  could  afford  to  lose  a  hundred. 
How  the  French  gun-vessels  would  have  acted  in  deep 
water,  beyond  the  cover  of  their  shore-batteries,  disadvan- 
tageously  tilled  with  men,  was  never  ventured  to  the  proof 
on  the  smallest  scale.  But  this  light  squadron  was  not  all : 
at  the  first  alarm,  the  whole  coast,  from  the  Thames  to 
Portsmouth,  would  have  put  its  vessels  to  sea.  There  were 
in  activity  at  that  moment,  besides  wluit  belenged  to  the 
royal  navy  in  the  cliannel,  90  Trinily-IIouse  vessels  ;  17.'i 
king's  yards'  lighters;  19  East  Indiamen  ;  and  a  body  of 
vessels,  in  all  amounting  to  (i24,  esiiecially  directed  to  the 
defence  of  the  coast,  and  all  watching  the  signal  to  move; 
the  smallest  a  match  for  two  or  three  of  the  French.  In 
February  and  March,  1S04,  besides  this  home  force,  the  royal 
navy  numbered  500  vessels  more— in  all  \50G.—Translalur. 


1803. 
Aug. 


Military  resources  of 
the  English  govern- 
meiu. 


THE  CONSPIRACY  OF  GEORGES. 


Measures  of  defence  in 
England— the    army  509 


By  these  measures  the  English  believed  they 
had  eoiideniiu'd  to  inaction  the  French  squadrons 
at  Brest,  Rociiefort,  Fcrrol,  and  Toulon,  and  had 
constituted  a  suttieiently  encouraging  force  of 
observation  in  the  channel. 

But  it  was  necessary  to  do  more  in  presence  of 
a  danger  altogether  new  in  kind,  that  of  an  in- 
vasion of  the  British  soil.  Tlie  sailors  consulted 
had  nearly  all  declared,  particularly  at  the  sight  of 
the  preparations  of  the  first  consul,  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  be  assured  that  by  favour  of  a  fog,  a 
ealm,  or  a  long  night,  the  French  might  not  be 
able  to  disembark  upon  the  English  coast.  Without 
doubt,  the  new  Pharaoh  might  be  precipitated 
into  the  waves  before  reaching  the  shore;  still,  if 
once  disembarked,  not  with  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  nit-n,  but  only  with  one  hundred  thousand, 
or  even  with  eighty  thousand,  who  could  resist 
him  ?  That  jiroud  nation,  which  was  itself  so  little 
regardful  of  the  nations  of  the  continent,  that  had 
not  feared  to  renew  the  war  which  she  had  been 
habituated  to  wage  with  the  blood  of  others,  of 
which  she  was  ever  unsparing,  was  now  reduced 
to  hir  own  forces,  obliged  to  arm  herself,  and  no 
longer  confide  in  mercenaries,  while  her  own  forces 
were  not  numerous  enough  for  the  defence  of  her 
territory.  She,  so  proud  of  lier  navy,  regretted 
now  not  to  have  an  efficient  army  to  oppose  to  the 
formidable  troops  of  general  Bonaparte. 

The  composition  of  an  army,  tlien,  w.s  at  that 
itionjent  the  subject  of  all  the  discussions  in  the 
house  of  cominons;  and  as  it  is  in  the  midst  of  the 
gn-atest  perils  that  the  spirit  of  party  always  niost 
strongly  exhibits  itself,  it  was  to  the  subject  of  this 
part  of  the  question  of  the  war,  and  the  mode  of 
sustaining  it,  that  party  spirit  encountered  and 
conflicted  among  the  principal  members  of  the 
parliament. 

The  feeble  ministry  of  Addington  had  survived 
his  faults;  he  was  still  at  the  head  of  the  direction, 
though  but  for  a  sliort  time  only,  of  the  war  which 
he  had  so  lightly  and  so  criminally  suffered  to  be 
rekindled.  The  majority  in  parliament  well  knew 
that  he  w.xs  inferior  to  the  tiisk  which  he  had 
undertaken;  but  not  willing  to  provoke  or  overturn 
the  cabinet,  sujiported  it  against  its  enemies,  even 
against  Pitt,  that  it  still  desired  to  see  at  the  head 
of  affairs.  This  powerful  party  chief  had  returned 
to  the  houHe  of  commons,  to  which  he  was  incited 
by  his  secret  impatience,  the  greatness  of  the  pub- 
lic danger,  and  his  own  hatred  to  France.  Always 
more  moderate  than  his  auxiliaries,  Windham, 
Grcnville,  and  Dundxs,  he  had  been  made  awan-, 
by  the  result  of  a  recent  vote,  that  he  might  be 
again  in  power.  In  fact,  upon  a  (luestion  of  attach- 
ing blami;  to  this  minister,  only  fifty-three  votes 
were  given  in  the  affirmative.  The  majority, 
through  a  diMposiiion  connnon  enough  in  pojiiieal 
assemblies,  would  have  wished,  witlKjut  overturning 
the  ministry,  to  place  the  helm  of  the  state  in  the 
hands  of  a  man  of  more  character  and  ability.  In 
expectation  of  his  approaching  entrance  upon  the 
management  of  public  affairs,  Pitt  took  a  part  in 
all  the  deliaifs  nearly  as  if  lie  were  minister,  but 
rather  with  a  view  to  support  and  perfect  the  mea- 
sures of  th(!  governmi-nt  than  to  coniravene  them. 

The  principal  of  llnse  meastin-M  was  the  organi- 
zation of  an  army.  England  had  one  disperMed  in 
India,  Aiuerica,  and  in  all   parts  of  the  Mediter- 


ranean, composed  of  Irish,  Scotch,  Hanoverians, 
Hessians,  Swiss,  and  even  Maltese,  formed  by 
means  of  the  recruiting  system,  so  common  in 
Europe  before  the  institution  of  the  conscription. 
It  had  conducted  itself  well  in  Egypt,  as  already 
seen.  It  amounted  to  about  one  hundred  and 
thirty  thousand  men;  but  it  is  well  known,  that  of 
one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  men  the  admi- 
nistration must  bo  good  in  order  to  have  eighty 
thousand  ca[iable  of  active  service.  To  this  force, 
of  whiih  the  third  at  least  was  absorbed  in  Ire- 
land, was  to  be  joined  fifty  thousand  of  the  militia, 
recently  increased  to  seventy  thousand,  a  kind  of 
national  troops  that  never  go  out  of  the  province, 
and  have  never  seen  fire.  They  were  led  by  half- 
pay  officers,  by  English  lords,  full  of  patriotism  no 
doubt,  but  little  accustomed  to  war,  and  perfect 
novices,  when  opposed  to  those  old  bands  that  had 
vanquished  the  European  coalitions. 

How  was  this  deficiency  to  be  supplied  ?  The 
minister,  surrounded  by  the  most  experienced 
military  men,  devised  the  creation  of  an  army,  to 
be  cal'.ed  the  army  of  reserve,  and  to  consist  of" 
fifty  thousand  men,  formed  of  Englishmen,  drawn 
for  by  lot,  and  not  to  be  employed  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  United  Kingdom.  The  army  of  the  line  was 
supplied  from  this  force,  and  a  reinforcement  of 
fifty  thousand  men  obtained.  The  replacement  of 
those  who  left  to  join  the  line  was  permitted;  but 
it  was  only  obtained,  under  the  circumstances,  at 
a  very  high  rate.  It  was  but  a  small  matter  in 
strength,  but  it  was  all  that  was  able  to  be  done 
at  that  moment.  Windham,  supporting  the  war 
|)arty,  attacked  the  proposition  for  the  army  of 
reserve  as  inSiifiicient.  He  required  the  creation 
of  a  large  army  of  the  line,  which,  composed  after 
the  same  principles  as  the  French  army,  that  is  to 
say,  by  conscription,  would  be  at  the  absolute  dis- 
posal of  the  government,  and  could  be  sent  any 
where.  He  said  that  which  the  minister  had  de- 
vised was  only  an  extension  of  the  militia,  and 
would  be  no  better  in  the  face  of  the  experienced 
troops  they  had  to  combat;  it  would  prejudice  the 
recruiting  of  the  army  by  the  power  of  replacing 
introduced  under  the  new  law,  because  the  indi- 
viduals disposed  to  serve  would  find  it  more  ad- 
vantageous to  enter  themselves  in  the  army  of 
reserve  than  to  enrol  themselves  in  the  army  of 
the  line;  that  a  regular  army,  formed  from  the 
national  population,  transportable  every  where 
that  war  was  carried  on,  having,  in  conse- 
(|uence,  the  means  to  become  efficient  fighting 
nun,  was  the  only  institution  to  oppo.se  to  the 
ti-r)ops  of  general  Bonaparte — "  there  must  be  the 
dianu)nd  to  cut  the  diamond,"  said  Windham. 

England,  that  already  had  a  navy,  would  also 
have  a  land  army,  an  ambition  very  natural,  be- 
cause it  is  rare  that  a  nation  which  has  one  of 
these  two  great  arms  does  not  wish  to  have  the 
other.  But  Pitt  made  a  cold  and  decided  negative 
to  these  propositions  of  Windham.  All  the  iileas 
of  Win<lham,  according  to  him,  were  very  good; 
but  how  was  an  army  to  be  created  in  a  few  days! 
how  made  accustomed  to  fight?  How  were  the 
regimental  skeletons  t<)  be  obtained  ?  Where  could 
the  officers  be  found  ?  Such  an  institution  could 
not  be  the  work  of  a  moment.  That  which  had 
been  done  was  the  thing  alone  actually  practicable. 
It  will  be  difficult  enough  already  to  organize  the 


510 


Levies  of  volunteers         THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


1803. 

Aug. 


fifty  thousand  men  now  demn tided,  to  instruct 
tliein,  and  to  provide  them  with  officers  of  every 
rai.k.  Pitt  entreated  his  friend  Windliam  to  re- 
nounce liis  notions,  at  least  for  tlie  present,  and  to 
adhere  with  him  to  the  government  pli.n. 

Windham  did  not  nuiije  much  of  the  advice  of 
Pitt,  and  persisted  in  liis  own  system,  wliich  lie 
supported  with  new  and  stronger  considerations. 
He  even  demanded  a  levy  en  masse,  like  that  of 
Fnmce  in  1792,  and  reproached  the  feeble  ministei-, 
Addington,  for  not  having  thought  of  this  grand 
ivsiiurce  for  all  the  people  whose  independence 
sill  mid  be  threatened.  This  enemy  of  France  and 
of  Napoleon,  by  the  effect  of  a  very  common  result 
in  hatred,  found  eulogies  for  what  he  most  de- 
tested; almost  exaggerated  the  French  greatness 
and  power,  the  danger  with  which  the  first  consul 
threatened  England,  only  to  reproach  the  English 
minister  for  not  taking  sufficient  precauti(ms. 

The  army  of  reserve  was  voted,  notwithstanding 
the  scnrn  of  the  Windham  party,  that  called  it  an 
augmentation  of  the  militia.  This  combination 
was  reckoned  upon  for  the  extension  of  the  army 
ot  the  line.  It  was  hoped  that  the  men  designated 
liy  lot,  and  condemned  to  serve,  would  like  better 
to  enrol  themselves  in  this  species  of  force  than  in 
any  other.  There  would  in  this  way  be  twenty  or 
thirty  thousand  recruits  more  added  to  the  skeleton 
regiments. 

is'evertheless,  the  danger  increasing  every  hour, 
and  above  all,  the  co-operation  of  the  continent 
being  every  day  less  probable,  recourse  was  had  to 
the  ])roposition  of  the  more  extreme  party,  and  all 
tendeil  to  the  idea  of  a  levy  en  masse.  The  minister 
demanded  and  obtained  the  power  to  call  out  to 
arms  all  the  English,  from  seventeen  years  old  to 
fifty  five.  They  were  to  take  volunteers,  and  in 
default  of  them,  the  men  designated  by  law,  to 
form  them  into  battalions,  and  to  instruct  them 
(luring  a  certain  number  of  hours  every  v.eek. 
They  were  to  be  allowed  pay  to  indemnify  them 
for  loss  of  time;  but  this  arrangement  only  applied 
to  those  volunteers  who  belonged  to  the  working 
cliisses. 

Windham,  obliged  to  recognize  that  they  bor- 
rowed his  ideas,  complained  that  they  took  them 
too  late  or  unworthily,  and  criticised  several  of  the 
details  of  the  measure.  But  the  measure  was 
voted;  and  in  a  little  time  there  were  seen  in  the 
towns  and  counties  of  England,  the  population 
called  to  arms,  and  exercised  every  morning  in  the 
uniform  of  volunteers.  This  uniform  was  worn  by 
all  clashes.  The  respectable  Addington  came  to 
I)arlianient  in  this  costume,  which  he  so  little 
Miiti.'d,  and  caused  himself  no  small  degree  of 
ridicule  by  a  manifestation  of  such  a  character. 
'J"he  old  king  and  his  son,  the  ])rincc  of  Wales, 
parsed  the  volunteers  of  London  in  review,  at 
whieh  the  French  princes  were  guilty  of  the  un- 
pardonable fault  of  attending.  There  were  seen 
in  London  as  many  as  twenty  thousand  of  these 
volunteers,  which  was  not  a  very  consideralile 
number,  it  is  true,  when  the  vast  po])ulation  of  the 
uity  is  taken  into  account.  The  number  was  suffi- 
ciently great  in  the  whole  extent  of  England  to 
furnish  an  imposing  force,  if  it  had  been  well- 
organized.  But  soldiers  are  not  to  be  made  on 
a  sudden,  and  much  less  officers.  If  in  France 
there  were  doubts  of  the  worth  of  the  flat-bottomed 


boats,  in  England  there  were  great  doubts  of  the 
worth  of  these  volunteers,  if  not  of  their  courage, 
at  least  of  their  warlike  ability.  To  these  measures 
were  joined  the  design  of  fortifications  in  the 
country  around  London,  upon  the  roads  that  con- 
duct to  the  capital,  and  on  all  the  points  of  the 
coast  that  were  most  threatened.  A  part  of  the 
active  force  was  disposed  along  the  shore,  from  the 
Isle  of  Wight  as  far  as  the  month  of  the  Thames. 
A  system  of  signals  was  established  for  giving  the 
,-larm,  by  means  of  fires  lighted  along  the  coast  at 
the  first  appearance  of  the  French.  Chariots  of 
a  jiarticular  form  were  constructed,  in  order  to 
convey  troops  by  post  to  the  threatened  points. 
In  a  word,  on  this  side  of  the  strait,  as  well  as  on 
the  other,  they  made  efforts  to  complete  extra- 
ordinary inventions,  to  devise  new  means  of  de- 
fence and  attack,  to  overcome  the  elements,  and 
associate  tliem  in  their  cause.  The  two  nations, 
as  if  drawn  to  this  double  shore,  presented  there  a 
grand  spectacle  to  the  rest  of  the  world  :  one, 
troubled  when  she  thought  of  her  inexperience  in 
arms,  was  encouraged  when  she  considered  the 
ocean,  which  girded  her  round  as  with  a  belt ;  the 
other  full  of  confidence  in  her  bravery,  in  her 
habits  of  war,  in  the  genius  of  her  chief,  measured 
with  her  eyes  the  arm  of  the  sea  that  ari-ested  her 
ardour,  accustomed  herself  every  day  to  contemn 
it,  and  regarded  as  certain  that  she  should  soon 
pass  over  in  the  train  of  the  conqueror  of  Marengo 
and  of  the  Pyramids. 

Neither  of  the  two  belligerents  had  an  idea  of 
any  other  means  than  those  which  they  saw  pre- 
paring under  their  own  eyes.  The  English  be- 
lieving Brest  and  Totdon  carefully  blockaded,  had 
no  notion  of  any  squadron  a|>pearing  in  the  channel. 
The  French,  every  day  exercised  in  navigating 
their  gun-vessels,  did  not  dream  of  any  other  mixle 
of  passing  over  the  strait.  No  one  suspected  the 
principal  combination  of  the  first  cimsul.  Still 
the  fine  feared,  the  other  hoped,  some  sudden  in- 
vention of  his  genius,  and  this  was  the  cause  of  the 
uneasiness  which  reigned  on  one  side  of  the  chan- 
nel, and  of  the  confidence  that  prevailed  upon  the 
other. 

Jt  must  be  said  that  the  means  prepared  to 
resist  the  Fi'ench  were  of  little  account  if  the 
strait  were  once  passed.  In  admitting  that  they 
were  able  to  assemble,  between  London  and  the 
channel,  fifty  thousand  men  of  the  army  of  the 
line,  and  thirty  or  forty  thousand  of  the  army  of 
reserve,  and  that  they  were  able  to  unite  to  those 
regular  troops  the  greatest  jiossible  mass  of  the 
volunteers,  they  would  not  reach  the  numerical  force 
of  the  French  army  destined  to  pass  the  straits;  and 
what  would  tliey  liave  been  able  to  do  altogether, 
even  two  or  three  times  superior  in  number,  against 
the  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  that  in 
ei;;hteen  months,  under  the  conduct  of  Napoleon, 
beat  at  Austerlitz,  Jena,  and  Fricdiand,  all  the 
European  armies,  apparently  as  brave,  certainly 
longer  trained  to  war,  and  foin-  or  five  times  more 
considerable  in  number  than  the  British  forces? 
The  preparations  of  the  English  were  therefore  of 
little  real  value,  and  the  ocean  was  always  their 
niostcertain  and  effective  defence.  In  any  case,  what- 
ever might  be  the  definitive  result,  it  was  already 
a  severe  puinshment  of  the  conduct  of  the  British 
government,  this  general  agitation  of  all  classes. 


1803. 
Aug. 


Intrigues  in  England 
atiauist  the  first 
consul's  1  fe. 


THE  CONSPIRACY  OF  GEORGES. 


Hopes  of  tlie  emigrants 
to  overturn  tlie  French        5II 

government. 


tliis  displacement  of  wdrkmen  from  their  work- 
sliops,  the  men  of  business  from  tiieir  affaii-s,  tlie 
English  lords  from  tlie  enjoyment  of  their  opulence; 
even  such  an  agitation,  prolon;;eil  f»r  some  time, 
would  become  an  immense  evil,  perhaps  a  serious 
injury  to  the  public  peace. 

The  British  government,  in  its  anxiety,  liad 
recourse  to  every  means,  even  to  those  which 
morality  is  least  capable  of  defending,  in  onler  to 
turn  aside  the  blow  which  menaced  it.  During 
the  last  war  it  had  fomented  insurrections  against 
the  governments  of  every  kind  and  form  that  had 
succeeded  one  another  in  Fi'ance.  Since  then,  al- 
though these  insurrections  were  little  to  be  ex- 
peete<l  under  the  powerful  administration  of  the  first 
consul,  it  had  kept  in  London  and  paid,  even 
liuring  the  peace,  all  the  staff  of  La  Vendue  and 
of  the  emigration.  This  persisting  in  the  reten- 
tion and  preservation  in  its  own  hands  of  all  the 
culpable  instruments  of  an  ungenerous  war,  had 
contributed  mucii,  as  has  been  seen,  to  renew  the 
quarrel  between  the  two  countries.  Diversions 
are,  beyond  a  doubt,  one  of  the  ordinary  resources 
of  war,  and  the  insurrection  of  a  province  is  one 
of  the' diversions  regarded  as  most  useful,  and 
which  there  is  commonly  tlto  least  scruple  made 
about  employing.  The  English  attempt  to  raiwo 
an  insurrection  in  La  Vendee,  the  first  consul  re- 
turned in  his  attempts  to  make  a  revolt  in  Ireland. 
The  means  were  reciprocal,  and  were  powerfully 
employed.  But  at  that  moment  an  insurrection 
in  La  Vendee  was  out  of  the  question  of  |)ii)bability. 
The  employment  of  the  Chonans,  and  of  their  chief, 
Georges  Cadoudal,  could  have  no  other  effect  than 
that  of  tempting  to  some  abominable  outrage,  such 
as  the  infernal  machine,  or  some  similar  attempt. 
To  push  the  means  of  insurrection  so  far  as  to 
overturn  the  government,  was  to  return  to  the 
practices  of  a  legitimacy  strongly  contested;  but  to 
follow  up  the  overturn  of  a  government  by  an 
attack  upon  the  individuals  composing  that  govern- 
ment, was  to  pass  all  the  limit  of  the  rights  of 
nations  admitted  among  civilized  people. 

The  (juestion  may  be  further  juilged  by  the  facts 
iheniHclves,  as  far  as  relates  to  the  complicity  of 
the  Uritihh  ministry  in  the  criminal  projects  medi- 
tated anew  by  the  French  emigration  that  had  taken 
refuge  in  London.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
the  formidable  chief  of  the  Chouans  of  the  Mor- 
bilian,  Georges  Cadoudal,  who  alone  among  the 
Venddans  presented  to  the  first  consul,  had  re- 
sisted his  ascendancy,  had  withdrawn  himself  into 
Itritany,  and  from  thence  into  England.  He  lived 
in  London  in  tlie  boKom  of  opulence,  distributing 
to  the  French  refugees  the  sums  which  were 
granUd  to  them  by  the  British  government,  and 
passing  liis  lime  in  the  society  of  the  emigrant 
princes,  j>arlicularly  of  the  two  more  active  ones, 
the  count  d'Artois  and  the  duke  ile  Berry.  That 
these  princes  should  wish  to  re-enter  France  wis 
nothing  more  than  natural;  that  they  should  wish 
to  kindle  a  civil  war  for  that  purpose,  was  nothing 
more  than  might  be  expected  in  a  connnon,  if  not 
a  legitimate  course  of  things;  but  nnfoiiuiiately  for 
their  principles  or  iionour,  they  could  no  longer 
calculate  u|)on  a  civil  war,  and  were  only  able  to 
n-ckon  upon  plots  and  conspiracies  tu  compass 
their  ends. 

i'cace  had  filled  the  minds  of  all  the  exiles  with 


despair,  princes  as  well  as  othei-s;  war  restored  to 
them  tlieir  hopes,  not  only  because  it  assured  them 
of  the  concurrence  of  a  part  of  Europe,  but  because 
it  became,  according  to  them,  a  means  of  i-uiniiig 
the  popularity  of  the  first  consul.  They  corre- 
sponded with  La  Vendee  through  Georges,  and 
with  Paris  through  the  returned  emigrants.  That 
which  they  dreamed  about  in  England  their  par- 
tisans dreamed  of  in  France,  and  the  least  circum- 
stance which  accorded  with  their  illusions,  in 
their  eyes,  changed  their  illusions  into  a  reality. 
They  said  the  one  to  the  other,  in  their  deplorable 
corres|)ondencc,  that  the  war  would  strike  a  fatal 
blow  against  the  first  consul.  That  his  power, 
illegitimate  to  the  French  who  rested  faiihlul  to 
the  blood  of  the  Bourbons,  and  tyrannical  for  the 
French  who  remained  faithful  to  the  revolution, 
had  only  two  claims  to  rest  upon  for  support,  the 
re-establishment  (^f  peace  and  the  re-esiablishnient 
of  order;  that  one  of  these  titles  had  disa|)peared 
comjiletely  since  the  rupture  with  England,  and 
the  other  was  compromised  deeply,  because  it  was 
doubtful  whether  order  could  be  maintained  in  the 
midst  of  the  anxieties  of  warfare.  The  govern- 
ment of  the  first  consul  would,  therefore,  become 
unpopular,  as  all  the  preceding  governments  had 
become.  The  tranquil  mass  of  the  people  would 
owe  to  liim  this  resum])tion  of  hostilities  with 
Europe  ;  it  would  become  less  credulous  in  his 
lucky  star,  since  difficulties  no  longer  seemed  to 
be  smoothed  under  his  feet.  He  had,  besides, 
enemies  of  a  different  species,  of  whom  it  would  be 
jiossible  to  make  good  use  ;  first  the  revolutionary 
party,  and  t'ven  those  who  were  jealous  of  his 
glory,  who  swarmed  in  the  army.  They  said  that 
the  Jacobins  were  exasperated  ;  and  that  the 
generals  were  very  little  satisfied  in  having  con- 
tributed to  make  their  master  out  of  an  equal.  It 
was  necessary  to  create,  out  of  these  malconienis, 
in  themselves  so  diverse,  a  single  ]>arty  capable 
of  overturning  the  first  consul.  All  that  they 
called  for  in  France,  and  all  that  they  received 
for  answer  from  London,  tended  always  to  this 
l>lan, — to  unite  the  Jacobins,  the  royalists,  and  the 
malcontents  of  the  army  int()  a  single  party,  for 
the  purpose  of  overturning  the  usurjier  Bonaparte. 

.Such  were  the  ideas  cherished  in  London  by  the 
French  princes,  and  in  consequence,  the  same 
with  which  they  entertained  the  English  cabinet, 
when  demanding  the  sums  of  money  which  tiiey 
lavi.shcd,  knowing  as  it  did,  at  least  in  a  general 
sense,  the  object  wliich  was  sought  to  be  carried 
into  effect. 

A  vast  conspiracy  was,  therefore,  interwoven 
upon  this  plan,  and  carried  on  with  the  ordinai'y 
impatienci;  of  tlu^  emigrant  jjarty.  It  was  com- 
ninnieated  to  Louis  XVI 1 1.,  then  retired  to  War- 
saw. This  jirince,  always  in  disagreement  wiih 
ids  Ijfother,  the  count  d'Artois,  whose  sterile  and 
imprudent  activity  he  disapproved,  repelled  the 
proposition.  What  a  singular  contrast  was  pre- 
sented in  the  two  jirinces.  Count  d'Artois  had 
goodness  wiiiiout  wisdom;  Louis  XVll  I.,  wisdinn 
without  goodness.  Count  d'Artois  entered  into 
the  unworthy  projects  dear  to  his  iuart,  wliich 
Louis  XVI 11.  repulsed  because  they  were  un- 
worthy of  his  undeiHtaiiding.  Louis  XVI 1 1,  re- 
solved from  this  time  to  remain  a  stranger  to  all 
the  new  plots  and  practices,  of  wlucli  the  war  was 


512     Necessity  for  destroying     THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


the  first  consul. 


1803. 
Aug. 


about  to  become  the  unfortunate  cause.  The  count 
d'Aitois,  placed  at  a  great  diistance  from  his  elder 
brother,  excited  by  his  natural  ardour,  by  that  of 
the  emigrants,  and  by  that  which  was  more  grievous, 
of  the  English  themselves,  took  a  part  in  all  the 
designs  to  which  the  circumstances  (jf  the  moment 
gave  rise,  in  the  troubled  heads  of  those  who  were 
in  a  continual  state  of  excitement. 

The  comnmnications  of  the  French  emigrants 
with  the  English  cabinet  took  place  through  the 
medium  of  Mr.  Hammon  ',  who  had  figured  in 
several  negotiations.  It  was  to  him  that  the 
communications  of  the  French  emigrants  with  the 
English  cabinets  were  addressed  for  all  that  might 
concern  England  in  any  way.  Out  of  England 
they  were  addressed  to  British  diplomatic  agents  : 
Mr.  Taylor,  at  Hesse  ;  Mr.  Spencer  Smith,  minis- 
ter at  Stuttgard  ;  and  Mr.  Drake,  minister  in 
Bavaria.  These  three  agents,  placed  near  the 
French  frontiers,  endeavoured  to  cultivate  every 
species  of  intrigue  in  France,  and  to  second  on 
their  side  of  that  country  those  which  were  planned 
in  London.  They  corresponded  with  Mr.  Ham- 
mon, and  had  con.siderable  sums  of  money  at  their 
disposition.  It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  these 
were  for  the  obscure  dealings  of  the  police,  that 
governments  sometimes  permit  to  be  expended  for 
simple  means  of  observation,  and  to  which  they 
devote  sniall  sums.  They  were  for  real  political 
projects,  passing  through  the  hands  of  their  more 
elevated  agents  connected  with  a  most  important 
minister,  the  minister  for  foreign  afJ'airs,  and  cost- 
ing even  millions  in  ainount. 

The  French  princes  more  immediately  mingled 
in  these  affairs  were  the  count  d'Artois,  and  his 
second  son,  the  duke  de  Berry.  The  duke  d'An- 
gouleme  resided  in  Wai-saw  at  the  time  with 
Louis  XVIII.  The  princes  Cond^  lived  in  London, 
but  not  in  habits  of  intimacy  with  the  princes 
of  the  elder  branch,  and  even  strangers  to  their 
plots  and  designs.  They  were  treated  as  soldiers 
constantly  ready  to  take  up  arms,  and  only  fit  for 
that  character.  While  the  grandfather  and  the 
father  of  the  Cnnd^s  were  in  London,  the  grand- 
son, the  duke  d'Enghien,  was  in  the  territory  of 
Baden,  given  up  to  the  enjoyment  of  hunting,  and 
to  a  warm  affection  which  he  had  for  a  princess 
de  Rohan.  All  three  being  in  the  service  of  Eng- 
land, had  received  orders  to  prepare  themselves  to 
commence  the  war,  and  they  h.ad  obeyed  like 
soldiers  who  must  pay  attention  to  the  government 
of  the  country  that  pays  them  ;  melancholy,  in- 
deed, the  spectacle  of  the  Conde's  in  such  a  charac- 
ter, but  less  dishonourable  than  that  of  the  leaders 
of  conspiracies. 

The  following  is  the  plan  of  the  new  conspiracy. 
To  raise  an  insurrection  in  La  Vende'e  did  not  at 
that  moment  present  the  smallest  chance  of  suc- 
cess ;  on  the  contrary,  to  attack  the  government 
of  the  first  consul  directly  in  the  middle  of  Paris 
appeared  the  most  prompt  and  certain  means  of 
obtaining  tlie  object  sought.  The  consular  govern- 
ment overturned,  there  was  nothing  more  possible, 
according  to  the  authors  of  the  plan,  than  the 
return  of  the  Bourbons.  But  as  the  consular 
government  consisted  entirely  in  the  per.son  of 
general  Bonaparte,  it  would  be  necess;try  to  make 


>  Quere,  Hammond  7— Translator. 


away  with  him.  The  conclusion  was  obvious,  but 
it  was  required  to  destroy  him  surely  and  cer- 
tainly. The  blow  of  a  poignard,  an  infernal  ma- 
chine, all  such  attemjits  would  be  of  dubious  suc- 
cess, because  all  would  depend  upon  the  sure 
stroke  of  the  assassin's  hand,  or  upon  the  hazard 
of  an  explosion.  There  remained  a  mode,  so  far 
never  attempted,  and  therefore  not  discredited  by 
a  trial  ;  this  was  to  unite  a  hundred  determined 
men,  the  intrepid  Georges  at  their  head  ;  to  waylay 
on  tiie  road  from  St.  Cloud  or  Malmaison,  the  car- 
riage of  the  first  consul ;  to  attack  the  guard,  gene- 
rally about  ten  or  a  dozen  horse  in  all,  to  disperse 
them,  and  thus  to  kill  him  in  a  species  of  combat. 
In  this  mode,  then,  it  was  certain  that  nothing 
would  be  wanting,  Georges,  who  was  brave,  who 
had  pretensions  to  the  military  character,  and  who 
would  not  pass  for  an  assassin,  exacted  of  the  two 
pi-inces  that  he  should  have  at  his  side  one  of  them 
at  least,  and  that  they  should  thus  regain  with  the 
sword  in  hand  the  crown  of  their  ancestors.  Can 
it  be  credited  ?  These  individuals,  their  minds 
perverted  by  emigration,  really  imagined  that  in 
thus  attacking  the  first  consul,  surrounded  by  his 
guards,  they  gave  him  a  species  of  battle,  and  that 
they  should  not  be  assassins  !  They  were  to  be 
equals  apj)arently  to  the  noble  archduke  Charles 
combatting  general  Bonaparte  at  the  Tagliamento, 
or  at  Wagram,  and  were  only  his  inferiors  in  the 
number  of  their  soldiers.  Lamentable  sophistry, 
to  which  only  one-half  of  those  who  promulgated  it 
gave  credit,  showing,  on  the  part  of  the  unhappy 
Bourbon  princes,  not  a  natural  perversity,  but  one 
acquired  amid  civil  war  and  exile.  Only  one  of 
all  these  concerned  was  in  his  natural  character, 
and  that  was  Georges.  He  was  a  master  in  the 
art  of  wary  ambushes  ;  lie  had  been  educated  in 
the  heart  of  the  forests  of  Britany  ;  and  now  in 
exercising  his  skill  at  the  gates  of  Paris,  he  did 
not  fear  to  be  reduced  to  the  rank  of  the  instru- 
ments, by  which  he  would  serve  himself,  to  re- 
pudiate them  afterwards,  because  he  hoped  to  have 
pi'inces  for  accomplices.  He  thus  secured  to  him- 
self all  the  dignity  compatible  with  the  character 
which  he  was  going  to  perform,  and  by  his  auda- 
cious attitude  in  the  presence  of  justice,  he  proved 
soon  enough  that  he  was  not  of  his  party  the  most 
depressed  at  such  an  unhappy  conjuncture  for 
himself. 

This  was  not  all;  after  the  combat  it  was  neces- 
sary to  gather  the  fruits  of  the  victory.  It  was 
necessary  to  prepare  matters  so  that  France  should 
fling  her.self  into  the  arms  of  the  Bourbons.  The 
parties  themselves  had  destroyed  one  another,  and 
there  did  not  i-emain  with  any  of  them  the  shadow 
of  real  power.  The  violent  revolutionists  were 
odious.  The  moderate  revolutionists,  who  had 
taken  refuge  with  general  Bonaparte,  were  without 
strength.  There  remained  nothing  in  an  erect 
attitude  but  the  army.  It  was  that  which  it  would 
be  necessary  to  subdue  ;  but  that  was  devoted 
to  the  revolution  ;  for  that  it  had  spilled  its  blood, 
and  it  felt  a  sort  of  horror  at  the  emigrants,  that  it 
had  so  often  seen  under  English  and  Austrian 
uniforms.  It  was  here  that  jealousy,  that  eternal 
and  perverse  passion  of  the  human  heart,  offered 
to  the  royalist  conspirators  the  most  useful  and 
precious  succom-. 

There  was  nothing  made  more  noise  than  the 


DifTereiices  between 
IJiiii.iparte  and 
Morcau. 


THE  CONSPIRACY  OF  GEORGES. 


Efforts  made  to  pet 
Moreau  into  the 
Dlot. 


513 


diffeiviice  between  general  Moreau  and  general 
Biinai>arte.  It  lias  been  already  said  elsewhere, 
that  tlie  general  <vf  the  army  of  tlie  Rhine,  dis- 
creet, reHective,  firm  in  war,  was  in  his  private 
life  careless  and  feeble,  governed  by  those  around 
him  ;  that  under  this  uniia|>py  influence,  he  had 
not  been  free  from  envy,  a  vice  of  the  second 
order  of  men  ;  tliat  covered  with  favours  by  the 
fii-st  consul,  heh:id  left  off  visiting  him,  without  any 
reasi.n,  except  that  general  Moreau  was  the  second 
in  the  state,  and  that  general  Bonaparte  was  the 
first  ;  that  feeling  this,  Moreau  had  shown  a  want 
of  seemly  co.iduct  in  refusing  to  follow  the  first 
consul  to  a  review,  and  that  the  last,  always  apt  to 
resent  an  affront,  had  himself  abstained  from  in- 
viting Mipreau  to  the  festival  annually  given  t<> 
celebrate  the  foundation  of  the  n-public  ;  that 
Moreau  had  committed  the  fault  of  going  on  the 
same  <lay  to  dine,  out  of  uniform,  with  several  dis- 
contented officers  in  one  of  the  most  public  places, 
where  he  was  seen  by  all  the  world,  to  the  great 
displeasure  of  thinking  people,  and  to  the  great 
joy  of  the  enemies  of  the  republic.  There  have 
been  recounted  before  the  miserable  eflF<cts  of  that 
vanity,  which  commenced  between  the  females 
from  vulgar  diflTerences,  and  terminated  among 
the  men  in  .scenes  of  tragedy.  If  a  difference  be- 
tween elevated  personages  be  difficult  to  prevent, 
it  is  niire  difficult  still  to  arrest  when  it  is  once 
declared.  From  that  day  Moreau  had  not  ceased 
to  show  himself  more  and  more  hostile  to  the  con- 
sular government.  When  the  concordat  was  con- 
cluded, he  had  cried  out  aloud  at  the  domination 
of  the  priesthood  ;  when  the  legion  of  honour  had 
been  instituted,  he  had  censured  the  re-establish- 
ment of  an  aristocracy  ;  an>l,  lastly,  he  had  ex- 
claimed against  the  re-establishment  of  royalty 
wiien  the  consulate  for  lite  had  been  instituted. 
He  had  finished  by  no  more  appearing  before  the 
head  of  the  government,  nor  even  at  the  houses  of 
the  consuls.  The  renewal  of  the  war  would  have 
been  an  honourable  occasion  for  his  reappearance 
at  the  Tuileri"-s  to  offer  his  services,  not  to  general 
Bonaparte,  but  to  France.  Moreau,  by  little  and 
little  led  nito  evil  ways,  in  which  the  stejjs  beccmie 
80  fleet,  hud  considered  in  this  rupture  of  the  peace, 
less  the  miMfortunes  of  his  country,  than  a  check 
upon  a  detested  ri»al,  and  only  set  himself  to 
observe  how  this  d-tested  enemy,  wh<im  he  hail 
himself  made,  wculil  get  clear  of  the  embarrass 
nient.  .Moreau  lived  iheii  at  Grosbois,  in  the  midst 
of  eiise  and  comfort,  the  just  rewards  of  his  ser- 
vices, as  a  great  citizi-n  would  d)  who  was  the 
▼iciini  of  Ills  prince's  ingrati'uile. 

The  firnt  consul  attracted  jealousy  by  his  glory  ; 
he  also  attracted  it  through  his  family.  Mural, 
whom  he  had  refused  for  a  long  time  to  elevate  to 
the  rank  of  his  brother  in-law,  who  had  an  excel- 
lent heart,  an  unatfecltd  tnin<l,  and  chivaliMiiH 
bravery,  acted  vi-ry  ill  under  all  tln-se  (|Ualities. 
Murat  out  of  a  feeling  of  vanity,  which  he  dissinm- 
lated  before  the  first  consid,  but  which  he  exhibited 
fre«ly  when  he  was  out  of  the  sight  of  his  severe 
mastei-,  da7./.led  those  wlif),  being  loo  little  m  miinl 
to  envy  general  U mapartir,  were  at  least  able  to 
envy  liiH  bri.tlier-m  law.  Tin-  first  consid,  there- 
fore, had  the  great  and  Utile  who  were  jealous 
uf  him.  Uoili  the  one  and  the  other  grou|ieil 
aruuud  Moreau.     At  Paris  during  the  winter,  at 


Grosbois  during  the  summer,  there  was  kept  up  a 
crowd  of  malcontents,  who  talked  with  mdimited 
indiscretion.  The  first  consul  knew  this,  and  re- 
venged himself  not  solely  by  the  constant  advance 
of  his  powei',  but  also  by  his  open  disdain.  After 
imposing  ui)on  himself  an  extreme  reserve  for  a 
long  time,  he  finished  by  no  longer  keeping  silence, 
and  he  returned  the  compliments  of  mediocrity  by 
his  sarcasms,  but  his  were  those  of  a  man  of 
genius.  They  were  repeated  at  least  as  frequently 
as  those  that  escaped  from  the  social  circle  of 
flioreau. 

Parties  invented  differences  that  were  ground- 
less, in  order  to  serve  themselves,  and  for  a  more 
])owerf'ul  reason,  they  served  quickly  and  per- 
fidiously those  differences  which  already  existed, 
.\ll  had  surrounded  M.ireau  without  delay.  Listen- 
ing to  the  malcontents  of  every  side,  he  was  the 
accomplished  general,  the  modest  and  virtuous 
citizen.  General  Bonaparte  was  the  imprudent, 
but  fortunate  soldier  ;  the  usurper  without  genius, 
the  insolent.  Corsican,  who  had  dared  to  overturn 
the  republic,  and  mount  the  steps  of  the  throne 
ali-eady  re-erected.  He  must  be  left,  said  they,  to 
lose  himself  in  his  foolish  and  ridiculous  enter- 
I)rise  against  England,  and  to  take  heed  he  does 
not  offt^r  her  his  sword.  Thus,  after  having  treated 
the  conqueror  of  Egypt  and  Italy  as  an  adventurer, 
they  treated  the  patriotic  expedition,  which  he 
had  so  much  at  heart,  as  the  most  extravagant  of 
rash  enterprises. 

The  conspirators  of  London  had  in  those  unhappy 
divisions  great  fi^eilities  towards  the  comi)leiion  of 
the  second  half  of  their  design.  It  was  Moreau 
that  it  was  necessary  to  gain,  and  through  Moreau 
the  army;  and  then  the  first  consul  killed  on  the 
road  from  Mahnaison,  Moreau  gained  over,  would 
come  at  the  head  of  the  army  to  reconcile  this 
formidable  part  of  the  nation  with  the  Mourbons, 
who  had  had  the  courage  to  reconquer  their  throne 
sword  in  hand.  But  bow  was  it  possilde  to  get 
near  Moreau,  who  was  at  Paris,  surrounded  by  a 
society  altogether  republican,  whilst  in  L'linlon  the 
conspirators  were  in  the  midst  of  a  chosen  body  of 
Chouans?  There  must  be  some  intermediate  agent. 
At  that  moment,  from  the  fastnesses  of  the  Ameri- 
can deserts,  there  had  arrived  a  num  once  illus- 
trious, much  fallen  by  his  faults  from  his  first 
eminence,  but  endued  with  qualities  truly  great, 
and  holding  in  his  hand  at  the  same  linn'  both  the 
royalists  and  repolilicuns.  This  was  Pichegru,  the 
vanquislii-r  of  llolland.  transporteii  by  the  direc- 
tory to  Sinnainari.  He  had  esc.iped  Ironi  his 
place  of  banishment,  and  had  reached  London, 
where  he  lived  with  the  desire  not  to  remain,  but 
to  re  enter  France,  profiting  by  ihe  puliey  which 
recalled,  without  distinction,  the  culpable  ,is  well  as 
the  victims  of  all  |)ariies.  Hut  the  war,  lor  a  mo- 
ment sus])ended,  had  soon  reconnnmce.l,  and  with 
if.  the  f.llies  and  illusions  of  the  emi-ranls,  to 
whom  Pichegru  had  alienited  his  libeit*  l.v  alien- 
ating his  h iir.      He  bad  been  compii.sed,  almost 

in  spite  of  himself,  in  tin'  present  conspiracy,  and 
he  had  been  ehar^jed  with  that  intermediate  agency 
near  Moreau,  of  «hich  the  party  had  need  lo  bring 
over  ti'ie  last  to  the  cause  of  the  Uourl.ons,  and 
ihns  fii.se  together  in  one  mass  the  republicana 
and  royalists  of  every  shade  of  colour. 

The  plan  thus  adopti^d  agreed  weil  enough  with 
Ll 


Georges  Tadoudal  and  the 
514        conspirators    landed    in     THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.     Inertness  in  La  Vendue. 
France. 


1803. 
Aug. 


certain  mnmentary  aj)pearances  to  be  deemed  at 
least  specious,  ihouj;li  not  wiih  enough  of  reality 
about  it  to  succeed;  but  it  bad  still  more  of  tlie 
reaUiy  ibaii  of  inefficiency  with  tlie.se  impatient  i)eo- 
ple,  to  whom  every  thing  was  good  provided  they 
were  iu  action,  and  that  the  onerous  iilleness  of 
exile  was  relieved  by  agitation.  The  plan  being 
arranged,  they  next  occupied  tliemselves  with  the 
execution. 

It  was  needful  to  enter  France.  If  Georges 
wished  to  be  followed  there  iiy  one  or  two  of  the 
pnn;es,  still  he  did  not  desire  to  have  them  im- 
mediately with  him.  He  admitted  that  he  must 
prepai'e  every  thing  before  he  got  them  to  come 
over,  with  the  object  of  not  ex|»osiiig  them  uselessly 
t9  a  pfolnnged  residence  in  I'aris  under  the  eyes 
of  a  \igilaiit  police.  He  therefore  decided  upon 
Sitting  off  the  first,  and  to  proceed  to  Paris,  in 
order  to  compose  the  band  of  Choiians  with  which 
he  should  attack  the  guard  of  the  first  consul. 
During  this  lime  Pichegru  was  to  undertake  a  con- 
ference with  Moreau,  at  first  through  an  interme- 
diate party,  then  directly,  upon  proceeding  himself 
to  Paris.  Lasily,  when  all  should  be  prepared  on 
both  siiles  of  the  channel,  when  they  shoiild  have 
ready  the  Chouans  to  make  the  attack,  and  Moreau 
to  secure  the  adhesion  of  the  army,  the  princes 
should  c.ime  last,  the  eve  before,  or  on  the  day 
of  execution. 

All  this  being  arranged,  Georges,  with  a  troop 
of  Cliouans,  on  whose  reS"lution  and  fidelity  he 
could  d'peud,  quitted  Loudon  to  enter  France. 
Tht-y  were  all  provided  with  arms  as  of}'  ndt^rs 
\¥ho  were  going  to;  take  to  the  woods.  Georges 
carried  in  a  belt  a  million  of  money  in  Ijills  of 
exchaui;e.  It  wiis  not  the  French  jjrinees,  it  was 
well  uii'lerstood,  who  were  able  to  furnish  the 
sums  which  circulated  brtween  those  concerne<l  in 
the  plots,  they  had  been  reduced  t .  their  last  shilts 
in  order  to  live.  These  su.ns  came  from  the  com 
mon  Source,  in  other  words,  from  the  British 
treasury. 

Am  oiiicvr  of  the  royal  navy  of  Enijland,  captain 
Wright,  an  intrepid  seaman",  who  commanded  a 
small  vessel  of  war,  received  off  Deal  or  Hasiings 
the  emi;ir.int  emissaries,  isiijd  was  to  land  them,  at 
their  own  choice,  upon, any  point  of  the  coast  that 
they  niiijht  designate  for  the  purpose.  Since  the 
first  consul,  well  aware  of  the  frequent  desc-nt  of 
the  Chouans,  had  caused  the  coasts  of  Britaiiy  to 
be  guarded  with  more  care  than  ever,  they  had 
clian'.;ed  dieir  direction  and  come  in  by  Normamly. 
Between  Dieppe  and  Tii-ep..rt,  in  the  le'igth  of  a  steep 
perpendieuiar  siliore  of  elitf,  called  that  of  Bi\ille, 
there  existed  a  mysterious  outlet,  made  in  a  cleft 
of  the  r.ick}  and  solely  frequented  by  smugglers. 
A  cahle,  strongly  attached  to  the  summit  of  the 
cliff,  desceniled  in  this  cleft  of  the  roek  and  hung 
down  nntil  it  touched  the  sea.  At  a  call  whieh 
serveil  -<us  a  signal,  the  secret  guardians  of  the 
passage  Hung  over  the  rope,  that  the  smuggler 
seized,  and  by  its  aid  clainl>ered  up  the  precipice 
of  two  or  three  hundred  feet  in  height,  carrying  a 
heavy  l<iad  on  his  shoulilers  The  conHdaiiis  of 
Geor^^es  bad  discovered  this  iidet,  and  thought  of 
appro, Minting  it  to  their  own  use,  which  it  was  I 
very  easy  to  <lo  with  the  money  which  they  pos-  ' 
sessed.  In  order  to  complete  the  commimication 
with    Paris,  they   had    established    a  £ucc^fssion    of 


lodging-])laces  either  in  isolated  farms,  or  in  cha- 
teaux inhabited  by  noble  Normans,  faithful  and 
discreet  royalists,  seldom  mo\  ing  from  their  es- 
tates. It  was  thus  easy  to  arrive  from  the  shore 
of  the  channel  at  Paris  without  passing  over  a  high 
road,  and  without  entering  an  inn.  Lastly,  in 
order  not  to  compromise  this  way  by  passing  over 
it  too  often,  it  was  reserved  for  the  more  importimt 
personages  of  the  party.  Money  distributed  abun- 
dantly at  some  of  the  houses  of  those  royalists  of 
whom  a  lodging  was  borrowed,  the  fidelity  of  others, 
but  above  all,  keeping  at  a  distance  from  places  much 
frequented,  rendered  acts  of  indiscretion  difficult, 
and  the  secret  certain  to  be  kept  at  least  for  some 
time. 

It  was  in  this  way  that  Georges  penetrated  intq 
France.  Embarked  in  the  vessel  of  captain 
Wright,  he  and  his  friends  Ian. led  at  the  foot  of 
the  cliff  of  Bivilie,  <,n  the  21.-t  of  August,  1803, 
at  the  same  moment  that  the  first  consul  was 
making  an  inspection  of  the  coasts.  He  followed 
the  step  of  the  smugglers,  and  from  resting-place, 
to  resting-place,  arrived,  with  all  his  most  faithful 
lieutenants,  as  far  as  Cliaidot  in  one  of  the  fau- 
bourgs of  Paris.  There  had  been  prepared  for  him 
in  that  place  a  small  lodijinj;,  from  whence  he  was 
able  to  come  at  iii^ht  into  Pans,  to  see  his  associ- 
ates there,  and  jirepare  to  strd<e  the  blow,  for  the 
performance  of  which  he  had  brought  himself  to 
France. 

Courageous  and  sensible,  Georges  possessed  tlie 
passions  without  the  illusions  of  Ids  party,  and 
judged  much  better  than  the  others  of  what  was 
practicable.  He  attempted  that  through  his  cou- 
rage, which  the  emigrants,  iiis  aecoinplice.s,  at- 
tempted by  their  ignorance.  Having  arrived  in 
Paris,  be  soon  discovered  that  the  first  consul  was 
not  as  unpojiulara-s  he  had  been  represented  in  cotn- 
municatioiis  receiveii  in  London;  that  the  royalists 
and  re))ul)licans  were  not  so  much  disposed  to  fling 
themselves  into  adventures,  and  that  here,  as  is 
always  the  Case,  the  reality  was  very  far  from 
bearing  out  the  promise.  But  he  was  not  a  man 
to  be  discouraged,  nor  above  all  to  discourage  his 
associates  in  making  them  acquainted  with  his 
observations.  In  conse(|uence,  he  set  himself  at 
work.  After  all,  f(U'  a  sudden  blow  such  as  he  con- 
templated striking,  he  had  no  need  of  any  aid  from 
the  public  feeling;  and- the  fir.st,  consul  no  more, 
France  would  be  forced,  in  default  of  something 
better,  to  return  to  the  B'lirlions.  From  the 
depth  of  his  im|)enetrable  oljscurity  he  sent  emis- 
saries into  La  Vendue,  to  discover  whether,  u|)on  the 
groimd  of  the  pressure  (d  the  conscription,  the  peo- 
ple were  not  disposed  to  rise  anew,  and  if  the  coii- 
scriptsof  that  coimtry  did  iMt  say  now  as  formerly, 
that  to  serve  for  service  sake  it  was  more  worthy 
to  carry  arms  against  the  revolutionary  government 
than  in  its  behalf.  But  in  La  Vemle'e  all  was  foimd 
in  a  state  of  inertness.  His  name  alone,  among  all 
the  names  of  Vendean  leaders,  had  preserved  its 
power,  because  he  was  regarded  as  an  incorrup- 
tii'le  i-oyahst,  who  had  preferred  exile  to  the  favours 
of  the  first  Consid.  They  hail  a  sympathy  for  the 
representative  of  a  cause  which  respomled  to  the 
more  secret  affections  and  attachments  of  the  popu- 
lation ;  but  to  siou-'  the  heaths  and  high  roads 
again,  was  not  agreeable  to  the  taste  of  any  of  the 
inhabitants.  Besides,  the  priests,  the  real  iuspirers 


1S03. 
Aug. 


Moreau  sounded  respect- 
ing Piiliet;ri>- 


THE  COXSIMUACY  OF  GEORGES. 


in  Loncioti. 


of  the  Vendfans,  were  imw  inclined  towards  tlie 
Hi-st  consul.  Siinie  insignificant  asseinldajjes  of 
t'le  |ieo|)le  were  ail  of  wliicli  any  lio|>e  could  lie  in- 
dulged :  and,  a  tlini:;  dis|iiiitiii<j  for  the  c>>ns|>ira- 
tors,  they  found  alivady  fewer  liett-rniined  Clionans 
than  formerly,  who  were  prepared  for  any  thing 
soi.nerthan  a  return  to  lahorious  and  peacealiie occu- 
pations. It  was  still  necessai\\  to  find  some  who  were 
at  the  same  time  l>rav.-  and  discreet.  Georj^es  had 
been  two  months  in  Paris  before  he  had  with  nuich 
trriuhle  unite'i  m-re  than  thirty.  Tiie  object  of 
tlieir  union  wa.s  never  stilted;  ihey  did  not  make  it 
known  the  one  to  the  oilier.  They  only  knew  that 
they  were  destined  to  take  a  part  in  an  appioacli- 
iiij;  enterprise  in  favour  of  the  B  inrhons,  wh;ch 
"asai;reeable  to  them,  and  besides  that  they  wi.uhl 
In-  well  pai<l,  which  was  news  not  less  agreeable. 
Geor;;e»  secretly  |ir«|)ared  uniforms  and  arms  for 
litem  ni;ainst  the  liay  of  combat. 

Amid  the  mystery  in  which  he  lived  with  nume- 
rons  precaution-.,  altlion;;h  that  jjart  of  the  piviject 
which  regarded  the  republicans  was  not  in  liis. 
jurisdiction,  he  was  desirous  of  knowing;  if  afl'airs 
went  on  belter  on  that  side  than  on  the  side  of  the 
royalists.  He  got  the  secretary  of  .Moreau,  called 
Fresnieres,  to  be  smmded  by  a  faithful  Breton,  that 
secretary  being  a  Breton  also,  count cied  with  all 
the  parties  and  even  with  M  Foiich^  This  was 
running  a  givat  degree  of  peril,  because  Foiiclid  at 
that  time  had  his  eyes  wideopen  upon  all  aroiuni  him, 
being  desirous  of  an  occasifui  to  render  a  service 
to  the  fii-st  consul  Fresnieres  said  nothing  of  an 
encouraging  nature  relative  to  Moreau,  at  least  his 
replies  were  very  insigmficaiit.  Georges  made  no 
account  of  them,  but  resolute  to  attempt  every 
thing,  presse-l  his  employers  in  London  to  act,  be- 
cause compromi-cd  in  the  middh;  of  Paris  for 
8<*veral  months,  he  ran  there  uselessly  the  greatest 
danireiR. 

While  Georg'H  was  thus  occupied,  the  agents  of 
Pichegru  had  acted  on  llu'ir  side,  and  had  coii- 
ferreil  with  Moreau.  An  old  commissary  of  stores, 
a  species  of  men  who  at  times  become  familiar 
with  generals,  was  ein|doyed  to  carry  a  message 
in  a  few  words  from  Pichegru  to  Moreau.  He 
was  asked  if  he  rememhen-d  this  old  coin|)anion  in 
arms,  and  if  he  still  cherished  against  him  any  ohl 
reseiitmentx.  It  wns  not  for  Moreau  to  have  been 
pleased  with  Picliegiu,  whom  he  had  denounced  to 
the  ilirectory  by  delivering  up  the  papers  of  the 
waggon  of  Klini^in.  But  while  strong  in  moiueii- 
tiry  n.-sentni'-iit,  he  was  not  capable  of  recalling  to 
mind  past  grievances.  He  therefore  ex|)ressed 
nothing  but  kindness  towaids  Pichegru,  and  even 
8yin|iatliy  for  tli<-  misfortunes  of  an  old  frieiirl.  It 
was  then  deniand<-d  of  him  il  lie  would  not  interest 
himself  f'<r  Piclngiti,  and  use  his  influence  to  ob- 
tain his  return  into  Frain-e.  The  etf.ct  of  the  am- 
nesty granleil  to  all  the  Veiideans,  to  all  the  Siildiers 
of  Condc',  was  it  not  also  made  to  cover  the  con- 
queror of  H  ■lliilid! 

Moreau  repli-d,  that  he  ardently  wished  for  the 
return  of  his  old  companion  ni  arms  ;  that  liu 
reganled  such  a  return  as  an  act  of  jnsiiie  <lue  to 
his  services  ;  that  he  would  wil^m^ly  eontrihiit)-  to 
it,  if  liis  own  actual  r.l.i lions  with  the  noveroment 
were  of  a  nature  to  p.rinit  him  ;  but  that  having 
had  differenc  h  with  those  who  governed,  he  never 
placed  his  feet  in  the  Tuderies.     Then  came  natu- 


rally Confidential  remarks  on  his  own  grievances, 
on  his  aversion  for  the  first  consul,  ami  his  desire 
to  see  Fr;ince  soon  delivered. 

The  dispoviiion  of  Moreau,  thus,  foreseen,  there 
w:vs  emjdoyed  about  him  one  of  his  old  ofhcers, 
general  Lajolais,  a  familiar  acquainlame,  the  most 
danger.. us  that  can  be  admitietl  into  the  intimacy 
of  a  feeble  man,  who  does  not  know  how  to  govern 
himself.  This  general  was  little,  lame,  remarkably 
endowed  with  a  spirit  of  intrigue,  pressed  by  |iecu- 
niary  necessities,  indeed,  nearly  reiluced  to  a  state 
of  iiidigc-nce.  There  was  sent  to  j;aiii  him  over  a 
deserter  from  the  armies  of  the  republic,  disguised 
as  a  lacfc-nieichant,  with  litters  from  Pichegru, 
and  a  good  sum  of  money  ;  and  lie  had  not  much 
trouble  in  acipiiring  the  good  otlic.  s  of  i,:ijolais. 
Being  gained  to  the  conspiracy,  he  attached  liiin- 
si  If  to  Moieau,  obtained  from  liim,  in  conlolence, 
his  ill-will  to  the  ruling  powers,  and  his  wi.-hes, 
which  tended  to  nothing  less  than  to  the  destruction 
of  the  consular  g<iveriiment,  by  every  p.  .ssible 
means,  (.ajolais  did  not  go  so  far  as  to  make  open 
propositions  ;  but  credulous  as  all  gobetwe.iis  are 
in  similar  cases,  he  imagined  that  there  remained 
only  one  more  word  to  be  said  to  decide  Moreau  to 
take  an  :ictive  part  in  the  conspiracy  ;  and  if  he 
belie\ed  beyond  that  which  was  really  cnrtct,  he 
tolil  his  employers  beyond  what  he  liini.seH  believed. 
It  is  thus  that  this  species  of  ]>lots  are  woven  by 
a-enls  who  in  one-half  cheat  themselves,  and  cheat 
those  who  employ  then)  the  other  moiety.  Lajo- 
lais gave  the  greatest  hopes  to  the  agenl-s  of 
Pichegru,  and,  press;*^  by  them,  consented  to  go 
to  London,  to  make  his  verbal  repori  to  the 
great  personages  of  whom  he  had  become  the  in- 
strument. 

Lajolais  and  his  conductor  were  id.liged  to  go 
through  Hamburg  to  reach  Loiid'.n  salely  ;  they 
thus  liist  a  go..d  deal  of  time.  Dis.  ml.arkcd  in 
England,  they  there  found  orders  given  by  the 
British  authorities  that  they  sh<.uld  be  imme.liately 
received.  They  set  oft'  for  Lonchin,  and  were  then 
introduced  to  Pichegru,  and  the  iiiaiiagirs  of  the 
wh..le  intrigue.  The  arrival  of  Lajolais  filled  with 
foolish  pleasure  all  the  impatient  S|.iii;s  there.  The 
count  d'.Vrtois  had  the  imprudence  to  assist,  at  the 
comic  U  of  the  conspirators,  and  thus  to  c  •nipro- 
niise  his  rank,  dignity,  and  family.  He  was  then 
(inly  |iers..nally  known  to  the  leaders,  it  is  true  ; 
but  the  vivacity  of  his  .sentiments  ana  l.inguago 
exciting  attention,  he  soon  became  known  to  them 
all.  On  hearing  Lajolais  describe,  with  ridiculous 
exaggeration,  what  lie  had  collect,  d  from  the 
lips  of  Moreau  himself,  and  say  that  Pichegru  had 
only  to  make  his  iippciiiance  to  secure  the  adhesion 
of  the  republicjui  general,  the  count  d'Ariois,  no 
longer  able  to  restrain  his  joy,  cried  out,  "  If  our 
two  generals  are  hi  a  perfect  understanding,  I  shall 
soon  be  on  my  return  to  France."  These  words 
drew  upon  the  prince  the  attmtioii  of  the  conspira- 
tors, who  enquired  the  identity  of  the  p.  rsoiiage 
wh.i  thus  expressed  himself.  They  learned  that  it 
was  a  prince  of  the  blood,  the  son  of  kii.gs,  called 
to  be  a  king  himself,  whom  the  corrupt  iiifliience  of 
his  exile  thus  conducted  to  acts  so  little  worthy  of 
his  liink  or  his  hi;art.  The  satislaction  expressed 
iip'iii  this  event  was  so  great,  said  one  of  the  agents, 
who  at  a  later  period  revealed  the  details,  "  that 
the  king  of  England,  had  he  been  present  hinwelf, 
Ll  2 


516 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


IntervieWbetween  Plche- 
gru  and  Moreau. 


would  have  wished  to  be  among  those  that  under- 
took the  voyage '." 

It  was  then  agreed  upon,  without  further  delay, 
that  they  sliould  enter  France,  in  order  to  apply 
the  hist  hand  to  tlie  execution  of  the  enterprise. 
It  was  become  time  to  hasten,  because  tlie  unfortu- 
nate Georges,  left  alone  in  the  vanguard  of  the 
business,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  consular  agents 
of  the  pi>lice,  ran  the  most  serious  hazards.  There 
had  Ijeen  sent  to  him,  about  the  end  of  December, 
a  second  detachment  of  emigrants,  in  order  tliat 
he  might  not  suppose  himself  abandoned.  It  was 
now  decided  that  Pichegru  himself,  accompanied 
by  the  greatest  personages,  such  as  M.  de  Riviere, 
and  one  of  the  Polignacs,  should  embark  for 
France,  and  should  join  Georges  by  the  way  al- 
ready marked  out.  The  moment  the  party  thus 
newly  setting  out  had  prepared  every  thing,  M.  de 
Riviere,  who  had  most  coolness  of  them  all, 
affirmed  that  the  moment  was  so  far  come,  that 
there  was  sufficient  maturity  in  the  ])rojected  enter- 
prise to  risk  even  the  princes  themselves,  that  the 
count  d'Artois,  or  the  duke  de  Bei-ry,  or  both, 
should  proceed  to  France,  in  order  to  take  a 
part  in  this  jjretended  combat  against  the  person 
of  the  first  consul. 

Picliegru  left  London,  with  the  principal  French 
emigrants,  upon  the  expedition  in  which  he  en- 
tombed for  ever  his  glory,  already  sullied,  and 
his  liff,  which  might  have  been  otherwise  em- 
ployed. He  set  out  during  the  first  days  of  the 
year  1804,  embarking  in  the  vessel  of  captain 
Wri;;lit  ;  he  landed  at  the  cliff  of  Biville,  on  the 
16th  ot  January.  The  conqueror  of  Holland,  ac- 
companied by  the  most  illustrious  members  of  the 
French  nobility,  fi)llowed  the  route  of  the  smug- 
glers, founil  Geiirges,  who  had  come  to  meet  them, 
near  the  sea,  and  from  resting-place  to  resting-i)lace, 
traversing  the  forests  of  Normandy,  reached  Cliail- 
lot  on  the  20. h  of  January. 

Gecn-ges  had  not  collected  all  his  party  ;  but  bold 
as  he  was,  with  those  of  his  band  alreaily  united, 
he  was  fully  prepared  to  tlu-ow  himself  upon  the 
carriai^e  of  the  first  consul,  and  to  strike  the  infal- 
lible blow.  But  it  was  necessary  first  to  have  a 
definitive  understanding  with  Moreau,  in  order  to 
be  secure  about  the  morrow.  The  intermediate 
parties  vveut  to  see  him  aiiew,  and  told  liim  that 
Pichegrn  had  arrived  secretly,  and  wished  to  liave 
a  ciMifrr'Uce  with  him.  Moreau  conscnteii,  l>ut 
unwilling  ti(  I'eceive  I'ichegru  in  his  own  dweiliug, 
gave  liini  a  meeting;  at  night,  in  the  Boulevard  of 
the  .Vl.deleine.  Piclie;;ru  came  to  the  appiiiut- 
ment.  He  Wduld  have  desired  to  oe  alone,  be- 
cause he  was  cxil,  prudent,  and  disliked  the  com- 
pany of  Milgar  and  excited  persuns,  who  annoyed 
iiini  by  their  impatienee,  and  whose  society  was 
the  first  puoishnient  intlicleil  for  his  conduct.  He 
caiiu^  Willi  too  many  persons  to  the  place  of  len- 
dezvou 


he  came  tlier(!  ni 


•nlarl 


Georj,'os,  who  wished  to  examine  every  th 


will. 

with 


•  Tlicsi?  words,  as  well  as  the  wliole  recital  of  iliU  deplor- 
able affair,  are  extnieted  with  scriipuloua  fidelity  (roiii  ti.e 
vnluniiiKiiis  ill^trurti  n  wliiuli  lui)l<  phice,  and  nt  wi  icli  oi  e 
pan  lias  UiiPii  piil)lislieii,aii(l  aimili  r  remans  n  llie  anliives 
of  the  (."veriniieiii.  Th  re  is  ii  t  admitted  a~  wo  tij-  (if 
credit  am  iiui  the  details  which  are  iilaci-d  lieynnd  all  doiiht 
av  to  ili'ir  fidelity,  hy  the  -oncurrent  testiiiiuiiy  ol  revela- 
tiuns  that  htar  tlie  evident  character  of  truth. 


his  own  eyes,  apparently  to  judge  upon  what  foun- 
dations he  was  going  to  risk  his  life  in  a  desperate 
undertaking. 

During  a  cold  and  dark  night,  in  the  month  of 
January,  at  a  given  signal,  Moreau  and  Pichegru 
drew  near  each  other.  It  was  the  first  time  they 
had  met  since  they  had  fought  together  on  the 
Rhine,  where  their  lives  were  without  reproach, 
and  their  glory  unobscured.  Scarcely  were  they 
recovered  from  the  emotion  which  was  naturally 
the  effect  of  so  many  recollections,  when  Georges 
came  up  and  made  himself  known.  Moreau  was 
struck,  exhibited  at  once  coldness,  discontent,  and 
appeared  not  much  pleased  with  Pichegru  at  such 
an  encounter.  It  was  necessary  to  separate  with- 
out any  thing  of  moment  or  of  utility  being  said. 
Moreau  will  presently  be  reverted  to  again  in  an- 
other part  of  the  affair. 

This  first  meeting  produced  in  the  mind  of 
Georges  a  very  ill  impression.  "  This  will  do  mis- 
ciiiet,"  were  his  first  words.  Pichegru  himself 
feared  he  had  been  too  adventurous.  Still  the 
intriguers,  who  served  as  the  goers- between,  see- 
ing More.iu,  no  longer  dissimulated  any  thing,  but 
told  him  they  were  acting  in  a  conspiracy  to  over- 
turn the  government  of  the  first  consul.  Moreau 
had  no  objeciion  to  the  overturn  of  the  govern- 
ment, by  meiins  that  without  being  declared,  might 
at  the  same  lime  be  imagined  ;  he  only  exhibited 
an  invincible  repugnance  to  operate  in  the  cause  of 
the  Bourbons,  and  more  particularly  to  be  person- 
ally mixed  up  in  such  an  eiiterpiise  To  bring 
benefit  to  the  republic  and  to  himself,  by  the  fall  of 
the  first  consul,  was  clearly  his  ambition  ;  but  it 
was  oidy  between  Pichegru  and  himself  that  such 
a  matter  could  be  entered  ujion.  This  time  he 
I'eceived  him  in  his  own  house,  and  tifter  several 
accidents,  that  barely  missed  the  disclosure  of  all, 
he  li.td  at  last  a  long  and  serious  interview  with 
his  old  companion  in  arms.  All  was  stated.  Mo- 
reau would  not  go  otit  of  a  certain  circle  of  ideas. 
He  had,  he  pretended,  a  considerable  party  of 
friends  in  the  senate  and  in  the  army.  If  it  came 
to  pass  that  France  could  be  delivered  from  the 
three  consuls,  the  |)ower  would  lerlainly  be  ])laced 
in  his  hands.  He  should  use  it  to  save  the  lives  of 
those  who  would  have  disembarrassed  the  republic 
of  its  oppressor,  but  he  would  not  deliver  to  the 
Bourbons  the  re|iuhlic  thus  eniranchised.  As  to 
Pichegru  himself,  ihe  old  comiueror  of  Holland, 
one  of  the  most  illustrious  generals  of  France,  they 
would  do  better  tiiaii  save  liis  life,  he  would  be  re- 
instated in  his  honours  and  in  his  greatness  ;  he 
wotdd  be  elevated  to  the  fiist  ranks  in  tlie  state. 
Moi-ean,  warm  with  these  ideas,  expressed  his 
astonishment  at  seeing  Pichegiu  mingled  with 
his  present  party.  Pichegru  had  no  want  of  tiie 
o])inion  of  Moreau,  to  find  iiisnpportabie  liie  society 
of  the  Chouans,  among  \\\v  \u  lie  lived  ;  but  Mo- 
reau was  himself  a  proof,  uhm  people  lay  tliem- 
Selves  otit  for  conspiracies,  of  the  difficulty  there 
is  not  to  become  soon  the  |irey  of  th ■■  worst  who 
are  iir.  und.  Pichegru  was  too  sensible  and  too 
intelligent  to  jiartake  in  the  illusions  of  Moreau, 
and  he  attempted  to  persuaiie  him  ihat  after  the 
death  of  llie  first  consul,  no  other  govei  imieiit  than 
tliai  of  ihe  Bourbons  was  jiossiblc.  All  this  was 
above  the  uiiderstiiiding  of  M' le.iti,  an  under- 
standing of  a  very  iui;derate  kind  beyond  the  field 


Second  interview  of 
Picliegruand  Mo- 
reau. 


THE  CONSPIRACY   OF  GEORGES.     Discovery  of  the  conspiracy.     617 


of  battle.  He  was  obstinate  in  the  belief,  that 
general  Bonn  parte  ceasing  to  live,  lie,  general 
Morean,  would  bfcome  llie  fii-st  consul  of  the 
republic.  Although  the  death  of  the-  tii-st  consul 
was  never  spoken  about,  it  was  always  understood, 
as  being  the  means  ol  ilisenibarr.issing  the  stage  of 
the  person  who  occupied  it.  It  may  be  said,  with- 
out searching  for  excuses  for  these  fatal  negotia- 
tions, to  appreciate  thi-m  exactly,  that  tho  person- 
ages of  that  time  had  seen  so  many  die  upon  the 
scattoM  and  on  tiel.ls  of  battle,  had  given  so  many 
or  submitted  themselves  to  such  terrible  orders, 
that  the  death  of  a  man  had  not  for  them  tlmt 
sigiiitication  and  that  horror  which  the  end  of  tlie 
civil  wars  and  the  ameliorations  of  peace  have  so 
liajipily  rendered  it  ni  tho  jiresent  day. 

Picliegru  went  away  from  his  friend  this  time 
in  utter  despair,  and  said  to  the  confidential  party 
who  had  combicted  him  to  Moreau,  and  who  was 
then  leading  him  to  an  obscme  hiiling-place  :  "  He 
too  has  ambition  ;  be  would,  in  his  turn,  govern. 
Poor  man  !  he  knows  not  liow  to  govern  France 
for  twenty-four  hours !'' 

Georges,  informed  of  all  that  had  passed,  cried, 
with  the  ordinary  energy  of  his  language,"  Usurper 
for  usur|>er  ;  I  love  him  that  now  governs  better 
than  Moreau,  who  lias  neither  head  nor  heart  !" 

It  is  thus,  as  will  presently  be  seen,  that  they 
treated  the  man  whom  their  writers  and  talkers 
represented  as  the  model  of  the  public  and  warlike 
virtues. 

The  knowledge,  soon  acquired,  of  the  dispositions 
of  Moreau,  threw  into  despair  the  uiiliai)py  and 
culpable  emigrants.  They  had  yet  another  inter- 
view with  him  at  Chaillot  in  the  dwelling  of 
Georges,  probably  without  bis  knowing  whose 
house  he  had  entered.  Georges  joining  at  the 
conunencenient  of  the  conversation,  withdrew,  say- 
ing bluntly  to  Pichegru  and  Moreau  :  "  I  with- 
draw mvHelf  ;  perhaps  while  you  are  alone,  you 
may  finish  by  a  mutual  undirstanding." 

The  two  republican  generals  iniderstood  one 
another  no  further  :  it  was  now  become  evident 
to  all  the  conspirators,  that  they  were  foolislily  en- 
gaged in  a  de»ii;n  which  could  only  terminate  in  a 
caiastro|)he.  M.  de  Riviere  was  discon.solate.  He 
aiid  hiri  friends  snid  that  which  they  always  said, 
when  they  found  none  to  take  part  with  their 
own  pafesions  and  feelings  :  "  France  is  apathetic  ; 
she  desires  only  repose  ;  she  is  unfaithful  to  her 
old  sentiments."  France,  in  fact,  was  not  as  they  liad 
been  nsHurcd  she  w:ih,  intlignant  against  the  consular 
government ;  all  the  parties  were  not  in  an  under- 
standing to  overturn  it.  There  were  none  but 
those  who  wen;  envious,  and  destitute  of  genius, 
who  dreamed  of  its  destruction  ;  yet  they  were  not 
willing  to  conniiit  themselves  in  a  ])lot,  however 
well  characterised.  And  as  to  France,  without 
doubt  regretting  the  loss  of  the  peace  i-o  j)romptly 
broken,  mistrustful  too,  perhaps,  of  the  taste  for 
war  and  power  which  ho  distinguished  general 
Bonaparte,  she  did  not  the  less  regard  him  as  her 
iiaviour.  She  was  struck  with  his  genius,  and  she 
would  not,  at  any  price,  see  herself  cast  again  into 
the  hazards  of  a  new  revolution. 

Already  the  unhappy  conspiratorH  were  tempted 
to  withdraw,  some  into  liritany,  others  into  Eng- 
land. Disjibnsed  by  the  knowledge  of  facts,  the 
most  elevated  among  them  felt  besides  a  deep  dis- 


gust at  the  society  in  the  midst  of  which  they  were 
reduced  to  live.  M.  de  Riviere  and  Piche;;ru, 
the  wisest  of  all  the  party,  confided  to  each  .  ther 
their  repugnnuce  and  chagrin.  One  dny  Piehegru, 
wishing  to  put  in  their  proper  position  the  Clionans 
who  were  too  importunate,  replied  with  biiternesa 
and  disdain  to  one  of  them,  who  said  :  "  But, 
general,  you  are  jcith  us  !"  "  No,  I  am  amomjst 
you  '  !"  By  which  he  signified  that  his  life  itself 
was  in  their  hands,  but  that  his  will  and  reason 
were  so  no  more. 

All  the  conspirators  now  found  themselves 
jdunged  into  the  most  cruel  uncertainty.  Still 
Georges  was  always  ready  to  attack  the  first  con- 
sul, except  that  he  wished  to  know  what  would  be 
done  afterw.irds  ;  the  others  asketl,  to  whnt  good  a 
useless  attempt  would  tend.  They  were  in  this 
state  when  these  jilottings,  carried  on  for  si.K 
months  without  interruption,  were  completed  by 
giving  a  glim)>se  of  their  existence  to  the  |)olice, 
too  late  for  the  credit  of  its  vigilance.  The  sa- 
gacity of  the  first  consul  saved  it  altogether,  and 
ruined  the  imjirudeiit  enemies  who  conspired 
against  his  life.  It  is  the  ordinary  punishment  of 
those  wh(»  engage  in  such  enterprises  to  stop  when 
it  is  too  late ;  oftentimes  they  are  discovered, 
seized,  and  punished,  when  already  consceiice, 
reason,  and  fear,  beginning  to  open  their  eyes, 
they  began  to  retrograde  in  the  path  of  evil. 

These  comings  and  goings  continued  fr<m"i  Au- 
gust to  January;  passing  more  i)articuiariy  so  near 
to  such  a  man  as  the  former  »iiinister  Fouch^,  who 
h:id  a  great  desire  to  make  discoveries,  it  was 
scarcely  possible  they  should  not  one  day  be  per- 
ceived. It  has  been  elsewhere  related  that  M. 
Fouch€  had  been  deprived  of  the  portf  lio  of  the 
police,  at  the  period  when  the  first  consul  had 
wished  to  distinguish  the  inauguration  of  the  con- 
sulship for  life  by  the  suppression  of  such  a  rigor- 
ous administration.  The  police  had  been  hiilden, 
it  may  be  said,  in  the  administration  of  justice. 
The  grand  judge,  Regnier,  entirely  a  stranger  to 
the  duties  of  the  jwlice,  had  abandoned  them  to 
the  counsellor  of  state.  Real,  a  man  of  spirit,  but 
sanguine,  credulous,  and  having  nothing  near  the 
sagacity,  certain  and  penetrating,  of  M.  Fo\ichd. 
Thus  the  police  was  directed  with  little  skill,  and 
it  had  affirmeil  to  the  first  consul,  that  never  even 
then  had  there  appeared  less  symptoms  of  a  con- 
sj)iracy.  'JMie  first  consul  was  far  from  ])artaking 
in  this  feeling  (d'  security.  Besides,  M.  Fouch<J 
did  not  leave  him  the  choice  of  doing  so.  Become 
a  senator,  weary  of  his  idleness,  he  had  still  kept 
up  his  connexion  with  his  old  agents,  was  |ierl'ectly 
well  informed  on  matters  and  things,  and  came  to 
conununicate  his  observations  to  the  first  consul. 
The  first  consul  listened  to  all  that  Poncho  and 
Real  chose  to  tell  him,  but  reading  with  care  the 
reports  of  the  gendarmerie,  always  most  useful, 
because  they  are  the  most  exact  and  most  honest, 
came  to  the  conviction  that  plots  were  forming 
against  his  pei*son.  At  first  a  fact,  or  a  general 
deduction  dniwn  from  circumstances,  led  him  to 
think  that  the  renewal  of  the  war  might  become 
un  occasion  for  the  emigrants  and  re|inblican8  to 
make  some  new  attempts.     Different  indications, 


'  "  Main,  g6n6ral, 
ehez  vou«." 


I  @tcs  avec  nous !"    "  Non,  Je  suii 


Tho  intriffiiPs  nf  Mr  nraVp  Curious  extracts  from 

513     at  Munich  THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  ElMPIRE.      le.ters  of  the  lir.t 

consul. 


such  as  that  of  Cliouans  being  arrested  in  several 
direclidiis  ;  notices  from  Vendean  chiefs  attached 
to  his  person,  all  proved  to  him  that  his  inferences 
were  just.  Upon  an  announcement  from  La  Ven- 
dee itself,  wiiich  gave  the  information  that  re- 
fractory conscripts  were  observed  to  be  forming 
themselves  into  bands,  he  sent  colonel  Savary  into 
the  western  departments,  an  officer  whose  devotion 
he  knew  was  witliout  limit,  and  whose  intelligence 
and  courage  were  equally  tried.  There  were  sent 
with  him  some  of  the  select  gendarmerie,  to  follow 
the  movements  and  to  direct  several  moveable 
columns  detached  into  La  Vendee.  Colonel  Sa- 
vary set  out,  observed  every  thing  i)ersonally,  and 
clearly  perceived  signs  of  a  concealed  action  from 
some  quarter.  This  action  was  effected  by  Georges, 
who,  from  Paris,  endeavoured  to  excite  an  insur- 
rection in  La  V^endee.  Still  nothing  was  discovered 
of  the  terrible  secret,  wliich  Georges  reserved  to 
himself  and  bis  iirincipal  associates.  The  bands  in 
La  Vendee  <lispersed,  and  colonel  Savary  returned 
to  Pai-is  without  having  learned  any  thing  very 
important. 

Another  intrigue,  the  thread  of  which  had  fallen 
iuto  the  hands  of  the  first  consul,  and  which  he 
took  a  sort  of  ])leasure  in  tracing  out  himself, 
promised  some  light  on  the  matter,  witliout  having 
yet  afforded  any.  The  three  English  ministers  at 
Hesse,  Wurtemburg,  and  Bavaria,  who  were 
charged  to  weave  jilots  in  France,  applied  them- 
selves to  the  task  with  zeal  and  assiduity,  but  in  a 
clumsy  manner.  Strangei'.s  show  little  ability  in 
conducting  sinnhir  plots.  Of  these  Mr.  Drake,  the 
Bavarian  minister,  was  the  most  active.  He 
lodged  out  of  the  city  of  Munich,  in  order  that  he 
might  receive  with  greater  facility  the  agents 
which  came  to  jiim  from  France  ;  and  in  order  tlie 
better  to  ensure  the  security  of  liis  corresjxindence, 
he  had  seduced  a  director  of  the  Bavarian  post- 
office.  A  Frenchman  given  to  intrigue,  formerly 
a  republican,  with  whom  Mr.  Drake  had  under- 
taken the.se  practices,  and  to  whom  he  avowed  con- 
tiimally  the  object  of  the  Bi'itish  intriguers,  had 
made  known  all  to  the  Parisian  police.  Mr.  Drake 
wislifHl  at  fir.it  to  procure  the  secrets  of  the  first 
consul  relaiivt  to  the  descent  on  England,  then  to 
gain  over,  if  i)ossible,  some  important  general,  to 
Seize,  if  it  could  be  done,  upon  some  fortitted  place 
like  Stiasburgh  or  Besangon,  and  there  to  com- 
mence an  insurrection.  To  disembarrass  himself 
of  gtmeral  Bonaparte,  was  always,  in  terms  more 
or  le:-.s  explicit,  the  essential  part  of  the  desi^Mi. 
The  first  consul  delighted  to  catch  an  English 
diplomatist  in  such  a  flagrant  oiience,  gave  money 
to  the  intermediate  agent  who  thus  deceived  Mr. 
Drake,  upon  the  condition  of  hi.s  continuing  tlic 
intrigue.  He  himself  furnished  the  copies  of  the 
letters  which  were  to  be  written  to  Drake.  He 
gave  in  these  letters  numerous  and  true  details  of 
his  personal  habits,  of  tiie  manner  in  which  he 
drew  up  his  plans,  dicUited  his  orders,  and  added, 
that  tne  gfimil  secret  of  his  operations  was  con- 
tained in  a  great  bia^-k  portfolio,  always  entrusted 
to  M.  de  Meneval,  or  a  iiuissier  in  his  confidence; 
that  M.  de  Meneval  was  incorruptible,  but  that 
the  huissier  was  not,  and  demanded  a  million  of 
francs  for  the  delivery  of  the  portfolio.  The  fir.st 
consul  insinuated,  that  there  must  certainly  be  in 
France   other   plots    besides   that   under    the   di- 


rection of  Mr.  Drake,  and  tliat  it  was  important  to 
know  them,  in  order  that  they  might  not  recipro- 
cally obscure  each  other,  but,  on  the  contrary,  be 
of  mutual  service.  Finally,  he  added  as  a  very 
important  piece  of  revelation,  that  the  real  object 
of  the  descent  was  Ireland  ;  that  what  had  taken 
place  at  Boulogne  was  purely  a  feint,  that  it 
was  endeavoured,  by  the  extent  of  the  preparations, 
to  render  it  of  importance,  but  that  there  was 
nothing  serious  except  in  the  expedition  ordered  at 
Brest  and  the  Texel  ^ 

•  Here  are  curious  extracts  from  these  letters,  dictated  by 
the  first  consul  himself: — 

"  To  the  grand  judge. 

"  9lh  Brumaire,  year  xii..(lst  Nov.  1803.) 

"  It  will  be  of  importance  to  have  near  Drake,  at  Munich, 
a  secret  agent,  who  will  take  an  account  of  all  the  French 
who  visit  that  city. 

"  I  have  read  all  the  reports  which  you  have  sent  to  me. 
They  apptai  suffiL-ieiitly  intere.vting.  He  must  not  \>rexi  for 
•  he  arrests.  When  the  authoiiiies  sliall  liave  g'ven  all  the 
reiiistructions,  a  jihin  will  be  arranged  with  him,  and  that 
which  he  "ill  have  t'l  do  will  be  seen. 

"  I  desire  that  he  write  to  Drake,  and,  to  give  him  con- 
fidenre,  inform  him,  that  while  waiting  until  the  grand 
blow  can  be  struck,  he  believes  he  lias  it  in  his  jiower  to 
promise  tliat  there  sliall  lie  taken  from  the  talile  of  the  first 
consul,  in  his  secret  cabinet,  nrilten  in  his  own  band,  notes 
relat."c  to  his  great  expedition,  and  every  other  important 
paper  ;  that  this  hope  is  founded  upon  a  huissier  of  ihe 
caliinet,  who  having  been  a  member  of  the  society  of  Jaco- 
bins, having  now  the  care  of  the  cabinet  of  the  lirst  consul, 
hunciured  with  bis  confidence,  finds  himself  in  the  mean- 
while in  the  secret  coiiimittee,  but  that  he  has  a  need  of 
two  tilings,  the  first  that  he  shall  liave  the  promise  of 
lOO.OOOi.  sterling,  if  he  really  remits  tlio.se  papers  of 
an  iniporiance  so  great,  written  in  the  first  consul's  hand  ; 
the  second  condiiion  is,  tliat  theie  shall  be  designated  a 
French  ngent  of  the  royalist  partv ,  that  shall  furnish  the 
means  of  concealing  himself  to  the  huissier,  who  will  be  cer- 
tainly arrested  In  the  course  of  the  affair  if  ever  documents 
of  such  iinpdrtiince  are  found  missing.     .     .     . 

"  Bonaparte  writes  himself  scarcely  ever.  He  dictates 
every  tiling,  walking  up  and  down  his  cabinet,  to  a  young 
man  aged  about  twenty,  iKimed  Meneval,  who  is  the  sole 
individual,  not  only  who  enters  bis  cabinet,  but  who  ap- 
proaches within  the  thr-  e  rooms  that  lead  to  that  cabinet. 
This  joung  man  succeeded  Bourieiine,  whom  the  first 
consul  had  known  from  bis  infancy,  but  whom  he  has  sent 
aw  y.     .    ,    . 

"  Meneval  is  not  of  the  character  that  one  can  be  able  to 
hope  for  any  thing  from  him. 

"  But  the  notes  which  contain  the  grandest  and  most  im- 
pni'taiil  calculations  the  first  consul  never  dictates,  but 
writes  himself  He  has  upon  his  table  a  great  portfolio, 
divided  inio  as  many  comparimeiits  as  there  are  ministers. 
'J'liis  portlolio,  made  with  care,  is  closed  by  the  first  consul ; 
and  every  time  that  the  first  consul  leaves  his  cabinet,  Ale- 
neval  is  onleicd  to  place  the  ponfolio  in  a  cupboard  in  a 
r.'cess  under  bis  desk,  screwed  to  the  floor. 

"  Peihaus  this  portfolio  micht  be  cariied  off.  Meneval  or 
the  huissier  of  tt  e  cabinet,  who  lifjbts  Ihe  fire  and  sets  the 
apaitiiieiit  in  order,  would  alone  be  suspected.  It  will  be 
necessary  that  the  huissier  shou  d  disappear  alterwards.  In 
this  portfolio  there  must  be  all  thai  the  first  consul  lias 
written  for  several  years  past,  because  it  is  the  only  one 
which  has  constantly  travelled  about  with  him,  and  which 
goes  incessantly  with  him  from  Paris  to  Malmaison  and  to 
St.  Cloud.  All  the  secret  notes  of  the  military  operations 
would  be  found  theie;  and  seeing  that,  it  will  be  possible 
to  attain  the  i.estruclion  of  his  authority  by  confounding  his 


1804.        Intripues  of  Mr.  Drake  at 
Jan.  Munich. 


THE  CONSPIRACY  OF  GEORGES. 


Arrest  aiid  trial  of  certain 
Chouaiis. 


519 


This  clumsy  and  culpable  diplomatist,  who  had 
committed  the  double  wnmg  «)f  eonipioiiiising  tlie 
most  sacred  fuiiciions,  and  of  playing  so  stupidly 
witii  the  police,  received  all  these  details  with  ex- 
treme aviility;  he  demanded  more,  above  all,  re- 
lative to  what  was  pa.ssing  at  Boulogne;  stated 
that  he  would  refer  to  his'  government  for  what 
related  to  the  "  blaik  portfolio,"  for  which  so  great 
a  price  was  demainled;  and  as  to  the  other  plots 
of  which  his  correspondent  desired  information, 
in  order  that  they  might  not  run  cotmter  to  one 
anoilier,  he  &iid  lie  was  not  instructed,  which  was 
true  enough;  but  it  \Vt>uhl  be  needful,  if  he  en- 
countered any,  to  lay  hiirtself  out,  in  order  to 
make  all  tend  to  the  same  object;  because,  added 

desijins.      There  can  he  no  doubt  that  the  subtraction  of 
tUi«  purtfolio  would  confouiiil  the  n  all." 
"  To  the  grand  judge. 
"  Paris,  3rd  Pluviose,  year  xil.  (12  Jan.  1804.) 

"  The  letters  •'f  Drake  appear  very  important.  I  desire 
that  Mehee,  in  his  appro.ching  bulletin,  should  say  tliat  the 
cuniinitiee  had  been  in  great  alee,  as  they  thought  that 
Bonaparte  wojld  enil)ark  ai  Bnuloiiiie,  but  that  there  is  to- 
day ihe  lertaiiity  that  Die  demonstrations  at  Boulogne  are 
false  demonstrations;  that  alth.mgh  c.stly,  they  are  much 
less  ►0  than  appears  at  ihe  first  glance;  that  all  the  vessels 
of  Ihe  flotilla  are  abK-  to  he  us-d  for  ordinary  purposes;  that 
there  be  care  taken  to  observe  all  that  would  show  that  thuse 
preparations  are  only  menaces,  and  that  it  is  noi  a  fi.xed 
eilablishmeni  which  it  might  be  wished  to  preserve. 

"  That  he  will  not  dissimulate;  that  the  first  consul  was 
too  wary,  and  l<elieved  himsrlf  too  well  established  to-day, 
to  attempt  a  doubtful  oi^eration,  where  a  mass  of  force  will 
be  ronimit'ed.  His  real  project,  as  much  as  can  be  judged 
by  his  external  relations,  is  the  expc-ilitioii  to  In-land,  which 
will  be  made  at  the  satne  time  l>y  the  squadrons  from  Brest 
and  the  Texel. 

"  Nothing  is  said  of  the  expedition  from  the  Texel,  al- 
though It  18  well  known  to  he  ready,  and  much  noise  is 
nitric  ab  lut  the  rami>s  <>f  St.  Omt-r,  Osiend,  and  Flushing. 
The  great  quantity  of  troops  united  in  encan>pmen's  has  a 
political  objrct.  Bonaparte  is  very  pleased  to  have  them  at 
hand,  to  keep  them  in  war-trim,  and  to  make  a  diversion  of 
a  fourth  of  them  to  fall  upon  Germany,  if  he  sees  it  neces- 
sary to  hu  objectx  t<i  make  the  war  ccinlinciital. 

"  Another  expedition  is  that  of  the  Mor-a,  which  is  de- 
cidedly arrang-d.  Bonaparte  has  orty  thousand  men  at 
Tar'  ntum.  The  Toulon  squadron  will  profced  thither.  He 
ho;>cs  to  find  a  considerable  auxiliary  force  among  the 
Greeks. 

"  The  affair  of  the  porfolio  must  always  be  continued. 
Sav  that  (in  onler  to  get  be  ief )  the  huissier  came  to  show 
several  pieces  of  lett<'rn  written  in  the  very  hand  of  Biina- 
parte.  That  you  shnnld  be  able  to  extract  the  greater  part 
through  this  man.  hul  that  he  wants  a  great  d-al  of  money. 
The  project  is  re.illy  to  deliver  the  pori folio,  In  which  the 
first  consul  put<  all  the  instructions  that  they  ciin  desire  or 
believe,  but  for  which  it  Is  necesnary  they  khnuld  advance 
money,  at  least  to  the  extent  of  50,000/.  sterling." 

"  To  citizen  Real. 
"  Malmalson,  28th  Ventosc,  year  xii.  (March  19,  1804.) 

"  f  pray  you  to  send  to  citizen  Maret  the  last  letter 
written  by  Drake,  In  order  that  he  mny  print  it  after  the 
collection  of  pieces  rrla'i>e  lo  this  affair. 

"  I  also  pr.iy  you  lo  add  two  notes,  one  to  make  known 
thst  the  atd-de  cnmp  of  Ihe  aiipunked  urn'-ral  is  no  more 
than  an  ofTicer  sent  by  the  prefect  of  Stra-liiirit;  and  the 
other  which  maken  known  that  Ihe  liuissi  r  «a»  a  pure  In 
vention  of  the  a  en',  that  there  is  not  any  huiisier  employed 
aliout  the  government  who  would  not  be  above  the  corrupt- 
iliK  gold  of  England." 


Jlr.  Drake,  it  matters  very  little  by  whom  the 
animal  is  "  laid  low,  it  suffices  that  you  ai"e  all 
ready  to  join  in  the  clnise  '."   - 

It  was  to  this  unworthy  character,  then,  that  an 
agent,  clothed  with  an  official  character,  ventured 
to  descend  ;  it  was  this  odiuus  language  which  he 
dared  to  use. 

But  all  this  threw  no  light  upon  wlrat  was  .sought. 
Mr.  Drake  was  ignorant  of  the  great  conspiracy, 
of  Georges,  of  which  the  secret  hail  not  been 
s])read  abroad  ;  and  he  had  not  been  able,  in  his 
ridiculous  confidence,  to  make  a  single  useful 
revelation.  The  first  consul  was  always  persuaded 
that  the  men  who  invented  the  infernal  machine, 
would  have  much  stronger  reasons  fur  jireparing 
something  similar,  under  existing  ciicumstaiices. 
Struck  with  the  numerous  arrests  executed  in 
Pans,  La  Vendue,  and  Normandy,  he  said  to 
Jlui-at,  governor  of  Paris,  and  to  M.  Real,  who 
directed  the  police,  "  The  emigrants  are  certainly 
I  at  work..  Numerous  arrests  are  taking  jilacc  ; 
some  of  the  individuals  taken  must  be  sent  before 
a  military  commission,  that  will  condemn  them, 
and  then  they  will  confess  before  they  sufier  them- 
selves to  be  shot." 

This  which  is  here  stated  actually  took  place 
between  tlie  25th  and  30th  of  January,  during  the 
interview  between  Picliegru  and  Moreau,  and 
when  the  conspirators  began  to  give  themselves 
uj)  to  discourageiuent.  The  first  consul  had  the 
lists  brought  to  him  of  those  individuals  who  had 
been  arrested.  Among  them  were  found  all  tlie 
agents  of  Georges,  arrived  either  befi-e  or  after 
himself,  and  in  that  number  wntTan  old  physician 
of  the  Vendean  armies,  who  had  disemb;irked  in 
August  with  Georges  himself.  After  examining 
the  parti'iiilar  circumstances  attiched  to  each  of 
them,  the  first  consul,  in  designating  five  of  their 
number,  said,  "  I  am  very  strongly  deceived,  or 
there  are  here  some  men  who  will  not  be  wanting 
ill  making  revelations." 

For  a  long  while  the  laws  formerly  made  had 
not  been  carried  into  effect,  wliich  permitted  the 
institution  of  military  tribunals.  'J'he  first  consul, 
during  the  peace,  liad  wished  to  let  them  fall 
into  desuetiule  ;  but  on  the  return  of  the  war,  he 
believed  that  he  was  bound  to  use  them,  above  all, 
in  case  of  the  spies,  who  came  to  observe  his  |>re- 
parations  against  England.  He  had  caused  tlieni 
to  be  arrested,  tried,  and  every  one  shot.  The  five 
individuals  whom  he  had  designated  were  now  put 
upon  trial.  Two  were  actjuitted;  two  others,  con- 
victed by  the  court  of  crimes  that  the  law  punished 
with  death,  were  shot,  without  avowing  any  thing, 
but  that  tJiey  declared  they  iiad  come  lo  serve  the 
cause  of  their  le;:itimate  king,  who  would  soon  be 
triumphant  over  the  ruins  of  the  rejiublic.  They 
preferred,  besides,  frightful  menaces  against  the 
person  at  the  head  of  the  government. 

The  fifth,  whom  the  first  consul  had  ])articularly 
designated  as  the  man  who  would  be  likely  to  con- 
fess every  thing,  declared,  at  the  monuiil  th.'y  were 
leatling  liiin  to  punishnnnl,  that  he  had  grt^it 
secrets  to  Uiacluse.     There  was  iuiinidiately  scut 

'  These  are  the  expressions  employed  by  Mr.  Drake  him- 
self. The  letters,  written  in  his  own  hand,  were  deposited 
with  the  Sfii^itc,  and  shown  to  all  Ihe  agents  of  the  uiplo- 
inatle  body  who  had  any  inclinatiun  to  peruse  them. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE,    ^"in  ?.lnrd"cl«e7" 


to  liim  one  of  the  most  able  agents  in  tlie  service 
of  the  police.  He  avowed  every  thing,  declared 
that  he  h;id  disembarked  in  the  month  of  Augnst 
at  Biville  with  Georges  himself ;  that  they  had 
arrived,  by  traversing  the  woods,  from  station  to 
station,  as  far  as  Paris,  with  the  object  of  killing 
the  first  consul,  through  an  attack  upon  his  escort 
by  main  force.  He  indicated  some  of  the  places 
where  the  Chouaiis  lodged  who  were  under  the 
orders  of  Georges,  and  particularly  several  wine- 
mei'chants. 

This  declaration  threw  in  a  ray  of  light.  The 
presence  of  Georges  in  Paris  was  in  the  highest 
point  significative.  It  was  not  for  an  attempt  of 
slight  importance  that  such  a  personage  h:id  been 
sojourning  six  months  in  the  capital  itself  witli 
a  band  of  his  accomplices  and  dependants.  The 
point  of  disembarkation  at  the  cliff  of  Biville,  the 
existence  of  a  route  to  Paris,  the  sojourning  places 
in  traversing  the  woods,  and  every  one  of  the  ob- 
scure lodgings  whei'e  the  conspirators  were  hidden, 
were  now  known.  A  most  singular  chance  had 
revealed  a  name,  which  being  traced,  disclosed  the 
gravest  circumstances.  At  an  anterior  epoch, 
some  Choiians  disembarked  on  the  same  shore  of 
Biville,  had  exchanged  musket-shots  with  the 
gendarmes,  and  the  name  of  Troche  was  found 
upon  a  fragment  of  paper  which  had  served  for 
wadding.  This  Troche  was  a  clockmaker  at  Eu. 
He  had  a  son  very  young,  and  employed  in  the 
corresponilence.  He  was  secretly  arrested  and 
taken  to  Paris.  On  being  interrogated  he  avowed 
all  he  kiKW.  He  declared  that  it  was  he  who 
went  to  receive  the  conspirators  at  the  cliff  of 
Biville,  and  conducted  them  to  their  first  stations. 
He  related  the  three  disembtirkations,  ot  which  the 
histiiry  has  been  related,  that  of  Georges  in  August, 
and  those  of  December  and  Juiuiary,  in  which 
were  found  Pichegru,  INI.  de  Riviere,  and  M.  de 
Polignac.  He  did  not  kin)W  the  names  or  the 
quality  of  the  jiersonages  to  whom  he  had  served 
as  a  <;uide.  He  only  knew  that  in  the  first  days 
of  February  a  fourth  disembarkation  was  to  take 
place  at  the  cliff  of  Biville.  He  was  equally  or- 
dered to  be  the  guide  to  receive  them  when  they 
arrived. 

Suddenly,  during  the  first  days  of  February,  a 
search  was  commenced,  and  the  places  indicated 
from  Paris  as  far  as  the  c<jast  were  examined,  in 
order  to  discover  tiie  stations  which  were  used  by 
the  emigrant  travellers.  A  good  guard  was  placed 
at  tlie  wine-merchants  denounced  by  the  agt^nts  of 
Georges,  and  in  a  few  days  different  important 
arrests  were  made,  two  in  particular,  which  threw 
a  great  light  upon  the  wlnde  affair.  They  seized 
at  first  a  young  man,  named  Picot,  a  domestic  of 
Georges,  and  an  intrepid  Chouan,  who  being  armed 
witii  pistols  and  poignards,  fired  upon  the  agents  of 
the  police,  and  did  not  yield  until  tlie  last  ex- 
tremity, declaring  he  would  die  in  the  service  of 
his, king.  At  the  same  time  was  seized  the  prin- 
cipal otticer  of  Georges,  named  Bouvet  de  Lozier, 
who  suffered  himself  to  be  taken  without  i)rovoking 
the  same  tumult,  exhibiting  himself  perfectly  calm. 
Tliese  men  were  armed  like  offenders  ready  for 
the  conmiittal  of  the  greatest  crimes,  and  besides 
the  arms  whicii  they  carried  about  them,  they  had 
considerable  sums  in  gold  and  silver.  At  the  first 
moment  they  appeared  to  be  highly  excited,  then 


they  became  more  calm,  and  finished  by  making 
confessions.  It  was  thus  with  the  j)arty  named 
Picot,  arrested  on  the  8th  of  February,  or  18th 
Pluviose  ;  he  would  say  nothing  at  first,  but  alter- 
wards,  by  little  and  little,  he  was  induced  to  speak. 
He  avowed  that  he  had  come  from  England  with 
Georges  ;  that  lie  had  been  with  liini  in  Paris 
during  the  last  six  months,  and  did  not  much  dis- 
guise the  motive  of  their  voyage  to  France,  Thus 
the  presence  of  Georges  in  Paris  for  a  grand  ob- 
ject, could  no  longer  be  a  matter  of  doubt.  But 
they  knew  nothing  more.  Bouvet  de  Lozier  si.id 
nothin;;.  He  was  a  jiersonage  much  above  Picot 
in  education  and  manners.  In  the  night  of  the 
1.3th  or  14th  of  Felnuary,  Bouvet  de  Lozier  sud- 
denly called  his  jailer.  He  bad  attempted  to  hang 
himself,  and  not  having  succeeded,  had  fallen  into 
a  sort  of  delirium  ;  he  then  demanded  that  tlie 
declaration  he  made  should  be  received.  The 
unliajipy  man  now  stated,  that  before  tlying  for  the 
cause  of  his  legitimate  king,  he  wished  to  unmask 
the  perfidious  person  wiio  had  drawn  these  brave 
men  into  an  abyss,  by  compromising  them  uselessly. 
He  made  to  M.  Real,  surprised  avd  confounded, 
the  strangest  and  nxist  surprising  lecital.  They 
were,  he  said,  in  London,  around  the  pri:ices, 
when  Moreau  had  sent  over  to  Pichegru  one  of 
his  officers,  to  offer  to  set  him  at  the  head  of  a 
movement  in  favour  of  the  Bouibons,  promising  to 
draw  in  the  army  to  follow  liis  example.  On  this 
intelligence,  they  had  set  off  altogether,  with 
Georges  and  Pichegru  himself,  to  co-operate  in 
the  revoluti<in.  Arrived  in  Paris,  Georges  and 
Pichegru  had  gfine  to  Moreau,  to  have  an  under- 
standing, and  Moreau  had  then  changed  his  lan- 
guage, and  had  demanded  that  they  should  over- 
turn the  fii>t  consul,  for  bis  own  advantage,  in 
order  to  make  himself  the  dictator.  Georges, 
Pichegru,  and  their  friends,  had  refused  such  a 
proposition,  and  it  was  owing  to  the  unfortunate 
delays,  arising  from  the  i)retensions  of  Moreau, 
that  tliey  had  become  objects  of  search  to  the 
jjolice.  This  tragical  deponent  added,  that  "he 
had  escaped  the  shadows  of  death  to  avenge  him- 
self and  iiis  friends  upon  the  man  who  had  lost 
them  every  thing '." 

'  The  declaration  of  Bouvet  de  Lozier  liimself  is  here 
cited.  This  document,  as  are  all  those  relative  to  the  con- 
spiiaoy  of  Georges,  and  which  will  be  cited  hereafter,  is 
taken  from  a  collection  in  eiylit  volumes,  8vo,  having  for 
the  title:— 

'•  The  process  instituted  by  the  court  of  criminal  and 
special  justice  of  the  department  of  the  Seine,  silling  at 
Paris,  against  Georges,  Pichegru,  and  others,  charged  with 
a  conspiracy  against  the  person  of  the  first  consul.  Paris, 
C.  F.  Patras,  piinter  to  the  court  of  criminal  justice,  1804." 
{The  copy  in  the  royal  library.) 

Declaration  of  Athanase  ITyacinthe  Bouvet  de  Lozier,  wade 
in  presence  of  the  grand  judge,  minister  of  justice.  Book 
ii.  page  168. 

"  It  is  a  man  who  comes  out  of  the  gates  of  the  tomb,  still 
ciwered  with  the  shadows  o!  death,  who  asks  vengeance 
upi't'.  those  that  by  their  peifidionsness  have  thrown  him 
and  his  ^arty  into  the  abyss  in  which  he  finds  himself. 

"Sent  '.  sustain  the  cause  of  the  Bourbons,  he  found 
himself  oblig,;d  to  combat  for  Moreau,  or  to  renounce  an 
enterprize  which  was  the  sole  object  of  his  mission. 

"  Monsieur  was  to  pass  into  France  in  order  to  place  him 


M.  Real  communicates 
Bouvet'g  confession 
to  Napoleon. 


THE  CONSPIRACY   OF  GEORGES.     A  secret  councU  summoned.     521 


Thus,  ill  the  midst  of  an  interrupted  suicide, 
there  came  out  against  Moreau  a  terrible  denun- 
ciation ;  a  denunciation  exaggerated  by  despair, 
but  presenting,  nevertheless,  the  outline  of  the 
j>lot.  M.  Real,  almost  stupified,  ran  to  the  Tuile- 
ries.  He  fuund  tiie  first  consul  gone,  according  to 
his  custom,  to  take  his  rest  at  an  early  hour,  in 
order  to  give  himself  up  to  his  labours.  The  first 
consul  was  yet  in  the  hands  of  his  valet  de  chani- 
bre,  Constant,  when  at  the  first  accents  of  M.  Real, 
lie  placed  his  hand  on  his  moutii,  silenced  him, 
and  shut  himself  up  alone  wiih  him,  to  listen  to 
his  reciuil.  He  did  not  seem  astonished.  He 
refusvd  to  credit  entirely  and  wholly  the  declara- 
tion about  Moreau.  He  comprehended  well  enough 
the  project  of  uniting  all  parties  against  himself, 
and  employing  Pichegru  as  an  intermediate  agent 
between  the  royalists  and  republicans;  but  to  cre- 
dit the  culpability  of  Moreau,  he  wished  that  the 
presence  of  I'ichegru  in  Paris  should  be  well  esta- 
blisiied.  If  new  revelations  removed  all  doubts  in 
this  respect,  the  connexion  between  the  royalists 
and  Moreau  would  be  found  established,  and  they 

self  at  the  lie.id  of  the  royalists  ;  Moreau  promised  to  unite 
his  cause  with  that  of  the  Bourbons.  The  royalists  came 
into  France  and  Moreau  retracted. 

"  He  proposed  that  we  should  labour  for  him  and  get  him 
nominated  dictator. 

"  The  accusation  wliich  I  make  against  him  is  not  sup- 
ported perhaps  but  on  half  proof. 

"  Here  are  the  facts ;  it  is  you  who  are  to  appreciate 
them. 

"A  general  who  has  ser^'ed  under  Moreau's  orders,  L;ijo- 
lais,  was  sent  by  him  to  the  prince  in  London  ;  Pichegru  acted 
intermediatrly ;  Lajolais  adhered  in  the  name  and  on  the 
part  of  .Moreau  to  tlie  principal  points  of  the  proposed  plan. 

"The  prmce  proposed  to  depart;  the  number  of  royali^ts 
in  France  was  auijmcnted,  and  in  the  conferences  which  have 
taken  place  in  Paris  between  Moreau,  Pichegru,  and  Georges, 
the  first  manifested  his  intentions,  and  declared  he  would  not 
act  except  for  a  dictator,  not  for  a  king. 

"  From  thence  arose  the  hesitation,  the  dissension,  and  the 
nearly  total  loss  of  the  royalist  party. 

"  LmjoI.iis  was  with  the  prince  at  the  commencement  of 
January  in  the  present  year,  as  1  have  been  apprised  by 
Georgi-s. 

"1  myself  saw  on  the  17th  of  January  his  arrival  at 
La  Poterie  on  the  day  following  his  disemburkment  with 
PicheKru,  by  the  route  of  our  common  correspondence, 
whicli  you  only  know  too  well. 

"  t  have  seen  the  same  Lajolais,  on  the  25th  or  2Ctli  of 
January,  when  he  came  to  take  (ieorges  and  I'ichegiu  lo 
the  carriage  where  I  was  with  them  in  the  Boulevard  de  la 
Madeleine  to  conduct  them  to  Moreau,  who  wailed  fur  them 
at  tome  p.ic- s  distance.  He  then  had  with  them  in  the 
Chainpn  Klyki-es  one  conference,  that  led  to  our  presage  of 
that  which  Moreau  openly  propoked  at  a  succeeding  meeting 
that  he  hail  with  Pichegru  alone  ;  to  wit,  that  it  was  not 
possible  to  re-establish  the  king;  and  he  proposed  that  he 
himself  shouhl  be  placed  at  the  head  of  the  government 
undi-r  the  title  of  dictator,  not  leaving  lo  the  royalists  any 
chance  but  to  be  his  supporters  and  soldiers. 

"  I  know  not  what  weight  the  assertion  of  a  man  will  have 
with  you,  snatched  but  an  hour  before  from  the  death  that  he 
had  given  hiinicif,  and  that  sees  before  him  the  death  re- 
served by  an  offended  government. 

"  But  I  aui  not  able  lo  restrain  the  cry  of  despair,  nor  an 
attack  upon  the  men  who  have  reduced  mc  to  it. 

"  As  lo  what  remains,  you  will  discover  facts  conformable 
to  those  which  I  advance  in  the  course  of  the  grand  process 
in  which  I  am  implicated. 

"(Signed)         Bouvet, 
"Adjutaiit-iieneral  of  the  royal  army." 


would  be  able  "to  deal  with  him.  In  other  respects, 
there  escaped  from  the  first  Consul  not  a  single 
accent  of  anger  nor  of  vengeance  ;  he  appeared 
more  curious  and  more  thoughtful  than  lie  was 
irritated. 

They  thought  of  interrogating  Picot,  the  domes- 
tic of  Georges,  anew,  to  discover  if  he  had  ctigni- 
zatice  of  the  presence  of  Pichegru  in  Paris.  He 
was  questioned  upon  the  same  day,  when,  on  treat- 
ing him  with  itiildiiess,  they  terminated  the  matter, 
by  bringing  him  to  open  what  he  knew  to  tlieni 
entirely.  He  declared  himself  all  that  related  to 
Pichegru  and  Moreau.  He  had  known  less  than 
Bouvet  de  Lozicr  ;  but  that  which  he  did  know 
was  perhaps  more  significant,  because  ihe  inference 
from  it  was,  that  the  despair  produced  by  the  con- 
duct of  Moreau  had  descended  so  as  to  be  shared 
by  the  lowest  ranks  of  the  conspirators.  In  regard 
to  Pichegru,  he  had  declared  positively  that  he  had 
seen  him  in  Paris  but  a  few  days  before  ;  and  he 
affirmed  even  that  he  was  still  there.  As  to  Mo- 
reau, he  stated  that  he  had  heard  the  officers  of 
Georges  cxi)ress  the  greatest  regret  that  they  had 
addre.->sed  themselves  to  that  general,  who  was 
ready  to  ruin  all  by  his  ambitious  pretensions  >. 

These  facts  having  been  made  known  during  the 
I4th  of  February,  the  first  consul  immediately  con- 
voked a  secret  council  at  the  Tuileries,  composed 
of  the  two  consuls,  Cambaee'res  and  Lebiiin,  tiie 
principal  ministers,  and  I\I.  Fouche',  who,  although 
no  longer  a  minister,  had  borne  a  lending  part  in 
the  existing  information.  The  council  was  held  in 
the  night  of  the  14th  and  15th.  The  question 
merited  a  serious  examination.  There  was  incon- 
testable evidence  of  a  conspiracy.  The  design  to 
attack  the  first  consul  with  a  troop  of  Chouans, 
having  Georges  at  their  head,  was  beyond  a 
doubt.  The  concurrence  of  all  the  ])arties,  repub- 
licans or  royalists,  thus  become  certain  from  the 
presence  of  Pichegru,  who  had  served  as  the  inter- 
mediate agent  between  one  and  the  other.  As  to 
the  cul|)ability  of  Moreau,  it  was  difficult  to  dis- 
cover its  jirecise  extent ;  but  neither  Bouvet  do 
Lozier  in  his  despair,  nor  Picot  in  his  subaltern 
simplicity,  could  possibly  have  invented  the  extra- 
ordinary circumstance  of  the  wrong  done  to  the 
royalist  party  by  the  personal  views  of  Moreau. 
It  was  clear,  then,  that  if  this  general  were  not 
arrested,  the  process  would  follow  him  up,  and  he 

'  Extract  from  the  second  declaration  of  Louit  Picot,  the 
2^//^  Pluvidsc,  year  XII.  (14  I'lbruary),  at  one  in  tht 
morning,  before  the  prefect  of  police,  hook  ii.  p.  392. 

Declares—"  That  the  chiefs  had  drawn  lots  who  should 
attack  the  first  consul. 

"  That  they  would  attack  him  if  they  encountered  him  on 
the  mad  to  Boulogne,  or  assassinate  him  while  presenting  a 
petition  to  him  on  the  parade,  or  as  he  went  to  the  theatre. 

"  That  he  firmly  believes  that  Pichegru  Is  not  only  in 
France,  but  still  in  Paris." 

Extract  from  the  third  declaration  of  Louis  Picot,  the  2Uh 
Pluvidse  (\ilh  February). 

Declares — "  That  Pichegru  constantly  bore  the  name  of 
Charles,  that  ho  had  heard  him  several  times  so  called. 

"  That  he  had  heard  general  Moreau  spoken  of  several 
times,  and  that  the  chiefs  had  frcqiienlly  repeated  it  before 
him;  that  tliey  were  vexed  that  the  princes  had  let  Moreau 
into  '.ne  affair,  but  that  he  was  ignorant  whether  Georges 
had  seen  Moreau." 


The  arrest  of  Moreau 
determined  upon. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  ExMPlRE. 


Secret  co 

mc 

1  a 

the 

luile 

ies 

— 

Mo- 

reau  : 

rrc 

ted 

would  be  found  denounced  every  moment ;  that 
those  denunciations  would  be  noised  abroad,  and 
tliat  then  the  charp;e  would  have  the  appearance  of 
being  eitiier  wholly  a  ])erHdious  caiunniy,  or  that 
the  government  was  afraid,  and  did  not  dare  to 
prosecute  a  criminal,  because  in  that  criminal's 
identity  would  be  found  the  second  personage  in 
the  republic. 

The  decision  of  this  question  remained  for  the 
first  consul.  To  suffer  the  strength  of  his  govern- 
ment to  be  called  in  question,  was  the  thing  ever 
most  opposed  to  his  pride  and  policy.  "They  will 
say,"  lie  observed,  "  that  I  am  afraid  of  Moreau. 
It  will  not  be  found  so.  I  have  been  the  most 
merciful  of  men,  hut  1  will  be  the  most  terrihle, 
when  it  shall  become  necessary.  I  will  strike 
Moreau  as  I  would  strike  any  other  man  when  he 
enters  into  conspiracies,  odious  in  their  object,  and 
disgraceful  by  the  party  reconciliations  which  they 
imnly." 

He  did  not,  therefore,  hesitate  a  moment  in 
deciding  upon  the  arrest  of  Moreau.  He  h;id, 
besides,  another  reason,  iind  that  was  one  of  weight. 
Neiihi  r  Georges  nor  Pichegru  were  arrested. 
Three  or  four  of  their  accomplices  were  taken  ; 
but  the  main  body  of  those  who  were  to  carry  the 
scheme  into  execution  was  yet  entirely  beyond 
the  grasj)  of  tlie  pi.liee,  and  it  was  ])0ssible  that  the 
fear  of  heiiig  discovered  might  cause  them  to  carry 
out  at  once  the  attempt  which  they  had  enteied 
France  to  make.  It  was  on  this  account  needful 
to  hasten  the  process,  and  seize  all  the  principal 
parties  whom  they  had  the  means  of  securing. 
This  would  lead  inevitably  to  other  discoveries. 
The  arrest  of  Moreau  was  resolved  upon  accord- 
ingly, and  with  Moreau  that  of  Lajoh.is  and  the 
other  intermediate  agents,  whose  names  had  been 
d  iscovei'cd. 

The  first  consul  was  irritated,  but  not  in  a  par- 
ticular manner,  against  Moreau.  He  wore  the 
appearance  more  of  a  man  who  endeavoured  to 
strengthen  himself  beforehand  rather  than  to  seek 
vengeance.  He  wished  to  have  Moreavi  in  his 
power  to  convince  him,  and  to  obtain  the  infin-ma- 
tion  of  which  ho  had  need,  and  then  to  pardon  him. 
He  imagined  that  it  would  be  the  full  measure  of 
address  and  goodness,  to  terminate  the  matter  in 
this  way. 

It  was  necessary  to  fix  upon  the  jurisdiction. 
The  consul  Canil)ac(5res,  who  had  a  professed 
knowledge  of  the  laws,  stated  the  danger  of  the 
ordinary  jurisdiction  in  an  affair  of  this  nature, 
and  proposeil,  as  Moreau  was  a  military  man,  to 
send  him  before  a  council  of  war,  comjiosed  of  the 
most  distinguished  individuals  in  the  army.  The 
existing  laws  furnished  the  means  of  taking  this 
step.  The  first  consul  opposed  it'.  "They  will 
say,"  he  remarked,  "  that  wishing  to  disembarrass 
myself  of  Moreau,  I  have  had  him  assassinated, 
judicially,  by  my  own  ereatures."  A  middle  term 
was  then  sought,  and  it  was  in  consequence  devised 
to  send  Moreau  before  the  criminal  tribunal  of  the 
Sein\  The  constitution  permitted  the  suspension 
of  the  jury  in  certain  cases,  and  over  the  entire 
extent  of  particular  departments,  and  it  was  de- 
cided that  this  suspension  should  be  immediately 

•  The  author  here  repeats  the  testimony  of  M.  Camba- 
ctrhs  himself. 


l)ronounced  for  the  department  of  the  Seine.  This 
was  a  fault,  the  princi|de  of  which  was  honourable. 
The  public  considei-ed  the  -suspension  of  tile  jury 
an  act  as  ligorous  as  if  the  case  had  been  sent  be- 
fore a  tnilitary  commission,  and  without  giving  it 
the  merit  of  respecting  the  forms  of  justice,  thus 
imparted  to  it  all  the  ineonvenien.ees,  as  will  soon  be 
Seen.  It  was  resolved,  besides,  that  the  grand 
judge,  Rcgnier,  should  draw  up  a  report  upon  the 
conspiracy  which  had  been  discovered,  declaring 
the  motives  for  the  arrest  of  Moreau,  and  that  the 
report  should  be  communicated  to  the  senate,  the 
legislative  body,  and  the  tribunate. 

The  council  lasted  the  whole  night.  In  the 
morning  of  the  15lh  of  February,  a  chosen  detach- 
ment of  gendarmerie,  with  ihe  officers  of  justice, 
was  sent  to  the  house  inhabited  by  Moreau.  He 
was  not  to  be  found  there,  and  tliey  set  out  for 
Grofebois,  but  met  him  on  the  bridge  of  Cliarenton, 
returning  to  Paris.  He  was  arrested  without 
noise,  treated  with  much  resjiect,  and  conducted 
to  the  Tem])le.  At  the  same  lime  as  Moreati,  they 
arrested  Lajolais,  with  the  clerks  of  the  provision- 
sellers,  who  had  served  as  intermediate  agents. 

The  message  containing  the  report  ol  Regnier 
was  taken  the  same  day  to  the  senate,  to  the  legis- 
lative body,  and  to  the  tribunate.  It  produced 
there  a  painful  astonishment  among  the  friemls  of 
the  government,  and  a  sort  of  nialici<ius  delight 
among  its  enemies — enemies  more  or  less  active,  of 
wliom  a  certain  number  yet  remained  in  the  great 
bodies  of  the  state.  It  was,  according  to  these,  an 
invention  of  the  jiolice,  a  machination  of  the  first 
consul,  who  wished  to  get  rid  of  a  rival  of  whom  he 
was  jealous,  and  rei)air  his  compromised  jxipu- 
larity,  by  inspirinij  uneasiness  about  his  life.  Every 
toufiue  was  let  loose,  as  is  certain  to  ha)>pen  under 
similar  circumstances.  In  place  of  saying,  "the 
cons|)iraey  of  Moreau,"  the  wits  said,  "the  con- 
spiracy against  Moreau."  The  brother  of  the 
general,  who  was  a  member  of  the  tribunate,  sud- 
denly rose  in  the  tribune  of  that  assembly,  declared 
that  his  brother  had  been  calunmiated,  and  that  he 
deniamled  only  one  thing  to  demonstrate  his  inno- 
cence, and  that  was  to  be  sent  before  an  ordinary, 
and  not  a  special  court  of  justice.  He  only  de- 
manded for  his  brother  the  means  to  make  the 
truth  be  heard.  These  words  were  heard  coldly, 
but  with  evident  chagrin.  The  majority  of  the 
three  bodies  was  at  the  same  time  devoted  to  the 
government,  and  deeply  afflicted.  It  seemed  as  if, 
since  the  rupture  of  the  peace,  the  fortune  of  the 
first  consul,  so  far  f<)rtunate  as  it  was  great,  had 
a  little  fallen  ofi".  They  did  not  believe  that  he 
could  have  invented  this  cons|)iracy  ;  but  they 
Were  grieved  to  see  that  his  life  was  yet  in  peril, 
and  that  it  was  necessary  to  defend  it  by  striking 
at  the  lii{,'hest  characters  in  the  republic.  They 
replied,  therefore,  to  the  niess:ige  of  the  govern- 
ment, by  one  which  contained  the  expression,  com- 
mon under  those  circmnstances,  of  the  interest  and 
attachment  they  felt  towards  the  chief  of  the  state, 
and  their  ardent  wishes  that  justice  should  be 
promptly  and  faithfully  rendered. 

The  noise  caused  by  these  arrests  was  very 
great,  and  it  could  not  be  otherwise.  The  hulk  of 
the  public  were  strongly  disjjosed  to  indignation 
against  every  attempt  which  placed  the  valuable 
life  of  the  first  consul  in  peril;  still  the  reality  of 


Irritation  of  ttie  first 
CiJiisul  ag,iiii:>l  the 
conspiraiurs. 


THE  CONSPIRACY  OF  GEORGES. 


Iiigralilude  of  the 
royalists. 


523 


tlic  plot  \v:is  doubted.  It  was  certiiin  that  the 
infamous  inferii:il  machine  h:id  rendered  it  all 
credible ;  but  there  the  crime  had  preceded  the 
pr.ces*,  which  last  was,  besides,  produced  under 
tlie  form  of  the  must  atrocious  of  wicked  attempts. 
Now,  on  the  contrary,  a  simple  inteniinn  of  assas- 
sination was  announced,  and  on  that  simple  an- 
nouncement they  bejjan  by  arresting  one  of  the 
most  illustrious  men  in  the  republic,  who  passed 
f  T  being  the  object  of  the  first  ctmsul's  jealousy. 
Malcontent  persons  asked  where  then  was  Georges? 
Where  was  Ficliegru?  Those  two  personages,  ihey 
appreh  nded,  were  ccriainly  not  in  Paris  ;  they 
had  not  found  them  there,  because  all  was  uo 
more  than  a  clumsy  fable — an  odious  invention. 

If  tiie  first  Consul  had  been  at  first  tranquil  at' 
the  aspect  of  the  new  danger  with  which  his  i)er- 
8on  wa-s  menaced,  he  felt  deeply  angry  on  finding 
of  what  black  calumnies  that  danger  was  the  cause. 
He  deinaniled  if  it  was  not  enough  to  be  the  object 
of  the  most  fri;;litful  conspiracies;  if  he  must  still 
be  piissed  off  himself  for  a  maker  of  plots,  for 
envioUH,  when  he  was  pursued  by  the  meanest 
envy,  for  the  author  of  perfidious  designs  against 
the  life  of  anotlif-r,  when  his  own  life  ran  the 
greatest  risk.  He  was  seized  with  a  fit  of  anger, 
which  every  step  in  the  instructions  against  the 
criMiinais  did  not  cease  to  augment.  He  set  him- 
8elf  about  the  discovery  of  the  authors  of  the  plot 
with  a  sort  of  exasperation;  not  that  he  did  so  for 
tlie  security  of  his  own  life  ;  he  did  nut  think  so 
much  of  that,  which  he  coiifiiK-d  to  his  good  for- 
tune, but  he  Ju'ld  himself  bound  to  confotmd  the 
infamy  of  his  detractors,  who  represented  him  as 
the  inventor  of  plots  which  had  failed,  and  of 
which  it  was  yet  possible  he  might  become  the 
victim. 

It  wa.s  not  against  the  republicans  that  he  was 
most  irritated  on  this  occasion,  but  against  the 
royalists.  At  the  time  of  the  infernal  machine, 
although  the  royalists  were  the  authors,  he  as- 
cribed all  to  the  republicans,  because  he  saw  in 
ihein  the  obstacli;  t<i  the  good  which  he  designed 
to  effect.  Uiit  at  this  moment  his  indignation  had 
a  diJferLiit  object.  Since  his  access  to  power  he 
had  done  eveny  thing  for  the  royalists;  he  had  re- 
lieved them  from  ojipression  and  from  exile;  he 
had  restored  them  to  the  raidc  of  frenchmen  and 
citizHUH;  he  had,  as  far  as  he  was  able,  given  back 
to  them  their  property;  and  he  had  done  all  in  spite 
of  the  advice  and  against  the  will  of  his  most  faith- 
ful siipporterM.    To  recall  the  priests  he  had  braved 

prejudices  the  most  ileeply  i ted  of   the  country 

and  tlie  age;  to  recall  the  emigrants  he  had  bravc-d 
the  alarms  of  tht-  numt  suspicious  clxss,  the  ac- 
quirei*H  of  national  pr<iperty.  Finally,  he  had  in- 
vesteil  8evei-.ll  of  tlm  n.yalistH  with  most  iinpor;aiit 
fuiictioim;  he  had  even  commenced  to  place  them 
about  his  pei-Min.  When,  in  fact,  the  state  in 
which  he  foun<l  thciii  on  the  cessation  of  the  reign 
of  the  convention  and  the  directory  was  compared 
with  that  in  whirli  he  had  placed  them,  it  is  im- 
possible t"!  hiii'ler  oneself  from  ackiinwlidgini;,  that 
no  oneever  di<l  more  for  a  party,  that  never  liatl 
a  party  a  inoio  (r.-neivjim  pmtictor,  in  the  sight  of 
impartial  justicv,  and  that  never  had  such  black 
ingratitude  repaid  a  condiiet  so  noble.  The  first 
eniisul  had  gone  ho  far  for  the  royalists  as  to  risk 
Ilia  popularity,  and  what  was  worse,  the  confidence 


of  all  the  men  sincerely  and  honestly  attached  to 
the  revolution;  because  he  had  left  it  to  be  said 
and  credited,  that  he  thought  of  re-establishing 
the  Bourbons.  In  payment  of  these  efi'orts  and 
these  benefits,  the  royalists  had  wished  to  blow  him 
lip  by  metms  of  gunpowder  in  1800  ;  they  wished 
now  to  cut  his  tlii"oat  upon  the  high  road  ;  and 
these  were  the  parties  wlio  accused  him,  in  their 
drawing-rooms,  of  being  the  inventor  of  cou- 
spiiacies,  which  they  had  themselves  formed. 

This  was  the  feeling  which  pr<miptly  filled  his 
ardent  soul,  and  |)roduced  in  ids  mind  a  sudden 
reaction  against  a  i>arty  so  culpable  and  so  full  of 
ingratitude.  Tims  his  anger  did  not  direct  itself 
against  the  re|>ublieans  on  the  present  occasion  : 
without  doubt  he  felt  no  great  vexation  to  see 
Moreau  reduced  to  receive  the  humiliating  benefit 
of  liis  clemency;  but  it  was  upon  the  royalists  that 
ho  determined  to  cast  the  whole  weight  of  his 
anger,  and  he  was  resolved,  as  he  said  himself,  vo 
give  them  no  quarter.  The  revelations  which  en- 
sued added  yet  more  strength  to  this  feeling,  aud 
converted  it  into  a  species  of  passion. 

Whilst  Georges  and  Pichegru  were  sought  with 
the  greatest  care,  new  arrests  were  made,  and 
there  were  obtained  of  Picot  and  of  Bouvet  de 
Lozier  the  most  complete  details,  and  the  gravest 
of  all  whitli  had  been  hitherto  acquired.  These 
men  would  not  have  it  given  out  that  they  were 
assassins,  they  therefore  hastened  to  make  known 
that  they  had  C(mie  to  Paris  in  ctmijiaiiy  of  tltc- 
highest  rank,  that  they  had  with  them  the  greatest 
nobles  of  the  Bourbon  court,  more  especiall}'  M. 
de  Polignac  and  M.de  Riviere;  and  they  pr)sitively 
declared  that  they  wore  to  have  a  prince  at  tlndr 
head.  They  had  expected  him,  they  said,  every 
moment;  they  even  believed  that  this  prince,  so 
much  looked  for,  would  be  one  of  the  last  dis- 
embarkation, or  in  that  announced  for  February. 
It  was  reported  among  the  party  that  it  would  be 
the  duke  de  Berry  '. 

1  Extract  from  the  fourth  declaration  of  Louis  Picot  before 
tlie  pri-fecl  of  police,  2blh  Pluvidae  [I3th  February),  book 
ii.  page  3y8  :— 
Declares—"  I  disembarkfd  with  Georges  between  Dun- 
kirk and  the  town  of  Eu.     I  am  ignorant  whether  there  had 
bei-ii   any  anterior  diseinbaikaiioiis  ;    theie  had   btcn  two 
subsequently.     There  was  a  rni-iition  made  of  a  fourth  dis- 
embarkation, much  more  considerable,  which  was  to  be  c<im- 
po>eil  of  iwenty-five  pcrs'inx;  of  tliis  nninber  was  to  be  the 
duke  de  Berry.     I  am  ignorant  whether  such  a  discmbarka- 
linn  has  taken  place.     I  knew  that  Bouvet  and  one  nanud 
Armand  were  lo  go  in  search  ot  the  prince." 

Extract  from  the  second  intnrngatory  of  Bouvet,  the  30th 
PluriO^e  {Ullh  FeliTiiarij),  book  ii.  page  172. 

Q'letlion. — "  At  whai  period  and  in  what  manner  do  you 
believe  ihnt  Morcau  and  Pichegru  had  concerted  the  pl.in 
that  Georges  was  to  execute  in  France,  and  which  tended  to 
the  re-cslalilishment  of  the  Bourbons? 

Answer.—"  I  believe  that  for  a  long  time  Pichegru  and 
Moreau  had  been  in  coriespondence  ;  and  it  wa.s  only  on  the 
certitiniy  that  Pichegru  had  given  the  prince,  that  Morcau 
would  aid  by  all  the  means  in  his  power  a  movement  in 
France  in  iheir  favour,  that  the  plan  was  indeterminately 
arranged  for  the  reestablislnient  of  the  Bourbons,  by  the 
ciiuiicilM  held  with  Pichegru  ;  a  nioveiiient  in  Paiis,  sustained 
by  the  pre^el)Ce  of  the  prince  ;  an  attack  i)y  main  forcedirccled 
against  the  fir»l  consul;  the  pre»enlation  of  a  prince  to  the 
ariniei  liy  Moreau,  who  beforehand  was  to  have  prepared  alt 
minds  for  the  event." 


524     Anger  ofthefirit  consul.     THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


His  fiieiidly  intentions         1801. 
towards  Mureau.  March. 


The  depiisitions  became  upon  this  point  the  most 
precise,  C'licoriiaiit,  and  cninplete  possible.  The 
plot  now  acquired,  in  the  sight  of  the  first  consul, 
a  fatal  clearness.  He  saw  tlie  count  d'Artois  and 
the  duke  de  Berry,  surrounded  by  eniij^rants, 
adopted  by  Piclie;;ru  on  the  part  of  the  republicans, 
having  at  their  service  a  troop  of  assassins,  pro- 
mising even  to  set  hiniselC  at  iheir  head,  to  kill 
him  in  an  ambuscade,  wliicth  they  styled  a  loyal 
combat  on  an  ecpial  footing.  A  prey  to  a  species 
of  rage,  he  had  now  only  one  desire,  and  tiiat  was 
to  seize  upm  the  prince  that  they  were  sending  to 
I'aris  by  way  of  the  cliff  of  Biviiie.  That  warmth 
of  language  to  which  he  gave  himself  up  at  the 
time  of  the  iid'ernal  machine,  asiainst  the  Jacoiiins, 
was  now  entirely  turned  against  the  princes  and 
nobles  who  could  descend  to  play  such  characters. 
"  The  Bourbons  believe,"  said  he,  "  that  they  siiall 
be  able  to  spill  my  blood  as  they  would  that  of  the 
vilest  animal.  My  blood  is  still  of  more  worth 
than  tlieirs.  I  will  return  to  them  the  terror  with 
which  they  would  fain  inspire  me.  I  pardon 
Moreau  his  weakness,  and  the  allurements  of  a 
stupid  jealousy;  but  I  will  unpityingly  shoot  the 
first  of  these  princes  that  shall  fall  huo  my  hands. 
I  will  teach  them  with  what  kind  of  a  niau  they 
have  to  deal." 

Such  was  the  language  which  he  did  not  cease 
to  hold  during  this  terrible  process.  He  was  som- 
bre, agitated,  menacing,  and  what  was  a  singular 
thing  with  him,  he  worked  much  less.  He  even 
seemed  to  have  forgotten  for  a  moment  Boulogne, 
Brest,  and  the  Texel. 

Without  losiiig  a  moment  he  sent  for  colonel 
Savary,  upon  whose  devotion  to  himself  he  could 
firmly  rely.  Colonel  Savary  was  not  a  wicked  man, 
although  it  has  been  so  said  by  the  common  de- 
tractors of  the  fallen  regime.  He  possessed  a  re- 
markable mind  ;  but  he  bad  lived  among  soldiers, 
had  no  fixed  principles  upon  any  thing,  and  knew 
no  other  rule  than  fidelity  to  a  master  from  whom 
he  had  received  the  greatest  benefits.  He  had 
passed  several  weeks  disguised  in  the  woods  ex- 
posed to  great  dangers.  The  first  consul  ordered 
him  to  disguise  himself  anew,  and  to  go  with  a  de- 
tachment of  the  select  gendarmerie(^ena!«n«es(i'eZJte) 
and  post  himself  at  the  cliff  of  Biville.  These  gen- 
darmes were  to  the  rest  of  the  gendarmerie  what 
the  consular  guard  wiis  to  the  rest  of  the  army,  in 
other  wor<ls,  a  union  of  the  bravest  and  most 
orderly  soldiers  of  their  class.  They  might  safely 
be  charged  with  the  most  difficult  commissions, 
without  the  fear  of  the  least  infidelity.  Sometimes 
under  the  unforeseen  pressure  of  the  service  two  of 
them  have  been  despatched  in  a  post-carriage,  and 
have  carried  with  them  several  millions  in  gold,  to 
the  bottom  of  the  Calabrias,  or  the  extreme  of 
Britany,  without  one  of  them  ever  having  been 
known  to  betray  his  trust.  They  were  not  there- 
fore mere  tools  as  some  have  pretended,  but  sol- 
diers wlio  obeyed  their  officers  with  rigorous  exact- 
ness, a  formidable  exactness  it  is  true,  when  under 
an  arbitrary  government  and  with  the  laws  of  that 
day.  Colonel  Savary  was  to  take  with  him  fifty 
men,  to  clothe  them  in  disguise,  arm  them  well, 
and  conduct  them  to  the  cliff  of  Biville.  None  of 
the  deponents  doubted  the  presence  of  a  prince  in 
the  party  whicii  was  about  to  be  disembarked. 
They  only  varied  upon  one  point,  their  ignorance 


as  to  whether  it  was  to  be  the  duke  de  Berry  or 
tlie  count  d'.Artois.  Colonel  S:ivary  had  orders  to 
pass  (lay  and  night  on  the  sunmiit  of  the  cliif,  to 
await  the  disembarkation,  seize  all  that  composed 
the  party,  and  transport  them  to  Paris.  The  reso- 
lution of  the  first  consul  was  taken;  he  was  decided 
to  Send  bef\)re  a  military  commission,  and  to  have 
immediately  shot  the  prince  who  might  fall  into 
his  hands.  A  lamentable  and  terrible  resolution, 
of  which  the  fearful  consequences  will  soon  be 
seen. 

Whilst  he  gave  these   orders  the   first  consul 
showed  very  different  sentiments  towards  Moreau. 
He  was  at  his  feet,  compromised,  ruined  in  con- 
sideration; lie  was  willing  to  treat  him  with  unli- 
mited generosity.     He  s.iid  to  the  grand  judge  on 
the  day  of  his  arrest,  it  is  necessary  tliat  all  which 
concerns  the  republicans  should  terminate  between 
Moreau  and  myself.     Go,  interrogate  him  in  pri- 
son: bring  him  in  your  carriage  to  the  Tuileries; 
that  he  may  make  up  all  matters  with  me,  and  I 
will  forget  all  the  estrangements   produced   by  a 
jealousy  that  was  more  the  work  of  those  who  sur- 
rounded him  than  his  own.  Uidiappily  it  was  much 
easier  for   the  first   consul    to    forgive,   than   for 
Moreau  to  accept  his  forgiveness.     To  avow  all, 
that  is,  as  much  as  to  say,  he  must  fling  iiiniself  on 
his  knees  before  the  first  consul,  this  was  an  act  of 
abasement,  which  it  was  not  very  possible  to  ex- 
pect of  a  man,  whose  ti'anquil  spirit  little  elevated 
was,  on  the  other  hand,  little  able  to  humble  it- 
self.    M.  Fouciie',  if  he  had  been  then  minister  of 
police,  would  have  had  the  charge  of  seeing  Mo- 
reau.    He  was  the  most  capable  man,  by  his  fami- 
liar insinuating  manner,  of  introducing  himself  to 
the  avenues  of  a  mind  closed  by  jiride  and  misfor- 
tune, to  set  that  pride  at  ease,  in  saying  to  him 
with  an  indulgent  feeling  for  which  he  ahme  knew 
how  to  find  the  language: — "  You  have  desired  to 
overthrow  the  first  consul,  but  you  have  succumbed. 
You  are  his  prisoner.     He  knows  all ;  he  pardons 
you,  and  will  give  you  back  your  situation.  Accept 
his  good  will;  be  not  the  dupe  of  a  false  dignity,  in 
refusing  a  grace  unlooked  for,  which  will  replace 
you  where  you  stood  before,  and  as  if  you  had  not 
played  with  your  existence  in  a  conspiracy."     In 
place  of  such  a  man  as  M.  Fouche,  an  intermediate 
agent,  little  scrupulous  but  able,  there  was  sent  to 
Moreau  an  honest,  good  kind  of  man,  who  attacked 
the  illustrious  accused  with  all  the  formality  of  his 
office,  and  thus  defeated  the  intention  of  the  first 
consul.    The  grand  judge  Regnier  went  to  the  i)ri- 
son  in  his  robe,  accompanied  by  Locre,  the  secre- 
tary of  the  council  of  state.     He  made    Moreau 
appear  before  him,  and  interrogated  him  at  length 
with    a   cold   aspect.     During   the   day,    Lajolais 
arrested  had  told  nearly  every  thing  which  con- 
cerned the  relations  between   Pichegru  and  Mo- 
reau.    He  avowed  his  having  served  as  the  inter- 
mediate  agent   to    bring    Pichegru    and    Moreau 
together;  that  he  had   gone  to  London  to  bring 
over  Pichegru  ;  had  placed  them  in  contact ;  all 
with  the  intention,  he  said,  to  obtain  the  recall  of 
the  one  through  the  solicitations  of  the  other.    La- 
jolais concealed  only  his  connexion  with  Georges, 
which  once  avowed,  would  have  rendered  his  story 
inadmissible.     But  this  unhappy  man  was  ignorant 
that  the  relations  between  Pichegru  and  Moreau, 
and  that  with  the  emigrant  princes,  was  stated  in 


Interrogation  of  Moreau.       THE  CONSPIRACY   OF  GEORGES. 


a  manner  not  to  be  doubted  by  otlier  depositions; 
t))U3  to  give  only  the  secret  of  tlie  iiilerviews  of 
Moreau  with  Piehegni  was  to  establisli  a  fatal 
connexion  between  Moreau,  Georges,  and  tlie 
emigrant  princes.  Tlie  depositions  of  L.ijolais 
were  therefore  sufficient  to  place  in  evidence  the 
guilt  of  Moreau. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  enlighten 
Moreau  in  a  friemlly  way  in  the  progress  of  the 
instructions  in  order  to  prevent  liis  ex|)0.sing 
himself  by  speaking  useless  untruths.  It  must 
bring  him  to  stite  every  thing  correctly  when  it 
was  proved  to  him  that  all  was  known.  If  then 
they  had  jichled  the  tone  and  language  which 
invited  confidence,  perhaps  a  nioini  nt  of  renunci- 
ation of  bis  proud  feeling  might  have  occurred,  and 
the  unfortunate  general  liave  been  saved.  In 
place  of  thns  acting,  the  grand  judge  interrogated 
Moreau  on  his  relations  with  Lajolais,  Georges, 
and  Fichegru,  and  on  each  of  the.se  points  suffered 
him  always  to  say  that  he  knew  nothing,  that  he 
had  not  seen  any  one,  that  he  was  ignorant  why 
they  addressed  all  these  questions  to  him,  and 
never  hinted  to  liim  that  he  iiad  thus  engaged 
himself  in  a  labyrinth  of  useless  and  iiijurions 
denials  which  tend.d  to  compromise  him.  This 
interview  with  the  grand  judge  had  not  therefore 
the  result  which  the  first  consul  exi)ected  from  it, 
and  which  had  rendered  possible  an  act  of  clemency 
as  noble  as  it  wouM  have  been  useful. 

M.  Regiiier  returned  to  the  Tnileries  to  report 
the  result  of  the  interrogation  of  M.ireau.  "  Very 
well,"  said  the  fii-st  consul;  "when  he  will  noto()eu 
himself  to  me,  he  must  ex[)laiu  himself  in  a  court 
of  justice." 

The  firsst  consul  then  followed  up  the  business 
with  the  utmost  rigour,  and  displayed  extreme 
activity  in  trying  to  arrest  the  guilty  parlies.  He 
thought  it,  above  all,  necessary  to  save  the  honour 
of  his  government,  very  seriously  compromised  if 
it  could  not  furnish  a  proof  of  ilie  reality  of  the 
plo  by  the  ilouble  arrefat  of  Georgea  and  Fichegru. 
Without  these  arrests,  he  slinuid  )iass  for  a  low 
envious  person,  who  had  wished  to  commit  and  to 
ruin  the  second  general  in  the  republic.  Every 
day  new  acc<impiices  of  the  conspii-acy  were  taken, 
wliicli  left  no  doubt  about  the  entire  existence 
aii<l  the  details  of  the  plan,  particularly  the  res... 
lutioii  to  attack  the  carriage  of  tlie  first  consul 
between  .St.  Cloud  and  Paris,  in  the  presence  of  a 
young  prince,  at  the  head  of  the  conspirators  ; 
the  arrival  of  Pichegru  to  concert  with  Moreau  ; 
the  difference  id'  views,  the  delay  which  had  fol- 
lowed these  differences,  anil  which  had  brought 
about  the  deslruetion  of  them  all.  All  llie.se  (acts 
then  were  known,  but  as  yet  not  «)ne  of  the  Cliiifs 
had  been  taken,  whose  presence  thus  |)roved,  might 
have  convinced  the  most  incredulous  ;  they  hail 
not  taken  the  prince,  so  much  expected,  of  whom 
the  first  coii->ul,  in  his  anger,  would  make  such 
a  sanguinary  sacrifice.  Colonel  Savary,  placed  at 
the  cliff  of  Biville,  wrote  that  he  had  seen  every 
thing,  verified  all  upon  llicHpot.andstated  iheperlect 
exactness  of  the  reveUtioim  obtained  as  far  as  the 
mode  of  iliHi.-mbarUalion  was  cocieeiiied,  in  regard 
to  the  mysterious  road  beatiil  between  Uiviile 
and  Paris,  and  as  to  the  cxmiencu  of  the  small 
vcsstd  which  every  night  ran  its  bioadsido  along 
tlie  coast,  and  seemed  always  desiring  to  approach 


without  ever  doing  so.  There  was  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  the  signals  agreed  upon  between  the  con- 
spirators were  not  made  from  the  summit  of  the 
cliff,  because  they  had  never  observed  them  ;  or 
perhaps  notice  had  been  sent  from  Paris  to  Lon- 
don, and  the  new  disembarkation  had  been  coun- 
termanded, or  at  least  susjiended.  Colonel  Savary 
had  orders  to  remain  and  wait  with  unrelaxiiig 
patience. 

They  traced  every  day  in  Paris  the  track  of 
Pichegru  or  of  Georges.  They  had  failed  to 
arrest  them,  but  each  time  they  had  onl>  wanted 
a  moment  for  so  doing.  The  first  consul,  who 
never  troubled  himself  about  the  means,  resolved 
to  ju-esent  a  law,  the  character  of  which  will  prove 
what  idea  people  had,  on  coining  out  of  the  revo- 
lution, of  the  security  of  the  citizen  so  res|)ected 
in  the  ))reseiit  time.  There  was  proposed  to  the 
legislative  body  a  law,  by  which  every  indivi- 
dual who  concealed  Georges,  Pichegru,  or  any 
of  their  sixty  accomplices,  of  whom  descriptions 
were  given,  should  lie  punished,  not  with  the 
])rison,  nor  with  irons,  but  with  death  !  Whoever, 
liaving  seen  them,  or  having  known  their  retreat, 
and  did  not  denounce  them,  was  to  be  punished 
with  six  years  in  irons.  This  formidable  law,  that 
ordained  a  barliarous  act,  under  the  jKiin  of  death, 
was  adopted  the  same  day  it  was  presented  without 
any  remonstrance. 

Scarcely  was  this  law  passed,  but  it  was  followed 
by  the  most  rigorous  precautions.  It  might  be 
feared  that  the  conspirators,  followed  up  in  such  a 
way,  would  only  dream  of  taking  fii;;lit.  Paris 
was,  therefore,  closed.  Any  body  might  enter, 
but  no  one  had  permission  to  go  out  for  a  curtain 
numlier  of  days.  In  order  to  secure  the  execution 
of  this  measure,  the  foot  guard  was  placed  in  de- 
tachments at  all  the  gates  of  the  capital  ;  the 
horse  guard  made  constant  ])atrols  all  along  the 
wall  of  the  Octroi,  with  an  order  to  arrest  whoso- 
ever might  pass  over  the  wall,  and  to  fire  upon 
whomsoever  attempted  to  fly.  Lastly,  the  sailors 
of  the  guard  were  distributed  in  the  boats  stationed 
upon  the  Seine,  day  ami  night.  The  government 
couriers  had  alone  the  right  to  go  out,  alter  having 
been  searched  and  recognised  in  such  a  manner 
that  they  coold  in  no  way  deceive. 

For  the  moment  they  seemed  to  have  returned 
again  to  the  worst  times  of  the  revolution.  A 
sjiecies  of  terror  reigned  all  over  i'aiis.  The 
enemies  of  the  first  consul  cruelly  abused  him,  and 
said  of  him  all  that  had  been  iormerly  said  of  the 
old  Committee  of  ]iublic  safely.  Directing  the 
police  himself,  he  was  informed  of  all  these  dis- 
courses, and  ills  exasperation  increasing  without 
eessatioii,  rendered  him  capable' of  the  iiK.st  violent 
acts.  He  was  sombre,  liar.sh,  and  spared  nobody. 
Since  the  recent  occurrences  ho  did  not  dissimu- 
late any  more  his  ill  humour  against  M.  Markoff, 
and  present  circumstances  made  this  humour 
break  lorili  in  a  very  vexatious  iiianner.  Aimnig 
the  persons  arrested  was  a  Swiss,  attached  under 
some  title  to  the  embassy  of  llussia,  a  true  in- 
trigner,  that  it  was  little  seemly  for  a  foreign 
leiialinii  to  take  into  its  service.  To  this  impro- 
priety, M.  de  Markoff  added  the  iiiisiiilableiiess, 
still  greater,  of  reclaiming  him.  The  first  consul 
gave  an  order  not  to  restore  him,  l)ni.  to  keep  him 
more   strictly    than    Im  lore,  and    to   let   M.  Markoff 


.526  Conduct  of  Georges 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Generous  act  of  M.  Mar-       1804. 
bois  to  Pichrgru.  March. 


feel  all  ihe  unseeniliiiess  of  liis  CMiulucf.  On  this 
ofc-asioi)  he  was  struck  with  two  i-ircumstanL-es,  of 
which  uiiiil  then  lie  liai!  taken  no  nute,  it  was  that 
M.  d'Entraigues,  fnrnierly  a^ent  of  the  emigrant 
princes,  was  at  Diesdcn  with  a  diplomatic  coni- 
niissiiiM  from  the  emperor  of  Russia  ;  that  an 
inilividual  named  Veriiejiues,  another  emigrant 
attached  to  tiie  B 'urbons,  sent  by  them  to  the 
court  of  Naples,  was  at  Rome,  and  took  thei'e  the 
ciiaracter  of  a  Russian  .subject.  The  first  consul 
dem;iiide<l  from  the  court  of  Saxony,  that  M. 
d'E  itrai;;ues  shuuld  be  sent  away,  and  of  the  court 
of  Rome  the  immediate  arrrst  and  interdiction  of 
the  emigrant  Vernegues,  and  he  demanded  these 
rigorous  acts  in  a  pen  niptory  manner,  so  as  to 
leave  s.arcely  the  possibility  of  answering  by  a 
refusal.     At  the  ^rst  diplomatic  reception,  he  put 

to  a   rough  pi f   the  surliness  of   M.  de  iMarUoff, 

as  he  had  a  little  while  before  the  .staleline.ss  of  lord 
vViiitworih.  He  tdd  him  that  he  found  it  very 
strange,  that  ambassadors  bad  in  their  service  men 
who  conspired  again -t  the  government,  and  yet 
dared  to  nclaini  theni.  "  Is  it  that  Russia," 
added  he,  "believes  that  she  Imssuch  a  superiority 
over  lis  that  she  may  permit  herself  similar  jiro- 
ceediugs  ?  Is  it  that  she  believes  we  have  taken 
to  the  distaff  to  such  an  exient  as  to.  support 
these  things  I  Sue  is  deceived  ;  I  shall  not  suffer 
any  thing  unbecoming  from  any  prince  upon 
earth." 

Ten  years  before,  the  benevolent  revohition  of 
17'{9  had  become  the  sanguinary  revolution  of 
179.i,  by  the  continual  pr  iVncation  of  angry  ene- 
niits.  An  effect  of  the  same  kind  was  produced 
at  this  moment  in  the  boiling  soul  i>f  Napoleon. 
These  same  enemies  comported  themselves  with 
Napoleon  as  they  comixirted  themselves  with  the 
revolution,  making  turn  fi'om  good  to  evil,  modera- 
tion to  vi<plence,  the  man  who  until  that  day  li.id  been 
a  sage  at  the  head  of  the  stat-.  The  myalists  that 
he  had  delivered  from  oppression,  Europe  that  he 
had  attempted  to  vantjui'^h  liy  his  moderation, 
sifter  he  had  cimquered  it  with  his  sword,  all  whith 
he  had,  in  a  word,  the  most  thoughtfuliy  treated, 
he  was  now  disposed  to  ill-treat  in  wor<ls  and  acts. 
It  was  a  temp-^st  excited  in  a  great  soul  by  tlie  in- 
gratitude of  parties,  and  the  imprudent  malevolence 
of  Europe. 

Profound  anxiety  reigneil  in  Paris.  The  terrible 
law  against  those  wlio  concealed  Georges,  Picliegru, 
and  their  accomplices,  had  not  stimulated  a  single 
person  to  the  base  resolution  of  dilivt-ring  them 
up;  Init,  on  the  other  hand,  no  one  would  afford 
them  an  asylum.  These  miserable  persons,  who 
were  left  disunited  and  disconcerted  by  their  dif- 
ferences, wAudered  in  the  night  fron'i  house  to 
house,  paying  sometimes  six  or  eight  thousand 
francs  for  a  refuge  which  coulil  only  be  granted  to 
them  for  a  tew  hours  ;  I'ichegi'u,  M.  de  Riviere, 
and  Georges,  living  in  the  most  fearful  anxiety. 
The  last  supported  his  situation  with  courage, 
habituated  as  he  had  been  to  the  a<lventiiii-s  of  a 
civil  war.  B  -sides  that,  he  did  not  feel  himself 
abased  ;  he  had  around  him  eifually  compromised 
all  that  he  heUl  as  most  worthy  and  noble,  ami  he 
only  thought  of  getting  himself  fortunately  out  of 
that  bad  position,  as  he  had  out  of  so  many  former 
ones,  by  his  own  intelligence  and  courage.  But 
the  members  of  the  French  nobility,  who  h;id  be- 


lieved that  France,  or  all  at  least  of  their  party, 
would  ojien  their  arms  to  them,  but  had  met  them 
with  nothing  but  coldness,  embarrassment,  or  cen- 
sure, were  disconsolate  at  their  enterprise.  Tiiey  now 
felt  keenly  the  odious  character  of  a  project  which 
no  longer  presented  itself  under  the  deceiving 
colours  that  the  hope  of  success  lends  to  every 
thing.  They  filt  the  indignity  of  the  relations  to 
whicli  they  had  condemned  themselves,  by  being 
introduced  into  France  with  ii  troop  of  Chouans. 
Piehegru,  who  to  his  deplorable  vices  joined  the 
qualities  of  coolness,  prudence,  and  <lee|)  penetra- 
tion— Piehegru  well  saw  that  in  place  of  lifting 
him.self  up  after  his  first  fall,  he  had  now  dropped 
into  the  bottom  of  an  ab^ss.  A  first  fault  com- 
mitted .some  years  before,  that  of  being  in  culpable 
relations  with  the  Condes,  had  made  him  become 
a  traitor,  then  be  proscribed.  Now  he  was  to  be 
found  among  the  accomplices  of  an  ambush  assas- 
sination. This  lime  no  turtber  glory  renuiined  for 
the  conqueror  of  Mollaml!  In  learning  the  arrest 
of  Moreau,  he  guessed  the  lot  that  awaited  himself, 
and  felt  that  lie  was  lost.  The  fainiliarity  of  the 
Cliouans  was  odious  to  him.  He  comforted  him- 
self in  the  society  of  M.  de  Riviere,  whom  he 
found  more  sensible,  timre  wise,  than  the  other 
frienils  of  count  d'Artois  sent  to  Paris.  One  even- 
ing, reduced  to  the  brink  of  des|)air,  he  seized  a 
pistid,  and  was  going  to  blow  out  his  brains,  when 
he  was  hindered  by  M.  de  Riviere  himself.  Another 
time,  deprived  of  a  night's  lodging,  an  impulse 
which  <lid  him  honour  came  upon  him,  and 
hoiKiured  more  ])ai'ticul..rly  the  man  to  whom  lie 
had  recourse  at  such  a  nioiiunt.  Among  the  mi- 
nisters of  the  first  consul  who  was  jn'oscribed  on 
the  18lIi  Fructidor,  was  M.  de  Marbois.  Piehegru 
did  not  hesitate  one  night  to  knock  at  his  door  and 
exhibit  a  jn-oscribe<l  one  of  Sinnamari,  who  asked 
at  the  door  of  another  of  the  proscribeil,  a  minister 
of  the  first  consul,  to  violate  the  law  of  his  master. 
M.  de  Marbois  received  him  with  deep  sorrow,  but 
without  uiieiisiness  for  himself.  The  honour  done 
him  ill  calculating  upon  his  generosity,  he  in  turn 
did  to  the  first  consul,  not  doubting  his  appro- 
liation.  It  is  a  consoling  spectacle,  amid  these  sad 
scenes,  to  see  these  three  men,  so  diverse,  count 
one  upon  the  other  in  this  way;  Piehegru  upon  M. 
de  Marboi.s,  M.  de  Marbois  on  the  first  consul. 
Afterwards,  when  M.  de  Marbois  avowed  what  he 
had  done  to  the  first  consul,  the  hist  answered  him 
ill  a  letter  which  contained  a  noble  approbation  of 
his  generous  conduct. 

But  such  a  situation  must  have  an  approaching 
end.  All  officer  who  had  been  attached  to  Piehe- 
gru betrayed  his  secret  and  delivered  it  to  the 
police.  During  the  night,  while  the  general  slept, 
surrounded  with  iirms,  from  which  he  was  never 
separated,  and  with  b<'oks  in  winch  he  constantly 
read,  the  lamp  being  extinguished,  a  iletachment  of 
(/enrlarmerie  d'c/ite  entered  his  retreat  to  take  him. 
Wakened  by  the  noise,  he  would  have  .seized  his 
iirins,  but  he  had  not  time  ;  he  defended  himself 
for  some  moments  with  great  vigour.  Soon  van- 
quished, he  yielded,  and  was  carried  to  the  Temple, 
where  he  finished  in  an  unhappy  manner  a  life 
formerly  .so  brilliant. 

Scarcely  was  he  arrested,  than  M.  Armand  de 
Polignac,  a'ter  him  M.  Jules  de  Polignac,  and, 
lastly,  M.  de  Riviere,  pursued  without  ceasing,  but 


1804. 
I   llaick 


Arrests  rf  MM.  Armaiid 
^e  Polimiiic.  Jiilrs  de 
Puligiiac,  and  Riviere. 


THE  CONSPIRACY  OF  GEORGES. 


Capture  of  Georpes, 
and  b<&  avuwal  of  527 

the  plot. 


I  not  denounced,  for  they  were  seen  when  changing 
their  asvhiiii,  were  tnken  in  thiir  turn.  TliesL- 
I  anvsts  luiiilucfil  ii  dee|>  and  general  ettect  upon 
I  the  iml'lii-  mind.  Tlie  n>:iss  of  honest  men  who  ilid 
not  indulm'  in  party  spirit,  were  convinced  about 
the  naiiiy  <>t  tht-  pl.t  Tiie  piescnie  of  l'iiliej;ru, 
I  and  of  the  ju  rs<  nal  friends  of  count  d'Artojs,  no 
'  longer  Irft  any  doubt  of  the  matter.  They  had 
not  apparently  been  brouj;ht  into  France  by 
tlie  police,  in  ordt  r  to  enscaH'old  '  a  ylot.  Tiie 
gi-avi'v  of  tin-  dangei-s  wliich  llie  first  consul  had 
run,  and  still  ran,  was  entirely  revealed,  and  nuire 
strongly  than  tvcr  did  the  interest  appear  that  was 
inspired  by  a  life  s.)  pnci"us.  It  was  no  longer 
the  envi.ius  rival  of  Moivau  that  had  desired  to 
ruin  that  general,  it  was  the  saviour  of  Fiance 
exposed  to  the  incessant  machinations  of  parties. 
Siill  the  malevolent  spirits,  although  a  little  dis- 
concerted. Were  not  silent.  To  listen  to  theni,  the 
Polignacs  and  M.  de  Riviere,  were  iniprndenl  per- 
sons, incapable  of  leniaining  in  rep.se,  continually 
agitating  with  the  count  d'.-Vrlois,  and  only  come  to 
see  if  ciremo^tances  were  favourable  to  their  parly. 
But  tlnre  had  ii.'t  been  any  serious  pint,  ni>r  me- 
nacing dan:;er,  <  f  a  nature  to  justify  the  interest 
which  it  was  attempted  to  inspire  for  the  person  of 
the  first  consul. 

It  was  necessary,  in  order  to  close  tlie  mouths 
of  these  praiilers,  and  to  conlound  tliem,  that  there 
should  be  another  arr>  st,  that  of  Georges.  'I'lien 
it  would  not  be  very  possible  to  say,  in  finding  the 
Polignacs,  de  Riviere,  I'iciiegni,  and  Geor;;es  in 
Paris,  that  they  were  thertj  only  as  siin])le  ob- 
servers. This  last  proof  was  to  be  soon  obtained, 
owing  to  the  terrible  means  employed  by  the  go- 
vernment. 

Georges,  trackeil  by  a  multitude  of  agents  of  the 
police,  obligcil  to  change  his  lodgings  every  day, 
unable  to  leave  I'aris,  which  was  guarded  by 
land  and  water,  could  not  finish  but  by  succumb- 
ing. 'J'hey  were  upon  his  track  ;  but  it  is  just  to 
acknowledge  h)r  the  honour  of  that  day,  that  im 
one  would  bring  themselves  to  give  him  up,  al- 
though thiie  Wiis  a  general  wish  for  his  arrest. 
ThoH<.'  »lio  ha/ai<le<l  themselves  by  recei\ing  him, 
would  only  conceal  him  (or  a  single  day.  It  was 
necessary  iliat  every  evining  he  should  clianije  his 
r-  fuge  On  the  JJlli  of  March,  just  at  the  coming 
on  of  ni;;ht,  seviral  officers  of  the  peace  surrounded 
a  house,  become  suspected  by  the  comings  and 
goings  of  indiv  idiials  oi  a  bad  a]ipearaiice.  Gc  orges, 
who  had  occupied  it,  attempted  to  go  out,  in  orih  r 
to  seek  an  HHycuiii  elsewhere.  He  left  ab.iit  seven 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  ui'  uiiteil,  near  the 
Pantheon,  a  c;ibri  1<  t.  conducted  by  a  coiifideiiiial 
Bcrvani,  a  deierniim  d  young  Clionan.  'I'lie  peace 
offic-rt  followed  the  cabii.lel,  which  went  at  a 
breallilesH  rule  as  far  as  the  croHsway  of  llu^sy. 
Gcniges  eiiireated   his   companion    to   imnd    their 

pace,  wlie le  of  the  aiients  of  jc  lice,  who  arrived 

first,  sjiraiig  at  llic?  bridle  of  the  liin'se.  Georges, 
with  a  pisiol'slioi,  liiid  him  diad  at  his  feel,  lie 
tlien  sprang  from  ihe  cabriole  t  lo  lake  to  his  beds, 
and  fired  u  second  pistol  at  another  agent  of  the 
police,  whom  he  grievously  wounded,  lint,  sur- 
rounded \>\  the  people,  he  was  stopped  in  spite  of 
hid  eti'urts,  and  handed  over  tu  the  utticers  that 

I   Kcli.-ifaudcr. 


came  up  in  all  haste.  He  was  imnietliately  recog- 
nized as  the  redoubtable  Georges,  who  had  been 
sought  lor  so  long  a  time,  and  was  at  last  secured. 
The  news  producid  a  general  joy  throughout  Paris. 
People  had  lived  in  a  sort  oi  apprehension,  from 
wliicli  they  were  now  relieved.  With  Georges 
was  arrested  the  servant  that  accompanied  him, 
who  had  scarcely  found  time  to  get  away  more 
than  a  lew  paces  from  ihe  spot. 

Georges  was  cindiicted  to  the  prefecture  of 
police.  The  first  enioti.  n  having  subsided,  the 
chief  of  the  conspirators  became  perfectly  calm. 
He  was  young  and  vigorous  ;  his  shoulders  were 
large,  his  countenance  full,  more  open  and  serene 
than  .sombre  and  vicious  in  e.\pressii>n,  or  than  bis 
previous  character  would  have  led  the  s)icctalor  to 
believe.  He  carried  alioui  pistols,  a  poignaril,  and 
si.xiy  thousand  francs,  in  gold  and  bank  notes. 
Being  immediately  inierrogated,  he  avowtd  his 
name  without  hesiiatieli.  as  well  as  his  motive  for 
being  in  Paris.  He  had  come,  he  said,  to  attack 
the  first  consul,  not  by  inir.ducing  himself  with 
four  assassins  into  his  palace,  Imt  in  an  open 
attack  in  the  plain  country,  in  the  midst  of  his 
consular  guard.  He  was  lo  act  in  company  with  a 
French  prince,  who  pri.posed  to  come  into  France, 
but  who  had  not  yet  arrived.  Georges  was  proud 
ot  the  natui'c,  entirely  new,  of  the  plot,  which  he 
took  great  care  to  disiinguish  from  an  assassina- 
tion. 'Nevertheless,"  it  was  remarked  to  him, 
"you  sent  St.  Hejaiit  to  Paris  to  prepare  the 
infernal  machine."  "1  <iid  send  him,"  "replied 
Georges,  "  but  I  did  not  prescribe  to  liim  the 
n.eans  by  which  he  was  to  serve  his  purpose." 
A  bad  justification,  which  proves  too  clearly  that 
Georges  was  not  a  sli auger  to  that  horrilde 
atteni|it.  In  other  respects,  and  about  what  con- 
cerned any  body  else  this  bold  conspirator  kept 
an  obstinate  silence,  repeating  that  there  were 
eiiougli  victimt;,  and  that  he  did  not  desire  to  aug- 
ment the  number '. 

'  Extract  from  Ihe  first  interrogatory  of  Georges  by  the  pre- 
fect of  police,  18/A  Vmitose  (Uc/  March),  book  ii.  page  79. 

"  We,  couiicilliir  of  state,  prelect  of  police,  have  made 
Cenrpies  Cailoudal  appear  b'.-fore  us,  and  liave  iuterrogated 
llini  as  lollows  : — 

••  Q.   What  did  you  come  to  do  in  France? 

"  A.  I  came  10  attack  tlie  first  con-siil. 

'Q.  What  were  jour  means  Or  afackinj;  the  first  consult 

"  //    I  had  ac  yet  liui  l'e«  ;  I  reckoned  upon  unitiiid  tht-m. 

"Q.  or  what  nature  were  yuur  means  of  attack  against 
Ihe  lirst  cuiikuI  ? 

■•  A.  Jly  means  of  an  active  force. 

'"  Q.  Had  yiiii  many  pei»onH  uiih  you? 

"A.  No;  bicanse  I  shnuld  not  attack  the  first  consul 
until  ihere  would  be  a  French  prince  of  the  blood  in  Paris, 
and  he  had  nut  yet  arrived. 

•'  Q.  At  the  time  of  the  3rd  Niv6se  you  wrote  to  St.  R6- 
jant.  and  you  reproached  him  w  ilh  the  slowness  lie  exhibited 
ill  exeiutini;  your  orders  against  ihe  first  consul? 

"//.  I  did  write  to  St.  lUjiiii  lo  unite  means  at  Paris, 
but  1  never  told  him  lo  cuminit  the  affair  of  the  3rd  Nivose." 

Extract  from  Ihe  spc<<vd  inl^rrognlnry  of  Georgrt  Cadoudal, 
18/A  feiilCsc  ('JIh  Ma^ch],  book  ii.  page  83. 

"  Q.  Ifdw  long  liave  you  In 

"  A    About  live  munihs  ;  1 
days  tn);eiher. 

'•  (I    Where  have  you  lodged  ? 

'•A.  1  had  rather  not  tell.  ["  0.  What 


n  Paris  ? 

r  nut  remained  there  fifteen 


Examination  of 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


the  conspirators. 


After  the  arrest  of  Georges,  nnd  his  declnrations, 
the  plot  was  proved,  and  tlie  first  consul  justified  ; 
it  could  now  be  said  no  more  tiiat,  as  had  been 
repeated  for  a  month,  the  police  invented  the  con- 
spiracies they  pretended  to  discover  ;  they  ha<l 
nothinir  else  left  them  to  do,  but  to  cast  down  their 
eyes,  if  they  were  of  the  royalist  party,  at  seeing  a 
French  prince  promise  to  enter  France  witli  a 
band  of  Cliouans,  to  give  a  nick-named  battle  n])on 
a  highway.  There  remained,  it  is  irue,  the  excuse 
of  saying  that  he  did  not  intend  to  come.  It  is 
possible,  and  even  probable,  he  did  not,  but  it 
would  liave  been  better  worth  to  have  kept  his 
word,  than  vainly  promise  it  to  the  unhappy  jjcisons 
who  staked  their  heads  upon  his  assurances.  It 
was  not  only  Geoi-ges,  on  tlie  otlier  hand,  that 
announced  ihe  speedy  arrival  of  a  prince,  but 
the  friends  of  count  d'Artois.  M.  de  Riviere  and 
the  Polignacs  held  the  same  language.  They 
confessed  the  most  important  i)art  of  the  plan. 
They  repelled  utterly  the  idea  of  participating  in 
a  deed  of  assassination  ;  but  they  avowed  they 
had  come  into  France  for  something  wiiiih  was 
never  defined;  for  a  species  of  movement,  at  the 
head  of  which  a  French  prince  would  figure. 
Th  y  had  done  nothing  but  advance,  in  the  first 
instance,  to  assure  themselves  with  their  own 
eyes,  whether  what  was  about  to  be  done  was 
really   useful    and    convenient   to    the    purpose  ^. 

"  Q.  What  is  the  motive  which  brought  you  to  Paris  ? 

"A.  I  came  with  the  intention  of  atiacking  the  first 
consul. 

'•  Q.  Wliat  were  your  means  of  attack  ? 

"A.  The  aitack  would  be  made  with  open  force. 

"  Q.  Where  did  you  expect  to  find  that  force? 

"A.  'I  liroufjliout  all  Fiance. 

"  Q.  Is  there.  tliPii,  tliroughont  all  France  an  organized 
force  at  your  cispo-ition  and  that  of  your  accomplices  ? 

'•A.  It  is  iKii  of  ^ucli  a  force  as  that  of  which  1  would  be 
iniderst'iixl  lo  have  spoken. 

"  Q.  Wliat,  th.-n,  must  be  understood  of  the  force  of 
which  you  spoke? 

"A.  Afdice  united  in  Paris.  This  united  force  is  not 
yet  organized  ;  it  mijiht  have  been  as  soon  as  the  attack  had 
been  delinitivi-ly  resolved  upon. 

"  Q    What  was  your  object  and  that  of  your  accomplices  ? 

"A.  To  place  a  Bourbon  in  the  situation  of  the  first 
consul. 

"  Q.  Who  was  the  Bourhon  designated? 

"A.  Charles  Xavier  Stanislaus,  formerly  Monsieur,  ac- 
knowle  l-ed  by  us  as  Louis  XVIII. 

"  Q.  What  character  should  you  have  borne  in  the  attack  ? 

"A.  That  which  one  <.f  the  former  French  princes,  who 
should  ■■'one  to  Paris,  should  assi;;n  lo  me. 

"  O.  The  plan  has  then  been  devised  and  was  to  be  exe- 
cuted in  accord  -^ith  the  former  French  i)riiices? 

"A.  Yi-s,  citizen  jndge. 

"  Q.  You  have  conlerred,  then,  with  the  former  princes  in 
England  ! 

"A.   Yes,  citizen. 

"  Q    Who  was  to  furnish  the  funds  and  arm«? 

"  A  ]  have  for  a  long  time  nast  had  the  funds  at  my  dis- 
position ;  I  have  not  yet  had  the  arms  " 

»  Extract  fri-m  theJirH  MermgaHirii  of  M.  de  Rivihe,  by  Ihe 
count  il,i,r  of  ila  e,   lieiil,   on  lite  I6//1  renlfise  (7/A  (// 
Manh),  hook  ii.  page  259. 
"Q.  How  long  have  you  l)een  in  Paris? 
"  //.  AhcMH  a  nionlh. 

"  Q    By  wh  .1  way  did  you  come  from  L<mdon  to  France? 
"  A.  By  the  coast   of   Normandy,  in  an  English  vessel, 
under  captain  Wri};ht,  as  I  believe. 


As    Georges    did,   these   individuals   endeavoured 
to   excuse   themselves    for    being   found    in    such 

"  Q.  How  many  passengers  were  there,  and  who  were  the 
passengers? 

"A.  I  do  not  know. 

"  Q.  You  know  that  the  ex-generals  Piohegru  and  La- 
jolai>  made  a  part  of  the  passengers,  as  well  as  M.  Jules  de 
Polignac? 

"  A.  That  does  not  relate  to  myself,  I  am  ignorant  of  it. 

"  Q.  Arrived  on  the  coast  where  you  disembarked,  by 
what  way  did  you  reach  Paris  ? 

"A  Sometimes  on  foot,  sometimes  on  horseback,  by  the 
road  of  Rouen,  which  I  had  reached. 

"  Q  What  were  your  motives  for  the  journey,  and  your 
visit  to  this  city? 

"A.  To  assure  myself  of  the  real  situation  of  things,  and 
of  the  |)olitical  and  interior  state  of  the  country,  in  order  to 
communicate  it  to  the  princes,  who  would  be  able  to  judge 
after  my  observations,  if  it  was  for  their  interest  to  come 
into  France  or  to  remain  in  England.  I  must  slill  say  that 
I  had  no  particular  mission  from  them  at  the  moment ;  but 
the  having  often  served  them  with  zeal. 

"  Q.  What  has  been  the  result  of  the  observations  that 
you  have  made  on  the  political  situation  of  the  couniry,  the 
government,  and  general  opinion?  What  would  you  have 
noted  to  the  princes  on  the  subject,  if  you  had  been  able  to 
write  to  them,  or  you  had  gone  to  them  ? 

"A.  In  general  1  believe  I  see  in  France  much  self- 
esteem,  much  apathy,  and  a  great  desire  to  preserve  tran- 
quillity." 

Extract  from  the  second  interrogatory  0/  M.  Arniand  de 
Polignac,  22  VenttUe  (13/A  March),  book  ii.  jiage  289. 

"  I  disembarked  on  the  coast  of  Normandy;  atter  several 
sojourns,  1  lodged  near  the  Isle  Adam,  in  a  place  where 
Georges  was  foiuid,  known  also  under  the  name  of  Loriere. 

'•  We  came  to  Paris  together,  with  some  officers  at  his  dis- 
position. 

"  When  I  parted  this  last  time  from  London,  I  knew  what 
the  designs  of  the  count  d'Artois  were;  I  was  too  much 
attached  lo  him  not  to  accompany  him. 

"  His  plan  was  to  arrive  in  France,  to  make  a  proposal  to 
the  first  consul  to  give  up  the  reins  of  government,  in  order 
that  he  might  be  abie  to  give  them  to  his  brother. 

"  If  the  first  consul  had  rejected  this  proposition,  the 
count  was  determined  to  engage  in  an  attack  hy  main  force, 
to  endeavour  to  reconquer  the  rights  which  he  regarded  as 
belonging  to  his  family. 

"  1  Was  aware  that  he  was  not  yet  ready  to  attempt  the 
descent  at  my  departure;  if  I  i)receded  him,  it  was  !rom  a 
desire  10  see,  as  I  have  said,  my  relations,  wife,  and  friends. 

"  When  t!ie  second  disemharkation  became  a  question, 
count  d'Artois  made  me  understand,  that  by  r.  asou  of  the 
confidence  which  he  had  in  me,  and  on  account  of  tlie  zeal 
which  I  had  always  testified,  he  desired  me  to  make  ready 
to  dejiart ;  it  was  this  that  determined  me  to  go  in  the  next 
vessel. 

"  1  am  bound  to  observe,  that  to  the  moment  of  my  de- 
liarture,  I  loudly  declared,  that  if  all  the  means  had  not  the 
stamp  of  perfect  good  faith,  I  would  withdraw  myself,  and 
would  return  again  into  Russia. 

"Q.  Is  it  ill  jour  knowledge  that  general  Moreau  saw 
Pichegru  nnd  Georges  Cadoudal? 

"  A.  I  know  that  there  had  been  a  very  serious  con- 
ference at  Chaillot,  in  the  house,  No.  6,  where  Georges 
Cadoudal  lodged,  between  Georges,  general  Moreau,  and  the 
ex-general  Picliej.'ru 

"  I  am  assured  that  Georges  Cadoudal,  after  different 
overtures  and  explanations,  had  said  to  general  Moreau:  'If 
you  wish,  I  will  leave  you  with  Pichegru,  and  then  you  may 
peril  ps  (inish  by  comprehending  each  other.' 

'  That,  in  fact,  the  result  left  nothing  but  a  disagreeable 
uncertainty,  seeing  that  Georges  and  Pichegru  appeared 
very  f<iithlul  to  the  cause  of  the  prince;  but  Moreau  re- 


1804. 
March. 


Indignation  of  the  first 
consul  at  the  injirati- 
tude  of  the  royalists. 


THE  CONSPIRACY  OF  GEORGES. 


Napolenii's  generous  offer 
to  Pichegru. 


bad  company,  by  repeating  that  a  French  prince 
would  be  with  them.  This  iirince  not  being 
come,  evidently  did  not  now  intend  to  come  ;  tluy 
niiglit  be  assured  he  would  not  put  liimself  in  dan- 
ger, when  lie  w;is  secured  where  lie  was  by  tlie 
whole  width  of  the  channel.  These  imprudent 
persons  could  not  doubt  that  there  were  some  par- 
ties less  well  secured,  who  would  perhaps  pay  with 
their  blood  for  the  projects  thus  conceived  and 
prepared  in  London. 

Would  to  Htaven  that  the  first  consul  liad  con- 
tented hiniseir  with  the  criminals  he  hud  under  Ills 
hands  as  instrutnents  to  conlound  his  enemies.  He 
liad  the  means  to  make  them  tremble,  and  the 
power  to  inflict  upon  them  the  legal  penalties  con- 
Uiined  in  the  French  ccides;  he  was  able  to  do 
more  tiian  cover  them  with  confusion,  because  the 
proofs  obt;iined  were  overwheltning.  There  was 
mure  than  he  neeiled  for  his  security  and  his 
honour.  But  as  already  observed,  indulgent  then 
towards  the  revolutionists,  he  was  indignant  against 
the  royalists;  he  felt  a  revulsion  against  their  base 
ingr.itituile,  and  resi-lved  they  should  feel  the  whole 
weight  of  ills  power.  He  liad  at  heart  another 
sentiment,  a  species  of  pride.  He  said  aloud  to  all 
who  came,  that  a  Uourbon  to  him  was  no  more 
than  a  Moreau  or  a  Pichegru,  and  even  less;  that 
these  princes  believing  themselves  inviolable,  com- 
promised at  their  will  a  crowd  of  unfortunate  peo- 
ple of  all  ranks,  and  kept  themselves  in  safety 
beyond  the  sea;  that  they  did  wrong  to  count  upon 
such  an  asylum;  that  he  siiould  finish  well  by 
taking  one  of  them,  and  that  he  would  shoot  him, 
as  he  would  any  ordinary  criminal ;  that  it  was 
necessary  they  should  know  with  whom  they  had  to 
do  in  attackini;  him;  that  he  had  no  more  fear  to 
take  the  blood  of  a  Bourbon  than  that  of  the  mean- 
est of  the  Chouans;  that  he  would  soon  show  the 
world  that  tlie  parties  wen^  all  equal  in  his  eyes; 
that  those  who  drew  down  upon  tlieir  heads 
his  formidable  hand  should  feel  the  weight,  who- 
ever they  might  be,  and  that  after  having  been  the 
most  merciful  of  men,  they  should  see  he  could 
become  the  most  terrilile. 

Nobody  dared  to  contradict  liiin.  The  consul 
Lebrun  lield  his  tongue.  The  consul  Canibac^res 
was  silent  als<»;  but  letting  hini  see,  however,  his 
silent  disapprobation,  his  usual  mode  of  resistance 
to  certain  acts  of  the  first  consul.  M.  Fouclie,  who 
desired    to    bring    himself   into    favour,   and    who 

malned  undecided,  which  caused  a  suspicion  that  he  liad 
ideas  of  particular  jiitcn-iits.  I  liave  known  since  that  there 
have  been  other  conferences  between  general  Moreau  and 
the  ex-gtrnerai  Pichegru." 

Extract  from   the   interrogalnry  luhmilled  lo   by  M.  Jules 
Polignae  brforr  the  councillor  of  itate,  Rial,  on  the  Xdtli 
of  Vtni6te  {Tth  March),  and  cited  in  the  act  of  accuta- 
Uon,  book  i   page  61. 
Hequired  to  aniwer  : 

"That  it  appeareil  to  him  as  well  ai  to  his  brother,  that 
what  they  would  Hrmh  to  do,  was  not  as  honourable  as  they 
had  been  na'uraily  Ird  to  hope,  and  they  had  nioktn  of 
retiring  into  Holland." 

Intiled  to  npren  the  mutire  of  hit  feart : 
"  He  answered,  because  he  nu-pecled  th.it  in  place  of  ful- 
flUing  any  mission  whatever  lelative  tna  change  of  K0\crn- 
ment,  it  was  a  question  lo  act  agniukt  a  single  individual,  and 
that  it  was  the  first  consul  whom  the  party  of  Georges  pro- 
poMd  to  attack." 


leaned  towards  indulgence  in  general,  desired, 
nevertheless,  to  embroil  the  government  with  the 
royalists,  and  strongly  urgeij  the  necessity  of  an 
example.  Talleyrand,  who  was  never  cruel,  but 
who  never  knew  how  to  contradict  power,  at  least 
to  such  an  e.xient  as  to  become  its  enemy,  and  who 
had  to  a  fatal  degree  the  taste  to  please  it  when  he 
lovtd  it;  M.  Talleyrand  said  also  with  Fouch^,  that 
too  much  hud  been  done  for  the  royalists  ;  that  in 
consequence  of  treating  them  wt-ll,  they  had  gone 
so  far  as  to  give  to  the  men  of  the  revolution  ve.\- 
atii.us  doubts,  and  that  it  was  necessary  to  punish, 
and  to  punish  severely,  without  exception  of  per- 
sons. E.xcept  the  consul  Cainbac^ies,  all  the  world 
flattered  this  angry  feeling,  which  at  that  moment 
ha<l  no  need  to  become  formidable,  perhaps  cruel. 
This  idea,  bearing  all  the  feeling  of  cha.stisement 
upon  the  royalists  alone,  in  order  to  show  clemency 
only  to  the  i-evolutionists,  was  so  rooted  in  the 
mind  of  the  first  consul,  th.it  he  attempted  for 
Pichegru  that  which  he  had  endeavoured  to  do  for 
Moieau.  A  deep  feeling  of  pity  came  upon  him 
in  thinking  upon  the  frightful  situation  of  that 
illustrious  general,  associated  with  Chouans,  ex- 
posed to  lose  not  only  his  life  belbre  a  public  tri- 
bunal, but  the  last  remnant  of  his  honour. 

"A  fine  end,"  said  the  first  eoiisul  to  M.  Re'al, 
— "a  fine  end  for  the  conqueror  of  Holland  !  But 
it  must  not  be  permitted  that  the  men  of  the  revo- 
lution should  devour  each  other.  It  is  a  long  time 
since  I  thought  about  Cayenne;  it  is  the  best  spot 
upon  earth  to  found  a  colony.  Pichegru  was  one, 
of  the  proscribed,  he  knows  it  well;  he  is  of  all  our 
generals  the  most  capable  of  creating  a  great  es- 
tablishment. Go,  find  him  in  his  prison,  tell  him 
that  I  pardon  him,  that  it  is  not  either  to  him  or 
to  Moreau,  or  those  like  them,  that  I  would  push 
the  rigour  of  justice.  Ask  him  how  many  men 
and  millions  it  will  take  to  found  a  colony  at  Cay- 
enne; I  will  give  them  to  him,  and  he  will  repair 
his  glory  in  rendei'ing  services  to  France." 

M.  Re'al  carried  to  the  jirison  of  Pichegru  these 
generous  words.  When  Pichegru  first  heard  them, 
lie  refused  to  credit  them;  he  imagined  that  they 
wished  to  seduce  him  to  betruy  his  companions  in 
misfortune.  Soon  convinced  by  the  earnestness  of 
M.  Real,  who  asked  no  revela  ion  from  him,  while 
he  knew  every  thing,  he  was  deeply  moved,  his 
firm  mind  yielded,  he  shed  tears,  und  spoke  a  long 
time  of  Cayemie.  He  avowed,  that  by  a  singular 
foresight  he  had  often  in  his  exile  meditated  on 
what  he  should  be  able  to  do,  and  even  prepared 
his  designs.  It  will  soon  be  seen  by  what  a  fatal 
rencontre  the  generous  intentions  of  the  first  consul 
had  no  other  ettect  than  a  deplorable  catastrophe. 

The  first  consul  always  waited  with  the  greatest 
imiiatieiice  for  news  from  colonel  Savary,  placed 
as  sentinel  with  his  fifty  men  at  the  clifl'of  Biville. 
The  colonel  remained  in  observati<in  twenty  days 
and  upwards,  and  no  disembarkation  had  taken 
|il;ice.  The  brig  of  captain  Wright  ajipeared  every 
evening,  ran  along  the  coast,  but  did  not  touch  tiie 
shore;  whether,  as  has  I.een  said,  the  pas.sengera 
tiiat  captain  Wright  carried  awniled  a  signal  that 
was  never  made  to  them,  or  whether  news  from 
Paris  prevented  them  from  disemliarking.  Colonel 
Savaiy  at  leiigih  declared  that  his  mission  was 
Uselessly  prolonged,  being  without  an  object. 
The  first  consul,  desjiitc  iiis  not  b<-ing  able  to 
.M    M 


A  watch  set  upon  the 
duke  d'Engliien. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


The  r-port  from  Etten- 
heim  ^eals  the  fate  of 
tile  duke  d'KiiKhien. 


seize  one  of  these  princes,  of  whom  he  would  h:ive 
hail  tlie  life,  glanced  his  eyes  over  all  the 
places  where  they  resided.  One  niorniiif!;,  being  in 
ins  cabinet  with  Talleyrand  and  Fouclie,  he  made 
them  enumerate  the  members  of  this  unlucky 
family,  as  well  to  complain  of  their  faults  as  to 
note  tlieir  misfortunes.  Ney  told  him  that  Louis 
XVI  II.  with  the  duke  d'Angoulenie  were  living  in 
Warsaw ;  that  the  count  d'Artois  and  duke  de 
Berry  were  in  London;  that  the  jirinces  de  Conde' 
were  also  in  London;  that  one  only,  the  third,  the 
youn<;est,  the  most  venturous,  the  duke  d'Engliien, 
lived  at  Ettenheim,  very  near  Strasburg.  It  was 
in  that  direction  that  Taylor,  .Smith,  and  Drake, 
the  English  agents,  also  had  endeavoured  to  foment 
intrij;nes.  The  idea  tliat  this  yung  prince  would 
be  able  to  serve  his  objects  by  the  bridge  of  Stras- 
bufii,  as  ihe  count  d'Artois  liad  been  willing  to 
make  use  of  the  cliff  of  Biville,  struck  the  min.l  of 
the  first  consid  at  once,  and  he  resolved  to  send  to 
the  spot  an  intelligent  sub  orticer  of  gendarmerie 
to  get  information.  There  was  one  who  had 
formerly  served,  when  in  his  youth,  with  the 
princes  de  Coiide'.  He  was  ordered  to  disguise 
himself  and  to  proceed  to  Etteiduiiii,  there  to  pro- 
cure Situvi  intelligence  regarding  the  piince's  mode 
of  life  and  his  different  relations. 

The  sub-officer  departed  with  this  commission, 
and  «r>-ived  at  Ettenheim.  The  prince  had  lived 
there  for  some  time,  being  near  a  princess  de 
Rohan,  to  whom  he  was  much  attached,  dividing 
his  time  between  his  taste  for  the  chase,  which  he 
gratified  in  the  Black  Forest,  and  this  affection  of 
the  heart.  He  had  received  an  order  tVoni  the 
British  cabinet  to  proceed  to  the  banks  of  the 
Rhine,  without  doulit  under  (•oniein))lati<)n  of  the 
movement  of  which  Drake,  Smith,  and  Taylor,  had 
given  false  hopes  to  their  government.  This  prince 
expected  shortly  to  be  called  upon  to  make  war 
nj) m  his  own  coimtry,  a  lamentable  act.  of  which 
for  many  years  he  had  been  already  guilty.  But 
there  was  nothing  to  prove  that  he  knew  any 
thing  of  the  plot  of  Georges,  every  thing,  on  the 
contrary,  went  to  prove  bis  ignoiaiice  ot  it.  He 
was  often  absent  following  the  cha<e,  and  some 
persons  said  he  had  attended  the  theatre  at  Stras- 
burg. It  is  very  certain  that  this  report  bad 
received  a  considerable  degree  of  credit,  since  his 
father  wrote  to  him  from  London,  ami  ailvised  him 
to  be  more  prudent,  in  terms  somew  hat  strong  '. 

'  The  prince  de  Conde  to  t]ie  duke  d'Enghien. 

"Wanste;i(l,  tlie  IGth  June,  1803. 

"  My  bear  PnitD, — I  have  lieeii  assured  here  that  within 
six  nionihs  yim  have  madi;  a  jdiirney  to  Pini.-.:  otheis  say 
that  y<ui  h.ive  oniy  been  to  Sira^bnij;.  It  must  lie  confes.sed 
it  is  utterly  useless  thus  t'l  risk  your  life  Hud  linerty.  In 
respect  to  your  principles,  lam  perfe  tly  e.isy  aliout  ihem: 
they  are  too  deeply  enjiraven  in  y>'ur  h:  an  as  they  are  lu 
ours.  Methinks  at  present  you  will  feel  disposed  to  coiilide 
I  to  us  what  has  passed ;  and  if  llie  thin;,'  he  true,  what  you 
saw  in  the  course  ol  your  journeys. 

'•  As  to  yiiur  well-being,  wliirh  is  dear  to  ns  under  so 
I  many  points,  I  (live  you  notice,  tli;it  t'  e  pusiiioi  in  which 
I  you  xre  now  may  be  very  useful  ill  many  respects.  But  you 
are  very  uaar  ;  take  care  of  yournell,  and  do  not  neglrct  any 
precaution  lo  pel  notice  of  danger  in  lime,  ami  i..  mak-your 
retreat  in  safety,  in  ca.se  it  shoulil  come  mm  ilie  head  of  the 
first  consul  to  order  you  to  be  se.zed.     Uo  not  believe  but 


The  prince  had  about  his  person  certain  emigrants, 
and  partictilarly  a  marquis  de  Tliumery. 

The  sub  ofhcer,  sent  to  ob'ain  intelligence,  ar- 
rived in  Ui.sguise,  and  obtained,  even  in  the  jirince's 
own  house,  a  number  of  details,  of  which  it  was 
very  easy  for  minds  so  predisposed  to  diaw  (he 
most  mi.schievous  deductions.  It  was  said  that 
the  young  duke  was  often  absent  ;  that  he  was 
even  absent  for  many  days  together,  sometimes,  it 
was  a<lded,  he  ]iri  ceeded  to  Strasburg.  He  iiiid  with 
him  a  per.sonage  who  was  represented  as  of  mui  h 
greater  importance  than  he  really  was,  and  who 
was  called  by  a  name  which  the  Germans,  wlio 
made  the  communication,  pronounced  badly,  aiid 
in  such  a  maimer  as  to  make  it  be  believtd  that 
this  jier.son  was  general  Diimouriez.  This  indi- 
vidual was  the  manpiis  de  Tliumery,  whose  name 
is  mentioned  above,  whom  the  siib-olticer,  deceived 
by  the  German  pronunciation,  believed  in  reality 
to  be  general  Duniouiiez.  He  entei-ed  these  <ie- 
tails  ill  his  report,  written,  as  has  been  seen,  under 
the  influence  of  the  most  iiiiforiunate  illusions,  iiiid 
sent  it  immediately  to  Paris. 

The  fatal  re])ort  arrived  on  the  10th  of  March, 
in  the  morning.  The  evening  of  the  day  before,  in 
the  night,  and  iigain  in  the  iiiorning  of  the  same 
day,  a  deposition  bad  been  made  not  less  fatal,  and 
several  times  renewed.  This  deposition  had  been 
obtained  from  a  ]>arty  named  Le'ridant,  who  whs 
the  servant  of  Georges,  and  ariested  with  him. 
He  had  ;it  first  resisted  the  pressing  interrogations 
of  justice  ;  afterwards  he  Hnished  by  speaking 
with  a  sincerity  which  seemed  to  be  honest,  and  he 
declared  thai,  in  tact,  there  was  a  plot,  that  a 
prince  was  to  arrive,  and  even  had  arrived  ;  that 
as  to  this  person,  he  had  re.ison  to  believe  it  was 
so,  because  he  had  sometimes  seen  with  Geor/es  a 
young  man,  well-bred,  wel. -dressed,  and  the  object 
of  general  res|)eci.  This  (le]iosition,  often  re- 
peated, and  every  time  with  fresh  details,  w:is 
stated  lo  the  fjrst  consul.  The  report  of  the  sub- 
ofticer  of  gendarmerie  having  arrived  at  ttie  same 
moment,  it,  produced  in  his  head  the  most  fatal 
coiK-un-eiice  of  ideas.  Tlie  absence  of  the  duke 
d'Eiighieii  talli  d  wi  h  the  pretended  presence  of  a 
prince  iu  Paris.  This  young  man,  for  whom  the 
conspirators  exhibited  .so  niiieli  respect,  could  b(; 
no  prince  arrived  troin  Loiidnii,  because  the  cliff 
of  Biville  was  carefully  guarded.  It  could  be  no 
other  than  the  duke  n'KiighieJi,  eoming  in  forty- 
eight  hours  fi-i'm  Eitenlieim  to  Pans,  and  retiini- 
iiig  from  Paris  to  Ettenheim  in  ihe  same  s|)ace  of 
lime,  after  pa.ssiiig  a  short  period  in  the  midst 
of  his  accomplices.  But  that  w  liicli  completed,  in 
the  sight  of  the  first  coii>ul,  this  unhappy  duinoii- 
stration,  was  ihe  sujijiosed  pr<  seiiee  ot  Duiiiouiiiz. 
The  jilaii  thus  connecied  itself  in  a  most  striking 
maimer.  Tlie  count  d'Artois  was  to  arrive  hy 
Norniaiidy  with  Pichegru,  the  diike  d'Engliien  by 
Alsace  with  Diimouriez.  The  Boiirbi  lis,  in  order 
to  enter  France,  had  got  tbeui.selves  thus  acioni- 
panii-d  by  the  two  cilebiated  generals  of  the  re- 
piiblie.  The  mind  of  the  first  consul,  coninic  nly 
so  sound  and  -so  strong,  no  longer  contained  itself 
amid  such  receptive  appearances.  He  was  con- 
that  he  has  the  resolution  to  brave  every  thing  in  such  a 
niatier. 

iSigned)  "  Louis  Joseph  de  Bourbon." 


1804. 

March. 


A  cabinet  council  held        THE  CONSPIRACY   OF  GEORGES,   respecting  the  duke  dEngUien.   53I 


vinced.  It  is  necessary  to  have  seen  minds  warped 
by  a  reseiuili  of  this  niituiv,  above  all,  if  any 
jia-ssiiin  whatever  dispose  tliem  to  cre-lit  that 
which  they  suspect  to  be  true,  to  comprehend  to 
what  a  point  such  inductions  are  apt  to  prompt 
thtin,  and  to  bless  a  hundred  times  the  slower  pro- 
ceedings of  justice,  whicli  preserve  men  from  the 
faLiI  conclusions  drawn  so  rapidly  from  fortuitous 
Coincidences. 

The  first  consul,  on  reading  the  report  of  the 
sub-officer,  sent  from  Ettenheim,  which  came  to 
him,  iiaving  been  sent  by  neinral  Muncey,  tlie 
commandant  of  the  gendarmerie,  was  seized  with 
an  extreme  afjiiation.  lie  received.M.  Real  very 
ill,  who  happened  to  come  in  at  that  monient, 
reproached  him  with  having  so  lon<;  kept  him  in 
ignorance  of  details  of  so  much  importance,  wliivh 
he  held  in  reality  to  be  the  second  and  most  for- 
midable part  of  the  plot.  Tois  tibie  the  sea  did 
not  stop  him  ;  the  Rhine,  the  duke  of  Baden,  the 
Germajiic  body,  were  no  obstacles  in  his  way. 
He  immediately  assembled  an  extraordinary  coun- 
cil, composed  of  the  three  consuls,  the  ministers, 
and  M.  Fouch^,  become  ajjain  a  minister  in  fact, 
though  not  in  name.  He  ordered  at  the  same  time 
the  attendance  of  the  generals  Ordener  and  Caulain- 
eourt.  But  while  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  minis- 
teiN.  he  had  taken  the  map  of  the  Rhine,  that  he 
niiuhi  arrange  the  i)lan  of  the  seiziue,  when  not 
tinding  that  which  he  sought,  he  threw  down  con- 
fusedly upon  the  floor  all  the  maps  in  his  library. 
M.  de  Meneval,  a  mild,  sage,  incoiruptible  man, 
without   whom   he  was   not  able  to  do  any  thing, 

I  because  lie  dictated  to  iiim  his  most  secret  letters, 
happened  to  be  absent  on  that  day  for  a  few 
moments.  He  called  him  back  to  the  Tnileries, 
with  reproaches  hir  his  absence,  reproaches  little 
merited,  and  continued  iiis  work  on  the  map  of  the 

I    lihine  in  a  state  of  extraordinary  excitement. 

I       The  Council  took  place  :  an  ocular  witness  has 

'   in^en  the  recital  in  his  memoirs. 

'I'lie  idea  of  seizing  the  prince  and  general 
Dnniouriez,    williout  disturbing  liimsell  about  the 

I    vjolaiion  of  tiu!  Germanic  soil,  but  addressing  an 

'  excuse,  for  form's  sake,  to  the  grand  duke  of  Baiien, 
WHS  immediately  proposi-d.     'J'lie  first  consul  de- 

I  manili  d  the  opinion  of  those  present,  but  with  all 
ilie  a)>pearancc  of  a  foregone  resolution.  Slill  he 
heard  with  paiieiice  the  objections  ur;;ed.  His 
colleiigue,  Lebrnn,  appeared  alarmed  at  the  eft'ect 
Hueh  an  event  must  proiluce  in  Europe.  The  cnn- 
-iil  Cambace'rcs  had  the  eoni-ngc  opeidy  to  resist 
the  measure  wliich  wiih  ]iropoH(  d.  Me  set  himself 
lo  exhibit  all  the  danger  us  efieels  of  a  resolution 
■  t  ihis  nature,  wheih.  r  ns  reg;ir<led  (he  empire 
^Mthiii  or  its  relations  without,  and  the  character  of 
oMirageout  violence   it   would   not  fail    to   impress 

I  upon  the  government  of  the  Hi-st  consul.  He, 
above  all,  g;ive  the  greatest  weight  lo  the  consi- 
'leralion,  that  it  would  be  a  sufficiently  grave 
thing  to  arrest,  try,  and  shoot  n  jirinee  ol  ilie  hlooil 

ri.Mil,  even   surprised  in  a    flagrant  oHence  m| 

■  lie  French  soil,  but  that  to  send  and  seareh  for 
iiim  in  a  foreign  territory,  w<iul.l  lie,  in'ie|iendently 
of  a  violation  of  terrilory,  to  siize  him  when  he 
had  on  Ins  side  all  the  appearanei  ,  :it  least,  of 
perfect  innocence,  and  lo  stamp  upon  himself  the 
coliiuring  of  an  odious  abuse  of  his  jiower;  he  coii- 

I   jured  the  first  consul,  for  the  sake  of  his  personal 


glory,  and  for  the  honour  of  his  policy,  not  to 
permit  himself  a  course  of  action  winch  would  re- 
duce his  own  government  to  the  level  of  the  revolu- 
tionary governments,  from  which  he  had  taken  so 
much  care  that  it  should  be  distinguished.  He 
insisted  several  times  xi\>on  this,  with  a  warmth 
which  was  not  at  all  a  part  of  his  nature,  and  pro- 
posed, as  a  mean  term,  to  wait  until  this  prince 
or  some  other  was  found  upon  the  French  territory, 
and  then  to  apply  to  such  au  one  the  laws  of  the 
day  in  all  their  rigour. 

This  proposition  was  not  admitted.  It  was 
answered  by  saying,  they  could  m  t  hope  that  tlie 
prince,  who  was  to  be  introduced  inio  France 
through  Normaiiily  or  by  the  Rhine,  would  come 
and  expose  himself  to  certain  and  inevit^ible  dan- 
ger, when  Georges  and  all  the  agt  nts  of  the  con- 
spiracy were  already  arrested  ;  that,  besides,  in 
taking  him  whom  they  found  at  Etienheim, 
they  should  take  with  him  his  papers  and  accom- 
l)lices,  ;ind  thus  acquire  the  proofs  whirli  would 
attest  his  criminality,  and  that  thus  ihey  should  be 
able  to  use  ihem  in  a  rough  way  in  sujiporting  the 
evidence  already  acquired ;  that  to  suffer  pati- 
ently, under  the  security  of  a  foreign  territory, 
strangers  to  conspire  ajjainst  Fiance  at  its  very 
doors,  was  to  sanction  the  most  dangerous  of  im- 
punities ;  that  the  Bourbons  and  their  jiaitisans 
would  recommence  it  continually;  that  it  would  be 
necessary  to  |)uiiish  ten  for  one,  while  by  striking 
one  great  blow,  tliey  might  re-enter  allerwards 
upiin  a  .system  of  clemency  more  natural  to  the 
first  consul's  feelings;  that  the  royalists  had  need 
of  a  warning ;  that  relatively  to  the  (|uestion 
of  territory,  they  must  give  to  those  peity  Ger- 
man princes  a  lesson,  as  well  as  to  the  rest 
of  the  world;  that  in  other  respects  it  w:is  to  ren- 
der a  service  to  the  grand  duke  of  Uiideii,  in  taking 
the  prince  without  making  a  demand  r<ii-  his  per- 
son, becau-o  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to 
refuse  the  re<iu<  St  of  such  a  power  as  France,  and 
he  would  be  set  at  the  ban  of  all  Eurojie  lor  having 
granted  it.  It  was  ndded,  finally,  that  the  act  was 
done,  alter  all,  only  to  secure  the  person  of  the 
prince,  of  his  accomplices,  and  of  his  p;ip<  rs;  that 
it  would  be  atierwards  seen  what  must  lie  done 
when  he  w.is  got  hold  of,  and  when  an  ixamination 
iiad  taken  place  of  his  papers,  and  the  exltnt  of 
ills  culpability  had  been  ascertained. 

The  first  ci.nsiil  iiardly  alteiuled  to  what  was 
said  on  one  side  and  the  other;  he  listeiii  d  like  a 
man  firmly  resolved.  No  ])eison  was  able  to  boast 
of  having  in  the  least  inHu<'nccd  his  delermina- 
tit>n.  Still  he  <lid  not  appear  to  feel  the  least  ill- 
will  lowards  Cambac^res  for  his  resistance  to  him. 
"  I  know, '  he  said,  "the  motive  which  makes  you 
spoiik  thus;  it  is  your  sincere  attachment  htr  me. 
I  thank  >.iu  lor  it;  hut  I  will  not  suHer  myself  to 
be  killed  williout  standing  on  my  deb  nee.  1  will 
go  and  make  those  gentry  tremble;  I  "ill  teach 
tlleiM  to  keep  tleioselves  a  little  more  lran(|uil." 

'I  he  id.  a  of  terrifying  the  rowili-is,  to  teach 
them  that  ihey  should  not  attack  nnIiIi  impunity 
such  u  man  as  he  wjis,  to  let  thi'in  know  that  the 
sacred  Mood  of  the  Bourbons  had,  io  his  eu's,  no 
mole  v;ilue  (h:in  that  of  any  noted  personage  in 
the  republic;  this  idea,  and  oihers  in  which  cal- 
culation, vi-iigeance,  and  the  priile  of  power,  had 
an  equal  share,  predominated  with  violence.' 
M  111  2 


roo      Orders  given  to  seize  the      rrTTTT?nC'   rniSICTTT  ATV    ATMn   PMPTTJT?      The  duke  d'Enghien  ar- 
532  duke  d'Enshien.  IHILRS'   CONSULAiii   AJNU   t-MFlKJl,.        rested  at  Ettenheim. 


duke  d'Enghien. 


1804. 
March. 


He  gave  iniinediate  orders,  in  presence  of  general 
Berthier  ;  and  he  jirescribed  to  the  colonels ' 
Ordener  and  Cuulaincourt  the  conduct  wliich  they 
were  to  pursue.  Colonel  Ordener  was  to  go  to  the 
banks  of  the  Rhine,  to  take  with  him  three  liun- 
dred  dragoons,  some  ponton  men,  and  several 
brigades  of  gendarmerie,  to  provide  those  troops 
with  provisions  for  four  days,  to  tiike  a  sum  of 
money,  in  tirder  not  to  be  at  any  charge  to  the  in- 
habitants, to  pass  the  river  at  Riieinau,  hasten  to 
Ettenheim,  surround  the  town,  and  seize  the 
prince  with  all  the  emigrants  who  were  about  him. 
Duruig  this  time,  another  detachment,  supported 
by  four  jjieces  of  artillery,  was  to  go  by  Kehl  to 
Offenbur^r,  and  remain  there  in  observation  until 
the  operation  sliould  be  achieved.  Directly  after- 
wards, colonel  Caulaincourt  was  to  proceed  to  the 
grand  duke  of  Baden,  in  order  to  present  him  with 
a  note,  containing  an  explanation  respecting  the 
act  which  had  been  committed.  This  explanation 
consisted  in  .saying,  that  in  suffering  such  assem- 
blages of  emigrants,  he  had  obhged  the  French 
government  itself  to  break  them  up;  that  besides, 
the  necessity  of  acting  promptly  and  secretly,  had 
not  permitted  a  previous  conference  with  the 
goveriiiiient  of  Baden. 

It  is  needless  to  add,  that  in  giving  these  orders 
to  the  officers  charged  with  their  execution,  the  first 
consul  took  no  pains  to  explain  what  his  intentions 
were  in  seizing  the  prince,  nor  what  he  intended 
to  do  with  him.  He  commanded  liis  men,  who 
obeyed  as  soldiers.  Nevertheless,  colonel  Caulain- 
court, who  in  the  connexions  of  his  birth  was 
attached  to  the  ancient  royal  family,  and  parti- 
cularly to  the  Condes,  was  deeply  wounded,  al- 
though he  hail  only  to  perform  the  part  of  carrying 
a  letter,  and  was  far  from  foreseeing  the  terrible 
catastrophe  which  he  was  preparing.  Tiie  first 
consul  did  not  appear  to  notice  this,  but  enjoined 
it  on  all  to  set  out  immediately  upon  leaving  the 
Tuileries. 

The  orders  which  he  thus  gave  were  punctually 
executed.  Five  days  afterwards,  that  is  to  say,  on 
the  loth  of  March,  the  detachment  of  dragoons, 
witli  all  the  j)recautions  commanded,  left  Schele- 
stadt,  passed  the  Rhine,  and  surprized  and  sur- 
rounded the  little  town  of  Ettenheim,  before  any 
news  of  their  movement  could  be  carried  there. 
The  prince,  who  had  before  I'eceived  prudent 
advice,  but  who  at  the  same  time  had  no  positive 
notice  of  the  expedition  directed  against  his  per- 
son, was  at  the  moment  in  the  house  at  Ettenheim 
wliich  he  had  been  accustomed  to  inhabit.  On 
seeing  himself  attacked  by  an  armed  troop,  he  was 
at  first  about  to  defend  himself,  but  of  this  he  soon 
discovered  the  impossibility.  He  surrendered,  de- 
claring himself  who  he  was  to  those  who  endea- 
voured to  recognize  him,  and  with  deep  mortifica- 
tion at  thus  being  deprived  of  his  liberty,  because 
the  extent  of  his  danger  was  at  the  time  wholly 
unknown  to  him,  he  suffered  himself  to  be  con- 
ducted to  Strasburgh,  where  lie  was  placed  in  the 
citadel. 

There  was  no  discovery  made  either  of  the  impor- 
tant papers  which  there  had  been  hopes  of  procur- 
ing nor  of  general  Dumouriez,  who  was  supposed  to 

'  So  entitled  in  the  original,  thougli  before  styled  "  gene- 
rals "—rran»/a<or. 


be  near  the  prince,  nor  any  proofs  of  the  plot  so 
strongly  alleged  as  the  motive  of  the  expedition. 
In  place  of  general  Dumouriez  they  had  found  the 
marquis  de  Thumcry,  and  some  other  emigrants  of 
no  importtmce.  The  report  containing  the  ste-rile 
details  of  the  ari-est  was  immediately  sent  forward 
to  Paris. 

The  result  of  the  expedition  should  have  en- 
lightened the  first  consul  and  his  counsellors  upon 
the  rashness  of  the  conjectures  they  h;id  formed.  The 
error  in  particular  committed  about  general  Dumou- 
riez was  very  significant.  Here  are  the  ideas  which 
unhappily  led  away  the  first  consul  and  those  who 
thought  with  him  upon  this  matter.  They  had  one 
of  the  princes  of  the  Innise  of  Bourbon,  to  whom  it 
cost  so  little  to  get  up  conspiracies,  and  to  find  im- 
prudent persons  and  fools  enough  always  ready  to 
compromise  themselves  in  their  train.  It  was 
necessary  to  make  a  terrible  example,  or  be  ex- 
posed to  the  provoking  ridicule,  the  laugh  of  con- 
tempt on  the  part  of  the  royalists,  in  i-eleasing  the 
prince  after  he  had  been  seized.  They  would  not 
be  wanting  to  say,  that  after  all  the  government 
had  been  guilty  of  ;i  blunder  in  sending  and  taking 
the  piinee  at  Ettenheim,  and  it  had  had  a  dread  of 
the  public  opinion  and  a  fear  of  Europe;  that,  in  a 
word,  it  had  possessed  the  will  to  commit  a  crime  but 
had  not  the  courage.  In  place  of  giving  them 
ground  to  laugh,  it  was  better  to  make  them 
tremble.  The  prince  after  all  was  at  Ettenheim,  so 
near  to  the  frontier,  under  similar  circunihtances, 
for  some  apparent  motive.  Was  it  possible,  that 
cautioned  as  he  had  been,  and  letters  found  in  his 
house  proved  it,  was  it  possible  that  lie  remained 
so  close  to  danger  without  any  object  ?  That  he 
was  no  sort  of  an  accomplice  in  the  project  of 
assassination?  In  any  case  he  was  certainly  at 
Ettenheim,  to  second  a  movement  of  the  emigrants 
in  the  interior,  to  excite  a  civil  war,  to  carry  arms 
again  against  France.  These  acts,  both  the  one 
and  the  other,  were  punished  with  severe  penalties 
by  the  laws  at  all  times;  they  must  be  appUed  to 
him. 

Such  were  the  motives  w  hich  the  first  consul  him- 
self had  at  the  time,  and  that  he  repeated  more 
than  once.  There  was  no  more  of  the  counsel 
which  has  been  already  related  ;  but  there  were 
frequent  conferences  between  him  and  those  who 
flattered  his  passion.  He  never  quitted  the  fatal 
idea;  the  royalists  are  incorrigible,  they  must  be 
terrified.  The  removal  of  the  prince  was  ordered 
to  be  transferred  to  Paris,  there  to  be  brought 
before  a  military  commission  for  having  endea- 
voured to  excite  a  civil  war,  and  for  having  borne 
arms  against  France.  The  question  thus  stated,  it 
was  resolved  to  cany  out  in  a  sanguinary  manner. 
On  the  18th  of  March  the  prince  was  taken  from 
the  citadel  of  Strasburg  to  Paris  mider  a  strong 
escort. 

As  the  moment  of  this  terrible  sacrifice  ap- 
l)roaclied,  the  first  consul  wished  to  remain  alone. 

He  left  Paris  on  the  18tli  of  March,  Palm-Sun- 
day, for  Mahnaison,  a  retreat  where  he  was  better 
assured  of  isolation  and  repose.  Except  the  con- 
suls, the  ministers,  and  his  brothers,  he  received 
nobody.  He  walked  about  alone  for  entire  hours, 
aftecting  a  tranquillity  of  countenance  that  did  not 
reign  in  his  heart.  The  best  proof  of  these  agita- 
tions of  soul  was  found  in  his  extreme  idleness,  as 


The  duke  d'Enghien  brought 
to  I'ari^.- A  military  cum-    THE  CONSPIRACY  OF  GEORGES. 
iiii>^ion  assembled. 


Savary  ortiered  to  execute 

the  senifnce  c  f  ilie  inili-      633 
tary  conimissioii. 


lie  dictated  scarcely  a  single  letter  during  tlie 
ei;.'ht  days  of  his  remaiiiiiif;  at  Mahnaison,  an  ex- 
ample of  idleness  that  was  unique  in  his  existence; 
iie»erthele.^s,  Brest,  Boulogne,  ;uid  the  Texel,  had 
I  ceupi<-d  but  a  few  days  befitre  all  the  activity  of 
liis  mind.  His  wife,  who  had  been  informed,  as 
had  all  his  family,  of  the  j)iinee's  arrest— his  wife, 
will)  with  that  sympathy  of  which  she  was  not  able 
to  divest  herself  for  the  Bnnrbons,  had  a  horror  of 
the  effusion  of  the  royal  blood;  she,  who  with  that 
toresiu'ht  of  heart  belonging  to  woman,  perceived 
P'S-ibie,  perhaps,  in  the  cruel  deed  a  reaction  in 
veuge.nice  a;;aiiist  her  husband  and  children,  even 
i:;ain.st  herself  ;  madam  Bonaparte,  steeped  in 
tears,  spoUe  several  times  of  the  prince,  not  yet 
lielieving,  but  fearing  that  his  fate  was  deter- 
mined. The  first  consul,  who  had  a  species  of 
i;raiitieation  in  compressing  the  emotions  of  his 
heart,  generous  and  good,  although  they  have  said 
otherwise  who  have  not  known  it — the  first  consul 
r>  p-Uetl  the  tears  of  which  he  fetred  the  effect 
u|M.u  himself.  He  replied  to  madam  Bonaparte 
with  a  familiarity  which  he  endeavoured  to  render 
liaivli:  "  Thou  art  a  woman  ;  thou  dost  not  under- 
stancl  my  |iolicy;  thy  part  is  to  hold  thy  tongue!" 

The  unliutunate  ))rince  left  Sirasburg  on  the 
18ih  of  March,  and  arrived  in  Paris  on  tiie  20th, 
about  n<M)M.  He  was  detained  until  five  o'clock  at 
the  barrier  of  Charenton,  guarded  in  a  carriage  by 
the  escort  that  accompanied  him '.  There  had  in 
tliis  fatal  affair  been  some  confusion  in  the  orders 
issu'^d,  because  there  had  been  agitation  among 
those  who  issued  them. 

According  to  the  military  law  the  commandant 
of  the  division  should  form  the  conmiission,  assem- 
ble it,  and  order  the  execution  of  the  sentence. 
Mur.it  was  commandant  of  Paris  and  also  of  the 
divi,..i.in.  When  the  decree  of  the  consuls  came  to 
liim  he  was  seized  with  the  deepest  grief.  Murat, 
)iB  alr<ady  observed,  was  brave,  often  luireflecting, 
but  perlectly  good.  He  had  applauded  some  days 
before  the  vigour  of  the  government,  when  it 
ordered  the  expedition  to  Ettenln  iin  ;  but  charged 
now  to  follow  up  its  cruel  consequenees,  his  excel- 
lent heart  failed  him.  He  said,  in  despair,  tu  one 
of  his  frienils,  shewing  him  the  skirts  of  his  uni- 
form, that  the  first  consul  would  im|»re.ss  upon 
them  the  sUiin  of  blood.  He  went  to  St.  Cloud  to 
express  t»  his  formidable  brother  in-law  the  senti- 
mentM  which  he  felt.  The  first  consul,  who  was 
himself  more  inclined  to  |>artjike  in  them  than  he 
was  willing  to  discover,  concealed  under  an  iron 
cotmtenance  the  agitation  with  which  he  was 
secretly  smitten  himself.  He  feared  lest  his 
govermnent  hhoiild  appear  weak  before  the  young 
shoot  of  an  inimical  dynasty.  He  tiddressed  harsli 
words  to  .Murat,  reproached  him  with  his  feeble- 
ness in  contemptuous  terms,  and  ended  by  telling 
him  with  hauteur,  that  he  would  cover  that,  which 
he  styled  his  faint-heurtedtiess,  by  signing  himself 

•  There  hai  a|>poared  an  excellrrtt  piece  of  writing  on  tl;e 
catantroplie  of  the  duke  d'Eii(flii<-n,  l«y  M.  Noiiuart-de  de 
Payer.  1  he  con»cirnliou»  re>carche>,  full  of  iiaRacity,  that 
diitiiiRUJsh  thin  inor>elor«pecial  hiitory,  dc>ervr  thegreu'est 
confidi'iice.  M.  Nongart'dc  de  I-'nyet  nayx  that  the  |>rliice 
wai  rundurted  to  the  do<tr  of  the  iniiiiitler  of  foreign  alTaini. 
It  i>  possible  that  this  may  have  been  the  exact  Tad ;  but 
no!  having  been  able  to  state  it  as  a  certain  thing,  the  more 
general  tradition  has  been  admitted. 


with  his  own  consular  hand  the  orders  of  the  day. 
The  first  consul  had  recalled  colonel  Savary 
from  the  cliff  of  Bivillc,  where  he  bad  vainly 
waited  for  the  pi  inces  mingled  in  the  plot,  and  he 
confided  to  him  the  care  of  watching  over  that 
sacrifice  of  the  prince,  in  which  he  boie  no  part. 
Colonel  Savary  was  ready  to  give  to  the  first  con- 
sul his  life  and  his  honour.  He  gave  no  advice, 
he  executed  as  a  soldier  that  which  his  master  had 
commanded,  to  whom  he  bore  an  aitachmeiit  with- 
out limit.  Tiie  first  consul  drew  up  ail  the  orders, 
signed  them  himself,  then  enjoined  Savary  to 
deliver  them  to  Murat,  and  to  ])roceed  to  Vin- 
ceiines  and  jueside  at  their  fuHilnient.  The  orders 
were  comjilete  and  positive.  They  contained  the 
composition  of  the  commission,  the  designation  of 
the  colonels  of  the  garrison  who  should  bt-come 
members,  the  indication  of  general  lluliiiias  jiresi- 
deiit,  the  injunction  to  meet  imniediaicly,  in  order 
to  finish  all  on  that  night  ;  and  if,  as  cannot  be 
doubted  it  would  be,  the  condemnation  was  one  of 
death,  to  execute  judgment  upon  the  prisimer 
immediately.  A  detachment  of  geiidaniierie  cVHUe, 
and  of  the  ganison,  were  to  proceed  to  V'iiiceniies, 
to  guard  the  tribunal,  and  proceed  to  the  execution 
of  the  sentence.  Such  were  the  fatal  orders, 
signed  with  the  hand  of  the  first  consul.  Legally 
speaking,  tliey  were  to  be  executed  in  the  name  of 
Murat  ;  but,  in  reality,  he  took  hardly  tiiiy  part  at 
all  in  the  affair.  Colonel  Savary,  as  he  had  re- 
ceived the  command  to  do,  went  to  V'inceimcs  to 
watch  over  the  accomplishment  of  these  orders. 

Nevertheless,  what  was  contained  in  these  orders 
was  by  no  meiiiis  irrevocable  ;  there  was  yet  a 
mode  of  saving  the  unfortunate  prince.  M.  Real 
was  to  go  to  Vinceinies,  to  interrogate  the  prisoner 
at  length,  and  to  gather  from  him  wlieilier  lie  knew 
of  the  plot,  of  which  all  still  believed  him  an 
accomjilice,  without  the  power  of  offering  a  single 
proofof  the  fact.  M.  Maret  had  liimsell,  in  the  even- 
ing, deposited  with  the  counsellor  of  state,  Real,  the 
written  injunction  to  proceed  to  Vinei  ini's  in  order 
to  make  the  interrogatory.  If  M.  Retil  had  seen 
the  prisoner,  understood  from  his  own  mouth  a 
true  explanation  of  the  facts,  felt  himself  touched 
by  his  frankness,  and  by  his  instant  demand  to  be 
conducted  before  the  first  consul,  M.  Ri  al  would 
have  been  enabled  to  commimicate  his  own  im- 
pressions to  him  who  held  the  prime's  life  in  his 
powerful  hands,  and  who  had,  therefore,  \et,  even 
after  the  condemnation,  a  means  to  avoid  |iursiiing 
the  frightful  path  which  he  was  on,  by  granting  to 
the  duke  d'Enghein  a  pardon,  nobly  demanded,  and 
as  nobly  craiited. 

It  was  the  last  cliancc  which  remained  to  save 
the  life  of  the  y<miig  prince,  and  to  sptire  the  first 
consul  the  committal  of  a  grejit  fault.  The  last 
thought  so  at  that  moment,  even  after  the  orders 
which  he  had  given.  In  fact,  during  that  melan- 
choly evening  of  the  20tli  of  March,  he  remained 
shut  up  nt  Alalmaison  with  his  wile.  Ins  secretary, 
a  few  ladies  and  officers.  Solitary,  absent,  tiffect- 
ing  calmness,  he  had  terminated  b_\  sitiing  down 
before  a  tiible,  where  he  began  to  play  at  chess 
with  one  of  the  most  distinguibhed  ladies  '  of  the 


>  This  lady  nan  madam  de  R^-musat.  She  has  described 
this  incident  in  her  memoiis,  which  to  this  day  remain  In 
manuscript,  as  interestingly  as  spiritedly  written. 


'  Sentence  of  death  pro- 

534  nouiiced  on  the  duke 

d'Enghien. 


Execution  of  the  dike 
THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.        d'Enj-iiien  at  Vm- 


consular  court,  who,  knowing  that  the  prince  had 
nrrived,  trembled  with  feur,  in  thinking  of  tlie 
jiossilile  consequences  of  that  fatiil  day.  She  dared 
not  lift  lier  eyes  on  tiie  first  consul,  wlio,  in  jiis 
mental  alisence,  murmured  several  times  over  the 
verses  on  clemency,  well  known  in  French  poetry  ; 
at  first  those  that  Cc.rneille  has  put  into  the  mouth 
of  Augustus,  and  next  those  that  Voltaire  makes 
Alzire  repeat. 

This  could  not  be  san^juinary  irony  ;  it  would 
have  been  too  useless  and  too  base.  But  that  man, 
commonly  so  firm,  was  agitated  an<l  shak  n,  and 
reverted  now  and  then  to  tiie  consideration  of  the 
grandenr,  the  nobleness  of  pardon,  granted  to  an 
enemy  vanquished  and  disarmed.  This  lady  be- 
lieved the  jirince  w;is  saved  ;  she  was  full  of 
deli:;lit.     Unhappily,  it  came  to  nothing. 

The  coniniission  assembled  in  haste,  tlie  mem- 
bers, for  the  most  part,  ignorant  who  the  acensrd 
was  against  whom  th-y  acted.  They  were  told 
that  it  was  an  emigrant  prosecuted  lor  having 
broken  the  laws  of  the  republic.  They  were  told 
liis  name.  Every  one  of  these  soldiers  of  the 
rejiublic,  children  when  the  monarchy  had  fallen, 
scarcely  knew  that  the  name  Enghien  was  borne 
by  ,the  heir  presumjdive  of  the  Coiule's.  Their 
hearts  slih  suffered  at  sitting  on  such  a  conmiis- 
sion,  because  for  several  years  no  more  emigrants 
had  been  condemned.  The  prisoner  was  l)rou';ht 
before  them.  He  was  calm,  even  pnaid,  and  yet 
doubted  of  the  lot  which  awaited  him.  Interro- 
gated as  to  his  name,  and  his  conduct,  he  replied 
with  firmness,  repelled  every  idea  of  ]iarticipat;on 
in  the  |)lot  then  actually  under  tlie  ])ursuit,  of 
justice,  but  avowed,  perhaps  in  too  ostentatious  a 
manner,  that  he  had  served  against  France,  ami 
tliat  he  was  on  the  banks  of  ilie  Rhine,  to  serve 
again  in  the  same  manner.  The  president,  press- 
ing upon  this  point  with  the  intemion  of  revealing 
to  liim  the  danger  of  such  a  declaration  made  in 
such  languaije,  he  repeated  what  he  had  said  with 
an  assurance  that  his  danger  ennobl<-d,  but  which 
hurt  the  minds  of  old  soldiers,  who  had  been 
habituated  to  s|iill  tiieir  blood  in  defending  the 
soil  of  their  country.  The  impression  llius  pro- 
duced was  painful.  The  jirince  ilemanded  several 
times,  and  with  energy,  to  see  the  first  consul.  He 
was  reinand<  (1  to  his  prison,  an<l  the  court  de- 
liberated. Althoujih  his  repealed  declarations  had 
revealed  in  him  an  implacable  enemy  to  the  revo 
lution,  tlie  hearts  of  the  soldiers  were  affected 
by  the  youth  and  the  courage  of  the  luince.  'l"he 
question,  stated  as  it  was,  could  have  no  oiher  than 
a  fatal  soluii  n.  The  laws  of  the  republic  and  of  all 
times,  pniiished  witli  capital  pen:iliies  the  fact  of 
service  against  France.  Nevertheless,  laws  had 
be<n  violated  against  the  prince,  in  his  seizure 
upon  a  foreign  soil,  and  his  laeing  deprived  of  a  ile- 
femler,  and  these  were  considerations  which  ought 
to  have  had  weight  in  the  determinations  of  the 
juilges.  In  the  confusion  into  winch  they  were 
thrown,  these  unha|)py  judges,  afHicied  at  their 
character  more  than  they  were  able  to  say,  pro- 
nounced sentence  of  death.  Still  the  greater  part 
among  them  expressed  a  desire  to  submit  the 
sentence  to  the  clemency  of  the  first  consul,  ami, 
above  all,  to  present  the  iirince  to  him,  who  de- 
manded so  veliemently  to  see  him.  lint  the  orders 
of  the  morning,  that  all  should  be  finished  in  the 


night,  were  precise.  M.  Real  alone  was  able, 
on  arriving,  and  interrogating  the  prince,  to  get  a 
respite.  M.  Real  did  not  appear.  The  night  ])assed 
away,  and  day  approached.  The  prince  was  con- 
ducted to  the  fosse  of  the  chateau,  and  there  he 
received  with  a  hrnuiess  worthy  of  his  name,  the 
fire  of  the  soldiers  of  the  republic,  against  whom 
he  had  so  often  fought  in  the  midst  of  the  ranks 
of  the  .Austrians.  He  was  buried  on  the  same  spot 
where  he  fell.    Melancholy  reprisal  of  civil  warfare  ! 

Colonel  Savary  set  oft'  innnediately  to  render  an 
account  to  the  first  consul  of  the  execution  of  his 
orders. 

On  his  way  he  met  M.  Real,  who  was  going 
to  interrogate  the  piisoner.  The  councillor  of 
state,  worn  out  by  the  fatigue  of  several  days  and 
nights  of  labour,  had  forbidden  his  domestics  lo 
awaken  him.  The  orders  of  the  first  consul  had 
not  lieen  delivered  to  him  until  five  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  He  arrived  too  late.  It  was  n»)t,  as 
some  have  said,  a  jiianned  machination  to  place  a 
crime  on  the  first  consul's  shi^ulders  ;  nothing 
of  tlie  kind  oecun'ed.  It  was  an  accident,  a  pure 
aceidiiit,  which  took  from  this  unfortunate  prince 
the  only  chance  of  saving  his  life,  and  from  the  first 
Consul  a  happy  op])ortunity  to  preserve  his  glor\ 
from  a  stain.  Unhappy  violation  of  the  ordinary 
forms  of  jnsti<-e  !  When  these  sacred  forms  are 
violated,  invented  by  the  experience  of  successive 
ages,  to  protect  the  lives  of  men  from  the  errors  of 
judges,  they  are  at  the  mercy  of  a  hazard  or  ot  any 
triviality.  The  lives  of  aci  used  persons  and  the 
honour  of  governmtnts  de)iend  sometimes  on  tlie 
most  fortnitoiis  contingencies.  Doubtless  the 
r.sohilion  of  the  first  consul  had  been  taken, 
but  he  was  agiiatcl,  and  it  the  appeal  of  ihe 
unhappy  Coiide',  demandin<;  his  life,  had  reached 
him,  he  would  not  have  been  found  insensible  to 
it  ;  he  wouUi  have  yielded  to  the  emotions  of  his 
heart,  and  it  would  have  been  glorious  to  yield 
to  them. 

Colonel  Savary  arrived,  much  affected,  at  Mal- 
niaison.  His  presence  caused  a  scene  of  deep 
sorrow.  Mailam  Bonaparte,  upon  seeing  him, 
divined  that  all  was  o\  er,  and  began  to  shed  tears. 
M.  de  Caulaincourt  uttered  cries  of  despair,  saviiif- 
that  they  wished  to  dishonour  him.  Ccdonel  Sa- 
vary penetrated  to  the  cabinet  of  the  first  consul, 
who  was  alone  except  M.  Meneval.  He  gave  him 
an  account  of  what  had  been  done  at  Vincemies. 
The  first  consul  iusiaiiily  said  to  him  :  "Has  Real 
seen  the  prisoner?"  Savaiy  had  scarcely  replieil 
in  the  negative  "hen  M.  Real  appeared,  and 
tremblingly  excused  himself  for  the  uou-execution 
of  the  ordej-s  which  he  had  received.  Withinii 
expressing  ap])robation  or  blame,  the  first  consul 
took  leave  of  the  instruments  of  his  orders,  and 
shut  himself  up  in  a  room  of  his  library,  where  he 
remained  during  several  hours  alone. 

In  the  evening  some  members  of  the  family 
ilined  at  Malmaisou.  Their  faces  were  serious 
and  inelanclioly.  No  one  ventured  to  sjieak — 
none  did  speak.  The  first  consul  was  as  silent 
as  the  rest.  'J'he  silence  at  last  became  em- 
barrassing. Oil  leaving  the  table,  he  broke  it 
himself.  M.  de  Fonianes  having  arrived  at  the 
same  mipment,  became  the  only  interlocutor  with 
the  first  consul.  He  was  a.stonmled  at  the  act,  of 
which    the   rumtiur  now   filled    Paris,  but  he  aid 


Effects  of  ih--  death 
of  the  ouke  d'tn- 
gl.ieii. 


THE  CONSPIRACY  OF  GEORGES. 


The  irue    authors  of 
these  excc^iees,  the  535 

eniigraiiis. 


n.it  pi-rmit  liims.lf  tlie  avowal  of  liis  seiitimi-nts 
ill  tlie  t.|>ot  wliei-e  lie  then  was.  He  listeiietl  a 
gooil  d-.al,  but  rarely  replied.  Tiie  fii-st  consul 
spoke  coiitiiiuiillv,  eiuleavouiins;  to  fill  up  the  void 
l.-ft  by  the  silence  <pf  the  company  ;  he  talked 
of  the  princes  of  every  :ij;e  ;  of  the  Roman  empe- 
rors ;  of  the  kings  ol  Fr  nee  ;  of  Tacitus,  and  the 
i.pi:.ions  of  that  historiim  ;  of  the  cruelties  to 
which  the  lie.ids  of  the  empire  often  lent  theiii- 
stlves,  wh.n  tiiey  were  foictd  to  -jive  way  Ut 
an  ineviuble  necessity  ;  finally,  arriving  by  a  long 
circuit  iit  the  tni;.;ic  subject  of  the  day,  he  spake 
tliise  words  :  "  TJiey  wish  to  destroy  the  revolution 
ill  attacking  my  persmi  ;  I  will  detend  it,  because 
1  am  the  rev.ijuti.in,  me,  myself  !  They  will  re- 
spect it  from  this  day,  because  they  will  know  of 
wli.it  we  are  c.ipable."  ' 

It  is  affliiting  for  the  honour  of  humanity  to  be 
obliged  to  Confess,  that  the  ti  rror  inspired  by  the 
lii-si  consul  act»-d  etticaciously  upon  the  princes  of 
the  house  of  Bourlx  ii  and  upon  the  emigrints. 
They  no  longer  believed  themselves  in  security, 
on  SLoing  the  German  territory  had  not  preserved 
even  the  unhappy  duke  d'Engliien;  and  from  that 
day  all  plots  of  the  same  kind  ceased.  But  this 
Kjid  utility  gives  no  jiisiifieatioii  of  such  acts.  It 
wiis  belt  r  worth  for  the  person  of  the  first  consul 
to  encounter  a  diiiiger,  so  olteii  exposed  as  it  was 
upon  fields  of  bailie,  than  purchase  the  security 
acquired  at  such  a  price. 

The  rumour  soon  eirculated  through  Paris,  that  a 
prince  had  been  seized,  transferred  to  Vincennesand 
shot.  The  effect  w:ls  great  and  lameiitiible.  Since  tiie 
arrest  <if  Fichegin  and  of  Georges,  the  first  consul 
had  become  the  object  of  universal  Solicitude.  All 
were  indignant  against  those  who  hail  a-soclated 
tlieniHelves  with  tiie  Choiians  to  threaten  his  life  ; 
it  went  very  hard  up  ii  Moreau,  of  wliom  the  cul- 
pability, less  detiioiisi  rated,  began,  notwiihstanding, 
to  Wear  the  aspect  of  truih.  Ardent  wishes  were 
expies.sed  for  the  m;in  aho  did  not  cease  to  be,  in 
all  eVi-s,  the  lutel;iry  genius  ■.f  France.  The  san- 
guinary execution  at  Viiieennes  operated  a  sudden 
reaction.  Tile  roy:'.lists  were  prodigiously  irritated, 
and  yet  more  aliirmed;  but  the  honest  men  were 
diseoii»ol:ite  to  sic  a  gov.rnment,  so  fiir  admirable, 
Hprinkle  its  hands  uiili  blood,  and  in  one  day  re- 
diic>-  itself  to  the  level  of  those  who  had  put  Louis 
XVI.  U)  death,  mil,  it  must  be  aclamwledged, 
wilh'iut  tlie  reV' litiioiiary  passions  and  excuses 
that,  in  ITJH,  troubled  the  h  ads  of  the  strongest, 
an  I  the  lieurtx  of  the  best  men. 

None  felt  satisfaetioii  except  the  ardent  revo- 
lutionists, thoHe  very  men  of  wh  im  ilie  first  Consul 
bad  terininat<-d  the  seimeleHs  power.  They  now 
found  thenisei\es,  ill  a  8iii:.'le  day,  become  pretty 
nearly  upon  an  eipiiliiy.  None  among  them  any 
more  dreaded  that  ;;i-n'-i-Hl  liniiaparie  would  labour 
tlieneeforth  for  the  Doinboim. 

What  a  Hiiignlar  billing  of  the  miml !  This  ex- 
traonliiiary  man,  of  a  spirit  so  elevated,  mo  just, 
with  a  heart  no  ^emroUM.  was  lately  fidl  of  seventy 
towards  llie  nvohiiioniMts  and  their  excesses.  He 
juilg -d  of  liiMse  errors  withr)Ut  indulgence,  sonie- 
tinies  even  without  justice.  Me  leiirniielied  them 
bitterly  f..r  li:.viiig  shed  the  blood  of  Louis  XVL, 
dishonoured  the  revo.utioii,  and  rendered  France 
irreconeileable  with  Europe.  All  of  a  sudilen, 
when   his    uwn    passions    wcro   excited,    ho    iiad 


rivalled,  in  a  moment,  the  act  committed  against 
the  person  of  Louis  XVI,  that  lie  had  made  so 
bitter  a  reproach  against  those  who  precedeil  him, 
and  he  had  placed  himself  in  the  sight  of  Europe  iu 
a  state  of  moral  opposition,  which  .soon  rendex'ed  a 
general  war  inevitable,  and  obliged  him  to  go  and 
seek  for  peace — a  miignificent  peace,  it  is  true — at 
the  extremity  of  Europe,  at  Tilsit. 

How  much  such  spectacles  are  calculated  to 
coiilbund  the  pride  of  human  reason,  and  to  teach 
us  that  the  most  transcendent  genius  does  not  save 
tl;e  possessor  from  the  commonest  faults,  when  he 
abandons  to  the  passions,  even  for  a  single  instant, 
th^^  government  of  himself. 

But  to  be  wholly  just,  after  having  deplored  this 
fatal  excess  id'  passion,  ascending  to  those  who  had 
provoked  it — who  were  they  ?  Always  the  same 
emigrants,  who  after  having  exacerbated  that  re- 
voluiii.n,  then  innocent,  quitted  their  country  to 
search  out,  in  all  (luarters,  the  enemies  of  France. 
This  revolution  moderattd  from  its  excesses,  and 
headed  by  a  great  man,  showed  itself  sage,  humane, 
and  pacific.  The  emigrants  it  had  recalled,  em- 
bosomed them  in  their  country,  in  their  property, 
and  prepared  to  restore  them  to  all  the  eclat  ot  their 
old  position.  How  did  they  return  this  clemency  I 
Were  they  grateful — peaceable  at  least?  Not  at  all. 
They  wei-e  allies  of  a  neighbouring  naiioii,  jealous 
of  the  greatness  of  their  country,  and  they  made 
use  of  the  liberty  of  that  nation  to  lurn  it  against 
France.  By  the  force  of  the  vilest  publicaiious 
they  irritated  the  pride  of  two  nations  that  were 
too  easily  excited; -iind  alter  luiviiig  endeavoured 
to  re.  over  themselves  with  arms  in  their  hands, 
they  did  not  limit  themselves  to  being  the  soliliers 
of  the  Briiish  government,  they  lent  it  the  aid  of 
their  plots.  They  planned  a  base  conspiracy;  they 
coloured  with  miserable  sophisms  a  disi^n  of  as- 
sassination, and  they  employed  Georges  and  Pielie- 
gru  in  France.  Jf  there  was  a  heart  that  the 
glory  of  the  first  consul  had  wouiuled,  it  was  to 
that  they  had  recourse.  They  hail  misled  and 
perverted  the  feeble  Moreau;  they  had  deceived 
iiim,  and  they  were  deceived  by  him  ;  and  then 
when  by  the  force  of  imprudence  they  had  been 
discovered  l)y  the  vigilant  sight  of  the  man  whom 
they  wished  to  destroy,  they  were  tlemunced  the 
one  by  the  other,  and  then  lliou^hi  to  justify 
or  to  excuse  themselves,  by  saxing  aloud  that  a 
French  prince  would  be  at  the  head  of  their  lior. 
rilile  doin^^s  !  The  great  man  against  whom  these 
odious  plots  were  directed,  revolieil  at  being  made 
the  object  of  the  murderous  attacks  td  lho.se  whom 
he  had  snatched  from  persecution,  and  gave  way 
to  fatal  anger.  He  had  waited  at  the  t<  ot  ot  a 
rock  for  the  jirince,  of  whom  they  iiniiouiieed  the 
arrival  ;  he  had  waited  in  vain  ;  and  Ins  mind 
troubled  by  the  very  declaraiioiis  of  the  con- 
spirators themselves,  had,  in  lact,  perceived  a 
prince  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  who  was  waiting 
there  for  the  renewal  of  the  civil  war.  At  this 
sight  his  reason  hud  gmie  astray  ;  he  had  taken 
that  prince  lor  the  chief  of  the  conspirators  who 
threatened  his  life;  he  lia<l  kit  a  sort  ol  pride  in 
seizing  him  upon  the  German  leriilory,  in  order 
to  strike  a  lioiirbon  li!;e  any  vulgar  individual  ; 
anil  he  had  struck  him  to  show  to  ilie  einigranls 
and  to  Europe  how  dangerous  and  insensate  it  was 
to  attack  his  person. 


536         General  observations.        THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND   EMPIRE.      General  Ob«ervations. 


Grievous  spectacle,  where  every  one  was  in  fault, 
even  the  victims  themselves;  where  the  French 
were  seen  to  make  themselves  instruments  of 
British  greatness  against  that  of  Fmnce  ;  Bour- 
bons, sons,  brothers  of  kings,  destined  in  tlieir  turn 
to  be  kings,  seen  mingling  themselves  with  the 
scouts  and  pests  of  the  highways;  the  last  of  the 
Conde's  paying  with  his  blood  for  the  jilots  of 
wliich  he  was  not  the  author,  and  that  Conde 
whom  people  would  have  to  be  ii'reproachable 
because  he  was  a  victim,  culpable  in  placing  liini- 
self  again  under  the  British  to  fight  against  the 
French  flag;  finally,  a  great  man  seen  led  away  by 
his  anger,  by  the  instinct  of  self-preservation,  by 
pride,  losing  in  a  moment  that  sagacity  which 
every  body  so  much  admired,  and  descending  to 
the  character  of  those  snnguinai-y  revolutionists, 
whom  he  had  himself  compressed  with  his  trimn- 
phant  hands,  and  had  made  it  his  gloi;y  not  to  imitate! 
Fatal  bondage  of  human  passion  !  He  who  is 
struck  will  strike  in  turn  ;  the  blow  received  is 
given  back  in  a  moment;  blood  calls  for  blood,  and 
revolutions  thus  become  a  succession  of  sanguinary 
reprisals,  that  would  be  eternal,  if  there  did  not 


arrive  a  day  at  last  when  they  must  cease, — a  day 
when  men  must  renounce  rendering  blow  for  blow; 
when  they  must  for  this  linked  vengeance,  sub- 
stitute a  calm,  impartial,  and  humane  justice  ; 
when  they  must  place  above  even  this  justice,  if 
there  can  be  any  thing  superior  to  it,  a  clear- 
sighted and  elevated  policy,  leaving  among  the  sen- 
tenced of  the  tribunals,  none  for  execution  but 
the  most  pressing  ciises,  and  granting  pardon  to 
others  who  have  gone  astray,  but  are  still  suscept- 
ible of  restoration  and  a  return  to  reason.  To 
defend  social  order,  by  conforming  to  the  strict 
regulations  of  justice,  without  giving  way  in  the 
smallest  degree  to  vengeance  :  such  is  the  lesson 
which  must  be  drawn  from  these  tragic  events. 
There  is  yet  another  remaining,  and  that  is,  to 
judge  with  indulgence  the  men  of  all  the  parties, 
who,  placed  before  us  in  the  career  of  revolutions, 
brought  up  in  the  middle  of  the  corrupting  troubles 
of  civil  war,  excited,  without  cessation,  by  the  sight 
of  blood,  had  not  for  the  lives  of  each  other  that 
respect  with  which  the  time,  reflection,  and  a  long 
peace  have  happily  inspired  us. 


BOOK  XIX. 


THE  EMPIRE. 


THE  EFFECT  PRODUCED  ON  EUROPE  BT  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  DUKE  D  ENGHIEN. — PRUSSIA,  ItEADT  TO  FORM  AS 
ALLIANCE  WITH  FBANCB,  TURNS  TO  RUSSIA,  AND  ALLIES  HERSELF  BY  A  SECRET  CONVENTION  TO  THE  LATTER 
POWER.— THE  TRUE  STATE  OF  THE  PRENCII  ALLIANCE  IN  1803  DESCRIBED,  AND  HOW  THIS  ALLIANCE  FAILED. 
— THE  CONDUCT  OF  DRAKE,  SMITH,  AND  TAYLOR,  DENOUNCED  BY  ALL  THE  CABINETS. — THE  FEELING  IT 
INSPIRED  DIMINISHED  THE  EFFECT  PRODUCED  BY  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  DUKE  d'eNGHIEN.  — THE  SENSATION 
EXPERIENCED  AT  ST.  PETERSBURG. —COURT  MOURNING  SPONTANEOUSLY  WORN.  —  LIGHT  AND  THOUGHTLESS 
CONDUCT  OF  THE  YOUNG  EMPEROIl. —  HE  REMONSTRATES  AT  THE  DIET  OF  RATISBON  AGAINST  THE  VIOLA- 
TION OP  THE  GERMANIC  TERRITOKY,  AND  ADDRESSES  IMPRUDENT  NOTES  TO  THE  DIET  AS  WELL  AS  TO 
FRANCE.— CIRCUMSPECTION  OF  AUSTRIA.  — THIS  STATE  MAKES  NO  COMPLAINT  OF  WHAT  HAD  TAKEN  PLACE 
AT  RATISBON,  BUT  AVAILS  ITSELF  OF  THE  SUPPOSED  EMBARRASSMENTS  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSUL,  TO  COM- 
MIT WITHIN  THE  GERMAN  EMPIRE  THE  MOST  ARBITRARY  ACTS  OF  POWER — SPOLIATIONS  AND  VIOLENCES 
THROUGHOUT  THE  WHOLE  OF  GERMANY. — ENERGY  OF  THE  FIRST  CONSU  L— CRUEL  REPLY  TO  THE  EMPEROR 
ALEXANDER,  AND  RECAL  OF  THE  FRENCH  AMBASSADOR — CONTEMPTUOUS  TREATMENT  OF  THE  RUS-IAN  REMON- 
STRANCE TO  THE  DIET. — EXPEDIENT  DEVISED  BY  TALLEYRAND  TO  CONFINE  THE  REMONSTRANCE  TO  AN  INSIG- 
NIFICANT RESULT — EaUIVOCAL  CONDUCT  OF  THE  AUSTRIAN  MINISTERS  AT  THE  DIET. —  ADJOURNMENT  OF  THE 
aUESTION. — NOTICE  TO  AUSTRIA  TO  CEASE  HER  VIOLENT  CONDUCT  IN  REGARD  TO  THE  EMPI  RE.  — DEFERENCE 
OP  THAT  COURT. — SEftUEL  OF  THE  PROSECUTION  OF  GEORGES  AND  MOREAU. — SUICIDE  OF  PICHEGRU. — AGITATION 
OF  THE  PUBLIC  MIND. — THERE  RE.SULTS  FROM  THIS  AGITATION  A  GENERAL  RETURN  TOWARDS  MONARCHICAL 
IDEAS.  — HEREDITARY  SOVEREIGNTY  BEGINS  TO  BE  CONSIDERED  A  MEANS  OF  CONSOLIDATING  THE  NATIONAL 
ORDER,  AND  TO  SHELTER  IT  FROM  THE  CONSEQUENCES  OP  AN  ASS  ASSIN  ATION.— NU  M  EROUS  ADDRESSES —DIS- 
COURSE OF  M.  FONTANES  UPON  THE  COMPLETION  OF  THE  CIVIL  CODE.— CHA  R  ACTER  01'  M.  FOUCHE  UNDER 
EXISTING  CIRCUMSTANCES.  —  HE  BECOMES  THE  INSTRUMENT  OF  THE  CHANGES  ABOUT  TO  TAKE  PLACE. — CAMBA- 
CERES  SHOWS  SYMPTOMS  OF  RESISTANCE  TO  A  CHANGE.— THE  FIRvT  CONSUL  COMES  TO  AN  EXPLANATION 
WITH  HIM  —PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  SENATE  MANAGED  BY  FOUCHE.— THE  FIRST  CONSUL  DEFERS  ANSWERING 
THE  SENATE,  AND  APPLIES  HIMSELF  TO  THE  FOREIGN  COURTS,  TO  DISCOVER  IF  HE  SHALL  BE  ABLE  TO  OBTAIN 
FROM  THEM  THE  ACKNOWLEDGMENT  OF  THE  NEW  TITLE  WHICH  HE  IS  ABOUT  TO  TAKE.— THE  FAVOURABLE 
REPLIES  OF  PRUSSIA  AND  AUSTRIA.  — CONDITIONS  WHICH  THE  LAST-NAMED  COURT  ATTACHES  TO  THE  ACKNOW- 
LEDGMENT.— STRONG  DISPOSITION  OF  THE  ARMY  TO  PROCLAIM  AN  EMPEROR.— THE  FIRST  CONSUL,  AFTER  A 
SILENCE  SUFFICIENTLY  LONG,  RETURNS  AN  ANSWER  TO  THE  SENATE,  REflUIRING  THAT  DODY  TO  MAKE  KNOWN 
ALL  ITS  IDEAS  ON  THE  SUBJECT. —  DELIBERATION  OF  THE  SENATE.— MOTION  OF  THE  TRIBUNE  CUREE,  HAVING 
FOR  ITS  VIEW  THE  RE-ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  MONARCHY.  — DISCUSSION  UPON  THE  SUBJECT  IN  THE  TRIBUNATE, 
AND  SPEECH  OF  THE  TRIBUNE  CARNOT — THE  MOTION  IS  CARRIED  UP  TO  THE  SENATE,  WHICH  RECEIVES  IT 
FAVOURABLY,  AND  ADDRESSES  A  MESSAGE  TO  THE  FIRST  CONSUL,  PROPJSINO  TO  HIM  THE  RETURN  TO  A 
MONARCHY. — A  COMMITTEE  IS  CHARGED  TO  DRAW  UP  THE  CHANGES  NECESSARY  IN  THE  CONSULAR  CONSTITU- 
TION.—CHANGES    ADOPTED.— THE   IMPERIAL    CONSTITUTION.— THE    GRAND    DIGNITARIES.— THE    CIVIL   AMD   Mill- 


1804. 
April. 


Effects  produced  in  Europe 
by  ihe  rxecuiioii  of  tlie 
duke  u'EnglMcn. 


THE  EMPIRE. 


I  of  Prussia  and 


537 


TART  CHANGES  —PROJECT  TO  RE  ESTABLISH  ONE  DAY  AN  EMPIRE  OP  THE  WEST. — THE  NEW  CONSTITUTIONAL 
DISPOSITIONS  rONVERTKD  INTO  A  SES  ATUS  CON  SULTUM.  — TH  E  SENATE  IN  A  BODY  PROCEEDS  TO  ST.  CLOUD,  AND 
PROCLAIMS  NAPOLEON  EM  PEROR.— SINGULARITY  AN  U  GRANDEUR  OF  THE  SPECTACLE. — SEOUEX.  OF  THE  PROCESS 
AGAINST  GEORGES  AND  MOREAU.— GEORGES  CONDEMNED  TO  DEATH  AND  EXECUTED.— M.  ARMAND  DE  POLIGNAC 
AND  M.  RITIERE  CONDEMNED  TO  DEATH,  BUT  PARDONED.— MOHEAU  EXILED.— HIS  DESTINY  AND  THAT  OF 
NAPOLEON.  — NEW  PHASE  IK  THK  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  —  THE  REPUBLIC  CONVERTED  INTO  A  MILITARY 
MONARCHY. 


The  effect  produced  by  the  .'sanguinary  catastrophe 
of  Vinci-'niie.s  was,  no  d"ubt,  very  considerable 
throughout  France,  but  it  was  much  more  so  in 
Europe.  It  is  not  departins;  from  the  rigour  of 
liicts  to  state  th.it  tiiis  catiistrophe  became  the 
principal  cause  of  the  tliird  general  war.  The  cou- 
spii-acy  of  the  Frencli  princes,  and  the  death  of  the 
duke  d'Engiiieii,  which  followed  that  event,  were 
but  reciprocal  acts  tiirough  which  the  revolution 
anil  counter-revolution  were  excited  to  commence 
a  new  ami  violent  conflict,  that  soon  extended  from 
the  Alps  and  the  Rhine  as  far  as  the  remoter 
banks  of  the  Niemen. 

The  respective  situations  of  France  and  the  dif- 
ferent courts  have  been  already  explained,  setting 
out  from  the  period  of  the  renewal  oi  ho.stilities 
with  Great  Britain  ;  the  pretensions  of  Russia  to 
be  the  supreme  arbitrator,  coolly  received  by  Eng- 
liind,  but  courteously  by  the  first  consul,  yet  after- 
wards repelled  by  him  as  soon  as  he  had  recognised 
the  partial  tendencies  of  the  Russian  cabinet  ;  the 
apprehensions  of  Austria,  fearful  of  seeing  the  war 
become  general,  and  endeavouring  to  dispo.sscss 
itself  of  its  uneasiness  by  the  exercise  of  an  excess 
of  power  in  the  empire  ;  the  perplexities  of  Prussia, 
"lij'  turns  agitated  throui;h  the  suggestions  of  Ru.s- 
sia,  or  attracted  by  the  flatteries  of  the  first  consul^ 
nearly  seduced  by  his  conversation-;  with  M.  Lom- 
bard, and  r<?ady  at  last  to  abandon  its  long  state  of 
lic>sitatioii,and  throw  itself  into  the  arms  of  France. 

.Such,  then,  was  the  situation  of  affairs  a  little  be- 
fore the  ileplorable  consjiiracy  of  which  the  tragical 
changes  have  been  related.  M.  Lombard  had  re- 
turned to  Berlin  full  of  all  he  had  listened  to  and 
observed  at  Brussels;  ami  in  communicating  his 
impre.ssions  to  the  young  king,  Frederick- William, 
he  bad  at  la.Ht  decided  to  imitc  himself  definitively 
with  Fnince.  Another  circumstance  contributed 
much  towards  the  production  of  so  fortunate  a 
rcHult.  Russia  had  shown  herself  but  little  fa- 
vourable to  the  ideas  iiiul  views  of  Prussia,  which 
were  marked  by  a  species  of  continental  neutrality, 
fiiunded  upon  the  nld  Prussian  system  ;  she  had 
endeavoured  to  substitute  for  those  ideas  the  pro- 
ject of  a  thinl  Etiro|)ean  party,  which,  on  the  pre- 
text of  resiraiuiiig  the  belligerent  powers,  would 
have  coniduiled  in  a  new  coalition,  directed  against 
Fi-ance,  awd  paid  by  England.  Frederick-William, 
tnoriiKed  at  the  reception  which  had  been  given  to 
liis  propositions  by  Russia,  knowing  that  results 
Tery  visible  mi^ht  enchain  the  Russian  project, 
and  feeling  that  the  strength  lay  on  the  side  of  the 
first  consul,  ma  le  the  offer  to  him,  not  as  before  of 
sterile  friendship,  such  as  had  been  given 

ce  1800  by  the  unHxable  M.  Hangwitz,  |,ut  a 
sincere  alliance.  At  first  he  had  offered 
as  well  as  to  Russia  ordy  an  extension  of 
ifW'an  neutrality,  that  was  to  comprehend 
all  the  German  states,  and  was  to  be  paid  for  by 
the  evacuation  of  Hanover,  which  would  have  for 
France  the  effect  of  re-opening  the  continent  to  the 


a  mere  ste 
Mj^ucelSOO 


I  commerce  of  England,  and  of  closing  upon  her  the 
road  to  Vienna. 

The  first  consul,  when  he  conferred  at  Brussels 
with  M.  Lombard,  would  not  listen  to  such  a  mea- 
sure. After  the  return  of  M.  Lombard  to  Berlin, 
and  under  a  view  of  the  later  cninhu-t  of  Russia, 
the  king  of  Prussia  therefore  proposed  to  France 
measures  altogether  different.  Under  the  new 
system,  the  two  powers,  France  and  Prussia,  gua- 
rantied the  status  presens,  comprehending  for  Prus- 
sia all  that  she  had  acquired  in  Germany  and  in 
Poland  since  1789  ;  ou  the  i)art  of  France,  the 
Rhine,  the  Alps,  the  junction  of  Piedmont,  the 
presidency  of  the  Italian  republic,  the  pos-sessinn 
of  Parma  and  Placentia,  the  maintenance  of  the 
kingdom  of  Etrnria,  and  the  temijorary  occupation 
of  Tarentum.  If  for  any  one  of  those  interests  the 
peace  were  endangered,  that  of  the  two  powers 
which  should  not  be  immediately  menaced  should 
interfere  as  an  intennediate  party  in  order  to  pre- 
vent war.  If  the  good  offices  thus  tendered  re- 
mained destitute  of  efficacy,  the  two  powers  then 
engaged  to  re-unite  their  forces,  and  sustain  the 
conflict  mutually  and  in  coninnn.  As  the  price  of 
this  serious  engagement,  Prussia  demanded  the 
evacuation  of  the  banks  of  the  Elbe  and  Weser, 
that  the  army  in  Hanover  should  be  reduced  to 
the  number  of  men  necessary  to  collect  the  revenue 
of  the  country,  in  other  words,  to  about  six  thou- 
.sand,  and  that  finall}',  if  at  the  peace  the  success 
of  France  should  liave  been  sufficiently  great  to 
enable  her  to  dictate  conditions  to  the  enemy, 
Prussia  exacted  that  the  fate  of  Hanover  should  be 
regulated  in  agreement  with  her.  This  was,  in  an 
indirect  fashion,  neither  more  nor  less  than  stipu- 
lating the  ])ossession  of  Hanover  for  herself. 

Frederick-William  had  been  influenced  to  enter 
in  this  forward  manner  into  the  ])olitical  system  of 
the  first  consul  by  the  certainty  of  the  continental 
peace,  which  depended,  in  his  opinion,  upon  a  soliil 
alliance  between  France  and  himself.  He  had 
seen  with  a  glance  of  the  eye,  honourable  to  him- 
self, but  above  all  to  M.  Haugwitz,  his  true  inspirer, 
that  Prussia  and  France  being  firmly  united,  no 
one  upon  the  continent  would  dare  to  trouble  the 
general  peace.  He  had  discovered,  at  the  same 
time,  that  in  thus  binding  the  continent  he  equally 
boimd  the  first  consul,  because  the  guarantee  given 
to  the  present  situation  of  the  two  powers  was  in 
a  certain  mode  to  fix  them  in  that  situation,  and  to 
interdict  new  cnterprizcs  to  France.  If  Prussia 
had  persisted  in  such  views,  and  had  been  encou- 
rag<'d  to  persevere,  the  destinies  of  the  world 
would  have  been  changed. 

The  same  reasons  which  had  decided  Prussia  to 
make  the  proposition  which  is  liere  stated,  would 
have  decided  the  first  consul  to  accept  it.  That 
which  lie  wished,  definitively  at  least  at  the  period 
thus  spoken  of,  was,  France  as  far  as  to  the  Rhine 
and  the  Alps  ;  an  absolute  domination  in  Italy  ; 
a   preponderating   inllucnce    in    Spain,   and,  in   a 


Proposed  treaty  of  alli- 
538  ance  between  France 

and  Prussia. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Relations  of  France 
and  Spain. 


1804. 
Apiil. 


word,  the  supreme  power  in  the  west.  All  this  he 
woulil  ohtaiii  through  the  giiai-aiitee  of  Prussia, 
ami  that  to  a  degree  of  certainty  well  nigh  infal- 
lible. Without  doubt  the  continent  would  be  re- 
opened to  the  English  by  the  evacuation  of  the 
banks  of  the  Elbe  ;ind  Weser  ;  but  these  facilities 
given  to  their  commerce  would  not  effect  so  nuich 
benefit  in  their  behalf  as  the  immobility  of  the 
continent  wouM  inflict  evil,  ensured  as  it  was 
hem-eforth  by  the  union  of  Prussia  with  France. 
Tiie  continent  at  rest,  the  first  consul  was  certain, 
by  apjilying  his  genius  to  the  task  for  several 
ve;irs,  to  strike  sooner  (T  later  some  great  blow 
against  England. 

it  is  true  that  the  name  of  an  alliance  was  miss- 
ing in  the  proposition  of  Prussia,  but  the  alliance 
was  ceriainly  there,  though  the  word  was  wanting, 
in  accordance  wiili  the  wish,  deeply  meditated 
uj)oii,  of  the  young  king. 

This  prince  in  reality  had  not  wished  to  use  the 
term  :  he  had  even  imagined  to  diminish  the  im- 
portance of  the  treaty  liy  calling  it  a  convention. 
But  what  could  the  form  matier,  when  the  whole 
.substance  remained  ;  when  the  engagement  to 
join  his  forces  to  those  of  the  French  was  form- 
ally stipulated  ;  when  this  engagement,  entered 
into  by  a  king,  lionourable  and  faiihfid  to  his  word, 
coidd  deserve  to  be  reckoned  upon  ?  Herein 
may  be  remarked  one  of  those  weaknesses  of  mind 
visible,  not  only  in  the  court  of  Prussia,  but  in  all 
the  courts  of  Europe  at  that  period.  They  admired 
the  new  govermnent  of  France,  since  it  was  under 
the  directinn  of  so  great  a  man  ;  they  loved  its 
jifinciples  as  well  as  they  respected  his  glory  ;  and 
still  they  would  not  willingly  take  any  jiart  with 
him.  Even  when  a  jiressmg  interest  obliged  them 
to  approximate  towards  him,  they  were  unwilling 
to  have  more  to  do  with  him  than  was  necessary  in 
relation  to  the  bii.siness  liefore  them  ;  not  that  they 
felt  cjr  that  they  ventured  to  manifest  towards  him 
that  aristocrat ical  disdain  which  old  dynasties  ex- 
liii  it  towards  new  ;  the  first  consul  was  not  as  yet 
exposed  to  comparisons  of  such  a  nature  in  consti- 
tuting himself  the  head  of  a  dynasty;  and  the  mili- 
tary lilory  which  was  now  his  principal  title  to 
respect.  Was  one  of  those  merit(u-inus  qualifications 
before  which  such  a  disdain  always  vanishes.  But 
it  was  liared  bv  Prussia,  that  in  ioriiiallv  declaring 
herself  his  ally,  she  should  pass,  in  the  eyes  of 
Eiiio|)p,  for  a  deserter  from  the  common  cause  of 
kin;;s.  Frederick-William  would  find  himself  em- 
barrassed before  his  y^img  Iruiid  Alexander,  and 
even  beloiv  his  enemy  the  emperor  Francis.  'J'he 
jji  ttl\  and  younsj  ((ueen,  who  kept  aromid  her  a 
circle  di'oply  imimed  with  the  pa.ssi'.ns  and  l>rcju- 
dices  of  the  old  ord<M-  of  things— a  circle  the  mem- 
bors  of  which  rallied  iVI.  Lombard  because  he  had 
r.-turned  Irom  Brussels  lull  ol  tiiihiisiasm  for  the 
first  consul,  ami  haitd  .M.  Haoiiwit/.  because  he 
was  the  advocate  of  the  French  alliance — this 
jji-ctty  and  young  <|neeii  and  those  Jii-ound  her 
made  a  great  outcr\,aiid  overwhelmed  the  king 
with  tluir  celisc.res.  'i'liis  was  no  more,  it  is  true, 
than  a  mere  domestic  dififreiice,  sinnlar  to  those 
which  Frederick-William  was  otten  <ibligid  to  en- 
counter. But  he  would  not  have  been  able  to  c.  n- 
ciliale  this  formal  treaty  of  alliance  with  that  equi- 
vocal language  anil  distituli  11  of  trankness  w|,ioli 
he   had    ord.nanly   held   to   the  other  courts.     He 


was  desirous  of  re]iresenting  tlie  engagements  he 
had  entered  into  with  the  first  consul  as  a  sacrifice 
he  had  been  obliged  to  make  in  spite  of  his  own 
inclinations  to  the  pressing  necessities  of  his  people. 
In  fact,  his  people  had  an  urgent  need  that  Hanover 
should  be  evacuated,  in  order  that  the  blockade  of 
the  Elbe  and  the  Weser  might  be  raised.  To  ob- 
tain from  France  the  evacuation  of  Hanover,  it 
w  s  needful,  he  would  have  said  to  the  other 
powers,  to  concede  something  to  her,  and  he  had 
seen  himself  compelled  lo  guarantee  to  her  that 
which  all  the  other  powers,  more  jiarticularly 
Austria,  had  guarantied  to  her  either  by  treaties 
or  by  secret  conventions.  At  this  price,  which  was 
not  a  new  concession,  he  had  delivered  Germany 
from  foreign  soldiers,  and  re-established  his  com- 
merce. Add  but  the  word  alliance  to  the  jtro- 
ceeding,  and  this  interpretation  became  impossible. 
It  is  true  that  the  stipulation'respecting  Hanover 
was  as  compromising  to  Prussia  as  the  word 
alliance  would  have  been,  but  this  stipiilation  was 
confined  to  an  article  which  it  was  agreed  under 
the  word  of  lionom-  should  be  kept  secret. 

The  court  of  Prussia  was,  as  may  be  easily  per- 
ceived, as  feeble  as  it  was  ambitious  ;  but  its  pro- 
mise could  be  safely  relied  ui)ou  when  it  was  once 
committed  to  writing.  It  was  necessary  to  take 
Prussia  just  as  she  was,  to  give  way  to  her  weak- 
nesses, and  to  seize  upon  the  sole  opportunity  to 
bind  her  in  a  common  cause  wiiii  France, 

In  the  present  time,  since  the  old  Germanic  em- 
pire has  been  broken  up,  there  sn))sist  lew  points 
of  rivalry  between  Prussia  and  Austria,  and  there 
exists  a  very  formidable  one  between  Prussia 
and  France,  in  the  Rhenish  provinces.  But  in 
180-1,  Prussia,  jilaced  some  distance  from  the  Rhine, 
had  wiih  France  very  similar  interests,  and  with 
Austria  those  of  a  very  ojiposite  character.  The 
hatred  whii-h  tiie  great  Frederick  felt  towards 
Austria,  and  inspired  on  her  part,  still  survived  in 
its  full  extent.  The  reform  of  the  Germanic  con- 
stitution, the  secularization  of  the  ecclesiastical 
teriitories,  the  sui)|)ression  of  the  immediate  nobi- 
lity, the  partition  of  the  votes  between  the  catholics 
and  prntestants,  being  so  many  questions  either 
resolved  <ir  to  be  resolved,  filled  the  two  courts 
with  liiiter  resentment  for  the  past  and  the  future. 
Prussia,  enriched  with  the  spoils  of  the  church, 
representing  the  revolution  in  Germany, and  having 
the  interests  and  very  nearly  the  same  bad  cha- 
racter witli  the  older  monarchies,  was  the  natural 
ally  of  France  ;  the  last,  not  willing  to  be  without 
a  friend  in  Europe,  must  therefore  cvidejuly  attach 
herself  to  that  power. 

Spain,  as  an  ally,  was  not  worthy  of  considera- 
tion; and  in  order  to  regenerate  Inr,  France  was 
comb  limed,  at  a  later  period,  to  plunge  into  great 
ditticuliiis.  Italy,  torn  into  strips,  of  which  France 
po.ss.-ssed  marly  the  whole,  was  unable  yt  t  to  con- 
tribuie  any  real  strength  to  France;  she  furnished, 
with  some  troul)le,  a  few  soldiers,  that  to  become 
efficient,  because  they  were  capable  of  being  made 
so.  had  need  to  be  intermingled  with  the  French. 
.Austria,  more  able  and  more  subtle  than  all  the 
oihr  courts  togeilnr,  cherished  the  resolution, 
which  she  di.ssimnlated  to  all  ihe  world  bi  sides, 
and  almost  to  herself,  of  precipitating  herself  upon 
France  on  the  first  opportunity,  in  order  to  lecover 
what  she  had   lost  ;  and  there  was  noili;ng  in  this 


April. 


Relations  o'  France  and  Spain. 


THE  EMPIRE. 


Hesitations  of  Prussia. 


539 


astonish iiifj,  nor,  imlced,  to  be  condemned.  Everv 
v.oKiuihlied  ]mi-ty  endcavonra  to  rt  cover  ilsilf 
apiin,  and  lias  a  ii<,'ht  to  niaUe  llie  attemiit.  Just 
as  niucli  as  Fru'-sia  re)iresented  in  Germany  sonie- 
tliiii};  analogous  to  Fnince,  so  niiicli  did  Austria 
re]>r<sent  ail  lliat  can  be  imagined  ol  tlie  coniniry, 
because  sbe  was  tlie  acconi|ilisbed  image  of  tlie 
old  order  of  tilings.  Tlicre  was  anoilier  reason 
rendered  lur  ii  reioncil.able  wiili  Fiance — this 
was  Italy,  the  oljcet  of  her  eager  de>ire,  and  of  a 
passion  for  its  pi  ssi  ssinn  p(|Mal  to  that  indulged  by 
the  first  consul.  While  France  Kept  the  doniiiiion 
in  Italy,  there  could  be  nothing  more  expected 
than  mere  truces  between  the  two  countries,  longer 
or  shorter,  according  to  circiinisiances.  Between 
the  two  German  courts,  TJways  divided,  to  cln  ose 
the  alliance  of  that  of  Viciin.i  was  ther.  fore  im- 
)«>ssible.  As  to  Uussia,  in  preltiidiiig  to  di'iiiiner 
ov»  r  the  coiiiinent,  it  was  necessary  for  France  to 
resign  herself  to  be  her  enemy.  The  t<  n  years 
last  passed  away,  suftieiently  prove<l  that  such 
must  be  the  ease.  Even  with  no  interest  in  the 
war  that  Fnince  sustained  against  Germany,  with 
an  interest  more  coiifoinialile  to  that  of  France 
in  a  war  suflained  by  this  last  power  against 
England,  she  had  taken  an  hostile  attitude  under 
Catherine,  and  uinler  Paul  1.  sent  Suwarrow  into 
the  field  ;  uiuler  Alexander  she  had  finished  by 
wishing  to  protect  tlie  smaller  ))owcrs,  and  by 
Confining  the  coiitinnnt  to  a  protectorate,  incom- 
patible with  the  power  tlitit  Frantre  desired  lo 
exercise  there.  Coiitinenial  jealousy  made  her 
an  enemy  to  France,  as  niaritinie  jealousy  made 
her  one  to  Kngiand. 

It  was  thus  Spain,  then  fallen,  having  no  force 
to  aid  France  ;  Austria  being  irreconcihable  on 
account  of  Italy;  Uns-ia  being  jealous  on  account 
of  the  continent,  as  England  was  of  the  ocean;  that 
Prussia,  on  the  contrary,  having  alone  similar 
interests  to  those  of  France,  playing  among  the 
old  governments  the  character  of  an  upstart, 
I'ouiid  lierself  the  forced  as  well  as  natural  ally  of 
France.  To  neglect  to  be  so  was  to  remain  iso- 
lated. To  be  isolaU'd  and  alone  was  ever,  in  all 
cas<s,  to  consent  to  perish  on  the  very  first  reverse 
of  circumstances. 

M.  dc  Talleyrand,  when  alliances  were  the 
matter  in  hand,  advised  the  first  consul  ba<lly. 
That  minister,  with  whom  partialities  exercised 
more  inHucncc  than  calculation,  bore  towards  Aus- 
tria a  prrference  arising  from  habit.  Full  of  re- 
vived renuiiibriiiicts  of  the  old  cabinet  of  Ver- 
sailles, in  which  the  great  FredericU  was  detested 
on  account  of  his  sarcasms,  but  in  uhicli  the  court 
of  Vienna~xvas  beloved  on  account  of  its  fiatt<-rieH, 
he  believed  himself  again  at  Versailhs,  when  in 
amicable  relations  with  Austria.  For  these  ill 
reasons,  lie  was  cold,  a  raihr,  even  disdainful  in 
all  that  concerned  Prussia,  and  pie\ented  the  first 
consul    from    confiding    in    her.     His    counsels    in 

other  respeclH  bad   little   efiect.     The  first  » sul, 

from  the  lieginiiing,  had  judged  with  his  ordinary 
sagacity  on  what  sii'.c  tin;  alliance  was  most  to  be 
desired,  and  he  bad  i  dined  toHards  Prussia. 
Still,  confident  in  his  own  (.ireiigih,  he  was  not 
pressed  to  maUe  a  cli<i<e  of  friends.  He  ac- 
knowledged the  utility  o(  liavir.g  them;  he  appre- 
ciated the  real   viiii f  one  or  the  other,  but  he 

believed  that  then;  was  always  time  to  secure  them 


for  himself,  and  was  inclined  to  be  leisurable  in 
the  selection. 

When  M.  Lucchesini,  in  consequence  of  the 
conferences  at  Brussels,  brought  a  letter  from  the 
king  himself,  and  the  pn  ject  of  an  alliance,  or  at 
least  the  title,  the  first  consul  was  nuicli  piqued. 
He  regarded,  and  w  ith  reason,  that  relations  with 
France  were  honourable  enough,  above  all,  sutti- 
cienlly  profitable,  to  be  openly  avowed.  "  I  ac- 
cept," he  said,  "  the  proposed  basis;  but  1  desii-e 
that  the  word  '  alliance' shoulil  be  in  the  treaty.  It 
is  only  a  )inblic  profession  of  onr  friendship  with 
Prussia  that  will  intimidate  Europe,  and  permit 
ine  to  dinct  all  our  resources  against  England. 
With  such  a  treaty  1  shall  diminish  onr  land 
forces,  and  increase  those  of  the  sea,  and  devote 
myself  entirely  to  a  maritime  war.  With  less 
than  a  public  and  formal  alliance,  1  shall  not  be 
able  to  operate  without  danger  in  the  revision  and 
training  of  the  troops, and  make  the  .sacrifice  of  re- 
opening the  rivers  without  a  sufficient  advantage 
in  reiurn." 

There  was  much  truth  in  this  kind  of  reasoning. 
The  lull  ami  complete  avowal  of  the  French  al- 
liance would  have  imparted  a  moral  infiumce, 
which  it  was  itnpossible  a  half  avowal  would  be 
able  to  ensure.  But  even  the  single  fact  of  a 
union  of  the  strength  of  the  two  countries  was  of 
immense  value:  the  su.  .-.tance  ought  here  to  have 
jn-evailcd  over  the  form.  Prussia,  allied  wiih 
France,  so  far  as  the  obligation  was  to  take  arms 
ill  certain  ca.ses,  would  have  been  soon  compro- 
mised ill  the 'sight  <d'  Europe;  jiursued  by  the  ill 
language  of  the  cabinets,  and  irritated  by  this 
language,  be  driven,  in  spite  of  herself,  into  the 
arnis  of  France.  The  first  step  would  have  made 
the  second  inevitable.  It  was,  llurefore,  a  fault 
not  to  have  acceded.  The  first  consul,  besides  the 
word  alliance,  for  which  he  stipulated  absolutely, 
contested  certain  of  the  conditions  which  Prussia 
demanded.  In  regard  to  Himover  he  was  very 
ready  to  yield,  and  niaile  no  difficulty  in  ceiling  it 
to  Prussia,  the  contingency  haipening,  because  it 
would  embroil  her  fiiiidameiitally  wiih  England. 
But  he  was  always  very  difficult  to  negotiate  with 
relalivdy  to  the  •■peiiing  of  the  rivers.  He  was 
indignant  at  the  i<lea  td  re-opening  a  part  of  the 
continent  to  the  English,  who  shut  up  every  sea. 
He  went  so  far  as  to  say  t<i  the  minister  of  Prussia, 
"  How,  for  a  (piestion  of  nnre  money,  would  you 
oblige  me  to  renounce  one  of  the  wiost  effi'  acious 
means  of  striking  at  Great  Britain  ?  You  have 
given  the  aid  of  three  or  lour  miilions  of  crowns  to 
the  cloth  merchants  of  Silesia;  it  will  be  neiessary 
to  give  them  as  much  more.  Make  your  calcula- 
lii.ii,  how  much  it  will  cost  you — six  or  eight  mil- 
lions of  crowns?  1  am  ready  to  fuinish  you  with 
the  amount  secretly,  in  order  that  you  may  give 
up  the  condition  of  the  re-opening  of  the  rivers." 

This  expedient  was  not  to  the  Prussian  taste. 
Prussia  wished  to  be  able  to  say  lo  the  courts  of 
Europe,  that  she  had  only  engaged  herself  so 
deeply  with  the  first  consul  in  order  to  sind  the 
French  away  from  the  banks  of  the  Elbe  and 
Weser. 

When  the  proposition,  thus  modified,  was  re- 
turned lo  Berlin,  the  king  was  alarmed  at  the  very 
idea  of  an  explicit  alliance.  The  emperor  Alex- 
ander and  the  German  courts  were  present  in  his 


Prussian  terms  modified. 
540        —  Ci-ssacion    of   iiuer- 
courie. 


THIERS*  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Censures  of  English  di- 
plomatists. 


1804. 
April. 


mind  continually,  making  him  a  thousand  re- 
proaclies  for  his  rebelliun.  He  feared  also  the 
enterprising  character  of  the  first  consul,  and 
dreaded,  lest  b/  enchaining  liimself  too  strongly 
with  him,  he  might  be  drawn  into  a  war,  which 
was  that  of  all  things  in  the  world  he  most  desired 
to  avoid  The  court  was  divided  and  agitated  by 
the  ((Uestion.  Although  tlie  cabinet  was  very 
secret,  there  was  something  gathered  beyond  its 
precincts  of  the  matter  which  ihus  preoccupied  it 
so  seriously;  and  the  court  inveighed  against  M. 
Hangwitz,  whom  it  accused  of  being  the  author 
of  this  piece  of  policy.  This  eminent  statesman, 
that  a  certain  appearance  of  duplicity,  belonging 
more  to  his  situation  than  to  his  character,  caused 
to  be  calumniated  in  Europe,  but  who  then  com- 
prehe'ided  better  than  any  Prussian,  it  may  be 
truly  s:-.id,  better  than  any  Frenchman,  the  com- 
bined interest  of  the  two  powers,  made  evei'v 
effort  to  strengthen  the  heart  of  the  affrighted 
monarch,  and  to  persuaile  the  first  consul  not  to 
be  too  exacting.  But  liis  efforts  were  vain;  and 
in  his  disgust  lie  formed  the  design  of  retiring,  a 
design  that  he  soon  afterwards  executed.  The 
minister  of  Russia  at  Berlin,  M.  Aiopeus,  a  Rus- 
sian, fiery  and  arrogant  as  M.  Markoff,  troubled 
Potsdam  with  his  exclamations.  The  Austrian 
diplomatic  body  became  filled  with  intrigues.  All 
the  passions  were  enlisted  against  the  idea  of  an 
alliance  with  France.  Nevertheless,  this  internal 
agitJition  did  not  extend  itself  beyond  the  more 
intimate  circle  of  the  court,  and  had  not  acquired 
at  Berlin  the  notoriety  couiiected  with  a  public 
event. 

Such  was  the  situation  of  things  when  intelH- 
geni-e  of  the  seizure  and  carrying  away  of  the  duke 
d'En^rhien  from  the  Gerniacic  soil  was  suddenly 
received.  It  produced  an  immense  impression. 
The  rage  of  the  party  opposed  to  France  passed  all 
bounds.  The  embarrnssment  of  the  nppo.site  side 
was  extreme.  The  argument  of  the  consul  Lebrun, 
that  the  act  would  pro<luce  a  great  noise  in  Europe, 
was  fully  realized.  Still,  in  order  to  lessen  in 
.some  degree  the  eff'ect  thus  produced,  it  was  added, 
that  the  measure  was  one  oF  pure  precaution  ;  that 
the  first  consul  had  only  seized  him  as  an  hostage, 
but  that  it  never  could  have  entered  into  his 
thoughts  to  strike  down  a  young  prince  of  an  illus- 
trious name,  a  stranger,  besides,  to  the  ))r:ictices 
that  wei-e  carrying  on  in  Paris.  They  were  scarcely 
got  to  listen  to  tliese  excuses,  when  the  news  of 
the  terrible  execution  at  Vineennes  was  learned 
with  consternation.  The  French  party  was  from 
that  time  obliged  to  hold  its  tongue,  and  no  longer 
offer  even  excuses  for  the  act.  The  minister  of 
France,  Laforest,  enjoying  great  personal  conside- 
ration at  Berlin,  found  himself  suddenly  abandoned 
by  the  Prussian  society,  and  he  related  himself  in 
his  des|),itches,  that  they  no  longer  exchanged  a 
word  with  him.  He  repeated,  in  one  of  his  daily 
reports,  the  real  expressions  of  a  person  held  in 
much  esteem  by  the  French  legation  : 

"  To  judge  of  the  exasperation  of  the  public  mind 
by  the  excited  state  of  the  language  spoken,  I  do 
not  doubt  that  all  who  sujjported  the  French 
government  would  have  been  insulted,  not  to  say 
Worse,  had  there  not  been  in  Pru.ssia  protective 
laws,  and  a  monarch  whose  j)rinciples  are  known." 

M.  de  Laforest  said  again,  under  the  same  date, 


that  the  brawlers,  after  having  shown,  in  appear- 
ance at  least,  a  deep  sensibility  at  theevi  nr,  "  were 
not  able  to  restrain  a  sort  of  insulting  delight,  and 
that  they  congratulated  themselves  as  if  they  had 
obtained  an  important  success." 

This  cruel  event  was,  in  fact,  an  important  suc- 
cess for  the  enemies  of  France,  because  it  every 
where  lowered  the  friends  of  France,  and  occa- 
sioned the  formation  of  alliances  that  it  was  only 
possible  to  disunite  by  the  thunder  of  cannon. 

The  faults  of  an  adversary  are  a  jjoor  compen- 
sation for  the  fiiults  which  we  commit  our.'^elves. 
Still,  England  managed  to  make  this  sort  of  com- 
jiensalion.  She  had  committed  an  act  ditticnlt  to 
qualify,  in  furnishing  the  money  necessary  to  carry 
on  a  plot,  and  in  ordering  or  in  suffering  three  of 
her  ajjer.ts,  her  ministers  at  Stuttgard  Cassel,  and 
Munich,  to  intermin<;le  in  the  most  criminal  in- 
trigues. The  first  consul  had  sent  a  confiilential 
officer,  who,  being  ilisguised,  and  giving  himself 
out  as  an  agent  of  the  conspiracy,  introihiced  him- 
self into  the  confidence  of  Mr.  Drake  and  Mr. 
Spencer  Smith.  He  bad  received  from  them,  to 
be  transmitted  to  the  conspirators,  with  a  right  to 
open  an  account,  seeing  the  difficulty  of  uniting,  at 
that  moment,  a  sufficient  sum  in  money,  more  than 
a  hundred  thousand  francs  in  goM,  which  he  de- 
livered over  immeili.-itely  to  the  French  ))olice. 
The  report  of  this  offic:-r,  the  autograph  letters  of 
Drake  and  Spencer  Smith  having  been  inmie- 
diately  collected  and  deposited  in  the  senate,  were 
communicated  to  the  diplomatic  body,  to  authen- 
ticate the  handwriting  *.     The   fact  could  not  be 


'  It  is  singular  that  our  author  has  refrained  from  giving 
an  ex'ract  from  ilii>  correspondence,  any  thinjj.  in  short, 
that  can  tend  lo  prove  the  rxact  nature  of  tlie  i-otiduct  for 
which  these  ministers  art-  so  much  censured.  They  do  not 
appear  to  have  teen  cnnrernrd  in  any  such  reprehensible 
practices  as  M.  Thiers  would  fain  have  the  render  in'er.  At 
)ia^'e  264,  in  a  note,  the  reader  will  find  a  specimen  of  the 
false  colouring  and  evjision  of  the  truth  put  forth  hy  the 
French  iiuihoriiies  in  those  times,  which,  fr(  m  the  author's 
own  statements,  m.iy  also  l)e  plainly  inferred  in  t)ie  present 
case.  In  reply  to  the  present  charge,  lord  H  iwkrshury, 
afterwards  lord  Liverpool,  a  statesman  of  admitli  d  integrity, 
deserves  every  credit.  The  following  is  an  extract  from  the 
document  he  put  forth  on  the  occasion.  That  large  sums 
of  mnm-y  were  paid  hy  this  country  lo  the  itisurgents  of  La 
Vendee,  and  to  the  weak-minded  French  pr  uces  and  emi- 
grants, is  likely  enough,  too  frequently,  perhaps,  under  pre- 
tences haseless  enoujih.  of  raising  insurrectii^ns  in  Frdnce, 
during  war  consiileret!  legitimate.  That  the  British  govern- 
ment was  conscious  of  doing  tnore  th;in  this,  no  reasonahle 
man  will  for  one  moment  credit.  The  fiist  consul  com- 
plained to  Mr.  Ko.\  in  Paris,  of  the  connexion  of  the  English 
mitiisiry  with  the  parties  who  planned  the  infernal  machine. 
Fox  indignatitly  denied  that  any  English  mniisler  would 
he  a  party  to  an  assassination.  Tliat  British  sliips  were 
ordered  to  land  the  agents  of  the  Fiench  princes  and  those 
concerned  in  the  affair  of  Georges,  is  no  doubt  true;  but  the 
British  mini>ters  w-  re  never  privy  to  their  designs  beyond  the 
repre>eniations  they  made,  iti  which  the  ititended  assassina- 
tions were  never  di.^closeil.  In  rcgaril  to  the  state  of  afl^airs 
in  the  interior  of  Frnnce,  the  British  ministry,  it  must  be 
admitted,  credited  the  emigran's,  ignorant  and  demented  as 
they  Were,  upon  th;it  and  too  many  otier  occasions.  'I  his 
is  not  111  be  wondered  at,  when  that  ministry  was  continually 
stirrounded  hy  them,  their  own  views  in  every  thing  being 
strongly  hnl-ed  lo  the  old  Bourbon  system,  and,  in  their 
sight,  the  Fren  h  revolution  a  crime  against  the  majesty  of 
kitig-,  before  whose  claims  the  sufferings  of  the  people  that 


1804. 
April. 


:  of  tlie  English  diplo- 
ao'cuts  in  Uennany, 


THE  EMPIRE. 


.Tnd  tlieir  exculpation  by  lord 
Uawkcbbury. 


541 


denied.     The  report  and  iliese  documents  inserted 
in  the  Monitcur,  and  adJiebsed  to  all  the  courts. 


produced  it  was  not  to  be  weighed.  Such  were  the  feelings 
of  that  day,  under  which  feelings  it  is  fair  to  cons  dcr  tlieir 
conduct.  1'he  following  l>  an  extract  from  lord  Hawkcsbury's 
anAWer  in  the  affa:r  of  Drake  : — 

"  It  is  the  acknowledfied  right  of  belligerent  powers  to 
avail  ihemselvesof  any  discontents  exi>iiiig  in  the  Countries 
\»itli  wliicti  they  may  happen  to  be  at  war.  The  expediency 
of  acting  upon  this  right  (even  if  the  right  were  in  any  de- 
gree dijubtful)  would,  in  tlie  pre.sent  case,  be  most  fully  sanc- 
tioned, not  only  by  the  actual  state  of  tlie  French  nation, 
but  liy  the  conduct  of  the  government  <f  that  country,  which, 
e\er  since  the  commencement  of  the  present  war,  has  main- 
taineit  a  communication  with  llie  disalfecit  d  in  his  iii(ij>?sly'3 
dolnini<>n^,  particularly  in  Ireland;  and  lias  actually  assem- 
bled on  the  co.ist  of  France  a  body  ot  Irish  rebels,  lor  the 
purpose  of  aiding  their  designs  against  that  part  of  the 
United  Kingdom. 

"  Under  these  circumstances  liis  majesty's  government 
would  not  imieed  be  warranted  in  foregoing  this  right  to  sup- 
port, a»  fjf  as  is  consi>lent  with  th"^e  principles  of  the  law 
of  nations  which  all  civilized  goveininents  have  hitherto 
acknuMledged,  the  efforts  of  such  of  ihe  inhabitants  of  France 
as  ma)  profess  hostility  to  its  present  goxernment.  They 
feel,  in  common  with  all  Europe,  an  anxious  desire  to  see 
establiilied  in  that  country  an  order  of  ihiiigs  more  con- 
sistent wiih  ii«  own  happiness,  and  with  the  security  of 
surrounding  naiions.  But  it  this  cannot  be  accomplished, 
they  are  justified,  on  the  strictest  prim  iples  of  self  delence, 
in  endeavouring  to  cripple  the  exertions,  to  distract  the 
operaiion^i,  and  to  confound  the  projects  of  a  government 
whose  avowed  system  is  not  merely  to  disiress  ihe  com- 
inerce,  to  reduce  the  power,  or  to  abridge  the  dominions  of 
its  enemy,  but  lo  carry  devastation  and  ruin  into  the  heart 
of  the  British  empire. 

"  In  ihe  application  of  these  principles  his  majesty  has 
directeit  me  further  to  declare,  that  his  government  has 
never  aulhoriz-  d  any  one  act  which  will  not  stand  the  test 
of  the  strictest  principles  of  justice,  and  the  known  and 
avo^e't  practice  of  all  ages.  If  any  minister  accredited  by 
his  majesiy  lo  a  foreign  court  has  held  correspondence  with 
pcr^0ll»  in  France,  with  a  view  of  ohtaiiiing  information  of 
the  projects  of  the  French  government,  or  for  any  other 
legitimate  purpose,  he  has  done  no  more  than  ministers, 
under  similar  cinumstances,  have  been  uniformly  considered 
as  having  a  right  to  do,  with  respect  to  the  countries  with 
which  their  sovereign  was  at  war,  and  much  less  than  the 
ministers  and  commercial  agents  of  France,  in  neutral  coun- 
tries, can  be  proved  to  have  done  with  regard  to  the  dis- 
a/Tecird  in  pans  of  his  majeslyS  dominions  In  conducting;, 
therefore  such  a  correspondence,  he  would  not  in  any  de- 
gree have  violated  his  public  duty.  A  minister  in  a  foreixn 
counry  is  l»iund  by  the  nature  of  his  olhce,  and  the  duties 
of  his  situation,  to  abstain  from  all  coininunicatinn  with  the 
disatTected  in  the  country  to  which  he  is  accredited,  as  well 
as  from  any  act  injurious  to  the  interesls  of  (hit  country; 
but  he  is  not  suhjei  t  to  the  same  restrainis  with  respcot  to 
those  countries  with  which  his  sovereign  is  al  war.  His 
■cts  respecting  them  may  be  praiseworthy  or  blameablc,  ac- 
cording to  the  nature  of  the  arts  themselves  :  but  they  would 
not  ron-liluie  any  violation  of  his  public  character,  unless 
they  miliiated  aftainnt  the  peace  or  security  of  the  country 
to  which  he  was  accredited." 

The  charge  of  aiding  assassination,  lord  Ilawkcsbury  thus 
answers  : — 

"  It  cannot  be  necessary  for  him  "  (his  majesty)  "  to  repel 
wllh  the  scorn  and  indignation  which  it  deserves,  the  most 
unfounded  and  atrocious  calumny,  that  his  government 
were  parlies  to  any  project  of  assassination  ;  an  accusation 
most  falsely  and  calumnioiisly  advanced  under  the  same 
■uibority  against  the  members  of  his  majesty's  former 
government  in  the  last  war;  an  accusation  inconsistent  with 


caused  a  severe  censure  upon  England  to  succeed 
the  passionate  censure  ot  which  France  was  fur 
.some  days  hetbre  the  exclusive  object.  Impartial 
men  saw  that  the  first  consul  had  been  provoked 
by  odious  actions,  and  they  regretted,  tor  the  sake 
of  his  glory,  tlmt  he  was  not  content  with  the  legal 
represision  which  would  strike  Georges  and  his 
accomplices,  and  the  reprobation  that  would  be 
incurred  by  Drake  and  tjinith,  for  their  omduct  as 
English  diplomatists,  who  were  sent  away  with  in- 
dignation from  Munich  and  Stutgardt,  traversing 
Germany  precipitiitely,  and  not  daring  to  show 
themselves  any  where.  Mr.  Drake,  in  particular, 
jiassing  by  Berlin,  received  an  injunction  from  the 
Prussian  police  not  to  remain  there  a  single  day  •. 
He  only  passed  through  that  ca|)ital,  and  went  to 
embark  in  all  hiiste  for  England,  bearing  with  him 
the  shame  which  attached  to  the  profanation  of  the 
most  sacred  functions. 

The  conduct  of  Mr.  Drake  and  his  colleagues 
operated  as  a  diversion  to  the  death  of  the  duke 
d'Engliien  *.  Nevertheless,  tlie  Pru.ssian  cabinet, 
observing  besides  in  its  language  perfect  propriety, 
became  all  at  once  silent,  colil,  and  impenetrable 
to  M.  Laforcst.  Not  another  word  of  an  alliance, 
not  a  word  more  of  business,  not  even  a  s\  liable 
upon  the  cruc-1  event  which  was  every  where 
so  deplored.  M.  Haiigwitz  and  M.  Lombard  were 
inconsolable  at  an  accident  which  had  ruined  al) 
their  political  views  ;  it  was  known  that  M.  Hiiug- 
witz,  in  particular,  had  taken  a  resolution  to  tjtiit 
the  iielm  of  aflairs,  and  retire  to  his  Silesian 
estates,  much  impoverished  by  the  war.  liut 
these  two  personages  now  said  not  a  word  more. 
M.  Laforest  wished  to  provoke  an  explanation. 
M.  Haugwitz  hciird  his  observations  with  much 
attention,  and  replied  to  him  in  these  serioi:s 
words:  "Amid  all  this,  monsieur,  be  persuaded 
that  the  king  has  been  piirticularly  sensitive  to  all 
which  may  afl'ect  the  glory  of  the  first  consul.  As 
to  the  alliance,  it  must  no  more  be  thought  about. 
It  was  wished  to  e.xait  too  much  of  the  king  ;  and, 
besides,  he  has  suddenly  turned  towards  other 
ideas,  in  consequence  of  an  unforeseen  event,  of 
which  neither  you  nor  I  will  be  able  to  avert  the 
consequences." 

In  fact,  the  dispositions  of  the  king  of  Prussia 
were  completely  changed.  He  thought  now  of 
approaching  more  towards  Russia,  and  to  obtain 
through  her  the  advantage  of  that  support  which 
he  had  at  first  sought  to  secure  from  France, 
He  had  desired  to  gain  from  the  first  consul 
tlie  reduction  of  the  army  in  Hanover,  and   tlie 

his  majesty's  honour,  and  with  the  known  character  of  the 
British  nation  ;  and  so  completely  unsupported  by  even  any 
shadow  of  proof,  that  it  may  be  justly  presumed  to  have 
been  brought  forward  at  the  piesent  moment*,  for  Ihe  sole 
purpose  iif  diverting  the  ailenli'jn  of  Europe  from  the  con- 
templation of  that  saiiMUliiary  deed  which,  in  violation  of 
the  law  of  nations,  and  ot  the  plainest  dictates  of  honour 
and  humanity,  has  been  recently  perpetrated  by  Ihe  direct 
order  of  the  lirst  consul  of  France."— jBri<iiA  Slate  Paper, 
April  SO,  180).— Translatoh. 

■  Bavaria  was  at  this  time  no  better  than  a  French  pro- 
vince, Napoleon's  will  being  law  there.  Baden  was  terrified 
after  the  violation  of  her  territory  ;  and  I'russia  was  a 
fawning,  insincere  sycophant.  The  fear  of  the  first  consul, 
not  the  public  Indignation,  caused  the  uiniicritcd  treatment 
of  these  envoys. — Translator. 


542 


Effects  of  the 
duke  d'En 
Europe. 


aeath  of  the 
^hien    upon 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Iii'erference  of  Russia 
with  the  atfair. 


1804. 
Ap.ii. 


evacuation  of  tlie  banks  of  the  Elbe  and  VVestr, 
by  engaging  to  partake  in  ail  the  chancts  that 
niigiit  menace  France.  Decided  at  last  to  have 
nothing  in  common  with  her,  he  resigned  iiimself 
to  suffer  the  occupation  of  Hanover,  tiie  closing  of 
the  rivers  of  wiiich  tiiat  was  the  consequence,  and 
sought  in  an  intimate  agreement  with  Russia, 
tlie  means  to  prevent  or  limit  the  inconveniences 
which  must  result  from  the  presence  of  tlie  French 
in  Ijermaiiy.  He  entered  innnedi.ilely  into  con- 
ferences with  the  ambassador  of  Russia.  It  was 
easy  to  cnndnct  a  similar  negotiation  to  the  desired 
end,  because  it  responded  to  all  the  wishes  of  that 
court. 

While  the  effect  of  the  tragical  event  with 
which  Europe  was  occupied  grew  weaker  at 
Berlin,  it  began  to  apjiear  at  St.  Petersburg.  It 
was  greater  there  than  elsewhere.  In  a  young 
coin-t,  sensitive,  seldom  drawing  just  inferences, 
dis|iensing  with  pruileiice,  throui;n  the  distance 
wliich  separated  it  from  France,  the  manifestations 
of  feeling  were  by  no  means  controlled.  It  was 
on  a  Saturday  that  the  courier  reached  St.  Peters, 
hurt;.  The  next  day  being  SuMda_\,was  the  day 
for  the  diplomalic  receptions.  The  emjieror,  hurt 
at  the  haughtiness  of  the  first  consul,  and  little 
disp  sed  to  I'estrain  himself  to  humour  him,  lis- 
tened to  nothing  in  these  circinnstaiices  but  his 
resentful  feelings  and  the  exclamations  of  a  pas- 
sionate mother.  He  maile  all  his  household  put 
on  mourning,  without  even  cnsuhni-;  Ins  cabinet. 
When  the  moment  for  the  recepti-.n  arri\eil,  ilie 
emperor  and  his  court  were  all  fiiuil  in  in<iurning, 
to  the  great  astonislnneut  of  the  minisiei's  them- 
selves, who  had  not  been  forewarned  of  it.  The 
representatives  of  all  the  E\no|)ean  courts  saw 
with  pleasure  this  testimony  of  sorrow,  which  was 
a  real  insult  ottered  to  France.  'J"he  anibiissador, 
general  Hedouville,  attending  with  other  diplo- 
matic personages,  found  himself  for  some  moments 
in  a  very  painful  situation,  yet  jje  showed  a  calm- 
ness and  dignity  which  struck  all  the  witnesses  of 
this  straiige  scene.  The  empir-r  passed  before 
him  without  exchanging  a  single  word.  The 
general  neitiier  appeared  tri>nl)le<l  nor  embar- 
rassed, threw  around  him  a  li'ani|nil  look,  and 
made  respect  be  felt  for  iiimself  by  the  counte- 
nance he  bore  upon  the  occasion,  as  well  as  lor  the 
French  nation,  compromised  by  a  great  mis- 
fortune. 

After  this  imprudent  scene,  the  em])eror  began 
to  deliberate  with  his  ministers  upon  the  conduct 
to  lie  pursued.  This  yoinig  monarch,  sensible,  but 
as  vain  as  he  was  sensible,  was  inipaiient  to  act  a 
character.  He  had  already  jilayed  a  part  in  the 
aftairs  of  Germany,  but  he  very  soon  perceived 
that  the  policy  of  the  first  consul  diil  not  accord 
with  his  own,  or  rather  that  he   had   not  overcome 

him  by  conviction.      He  ha'l  lec nended  to  him 

N.iples  and  Hanover  wiih.mt  beiny;  listened  to  ; 
he  h.id  been  mortified  by  llie  haughtiness  with 
which  the  first  consul  was  j)leased  to  heighten  the 
ernn-s  of  M.  Markotf,  altliough  he  himself  censured 
the  conduct  of  that  ambassador.  In  this  dispo- 
sition, the  smallest  occasion  sutti;'ed  him  to  speak 
openly,  and  lu  yielding  to  Ins  woundeii  vaiiityj 
he  believed  he  only  obeyed  the  sentiments  of  an 
honotir.ible  humanity.  If  there  be  added  to  this  a 
character   open   to    the   slightest  impression,  and 


an    utter    want    of   experience,    his   sudden    reso- 
lutions find  an  easy  exi)lanaii'in. 

To  the  disaster  which  has  been  already  related,  he 
wished  to  subjoin  some  stroke  of  policy,  which  should 
be  much  more  serious  than  any  demonsli-atiun  of 
the  court  could  be.  After  resisting  what  he  pro- 
jio.sed,  his  councillors  imagined  to  give  him  satis- 
faction by  very  hazardous  means,  that  of  remon- 
strating against  the  invasion  ot  the  territory  of 
Baden,  in  calling  himselt'  the  guarantee  of  the 
Germanic  eni))ire.  This  w:is,  as  will  be  seen,  a 
step  of  the  most  inconsiderate  nature. 

The  quality  of  guarantee  to  the  Gern-anic  empire 
that  the  Ru.ssian  court  thus  atlrdniled  to  itself, 
was  very  liable  lo  be  contested,  because  the  last 
mediation,  exercised  in  i«artnership  wiih  France, 
had  not  been  followed  up  by  a  formal  act  of 
guaranteeship.  This  act  was  so  necessary  to 
]irove  the  guarantee  existed,  that  the  ministers  of 
France  and  Russia  had  otien  deliberated  with  the 
German  ministers  U|>oii  the  necessity  which  there 
was  to  complete  it,  atid  about  the  form  in  which  it 
was  nil  St  convenient  to  draw  ii  up.  Siill  the  act 
had  never  taken  place.  In  delauk  of  this,  the 
litle  to  the  guaranteeship  (onid  only  be  drawn 
from  the  tieatx  of  'J'escheii,  b\  which  France  and 
Russia  bail  gtniraniiid  in  \^T.i,  the  intervening 
arrangements  beiwetn  Prussia  and  Austria  re- 
lative to  the  Bavarian  succession.  This  enga;;e- 
ment,  limited  to  a  special  object,  admitted  of  the 
question,  whelher  it  coiiferied  the  right  to  inter- 
meddle in  the  interior  police  of  the  empire.  The 
thin-.;  was  at  least  doubtful.  In  aiiy  case,  the 
empire  having  to  comjilain  of  a  violaiiin  of  terri- 
tory, it  was  the  duty  of  the  slate  in  which  the 
outrage  had  iieeii  committed  to  c<iiij)lain  at  most 
to  a  German  power  ot  liie  violali>  n  ot  its  territory, 
ill  other  words,  for  tlie  grand  duke  of  Badtii  to 
remonstrate  aya'tist  the  opjiression,  but  most  assur- 
edly not  a  foreign  power.  In  raising  this  question, 
tin  re  was  evidi  ntly  no  greiind  to  go  npi  n.  It  was 
to  embarrass  Germany,  even  to  i  fiend  that  empire, 
because  although  ouil-aged,  she  had  llo  desire  to 
coiiiiiK  nee  a  (juarrel,  the  issue  of  whieh  it  was  easy 
to  foresee.  In  making  (his  bustle,  therefore,  the 
U'leatest  of  levities  was  committed.  Four  years 
had  scarcely  )iassed  away  since  a  crime  which 
calumniators  denominated  a  jiarricide,  liad  dis- 
graced St.  P(  ter.-buig,  and  pn  cured  the  crown 
'or  the  xoung  miiiarch.  The  as.sassins  of  the 
father  still  surrounded  the  son,  and  in  t  one  of 
them  had  been  punished.  'J  his  was  to  exp<  se 
himsell  <iii  the  part  of  an  amli.cious  adversary  ti> 
a  terrible  rejoinder.  M.  Woronzi  ff  being  sick, 
had  lietii  re|ilaeed  by  the  voting  prince  Czartorisl.y, 
anil  it  must  bi'  siiid  to  his  praise,  tl  at  \oUiig  as  he 
then  was,  he  made  stron;^  objections  to  the  niea 
sure.  But  the  older  memlers  of  the  council 
showed  no  more  wisdom  upi  ii  this  occasion  than 
the  yonng  monarch  himsell.  because  in  the  pas- 
sions prudence  is  jnetty  nearly  npi  n  an  equality  in 
every  stage  of  lite.  In  const  queiice,  the  cabinet  of 
St.  Petirsiiurg  ilecideil  <n  addressing  to  the  Ger- 
man diet  a  note,  to  exhibit  its  solicitude,  and  pio- 
voke  its  dtliheration  upon  the  violation  of  the 
teriitory  recently  coimnitied  in  tlie  grand  duciiy 
of  Baden.  A  copy  of  the  same  note  upon  liie 
same  subject  was  to  be  addressed  to  the  French 
government. 


i 


1804. 
Ai>ril. 


Russia  and  Prussia  Torm 
an  aliidiite. 


THE  EMPIRE. 


The  treaty  between  Russia 
and  Prussia. 


Tliey  RHt  nn  limit  tn  tlie  mMiiifestaiioiis  inspired 
l>_v  iliis  uiifxi-luiiaie  cinumstaiice.  They  wished 
ti>  teslifv  to  the  ei'iirt  "f  lliiiiie  ii  marked  ile>;rte  of" 
<lis:i|i|ir'<l>uii'>ii,  ill  return  for  the  condescension 
wliieh  this  suite  liad  shown  to  France,  in  dehver- 
iiif;  to  her  the  emijjrant  Verne^ues.  The  minister 
of  Itiissia  iit  Rome  liad  been  reialled  at  tiiat 
iiioiiieiit.  The  |>"|>e"s  iiuiii-io  had  heen  sent  away 
flMiii  St.  Pet  l-sliiir;:.  It  was  iiiip.ssilile  to  exllihit 
a  censure  iii  >re  out  of  place,  more  offensive,  in  the 
acts  I'f  a  f.iieijjii  court,  if  these  acts  were  cen- 
Mirahle.  SiiX'iiiv,  uneasy  at  the  displeasure  whi.li 
the  presence  of  M.  dEiltrai;;ues  caused  at  Uresden, 
hid  rc|ueste<l  Russia  to  recall  hitn.  The  cahinet 
of  St.  Petoi-sbur;^  replied,  tliat  M.  d'Klltrai;;iies 
should  remain  at  I)res<leii,  because  they  did  not 
oiisnii  the  conveniences  of  other  courts  in  the 
choiee  of  Russian  a;;iiitH. 

.\rier  these  imprudent  step«,  the  Russian  cabinet 
<K-i-u|.ied  itself  ill  ijiianhn^  a;;ainst  the  futuie  by 
Keeking  to  form  alliances.  It  had  naturally  lent  a 
coiiiplac-nt  and  ea^^er  ear  lo  the  luw  lannuas^e 
of  Prussia,  that  after  liavin;;  cpiitted  Russia  for 
Fninci',  now  quitted  France  for  Russia,  inclining 
to  II. lice  itself  with  the  north.  Russia  much  de- 
«ired  to  draw  in  F-ederick  William,  so  far  as  to 
form  a  .-ort  of  continental  coalition  indepeinlent  of 
En;;lanil,  but  leaniiif?  towards  her  side.  Still  they 
«ere  obli;;ed  to  be  Content  with  what  the  kili;^ 
of  Prussia  offered.  That  prince,  constrained  to 
ahandoii  Hanover  to  the  French,  since  he  had 
ivii'iiiiiced  all  negotiations  with  her,  sou;;ht  to  com- 
pensate for  the  inconveniences  attached  to  their 
presence  ill  tliat  territory,  by  means  of  an  under- 
staiidiog  with  Russia.  He  wished  that  alone,  and 
it  was  iinpussible  tu  bring  him  to  desire  any  thing 
more. 

Ill  consequence,  after  forcing  themselves,  each 
on  his  own  side,  to  bring  to  the  result  the  object 
most  preferred,  a  species  of  engagement  was  en- 
tered into.  Consisting  in  the  double  tieclaratioiis  of 
Prussia  lo  Russia,  :ind  of  Russia  to  Prussia,  drawn 
up  ill  different  terms,  and  impressed  with  the 
spirit  of  each  of  these  two  courts ;  the  sense 
of  tiie  engagement  being  this  :  that  as  far  .-is  tlie 
Fren.di  limited  themselves  to  the  occupation  of 
'llaiiover,  and  did  not  exceed  the  number  of  thirty 
thoiiHiiiid  men  in  that  part  of  Germiiny,  the  two 
courtM  would  rem.rii  inactive,  and  keep  themselves 
to  the  u/'i/u  qui.  Hut  if  the  Freinh  trops  were 
augmented,  and  if  the  other  fjermaii  states  were 
invaded,  lliey  would  then  concert  measures  to 
resist  such  a  fresh  invasion,  and  if  ihis  resistjince 
\A^  the  progress  of  the  French  towards  the  north 
prtHlueeil  a  new  war.  that  ihen  they  should  unite 
their  forces  and  sustain  in  common  the  Conflict 
aeiiially  begun.  The  emjieror  in  that  case  placi-d, 
without  any  re.MTve,  all  I  he  resources  of  his  empire 
at  the  disposiiioii  of  Prussia.  This  lamentable 
i-ontr..ct,  signed  on  the  24th  of  May,  1804,  by 
I'riis'ii,  was  at  the  same  time  aceompanied  by 
a  host  of  restrictions.  The  kin^j,  in  his  declaration, 
8;  i  ',  that  he  di<l  not  intend  to  suffer  biniNelf  to  be 
drawn  into  war  iijioii  any  frivolous  ground;  that 
tliUH  it  would  not  happen  from  nn  angmentaiion  of 
a  few  hundred  of  men  to  the  army  occupying 
Hanover,  sent  there  by  the  annual  and  regular 
recruiting  iif  that  army ;  that  it  would  not  happen 
from  an  accidental  collision  with  one  of  the  smaller 


German  powers,  that  so  carried  itself  as  to  brave 
a  rupture  with  France,  but  only  with  the  formal 
iiiteniiun  of  France  to  extend  herself  in  Germanv 
inaiiiftsted  by  a  real  and  considerable  augmenta- 
tion of  the  Fn  nch  forces  in  Hanover.  As  to  the 
yonng  eniper'^r,  he  carried  into  his  eiigageiiieni  no 
restrictions  of  such  a  nature.  He  obliged  himself 
simply  anil  purely  to  join  his  arms  lo  Prussia 
in  case  of  war  ' . 

•  This  treaiy,  under  the  form  of  a  double  declaration, 
must  not  be  confounded  with  the  secret  treaty  of  i'otsdam, 
concluded  on  the  3rd  of  November,  I8U5,  while  Naiiuleon 
was  niarcli  ng  from  Ulm  to  Austerlilz,  and  whicii  was 
» re  ng  frdiii  Prussia  in  consequence  ot  tlie  violation  of  the 
territories  of  AiLspiich  and  Hareuth.  That  which  is  now 
al  tided  to  has  never  l)een  |lubli.^hed  in  any  diplomatic  col- 
lectji  n,  and  it  remains  unknown  even  in  France.  In  order 
that  it  may  lie  ki.oun  it  is  pnli.ished  liere.  to  clear  up  an 
important  act,  in  tlie  abaniloninei:t  of  the  alliance  of  France 
by  Prussia. 

Declaration  of  the  Court  of  Prussia. 

"  We,  Frederick-Willi'am  III.  &c.  &c. 

"The  war  which  is  rekindled  between  France  and  Eng- 
land having  exposed  the  norili  of  Germany  to  a  foreign  in- 
vasion, the  coiisei|iiences  which  are  the  result  of  the  present 
moment,  liolh  as  reganis  our  own  Kovernment  and  that  of 
our  neigi  hours,  have  excited  all  our  solicitude;  but  those 
more  pariicularly  which  it  is  possible  may  yet  happen,  have 
required  us  to  weigh  and  to  prepare  in  lime  such  means  as 
may  opeiate  in  remedying  them. 

"  However  painful  may  be  the  occupation  of  Hanover, 
and  its  indirect  consequence,— the  closing  of  the  rivers ;  after 
having  exhausted,  in  order  to  put  an  end  to  such  a  state  of 
things,  every  means  short  of  war,  we  have  resolved  to  make, 
for  peace,  the  saciitice  ol'  not  leturiiing  to  the  past,  and  of 
not  proceeding  lo  active  meaiures,  until  new  usurpations 
shall  have  compelled  us 

'•  But  il'  ill  .spite  of  the  solemn  promises  given  by  the 
French  government,  it  extends  beyond  the  i7«/K  quo  of  the 
present  moment,  its  enterprises  against  the  security  of  any 
of  the  states  of  the  norih,  we  are  decided  to  oppose  it  with 
the  powers  that  i  rovidence  has  placed  in  our  hands. 

"  We  ha>e  made  to  France  this  solemn  declaration,  and 
France  has  accepted  it;  liut  it  is,  ahoxe  all,  towards  liis 
majesi)  the  emperor  of  i.11  the  Kussias,  that  conhrtence  and 
friendship  make  it  our  duty  to  express  ourselves;  and  we 
have  had  the  satisfaction  to  be  convinced  that  our  resolu- 
tions weie  :ii  absolute  accordance  with  the  principles  of  our 
august  al.y,  and  that  he  hinisell  was  deiermined  to  sn|>port 
them  wiih  ourselv.  s.  In  consequence,  we  have  come  lo  an 
agreement  with  his  imperial  majesty  under  the  following 
heads : — 

"  1.  Vr'e  will  oppose  ourselves  in  concert  to  every  new  en- 
trenchment of  the  French  government  upon  the  states  of 
the  norih.  strangers  to  its  quarrel  wiih  Kn^fland. 

•'  2.  For  this  end  we  will  bcyiii  to  bestow  a  continual  and 
severe  attenMon  upon  Ihe  preparations  of  the  republic.  We 
will  lix  a  vigilant  e.\e  on  the  dilTerent  bodies  of  troops  that 
she  may  bring  into  Germany ;  and  if  the  numbers  be  aug- 
mented, we  will  put  ouiselves,  without  loss  of  time,  in  a 
posture  to  make  that  pr..icciion  respected  which  it  is  in- 
tended to  a'cord  lo  the  weaker  states. 

"  3  In  ease  of  a  new  usurpation  of  power  happening,  we 
think  iliHt,  wiih  an  advermiry  so  dangerous,  half  measures 
would  he  unfortunate;  it  will  be  with  forces  proportionable 
to  the  immense  po*er  of  the  republic  that  we  shall  march 
au'ainst  her.  Thus,  in  iicr-epting  with  acknowledgments  Ihe 
olTer  ol  our  august  ally,  to  join  our  troops  immediately  w  iih 
an  army  of  forty  or  (ifiy  thousand  men.  we  may  not  reckon 
less  iipim  the  anterior  mipulations  of  the  treaty  of  alliance 
between  RuKsi.i  and  Prussia — itipnlalions  which  so  bind 
the  destinies  of  the  two  empires,  that,  should  iho  existence 


The  treaty  between  THIERS'   CONSULATE  AND   EMPIRE.        Russia  and  Prussia. 


This  treaty,  so  singular  in  form,  was  to  remain 
secret,  and,  in  fact,  it  continued  completely  un- 

of  one  be  in  question,  the  efforts  of  the  other  will  know  no 
limit. 

"4.  To  determine  the  moment  when  the  casus  foederis  s.hM 
exist,  it  i3  needful  to  take  an  extended  view  of  affairs  in 
their  true  spirit.  The  small  states  of  the  empire  situated 
beyond  the  Weser,  may  possibly  offer  passing  scenes  which 
are  repugnant  to  these  prituiijles,  whether  because  they  are 
a  territory  offering  a  continual  passage  to  the  French  troops, 
or  because  their  sovereigns  are  either  sold  to  French  interests, 
—as  with  the  count  de  Bentheirn,— or  are  dependants  upon 
France  on  other  accounts,  as  the  count  dAremberg.  'J  he 
minute  deviations  that  a  proper  representation  would  re- 
drcNS. — as  at  Meppen,  where  the  saiety  of  nobody  was  put 
to  hazard,— are  stran^-ers  to  an  agreement,  the  only  motive 
of  which  is  security.  It  is  on  the  banks  of  the  Weser  that 
the  interest  becomes  of  essential  consequence,  because  from 
th  It  point  it  deals  with  Denmark,  Mecklenburg,  and  the 
Hanseatic  towns;  and  the  cnsiis  foederis,  consequently,  will 
have  oper.ition  on  the  first  enterprise  of  Fiance  against  any 
state  of  the  empire  situated  on  the  right  of  the  \V,  ser,  and 
particularly  ag;'iiist  the  Danish  provinces  and  Mecklenburg, 
in  ihe  just  expe'tatmn  which  we  hjhe,  that  his  majesty  the 
king  of  Denmark  will  then  make,  conjointly  with  us,  a  com- 
mon cause  against  the  enemy. 

'•  5.  The  enormous  marches  that  the  Russian  troops  will 
have  to  make  before  joining  ours,  and  the  dilhcuUy  of  their 
arriving  in  time  to  take  a  part  in  decisive  conflicts,  make 
us  judge  that  it  will  be  most  convenient  to  adopt,  for  the 
different  descriptions  of  troops,  a  different  mode  of  transport. 
Thus,  while  the  Kubsian  cavalry  and  artillery  march  through 
our  provinces,  it  seems  prefcralile  thai  the  infantry  and  can- 
non should  pass  by  sea,  and  be  di.semharked  in  some  port  of 
Pomerania,  of  Mecklenburg,  or  of  Holstein,  according  to  the 
operations  of  the  enemy. 

"  6.  Immediately  after  the  commencement  of  hostilities, 
or  sooner,  if  the  convenience  of  so  doing  is  acknowledged  by 
the  two  contracting  courts,  Denmark  and  Sa.xony  "ill  be 
invited  to  adhere  to  this  agreement,  and  to  co-operate  by 
means  proportioned  to  the  power  of  each  state;  and  in  the 
same  way  will  be  invited  all  the  princes  and  states  of  the 
north  of  Germany  that,  by  the  proximity  of  their  territories, 
would  feel  bound  to  participate  in  the  advantages  of  the 
present  arraiigcnient. 

"  7.  From  this  time  we  bind  ourselves  not  to  lay  down 
our  arms,  or  to  enier  into  an  accommodation  with  the 
enemy,  but  with  the  consent  of  his  imperial  maje-ty,  and 
after  a  previnus  agreement  with  him,  full  of  confiilcnce  in 
our  august  ally,  who  has  entered  into  similar  engagements 
towards  ns. 

"  8.  Afier  having  attained  the  end  which  has  been  pro- 
posed, we  reserve  ourselves  to  come  to  an  understanding 
wiih  his  imperial  majes'y  upon  the  ulterior  measures  to  be 
taken,  for  the  object  of  purging  the  north  of  Germany  en- 
tirely of  the  presence  o'  foreign  troofis;  and  to  assure  our- 
selves of  this  hajipy  re.sult  in  a  stable  and  secure  manner; 
and  in  advising  an  order  of  things  which  will  no  more  ex- 
pose Germany  to  the  inconveniences  from  which  it  has 
suffered  since  the  eommencemeni  of  the  existing  war. 

"  Ibis  declaration  is  to  be  exchanged  against  another 
signed  by  his  imperial  majesty  of  Russia,  and  conceived  in 
the  same  sense;  we  promise  on  our  faith  and  royal  word,  to 
fulfil  to  the  letter  the  engagements  into  which  we  have  here 
entered. 

"  In  the  faith  of  which  we  have  signed  these  presents 
with  our  hand,  and  have  affixed  our  royal  seal. 

"  Done  at  Berlin,  on  the  2^tll  of  May,  in  the  year  of  grace 
1804,  and  in  the  eighth  of  our  reign. 

(Signed)  "  FREnr.RICK-WlLLIAM. 

(Counter-signed)         "  Harden  berg." 

Counter-dectaraliiin  of  Uussia. 

"The  critical  situation  of  Ihe  north  of  Germany,  and  the 

burthen  imposed  upon  its  commerce,  the  same  as  on  that  of 


known  to  France.  Scarcely  was  it  concluded, 
when  the  king  of  Prussia,  iierjietually  running  from 

all  the  north,  by  the  presence  of  the  French  troops  in  the 
electorate  of  Hanover;  and,  further,  the  imminent  danger 
that  exists  in  providing  for  the  tranquillity  of  the  states 
which,  in  this  part  of  the  continent,  are  not  yet  subjugated 
under  the  joke  of  France,  having  excited  all  our  solicnude, 
we  are  compelled  to  apply  ourselves  in  search  of  the  proper 
means  to  calm  our  apiireheiisinns  in  this  regard. 

"  The  invasion  of  the  electorate  of  Hanover,  it  not  having 
been  possible  to  jirevent,  ai.d  circumstances  having  iin- 
hap|iily  hindered  in  time  its  deliveiante  from  the  presence 
of  tlie  French  troops,  we  have  judjied  it  convenient  not 
to  adopt,  at  the  present  moment,  any  active  measuie,  while 
the  French  government  shall  limit  itself  to  the  occupation  of 
the  Germ  in  dominions  of  his  Britannic  majesty,  and  aiso 
not  [.erinit  the  French  armies  to  pass  in  Germany,  the  line 
behind  which  they  now  confine  themselves. 

•'  His  majesiy,  the  king  of  Prussia,  whom  we  have 
acquainted,  in  all  confidence,  with  our  fears,  and  the  mea- 
sures which  appear  to  us  indispensable  to  ward  off  the 
danger  that  we  aiitclpate,  having  expressed  his  assent 
to  our  views,  as  well  as  his  desire  to  concur  in  objects 
so  Salutary,  and  to  oppose  himself  to  new  aggressions  of 
the  French  government  upon  the  other  states  of  the  em- 
pire, strangers  to  its  quarrel  wiih  England,  we  have  fallen 
into  accord  with  his  aforesaid  majesty  on  the  following 
points  :— 

"  1  The  acknowledged  audacity  and  activity  of  the 
French  government,  making  it  undertake  and  execute  its 
designs  spontaneously,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  watch 
over  the  preparations  winch  il  will  employ  for  the  com- 
pletioii  of  its  ilesigns  on  the  north  of  Germany.  We  shall, 
therefore,  keep  a  vigilant  eje  on  the  bodies  of  troops  which 
occupy  these  countries,  and  in  case  their  number  should  be 
augmented,  we  shall  feel  urged,  without  loss  of  time,  to 
place  ourselves  in  a  posture  proper  to  make  respected  the 
protection  which  it  is  i  iir  intention  to  grant  to  those  states 
that,  by  their  weakness,  know  not  bow  to  sustain  them- 
selves against  the  dangers  with  which  they  are  threatened. 

"2.  To  prevent  all  uncertainty  about  the  period  of 
placing  in  activity  the  means  destined  both  on  one  part  and 
the  other,  and  berealter  announced,  to  preserve  Germany 
from  every  invasion  by  foreigners,  it  is  agreed  upon  before 
any  thing  besides,  between  ourselves  and  his  Prussian 
majesty,  to  determine  the  casus  foederis  of  the  present 
arrangement.  To  this  effect  it  is  agreed  to  consider  it  as 
having  ceased  at  the  first  trespass  the  French  troops, 
stationed  in  the  electoral  stales  of  bis  Britannic  majesty, 
shall  commit  upon  the  adjacent  territories. 

'•3.  The  casus  foederis  teasing,  his  majesty,  the  king  of 
Prussia,  finding  himself  nearer  the  theatre  of  events,  will 
not  wait  the  union  of  the  respective  bodies  of  troops  here- 
after specified  ill  order  to  act,  but  will  commence  ope- 
rations as  soon  as  he  shall  have  received  intelligence  that  the 
French  forces  have  passed  the  line  which  they  at  present 
occupy  in  the  north  of  Germany. 

"  4.  All  the  means  of  which  we  propose  to  ourselves  the 
employment  for  this  same  object,  will  be  found  ready  to  be 
placed  in  activity,  we  engasie  ourselves  in  the  most  formal 
manner  to  march  to  the  succour  of  his  Prussian  majesiy  at 
the  first  signal  that  will  be  given,  and  with  all  the  celerity 
possible. 

"  5.  The  forces  which  will  be  employed  on  one  part  for 
the  defence  of  the  rest  of  the  north  of  Germany,  will 
amount  to  forty  thousand  regular  troops,  and  will  be 
augmented  to  fifty  thousand,  if  required.  His  majesty,  the 
king  of  Prussia,  obliges  himself,  on  his  side,  to  employ  for 
the  same  purpose  an  equal  number  of  troops  of  the  line. 
When  once  milita-y  operations  are  commented,  we  bind 
ourselves  not  to  lay  down  our  arms,  nor  enter  into  any 
aciomniodation  with  the  common  enemy,  without  the  con- 
sent of  his  Prussian  majesty,  after  a  previous  agreement 
with  him  ;  it  being  understood  that  his  majesty,  Ihe  king  of 
Prussia,   imposes    the    obligation    equally     upon    himself, 


April. 


The  treaty  between  Prussia 
and  Russia. 


THE  EMPIRE. 


Conduct  of  Austria  in  the  affair 
of  the  duke  d'Engbien. 


one  side  to  the  other,  to  avoid  all  danger  of  war, 
dreaded,  after  fixing  himself  to  the  side  of  Russia, 
that  it  should  be  too  openly  visible  on  the  part  of 
France.  The  hasty  way  in  which  he  had  ceased 
to  speak  of  an  alliance  with  France,  and  the 
deep  silence  kept  about  the  aftair  of  the  duke 
d'Enshien,  appeared  to  him  dangerous  to  peace. 
He  th'-refore  charged  M.  Haugwitz  to  make  to- 
wards Fi-ance  a  solemn  declaration  of  neutrality, 
absolute  on  the  part  of  Prussia,  while  the  French 
troops  occupying  Hanover  should  not  be  aug- 
mented. In  consequence,  M.  Haugwitz  broke 
forth  suddenly  from  his  constrained  silence  with 
M.  Lafo rest,  declared  to  him  that  the  king  engaged 
his  word  of  honour  to  remain  neuter,  whatever 
would  happen,  if  the  number  of  French  in  Hanover 
did  not  surpass  thirty  thousand.  He  added,  tiiat 
this  was  worth  nearly  as  much  as  the  unconcluded 
alliance,  because  the  immobility  of  Prussia,  certain 
under  the  conditions  that  he  stated,  insured  that 
of  the  continent.  The  significancy  of  this  declara- 
tion, for  which  at  the  moment  it  was  made  there 
was  little  motive,  surprised  M.  Laforest,  but  re- 
vealed nothing  to  him.  Still  it  appeared  to  him 
very  singular.  Frederick-William  believed  by 
this  means  that  he  had  put  himself  in  the  position 
he  wished  with  all  the  world.  There  is  no  prospect 
more  melancholy  to  behold  than  incapable  weak- 
ness embarrassed  in  a  political  labyrinth,  and 
committing  itself  on  the  strength  of  a  wish  to  ward 
off  blows  from  every  side,  as  a  feeble  bird  caught  in 
a  net  is  obliged  to  flutter  in  order  to  get  fi'ee. 

Thus  were  laid,  through  the  ambiguous  policy  of 
the  king  of  Prussia,  and  under  the  strong  impres- 
sion produced  by  the  event  at  Vincennes,  the  foun- 
dations of  the  third  coalition.  Russia,  delighted  to 
have  secured  Prussia,  began  at  the  same  time  to 
turn  her  eyes  towards  Austria,  and  forced  herself 
to  humour  this  power  a  little  n)ore  than  she  had 
ever  done  before.      She  had  easy  means  in  her 


neither  to  lay  down  his  aims,  nor  to  enter  into  an  accommo- 
dation with  the  common  i-neray,  without  our  consent,  after 
a  previous  agreement  with  us. 

"6.  Immediately  after  tlie  commencement  of  hostilities, 
or  iooner,  if  the  convenience  of  the  measure  is  recognised 
between  the  two  contrariinR  courts,  the  king  of  Denmark 
and  the  elector  of  Saxnny  will  be  invited  to  adhere  to  tliis 
affreemeni,  and  to  co-operate  in  it  by  the  mrans  proportioned 
to  ihrir  reipertive  resources,  and  as  well  all  the  other 
princes  and  states  of  the  north  of  Germany,  that  by  the 
proximity  of  their  territories  would  participate  in  the  benefits 
of  the  prrsrnt  arr,in(:t;nient. 

"  7.  After  the  i-nd  thus  proposed  shall  have  been  obtained, 
we  reserve  to  ourselves  the  coming  to  an  tindcrstandinf; 
with  his  Prussian  majenty  upon  the  ulterior  measures  to  be 
taken,  for  the  purpose  of  purging  entirely  the  German  terri- 
tory of  the  presence  of  foreiKn  troops,  and  to  insure  for  the 
future  that  happy  result  in  the  most  stable  manner,  and  in 
advisin);  an  order  of  ihiuRs  which  shall  no  more  expose 
Germany  to  the  inconveniences  from  which  it  has  suflered 
since  the  commencement  of  the  existing  war. 

"This  declarxtinn  is  to  be  exchanged  against  an  act 
signed  by  his  majesty  the  king  <if  Prussia,  and  conceived  in 
the  same  sense:  we  promiie  on  our  fallh  and  imperial  word 
to  fuini  to  the  letter  the  engagements  into  which  we  have 
thus  entered. 

"  In  faith  of  which  we  hnve  signed  It  with  our  own  hand, 
Mid  have  caused  the  keal  of  our  empire  to  iie  allixed. 

"Given  at  St.  Petemiiurg.  the  •  •  •  of  the  year  1804, 
and  the  fourth  year  of  our  reign." 


hands  :  it  was  to  say  no  longer  the  same  thing  as 
France,  in  speaking  of  the  questions  yet  pending 
in  the  empire,  but,  on  the  contrary,  exactly  that 
which  the  court  of  Vienna  said  itself. 

It  is  needful  to  make  known  now  in  what  manner 
that  event  had  been  taken  at  Vienna  which  so  pro- 
foundly troubled  the  courts  of  Berlin  and  St.  Pe- 
tersburg. If  there  had  been  a  court  in  Germany 
that  the  violation  of  the  Germanic  territory,  by 
the  carrying  off  the  duke  d'Enghien,  should  have 
affected  more  deeply  than  another,  it  was  that  of 
Austria.  Nevertheless,  the  only  ministers  wIm  on 
this  occasion  conducted  themselves  with  modera- 
tion were  those  of  the  emperor.  There  did  not 
escape  from  them  a  single  word  offensive  to  the 
French  goverimient,  no  step  of  which  it  had  any 
reason  to  complain.  However,  the  chief  of  the 
empire,  the  natural  guardiah  of  the  safety  and 
dignity  of  the  Geriuaii  territory,  was  responsible  ; 
there  was  nobody  to  be  found  there  to  lift  a  voice 
against  the  act  committed  in  the  grand  duchy  of 
Baden.  It  may  even  be  said,  being  exactly  cor- 
rect, that  all  would  have  been  in  place,  if  the  tran- 
quillity shown  in  the  court  of  Austria  in  this  matter 
had  been  vi&ible  at  St.  Petersburg,  and  if  the  like 
promptitude  in  remonstrance  had  manifested  itself 
at  Vienna.  No  one  would  have  been  surprised  if 
the  emperor  had  deniaiided,  with  moderati)n,  but 
with  firmness,  some  explanations  of  the  first  consul 
upon  the  violation  of  territory,  which  must  fill  Ger- 
many with  uneasiness.  It  was  not  this,  but  even 
the  direct  contrary  which  occurred.  They  were 
young  and  inexperienced  at  Petersburg,  and  above 
all,  a  long  way  from  France  ;  they  were  sage  and 
full  of  dissinmlation  at  Vienna,  and  above  all,  very 
near  the  conqueror  of  Marengo.  They  were  silent. 
M.  Cobentzel,  more  prompted  by  M.  de  Cliam- 
pagiiy  than  provoking  the  subject  himself,  said 
that  he  comprehended  the  hard  necessities  of  po- 
litics, and  that  he  regretted  in  good  truth  an  event 
adapted  to  nourish  in  Europe  fresh  comi)lications  ; 
but  that  the  cabinet  of  Vieima  would  watch,  as  far 
as  that  was  concerned,  with  more  zeal  than  ever 
the  maintenance  of  continental  peace. 

In  order  to  comiirchcnd  tlie  conduct  of  the 
cabinet  of  Vieima  under  these  circumsiances,  it  is 
necessary  to  be  aware  that  in  waiting  the  favourable 
opportunity  to  regain  that  which  it  had  lost — an 
o|)portunity  which  it  would  not  willingly  obtain 
through  any  impruilence  of  its  own — it  regarded 
with  anient  curiosity  all  that  was  going  on  at 
Boidogne,  forming  very  natural  wishes  that  tiie 
French  armies  might  be  engulphed  in  the  ocean, 
but  would  not  on  any  account  draw  them  to- 
wards the  Danube,  because  it  knew  that  their  su- 
periority lienceforward  was  irresistible.  In  the 
interval  it  profited  by  the  occupation  that  the  ma- 
ritime war  created  in  France,  to  resolve  at  its  own 
will  the  questions  which  had  not  been  setlleil  in  the 
ircezof  180.3.  'J'hese  questions,  left  in  suspense  for 
want  of  time,  were,  as  may  be  reiiietiilieied,  the 
following  :  the  j)r()portions  to  be  established  be- 
tween the  catholic;  and  protestant  voices  in  the 
college  of  princes  ;  the  niainti-nance  or  siiiipresaion 
of  the  immediate  nobility;  the  new  dirictioii  of  the 
circles  lor  the  police,  and  tlu;  mainten.ince  of  order 
in  Germany  ;  the  reorganization  of  the  German 
church  ;  the  sequestration  of  the  movable  ami 
immovable  property  attached  to  tiie  ecclesiastical 
Nn 


546    Policy  pursued  by  Austria.    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Violence  committed  in 
the  German  states. 


1804. 
April. 


principalities  wliieh  were  secularized  ;  and  five 
other  matters  of  less  moment. 

The  most  serious  of  these  questions,  from  its 
consequences,  was  the  delay  caused  in  the  reor- 
ganization of  the  circles,  because  from  this  delay 
tliere  resulted  a  defect  of  police,  which  left  every 
thing  in  the  hands  of  the  strongest.  France  being 
at  the  moment  entirely  occupied  with  the  maritime 
war,  and  separated  besides  from  Russia,  had  not 
any  external  influence  capable  of  carrying  succour 
to  the  oppressed  states,  and  the  empire  began  to 
fall  on  all  sides  into  anarchy. 

At  the  close  of  the  negociation  of  1803.  Austria 
had  sequestrated  the  dependenciesof  the  secularized 
principaliiies,  which  ibund  themselves  under  her 
iiands.  It  will  be  remembered,  that  these  old 
ecclesiastical  principalities  ha<l  some  of  their  funds 
deposited  in  the  bank  of  Vienna,  others  had  lands 
in  the  midst  of  different  German  states.  These 
funds  and  lands  naturally  belonged  to  the  princes 
who  had  been  indemnified.  Austria,  alleging  no- 
body could  tell  what  feudal  law  maxim  in  lier  de- 
fence, had  sequestrated  more  than  30,000,000f.  of 
capital  placed  in  the  bank  of  Vienna  or  in  the 
funds.  The  houses  of  Orange  and  of  Bavaria  sus- 
tained the  gi-eatest  losses.  Austria  placed  no  limit 
to  her  attempts.  She  treated  with  a  crowd  of 
petty  princes  to  get  from  them  certain  possessions 
which  they  had  in  Swabia,  and  thus  managed  to 
obtain  for  herself  a  position  on  the  shores  of  the 
lake  of  Constance.  She  purchased  the  town  of 
Lindau  of  the  prince  of  Bretzeheim,  and  cede<l  to 
him  estates  in  Bohemia,  with  the  promise  of  a 
virile  vote  in  the  diet.  She  treated  wiih  the  house 
of  Koenigseck,  in  order  to  obtain,  upon  the  liice 
condition.s,  territiu-ies  situated  in  the  same  country. 
Lastly,  she  laboured  in  the  diet  for  the  creation  of 
new  catholic  votes,  in  order  to  raise  to  an  equality 
the  protestant  and  catholic  voices.  The  miij(u-ity 
of  the  diet  not  seeming  disposed  to  meet  her  wishes, 
she  menaced  it  with  the  interruption  of  all  delibe- 
rations, until  this  question  of  the  proportion  of  the 
suffrages  was  resolved  conformably  to  her  wishes. 

The  German  princes,  aggrieved  by  the  violence 
of  Austria,  avenged  themselves  by  conmiitting  simi- 
lar violences  upon  states  more  feeble  than  their 
own.  Hesse  and  Wirtemberg  invaded  the  lands 
of  the  immediate  nobility,  avowing  loudly  their 
de.signs  of  incorporation.  The  innnediate  nobility 
of  Franconia  addressed  themselves  to  the  imperial 
chamber  of  Wetzlar,  in  order  to  obtain  a  decree 
against  the  usurpations  with  which  they  were 
threatened  ;  the  Hessian  government  had  the  no- 
tices defaced  everywhere,  containing  the  judgment 
given  by  the  imperial  chamber  ;  thus  affording  an 
exantple  of  the  most  extraordinary  contempt  for 
the  tribunals  of  the  empire.  They  did  not  restrain 
themselves  to  these  excesses,  they  refused  to  pay 
the  pensions  of  the  clergy,  despoiled  of  llieir 
goods  by  the  secularizations.  The  duke  of  Wir- 
temberg would  pay  none.  In  the  midst  of  this 
reciprocal  violence,  each  indulged  in  tlie  hope  to 
secure  impunity  for  himself.  They  made  no  com- 
plaint of  the  sequestrations  of  Austria,  because  she 
had  suffered  them  to  execute  all  they  cho.se  to  un- 
dertake against  the  immediate  nobility,  or  against 
the  unhappy  ))ensioners  thus  deprived  of  their 
bread.  B.ivaria,  the  worst  treated  of  all  by 
Austria,  avenged  herself  upon  the  prince   arch- 


chancellor,  whose  electorate  had  been  transferred 
from  Mayence  to  Ratisbon.  Seeing  him  with  pain 
upon  the  territory  of  Ratisbon,  which  she  had  for 
a  long  time  desired  for  herself,  she  followed  him 
with  threats,  and  took  from  him  a  number  of  es- 
tates, filling  him  with  a  thousand  uneasinesses  for 
his  very  existence.  Prussia  imitated  these  things 
in  dealing  with  Westphalia,  and  did  not  remain  in 
arrear  of  Austria  or  Bavaria  in  her  usurjialions. 

Two  states  only  conducted  themselves  with  jus- 
tice :  first,  the  arclichancellor  prince,  who,  owing 
his  existence  to  the  arrangements  of  1803,  applied 
himself  to  make  them  respected  by  the  members  of 
the  confedei-ation.  Secondly,  the  elector  of  Saxony, 
who,  disinterested  in  the  midst  of-i)retensions  of  all 
kinds,  remained  immovable  in  his  old  princii)ality, 
without  having  lost  or  acquired  any  thing,  voting 
in  a  dry  manner,  that  the  rights  of  all  should  be 
respected  by  moderation  and  honesty. 

All  the  culpable  concessions  made  to  Austria, 
in  permitting  the  oi)pression  of  .some  that  slw 
might  permit  ojjpression  to  others,  had  not  dis- 
armed her,  particularly  in  regard  to  Bavaria. 
Believing  herself  strong  enough  to  be  no  more 
under  the  necessity  of  humouring  any  thing,  she 
began  to  take  up,  cause  and  fact,  the  suj)poi't  of 
the  immediate  nol>ility,  of  which  she  was  the 
natural  and  interested  protector,  by  reason  of  their 
aid  in  recruiting  her  arniies. 

It  lias  been  already  seen,  that  the  immediate 
nobility,  sustained  by  the  emperor,  and  not  the 
territorial  prmces,  whose  states  surrounded  their 
lands,  did  not  owe  these  last  any  military  contin- 
gents. Those  of  the  iidiabitants  who  bad  a  laste 
for  arms,  enrolled  themselves  in  the  Austrian 
troops,  and  there  were  |)rocured  in  Franconia 
alone,  more  than  two  thousand  recruits  annnaby, 
appreciable  much  more  by  their  quality  than  by 
their  number.  They  were,  in  effect,  true  Ger- 
mans, very  superior  to  the  other  soldiers  of  Aus- 
tria, for  their  intelligence,  bravery,  and  warlike 
qualities.  They  furnished  all  the' sub-officers  of 
the  ini)>erial  armies,  and  formed,  in  some  sort,  a 
German  skeleton  corps  for  the  im|)erial  army, 
in  which  Austria  placed  her  recruits  of  all  kinds, 
from  subjects  comprehended  within  the  lindts  of 
her  vast  territories.  Thus  she  was  resolved,  on 
this  point,  to  brave  every  thing,  except  a  war  with 
Fiance,  S(i0ner  than  yield.  Without  making  her- 
self uneasy  about  the  re|)roaches  she  might  merit 
for  her  abuse  of  power,  she  referred  to  the  aulic 
council,  as  acts  of  violence  belonging  exclusively 
to  the  imperial  police,  the  infiingements  committed 
against  the  immediate  nobility;  and,  with  a  promp- 
titude seldom  noticed  in  any  Germanic  proceeding, 
a  provisional  decision  was  given,  qualified  de  con- 
scrratorivtm,  in  the  constitutional  language  of  the 
em|iire,  confiding  the  execution  to  four  confc- 
derateil  states :  Saxony,  Baden,  B(»liemia,  and 
Ratisbon.  Austria  marched  eighteen  battalions 
by  Bohemia  on  one  side,  and  by  the  Tyrol  on  the 
other,  and  threatened  Bavaria  with  an  immediate 
invasion,  if  she  did  not  instantly  withdraw  her 
troo])s  from  the  different  lordships  which  she  had 
entered.  It  is  easy  to  comprehend  that  in  su(  h  a 
situation,  Austria  had  much  to  do  to  manage  the 
first  consul,  because,  although  occupied  on  the  sea- 
shore, he  was  not  a  man  to  draw  back  upon  any 
point.      Besides,   the   irritation   to  which  he   had 


1804. 
April, 


THE  EMPIRE. 


Unbec»mins  reply  of  France  to 
the  Russian  iiute. 


547 


been  excited,  rendered  liiin  more  susceptible  and 
formidable  tiuin  usual.  It  is  that  which  explains 
the  reserve  of  the  Austrian  diplomatists  in  the 
affair  of  the  duke  d'Eiighien,  and  the  real  or  ap- 
l>are'it  indifference  that  they  exhibited  under  this 
serious  circjimstanee. 

We  have  already  noted  the  dispositions  which 
had  arisen  in  the  mind  of  the  first  consul  out  of 
the  attacks  directed  against  his  person.  The 
benefits  which  he  had  been  gratified  in  heaping 
upon  the  emigrants  had  not  disarmed  their  hatred. 
The  respect  which  he  had  t  s'ified  for  Europe  liad 
not  calmed  its  jealousies.  Irritiited  in  the  highest 
degri-e  to  have  obtiiined  so  small  a  return,  it  had 
effected  a  sudden  mental  revolution,  and  he  was 
disposed  to  ill-treat  all  whom  he  had  most  spared 
until  then.  The  answer  to  the  manifestations 
about  to  be  related  was  hardly  to  bo  exjiected; 
but  after  liaving  to  deplore  this  wild  wandering 
of  his  p.xssions,  there  will  be  fresh  occasion  to 
admire  the  gnindeur  of  his  character. 

The  court  of  Prussia  had  neutralized  itself,  and 
had  ceased  to  speak  of  an  alliiince.  The  French 
were  silent  towards  it;  but  the  first  consul  severely 
reprimanded  -M.  Laforest  for  having  too  faithfully 
i-eporied  in  his  despatches  the  imjiressions  on  the 
public  mind  at  Berlin.  As  to  the  court  of  Russia, 
the  reply  was  inst:intaneous  and  cniel.  General 
Heilouvi'le  had  orders  to  quit  St.  Petersburg  in 
forty-eight  hours,  without  alleging  any  other  reason 
for  his  departure  than  that  of  health,  a  reason  in 
customary  use  with  diplomatists,  in  order  to  lead 
others  to  guess  that  which  they  do  not  choose  to 
tell.  He  was  to  leave  all  in  ignorance  whether 
he  went  away  for  a  certain  time  only  or  for  ever. 
M.  de  RayuKval  alone  continued  to  reside  at  the 
Russian  court,  taking  upon  him  the  character  of 
eharje  d'affaires.  There  had  only  remained  at  Paris, 
after  the  departure  of  M.  Miirkoff,  an  agent  of  the 
Hame  grade,  in  M.  Oubril.  The  fii-st  consul  sent, 
ill  reply  to  the  Rus.sian  despatch,  one  which  was 
exeeeiliiigly  giievous  to  the  emperor.  This  reply 
recalled  t<»  recollection,  that  France,  having  ob- 
served, until  the  |)resent  time,  the  best  conduct 
towards  Russia,  and  liaving  made  her  an  equal 
parliiker  in  all  the  more  important  affairs  of  the 
coniinent,  did  not  meet  a  return  on  her  part;  tliat 
»lic  found  the  Russian  agents,  without  exception, 
malevolent  and  hosiile ;  that,  c-iitrary  to  the  last 
treaty  of  peai;e,  wliicli  obliged  the  two  courts  to 
r.'li-Jiin  from  creating  embarrassments  towards 
each  other,  the  cabinet  of  St.  Pctersburgh  ac- 
credited French  emigrants  to  foreign  nations,  and 
covei*ed  coiispiratorH,  under  the  pretext  of  Russian 
iiaiioniility.  from  the  {mlicc  of  France;  that  this 
was  to  violate  at  the  same  time  the  letter  and 
Hpirit  of  treaties;  that  if  Russia  desired  war,  shu 
had  only  to  elate  her  wish  frankly;  that  the  first 
roiisul,  who  had  no  desire  of  the  kind,  on  the 
other  hand,  hid  no  fear  of  it,  beciiuse  the  recol- 
lection of  the  biHt  campaign  bore  not  any  thing 
Very  alarming  in  its  coii8o<|ueiices  (this  allusion 
waa  to  the  disjister  of  Suwarrow)  ;  that  relatively 
to  wli.it  liad  pa■^sed  at  Uadeii,  RiisHia  constituted 
hernelf,  upon  very  slight  grounds,  the  guarantee 
of  the  Germanic  territoiy,  but  her  title  to  inter- 
fere there  was  very  good  gmund  for  contesting; 
that  ill  any  case,  France  had  used  the  legitimate 
right  of   defence  against  the  plots   concocted   un 


her  frontier,  in  the  sight  and  with  the  knowledge 
of  certain  German  governments,  u))on  which  she 
had  heaped  favours,  and  been  repaid  by  the  black- 
est ingratitude;  that  as  to  the  rest,  she  had  ex- 
l)lained  to  them,  and  she  would  explain  with  them 
alone,  and  that,  in  her  place,  Russia  would  herself 
have  done  as  much;  because,  if  she  had  been  in- 
formed that  the  assassins  of  Paul  I.  were  united 
only  a  march  distant  from  her  frontier,  and  within 
her  grasp,  would  she  have  abstained  from  going  to 
arrest  them  '  \ 

The  irony  was  cruel  towards  a  prince  who  had 
been  reproached  with  not  having  punished  any  of 
his  father's  murderers,  and  who  from  this  circum- 
sUince  had  been  accused,  besides,  though  very 
nnjustly,  of  being  an  accomplice  in  the  horrible 
deed.  It  nmst  have  proved  to  the  emperor  Alex- 
ander how  imprudent  it  was  in  him  to  intermeddle 
in  the  affair  of  the  duke  d'Enj;liicn,  when  the 
death  of  Paul  I.  rendered  a  rejoinder  so  easy  and 
terrible. 

In  i-elation  to  Germany,  Russia  having  recently 
approved  the  conduct  of  Austria,  and  her  ground. 
of  pretension,  for  fixing  on  a  reference  to  the 
aulic  council  to  decide  eonstituii<inal  questions,  the 
first  consul  declared  plainly,  that  Frnnce  thence- 
forward separated  herself  from  the  Russian  diplo- 
macy for  all  that  should  follow  in  relation  to 
German  affairs;  that  she  did  not  admit  that  the 
questions  remaining  in  suspense  should  be  settled 
by  the  aulic  council,  the  tribunal  of  the  emperor 


-  It  is  very  singular  that  our  autlior  slioiild  quote  from 
tliis  docun.eiit  so  briefly.  It  is  dated  Paris,  May  16,  ISO-}, 
and  signed  by  Talleyrand.  It  coma  ns  a  cliarge  against 
England  as  futile  as  that  which  alleged  hrr  participation 
in  the  wicked  design  of  the  count  d'Aitois,  his  brother,  and 
Georges,  to  assassinate  the  flrst  consul ;  it  was  perhaps 
deemed  by  M. Thiers  so  much  the  etftci  of  the  angry  feeling 
of  those  times,  that  the  atrocious  fal.-^ehood  might  be  passed 
over  to  lessen  the  obloquy  of  the  dociinent.  The  above 
passage  runs  as  follows  in  ihe  slaie  paper  al  uded  to.  It  is 
too  cuiiiius  not  to  place  on  record  litre.  After  treating  ou 
other  matters  at  some  length  it  proceeds  thus: — 

"  France  requirrs  of  her  (Saxony)  to  irinove  emigraflts 
who  were  in  the  emplojment  of  Russia,  at  a  time  when  the 
two  countries  were  ut  war,  from  countries  that  rendered 
thrm>elves  conspicuous  only  hy  tleir  iii>rit.'ue8,  and  Russia 
iiisist.-i  upon  maintaining  them  there  ;  and  the  remonstrance 
she  now  makes  leads  to  this  que.^tion:  //,  when  England 
panned  Ihe  murder  of  Paul  /.,  Supposing  intelligence  to 
have  been  reetived.  that  the  authors  of  the  plot  were  at  a 
Ira^'iie  Irom  the  Irontier,  would  not  painn  have  been  taken 
to  airest  tli.in  ?" 

The  reply  of  Hussia  to  this  part  of  the  document  is 
also  curious.  It  states  that  ihe  allu.^ion  outraged  decorum, 
and  that  it  can  hardly  he  credited  that  Fiance  should  so 
violate  truth  as  to  allege  examples,  which  were  altogether 
imiMoper  to  be  mentioned,  and  thai  it  should,  "in  any 
ollU'ial  document,  recall  even  a  (■  ther's  deatli  to  the  recol- 
leetion  of  hiH  illustrious  son,  in  order  to  wound  his  tender 
fcelingb;  and  that  it  should  (contrary  loall  truth  and  proba- 
bility) rai.^e  an  accusation  against  another  government,  that 
France  never  ceases  to  calumniate,  merely  because  she  is  at 
war  with  it." 

The  document  concludes  by  the  avrrment  that  the  in- 
decent French  note  is  calculated  ti  iiiccme  the  emperor's 
just  iiKlignation,  yet  that  he  is  suiieiior  lo  emotions  of 
merely  a  personal  nature.  Sun  ly  siicli  a  itiplomntic  note  as 
the  present  must  lend  to  -asl  meriied  di»cicdit  upon  all 
other  avermcnia  about  England  Iroin  the  same  dishonest 
souice. —  Trantlatur. 

N  11  2 


Austria  withdraws  her 
troops  from  their 
march  on  Bavaria. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Intrigues  relative  to  ,,.. 

the  Russian  inter-  .*     .V 

ference.  -^P"^"- 


simply,  ratlier  than  of  the  empife.  Tiiat  tliese 
questions  ought,  as  well  as  all  the  others,  to  be  treated 
of  iu  the  diet,  the  supreme  body,  and  the  sole  de- 
pository of  the  German  sovereignty.  Thus  the 
difference  of  sentiment  was  complete  upon  all  these 
points,  the  resolutions  being  as  cutting  as  the  lan- 
guage. 

As  to  Austria,  the  first  consul  had  been  satisfied 
with  the  indifference  that  she  had  shown  towards 
the  victim  of  Ettenheim.  But  he  saw  clearly  tliat 
they  abused  at  Vienna  the  impediments  which  tiie 
maritime  war  seemed  to  create.  He  wished  tli.it 
Austria  should  be  well  edified  in  this  respect.  He 
had  two  modes  of  combating  Engiaiul,  the  one 
was  to  meet  her,  man  to  man,  in  the  straits  of 
Dover,  the  other  was  to  crush  her  allies  on  the 
continent.  At  bottom,  the  second  mode  was  easier 
and  surer  than  the  first,  and  although  less  direct, 
could  not  but  be  efficacious.  If,  therefore,  Austria 
provoked  him,  he  determined,  without  losing'  a 
moment,  to  striUe  his  camp  at  Boulogne,  and  to 
enter  Germany,  because  he  would  not  pass  the 
sea  unless  lie  had  disarmed  all  the  open  or  secret 
allies  of  England.  He  communicated  to  the  two 
Cobentzels,  as  well  to  him  who  was  ambissador 
at  Paris,  as  to  him  who  directed  public  affairs  at 
Vienna,  that  Bavaria  had  been  the  ally  of  France  for 
several  centuries,  and  that  he  would  not  abandon 
her  to  the  ill-feeling  of  Austria;  that  if  Bavaria 
did  wrong  by  attacking  tuo  hastily  the  property  of 
the  immediate  nobility,  Austria,  by  lier  unjust 
sequestrations,  had  forced  all  the  German  princes 
to  indemnify  themselves  by  violence  for  the  vio- 
lence to  which  they  had  been  subjected  ;  that 
Bavaria  hail  possibly  done  amiss,  but  that  he 
would  not  suffer  her  to  be  crushed  with  impunity, 
and  that  if  Austria  did  not  recall  the  battalions 
which  she  had  drawn  together  iu  Bohemia  and  the 
Tyrol,  he  was  resolved  to  direct  a  body  of  forty 
thousand  men  upon  Munich,  which  should  be  kept 
there  as  a  garrison  until  Austria  withdrew  her 
troops. 

This  declaration,  precise  and  positive  as  it  was, 
threw  the  Cobentzels  into  imspeakable  embarrass- 
ment. They  extricated  themselves  by  fresh  ex- 
pressions of  sorrow  upon  the  unceasing  enmity  of 
which  Austria  was  the  object  on  the  part  of 
France,  and  the  state  of  deep  despair  into  which 
they  found  themselves  reduced.  Nevertheless, 
Talleyrand  atid  M.  de  Champagny  insisted,  and 
it  was  agreed  on  both  sides,  that  Bavaria  should 
evacuate  the  estates  of  the  immediate  nobility, 
but  that  the  Austrian  troops  should  first  halt 
where  they  were,  and  should  afterwards  fiii:illy 
retrograde,  in  order  not  to  commit  the  dignity  of 
the  emperor,  by  being  too  precipitate  in  their 
retreat.  The  Austrian  cabinet  gave  it  to  be  un- 
derstood anew,  that  if  France  lent  herself  to  its 
wishes  relative  to  the  proportion  of  catholic  and 
jirotestant  voices  in  the  diet,  it  might  be  reckoned 
upon  in  all  the  other  circumstances,  and  parti- 
cularly in  that  which  arose  upon  the  occasion  of 
the  note  addressed  by  Russia  to  the  Germanic 
diet. 

This  note  was  received  at  Ratisbon  by  the  same 
cornier  that  had  taken  to  Paris  the  despatches 
from  St.  Petersburg.  It  grievously  embarrassed 
the  German  princes,  both  as  regarded  their  dignity 
and  security,  because  it  was  a  foreign  court  that 


had  thus  invited  them  to  show  themselves  alive 
to  a  violation  of  the  Germanic  territory,  and  yet 
if  they  had  shown  themselves  sensible  to  the  vio-  | 
lation,  they  would  incur  to  the  extreme  the  re- 
sentment of  France.  In  point  of  fact,  they  had 
not  time  to  send  instructions  to  their  ministers  at 
the  diet;  but  these,  presuming  upon  the  disposi- 
tions of  their  respective  courts,  had  appeared 
much  more  disposed  to  neglect  the  note,  than 
to  give  it  any  great  notoriety.  The  Prussian 
minister,  M.  Goertz,  the  same  who  has  already 
made  a  figure  iu  the  Germanic  negotiations, 
would  have  been  willing  to  leave  the  whole  matter 
lie  in  obscurity.  But  the  Austrian  ministers  had 
i-eceived  their  instructions,  (tluinks  to  the  proximity 
of  Vienna,)  and  played,  according  to  custom,  a 
double  game :  finding  the  note  particularly  ill- 
timed  when  they  were  face  to  face  with  the  French 
agents,  and  promising  to  get  it  received  when  they 
were  with  the  agents  of  Russia,  they  imagined  a 
middle  term.  •  They  took  the  note  into  considera- 
tion, but  each  minister  was  to  refer  to  his  court, 
to  state  at  an  ulterior  time  what  related  to  its  con- 
tents. "  You  see,"  said  M.  Hugel  to  the  Russian 
minister,  "  that  we  have  got  your  note  admitted." 
"  You  see,"  he  said  to  the  French  minister,  "  that 
in  adjourning  the  discussion  for  two  months,  we 
have  extinguished  it,  because  in  a  couple  of 
months  nobody  will  think  any  thing  more  about 
this  proceeding  of  the  emperor  Alexander." 

Such  was  to  be  finally  the  fate  of  this  inconsi- 
derate proceeding.  But  to  come  at  the  result, 
there  was  still  more  than  one  embarrassment  to 
subdue.  The  German  governments  were  unwilling 
to  affront  France,  of  which  they  were  in  fear,  or 
to  disoblige  Russia,  of  which  power  they  might 
ultimately  find  they  had  need.  Their  ministers 
bestirred  themselves  iu  Paris,  therefore,  to  find  a 
mode  of  getting  out  of  the  difficulty  :  "  Settle  it  as 
you  find  most  convenient,  gentlemen,"  the  first 
consul  observed  to  them  ;  "  if  the  discussion  oc- 
cupies the  space  of  two  months,  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  arrive  officially  in  France,  I  will  frame  a 
reply  so  high,  so  merciless,  that  the  dignity  of  the 
Germanic  body  will  be  cruelly  humiliated.  It  will 
remain  for  you  either  to  suffer  this  reply,  or  to 
take  arms,  because  I  am  resolved,  in  case  of 
necessity,  to  begin  upon  the  continent  the  war 
which  I  wage  against  England." 

M.  de  Talleyrand,  faithful  to  his  common  pi'e- 
ference  for  peace,  endeavoured  to  find  expedients 
for  iireventing  a  ru|)ture.  The  foreign  ministers, 
fearing  the  first  consul,  finding,  on  the  contrary, 
in  Talleyrand  perfect  favour,  and  a  facility,  which 
liesides  did  not  exclude  a  haughty  carriage,  sought 
him  with  assiduity  again  and  again.  Among  the 
most  diligent  and  intelligent  was  the  duke  de 
Dalberg,  nephew  of  the  prince  arch-chancellor,  pnd 
then  the  minister  of  Baden  in  Paris.  It  was  this 
])ersonage  that  Talleyrand  made  use  of  to  act  upon 
the  court  of  Baden.  After  having  recalled  to  the 
recollection  of  this  court  all  it  owed  to  France, 
that  had  so  much  aggrandized  its  territories  in  the 
arrangements  of  1803,  he  was  made  to  compre- 
hend also  all  that  it  might  have  to  dread  if  war 
should  break  out  anew.  He  engaged,  therefore, 
to  declare  at  Ratisbon  that  he  had  received  from 
the  French  government  satisfactory  explanations, 
and    that    Baden   desired,    in   consequence,   that 


IS04. 
April. 


Process  of  Georges,  Pichegru, 
and  Moreau. 


THE  EMPIRE. 


Suicide  of  general  Pichegru. 


no  result  slmuld  follow  the  Russian  note.  Whilst 
M.  Talleyrand  executed  such  a  declaration  uiuler- 
liand,  the  cahinet  of  St.  Petersburgh,  relying  upon 
tlie  nlatiiinship  of  the  house  of  Baden  with  the 
imperial  family  of  Russia,  strove  to  modify  this 
declaratinn  to  such  a  degree  iis  to  render  it  iu- 
etticiont.  But  France  being  nearer  and  stronger 
prevailod.  As  to  the  rest  of  the  aflfair,  two  months 
passed  over  before  the  opening  of  the  di.scussions; 
drafts  of  the  documents  were  sent  from  Carlsriilie 
to  Paris,  and  from  Paris  to  Carlsruhe,  incessantly 
nioditicd,  and  there  was  no  loss  in  soon  finding  a 
conv.-niint  solution. 

The  fii-st  consul  did  not  much  trouble  himself 
with  these  comings  and  goings,  leaving  all  that 
was  to  be  done  to  liis  minister  for  foreign  affairs. 
He  had  offimlid  Russia,  and  obliged  Austria  to 
keep  herself  quiet.  He  had  made  Prussia  uneasy 
by  his  coldness;  as  to  the  diet  of  Ratisbon,  he 
treated  it  as  the  i-epresentative  of  a  body  fallen 
into  senility,  in  spite  of  all  which  he  had  done  to 
renew  its  youth  ;  and  he  was  j)repared  either 
not  to  reply,  or  to  give  a  very  humiliating  an- 
swer. All  tlie.se  (|uestions,  raised  out  of  France  by 
the  catastrophe  of  Vincemies,  had  scarcely  turned 
hi.s  attention  from  those  at  home  that  the  existing 
niom>-nt  liad  seen  reach  a  real  crisis. 

Altliougli,  in  a  few  days,  the  impression  pro- 
duced by  the  death  of  the  duke  d'Enghien  had 
received  through  time  the  attenuation  of  im- 
pression that  even  the  greatest  incident  soon 
experiences,  still  there  remained  a  permanent 
source  of  agitation  in  the  process  of  Pichegru, 
Georges,  and  Moreau.  It  was,  in  effect,  a  vexa- 
tious, but  iiieviuible  necessity,  to  compel  the  ap- 
pearance ill  a  court  of  justice  of  so  many  per- 
sonages of  different  political  cliisses.  Some,  as 
M.  de  Riviere  and  M.  de  Polignac,  were  dear  to 
the  old  French  ai'istocracy  ;  others,  as  Moreau, 
cherished  by  all  who  loved  the  glory  of  France; 
and  these  were  to  make  their  api)earance  in  a 
court  of  justice,  in  the  midst  of  the  |>ublic  curiosity 
strongly  exciteil,  in  the  midst  of  the  abuse  and 
railing  of  the  malevolent,  always  prompt  to  draw 
from  tlie  smallest  circumstances,  iiiteri>retations 
the  most  subtle  and  absurd.  But  it  was  im- 
periously necessary  that  justice  should  be  rendered, 
and  this  process  trouble,  fur  one  or  two  months 
more,  the  ordinary  calm  of  the  first  consuls 
governTnont.  An  incident,  altogether  unforeseen, 
added  to  the  sombre  and  sinister  aspect  of  the 
existing  circumstances.  Pichegru,  the  prisoner  of 
the  first  consul,  at  fii-st  dittideut  of  his  generosity, 
and  with  ditticiilty  believing  in  the  rtffers  of  his 
clemency,  which  .M.  Real  had  carried  to  him,  had 
soon  been  reassured  of  their  sincerity,  and  had 
given  himself  up  with  confidence  to  the  idea  of 
preserving  his  life,  and  of  recovering  his  honour 
by  founding  a  grand  colony  in  Cayenne.  The  offers 
of  the  fii>t  consul  were  sincere,  because,  in  his 
determination  to  strike  only  at  the  royalists,  he 
had  wishe<l  to  show  favour  to  Moreau  and  i'iclie- 
(^•u.  M.  Real,  incapable  of  an  ill-feeling,  had,  in 
following  up  this  important  business,  another  mis- 
fortune. He  had  arrived  too  late  at  Vincennes  ; 
he  now  appeared  too  seldom  in  the  prison  of 
PicliL'gru,  where  the  business  of  the  |>roces8 
Rcarc(;ly  required  him,  seeing  that  he  could  hope 
to  obtain  notliing  in  the   way  of  information  from 


a  man  so  firm  and  concentrated  as  this  old  general 
of  the  republic.  Absorbed  in  a  thousand  cares, 
M.  Real  neglected  Pichegru,  who  hearing  nothing 
more  said  of  the  propositions  of  the  first  consul,  and 
learning  the  sanguinary  execution  at  ^'incennes, 
believed  that  he  had  to  reckon  for  nothing  the 
clemency  which  had  been  offered  and  jiromised. 
Death  was  not  that  which  cost  this  soldier  the 
more  painful  feeling;  it  was  the  winding  up,  nearly 
forced  upon  him,  of  the  culpable  intrigues  in  which 
he  had  been  engaged  when  deviating  from  the 
right  path  in  1797;  "'1*1  then,  too,  he  must  appear 
between  JMoreau  and  Georges;  one  he  had  com- 
promised, the  other,  to  whom  he  ha<l  entrusted  his 
honour,  was  about  to  figure  at  his  side  in  a  royalist 
conspiracy.  All  the  denunciations  which  he  had 
borne  at  the  epoch  of  the  18th  of  Fnietidor,  and 
that  he  had  repelled  with  feigned  indignation,  were 
now  found  to  be  justified.  He  lost  with  his  life 
the  melancholy  remains  of  the  honour  already  so 
compromised.  This  unfortunate  man  j)referred 
immediate  death,  but  death  without  the  shame 
that  must  be  the  result  of  a  public  display.  This 
feeling  proves  that  he  was  worth  a  little  more  than 
his  former  conduct  might  lead  lo  be  supposed.  He 
had  borrowed  from  M.  Real  the  works  of  Seneca. 
One  night,  after  having  read  for  several  hours, 
and  having  left  the  volume  open  at  a  jiassage  where 
it  treated  of  a  voluntary  death,  he  strangled  him- 
self by  means  of  a  silk  cravat,  which  he  had 
twisted  into  a  cord,  ,and  a  billet  of  wood,  of  which 
he  had  made  a  lever;  towards  the  morning,  the 
jailor,  hearing  some  noise  in  his  chamber,  entered, 
and  found  him  suffocated,  his  face  red,  as  if  he 
had  been  struck  by  apo|)lexy.  The  medical  men 
and  magistrates  called  in,  liad  not  the  smallest 
doubt  as  to  the  cause  of  his  death,  and  they  placed 
it  on  evidence  perfectly  satisfactory  to  all  i)ersous 
of  good  faith. 

lint  there  is  no  proof  clear  enough  for  the  spirit 
of  party,  resolved  to  credit  a  calumny  or  to  pro- 
jiagate  it,  without  giving  it  credit  at  all.  It  was 
suddenly  spread  abroad  among  the  royalists,  who 
were  naturally  pleased  in  imputing  all  sorts  of 
crimes  to  the  government,  and  by  the  idle,  who, 
without  malice,  love  to  see  in  the  jjrogress  of 
events  more  complications  than  they  really  possess, 
that  Pichegru  had  been  strangled  by  the  myrmi- 
dons of  the  first  consul.  This  catastrophe,  styled 
that  of  the  Temple,  was  the  complement  of  that 
styled  the  catastrophe  of  Vincennes;  one  was  the 
successor  of  the  other.  The  character  of  the  new- 
Nero  thus  rapidly  develoi)ed  itself.  After  the 
example  of  the  Roman  jjrince,  he  passed  from 
good  to  evil,  from  virtue  to  crime,  almost  without 
the  transition.  As  it  was  needful  for  those  who 
gave  themselves  the  troidjle  to  state  a  motive  for 
their  falsehoods,  to  lay  down  the  explanation  of 
such  a  crime,  they  said,  that  not  hoping  to  convict 
Pichegru,  he  had  been  assassinated,  becau.se  liis 
presence  at  the  trial  was  required  for  the  justifica- 
tion of  the  others  who  were  accused. 

This  was  the  most  absurd  as  well  ns  most  odious 
of  invented  calumnies.  If  there  had  been  one  of 
the  accused  whose  presence  at  the  trial  was  neces- 
sary for  the  interest  of  the  first  consul,  it  was 
Pichegru.  Personally,  Pichegru  could  not  pass 
for  a  rival  to  b  ■  dreaded,  since  his  well-known 
junction    with    the    royalist   party   had    lost    him 


550 


Conflict  of  political 
opinions. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


A  change  to  monarchi- 
cal opinions  in  the 
public. 


1804. 
April. 


utterly  in  the  opinion  of  the  public;  besides,  the 
actual  depositions  of  all  the  accused  of  every 
party,  equally  boj-e  him  down.  The  man  to  be 
feared,  if  either  of  them  was,  through  his  yet  un- 
tarnished glory  and  the  difficulty  of  convicting 
him,  was  Mnrean;  and  if  there  had  been  a  useful 
accuser  against  Mnreau,  it  was  Pichegru,  who  had 
served  as  the  link  between  the  royalists  and  re- 
publicans. In  fact,  if  Pichegru  had  been  brought 
to  trial,  he  would  have  been  unable  to  deny  his 
connexion  with  Georges  or  with  Moreau  ;  unable 
either  to  exiilain  or  deny  these,  he  would  have 
inevitably  connected  Moreau  with  the  royalists, 
and  thus  covered  him  with  merited  confusion. 
Pichegru  was,  therefore,  an  immense  loss  to  the 
prosecution.  Lastly,  to  commit  a  crime  to  deliver 
liimself  from  a  dreaded  rival,  it  was  Moreau,  not 
Pichegru,  whom  it  would  be  necessary  thus  to 
place  beyond  the  reach  of  the  prosecution.  The 
accusation,  therefore,  was  as  stupid  as  it  was 
atrocious,  yet  it  was  not  the  less  admitted  as  a 
fact  by  the  chatterers  in  the  royalist  saloons,  that 
the  first  consul,  in  order  to  disembarrass  himself 
of  Pichegru,  had  caused  him  to  be  strangled. 
This  unworthy  accusation  promptly  fell  to  the 
ground,  but  in  the  meanwhile  it  troubled  the 
public  mind;  and  the  hawkers  of  false  news,  in 
repeating  it,  administered  to  the  perfidiousness  of 
the  inventors.  This  new  misfortune  awoke  again 
for  some  days  the  painful  impressions  already  pro- 
duced by  the  conspiracy  of  the  emigrant  i)rinces. 
Still  such  impressions  could  not  be  durable.  If 
enlightened  persons,  friends  of  the  first  consul, 
jealous  of  his  glory,  nurtured  in  their  hearts  irre- 
concileable  discontents,  the  mass  of  the  people  felt 
that  they  were  able  to  rejiose  without  fear  under 
the  shelter  of  a  firm  and  just  power.  No  one 
seriously  believed  that  executions,  banishments, 
and  spoliations,  were  about  to  recommence.  It 
must  even  be  avowed  that  the  men  individually 
engaged  in  the  revolution,  whether  they  iiad  ac- 
quired either  national  ))roperty,  public  offices,  or 
an  embarrassing  celebrity,  were  secretly  satisfied 
to  see  general  Bonaparte  separated  from  the 
Bourbons  by  a  foss  filled  with  the  blood  royal. 

The  sensations  produced  by  these  political  events 
were  confined  then  to  a  number  of  persons  every 
day  more  limited.  Tlie  extraordinary  participation 
that  tlie  nation  had  taken  in  public  affairs  during 
the  revolution^  had  given  place  to  a  species  of  dis- 
regard arising  at  the  same  time  from  lassitude  and 
confidence.  In  the  first  times  of  the  consulate,  all 
eyes  were  fixed  upon  the  government  with  a  cer- 
tain anxiety,  but  souu,  seeing  it  so  able  and  fortu- 
nate, each  giving  himself  up  to  security  and  repose, 
returned  to  tlie  care  of  his  private  affairs,  long 
neglected  during  a  stormy  revolution,  that  had 
overturned  at  the  same  time  property,  connnerce, 
and  industry.  Of  the  masses,  there  remained  at- 
tentive to  the  public  eveiits  of  the  day  only  those 
classes  whi<-li  had  sufficient  leisure  and  intelligence 
for  occupyiu'^  themselves  with  state  affairs, and  the 
interested  of  every  party,  emigrants,  priests,  ac- 
quirers of  national  property,  the  military,  and  per- 
sons holding  places. 

But  in  this  part  of  the  public  the  impressions 
were  divided.  If  some  declared  the  act  connnitted 
in  regard  to  the  duke  d'Enghien  to  be  abominable, 
others  found  not  less  abominable  the  plots  so  un- 


ceasingly renewed  against  the  person  of  the  first 
consul.  These  Siiid,  that  the  royalists,  in  order  to 
recover  the  government,  of  which  they  were  in- 
capable and  unworthy,  rendered  liable  to  destruc- 
tion government  of  every  kind  in  France  ;  that  the 
first  consul  dead,  nobody  would  be  able  to  retain 
the  reins  of  power  in  a  manner  sufficiently  strong, 
that  all  would  fall  again  into  anarchy  and  blood- 
shed ;  that  it  was  all  well  done  to  show  severity 
in  order  to  discourage  the  wicked  and  imprudent ; 
that  the  royalists  were  incorrigible  ;  that,  covered 
with  benefits  by  the  first  consul,  they  neither  knew 
how  to  be  grateful  nor  even  resigned  ;  that  he  had 
not  missed,  in  order  to  finish  with  them,  to  make  them 
tremble  for  once,  it  was  thus  that  they  reiterated 
their  opinions  in  the  circles  ground  the  govern- 
ment, or  that  the  heads  of  the  army  expressed 
themselves,  tlie  administration,  the  magistracy,  the 
members  of  the  senate,  tribunate,  and  legislative 
body.  Even  the  impression  i)ro(luced  by  tlie  death 
of  the  duke  d'Enghien  beginning  to  be  effaced, 
things  neiirly  similar  were  said  by  peaceable  dis- 
interested persons,  who  desired  that  they  should 
be  finally  left  to  re])Ose  under  shelter  of  the  power- 
ful arms  which  at  that  time  governed  France. 

From  this  confiict  of  opinions  there  s|>rung  in- 
stantaneously a  new  idea,  soon  propagated  with  the 
rapidity  of  lightning.  The  royalists,  considering 
the  first  consul  as  the  sole  obstacle  to  their  designs, 
hiid  wished  to  strike  him  down,  hoiiing  that  the 
government  would  wholly  perish  wiiii  him.  '•  Very 
well,"  it  was  said,  "  we  must  defeat  their  criminal 
hopes.  This  man  whom  they  desired  to  destroy 
must  be  made  king  or  emperor,  in  order  that  the 
hereilitary  succession  may  add  to  his  power,  ensure 
him  natural  and  immediate  successors,  and  thus, 
from  the  crime  connnitted  against  his  person  lie- 
coming  useless,  peojile  will  be  less  tempted  to  com- 
mit it."  Thus  it  may  be  seen  that  the  return  to- 
wards monarchical  opinions  had  for  some  years 
been  rapid.  From  five  directors  nominated  for 
five  years,  they  had  passed  to  the  idea  of  three 
consuls  nominated  for  ten  years  ;  then  from  the 
idea  of  three  consuls,  to  that  of  one  consul,  iiaving 
the  power  during  life.  In  sjicli  a  course  they 
were  unable  to  stop  until  after  having  passed  the 
last  step,  in  other  words,  retnrned  to  liereditary 
power.  It  sufficed  for  such  an  end  that  the  least 
impress  should  be  given  to  the  public  mind.  This 
impress  the  royalists  were  chargeable  with  making 
themselves,  by  desiring  to  assassinate  the  first 
consul  ;  and  they  thus  gave  no  more  than  a  very 
common  exhibition,  because  most  frequently  tlicy 
are  the  real  enemies  of  a  government,  who,  by 
their  imprudent  attacks,  make  it  proceed  in  too 
i-apid  a  manner. 

In  a  comparative  moment,  whether  in  the  senate, 
the  legislative  body,  or  the  tribunate,  not  only  in 
Paris,  but  in  the  chief  places  in  the  departments, 
where  the  electoral  colleges  were  assend)led,  or  in 
the  camps  spread  along  the  coasts,  there  was  heard 
almost  spontaneously  cried  up,  tiiis  notion  of  an 
hereditary  monarchy.  This  movement  of  opinion 
was  natural  ;  it  was  also  somewhat  excited  by  the 
manifestations  of  all  who  were  desirous  of  jdeasing; 
by  the  prefects,  who  sought  to  testify  their  zeal  ; 
by  the  generals,  who  wished  to  draw  upon  them- 
selves the  notice  of  a  powerful  master  ;  all  well 
knowing  that  in  proposing  monarchy,  they  divined 


1804. 
April. 


A  change  to  monarchical  opinions 
in  ibe  public. 


THE  EMPIRE. 


Succession  of  changes  in  the 
French  goveniiuent. 


551 


the  secret  idea  of  their  master,  and  that  they  cer- 
tainly did  not  affront  him  it'  tiiey  should  by  chance 
liurry  forward  the  moment  fixed  upon  for  that 
obj.'ct  by  his  ambition. 

Without  being  dictiited,  the  language  was  every 
wliere  uniform.  It  was  necessary,  they  said,  to 
affix  a  term  to  hesitation  and  to  false  scruples,  in 
coining  to  the  only  institution  that  was  stable,  in 
otiier  words,  to  hereditary  monaichy.  While  the 
royalists  hoped  to  destroy  the  government  and 
the  revolution  at  one  blow,  they  would  renew  their 
crimes,  and  might  finish  by  succeeding.  They 
Would  not  begin  any  more,  or  at  least  they  would 
have  A  much  less  interest  in  beginning  aL'ain,  when 
they  saw  by  the  siile  of  the  first  consul  children  or 
brethren  ready  to  succeed  liim,  and  the  new  go- 
vernment, like  the  old,  having  tlie  property  of  sur- 
vivorship in  itself.  To  place  a  crown  on  the  sacred 
and  precious  head  upon  which  reposed  the  destinies 
of  France,  was  to  place  there  a  buckler  which 
should  protect  it  a;.;ainst  the  blows  of  the  assassin. 
I  In  protecting  that  lua  1,  all  the  interests  arising 
out  of  the  revolution  were  protected  ;  the  men 
committed  by  their  past  faults  would  be  saved 
from  a  wmgilinary  reaction  ;  there  would  be  pre- 
served to  tlie  aiqtiirers  of  national  domains  all 
their  property,  to  the  military  their  ranks,  to  all 
the  members  of  the  government  their  places,  to 
France  the  reign  of  equality,  justice,  and  the 
greatness  which  she  had  concjuereii.  Besides,  all 
the  world,  it  was  adtled,  had  returned  to  sound 
ideas.  Every  body  had  trouble  to  comprehend 
how  they  had  snffi-red  themselves  to  be  led  away, 
by  insen-ate  theoreticians,  to  make  the  vast  and 
a'.,'eil  France  a  republic  like  that  of  Sparta  or 
Athens.  All  recognized  that  in  destroying  the 
monarchy  for  the  republic,  they  had  jjassed  the 
first  an  1  legitimate  ohjectsof  the  revolution  of  17S9, 
which  only  went  to  obtain  a  reform  of  abuses,  the 
abolition  of  the  feudal  system,  with  the  moiiitication 
of  the  royal  antlu)rity,  and  not  its  overturn.  That 
in  UI()2,  on  the  institution  of  the  consulate  for  life, 
a  false  shame  had  constrained  the  lei;islators  of 
I'r.mce  ;  today  this  false  shame  had  piussed  away  ; 
to-ilay  the  crinjcs  of  the  royalists  had  served  to 
open  the  eyeS  of  all  ;  it  was  necessary  to  take  its 
side,  and  constitute  the  govennnent  by  a  coni|)lete 
and  definitive  act  ;  that  after  all  they  need  only 
connect  the  law  to  the  fact,  because  in  reality  gene- 
mi  Bonaparte  was  king,  absolute  king  ;  and  whilst 
they  decreed  royalty  to  him  under  its  real  foiin, 
tiny  would  treat  with  him,  would  limit  that 
royalty,  and  would  by  the  same  stroke  add  dura- 
tion to  the  government  and  gnaranlees  to  liberty. 
Such  w.xH  the  language  generally  held  some  days 
before  the  unfortunuto  scenes  which  have  been 
just  recounted. 

What  a  spectacle  was  that  of  this  nation,  which, 
after  having  attempted  the  Han;;uiiiary  republic 
under  the  convinlion,  the  moderate  but  inert  re- 
public under  the  director^-,  sudtlenly  disgusted  with 
ft  collective  and  civil  governin'  nt,  dennmded  aloud 
the  hand  of  a  wddier  to  govern  it,  showing  itself  so 
much  pressed  to  have  one,  that  it  had  taken  the  tni- 
fortunatc  Joubertin  the  absince  of  Bonaparte;  then 
had  run  before  iln;  last  on  his  return  from  E^ypt, 
supplicated  him  to  accept  a  power  which  he  was 
but  too  impatient  to  seize,  made  him  consul  for  ten 
years,  then  consul  for  life,  and  finally  an  hereditary 


monarch,  provided  he  would  guarantee  it  by  the 
vigorous  exercise  of  his  power  as  a  soldier  against 
this  anarchy,  of  which  the  frightful  spectre  fol- 
lowed it  incessjintly.  What  a  lesson  for  the  sec- 
taries that  had  believed,  in  their  pride  of  delirium, 
they  should  make  Fi-diice  a  republic,  because  the 
era  had  constituted  it  demt)cratical  !  What  time 
had  it  required  for  this  change  of  ideas  ?  Only 
four  years,  and  a  miscarried  consi)iracy  against  an 
extraordinary  man,  to  some  an  object  of  love,  to 
others  of  hatred,  to  all  one  of  passionate  attention. 
Then  let  the  depth  of  this  lesson  be  admired.  This 
man  had  become  the  object  of  a  criminal  attempt ; 
he  had  in  his  tniai  committed  a  sanguinary  act ; 
and  in  this  same  moment  it  did  not  fear  to  raise 
him  as  much  as  it  felt  was  necessary.  It  took  him 
not  less  glorious,  but  less  pure.  1 1  had  taken  him 
with  his  genius,  it  would  take  him  as  he  was,  pro- 
vided he  was  powerful  ;  so  nmeh  it  wished  for 
energy  on  the  morrow  of  great  disorders.  Have 
there  not  been  seen  around  us  in  our  time  affrighted 
nations,  flinging  themselves  into  the  arms  of  sol- 
diers of  middling  abilities,  because  they  presented 
at  least  the  appearance  of  strength  I 

At  Rome,  an  old  republic,  the  necessity  had 
been  long  felt  of  a  single  chief;  the  inconvenience, 
often  repeated,  of  the  elective  transmission  of  the 
sovereign  power,  had  required  several  generations, 
Ciesar  at  first,  then  Augustus  after  Caesar,  and 
even  Tiberius  after  Augustus,  in  order  to  habituate 
the  Romans  to  the  idea  of  monarchical  and  here- 
ditary power.  There  were  not  wanted  so  many 
precautions  in  France,  among  a  people  accustomed 
tor  twelve  centuries  to  a  monarchy,  and  for  ten 
years  only  to  a  republic.  A  simple  accident  alone 
was  necessary  to  recall  from  their  dream  a  few 
generous  spirits  who  had  wandered  astray  from  the 
living  and  hidestructible  recollections  of  an  entire 
nation. 

In  every  country  torn  by  factions  and  menaced 
by  external  enemies,  the  necessity  to  be  governed 
and  defendeil  will  bring  sooner  or  later  the  triumph 
of  a  powerful  personage,  a  warrior,  like  Ciesar  at 
Rome,  or  a  wealthy  individual,  like  the  Aledicis  at 
Florence.  If  the  country  has  for  a  long  time  been 
a  republic,  many  generations  will  be  needed  to 
fashion  it  into  a  monarchy  ;  but  if  the  country  has 
always  been  a  monarchy,  and  if  the  lolly  of  factions 
have  for  an  instant  snatilied  it  out  ol  its  natural 
position,  in  order  to  make  an  ephemeral  republic, 
there  will  be  required  several  years  of  trouble  to 
inspire  a  horror  of  anarchy,  fewer  years  still  to 
find  the  soldier  capable  of  puiting  a  lerminaticm  to 
it,  and  the  wi.sli  of  this  soldier,  or  the  blow  of  a 
poignard  from  his  enemies,  to  make  him  king  or 
emperor,  antl  thus  restore  the  country  to  its  habits, 
ami  di.ssipatc  the  dreams  of  those  who  had  believed 
th'y  could  change  human  nature  by  vain  decrees, 
or  oaths  vainer  still.  Rome  and  Florence,  for  a 
long  time  republics,  ended  one  in  the  Cuusars,  the 
other  in  the  Medici,  and  it  rcquind  more  than 
half  a  century  to  place  them  in  tlu  ir  hands.  Eng- 
land and  Franco,  republics  for  ten  years,  ended  ia 
three  or  four  years,  the  one  in  Cromwell,  the  other 
in  Napoleon. 

Thus  the  revolution,  in  its  rapid  re-action  upon 
itself,  came  forth  in  the  face  of  heaven  to  confess 
its  errors,  one  alter  another,  and  to  give  itself 
the  most  palpable  contrudictiuns.     Distiuguishiug 


Reflections  on  the  change 
552  "'     government      in 

France. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


M.  Fouche  changes  sides, 
and  becomes  the  advo- 
cate of  a  monarchy. 


April. 


Still,  that  when  it  willed  the  abolition  of  the  feudal 
rej;ime,  equality  in  the  sight  of  the  law,  uniformity 
in  justice,  the  administration  and  taxation,  the 
regular  intervention  of  the  nation  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  state,  it  had  not  deceived  itself,  it  had 
not  falsified  itself,  it  had  not  belied  itself  to  any 
one.  When  it  had,  on  the  contrary,  desired  a 
barbarous  and  chimerical  equality,  the  absence  of 
every  social  hierarchy,  the  continual  and  tunuilt- 
uous  presence  of  the  multitude  in  the  government, 
a  republic  after  a  monarchy  of  twelve  centuries, 
the  abolition  of  all  religious  worship,  it  had  been 
foolish  and  culpable,  and  it  came  to  make,  in 
presence  of  the  universe,  the  confession  of  its 
erratic  deeds.  But  what  imports  some  passing 
errors  by  the  side  of  the  immortal  truths,  which,  at 
the  price  of  its  blood,  it  left  as  a  legacy  to  man- 
kind ?  Even  its  errors  themselves  contain  usefid 
and  serious  lessons,  given  out  to  the  world  with 
incomparable  grandeur.  Yet,  if  in  this  return  to 
the  monarchy,  France  obeyed  the  immutable  laws 
of  human  society,  she  had  gone  fast,  perhaps  too 
fast,  according  to  the  usage  of  revolutions.  A 
dictatorship,  under  the  title  of  Protector,  had 
sufficed  for  Cromwell.  The  dictatorship,  under 
the  form  of  a  perpetual  consulate,  with  a  power  as 
extended  as  his  genius,  to  endure  with  his  life, 
ought  to  have  sufficed  for  general  Bonaparte  to 
accomplish  all  the  good  which  he  meditated;  to 
reconstruct  the  old  demolished  state  of  society  ;  to 
transmit,  after  having  re-organized  it,  either  to  his 
heirs,  if  he  had  had  any,  or  to  those  more  for- 
tunate, one  day  destined  to  profit  by  his  labours. 
It  was,  in  fact,  decreed  by  the  wisdom  of  Provi- 
dence, that  the  revolution,  following  up  its  re- 
action upon  itself,  should  go  further  than  the 
re-establishment  of  the  monarchical  form  of  go- 
vernment, and  as  far  even  as  the  re-establishment 
of  the  ancient  dynasty  itself.  To  accomplish  this 
noble  task,  the  dictatorship,  under  the  form  of  the 
consulate  for  life,  sufficed,  therefore,  for  general 
Bonaparte  ;  and  in  creating  an  hereditary  mon- 
archy, he  attempted  that  which  was  neither  the 
best  for  his  moral  grandeur,  nor  the  safest  for  the 
grandeur  of  France.  Not  that  the  right  was  want- 
ing to  those  who  would  have  made  of  a  soldier 
a  king  or  an  emperor  :  the  nation  could,  incon- 
testably,  turn  him  into  what  it  saw  fit  to  choose, 
and  to  a  great  soldier  rather  than  to  any  other 
could  bestow  the  sceptre  of  Charlemagne  and  of 
Louis  XIV.  But  that  soldier,  in  his  natural  and 
simple  situation  of  prime  magistrate  of  the  French 
republic,  had  not  his  equal  upon  earth,  even  upon 
the  most  elevated  thrones.  In  becoming  an  he- 
reditary monarch,  he  placed  himself  in  comparison 
with  kings  great  and  small,  and  was  their  inferior 
in  one  point,  that  of  blood.  But  this  might  be  only 
in  the  sight  of  the  prejudiced  ;  he  might  be  below 
them  in  something  else.  Welcomed  in  their  so- 
ciety, and  flattered,  because  he  was  feared,  lie 
would  be  secretly  scorned  by  the  meaner  of  them, 
and  what  is  yet  more  serious,  would  he  not  attemi)t 
to  become  king  and  emperor?  to  become  king  of 
kings,  and  head  of  a  dynasty  of  monarchs,  raised 
by  his  new  throne  ?  What  gigantic  enterjirises  to 
be  undertaken,  to  which  would  perhaps  succumb 
the  fortune  of  France  !  What  stimulants  for  an 
ambition,  already  too  excited,  and  which  could 
only  be  destroyed  by  its  own  excesses  ! 


If,  then,  in  our  opinion  at  least,  the  institution  of 
the  consulate  for  life  had  been  a  sage  and  politic  act, 
the  indispensable  complement  of  a  dictatorship  be- 
came necessary  ;  the  re-establishment  of  the  mon- 
archy in  the  person  of  Napoleon  Bonajjarte,  was  not 
a  usurjiation,  a  word  borrowed  from  the  slang  of  the 
emigration,  but  an  act  of  vanity  on  the  part  of  him 
who  lent  himself  to  it  with  too  much  ardour,  and 
of  the  imprudent  avidity  of  some  of  the  new  con- 
verts to  monarchy,  in  haste  to  detour  this  reign  of 
a  moment.  Still,  if  he  only  acted  thus  to  afford 
a  lesson  to  man,  we  must  agree  the  lesson  was 
more  instructive  and  more  profound,  more  worthy 
of  those  that  Providence  gives  to  nations,  when  it 
was  given  by  this  heroic  soldier,  and  by  those 
republicans  recently  converted  to  monarchical 
principles,  pressed,  the  one  and  the  other,  to 
cintlie  themselves  in  purple  over  the  ruins  of  a 
republic  of  ten  years'  duration,  to  support  wliich, 
they  had  taken  a  thou.sand  oaths.  Unhapi)ily, 
France,  which  had  paid  with  its  blood  for  their 
republican  delirium,  was  now  exposed  to  pay  with 
its  greatness  for  their  new  monarchical  zeal  ;  be- 
cause it  was  in  behalf  of  that  there  were  French 
kings  i)lanted  in  Westphalia,  Naples,  and  Spain, 
and  that  France  lost  the  Rhine  and  the  Al])s  for 
her  boundary.  Thus  in  every  thing  France  was 
doomed  to  serve  for  the  instruction  of  the  uni- 
verse; a  heavy  misfortune,  and  great  glory  for  any 
nation  ! 

It  was  necessary  to  have  men  under  each  suc- 
cessive change,  who  would  charge  themselves  with 
the  realization  of  the  ideas  impressed  upon  the 
general  mind  ;  in  other  words,  to  have  jjroper 
instruments.  One  was  found  for  the  revolution 
which  was  now  preparing,  singularly  adapted  to 
the  circumstances  of  the  moment.  M.  Fouche  had 
thus  far,  influenced  by  a  remnant  of  sincerity, 
censured  the  rapidity  of  action  wV.ich  drew  France 
towards  the  past ;  he  had  even  obtained  the 
favour  of  madam  Bonaparte,  by  appearing  to  par- 
take in  her  confused  fears  ;  and  he  liad,  on  that 
very  account,  incurred  the  disgrace  of  lier  am- 
bitious spouse.  Owing  to  his  playing  the  ungrate- 
ful character  of  a  secret  approver,  M.  Fouch^  had 
lost  a  minister's  place ';  and  he  did  not  desire  to 
])lay  it  any  longer  :  he  now,  therefore,  embraced 
the  o|)posite  side.  Directing  the  police  sponta- 
neously in  the  pursuit  of  the  late  conspirators, 
he  was  again  appointed  to  his  post.  Seeing  the 
first  consul  deeply  irritated  against  the  royalists, 
he  flattered  his  anger,  and  pushed  him  forward  in 
the  immolation  of  the  duke  d'Enghien.  If  the  idea 
that  had  been  often  attributed  to  the  first  consul 
of  concluding  a  sanguinary  treaty  with  the  i-evolu- 
tionists,  and  obtaining  the  crown  at  the  price  (»f  a 
frightful  pledge — if  this  idea  ever  entered  into  the 
head  of  any  man  of  that  time,  it  was  most  as- 
suredly into  that  of  M.  Fouche.  An  applaudcr  of 
the  death  of  the  duke  d'Enghien,  he  was  also  the 
most  ardent  of  the  new  partisans  of  the  hereditary 
succession.  He  now  surpassed  Talleyrand,  Roede- 
rer,  and  Fontancs,  in  his  monarchical  zeal. 

The  first  consul  had  certainly  no  need   to  be 

1  Our  author  has  given  a  different  reason  for  the  dis- 
missal of  M.  Fouche,  see  page  374.  One  or  the  other 
must  be  wrong:  it  is  important  to  know  which  is  really 
correct. — Translator. 


1804. 
April. 


THE  EMPIRE. 


Conduct  of  M.  Fouch6. 


553 


encouraf;ed  iii  liis  aspirations  to  the  throne.  He 
wished  for  tlie  supreme  monarcliieal  rank,  not  that 
sucli  had  been  liis  constant  wish  since  his  Italian 
campaigns,  nor  even  since  the  18th  Brumaire, 
as  some  vulvar  narrators  suppose  ;  no,  he  did  not 
induli^e  all  his  aspiring  wishes  at  once.  His  am- 
bition became  hir<;er  by  degrees  as  his  fortunes 
e.xtended.  Arrived  at  tlie  command  of  armies,  he 
I)erceived  from  that  elevated  point  a  higher  point 
of  elevation  still  in  the  government  of  the  republic, 
and  to  that  he  first  aspired.  Arrived  at  that 
height,  he  had  .'-een  the  perpetual  consulship  yet 
above  him,  and  he  had  aspired  to  that  in  the 
same  way.  Arrived  at  this  last  elevation,  fr(jm 
whence  he  distinctly  saw  the  throne,  he  wished  to 
sit  upon  it.  Such  is  the  march  of  human  am- 
bition, and  this  was  not  so  far  a  crime.  But  to 
clear-sighted  minds,  tli<?re  was  danger  in  an 
ambition  unceasingly  e.\cited,  and  still  insatiate, 
becau.se  it  would  only  be  excited  yet  further  the 
more  it  was  gratified. 

But  at  the  moment  of  taking  upon  itself  a  power 
which  did  not  naturally  belong  to  it,  every  genius, 
however  audacious  it  might  be,  would  at  least 
hesitate,  if  it  did  not  tremble.  In  such  situations 
an  involuntary  bashfulness  seizes  upon  the  most 
ardent  ambition,  and  it  dares  not  avow  all  which 
it  most  desires.  The  first  consul,  who  discoursed 
very  little  respecting  state  affairs  with  his  brothers, 
had  confidants  in  them,  when  he  contemplated 
objects  of  personal  aggrandisement,  to  whom  he 
was  fond  of  confiding  every  thing,  and  confidants, 
too,  who  were  more  ardent  than  he  was  himself, 
because  they  longed  to  become  princes.  It  may 
be  remembered,  that  they  had  regarded  the  con- 
sulate for  life  with  disdain,  as  an  abortive  attempt. 
At  the  time  to  which  allusion  is  now  making, 
Lucien  was  absent,  and  Joseph  had  quitted  Paris. 
Lucien,  by  a  new  inconsequence,  after  his  own 
character,  had  married  a  handsome  widow,  very 
little  calculated  to  match  with  the  position  of 
the  Bonaparte  family.  At  variance  with  the  first 
con.sul  on  account  of  his  marriage,  he  had  retired 
to  R«nic,  playing  the  part  of  one  proscribed,  and 
appearing  to  seek  in  tlie  pursuits  and  enjoyments 
of  the  arts  an  indemnification  for  fraternal  in- 
gratitude. Madame  Letitia  Bonaparte,  who,  under 
the  modest  bearing  of  a  female  born  in  humble 
circumstances,  and  still  affecting  this  I'ecollcction, 
hid  all  the  passions  of  an  empress  mother,  com- 
plained constantly  and  wrongfully  of  Napoleon, 
and  exiiibited  for  her  son  Lucien  a  very  marked 
preference  ;  she  followed  him  to  Rome.  The  first 
consul,  who  was  always  full  of  affection  for  the 
members  of  his  family,  even  when  he  had  not 
rea-son  to  applaud  their  conduct,  had  taken  care 
that  liis  all-powerful  protection  should  accompany 
liis  mother an<l  brother, and  had  recommended  them 
to  the  beiu'volcnt  regard  of  pope  Pius  Xl  I.,  saying 
that  his  Jjroilier  had  gone  to  :;i.(;l;  in  iiomo  Jic 
enjoyment  of  the  fine  arts,  and  his  nivther  the 
benefit  of  a  mild  climate.  Pius  VII.  exhibited  to 
liis  illustrious  hosts  the  most  marked  and  the  most 
delicate  attention. 

Joseph  was  also  discontented  ;  it  could  scarcely 
be  imagined  on  what  account,  if  history  had  not 
stated  the  reason.  He  felt  hurt  that  the  first  con- 
Bul  had  wished  to  nominate  him  president  of  tho 
and  refused  tlie  high  office  with  the  tone  of 


offended  dignity,  when  Cambace'res   had  gone  to 
offer  it  to  him  on  the  part  of  his  brother.     This 
last,  who  did  not  love  to  see  him  idle,  had  then 
made  him  go  in  search  of  greatness  by  the  same 
path  in  which  he  had  obtained  his  own,  and  Joseph 
was  nominated  to  the  colonelcy  of  the  4th  regiment 
of  the  line.     He  set  off,  in  consequence,  for  Bou- 
logne, at  the  same  moment  when  the  grand  ques- 
I  tion  of  the  re-establishment  of  the  monarchy  was 
in  agitation.      The  first  consul  was  thus  deprived 
I  of  two  confidential  individuals,  to  whom  he  would 
j  willingly  have  opened  his  mind  upon  such  matters 
as  related  to  his  personal  elevation. 

M.  Cambaceies,  to  whom  the  first  consul  com- 
I  monly  spoke  his  mind  upon  every  subject,  general 
I  or  personal,  at  the  epoch  of  the  consulate  for  life, 
I  had  spared    him    the  embarra-ssment   of  avowing 
I  his    wishes,  and   had   taken    the   lead  in    making 
himself   the   instrument   of  a   change  universally 
approved.      But  now  M.   Cambaceres  was  silent, 
for  two  reasons,  the  one  good,  the  other  bad.     The 
first  was,  that  with  his  rare  foresight  he  feared 
the  ex'-esses  of  an  ambition  without  limit.    He  had 
;  heard  the  empire  of  the  Gauls  spoken  of,  and  the 
empire  of  Charlemagne,  and   dreaded  to  see  the 
solid  gi'catness  of  the  treaty  of  Luneville  saci-ificed 
i  to  gigantic  enterprizes,  in  consequence  of  the  ele- 
vation of  Bonaparte  to  an  imperial  throne.     The 
j  second  x-eason  was,  that  he  should  find  himself  se- 
I  parated  from  the  first  consul  by  the  entire  height 
I  of  the  throne,  and  should  thus  become,  from  a  co- 
partnership in  the  sovci-eigiity,  however  small  that 
jKirtnership   might   he,   the  simple   subject  of  the 
future  monarch.      He  therefore  held  his  tongue, 
and  did  not  this  time,  as  he  had  done  on  the  pre- 
ceding occasion,  place  his  influence  at  the  service 
of  the   first  consul.      The  third    consul,  Lebrun, 
perfectly  devoted  in  his  services,  but  never  med- 
dling with  any  thing  save  the  duties  of  the  admi- 
nistration, had  it  not  in  his  power  to  be  of  utility. 

Fouch(5,  in  the  ardour  of  his  zeal,  made  himself 
the  spontaneous  agent  of  the  change  which  was 
preparing.  He  accosted  the  first  consul,  whose 
secret  wishes  he  had  already  divined,  represented 
to  him  the  need  of  taking  a  prompt  and  decided 
part,  and  the  urgent  necessity  for  terminating  the 
anxieties  of  France,  and  putting  the  crown  upon 
his  head,  thus  consolidating  definitively  the  results 
of  the  I'evolution.  He  showed  him  how  all  classes 
in  the  nation  were  animated  by  the  same  sentiment, 
and  impatient  to  proclaim  him  emperor  of  the 
rjauls  or  of  the  French,  as  was  most  agreeable  to 
his  jiolicy  and  taste.  He  returned  often  to  the 
charge  in  the  same  Way,  directing  himself  to  make 
the  advantages  of  the  proposal  felt  at  an  instant 
when  France,  alarmed  for  the  life  of  the  first  con- 
sul, was  disposed  to  concede  to  him  any  thing  he 
might  demand.  He  nearly  j)as.sed  from  exhorta- 
tions to  reproaches,  and  reproved  in  strong  terms 
tho  indecision  of  general  Bonaparte.  Tho  latter 
had  not  quitted  his  retreat  at  Mahnaison  since 
tho  event  at  Vincennes.  M.  I'onchJ  went  thither 
continually,  and  when  the  first  consul  had  gone  out 
to  take  his  walk  or  ride,  and  he  could  not  meet 
with  him,  he  sought  for  his  inlimatc  secretary,  M. 
de  Meneval,and  demonstrated  to  him  at  full  length 
the  advantJiges  of  an  hereditary  monarchy,  and 
not  only  of  a  monarchy,  but  of  an  aristocracy,  us  a 
support  and  ornament  to  the  throne  ;  adding,  that 


554       Conduct  of  M.Fouche.      THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Address  of  M.  Fontanes 
on  tlie  completion  of 
the  civil  code. 


1804. 
ApriL 


if  the  first  consul  wished  to  re-establish  it,  he  was 
quite  ready  to  defend  the  rectitude  of  such  a  new 
creation,  and,  if  it  were  necessary,  even  to  become 
a  noble  himself. 

Such  was  the  zeal  of  this  old  republican,  so  com- 
pletely repentant  of  his  errore.  His  uneasy  ac- 
tivity, excited  more  upon  this  occasion  than  was 
customary,  began  to  arouse  itself  further  than  was 
needful.  He  acted,  in  short,  as  a  man  would  do 
who  wished  to  have  tlie  merit  of  pushing  forward 
the  business  in  hand  through  his  own  agency  alone. 

There  was  scarcely  a  person  who  was  not  dis- 
posed to  second  the  wishes  of  the  first  consul. 
France  having  seen  for  a  long  time  past  slie  was 
now  provided  with  a  master,  who  besides  covered 
her  with  glory  and  benefits,  was  not  willing  to  re- 
fuse him  the  title  which  was  most  grateful  to  his 
ambition.  The  bodies  of  the  state,  and  the  heads 
of  the  army,  who  knew  how  much  all  resistance 
was  thenceforth  impossible,  and  who  had  seen  in 
the  ruin  of  Moreisu  the  danger  of  intemperate 
opposition,  flung  themselves  before  the  new  Csesar, 
in  order  to  distinguish  themselves  by  their  zeal  at 
least,  and  to  profit  by  an  elevation  which  there  was 
not  time  to  prevent.  It  is  the  common  disposition  of 
mankind  to  m;ike  the  best  of  the  ambition  which 
they  are  imable  to  combat  successfully,  and  to 
console  their  envy  by  their  greediness.  There  was 
now  an  embarrassment  for  every  body,  in  being 
obliged  to  adopt  the  usage  of  words  which  had 
been  proscribed,  and  to  repudiate  others  which 
they  had  adopted  with  enthusiasm.  By  a  slight 
precaution  in  tlie  choice  of  the  title  to  be  conferred 
on  the  future  monarch,  it  was  possible  to  facilitate 
this  change.  Thus  in  calling  tiie  sovereign  emperor 
in  place  of  king,  the  difficulty  was  much  diminished. 
Besides,  to  draw  the  existing  generation  out  of  this 
embarrassment,  no  one  was  better  for  the  purpose 
than  an  old  Jacobin  like  M.  Fouche,  taking  upon 
himself  to  give  an  exiimple  to  all,  both  masters 
and  subjects,  and  impressing  upon  himself  to  be 
the  foremost  to  offer  the  words  which  no  one  yet 
dared  to  have  upon  ids  lips. 

Fouchd  arranged  every  thing  with  some  of  the 
gentlemen  ushers  in  the  senate,  the  first  consul 
seeing  what  he  did  and  approving,  but  feigning 
that  it  was  for  no  end.  He  feared  to  be  the  first 
to  commence  the  subject  in  the  French  journals, 
because  their  absolute  dependance  upon  the  i)olice 
would  have  given  their  opinion  too  much  the  co- 
louring of  a  command.  He  had  secret  agents  in 
Etigland,  and  these  managed  to  get  it  stated  in 
some  of  the  English  journals,  that  since  the  last 
conspiracy  general  Bonaparte  was  uneasy,  sombre, 
and  menacing  ;  that  every  one  in  Pans  lived  in 
great  anxiety  ;  that  this  was  the  natural  conse- 
quence of  a  form  of  government  where  all  rested 
upon  his  head  alone,  sind  that  thus,  in  consequence, 
the  peaceably-disposed  people  in  France  wished 
for  an  liereditary  sovereignty,  established  in  the 
family  of  Bonaparte,  in  order  to  procure,  in  the 
existing  state  of  things,  the  stability  that  was  so 
needful.  Thus  the  English  press,  ordinarily  em- 
ployed in  the  defamation  of  the  first  consul,  w:i3 
now  emjjloyed  in  serving  his  ambitious  views. 
These  articles,  reproduced  and  commented  upon  in 
the  French  papers,  caused  a  very  lively  sensation, 
and  gave  the  expected  signal.  There  wore  at  this 
ptriod  several  electoral  colleges  assembled  in  the 


departments  of  the  Yonne,  the  Var,  the  Hautes 
Pyrenne'es,  the  Nord,  and  the  Roer.  It  was  very 
easy  to  obtain  addresses.  These  were  in  an  equal 
manner  prompted  on  the  part  of  the  municipal 
councils  of  the  great  cities,  such  as  Lyons,  Mar- 
seilles, Bordeaux,  and  Paris.  Finally,  the  camps 
assembled  along  the  coasts  of  the  ocean  were  put 
into  fermentation  in  their  turn.  The  military 
were  of  all  classes  the  most  devoted  to  the  fii-st 
consul.  A  certain  number  of  officers  and  of  gene- 
rals excepted,  some  sincere  republicans,  others 
animated  by  the  old  rivalry  which  divided  the 
soldiers  of  the  Rhine  from  those  of  Italy,  the 
greater  part  of  the  chiefs  of  the  army  saw  their 
own  elevation  in  that  of  a  soldier  upon  the  throne 
of  France.  They  were  therefore  perfectly  ready 
to  lead  off,  and  to  do  that  which  they  had  often 
seen  done  in  the  history  of  the  Roman  empire,  to 
proclaim  an  emperor  themselves.  General  Soult 
wi'ote  to  the  first  consul  that  he  had  heard  the 
generals  and  colonels  all  demand  the  establishment 
of  the  new  form  of  government ';  that  they  were 
ready  to  give  to  the  first  consul  the  title  of  emperor 
of  the  Gauls  :  he  demanded  his  orders  upon  the 
matter.  Petitions  were  circulated  in  the  divisions 
of  driigoons  encamped  at  Compiegne  ;  these  peti- 
tions were  covered  with  signatures,  and  had  been 
received  in  Paris. 

On  Sunday  the  4th  Germinal,  or  2oth  of  March, 
some  days  after  the  death  of  the  duke  d'Eiighien, 
several  addresses  of  electoral  colleges  were  pre- 
sented to  the  first  consul.  Admiral  Ganteaume, 
one  of  his  devoted  friemls,  himself  presented  the 
address  of  the  college  of  the  Var,  of  which  he  was 
the  president.  It  said  in  formal  terms,  that  it  did 
not  merely  suffice  to  seize,  try,  and  punish  the  con- 
spirators, but  that  it  was  needful  by  a  large  system 
of  institutions  which  consolidated  and  perpetuated 
the  power  in  the  Imnds  of  the  first  consul  and  liis 
family,  to  insure  the  repose  of  France,  and  put  an 
end  to  its  long  anxieties.  Other  addresses  were 
read  at  the  same  audience,  and  immediately  after- 
wards there  came  one  of  a  more  elevated  character. 
M.  de  Fontanes  had  received  the  presidency  of  the 
legislative  body,  and  had  thus  obtained,  through 
the  favour  of  the  Bonaparte  family,  a  place  which 
he  merited  to  obtain  solely  by  his  talents.  He  had 
received  the  conmiission  to  felicitate  the  first  con- 
sul on  the  achievement  of  his  immortal  work,  the 
civil  code.  This  code,  the  result  of  so  much  learned 
labour,  a  monument  of  I  he  strong  will  and  univei-sal 
mind  of  the  chief  of  the  republic,  had  been  termi- 
nated during  the  ])resent  session,  and  the  legislative 
body  in  acknowledging  it,  had  resolved  to  conime- 
monite  the  remembrance  of  the  event  by  jdacing 
in  the  hall  where  they  sat  a  miirble  statue  of  the 
first  consul.  It  was  that  circumstance  which  M. 
Fontanes  had  announced  in  this  audience;  and  cer- 
tainly of  all  the  claims  of  the  man  whom  they 
wished  to  honour,  there  was  not  one  that  it  was 
more  becoming  to  recall,  at  the  moment  when  they 
Were  going  to  make  him  the  hereditary  sovereign 
of  the  country  whiih  his  genius  had  organised. 
M.  Fontanes  expressed  himself  as  follows: — 

"citizen    FinST    CONSUL, 

"  An  immense  empire  has  rested  four  years 
under  the  shelter  of  your  powerful  administration. 
The  wise  uniformity  of  your  laws  tends  to  unite 


1804. 
ApriL 


The  first  consul  consults  Cambacerfes 

and  Lebrun. 


THE  EMPIRE. 


The  first  consul  opens  his  mind 
to  Cambaceres. 


more  and  more  all  it-s  inhabitants.  Tlie  legislative 
body  wishes  to  commemorate  this  remarkable 
epoch;  it  has  decreed  lliat  your  statue,  |il:iced  in 
the  middle  of  the  Ijall  of  its  delibenitions,  should 
perpetually  recall  to  it  your  favours,  and  the  duties 
and  hopes  of  the  French  people.  The  double  ri^lit 
of  conqueror  and  legislator  has  ever  silenced  all 
othei-s.  You  have  seen  this  confii-med  in  your  own 
pei-son  by  the  national  suffrage.  Who  would  now 
nourisli  the  criminal  hope  of  opposing  France  to 
France  ?  Will  she  divide  lierself  for  a  few  past 
i-ecol lections  when  every  present  interest  unites 
her  ?  She  has  but  one  chief — that  chief  is  your- 
self;  she  has  but  one  enemy — that  enemy  is 
England. 

"  Political  tempests  had  thrown  some  of  the 
wisest  men  upon  unfnnseen  paths.  But  as  soon 
as  your  hand  ha<l  raised  up  again  the  sign.ds  of 
their  country,  all  good  Frenchmen  recognised  and 
followed  them;  all  marched  by  the  side  of  your 
glory.  Those  who  conspire  in  the  bosom  of  an 
enemy's  territory,  ren.,uncing  irrevocably  their 
natal  soil,  what  are  they  able  to  oppose  to  your 
ascendency  ?  You  possess  invincible  armies — they 
have  only  libellei*s  and  assassins;  and  whilst  the 
voice  of  religion  is  elevated  in  your  favour  at  the 
foot  of  those  altars  which  you  have  reconstructed, 
they  would  fain  outrage  you  in  a  few  obscure  organs 
of  superstition  and  revolt.  The  impotence  of  tluiir 
])lots  is  proved.  They  every  day  render  destiny 
more  rigorous  in  fighting  against  its  decrees.  May 
they  yield  at  last  to  that  irresistible  movement 
which  carries  the  universe  with  it;  and  may  they 
jneditate  in  silence  upon  the  causes  of  the  ruin  and 
elevation  of  empires!" 

This  abjuration  of  the  Bourbons,  made  in  the 
face  of  the  newly-designated  monarch,  with  its 
sf)lemnlty  of  language,  although  indirect  in  allu- 
sion, was  the  most  significant  of  manifestations. 
Still  :hey  did  not  wish  to  make  any  thing  public, 
before  the  senate,  the  highest  body  in  the  state, 
charged  by  the  constitution  to  lead  the  way,  had 
taken  the  first  step. 

In  order  to  obtain  this  proceeding,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  come  to  an  understanding  with  M.  Cam- 
baceres, who  directed  the  senate.  It  was  neces- 
sary to  enter  into  an  explanation  with  him  for  that 
object,  and  to  be  assured  of  his  good  wishes,  not 
that  any  rehistance  upon  his  part  was  to  be  feared, 
but  his  simple  disapprobation,  although  silent, 
would  have  been  a  real  defeat,  under  a  ciicum- 
Btjinco  in  which  it  was  important  that  all  the 
world  should  Mcem  to  be  of  one  mind. 

The  first  consid  sent  for  M.  CandiaetJrcs  and 
M.  Lebnm  to  Malmaison.  M.  Lebrini,  as  most 
easy  of  persuasion,  was  simt  for  first.  With  him 
there  waK  no  effort  to  be  inaile,  because  he  was  a 
decided  partisan  of  iniinan  by,  and  more  willingly 
80  under  the  sovereignty  of  general  Bonaparte  than 
that  of  any  other  person.  Cambacdres,  discon- 
tented with  what  was  going  on,  arrived  wlien  the 
r-onference  with  his  colleague  lir^brmi  was  already 
f.ir  advanced.  The  first  consul,  nfler  Kpenking  of 
the  movement  which  uas  taking  place  in  the  pub- 
lic mind,  as  if  he  had  been  a  Hlmnger  to  the  cause, 
requested  the  «»|)inion  of  the  second  consul  ujxin 
the  question,  so  much  agitated  at  that  moment,  of 
the  re-estjiblishment  ot  the  monarchy. 

"  I  doubled  much,"  replied  Canibacdres,  "  how 


they  came  to  make  a  question  of  it.  I  see  that  all 
tends  to  that  end,  and  I  am  sorry  for  it."  Then 
dissimulating  badly  the  personal  displeasure  which 
he  intermingled  with  the  wisdom  of  his  views, 
Caniliaceres  laid  open  to  the  first  consul  the 
grounds  of  his  0])inion.  He  painted  the  discon- 
tent of  the  republicans  with  that  which  left  them 
not  even  the  name  of  the  chimera  they  had  pur- 
sued; the  royalists  revolted,  that  they  should  dare 
to  raise  up  the  throne  without  seating  a  Bourbon 
upon  it;  he  showed  the  danger  of  pushing  the  re- 
turn of  the  old  regime  so  far,  that  very  soon  it  only 
remained  to  put  one  person  in  ])lace  of  another  for 
the  old  monarchy  to  be  established.  He  stated 
the  discourses  of  the  royalists  themselves,  who 
loudly  boasted  that  they  had  in  general  Bonaparte 
a  precursor  charged  to  herald  the  return  of  the 
Bourbons.  He  set  at  its  true  value  the  inconve- 
nience of  a  new  change,  without  any  other  utility 
beyond  an  empty  title,  because  the  first  consul  had 
actually  at  that  moment  unlimited  power,  and  he 
remarked,  that  it  often  happened  there  was  more 
danger  in  changing  the  names  of  things  than  the 
things  themselves.  He  alleged  the  difficulty  of 
obtaining  in  Europe  the  acknowledgment  of  a 
monarchy  such  as  he  might  wish  to  found,  and  the 
difficulty  still  greater  to  obtain  in  France  the 
efforts  necessary  for  a  third  war,  if  it  should  be 
required  to  have  recourse  to  that  means  of  forcing 
the  acknowledgment  from  the  old  European  court-s; 
in  fine,  he  stated  many  reasons  more,  some  excel- 
lent, and  others  only  of  middling  character,  in 
which  a  S])ecies  of  liumour  was  thrown,  very  un- 
common with  so  grave  a  personage.  But  he  did 
not  dare  to  give  the  best  reason,  of  which  he  was 
well  aware;  that  if  this  new  concession  was  ac- 
corded to  an  enormously  ambitious  man,  it  would 
not  be  possible  to  stop  any  where,  because  in  de- 
creeing to  general  Bonaparte  the  title  of  emjjeror 
of  the  French,  it  j>repared  him  to  desire  that  of 
emperor  of  the  west,  to  which  he  had  afterwards 
a  secret  aspiration,  which  was  not  the  least 
among  the  causes  tliat  pushed  him  almost  to  jjass 
the  limits  of  the  possible,  and  to  fall  in  returning. 
As  with  every  man  constrained  and  cramped, 
Cambac(Jres  did  not  say  that  which  he  had  better 
have  said,  and  was  beaten  by  his  interlocutor. 

The  first  consul,  who  so  diasimulated  his  wishes 
at  tile  time  of  the  institution  of  the  considate  for 
life,  this  time  made  the  step  forward  which  was 
not  made  towards  him.  He  frankly  avowed  to 
Cambaceres,  his  colleague,  that  he  thought  of 
taking  the  crmvn,  and  he  declared  why  he  ihonght 
of  it.  He  asserted  to  him  that  France  wished  for 
a  king;  this  was  evident  to  whoever  knew  how  to 
observe;  that  it  turned  back  more  and  more  every 
day  from  the  follies  that  had  for  a  moment  got 
into  its  head,  and  that  of  all  follies,  a  rejiublic 
was  the  most  egregious;  that  France  was  .so  cont- 
pletely  disabused,  it  woidd  take  a  Bourbon,  if  it  did 
not  get  a  Bonaparte  given  to  it  ;  that  the  i-eturn 
of  the  Bourbons  would  be  a  calamity,  because  it 
would  be  a  j)nrc  coimter-revolution;  and  that  for 
himself,  without  desiring  more  power  than  he  had, 
he  yielded  upon  this  occasion  to  a  necessity  of  the 
public  mind,  an<l  to  the  interest  of  the  revolution 
itself;  that,  besides,  it  was  im|>ortant  to  take  a 
part,  because  the  movement  was  such  in  the  army, 
they   would   perhaps    proclaim  liiiu    emperor    iu 


The  party  of  Fouclie  push 
556        forward  the  measure  of    THIERS'   CONSULATE   AND   EMPIRE. 
the  first  consul. 


The  report  of  the  com- 


Apnl, 


tlie  camps,  and  then  his  elevation  to  the  throne 
would  resemble  a  scene  of  the  pretoriaus,  that 
above  all  things  it  was  necessary  to  avoid. 

These  reasons  operated  little  in  persuading  M. 
Canibaceres,  who  had  no  desire  to  let  himself  be 
persuaded,  and  tach  retained  his  oj)inion,  sorry  to 
have  been  too  forward  in  the  argument.  This  un- 
foreseen resistance  of  M.  Cambaceres  embarrassed 
the  first  consul,  who  feigning  less  impatience  tlian 
he  really  felt,  said  to  his  two  colleagues,  that  he 
would  meddle  with  nothing,  but  leave  the  move- 
ment of  the  public  mind  to  itself.  They  parted 
discontented  one  with  the  other;  and  Cambaceres, 
on  returning  with  M.  Lebrun  to  Paris,  about  the 
middle  of  the  night,  addressed  the  following  words 
to  his  colleague  :  "  The  thing  is  done  ;  the  mo- 
narchy is  re-established;  but  I  have  a  presenti- 
ment that  the  edifice  will  not  be  durable.  We 
have  made  war  in  Europe  to  give  to  it  republics, 
children  of  the  French  republic;  we  shall  make  it 
now  in  oi-der  to  give  it  monarchs,  sons  or  brothers 
of  our  own,  and  Fi-ance,  exhausted,  will  finish  by 
succumbing  to  such  foolish  enterprises." 

But  this  disapprobation  of  Cambaceres  was  the 
most  silent  and  the  most  inactive  of  resistances. 
He  suffered  Fouche  and  his  auxiliaries  to  act  ac- 
cording to  their  inclinations.  An  excellent  oppor- 
tunity offered  itself  for  their  objects.  Following 
the  customary  usage  of  addressing  to  the  senate 
communications  upon  the  occurrence  of  important 
events,  there  had  been  presented  to  liim  a  report 
of  the  grand  judge,  relative  to  the  intrigues  of  the 
English  agents,  Drake,  Spencer  Smith,  and  Taylor. 
It  was  needful  he  should  reply  to  this  communica- 
tion of  the  goverimient.  The  senate  had  named  a 
commission  in  order  to  prepare  the  draft  of  a  reply. 
The  gentlemen  ushers  already  mentioned,  finding 
the  circumstances  favourable,  set  themselves  to 
persuade  the  senators  that  the  time  was  come  for 
them  to  commence  on  the  subject  of  the  restoration 
of  the  monarchy;  that  the  first  consul  hesitated, 
but  that  it  was  necessary  to  overcome  his  hesita- 
tions, by  denouncing  to  him  the  vacancies  existing 
in  the  actual  institutions,  and  indicating  to  him 
the  manner  of  filling  them  up.  They  recalled 
gently  to  memory  the  disagreement  to  which  the 
senate  had  been  exposed  two  years  before,  when 
remaining  behind  the  wishes  of  general  Bonaparte. 
They  produced  aloud  a  specious  reason  to  prevent 
his  advancing  alone.  The  army,  they  said,  exalted 
to  the  higliest  pitch  in  favour  of  its  chief,  was 
ready  to  proclaim  him  emperor,  and  then  the  em- 
pire would  be  as  at  Rome;  given  away  by  tlie 
pretorians.  It  was  necessary,  by  hastening,  to 
spare  France  so  great  a  disgrace.  They  could  not 
but  follow  the  example  of  tlie  Roman  senate,  that 
more  than  once  was  forced  to  proclaim  certain 
emperors,  in  order  to  avoid  receiving  them  fi'om 
the  dictation  of  the  legions.  Then  came  a  reason 
which  need  not  be  told  too  loudly  or  too  softly,  it 
was,  tlmt  there  remained  for  distribution  a  great 
part  of  the  senatorial  places  instituted  at  the  time 
of  the  consulate  for  life,  which  would  procure  a 
territorial  dotation,  a  surplus  above  the  pecuniary 
income  granted  to  each  senator.  There  would  be 
also,  besides,  a  profusion  of  new  places  to  dis- 
tribute. It  was  therefore  necessary,  when  they 
were  not  able  to  resist  the  elevation  of  their  new 
master,  not  to  expose  themselves  to  displease  him. 


It  is  still  but  just  to  add,  that  to  these  base  motives 
there  were  also  some  of  a  better  kind  to  be  added. 
Except  an  opposition  very  few  in  number,  of  which 
M.  Sieves  was  the  leader,  but  with  whic;i  he  him- 
self got  disgusted,  as  he  did  with  every  thing,  and 
that  he  had  abandoned  it  to  leaders  much  more 
insignificant  than  himself;  except  this  opposition, 
the  mass  saw  in  the  monarchy  the  door  through 
which  the  revolution  was  bound  to  go  and  seek  its 
own  safety. 

These  reasons,  of  a  nature  so  diverse,  secured 
the  majority  of  the  senate,  and  that  body  resolved 
to  give  a  significant  reply  to  the  message  of  the 
first  consul.  The  following  was  the  sense  of  this 
reply  :— 

The  institutions  of  France  are  incomplete  under 
two  heads.  First,  there  is  no  tribunal  for  great 
ofiences  against  the  state,  and  it  is  required  to 
leave  them  to  a  jurisdiction  insufficient  and  feeble 
(what  passed  in  the  tribunal  of  the  Seine  on  the 
occasion  of  the  process  against  Pichegru  and 
Moreau,  filled  the  public  with  the  same  sentiment). 
Secondly,  the  government  of  France  rested  upon 
one  head,  and  it  was  a  perpetual  temptation  for 
the  conspirators,  who  believed  that  in  striking 
down  that  head,  all  would  be  destroyed  with  it. 
It  was  thus  a  double  want  that  it  was  necessary 
they  shouhl  denounce  to  the  first  consul,  in  order 
to  provoke  his  solicitude,  and,  in  case  of  necessity, 
his  commencement  of  the  affair. 

On  the  6ih  Germinal,  or  27th  March,  two  days 
after  the  audiences  above  reported,  the  senate  was 
called  to  deliberate  upon  the  draft  of  a  i-eply.  Fouchd 
and  his  friends  had  prepared  every  thing,  without 
making  it  known  to  the  cor.sul  Cnmbace'res,  who 
ordinarily  presided  in  the  senate.  It  appears  that 
they  did  not  even  acquaint  the  first  consul,  with 
the  view  of  causing  him  m\  agi'eeable  surprise. 
This  surprise  was  not  any  thing  like  equally  agree- 
able to  M.  Cambaceres,  who  was  astounded  on 
hearing  the  reading  of  the  report  oi  the  commis- 
sion. Still  he  showed  himself  impassive,  and  left 
nothing  of  it  to  be  perceived  by  the  numerous 
eyes  fixed  upon  him,  desirous  of  knowing  how  far 
all  that  had  been  done  was  agreeable  to  the  first 
consul,  of  whom  he  was  imagined  to  be  the  confi- 
dant and  accomplice.  At  this  reading  might  be  per- 
ceived a  light  but  very  sensible  murmur  in  a  part 
of  the  senate  ;  nevertheless,  the  project  was 
adopted  by  an  immense  majority,  and  it  was  to 
be  communicated  on  the  morrow  to  the  first 
consul. 

Scarcely  had  lie  quitted  the  sitting  before  M. 
Cambaceres,  piqued  at  not  having  been  made 
acquainted  with  the  proceeding,  wrote  to  the  first 
consul  at  Malmaison,  and  told  him  all  that  had 
occurred,  in  a  letter  sufficiently  cool.  The  first 
consul  came  to  Paris  on  the  following  day  to 
x-eceive  the  senate,  but  first  wished  to  have  an 
explanation  with  his  two  colleagues.  He  himself 
appeared  astonished  at  the  precipitation  of  the 
measure,  and  in  some  sort  taken  by  surprise  : 
"  I  have  not  reflected  enough,"  he  said  to  Cam- 
baceres ;  "  I  have  need  to  consult  you  again,  and 
many  others,  before  taking  a  decided  i)art.  I  will 
go  and  reply  to  the  senate  that  I  am  deliberating. 
But  I  will  neither  receive  it  officially,  nor  publish 
its  message.  I  will  not  let  any  thing  transpire 
without  doors,  so  long  as  my  resolution  shall  not 


1804. 
April. 


The  first  consul  deliberates  on 
the  measure. 


THE  EMPIRE. 


The  kins  "f  Prussia  consents  to 
acknowledge  the  emperor. 


be  definitively  fixed."  The  proceeding  thus  agreed 
upon,  was  carried  into  effect  the  same  day. 

The  first  consul  received  the  senate  as  he  had 
announced  he  would  do,  and  replied  verbally  to  its 
members,  that  he  thanked  them  for  sucii  testi- 
monies of  their  devotion  to  him  ;  but  tliat  he  had 
need  to  deliberate  carefully  upon  the  subject  tiiey 
had  submitted  to  his  attention,  before  making  a 
public  and  definitive  reply. 

Although  a  witness  and  silent  accomplice  of  all 
that  had  been  done,  the  first  consul  was  nearly 
anticipated  in  his  desires.  The  impatience  of  his 
partisims  had  surpassed  his  own,  and  he  was  very 
clearly  not  yet  rt-ady  for  the  measure.  The  act  of 
tiie  senate  was  nut,  therefore,  made  public,  al- 
though absiilute  secresy  was  impossible  ;  but  while 
he  had  nut  taken  the  official  and  avowed  step  ibr- 
ward,  lie  could  always  retire  in  case  of  encounter- 
ing an  unfortseen  obstacle. 

Before  advancing  to  that  point  from  whence  he 
could  never  again  retrograde,  the  first  consul 
wished  to  be  ct-rtain  of  the  army  and  of-  Europe. 
In  reality  he  did  not  doubt  either  the  one  or  the 
other,  because  he  was  beloved  by  the  first,  and 
feared  by  the  second.  But  it  was  a  cruel  sacrifice 
to  impose  upon  his  companions  in  arms,  who  had 
shed  their  IiI.mk!  for  France,  and  not  for  one  man, 
to  desire  that  they  should  accept  him  for  a  sove- 
reign. After  the  effect  jtroduced  in  Europe  by  the 
death  of  the  duke  d'Eiighien,  it  was  a  singular  act 
of  condescension  to  demand  of  all  the  legitimate 
princes,  that  they  should  recognise  for  an  equal  a 
soldier  who  had  but  a  few  days  before  dipped  his 
hands  in  the  blood  of  the  Bourbons.  Aithi>ugh  he 
expected  to  receive  the  reply  which  the  j)i)wer 
of  the  soldier  commanded,  he  was  wise  to  assure 
himself  of  that  re])ly  beforehand. 

The  first  consul  wrote  to  general  Soult  and 
to  those  generals  in  whom  he  had  the  most  con- 
fidence, to  ask  their  opinion  upon  the  proposed 
change.  He  iiud  not,  he  said,  taken  any  part,  nor 
Bouglit  in  that  stcji  aught  but  what  was  best  for 
France  ;  and  wisln  d,  before  his  decision,  to  gather 
the  opinion  of  the  heads  of  the  army.  The  answer 
was,  assuredly,  not  a  doubtful  one;  but  it  provoked 
at  least  |  rotestations  of  devotion,  which  would 
serve  by  way  of  example,  and  secure  the  luke- 
warm or  retiring. 

In  regard  to  F.urope,  the  condescension,  al- 
though vtry  jirobable,  presented  still  more  of 
doubt.  He  was  at  war  witii  England,  and  with 
tiiat  country  lie  need  not  concern  hiiii.self.  The 
new  relations  of  France  with  llussia  made  it  a 
point  of  <lignity  not  to  address  her.  Spain,  Austria, 
Pru8.sia,  and  the  smaller  powers,  remained  to  be 
consultetl.  Spain  was  too  feeble  to  refuse  ;  but 
the  blood  of  a  Bourbon,  recently  shed,  required 
that  some  weeks  should  pass  before  applying  to 
tiiat  power.  Austria  had  appeared  the  k-ast  sensi- 
ble of  all  the  powers  to  the  violation  of  the  (ji-r- 
manic  territories;  and  in  her  profound  indifference 
for  all  wiiicli  was  not  her  interest,  there  was 
nothing  which  miglit  not  be  expected  of  la-r.  But 
in  a  matter  of  etiquette  she  wan  dilllcult  to  manage, 
tritiing,  and  jealous,  as  were  nil  the  old  mid 
qualified  courts.  An  emperor,  because  the  title 
liad  been  decided  upon,  as  at  the  B.'ime  tinii;  more 
jfrand,  novel,  and  military  than  that  of  king — 
an  emperor  to  be  joined  to  the  list  of  sovereigns, 


was  a  thing  to  which  the  chief  of  the  holy  Roman 
empire  would  be  little  inclined  to  accord  his  con- 
sent. 

Prussia  was  yet,  in  spite  of  her  recent  coolness, 
the  power  which  was  the  most  facile  to  dispose 
favourably.  A  courier  was  immediately  sent  to 
Berlin  witii  an  order  to  M.  Laforest  to  see  M. 
Haugwitz,  in  oi'der  to  learn  fi-om  him  if  the  first 
consul  might  be  enabled  to  hope  for  recognition  by 
the  king  of  Prussia  in  quality  of  hereditary  em- 
peror of  the  French.  This  was  demanded  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  place  the  young  king  between 
a  lively  gratitude  or  a  bitter  resentment  on  the 
part  of  France.  M.  Laforest  had  an  order  to 
leave  no  trace  of  such  a  step  in  the  archives  of  the 
legation.  As  to  Austria,  without  writing  to  M.  de 
Cliampagny  at  Vienna,  and  without  hazarding  any 
direct  overtures,  a  means  close  at  hand  was  em- 
l)loyed,  by  sounding  M.  Cobentzel,  who,  always 
near  M.  Talleyraiul,  expressed  an  immoderate 
desire  to  please  the  first  consul.  M.  Talleyrand 
was  just  the  minister  to  manage  such  a  nego- 
tiation. He  obtained  from  M.  Cobentzel  the  most 
satisfactory  words,  but  nothing  positive.  It  was 
needful  he  should  write  to  Vienna  for  power  to 
give  a  decisive  reply. 

The  first  consul  was  obliged,  therefore,  to  wait 
fifteen  days  before  he  could  answer  the  senate,  and 
permit  the  labourers  at  his  new  grandeur  to  pursue 
their  work.  Still  the  addresses  of  the  great  cities 
and  principal  authorities  continued  to  be  received. 
They  were  satisfied  by  not  inserting  them  in  the 
j\Ioniteur. 

The  king  of  Prussia  was  found  to  be  in  the  best 
disposition  for  the  acknowledgment.  This  prince, 
after  turning  towards  Russia,  and  secretly  allying 
himself  with  her,  feared  he  had  done  too  much  in 
that  direction,  and  made  his  censures  too  visible 
for  the  catastrophe  that  had  happened  at  Etten- 
heim.  He  required,  therefore,  nothing  better  than 
to  have  an  instance  of  the  personal  test'-nony  of 
his  good  will  to  give  to  the  first  consul.  M.  Lafo- 
rest had  scarcely  spoken  the  first  words  on  the 
subject  to  M.  Haugwitz,  than  he  stopped  the  com- 
])letion  of  what  M.  Laforest  had  begun,  by  hasten- 
ing to  declare  that  the  king  of  Prussia  would  not 
hesitate  to  acknowledge  the  new  emperor  of  the 
French.  Frederick-William  expected  fresh  cen- 
sures on  the  part  of  the  factious  coterie  that  was  in 
action  around  the  queen  ;  but  he  well  knew  how  to 
brave  its  censures  for  the  benefit  of  his  kingdom, 
and  he  regarded  the  continuance  of  good  intelli- 
gence with  the  fii-st  consul,  as  the  first  of  his  in- 
terests. It  is  needful  to  add,  that  he  experienced 
a  feeling  of  satisfaction,  tliat  all  the  other  courts 
equally  experienced,  at  seeing  the  rei)ublic  abo- 
lished in  France.  Monarchy  alone  could  satisfy 
those  courts,  and  the  return  of  tlie  Bourbons  seemed 
actually  impossible.  General  IJonaparte  was  the 
new  monarch  whom  all  the  powers  expected  to  see 
mount  the  throne  of  France.  This  is  one  proof, 
nmoiig  a  thousand  others,  of  the  slight  duration 
that  certain  ini|)re.ssions  make  upon  men,  above  all 
when  they  feel  interested  in  erasing  them  from 
their  hearts.  All  the  courts  were  about  to  acknow- 
ledge that  man  for  an  emperor  who,  amid  their 
angry  feelings,  just  fifteen  days  before,  they  liad 
called  a  regicide  and  an  assassin. 

'Ihe  king  of  Prussia  himself  wrote  a  letter  to  M. 


The  Austrian  acknowledg- 
558        ment  of  the   emperor    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 

given  on  terms. 


Adhesion  of  the  army 
to  the  change. 


1804. 
April. 


Liiccliesiiii,  which  ♦as  communicated  to  the  first 
consul,  and  contr^ied  the  most  amicable  exi)rfS- 
sioiis.  "  I  shall  not  hesitate,"  said  the  king, "  to  au- 
thorize you  to  seize,  as  soon  as  possible,  an  occasion 
to  testily  to  M.  Talleyrand,  that  after  having  seen 
wiih  pleasure  the  supreme  |>ower  conferred  for  life 
upon  the  first  consul,  I  shall  see  with  more  interest 
still  the  order  of  things  established  by  his  wisdom 
a!id  great  actions,  consolidated  by  the  hereditary 
authority  in  his  family,  and  that  1  shall  not  find 
any  difficulty  in  acknowledging  it.  You  will  add, 
that  I  flatter  myself  that  this  unequivocal  proof  of 
my  sentiments  will  be  of  equal  value  in  his  eyes  to 
all  the  securities  and  guarantees  that  it  was  possible 
to  offer  him  in  a  formal  treaty,  of  which  the  basis 
in  fact  exists ;  and  that  1  hope  to  be  able  to  reckon 
in  my  tu:-n  on  the  effects  of  tills  friendship  and  i-e- 
i-i|)rocal  confidence,  which  I  desire  to  see  constantly 
subsist  between  the  two  goverunieuts."  Dated 
A])!il  23,  1804. 

These  words,  although  sincere  in  the  main,  were 
nevertheless  not  altogether  conlurniable  to  the 
Njiirit  of  the  treaty  signed  with  Riissia  ;  but  an 
immoderate  desire  for  peace  led  this  jjrince  into 
falsifications  the  most  unworthy  of  his  character. 

Tilings  passed  diff'erently  at  Viemia.  No  en- 
gagement had  been  there  entered  upon  with 
Russia  ;  they  would  not  there  redeem  a  concessinn 
made  to  one  by  a  concession  to  others  ;  they  only 
considered  in  that  court  their  interest,  calculated 
in  the  best  mode  possible.  The  death  of  the  doke 
(rEnghien,  the  violation  of  the  Germanic  territory, 
all  that  was  regarded  of  very  middling  importance. 
Tlie  indemnification  to  be  exacted  for  the  sacrifice 
they  might  make  in  acknowledging  the  new  em- 
peror, was  the  sole  consideialion  of  which  they  kept 
a  reckoning.  At  first,  in  spite  of  the  inconvmience 
of  disobliging  Russia  in  conceding  a  point  highly 
agreeable  to  the  French  government,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  resign  them.selves  to  acknowledge  Napo- 
leon ;  because  to  refuse  to  do  so  had  been  to  place 
themselves  in  a  state  of  war  in  regard  to  France, 
iir  \iivy  nearly  so,  which  they  wished  before  all 
things  to  avoid  doing,  at  least  for  the  nuiment; 
But  it  was  necessary,  to  obtain  a  part  of  the  ac- 
knowledgment, which  it  Uiade  the  question  of  its 
consent  to  wait  a  little  at  that  point,  to  tibtain  pay- 
ment by  certain  advantages,  and  to  represent  to 
Russia,  as  an  awkward  delay,  the  time  employed  to 
negotiate  the  advantages  which  it  was  so  desirable  to 
iibtain.  Such  was  the  Austrian  policy  ;  and  it  nuist 
be  agreed,  that  this  was  but  the  natural  cour.se 
between  nations  that  lived  one  towards  the  other 
in  a  state  of  perpetual  distrust. 

Since  the  extreme  weakeidng  of  the  Austrian 
])aity  in  the  empire,  it  was  very  possible  to  occm-, 
that  at  the  approaching  election  Austria  might  lose 
the  imperial  crown.  There  was  a  means  to  ward 
off"  this  inconvenience,  and  that  was  to  insure  to 
tlie  house  of  Austria  for  her  hereditary  states,  not 
a  royal  but  an  imperial  crown,  in  such  a  mode  that 
the  head  of  that  house  remained  emperor  of  Aus- 
tria, iu  case  he  should  cease,  by  the  changes  of  any 
future  election,  to  be  emperor  of  Germany.  It  was 
this  with  which  they  had  charged  M.  iie  Cham- 
paguy  at  Vieima,  and  M.  Cobentzel  at  Paris,  as 
tlie  request  to  be  made  of  the  first  consul,  being  a 
|iiice  demanded  in  exchange  for  that  «  hich  he  had 
requested  on  his  own  account.     In  other  respects, 


it  was  declared  to  liim,  that,  except  a  discussion 
upon  the  conditions,  the  principle  of  the  acknow- 
ledgment was  admitted  without  delay  by  the  em- 
peror Fi-ancis. 

Although  the  first  consul  had  little  doubt  of  the 
disposition  of  the  powers,  their  rejilies  filled  him 
with  satisfaction.  He  lavished  testinuuiies  of  gra- 
titude and  friendship  upon  the  court  of  Prussia. 
He  thanked  in  a  manner  not  less  warm  the  court 
of  Vienna,  and  replied,  that  he  consented  without 
making  any  difficulty  to  acknowledge  the  title  of 
emperor  iu  the  head  of  the  house  of  Austria.  He 
only  stipulated  that  he  was  not  willing  to  publish 
such  a  declaration  immediately,  in  order  not  to  ap- 
pear to  i)urchas.e  the  acknowledgment  of  his  title  at 
any  price  whatever.  He  should  prefer,  by  a  secret 
treaty,  to  bind  himself  to  acknowledge  at  a  later 
time  the  successor  of  Francis  II.  as  emperor  of 
Austria,  if  that  successor  should  lose  the  rank  of 
emperor  of  Germany.  Still,  if  the  court  of  Vienna 
insisted,  he  was  ready  to  give  up  this  difficulty 
which  was  not  a  difficuliy  alter  all,  because,  in 
reality,  these  different  titles  had  no  more  real  im- 
poriance.  From  Charlemagne  down  to  the  eigh- 
teenih  century,  there  had  not  been  in  Europe  but  a 
single  sovereign  holding  the  title  of  emperor,  at 
least  in  the  west.  Since  the  eighteenth  century, 
there  had  been  two,  the  czar  having  taken  u|)on 
himself  this  qualification.  There  would  be  three 
alter  what  now  took  place  in  France,  and  there 
wiiuld  be  one  day  four  if  a  future  German  elec- 
tion should  give  an  em|)eror  not  tidten  out  of  the 
house  of  \ustria.  It  was  even  thought  that  the 
king  of  England,  having  denominated  the  united 
])ariianient  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  the  "  im- 
|>erial  parliament,"  might  be  temptid  to  entitle 
iiimself  emperoi-.  In  that  case  tiiere  would  be 
five.  All  this  did  not  require  that  it  should  stop 
there.  They  were  all  empty  titles  without  the 
value  that  was  formerly  annexed  to  them  when 
Fiancis  I.  and  Charles  V.  dis|)nted  between  them 
the  suffrages  of  the  Germanic  electors. 

lnde|iendently  of  these  tran(|uillising  assurances 
on  the  part  of  the  principal  courts,  the  first  consul 
had  received  from  the  army  the  most  impressive 
testimonies  of  its  adhesion  to  him.  General  Soiilt 
particularly  had  written  him  a  letter  full  of  the 
most  satisfactory  declarations,  and  in  the  fifteen  or 
twenty  oays  that  had  passed  in  correspondence 
with  Viemia  and  Berlin,  the  great  cities  of  Lyons, 
Marseilles,  Bordeaux,  and  Paris,  had  sent  up  ener- 
getic addresses  in  favour  of  the  re-establishment 
of  the  inonarcliy.  The  movement  was  general,  the 
eclat  of  the  object  as  forcilde  as  it  was  well  able  to 
be;  it  was  necessary  therefore  to  proceed  to  official 
measures,  and  finally  to  explain  iii  regard  to  the 
senate. 

The  first  consul,  as  already  seen,  had  not  pub- 
licly received  the  senate,  nor  bad  he  replied  in  any 
other  than  a  verbal  maimer  to  tlie  message  of  the 
6tli  Germinal.  It  had  been  nearly  a  month  that 
he  had  nuide  it  wait  for  the  official  answer.  This 
answer  was  given  on  the  3rd  Floreal,  or  26th  of 
April,  1804,  and  it  brought  the  winding  up  of  the 
plot  that  was  expected  : — 

"  Your  address  of  the  6th  Germinal,"  said  the 
first  Consul,  "  has  never  ceased  being  jiresent  to 
my  n.ind.  You  have  deemed  hereditary  succession 
necessary  to  place  the  French  people  ill  security 


1804.       The  sticcension  fixed  upon  Bonaparte 
April.  and  his  fatnily. 


THE  EMPIRE. 


Discussions  in  the  tribunate. 


559 


from  tlie  conspiriicies  of  our  enemies  and  the  a|;i- 
tJitions  wliicli  are  enitendered  by  nniditiuus  rival.s; 
man}-  of  our  institutions  it  lias  in  the  mean  time 
ajipeared  ti>  you  necessary  to  render  perfect,  to 
ensure,  in  return,  the  triumph  of  equality  and  of 
pubhe  hherty,  and  to  offer  to  the  nation  and  f;o- 
vernment  tlie  duuljle  guarantee  required.  In  pro- 
portion as  I  liave  directed  my  attention  to  tiiese 
serious  suhjicts,  I  iiave  more  and  more  been  sen- 
sille,  that  under  a  situation  as  new  as  it  is  impor- 
t;int,  the  advice  resulting  froni  your  wisdom  and 
experience  was  necessary  to  me.  I  tlierefore  in- 
vite you  to  make  i;nown  to  me  all  your  ideas  upon 
the  8id)ject." 

This  messajje  was  not  immediately  published, 
any  more  than  that  to  which  it  seemed  to  be  the 
reply.  The  senate  inmiediately  assembled  for  the 
purpose  of  deliberation.  The  deliberation  was  not 
difticult,  the  result  being  known  beforehand;  the 
pniposition  being  Ut  convert  the  consuhir  republic 
into  an  hereditary  empire. 

Still  it  was  necessary  that  all  should  not  pass 
over  in  silence,  and  it  was  therefore  agree<l  to  dis- 
cuss a  portion  of  the  grand  resolution  thus  ])re- 
paring,  in  some  one  of  the  bodies  of  the  state  where 
the  proceeding  could  be  public.  The  senate  did 
not  debate;  the  legislative  body  heard  the  official 
oraion*,  and  voted  in  silence.  The  tribunate, 
although  diminished  and  converted  into  a  section 
of  the  coimed  of  state,  si  ill  preserved  its  discus- 
sions. It  was  resolved  to  make  use  of  it,  in  order 
that  there  might  be  heard,  in  the  only  place  which 
had  reserved  to  itself  the  possibility  of  contra- 
diction, a  few  words  having  the  semblance  of 
freedom. 

The  tribunate  had  nt  that  time  for  its  president 
M.  Fabre  de  I'Aude,  a  i)ersonage  devoted  to  the 
Bonaparte  family.  The  choice  of  the  tribune, 
whose  former  opininns  had  been  avowedly  re])ub- 
lican,  was  arranged  upon  with  him  in  order  to  take 
the  lead  upon  the  occasion.  The  tribune  Cuie'e, 
the  fellow-countryman'  and  personal  enemy  of 
Cambacdres,  was  selected  to  |>lay  that  character. 
It  was  believed  by  the  public  that  this  personage, 
the  snpp.ised  erealure  of  the  second  consul,  had 
been  clioKon  and  put  forward  by  him.  This  was 
not  correct.  It  was  unknown  to  Canibac^res,  and 
even  in  ojiposition  to  his  wish,  that  M.  Cure'e  was 
fixed  upon.  This  last  personage,  formerly  an 
ardent  republican,  and,  like  many  others,  come 
back  ng]iin  to  moiuirchieal  ideas,  drew  up  a  mo- 
tion in  which  he  laid  down  the  hereditary  succes- 
sion in  favour  of  ihf  B-maparte  faunly.  M.  Fabre 
de  I'Aude  took  this  to  St.  Cloud,  in  order  to  sub- 
mit it  for  the  a|iprol>ation  of  the  first  consul.  '1  he 
latter  seemed  viry  liiile  satisfied,  and  thought  that 
the  la'igiiage  of  the  individual,  thus  disabused  of 
his  republican  notions,  showed  little  ability  or  ele- 
vation. .Still  iIkiv  was  the  inconvenience  of  choos- 
ing another  nnndur  of  the  tiibunale  in  rejecting 
it.  He  then  f.n-  suffered  the  text  to  remain  that 
had  been  Hubniitted  to  him,  and  sent  it  innncdiateiy 
to  M.  Fabre  de  I'Aude.  Tliis  text  bad  undergone 
at  St.  Cloud  a  singular  change-.  In  lieu  of  ihc 
words,  "  hereditary  in  the  family  of  Uonaparte," 

'  Camhacfris  wag  a  native  of  Monlpclllcr,  where  he  wns 
born  in  175.3.  and  died  in  1821.  Cuiee  wai  a  native  of  the 
i«me  city. — Tranttatur. 


the  words  were  changed  to  "  hereditary  in  the  de- 
scendants of  Napoleon  Bonaparte."  M.  Fabre  de 
I'Aude  was  the  particular  friend  of  Joseph  Bona- 
parte, and  one  fif  the  members  of  his  social  circle. 
Evidently,  the  first  consul,  discontented  with  his 
brothers,  wouM  not  have  any  constitutional  engage- 
ment on  their  behalf.  Those  who  wished  to  j)lease 
Joseph,  went  to  work  about  M.  Fabre  de  I'Aude, 
anil  they  carried  back  the  jirojected  motion  to 
St.  Cloud,  in  order  to  replace  the  words  "  Bona- 
j)arte  family,"  in  lieu  of  the  "  descendants  of  Napo- 
leon Bonaparte."  The  document  was  sent  back, 
having  the  word  "  descendants "  still  remaining 
w  ithout  any  explanation. 

M.  Fabre  resolved  not  to  make  any  noise  about 
this  circinnstance,  and  to  give  to  M.  Curfo  the 
copy  of  the  motion  just  as  it  had  come  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  first  consul,  but  inserting  the  version 
preferred  by  the  partizansof  Jo.seph.  He  believed 
that  the  motion  once  ])resented  and  reproduced  in 
the  Mon'deur,  they  would  not  venture  to  change  it; 
and  he  resigned  himself,  if  it  became  necessary,  to 
a  painful  explanation  upon  the  subject  with  the 
first  consul.  This  was  a  proof  that  the  party  sur- 
rounding the  brothers  of  Bonaparte  were  suffi- 
ciently powerful,  allied  together,  to  brave  for  their 
interest  the  displeasure  of  the  head  of  the  family. 
All  these  proceedings  were  sent  daily  to  Joseph, 
who  had  already  reached  the  camp  at  Boulogne. 

On  Saturday,  the  8th  Flor^al,  or  28th  of  April, 
1804,  the  motion  of  M.  Cure'e  was  deposited  in  the 
tribunate,  and  the  discussion  of  which  it  was  to  be 
the  subject,  was  fixed  u|)on  for  Monday,  the  10th  of 
Flore'al.  A  crowd  of  s])eakers  pi-essed  forward  to 
the  tribune  in  support  of  the  measure,  demanding, 
in  emulation  of  each  other,  the  opportunity  of  dis- 
tinguishing themselves  by  a  dissertation  on  the 
advantages  of  the  monarchy.  The  main  point 
being,  in  truth,  to  become  its  adherents. 

The  revolution  of  1789  had  been  directed  to  the 
abolition  of  feudal  riglits,  a  reform  of  the  social 
state,  the  suppression  of  abuses  introduced  under 
arbitrary  rule,  and  the  reduction  of  the  absolute 
power  of  the  sovert  ign,  by  the  intervention  of  the 
nation  in  the  government.  These  were  just  and 
legitimate  wishes.  All  that  exceeded  these  limits 
had  passed  by  the  object,  and  had  done  nothing 
but  bring  misfortunes  upon  the  counti'y.  The 
most  painful  experience  had  taught  this  lesson  to 
France.  It  was  nece.ssary  to  profit  by  its  past 
experience,  and  to  revert  to  that  which  had  been 
thus  overdone.  Tho  monarchy  was,  therefore,  to 
be  re  established  on  new  bases,  upon  constitu- 
tional liberty  and  civil  equality.  "With  a  monarchy 
there  could  be  oidy  one  particular  monarch  pos- 
sible, and  that  was  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  and  the 
renuiining  members  of  his  family. 

The  more  zealous  of  the  orators  in  the  tribunate 
added  to  their  harangues  invectives  against  the 
Bourbons,  and  the  solemn  declaration  that  these 
princes  were  rcu'crcd  for  ever  incapable  of 
governing  France;  that  every  Frenchman  ought 
at  the  price  of  his  blood  to  oppose  their  return. 
It  seemed  that  the  lie  lliey  gave  at  this  moment 
to  themselves  in  j)roclaiining  the  moiuirchy,  after 
hnviiig  taken  so  many  oaths  to  the  republic,  in- 
divisible and  imperishable,  would  have  been  a 
lessen  to  these  orators,  and  have  at  least  Uiught 
them    to    s|)eak    less    aflirniatively   of    the   future. 


560 


Address  of  Carnot  THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


in  the  tribunate. 


1804. 
April. 


But  there  is  no  lesson  capable  of  preventing  a  | 
troop  of  men,  not  above  mediocrity  of  mind,  from 
throwing  themselves  into  tlie  torrent  which  runs 
before  them  ;  all  suffer  themselves  to  be  borne 
along,  particularly  when  they  believe  they  shall 
find  honours  and  fortune  in  their  course. 

In  the  number  of  those  eager  people  were  found 
more  immediately  tlie  men  formerly  signalised  by 
their  republican  spirit,  or  those  who,  at  a  later 
period,  wei'e  remarked  for  their  zeal  towards  the 
Bourbons.  One  only  personage,  in  the  midst  of 
the  base  adulations  thus  let  loose,  exhibited  a  real 
dignity  of  character.  This  personage  was  the 
tribune  Carnot.  Most  assuredly  he  deceived  him- 
self in  his  general  theory,  because  after  what  had 
been  seen  in  France  for  ten  years,  it  was  difficult 
to  admit  that,  for  such  a  country,  a  republic  was 
pi-eferable  to  a  monarchy  ;  but  this  apostle  of 
error  was  far  worthier  in  his  own  attitude  than 
the  apostles  of  the  truth,  because  he  had  over 
them  all  the  advantage  of  a  courageous  and  dis- 
interested convictidn.  What  rendered  his  courage 
the  more  homiurable  was,  that  so  far  from  ex- 
pi-essing  himself  like  a  demagogue,  he  expressed 
himself,  on  the  contrary,  as  a  wise  and  moderate 
citizen,  the  friend  of  order.  He  protested  that  he 
would  submit  himself,  tiie  next  day,  with  perfect 
docility,  to  the  sovereign  whom  the  law  might  ap- 
point,'but  that  while  the  law  was  in  progress,  and 
when  it  became  a  subject  of  discussion,  he  would 
speak  out  his  opinion. 

He  spoke  at  first  with  nobleness  of  the  first 
consul,  and  of  the  great  services  which  he  had 
rendered  to  the  rej)ublic.  If,  in  order  to  secure 
tranquillity  in  France,  and  a  reasonable  degree  of 
liberty,  it  was  necessary  to  have  an  liereditary 
chief,  he  should  be  senseless,  he  said,  to  choose 
any  other  than  Napoleon  Bonaparte.  No  one  had 
struck  such  terrible  blows  at  the  enemies  of  his 
country  ;  no  one  had  done  so  much  for  its  civil 
organization.  Had  he  given  to  France  the  civil 
code  alone,  his  name  would  well  deserve  to  pass 
down  to  posterity.  He  was  not,  therefore,  doubtful, 
that  if  it  were  necessary  to  elevate  tlie  throne 
again,  it  was  the  first  consul  who  should  be  placed 
upon  it,  and  not  the  blind  and  vindictive  race,  that 
never  re-entered  France  but  to  spill  the  blood  of 
its  best  citizens,  and  re-establish  the  dominion  of 
the  narrowest  prejudices.  But  if  Napoleon  Bona- 
parte had  rendered  France  so  many  services,  was 
there  no  other  recompense  to  offer  him  than  the 
sacrifice  of  the  liberties  of  the  country  ? 

Carnot,  without  causing  himself  to  lose  sight  in 
his  remarks  of  the  incoi.iveniences  or  the  advan- 
tages which  attached  to  different  forms  of  govern- 
ment, endeavoured  to  prove  that  at  Rome,  in  tlie 
time  of  the  empire,  they  had  as  much  agitatimi  as 
in  that  of  the  republic,  and  that  they  had  not  posses- 
sed less  of  the  masculine  and  heroic  virtues  ;  that 
the  ten  centuries  of  the  French  monarchy  had  not 
been  less  tempestuous  than  those  of  all  known  re- 
jmblics  ;  that  under  monarchy,  the  people  attached 
themselves  to  families,  identified  themselves  by 
their  passions,  rivalries,  and  hatred,  making  these 
causes  as  much  questions  of  dis])ute  as  any  others  ; 
that  if  the  French  republic  had  had  its  sanguinary 
times,  these  were  irouliles  inseparable  from  its 
origin  ;  tliat  it  |)roved  more  or  less  the  necessity  of 
a  temporary  dictatorship,  as  at  Rome  ;  that  this 


dictatorship  had  been  conferred  upon  Napoleon 
Bonaparte  ;  that  no  one  contested  his  possession  of 
it ;  that  it  depended  on  him  to  make  of  it  the  most 
noble,  the  most  glorious  usage,  in  preserving  it 
during  the  time  necessary  to  prepare  France  for 
liberty  ;  but  that  if  he  wished  to  convert  it  into  au 
hereditary  and  perpetual  power,  he  at  once  re- 
nounced a  singular  and  immortal  glory  ;  that  the 
new  state  founded  twenty  years  since  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic,  was  a  proof  that  it  was  pos- 
sible to  find  peace  and  happiness  under  republican 
institutions ;  and  that  as  regarded  himself,  he 
should  for  .ever  regret  that  tlie  first  consul  did 
not  wish  to  employ  his  power  in  procuring  so  great 
a  felicity  for  his  country.  Examining  the  argu- 
ments often  used,  that  there  would  be  a  better 
chance  of  a  durable  peace  by  approximating  to 
those  forms  of  government  most  generally  received 
in  Europe,  he  inquired  if  the  acknowledgment 
of  the  new  emperor  would  be  as  easy  as  people 
imagined  ;  if  they  were  prepared  to  take  up  arms 
in  case  such  an  acknowledgment  were  refused  ;  if 
France,  converted  into  an  empire,  would  not  as 
much  tend  to  mortify  Europe,  to  excite  jealousy, 
and  to  provoke  war,  as  if  it  were  maintained  in  its 
existing  situation  of  a  republic  ? 

Casting  a  final  look  back,  and  addressing  to  the 
past  a  noble  adieu,  the  tribune  Carnot  said  : 

"  Was  liberty  then  exhibited  to  man  that  he 
might  never  po&sess  its  enjoyment  1  Was  it  to  be 
offered  to  his  desires  incessantly,  like  the  fruit  to 
which  he  had  no  sooner  stretched  out  his  hand 
than  he  became  death-stricken  ?  No,  I  am  unable 
to  agree  that  I  am  to  regard  this  great  good,  sp 
universally  preferred  before  all  others,  and  without 
which  all  others  are  nothing,  as  a  mei'e  illusion. 
My  heart  tells  me  that  liberty  is  possible,  that  its 
reign  is  easy,  and  far  more  stable  than  that  of  any 
arbitrary  or  oligarchical  government." 

He  finished  by  these  words,  attaching  to  the 
character  of  a  good  citizen  : — 

"  Always  ready  to  sacrifice  my  dearest  affections 
to  the  interests  of  our  common  country,  I  shall 
content  myself  with  having  caused  to  be  once  more 
heard  the  accents  of  a  free  spirit ;  my  respect  for 
the  law  will  be  so  much  more  assured  from  its 
being  the  result  of  long  misfortunes,  and  from  the 
reason  that  commands  us  at  this  moment  impe- 
riously to  unite  ourselves  in  front  of  the  common 
enemy,  an  enemy  always  ready  to  foment  discord, 
and  with  whom  all  means  are  legitimate,  provided 
they  arrive  at  the  object  of  universal  oppression, 
and  the  dominion  of  the  seas." 

Carnot  evidently  confounded  liberty  and  the  re- 
l>ublic,  the  common  error  of  all  who  reason  as  lie 
did.  A  republic  is  not  necessarily  liberty,  as 
monarchy  is  not  of  necessity  social  order.  Oppres- 
sion is  encountered  under  a  republic,  as  disorder  is 
met  with  under  a  monarchy.  Without  good  laws 
both  one  and  the  other  will'  be  found  under  either 
of  those  forms  of  government.  But  it  is  a  main 
point  to  know  whetiier,  with  wise  laws,  monarchy 
does  not  give  in  a  higher  degree  than  any  other 
form  of  government  the  sum  of  possible  liberty, 
and  more  than  that  the  force  of  action  necessary 
for  great  military  states  ;  above  all,  if  the  habits 
of  twelve  centuries  have  not  rendei-ed  this  form  of 
government  inevitable,  or  since  that  time  desirable, 
in  a  country  like  France.     If  it  has  been  thus, 


1804. 
April. 


Resolution  of  the  tribunate. — 
Reply  of  the  senate  to  the 


THE  EMPIRE. 


561 


would  it  not  be  better  to  admit  it  at  once,  and  or- 
ganize wisely,  than  to  debate  in  a  false  position, 
whicli  neither  agrees  with  the  ancient  niannei-s  of 
France,  nor  with  the  necessity  there  is  for  a  stable 
and  satisfactory  state  of  things  ?  The  illustrious 
tribune  had  only  reason  upon  his  side  on  one 
point ;  perhaps  there  was  only  the  necessity  for 
Napoleon,  and  a  siini>le  dictatorship,  to  terminate 
at  !i  later  period,  according  to  Carnot,  in  a  republic, 
[  according;  to  the  present  view  of  tilings,  in  a  re- 
'  pre.sjiitative  monarchy.  Napoleon  wa.s  wonderfully 
selected  by  Providence  to  prepare  France  for  a 
new  reginjc,  and  to  deliver  over  the  care  of  ag- 
grandizing and  regenerating  to  tliose,  whoever 
they  might  be,  that  should  govern  after  him. 

The  tribune  Carion  de  Nisas  took  upon  himself 
the  duty  of  replying  to  Carnot,  and  acquitted  him- 
self of  his  task  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the  new 
monarchy  men,  but  with  a  mediocrity  of  eloquence 
that  was  only  equal  to  the  mediocrity  of  his  ideas. 
With  the  last  it  was  no  more  than  a  got  up  discussion. 
Tediousness,and  a  feeling  of  its  perfect  inutility,  set 
a  tolerably  speedy  termination  to  the  sitting.  A 
commission  <if  thirteen  members  was  formed  to 
examine  the  motion  of  the  tribune  Cur<*e,  and  con- 
vert it  into  a  definitive  resolution. 

In  the  silting  of  the  13th  of  Flordal,  or  3rd  of 
May,  that  is  t<>  say  on  the  Thursday  following,  M. 
Jard  Panvillier,  the  reporter  of  the  commission, 
proposed  to  the  tribunate  to  move  a  i-equest  that, 
according  to  the  constitutional  regulations  in  force, 
should  be  addressed  to  the  senate,  and  carried  up 
to  that  body  by  a  deputation. 

This  request  was  as  follows : 

Firstly,  that  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  actually  consul 
for  life,  should  be  named  emperor,  and  in  that 
character  be  charged  with  the  government  of  the 
French  republic. 

Secondly,  that  the  title  of  emperor  and  the  im- 
perial power  should  be  hereditary  in  his  family, 
male  and  male,  according  to  the  order  of  primo- 
geniture. 

Thirdly,  that  in  carrying  out,  in  the  organization 
of  the  ci>nstituted  uuthoritie.s,  the  modifications 
which  the  esUiblishrnent  of  the  hereditary  power 
may  demand,  equality,  liberty,  and  the  rights  of 
the  people  bliould  be  preserved  in  their  integ- 
rity. 

TIiIh  request,  or  prayer,  adopted  by  an  immense 
majority,  wuh  carried  to  the  st-iiate  on  the  follow- 
ing day,  the  Mth  Floreal,  or  4th  of  May,  1H04. 
M.  Fnincois  de  Neufchateau  occupie<l  the  vice- 
prcsident'H  chair  at  this  sitting.  Aft<;r  having 
heard  the  deputation  from  the  tribimate,  and 
having  given  effect  to  the  request  whicli  they 
brought,  he  wild  to  the  tribuneH,  "  1  am  not  able  to 
tear  off  the  veil  which  for  the  moment  covers  the 
proceedings  of  the  senate.  I  nuist  nevertheless 
inform  you,  that  since  the  Gth  (jerminal,  we  have 
fixed  upon  the  Hjime  subject,  of  which  you  have 
thought,  mindful  of  the  chief  iniigislrate.  But 
know  for  your  advantage,  that  during  two  months 
past  we  have  conteinpiiited  in  hilenee,  what  your 
institution  ha.s  permitted  you  to  give  out  for  discus- 
sion in  presence  of  the  public.  The  happy  deve- 
lopment whiih  you  h:ivc  given  to  a  great  idea, 
will  procure  for  the  senate  that  has  opened  the 
tribune  to  you,  the  saiiHfaction  of  delight  in  the 
aelection,  and  applause  for  llio  laliour. 


"  In  your  public  discourses  you  have  penetrated 

I  to  the  bottom  of  our   thoughts.      As  you  do  not, 

I  citizen  tribunes,  we  do  not  desire  to  have  the 
Bourbons  ;  becau.se  we  will  not  have  a  counter- 
revolution, the  sole  present  that  those  unhapjiy 
deserters  are  able  to  make  us,  who  have  carried 
away  with  them  despotism,  nobility,  feudality, 
servitude,  and  ignorance. 

"  Like  you,  citizen  tribunes,  we  wish  to  raise  up 
a  new  dynasty,  because  we  wish  to  guarantee 
to  the  French  people  all  the  rights  which  they 
have  reconquered.  Like  you,  we  wi.sh  that  liberty, 
equality,  and  intelligence,  should  not  again  retro- 
grade. I  speak  not  of  the  great  man  called  for- 
ward by  his  glory  to  give  his  name  to  the  age.  It 
is  not  for  himself,  it  is  f<u"  us,  that  he  devotes  him- 
self. That  which  you  propose  with  enthusiasm, 
the  senate  will  consider  with  calmness." 

It  may  be  seen  by  these  words  of  the  vice- 
president,  that  the  senate  wished  to  keep  to  its 
time,  and  not  expose  itself  agaiti  to  be  outstripped 
or  surpassed  in  devotion  to  its  new  master.  The 
secret  directors  of  the  cliaii<;e  which  they  pre- 
l>ared,  had  well  foreseen  the  influence  which  the 
discussion  in  the  tribunate  exercised  over  that 
body.  They  made  it  serve  for  hastening  the  re- 
solution, saying  it  was  needful  that  this  resolu- 
tion should  be  arranged  the  same  day  that  the 
prayer  of  the  tribimate  would  be  connnunicated, 
in  order  that  the  two  assemblages  sliould  ajipear 
to  meet  each  other,  and  that  the  most  considerable 
should  not  seem  to  come  after  the  others.  Thus 
they  hastened  to  finish  all  as  i-apidly  as  possible. 
They  devised  the  plan  of  addressing  a  memorial  to 
the  first  consul,  in  wliich  the  senate  should  express 
its  ideas,  and  j)ropose  the  basis  of  a  new  organic 
senatus  consultuin.  This  memorial  was,  in  fact, 
quite  ready  at  the  moment  when  the  deputation  of 
the  tribunate  was  introduced.  The  draft  was 
approved,  and  tiie  ])resentati()n  to  the  first  consul 
inunediately  determined  upon.  It  was  arranged 
that  this  presentation  should  take  place  the  same 
(lay,  or  on  the  14th  Floreal.  In  consequence,  a 
deputation,  composed  of  the  officials  and  members 
of  the  commission  who  hail  ]>repared  the  memorial, 

i  waited  upon  the  first  consul,  and  handed  to  him 
the  message  of  the  senate  and  the  menuu'ial  which 

I  contained  its  ideas  on  the  new  monarchical  organi- 

I  zatioii  of  France. 

It  was  necessary,  in  fine,  to  give  to  these  ideas 

I  the  form  of  constitutional  articles,  a  conmiission 
was  named,  composed  of  several  senators,  also  of 
the  ministers  and  the  three  consuls,  which  was 
charged  to  draw  u\>  the  new  senatus  consultum. 
Not  liaving  any  further  precautions  to  take  in 
respect  to  publicity,  there  were  inserted  in  the 
Moiiiti'ur  im  the  morrow,  all  the  acts  iif  the  .senate, 
the  eonnnnnicalions  which  it  had  had  with  the  first 
consul,  thosi;  which  it  had  received,  ami  all  the 
addresses  wliieh  for  some  time  before  had  been 
sent  to  the  goveriunent,  praying  the  ro-cstablish- 
nient  of  the  monarchy. 

The  connnissioii  nominalcil  .set  about  its  laboui-s. 
It  nn-t  at  St.  Cloud,  in  iiresenee  of  the  first  consul 
and  his  two  colleagues.  It,  examined  ami  succes- 
sively rescdved  all  the  (nu'stions  which  were  de- 
signed for  the  establishment  (d  tlio  hereditary  suc- 
ccHsion.      The    first    which     prcHentc-d    itself,    was 

'  relative  to  the  title  of  the  new  monarch.     Should 
O  o 


The  succession  to  the  throne 
562     established  in  the  Bona-    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE, 

pane  laiuily. 


Formation  of  grand 
dignitaries  fur  the 
throne. 


1804. 
May. 


he  be  styled  king  or  emperor  ?  The  same  reason 
that  in  ancient  Rome  had  caused  lh«  Ctesars  to 
resuscitate  no  more  the  title  of  king,  and  to  take 
the  all  military  one  of  em])ei-ov  {inipemtor),  decided 
the  authors  of  the  new  constitution  to  prefer  the 
same  qualification.  It  presented  at  once  nioi'e 
of  novelty  and  of  grandeur;  it  discarded,  in  a 
certain  de^jree,  the  recollections  of  the  past  time, 
that  it  was  wished  only  to  restore  in  part,  and  not 
by  any  means  entirely.  Besides,  there  was  in  this 
designation  something  of  the  vastness,  the  illimit- 
ability,  wliich  suited  best  the  ambition  of  Na- 
poleon. His  numerous  enemies  in  Europe,  in 
attributing  to  iiini,  daily,  prf  jects  which  he  had 
not  conceived  at  all,  or  had  not  yet  imagined,  by 
repeatiiig  in  a  multitude  of  publications,  that  he 
dreamed  about  reconstituting  the  empire  of  the 
West,  or  at  least  that  of  the  Gauls,  had  thus  pre- 
pared every  mind,  even  his  own,  for  the  title  of 
emperor.  Tliis  title  was  in  every  month,  whether 
of  friends  or  enemies  alike,  before  it  was  really 
adopted.  It  was  settled  upon  without  any  dispute, 
in  C()nse(|uence,  that  the  first  consul  should  be 
proclainitd  emperor  of  the  French. 

The  hereditary  succession,  the  end  of  this  new 
revolution,  was  very  naturally  established  upon  the 
principles  of  the  Salic  law,  that  is  to  say,  male 
succeeded  male  in  the  order  of  primngeiiiture. 
Na])oleon  not  having  children,  and  tippearing  as  if 
destined  to  have  none,  it  was  thought  of  giving 
him  the  power  of  adoption,  such  as  was  once  a 
part  of  the  Roman  institutions,  with  the  same  con- 
ditions and  solemn  forms.  In  default  of  adopted 
descent,  the  triinsmisision  of  the  crown  was  jier- 
mitted  in  the  collatei-al  line,  not  to  all  the  brothers 
of  the  em)ieror,  but  to  Joseph  and  Louis  ex- 
clusively. TliHse  were  the  only  two  of  the  family 
who  had  acquired  for  themselves  real  respeot. 
Lucien,  by  the  kind  of  life  he  led,  and  by  his  recent 
maiiiage,  had  dis^qualified  himKelf  lor  a  successor. 
Jerome-,  scaicidy  out  of  his  adolescence,  had  mar- 
ried an  American  lady,  without  the  consent  of  his 
relations.  Only  Joseph  and  Louis,  therefore,  were 
admitted  to  the  succession.  In  order  to  prevent 
the  inconveniences  of  misconduct  in  a  numerous 
family,  so  recently  elevated  to  the  throne,  an  abso- 
lute p  iwer  was  given  to  the  emperor  over  all  the 
meinbtrs  of  the  imi)erial  family.  It  was  settled 
that  the  marriage  of  a  French  prince,  contracted 
without  the  cnsent  of  the  chief  of  the  empire, 
shouhi  b:ir  all  right  to  the  hereditary  succession 
for  such  prince  and  his  children.  A  dissolution  of 
the  marriage  so  contracted  could  alone  enable  him 
to  recover  the  lost  right. 

The  brothers  ami  sisters  of  the  emperor  re- 
ceived the  rank  of  princes  and  princesses,  as  will 
as  the  honours  attached  to  these  titles.  It  was 
resolved  that  the  civil  list  should  be  established 
upon  the  same  princii)les  as  that  of  1791;  •"  other 
words,  that  it  should  be  voted  for  the  whole  reign, 
that  it  should  be  comjiosed  of  the  royal  palaces 
still  existing,  Kif  the  product  of  the  domains  of  the 
crown,  and  a  revenue  of  25,000,000  f.  The  en- 
dowment of  the  French  princes  was  settled  at  a 
miilinn  of  francs  per  annum  for  each  of  them.  The 
eini)eror  had  the  right  of  fixing,  by  the  imperial 
deei-i-e,  (corresponding  to  what  are  since  called 
crdinauces,)  the  interior  regulations  of  the  palace, 
and  the  arrangement  of  that  kind  of  show   and 


splendour  wliich  should  be  most  agreeable  to  the 
imj)erial  majesty. 

On  entering  so  .completely  into  monarchical 
ideas,  it  was  needful  to  place  near  the  new 
throne  a  circle  of  grand  dignitaries,  that  should 
serve  it  both  for  ornament  and  support.  Ic  was 
necessary,  further,  to  consider  these  secondary 
ambitions,  ai-rayed  voluntarily  beneath  the  great 
superior,  that  had  been  raised  to  the  pinnacle  of 
greatness,  and  were  to  receive,  in  their  turn,  the 
price  of  their  jirivate  and  |)ublic  services.  Each 
had  now  before  his  eyes  the  two  consuls,  Cam- 
baceres  and  Lebrun,  who,  very  far  from  their  col- 
league in  all  respects,  had,  nevertheless,  partaken 
in  the  supreme  power,  a]id  had  rendered  incon- 
testable services  to  the  public  by  the  wi.sdoni  of 
their  counsels.  They  assisted,  both  the  one  and 
the  other,  in  the  conferences  of  the  senatorial  coin- 
mission,  that  drew  up  at'  St.  Cloud  the  new  mo- 
narchical c<.nstitution.  The  c(msul  Cambaceies, 
for  the  first  time  in  his  life  perhaps,  knew  not  how 
to  dissimulate  his  displeasure,  and  showed  himself 
cold  and  uncommunicative.  He  was  as  reserved 
as  Fouche'  exhibiied  himself  the  other  way  in  this 
respect,  and  he  did  not  know  how  to  dissimulate 
his  vexation,  except  in  the  disdain  which  he  ex- 
hibited towards  the  zeal  wliich  was  shown  by  the 
constructers  of  the  new  monarchy.  This  situation 
of  tilings  brought  about  more  than  one  conflict, 
which  was  speedily  rejiressed,  indeed,  by  the  au- 
thority of  Najioleon.  The  necessity  of  satisfying 
the  two  consuls  going  out  of  i)lace  by  this  new 
change  was  generally  felt,  above  all,  towards 
Cambaceies,  who,  in  spite  of  some  ridiculous  jokes, 
enjoyed  immense  ])iilitical  consideration.  They 
had,  at  first,  thought  to  imitate  in  every  thing  the 
Roman  empire,  and  to  suffer  the  two  consuls  to 
remain  by  the  emperor's  side.  No  one  is  ignorant 
that  after  the  elevation  of  the  Cwsars  to  the  em- 
])ire,  they  preserved  the  institution  of  the  consuls; 
that  one  of  the  senseless  members  of  that  family 
gave  the  title  to  his  horse,  that  others  gave  them 
to  their  slaves  or  to  their  eunuchs,  and  tliat  in  the 
empire  of  the  East,  very  near  the  period  of  its  fall, 
they  had  still  two  consuls,  chosen  annually,  charged 
with  the  vulgar  guardianship  of  the  calendar.  It 
was  this  recollection,  little  flattering,  that  had  in- 
.spirtd  their  friends,  in  other  resjiects  full  of  kind 
wishes,  with  the  idea  of  |)reserving  the  two  consuls 
in  the  new  French  empire.  Fouclid  repelled  such 
a  proposition,  and  said,  that  it  was  necessary  to 
have  little  care  about  those  who  lost  place  under 
the  new  organization;  that  what  was,  before  all, 
most  important,  was  not  to  suffer  the  existence  of 
any  trace  of  ii  deceased  re'gime.  such  as  that  of 
the  republic.  "  Those  who  lose  any  thing  by  the 
new  regime,'"  replied  Cambac^res,  "will  have  one 
consoling  reflection  ;  they  will  carry  with  them 
that  which  all  those  who  go  out  of  place  cannot 
take  with  them,  the  esteem  of  the  public."  This 
allusion  to  Fouclid  and  to  the  last  time  lie  quitted 
oflSce,  nia<le  the  flrst  consul  smile,  perfectly  ap- 
proving the  reply;  but  it  impressed  him  with  the 
necessity  of  putting  an  end  to  such  discussions, 
carried  iit  last  to  a  painful  extent.  The  second 
and  third  consuls  were,  therefore,  no  longer  sum- 
moned to  the  sittings  of  the  commission. 

Talleyrand,  with  the  most  ingenious  inventions 
at  command,  when  it   was   a   point   with  him  to 


1804. 
May. 


Great  state  officers  appointed. 


THE  EMPIRE.         Marshals  to  be  nominaied  in  the  army.      g63 


satisfy  the  ambitious,  bad  conceived  a  scheme  of 
borrowing  from  tlie  Germanic  empire  smne  of  its 
great  dif^nities.  Each  of  tlie  seven  electors  was, 
in  the  old  empire,  one  a  tieid-marshal,  another  a 
cup-bearer,  this  a  treasurer,  that  a  chancellor  of 
the  Gauls  or  of  Italy,  and  so  on.  In  the  idea,  yet 
vague,  of  re-establishing  perha])s  at  some  future 
day,  the  empire  of  the  We.st  for  the  advantage  of 
Fi-ance,  it  was  but  to  prejiare  the  elements,  by 
surrounding  the  emperor  with  grand  dignitaries, 
chosen  at  the  moment  among  the  French  princes, 
or  the  great  person.iges  of  tlie  republic,  destined 
at  a  later  time  to  become  kings  themselves,  and  to 
form  a  retinue  of  vassal  monarchs  around  the 
throne  of  this  modern  Charlcm:igne. 

Talleyrand  and  the  first  cnnsid,  between  them, 
devised  six  grand  officers,  corresponding  not  to  the 
various  offices  of  the  imperial  domicile,  but  to  the 
different  attributes  of  tlie  government.  In  this 
constitution,  where  there  still  remained  many  elec- 
tive functions,  where  the  members  of  the  senate, 
the  legislative  body,  and  the  tribunate,  were  to  be 
elected,  in  which  the  emjiemr  himself  woidd  be- 
come, in  case  of  the  e.viinction  of  direct  descend- 
ants, a  grand  elector,  charged  with  certain  hono- 
rary cares  relative  to  the  elections,  such  an  office 
may  easily  be  imagined.  The  first  great  dignitary 
tliat  was  proposed,  therefore,  was  a  grand  elector. 
F.^r  the  second,  an  aivh-elianeellor  of  the  empire, 
charged  with  a  character  purely  represeiitiilive, 
and  with  a  general  inspection  over  all,  through  the 
statenientsof  the  judicial  department;  for  the  third, 
an  arch-chancellor  of  state  having  a  similar  clia- 
Kictor  to  tlie  last,  connected  with  the  iliploiiiatic 
relations  of  the  country;  for  the  fourth,  an  arch- 
treasurer;  for  the  tifili,  a  constable,  and  for  the 
sixth,  a  gmnd  admiral.  The  titles  of  these  last 
sufficiently  indicate  to  wh.it  department  of  the 
government  their  dignity  answered. 

The  titularies  of  these  great  offices  were,  as 
will  presently  be  seen,  dignitaries  and  not  func- 
tionaries, because  they  were  to  be  irresponsilile 
and  immovable.  Tliey  were  to  have  attributes 
purely  honorary,  and  only  the  general  iiispecti.m 
of  that  portion  of  the  government  with  which 
their  titles  ci-tinccteil  them.  Thus  the  grand  elec- 
t'lr  convoked  the  legislative  body,  the  senate,  and 
the  electoral  colleges,  prescnliiig  the  oath  to  the 
members  of  the  dUfi-iviit  a.ssi'iiiblies,  and  tailing  a 
part  ill  all  the  formalitief.  that  were  attached  to 
the  convocation  or  dissolution  of  the  electoral 
Colleges. 

The  arch-chancejior  of  the  empire  received  the 
n&lliH  of  the  niagistiates,  or  else  ))reseiiled  tlieiii 
to  the  emperor  for  that  purpose;  he  watched  over 
(ho  promulgation  of  the  laws  and  the  sciiatus  coii- 
Htiltuiii,  presided  in  the  council  of  sUUe,  the  high 
imperial  court,  (of  wliieli  nieniion  will  shortly  bo 
made,)  urged  forward  I  he  relorms  desirable  in  the 
laws,  in  fine,  exerciseil  the  runctioiis  of  a  stale  civil 
officer,  as  respected  the  births,  marriages,  and 
deaths  of  the  imperial  lamily.  The  arch  chancellor 
of  Hi*tc  received  the  ambii«H.idor8,  introduced  them 
to  the  emperor,  sigiieil  treaties  and  pivmiulgated 
them.  The  arch  treasurer  watched  over  the  great 
book  of  the  public  debt,  gave  the  gnaranteo  of  his 
signature  to  all  the  wriiin;;s  delivered  to  the  state 
creditors,  verified  the  suminary  of  the  general 
Btato  accounla  before  ihvy  were  subinilted  to  the 


emperor,  and  delivered  his  own  views  upon  the 
ni:in.igciiient  of  the  finances.  The  ci>nstable,  by 
i<  ports  to  the  war  department,  the  griind  admiral, 
by  reports  to  that  of  the  navy,  Imili  Imd  duties  per- 
fectly similar.  Thus  the  piineiple  deposed  by 
i\a|ioleon  was,  that  no  grand  di'iiiitaiy  could  ever 
be  a  minister,  in  order  to  keep  separate  the  pre- 
paratory attribute  from  the  real  function.  These 
were  in  each  division  of  the  gov(.riiment,  dignities 
modelled  upon  royalty  itself,  inactive,  irresponsible, 
lioMor;iry,  like  that,  but  charged,  as  that  is,  with  a 
general  and  superior  supeiiniendence. 

The  titularies  of  these  dignities  would  be  able  to 
replace  the  emperor  in  his  absence,  whether  in 
the  senate,  the  council,  or  the  army.  They  formed 
with  the  emperor  the  great  council  of  the  empire. 
Filially,  in  case  of  the  extinciion  of  natural  and 
legitimate  descendants,  they  ekcti  d  the  emperor, 
and  in  case  of  a  minority,  they  watched  over  the 
beiisliip  to  the  crown,  and  formed  the  council  of 
the  regency. 

The  idea  of  these  grniid  dignitaries  was  agreeable 
to  .-ill  the  framers  of  the  new  constitution.  Each 
tituhiry,  at  least  when  bo  was  not  at  the  same  time 
a  grand  dignitary  and  an  imperial  ])rince,  was  to 
receive  an  income  ammmtiiig  to  the  third  of  the 
endowment  of  the  i)riiices,.  or  one-ihird  of  a  mil- 
lion. These  were  to  be  provided  ibr  the  two  bro- 
thei-s  of  the  emperor,  his  hite  colleagues,  and  the 
most  considerable  personages  who  had  rendered 
impi  rtant  military  or  civil  services.  Every  one 
tiiought  by  these,  after  the  emperor's  two  bi-othcrs 
Joseph  and  Louis,  of  the  two  consuls,  Cambace'res 
and  Lebrun,  Eugene  de  ISeaiihiirnais,  the  adopted 
son  of  the  first  consul,  Miirat,  his  broiher-iu-law, 
Berlhier,  his  faithful  and  useful  companioii  in 
arms,  and  Talleyrand,  his  int<  rnudiate  agent  with 
the  ])owers  of  Europe.  The  partition  of  such 
great  favours  awaited  the  will  of  ilie  sovereign. 

It  was  natural,  also,  to  create  in  the  army  cex'- 
tain  elevated  posts,  and  to  re-est:iblish  in  that 
braiieh  of  service  the  dignity  of  maisiial,  which 
existed  under  the  old  monarchy,  and  is  adopted 
tlirotmhout  Europe  as  the  most  distinguished  mark 
of  militiiry  command,  it  wiis  settled  that  there 
should  be  sixteen  marshals  of  the  empire,  and  four 
honorary  marshals,  the  last  chosen  from  among 
th^se  old  generals  who  were  become  senators,  and 
were,  in  that  (jnality,  dejirived  of  active  functions. 
There  were  also  re-established  ihe  posts  of  inspec- 
tors-general of  engineers  and  artillery,  and  of  colo- 
nels-general of  cavalry.  To  these  great  military 
officers  were  added  ct^rtain  great  civil  officers  of 
state,  such  as  chamberlains,  masters  of  the  cere- 
monies, and  othei's  ;  ami  there  were  composed  of 
both  a  second  class  of  dignitarii'S,  under  the  fitlo 
of  griind  officers  of  the  einpin',  jus  immovable  as 
the  six  great  dignitaries  themselves  In  order  to 
give  to  them  all  a  sort  of  hold  upon  the  soil,  they 
were  charged  with  the  presidnitships  of  the  electoral 
colleges.  The  presidentship  ofeaeh  tleetoral  collego 
was  affixed  in  a  jiermuiient.  manner  lo  one  of  these 
great  dignities,  and  to  the  care  of  a  civil  or  military 
officer.  Thus  the  grand  eirctnr  would  preside  over 
the  electoral  collige  of  Bnissels  ;  the  arch-chan- 
cellor over  that  of  Bordeaux  ;  the  arch-chancellor 
of  state  over  that  of  Nantes  ;  the  arch-treasurer 
over  that  of  Lyons  ;  ihe  constiible  over  that  of 
Turin  ;  tho  grand  admiral  over  that  of  Marseilles  ; 
o  o  2 


564 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Fresh  powers  conferred 
on  the  senate. 


1804. 
May. 


the  other  great  civil  and  military  officers  pi-esided 
over  the  electoral  colleges  of  less  importance.  This 
was  as  much  as  human  artifice  of  the  most  able 
kind  could  imagine,  in  order  to  imitate  an  aristo- 
cracy with  a  democracy,  because  this  hierarchy  of 
six  grand  dignitaries  and  of  forty  or  fifty  great 
officers  placed  on  the  steps  of  the  throne,  was  at 
once  aristocratic  and  democratic  ;  aristoci'atic  by 
the  position,  the  powers,  and  revenues  which  it 
would  soon  possess,  thanks  to  the  conquests  made 
by  France  ;  democratic  in  its  origin,  because  it 
was  composed  of  lawyers,  officers  of  fortune,  and 
sometimes  of  peasants  become  marshals,  all  places 
remaining  constantly  open  to  every  new  candidate 
of  genius  or  of  talent.  The  creations  have  disap- 
peared with  the  creator  and  the  vast  empire  that 
served  for  their  base  ;  but  it  is  possible  that  they 
would  have  terminated  in  success,  if  time  had 
strengthened  them,  and  added  the  age  which  en- 
genders respect. 

In  upraising  the  throne  and  adorning  the  steps 
of  its  social  pomp,  it  was  impossible  to  dispense 
with  the  assurance  of  some  guarantees  to  the  citi- 
zens, to  indemnify  them  by  a  little  real  liberty  for 
that  apparent  liberty  of  which  tliey  were  deprived 
by  the  abolition  of  the  rejiublic.  Tliey  had  re- 
peated for  some  time,  that  imder  a  monarchy  well 
regulated,  the  government  would  be  sti'onger,  and 
the  citizens  more  free.  It  was  necessary  to  keep 
to  a  part  of  these  professions,  if  it  was  possible  to 
keep  any  single  one  of  such  a  nature,  at  a  time 
when  all  the  world,  desiring  to  have  an  energetic 
power,  had  suffered  to  perish,  for  lack  of  use,  even 
the  strongest  liberty  secured  by  the  laws.  It  was 
therefore  thought  right  to  give  to  the  senate  and  to 
the  legislative  body  some  prerogatives  which  they 
did  not  possess,  and  which,  it  was  possible,  might 
become  useful  guarantees  to  the  citizens. 

The  senate,  at  first  composed  of  eighty  members 
elected  by  the  senate  itself,  then  of  citizens  whom 
the  emperor  judged  worthy  of  that  elevated  posi- 
tion, in  fine,  of  six  grand  dignitaries  and  of  French 
princes  of  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  was  always 
the  first  body  of  the  state.  It  composed  the  others 
by  the  faculty  of  election  which  it  had  preserved  ; 
it  was  able  to  extinguish  any  law  or  decree  in  con- 
sequence of  its  being  unconstitutional,  and  to  re- 
form the  constitution  by  means  ot  an  organic  sena- 
tus  consultum.  It  had  remained,  in  the  midst  of 
the  successive  transformations  to  which  it  had  sub- 
mitted, as  all-powerful  as  M.  Sieyes  had  wished  it 
should  be.  The  restorers  of  the  monarchy  de- 
liberating at  St.  Cloud,  conceived  the  idea  of  giving 
it  two  new  attributes  of  the  liighest  importance — 
they  confided  to  it  the  care  of  individual  liberty 
and  the  liberty  of  the  press.  By  the  forty-sixth 
article  of  the  fir.st  consular  constitution,  the  govern- 
ment was  not  able  to  retain  any  individual  in 
l)rison  without  referring  him,  within  the  space  of 
ten  days,  to  his  natural  judges.  By  the  second 
consular  constitution,  that  which  had  established 
the  consulate  for  life,  the  senate,  in  case  of  a  plot 
against  the  security  of  tiie  state,  had  the  power  of 
deciding  if  the  government  should  exceed  the  delay 
of  ten  days,  and  for  how  long  a  time  it  should  be 
ahle  to  do  so.  It  was  desirable  to  regulate,  in  the  | 
n;ost  secure  manner,  this  arbitrary  authority, 
granted  to  the  government  at  the  expense  of  (he 
liberty  of  the  citizens.     A   senatorial  conunission 


was  created,  composed  of  seven  members,  selected 
by  ballot,  to  be  renewed  successively  by  one  mem- 
ber going  out  every  four  months.  This  commission 
was  to  receive  the  demands  and  remonstrances  of 
the  detained  parties  or  their  families,  and  to  de- 
clare if  their  detentions  were  just,  and  required  for 
the  interests  of  the  state.  In  the  contrary  case,  if 
after  having  addressed  a  first,  second,  and  third" 
invitation  to  the  minister  who  had  ordered  the 
arrest,  that  minister  not  setting  free  the  individual 
who  had  demanded  his  freedom,  the  commission 
had  the  power  itself  to  place  him  before  the  high 
imperial  court,  for  the  violation  of  individual 
liberty. 

A  similar  commission,  organized  in  the  same 
manner,  was  charged  to  watch  over  the  freedom 
of  the  press.  It  was  the  first  time  that  this 
liberty  had  been  named  in  the  different  consular 
constitutions,  so  lightly  did  they  treat  on  its  mor- 
row the  saturnalia  of  the  press  during  the  direc- 
tory. As  to  the  periodical  press,  that  was  left 
under  the  authority  of  the  police.  It  was  not  for 
that  they  made  any  profession' of  interesting  them- 
selves. They  only  occupied  themselves  with  books 
which  were  alone  judged  worthy  of  the  liberty  re- 
fused to  the  journals.  They  were  unwilling,  as 
was  the  case  prior  to  1789,  to  leave  books  to  the 
arbitrary  rule  of  the  police.  Every  printer  or 
bookseller,  when  a  publication  was  found  to  be 
aggrieved  by  a  public  authority,  had  the  power  of 
addressing  the  senatorial  commission  charged  with 
the  duty  of  attending  to  the  matter;  and  if,  after 
having  made  an  acquaintance  with  the  interdicted 
or  mutilated  work,  the  senatorial  commission  dis- 
approved of  the  rigorous  conduct  of  the  public 
authority,  it  made  a  first,  second,  and  third  notice 
to  the  minister,  and  after  the  third  it  was  able,  in 
case  of  a  refusal  to  obey  these  repeated  notices,  to 
hand  the  minister  over  to  the  high  imperial 
court. 

Thus,  besides  the  powers  already  enumerated, 
the  senate  had  the  care  of  watching  over  individual 
liberty  and  the  liberty  of  the  press.  These  two 
last  securities  were  not  without  value.  Doubtless 
nothing  would  be  of  previous  efficacy  under  a 
despotism  universally  accepted.  But  under  the 
successors  of  the  depository  of  that  despotism,  if 
any  there  should  be,  such  guarantees  would  not 
fail  to  acquire  real  strength. 

They  did  something  in  the  same  sense  for  the 
organisation  of  the  legislative  body.  The  tribunate, 
as  has  been  said  several  times,  discussed  alone  the 
projected  laws,  and  after  having  formed  an  opinion 
regarding  them,  sent  three  orators  to  sustain  them 
against  three  counsellors  of  state  before  the  legis- 
lative body,  that  remained  silent.  This  silence, 
corrected  in  the  idea  of  M.  Sieyes  by  the  loquacity 
of  the  tribunate,  had  soon  become  ridiculous  in  the 
sight  of  a  nation  given  to  raillery,  that  all  the  while 
fearing  oratory  and  its  excesses,  still,  nevertheless, 
laughed  at  the  forced  silence  of  its 'legislators.  The 
dumb  state  of  the  legislative  body  had  become  yet 
more  obvious  since  the  tribunate,  deprived  of  all 
energy,  remained  silent  also.  It  was  decided  that 
the  legislative  body,  after  liaving  heard  the  coun- 
sellors of  state  and  the  members  of  the  tribunate, 
should  retire  to  discuss  in  secret  committee  the 
projects  which  had  been  submitted  to  them,  that 
evei-y  one  of  the  members  might  sj)eak,  and  that 


1804. 
May. 


light  of  speech  given  to  tlie 
legislative  body.— Consti- 
tuiiOD  of  the  high  court. 


THE  EMPIRE. 


Effect  of  Sieyfes'  constitution.— 
The  oath  to  be  taken  by  the 
emperor. 


565 


subsequently  it  might  enter  upon  a  public  sitting 
to  vote  in  tlie  ofilinury  way  of  the  ballot. 

The  right  of  speech  in  secret  couiiuittee  was  then 
given  to  the  legislative  body. 

The  tribunate  beconje,  since  the  institution  of 
the  consulate  for  life,  a  stu-t  of  council  of  state, 
reduced  at  this  period  to  fifty  members,  and  hav- 
ing from  custDin  only  to  examine  the  projects  of 
laws  in  private  conferences  with  the  counsellors  of 
state,  the  authors  of  these  projects,  received  in  the 
new  constitution  an  organization  conformable  to 
the  usages  wliich  it  was  about  to  adopt.  It  was 
divided  into  three  sections  ;  the  first  that  of  legisla- 
tion, the  second  of  the  interior,  and  the  third  of  the 
finances.  It  could  not  deliberate  on  the  laws  save  in 
an  assembly  of  the  sections,  and  never  in  a  general 
assembly.  Three  orators  were  to  go  in  the  name 
of  the  section  to  support  its  o])inion  before  the 
legislative  body.  This  was  to  consecrate  defini- 
tively, by  a  constitutional  disposition,  the  new  form 
imposed  ujioii  its<  If  out  of  deference. 

Tlie  power  of  the  members  was  prorogued  from 
five  to  ten  years,  a  favour  for  the  individuals,  wliich 
diminished  yet  further  the  vitality  of  the  body 
itself,  and  more  rarely  still  renewed  its  spirit. 

To  all  this  w;is  finally  joined  an  institution  which 
w-os  wanted  for  the  security  of  the  citizens,  it  was 
that  of  a  high  court,  which  then  in  Enghind  and 
now  in  France  is  found  in  the  bosom  of  the  chamber 
of  peers.  The  want  of  such  a  court  appeared  in  the 
process  for  the  conspiracy  of  Georges,  and  in  the 
unfortunate  e.>tecntion  at  Vincennes.  The  disadvan- 
tage of  this  want  was  the  more  felt  under  a  dicta- 
torial government,  of  which  the  agents  only  offered 
a  nominal  responsibility,  and  it  was  not  possible 
ti)  bring  them  befttre  any  of  the  bodies  of  the  state. 
They  had  not  then,  in  effect,  as  they  have  t<.-day, 
the  means  to  summon  them  before  one  of  the 
chambers.  It  was  of  as  much  importance  to  procure 
a  guarantee  to  the  government  against  the  authors 
of  conspiracies,  as  it  was  to  the  citizens  against  the 
agents  of  the  public  authority. 

Tliey  affected  to  give  to  the  institution  of  the 
high  court  the  apparent  advantage  that  they  en- 
deavoured to  bestow  on  the  monarchical  institu- 
tion, that  of  adding  as  much  to  the  liberty  of  the 
citizen  as  of  strength  to  the  ruling  power.  In  con- 
sequence its  seat  was  placed  in  the  senate,  still 
without  composing  it  of  the  senate  wholly  and  en- 
tirely. It  was  to  be  formed  of  sixty  senators  out 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty,  of  six  presi<lents  of  the 
council  of  stiitc,  of  fourteen  counsellors  of  state,  of 
twenty  members  of  the  court  of  cassation,  of  the 
grand  otficers  of  the  empire,  of  six  grand  digni- 
taries, and  of  princes  having  actjuired  a  deliberative 
voice.  It  was  to  be  ])rcsided  over  by  the  arch- 
chanci^llor.  The  c<mrt  was  charged  to  take  notice 
of  all  conspiracies  entered  into  against  the  security 
of  the  state  ;  against  the  jierson  of  tiic  emperor; 
the  arbitrary  acts  imputed  to  the  ministers,  and  to 
their  agent«  ;  acts  of  forfeiture  and  extortion; 
faults  charged  upon  generals  or  admirals  in  the 
exercise  of  their  connnands  ;  offences  committed 
by  the  members  of  the  imperial  family,  by  the 
great  iligniUiries,  the  great  otficers,  the  senators, 
counsellors  of  stJite,  anil  similar  personageH.  It 
was  besides  a  court  of  justice  charged  with  the  re- 
pression of  great  encroachments;  a  political  juris- 
diction for  the  ministera  and  agents  uf  the  public 


authority;  a  tribunal  of  the  marshals  for  soldiers; 
and  a  court  of  peers  for  the  grand  personages  of  the 
state.  A  public  prosecutor,  attached  permanently 
to  this  extraordinary  jurisdiction,  had  the  commis- 
sion to  prosecute  from  liisotfice,in  case  complainants 
did  nut  take  the  lead  in  j>rosecutions  themselves. 

The  sole  modification  introduced  into  the  ordi- 
nary re'ginie  of  justice,  was  the  appellation  of 
"  court,"  which  was  substituted  for  that  of  tribunal 
in  those  tribunals  that  were  of  the  higher  rank. 
The  tribunal  of  cassation  was  to  take  the  title  of 
court  of  cassation,  and  the  tribunals  of  appeal  that 
of  imperial  courts. 

It  was  arranged  that  there  should  again  be  made 
an  act  of  reference  to  the  national  sovereignty,  and 
that  open  registers,  in  the  form  commonly  used, 
should  receive  the  wishes  of  the  citizens  relative  to 
the  establishment  of  the  hereditary  imperial  suc- 
cession in  the  doeendants  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte, 
and  his  two  brothers  Joseph  and  Louis. 

The  emperor  was  within  two  years  to  take  a 
solemn  oath  to  preserve  the  constitution  of  the 
empire,  in  presence  of  the  grand  dignitaries,  the 
great  officers,  the  ministers,  the  council  of  state, 
the  senate,  the  legislative  body,  the  tribunate,  the 
court  of  cassation,  the  archbishops,  the  bishops, 
the  presidents  of  the  courts  of  justice,  the  ])resi- 
dents  of  the  electoral  colleges,  and  the  mayors  of 
tliirty-six  of  the  principal  cities  and  towns  of  the 
republic.  This  was  to  be  taken  upon  the  evange- 
lists, while  repeating  the  text  of  the  new  constitu- 
tional act  to  the  French  people.  It  was  conceived 
in  the  following  terms  : 

"  I  swear  to  maintain  the  integrity  of  the  terri- 
tory of  the  republic  ;  to  respect  and  make  to  be 
respected  the  laws  of  the  concordat  and  the  liberty 
of  worship  ;  to  respect  and  make  to  be  respected 
the  equality  of  the  law.s,  and  liberty  political  and 
civil,  the  irrevocability  of  the  sales  of  the  national 
property  ;  not  to  levy  any  tax,  but  in  virtue  of  the 
law  ;  to  maintain  the  institution  of  the  legion  of 
honour  ;  and  to  govern  in  the  sole  view  of  the  in- 
terest, happiness,  and  glory  of  the  French  people." 

Such  were  the  conditions  adopted  for  the  new 
monarchy,  in  a  project  of  tlie  senatus  consiiltum, 
written  in  a  simjjle  manner,  precise  and  clear,  as 
were  all  the  laws  of  those  days. 

This  was  the  third  and  last  transformation  of 
the  celebrated  constitution  of  M.  Sieyes.  We  have 
elsewhere  said  that  it  had  been  the  work  of  this  le- 
gislator of  the  French  revolution.  The  aristocratic 
regime  is  the  haven  where  those  republics  pass  into 
repo.se  that  do  not  finish  in  despotism.  Sieyes, 
perhajts,  without  a  doubt  on  the  matter,  had  sought 
to  conduct  the  French  rei)ublic  to  the  same  port, 
as  much  disgusted  with  the  agitations  of  ten  years, 
as  the  reimblics  of  antiquity  and  of  the  middle 
ages  after  those  of  centuries  ;  and  he  had  composed 
his  aristocracy  with  the  notable  and  experienced 
men  of  the  revolution.  In  order  to  do  this,  he  had 
imagined  an  inactive  senate,  but  armed  with  im- 
mense influence,  electing  its  own  members,  and 
those  of  all  the  bodies  of  the  sUite,  in  the  lists  of 
notability  rarely  renewed,  nominating  the  chiefs  of 
the  government,  revoking  them,  striking  them 
with  the  ostracism  at  jikasure,  not  taking  any 
part  in  making  the  laws,  but  able  to  abrogate  them 
w  hen  of  an  unconstitutional  character ;  not  exer- 
cising, in  a  word,  the  power,  but  conferring  it. 


__„    Remarks  on  the  constitu- 
ooo        tioii  as  cliaiiged. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Treatmtiit  of  the  second 
and  third  consuls. 


1804. 
May. 


and  having  alwnys  tlie  means  of  arresting  it.  He 
had  added  a  legislative  body,  equally  inactive, 
which  admitted  or  rejected  in  -silence  the  laws  that 
the  council  of  state  h;id  been  charged  to  make,  and 
the  tribunate  to  discuss  ;  then,  lastly,  a  supreme 
representative  of  the  executive  power,  called  a 
grand  elector,  elective,  and  for  life,  like  a  doge, 
inactive  as  a  king  of  England,  nominated  by  the 
senate,  nominating  the  ministers  in  his  turn,  alone 
acting,  and  alone  responsible.  In  this  fashion 
Sieyes  separated  every  where  the  influence  from 
the  action  ;  the  influence  that  delegated  the  powei", 
the  control,  and  the  decree,  the  action  that  it  re- 
ceived and  exercised  ;  ho  had -given  the  first  to  an 
idle  aristocracy,  highly  ])laced  ;  the  second  to 
agents  elective  and  responsible.  He  had  thus 
arrived  at  a  sort  of  aristocratic  monarchy,  without 
hereditary  succession,  recalling  Venice  to  mind 
more  than  Great  Britain,  ad.apted  to  a  coimtry  tired 
of  change  rather  than  to  one  which  was  free. 

Unhappily  f i  r  the  work  of  Sieyes,  at  the  side  of 
this  aristocracy  without  root,  composed  of  disabused 
and  unpopular  revolutionists,  there  was  discovered 
a  man  of  genius  that  France  and  Europe  denomi- 
nated a  saviour.  Thei-e  were  few  chances  in  favour 
of  this  kind  of  an  .aristocracy  defending  itself  like 
that  of  Venice,  against  usurpation,  and  more  par- 
ticularly that  ill  these  times  of  rapid  revolutions, 
the  contest  would  be  very  long.  Before  accept- 
ing this  constitution  of  M.  Sieyes,  general  Bona- 
parte had  arranged  his  own  place  by  making  him- 
self first  Consul  ill  room  of  gi'and  elector.  Scarcely 
had  he  begun  to  govern,  than  the  intemperate  re- 
sistance of  the  tiibiiiiate  restrained  him  in  the 
good  which  he  wished  to  accomplish.  He  had 
broken  that  down,  to  the  great  gratification  of  a 
public  tired  of  revolutions,  and  he  got  the  consu- 
late for  life  given  to  him  by  the  senate.  On  the 
same  occasion  he  had  added  to  the  powers  of  the 
senate  the  constituent  ])Ovver,  not  fearing  to  render 
all-powerful  a  boily  which  he  himself  governed  ;  he 
had  annulled  the  tribunate,  by  reducing  that  body 
to  fifty  members,  and  dividing  it  into  sections,  that 
discussed  the  proposed  laws,  hand  to  hand  with 
the  sections  of  the  council  of  state.  Such  was  the 
second  transformation  of  the  constitution  of  Sieyes, 
or  that  which  had  existed  in  1802  at  the  i)eriod  of 
the  consulate  for  life.  A  vigorous  hand  had  thus 
contrived  to  alter,  in  the  course  of  two  years,  this 
aristocratic  republic  into  a  species  of  aristocratic 
monai'chy,  to  which  nothing  but  the  hereditary 
succession  was  wanting. 

Thus  it  was  that  in  1802,  many  persons  de- 
manded why  the  thing  was  not  finished  off  at  once; 
why  the  hereditary  succession  was  not  given  to  the 
palpable  monarch  i  A  conspiracy  directed  against 
his  life  awakened,  with  greater  force  than  ever,  the 
desire  for  more  .stable  institutions,  and,  in  fact, 
brought  about  the  last  transformation,  and  the 
definitive  conversion  of  the  constitution  of  the 
year  viii.  into  a  monarchy,  in  form  representative, 
but  absolute  in  fact.  There  were  found  many 
republican  remnants  at  the  side  of  despotic  au 
thority,  a  little  like  those  in  the  empire  founded 
by  the  Cfcsars  at  Rome.  This  was  not  repre- 
sentative monarchy,  such  as  it  is  now  understood. 
The  senate,  with  the  power  to  elect  all  the  bodies 
of  the  state  from  the  electoral  lists,  Avith  its  con- 
stituent power,  with  its  faculty  to  abrogate  laws^ 


that  senate,  with  so  much  of  power,  subjected 
to  one  master,  bore  no  resemblance  to  an  ujiper 
chamber.  The  silent  legislative  body,  although  it 
had  the  right  of  sjjeaking  in  a  secret  committee, 
liore  no  resemblance  to  a  chamber  of  deputies. 
Yet,  for  all  this,  that  senate,  that  legislative  body, 
all  might  become  one  day  a  representative  mon- 
archy. Thus  the  constitution  of  Sieyes,  as  modi- 
fied by  Napoleon,  must  not  be  judged  by  the  dumb 
obedience  that  reigned  under  the  empire. 

The  constitution  of  1830,  with  the  press  and  the 
tribune,  wcjuld  not  have  sensibly  perhaps  given 
different  results,  because  the  spirit  of  the  time 
did  more  than  the  written  laws.  It  would  have 
done  to  judge  the  imperial  constitution  under  a 
succeeding  reign.  Then  the  ojiposition,  the  inevi- 
table consequence  of  a  previous  submission,  would 
have  had  birth  even  in  the  senate,  so  long  a  time 
docile,  but  armed  with  enormous  powers.  It 
would  have  been  found  most  jirobably  in  accord 
with  the  electoral  colleges,  making  a  choice  con- 
formable to  the  new  spirit  of  the  time  ;  it  would 
have  broken  the  chains  of  the  press  ;  it  would 
have  opened  the  doors  and  windows  of  the  palace 
of  the  legislative  body,  so  that  its  orators  might 
be  heard  afar.  It  had  been  then  the  represent- 
ative monarchy  existing  at  this  day,  with  the  dift'er- 
ence,  that  the  resistance  would  come  from  on  high 
in  place  of  below.  This  is  no  reason  why  it  should 
be  less  enlightened,  less  constant,  or  less  cou- 
rageous. But  here  is  a  secret  that  time  has  car- 
ried away  without  explaining  the  event  to  us,  as 
it  has  carried  away  many  besides.  Still  these  in- 
stitutions were  far  from  meriting  the  contempt 
which  has  been  attached  to  them.  They  composed 
an  aristocra»:ical  republic,  turned  aside  from  its 
object  by  a  jiowerful  head,  converted  temporally 
into  an  absolute  monarchy,  at  a  later  period  be- 
coming again  a  constitutional  monarchy,  strongly 
aristocratic,  it  is  true,  but  founded  on  the  basis  of 
equality  ;  because  every  fortunate  soldier  would, 
under  it,  be  able  to  arrive  at  the  rank  of  con- 
stable ;  every  able  lawyer  might  become  arch-chan- 
cellor ;  and  after  the  example  of  the  founder,  any 
one  might  become,  from  a  simple  officer  of  artillery, 
an  hereditai-y  emperor,  and  master  of  the  world. 

Such  was  the  work  of  the  constituent  committee 
that  met  at  St.  Cloud.  During  the  last  days  of  the 
meeting  Cambace'res  and  Lebrun  did  not  attend. 
The  alterations  that  the  monarchical  zeal  of 
Fouclie',  on  one  side,  and  the  bad  humour  of  Cam- 
bace'res, on  the  other,  had  provoked,  were  the 
motives  for  which  they  had  ceased  to  summon  the 
first  and  second  consuls.  The  wisest  of  the 
senators,  among  those  which  composed  the  com- 
mission, had  felt,  and  had  made  Napoleon  feel 
how  necessary  it  was  to  satisfy  his  two  colleagues 
in  the  government  by  treating  them  with  due  con- 
sideration. It  was  not  necessary  to  notice  the  sub- 
ject to  him,  because  he  well  knew  the  worth  of 
Cambac^res,  the  second  consul,  appreciated  his 
unostentatious  devotion,  and  designed  to  attach 
him  to  the  new  monarchy.  He  m.ade  him  come  to 
St.  Cloud,  entered  anew  into  an  explanation  with 
him  on  the  last  change,  gave  him  his  reasons, 
heard  those  of  the  second  consul,  and  terminated 
the  conversation  by  the  expression  of  his  will, 
henceforth  become  irrevocable.  He  desired  a 
crown,  and  he  was  not  to  be  contradicted.     He 


1804. 
May. 


DUappointmeiit  of  M.  Talleyrand. 


THE  EMPIRE. 


Designation  of  the  marshals. 


567 


bad,  besides,  a  gotid  indemnification  to  offer  to 
Canibac^res  and  Lebrun.  He  dcsisriied  fur  the 
first  the  dignity  of  the  arch-chanctlloi-ship  of  tiic 
empire,  for  the  second  that  t>f  arch-treasurer.  Ho 
tlius  treated  them  as  he  treated  his  own  brotiicrs, 
wiio  were  to  he  comprised  in  tiie  number  of  tlie 
six  grand  dignitaries.  He  announced  tiiis  reso- 
lution to  Camhacdres  ;  he  added  those  seducing 
flatteries,  wiiicli  at  that  time  no  one  was  able 
to  resist,  and  he  succeeded  in  wliolly  regaining 
him. 

"  I  am  now,"  he  said  to  Cambace'res, "  and  I  shall 
he  more  than  ever,  surrounded  with  intrigues 
and  falsely  interested  counsels  ;  you  alone  will 
have  judgment  and  sincerity  enough  to  speak  the 
ti uth  to  me.  I  wish,  tliex-efore,  that  you  should 
approach  yet  nearer  to  my  person  and  ear.  You 
will  continue  to  have  all  my  confidence,  and  to 
justify  it."  These  testimonies  were  merited.  Cam- 
bac^res,  not  having  any  thing  more  to  desire,  iind 
nothing  more  to  fear  for  his  elevated  position, 
ciime  to  be,  and  was  in  effect  the  more  sincere, 
the  more  true,  the  solo  influential  counsellor  of  all 
belonging  to  the  new  emperor. 

Joseph  Bonaparte  was  named  grand  elector, 
Louis  Bonaparte  constable.  The  two  dignities  of 
arch-chancellor  of  state  and  of  grand  admiral  were 
reserved.  Napoleon  hesitated  again  about  the 
different  members  of  his  family.  He  had  thought  of 
Lucien,  who  was  absent,  disgraced,  but  whose  recent 
marriage  he  was  in  hopes  of  breaking  ;  of  Eugene 
Beauharnais,  who  had  solicited  notliing,  but  who 
with  i)erfect  submission  awaited  all  the  kindness  of 
his  adopted  father;  and  of  Mnrat,  too,  who  solicited 
not  by  himself,  but  through  his  wife,  young,  hand- 
some, and  ambitious,  but  dear  to  Napoleon,  and 
making  use  with  cleverness  of  the  tender  regard 
which  she  inspired. 

Talleyrand,  the  principal  inventor  of  the  new 
dignities,  sustained  on  this  occasion  a  disappoint- 
ment, that  iuHuenced  his  disposition  in  a  vexa- 
tious way.  and  at  a  later  time  threw  him  into  an 
oppo>.itiou,  unhappy  for  himself,  and  unfortunate 
for  Napoleon.  The  place  of  aich-ch.ancellor  of  the 
empire,  that  corresponded  with  his  judicial  func- 
tions, having  devolved  upon  the  second  consul, 
Cambac^res,  ho  hoped  that  the  arch-chancellor- 
ship of  state,  which  corresponded  with  his  diplo- 
matic functions,  would  naturally  devolve  upon  him. 
But  the  new  emperor  had  positively  explained 
himself  upon  the  subject.  He  would  not  admit 
that  the  grand  dignitiiries  should  be  ministers  ;  he 
svoiild  only  have  in  ministers  agents  removable  and 
responsible,  whom  he  could  dis|)lacc  and  punish 
at  will,  (jeneral  Borthier  was  as  ])recious  an 
instrument  to  him  as  Talleyrand.  He,  neverthe- 
less, wishc>l  him  to  remain  a  minister,  as  well  aij 
Talleyrand,  indemnifying  them  by  valuable  gifts. 
The  pride  of  Talleyrand  was  singularly  wounded  ; 
and  although  ever  a  courtier,  he  commenced,  not- 
withstanding, to  suffer  his  attitude  of  a  discon- 
tented man  to  become  visible,  though  at  that  time 
it  was  tolerably  restrained,  but  at  a  later  period 
became  less  so,  and  gained  for  him  at  length  severe 
disgrace. 

Over  and  above  these  there  remained,  whether 
in  the  army  or  in  tin!  court,  |)liices  fit  to  content 
every  grade  of  am  bi  I  ion.  Thi-rt;  were  four  mar- 
shaU'  places,  honorary  ones,  to  bo  given  to  the 


generals  who  had  gone  to  repose  in  the  senate,  and 
sixteen  to  those  who,  full  of  youth,  were  to  figure 
for  a  long  time  yet  at  the  head  of  the  army  in  ac- 
tivity. Napoleon  reserved  the  four  honorary  mar- 
shalships,  the  first  for  Kellermann  and  the  i-eeol- 
lections  of  Vjilmy  ;  for  LetVbvre,  for  his  tried  bra- 
very and  devotion  on  the  18th  Brumaire  ;  for  Pe~ 
rignon  and  Sei-rurier,  for  the  respect  they  so  justly 
bore  in  the  army.  ■  Of  sixteen  marshals'  places 
vacant,  destined  for  generals  in  active  service,  he 
wished  to  confer  fourteen  immediately,  and  to  keep 
two  for  the  recompense  of  futui-c  merit.  These 
fourteen  batons  were  given  to  general  Jourdan,  for 
the  noble  remembrance  of  Fie urus  ;  to  general 
Berthier,  for  his  eminent  services  and  continuance 
at  the  head  of  the  staff;  to  general  Massena,  for 
Uivoli,  Zurich,  and  Genoa  ;  to  the  generals  Lannes 
and  Ney,  for  a  long  succession  of  heroic  actions  ; 
to  general  Augereau,  for  Castiglione  ;  to  general 
Brune,  for  the  defence  of  the  Helder  ;  to  .\Iurat, 
for  his  chivalrous  conduct  at  the  head  of  the 
French  cavalry  ;  to  general  Bessieres,  as  com- 
mander of  the  guard,  which  he  had  held  since  the 
day  of  Marengo,  and  of  which  he  was  w'orihy  ;  to 
generals  Moneey  and  Mortier,  for  their  military 
merit ;  to  general  Soult  for  his  services  in  Switzer- 
land, at  Genoa,  and  at  the  camp  of  Boulogne  ;  and 
to  general  Davout,  for  his  conduct  in  Egypt,  and 
the  finnness  of  character  of  which  he  had  given 
ijuch  brilliant  proofs  ;  lastly,  to  general  Bernadotte, 
for  a  certain  degree  of  renown  acquired  in  the 
armies  of  the  Sombre  and  Meuse,  as  well  as  or.  the 
Rhine,  for  his  consanguinity,  more  particularly, 
in  Sfiite  of  an  envious  hatred  that  Na])ole(in  dis- 
covered in  the  heart  of  this  officer,  which  had 
already  given  him  the  vYesentimeiit,  several  times 
loudly  expressed,  of  future  treason. 

A  general  who  had  not  yet  conmiandcd  in  chief, 
but  who  had,  like  generals  Lanhes,  Ney,  and 
Soult,  directed  considerable  bodies  of  troops,  and 
who  merited  the  baton  of  marshal  as  nuich  as  the 
officers  already  fjuoted,  was  not  ujion  the  list  of 
new  nuirshals.  'I'his  was  Gouvion  St.  Cyr,  who,  if 
he  did  not  e(iual  Massena  in  his  warlike  charnctor 
under  fire,  surpassed  him  in  intelligence  and  in 
military  combinations.  Since,  Moreau  had  been 
lost  to  France  by  his  political  errors,  and  since 
KIcber  and  Desaix  were  no  more,  he  was  with 
Massen.i  the  man  most  capable  of  connnanding  an 
army  ;  Napoleon,  it  being  well  understood,  could 
not  bo  |)ut  in  comparison  with  any  one.  But  St. 
Cyr's  jealous  and  unsocial  character  began  to  re- 
ceive in  return  the  coolness  of  the  supreme  distri- 
butor of  favours.  With  the  sovereign  power  came 
its  weaknesses  ;  and  Napoleim,  who  pardoned  Ber- 
nadotte for  his  petty  treasons,  the  presage  of  a 
greater  one,  kiunv  not  how  to  pardon  in  St.  Cyr 
his  aspiring  spirit.  Still  general  St.  Cyr  had 
ranked  among  the  colonels-generals,  and  became 
colonel-general  of  cuirassiers.  Juiiot  and  Mar- 
mont,  faiihful  aiiles-de-cami)  of  general  Bonaparte, 
were  nominated  colonels-generals  of  hussars  and 
chasseurs,  and  Baraguay-d'IIilliers  of  dragoons. 
General  .Marescot  received  the  rank  of  colonel- 
gi.iieral  of  engineers,  and  general  Songis  that  of 
inspector-general  of  artillery.  In  the  navy,  vice- 
admiral  Bruix,  ihe  commander  and  organizer  of 
tin;  flotilla,  rdjtained  the  baton  of  admiral,  and  was 
made    inspector-general    of   the    coasts    upon   the 


Selections  of  the  imperial 
568        household.— Foucliere- 
storeil  to  place. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Proclamation  of  Napo- 
leon as  emperor  hy 
the  senate. 


1S04. 
May. 


ocean  ;  vice-admiral  Decres  was  named  inspector- 
general  of  the  coasts  on  the  Mediterranean. 

The  court  offered  great  situations  for  distribu- 
tion. It  was  organized  with  all  the  pomp  of  the 
old  French  monarchy,  and  more  brilliancy  than  the 
imperial  court  of  Germany.  It  was  to  have  a 
grand  almoner,  a  grand  chamberlain,  a  grand 
huntsman,  a  grand  equerry,  a  grand  master  of  the 
ceremonies,  and  a  grand  marshal  of  the  palace. 
The  ofiice  of  grand  almoner  was  conferred  upon 
cardinal  Fesch,  inicle  of  Napoleon;  that  of  grand 
chamberlain  on  Talleyrand;  that  of  grand  hunts- 
man on  genei-al  Berth  ier.  To  the  two  last  these 
offices  of  the  court  were  an  indemnification  des- 
tined to  compensate  them  for  not  having  obtained 
two  of  the  grand  dignities  of  the  empire.  The 
office  of  grand  equerry  was  conferred  upon  M.  de 
Caulaincourt,  in  order  to  make  up  to  him  for  the 
calumnies  of  the  royalists,  pressing  upon  him  since 
the  death  of  the  duke  d'Enghien.  M.  de  Segur, 
the  former  ambassador  of  Louis  XVI.  to  Catherine 
of  Russia,  one  of  the  men  best  adapted  to  teach 
Hie  new  court  the  usages  of  the  old,  was  nominated 
grand  master  of  the  ceremonies.  Duroc,  who  go- 
verned the  consular  now  become  the  imperial 
household,  was  to  remain  the  governor  under  the 
title  of  grand  master  of  the  palace. 

Neither  lesser  appointments,  nor  the  subaltern 
candidates  who  disputed  for  them,  is  it  needful  to 
cite  here.  History  has  only  to  i-ecount  the  more 
prominent  facts.  It  only  descends  to  such  details, 
when  they  are  of  importance  for  painting  the  man- 
ners of  the  time  with  fidelity.  It  need  only  be 
said  that  the  emigrants,  who  before  the  death  of 
the  duke  d'Eugliien  tended  to  approximate  some- 
what towards  tlie  government,  and  who  after  that 
event  had  for  a  moment  gone  off  again,  but  who, 
forgetful  of  all  the  world,  thought  already  less  of  a 
catastrophe  grown  two  months  old,  began  to  figui-e 
in  the  number  of  candidates  for  honours,  anxious 
to  have  places  in  the  imperial  court.  Some  were 
admitted.  It  was  contemplated  above  all  to  or- 
ganize for  the  empress  a  sumptuous  household. 
A  personage  of  high  birth,  Madame  de  la  Roche- 
foucauld, destitute  of  beauty  but  not  of  mind,  dis- 
tinguished by  her  education  and  her  manners,  for- 
merly very  much  of  a  royalist,  and  now  laughing 
gracefully  at  its  blind  passions,  was  destined  to  be 
the  principal  lady  of  honour  to  Josephine. 

These  selections  were  known  belore  they  were 
published  in  the  Moniteur,  and  publi.shed  from 
mouth  to  mouth  in  the  midst  of  the  unfailing 
speeches  of  approvers  and  disapprovers  ;  they  had 
a  great  deal  to  do  in  order  to  communicate  all  that 
inspired  them  at  so  singular  a  spectacle,  each  cen- 
suring or  applauding  according  to  their  friendships 
or  their  dislikes,  the  pretensions  satisfied  or  crossed, 
scarcely  any  person  following  his  political  opinions, 
because  then  no  one  had  any  ])olitical  opinions,  ex- 
cept the  hot-headed  royalists  or  the  implacable  re- 
publicans. 

To  these  nominations  there  was  added  one  much 
more  serious,  that  of  M.  Fouche,  who  was  called 
to  the  ministry  of  the  police,  re-established  for  him, 
as  a  recompense  of  the  services  which  he  had  ren- 
dered during  the  late  events. 

It  was  required  to  give  to  these  selections,  and 
to  the  greatest  of  all,  that  which  created  out  of  a 
general  of  the  republic  an  hereditary  monarch,  the 


character  of  official  acts.  The  senatus  consultum 
was  settled  upon  and  drawn  up.  It  was  agreed  that 
it  should  be  presented  to  the  senate  on  tlie  2Cth  of 
Flore'al,  or  IGth  of  May,  1804,  in  order  that  it 
might  be  decreed  in  the  usual  form.  This  presen- 
tation having  taken  place,  a  commission  was  imme- 
diately appointed  to  make  its  report.  M.  de  La- 
c^pede  was  charged  with  the  report,  a  man  of 
learning,  and  a  senator  devoted  to  Napoleon.  It 
was  completed  in  forty-eight  hours,  and  carried  to 
the  senate  on  tlie  morrow  or  28th  of  Floreal,  the 
18th  of  May.  This  day  was  destined  for  the  solemn 
proclamation  of  Napoleon  as  emperor.  It  had 
been  decided  that  the  consul  Cambace'res  should 
preside  in  the  sitting  of  the  senate,  in  order  that 
his  adhesion  to  the  new  monarchical  establishment 
should  be  more  striking.  M.  de  Lacepede  had 
scarcely  finished  reading  his  report,  when  the  se- 
nators, without  the  appearance  of  a  single  dissen- 
tient, and  with  a  sort  of  unanimous  acclamation, 
adopted  the  entire  senatus  consultum.  They  even 
awaited  with  the  utmost  visible  impatience  the  in- 
dispensable formalities  with  which  such  an  act 
must  be  accompanied,  so  eager  were  they  to  pro- 
ceed to  St.  Cloud.  It  was  agreed  that  the  senate 
should  go  in  a  body  to  that  place,  to  present  its 
decree  to  the  first  consul,  and  to  salute  liim  with 
the  title  of  emperor.  Scarcely  was  the  adoption 
of  the  senatus  consultum  terminated,  than  the  se- 
nators raised  the  sitting  tumultuously,  in  order  to 
reach  their  carriages  and  be  the  first  to  arrive  at 
St.  Cloud. 

The  necessary  dispositions  had  been  made  at  the 
palace  of  the  senate,  on  the  route,  and  even  at  St. 
Cloud,  for  this  unequalled  scene.  A  long  file  of 
carriages,  escorted  by  the  cavalry  of  the  guard, 
carried  the  senators  as  far  as  the  residence  of  the 
first  consul  on  a  superb  day  in  spring.  Napoleon 
and  Josephine,  having  received  notice,  attended 
this  solemn  visit.  Napoleon  standing  in  military 
uniform,  calm,  as  he  knew  how  to  bear  himself 
when  men  regarded  him,  his  wife  at  times  satis- 
fied and  troubled,  received  the  senate,  which  was 
conducted  by  the  arch-chancellor  Cambac^res. 
This  his  respectable  colleague,  and  yet  more  re- 
.spectable  suljject,  addressed,  bowing  low,  the  fol- 
lowing words  to  the  soldier  whom  he  was  about  to 
proclaim  emperor  : — 
"  Sire, 

"  The  love  and  gratitude  of  the  French  people 
have  during  four  years  confided  to  your  majesty  the 
reins  of  government,  and  the  constitutions  of  the 
state  already  make  in  you  their  choice  of  a  suc- 
cessor. The  denomination  more  imposing  which 
is  decreed  you  to-day  is  nothing  but  the  tribute 
which  the  nation  pays  to  its  own  dignity,  and  to 
the  necessity  which  it  feels  of  giving  you  every  day 
fresh  testimonies  of  an  esteem  and  attachment 
which  every  day  sees  augmenting.  How  can  tlie 
French  people  tiiink  without  enthusiasm  of  tlie  hap- 
piness it  has  received  since  Providence  inspired  it 
with  the  thought  of  throwing  itself  into  your  arms  ! 

"  The  armies  had  been  vanquished  ;  the  finances 
were  in  disorder  ;  public  credit  was  annihilated  ; 
factions  disputed  among  them  the  remnants  of  our 
former  splendour  ;  the  sense  of  religion  and  even 
of  morals  was  obscured  ;  the  habit  of  giving  and  of 
taking  away  authority  left  the  magistrates  without 
respect. 


Address  of  the  senate. — 
Speech  of  Napoleon  in 
reply. 


THE  EMPIRE. 


Napoleon  suggests  his  coronation 
in  Paris. 


flC9 


"  Your  m.ijesty  appeared.  You  recalled  victory 
to  our  standard  ;  you  established  order  and  eco- 
nomy ia  the  public  expenditure  ;  the  nation,  en- 
couraged by  the  acts  wliich  you  knew  liow  to  per- 
form, regained  confidence  in  its  own  resources  ; 
your  wisdom  calmed  the  fury  of  parties  ;  religion 
saw  you  raise  up  her  altars  ;  finally,  and  this  is 
without  doubt  the  greatest  of  the  miracles  operated 
by  your  genius,  tlie  people  that  civil  effervescence 
had  renderetl  incapable  of  all  restraint,  the  enemy 
of  every  authority,  you  have  known  how  to  make 
cherish  and  respect  a  power  that  was  never  exer- 
cised exci'pt  for  its  glory  and  repose. 

"  The  French  people  does  not  juvtend  to  make 
itself  a  judge  of  the  constitutions  of  other  states;  it 
has  no  critical  remarks  to  make,  no  examples  to 
follow  ;  experience  henceforward  will  become  its 
teacher. 

"  It  had  for  ages  tasted  the  advantages  attached 
to  hereditary  power  ;  it  had  made  a  short  experi- 
ment, but  a  jKiinlid  one,  of  the  contrary  system  ; 
it  re-enters,  through  the  effect  of  a  free  delibera- 
tion, upon  a  rdginie  conformable  to  its  own  na- 
ture. It  freely  uses  its  right  to  delegate  to  your 
imperial  majesty  a  power  that  its  interest  forbids 
it  to  exercise  of  itself.  It  stipulates  on  behalf  of 
the  generations  to  come,  by  a  solemn  compact 
confiding  the  happiness  of  its  posterity  to  the 
offspring  of  your  race. 

"  Happy  the  nation  that  after  so  many  troubles 
finds  in  its  bosom  a  man  capable  of  appeasing  the 
tempest  of  angry  passions,  of  conciliating  all  inter- 
ests, and  of  uniting  all  suffrages  ! 

"  If  it  is  in  the  principles  of  our  constitution  to 
submit  to  the  sanction  of  the  people  the  part  of 
the  decree  which  concerns  the  establislinient  of 
the  hereditary  government,  the  senate  has  thought 
it  is  bound  to  supplicate  your  imperial  majesty 
to  agree  that  the  organic  dispositions  should  re- 
ceive their  execution  immediately  ;  and  for  the 
glory,  as  for  the  honour  and  hapi)iness  of  the 
republic,  it  proclaims  at  this  moment,  Napoleon, 
empror  of  tlm  French!" 

Scarcely  had  the  arch-chancellor  terminated 
these  words,  when  the  cry  of  "  Long  live  the  em- 
peror," resounded  beneath  the  ceilings  of  the 
palace  of  St.  Cloud.  Heard  in  the  courts  and  in  the 
gardens,  the  same  cry  w;ts  repeated  there  with  joy 
and  tumultu<)us  applauses.  Confidence  and  hope 
were  in  all  countenances,  and  all  who  attended, 
enchained  by  the  interest  of  the  scene,  believed 
that  for  a  long  time  they  had  insured  their  happi- 
ness and  that  of  France.  The  arch-chancellor, 
CaTnbac«?res  himself,  led  away,  seemed  to  have 
always  desirc<l  that  which  at  this  moment  he  ac- 
complished. 

Silence  being  re-established,  the  emperor  ad- 
dressed the  following  words  to  the  senate  :  — 

"  All  that  can  contriijiite  to  the  good  of  the 
country  is  essentially  allied  to  my  ha])pincKs. 

"  I  accept  the  title  that  you  believe  is  of  utility 
to  the  glory  of  the  nation. 

"  I  submit  to  the  sanction  of  tlie  people  the  law 
of  hereditary  succession.  I  hope  Franco  will 
never  have  to  repent  the  hononra  witii  wliich  she 
has  surrounded  my  family. 

"  In  all  cases,  my  spirit  will  cease  to  animate 
my  posterity  the  day  when  it  will  ccaso  to  merit 
the  love  and  confidence  of  llie  great  nation." 


'  Reiterated  acclamations  followed  these  noble 
words  ;  then  the  senate,  through  the  organ  of  its 
president  Cambacc'res,  addressed  some  phrases  of 
congratf.lalion  to  (he  new  empress,  which  she 
heard,  according  to  custom,  with  perfect  good 
grace,  and  to  which  she  did  not  reply  except  by 
her  deep  emotion. 

The  senate  afterwards  retired,  having  attached 
to  this  man,  born  so  far  from  a  throne,  the  title  of 
emperor,  which  he  never  more  lost,  even  after  his 
fall  and  in  his  exile.  He  will  henceforward  be  so 
styled  here;  it  was  his  own  title,  dating  from  the 
day  just  described.  The  wish  of  the  nation  was  so 
certain,  (hat  there  was  something  puerile  in  the 
care  that  was  taken  to  state  it ;  the  wish  of  the 
nation  was  to  decide  the  hereditary  succession: 
but  in  the  meanwhile  he  was  emperor  of  the 
French,  by  the  power  of  the  senate  acting  within 
the  limit  of  its  privileges. 

When  the  senators  redrcd,  Napole<m  retained 
the  arch-chancellor  Cambaceres,  and  desired  liim 
to  remain  and  dine  with  the  imperial  family.  Tlie 
emperor  and  empress  loaded  him  with  their  kind- 
nesses, and  endeavoured  to  make  him  forget  the 
distance  that  henceforward  separated  him  from  his 
old  colleague.  Besides  this  the  arcli-ch.ancellor 
might  well  console  himself ;  in  reality  he  had  not. 
descended  ;  his  master  had  only  risen,  and  had 
raised  every  body  with  himself. 

The  emperor  and  the  arch-chancellor  Cam- 
baceres had  to  confer  upon  several  important  sub- 
jects which  were  allied  to  the  events  of  that  day. 
These  were  the  ceremony  of  the  coronation  and 
the  new  re'gime  to  be  given  to  the  Italian  republic, 
which  it  was  not  possible  to  keep  so  near  France, 
thus  converted  into  a  monarchy.  Napoleon,  who 
was  fond  of  the  marvellous,  had  conceived  a 
bold  idea,  the  accomplishment  of  whieh  might 
seize  upon  the  public  mind,  and  render  still  more 
extraordinary  his  accession  to  the  throne.  This 
was  to  have  himself  crowned  by  the  pope  in  person, 
transported  for  the  purpose  of  such  a  solemnity 
from  Rome  to  Paris.  The  thing  had  no  example 
in  the  eighteen  centuries  that  the  church  had 
existed.  Ail  the  emperors  of  Germany,  without 
exception,  had  gone  to  be  crowned  at  Rome. 
Charlemagne  proclaimed  emperor  of  the  West  in 
the  church  of  St.  Peter,  in  some  sort  by  surprise, 
on  Cluistinas-day,  800,  had  not  seen  the  pope  dis- 
placed even  for  liim.  Pepin,  it  is  true,  had  been 
crowned  in  France  by  po|)c  Stephen,  but  this  pope 
hud  gone  there  to  solicit  succour  against  the  Lom- 
bards. It  was  the  first  time  that  a  pope  would 
have  quitted  Rome  to  consecrate  the  rights  of  a 
new  monarch  in  the  new  monarch's  own  capital. 
The  instance  in  past  time,  to  which  it  had  a  resem- 
blance, was  the  effect  of  the  church  recompensing, 
by  the  title  of  emperor,  the  fortunate  soldier  who 
had  lent  it  succour;  a  wonderlul  resemblance  with 
Charlemagne,  by  replacing  in  a  way  fully  sufficient, 
that  legitimacy  of  which  the  Bourbons  so  vainly 
boasted,  but  rendered  of  small  esteem  by  their  d(f- 
feat,  their  misconduct,  and  their  co-operation  in 
unworthy  plots. 

This  idea  scarcely  conceived,  Napoleon  at  once 
converted  it  into  an  irrevocable  resolution,  and  pro- 
mi.Hed  himself  to  bring  i'iiis  VII.  to  Paris  by  some 
means,  either  by  seduction  or  fear.  It  was  the 
most  difficult  of  negotiations,  one  in  which  no  other 


;  Difficulties    respecting 

'    570  the  Italian  reijublic. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


The  state  boilies  take 
the  oaihs  to  the  ntw 
eni|)eror. 


1801. 
May. 


than  himself  would  have  been  able  to  succeed.  He 
proposed  to  help  his  object  through  cardinal 
Caprara,  who  did  not  cease  to  write  to  Rome,  that 
without  Napoleon,  religion  would  have  been  lost  in 
France,  and  perhaps  even  in  Europe.  He  com- 
municated his  design  to  the  arch-chaiicellor  Cam- 
bace'res,  and  arranged  witli  him  the  best  steps  to 
be  taken,  to  make  the  first  attack  upon  the  preju- 
dices, the  scruples,  and  the  inaction  of  the  Roman 
court. 

As  to  the  Italian  republic,  it  would  h.nve  been 
for  two  years  before  a  theatre  of  contusion  without 
the  i)residency  of  general  Bonaparte.  At  first 
M.  Melzi,  an  honest  man,  sensible  enough,  but 
morose,  eaten  up  with  tlie  gout,  always  ready  to 
give  in  his  resignation  as  vice-presideut,  not  having 
the  charaeter  necessary  for  supporting  the  heavy 
weight  of  the  government,  was  a  very  insufficient 
representative  of  tlie  public  authority.  Murat, 
commandant  of  the  French  :a-iny  in  Italy,  caused 
'broils  in  the  Italian  government,  which  added 
to  the  vexatious  position  of  M.  Melzi.  Napoleon 
interfered  unceasingly  to  keep  the  two  auihorities 
in  agreenienti  To  these  ])resent  difficulties  were 
joined  those  which  necessarily  arise  from  the  very 
foundation  of  things.  The  Italians,  as  yet  little 
iasliioned  to  a  constituent  regime,  that  admitted 
them  to  a  participation  in  their  own  affairs,  were 
always  either  in  a  state  of  perfect  indifference  or 
of  extreme  vehemence.  For  governing  purposes 
there  were  only  a  moderate  few  to  be  found,  very 
much  troubled  in  supporting  the  ch:iracter  they 
had  to  sustain,  placed  as  they  were  between  tlie 
nobles  devoted  to  the  Austrians,  the  liberals  to 
Jacobinism,  and  the  mass  of  the  jieople  sensible  to 
nothing  but  the  weight  of  taxation.  These  last 
complained  of  the  expenses  of  the  French  occui)a- 
tioii,  "  We  are  governed  by  strangers,  and  our 
money  goes  beyond  the  mountains  :"  this  kind  of 
discourse,  so  common  in  Italy,  was  again  heard 
under  the  new  republic  as  it  hail  been  under  the 
swiiy  of  the  house  of  Austria.  There  were  but  a 
small  number  of  enlightened  men,  who  felt  that, 
thanks  to  general  Bonai)arte,  the  greater  part  of 
Lombardy,  united  in  a  single  state,  governed  in 
reality  by  those  of  the  same  nation,  placed  only 
under  an  exterior  and  distant  ins|jection,  was  thus 
called  into  an  existence  of  its  own,  the  commence- 
ment of  an  Italian  unity  ;  that  is,  they  must  pay 
twenty  millions  per  annum  for  a  Fiench  army, 
a  very  moderate  indenniity  for  the  support  of  an 
army  of  thirty  or  forty  thousand  men,  indispensa- 
ble, if  they  would  not  again  fall  under  the  yoke  of 
the  Austrians.  Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  the  som- 
bre hue  with  which  the  sickly  mind  of  M.  Melzi 
coloured  the  picture  of  Italian  affairs,  those  affairs, 
after  all,  went  on  peaceably,  under  the  dominant 
hand  ol  Najioleon. 

To  convert  this  republic  into  a  vassal  monarchy 
of  the  emj'ire,  and  bestow  it  upon  Joseph  Bona- 
parte, for  example,  was  to  conmience  the  em- 
j)ire  of  tlie  West,  that  Napoleon  already  dreamed 
about,  in  an  ambition,  henceforward  without  limits; 
it  was  to  assure  a  re'gime  more  stable  in  Italy  ;  it  j 
was  probably  to  content  it,  because  the  Italians 
loved  much  to  have  a  prince  among  them;  and 
being  a  change,  it  would  iiave  satisfied,  if  only  by 
the  title,  their  uneasy  and  restless  imaginations. 
It  was  agreed  that   the   arch-chancellor   Camba- 


ceres,  very  intimate  with  M.  Melzi,  should  write  to 
him,  in  order  to  make  upon  the  subject  such 
overtures  as  seemed  most  advisable. 

Napoleon,  after  having  placed  in  due  accord 
with  his  old  colleague  all  he  had  to  do  at  that 
time,  commanded  the  cardinal  legate  to  attend  at 
St.  Cloud,  spoke  to  him  in  an  affectionate  tone, 
but  in  one  so  positive,  that  it  did  not  come  into 
the  cardinal's  mind  to  dare  a  single  objection. 
Napoleon  told  him  that  he  charged  him  expressly 
to  request  the  pope  to  come  to  Paris  to  officiate  at 
the  ceremouial  of  the  coronation  ;  that  he  would 
make  the  formal  demand  at  a  later  period,  when 
he  was  certain  of  not  being  refused  :  that  he  did 
not  doubt  the  success  of  his  wishes;  that  the 
church  was  bound  to  adhere  to  him,  and  owed  it 
to  hei-self  to  do  so,  because  nothing  would  more 
serve  religion  than  the  jircsence  of  the  sovereign 
pontiff'  in  Paris,  and  the  union  of  religious  to  the 
civil  pomp  on  such  a  solemn  occasion.  Cardinal 
Caprara  sent  oft'  a  courier  to  Rome,  and  Talley- 
rand, <m  his  side,  wrote  to  cardinal  Fesch,  to 
inform  him  of  the  new  design,  and  ^request  him  to 
su))port  the  negotiation. 

It  was  spring,  Napoleon  wished  the  journey  of 
the  ])ope  to  take  place  in  the  autumn.  He  proposed 
to  himself  the  addition  of  another  wonder  to  that 
of  the  poi>e  crowning  at  Paris  the  rejjresentative of 
the  French  revolution;  this  was  the  expedition  to 
England,  that  he  had  adjourned  in  consequence  of 
the  royalists'  conspiracy  and  of  the  institution  of 
the  emjiire,  but  of  which  he  had  so  far  completed 
the  i)reparations,  that  the  success  did  nut  Seem  in 
his  own  view  to  be  doubtful.  A  mouth,  more  or 
less,  was  only  necessary  for  his  purpose,  because 
he  desired  to  strike  a  blow  like  a  thunder-bolt.  He 
designed  July  or  August  ftir  this  grand  operation. 
He  lioped,  then,  towards  October  to  return  vic- 
torious, ])ossebsed  of  the  definitive  peace,  and  of  all 
the  ])ower  of  Europe,  and  to  be  able  to  get  himself 
crowned  by  the  conniiencement  of  the  winter  on 
the  anniversary  day  of  the  18. h  Brumaire,  or  9th 
of  November,  1804.  In  his  ardent  mind,  he 
turned  over  all  these  projects,  and  it  will  be  soon 
seen,  by  the  last  combination  he  devised,  that 
they  were  not  an  utter  chimera. 

The  arch-chanceHor  Cambacdies  wrote,  on  his 
side,  to  M.  Melzi,  regarding  the  affairs  of  the  new 
kingdom  of  Italy.  M.  I\l;irescalehi,  the  minister 
of  the  Italian  republic  in  Paris,  was  to  support  the 
overtures  of  Cainbace'res  to  M   Melzi. 

The  subsequent  days  were  employed  in  taking 
the  oath  to  the  new  sovereign  of  France.  All  the 
members  of  the  senate,  the  legislative  body,  and 
the  tribunate,  were  successively  introduced.  The 
arch-chaiKellor,  Cambaceies,  standing  at  the  side 
of  the  emperor,  who  was  seated,  read  the  foi'ra  of 
the  oath;  the  pci-sonage  admitted  swore  directly 
afterwards;  the  emperor,  halt  raiding  himself  from 
his  imperial  chair,  returned  a  light  salute  to  him 
from  whom  he  h;id  just  received  homage.  This 
sudden  difference  introduced  into  the  relations  be- 
tween the  subject  and  the  sovereign,  who,  the  day 
before,  was  their  equal,  ja-oduced  some  sensation 
among  the  members  of  the  bodies  of  the  state. 
After  having  given  him  the  crown  under  a  sort 
of  hurried  train  of  events,  they  were  surprised  on 
seeing  the  firs-t  consequences  of  what  they  had 
done.     Cariiot,  the  tribune,  true  to  his  promise  of 


1804. 

May. 


Feelinps  of  the  public- 
Popular  Vtitcs  taken. 


THE  EMPIRE. 


Tlie  process  of  Georges  and 
Mureau  terminated. 


571 


submitting  to  tlie  law  when  once  passed,  took  the 
outli  with  the  other  nieinbei-s  of"  the  tribunate.  He 
there  exhibited  the  dignity  of  obedience  to  tlie 
law,  appearing  even  to  perceive  less  than  others 
the  cluuiges  operated  in  the  external  forms  of 
power.  But  the  senators,  above  all,  perceived 
this,  and  held  upon  the  subject  more  than  one 
n):ilicious  conversation.  One  circumstance  con- 
tributed more  particularly  to  inspire  them  with 
tliis  kind  of  discourse.  Of  tha  thirty  and  some 
odd  senators  instituted  at  the  epoch  of  the  con- 
sulate for  life,  their  remained  fifteen  to  fill  up  ; 
those  of  Agen,  Ajaccio,  Angers,  Besan^on,  Bourges, 
Ciilmar,  Dijon,  Limogi-s,  Lyons,  Montpellier, 
Nancy,  Nimes,  Paris,  Pan,  and  Riom.  They  were 
given  away  on  the  2iid  Piairial,  or  22nd  of  May. 
Lacepedc,  Kellermaun,  Fran9oise  de  Meufchateau, 
and  Bcrthollet,  were  of  the  immber  of  the  parties 
thus  favoured.  But  in  a  hundred  senators,  of 
whom  more  than  eighty  were  yet  to  be  satisfied, 
fifteen  contents  diil  not  form  a  sufficient  majority. 
Nevertheless,  those  who  had  missed  senator's 
places,  had  others  in  view,  and  had  uo  reason  to 
be  in  despair.  But  while  thus  waiting,  somewhat 
of  ill-humour  was  discoverable  in  their  language. 
The  Mon'Ueur  was  every  day  filled  with  nomina- 
tions of  chamberlains,  equerries,  ladies  of  honour, 
and  tire-women.  What  the  personal  grandeur 
of  the  new  emperor  did  might  be  pardoned  him, 
but  it  was  not  the  same  with  those  whom  he  elevated 
iu  his  train.  The  imeasy  activity  of  the  repub- 
licans, im|)atient  to  become  courtiers,  and  of  royal- 
ists pressing  forward  to  serve  him  whom  they  de- 
nominated a  usurper,  was  a  strange  and  singular 
spectacle ;  and  if  to  the  natural  effect  of  this 
spectacle  be  added  the  hopes,  deceived  or  delayed, 
that  were  avenged  in  spiteful  speeches,  it  may  be 
comprehended,  that  at  the  montent  they  criticised, 
railed,  contennied,  in  a  word,  talked  a  great  deal. 
But  tlie  ma.s.sc.s,  charmed  to  have  a  government 
as  glorious  as  it  was  benevolent,  struck  with  the 
nnefjualled  scene,  of  which  they  only  perceived 
the  entire,  and  not  the  details,  felt  not  at  all  en- 
vious of  those  happy  creatures  of  a'day,  who  had 
succeeded  in  making  their  children  pages,  their 
wives  ladies  of  honour,  and  themselves  prefects 
of  the  palace  or  chamberlains;  the  masses  had 
been  att  ntive  to  what  was  going  forward,  and 
were  seized  with  a  surprise  which  soon  changed 
into  admiration.  Napoleon,  the  sub- lieutenant  of 
artillery,  acknowledged  and  accepted  by  Europe, 
and  lifted  on  high  in  the  midst  of  a  profound  calm, 
covered  with  the  brilliancy  of  his  fortunes  the 
littleness  mingled  up  in  tliis  prodigious  event. 
They  no  more  experienced,  it  is  true,  that  eager 
sentiment,  which  in  i7'J9  had  caixied  the  astonished 
nation  into  a  race  in  advance  of  its  saviour;  they 
no  more  experienced  the  sentiment  of  gratitude 
that  in  1802  had  carried  the  delighted  nation  on 
to  decreeing  to  its  benefactor  a  perpetuity  of  his 
power;  they  were,  in  fact,  less  pressed  to  pay  in 
gralitutle  a  man  who  had  so  well  taken  care  to 
pay  himself,  liut  they  judged  him  worthy  of  the 
sovereign  heredit;try  government  ;  they  a<lmired 
him  who  had  dared  to  take  it  ;  tliey  approved  of 
its  reeHtablishinent,  because  it  was  a  more  com- 
|)lete  return  to  order;  they  were,  in  fine,  <lazzled 
at  the  wonders  in  whicii  they  aided.  Thus,  al- 
though with  sentiments  a  little  difl'erent  from  those 


which  they  had  at  heart  iu  1799  and  in  1802,  the 
citizens  went  with  eagerness  to  all  the  places  where 
the  registers  were  opened,  to  enrol  their  votes. 
The  affirmative  suffrages  were  entei-ed  by  millions,^ 
and  scarcely  any  negative  suffrages,  or  very  rarely 
a  single  one,  as  if  to  show  the  liberty  which  they 
enj^)yed,  made  their  appearance  in  the  immense 
mass  of  favourable  votes. 

Napoleon  had  only  one  last  disagreeable  affair 
to  encounter  before  coming  into  jjossessioii  of 
his  new  title.  It  was  necessary  to  finish  the  pro- 
cess against  Georges  and  Moreau,  in  which  they 
had,  at  first,  engaged  with  full  confidence.  In 
relation  to  Georges  and  his  accomplices,  or  as  re- 
spected Pichegru  himself,  if  he  had  lived,  the 
ditticuity  was  not  so  great ;  the  jjrocess  would 
have  covered  them  with  confusion,  and  ])roved  the 
participation  of  the  emigrant  princes  in  their  plots. 
But  Moreau  was  connected  with  their  cause.  It 
was  believed  at  the  commencement  that  more 
])roofs  would  be  found  than  there  really  existed 
against  him;  and  although  his  crime  was  evident 
to  persons  of  soimd  understanding,  still  the  ma- 
levolent had  the  means  left  of  denying  it.  Besides, 
there  was  the  involuntary  sentiment  of  ])ity  felt 
at  the  aspect  of  the  contrast  afi'orded  by  the  two 
first  generals  of  the  republic,  the  one  mounted 
upon  a  throne,  the  other  in  fetters,  and  destined, 
not  for  the  scaffold,  but  for  exile.  Every  con- 
sideration, even  that  of  justice  itself,  was  placed 
aside  in  a  similar  case,  and  tlie  wrong  would  be 
given  more  willingly  to  the  fortunate  if  there  had 
been  ground. 

Those  who  were  accused  with  Jloreau,  advised 
by  their  defenders,  contrived  so  as  completely 
to  escape  involving  him.  They  had  been  much 
irritated  agains-i  him  at  the  opening  of  the  pro- 
ceedings; but  interest  predominated  over  passion; 
they  jiromised  to  save  him  if  possible.  It  was 
first,  the  greatest  moral  check  against  Napoleon, 
to  make  Moreau,  his  rival,  shake  off' his  fetters,  and 
come  out  victorious  over  the  accusation  laid  against 
him,  covered  with  the  robe  of  innocence,  aggran- 
dized by  persecution,  and  rendered  an  implacable 
enemy.  Further,  if  Moreau  had  not  conspired, 
they  would  have  been  able  to  assert  that  there  hail 
been  no  conspiracy,  that  is  to  say,  not  a  criminal 
one,  and  from  thence  deduce  that  none  were  guilty. 
Their  own  safety,  therefore,  as  far  as  the  royalists 
were  concerned,  bordered  on  calculations  as  to 
party  connexion,  and  bound  them  to  keep  to  the 
line  of  conduct  proposed. 

The  bar,  always  disposed  in  favour  of  the  ac- 
cused, the  people  of  Paris,  independent  in  their 
judgments,  tind  in  willing  opposition,  when  serious 
events  do  not  attach  them  to  power,  were  jias- 
sionately  in  favour  of  Moreau,  and  expnssed 
their  wishes  in  his  behalf.  Those  even,  who  with- 
out malevolence  towards  Napoleon,  saw  only  iu 
Moreau  an  illustrious  and  unfortunate  soldier, 
whose  services  might  yet  become  useful,  wished 
that  he  should  be;  pronounced  innocent  of  the 
charge,  that  he  might,  be  restored  once  more  to  the 
army  and  to  Prance. 

The  trial  began  on  the  28th  of  May,  or  8th 
Prairial,  yetir  xii.,  in  the  midst  of  an  immense 
attendance  of  people.  The  accused  were  numerous, 
arranged  on  four  rows  of  seats.  The  altitude  of 
all  was  not  the  same;  Georges  and  his  own  party 


_  Conduct  of  Moreau  on 

o/^  the  trial. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Defence  made  by 
Moreau. 


1804. 
May. 


exhibited  an  affected  assurance  :  they  felt  them- 
selves at  their  ease,  because  after  all,  they  were 
able  to  call  themselves  the  devoted  victims  of  their 
cause.  Still  the  arrogance  of  some  did  not  dis- 
pose the  spectators  to  judge  favourably  of  them. 
Georges,  although  elevated  in  the  sight  of  the 
crowd  by  the  acknowledged  energy  of  his  cha- 
racter, caused  some  marks  of  indignation  among 
the  people.  But  the  unfortunate  Moreau,  burdened 
with  his  glory,  deploring  at  this  moment  an  illus- 
tration which  made  him  of  so  much  value  in  the 
eager  regards  of  the  muUitude,  was  deprived  of 
that  tranquil  self-possession,  which  constituted  his 
principal  merit  in  war.  He  evidently  asked  him- 
self what  he  did  there  among  the  royalists — he, 
who  was  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  revolution,  and 
who,  if  he  did  himself  justice,  could  only  liave 
been  able  to  repeat,  in  his  own  mind,  the  one 
tiling,  that  he  had  merited  his  doom  from  having 
yielded  to  the  deplorable  vice  of  jealousy.  Among 
the  numerous  accused  the  public  searched  for  him 
alone.  There  were  even  some  applauses  heard 
from  old  soldiers  among  the  crowd,  and  from  dis- 
consolate revolutionists,  believing  they  saw  the 
republic  itself  sitting  on  that  prisoner's  stool,  on 
which  was  now  seated  the  general-iu-chief  of  the 
army  of  the  Rhine.  This  curiosity,  and  these 
homages  to  himself,  embarrassed  Moreau  ;  for 
whilst  the  others  declared  with  loud  emphasis 
their  names,  obscure  or  too  sadly  celebrated,  he 
pronounced  his  own  glorious  name  so  low,  that  it 
was  heard  with  difficulty.  A  just  self-censure  for 
a  noble  rejjutation  compromised. 

The  proceedings  were  long.  The  system  which 
it  had  been  agreed  upon  to  adopt  was  exactly  fol- 
lowed. Georges,  M.  de  Polignac,  and  M.  de  Riviere, 
had  only  come  to  Paris,  they  said,  because  it  had 
been  represented  to  them  that  the  new  government 
was  wholly  unpopular,  and  the  public  mind  uni- 
versally returned  to  the  Bourbons.  They  did  not 
conceal  their  attachment  to  the  cause  of  the  legiti- 
mate princes,  and  their  dis|)osition  to  co-operate 
in  a  movement,  if  a  movement  had  been  possible  ; 
but  they  added  that  Moreau,  whom  intriguers  re- 
presented as  quite  ready  to  welcome  the  Bourbons, 
had  not  thought  of  it,  and  would  not  hear  any  of 
their  propositions.  Ever  since  then  they  had  not 
even  thought  of  conspiring.  Georges,  interrogated 
on  the  foundation  of  the  design,  and  in  presence  of 
his  first  declarations,  in  which  he  had  avowed  that 
he  came  to  assail  the  first  consul  on  the  road  to 
Malmaison,  with  a  French  prince  at  his  side — 
Georges,  confounded,  replied  that  without  doubt 
they  should  have  thought  of  it  at  a  later  period, 
if  an  insurrectional  movement  had  seemed  oppor- 
tune, but  that  nothing  being  possible  at  the  mo- 
ment, they  had  not  even  occupied  their  minds  with 
the  plan  of  attack.  U])on  showing  him  the  poig- 
nards,  the  uniforms  designed  for  the  Chouans,  and 
the  Chouans  themselves  seated  near  liim,  on  the 
benches  of  the  accused,  he  did  not  exhibit  him- 
self exactly  disconcerted,  but  he  became  silent, 
appearing  to  avow  by  his  silence  that  the  system 
invented  for  his  co-accused  partisans  and  for  Mo- 
reau, was  neither  true  nor  praiseworthy.  There 
was  but  one  point  on  which  they  all  rested  in  con- 
formity with  their  past  declarations,  and  this  was 
the  presence  of  a  French  prince  in  the  midst  of 
them.      They  felt,  in  effect,  that  in  order  not  to  be 


ranked  in  the  class  of  assassins,  it  was  necessary 
to  be  able  to  say  that  they  had  a  prince  at  their 
head.  It  was  of  little  importance  to  them  to  com- 
promise the  royal  dignity  ;  a  Bourbon  gave  them 
the  character  of  soldiers  combating  for  the  legiti- 
mate dynasty.  Besides,  when  the  imprudent 
Bourbons  had  saved  their  own  lives  in  London, 
without  disturbing  themselves  about  their  un- 
happy victims,  those  victims  might  well  be  justified 
in  attempting  the  salvation  in  Paris,  if  not  of  their 
own  lives,  at  least  of  their  honour. 

As  to  Moreau,  his  system  of  defence  was  more 
specious,  because  he  had  never  varied.  That  sys- 
tem he  had  already  laid  open  in  a  letter  to  the  first 
consul,  unhappily  for  him  written  too  late,  a  long 
time  after  the  useless  interrogatories  of  the  grand 
judge,  and  when  the  government,  engaged  in  the 
proceedings,  was  unable  to  draw  back  without  ap- 
pearing to  fear  a  public  trial.  He  avowed  that  he 
had  seen  Pichegru,  but  only  with  the  object  of 
being  reconciled  to  him,  and  to  manage  some  means 
for  him  to  return  to  France.  After  the  settlement 
of  the  civil  troubles,  he  had  thought  that  the  con- 
queror of  Holland  was  worth  the  ti'ouble  of  re- 
storing to  the  republic.  He  had  not  been  willing 
to  see  him  openly,  or  to  solicit  his  appeal  directly, 
having  lost  all  influence  by  his  coolness  with  the 
first  consul.  The  mystery  with  which  he  sur- 
rounded himself  had  had  no  other  motive.  It  was 
true  that  on  this  occasion  Pichegru  had  made  use 
of  the  opportunity  to  speak  of  designs  against  the 
government,  but  he  had  repulsed  them  as  ridi- 
culous. He  had  not  denounced  them,  because  he 
believed  them  to  be  devoid  of  any  danger,  and 
because  such  a  man  as  himself  ought  not  to  put 
on  the  character  of  an  informer. 

This  defence  sustainable,if  positive  circumstances 
and  irrefutable  witnesses  had  not  rendered  it  in- 
admissible, gave  place  to  very  close  examinations, 
in  which  Moreau  recovered  his  true  pi-esence  of 
mind,  a  little  In  the  way  it  happened  to  him  in 
war  upon  any  pressing  occasion.  He  even  made 
noble  replies,  singularly  applauded  by  the  auditory, 
"  Pichegru  was  a  traitor,"  the  president  said  to 
him,  "  and  even  denounced  by  yourself  to  the  di- 
rectory. How  could  you  dream  of  being  recon- 
ciled to  him,  and  of  bringing  him  back  to  France  ?" 

"  At  the  time,"  replied  Moreau,  "when  the  army 
of  Conde'  filled  the  saloons  of  Paris  and  those  of  the 
first  consul,  I  might  well  be  justified  in  occupying 
myself  with  bringing  the  conqueror  of  Holland 
back  to  France." 

Upon  the  same  subject  they  asked  him  why, 
under  the  directory,  he  had  been  so  late  to  de- 
nounce Pichegru,  and  thus  seemed  to  throw  sus- 
picion upon  his  past  life. 

"  I  had  cut  sliort  the  interviews  of  Pichegru," 
he  replied,  "  and  of  the  prince  of  Condd  on  the 
frontier,  by  placing,  through  the  victories  of  my 
army,  eighty  leagues  of  space  between  that  prince 
and  the  Rhine.  The  danger  over,  I  left  to  a 
council  of  war  the  care  of  examining  the  papers 
thus  found,  and  of  sending  to  the  government  such 
as  it  might  judge  useful." 

Moreau,  interrogated  upon  the  nature  of  the  plot 
in  which  they  had  proposed  to  him  to  become  an 
associate,  persisted  in  asserting  that  he  had  re- 
pulsed it.  "Yes,"  they  said  to  him,  "you  re- 
pulsed the  proposition  to  place  the  Bourbons  upon 


Roland  implicates  >roreau. 


THE  EMPIRE. 


Fresh  evidence  tendered  against 
Moreau. 


573 


the  throne,  but  you  consented  to  serve  Pichegru 
and  Georges  for  the  purjiosc  of  overturning  the 
consuhir  government,  in  tlie  hope  to  receive  the 
dictatoi-ship  at  their  hands." 

"  Thf-y  attribute  to  me,  tiien,"  replied  Moreau, 
"  a  ridiculous  project,  that  of  making  ms  serve 
the  royalists  to  become  dictator,  believing  tiiat  if 
they  vere  victorious,  they  would  remit  the  power 
into  my  hands.  I  have  conducted  war  for  ten 
years,  and  during  that  ten  years  I  have  never, 
that  I  am  aware,  done  very  ridiculous  things." 

This  noble  allusion  to  his  past  life  was  covered 
with  ap|>lause.  But  ail  the  witnesses  were  not 
in  the  secrets  of  the  royalists  ;  all  were  not  jire- 
pared  for  a  desertion  of  their  first  depositions. 
There  was  one  witness,  named  Uokiml,  formerly 
employed  in  the  army,  who  repeated  with  sorrow, 
but  with  an  obstinacy  that  nothing  could  shake, 
that  which  he  had  stated  on  his  first  exa- 
mination. He  said,  that  the  go-between  of 
Pichegru  and  Moreau  charged  the  last  with  de- 
claring, that  he  would  not  have  the  Bourbons;  but 
that  if  they  delivered  themselves  from  the  consuls, 
he  would  use  the  power,  which  would  be  inevitably 
conferred  upon  him,  to  save  the  conspirators,  and 
restore  Pichegru  to  all  his  honours.  Others  con- 
firmed again  this  assertion  of  Rolatid.  Bduvet  de 
Lozier,  the  officer  of  Georges  who  escaped  from  sui- 
cide in  order  to  fling  a  terrible  accusation  against 
Moreau,  could  not  retract,  but  repeated  it,  at 
the  same  time  endeavouring  to  lessen  its  force.  In 
the  accusation,  given  in  writing,  he  had  only  an- 
nounced those  things  which  he  had  heard  from 
Georges  himself.  Georges  answered,  that  Bouvet 
nnist  have  ill  heard  ami  ill  understood  him,  and,  in 
consequence,  made  a  very  incorrect  report.  But 
there  remained  the  interview  during  the  night  at 
the  Madeline,  in  which  Moreau,  Pichegru,  and 
Georges  were  fi>und  together,  a  circumstance 
wholly  irreconcilable  with  the  simple  design  of 
bringing  back  Pichegru  to  France.  Wherefore 
be  found  at  night  at  a  rendezvous  with  the  chief  of 
the  conspirators,  with  one  whom  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  meet  innocently,  when  a  man  was  not  himself 
a  royalist  ?  Here  the  depositions  were  so  precise, 
80  concordant,  so  numerous,  that  with  the  best  will 
in  the  world,  the  royalists  were  not  able  to  recall 
that  which  they  had  declared,  and  which,  when 
they  attempted  to  do,  they  at  the  same  moment 
confounded  themselves  utterly. 

Moreau,  at  this  time,  was  overwhelmed,  and 
the  interest  of  the  auditory  finished  by  diminishing 
sensibly.  At  times  the  unbecoming  reproaches  of 
the  [)residcnt  on  his  f.irtimes,  awoke  a  little  of  the 
interest  which  had  nearly  died  away  :  "  You  are 
at  least  culpable  of  non-revelation,"  the  president 
said  to  him  ;  "  and  although  you  pretend  that 
such  a  man  as  yourself  knew  not  how  to  take 
upon  you  the  character  of  an  informer,  you  were 
bound  to  obey  the  law,  whicli  ordains  that  every 
citiziMi,  whoever  he  may  be,  is  to  denounce  all  plots 
of  which  he  may  acquire  a  knowledge.  You 
owed  it  to  a  government  that  had  loaded  you 
with  benefits.  Have  you  not  rich  appointments, 
an  hotel,  estites  ?" 

Such  a  reproach  was  little  worthy  of  being 
made,  addressed,  as  it  was,  to  one  of  the  most 
disinterested  generals  of  the  time. 

"  Monsieur    the     president,"    Moreau    r(i>Iied, 


"do  not  put  into  the  balance  my  services  and  my 
fortune  ;  there  is  no  comparison  j)"ssible  between 
similar  things.  I  have  forty  thousand  francs  of 
appointments,  a  house,  an  estate  which  is  worth 
three  or  four  hundred  thousand  francs  ;  I  know 
this,  but  I  should  have  had  fifty  millions,  if  I  had 
used  victory  as  many  othei-s  have  done." 

Rastadt,  Biberach,  Engen,  Moesskirch,  Ho- 
henlinden,  these  noble  recollections  placed  by  the 
side  of  a  little  miserable  money,  carried  away  the 
auditory,  and  provoked  applauses  that  the  incon- 
sistency of  the  defence  had  begun  to  render  very 
rare. 

The  trial  lasted  twelve  days,  and  the  agitation 
of  the  public  mind  was  considerable.  It  has 
been  seen  in  later  times  that  a  process  may  en- 
tirely engross  the  public  attention.  The  same 
thing  happened  here,  but  with  circumstances  pro- 
ductive of  any  other  emotion  than  that  of  mere 
curiosity.  The  presence  of  a  general  triumphant 
and  crowned,  a  general  in  misfortune  and  in  fet- 
ters, opposing,  by  his  defence,  the  last  resistance 
])Ossible  to  a  power  every  day  more  absolute  ;  in 
the  middle  of  the  silence  of  the  iiati(mal  tribune, 
the  voice  of  the  advocates  making  themselves 
heai'd  as  in  countries  the  purest  in  character  ; 
illustrl-jus  heads  in  danger,  the  one  belonging  to 
the  emigration,  the  other  to  ihe  rei)ublic  ;  liere 
was  certainly  enough  to  raise  emotion  in  all  hearts. 
They  yielded  to  a  just  pity,  inrhajis  also  to  the 
secret  sentiment  that  created  a  wish  for  a  check 
upon  fortunate  power  ;  and  that  too  without  being 
inimical  to  the  governrnent,  or  having  wishes  for 
Moreau.  Napoleon,  who  felt  himself  exemjit  from 
that  base  jealousy  of  which  he  was  accused,  who 
knew  well  that  Moi-eau,  without  wishing  for  the 
Bourbons,  had  desired  his  death  in  order  to  replace 
him,  believed  and  said  aloud,  that  they  owed  him 
justice  in  condemning  a  general  cul|)able  of  a  state 
crime.  He  wished  the  cor.demnation  for  the  sake 
of  his  own  justification  ;  he  desired  it  not  to 
see  the  head  of  the  conqueror  of  Hohenlin<len  fall 
upon  the  scaffold,  but  that  he  might  have  the 
honour  of  pardoning  him.  The  judges  knew  this, 
and  also  the  public. 

But  justice  which  does  not  enter  into  political 
considerations,  and  which  has  good  reason  for  not 
entering  into  them,  because  if  policy  is  sometimes 
humane  and  wise,  it  is  at  others  imprudent  and 
cruel  ;  justice,  in  the  midst  of  this  conflict  of  the 
passions,  the  last  which  was  to  trouble  the  pro- 
found repose  of  the  empire,  remained  impassible, 
and  rendered  equitable  judgments. 

The  21st  of  Prairial,or  lOih  of  June,  after  four- 
teen days  of  open  court,  while  the  tribunal  had 
retired  to  deliberate  finally,  certain  of  the  accused 
royalists,  perceiving  that  they  had  been  deceived, 
anil  that  all  their  efforts  to  clear  Moreau  had  served 
no  cnri,  demanded  of  the  judge  of  instruction,  to 
be  allowed  to  verify  their  declarations  more  ex- 
actly. They  sjjoke  no  more  of  three  interviews  with 
Moreau,  but  of  five.  M.  Ileal  having  notice  of  this, 
had  gone  off  to  the  emperor,  and  the  em|)eror  had 
written  immediately  to  the  areh-ehaneellor  Cam- 
baccres,  in  order  to  find  out  some  nu-ans  of  getting 
to  the  judges.  But  this  was  a  diflicult  ])oint,  and, 
further,  it  was  useless,  as  without  lending  them- 
selves to  the  new  coniniimicalions,  they  gave  the 
same  <!ay,  the   lOih  of  June,  a  judgment  not  die- 


„.        Sentence  given  by  the 
0/4  judges. 


Napoleon  pardons  seveial       ,-.^ 
THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE,      of  ti.e  convicted  royal-     j'°°*; 


tated  by  any  influence.  Tliey  pronoiiiiced  tlie 
penalty  of  deatli  ai^aiiist  Georges  and  nineteen 
of  his  accomplices.  As  to  Moreau,  tliey  found  liis 
material  complicity  not  sufficiently  established,  but 
his  moral  conduct  i-epi-eljensible  ;  and,  in  conse- 
quence of  this  consideration,  they  inflicted  upon 
him  tlie  penalty  of  two  years'  imprisomnent.  Al. 
Armand  de  PohL^nac  and  M.  de  Riviere  were  con- 
demned to  deatli  ;  iM.  Jules  de  Polignac  and  five 
others  of  tlie  accused  were  sentenced  to  two  years' 
imprisonment  ;  twenty-two  were  acquitted. 

This  judgment,  approved  by  all  impartial  per- 
sons, caused  mortal  displeasure  to  the  new  empe- 
ror, wlio  was  very  angry  at  the  weakne-s  of  that 
justice,  which  others  at  the  same  moment  accused 
of  barbarity.  He  wanted  the  self-control  that 
the  supreme  authority  ordinarily  imposes  upon 
itself,  aliove  ;ill,  in  sui-h  serious  matters.  In  the 
state  of  exaspeiatioii  into  which  he  had  been  thrown 
by  the  unjust  charges  of  his  enemies,  it  was  diffi- 
cult to  obtain  from  him  any  acts  of  clemency. 
But  he  was  so  prompt  in  calming  his  anger,  so 
generous,  and  clear-sighted,  that  the  access  was 
soon  o[iened  .i^'ain  which  led  to  his  reason  and  his 
he^irt.  In  the  few  days  employed  for  the  jmrpose 
of  addressing  the  court  of  c:issutioii,  he  took  suit- 
able resolutions,  remitted  to  Moreau  his  two  years' 
imprisonment,  as  he  would  have  remitted  the  capi- 
tal penalty,  if  it  had  been  pi-onounced,  and  also 
consented  to  his  de]>arture  for  America. 

This  un'orluuMte  general  desiring  to  sell  his 
projjcrty,  Na|>oleon  gave  orders  that  it  should  be 
purchased  immedintely  at  the  highest  price.  As 
to  the  condemned  myalists,  always  rigorous  in 
their  regard  since  the  last  conspiracy,  he  would 
not,  at  first,  grant  a  pardon  to  any  of  them. 
Georges  alone,  owing  to  bis  energy  and  his  Cou- 
rage, seemed  to  inspire  him  with  some  interest  ; 
but  he  regarded  liim  as  an  implacable  enemy,  whom 
it  was  neces.sary  to  destroy  to  ensure  the  public 
tranquillity.  Besides,  it  was  not  for  Georges  that 
tlie  eniigrants  were  interested.  They  were  much 
more  so  for  M.  de  Polignac  and  M.  do  Riviere  ; 
they  censured  the  imprudence  which  had  placed 
these  persons  of  elevated  rank  and  good  education, 
in  coin])any  so  unworiliy  of  th(  in  ;  but  they  were 
not  reconciled  to  see  their  heads  fall  on  the  scaf- 
fold ;  it  is  true  that  the  attachments  of  party, 
soundly  appreciated,  might  excuse  this  fault,  and 
merit  the  indulgence  even  of  the  head  of  the 
em|jire  himself. 

They  knew  the  kind  heart  of  Josephine  ;  they 
knew  that  she  had  a  bosom  in  the  midst  of  her 
unparalleled  greatness  of  elevation,  that  pi-eserved 
its  unaffected  goodness.  They  knew  also  that  she 
lived  in  continual  fear.s,  imagining  that  daggers 
were  constantly  raised  to  strike  her  husband.  A 
remarkable  act  of  clemency  might  arrest  the 
poignard,  and  tranquillize  their  exasperated  spirits. 
It  was  contrived  to  introduce  madiim  de  Polignac 
through  the  means  of  madam  R^musat,  who  w,«s 
attached  to  the  ]ierson  of  the  enqiress,  and  to 
bring  her  to  St.  Cloud,  whither  she  came,  and 
bathed  in  her  tears  the  imperial  mantle,  Jo- 
sephine was  deeply  touched,  as  with  her  kind  and 
sensitive  heart  she  was  certain  to  be,  at  the  aspect 
of  a  distracted  wife  imploring  in  so  noble  a  man- 
ner a  pardon  for  her  husband.  She  ran  to  make  a 
first  attempt  on   Napoleon,  who,  according  to  hia 


custom,  concealed  his  own  emotion  beneath  a  harsh 
and  severe  countenance,  and  bluntly  repulsed  her. 
Madam  de  Kdmusat  was  present.  "  You  interest 
yourselves  continually  for  my  enemies,"  he  said  to 
them  l)oth.  "They  are  all,  one  and  the  other,  as 
im])rudent  as  they  are  culi)able.  If  I  do  not  give 
them  a  lesson,  they  will  recommence,  and  will  be 
tlie  cause  of  making  fresh  victims." 

Josephine,  thus  rei)elled,  knew  not  to  what  other 
means  slie  could  have  recourse.  Napoleon  was  to 
leave  the  apartment  of  the  council  in  a  short  time, 
and  to  jKiss  tliron;;h  one  of  the  galleries  of  the 
chateau.  She  tlionf,dit  of  placing  madam  de  Po- 
lignac in  his  way,  that  she  might  be  able  to  fling 
herself  at  his  feet  when  he  passed.  At  the  moment 
when  he  did  pass  madam  de  Polignac,  bathed 
in  tears,  presented  herself  before  him,  and  besought 
o*'  him  the  life  of  her  husband.  Napoleon,  sur- 
prised, threw  towards  Josephine,  whom  he  guessed 
to  be  an  accomplice  in  the  matter,  a  severe  glance. 
Then  sud<leiily  giving  way,  he  said  to  madam  do 
Polignac,  that  he  was  astonibhed  to  find  M.  Armand 
de  Polignac  engaged  in  a  conspiracy  against  his 
person,  the  companion,  as  he  had  been,  of  his  youth 
at  the  military  school  ;  that,  nevertheless,  he 
granted  his  pardon  to  the  tears  of  his  wife  ;  and 
that  he  trusted  so  much  weakness  on  his  own 
part  would  not  have  any  evil  result  l)y  encouraging 
more  of  such  imprudent  attempts.  "They  are 
very  guilty,  madam,"  be  added,  "those  princes, 
who  ilius  commit  the  lives  of  their  most  faithful 
adheients  wiilu  ut  ])artaking  in  the  dangers." 

Madam  de  Po.ignac,  overcome  wiih  joy  and 
gratitude,  went  to  recount  to  all  the  astonished 
eniigrants  this  scene  of  mercy,  and  purchased  for 
an  instant  something  of  justice  towards  Josephine 
and  Napoleon.  M.  de  Riviere  still  remained  in 
danger.  Murat  and  his  wile  went  to  the  emperor, 
to  overcome  and  snatch  linm  him  a  second  jiar- 
don.  That  of  M.  de  Polignac  brought  that  of  M.  de 
Riviere,  for  it  was  immediately  granted  to  them. 
The  generous  Murat,  eleven  years  afterwards,  did 
not  meet  with  a  similar  generosity  in  return. 

Such  was  the  end  of  this  odious  and  sad  con- 
spiracy, which  had  for  its  object  to  annihilate  Na- 
|ioleon  ;  that  instead  placed  him  upon  the  throne, 
unhappily  less  pure  than  he  was  previously  ;  that 
brought  a  tragical  end  upon  one  of  the  French 
princes  who  had  not  conspired,  and  impunity  to 
those  who  had  framed  the  plots,  but  it  is  true  with 
great  ]iublic  indignation  for  the  chastisement  of 
their  hiults  ;  lastly,  exile  upon  Moreau,  the  only 
one  of  the  generals  of  that  time  of  whom  it  was 
possible,  in  exaggerating  the  glory  and  lowering 
greatly  that  of  Napohon,  to  mako'^a  rival  for  the 
last.  Striking  circumstances  from  which  the  spirit 
of  party  should  take  a  lesson  !  They  always  aggi-an- 
dize  the  government,  the  party,  or  the  man,  who 
attempt  their  destruction  by  criminal  means. 

Every  resistance  was  henceforth  overcome.  In 
1{J02,  Napoleon  had  surmounted  all  civil  resistance 
l>y  annullingthe  tribunate, and  in  1804,  he  surmount- 
ed all  military,by  di.seomfiting  the  conspiracy  of  the 
emi;irants  with  the  republican  generals.  While  he 
mounted  the  steps  of  the  throne,  Moreau  had  gone 
into  exile.  They  were  to  meet  again  at  cannoii- 
sh<it  distance  fi-om  each  other,  under  the  walls  of 
Dresden,  both  unhappy,  both  culjiable  ;  the  one  in 
returning  from  a  foreign  land  to  make  war  upon 


Concluding  reflections. 


THE  CORONATION. 


Concluding  reflections. 


liis  country  ;  the  otln^r  in  abusinfj  his  power  so  fiir 
as  to  |ir<»vcpk.'  a  tniiversal  reaction  against  tiie 
greatness  of  France  ;  the  one  died  of  a  shut  from 
a  Frcncli  gmi,  while  (lie  other,  carrying  away  a 
last  victory,  already  siiw  the  abyss  before  him  in 
wliicli  his  prodigious  destiny  was  to  be  eiiiiulplied. 
Nevertheless,  those  grand  events  were  yet  very 
far  oF.  Nai)oleon  now  seemed  to  be  all-powerful, 
and  to  be  so  for  ever.  Doubtless  he  bad  ex- 
perienced recently  some  vexations,  because,  inde- 
pendently of  great  misfurtimes,  Providence  always 
conceals  some  an  icipated  bitterness  even  in  liaiipi- 
ness  itself,  as  if  to  give  notice  to  the  human  mind, 
and  pi-epare  it  for  greater  x'isfortunes  still.  The 
last  fifteen  days  had  been  painful,  but  they  soon 


passed  away.  The  clemency  which  he  had  shown 
threw  a  soft  briglitness  over  his  nascent  reign. 
The  death  of  Georges  affected  nobody  deeply,  al- 
though his  courage,  worthy  of  a  better  fate,  in- 
sjiired  some  regret.  Vei-y  soon  every  body  was 
attracted  by  that  feeling  of  marvellous  curiosity 
whiclt  is  experienced  in  presence  of  an  extraordi- 
nary spectacle. 

Thus  terminatel,  after  twelve  years'  duration, 
not  the  French  revolution,  for  that  was  always 
living  and  indestructible,  but  the  republic,  qualified 
as  imperishable.  It  fell  under  the  hand  of  a  vic- 
torious solilier,  as  all  republics  fall  that  do  not  go 
to  sleep  iu  the  embraces  of  an  oligarchy. 


BOOK  XX. 

THE  CORONATION. 

OELIY  CAUSED  TO  THE  ENGLISH  EXPrDITION— MOTl VrS  AXD  ADVANTAGES  OF  THAT  DELAY. — THE  CARE  OF  TIIE 
PREPARATIONS  REDOUBI.KD.— PIN  ANCI A  L  M  BANS.— BUTGET  OF  THE  TEAXS  XI.,  XII,  AND  XXII  — CREATION  OK 
INDIRECT  CONTBIBUTIONS — THE  ANCIENT  THEORY  OP  TAXATION  SOLELY  UPON  LAND. — NAPOLEON  REFUTES 
THIS  DOCTRINE,  AND  LAYS  A  TAX  UPON  CONSUMPTION. — FIRST  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  REGULATIONS  OF  THE 
UNITED  DUTIES— SPAIN  PAYS  ITS  SUBSIDY  IN  LIMITED  OBLIGATIONS — AN  ASSOCIATION  OF  MONIED  MEN  PRE- 
SENTS ITSKLF  TO  DISCOUNT  THEM. —  FIRST  OPERATIONS  OP  THE  COMPANY  CALLED"  THE  UNITKD  TRADERS. 
—  ALL  THE  DISPOSABLE  RESOURCES  DEVOTED  TO  THE  SSUADROKS  OP  BRKST,  KOCHFORT,  AND  TOULON. — NAPO- 
LEON PREPARES  FOR  TIIE  ARRIVAL  OF  A  FRENCH  FLEET  IN  THE  CHANNEL,  IN  ORDER  TO  RENDER  CERTAIN 
THE  PASSAGE  OK  THE  FLOTI LLA.— Fl  RST  COMBINATION  WHICH  HE  OUDEBED.  — A  DMIRAL  LATOUCHE  TREVII.LE 
ORDERED  TO  EXECUTE  THIS  COMBINATION  — THIS  ADMIRAL  WAS  TO  QUIT  TOULON,  DECEIVE  THE  ENGLISH  BY 
TAKING  A  FAL<E  ROUrE.  AND  TO  APPEAR  IN  THE  CHANNEL,  JOINIVG  ON  HIS  WATi  THE  BOCHPORT  SftUADRON. — 
THE  DESCENT  FIXED  FOR  JULY  AND  AUGUST,  BEFORE  THE  CEi'EMONV  OP  THE  CilRON ArtoN.— THE  MINISTERS 
OP  THE  COURTS  AT  PEACE  WITH  FRANCE  DELIVER  TO  NAPOLEON  THEIR.  LETTERS  OF  CREDENCE.— THE  AMBAS- 
SADOR OF  AISTRIA  ALONE  BKIllNDHAND. —  DEPARTURE  OF  NAPOLEON  F'>R  BOULOGNE. — GENERAL  INSPECTION 
OP  THE  FLOTILLA,  VESSEL  BY  VESSl-.L.— THE  BATAVIAN  FLOTILLA. —GB  AN  D  FETK  ON  BOARD  TIIE  "oCEAN," 
AND  DISrRinUTlON  TO  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  DECORATIONS  OP  THE  LEGION  OF  HONOUR.— SUCCESSION  OF  EVENIS 
IN  ENGLAND — EXTRE.ME  AGITATION  OP  THE  PUBLIC  MIND. — OVERTURN  OF  TIIE  ADDISGTON  ADMINISTRATION 
BY  TIIE  OPPOSITION  OP  BOTH  FOX  AND  PITT.  — ENTRANCE  OP  PITT  AGAIN  INTO  TIIE  MINISTRY,  AND  HIS  FIRST 
STEPS  TO  RENEW  A  CONTINENTAL  COALITION.— SUSPICIONS  OF  ^APOLEllN— HE  FORCES  AUSTRIA  TO  AN  EXELA- 
XATnf,  AND  EXACTS  THAT  THE  LETTERS  OF  CREDENCE  OP  M.  COBENTZEL  SHALL  BE  SENT  TO  HIM  AT  AIX- 
LA  CHAPELLE— HE  BREAKS  OFF  IIIS  DIPLOMATIC  RELATIONS  WITH  RUSSIA,  AND  PERMITS  THE  DEPARTURE 
OP  M.  OUDHIL. —  DEATH  OP  ADMIRAL  LATOUCHE  TREVILLE,  AND  ADJOURNMENT  OP  THE  DESCENT  UNTIL  THE 
WINTER.  — ADMIRAL  LATOUCHE  TREVILLE  REPLACED  BY  ADM  I  UA  L  VI  LLEN  EUVE. —  CHARACTER  OP  THE  LAST 
ADMIRAL  —JOUKNKY  OP  NAPllLEOS  TO  THE  BANKS  OP  THE  KIIINK. — GREAT  CON'TOURSE  OP  PERSONS  AT  AIX- 
LA-CIIAPELLE. — M.  (OBENTZEL  SENDS  HIS  LETTERS  OF  CREDENCE  TO  NAPOLEON  THERE. — THE  IMPERIAL  COURT 
PROCEEDS  TO  M  A  YENCE.— RETURN  OF  THE  COURT  TO  PARIS.  —  PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  CORONATION.— DI  FFICULT 
VEOOTIATION  TO  DRISO  PIUS  VII.  TO  PARIS  TO  CROWN  NAPOLEON. — CARDINAL  FESCH  AMPASSADOR  TO  THE 
POPE  —CHARACTER  AND  CONDUCT  OP  THAT  PERSON  AGE.— TERROR  WHICH  CAME  UPON  POPE  PIUS  AT  THE  IDEA 
OP  ENTERING  PRANCE.- HE  CONSI'LTS  A  CONGREGATION  OP  CARDINALS.  — PI  VE  DECLARE  AGA  INST  THE  JOURNEV, 
AND  PIFTEtN  IN  FAVOUR  OP  IT  BUT  WITH  CON  UITIONS.  — LONG  DEBATE  UPON  THOSE  CONDITIONS. — DEFINITIVE 
CONSENT  ON  TIIE  ftUESTION  OP  THE  CEUK-MOSIAL  LEFT  IN  SUSPENSE.— IlIMIOP  BERNIER  AND  TIIE  ARCH- 
CHANCELLOR  CAMRACERKS  CHOOSE  AMONG  THE  ROMAN  AND  FRENCH  PONTIFICALS,  THE  CEREMONIES  COR- 
RESPONDENT WITH  TIIE  SPIRIT  OF  TIIE  AGE. — NAPOLEON  REFUSES  TO  SUFFER  THE  POPE  TO  PLACE  THE  CROWN 
UPON  ills  HKAO.  -  PRETENSIONS  OP  TIIE  FAMILY  — DEPARTURE  OP  TIIE  POPE  FOR  FRANCE.  — HIS  JOURNEY. — 
HIS  ARRIVAL  AT  FO  <  TA  IN  1- BLEA  U. — HIS  PLEASURE  AND  CONPIDKNCE  ON  SEEING  THE  WELCOME  HE  RECEIVES. 
RELI>>IOUS    MARRIAGE  OV   JOSEPHINE    AND    NAPOLEON. —CEREMONV    OP   THE   CORONATION. 


TiiK  conspiracy  of  Georges,  the  proceedings 
wiiich  followed  il,and  the  change  which  it  brought 
about  in  the  form  of  goveniment,  had  occupied  all 
the  winter  <if  1II0:{  and  IH04,  ami  had  suspended 
the  great  eiUerpriho  of  Napoli-on  ajiainst  En^^Lind. 
But  he  had  not  ceased  to  think  of  it,  and  at  this 
moment  he  pn^pai-'d  for  the  execution  in  the 
middle  of   the  summer  of   lUO-l,   with    redoubled 


care  and  activity.  Besides,  the  delay  was  not  to 
be  regretted,  because  in  his  impatience  to  execute 
so  vast  a  design,  Na|)oleon  himself  had  much  ex- 
aggerated the  possibility  of  being  ready  at  the  end 
of  ISO^i.  The  continual  ox])eriments  madu  at 
Boulogne,  every  day  revealed  the  necessity  of 
taking  new  jirecautions,  or  there  woro  improve- 
meuts  to  introduce,  and  it  was  of  little  importance 


576 


Renewed  preparations  for 
the  invasion  of  England. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.      Budget  of  the  year  xn. 


1804. 
June. 


to  strike  the  blow  six  months  later,  if  in  the  in- 
terim the  means  of  striking  with  more  certainty 
were  ensured.  It  was  not  the  army,  well  ap- 
pointed, that  caused  this  loss  of  time,  because  at 
this  epoch  the  army  was  always  disposable  ;  the 
flotilla  and  the  squadrons  were  tlie  cause.  The 
construction  of  flat-bottomed  boats,  and  their  union 
in  the  four  ports  of  the  straits,  all  this  was  achieved. 
But  the  Batavian  flotilla  made  them  wait ;  the 
squadrons  of  Brest  and  of  Toulon,  the  concurrence 
of  which  in  the  enterprise  was  judged  indispen- 
sable, were  not  re.idy,  eight  months  not  having 
sufficed  for  completing  their  armament.  The  win- 
ter of  1804  had  been  devoted  to  their  coni])letiun. 
This  time,  lost  only  in  api)earauce,  had  therefore 
been  very  usefully  employed.  It  had  been  above 
all  busy  in  creating  financial  means,  which  are 
always  allied  to  military  ones,  and  at  this  time 
were  more  so  than  ever.  If,  in  eff'ect,  it  is  possible 
with  much  industry  and  exposure  to  great  incon- 
venience to  make  war  on  land  with  little  money, 
by  living  on  the  enemy,  a  naval  war  cannot  be 
made  without  monej',  because  iione  is  to  be  found 
on  the  immense  solitudes  of  the  ocean,  except 
what  has  been  taken  out  with  the  vessels  on  leaving 
their  ports.  The  financial  were  not  therefore  tlie 
least  important  of  the  immense  preparations  of 
Napoleon,  and  their  details  therefore  merit  notice 
here  for  a  short  time. 

We  liave  already  said  with  what  resources  the 
contest  had  been  commenced  after  the  rupture  of 
the  peace  of  Amiens.  The  budget  of  the  year  xi., 
or  1803,  voted  in  the  contemplation  of  unforeseen 
events,  had  been  fixed  at  589,000,000  f.  exclusive 
of  the  expenses  of  collection,  that  is  to  saj', 
89,000,0001'.  more  than  the  budget  of  the  preceding 
year,  vvhich  had  been  acquitted  with  500,000,000  f. 
But  the  expenses  had  naturally  exceeded  the  first 
estimates  as  laid  before  the  legislative  body,  and 
had  surpassed  them  by  30,000,000  f.  The  sum 
total  thus  reached  619,000,000  f.  This  was  little 
in  amount,  it  is  most  assuredly  true,  when  the 
expenses  of  such  an  expedition  as  that  of  Boulogne 
are  duly  considered.  The  moderate  character  of 
the  augmentation  of  the  budget  is  ex|)lained  by  the 
period,  which  divided  its  expenditure.  That  of 
the  year  xi.  finished  on  the  21st  of  September, 
1803,  and  on  the  same  day  that  of  the  year  xn. 
connnenced.  The  principal  expenses  of  the  flotilla 
were  not,  therefore,  comprised  in  the  budget  of 
the  year  xi.  It  was  thus  that  it  became  circum- 
scribed within  the  sum  of  619,000,000  f.,  which, 
adding  the  expenses  of  collection,  made  the  total 
amount  about  710,000,000  f.  or  720,000,000  f.  The 
budget  of  the  year  XII.  would  naturally,  therefore, 
be  more  elevated  in  amount,  because  within  that 
year  it  would  be  necessary  to  pay  all  which  had 
not  been  paid  in  the  year  xi.  This  last  had  l)een 
provided  with  the  ordinary  contributions,  of  which 
the  produce,  in  spite  of  the  war,  had  continued 
to  increase  considerably,  so  great  was  the  security 
under  the  wise  and  vigorous  government  which 
then  reigned  in  France.  The  stamp  and  registry 
had  shown  an  increase  of  1 0,000,000  f. ;  the  cus- 
toms 6,000,000  f.  or  7  000,(100  f.;  and  in  spite  of  a 
diminution  of  10,000.000  f.  in  the  land-tax,  the 
ordinary  taxes  had  ris.n  to  573  OOO.OrO  f.  They 
had  now  as  a  surplus -22,000,000  f.  of  the  Italian 
subsidy,  with  24,000,000  f.   borrowed  from   extra- 


ordinary sources,  which  last  were  composed,  as 
has  been  already  said,  of  the  Spanish  subsidy,  fixed 
at  4.000,000  f.  per  month,  and  the  price  of  Louis- 
iana, ceded  to  the  Americans.  These  resources, 
scarcely  entered  upon,  remained  nearly  untouched 
for  the  year  xii.;  which  was  very  fortunate,  be- 
cause all  the  expenses  of  the  war  were  to  be  paid 
at  once  upon  this  revenue,  or  upon  the  receipts 
from  September-,  1803,  to  September,  1804. 

The  expenditure  in  the  year  xii.  could  not 
be  estimated  at  less  than  700J000,000  f.  in  place  of 
613,000,000  f.,  which  made,  with  the  expenses  of 
collection,  and  some  additional  centimes  omitted,  a 
total  of  800,000,000  f.  Still,  in  this  total  the  new 
civil  list  was  not  included.  It  will  be  seen  that 
hereafter  the  budgets  approached  rapidly  towards 
the  amount  which  they  have  since  attained. 

It  was  perceived,  that  there  would  be  a  cer- 
tain diminution  in  the  revenue  of  the  domains,  in 
consequence  of  the  alienation  of  the  national  pro- 
perty and  the  taxed  endowments  granted  to  the 
senate,  the  legion  of  honour,  and  tlie  sinking  fund. 
The  ordinary  contributions  did  n()t  amount  to 
much  less  than  560,000,000  f.,  excepting  the  aug- 
mentation of  the  products,  which  was  probable, 
but  that,  by  an  excess  of  exactness,  they  were  un- 
willing to  carry  into  the  account.  It  was  necessary 
then  to  issue  not  less  than  140,000.000  f.  of  extra- 
ordinary means  to  reach  the  sum  ot  700,000,000  f., 
the  suppo.sed  amount  of  the  expenditure,  the  ex- 
penses of  collection,  and  some  additional  centimes 
besides.  Italy  gave  22,000,000  f.  for  the  three 
states  to  which  a  French  force  served  as  the  pro- 
tection. The  48,000,000  f.  of  Spanish  subsidies,  the 
60,000.000  f.  from  America, reduced  to  52,000,000f. 
by  the  charges  of  negotiating,  made  in  all 
122,000  000  f.  of  extraordinary  receipts.  There 
remained,  in  consequence,  about  the  sum  of 
28,000,000  f.  to  be  found.  The  resource  of  the 
securities,  the  nature  of  which  has  been  already 
described,  remained  to  meet  this  deficiency.  Se- 
curity in  money  had  been  already  exacted  from 
the  receivers-general,  the  payers  and  receivers  of 
the  registry,  and  of  the  customs.  These  securities 
had  been  placed  to  the  account  of  the  sinking  fund, 
which  was  made  debtor  for  them  to  those  who  had 
lodged  the  different  amounts.  The  sinking  fund, 
in  its  turn,  had  advanced  those  securities  to  the 
government,  which  had  promised  to  replace  them 
at  a  later  time,  by  the  payment  of  5,000,000  f.  per 
annum.  This  was  a  species  of  loan  from  those 
accountable  to  the  state,  perfectly  legitimate,  when 
these  last  were  to  the  state  a  guarantee  for  good 
administration.  This  kind  of  loan,  too,  was  capable 
of  being  extended,  because  there  yet  remained 
other  accountable  parties  to  be  submitted  to  the 
general  regulations.  There  existed,  in  fact,  a  new 
category  of  receivers  of  the  public  money,  whose 
duties  had  need  of  regulation  ;  these  were  the  col- 
lectors of  the  direct  contributions.  Until  now,  in 
]ilace  of  collectors  nominated  by  the  state  in  the 
countiy  and  in  the  towns  to  receive  the  direct 
taxes,  small  farmers  were  employed  in  the  collec- 
tion, at  a  low  rate.  This  system  was  changed  in 
the  hii-ge  towns,  where  collectors  were  i)laced  for 
the  sole  jiurpose,  ajjpointed  from  the  treasury,  by 
means  of  a  simple  remittance.  This  new  mode 
was  found  to  succeed,  and  it  was  proposed,  for  the 
year  1804,  to  establish  in  all  the  communes,  urban 


( 


June       Financial  estimates  for  the  year  XII.     THE   CORONATION.      Financial  estimates  for  tlie  year  : 


577 


or  rural,  collectors,  iioniinated  by  the  goveiMiment, 
upon  whom  wei'c  to  be  inipuSfd  securities,  the  total 
value  of  V.  hicli  altogether,  would  amount  to  about 
20,000,000  f.  This  sum  turned  into  the  treasury, 
was  to  be  restored  in  consecutive  sums  to  the  sink- 
ing fund,  as  had  been  stipulated  for  the  anterior 
securities. 

By  these  means,  added  to  the  sale  of  some 
national  property,  taken  from  a  quantity  which 
remained  disposable  since  the  endowments  of  the 
senate,  the  legion  of  honour,  of  public  instruction, 
and  the  sinking  fund,  there  was  a  new  resoui'ce,  to 
the  extent  of  15,000,0001".,  for  the  year  xii.,  above 
the  sum  judged  to  be  wanting.  The  i)r'iperty  to 
be  sold  was  delivered  over  to  the  sinking  fund, 
which  sold  it  little  by  little,  selling  every  day  at  a 
better  price.  It  was  arranged  that  the  produce  of 
the  pales  should  be  left  to  the  fund,  in  order  to 
acquit  the  debt  of  5,000,000  f.,  which  was  an- 
nually due  to  it  for  the  reimbursement  of  the 
securities. 

Such  were  tlie  financial  means  created  for  the 
vear  xii..  560,000.000  f.  of  ordinary  CHitributions; 
22.000,L00f.  of  Italian  subsidy;  '48.000,0001'.  of 
Si>anish  subsidy  ;  52,n00,000f.  the  i)rice  of  Louis- 
iana; 20,0()0,000f.  from  securities,  an<l  several  mil- 
lions more  in  national  property.  There  were  more 
than  700,000,000f.  estimated  as  necessary  for  the 
expendiiure  of  the  year,  from  September  1803, 
to  September  1804. 

But  it  was  near  the  conclusion  of  the  expenditure 
of  the  year  xii.,  because  it  was  now  the  summer 
of  1804.  It  was  necessary  to  consider  the  year 
XM!.,  from  September  1804  to  September  1805, 
lor  which  considerable  funds  would  be  required. 
The  American  subsidy  belonged  entirely  to  the 
year  xii.  They  were  not  able  to  dispense  with  its 
immediate  realization. 

Napoleon  was  a  long  time  since  convinced  that 
the  revolution,  although  it  bad  created  great  re- 
sources by  the  equalization  of  the  taxes,  had  not- 
withstanding treated  the  landed  proprietary  too 
hardly,  by  tlirowing  upon  that  alone  the  burthen  of 
the  taxes,  by  the  suitpression  of  the  indirect  contri- 
butions. That  which  the  revolution  had  thus  done 
was  but  an  ordinary  course  of  proceeding  in  trou- 
blou.s  times.  At  the  first  disorder,  the  j)eople, 
above  all  those  of  the  towns,  profited  by  the  occa- 
sion to  refuse  i)ayment  of  the  taxes  jilaced  upon 
consumption,  and  more  particularly  upon  liquors, 
which  constitute  their  princijial  enjoyment.  This 
was  seen  in  1830,  when  this  species  of  impost  was 
nfusL-d  paynunt  for  more  than  six  months.  In 
1815,  their  hiippression  was  a  deceptive  |)romise, 
by  the  aiil  of  which  the  Bourbons  obtained  a  mo- 
mentary applause;  and  lastly,  in  1780,  when  the  first 
popular  movements  were  directed  against  the  bar- 
riers. But  these  imposts,  the  most  hated  by  the 
population  of  the  towns,  are  still  ihost!  which  cha- 
racterise the  countries  truly  prosj)erous,  as  thi-y 
press  more  in  reality  upon  the  rich  than  upon  the 
poir,  and  prejudice  agriculture  less  than  any  other 
kind  of  tax  ;  while  the  contributions  levied  upon 
land  deprive  agricidturo  t>f  its  capital  or  stock,  in 
other  words,  of  live  stock  and  fattened  beasis,  im- 
poverish the  soil,  and  thus  attJick  the  most  extended 
source  of  riches.  In  the  eigbte.nih  ciilury,  a  pre- 
judice became  cstablishcil  wliirli  ilnii  rested,  it 
must  be  acknowledged,  upon  an  incontestable  foun- 


dation. The  landed  proprietary,  concentrated  in 
the  hands  of  the  aristocracy  and  clergy,  un- 
equally taxed  according  to  the  rank  of  the  posses- 
sors, was  an  object  of  hatred  on  the  part  of  those 
generous  persons  who  wished  to  relieve  the  poorer 
classes.  It  was  at  this  epoch  that  the  theory  of  a 
single  impost  was  devised,  to  bear  exclusively  upon 
land,  and  meet  all  the  expenses  of  the  government. 
By  this  means  they  were  enabled  to  suppress  the 
excise,  and  the  f/abelle  taxes,  which  in  appearance 
bore  only  upon  the  people.  But  this  theory,  though 
generous  by  intention,  and  false  in  fact,  gave  way 
before  experience.  After  1789,  land  divided  among 
thousands  of  persons,  burthened  equally  with  taxa- 
tion, no  longer  merited  the  animadversions  which 
it  had  previously  attracted,  and  it  became  neces- 
sary, above  all  things,  to  consider  the  essential  in- 
terest of  agriculture.  It  is  but  ju.st  to  say,  that  in 
burthening  them  beyond  reasonable  measure,  the 
agricultui'ists  are  injured,  and  deprived  of  the  means 
of  cultivation,  to  the  i)rofit  of  the  dealers  and  con- 
sumers of  si)irituous  liquors.  It  should  be  said  too, 
it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  bring  the  revenue  to 
an  equality  with  the  expenses,  unless  France  was 
willing  to  fall  back  again  upon  paper  money  and 
bankruptcy,  and  that  to  make  the  revenue  equal  to 
the  expenses,it  was  as  absolutely  required  to  vary  the 
sources  of  taxation,  in  order  that  they  might  not  be 
dried  up.  It  belonged  to  the  man  who  had  restored 
order  in  France,  and  extricated  the  finances  from 
chaos,  by  the  re-es(ablishment  of  the  regular  col- 
lection of  the  indirect  contributions  to  complete  his 
work,  and  re-open  the  sources  of  the  indirect  contri- 
butions which  were  at  present  closed  up.  But  it 
was  necessary  to  have  for  that  purpose  great  power 
as  well  as  energy.  Faithful  to  his  character. 
Napoleon  had  no  fears,  on  the  very  same  day  that 
he  stood  for  the  throne,  of  re-establishing  under  the 
name  of  the  united  duties,  the  most  unpopular,  but 
the  most  useful  of  the  taxes. 

He  made  the  first  iiroposition  to  the  council  of 
state,  which  he  supported  with  wonderful  sagacit} , 
as  if  the  study  of  the  finances  had  been  that  of  his 
whole  life,  showing  the  true  principle  of  the  ques- 
tion. To  the  theory  of  the  single  impost  laid  solely 
upon  land,  exacting  from  the  proprietor  and  farmer 
the  total  sum  necessary  for  the  state  necessities, 
obliging  them  to  make  the  advance  at  least  under 
the  supposition  the  most  favourable  for  them,  that 
in  which  an  increase  in  the  price  of  agricultural 
])roduce  indenmifies  them  for  the  advance;  to  a 
theory  so  foolishly  exaggerated,  he  urged  the  sim- 
ple and  sound  one  of  a  taxation  ably  diversified, 
resting  at  the  same  time  upon  all  kinds  of  pro- 
perty and  industry,  not  requiring  of  them  indivi- 
dually too  considerable  a  portion  of  the  public  re- 
sources, and  consequently  carrying  with  it  no  forced 
movement  in  prices,  drawing  out  the  wealth  in  all 
the  channels  where  it  was  abundant,  and  drawing 
it  from  each  channel  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to 
cause  too  sensible  a  diminution.  This  system,  the 
fruit  of  time  and  exi)erience,  is  only  susceptible  of 
one  objection  ;  it  is  this,  that  the  diversity  of  the 
tax  brings  with  it  a  diversity  in  the  collection,  and 
with  that  an  augmentation  of  the  expense;  but  it 
presents  so  many  advantages,  and  tlm  contrary 
mode  is  so  violent,  that  this  light  augmentation  of 
expense  could  not  be  a  serious  consideration.  When 
he  had  got  his  own  views  adopted  by  the  council  of 
Pr 


„_      Indirert  taxes  established 


578 


by  Naijoleuii. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Financial  resources  for 
the  year  xn. 


state.  Napoleon  sent  liis  plan  to  the  legislative  body, 
where  it  was  not  an  object  of  any  serruus  difficulty, 
owing  to  the  previous  conferences  between  the  cor- 
respondinj;  sections  of  the  tribunal,  and  the  council 
of  state.     Tlie  following  were  ihise  dispositions. 

A  body  of  collectors  was  formed  under  the  title 
of  the  Administration  of  the  United  Duties.  This 
administniiion  was  to  collect  the  new  imposts  by 
means  of  the  excise,  which  was  alone  acknowledged 
to  be  efficacious,  and  consisted  in  searching  for 
objects  liable  to  the  tax,  at  the  places  where  they 
were  grown  or  made.  Thise  objects  were  wines, 
brandies,  beer,  cider,  and  similar  substances.  A 
single  and  moderate  duty  was  laid  upon  the  first 
sales,  according  to  an  inventory  established  at  the 
epoch  of  the  growth  or  making.  The  amount  of  the 
tax  was  to  be  paid  at  the  moment  when  the  sub- 
stance taxed  was  first  dis])laced.  Besides  liquors, 
the  principal  tiling  taxed  was  tobacco.  Thex'e  al- 
ready existed  a  customs'  duty  upon  foreign  tobacco, 
and  one  of  fahricaiion  upon  ihat  produced  in  France, 
the  monopoly  of  that  article  not  having  been  then 
devised,  but  the  proiluct  of  the  last  species  escaped 
from  tiie  treasury  in  consequence  of  a  defect  in  the 
superintendence.  The  creation  of  an  administra- 
tion cjf  united  duties  a<lmitted  the  possibilify  of  col- 
lecting thiise  duties  in  fu'.l,  which  then  returned  so 
little,  but  promised  to  become  considerable.  Salt 
was  not  comprised  in  the  matters  on  whicii  a  duty 
was  imposed.  They  feared  to  recall  the  recollec- 
tion of  tile  old  (jahelles.  Nevertheless  there  was  an 
administration  for  salt  duties  established  in  Pied- 
mont, being  at  the  same  lime  a  measure  of  police 
arnd  finance.  Piedmont  obtained  salt  either  from 
Genoa,  or  the  mouths  of  the  Po,  and  was  sometimes 
exposed  to  pay  a  grievous  jjrice  for  the  article, 
tlirongh  the  interested  speculations  of  commerce, 
and  iiad  never  been  able  to  keep  it  from  the  inter- 
vention of  the  govermneiit.  In  creating  an  admi- 
nistration of  ttie  salt  duties,  to  which  was  com- 
mitted the  care  of  |)roviding,  and  selling  it  at  a 
moderate  price,  the  danger  of  dearness  and  scarcity 
was  avoided,  and  there  was  thus  procured  sure,  as 
well  as  facile  means  to  collect  a  duty  sufficiently 
productive,  although  moderate  iu  the  aggregate 
amomit  of  the  rate. 

These  iliffeient  combinations  could  produce  no- 
thing in  the  year  XII.,  the  year  of  their  creation; 
but  they  gave  a  prosjiect  of  15,000,000  f.,  or 
18,000  000  f.  iu  the  year  xiir.,  and  of  30,000.000  I., 
or  40,000,000  1.  in  the  year  xiv.  As  to  the  hillow- 
ing  _>ears,  the  product, difficult  to  estimate,  still  suf- 
ficed ibr  all  the  demands  of  the  war,  even  should  it 
be  prolon.;ed. 

Resources  liad  therefore  been  ensured  for  the 
outlay  of  the  current  year  xii.,  or  l803  and  1«04. 
by  procuring  700,000,000  f.  of  ordinary  and  extra- 
ordinary receipts,  while  they  had  also  got  ready 
certain  product.^  for  the  future  expenditure.  Tin  y 
had  to  encounter,  however,  great  difficulties  iu 
realization  for  the  first  time.  Tiie  two  piincipal 
and  actual  resources  consisted  in  the  purchase 
money  of  Louisiana,  and  in  the  monthly  subsidy 
furnished  by  Spain.  The  inevitable  delays,  which 
accom|»aiiied  the  voting  of  the  American  funds, 
had  prevented  the  payment  of  this  money  into  the 
treasury.  Still  the  house  of  Hope  was  disposed  to 
pay  in  a  part  towards  tiie  end  of  U504.  AstoS|)aiii, 
of  the  44,000,000  f.  due  in  Flordal  for  eleven  mouths 


gone  over,  she  jiad  only  furnished  in  diflTerent  modes 
about  22,000,000  f.,  or  one  half.  The  finances  of 
that  unhai  py  country  were  more  than  ever  embar- 
rassed, and  although  the  sea  was  open  to  her  gal- 
leons, thanks  to  the  neutrality  in  which  she  had 
been  left  by  France,  tlie  metals  arrivuig  from 
Mexico  were  wasted  in  the  most  futile  dissipa- 
tion. 

In  order  to  supply  the  want  of  these  coming  in 
sums,  an  account  was  maintained  in  credit  bills 
with  the  treasury.  The  English  possessed  exche- 
quer bills.  France  at  present  issues  royal  bills, 
reimbursable  every  three,  six,  or  twelve  months, 
which,  negotiated  on  the  spot,  constitute  a  tem- 
porary loan,  by  the  aid  of  which  they  are  able  to 
wait,  for  a  longer  or  shorter  time,  the  realization  of 
tlie  revenue  of  the  state.  Altliough  Napoleon  had 
laboured  hard  to  i"e-establish  the  finances,  and  liad 
succeeded,  the  treasury  did  not  tlren  enjoy  suffi- 
cient credit  iu  the  comn.ercial  world  to.issue  with 
success  any  paper  whatever  under  its  own  name. 
The  obligations  of  the  receivers-general,  bearing 
the  personal  engagement  of  an  accountable  jierson, 
and  jiayable  into  the  sinking  fund  in  case  of  pro- 
test, alone  obtained  credit.  These  were,  as  alri  ady 
seen,  subscribed  at  the  commencenunt  of  their 
usage,  for  the  full  value  of  the  direct  contributions, 
to  be  successively  acquitted  month  by  moiuh.  'i'lie 
last  had  fifteen  or  eigliteen  mouths  to  run.  For 
tlie  purpose  of  realizing  an  advance  to  the  revenues 
of  the  state,  they  were  discounted  iu  sums  of 
20,000,000  f.  at  the  rate  of  a  half  per  cent,  ptr 
mouth,  or  six  per  cent,  per  annum,  during  the 
siiort  jieace  of  Amiens,  and,  after  the  war,  at  three- 
quarters  per  cent,  per  month,  or  nine  per  cent,  per 
annum.  In  s]iite  of  the  confidence  inspired  by  the 
government,  tlie  treasury  inspired  so  little,  that 
the  banking-houses  of  the  best  class  refused  this 
kind  of  operation.  They  were  the  hazardous  s]:ecu- 
lators,  and  the  old  contractors  of  (he  directory,  who 
gave  these  dihcounts.  M.  de  Mai'bois,  wishing  to 
be  independent  of  their  concurrence,  addressed  the 
receivers-general  themselves,  who  formed  a  com- 
mittee in  Paris,  and  discounted  their  own  paper  with 
their  own  funds,  or  with  such  funds  as  tiiey  had 
procured  at  a  high  interest  from  the  hands  of 
capitnlists.  But  these  accountants,  limited  in  ihtir 
s]ieculations,  liad  neither  enough  of  capital  nor  of 
boldness  to  furnish  any  great  resources  to  the 
treasury. 

There  happened  to  be  in  Paris,  about  this  time, 
a  banker,  JVl.  Desprez,  deeply  versed  i«  this  species 
of  negotiation;  a  very  active  contractor,  excted- 
iiigly  able  in  the  art  of  supplying  armies,  named 
M.  Vaiiderlierghe;  lastly,  a  must  fertile  speculat(  r, 
the  most  ingenious  possible  at  every  kind  of  busi- 
ness, M.  Ouvrard, celebrated  at  the  moment  for  his 
iuimeiise  fortune.  All  these  had  entered  individually 
into  relations  with  the  government.  M.  Desprez  m 
the  disci>unt  of  the  treasury  obligations  ;  M.  Vau- 
derber;;he  in  supplying  jirovisions  ;  M.  Ouvrard  in 
every  kind  of  great  operations  for  furnishing  sup- 
plies, or  banking.  M.  Ouvrard  formed  an  asso- 
ciation with  M.  Desprez  and  M.  Vaiiderbei-ghe, 
jilaced  himself  at  the  head  of  the  partnership,  and 
became,  by  little  and  little,  as  under  the  directory, 
the  |iiincipal  financial  agent  of  the  governnniit. 
He  knew  how  to  inspire  confidence  in  M.  de 
Marbois,  minister  of  tlie  treasury,  who,  feeling  lis 


1S04. 
June. 


Schemes  of  the  ronfMctor  Ouvrard.      THE   CORONATION. 


State  of  the  Dutch  and  other 
purtions  of  the  llutilla. 


679 


own  insufficiency,  was  happy  to  have  near  hinn  an 
inventive  niiml,  capable  of  devisinj;:  expedients  that 
he  was  unable  to  devise  hiinseif.  M.  Ouvrard 
offered  to  take  upon  himself,  on  his  own  part,  and 
that  of  his  associates,  the  neg<itiation  of  the  trea- 
sury obligations.  He  concluded  a  first  agreement 
in  Germinal,  in  tlie  year  xii.,  .April,  1804,  by  which 
he  obliged  liiniseif  to  discount  not  only  a  consi- 
derable sura  in  the  obligations  of  the  receivei-s- 
peneral,  but  tlie  engagements  of  Spain  liersclf, 
that,  not  being  able  to  pay  Ijer  subsidy  in  specie, 
|)aid  it  in  paper  at  a  long  date.  M.  Ouvrard  made 
no  difficulty  in  taking  as  money  the  Spanish  paper, 
and  handing  over  the  amount.  He  so<m  found  a 
particular  advantage  in  this  combination.  M.Van- 
derbergiie  and  himself  were  creditors  of  the  state 
in  heavy  sums,  in  consequence  of  anterior  con- 
tricts.  They  were  authorized,  in  discounting  the 
bills  >.f  the  receivei-s-general  and  the  obligations  of 
Spain,  t '  deliver  as  money  on  account  a  ])art  of 
these  credits.  Thus,  while  they  were  discounting, 
tliey  paid  themselves  with  their  own  hands.  Undtr 
tlie  title,  "  united  dealers,"  this  company  began, 
iherefore,  to  enter  upon  the  business  of  the  state, 
lis  origin  is  worthy  of  attention,  because  it  soon 
partiM>k  in  immense  operations,  and  bore  a  con- 
siderable influence  on  the  French  finances.  No 
wonder  that  the  operations  it  undertook  with  the 
treasury  should  turn  out  well,  and  even  surpass- 
ingly good;  it  only  sufficed  that  Spain  should  honour 
her  engagements,  because  the  obligations  of  the 
receivei-s-general,  composing  a  part  of  the  ])ledge, 
present»^d  the  greatest  security.  These  «Jjligatioiis 
hid  only  the  inconvenience  of  being  a  paper  of  a 
long  date,  seeing  that  the  ti'easury  employed  in  its 
payments  those  which  had  only  one  or  two  months 
til  run,  and  discomited,on  the  contrary,  those  which 
had  to  run  for  six,  twelve,  or  fifteen  months  ;  but 

I  lie  length  of  the  term  out  of  the  question,  they 
offered  an  infallible  solidity.  In  regard  to  the 
paper  subscribed  by  Spain,  its  value  depended  up  n 
tliB  conduct  of  a  senseless  court,  and  the  arrival 
of  the  galleons  from  Mexico.  M.  Ouvrard  con- 
structed upon  this  basis  the  most  extended  schemes, 
r.M<-ceeded  in  dazzling  the  credulous  umlerstaniling 
of  M.  de  Marliois,  and  set  off  for  Madrid,  in  order 
to  realiz>;  bis  bi>ld  conceptions. 

Napoleon  misiruKtcd  this  man,  so  very  fertile  and 
bold  in  his  expedients,  and  he  warned  M.  de 
Mirliois  also  to  mistrust  him.  But  .VI.  Ouvrard 
lisconnted  through  .M.  Desprez  the  obligations  of 
tlie  treasury,  and  those  of  Spa-n  himself;  while  he 
:»iipiiorted  liis  eng.igeinents  for  the  army  through 
M.  Vaiiderberghe.  Thanks  to  his  efforts,  all  these 
siMvices  proceeded  together,  and  the  evil,  if  there 
were  any,  did  not  seem  to  possess  the  ))f)wer  of  ex- 
tending itself  far;  because,  aft<!r  all,  M.  Ouvrard 
ii|>pe:ired  always  in  advance  with  the  treasury,  and 

II  It  the  treasury  with  him. 

.Such  were  the  means  employed  to  meet  imme- 
diately all  the  charges  of  the  war,  without  recourse 
lo  loans.  It  was  required  of  tliesi!  speeulators  to 
I'lvanee  by  discount  the  realization  of  the  state 
revenues,  and  that  of  iho  122,000,000  f.  furnished 
i.y    the  paying   allies,    Italy,   America,  and   Spain. 

III  regard  to  the  future,  tlie  creation  of  indirect. 
i.ixeH,  a  long  time  announced,  and  finally  decreed 
this  year,  would  provide  completely. 

Napoleon  had  resolved  to  execute  his  grand  en- 


tei-prize  after  a  brief  delay.  He  wished  to  pass 
the  strait  in  the  month  of  July  or  August,  1804. 
If  the  incredulous  persons,  who  have  thrown 
doubts  upon  his  design,  were  but  able  to  read  his 
intimate  correspondence  with  the  minister  of  the 
navy,  the  infinite  number  of  his  orders,  and  the  con- 
fiding of  his  secret  hopes  to  the  arch-chancellor 
Cambaieres,  they  would  no  longer  feel  any  uncer- 
tainty about  the  reality  on  his  part  of  this  extra- 
ordinary resolution. 

All  the  vessels  composing  the  flotilla  were 
united  in  the  ports  Eta  pies,  Boulogne,  Wimereux, 
and  Ambleteuse,  except  those  which  had  been 
constructed  between  Brest  and  Bayonne,  because 
by  the  plan  of  coasting  devised  for  the  union  of  the 
vessels,  these  had  never  been  able  to  double  Ushant. 
But  nearly  the  whole  of  the  naval  constructions 
had  been  e.xeciited  between  Bnst  and  the  mouth 
of  the  Sciieldt  ;  and  the  part  wanting  was  not  con- 
siderable. There  were  enongli  to  transport  one 
hinidred  and  twenty  thmisand  men,  designed  to 
pass  over  in  the  gun  ves.sels.  The  rest,  as  it  will 
be  recollected,  had  tilways  been  designed  for 
embarkation  in  the  fleets  of  Brest  and  of  the 
Texei. 

The  Dutch  flotilla  constructed  and  united  in 
the  Scheldt  was  behindhaii<l.  Napoleon  had 
given  the  commaiul  to  admiral  Verhuell,  who 
poirsessed  his  esteem,  and  well  mcritt;d  it.  The 
Dutch,  not  ardent,  but,  abo.ve  all,  being  slightly 
confident  in  the  singular  design,  which  was  much 
too  hardy  for  their  cold  and  tnethodical  minds, 
gave  to  it  very  little  of  their  zeal.  Nevertheless, 
the  zeal  of  the  admiral,  and  the  pressing  remon- 
strance of  the  French  minister  at  the  Hague, 
M.  de  Se'monvilie,  had  accelerated  the  armaments 
that  Holland  engaged  to  furnish.  A  fleet  of 
seven  sail  of  the  line,  added  to  numerous  mer- 
chant vessels,  was  reatly  to  transport  twenty-four 
thousand  men  of  the  camp  at  Utrecht,  com- 
manded by  general  Marmoiit.  At  the  same  time, 
a  flotilla,  cimiposed  of  several  hiuidreds  of  gun 
and  large  fishing  vessels,  finished  their  organiza- 
tion in  the  Scheldt.  It  remaineil  for  them  to 
leave  their  moorings,  and  to  ))ass  from  the  shores 
of  the  Scheldt,  more  accessible  to  the  enemy  than 
the  coasts  of  France.  Admiral  Verhuell  himself 
directing  their  detachments,  had  fought  several 
brilliant  combats  between  the  Scheldt  and  Ostend. 
In  spite  of  the  hiss  of  a  few  vessels,  five  or  six  at 
most,  he  had  disconcerted  the  efiorts  of  the 
linglish,  and  changed  the  incredulity  of  the  Dutch 
sailors  into  confidence.  The  Dutch  flotilla  com- 
pleted its  union  in  the  spring  of  1804,  at  Ostend, 
Dunkirk,  and  Calais,  and  was  ready  to  embark 
the  corps  of  marshal  Davoiit  encamped  at 
Bruges.  Napoleon  desired  mort;  ;  he  would  havo 
the  flotilla  of  France  and  that  of  Holland  united 
wh.illy  in  the  piu-ts  situated  to  the  left  of  Cape 
Giisnez,  at  Ambleteuse,  Wimereux,  Boulogne, 
and  Etaples,  that  they  might  all  be  placed  at  the 
same  iioint  of  the  com|>:.ss.  Tliey  were  comiielled 
Ui  satisfy  him  by  drawing  closer  the  encampment 
of  the  troops,  and  the  station  of  the  flotilla. 

Tho  works  of  the  armaments  along  ihi;  const  of 
Boulogne  were  terminated,  the  forts  coimirncted 
and  the  basins  excavated.  The  troojis  having 
completed  their  task,  had  returned  to  their  mili- 
tary   duties.      They    had    acquired    a    discipline 

ri'2 


Question  raised  by 
Napoleon  about  the 
flotilla. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Supposed  obstacles  to 
crossing  the  channel. 
— Decres'  opinion. 


and  a  precision  in  movement  truly  admirable  ; 
and  thus  presented  in  tlieuiselves  an  army,  not 
only  inured  to  war  by  numerous  campaigns,  and 
hardened  by  rude  labours,  but  capable  of  nianoeu- 
vx-ing  as  if  it  had  passed  years  upon  a  parade 
ground.  This  army,  the  finest  perhaps  that 
a  prince  or  general  ever  commanded,  awaited 
with  impatience  the  arrival  of  its  recently  crowned 
prince.  It  burned  for  the  opportunity  of  con- 
gratulating him,  and  of  following  him  to  a  scene 
of  new  and  astounding  glory. 

Napoleon  was  not  less  impatient  to  rejoin  it. 
But  he  had  raised  a  great  question  among  scien- 
tific persons,  which  was,  to  be  informed  if  the  gun 
vessels,  composing  the  flotilla,  or  "  nutshells," 
as  they  were  called,  could  brave  the  English  fleet. 
Admiral  Bruix  and  admiral  Verhuell  had  the 
greatest  confidence  in  tiie  worth  of  the  gun  vessels; 
both  kinds  had  exchanged  .shot  with  the  English 
frigates,and  iiad  gone  out  of  port  in  all  weathers,  and 
they  had  acquired  a  conviction  that  these  vessels 
were  fully  equal  to  pass  the  strait.  Admiral  De- 
cres, given  to  contradict  every  body,  and  admiral 
Bruix  more  willing  to  go  forward  than  any  other 
person,  seemed  to  think  differently.  Those  of  the 
French  naval  ottieers,  who  wei'e  not  employed  in 
the  flotilla,  whether  prejudiced,  or  led  to  criticise 
that  with  whii-h  they  had  nothing  to  do,  inclined 
to  the  opinion  of  admiral  Decres.  Admiral  Gan- 
teaume,  transferred  from  Toulon  to  Brest,  had 
been  eye  witness  to  an  accident  that  has  been  al- 
ready related  some  w;iy  back,  which  had  much 
troubled  him  for  the  fate  of  the  army,  and  the 
emperor,  to  whom  he  was  deeply  attached.  The 
view  of  a  gun  vessel  turning  over  in  the  road  of 
Brest,  so  as  to  show  its  keel  above  water,  had 
filled  him  with  uneasiness,  and  he  had  written  im- 
mediately to  the  minister  of  the  marine.  This  ac- 
cident, as  already  observed,  signified  nothing. 
The  vessel  had  been  laden  without  care;  the  artil- 
lery had  been  badly  placed,  and  the  men  were  not 
enough  exercised.  The  tonnage  badly  divided, 
joined  to  the  confusion  of  those  on  board,  had 
caused  the  misfortune. 

It  was  not  on  the  ground  of  want  of  stability 
that  admiral  Decres  had  his  doubts.  The  flotilla 
of  Boulogne  manoeuvring  for  two  years  in  the 
strongest  stjualls  had  quieted  in  this  res])ect  every 
uncertainty.  But  the  objections  which  the  ad- 
miral addressed  to  the  emperor,  and  to  admiral 
Bruix,  were   as  follows'  : — "  Certainly,"    lie  ob- 

1  The  close  correspondence  of  M.  Decrfts  with  the  em- 
peror, so  secret  iliat  it  was  all  written  in  his  own  hand, 
exists  in  the  particular  archives  of  the  Louvre.  It  is  one 
of  the  finest  nionun.ents  of  this  period  after  the  correspond- 
ence of  the  emperor.  It  does  equal  honour  to  the  pa- 
triotism of  the  minister,  to  his  reason,  and  the  striking 
originality  of  his  mind.  It  includes  views  ujjon  the  organi- 
zation of  the  French  marine  of  very  great  value,  and  it 
ought  to  be  read  incessantly  by  naval  men,  and  those  con- 
nected with  the  administration  of  such  affairs.  It  is  there 
tliat  I  have  been  enabled  to  study  this  profound  coiicepiion 
of  the  emperor's,  to  acquire  new  proofs  of  his  extraordinary 
foresight,  and  of  the  certainty  and  reality  of  his  designs. 
It  is  in  one  of  these  letters  that  I  found  the  opinion  of  admiral 
Decres  upon  the  flotilla,  an  opinion  at  that  time  rather 
suspected  than  known,  because  Napoleon  required  silence 
on  the  part  of  all  the  world  in  relation  to  the  strength  or 
weakness  of  his  plans.     Operations  were  not  then  as  they 


served,  "the  bullet  of  a  twenty-four  pounder,  whe- 
ther fired  from  a  gun  vessel  or  a  ship  of  the  line 
will  have  the  same  force.  It  will  cause  the  same 
ravage,  often  more,  fired  from  a  small  vessel  which 
is  difficult  to  hit,  and  which  aims  between  wind  and 
water.  Added  to  this,  the  musketry,  formidable  at  a 
short  distance,  and  the  danger  of  boarding,  and  the 
worth  of  those  gun  vessels  is  not  to  be  under- 
valued. They  caiTy  more  than  three  thousand 
cannon  of  large  calibre,  in  other  words,  as  many 
as  a  fleet  of  thirty  or  thirty-five  sail  of  the  line, 
such  a  fleet  as  is  rarely  to  be  seen  united.  But 
where  have  these  gun  vessels  been  seen  to  measure 
their  strength  against  the  large  vessels  of  the 
English  ?  In  a  single  place,  that  is  to  say,  close 
to  the  shore,  in  flats  and  shallow  water,  into  the 
midst  of  which  these  large  vessels  dare  not  ven- 
ture to  follow  an  enemy,  feeble  but  numerous, 
and  ready  to  riddle  it  with  his  cannon.  It  is 
like  an  army  engaged  in  a  defile,  and  assaulted 
from  the  heights  of  an  inaccessible  position  by  a 
cloud  of  bold  and  clear  sharp-shooters.  But," 
continued  admiral  Decres,  "suppose  these  gim 
vessels  in  the  middle  of  the  channel,  out  of  shallow 
water,  and  in  presence  of  vessels  that  have  no 
longer  any  fear  of  advancing  upon  them  ;  suppose, 
besides,  a  wind  tolerably  fresh,  which  renders 
manoeuvring  easy  for  those  vessels  but  difficult  for 
the  gun  vessels,  will  they  not  be  in  danger  of 
being  run  down  in  great  numbers  by  the  giants 
with  which  they  will  have  to  contend."  "  They 
will  lose,"  says  admiral  Bruix,  "a  hundred  vessels 
out  of  two  thousand  ;  but  nineteen  hundred  will 
pass,  and  that  will  suffice  for  the  ruin  of  England." 
"  Yes,"  replies  admiral  Decres,  "  if  the  loss  of  a 
hundred  does  not  strike  terrt)r  among  the  nineteen 
hundred;  if  even  the  number  of  nineteen  hundred 
be  not  itself  the  cause  of  inevitable  confusion,  and 
if  the  naval  officers,  preserving  their  coolness,  do 
not  fall  into  that  disordered  state  of  mind,  which 
must  involve  all  in  a  general  catastrophe." 

"  Let  there  be,  in  the  supposed  hypothesis  of  a 
summer  calm,  or  a  winter's  fog,  two  occasions 
equally  propitious,  because  in  a  calm  the  English 
vessels  will  not  be  able  to  bear  down  upon  our  ves- 
sels, and  in  a  fog  they  will  be  deprived  of  the  me;ins 
of  seeing  them,  and  in  these  two  cases  their  formid- 
able encounter  will  be  avoided.  But  such  cir- 
cumstances, although  presenting  themselves  two  or 
three  times  in  every  season,  would  not  ensure  suffi- 
cient security.  Two  tides  would  be  necessary,  or 
twenty-four  hours,  in  order  that  the  flotilla  "may 
come  eniirely  out  of  port,  it  would  require  ten  or 
twelve  hours  to  cross,  and  with  the  loss  of  time 
always  inevitable,  full  forty-eight  hours  would  be 
required.  Is  it  not  to  be  feared,  that  during  such 
an  interval,  not  less  than  two  days,  a  sudden  change 
of  the  atmosphere  might  intervene,  and  surprise 
the  flotilla  when  in  full  movement?" 

The  objections  of  admiral  Decres  were  therefore 
very  serious.  Napoleon  drew  up  his  replies  in  Ins 
characteristic  manner,  trusting  to  his  confidence  in 
his  good  fortune,  in  the  recollections  of  Egypt  and 
of  the  St.  Bernard.  He  said  that  the  finest  opera- 
tions had  been  accomplished  in  the  front  of  obsta- 

havebeen  since,  decried  in  advance  by  the  indiscretion  of 
the  agents  who  were  charged  to  give  them  their  concur- 
rence.—iVo/e  of  the  Author. 


Objects  destined  for  the  French 
squadron. 


THE  CORONATION. 


Napoleon's  plan  for  covering  the 
flotilla  with  a  fleet. 


581 


cles  equally  great,  tiiat  it  was  right  to  leave  as  little 
as  possible  to  hazard,  but  that  .something  must 
be  so  left.  Si  ill  in  combating  these  objections,  he 
knew  liow  to  a])|ifeciate  them,  and  this  man,  who, 
by  f.irce  of  tempting  fortune,  perished  in  repulsing 
liei",  this  m.m,  when  he  was  able  to  avoid  a  danger, 
anil  thereby  add  a  single  chance  more  in  favour  of 
the  .success  of  his  plans,  never  missed  the  opportu- 
nity. Bold  in  his  conceptions,  lie  exhibited  in  their 
execution  the  most  consummate  prudence.  It  was 
to  meet  these  objections  that  lie  meditated  inces- 
santly on  the  project  of  bringing,  by  a  sudden 
manoeuvre,  a  large  fleet  into  the  channel.  If  this 
tl'-et,  superior  for  only  three  days  to  the  English 
Heet  in  the  Downs,  covered  the  passage  of  the  flo- 
tilla, all  obstacles  would  fall  to  the  ground.  Admi- 
ral Dccres  admitted  that  in  such  a  case  he  had  no 
longer  a  single  objection  to  offer,  and  that  masters 
of  the  ocean,  England  wo  ild  be  delivered  over  to 
the  invaders.  If,  which  it  was  nearly  certain  to  be, 
the  superiority  acquired  was  kept  for  more  than  two 
days,  because  a  notice  of  the  j)resence  of  the  French 
fleet  couKi  not  be  conveyed  with  sufficient  ra|)idity 
to  the  English  fleet  blockading  Brest,  so  that  it 
could  rejoin  instantly  that  which  was  in  observa- 
tion before  Boulogne,  there  would  be  time  enough 
for  the  flotilla,  passing  and  re-passing  several  times, 
to  fetch  across  fresh  troops  left  in  the  camps,  and 
ten  or  fifteen  thousand  horses  waiting  upon  the 
French  coast  the  means  of  transportation,  with  a 
con.sidenible  supplementary  materiel.  The  mass  of 
force  would  then  be  so  great  that  all  I'esistance  on 
the  side  of  England  would  become  impossible. 

Such  prodigious  results  hung  therefore  upon 
the  sudden  arrival  of  a  fleet  in  the  channel.  In 
order  to  meet  that  end,  an  unforeseen  combination 
was  necessary,  that  the  English  sliould  not  be  able 
to  battle.  iiappily,  the  old  British  admiralty, 
strongest  before  all  things  in  its  traditions,  and  the 
spirit  of  the  service,  was  not  able  to  contend  in 
invention  with  a  wonderful  genius,  constantly  occu- 
l>ied  on  the  same  subject,  and  able  to  di8|)ensc  with 
concerting  plans  amid  a  collective  administra- 
tion. 

Na|)oleon  had  at  Brest  a  fleet  of  eighteen  vessels, 
which  was  soon  to  be  raised  to  twenty-one;  a  second 
of  live  at  Roeiiefort,  another  of  five  at  Ferrol,  one  in 
harbour  at  Cadi/.;  finally,  one  of  eight  vessels  at 
T'lulon,  which  was  to  be  increased  to  ten.  The 
English  admiral  Cornwallis  blocked  up  Brest  with 
flftei-n  or  eighteen,  ami  Rochefort  with  four  or  five 
ships.  A  weak  English  division  blockaded  Ferrol. 
Lastly,  Nelson  with  his  scjuadron  cruised  off  the 
Hyeres  Isles  to  watch  Touloii.  Such  was  the  state 
of  tin-irrespective  forces,  and  the  field  which  offered 
itself  to  the  combinations  of  Napoleon.  His  ide.i 
was  to  make  one  of  these  srpiadroiis  steal  away, 
and  arrive  by  a  sudden  march  in  the  channel, 
to  be  for  soni  r  rlays  superior  to  the  English. 
When  he  had  iiitend*'<i  to  act  in  winti-r,  that  is,  in 
the  preceding  month  of  February,  ho  had  thought 
of  directing  the  Brest  fleet  towards  the  coast  of 
Ireland,  to  land  there  the  fifteen  thousand  or 
eighteen  thousand  men  which  it  had  on  board,  and 
to  make  its  aiipcarance  suddenly  in  the  channel. 
This  bold  plan  had  only  a  chance  of  success  in  the 
winter  sea.son,  because  in  that  season  the  continued 
blockade  of  Brest  being  impracticable,  it  would 
be  able  to  profit  by  the  bad  weather  to  set  Bail.  But 


in  summer,  the  presence  of  the  English  was  so  con- 
tinued that  it  would  be  impossible  to  jjut  to  sea 
without  an  attion;  and  vessels  encumbered  with 
troops,  going  to  sea  for  the  first  time  in  presence 
of  ships  experienced  by  a  long  cruise,  and  lightly 
manned,  ran  great  danger,  unless  with  an  immense 
superiority  of  force.  In  this  season  the  facilities  of 
proceeding  to  sea  wci-e  much  greater  on  the  coast  of 
Toulon.  In  June  and  July  the  strong  mistral  gales 
blowing  very  frequently,  obliged  the  English  to  run 
for  shelter  behind  the  Isles  of  Corsica  or  Sardinia. 
A  squadron  availing  itself  of  such  a  movement, 
would  be  able  to  unbend  its  sails  at  nightfall,  gain 
twenty  leagues  the  same  night,  deceive  Nelson  by 
taking  a  false  course,  and  by  ins|iiiing  him  with 
alarm  about  the  East,  draw  him  perhaps  towards 
the  mouths  of  the  Nile;  because  since  Napoleon 
had  escaped  from  him  in  179^,  Nelson's  mind  was 
constantly  pre-occupied  with  the  p.s.sibility  of  the 
French  throwing  an  army  ujioii  Egy])t,  and  was 
determined  not  to  be  a  second  time  surprised.  Na- 
poleon therefore  conceived  the  idea  of  confiding 
the  flotilla  of  Toulon  to  the  boldest  of  his  admirals, 
Latouche  Tr^ville;  to  compose  it  of  ten  sail  of  the 
line,  and  sevei-al  frigates  ;  to  firm  a  camp  in  the 
environs,  in  order  to  give  the  idea  of  a  new  expedi- 
tion to  Egypt,  to  embark  in  reality  very  few  troops, 
and  to  send  this  fleet  to  sea  during  a  breeze  of  the 
mistral,  assigning  to  it  the  following  route.  It  was 
at  first  to  navigate  towards  Sicily,  then  sailing  west- 
wards to  direct  itself  towards  the  Strait  of  Gibral- 
tar, to  pass  through,  pick  up  in  its  course  the 
Aigle,  ship  of  war  in  Cadiz,  avoid  Ferrol,  to  which 
Nelson  would  be  tempted  to  sail,  when  he  knew 
that  the  French  had  passed  the  Strait,  push  forward 
into  the  gulf  of  Gascony,  to  rally  there  the  division 
of  the  French  at  Rochefort,  and  finally,  keeping 
himself  to  the  south  of  Sorlingueson  the  north  of 
Brest,  avail  himself  of  the  first  favourable  wind  to 
sail  into  the  channel.  This  fleet  of  ten  vessels  at 
its  departure,  reinforced  by  six  others  on  its  voyage, 
would  number  sixteen  on  its  arrival,  and  would 
be  sufficiently  numerous  to  domineer  for  some  days 
in  the  straits  of  Dover.  To  deceive  Nelson  was 
easily  practicable,  because  this  great  seaman,  full 
of  ability  for  fighting,  had  not  always  a  judgment 
perfiictly  correct;  ami  besides,  his  mind  was  conti- 
nually troubled  by  the  recollection  of  Enypt.  To 
avoid  Ferrol,  in  order  to  come  before  Rochefort, 
and  to  rally  the  squadron  there,  was  very  prac- 
ticable. The  most  difficult  thing  to  do  was  to  pene- 
trate into  the  channel,  and  i)ass  between  the  Eng- 
lish force  which  guarded  the  avenues  to  Indand, 
and  the  fleet  of  admiral  Cornwallis  blockading 
Brest.  But  the  sijuadron  of  Ganteaume,  always 
ready  to  hoist  sail,  with  his  people  on  board,  could 
not  fail  to  attract  the  close  attention  of  admiral 
Cornwallis,  and  oblige  him  to  press  close  into  the 
gullet  of  Brest.  If  Cornwallis  should  abandon  the 
blockade  of  Brest,  and  give  chase  to  Latouche  Trt?- 
ville,  Ganteaume  would  have  set  sail  at  the  same 
moment,  and  one  of  the  two  French  fleets  would 
have  most  assuredly  arrived  bel'on-  Boulngne.  It 
was  nearly  impossible  for  the  English  admiralty 
to  discover  such  combination,  and  to  provide 
against  it.  A  point  of  departure  so  far  removed  as 
that  of  Toulon,  would  less  than  any  other  cause  the 
channel  to  be  thought  its  object.  Besides,  in  arm- 
ing the  flotilla  iu  audi  a  manner  as  that  it  would 


Character  of  the  THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


French  admirals. 


suffice  for  its  own  defence,  the  idea  of  so  distant  an 
aid  was  discarded,  and  the  vijiilance  of  the  enemy 
lulled  asleep.  Tlius  all  was  combined  to  ensure 
the  success  of  a  skilful  manoeuvre,  that  could 
only  have  come  into  the  mind  of  a  man  conceiving 
and  acting  alone,  keepinj;  his  own  secret  close, 
and  continually  pdudering  upon  the  same  thing ». 

"  If  you  wish  to  confide,"  said  admiral  Decres  to 
the  emperor,  "  a  great  design  to  a  man,  it  is  first 
necessary  that  you  see  him,  that  you  speak  to  him, 
that  you  animate  him  with  your  genius.  This  is 
the  more  necessary  still  with  our  naval  officers, 
demoralized  by  <iur  maritime  reverses,  always 
ready  to  die  like  heroes,  but  ever  thinking  more  of 
succumbing  nobly,  than  of  conquering."  Napoleon 
therefore  sent  for  Latouche  Treville,  who  had  been 
in  Paris  since  his  return  from  St.  Domingo.  This 
officer  liad  neither  the  saiue  bearing  of  mind,  nor 
the  same  genius  for  organiz.ition  as  admiral  Bruix; 
but  in  execution  he  exhibited  a  hardihood,  a 
glance,  that  in  all  probability  had  he  lived,  would 
have  made  him  the  rival  of  Nelson.  He  was  never 
discourageil  like  his  comjianions  in  arms,  and  was 
ready  to  attempt  every  thing.  Unfortunately  he 
had  contracted  at  St.  Domingo  the  germs  of  tl:e 
malady  through  which  so  many  brave  men  had 
already  fallen,  and  many  more  were  yet  to  die. 
Napoleon  disclosed  to  him  his  design,  made  him  be 
convinced  to  the  letter  of  its  possibility,  laid  before 
him  the  grandeur,  the  momentous  consequences, 
and  imparled  to  his  spirit  the  same  ardour  which 
filled  his  own.  Latouche  Treville  quitted  Paris 
with  enthusiasm  before  his  health  was  re-esta- 
blished, and  went  to  watch  himself  over  the  equip- 
ment of  his  S(ina<lion.  All  was  so  calculated  that 
this  operation  miglit  be  put  in  execution,  in  July,  or 
at  the  latest  iu  August. 

Admiral  Ganteaume,  who  had  commanded  at  Tou- 
lon before  Latouciie,  ha  1  been  transfei:fe<l  to  Brest. 
The  empera-  relied  \ipon  the  devotion  of  Gan- 
teaume, and  was  much  attached  to  him.  Slill 
he  did  not  find  him  bold  enough  to  confide  to  him 
the  execution  of  his  important  manoeuvre.  Bu;  after 
admiral  Bruix  under  the  head  of  ca|>acity,  and 
admiral  Latouche  under  that  of  audacity,  he  pre- 
ferred Ganteaume  for  his  experience  and  courage 
to  all  the  others.  Na|)oleon,  therefore,  confided  to 
his  care  the  Brest  s((uadron,  i)robably  destiiud  to 
carry  troops  to  Ireland,  and  charged  him  to 
complete  the  equipment,  so  that  he  should  be 
ready  to  co-operate  with  the  fleet  from  Toulon. 

Still  the  fleet  was  much  behind  on  account  of 
the  unheard  of  efforts  they  had  made  to  complete 
the  flotilla.  Since  the  last  was  ready,  all  the  naval 
means  of  e(|ui|)ment  had  been  directed  to  the  squa- 
drons. Constructions  in  full  force  were  now  pushing 
forward  in  the  ports  of  Antwerp,  Cherburg,  Brest, 
Lorient,  Rociiefort,  and  Toulon.  Napoleon  had 
said  that  he  would  have  a  hundred  ships  of  the 
line  in  two  years,  and  of  this  number  twenty-five  at 
Antwerp,  because  at  this  port  it  was  that  he 
placed  his  hopes  tor  the  restoration  of  the  French 
marine.  He  found,  Ix  sides,  in  this  system  of  vast 
naval  constructions,  an  occasion  for  the  employ- 
ment of  the  idle  hands  in  the  French  ports.   But  the 

'  This  was  the  first  idea  of  Napqleon.  It  will  be  seen 
hereafter  that  it  was  several  times  modified,  according  to 
the  circumstances  under  which  he  was  to  act. 


consumption  of  materials,  the  encumbrance  of 
the  yards,  and  even  the  insufficiency  of  the  working 
population,  slackened  the  execution  of  these  great 
designs.  They  had  with  trouble  placed  a  few 
vessels  on  the  stocks  at  Antwerp,  the  men  and 
materials  liaving  been  sent  away  to  Flushing,  Os- 
tend,  Dunkirk,  Calais,  and  Boulogne,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  necessity  of  labouring  unceasingly 
ui)on  the  flotilla  At  Brest  they  had  oidy  just 
armed  the  eighteenth  vessel  ;  at  Rochefort  the 
fifth.  At  Ferrol  the  want  of  resources  among 
the  Spaniards  had  stopped  the  refitting  of  the 
division  which  had  taken  refuge  there.  At  Toulou 
there  were  oidy  eight  vessels  ready  to  sail  im- 
mediately, and  still  the  winter  had  been  passed  in 
the  utmost  activity.  Napoleon  stimulated  his 
minister  of  marine,  Decres,  and  left  him  no  rest '. 

1  Here  are  two  letters  from  the  emperor  to  admiral  De- 
cres, which  prove  with  what  energy  of  delerniiiiaiion  lie 
employed  hiiuseif  in  the  restoration  of  the  French  navy. 

"  To  the  Minister  of  Ihe  Marine. 
"St.  Cloud,  21st  April  1804,  or  1st  Floreal,  year  xii. 

"  It  appears  to  me  perfectly  proper  that  an  imposing  cere- 
mony should  take  place  on  laying  the  first  stone  of  the 
arsenal  at  Antwerp;  but  it  also  appears  to  me  not  pro|n-r  to 
demolish  the  building  under  the  pretext  of  w.int  of  rt-gu- 
lanty.  It  suffices  to  build  nothing  again>t  the  general 
regular  plan.  The  rest  will  establish  itself  insensibly. 
When  one  has  to  demolish,  we  must  demolish  that  which 
is  not  re^iular;  but  I  must  repeat  what  I  said  l.ist  to  you,  1 
am  not  satisfied  with  the  works  at  Antwerp,  because  there 
is  only  one  vessel  upon  the  stocks  and  five  hunHred  work- 
men. I  must  desire  that  before  the  1st  .\Ies-idor  there  may  be 
at  least  three  vessels  of  seventy-lour  guns  upon  ihe  sto  ks, 
t  at  before  the  Ist  Vendemiaire,  year  xiii.,  there  be  six- 
and  before  the  1st  of  NivQse,  nine;  and  all  this  cannot  be  done 
with  the  small  numlier  of  workmen  that  ynu  have  at  com- 
mand. Tiere  are  a  good  many  workmen  in  Provence  un- 
occupied ;  tliere  are  many  to  be  had  on  the  coast  of  B.iyoinie 
and  Bordeaux  ;  in  consequence,  therefore,  bring  together 
three  thousand  at  Antwerp.  Naval  stores  of  the  north, 
wood,  iron,  all  are  easily  conveyed  thither.  The  war  is  no 
obstacle  to  naval  construction  there.  If  we  had  been  tliree 
J  ears  al  war,  twenty-five  vessels  must  have  been  built  there. 
Any  where  besides  such  a  thing  is  impossible.  We  must 
have  a  navy,  and  we  shall  not  be  regarded  as  having 
one  until  we  shall  possess  a  hundred  sail  ol  the  line.  It  is  ne- 
cessary to  have  them  in  five  years.  If,  as  I  think,  they  are 
able  to  I'onstruct  vessels  at  Havre,  there  must  be  two  im- 
meiliaiely  begun.  It  is  necessary  also  to  occupy  themselves 
with  commencing  two  new  ones  at  Kochelort,  and  two  oi hers 
at  Toulon.  1  believe  that  these  last  should  be  ail  of  from 
four  to  ihiee  decks. 

"  I  would  wish  also  to  settle  my  ideas  about  the  port  of 
Dunkirk.  I  beg  that  you  will  make  for  me  a  little  memo- 
randum that  I  may  know  how  high  the  sea  reaches  at  low 
water.  , 

'•Tne  flotilla  will  soon  be  constructed  every  where. 
Theie  nnist  ihen  be  occupation  given  to  a  great  number  of 
wtirkmen,  as  at  Nantes,  Bordeaux,  Honfleur,  Dieppe,  St. 
Malo,  and  other  places.  A  number  of  frigates,  lighters, 
and  brigs  must  he  laid  down.  It  is  necessary,  even  under 
the  teeling  of  i  uhlic  spirit,  that  the  workmen  on  the  coast 
should  not  perish  of  hunger,  and  that  the  departments  bor- 
dering upon  the  sea,  which  have  been  the  least  favourable  to 
the  revolution,  should  perceive,  that  the  time  will  come 
when  the  sea  also  .will  be  our  domain.  St.  Domingo  cost 
us  two  millions  a  month,  the  English  have  taken  it;  these 
two  millions  per  month  must  now  be  carried  only  to  naval 
construction.  My  intention  is  to  apply  to  the  navy  ibe 
same  activity  as  to  the  flotilla,  except  that  not  being 
pressed,  more  of  order  may  be  introduced.     I  am  not  press- 


1804. 
June. 


Strength  of  the  French  naval  force.      THE  CORONATION.      Strength  of  the  French  naval  force.  583 


He  had  evon  ordered  that  they  sliould  work  hy 
torelili-jht  at  Toulon,  that  the  ten  sliip.s  de.stined 
for  Latouche  Treville  niii;ht  be  equipped  in  proper 
time.  There  was  not  less  a  deficiency  of  materials 
and  of  workmen,  tlian  of  seamen.  The  admirals 
G:inteaun>e  at  Brest,  Villeneuve  at  Roehetort, 
Gourdon  at  Ferrol,  and  Latouche  at  Toulon,  com- 
plained that  they  liad  not  sufficient.  Napoleon,  after 
many  ex])eriuKnts,  became  contirmed  in  the  idea 
of  supplying  the  insufhciency  of  the  crews  by 
young  8(ddiers  chosen  from  the  regiments  ;  tiiese 
exercised  in  the  artillery  and  common  manoeuvres, 

\ould  be  able  to  complete  in  an  advantageous 
Di.muer  the  eiiuipment  of  the  vessels.  Admiral 
,  G:inteamne  had  already  tried  this  step  at  Brest, 
anil  he  had  found  it  answer  well.  He  praised  a 
g.iod  deal  the  sailors  boiTowed  from  the  l:md  ser- 
vice, above  a.l,  for  their  artillery  practice.  He 
only  requested  they  would  not  send  l\im  any  sol- 
tliei-s  wlio  were  jjcrlect  in  their  profession,  as  they 
would  acquire  with  repugnance  a  second  education, 
but  llie  young  conscripts,  who  had  learned  notiiing, 
Were  nmch  more  apt  at  learning  what  he  desired 
t  )  teaeii  them,  and  showed  tliemselves  more  docile. 

I  hey  tried  them  besides,  and  only  kept  those  who 
-li  .wed  a  taste  for  the  sea  service.  They  had 
thus  stKceeded  in  augmenting  a  fourth  or  fifth  the 
total  number  of  seamen. 

France  had  at  this  time  about  forty-five  thou- 
sand disposable  seamen  :    fifteen  thousand  in  the 

ing  about  the  time,  but  I  urgently  demand  that  they  com- 
niriice. 

"  I  pray  you  to  present  to  me  in  ihe  course  of  the  comit  g 
I  we^-k  a  report  whiih  will  enable  me  to  hecome  acquainted 
vitli  Ihe  actual  situation  of  our  navy,  of  our  ronstructions, 
V.  iMt  is  10  be  construi  ted,  in  what  ports,  and  llie  sum  tliat  it 
.  il  cost  pt-r  month,  not  departing  Irorii  the  principle,  I  better 
ve,  Ihat  if  you  should  give  eigliteei)  months  to  building 
I  vessel  you  should  make  it  to  me  a  third  part  mure 
Miie. 

"As  to  the  vessels,  I  would  construct  them  on  the  same 
plan.  The  frigates  on  the  model  of  the  Hnrtensia  and  Cor- 
M  li.i,  which  appear  to  be  very  good  ;  fur  the  ships  of  the 
liiiH,  idke  the  best  vessels,  and  every  where  !:uiUl  vessels  of 
'•  ^'iity  guns  upon  three  deck.-!,  except  at  Antwt-rp,  where  it 
ijipearn  to  me  more  prudent  to  commeute  at  lirst  with 
.lips  of  seveiily-foiir  guns." 

"  To  the  Miiiisler  of  the  Marine. 
"  St.  Cloud,  2$th  April  1804,  or  8th  Floreal,  year  xii. 
"  I  signed  to-ilay  a  decree  relative  to  naval  consiruc- 
■[■>»*.  1  shait  admit  no  kind  of  excuse.  Have  an  account 
I '  jidcred  twice  a  week  of  your  orders,  and  wa'ch  over  their 
■  xecutioiij  if  extraordinary  measures  are  necfrssary,  let  nie 
i  '•  acqu.iinted  with  them.  I  shall  not  admit  any  reason 
..ilid,  because  with  a  good  administration  I  would  build 
iliiriy  ve»»els  of  the  line  in  France  in  a  year,  if  it  was  need- 
::il.  In  a  country  like  Prance,  one  ought  to  be  able  to  do 
"  liat  one  chooses.  It  will  not  escape  you  that  my  Inlention 
!.  In  begin  a  good  many  vessels,  except  at  Brest,  where  I 
iluHlre  not  to  build  again.  My  desire  is  to  have  afloat 
I.  fore  Vendemiaire,  year  XIV.,  twenty-six  vessels  of  war,  it 
liuing  well  understood  that  their  being  afloat  will  depend 
more  particularly  on  the  circumstance  whetber  by  that 
time  we  shall  have  peace.  But  heiicclorth  nil  the  vessels 
of  seventy  four  guns  must  Itc  built  at  Antwerp.  It  is  at 
Antwerp  that  our  great  buildiiig-yard  must  be.  ii  Is  only 
there  tliat  the  restoration  of  the  I-'reneh  navy  In  a  few  years 
can  he  possible. 

'  "  Before  the  year  xv.  we  ought  to  have  .i  hundred  men- 
of-war." 


flotilla,  twelve  thousand  at  Brest,  four  thousand  or 
five  thousand  between  Lorient  and  R<icliefort, 
four  thousand  between  Ferrol  and  Cadiz,  and 
about  eight  thousand  at  Toulon,  withotit  reckon- 
ing several  thousand  in  India.  They  were  able  to 
add  twelve  thousand,  perhaps  fifteen  thousand,  to 
their  force,  which  would  carry  it  to  sixty  thousand, 
the  number  of  men  embiirked.  The  fleet  of  Brest 
alone  had  received  an  addition  of  four  thousand 
conscripts.  These  conscripts  were  mucli  praised. 
If  the  squadrons  thus  manned  had  been  able  to 
navigate  the  ocean  fur  a  certain  time  imder  good 
officers,  they  would  have  .soon  been  eqtial  to  the 
English  squadrons.  But  blockaded  in  their  ports 
they  had  no  ex])erience  at  sea  ;  and  the  admirals, 
besides,  wanted  the  cimtidence  that  is  only  to  be 
acqui>'ed  by  victory.  Nevertheless,  all  went  for- 
ward unaer  the  influence  of  a  will  all-powerful, 
which  bent  itself  to  give  confidence  to  lliose  who 
had  lost  it.  Admiral  Latouche  ni'glected  nothing 
at  Toulon,  to  be  ready  by  July  or  August.  Ad- 
miral Ganteaiime  came  out  of  Brest  and  went  in 
again  in  order  to  form  lus  crews  a  little,  and  keep 
the  English  in  continual  doubt  about  his  designs. 
By  the  strength  of  his  threats  to  cimie  out,  he 
thus  disposed  tliem  to  an  incredulity,  through  which 
some  day  he  might  be  able  to  profit. 

Napoleon  devised  a  new  supplementiiry  foi-ce  for 
the  French  navy,  and  lor  this  purpo.se  wished  to 
appropriate  the  Genoese  navy.  He  thought  that 
with  a  squadron  of  seven  or  eight  vessels  and 
seven  frigates  in  tiiat  port,  he  should  divide  the 
attention  of  the  English  between  Toidon  and 
Genoa,  oblige  them  to  keep  a  double  fleet  of  obser- 
vation in  that  sea,  or  answering  the  same  end  to 
himself,  leave  one  of  the  two  ports  free,  while  the 
other  was  blockaded.  He  enjciined  upon  M.  S:ilicetti, 
the  French  minister  at  Genoa,  to  conclude  a  treaty 
with  that  republic,  by  wliich  she  sliould  deliver 
her  building-yards  to  France  for  the  construction 
of  ten  vessels  of  the  line  and  the  like  number  of 
frigates.  France  in  return  I'Ugnged  to  receive 
into  her  navy  a  number  of  Genoese  officers,  pro- 
portioneil  ti>  the  numl)er  of  vessels,  w  illi  a  rate  of 
))iiy  equal  to  that  of  the  French  officers.  Further, 
Franci;  bound  herself  to  enrni  six  tliousand 
Genoese  seamen,  that  the  Liguii;in  rei)nblic 
obliged  itself  ton  its  own  side  always  to  retain  at 
her  disposition.  When  ])eace  arrived,  France 
bound  lierself  to  grant  her  imperial  flag  to  the 
GeiKiese,  wliich  would  procure  tliein  a  prolectiim, 
exceedingly  useful  against  tlie  Corsairs  of  Bar- 
bary. 

All  the  dispositions  of  Najioleon  were  terminated, 
and  he  was  on  the  point  <d' setting  out.  He  wished 
first  to  receive  the  ambassadors,  who  were  charged 
to  deliver  to  him  their  new  letters  of  ciede.ice,  in 
which  he  was  gratified  witli  the  title  of  emperor. 
The  |)ope'H  nuncio,  the  anihiissadurH  of  Spain 
anil  Naples,  the  ministers  of  l'ius>a,  Hollantl, 
Deiimink,  Bavaria,  Saxony,  B.ideii,  Wurteniburg, 
Hcsst;,  and  Switzerland,  pi-esented  themselves  to 
him  on  .Sunday,  the  «ili  of  July,  or  iDth  of  Mes- 
sidor,  with  theforms  adopted  in  till  the  coiirts,  and 
remitted  to  him  their  letters,  treating  him,  for  llie 
first  time,  as  a  erowiK d  prince,  'i'lieit!  wiis  no  ono 
wanting  at  this  iiudience  but  the  anihassador  of 
the  court  of  Viennti,  with  whom  there  was  still  a 
negotiation  fur  the  imperial  title  to  be  given  to  the 


Napoleon  writes  to  general 

Latouche,  sends  l.iiu  a    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE, 
cross  of  honour. 


Napoleon  delegates  the 
government  to  Cam- 
baceres. 


house  of  Austria;  the  ambassador  of  Russia,  with 
whom  there  was  a  coohiess,  on  account  of  the  note 
addressed  to  the  diet  of  Ratisbon  ;  and,  finally, 
him  i)f  the  English  court,  with  whom  France  was 
at  war.  It  might  be  said,  therefore,  that  Great 
Britain  excepted,  Napoleon  was  acknowledged  by 
all  Europe;  because  Austria  was  going  to  forward 
the  formal  act  of  acknowledgment ;  Russia  re- 
gretted what  she  had  done,  and  only  demanded 
an  explanation  which  should  save  her  dignity,  to 
acknowledge  the  imperial  title  in  the  Bonaparte 
family. 

Some  days  after  this,  the  grand  distribution  of 
the  decorations  of  the  legion  of  honour  took  place. 
Although  this  institution  had  been  decreed  for  two 
years,  the  organization  had  demanded  much  time, 
and  was  scarcely  now  completed.  Napoleon  him- 
self distributed  these  grand  decorations  to  the  first 
civil  and  military  personages  of  the  empire,  in  the 
church  of  the  invalids — a  building  for  which  he 
had  a  peculiar  regard.  He  did  the  honours  with 
great  pomp  on  the  anniversary  day  of  the  14th  of 
July.  He  had  not  yet  exchanged  the  order  of 
the  legion  of  honour  with  the  foreign  orders  ;  but 
in  awaitmg  such  exchanges  as  he  proposed  to  make, 
in  order  to  place,  under  every  relation,  his  new 
monarchy  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  others,  he 
called  cardinal  Caprara  to  him  in  the  midst  of  the 
ceremony,  and  detaching  from  his  own  neck  the 
cordon  of  the  legion  of  honour,  he  gave  it  to  this 
old  and  most  respected  cardinal,  who  was  deeply 
touched  at  a  distinction  so  marked.  Napoleon 
commenced  thus,  through  the  pope's  representa- 
tive, the  affiliation  of  the  order,  which,  all  recent 
in  date  as  it  was,  soon  became  an  object  of  am- 
bition throughout  Europe. 

Attached  to  conferring  a  serious  character  upon 
things  in  aj)pearance  the  most  vain,  he  sent  tlie 
cross  of  a  grand  officer  of  the  legion  of  honour  to 
admiral  Latouche  Treville  : — "  I  have  named  you," 
he  wrote  to  the  admiral,  "  a  grand  officer  of  the 
empire,  inspector  of  the  coasts  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean; but  I  much  desire  that  the  operations  which 
you  are  about  to  undertake,  may  enable  me  even  to 
raise  you  to  such  a  degree  of  considei-ation  and 
of  honour,  that  you  can  have  nothing  more  to  wish 
■  *****  Let  us  be  masters  of  the  strait  for 
six  hours,  and  we  are  mastei-s  of  the  world." 
Dated  3rd  July,  1804  \ 

'  The  following  is  the  entire  letter:— 

"By  the  return  of  my  courier,  let  me  know  the  day 
when  it  will  be  possible  for  yon,  a  due  subtraction  being 
made  for  the  weather,  to  weigh  anchor;  inform  me  what 
the  enemy  is  doing,  and  where  Nelson  keeps  himself. 

"Meditate  on  the  great  enterprize  with  which  you  are 
charged,  and  before  I  si^-n  definitively  your  last  orders,  make 
me  acquainted  with  the  manner  in  which  you  think  it  most 
advantageous  to  fulfil  them. 

"  I  have  named  you  a  grand  officer  of  the  empire,  in- 
spector of  the  coasts  of  the  Mediterranean  :  but  I  much  desire 
that  the  operations  which  you  are  about  to  undertake,  may 
enable  me  even  to  raise  you  to  such  a  degree  of  considera- 
tion and  of  honour,  that  you  can  have  nothing  more  to 
wish. 

"  The  Rochefort  squadron,  composed  of  five  vessels,  of 
which  one  is  of  three  decks,  and  five  frigates,  is  ready  to 
weigh  anchor  ;  it  has  only  five  of  the  enemy's  vessels 
before  it. 

"The  Brest  squadron  consists  of  twenty-one  vessels. 
These  vessels  weigh  anchor  to  harass  admiral  Cornwallis, 


Entirely  occupied  with  his  vast  projects,  the 
emperor  set  out  for  Boulogne,  after  having  dele- 
gated to  the  arch-chancellor  Cambac^res,  besides 
the  ordinary  duty  of  ))residing  in  the  council  of 
state  and  tlie  senate,  the  power  of  exercising  the 
supreme  authority,  if  it  should  become  necessary. 
The  arch-chancellor  was  the ,  sole  persoi^age  of  the 
emi)ire  in  whom  he  had  enough  confidence  to 
delegate  such  extensive  powers.  He  arrived  at 
Pont  de  Briques  on  the  20ih  of  July,  and  imme- 
diately descended  to  the  port  of  Boulogne  to  see 
the  flotilla,  the  forts,  and  the  different  works  which 
he  had  ordered  to  be  performed.     The  two  armies 

and  they  oblige  the  English  to  have  a  great  number  of 
vessels  there.  The  enemy  also  keep  six  vessels  before  the 
Texel  to  blockade  the  Dutch  squadron,  composed  of  five 
vessels,  five  frigates,  apd  a  convoy  of  eight  ships. 

"  General  Marmont  has  bis  army  on  board. 

"  Between  Etaples,  Boulogne,  Wimereux,  and  Ambleteuse, 
two  new  ports  which  I  have  had  constructed,  we  have  270 
gun  vessels,  534  gun  boats,  396  pinnaces,  in  all  1200  vessels, 
carrying  120, OuO  men  and  10,000  horses.  Let  us  be  masters 
of  the  strait  for  six  hours,  and  we  are  masters  of  the 
world. 

"  The  enemy  have  in  the  Downs,  or  before  Boulogne  and 
before  Ostend,  two  ffliips  of  74  guns;  three  of  CO  or  64; 
and  two  or  three  of  50.  Up  to  this  time,  Cornwallis  had  not 
more  than  15  sail;  but  all  the  reserves  of  Plymouth 
and  Portsmouth  have  come  to  reinforce  him.  The  enemy 
also  keep  at  Cork,  in  Ireland,  four  or  live  vessels  of  war;  I 
do  not  speak  of  frigates  and  small  vessels,  of  which  they 
have  a  great  number. 

"  If  you  deceive  Nelson,  he  will  go  to  Sicily,  to  Egypt,  or 
to  Ferrol.  I  do  not  think  that  he  will  miss  appearing  be- 
fore Ferrol.  Of  five  vessels  w  hich  are  in  that  latitude,  four 
are  ready;  the  fifth  will  be  so  in  Fructidor.  But  I  think 
Ferrol  is  so  marked,  and  it  is  so  natural  for  one  to  suppose, 
if  your  army  in  the  Mediterranean  enter  the  ocean,  its  force 
is  destined  to  raise  the  blockade  of  Ferrol.  It  ajipears  better, 
therefore,  to  sail  by  there  very  large,  and  to  arrive  belore 
Rochefort,  which  would  complete  you  a  squadron  of  sixteen 
sail  of  the  line  and  eleven  fcigates,  and  then  without 
anchoring  or  losing  a  moment,  whether  by  doubling  Ire- 
land very  large,  or  whether  by  executing  the  first  design,  to 
arrive  before  Boulogne.  Our  Brest  squadron  of  twenty- 
three  ships  will  have  an  army  on  board,  and  will  be  eveiy  day 
under  sail  in  such  a  manner,  that  Cornwallis  will  be  obliged 
to  keep  in  close  to  the  shore  of  Britany  under  the  endeavour 
to  oppose  their  passage  out. 

"  For  the  rest,  I  wait  to  fix  my  ideas  upon  this  operation, 
which  has  its  chances,  but  of  which  the  success  ofi'ers  results 
so  immense,  for  the  design  which  you  have  announced  to 
me  by  the  return  of  the  courier. 

"The  largest  stock  of  provisions  possible  must  be  em- 
barked, in  order  that,  under  any  circumstances,  you  be  not 
straitened  for  any  thing. 

"  At  the  end  of  this  month  they  will  launch  a  new  vessel 
at  Rochefort  and  at  Lorient.  That  of  Rochefort  will  not  give 
place  to  any  question,  but  if  it  should  happen  that  the  one 
at  Lorient  be  in  the  road,  and  it  should  not  have  the  power  to 
join  belore  your  appearance  at  the  Isle  of  Aix,  I  wish  to 
know  if  you  think  you  could  shape  your  course  so  as  to  join 
it.  However,  I  think  that  sailing  out  before  a  good  mistral, 
it  is  preferable  every  way  to  perform  the  operation  before 
the  winter;  because  in  the  bad  season,  it  will  be  possible 
that  you  will  have  a  better  chance  of  arriving,  but  it  is 
possible  there  will  be  many  days  together  in  which  there 
will  be  no  profiting  by  your  arrival.  In  supposing  that  you 
will  be  able  to  depart  before  the  10th  Thermidor  or  2yth  of 
July,  it  is  not  [jrobable  that  you  can  arrive  before  Boulogne 
until  aoTie  time  in  September,  at  the  moment  when  the 
nights  are  already  reasonably  long,  and  when  the  weather 
is  not  bad  for  any  time  together." 


Napoleon  visits  Boulogne  and 
inspects  the  expediiion. 


THE  CORONATION.          Grand  fete  proposed  to  the  army. 


of  tlie  land  and  sea  welcomed  liini  with  transports  of 
j-'V,  and  hailed  Ids  presence  with  a  thousand  ununi- 
nious  exchiniations.  Nine  hundred  cannon,  tired 
from  lite  forts  and  line  of  moorings,  and  reechoed 
from  Calais  to  Dover,  apprized  the  English  of  the 
presence  of  the  man  who,  for  eighteen  months,  had 
so  deeply  troubled  the  accustomed  security  of  their 

isl:ill(l. 

Najioleon  embarked  at  the  same  moment,  in 
sj)ite  of  a  stormy  sea,  wishing  to  visit  the  forts  and 
masonry  of  the  Creche  and  the  Heurt,  as  well  as 
the  wooden  fort  placed  between  the  other  two  ;  all 
tliese  destined,  as  already  observed,  to  cover  the 
mooring  line.  He  ordered  to  be  executed,  under 
his  own  eyes,  some  experiments  in  firing,  with  the 
object  of  assuring  himself  that  the  instructions  he 
had  given  to  obtain  the  most  distant  ettect  of  the 
fire  possible  had  been  followed.  He  then  sailed  at 
large,  and  went  to  see  manoeuvres  at  the  distance  of 
a  camion  shot  from  the  English  squadron,  by  several 
divisions  of  the  flotilla,  of  which  admiral  Bruix 
boasted,  witiiout  ceasing,  of  the  progress.  He 
returned  full  of  satisfaction,  after  having  la- 
vished the  testiiuimies  of  this  satisfaction  upcm  the 
chiefs  of  the  two  armies  that,  imder  his  supi-eme 
directions,  had  contributed  to  the  creation  of  that 
jirodigious  armament. 

Tiie  day  following  and  subsequent  days,  he  visited 
all  the  camps,  from  Etaples  to  Calais;  then  he  re- 
turned to  the  interior  to  inspect  the  cavalry  corps, 
encamped  at  a  distance  from  the  coasts,  and,  more 
particularly,  the  five  divisions  of  grenadiers,  or- 
ginized  by  general  Junot,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Anas.  This  division  was  composed  of  companies 
of  grenadiers  taken  from  the  regiments  which  were 
not  designed  to  make  a  i)art  of  the  expedition. 
Tiierc  could  not  be  a  finer  body  of  men  seen,  either 
as  regarded  the  selection,  or  the  handsome  make  of 
the  men.  They  much  surpassed  the  consular  guard 
itself,  now  become  the  imiicrial  guard.  This  body 
consisted  of  ten  battalions  of  eight  hundred  men 
each.  With  the  grenadiers  began  the  reform  of 
the  military  liead-dress.  These  soldiers  wore 
schakos  in  place  of  iiats ;  the  hair  cut,  and  without 
powder,  in  jilace  of  the  old  mode  of  dressing  it,  so 
tnubiesome  and  ill  adapted.  Inured  to  war  by 
numerous  campaigns, manoeuvring  with  unparalleled 
l»recision,  anil  animated  with  all  that  pride  which 
constitutes  the  strength  of  a  select  corps,  it  pre- 
sented a  division  of  about  eight  thousand  men, 
which  no  European  troops  would  have  been  able  to 
resist,  if  tiiey  were  double  or  triple  its  number.  This 
was  the  body  of  grenadiers  which  he  was  to  throw 
the  first  upon  the  shores  of  England,  after  they  had 
crossed  ill  the  light  pinnaces,  which  have  been 
already  described.  On  beholding  their  bearing, 
discipline,  and  enthusiasm.  Napoleon  felt  his  con- 
fidence redoubles,  and  doubted  no  mon;  of  con- 
cjuering  at  London  the  sceptre  of  the  land  and  sea. 

Returned  to  the  coast,  he  insiiccted  the  flotilla, 
vessel  by  vessel,  in  order  to  be  assured  if  the  ar- 
raiigtmeiits  were  such  as  ho  had  ordered,  and  to 
try  if  it  were  possible  at  the  first  signal  to  embark, 
with  the  necessary  rapidity,  every  thing  that  had 
been  collected  in  the  magazines  of  Boulogne.  He 
found  all  tilings  in  the  state  which  he  desired.  It 
re(juiied  several  days  to  embark  the  heavier  stores, 
but  those  being  placed  on  board,  which  might  be 
done  several  weekn  before  the  expedition  moved, 


they  would  be  able  in  only  three  or  four  hours  to 
place  the  men  in  the  flotilla,  with  the  horses 
and  field  artillery.  Still  all  was  not  yet  ready. 
There  were  some  divisions  behindhand  to  come 
from  Havre  to  Boulogne.  The  vessels  for  the 
guard  particularly,  confided  to  captain  Daugier, 
were  not  arrived.  The  Batavian  flotilla  on  that  side 
occasioned  to  Napoleon  more  than  one  disappoint- 
ment. He  was  greatly  satisfied  with  admiral  Ver- 
huoll;  but  the  equipment  of  a  part  of  this  flotilla 
was  not  completed,  whether  through  a  want  of  zeal 
on  the  part  of  the  Dutch  government,  or  whether, 
as  is  most  ])robable,  it  arose  from  the  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  the  thing  itself.  The  two  first  divisions 
had  united  at  Ostend,  Dunkirk,  and  Calais;  the 
third  had  not  left  the  Scheldt.  There  remained 
another  condition  towards  success,  about  which 
Napoleon  deemed  it  needful  to  be  assured;  this 
was  the  union  of  the  entire  Batavian  flotilla  in  the 
ports  situated  to  the  left  of  Cape  Grisnez,  by  thus 
drawing  them  more  closely  together  in  the  four 
ports  of  Ambleteuse,  Wimereux,  Boulogne,  and 
Etaples.  The  whole  flotilla  would  thus  be  enabled 
to  depart  together  under  the  same  wind  at  points 
only  three  or  four  leagues  distant  from  each  other. 
But  two  things,  money  and  time,  are  always  con- 
sumed in  such  great  operations  with  a  rapidity  and 
to  an  extent  which  continually  surpasses  the  conjec- 
tures of  minds  most  positive  in  their  estimates. 
The  commencement  of  August  having  arrived, 
Napoleon  perceived  that  all  could  not  be  abso- 
lutely ready  before  the  month  of  September;  and 
lie  made  known  to  admiral  Latouche  that  he 
had  delayed  the  expedition  for  a  month.  He  con- 
soled himself  for  the  delay,  by  thinking  that  this 
month  would  be  employed  in  getting  things  better 
prepared  than  they  were  already,  and  that,  besides 
the  season  being  still  sufficiently  fine  in  the  month 
of  September,  there  also  would  be  the  advantage 
of  longer  nights'. 

In  the  mean  time,  he  wished  to  give  a  grand 
fete  to  the  ai-my,  adapted  to  elevate  the  moral 
courage  of  the  troops,  if  it  were  possible  it  could 
be  more  elevated  than  it  was.  He  had  distributed 
grand  decorations  of  the  legion  of  honour  to  the 
principal  personages  of  the  empire  in  the  church 
of  the  invalids,  on  the  anniversary  of  the  14th  of 
July.  He  now  conceived  the  distribution  himself 
of  the  crosses  to  the  army,  which  were  to  be  given 
in  exchange  for  the  arms  of  honour  that  had  been 
suppressed,  and  to  celebrate  this  ceremony  of  the 
anniversary  of  his  birth  on  the  borders  of  the  ocean, 

'  The  text  of  this  new  order  was  as  follows : — 
"  To  the  Minister  of  the  Marine. 
"  2nd  August,  1804,  (14th  Thermidor,  year  xii.) 

"  My  intention  is,  that  you  sliould  send  an  extraordinary 
courier  to  Toulon,  iu  order  to  make  known  to  general 
Latouche,  that  the  different  divisions  of  the  flotilla  not 
having  been  able  to  join,  1  have  thought  a  delay  of  a  month 
cannot  but  he  advantageous  loasniuch  as  the  nights  will 
become  longer ;  but  that  my  intention  is,  he  should  avail 
himself  of  this  dflUv  to  mid  ;l:e  ship  Berwick  to  the 
8(|uadron;  tliat  nil  and  every  imd  of  means  should  be  used 
to  prodirr  tliiBreKuU  ..i.ii  a  vessel  more  or  less  is  not  a 
thing  tu  In;  disr'-;<«rac(l.  In  fact,  they  will  induce  me,  if 
able,  to  carry  up  the  united  s(iiiadron  to  eighteen  sail. 

"  I  desire  that  orders  be  renewed  as  well,  to  press  the 
armament  of  the  Algesiras  at  I.orlent.  It  must  be  in  the 
road  by  tho  10th  Fruciidor." 


Napoleon  distributes 
crcikses  at  Bou- 
logne. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Measures  for  defence 
taken  in  Great 
Britain. 


1804. 
Aug. 


in  presence  of  tlie  English  squadron.  Tiie  result 
met  his  wishes;  it  was  a  magnificent  spectacle,  of 
which  cotemporaries  for  a  long  time  retained  a 
reciillection. 

He  made  choice  of  a  spot  situated  on  the  right 
of  Boulogne,  along  by  tlie  sea,  not  far  from  tiie 
column  tliat  was  afterwards  erected  at  that  place. 
This  ground  having  the  form  of  an  amphitheatre, 
or  half  circle,  as  if  constructed  designedly  on  the 
shore  side,  seemed  to  have  been  prepared  by  nature 
for  some  grand  national  spectacle.  The  space  was 
shaped  in  such  a  manner,  it  was  possible  to  place 
the  whole  army  there.  In  tiie  centre  of  this  amphi- 
theatre, a  thr'ine  was  raised  for  tlie  emperor,  with 
the  back  to  the  sea,  and  the  front  towards  the  land. 
To  the  right  and  left  steps  were  constructed  to 
receive  the  grand  dignitaries,  the  ministers,  and 
marslials.  In  the  prolongation  of  the  two  wings 
Were  displayed  detachments  of  the  imperial  guard. 
In  front,  on  the  inclining  ground  of  this  natural 
amphitheatre,  were  arranged,  as  anciently  were 
the  Roman  people  in  their  vast  arenas,  the  dif- 
ferent corps  of  the  army,  formed  in  close  columns, 
radiating  from  a  common  centre  towards  the  throne 
of  the  emperor.  At  the  head  of  each  of  these 
columns  was  jilat-ed  the  infantry,  the  cavalry  in 
the  rear  rising  above  the  infantry  by  the  height  of 
their  horses. 

On  the  16th  of  August,  the  morrow  of  the  day  of 
St.  Napoleon,  the  troops  marciied  to  the  place 
where  the  tete  was  to  be  given,  across  a  flood  of  po- 
pulation, that  had  poured  in  immense  numbers  from 
all  the  provinces  round  to  attend  at  the  si)ectacle. 
A  hundred  thousand  men,  nearly  all  veterans  of 
the  republic,  their  eyes  fixed  on  Napoleon,  awaited 
the  reward  of  their  exploits.  The  soldiers  and 
officers  who  were  to  receive  the  crosses  had  left  the 
ranks,  and  advanced  to  the  foot  of  the  imperial 
throne.  Napoleon,  standing  up,  read  to  them  the 
fine  formula  of  the  oath  of  the  legion  of  honour, 
when  all  together,  at  the  soimd  of  trumpets  and  the 
roar  of  artillery,  shouted,  "  We  swetir  it  !"  They 
then  came  forward  successively  for  several  hours, 
to  receive  one  after  another  this  cross  which  was 
to  supplant  nobility  of  blood.  Former  gentlemen 
mounted  along  with  simple  peasants  the  steps  of  the 
throne,  e(iually  delighted  to  <ibtain  the  distinction 
awarded  to  their  courage,  and  all  promising  to  spill 
their  blood  on  the  shore  of  England,  in  order  to 
assure  to  their  country,  and  the  man  who  governed 
it,  the  uncontested  empire  of  the  world. 

This  magnificent  spectacle  moved  every  heart, 
and  an  unforeseen  circumstance  ha|)pened  to  ren- 
der it  deeply  serious.  A  division  of  the  flotilla, 
which  ha<l  recently  left  Havre,  entered  Boulogne 
at  the  same  moment,  for  a  long  time  exchanging  a 
lively  cannonade  with  the  Engl'ish.  From  time  to 
time,  Napoleon  quilted  the  throne,  to  tyke  his  spy 
glass,  and  see  with  his  own  eyes  how  thesoldieirfof 
the  land  and  sea  comported  themselves  in  presence 
of  the  enemy. 

Such  scenes  as  tlie^e  tended  much  to  agitate 
England.  The  British  pres^,  >  iTcitant  and  calum- 
niating, as  the  press  always  is  in  .\  Tree  coimtry, 
railed  much  at  Napoleon  and  his  j  .iijaratlous,  but 
railed  as  one  who  trembles  at  that  wlnoh  he  would 
make  appear  the  object  of  his  laughter  In  reality, 
the  uneasiness  there  was  deep  and  general.  The 
immense  preparations  which  had  been  made  for  the 


defence  of  England  disturbed  the  country,  without 
making  cora|)letely  easy  in  mind  the  men  who  were 
acquainted  with  the  art  of  war.  They  were  seen 
regretting  that  they  had  not  a  great  army,  as  France 
regretted  that  she  had  not  a  powerful  navy;  Eng- 
land had  wished  by  means  of  a  corps  of  reserve  to 
augment  its  military  strength.  A  part  of  the  men 
designed  to  serve  in  the  reserve  by  the  drawing, 
had  volunteered  into  the  line,  which  carried  up  this 
force  to  nearly  one  hundred  and  seventy  thousand 
men.  To  that  was  joined  the  local  militia,  an  un- 
determined number,  designed  to  serve  e.xclusively 
in  the  provinces;  and  lastly,  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  volunteers,  who  liad  offered  their  services 
in  the  three  kingdoms,  showed  much  zeal, and  sub- 
mitted themselves  to  military  exercise.  There  were 
three  hundred  thousand  volunteers  spoken  of,  but 
they  had  not  more  than  half  that  immbereff'ective, 
and  really  prepared  to  serve;  the  highest  persons  in 
England,  in  order  to  give  the  impulse,  had  clothed 
themselves  in  volunteer  uniforms.  It  has  been 
already  seen,  that  Mr.  Addington  and  Mr.  Pitt  both 
wore  the  dress.  The  levy  en  masse,  decreed  upon 
paper,  bad  not  been  seriously  undertaken. 

In  making  allowance  for  customary  defalcations, 
England  had  to  oppose  to  the  Fi-ench  one  hundred 
thousand  or  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  re- 
gular soldiers  of  excellent  quality,  a  militia  without 
organization',  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
volunteers  without  experience,  having  in  general 
officers  below  mediocrity,  the  whole  shared  between 
England  and  Ireland,  and  dispersed  on  those  parts 
of  the  coasts  where  the  danger  was  most  to  be  ap- 
l)rehended.  There  were  counted  in  regular  troops 
and  volunteers,  seventy  thousand  men  in  Ireland; 
their  I'emained  for  England  and  Scotland  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty,  or  two  hundred  thousand  men, 
volunteers  or  troops  of  the  line.  It  was  the  utmost, 
even  with  the  art  to  move  masses  whicli  Napoleon 
at  that  time  possessed  almost  alone,  it  was  the  ut- 
most if  they  had  been  able  to  unite  eighty  thousand 
or  ninety  thousand  men  at  the  place  of  danger. 
Wliiit  would  they  have  done  had  they  been  twice  as 
numerous,  before  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand French,  all  accomplished  soldiers,  which  Na- 
poleon would  have  thrown  on  the  other  side  of  the 
straits  ?  The  real  defence  of  England  therefore  was 
on  the  ocean.  The  English  had  one  hundred  thou- 
sand seamen;  eighty-nine  vessels  of  the  line,  spread 
over  all  the  seas;  twenty  vessels  of  fifty  guns;  one 
hundred  and  thirty-two  frigates,  and  more,  a  pro- 
])ortional  number  in  her  dockyanls  and  basins.  As 
Napoleon  did,  rendering  themselves  more  perfect  as 
time  ran  on,  they  had  created  sea  fencibles,  in  imi- 
tation of  land  fencibles.  They  had  under  that  name 
united  all  the  fishermen  and  seamen  not  liable  to 
the  ordinary  press,  that  were  spread,to  the  number 
of  twenty  thousand,  in  boats  along  the  coast,  keep- 
ing a  contiimal  guard,  independently  of  the  ad- 
vanced guard  of  frigates,  brigs,  and  corvettes,  that 
were  in  a  comiected  chain  from  the  Scheldt  to  the 

'  The  regular  militia  are  omitted  above,  in  almost  all 
respects  equal  to  the  lii.e,  as  tlie  two  or  three  regiments 
who  turned  the  tide  of  battle  at  Albuera  never  before  in 
fire,  and  almost  all  militiamen,  clearly  proved.  These 
were  seventy-two  thousand,  of  whom  our  author  takes  no 
notice,  He  evidently  confuses  the  local  miliiia  with  them, 
whereas  these  last  were  little  other  than  the  volunteers  whom 
he  faitiifully  enough  designates. — Trant. 


Public  r  L'ling  in  England. 


THE  CORONATION. 


State  of  the  admin iEtration  in 
England. 


587 


Somme.  Night  signals  and  cliarints  for  transijort- 
ing  troops  by  post,  comiileted  their  system  of  pre- 
cautions, exliibited  fully,  and  hmught  to  greater 
perfection  in  the  fifteen  niontiis  which  had  ah-eadv 
passed.  They  liad  besides  entrenched  the  jcmjuiirt, 
and  placed  in  the  Thames  a  Hue  of  frigates  con- 
nected by  iron  chains,  capable  of  opposing  a  conti- 
nued and  solid  barrier  to  all  vessels.  From  Dover 
to  the  Isle  of  Wight,  every  Hat  part  of  the  shore 
was  crowned  with  artillery. 

The  expense  of  these  preparations,  and  the  dis- 
turbance tiiey  occasionei},  was  immense.  Tlioso 
given  to  agitation  in  public  life,  as  "vus  very  natural 
when  they  were  in  dang-r  of  invasion,  could  find 
nothing  good  that  was  done,  nothing  sufficiently  se- 
ciire,  and  with  a  feeble  minister,  of  whom  all  the 
world  believed  they  had  gromul  to  contest  the  ca- 
pacity, there  was  no  moral  power  capable  of  re- 
straining the  i-age  for  fiction  and  censure.  On  his 
proposing  any  measure,  they  said  it  was  petty,  or 
bad,  or  not  sufficiently  good  for  the  object,  and  they 
proposed  something  else.  Pitt,  wiio  had  been  for 
some  time  reserved,  had  ceased  to  be  so  any 
longer,  encouraged  as  he  was  by  the  general  out- 
cry. He  severely  blamed  the  measures  taken  by 
the  ministers,  whether  he  thought  the  moment  was 
come  to  overturn  them,  or  whether  he  really  found 
their  precautionary  measures  insufficient  and  badly 
calculated.  It  is  at  least  certain  that  his  censures 
were  much  better  founded  than  those  of  the  other 
members  of  the  opi)osition.  He  reproached  the 
ministers  with  not  having  foreseen  and  prevented 
the  concentration  of  the  flat-bottomed  boats  at 
Boulogne,  which,  according  to  his  statement,  were 
above  a  thousand  at  least.  Although  he  endea- 
voured to  exaggerate  rather  than  to  dissimulate  the 
danger,  it  will  be  seen  that  he  stopped  very  short  of 
the  truth,  because  with  tlie  Batavian  flotilla  the 
number  amounted  to  two  thousand  three  hundred. 
He  attributed  the  fault  to  the  igmiranee  of  the  ad- 
miralty, that  had  not  foreseen  the  use  that  might  be 
made  <if  gun-boats,  and  that  had  emi)l<iyed  vessels 
of  the  line,  and  frigates  in  shallow  water,  where 
large  vessels  could  not  possibly  follow  the  small 
French  boats.  He  pretended  tliat  with  some  hun- 
dreds of  gun-boats,  supported  by  frigates  at  soa,  it 
would  Iiave  been  ])08sible  to  combat  on  equal  terms 
the  French  preparations,  and  destroy  their  im- 
mense armament  before  it  could  have  united  in  the 
chainicl.  The  reproach  was  at  least  specious,  if  not 
well  founded. 

The  ministers  replied,  that  during  the  last  war, 
gunboats  would  willingly  have  been  employed,  but 
that  they  would  not  stJind  the  weather.  This  shows 
that  the  English  seamen  had  applied  themselves 
much  less  than  the  French  to  this  species  of  vessel ; 
because  the  French  gun-boats  had  navigated  in  all 
weathers.  Sometimes  they  had  got  aground  in  the 
shallows,  but  except  in  the  accident  at  Brest,  none 
liad  been  lost  through  defect  of  construction.  In 
fact,  Mr.  Pitt  nifither  agreed  in  o|)iiiion  with  Mr. 
Windiiam,  his  old  colleague,  nor  with  Mr.  Fox, 
iiis  new  ally,  on  the  insufficiency  of  the  regular 
army,  acknowledging  that  it  is  not  «asy  to  extend 
on  a  sudden,  at  will,  the  proportions  of  a  regular 
miliUiry  force,  above  all,  in  a  country  where  re- 
course is  not  allowed  to  a  conscription,  crwiiplain- 
ing,  too,  that  more  had  not  been  done  with  the  vo- 
lunteer system.     He   pretended  tliat  lie  could,  by 


availing  himself  of  the  ett'ective  services  of  the 
on  J  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  English  volunteers, 
make  them  acquire  the  degree  of  discipline  and  in- 
struction of  which  they  were  capable,  and  bring 
them  to  be  much  less  inferior  than  they  appeared 
to  the  regular  troops.  This  reproach,  well  or  ill- 
foimded,  was  as  specious  as  the  preceding. 

Pitt  sustained  his  opinions  with  great  warmth. 
In  proportion  as  he  eng.iged  further  in  opposition, 
he  found  himself  approach,  if  not  by  his  sentiments 
and  opinions,  at  least  by  his  conduct,  the  old  Whig 
opposition,  and  Fox.  These  two  adversaries,  who 
had  been  in  opposition  for  twenty-five  years,  seeme<l 
to  become  recnneiled,  and  it  was  even  reported  that 
they  Were  going  to  form  a  joint  ministry.  The  old 
majority  was  broken  up.  It  has  been  already  seen 
tliat  a  small  part  of  this  majority  had  followed 
Windham  and  Grenville  into  oppitsition.  A  larger 
part  still  had  joined  them  since  Pitt  had  raised 
the  standard.  This  ojjposition  was  c^miposed  of  ail 
those  who  thought  that  the  actual  ministei-s  were 
incapable  of  meeting  the  situation  of  aflairs;  and 
that  it  was  absidutely  necessary  to  have  X'ecourse 
to  the  old  head  of  the  war  ])arty.  The  other  part, 
or  the  old  Whig  o|)positioii,  led  by  Mr.  Fox,  al- 
though it  had  sustained  some  defections,  as  in  tlie 
cases  of  Sheridan  and  Tierney,  that  rallied  round 
Mr.  Addington,  was  singularly  strengthened  by  a 
circumstance  that  happened  at  the  court.  The 
king's  mind  appeared  to  be  troubled  anew,  ;ind 
every  thing  amiounced  the  a])proaching  regency  of 
the  prince  of  Wales.  But  the  i)riiice,  formerly  at 
variance  with  Pitt,  and  more  recently  with  Adding- 
ton, was  strongly  attached  to  Fox,  and  would,  as  it 
was  believed,  take  him  for  his  principal  minister. 
From  that  time  a  certain  number  of  memlters  of 
the  House  of  Commons,  acting  under  his  influence, 
come  forward  to  support  the  jiartyof  Fox.  The  two 
united  and  augmented  oppositions,  one  by  hoisting 
the  flag  of  Pitt,  the  other  by  the  jjrospect  of  the 
approaching  fortune  of  Fox,  counterbalanced  nearly 
the  whole  majority  of  the  minister  Addington. 

Several  successive  divisions  soon  revealed  the 
serious  position  of  affiiirs  as  they  affected  the  cabi- 
net. Mr.  Pitt  had  moved,  in  the  month  of  March, 
(or  a  comparative  state  of  the  English  navy  in 
1797,  1«01,  and  1803.  Aided  by  the  friends  of  Mr. 
Fox,  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  one  liun<lred  and 
thirty  voices  for  his  motion,  to  two  hundred  and 
one  against  it.  The  niinisteVs  only  obtained  a  ma- 
jority of  .seventy  votes,  and  on  comparing  the  votes 
upon  this  motion  with  anterior  votes,  it  was  impos- 
sible not  to  be  struck  with  the  jjrogress  niade  by 
the  opposition.  This  success  encouraged  the  newly- 
allied  parties,  and  they  multiplied  motions.  In 
April,  Mr.  Fox  moved  that  there  should  be  laid 
before  acoinuiitteeall  the  measures  ado])led  for  the 
defence  of  the  country  since  the  renewal  of  the  war. 
This  was  in  a  manner  to  submit  to  the  ju<lgnient 
of  parliament  the  conduct  and  capacity  «)f  the  mi- 
nister Addington.  The  former  majority  was  now 
found  to  be  yet  further  diminished.  Th(M)pi)osition 
numbered  two  hundred  and  four  votes,  and  the 
mini.sters  two  hundred  and  fifty  six,  which  reduced 
the  former  majority  of  seventy  voices  to  fifty-two. 
Every  day  this  majority  lessened  ;  and  in  thn 
month  of  May,  a  third  motion  was  announced, 
which  would  have  placed  the  ministers  definitively 
in  the  minority,  when  lord  Hawkesbury  declared, 


588 


State  of  the  adminis- 
tration of  Eng- 
land. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


in  terms  suflRciently  clea*.-  to  be  understood,  that  this 
last  motion  was  useless,  because  the  cabinet  was 
going  to  resign. 

The  old  king,  by  whom  Addington  and  Hawkes- 
bury  were  much  esteemed,  and  Pitt  very  little, 
finished  the  affair  nevertheless  by  appealing  to  the 
last  to  take  office.  This  celebrated  and  all-power- 
ful personage,  for  so  long  a  time  the  enemy  of 
France,  then  retook  the  reins  of  the  state,  with  the 
commission  to  upraise,  if  lie  were  able,  the  threat- 
ened fortunes  of  England.  On  entering  into  the 
cabinet,  he  left  out  his  old  friends,  Windham  and 
Grenville,  and  his  recent  ally,  Fox.  He  was  re- 
proached for  this  double  infidelity,  explained  in 
very  different  ways.  That  which  was  most  pro- 
bable is,  that  he  would  not  have  Windham  and 
Grenville  because  their  Toryism  was  too  violent,  and 
that  the  king  on  his  side  would  have  nothing  to  do 
with  Fox,  who  was  too  decided  a  Whig.  This  states- 
man has  been  reproached  with  not  having  done 
enougli  under  the  circumstances  to  overcome 
George  III.  It  would  seem  to  have  been  desir- 
able, seeing  the  danger  menacing  the  nation,  that 
the  two  men  of  the  greatest  talent  in  England 
should  have  united  to  afford  the  government  the 
utmost  power  and  authority. 

Still  Pitt  exercised  an  influence  upon  the  general 
mind,  and  there  was  such  a  confidence  reposed 
in  a  person  so  long  tried,  it  sufficed  alone  to 
bring  him  into  power.  On  entering  upon  his  admi- 
nistration, he  at  once  required  60,000,000  f.  of 
secret  service  money.  It  was  pretended  that  tliis 
money  was  designed  for  the  renewal  of  the  rela- 
tions of  England  with  the  continent;  because  Mr. 
Pitt  was  regarded  with  good  reason  as  the  most 
fitting  of  all  the  ministers  to  renew  coalitions, 
by  the  great  consideration  which  he  enjoyed  in  those 
courts  which  were  inimical  to. France. 

Such  had  been  the  events  occurring  in  England 
during  the  time  that  Napoleon  had  taken  the  im- 
perial crown,  and  when,  proceeding  to  Boulogne, 
he  felt  disposed  to  force  the  barrier  of  tiie  ocean. 
It  seemed  as  if  Providence  had  recalled  these 
two  men  upon  the  scene  of  action,  to  m:ike  tiiem 
contest  with  eacli  other,  for  the  hist  time,  with 
more  obstinacy  and  violence  than  ever  ;  Pitt  in 
sustaining  those  coalitions  which  he  so  well  knew 
how  to  form  ;  Napoleon  in  destroying  them 
with  the  sword,  which  he  understood  still  better 
liow  to  do. 

Napoleon  was  very  indifferent  to  all  that  passed 
on  the  other  side  of  the  strait.  The  military  pre- 
parations of  the  English  made  him  smile  with 
much  more  sincerity  tlian  his  gun-boats  made  the 
English  journalists  laugh.  He  only  i-equired  of 
Heaven  one  thing,  and  that  was  to  have  a  fleet  in 
the  channel  for  forty-eight  liours,  and  he  would 
soon  give  a  good  reason  for  re-uniting  all  their 
armies  between  Dover  and  London.  The  minis- 
terial changes  in  England  would  not  have  affected 
him,  unless  they  had  called  Fox  to  the  head  of 
affairs.  Believing  in  the  sincerity  of  that  states- 
man, and  in  his  good  dispositions  towards  France, 
he  would  have  been  induced  to  pass  by  all  ideas 
of  an  exasperated  war  for  those  of  peace,  and 
even  of  alliance.  But  the  arrival  of  Pitt  in  jmwer, 
on  the  contrary,  proved  further  still,  that  it  was 
necessary  to  finish  by  some  audacious  and  des- 
perate  blow,   in    which    the   two    nations   should 


risk  their  existence.  Meanwhile,  the  demand  of 
G'0,000,000  f.  of  secret  service  money  by  Pitt,  was 
only  to  be  explained  by  some  matter  ot  an  occult 
nature  connected  with  the  continent,  and  could 
not  but  occupy  his  attention.  He  found  Austria 
very  slow  in  forwarding  the  new  letters  of  cre- 
dence, and  but  little  candid  at  Ratisbon  in  the 
affair  of  the  Russian  note.  Lastly,  he  liad  received 
throiigli  M.  Oubril,  the  reply  from  the  cabinet  of 
St.  Petersburg,  to  the  despatch  in  which  he  had 
made  allusion  to  the  death  of  Paul  I  '.  This  reply 
of  Russia  seemed  to  indicate  some  ulterior 
jiroject.  Najioleon,  with  his  usual  sagacity,  al- 
ready perceived  the  commencement  of  a  new 
European  coalition  ;  and  complained  to  Talleyrand 
of  his  incredulity  out  of  couiplai.sance  to  the  two 
Cobentzels,  adding,  that  on  the  least  doubt  in  the 
dispositions  of  the  continent,  he  would  throw 
himself  not  upon  England,  but  upon  those  of  the 
other  powers  that  might  excite  iiis  alarm  ;  "  be- 
sides," he  said,  "he  was  not  fool  enough  to  pass 
the  channel,  if  he  were  not  quite  certain  all  was 
safe  on  the  side  of  the  Rhine."  It  is  thus  he 
wrote  from  Boulogne  to  Talleyrand,  telling  him 
that  he  must  provoke  Austria  and  Russia  to  ex- 
plain themselves,  when  a  sudden  accident,  and 
ever  to  be  regretted,  intervened  to  terminate  these 
uncertainties,  and  oblige  him  to  defer  for  some 
months  yet  his  project  of  a  descent  upon  Eng- 
land. 

The  brave  and  unfortunate  Latouclie  Tr^ville, 
preyed  upon  by  a  disease  inciimpjetely  cured, 
and  by  a  degree  of  ardour  which  lie  could  not 
control,  died  on  the  20th  of  August,  in  the  port 
of  Toulon,  the  evening  before  he  was  to  set  sail. 
Napoleon  was  apprized  of  the  melancholy  event  at 
Boulogne  about  the  close  of  August,  1804,  at  the 
moment  when  ready  to  embark.  He  had  also 
been  seized  with  some  presentiments  of  a  European 
coalition,  and  was  sometimes  tempted  to  deal  his 
blows  elsewhere  than  in  London.  The  Toulon 
fleet  having  lost  its  chief,  he  was  forced  to  defer 
his  expedition  to  England,  because  the  choice  of 
a  new  admiral,  the  nomination,  the  journey,  the 
giving  him  time  to  become  known  to  his  squadron, 
would  i-equire  above  a  month.  The  end  of  Au- 
gust had  arrived  ;  it  would  require  until  the  end 
of  October  for  tlie  departure  from  Toulon,  and 
until  November  for  the  arrival  of  the  fleet  in 
the  channel.  There  would  thus  be  a  winter  cam- 
paign to  make,  and  in  consequence,  new  combina- 
tions to  be  formed. 

Napoleon  immediately  set  about  finding  an 
officer  to  take  the  place  of  admiral  Latouclie : 
"There  is  not  a  moment  to  be  lost,"  he  wrote  to 
the  minister  Decres,  "  to  send  an  admii-al  who  is 
able  to  take  the  command  of  the  Toulon  squadron. 
It  cannot  be  worse  off  than  it  is  now  in  the  hands 
of  Dumanoir,  who  is  not  capable  of  maintaining 
discii)line  in  so  large  a  squadron,  nor  of  making  it 
act.  •  *  *  It  ajipears  to  me,  that  for  the 
Toulon  squadron,  there  are  only  three  proper 
men,  Bruix,  Villeneuve,  or  Rosily.  You  will  be 
able  to  .sound  Bruix.  I  believe  that  Ro.sily  has  a 
good  will,  but  he  has  done  notiiing  fcr  fifteen 
years.     *     •     *     •     However,    it  is    an   urgent 

'  See  a  note  at  page  547,  with  an  extract  from  this 
Russian  despatch.— rrfln*<a/or. 


1804.       The   Boulogne  expedition   re-or- 
Aug.  ganized  by  Napoleon. -Admirals 


THE  CORONATION. 


589 


matter  to  be  decided."  Dated  28th  August, 
1804. 

Dating  from  tliat  day  he  re-organized  the  naval 
and  military  establishment  wliicli  he  had  created  at 
Buulogne,  it  being  of  a  less  temporary  character 
than  he  at  first  supposed,  employing  liimself  on  the 
spot  in  sinipiifyiiig  the  organization,  in  order  to 
render  it  less  expensive,  and  at  the  same  time  add 
as  much  as  possible  of  perfectiim  to  its  manoeuvres. 
"TJie  rtotiila,"  he  wrote  to  admiral  Decres,  "has 
been  hitherto  consideretl  as  an  expedition  ;  it 
must  hencelorth  be  regarded  as  a  fixed  establish- 
ment, from  this  moment  attaching  the  greatest 
attention  t>  all  that  is  of  a  fixed  nature,  governing 
it  bv  different  regulations  from  a  S(iuadn>n."  Daied 
23rd  Fructidor,  year  xii.,or  September  18tli,  1K04. 

He  siniplitiid,  in  fact,  the  wheels  of  the  adiiiinis- 
tration  ;  suppressed  many  of  the  double  employ- 
ments, provided  for  the  approximation  of  the  sta 
and  land  armies,  revised  all  the  appointments, 
and  employed  himself,  in  a  word,  in  making  the 
flotilla  of  Boulogne  a  separate  organization,  that 
costing  as  little  as  possible,  might  last  as  long  as 
the  war,  and  continue  to  exist,  in  case  the  army 
should  be  obliged  to  quit  for  a  moment  the  shores 
of  the  channel. 

He  also  separated  the  division  into  .squadrons,  to 
infuse  a  better  order  into  the  movements  of  the 
two  thousand  three  hundred  vessels.  The  defini- 
tive distribution  adopted  was  as  follows:  nine  gnn- 
vessels  or  gun- boats  formed  a  section  and  carried 
a  battalion  ;  two  of  these  sections  formed  a  divi- 
sion and  carried  a  regiment.  The  pinnaces,  that 
were  only  able  to  hold  half  the  amount  of  the 
other  boats,  were  doubled  in  number.  The  divi- 
sion of  pinnaces  was  composed  of  four  sections,  or 
thirty-six  pinnaces  in  place  of  eighteen,  in  order  to 
suffice  for  a  regiment  of  two  battali  ns.  Several  divi- 
sions of  gun- vessels,  boats,  and  pinnaces  formed  a 
squadron,  which  would  transport  several  regiments, 
in  other  word.s,acor/'»f/'anHe?.  Toeach  s(|ua(lron  was 
addcrl  a  certiiin  number  of  fishing  or  i)ilot  boats, 
that  were  devoti.d  to  the  embarkation  of  the  cavalry 
horsi'sand  naval  baggage.  The  entire  Hotilla  was  di- 
vided into  eight  squadrons,  two  at  Etaples  for  the 
corps  of  marshal  Ney,  four  at  Boulogne  for  the 
corps  of  marshal  Soult,  two  at  Wimereux  for  the 
advanced  guanl  and  for  the  reserve.  The  port  of 
Ambleteuse,  in  the  new  design,  that  time  had  been 
re<juired  to  perfect,  was  destined  for  the  Batavian 
Hotilla,  and  this  w;ui  lo  Uike  on  board  the  c<u'ps 
of  marshal  Davout.  Each  squadron  was  directed 
by  a  superior  officer,  and  manoeuvred  at  sea  in  an 
independent  manner,  altliouiih  in  combination 
with  the  wholt:  operation  togi-ther.  In  such  a 
mode,  the  drntrilmtions  of  the  flotilla  were  found  to 
be  completely  ad.ipted  lo  those  of  the  army. 

In  the  mean  time  adminil  Decres  had  sent  for 
the  admirals  Villeneuve  and  Missies-Hy,  in  order  to 
offer  t()  them  the  vacant  commands.  Considering 
IJrnix  as  iM(lis|)eiiHably  necessary  at  Boulogne,  and 
liosily  as  too  long  absent  from  active  sea  service, 
he  had  regarded  Villeneuve  as  the  most  |)roper 
jierson  to  command  the  Toulon  squadron,  and 
•Missiessy  that  of  Roehelort,  which  Villeneuve  would 
in  that  ca.se  vacate  for  Toulon.  Ailmiral  Villeneuve, 
whose  name  is  eneireled  with  an  unfortmiate  cele- 
brity, had  spirit,  courage,  and  a  j)erf(ct  knowledge 
of  his  duty,  but  he  had  no  firmness  of  character. 


Lying  open  to  the  slightest  impression,  he  was 
capable  of  exaggerating  to  himself  without  measure 
the  difficulties  of  his  situation,  and  apt  to  fall  into  a 
state  of  discouragement,  in  which  he  was  no  longer 
master  of  his  heart  or  his  head.  Admiral  Missiessy, 
less  able,  but  colder  in  temperament,  was  little  sus- 
ceptible of  elevated  feelings,  but  he  was  also  as 
little  susceptible  of  depression.  Admiral  Decres 
sent  f<ir  both,  endeavoured  to  overcome  that  de- 
moralization which  had  affected  not  the  soamea 
and  officers,  who  were  filled  with  the  noblest  ardour, 
but  the  commanders  of  the  fleets,  who  had  lost  in 
battle  that  renown  which  they  esteemed  above  life. 
He  made  admiral  Missiessy  accept  the  command 
of  the  llochefort  squadron,  and  admiral  Villeneuve 
that  of  Toulon.  He  had  for  this  last  admiral  a 
friendship  which  had  continued  from  early  infancy. 
He  made  him  acquainted  with  the  secret  of  the 
emperor  and  the  great  operation,  to  the  perform- 
ance of  which  he  destined  the  Toulon  squadron. 
He  excited  his  imagination  by  showing  him  the 
grand  task  to  be  executed,  and  the  high  honour  to 
be  obtained.  A  deplorable  temptation,  arising  out  of 
an  old  friendship.  This  momentary  excitement 
was  to  give  place  in  Villeneuve  to  an  unhappy 
depression,  and  bring  to  the  navy  of  France  the 
most  sanguinary  reverses. 

The  minister  of  the  navy  wrote  in  haste  to  the 
emperor  the  result  of  his  conferences  with  Ville- 
neuve, and  the  effect  pi-oduced  upon  that  officer  by 
the  prospect  of  the  danger  and  glory  which  lay 
open  before  him '. 


'  The  letter  of  admiral  Decrfes  is  liere  cited,  because  it  is 
important  to  know  how  the  man  was  nominated  to  this 
command,  who  afterwards  lost  the  batile  of  Tral'algar. 

"  Sire,"  he  wrote,  "  vice-admiral  Villeneuve  and  rear- 
admiral  Missiessy  are  here. 

"  I  informed  the  first  of  the  grand  project. 

"  He  he:ird  it  coldly,  and  keeping  silence  for  a  few 
moments,  then  said  with  a  calm  smile  to  nie:  'I  awaited 
sdinethiiig  of  a  similar  nature ;  but  to  be  approved,  it  is 
necessary  that  such  projects  should  be  completed.' 

"  I  allow  myself  to  transcribe  lo  you  literally  his  reply  to 
a  particular  conversation,  because  it  will  better  depict  lo 
you  than  1  can  do,  the  effect  which  this  overture  produced 
upon  him.  He  added  ;  '  I  shall  not  lose  four  hours  in  rally- 
ing the  first;  with  the  five  others,  and  my  own  (vessels)  I 
shdU  be  sutlicienily  strong.  It  is  necessary  to  be  forliniaie, 
and  to  know  how  far  1  am  so,  the  task  must  he  undertaken.' 

"  We  spoke  of  the  route.  He  judged  of  it  in  the  same 
way  as  your  m.ijesty.  He  made  no  obstacle  of  unfavour.ible 
chances,  any  more  than  was  needful  for  one  to  discover  that 
he  was  not  heedless  of  them.  In  fact,  nothing  of  that  kind 
had  any  effect  upon  his  resolution. 

"The  place  of  a  great  officer,  that  of  a  vice  admiral,  has 
made  liini  a  new  man.  The  idea  of  danger  was  effaced  by 
the  hope  of  glory,  and  he  finished  by  saying  to  me:  'I  give 
myself  wholly  up  to  it,'  and  that  in  a  tone  and  with  an 
action  indicative  of  cool  and  positive  decision. 

"  He  will  set  off  for  Toulc?i  as  soon  as  your  majesty  shall 
have  been  pleased  to  make  known  to  me  if  you  have  any 
other  commands  to  give  him. 

"'Ihe  reiiradmiral  Missiessy  is  more  reserved  with  me; 
lie  requests  to  remain  here  eight  days;  he  is  very  cold, 
which  makes  bim  less  definite.  He  told  me  that  he  was 
much  moriilied  that  your  majesty  had  not  given  him  the 
Mediterranean  squadron,  or  tli.it  he  is  not  made  a  vice- 
admiral  Ml  other  words.  His  ground  of  reasoning  among 
his  r.imiliar  friends  is,  that  having  done  nothing  during  the 
war,  he  has  at  hast  the  honour  not  to  have  encountered  any 
defeats  !   I  have  given  him  the  order  togo  and  take  the  com 


■ 


Changes  in  the  objects 
..  of  the  French  squa- 
dron. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Russian    intentions 
regarding  France. 


1804. 
Sept. 


Napoleon,  who  bad  a  deep  kn(>\vled>;e  of  mankind, 
reckoned  but  little  upon  the  adequate  siibstitutiou 
of  any  one  for  admiral  Latouche.  Meditating  cnn- 
tinually  u[)on  his  project,  he  modlHed  it  and  in- 
creased it  according  to  the  unlooked  for  circum- 
stances that  occuri-ed.  The  winter  gave  the  Brest 
tieet  freedom  of  action,  and  caused  the  cessation  of 
the  blockade.  Although  Ganteaunie  had  exhibited 
a  want  of  character  in  IJiOI,  still  he  had  shown  on 
more  than  one  occasion  both  courage  and  devotion. 
Napoleon  wished  therefore  to  confide  to  him  the 
brilliant  and  difficult  part  of  the  plan.  He  put  off 
the  exj)edition  until  after  the  18tli  Bruinaire,  or 
'JA\  of  November,  the  time  assigned  for  the  cere- 
mony of  the  coronation,  and  he  resolved  to  make 
Ganteaunie  go  to  sea  in  that  rough  season,  \xith 
tilteen  or  eighteen  thousand  men  destined  fur  Ire- 
land ;  then  when  the  admiral  had  thrown  them 
upon  one  of  the  accessible  points  of  that  island,  he 
was  to  return  rapidly  into  the  chainiel,  in  order  to 
in-otict  the  passage  of  the  flotilla. 

In  the  modified  plan  the  admirals  Missiessy  and 
Villeneuve  were  charged  with  a  different  business 
from  that  designated  tor  the  Toulon  and  Rochefort 
S4nadions,  when  Latouche  Tre'vilie  had  the  com- 
mand. Admiral  Villeiieuve,  sailing  from  T(]uloii, 
was  to  go  to  America,  reconquer  Sminam  and 
the  Dutch  colonies  of  Guiana'.  One  division  de- 
tached from  the  squadron  of  Villeneuve  in  )iassing, 
was  to  ca|itiii'e  the  island  of  St.  Helena.  Ailmiral 
Mihsiessy  was  ordered  to  i-einforce  the  French 
Wist  India  islands  or  Antilles,  with  tl:ree  or  four 
thousand  men.  Then  to  ravage  the  English  islands, 
by  surprising  them  nearly  in  their  defenceless 
state.  The  two  admirals  were  then  to  unite  and 
return  together  to  Europe,  having  as  their  last 
instruction  to  raise  the  blockade  of  Ferrol,  and  to 

mand  of  the  squadron,  and  I  calculate  that  in  eipht  days  he 
will  l)e  on  tlie  road.  It  will  cost  liim  five  or  six  to  arrive 
ai  Ills  destination." 

1  While  our  author  details  the  smallest  advantages  gained 
over  her  enemies  by  France,  he  omits  the  losses  of  France 
and  iier  dependents.  Thus  Surinam  was  conquered  by  the 
Knglish  wi'.li  iiiconsiderabl.  loss  on  the  4ih  of  he  jjreceding 
Ma}  <1804',  two  thousand  men  «ere  made  piisoiiers.  It 
seemed  necessary  to  mention  tliis  conquest  alter  tlie  breach 
of  the  peace  of  Amiens,  to  comprehend  the  abn've  passage; 
lor  liovv  else  could  Villeneuve  be  sent  by  Napolenn  to  take 
Suiiniim  from  the  Biitish,  since  it  had  liet-n  rest,  red  lo  tlie 
Duuh.  History,  with  such  omissions,  must  lie  imptnfect. 
Again,  Demerara  and  Essequibo  were  taken  by  the  English, 
Sc|.lember  27,  1803.  Goree  was  taken  noni  the  French, 
Macli  15,  1804,  but  no  nieiiilon  is  made  of  that  circnin- 
btance.  St.  Lui:ia  was  captured  by  a-sault  on  the  2;ird  of 
June,  18n3  ;  the  island  of  Tnbapo  in  like  manner  im  the  1st 
of  .'nly,  1803.  All  these  our  author  suffers  to  go  unnoticed. 
A  l.inding  in  Dominica  by  a  French  squadron,  and  the 
burning  of  the  little  town  of  Roseau,  is  lo  be  found  sub  e- 
quently  set  out  at  length.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  faith'ul 
historian,  even  when  making  a  merit  uf  passiiig  over  trivial 
events,  to  record  important  territorial  losses  in  lielligerent 
conflicts.  The  meaning  of  Napoleon  in  a  ieiter  lo  the 
mnis'er  of  marine,  occurring  at  pa>;e582  in  the  note.  c-ir. not 
be  understood  except  by  refrrence  lo  a  note  ol  the  tr^-ns- 
laior,  ai  i)age  472.  The  words  of  the  emiieror  are  these: 
"Si  D'imin;.'0  cost  us  two  millions  amomh;  The  EnulUh 
haie  t  ikrii  il."  Our  author  nowhere  stales  that  the  rem- 
nanisofthe  French  expedition  to  St.  Domingo  had  surren- 
dered, and  become  prisoners  to  ilie  Enjilish  at  all:  the 
omission  becomes  the  nnire  obvious  from  the  allusion  of  ti.e  i 
emperor  to  the  fact. — Tranaialor,  1 


enter  Rochefort  to  the  number  of  twenty  ships  of 
the  line.  They  were  enjoined  to  sail  before  Gan- 
teaunie, in  order  that  the  English,  aware  of  their 
departure,  might  be  drawn  into  following  them. 
Napoleon  desired  that  Villeneuve  should  sail  from 
Toulon  on  the  12ili  of  October;  Missiessy,  from 
Rochefort,  on  the  1st  of  November;  and  Ganteaunie, 
from  Brest,  on  the  22nd  of  December,  1804.  He 
regarded  it  as  certain  that  the  twenty  vessels  of 
Villeneuve  and  Missiessy  would  draw  after  them 
at  least  thirty  sail  of  the  English  out  of  the  Euro- 
pean seas  ;  because  the  English,  attacked  on  a  sud- 
den upon  all  poiiiLs,  would  not  omit  to  send  succours 
every  where.  It  was  in  that  case  probable  that 
admiral  Ganteaunie  would  have  sufficient  freedom 
of  movement  to  execute  the  operation  which  liad 
been  confided  to  him,  and  which  consisted,  after 
having  touched  on  Ireland,  in  bringing  himself 
before  Boulogne,  whether  by  going  round  Scot- 
land, or  by  coming  irom  Ireland  directly  into  the 
channel. 

All  these  ordtrs  were  given  from  Boulogne  itself, 
where  he  then  wa.s,  while  Najioleon  wislied,  in  the 
time  remaining  to  him  before  the  winter,  to  clear 
the  aspect  of  affairs  ujion  the  continent.  Di- 
recting the  conduct  of  Talleyrand  by  a  daily  cor- 
respondence, he  pre.scribed  to  him  the  course  of 
dij^iomacy  which  would  lead  to  this  object. 

The  unreflecting  note  un  the  subject  of  the  vio- 
lation of  the  Germanic  territory  sent  by  the  Rus- 
sian cabinet,  and  the  bitter  rejdy  of  that  of  France, 
will  no  doubt  at  once  recur  to  the  recollection. 
The  young  Alexander  had  deejily  felt  ihtit  reply, 
and  had  acknowledged,  but  too  late,  that  his  mode 
of  coming  to  the  thr.piie  had  taken  away  from  him 
the  right  to  give  such  hanghiy  moral  lessons  to 
other  governments.  He  was  even  humbled  and 
frightened.  The  mind  of  Alexander  was  more 
lively  than  strong.  He  placed  him.^elf  willingly  in 
advance,  and  then  retired  willingly  as  soon  as 
he  observed  his  danger.  It  was  without  consulting 
his  ministers  that  he  had  put  on  mourning  for  the 
death  of  the  duke  d'Eiighien;  and  it  was  in  opposi- 
tion to  one  portion  of  them  that  he  had  sent  to 
Ratisbon  the  note  which  has  been  already  men- 
tioned. Still  he  had  the  greatest  trouble  to  sup- 
port himself  in  his  first  resolutions.  The  better 
informed  persons  in  St.  Petersburg,  jifter  the  first 
excitement  had  passed  away,  discovered  that  he 
had  cciiducted  himself  with  too  much  levity  in  the 
affair  of  the  duke  d'Eiighien;  they  charged  it  upon 
the  young  ministers  who  governed  the  empire,  and, 
among  others,  upon  the  i.rince  Czartoryski  sooner 
than  on  the  rest,  because  he  was  a  Pole,  and  mi- 
nister for  foreign  attnii-s  since  the  retirement  of  the 
chancellor  Woionzoff  into  the  country.  Nothing 
could  be  more  unjust  limn  this  judgment  in  regard 
to  the  prince  Ciiartoryski,  because  he  had  resisted 
the  conduct  of  the  court  as  much  as  he  was  able, 
but  he  still  wished  that  it  should  now  leave  with 
dignity  the  wrong  path  which  it  had  followed.  He 
had  in  coiiseqiK  nee  prescribed  to  M.  Oubril,  the 
Russian  clian/e  d'affaires  at  Paris,  to  make  a  com- 
plaint ill  a  note  at  once  firm  and  inodirate,  of  the 
attictatinii  which  the  French  cabinet  hiid  used  in 
reialiing  certiiin  recolleitions;  to  testify  jiacific  di.s- 
|)osi lions,  but  to  exact  an  answer  tipon  three  or 
four  onliiiaiy  subjects  to  the  reclamations  of  the 
Russian   go\eiiiiiient ;   such  as   the  occupation  of 


I 


1S04. 

Sept. 


Russia  demands  satisfaction 
througit  M.  Oubril. 


THE  CORONATION.        The  Russian  envoy  quits  Paris. 


Naples,  the  indemuity,  continually  defeiretl,  of  the 
k  n;i  of  Fiefiniiint,  and  tiie  invasion  of  Hanover. 
M.  Oubril  liad  oniers,  that  if  lie  obtained  upon 
these  subjects  an  explanation  only  specious,  so  as 
to  content  liiniself,  to  remain  at  Paris,  but  to  ask 
for  his  passports  if  they  enveloped  themselves  in 
an  obstinate  and  disdainful  silence. 

Prussia,  thus  following  an  expression  of  Napo- 
leon, "  continuiilly  agitateil  between  the  two  giants," 
inlormed  of  the  exact  position  of  things  in  the  Rus- 
sian cabinet,  had  made  Talleynmd  acquainted  with 
it  through  the  minister,  Lucchesini;  and  had  said 
to  him,  "  Defer  yiur  reply  as  hnig  as  possible  ; 
then  make  an  answer  which  shall  furnish  the  dig- 
nity of  Russia  with  an  apparent  satisfaction,  and 
this  tempest  in  the  north,  with  which  it  is  eudea- 
vouied  to  alarm  Europe,  will  be  calmed." 

These  diHerent  communications  were  received  at 
Paris  while  Napoleon  was  at  Boulogne.  Talleyrand 
had  had  recourse  to  a  dilatory  |)olicy,  in  which  it 
lias  hecu  seen  that  he  excelled.  Napoleon  willingly 
lent  himself  to  the  system,  not  seeking  to  enter 
upon  a  war  with  the  continent,  nor  fearing  it,  but 
preferring  Ut  finish  with  Europe  by  an  expedition 
directed  against  England.  He,  thei'efore,  continued 
liis  operations  at  Boulogne,  during  which  M.  Oubril 
was  left  waiting  in  Paris.  Still  Talleyrand  did  not 
attiich  sufficient  importance  to  the  Russian  not?, 
and.  Liking  too  much  to  the  letter  the  advice  of 
Prussia,  he  too  readily  believed  that  the  matter 
niiirhi  be  got  off  by  delay.  M.  Oubril,  after  having 
waited  out  the  month  of  August,  had  at  last  de- 
manded a  rei)ly.  Napoleon,  imi)ortuned  with  ques- 
litins  by  M.  Oubril,  and  disposed  be.«ides  to  explain 
himself  categorically  with  the  powers  of  the  con- 
tinent since  the  entrance  of  Pitt  upon  the  ministry, 
had  willed  that  an  answer  should  be  given.  He 
had  sent  himself  the  model  of  a  note  to  be  trans- 
mitted to  M.  Oubril;  and  Talleyrand,  following  his 
usual  custom,  had  done  the  utmost  in  his  power  to 
soften  both  the  ground  and  the  form  of  the  original. 
But  what  he  had  sent  was  very  insufficient  to  save 
the  dignity  of  the  Russian  cabinet,  unhai)piiy  com- 
mitted. 

This  note  placed  in  strong  contrast  the  wrongs 
charged  upon  France,  and  those  for  which  Russia 
Wiw  to  be  reproaclail  on  the  other  side.  Russia, 
it  said,  had  no  right  to  keep  troops  in  Corfu,  and 
she  every  day  increased  their  number.  She  was 
bound  to  reluse  all  favours  to  the  enemies  of 
1' ranee,  and  she  did  not  limit  hei-seif  to  affording 
an  asylum  to  the  emigran'.s,  she  accordetl  to  them 
besid'  H  public  functions  at  foreign  courts.  This 
was  a  positive  violation  of  the  last  treaty.  More 
than  this,  the  Russian  agents  every  where  exhibitcl 
their  hostility  to  France.  Such  a  state  of  things 
excluded  all  idea  of  an  intimate  connexion,  and 
made  that  concert  impossible  which  had  been 
agreed  upon  between  the  two  caliinet.s,  for  the 
manageinent  of  the  affairs  of  Italy  and  Germany. 
As  to  the  occupation  of  Hanover  and  Naples,  thene 
had  been  measures  forced  by  the  war.  If  Russia 
would  engage  to  mako  the  English  evacuate 
MalUi,  the  cause  of  the  war  would  vanish  ;  and  the 
countries  occupied  by  France  would  be  evacuated 
at  the  same  mmneiit.  But  to  endravour  to  bear 
u|)oii  France,  withiut  seeking  to  bear  e(|iially  upon 
England,  was  neither  just  nor  reconcilable.  If 
bile  preteuded  to  cuuatitute  lientelf  arbitrator  be- 


tween the  two  belligerent  powei-s,  to  judge  not  only 
the  ground  of  the  quarrel,  but  the  means  employed 
to  determine  it,  she  must  be  a  firm  and  impartuil 
arbitrator.  France  was  decided  to  accept  no  other. 
It  Russia  desired  war,  France  was  perfectly 
ready;  since,  alter  all,  the  last  campaign  of  Russia 
in  the  west  did  not  authorize  her  to  allow  herself 
towards  France  the  indulgence  of  so  high  a  tone  as 
that  which  she  seemed  to  take  at  the  moment. 
It  was  needful  to  be  well  understood,  that  the  em- 
peror of  the  French  was  not  the  emperor  of  the 
Turks  or  Persians.  If  it  wiis  wished  on  the  con- 
trary to  be  in  the  best  relations  with  him,  he  was 
perfectly  disposed  to  meet  that  desire;  and  then, 
most  certainly,  he  should  not  refuse  to  do  that 
which  he  liad  promised,  more  particularly  on  the 
subject  of  the  king  of  Sardinia;  but  in  the  state  of 
existing  relations,  nothing  would  be  obtained  from 
him,  because  threats  were  in  his  view  tlie  most 
inefficacious  means  ftir  such  a  purpose. 

This  haughty  note  left  not  the  smallest  pretext 
for  M.  Oubril  to  say  he  was  saiisfied.  It  was  the 
consequence  of  the  rashness  of  his  cabinet,  which 
sometimesalmost  propised,  as  it  affected  Naples  and 
Hanover,  to  constitute  itself  the  judge  ofihe  means 
which  the  belligerent  powers  should  employ  in  the 
war,  sometimes  wished  to  mingle  itself  up  with  an 
act  beyond  its  own  territory,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
dake  d'Eiighieii's  death,  and  continually  exposed 
itself  to  receive  in  all  those  points,  so  injudiciously 
touched  U|ioii,  the  most  provoking  replies.  M.  Ou- 
bril, consulting  his  instructions,  believed  it  his  duty 
to  demand  his  passports;  still  in  order  to  be  wholly 
faithful,  he  ailded  that  hisdeparture  was  but  a  sim- 
ple interruption  of  diploinntic  relations  between  the 
two  courts,  and  not  a  declaration  of  hostilities;  that 
when  such  relations  had  nothing  more  left  useful 
or  agreeable,  there  was  not  any  reason  for  their 
continuance;  that  for  the  rest,  Russia  did  not  dream 
of  having  n-course  to  arms,  but  that  the  French 
cabinet  would  decide  by  its  posterior  conduct,  if 
or  not  war  should  follow  this  interruption  of  the  re- 
lations between  the  two  countries. 

M.  Oubril,  after  this  cold  but  still  pacific  declara- 
tion, quitted  Paris.  An  order  was  sent  to  M.  de 
Rayneval,  who  had  I'emained  as  chart/e  d'affaires  at 
St.  Petersburg,  to  return  to  France.  M.  Oubril 
left  at  the  end  of  August,  but  stopped  some  days  at 
Alayeiice,  to  await  the  intelligence  of  the  free  pas- 
sage accorded  to  M.  de  Rayneval  out  of  Russia. 

It  wiis  evident  that  Russia,  in  endeavouring  to 
testify  her  displeasure  by  the  interruption  of  her 
relations  with  France,  still  did  not  make  war,  as 
in  a  case  in  which  a  new  European  coalition  had 
furnished  her  with  the  advantageous  occasion.  All 
depeinleil  consequently  u|jon  Austria  in  the  judg- 
ment of  Napide  n.  He  therelore  put  it  to  a  strong 
test  t »  discover  wli.it  he  had  to  liol<l  by,  before  de- 
livering himself  up  entirely  to  his  inariliine  pro- 
jects. The  acknowledgment  of  the  imperial  title 
that  he  had  taken  he  .still  awaited;  and  he  peremp- 
torily deni.iiided  it.  His  desi;^!!  to  visit  the  banks 
of  tile  Rhine  would  shortly  conduct  him  to  Aix-la- 
Chapelle;  lie  exacted  of  .M.  Cobeiitzel  ihat  he  should 
coine  there  to  r<-nder  him  homage,  and  to  hand  him 
his  letters  ol  credence,  in  the  same  city  where  the 
(Jermaii  emperors  had  been  accimtomeil  to  tiike  the 
crown  of  Charl.ma-ne.  He  declared  that  if  he  got 
no  satisfaction  on   this  point,  Al.  de  Chaiupagiiy, 


592 


Skirmish  of  the  flotilla 
with  the  English. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Kapoleon  quits  Bou- 
logne. 


1804. 
Sept. 


nominated  minister  of  the  intei'ior,  in  place  of  M. 
Chaptel,  called  up  to  the  senate,  should  have  no 
successor  at  Vienna,  and  that  the  withdrawal  of  an 
anii)assador  between  powers  so  closely  in  vicinity 
as  France  and  Austria,  would  not  pass  as  pacifically 
as  between  France  and  Russia.  Lastly,  he  willed 
that  the  Russian  note  already  postponed  at  Ratis- 
bon  by  an  adjournment,  but  on  the  fate  of  which  it 
would  be  ni'ce.ssary  to  decide  in  a  few  days,  should 
be  definitively  rejected,  or  he  declared  anew  that 
he  would  address  an  answer  to  the  diet,  from  whence 
war  would  inevitably  ari.se. 

This  being  done,  Napoleon  quitted  Boulogne, 
where  he  had  jcissed  six  weeks,  and  journeyed 
towards  the  departments  of  the  Rhine.  Before 
parting,  he  had  occasion  to  be  present  at  a  combat 
of  the  Hotilla  against  an  English  division  of  vessels. 
On  the  25th  of  August,  or  8th  of  Fructidor,  year 
XII.,  at  t^vo  o'clock,  he  was  in  the  road,  inspecting 
in  his  boat  the  line  of  anchorage  composed,  accord- 
ing to  usage,  of  a  hundred  and  fifty,  or  two  hun- 
dred gun  vessels  and  pinnaces.  The  English  squa- 
dron moored  seawards  consisted  of  two  ships,  two 
frigates,  seven  corvettes,  si.\  brigs,  two  cutters,  and 
a  lugger,  in  all  twenty  sail.  A  corvette,  detaching 
itself  from  the  enemy's  division,  came  and  placed 
itself  at  the  extremity  of  the  French  line  of  an- 
chorage, to  observe,  and  it  fired  several  broadsides. 
The  admiral  then  gave  the  order  to  tlie  first  divi- 
sion of  cannoneers,  commanded  by  captain  Leray, 
to  weigh  anchor,  and  to  direct  liis  whole  force  on 
the  corvette;  which  obliged  it  to  retire  imme- 
diately. Seeing  this,  the  English  formed  a  detach- 
ment, com])osed  of  a  frigate,  several  brigs  and 
corvettes,  wiili  a  cutter,  to  force  the  French  can- 
noneers to  retire  in  their  turn,  and  hinder  them 
from  regaining  their  accustomed  position.  The 
emperor,  who  was  in  the  same  boat  with  admiral 
Bruix,  the  minister  of  war  and  of  the  marine,  and 
several  marshals,  went  into  the  midst  of  the  gun- 
boats which  were  engaged,  and  to  set  them  the 
example,  ])laced  the  boat's  head  towards  the  fri- 
gate, which  advanced  at  full  sail.  He  knew  that 
the  Soldiers  and  seamen,  admirers  of  his  boldness 
on  land,  S'lmetimes  en(|uired  if  he  would  be  equally 
bold  on  the  sea.  He  wished  to  satisfy  them  in  this 
resi)ect,  and  accustom  them  to  brave  with  temerity 
the  large  vessels  of  the  enemy.  He  made  them 
steer  his  boat  far  in  advance  of  the  French  line, 
and  as  near  as  jjossible  to  the  frigate.  This  last 
vessel,  seeing  the  imperial  Jmatall  in  trim,  and  con- 
jecturing jjerhaps  the  precious  freight  which  it 
contained,  had  reserved  its  fire.  The  minister  of 
the  navy  trembling  for  the  emperor  from  tiie  con- 
sequences of  such  a  bravado,  wished  to  seize  the 
tiller  of  the  liehn  to  change  the  direction  of  the 
boat;  but  an  imperious  gesture  of  Na])oleon  arrested 
the  minister's  attempt,  and  tlie  course  was  continued 
towards  tiie  frigate.  Napoleon,  his  spying-glass  in 
liis  hand,  continued  to  hxdi  through  it,  when  on  a 
sudden  the  frigate  fired  her  reserved  broadside, 
and  covered  with  its  projectiles  the  boat  which 
bore  "  Caesar  and  his  fortunes."  No  one  was  hurt; 
and  the  account  was  acquitted  liy  tlte  splash  of  the 
projectiles  in  the  water.  Ail  the  French  gun-vessels 
that  witnessed  the  scene  advanced  as  rapidly  as 
possible,  in  firder  to  attract  the  fire,  and  to  cover  by 
passing  forward  the  boat  of  the  emperor.  The  Eng- 
lish division  assailed  in  its  turn  by  a  shower  of  balls 


and  grape-shot,  retrograded  by  little  and  little.  It 
was  followed,  but  it  retired  afresh,  keeping  its 
bi'oadside  towards  the  land.  During  this  interval, 
a  second  division  of  gun-vessels,  commanded  liy 
captain  Pevrieu,  had  weighed  anchor,  and  borne 
down  towards  the  enemy.  Very  soon  the  frigate, 
badly  handled,  and  steered  with  difficulty,  was 
obliged  to  sail  away.  The  corvettes  followed  this 
retreating  movement,  each  of  them  much  damaged, 
and  the  cutter  so  crippled  that  she  was  seen  to  go 
down. 

Napoleon  quitted  Boulogne,  delighted  with  the 
combat  in  which  he  had  thus  taken  a  part,  and 
still  more  that  the  secret  accounts  which  came  to 
him  from  the  Eiigli.sh  coast  gave  the  most  satisfac- 
tory details  of  the  moral  and  physical  effect  which 
the  combat  had  ])roduced.  The  French  had  no 
more  than  one  man  killed  and  seven  wounded,  one 
of  them  mortally.  The  English,  according  to  the 
report  addressed  to  Nap(deon,  had  twelve  or  fifteen 
killed  and  sixty  wounded.  Their  vessels  suffered 
much.  The  English  officers  were  struck  with  the 
bearing  of  the  snuill  vessels  of  the  French,  with 
their  vivacity,  and  the  precision  of  their  fire.  It 
was  evident,  that  if  these  gun-vessels  had  to  dread 
the  vessels  of  the  enemy  on  account  of  their  size, 
they  had  to  oppose  to  them  a  power  and  a  multi- 
plicity of  force  very  formidable  '. 

Napoleon  then  traversed  Belgium,  visited  Mons, 
Valenciennes,  and  arrived  on  the  3rd  of  Septem- 
ber at  Aix-la-Cliapelle.  The  empi-ess  who  had 
gone  to  take  the  waters  of  Plombieres,  during  the 
residence  of  Napoleon  on  the  sea-shore,  had  come 
to  rejoin  him,  and  attend  the  fetes  that  were  pre- 
paring in  the  Rhenish  iirovinces. 

¥i..  de  Talleyrand  and  many  of  the  great  dig- 
nitaries and  ministers  were  also  in  attendance 
there.  M.  Cobentzel  had  been  faithful  to  the 
rendezvous  which  had  been  assigned  for  him. 
The  emperor  Francis,  feeling  the  inconvenience 
attending  a  longer  delay,  had  taken  on  the  lOlh  of 
August,  at  a  solemn  ceremonial,  the  imperial  title 
decreed  to  his  house,  and  had  qualified  himself  the 
elected  emperor  of  Germany  and  hereditary  em- 
peror of  Austria,  king  of  Bohemia  and  of  Hungary, 
archduke  of  Austria,  duke  of  Styria,  &c.  He  im- 
mediately afterwards  gave  -M.  Cobentzel  an  order 
to  go  to  Aix-la-Chapelle,  to  remit  to  the  emperor 
Napoleon  his  letter  of  credence.  To  this  step,  which 
the  place  where  it  was  made  rendered  yet  more 
significant,  there  was  joined  the  formal,  and  for 
the  moment  the  sincere  assui'ance  of  the  desire  to 
live  in  peace  with  France,  and  the  promise  not  to 
make  any  account  of  the  Russian  note  sent  to  the 
Ratisbon  diet,  as  Napoleon  wished.  That  note 
had  in  effect  l)een  rendered  nugatory  by  an  inde- 
finite adjournment. 

'  Napoleon  wrote  to  marshal  Soult. 

"  Ai,\-la-Chapelle,  8th  September,  1804. 

"The  little  skirmish  at  which  1  assisted  on  the  evening 
before  my  departure  from  Boulogne  has  had  an  ininienae 
effect  in  England.  It  has  (iroduced  there  a  real  alarm. 
You  will  see  on  this  subject,  details  translated  from  the 
gazetleers,  extremely  curious.  The  howitzers  on  board  the 
guii-vessels  produced  a  very  grand  effect.  The  jiarticulars 
that  I  have  learned  state  tliat  the  enemy  have  had  sixty 
wounded  and  twelve  or  fifteen  killed.  The  frigate  was  very 
ill  treated."— (Z)e/jd(  of  the  secrelanjship  of  state.) 


1804. 
Sept. 


M.  Cobentzel  Tisits  Aix-Ia-Chapelle 
with  letters  of  credence. — Napo- 
leon visits  Mayence. 


THE   CORONATION.         Debates  in  the  council  of  state. 


5173 


The  emperor  of  the  French  gave  M.  Cubentzel 
the  best  reception,  and  lavished  upon  him,  in  re- 
turn for  his  own,  the  most  tranquillizing  dechira- 
tions.  With  M.  Cobentzel,  M.  Souza  presented 
himself,  bringing  the  acknowledgment  by  Portugal 
of  the  new  emperor;  the  baiili  de  Ferrette,  that  of 
the  order  of  Malta,  and  a  crowd  of  foreign  ministei-s, 
who  knowing  for  what  object  their  presence  at 
Ai.x-la-Chapelle  would  be  agreeable,  had  thought 
of  the  flattery  that  would  be  implied  in  a  request  to 
present  themselves  tl-erc.  They  were  received 
with  great  readiness,  and  with  tliat  favour  which 
sovereigns  well  satisfied  always  know  how  to  ex- 
hibit. This  assemblage  was  singularly  brilliant 
through  the  concotirse  of  foreigners  and  of  French- 
men, the  luxury  displayed,  and  the  military  i)omp 
attending  it.  The  recollections  of  Charlemagne 
were  revealed  there  with  intentions  very  little  dis- 
guised. Napoleon  descended  into  the  vault  where 
the  great  man  of  the  middle  age  had  been  buried, 
visited  his  relics  with  much  curiosity,  and  gave  to 
the  attendant  clergy  brilliant  tokens  of  his  muni- 
ficence. Scarcely  had  he  left  these  fetes  when  he 
entered  upon  more  serious  occupations;  he  went 
over  all  the  country  between  the  Mouse  and  the 
Rhine,  Juliers,  Wenloo,  Cologne,  and  CobK  iitz,  in- 
specting at  the  same  time  the  roads  and  fortilica- 
tions,  rectifying  at  every  fortress  the  plans  of  the 
engineers  with  that  certainty  of  glance,  that  deep 
experience,  that  belonged  to  himself  alone,  and 
ordering  new  works  which  would  render  invincible 
this  part  of  the  Rhenish  frontiei-s. 

At  Mayence,  where  he  arrived  about  the  end  of 
.September,  or  commencement  of  the  year  xiii., 
fresh  pomps  attended  upon  him.  All  the  princes 
of  Germany,  whose  states  were  in  the  vicinity,  and 
who  had  an  interest  in  humouring  their  powerful 
neighbour,  hastened  to  offer  him  their  felicitations 
and  homage,  not  through  intermediate  agents,  but 
in  their  own  persons.  The  prince  arch-cliancellor, 
owing  to  France  the  preservation  of  his  title  and 
his  opulence,  wisheil  to  render  homage  to  Napoleon 
at  Mayence,  his  former  capital.  With  him  pre- 
sented themselves  the  princes  of  the  house  of 
Hesse,  the  duke  and  duchess  of  Bavaria,  the 
respectable  eleetor  of  Baden,  the  oldest  of  the 
European  princes  came  with  his  son  and  graii<lsoii. 
These  personages,  and  others  that  succeeded  them 
at  Mayence,  were  received  with  a  magnificence, 
much  superior  to  that  which  they  would  have 
found  even  at  Vienna.  They  were  struck  with  the 
promptitude  with  which  the  crowned  soldier  had 
taken  the  attitude  of  a  sovereign;  that  is,  he  h.nl 
early  coininamlcMl  men,  not  throui^h  the  virtue  of  a 
vain  titi",  but  through  lliat  of  his  character,  genius, 
and  sword;  ami  li<;  had  in  the  fact  of  such  a  com- 
mand an  ftpi»reniice8liip  very  superior  to  any 
which  it  iH  p  >Hsibl(:  to  gain  in  courts. 

The  rejoicin^^H  which  had  taken  place  at  Aix-Ia- 
Chap'-lle,  were  renewed  at  Mayence  under  the 
eyes  of  the  French  and  (Jermans  who  had  li.istoneil 
to  SCO  an  clo.sely  jih  pfissible  the  spectacle  which 
at  that  moment  excited  the  curiosity  of  all 
Europe.  Napoleon  invited  to  his  coronation  fes- 
tivais  most  of  the  princes  who  had  come  to  visit 
him.  In  the  midst  of  this  tmniilt,  stripping  hiin- 
seir  every  morning  of  (he  vnniiies  of  the  throne, 
he  Bcr>urcd  the  banks  id  the  llhiiie.  examined  every 
part  of  the  fortress  of  Mayence,  that  lie  regarded 


as  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  continent,  less 
on  account  of  the  works,  than  of  the  position  on 
the  bank  of  a  great  river,  along  which  Europe 
had  for  ten  centuries  ccmflicte  i  with  France.  He 
ordered  those  works  to  be  performed  which  might 
give  it  all  the  strength  of  which  it  was  susceptible. 
The  sight  of  this  place  inspired  him  with  a  very 
useful  precaution,  and  t)f  which  no  one  would  have 
thought  if  he  were  not  taken  to  the  spot  himself. 
The  last  treaties  had  ordered  the  demolition  of  the 
forts  of  Cassel  and  Kehl.  The  first  formed  the 
opening  of  ilayence,  and  the  second  that  of  Stras- 
burg  on  the  right  bank  of  ihe  Rhine.  These  two 
fortresses  would  lose  their  value  without  the  two 
redoubts  covering  the  bridge  heads,  serving  at  the 
same  time  for  the  means  of  defence  and  for  the 
passage  to  the  other  bank.  Ke  ordered  that  tim- 
ber and  materials  of  every  kind  necessary  for 
forming  works  on  a  sudden  shouhl  be  amassed, 
together  with  fifteen  thousand  pickaxes  and 
shovels,  in  order  to  carry  within  twenty-four 
hours  eight  or  ten  thousand  workmen  to  the  other 
side  of  the  river,  for  reconstructing  the  defences 
which  had  been  destroyed.  For  want  of  tools 
alone,  he  wrote  to  the  engineer,  you  would  lose 
eight  days.  He  CTen  arranged  all  the  plans,  so 
that  under  a  telegr;iphic  order  the  works  might  be 
immediately  commenced. 

Napoleon  after  having  remained  at  Mayence, 
and  in  the  new  departments,  the  entire  time  ne- 
cessary for  his  objects,  departed  for  Paris,  visiting 
Luxembourg  in  his  wav.  He  arrived  at  St. 
Cloud  on  the  12th  of  October,  1804,  or  20th  Ven- 
demiaire,  year  xni. 

He  had  flattered  himself  for  a  moment  to 
oflTer  France  and  Europe  an  extraordinary  spec- 
tacle, by  traversing  the  straits  of  Dover  with  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men,  and  returning 
to  Paris  master  of  the  world.  Pi-ovidence,  which 
had  reserved  for  him  so  much  glory,  did  not  fur- 
nish him  so  mjch  to  impart  to  his  coronation. 
There  remained  another  means  for  him  to  dazzle 
all  eyes.  These  were  to  make  the  pope  descend  a 
moment  from  the  pontifical  throne,  in  order  to  come 
to  Paris  and  bless  his  sce[)tre  and  crown.  He 
had  in  this  to  gain  a  great  moral  victory  over  the 
enemies  of  France,  and  he  did  not  doubt  of  suc- 
cess. Every  thing  was  ]>repared  for  his  corona- 
tion, to  which  he  h:id  invited  the  principal  au- 
thorities of  the  empire,  numerous  deputations  of 
the  arniyand  navy,  and  a  crowd  of  foreign  princes. 
Thousands  of  workmen  laboured  on  the  prepara- 
tions for  the  ceremony  in  the  church  of  Notre 
Dame.  The  rumours  of  the  coming  of  the  pope 
having  transpired,  ])ublic  opinion  took  up  the 
subject  and  marvelled  ;  the  jjidjiic  ilevoted  to  the 
govermnent  was  enchanted,  the  emigrants  deeply 
chagrined,  Europe  surprised  and  jealous.  The 
question  had  been  weighed  where  all  public 
affairs  were  treateil  upon,  in  the  council  of  state. 
In  that  body,  where  the  most  perfect  freedom  was 
left  to  opinion,  the  objections  sustained  on  the 
concordat  were  reproduced  nuieh  nn)ro  strongly 
still  on  the  idea  of  snbniiitire^,  in  a  certain  sense, 
the  coronation  of  the  new  nion.ireh  to  the  head  of 
the  churcdi.  The  repngn.iiice,  ho  ancient  in 
France,  even  among  religious  men,  against  ultra- 
montane domination,  had  all  at  once  awakened 
itself.      It  was  saul   that  such  a  sup  wa.-*  to  raise 


Napoleon's  answer.         THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.  CharacterofcardinaJFesch.   '^^J; 


up  again  all  the  prtstensions  of  the  clergy,  to  proclaini  j 
a  doruinaut  religimi,  to  make  it  be  supposed  tliat  | 
the  eni|)eror  recently  elfCted,  held  his  crown, 
not  through  the  wishes  of  the  nation  and  through 
the.  exploits  of  the  army,  but  of  the  sovereign 
pontiff',  a  dangerous  supposition,  because  he  who 
gave  the  crown  could  also  withhold  it. 

Napoleon,  impatient  of  so  many  objections 
against  a  ceremony,  which  would  be  a  real  triumph 
obtained  over  European  malevolence,  took  up  the 
matter  himself,  and  showed  all  the  advantages 
that  would  result  from  the  jjresence  of  the  pope  at 
such  a  solemnity,  the  eff'ecc  that  it  would  produce 
upon  the  religious  part  of  the  population  as  well  as 
uppn  the-entire  l)ody,  the  strength  it  would  impart 
to^^the  new  order  of  things,  and  to  that  conserva- 
tion in  which  all  the  men  of  the  revolution  were 
equally  interested  ;  he  showed  the  smallness  of  iho 
danger  attached  to  tliis  signification  of  the  pontiff 
giving  the  crown  ;  he  asserted  that  the  pretensions 
of  a  Gregory  VII.  were  not  those  of  our  time,  that 
the  ceremony  in  which  he  would  act  was  no  other 
than  an  invocation  for  the  celestial  protection  in 
favour  of  a  new  dynastj',  au  invocation  made  in 
the  ordinary  forms  of  the  most  ancient  worship 
general  and  pcipnlar  iu  France  ;  that  in  other  re- 
spects, without  religious  pomp,  there  would  not 
be  any  real  pomp,  above  all  in  catholic  countries, 
and  that  to  make  the  priests  figure  in  the  coronation, 
it  Wduhl  be  best  to  call  in  the  greatest  and  most 
qualified,  and  if  it  was  possible,  the  superior  of  all 
in  the  poj)e  himself.  Pressing,  in  fine,  upon  these 
opponents  as  he  pressed  upon  his  enemies  in  war, 
in  other  words  to  the  ontrance,  he  finished  by  this 
trait,  which  at  once  terminated  the  discussion. 
"  Gentlemen,"  cried  he,  "  you  deliberate  at  Paris, 
in  the  Tuileries  ;  sup])ose  that  you  were  deliberat- 
ing in  Londm,  in  the  British  cabinet,  that  you 
were,  in  a  word,  the  ministers  of  the  king  of 
England,  and  you  were  apprised  that  the  po])e  was 
at  the  moment  passing  the  Alps  to  crown  the  em- 
peror of  the  French;  would  you  regard  that  as  a 
triumph  for  England  or  for  France  ?" 

This  interrogatory,  so  slitirp,  and  carrying 
justice  with  it,  made  all  silent,  and  the  journey 
of  the  pope  to  Paris  encountered  no  more  any  ob- 
jection. 

But  it  was  not  all  to  obtain  a  general  consent  to 
this  journey,  it  was  necessary  to  obtain  that  of  the 
court  of  Rome,  and  this  was  a  thing  exceedingly 
difficult.  In  order  to  succeed  it  was  needful  to 
use  great  art.  and  to  mingle  mnoh  firmness  with 
a  great  de.il  of  mildness  ;  and  the  ambassador  of 
France,  cardinal  Fesch,  with  the  natural  irasci- 
bility of  his  character,  and  the  obduracy  of  his 
pride,  was  nmch  less  adapted  for  the  purpose  than 
his  predecessor,  M.  de  Cacault.  It  is  proper  here 
to  describe  this  personage,  who  played  such  a  part, 
both  in  the  clninh  and  the  empire.  Cardinal 
Fesch,  large  in  |>erson,  middling  in  height,  mode- 
rate iu  imellett,  vain,  aujbitious,  passionate,  but 
resolute,  was  destined  to  be  a  great  obstacle  in  the 
way  of  Napideon.  During  the  reign  of  terror,  he 
had,  like  many  other  jiriests,  flung  afar  the  insignia, 
and  with  th  in  the  obligations  of  the  priesthood. 
Become  a  war  cnumissary  in  the  army  of  Italy, 
no  one  could  have  said,  seeing  him  act,  that  he  was 
an  old  minister  of  religious  worship.  But  when 
restoring  all  old  things  to  their  places,  Naiioleun  re- 


called the  priests  to  their  altars,  cardinal  Fesch 
thought  of  entering  again  ujjon  the  duties  of  his 
former  profession,  and  so  managed  as  to  obtJiin  the 
rank  for  which  liis  powerful  i-elation  jieiinitted 
him  to  hope.  Napoleon  was  not  willing  to  restore 
him,  but  upon  the  condition  of  his  supporting  a  be- 
coming conduct ;  and  the  abb^  Fe.sch  had  soon, 
with  a  strength  of  will  extremely  rare,  changnd 
his  manners,  concealed  his  existence,  and  given  in 
a  religious  seminary  the  picture  of  an  exemplary 
])enitent.  The  archbishopric  of  Lyons  was  secured 
in  reserve  for  him,  and  when  invested  with  the 
cardinal's  hat,  he  immediately  exhibited  himself, 
not  the  supjxirter  of  Najioleon  in  the  church,  but 
much  more  his  antagonist,  and  it  was  possible  to 
foresee  already,  that  he  indulged  in  the  pivtension 
on  some  future  day  of  obliging  his  nephew,  to 
whom  he  owed  every  thing,  to  balance  accoimt 
with  an  uncle,  supported  by  the  secret  malevolence 
of  the  clergy. 

Napoleon  himself  had  spoken  bitterly  of  this  new 
ingratitude  of  his  family  with  the  wi.se  Portalis, 
who  had  given  him  the  advice  to  free  himself  from 
his  uncle  by  sending  him  to  be  ambassador  at 
Rome.  "  He  will  have  there,"  said  M.  Portalis," a 
good  deal  to  <1<)  with  the  jiride  and  the  prejudices 
of  the  Roman  court ;  and  he  will  employ  the  deiec- 
tive  parts  of  his  character  in  serving  you,  in  jdace 
of  using  them  to  your  injury."  It  was  for  this  rea- 
son, and  not  with  the  idea  of  one  day  making  him 
pope,  as  the  inventors  of  falsehoods  would  liave  it 
appear,  that  Napt)leon  accredited  cardinal  Fesch  to 
the  Roman  Court.  No  pope  could  have  been  more 
disagreeable,  opposite,  or  dangerous  than  he  would 
have  shown  himself  to  Napoleon  in  that  cha- 
racter. 

Such  was  the  personage  who  was  to  negotiate 
the  journey  of  Pins  VII.  to  Paris. 

As  soon  as  Pius  VI  I.  was  apprised  by  an  extra- 
ordinary conrii  r  of  cardinal  Caprai-a  of  the  wish 
wliicli  Napoleon  had  expressed,  he  was  seized  with 
feelings  of  the  most  contrary  character,  which  for  a 
long  while  continued  to  agitate  him.  He  compre- 
hended well  enough  that  it  furnished  an  opportu- 
nity of  rendering  new  services  to  religion,  to  ob- 
tain in  its  behalf  more  than  one  concession,  so  far 
constantly  refuseil,  jierhaps  even  to  obtain  the  res- 
titution of  the  rich  provinces  torn  from  the  patri- 
mony of  St.  Peter.  But  then  what  chances  also 
were  to  be  braved  !  How  much  of  vexatious  lan- 
guage to  be  endured  throughout  Europe  !  How 
many  disagreeable  things  might  be  encountered  in 
the  midst  of  a  revolutionary  capital,  infected  with 
tlie  s|.irit  of  philosophers,  yet  filled  with  their 
adherents,  and  inhabited  by  the  people  of  all  the 
earth  most  given  to  raillery  !  All  these  things 
appt-ared  in  perspective  at  once  before  the  mind  of 
tlij  pontiff,  sensitive  and  irritable,  agitating  him  so 
niucli  that  his  health  was  apparently  altered.  His 
minister  and  favourite  counsellor,  the  cardinal 
secretary  of  state  Gonsalvi,  became  instantly  the 
confidant  of  the  causes  of  his  agitation'.  He  com- 
municated   to   him    his   uneasiness,   received   the 


'  I  do  not  suppose  there  was  any  purpose  in  this,  I  imagine 
there  was  none.  All  wliich  follows  is  faithfully  extracted 
fnini  tlie  secret  correspondence  of  cardinal  Gonsalvi  with 
card  nal  Caprara,  a  correspondence  of  which  France  re- 
mained in  possession. — Author's  note. 


Hopes  and  fears  of  the  holy  see.         TH  E  COllON  ATION. 


695 


communications  of  Iiis  own,  and  both  found  them 
selves  pretty  nearly  in  agreement.  Buth  feart-d 
what  the  world  would  say  about  the  consecratiou  of 
an  illegitimate  prince,  of  a  usurper,  for  so  lliey 
denominated  Napoleon  in  a  certain  party;  they 
feared  thedisconti  nt  of  tiie  other  courts,  above  all, 
that  of  Vienna,  that  saw  with  a  mortal  displeasiue 
the  elevation  of  a  new  emperor  of  the  West  ;  they 
dreaded,  anion";  the  party  of  the  oM  ordi-r  of  things, 
a  de;;ree  of  abuse  nuuh  gie;Uer  than  that  which 
hail  burst  forth  at  the  epoch  of  the  concordat,  and 
with  a  much  better  f;r<innil,  because  lure  the  in- 
terest of  religion  was  less  eviiKui  than  the  interest 
of  the  individual  man  ;  they  (eared  that  once  in 
France  there  would  be  diinaniled  of  the  pope, 
soiiiething  at  present  unforeseen,  inadmissible,  that 
he  had  already  much  trouble  in  refusing  at  Rmuc, 
that  he  would  be  nuich  less  able  to  refuse  in  Faris, 
and  which  niii;ht  cause  some  vexati<us  embroil- 
ment, perhaps  make  a  great  noise  in  the  world. 
They  went  so  far  as  lo  fear  sciue  act  of  violence; 
such  as  the  detentiun  of  Fins  VI.  at  Valence  ;  and 
they  figured  to  themselves  in  a  coi. fused  way  the 
strangest  and  most  frightful  scenes.  1 1  is  true  that 
nirdiiial  Gousalvi,  who  had  gone  to  Paris  on  the 
'  iisiness  of  the  concordat,  an'd  cardinal  Cai)rara 
liu  p.issed  his  life  in  that  lapiial,  had  for  Napo- 
leon, his  courtesy  and  the  delicacy  of  his  proceed- 
ings, different  ideas  from  those  which  reigned  in 
'his  court  of  old  |)ries:s,  who  never  represented 
Varis  in  any  oilier  terms  than  as  a  dark  abyss,  in 
.'.  hieli  a  formidable  giant  governed.  Cardinal  Ca- 
jiiara  in  particular  never  leased  to  repeat,  that  if 
liie  emperor  was  the  most  ))assiouate,  most  impe- 
rious of  men,  he  was  :dso  the  most  generous,  and 
the  most  amiable,  when  he  was  not  hurt;  tiiat  tlie 
pojie  would  be  delighted  to  see  him  ;  that  he 
ndglitobt:iin  what  he  wished  f<u"  the  inti-rest  of  re 
ligion  and  of  the  cimreli;  that  it  was  ihe  moment 
to  come,  because  tile  war  tended  to  some  decisive 
crisis;  that-there  would  Ijc  the  conquered  and  the 
conqiu  ror,  and  more  new  distributions  of  territory, 
and  ihat  jterhaps  the  po|)e  wonid  obtain  the  Lega- 
tions; that  there  was  nothing  promised  it  was  true, 
hut  tliat  at  bottom  something  was  the  intention  of 
Napoleon,  and  that  his  presence  alone  would  be  ne- 
cessary for  its  realization.  These  prospects  calmed  a 
little  the  troubled  imagination  of  the  unhappy  pontiH'; 
but  Paris,  the  capital  of  that  higlitlul  French  re- 
volution, which  liad  swallowed  up  kings,  queens, 
and  thousands  of  iiricsts,  conhl  not  but  be  for  the 
pope  an  indefinable  object  of  terror. 

Then  there  were  consiileiatious  on  the  otlier 
siile  t»  perplex.  Withoni  d.mbt  Emope  would 
censure  his  conduct  if  he  wcnl  to  Paris;  itwaspos- 
sibl*!  ii';  might  be  exposed  to  inikiuiwn  and  unfore- 
seen events;  but  if  he  were  not  to  go  there,  how 
Would  it  turn  out  for  religion  an<l  the  holy  see  ? 
All  the  Italian  stales  w.  re  under  the  arm  of  Napo- 
leon. Pirdinont,  Loiubardy,  Tnicany,  even  Naples, 
in  spite  of  llussian  protection,  were  lull  ul  French 
troops.  Out  of  regard  for  the  liolv  see,  the  U<unau 
states  had  been  alone  spared.  What  would  Napo- 
leon notdo,irritatedand  uiortiKiMi  by  a  refusal  which 
wouhl  be  infallil)ly  no  seeret  throughoul  Europe, 
and  which  would  pans  for  a  i  uudenuiiili>in  <if  liis 
rights  emanating  from  the  holy  Mce.  All  tlu-se  con- 
tradictory ideas  fornu-d,  in  the  mind  of  the  pope, 
and  his  secrelary  Gousalvi,  uii  action  and  re-action 


of  a  kind  very  much  to  be  pitied.  Cardinal  Gon- 
salvi,  who  had  already  faced  the  danger,  and  who 
when  at  Paris  had  been  lar  from  finding  grounds  of 
displeasure,  was  the  least  agitated  of  the  two.  He 
thought  only  of  Eiu-ope,  and  of  the  opinions  and 
displeasure  of  all  tlie  old  cabinets. 

Nevertheless  the  pope  and  the  cardinal,  while 
awaiting  the  rece])tion  from  Paris  of  solicitations 
which  it  was  probable  would  not  admit  of  a  refusal, 
wihhetl  to  have  the  sacred  college  on  their  own  side. 
They  dared  not  consult  it  in  tlie  entire  body,  be- 
cause it  had  amongst  its  iiumber  carilinals  tied  to 
foreign  courts,  who  wouhl  pei-haps  betray  the  se- 
cret. They  chose  ten  of  the  most  influential  mem- 
bers of  the  congregation  of  cardinals,  and  sub- 
mitted to  ihem  in  the  secrecy  of  confession  the 
communications  made  by  cardinals  Caprara  and 
Fesch.  These  two  cardinals  were  unlortuiiately 
divided,  and  there  was  reason  to  fear  that  it  would 
be  the  same  with  the  sacred  college.  Then  the 
pope  and  his  minister  thought  it  was  necessary 
to  have  recourse  to  ten  other  cardinals,  making  in 
the  whole  twenty.  This  Consultation,  remaining 
slid  secret,  gave  the  following  results  :— Five  cai"- 
dinals  were  wholly  opposed  to  the  demand  of  Napo- 
leon, and  fifteen  were  favourable,  but  at  the  same 
time  raising  objections,  and  demanding  conditions. 
Of  the  five  who  gave  a  refusal,  two  only  had  stated 
their  motive  to  be  a  refusal  lo  acknowledge  the 
legitimacy  of  the  sovereign  whom  it  was  the  ques- 
tion to  crown.  These  five  said  that  it  would  be  to 
consecrate  and  ratify  all  that  the  new  nutiiarch  had 
suffered  to  be  done,  or  had  done  himself  to  the  in- 
jury of  religion;  because,  if  he  had  made  the  con- 
cordat, he  had  also  formed  the  organic  articles,  and 
taken  away,  when  he  was  general,  the  Legations 
from  the  ludy  see,  that  recently  again,  in  concurring 
in  the  secularizations,  he  had  contributed  to  despoil 
the  German  church  of  its  property;  that  if  he 
wished  to  be  treated  like  Charlemagne,  he  must 
conduct  himself  like  that  emperor,  and  show  his 
regard  to  the  holy  see  with  the  same  munificence. 

The  fifteen  cardinals  disposed  to  agree  under  re- 
strictive conditions  had  made  objections  in  regard 
to  the  ojiinion  and  discontent  of  the  European 
courts;  the  slight  to  the  pope's  dignity,  that  he 
should  go  and  consecrate  the  new  emperor  at  Paris, 
while  the  chiefs  of  the  holy  empire  had  all  come  to 
Home  to  be  crowned  at  the  foot  of  the  altar  of  St. 
Peter;  the  inconvenience  (d'  meeting  the  consti- 
tutional bishops,  who  had  but  incompletely  re- 
tracted, or  who,  after  their  reconediation  with  the 
church,  had  caused  new  controvei-sies;  the  false 
position  of  the  holy  father  in  presence  of  certain 
liigh  fmurtioiiaries,  as  M.  Talleyrand,  for  example, 
who  had  broken  his  ties  to  the  priesthood  in  order 
to  unite  those  of  marriage;  the  danger  of  receiving 
in  the  heart  of  an  enemy's  capital  iiiiidmissible 
demands,  which  it  would  be  (lilhcnlt  lo  refuse  with- 
out a  noisy  injitture  ;  lastly,  the  danger  of  the 
journey  for  one  whose  Inalih  was  as  delicate  as 
that  of  Pius  VII.;  ncalliiig  to  reeolleeiion  the  cen- 
sure which  pope  Pius  VI.  bad  incurred  in  the  last 
century,  when  he  had  made  a  journey  to  Vienna, 
on  a  visit  to  Joseph  II.,  and  had  returne.l  without 
having  obtained  any  thing  favourable  to  religion. 
The  liftecn  cardinals  were  of  opinion,  that  there 
would  not  be  any  excuse  in  the  c,\es  of  the  Cliris- 
lian  world  for  the  act  of  condescension  thus  do- 
Q<i2 


696 


Objections  made  by  tbi 
pope  to  Ills  journey. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Embarrassment  of  tbe 
negotiation. 


I 


nianded  of  Pius  VII.,  unless  it  was  to  request  and 
obtain  certain  notorious  advantages;  such  as  the 
I'evocation  of  a  i)art  of  the  organic  articles;  the 
abolition  of  the  measures  taken  by  the  Italian  re- 
public in  regard  to  the  clergy;  the  revocation  of 
what  the  French  commissary  had  done  at  Parma 
and  Placentia  relative  to  the  church  in  that 
country ;  and,  finally,  territorial  indemnities  for 
the  losses  that  the  holy  see  had  suffered,  and,  above 
all,  the  adoption  of  the  ancient  ceremonial  for  the 
coronation  of  the  Germanic  emperors.  Each  of 
these  fifteen  cardinals  even  added  an  express  claim 
that  the  coronation  should  take  place,  not  in  Paris, 
but  in  Italy,  when  Napoleon  should  visit  his  states 
beyond  the  Alps;  and  exacted  this  condition  as 
indispensable  to  tlie  dignity  of  the  holy  see. 

Somewhat  assured  by  these  opinions,  the  pope 
felt  disposed  to  yield  to  the  wishes  of  Napoleon, 
insisting  at  llie  same  time,  in  a  peremptory  manner, 
upon  the  conditions  demanded  by  the  fifteen  con- 
senting cardinals;  and  he  had  made  known  a  part 
of  this  resolution  to  cardinal  Fesch.  But  in  tlie 
interval,  there  had  reached  Rome  the  text  of  tlie 
senatus  consultuni  of  the  28th  I'loreal,  and  the 
foi-mula  of  the  oath  of  the  emperoi-,  containing 
these  words — "I  swear  to  respect  and  to  make  re- 
spected the  laws  of  the  concordat,  and  the  liberty/  of 
icorghlp.''  The  laws  of  the  concordat  appeared  to 
include  the  organic  articles  ;  the  liberty  of  worship 
appeared  to  sanction  heresies,  and  the  court  of 
Rome  had  never  admitted  such  a  liberty  into  its 
reckoning.  Tiie  oath  became  on  a  sudden  the 
ground  for  an  abs<dute  refusal.  Nevertheless,  tiie 
pope  and  Gonsalvi  consulted  again  the  twenty  car- 
dinals, and  this  time  only  five  thought  that  the 
oath  was  not  an  insurmountable  obstacle;  fifteen 
I'eplied  that  it  rendered  the  coronation  of  the  new 
monarch  by  the  pope  an  impossible  thing. 

Although  the  secret  had  been  well  kept  by  the 
cardinals,  intelligence  from  Paris,  and  some  indis- 
cretions inevitable  among  the  agents  of  the  holy  see, 
brought  about  the  discovery  of  the  negotiation,  and 
the  jjublic,  composed  of  prelates  and  diplomatists 
that  encircled  the  Roman  court,  spread  it  abroad 
in  speeches  and  sarcasms.  They  called  Pius  VII.  the 
"  chaplain  of  the  emperor  of  the  French,"  because 
this  emperor,  having  need  of  the  pope's  ministry, 
did  not  come  to  Ronie  as  the  Charlemagnes,  Othos, 
Barbarossas,  and    Charles  V.  had   deigned  to  do; 
!   but  sent  for  the  pope  to  his  own  palace. 
I        This  raillery  added  to  the'  difficulties  of  the  oath, 
j   shook  Pius  VII.  and  cardinal  Gonsalvi;  both  there- 
j   fore  adopted  the  resolution  to  make  a  reply  favour- 
able in  appearance,  but  negative  in  reality,  becau.se 
it  consisted  in  an  acquiescence  burthened  with  con- 
ditions which  it  was  not  possible  for  the  emperor  to 
admit. 

Cardinal  Fesch  eagerly  replied  to  the  principal 
difficulty  raised  against  the  oath,  drawn  from  the 
engagement  that  the  sovereign  had  taken  to  respect 
freedom  of  religious  worship.  He  said  that  such  an 
engagement  was  not  the  canonical  approbation  of 
differing  creeds,  but  the  pi'omise  to  suffer  the  free 
exercise  of  every  kind  of  worship,  and  not  to  per- 
secute any,  which  was  still  conformable  to  the  spirit 
of  the  faith  in  the  church,  and  the  principles  adopted 
in  the  present  age  by  all  the  sovereigns.  These 
explanations,  full  of  good  sense  as  they  were,  had, 
according  to  the  cardinal  Gonsalvi,  merely  a  pri- 


vate character,  and  not  a  public  one,  and  they 
would  not  excuse  the  court  of  Rome  in  the  eyes  of 
the  faithful,  or  in  the  sight  of  God,  if  they  were 
wanting  to  the  catholic  faith. 

Although  of  a  mind  not  insinuating,  cardinal 
Fesch  had  known  how  to  penetrate  by  fear  and 
presents  into  the  secret  of  more  than  one  personage 
of  the  Roman  court,  and  he  knew  perfectly  well 
the  objections  made  as  well  as  their  authors.  He 
sent  word  of  every  thing  to  Paris,  that  the  emperor 
might  be  well  acquainted  with  all  ;  and  still  not 
knowing  to  what  point  the  pope  wished  to  hold 
back  through  unacceptable  conditions,  and  how 
much  might  be  gained  from  him,  he  gave  more 
lio[)e  of  success  than  he  had  a  right  to  e.xpect  at 
the  moment,  adding,  in  the  mean  while,  that  in 
order  to  success,  it  was  necessary  to  give  the  holy 
see  promises  and  explanations  perfectly  satisfac- 
tory. 

These  communications  transmitted  to  Paris  be- 
came a  cause  of  cruel  embarrassment  to  cardinal 
Caprara,  because  they  took  them  for  a  consent 
merely  dependent  upon  some  explanations  that  still 
remained  to  be  given,  and  looked  for  the  appear- 
ance of  the  pope  in  France  as  a  certain  thing. 
Cardinal  Caprara,  who  knew  the  real  dispositio*  of 
his  court,  but  who  dared  not  speak  out,  was  in  a 
state  of  tremor  and  confusion.  The  empress 
Josephine  held  more  than  Najxileon  did  to  the 
coronation,  which  seemed  to  her  the  pardon  of 
Heaven  for  an  act  of  usurpation.  Thus  she  re- 
ceived cardinal  Caprara  at  St.  Cloud,  and  lavished 
upon  him  the  kindest  attention.  On  iiis  own  side, 
Napoleon  showed  great  satisfaction,  and  both  told 
him  that  they  considered  the  affair  as  arranged; 
that  the  pope  would  be  received  at  Paris  with  the 
honours  due  to  a  chief  of  the  universal  church, 
and  that  religion  would  obtain  infinite  benefit  from 
his  journey.  Napoleon,  without  knowing  all,  still 
suspected  a  i)art  of  the  secret  wishes  of  the  Roman 
court;  he  avoided, suffering  himself  to  be  accosted 
by  cardinal  Caprara,  out  of  fear  that  the  cardinal 
would  demand  of  him  things  either  altogether  impos- 
sible to  grant,  such  as  the  revocation  of  the  organic 
articles,  or  actually  very  difficult,  such  as  the  resti- 
tution of  the  Legations.  The  cardinal  was,  there- 
fore, doubly  embarrassed,  between  the  hopes  too 
reailily  indulged  in  Paris,  and  the  difficulty  of  ac- 
costing Napoleon,  to  obtain  the  words  in  reply 
cajtable  of  leading  the  Roman  court  to  a  decision. 

The  abbe  Bernier  become  bisho|)of  Orleans,  the 
man  whose  wise  and  profound  mind  had  been 
employed  in  vanquishing  all  the  difficulties  of  the 
concordat,  was  also  very  useful  in  the  present  con- 
juncture. He  was  charged  with  the  task  of  making 
replies  to  the  court  of  Rome,  He  conferred  for 
this  end  with  cardinal  Caprara,  and  made  him 
comprehend  that  after  the  hoi)es  indulged  by  the 
imperial  family,  after  the  expectation  produced  in 
the  mind  of  th.;  French  public,  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  draw  back  without  outraging  Napoleon, 
and  exposing  himself  to  the  most  serious  conse- 
quences. Tlie  bishop  of  Orleans  drew  up  a  des- 
patch, which  would  do  honour  to  the  most  able  and 
learned  diplomatist,  lie  recalled  to  memory  the 
services  of  Napoleon  to  the  church,  and  the  claims 
which  he  had  to  its  acknowledgment,  the  good 
which  religion  might  yet  expect  from  him,  and  the 
effect,  before  all,  which  would  be  produced  upon  the 


1804. 
Oet. 


Stipulations  of  the 


THE  CORONATION. 


Apprehensions  of  the  pope. 


697 


French  people  by  the  presence  of  Pins  VII.,  with 
the  impulse  it  would  impart  to  relisjious  ideas. 
He  explained  the  oath  and  the  expressions  relativt- 
to  liberty  of  woi-ship  as  they  ought  to  be  under- 
Stood;  lie  offered  besides  an  expedient,  which  was 
toin.-ike  two  ceremonies,  the  one  civil,  in  which  the 
emperor  took  the  oath  and  the  crown;  the  other 
religious,  in  which  the  crown  should  be  conse- 
crated by  the  pontiff.  Finally,  he  declared  posi- 
tively, that  it  was  for  the  interest  of  religion,  and 
•what  was  intimately  attached  to  it,  that  the  pre- 
sence of  the  pope  was  required  in  Paris.  There 
were  hopes  enough  concealed  in  these  words  to 
gain  over  the  personal  consent  of  the  holy  see,  and 
give  a  pretext  to  Cliristianity  that  should  justify  its 
condescension  towards  Napoleon. 

Cardinal  Caprara  joined  to  this  official  despateli 
of  the  French  government,  i)articular  letters  in 
which  he  drew  a  picture  of  what  jiassed  in  France, 
the  good  which  was  to  be  accomplihhed  there,  and 
the  evils  to  be  repaired,  and  affirmed  ))ositively, 
that  the  request  could  not  be  refused  without  great 
dangers;  that  at  Rome  things  were  very  ill-judged 
of,  anil  that  the  pope  would  gather  from  the  journey 
only  subjects  of  satisfaction  to  himself. 

A  second  time  carried  to  Rome,  the  negotiation 
could  not  but  succeed.  The  pope  and  cardinal 
Gonsalvi,  enlightened  by  the  letters  of  the  legate, 
and  of  the  bishop  of  Orleans,  comprehended  the 
impossibility  of  a  refusal,  and  pressed  by  cardinal 
Fesch,  finished  the  affair  by  consenting  to  go.  But 
they  were  under  the  necessity  of  consulting  the 
cardinals  once  more;  above  all,  they  were  alarmed 
at  one  of  the  explanations  of  the  bishop  of  Orleans, 
consisting  in  the  idea  of  a  double  ceremony.  The 
pope  would  only  admit  one,  because  he  wished  not 
only  to  sprinkle  the  holy  water  over  the  new  em- 
peror, but  to  crown  him.  The  cardinals  v/erethen 
consulted  anew  upon  the  explanations  sent  from 
Paris.  Cardinal  Fesch  got  access  among  them, 
and  contrived  to  put  fear  into  their  hearts,  in 
which  he  was  much  more  able,  than  in  .seducing 
them  by  persuasion.  The  answer  was  favourable; 
but  an  official  note  was  demanded  in  explanation 
of  the  oath,  that  should  promise  only  one  ceremony, 
and  that  should  contain  an  express  mention  of  the 
conditions  under  which  the  pope  went  t<»  Paris. 

Pius  VII.  then  declared  that  he  consented  to  the 
journey  upon  condition  that  the  oath  should  be  ex- 
]ilained  a»  n<it  attaching  any  approbation  of  here- 
tical dogmas,  but  only  the  simple  toleration  mate- 
rial to  dissenting  modes  of  worship;  that  they  pro- 
mised to  listen  when  lie  remonstrated  against  cer- 
tain organic  articles,  when  he  remonstrated  for  the 
interests  of  the  church,  and  of  the  holy  see  (the 
Legations  were  not  nameil);  that  they  would  not 
suffer  near  him  those  bishops  who  disputed  their 
submission  to  the  see  of  R4jm<-,  unless  under  a  new 
and  most  complete  submission  on  their  part;  that 
he  should  not  be  exposed  to  encounter  those 
persons  who  were  in  a  situation  contrary  to  the 
laws  of  the  church  (this  ])Ositiveiy  designated 
the  wife  of  the  minister  for  foreign  affairs)  ;  that 
the  ceremonial  observed  should  be  either  that  of  the 
court  of  Rome  crow  ning  the  emperor,  oi-  that  of  the 
archl)isliop  of  Kheinis  crowning  the  kingsol  Fiance; 
that  there  should  he  only  one  ceremony,  exclu- 
sively through  the  niinistry  of  the  pope;  that  a  de- 
putation of  two   French   bishops  should  curry  to 


Pius  VII.  a  letter  of  invitation,  in  which  the  em- 
peror said  that,  retained  for  powerful  reasons  in 
ihe  heart  of  his  enii)ire,  and  having  to  discuss  with 
the  holy  father  the  interests  of  religion,  he  begged 
him  to  come  to  France  to  bless  his  crown,  and  treat 
on  the  interests  of  the  church;  that  no  species  of 
demand  should  be  addressed  to  the  pope,  that 
should  restrain  in  any  manner  his  return  to  Italy. 
'l"he  ]ioiilifical  cabinet  expressed  finally  its  desire 
that  the  coronation  should  be  postponed  until  the 
25lh  of  December,  the  day  when  Charlemagne  had 
been  proclaimed  emperor,  because  the  pope,  deeply 
agitated,  had  need  to  pass  some  time  at  Castel  Gan- 
dolfo,  in  order  to  obtain  a  little  repose,  and  could 
licit  besides  quit  Rome  without  setting  in  order  a 
good  deal  of  business  relative  to  the  Roman  govern- 
ment. 

These  conditions  had  nothing  in  Ihem  but  what 
was  acceptable,  for  if  it  was  proniined  to  listen  to 
the  remonstrances  of  the  pope  upon  certain  organic 
articles,  there  was  no  promise  to  grant  the  claim 
exaeted,  in  case  they  should  be  contrary  to  the 
principles  of  the  French  cliuieh.  Cardinal  Fesch 
had  even  declared  faithfully  that  they  could  never 
modify  these  organic  articles  which  most  offended 
the  Roman  church,  and  which  exacted  the  consent 
of  the  civil  authority  for  the  introduction  into 
Fiance  of  the  pontifical  bulls.  They  were  able, 
without  scruple,  to  promise  that  one  single  cere- 
mony alone  should  be  retained,  the  observation  of 
the  Roman  or  French  service;  the  hope  of  an  ame- 
liorat:on  in  respect  to  the  territory  of  the  holy  see, 
beciuse  Napoleon  often  thought  of  it;  the  sending 
a  deputation  to  invite  the  pojjc  in  a  formal  manner 
to  come  to  Paris;  the  allegation  of  the  interests  of 
the  church  as  the  motive  of  the  voyage;  the  re- 
pression of  the  five  bishops  who  had  returned  upon 
their  reconciliation,  and  troubled  the  church  in  a 
vexatious  manner.  They  were  able,  in  fine,  to  en- 
gage that  nothing  disagreeable  should  be  required 
of  pope  Pius  VII.,  and  that  he  should  be  perfectly' 
free,  for  nothing  to  the  contrary  had  even  in  thought 
entered  into  the  mind  of  Napoleon  or  his  govern- 
ment. It  required  the  imagination  (ti  those  feeble 
and  trembling  old  men,  to  snjjpose  that  the  liberty 
of  the  pope  had  any  thing  to  lear  in  France. 

Cardinal  Fescli,the  consent  of  the  pope  once  ob- 
tained, declared  that  the  emperor  took  upon  him- 
self all  the  cxjienses  of  the  journey,  which  was  for  | 
a  ruined  government  a  difficulty  of  moment  less  in 
the  way.  lie  made  known  besides  the  details  of 
the  magnificent  reception  reserved  for  the  holy 
father.  Unhappily  he  troubled  him  by  accessary 
exactions,  wholly  out  of  place,  lie  wished  that 
twelve  cardinals,  and  more  than  that,  the  secretary 
of  state,  Gonsalvi,  should  accompany  the  pope;  he 
wished  contrary  to  established  usage,  that  classed 
the  cardinals  by  the  oldest  standing,  that  the  first 
place  in  the  pontifical  carriage  should  be  for  the 
ambassador,  grand  almoner  and  uncle  of  the 
emperor.  All  this  was  useless,  and  occasioned  to 
men  who  were  fearful  formalists,  as  much  pain  as 
more  seriotis  difficulties  would  have  done. 

Pius  VII.  yielded  <m  souk-  |ioiiits,  but  he  was 
inflexible  about  the  number  of  cardinals,  and  the 
omission  of  the  secieiaiy  of  state,  ijonsalvi.  In 
their  vague  terror,  I'ios  VII.  and  Gonsalvi  had 
imagined  a  provision  against  all  the  dangers  of 
the  church   by  a  singular  precaution.     The   holy 


letter  of  Napoleon       THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


to  the  pope. 


father,  who  believed  liimself  woi-se  in  liealtli  than 
he  was  in  reality,  and  who  mistook  the  nervous 
agitations  witli  wliicii  he  saw  himself  attacked  for 
some  dangerous  malady,  thought  he  should  die  on 
his  journey.  He  thought,  too,  that  perhaps  they 
would  misuse  him.  To  guard  against  this  second 
apprehension,  lie  had  drawn  up  and  signed  his  ab- 
dication, and  had  deposited  it  in  the  hands  of 
cardinal  Gonsalvi,  that  he  might  be  prepared  to 
declare  the  papacy  vacant.  Further,  it  lie  died  or 
abdicated,  it  would  be  necessary  to  convoke  the 
sacred  college,  in  order  to  fill  the  chair  of  St. 
Peter.  It  was,  therefore,  requisite  to  leave  at 
Rome  as  many  cardinals  as  possible,  and  among 
them  the  man  who,  by  his  ability,  was  the 
most  capable  of  directing  the  church  under 
these  grave  circumstances,  in  other  words,  cardi- 
nal Gonsalvi  himself.  A  last  consideration  de- 
cided the  pope  to  act  in  this  way.  He  had  not 
been  able  to  avoid  an  explanation  with  the  Aus- 
trian Court,  to  make  it  agree  to  his  journey  to 
Paris.  Austria,  appreciating  his  situation,  had 
acknowledged  the  necessity  he  was  under  of  under- 
taking the  journey ;  but  she  had  demanded  a 
guarantee,  that  he  should  promise  not  to  treat  at 
Paris  about  the  arrangements  of  the  German 
church,  which  were  the  consequence  of  the  recez 
of  1803.  It  was,  above  all,  on  account  of  this 
motive  that  Austria  dreaded  the  sojourn  of  the 
pope  in  France.  Pins  VII.  had  solemnly  promised 
not  to  ti'eat  with  Napoleon  on  any  question  foreign 
to  the  French  church.  But  to  add  confidence  to 
his  promise,  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  not 
take  with  him  cardinal  Gonsalvi,  the  man  through 
whom  all  the  great  business  of  the  Roman  court 
was  transacted. 

From  these  motives,  Pius  VII.  refused  to  take 
with  liim  more  than  six  cardinals,  and  persisted 
in  his  resolve  of  leaving  at  Rome  the  secretary  of 
state,  Gonsalvi.  He  consent-,  d  to  an  arrangement 
as  far  as  the  personal  pretensions  of  cardinal 
Fesch  were  concerned.  This  cardinal  was  to  oc- 
cupy the  first  place  when  they  should  ai'rive  in 
France. 

These  matters  arranged,  the  pope  went  to  Castel 
Gandolfo,  where  the  pure  air,  the  tranquillity  that 
followed  ills  fixed  resolution,  the  news,  every  day 
more  satisfactory,  of  the  welcome  prepared  for  him 
at  Paris,  re-established  his  health,  which  was  so 
much  shattered: 

Napoleon  regarded  the  object  he  had  attained  as 
a  great  victory,  because  it  put  the  final  seal 
to  his  rights,  and  left  him  nothing  to  desire  tm  the 
score  of  legitimacy.  Meanwhile,  ho  would  not 
lose  his  own  character  in  the  midst  of  these  ex- 
ternal pomps  ;  he  would  do  nothing  or  promise 
nothing  contrary  to  the  pi'inciples  of  his  govern- 
ment. Cardinal  Fesch  having  said  to  him  that  it 
would  be  sufficient  to  send  to  the  pope  some 
general  enjoying  high  public  consideration,  he  sent 
general  Caffarelli  to  carry  his  invitation,  and  he 
drew  it  up  in  the  most  respectful  and  even  kind 
terms,  but  without  giving  it  to  be  too  much  under- 
stood that  he  had  requested  the  pope's  presence 
near  him,  for  any  other  object  than  his  coronation. 
This  letter,  written  with  perfect  dignity,  was  thus 
conceived  : — 

"  Most  Holy  Father.— The  happy  effect  pro- 
duced on  the  morals  and  character  of  my  people. 


by  the  re-establishment  of  the  Christian  religion, 
induces  me  to  pray  your  holiness  to  aflford  me 
a  new  proof  of  the  interest  that  you  take 
hi  my  destiny,  and  that  of  this  great  nation, 
under  one  of  the  most  imjiortant  circumstances 
that  the  annals  of  the  world  can  offer.  I  |)ray 
you  to  come  and  impart  in  the  most  eminent 
degree  possible,  a  religious  character  to  the 
ceremony  of  the  oath  and  coronation  of  the  first 
empefor  of  the  French.  The  ceremony  will  ac- 
quire a  nevv  lustre  when  it  shall  be  performed  by 
}our  holiness  in  person.  It  will  attach  upon  us 
and  our  people  the  blessing  of  God,  whose  decree 
regulates  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  will  the 
fate  of  families  and  empires. 

"  Your  holiness  knows  the  affectionate  senti- 
ments which  I  have  for  a  long  time  borne  towards 
you,  and  will  thus  judge  of  the  pleasure  this  event 
will  confer  upon  me,  by  enabling  me  to  give  new 
proofs  of  them. 

'•  We  ])ray  God  to  preserve  you,  most  holy  father, 
many  years  to  come  for  the  regulation  and  govern- 
ment of  our  mother  the  holy  church. 

"  Your  devoted  son, 

"  Napoleon." 

To  this  letter  were  joined  strong  solicitations  that 
the  jiope,  in  place  of  arriving  on  the  25th  of  Decem- 
ber, should  arrive  on  the  last  day  of  November. 
Nai)oleon  did  not  tell  the  real  m<itive  that  made 
him  wish  for  the  ceremony  to  take  place  sooner  ; 
this  motive  was  no  other  than  his  project  of  a 
descent  upon  England,  jirepared  for  December. 
He  alleged  a  reason,  which  was  also  true,  but  less 
serious,  this  was  the  inconvenience  of  leaving  too 
long  a  time  at  Paris  all  the  civil  and  military 
authorities  already  convoked. 

General  Caffarelli  setoff  in  the  utmost  haste,  and 
reached  Rome  in  the  night  on  the  28th  or  29tli  of 
September.  Cardinal  Fesch  presented  him  to  the 
holy  father,  who  gave  him  a  paternal  reception. 
Pius  VII.  received  the  letter  from  the  hands  of 
the  general,  but  deferred  reading  it  until  after  the 
audience.  But  when  he  had  acquired  a  knowledge 
of  it,  and  did  not  find  in  it  any  allegation  of  re- 
ligious business  as  the  motive  for  his  proceeding 
to  France,  he  was  seized  with  deep  sorrow,  and 
fe!l  into  a  state  of  nervous  agitation  which  excited 
the  greatest  uneasiness.  In  reality,  that  which 
most  touched  this  venerable  pontiff,  as  with  all 
pruices  of  an  elevated  spirit,  was  his  honour,  the 
dignity  of  his  crown.  He  believed  these  to  be 
compromised  if  for  an  instant  religious  affairs 
were  not  alleged  to  explain  his  thus  displacing 
himself.  The  name  of  "  Chaplain  of  Napoleon," 
which  his  enemies  gave  him,  deeply  hurt  him. 
He  sent  for  cardinal  Fesch  : — "  It  is  poison,"  said 
he,  "  that  you  have  brought  to  me."  He  added 
that  he  would  make  no  reply  to  such  a  letter  ;  that 
he  would  not  go  to  Paris,  because  they  had 
broken  their  word  with  him.  Cardinal  Fesch  at- 
tempted to  calm  the  irritated  pontiff,  and  thought 
that  a  new  consultation  of  cardinals  might  arrange 
this  last  difficulty.  All  began  to  feel  the  impossi- 
bility of  drawing  back,  and  by  means  of  a  last 
explanatory  note,  signed  by  the  cardinal  ambas- 
sador, the  difficulty  was  removed.  It  was  decided 
that  the  pojje,  on  account  of  All  Saints'  day, 
should  set  out  on  the  2nd  of  November,  and 
arrive  at  Foiitainebleau  on  the  27th. 


1804. 
Oct. 


Ceremony  of  Ihe  coronation  arranged.       THE  CORONATION.      Conduct  of  the  Bonaparte  family. 


599 


While  this  passed  at  Rome,  the  emperor  Napo- 
leon had  disposed  every  thing  in  Paris  to  give  a 
prodigious  eelat  to  the  ceremony  of  his  coronation. 
He  liad  invited  the  princes  of  Baden,  the  prince 
arch-chancellor  of  the  German  enijjire,  and  nume- 
rous depuiations  chosen  in  the  administratinn,  in 
the  m.igistracy,  and  the  army.  He  had  left  the 
care  to  bishop  IBernier  and  the  arch-chancellor  Cam- 
baccres  to  examine  the  ceremonial  used  for  the 
coronations  of  emperors  and  kings,  and  to  propose 
to  him  modifications,  that  the  nianners  of  the  age, 
the  spirit  of  the  time,  and  the  prejudices  of 
France  against  the  Roman  authority,  made  ne- 
cessary to  be  introduced.  He  prescribed  to  them 
the  greatest  secrecy,  that  these  questions  should  not 
become  the  subject  of  vexatious  discourses,  and 
reserved  to  himself  the  decision  upon  those  which 
mi;,'ht  be  doubtful.  The  two  rites,  both  Roman 
and  French,  contained  certain  modes  of  proceeding 
equally  dilHcult  to  be  rendered  supportable  to  tiie 
public  mind.  According  to  both  ceremonies,  the 
monarch  arrived  without  the  insignia  of  saprome 
power,  such  as  the  sceptre,  sword,  and  crown,  and 
only  received  them  from  the  hands  of  the  pontiff, 
and  further,  he  placed  the  crown  on  the  head; 
according  to  the  French  rite  the  peers,  by  the 
Roman  rite  the  bishops,  held  the  crown  suspended 
over  the  head  of  the  monarch  on  his  knees,  and 
the  pontiff,  taking  it,  made  it  descend  upon  his 
brow.  Bernier  and  Cambat-^res,  after  having 
suppressed  certain  details,  too  much  in  opposition 
to  tiie  feelings  of  the  present  time,  were  of  opininii 
that  the  last  part  of  the  ceremony  should  be  pre- 
served, substituting  for  the  peers  of  the  French 
rite,  and  the  bishops  of  the  Roman  rite,  the  six 
grand  dignitaries  of  the  empire,  and  letting  the 
pope  deposit  the  crown  on  the  head,  as  was  an- 
ciep'ly  customary.  Napoleon  grounding  it  upon 
the  feeling  of  the  nation  and  the  army,  asserted 
that  he  would  not  be  able  then  to  receive  the 
crown  from  the  pontiff ;  that  the  nation  and  the 
army,  from  whom  he  held  it,  would  be  annoyed  to 
see  a  ceremonial  not  in  conformity  with  the  real 
state  of  things,  and  the  independence  of  the 
throne.  He  was  inflexible  in  this  respect,  saying 
that  he  knew  better  than  any  body  the  true  senti- 
ments of  France,  yielding,  no  doubt,  to  religious 
ideas,  but  even  under  that  relation,  always  ready 
to  censure  tiiose  who  j)assed  certain  limits.  He 
wihhed,  therefore,  to  arrive  at  the  church  with  his 
imperial  insignia,  that  is  to  say,  as  emperor,  and 
only  give  them  to  be  consecruted  by  the  jiope. 
He  consented  to  receive  the  benediction  and  to  be 
consecrated,  but  not  to  be  crowned.  'J"he  arch- 
chancellor  Cambac(Jrcs  avowed  that  there  was 
truth  in  the  opinion  of  NapoliKin,  but  signified  the 
danger  there  was  not  less  great  of  hurting  the 
feelings  of  the  pontiff,  already  very  nuich  cha- 
grined, an<l  of  depriving  the  ceremony  of  a  con- 
formity, precious  from  the  old  usages  customary 
from  the  time  of  Pepin  and  Cliarlemague.  Cam- 
bac(;res  and  Bernier,  both  intimately  connected 
with  the  legate,  were  charged  with  the  ta«k  of 
making  him  agree  in  the  views  of  the  emperor. 
Canlmul  Caprara,  knowing  how  much  forum  were 
deemed  an  affair  of  grave  import  with  liia  coqrl, 
tiKiuglit  that  he  could  not  decide  any  thing  without 
the  opinion  of  the  |>ope,  but  that  it  w:u*  necessary 
not  to  communicate  any  more  with  tlio  holy  see 


for  fear  of  raising  new  difficulties,  convinced  that 
the  pope,  once  arrived  in  Paris,  would  be  at  the 
same  time  reassured  and  charmed  by  the  welcome 
which  he  was  destined  to  receive  in  France  ;  the 
cardinal  believed  that  all  would  be  arranged 
with  more  facility  ir.  Paris  under  the  influence 
of  an  unexpected  satisfaction,  than  at  Rome  under 
the  influence  of  vague  terroi's. 

These  difficulties  overcome,  there  still  remained 
others  which  had  birth  in  the  midst  of  the  imperial 
family.  It  was  the  question  to  fix  the  place  of 
the  wife,  and  of  the  brothers  and  sisters  of  the 
emperor,  in  the  ceremony  of  the  coronation.  It 
was  necessary  to  know,  first,  whether  Jose- 
phine should  be  crowned,  and  take  the  oath 
in  the  same  manner  as  Napoleon  himself.  She 
ardently  desired  it,  because  this  would  be  a  new 
tie  to  her  husband,  a  new  guarantee  against  a 
future  repudiation,  which  was  the  constant  care  of 
her  life.  Napoleon  hesitated  between  his  affection 
for  his  wife,  and  the  secret  presentiments  of  his 
policy,\vhen  a  family  scene  failed  then  to  bring  about 
the  loss  of  the  luifortunate  Josephine.  All  the 
world  was  busy  around  the  new  monarch,  brothers, 
sisters,  and  relations.  Each  wished  in  the  solem- 
nity which  it  seemed  ought  to  consecrate  them 
all,  some  character  conformable  to  their  actual 
pretensions  and  their  future  hopes.  At  the  sight 
of  this  agitation,  and  witness  of  the  enti-eaties  of 
which  Napoleon  was  the  object,  above  all,  on  the 
part  of  one  of  his  sisters,  Josephine  troubled  in 
mind,  and  swallowed  up  by  jealousy,  suffei-ed  out- 
rageous suspicions  towards  that  sister  to  be  dis- 
covered, and  towards  Napoleon  himself — suspicions 
in  unison  with  certain  atrocious  calumnies  of  the 
emigrants.  Napoleon  was  suddenly  seized  with  a 
most  vehement  fit  of  anger,  and  finding  in  this 
anger  a  resistance  to  his  afi'ections,  he  told  Jose- 
phine that  he  would  separate  himsell'  from  her"; 
that  besides  he  must  do  so  at  a  later  period,  and  that 
it  was  better  to  be  resigned  to  it  at  once,  than  to 
contract  stricter  ties.  He  called  his  two  adopted 
children,  made  them  acquainted  with  his  resolu- 
tion, and  plunged  them,  by  the  announcement,  into 
the  deepest  .sorrow.  Hortcusia  and  Eugene  Beau- 
harnois  declared  with  a  tranquil  and  saddened 
resolution,  that  they  would  follow  their  mother 
into  any  retreat  to  which  she  might  be  condemned. 
Josejihine,  well  advLsed,  showed  herself  full  of 
submission  and  melancholy  resignation.  The  con- 
trast of  her  chagrin,  with  the  satisfaction  that 
appeared  in  the  rest  of  the  imperial  f:imily,  I'ent 
the  heart  of  Napoleon,  and  he  was  unable  to  make 
up  his  mind  to  the  sight  of  the  exile  and  nnhappi- 
ness  of  the  woman  wlio  had  been  the  companion 
of  his  youth,  and  with  hei',  exiled  and  unhappy, 
the  children  as  well,  who  had  become  the  objects 
of  his  paternal  tenderness.  He  took  Josephine 
in  his  arms,  and  told  her,  in  the  overflow  of  his 
heart,  that  nothing  but  force  should  separate  him 
front  her  ;  although,  perli:i|)8,  his  policy  might 
command  it  to  be  otherwise.  Thus  he  promised 
that  she  should  be  crowned  with  him,  and  receive 
the  divine  consecration  at  his  side  from  the  liaud 
of  the  pope. 

'  I  8tatc  here  the  faithriil  recital  of  a  rospcrtjible  indivi- 
(lu.il,  nn  ocular  witncsH,  altiiclu-d  i»  t>ic  iinpurial  family, 
who  has  preserved  the  rucollcciion  of  this  incident  in  his 
manuscript  memoirs. — Aul/wr't  nole. 


600    The  pope  sets  out  for  Paris.     THIERS'  CONSULATE   AND  EMPIRE.  The  pope  sets  out  for  Paris.   ]*°^' 


Jijsephine  ever  mutable,  passed  at  once  from 
tei'ror  to  the  most  perfect  contentedness,  and  gave 
herself  to  the  preparations  for  the  ceremony  with 
puerile  delight. 

Napoleon,  with  the  secret  idea  of  some  day 
raising  up  an  empire  of  the  West,  felt  desirous  of 
having  vassal  kings  around  his  throne.  At  the 
moment  he  made  his  two  brothers,  Joseph  and 
Louis,  grand  dignitaries  of  the  empire  ;  but  he 
soon  afterwards  thought  of  making  them  kings, 
and  he  had  even  already  prepared  a  throne  lor 
Joseph  in  Lombardy.  His  intention  was,  that  in 
their  becoming  kings  they  should  remain  still 
grand  dignitaries  of  his  empire.  They  were  tiuis 
to  be  in  the  French  emjiire  of  the  west,  the  same 
that  the  princes  of  Saxony,  Brandenburgh,  Bo- 
hemia, Bavaria,  Hanover,  and  others  were  in  the 
Germanic  empire.  It  was  needful  that  the  cere- 
mony of  the  coronation  should  answer  to  this  view 
of  the  scheme,  and  be  the  emblematic  image  of 
the  reality  whicli  he  contemplated.  He  would  not 
admit  that  the  bisliops  or  peers  should  hold  tlie 
crown  suspended  over  his  liead,  nor  even  that  the 
first  bishop,  hiin  of  Rome,  slinuld  place  it  there. 
For  the  same  reasons  he  wished  that  his  two 
brothers,  destined  to  be  vassal  kings  of  the  great 
empire,  should  take  at  his  side  a  position  which 
clearly  indicated  their  future  vassalage.  He  ex- 
acted that  liis  brothers,  when  he  was  clothed  with 
the  imperial  mantle,  and  should  proceed  himself 
into  the  body  of  the  church,  from  the  throne  to 
the  altar,  and  from  the  altar  to  the  throne,  should 
support  the  skirt  of  his  mantle.  He  exacted  this, 
not  only  for  himself,  but  for  the  empress.  The 
princesses,  his  sisters,  were  the  parties  to  fulfil  for 
Josephine  the  duty  which  his  brothers  performed 
near  himself.  An  energetic  expression  of  his  will 
was  necessary  to  obtain  this  performance  of  the 
office.  Altliougli  his  kindness  made  puinful  to 
him  some  family  scenes,  he  became  absolute  when 
his  requirements  touched  upon  any  of  his  political 
designs. 

It  was  November:  all  was  ready  at  Notre  Dame. 
The  deputations  had  arrived;  the  tribunals  ceased 
to  sit;  sixty  bishops  and  ai'chbishops  followed  by 
their  clergy  had  al»andoned  the  care  of  their  altars. 
The  generals,  admirals,  officers  the  most  distin- 
guished in  the  land  or  sea  service,  the  marshals 
Davout,  Ney,  Soult,  the  admirals  Bruix,  Gan- 
teaume,  in  ])lace  of  being  at  Boulogne  or  Brest, 
were  all  found  in  Paris.  Napoleon  was  at  variance 
with  this  state  of  things,  because  pomp,  much  as  he 
loved  it,  only  passed  away  rightly  with  him  after 
business  was  over.  A  multitude  of  curious  per- 
sons, from  all  parts  of  Europe  as  well  as  of  France, 
filled  the  capital,  and  awaited  impatiently  the  ex- 
traordinary spectacle  which  had  drawn  them  thi- 
ther. Napoleon,  whom  the  assemblage  of  wliich 
he  was  the  ccjutinual  object  did  not  displease,  was 
still  anxious  to  put  an  end  to  a  state  of  things 
which  broke  in  upon  the  regular  oi-der  which  he 
preferred  to  see  prevail  in  his  empire.  He  sent  off 
officer  after  officer  in  order  to  deliver  to  the  pope 
letters  filled  with  filial  tenderness,  and  warm  en- 
treaties that  he  would  hasten  his  journey.  Delays 
upon  delays  caused  the  ceremony  to  be  fixed  for 
the  2nd  of  December. 

The  pope  had  ultimately  decided  upon  quitting 
Rome.     After  having  confided  full  powers  to  car- 


dinal Gonsalvi,  and  having  loaded  him  with  his 
troubles  and  embarrassments,  he  had  gone,  <;n  the 
2iid  of  November,  in  the  morning,  to  the  altar  of 
St.  Peter,  and  had  there  passed  much  time  upon 
his  knees,  surrounded  by  the  cardinals,  the  gran- 
dees of  Rome,  and  the  people.  He  offei-ed  at  the 
altar  a  fervent  prayer,  as  if  he  were  going  to  en- 
counter great  dangers;  then  he  entered  his  car- 
riage, and  took  the  road  to  Viterbo.  The  people 
of  Transtevere,  so  faithful  to  their  pontiff's,  accom- 
panied his  carriage  a  long  way  in  tears.  The  time 
had  passed  away  when  the  court  of  Rome  was  the 
[  most  enlightened  in  Europe.  The  old  men  of  the 
sacred  college  scarcely  knew  in  what  age  they 
lived,  blaming,  from  want  of  comprehending  it,  the 
wise  condescension  of  Pins  VII.  They  were  ready 
to  swallow  the  most  absurd  stories.  Tliere  were 
some  who  regarded  as  correct  the  story  of  a  stra- 
tagem, said  to  be  prepared  in  France,  to  make  the 
holy  father  a  prisoner,  and  seize  upon  his  states  ; 
as  if  Napoleon  had  required  .such  means  to  be 
master  of  Rome,  or  as  if  he  desired  any  thing  be- 
sides, at  that  moment,  than  the  pontifical  benedic- 
tion, which  rendered  the  character  of  his  authority 
respectable  in  the  eyes  of  mankind. 

Pius  VII.,  on  leaving  Rome,  wished,  in  spite  of 
his  poverty,  to  take  with  him  some  presents  worthy 
of  the  host  with  whom  he  was  going  to  take  up  his 
residence.  With  that  delicacy  of  tact  to  which  he 
was  accustomed,  he  selected,  for  a  present  to  Napo- 
leon, two  antique  cameos,  as  remarkable  for  tlieir 
beauty  as  their  signification.  One  represented 
Achilles,  the  other  the  continence  of  Scipio.  For 
J(isephine,  he  destined  some  an'tique  vases,  of  ad- 
mirable workmanship.  By  the  advice  of  Talleyrand, 
he  brought  a  profusion  of  chaplets  for  the  ladies  of 
the  court. 

He  set  out  therefore;  traversed  the  Roman  and 
Tuscan  states,  in  the  midst  of  the  Italian  people, 
kneeling  as  he  passed.  At  Florence,  he  was  re- 
ceived by  the  queen  of  Etruria,  become  a  widow,  and 
then  actually  regent  for  her  son  of  the  new  king- 
dom created  by  Napoleon.  This  princess,  pious  as 
all  Spanish  princesses  are,  received  the  pope  with 
demonstrations  of  respect  and  devotedness,  which 
much  delighted  him.  He  began  from  that  moment 
to  lose  some  of  his  deep  inquietude.  He  wished  to 
avoid  the  Legations,  in  order  not  to  sanction  by  his 
presence  the  attachment  of  them  to  any  other  state 
than  that  of  Rome.  He  proceeded  to  Piacenza, 
Parma,  and  Turin.  He  was  not  yet  in  France, 
but  the  authorities  and  the  troo]>s  of  France  sur- 
rounded him.  He  saw  the  old  Menou,  the  officers 
of  the  army  of  Italy,  bend  before  him  with  respect, 
and  was  touched  by  the  respectful  expression  of  tlieir 
manly  countenances.  Cardinal  Cambac^res,  and  a 
chamberlain  of  the  palace,  M.  de  Salmatoris,  sent  in 
advance,  presented  themselves  to  him  on  the  fron- 
tiers of  Piedmont,  which  were  those  of  the  French 
empire,  and  handed  him  a  letter  of  Napoleon  full  of 
expressions  of  acknowledgment,  and  of  his  wishes 
for  a  speedy  and  happy  journey  to  the  pontiff. 
Hour  after  hour  gave  him  more  confidence;  and 
Pius  VII.  had  no  longer  reason  to  feel  doubt  as  to 
the  consequences  of  his  resolution.  He  passed  the 
Alps.  Extraordinary  precautions  had  been  taken 
to  ren<ler  the  passage  safe  and  easy  for  himself  and 
the  old  cardinals  who  accompanied  him.  Officers 
of  the  imperial  palace  provided  every  thing  on  the 


N.ipoleiMi  meets  the  pope  at 
Fontainebleau. 


THE  CORONATION. 


Address  of  M.  de  Fontanes. 


way  with  infinite  eagerness  and  magnificence.  At 
length  he  arriveil  at  Lyons.  Tliere  his  fears  were 
changed  into  real  i>leasiire.  Crowds  of  the  jiopula- 
tion  liad  come  tliither  from  Provence,  Dauphine, 
Franclie-Conite',  and  Burgundy,  to  see  tiie  repre- 
sentative of  God  upon  tlie  earth.  The  people  al- 
ways liuve  in  tlieir  hearts  a  confused  but  deep  sen- 
tinient  of  a  divinity.  The  form  in  whicli  the  idea 
is  presented  to  tlieir  imagination  matters  little, 
provided  such  a  form  should  have  been  anciently 
sanctioned,  and  that  those  above  them  give  an  ex- 
ample of  respect  towavds  it.  If  there  be  added  to 
the  natui-al  force  of  this  sentiment  the  extraordi- 
nary power  of  popular  reaction,  the  earnestness  with 
which  the  multitude  returns  to  the  things  that 
it  had  momentarily  abandoned,  the  eagerness  nwiy 
be  conceived  that  tiie  people  of  the  cities  and 
country  parts  of  France  exhibited  in  seeking  the 
presence  of  the  holy  father.  In  seeing  upon  its 
knees  that  nation  which  had  been  depicted  to 
him  as  always  in  revolt  against  the  authoi'ities 
of  earth  and  heaven — that  nation  which  liad  over- 
turned thrones,  and  IkKI  a  pontiff  in  captivity — 
Pius  VII.  was  startled  and  encouraged;  he  acknow- 
ledged that  his  old  counsellor  Caprara  had  spoken 
truth,  wlien  he  affirmed  that  this  journey  would 
be  of  great  advantage  to  religion,  and  procure  to 
himself  infinite  satisfaction.  A  letter  from  the 
emperor  had  found  liim  at  Lyons,  bringing  fresh 
thanks  and  wishes  for  his  prompt  arrival.  The 
feeble  pontiff,  possessing  sensibility  to  infirmity,  no 
longer  felt  fatigue  since  he  saw  himself  received  in 
such  a  welcome  manner,  and  offered  of  his  own  ac- 
cord to  accelerate  liis  journey  a  couple  of  days, 
which  offer  was  accepted.  He  quitted  Lyons  in  the 
midst  of  the  same  homage;  traversing  Rloulins  and 
Nevers,  encountering  every  where  upon  his  road 
the  affected  multitude,  demanding  his  benediction 
from  the  head  of  the  chureli. 

At  Fontainebleau  Pius  VII.  was  to  stop.  Napo- 
leon had  so  regulated  matters,  in  order  to  have  the 
opportunity  of  encountering  the  holy  father,  and 
arranging  two  or  three  days'  rest  for  him  in  that 
fine  retirement.  He  had  ordered  for  the  25th  of 
November  a  day  of  hiniting,  when  the  company 
should  take  their  course  towards  the  road  by  which 
the  holy  father  was  expected  to  come.  At  the 
hour  when  he  knew  tliat  tiie  pontifical  party  would 
arrive  at  the  cross  of  St.  Herem,  lie  turned  his 
horse's  head  that  way,  in  order  to  meet  the  pope, 
who.soon  after  aiTived.  He  presented  himself  to 
him  immediately,  and  embraced  him.  Pius  VI!., 
affected  at  this  eagerness  of  manner,  regarded  with 
emotion  and  curiosity  tiiis  other  Charlemagne,  whom 
he  had  thought  for  some  ycai-s  to  be  the  instrument 
of  God  upon  tiie  earth.  It  was  the  middle  of  the 
day.  The  two  sovereigns  mounted  the  Siimc  car- 
riage, to  proceed  to  the  chateau  of  Fontainebleau, 
Napoleon  giving  the  right  hand  to  the  head  of  the 
church.  On  the  threshold  of  the  palace,  the 
emi»reHS,  the  great  nun  of  the  empire,  and  the 
chiefs  of  the  army  were  arranged  in  a  circle  for  the 
purpose  of  receiving  Pius  VII.,  an<I  of  doing  him 
iiomage.  The  pope,  although  habituated  to  Ro- 
man pomp,  had  never  seen  any  tiling  ho  magnifi- 
cent. He  was  conducted,  surrounded  Ijy  thesphii- 
did  party,  to  the  a|)artment  destined  for  his  use. 
After  some  hours'  rest,  according  to  the  rules  of 
etiquette  established  between  sovereigns,  ho  paid  a 


visit  to  the  emperor  and  empress,  which  visit  they 
immediately  returned.  Every  time  more  encou- 
raged, and  more  won  over  by  the  seducing  lan- 
guage of  his  host,  which  promised  rather  than  to 
intimidate  to  afford  him  great  pleasure,  he  con- 
ceived a  regard  which  to  the  end  of  his  life,  after 
numerous  and  terrible  vicissitudes,  he  still  felt  for 
the  unfortunate  liero.  The  great  men  of  the  em- 
pire were  successively  presented  to  the  pope.  Ho 
received  them  with  perfect  cordiality,  and  that 
grace  attaching  to  the  old,  that  carries  so  power- 
ful a  charm.  The  countenance,  mild  and  dignified, 
the  penetrating  glance  of  Pius  VII.  aflected  every 
heart,  and  he  was  himself  touched  at  the  eflect 
which  his  own  presence  produced.  They  had  not 
yet  conferred  upon  any  of  the  difficulties  which  re- 
mained to  be  regulated.  They  solely  indulged  the 
pope's  feelings,  and  relieved  his  fatigues.  He  was 
himself  all  emotion,  all  pleasure  at  his  reception, 
which  seemed  to  him  to  be  the  triumph  even  of  re- 
ligion itself. 

The  moment  came  to  depart  for  Paris,  and  to 
enter  finally  into  that  formidable  city,  where  for  a 
century  the  human  mind  hud  been  in  a  ferment, 
and  where  for  some  years  the  destiny  of  the  world 
had  been  regulated.  On  the  28th  of  November, 
after  three  days'  rest,  the  emperor  and  the  pope 
entered  the  same  carriage  in  order  to  reach  Paris, 
the  pope  being  always  placed  on  the  right  side. 
The  pope  was  lodged  in  tlie  pavilion  of  Flora, 
which  had  been  arranged  for  his  reception.  The 
whole  of  the  29th  was  allowed  him  fur  rest.  U|>on 
the  30th,  the  senate,  legislative  body,  tribunate,  and 
council  of  state  were  iiresentedto  him.  The  presi- 
dents of  these  four  bodies  addressed  him  in  speeches 
which  depicted  in  terms  the  most  glowing  and  just, 
his  virtues,  wisdom,  and  great  condescension  to- 
wards France;  still  in  the  midst  of  these  addresses, 
fugitive  as  were  the  sensations  they  inspired,  that 
of  M.  Fontanes  must  be  remarked,  serious  and  en- 
during as  the  truths  with  which  it  was  filled. 

"  Most  Holy  Father, — When  the  conqueror 
of  Marengo  conceived  in  the  midst  of  the  field  of 
battle  the  design  of  re-establishing  religious  unity, 
and  of  rendering  back  to  the  French  their  ancient 
worsliip,  he  i)reserved  from  utter  ruin  the  princi- 
ples of  civilization.  This  great  conception  coining 
upon  a  day  of  victory,  gave  birtli  to  the  concordat; 
and  the  legislative  body  of  which  I  have  the  honour 
to  be  the  organ  before  your  holiness  converted  the 
concordat  into  a  national  law. 

"  A  memorable  day,  equally  estimated  by  the 
wisdom  of  the  statesman,  and  dear  to  the  Christian 
faith  !  It  was  then  that  France,  abjuring  her  too 
serious  errors,  gave  the  most  useful  lessons  to  the 
human  race.  She  seemed  to  acknowledge  before 
mankind,  that  all  irreligious  thoughts  are  im- 
jiolitic,  and  that  every  attack  upon  Christianity  is 
an  attack  upon  society. 

"  The  return  of  the  ancient  worship  soon  prepared 
tlie  way  for  that  of  a  government  more  natural  to 
great  states,  and  more  conformable  to  tlie  old  habits 
of  France.  The  entire  social  system  shaken  by  the 
inconstant  opinions  of  man,  supports  itself  anew 
upon  a  doctrine  immutable  asGo(l  himself.  It  was 
religion  that  formerly  iiolished  savage  societies;  but 
it  is  more  difficult  at  this  day  to  repair  social  ruins 
than  to  lay  tiieir  foundation. 

"  We  owe  this  advantage  to  a  double  prodigy. 


Satisfaction  of  the  pope 
at  his  reception  in 
Paris. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Ecclesiastical  marriage 
of  Napoleon  and  Jo- 
sephine. 


Dec. 


France  has  seen  the  birth  of  one  of  those  extraor- 
dinary men,  sent  at  h)ng  distunt  intervals  to  the 
succour  of  empires  that  are  ready  to  perish;  while 
Rome  at  the  same  time  has  seen  shining  from  the 
throne  of  St.  Peter,  all  tlie  apostolical  virtues  of  the 
first  ages  Their  niilJ  authority  makes  itself  felt 
in  every  .leart.  Universal  homage  cainiot  fail  to 
attach  to  a  pontiff  as  wise  as  he  is  pious,  who  at 
the  same  time  discriminates  all  that  is  necessary  to 
be  left  to  the  course  of  human  affairs,  and  all  that 
is  required  for  the  interests  of  religion. 

"  This  august  religion  has  ome  to  consecrate 
through  him  the  new  destinies  of  the  French  em- 
pire, and  take  the  same  apparel  as  in  the  age  of 
the  Clovis  and  the  Pepins. 

"  Every  thing  has  changed  around  her;  she  alone 
has  known  no  change. 

"  She  sees  the  termination  of  the  families  of  kings 
as  well  as  of  subjects;  but  on  the  ruins  of  crum- 
bling thrones,  and  on  the  ste]>s  of  those  newly  ele- 
vated, she  continually  (}bserves  the  successive 
manifestation  of  the  designs  of  the  Eternal,  and 
obeys  them  witli  confidence. 

"Never  has  the  world  had  a  more  imposing  spec- 
tacle presented  to  it;  never  have  the  people  re- 
ceived more  important  instructions. 

"The  time  no  longer  e.\isis  wh^n  the  empire  and 
the  priesthood  are  rivals.  Both  now  give  each 
other  assistance  in  repelling  the  false  doctiiiies 
which  have  menaced  Europe  with  total  subversion. 
May  they  for  ever  yield  before  the  double  inHiience 
of  religion  and  policy  in  union.  This  wish  will  not 
be  baffled;  never  in  France  was  there  so  much  of 
political  genius,  and  never  did  the  pontifical  throne 
offer  to  the  Christian  world  a  model  more  affecting 
and  respectable." 

The  pope  showed  considerable  emotion  at  this 
noble  address;  the  finest  which  had  been  delivered 
at  all  from  the  time  of  Louis  XIV.  The  people  of 
Paris  ran  under  his  windows,  demanding  that  he 
should  show  himself.  Already  the  fame  of  his 
mildness  and  his  noble  countenance  had  spread  over 
the  capital.  Pius  VII.  appeared  several  times  at 
the  balcony  of  the  Tuileries,  always  accompanied 
by  Napoleon,  and  was  saluted  with  loud  acclama- 
tions; he  saw  the  people  of  Paris,  that  people  who 
had  attended  the  10th  of  August,  and  adored  the 
goddess  of  Reason,  on  their  knees  awaiting  the 
pontifical  benediction.  What  a  singular  inconstancy 
in  men  and  nations,  proving  that  man  must  attacli 
himself  after  all  to  the  great  truths  on  which  hu- 
man society  reposes,  and  fix  there  finally;  because 
there  is  neither  dignity  nor  repose  in  the  caprices 
of  a  day  that  are  embraced  and  quitted  with  disho- 
nourable ])recipitation. 

Tiie  sombre  apprehensions  which  had  so  em- 
bittered the  resolution  of  the  pope  were  entirely 
dissipated.  Pius  VII.  saw  near  him  a  prince  full 
of  regard  and  care,  joining  grace  to  genius,  in  the 
midst  of  a  great  nation,  restored  to  the  old  tradi- 
tions of  Christianity  by  tlie  exaniple  of  a  glorious 
chief.  He  was  delighted  to  have  come,  and  added 
by  his  presence  to  the  force  of  the  impulse.  He  had 
yet  some  trouble  to  encounter,  either  touching  the 
ceremonial,  or  on  the  subject  of  the  constitutional 
bishops,  that  after  their  reconciliation  with  the 
church,  had  set  themselves  to  dogmatise  upon  the 
meaning  of  that  reconciliation.  There  were  four  of 
these,  Lecoz,  archbishop  of   Brianyon,  Lacombe, 


bishop  of  Angouleme,  Saurine,  bishop  of  Strasburg, 
and  Remond,  bishop  of  Dijon.  M.  Portalis  had 
sent  for  them,  and  by  order  of  the  emperor,  had 
enjoined  it  upon  them,  if  they  had  any  desire  to  be 
ju'esented  to  the  pope,  to  write  a  letter  of  reconci- 
liation, minuted  in  accord  with  bishop  Bernier,  and 
the  cardinals  coniposing  the  pontifical  traiu.  At  the 
latest  moment,  they  wished  to  change  a  word  in  the 
letter,  which  the  pope  perceived,  remarked  upon, 
and  then  left  to  t!ie  emperor  the  task  of  terminat- 
ing these  sad  disputes.  In  other  respects  he 
showed  a  countenance  equally  mild  and  paternal  to 
all  ihe  members  of  the  French  clergy. 

The  questions  relating  to  the  ceremonial  still  re- 
mained open.  The  poi)e  had  admitted  the  princi- 
pal modifications,  founded  upon  the  state  of  man- 
ners; but  the  question  of  the  coronation  singularly 
affected  him.  He  kept  to  the  preservation  of  the 
right  of  his  predecessors  to  place  the  crown  on  the 
emperor's  brow.  Napoleon  ordered  that  it  should 
not  be  insisted  upon,  and  said  that  he  would  take 
upon  him  to  arrange  every  thing  on  this  point  at 
the  place  itself. 

The  eve  of  the  grand  solemnity  now  approached, 
the  1st  of  December.  Josephine,  who  had  pleased 
the  holy  father  by  a  species  of  devotion  like  that 
of  the  Italian  females,  had  got  access  to  the 
pope  for  the  jnirpose  of  making  an  avowal,  from 
which  she  liojied  to  derive  a  great  advantage.  She 
had  declared  to  him  that  she  was  only  civilly  mar- 
ried to  Napoleon,  because  at  the  epoch  of  this 
marriage  the  religious  ceremonies  had  been  inter- 
dieted.  This  was  even  on  the  throne  strange  evi- 
dence of  the  manners  of  the  lime.  Napoleon  had 
put  an  end  to  a  similar  state  with  his  sister  the  prin- 
cess Murat,  by  praying  cardinal  Caprara  to  give 
them  the  nuptial  benediction;  but  he  had  never 
required  that  the  state  in  which  he  himself  was 
should  be  terminated  in  a  like  manner.  The  pope, 
scandalized  at  a  situation  which  in  the  sight  of  the 
church  was  a  concubinage,  demanded  instantly  a 
conference  with  Napoleon,  and  declared  that  he 
should  be  wholly  unable  to  consecrate  him,  because 
the  state  of  conscience  of  en)perors  had  never  been 
sought  by  the  church  when  it  was  a  question  to 
crown  them  :  but  he  should  be  unable  in  crown- 
ing Josephine  to  give  the  divine  sanction  to  a  state 
of  concubinage.  Napoleon,  irritated  against  Jose- 
phine for  this  interested  indi>cretion,  fearing  to 
outrage  the  pope,  who  he  knew  was  not  to  be  moved 
in  any  matter  that  concerned  the  faith,  and  besides, 
not  willing  to  alter  a  ceremony  of  which  the  pro- 
gramme was  already  jiublished,  consented  to  I'e- 
ceive  the  nuptial  benediction.  Josephine,  severely 
reprimanded  by  her  husband,  but  charmed  at  at- 
taining her  object,  received  on  the  night  that  pre- 
ceded the  coronation  the  sacrament  of  marriage, 
in  the  chapel  of  the  Tuileries.  The  cardinal  Fesch 
married  the  emperor  and  empress,  and  there  were 
present  for  witnesses  M.  de  Talleyrand  and  mar- 
shal Berthier,  who  kept  it  a  profound  secret.  The 
secret  was  kept  until  the  time  of  the  divorce.  On 
the  morning  of  the  coronation  there  were  discover- 
able in  the  red  eyes  of  Josephine  traces  of  tlie 
tears  which  had  been  caused  by  her  secret  agita- 
tion upon  this  occasion. 

On  Sunday  the  2ud  of  December,  a  day  of  win- 
ter, cold,  but  calm  and  serene,  the  population  of 
PariSjSeen  fortyyeai's  afterwards  to  flock  iuasimilax 


The  procession  of  Napoleon  to 
Notre  Dame. 


THE  CORONATION. 


The  coronation. 


COS 


state  of  the  atmosphere,  to  attend  the  mortal  re- 
mains of  Napoleon,  thronged  to  attend  the  progre.^s 
of  the  imperial  procession.  The  pope  set  out  first 
at  tmi  o'clock  in  the  morning,  some  time  in  advance 
of  the  emperor,  in  order  tiiat  tlie  two  processions 
mitjht  not  interfere  in  the  way  of  one  another. 
He  was  accompanied  hy  a  numerous  body  of  the 
clerg;-,  clothed  in  the  most  sumptuous  garments, 
and  escorted  by  detachments  of  the  imperial  guard. 
A  ponico,  richly  decorated,  had  been  constructed 
all  around  the  place  Notre  Dame,  to  receive  on 
descending  from  the  carriages,  the  sovereigns  and 
princes  that  might  attend  at  that  ancient  cathedral. 
The  archbishop's  palace  was  adorned  with  a  luxury 
worthy  of  the  guests  whonj  it  was  to  contain,  and 
was  disposed  so  that  the  jiope  and  the  emperor 
might  remain  there  for  a  few  niomenls'  repose. 
After  a  short  rest  the  pope  entered  the  church, 
where  some  hours  before  the  deputies  from  the 
towns  had  taken  their  ])laces,  with  the  representa- 
tives of  the  magistracy  and  of  the  army,  the  sixty 
bishops  with  their  clergy,  the  senate,  legislative 
body,  tribunate,  council  of  state,  princes  of  Nassau, 
Hesse,  and  Baden,  the  arch-chancellor  of  the  Ger- 
manic empire,  in  fine  the  ministers  of  all  the 
jiowers.  The  great  door  of  Notre  Dame  had 
been  closed,  bectiu.so  they  had  placed  against  it 
the  back  of  the  imperial  throne.  The  chnr'-h  was 
therefore  entered  by  the  side  doors  situated  at  the 
two  extremities  of  the  transversal  nave.  When  the 
pope,  preceded  hy  the  cross  and  insignia  of  the 
siiccessior  of  St,  Peter,  appeared  in  this  old  church 
of  St.  Louis,  all  the  auditory  arose,  and  five  hundred 
musicians  astonished  them  with  the  solemn  effect 
of  the  holy  chant,  "  Tu  es  I'etrus  1"  The  effect 
was  sudden  and  striking.  The  i)ope,  walking  at  a 
slow  pace,  went  first  to  kneel  before  the  altar,  and 
jifterwards  took  his  place  on  a  throne  prepared  for 
him  upon  the  right  side.  The  sixty  pi-elates  of 
the  French  church  came  one  after  the  other  to 
salute  him.  He  showed  towards  each  of  them, 
constitutional  or  not,  the  same  benevolence  of 
aspect.  After  this  they  waited  for  the  arrival  of 
the  intperial  family. 

The  church  of  Notre  Dame  was  decorated  with 
unequalled  magnificence.  The  hangings  of  velvet, 
sprinkled  with  golden  bees,  descended  from  the 
roof  to  the  floor.  At  the  foot  of  the  altar  there 
were  very  sini)ile  chairs,  \.]iicli  the  emperor  and 
empress  occupied  before  their  coronation.  At  the 
bottom  of  the  church,  in  the  exirenie  point  oppo- 
site to  the  altar,  arose  an  innnense  thi<ine,  elevated 
upon  twenty-four  steps,  |)laced  between  eolumns 
that  supported  a  pediment,  while  a  sjiecies  of  monu- 
ment in  a  monument  was  destined  for  the  emperor 
and  empress  when  crowned.  This  was  according 
both  to  tll(^  French  and  Iloman  ritual.  The  mo- 
narch could  not  go  to  sit  upon  his  throne  until  after 
having  been  crowned  by  the  pontiff. 

They  awaited  the  emperor,  and  awaited  him  a 
good  while.  It  was  the  only  vexatious  circum- 
stance in  the  solemnity.  The  posiiion  of  the  popes 
during  this  long  interval  was  a  painful  one.  'J'he 
manager  of  the  fete  had  apprehended  that  the  two 
processions  might  be  exposed  to  encountiu-  each 
other,  and  was  the  cause  of  the  delay.  The  em- 
peror hud  left  the  Tuileries  in  a  carriage  entirely 
surrounded  with  glasses,  surmounted  by  genii  of 
gold  holding  a  crown;  a  carriage  popular  iu  France, 


always  recognised  hy  the  people  of  Paris,  when  it 
has  been  since  visible  in  other  ceremonials.  He 
was  dressed  in  a  coat  designed  by  the  greatest 
jiainter  of  the  time,  and  pretty  much  like  the  cos- 
tume of  the  sixteenth  century;  he  wore  a  cap  and 
feather,  with  a  short  cloak.  He  was  to  take  the 
imperial  costimie  from  the  archbishop  him.self  at 
the  moment  of  entering  the  church.  Escorted  by 
the  marshals  on  horseback,  preceded  by  the  grand 
dignitaries  in  carriages,  he  passed  slowly  along  the 
rue  St.  Honore,  the  quay  of  the  Seine,  and  the 
l>lace  Notre  Dame,  in  the  midst  of  the  acclamations 
of  an  inmienso  population,  enchanted  to  see  the 
general  favourite  become  emi)f.ror,  not  as  if  he  had 
operated  the  whole  himself,  with  his  fluctuating 
l)assions,and  his  warlike  heroism,  but  that  it  was  the 
enchantmeut  of  a  magic  ring  that  had  done  it  for 
him. 

Napoleon  arrived  at  the  portico  already  de- 
scribed, descended,  and  went  into  the  archbishop's 
palace,  where  he  took  the  crown,  sceptre,  and  im- 
perial mantle,  and  then  ])ioceeded  towards  the 
church.  At  his  side  was  borne  the  great  crown, 
in  the  form  of  a  tiara,  modelled  upon  that  of 
Charlem.agne.  During  the  first  few  moments  his 
brow  was  girt  with  the  crown  of  the  Cesars;  in 
other  worils,  with  a  simple  wreath  of  golden 
laurel.  They  admired  the  head,  as  fine  under  the 
golden  laurel  as  an  anti(]ue  medal.  Having  entered 
into  the  church  at  the  notes  of  the  resounding  music, 
he  knelt  clovn,  and  went  aiterwar.ls  to  the  chair 
which  he  was  to  occui)y  before  placing  hiiusulf  in 
|)ossession  of  the  throne.  Then  the  ceremony 
commenced.  The  crown,  scepti-e,  sword,  and 
mantle  were  deposited  ujion  the  iiltar.  The  pope 
made  upon  the  emperor's  brow,  on  his  arms  and 
head,  the  ctistomary  anointings;  then  blessing  the 
sword  with  which  he  gix'ded  him,  and  the  sceptre 
which  he  placed  in  his  hand,  he  approached  to  take 
the  crown.  Napoleon,  observing  his  movement  as  he 
announced  he  would  do,  and  thus  determinate  the 
difficulty  at  the  place  itself,  took  the  crown 
Irom  the  hands  of  the  pontiff  without  roughiu'ss, 
but  in  a  decided  manner,  and  placed  it  upon  his 
own  head.  The  act,  understood  by  all  the  assist- 
ants, produced  an  indescribable  effect.  Napoleon 
then  taking  the  crown  of  the  empress,  and  ap- 
proaching Josephine,  who  knelt  before  him,  placed 
it  with  visible  tenderness  upon  the  head  of  this 
comp.-mion  of  his  fortunes,  who  was  at  the  same 
moment  bathed  in  tears.  'J'liis  done,  he  moved 
towards  the  grand  throne.  He  mounted  it,  followed 
by  his  brothers,  who  supported  the  skirts  of  the 
imperial  mantle.  Then  the  po])e  proceeded  ac- 
cording to  usage  to  the  foot  of  the  throne  to  bless 
the  new  sovereign,  and  chtint  the  words  which  had 
resoimded  in  the  ears  of  Charlemagne  in  the  church 
of  St.  Peter,  when  the  Roman  clergy  suddenly 
proclaimed  him  emperor  of  the  west :  "  Vivat 
letcrimin  semper  Augustus  !"  At  this  chant  the 
cries  of  "Long  live  the  emperor,"  a  thousand 
times  repeated,  were  heard  resounding  along  the 
arches  of  Notre  Dame;  -.jannon  added  their  thunder 
peals,  and  annonneeil  to  all  Paris  the  solemn  mo- 
ment when  Napoleon  was  definitively  consecrated, 
according  to  all  the  forms  agreed  upon  among 
men. 

Tlic  ardi-chnncellorCambacdics  nextboro  to  him 
thu  text  of  the  <iath;  a  bishop  presented  the  evan- 


The  coronation. 


THIERS'   CONSULATE  AND   EMPIRE.         General  reflections. 


gelist ;  and,  liis  hand  plaeod  upon  the  Christian 
volume,  lie  took  the  oath,  which  embodiefi  the  gi-eat  | 
principles  of  the  French  revolution.  Then  was  I 
sung  a  grand  pontifical  mass.  The  day  was  far 
advanced  wiien  the  two  processions  regained  the 
Tuileries,  traversing  the  streets  amid  an  immense 
concourse  of  peo]>le.  I 

Such  was  tiie  august  ceremony  by  which  the  re-  j 
turn  of  France  to  monarchial  principles  was  con-  i 
summated.  It  was  not  one  of  the  least  triumphs  of 
the  revolution  to  see  the  soldier  coming  forth  from 
his  own  sphere,  crowned  by  the  pope,  who  had  ex- 
pressly quitted  for  that  purpose  the  capital  of  the 
Christian  world.  It  is,  above  all,  to  such  a  claim 
that  similar  pomps  are  worthy  of  drawing  the  at- 
tention of  the  historian.  If  moderation  of  desire 
had  seated  itself  on  the  same  throne  with  genius — 
had  dealt  out  to   France  a  sufficient   degree  of 


lilu-rty,  and  had  limited  duly  the  course  of  lieroic 
enterprise — this  ceremony  had  consecrated  for 
ever,  or,  in  other  words,  for  some  centuries,  the 
new  dynasty.  But  we  must  pass  by  other  ways  to  a 
political  state  of  more  freedom,  and  to  a  gi'eatness 
unhappily  too  restrained. 

There  were  fifteen  years  gone  since  tlie  revolu- 
tion commenced.  Monarchy  reigning  during  three 
years,  republicanism  dui'ing  twelve,  France  had  now 
become  a  niilitarv  monarchy,  founded  at  the  same 
time  upon  civil  equality,  upon  the  concurrence  of 
the  nation  in  the  law,  and  upon  the  free  admission  of 
every  citizen  to  thuse  social  greatnesses  re-esta- 
blished. This,  for  fifteen  years,  had  been  the  pro- 
gress of  French  society  successively  overthrown, 
and  sucessively  re-edified  with  the  ordinary  promp- 
titude attaching  to  popular  passions. 


BOOK  XXL 

THE  THIRD  COALITION. 

STAT  OP  THE  POPE  IN  PARIS. — CARE  OF  NAPOLEON  TO  RETAIN  HIM  THERE. — THE  FLEETS  UNABLE  TO  ACT  IJT 
DECEMBER;  NAPOLEON  EMPLOYS  THE  WINTER  IN  ORGANIZING  ITALY.— TRANSFORM ATION  OF  THE  ITALIAN 
REPUBLIC  INTO  A  VASSAL  KINGDOM  OF  THE  FRENCH  EMPIRE.— OFFER  OF  THE  KINGDOM  TO  JOSEPH  BONA- 
PARTE, AND  HIS  REFUSAL  OF  IT. — NAPOLEON  DETERMINES  TO  PLACE  THE  IRON  CROWN  UPON  HIS  OWN  HEAD, 
DECLARING  THAT  THE  TWO  CROWNS  OP  FRANCE  AND  ITALY  SHALL  BE  SEPARATED  AT  THE  PEACE. — SOLEMN 
SITTING  OF  THE  SENATE. — SECOND  CORONATION  AT  MILAN  FIXED  FOR  THE  MONTH  OF  MAY,  1803.— NAPOLEOIT 
FINDS  IN  HIS  PRESENCE  BEYOND  THE  ALPS  A  MEANS  FOR  THE  BETTER  fONCEALMENT  OF  HIS  NEW  MARITIME 
PROJECTS.— HIS  MARITIME  RESOURCES  INCHEASED  BY  A  SUDDEN  DECLARATION  OF  WAR  BETWEEN  ENGLAND 
AND  SPAIN. — NAVAL  FORCE  OF  HOLLAND,  FRANCE,  AND  SPAIN.— DESIGN  FOR  A  GRAND  EXPEDITION  TO  INDIA. 
— HESITATES  FOR  A  MOMENT  BETWEEN  THAT  PROJECT  AND  THE  OTHER  OF  A  DIRECT  EXPEDITION  AGAINST 
ENGLAND.— DEFINITIVE  PREFERENCE  GIVEN  TO  THE  LAST. — EVERY  THING  PREPARED  TO  CARRY  THE  DESCENT 
INTO  EXECUTION  IN  THR  MONTHS  OF  JULY  AND  AUGUST. — THE  FLEETS  Of  TOULON,  CADIZ,  FERROL,  ROCHEFOHT, 
AND  BREST,  WERE  TO  UNITE  AT  MARTINIQUE,  TO  RETURN  IN  JULY  INTO  THE  CHANNEL  TO  THE  NUMBER  OF 
SIXTY  VESSELS. — THE  POPE  FINALLY  PREPARES  TO  RETURN  TO  ROME. — HIS  OVERTURES  TO  NAPOLEON  BEFORE 
HIS  DEPARTURE. — ANSWERS  TO  THE  DIFFERENT  OUESTIONS  TREATED  OF  BY  THE  POPE.— DISPLEASURE  OP  HIS 
HOLINKSS  TEMPERED  AT  THE  SAME  TIME  BY  THE  SUCCESS  OF  HIS  JOURNEY  TO  FRANCE. — DEPARTURE  OF  THE 
POPE  FOR  ROME,  AND  OF  NAPOLEON  FOR  MILAN. — DISPOSITIONS  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  COURTS. — THEIR  TENDENCY 
TO  A  NEW  COALITION.— STATE  OF  THE  RUSSIAN  CABINET. — THE  YOUNG  FRIENDS  OF  ALEXANDER  FORM  A 
GRAND  PLAN  FOR  AN  EUROPEAN  MEDIATION.— IDEAS  OF  WHICH  THIS  PLAN  WAS  COMPOSED,  THE  TRUE  ORIGIN 
OF  THE  TREATIES  OF  181.5.— M.  NOWOSILTZOFF  CHARGED  WITH  OBTAINING  THE  CONSENT  OF  THE  COURT  OP 
LONDON. — RECEPTION  HE  MET  FROM  PITT. — THE  PLAN  OF  A  MEDIATION  IS  CONVERTED  BY  THE  ENGLISH 
'IINISTER  INTO  THE  PLAN  OF  A  COALITION  AGAINST  FRANCE. — RETURN  OF  M.  NOWOSILTZOFF  TO  PETERSBCRGH. 
— THE  RUSSIAN  CABINET  SIGNS  WITH  LORD  COWER  THE  TREATY  THAT  CONSTITUTES  THE  THIRD  COALITION. — 
THE  RATIFICATION  OP  THAT  TREATY  IS  SUBMITTED  TO  ONE  CONDITION,  THE  EVACUATION  OF  MALT.*.  BY 
ENGLAND. — IN  ORDER  TO  PRESERVE  TO  THIS  COALITION  THE  PREVIOUS  FORM  OF  A  MEDIATION,  M.  NOWOSILT- 
ZOFF MUST  GO  TO  PARIS  TO  TKEAT  WITH  NAPOLEON. — USELESS  EFFORTS  OF  RUSSIA  TO  BRING  PRUSSIA  INTO 
THE  NEW  COALITION. — HER  EFFORTS  MORE  FORTUNATE  WITH  AUSTRIA. — ENTERS  INTO  EVENTUAL  ENGAGE- 
MENTS.— RUSSIA  MAKES  PRUSSIA  SERVE  AS  AN  INTERMEDIATE  AGENT,  IN  ORDER  TO  OBTAIN  FROM  NAPOLEON 
PASSPORTS  FOR  M.  NOWOSILTZOFF. — THESE  PASSPORTS  WERE  GRANTED.— NAPOLEON  IN  ITALY. — ENTHUSIASM  OP 
THE  ITALIANS  TOWARDS  HIS  PERSON. — CORONATION  AT  MILAN. — EUGENE  BEAUHARNOIS  DECLARED  VICEROY. 
—  MILITARY  FETES  AND  VISITS  TO  ALL  THE  CITIES. — NAPOLEON  INEVITABLY  DRAWN  INTO  CERTAIN  DESIGNS 
BY  THE  SIGHT  OF  ITALY. — HE  PROJECTS  THE  EXPULSION  OF  THE  BOURBONS  SOME  DAY  PROM  NAPLES,  AND 
IMMEDIATELY  DECIDES  UPON  THE  UNION  OF  GENOA  WITH  FRANCE. — MOTIVES  FOR  THIS  UNION. — CONSTITUTION 
OF  THE  DUCHY  OF  LUCCA  INTO  AN  IMPERIAL  FIEF,  FOR  THE  BENEFIT  OF  THE  PRINCESS  ELIZA. — AFTER  A 
SOJOURN  OP  THREE  MONTHS  IN  ITALY,  NAPOLEON  IS  DISrOSED  TO  GO  TO  BOULOGNE  IN  ORDER  TO  EXECUTE 
HIS  DESCENT.  — GANTEAUME  AT  BREST— UNABLE  TO  FIND  A  SINGLE  DAY  TO  SET  SAIL. — VILLENEUVE  AND 
GRAVINA,  HAVING  LEFT  TOULON  AND  CADIZ  IN  SECURITY,  ARE  ORDERED  TO  PROCEED  AND  RAISE  THE 
BLOCKADE  OF  GANTEAUME,  IN  ORDER  THAT  THE  WHOLE  TOGETHER  MAY  ENTER  THE  CHANNEL. — SOJOURN  OF 
NAPOLEON  AT  GENOA.— HIS  SUDDEN  DEPARTURE  FOR  FOSTAINEBLEAU.— WHILE  NAPOLEON  PREPARES  HIS 
DESCENT  UPON  ENGLAND,  ALL  THE  POWERS  OF  THE  CONTINENT  GET  READY  FOR  A  FORMIDABLE  WAR  AGAINST 
FRANCE.— RUSSIA  EMBARRASSED  BY  THE  REFUSAL  OF  ENGLAND  TO  ABANDON  MALTA,  FINDS  IN  THE  ANNEXA- 
TION  OF   GENOA    A    PRETEXT  TO   GET   OUT,    AND    AUSTRIA    A    REASON     FOR    IMMEDIATE    DECISION. — TREATY   FOR   ▲ 


Presentation  of  imperial 
eagles  to  the  troops. 


THE  THIRD  COALITION. 


Anecdote  of  Pius  VII. 


605 


SUBSIDV.— HER  IMMEDIATE  ARMAMENTS,  OBSTINATELY  DENIED  TO  NAPOLEON.— HE  PERCEIVES  THEM  AND 
DEMAKDS  EXPLANATIONS,  BY  COMMENCING  SOME  PREPARATIONS  OS  THE  SIDE  OP  ITALY  AND  THE  RHINE. — 
PERSUADED  MORE  THAN  EVER  THAT  HE  MUST  GO  AND  CUT  IN  LONDON  THE  KNOT  OF  ALL  THE  COALITIONS, 
HE  SETS  OUT  FOR  BOULOGNE. — HIS  RESOLUTION  TO  EMBARK,  AND  HIS  IMPATIENCE  WHILE  AWAITING  THE 
FRENCH  FLEET. — .MOVE.MENTS  OF  THE  SQUADRONS. — LONG  AND  FORTUNATE  NAVIGATION  OP  VILLENEUVE  AND 
GRAVINA  AS  FAR  AS  MARTINiaUE.  — FIRST  MARKS  OF  DISCOURAGKMENT  WITH  ADMIRAL  VILLENEUVE.— SUDDEN 
RETURN  TO  EUROPE,  AND  VOYAGE  TO  FERROL  TO  RE-OPEN  THAT  PORT.— NAVAL  BATTLE  OFF  FERROL  AGAINST 
ADMIRAL  CALDER. — THE  FRENCH  ADMIRAL  MIGHT  H.WE  CLAIMED  THE  VICTORY  IF  HE  HAD  KOT  LOST  TWO 
SPANISH  VESSELS. — HE  FULFILS  HIS  OBJECT  IN  RAISING  THE  BLOCKADE  OF  TOULON,  AND  IN  RALLYING  TWO 
NEW  FRENCH  AND  SPANISH  DIVISIONS — IN  PLACE  OF  ACQUIRING  CONFIDENCE  AND  CO.M1NG  TO  SET  GANTEAUME 
FRKE  AT  BREST  IN  ORDER  TO  PROCEED  WITH  FIFTY  SAIL  INTO  THE  CHANNEL,  VILLENEUVE  DISCONCERTED 
DECIDES  TO  SET  SAIL  FOR  CADIZ,  LEAVING  NAPOLEON  TO  SUPPOSE  THAT  HE  HAD  PROCEEDED  TOWARDS  BREST. 
—  LONG  WAITING  OP  NAPOLEON  AT  BOULOGNE — HIS  HOPES  UPON  I  HE  RECEPTION  OF  HIS  FIRST  DESPATCHES 
FRO.M  FERROL.— HIS  IRRITATION  WHEN  HE  LEARNED  THAT  VILLENEUVE  HAD  PROCEEDED  TOWARDS  CADIZ. — 
VIOLENT  AGITATION  AND  BEARING  AGAINST  ADMIRAL  DECRES. — POSITIVE  INTELLIGENCE  OF  THE  DESIGNS  OP 
AUSTRIA. — SUDDEN  CHANGE  OF  RESOLUTION.— PLAN  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1805.— WHAT  THE  CHANCES  OP  THE 
DESCENT  WERE,  LOST  BY  THE  FAULT  OP  VILLENEUVE. — NAPOLEON  TURNS  HIS  FORCES  DEFINITIVELY  AGAINST 
THE    CONTINENT. 


Three  days  after  the  ceremony  of  the  coronation, 
Napoleon  distributed  to  the  army  and  the  national 
guards  the  eagles,  which  were  designed  to  sur- 
mount the  colours  of  the  empire.  This  ceremony, 
as  grandly  arranged  as  the  preceding,  had  for  its 
scene  of  e.xhibition  the  Champ  de  Mais.  The  re- 
presentatives of  every  corps  came  to  receive  the 
eagles,  which  were  designed  for  each,  at  the  foot  of 
a  magnificent  throne,  elevated  in  front  of  the  palace 
of  the  military  school;  and  before  receiving  them, 
they  took  the  oath,  tliat  they  well  kept  afterwards, 
to  defend  them  to  the  death.  On  the  same  day, 
there  was  a  bancjuet  at  the  Tuileries,  at  which  the 
emperor  and  the  pope  were  seen  seated  at  the  same 
table,  one  at  the  side  of  the  other,  clothed  in  im- 
perial and  pontifical  ornaments,  and  served  by  the 
great  otticers  of  the  crown. 

The  multitude,  ever  greedy  after  public  spec- 
tacles, was  delighted  with  these  pomps.  Many, 
without  suffering  their  good  sense  to  govern  them, 
admitted  these  scenes  as  the  natural  effects  of  the 
re-estabiishmeiit  of  the  monarchy.  Wiser  persons 
expressed  wishes  that  the  new  monarch  might  not 
suffer  himself  to  become  into.Kicated  with  the  fumes 
of  liis  own  omnipotence.  la  other  respects,  no 
sinister  prognostic  yet  troubled  the  public  satisfac- 
tion. They  believed  in  the  endurance  of  the  new 
order  of  things.  With  great  magnificence,  too 
much  perhaps,  there  was  still  seen  the  faithful 
con.secratioii  of  the  social  principles  proclaimed  at 
the  French  revolution — a  prosperity  always  on  the 
iiicrea.se,  notwithstanding  the  war,  and  a  continua- 
tion of  that  greatness,  which  had  about  it  something 
flattering  to  the  national  pride. 

Tlie  holy  father  had  not  wished  to  make  a  long 
stiy  in  I'aris  ;  but  he  hoped  that  by  sojourning 
there  for  a  time,  he  might  find  a  favourable  occa- 
sion to  e.xpress  to  Napoleon  the  secret  wishes  of 
the  Rimaii  court,  and  he  was  reconciled  to  prolong 
his  stay  for  two  or  three  months.  The  season  be- 
sides did  not  permit  him  to  repass  the  Alps  imme- 
diately. Napoleon,  who  wished  to  detain  him  at 
his  side  in  order  to  show  France  to  him,  to  make 
him  justly  appreiiate  its  feeling,  and  to  bring  him 
to  a  right  compreheusioii  of  the  conditions  upon 
which  the  re-eatablishment  of  religion  had  been 
possible;  to  gain  his  confidence  finally  by  frank  and 
daily  communications — Napoleon  exhibited,  in  or. 
<ler  to  retain  him,  th'J  most  perfect  kiiiiliiess,  and 
finished  by  completely  winning  over  the  holy  pontiff. 
Piua  VII.  was  lodged  in  the  Tuileries,  and  left  free 


to  devote  himself  to  his  moderate  and  religious 
tastes,  but  was  surrounded,  when  he  went  out,  with 
all  the  attributes  of  supremo  power,  escorted  by 
the  imperial  guard,  and,  in  a  word,  overwhehned 
with  the  highest  honours.  His  interesting  figure, 
his  virtues  almost  visible  in  his  person,  had  much 
struck  the  Parisian  population,  that  followed  him 
every  where  with  a  mixture  of  curiosity,  sympathy, 
and  respect.  He  had  visited  by  turns  all  the 
parishes  of  Paris,  where  he  officiated  in  the  midst 
of  an  exti-aordinary  number  of  people.  His  pre- 
sence augmented  the  religious  iiiipul.se  that  Napo- 
leon had  endeavoured  to  impress  upon  tiseir  minds. 
Hence  the  holy  pontiff  was  happy.  He  visited  the 
public  monuments  and  the  museums  enriched  by 
Napoleon,  seeming  to  feel  interested  ia  the  gran- 
deurs of  the  new  reign.  In  one  visit  to  a  public 
establishment,  he  conducted  himself  with  a  degree 
of  tact  and  a  conformity  which  secured  to  liini 
general  applause.  Surrounded  by  a  crowd  that 
knelt  beiore  him,  and  demanded  his  benediction, 
he  perceived  a  man  whose  Severe  and  morose  coun- 
tenance still  bore  the  stamp  of  the  extinguished 
jiassions  of  the  past  times,  and  turned  away  to 
withdraw  himself  from  the  pontifical  benediction. 
The  holy  father,  ap|)roaching  him,  said,  with  great 
mildness:  "Do  not  go  aw.iv,  sir;  the  benediction 
of  an  old  man  cannot  do  you  any  injury."  This 
affecting  and  just  ex|>ression  was  repeated  and  ap- 
plauded throughout  Paris. 

The  fetes  and  hospitable  cares  lavished  upon  his 
venerable  guest,  did  not  divert  Napoleon  from  his 
more  important  affairs.  Tiie  Heets designed  to  aid 
in  the  descent  up  ui  England  continued  to  atti-act 
his  attention.  That  of  liivst  was  at  last  ready  to 
set  sail  ;  but  that  of  Toulon,  retarded  ia  getting 
ready,  because  he  would  have  it  increaseil  to 
eleven  instead  of  eight  sail,  had  reijuired  the 
labour  of  the  entire  month  of  December.  Since  it 
had  been  comjileted,  a  contrary  wind  had  hindered  it 
from  getting  out  during  tho  whole  month  of  Janu- 
ary. Admiral  Missiissy  with  five  vessels  ready  at 
Rtchefort  only  awaited  a  storm  to  steal  out  clear  of 
the  enemy.  Napoleon  devoted  the  time  thus  passed 
to  the  internal  adminlstr.itioii  of  his  new  em|)ire. 

Although  iletennined  upon  war  to  the  utmost 
against  I'^ngland,  he  believeil  he  ought  to  com- 
mence his  reign  by  a  proceeding,  lis -less  at  the 
nioiiient,  and  which,  besiiles  its  iimiility,  had  the 
inconvenience  of  being  tho  repetition  of  anotlu  r 
step  perfectly  fitting   the  occasion,   which  he  ha  J 


„-„        Nanoleon  writes  to  the 
wOO  king  of  England. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Napoleon  becomes  king      1805. 
of  Italy.  Jan. 


on  his  coming  to  the  consulate.  He  wrote  a  letter 
to  the  king  of  England  to  propose  a  peace,  and  he 
forwarded  this  letter  by  a  brig  to  an  English 
cruiser  before  Boulogne '.  It  was  immediately 
communicated  to  the  British  cabinet,  which  stated 
that   a  reply   should  be   sent  at   a  later   period. 

>  This  letter  of  Napoleon  was  as  follows : 

"Sir  akd  Bbotiier— Called  to  the  throne  of  France  hy 
the  suffraf-'es  of  the  peuule  anil  the  army,  my  first  sentiment 
is  a  wish  for  peace.  France  and  England  abn.ve  their  pros- 
perity: tliey  may  iciiitcnd  for  ages;  but  do  their  govern- 
ments well  fulfil  the  most  sacred  of  their  duties?  and  will 
not  so  much  blocid  >heil  uselessly  and  without  a  view  to  any 
end,  accuse  them  in  their  own  consciences?  I  consider  it  as 
W)  disgrace  to  make  the  first  step.  1  have  I  liope  sufficiently 
proved  to  the  «orl(l  that  I  fear  none  of  the  chances  of  war; 
war  beside.s  presents  nothing  that  I  need  lo  fear.  Peace  is 
the  wish  of  my  heart,  but  war  has  neier  been  contrary  to 
my  glory.  I  cmijnre  your  majesty  not  to  deny  yourself  the 
happiness  of  givins  peace  to  the  world,  nor  to  leave  that 
.svi-eet  saiisfaciion  to  your  rh  Idren  ;  for  in  fine  there  never 
was  a  more  fortunate  opportunity,  nor  a  moment  more 
favourable  to  silence  all  the  ]  assioiis,  and  lis  en  only  to 
the  sentiments  of  liu  anity  and  leas  n.  'Ihis  moment  lost, 
what  end  c^in  be  assigned  to  a  war  which  all  my  eftlirts  will 
not  be  able  to  terminate?  Your  majesty  has  gained  more 
within  ten  years  both  in  territory  anci  riches  than  the  whole 
extent  of  Europe.  Your  nation  is  at  the  hisihest  point  of 
prosperity  ;  what  can  it  hope  from  war?  to  form  a  coalition 
of  some  powers  on  the  continent?  the  loniinent  will  re- 
main tranquil,  a  coalition  can  only  increase  the  preponder- 
ance and  contineiital  greatness  of  France.  To  renew  inter- 
nal trouhles?  The  times  are  no  longer  the  same.  To 
destroy  our  finances  ?  Finances  founded  on  a  fiourishing 
state  of  agriculture  can  never  be  destroyed.  To  take  from 
France  her  colnnies  !  The  colonies  are  to  France  only  a 
secondary  obj -ct :  and  dues  not  your  majesty  already  pos- 
sess more  than  you  know  how  to  preseive?  If  your  ma- 
jesty would  but  reflect,  you  niusi  perceive  that  the  war  is 
without  an  object  ;  without  any  prestinjable  result  to  your- 
self. Alas!  what  a  melancholy  prospect  to  '-ause  two  na- 
tions to  fight  for  the  sake  of  fighting!  The  world  is  suffi- 
ciently large  for  our  two  nations  to  live  m  it;  and  reason  is 
sufficiently  powerful  to  discover  means  of  reconcilmg  every 
thing,  when  the  wish  for  reconciliation  e.\ists  on  both  sides. 
I  have,  ho"ever,  "ulfilled  a  sacred  duty,  aiid  one  which  is 
precious  to  my  heart. 

"  I  trast  that  your  majesty  will  believe  in  the  sincerity  of 
my  sentiments,  and  my  wish  to  give  you  every  proof  of 
it,  &c.  "  Napoleon." 

The  reply  to  the  above  was  as  follows  : — 

"  His  majesty  has  received  the  letter  which  has  been 
addressed  to  him  hy  the  head  of  the  French  government, 
dated  the  2nd  of  the  present  month.  There  is  no  object 
which  his  majesty  has  more  at  heart  thin  lo  avail  himself 
of  the  first  oiiporiuiiity  to  procure  again  to  his  subjects  the 
advantages  of  a  peace,  founded  on  a  basis  which  may  not  be 
incompatilile  wiili  the  permanent  security  and  essential 
interests  of  his  states.  His  majesty  is  persuaded  that  this 
end  can  only  be  attained  by  arrangements  which  may,  at 
the  same  time,  provide  lor  the  future  safety  and  tranquillity 
of  Europe,  and  prevent  the  recurrence  ofthedangeis  and 
calamities  in  which  it  is  involved.  Conl'ormahly  to  this 
statement,  bis  majesty  feels  that  it  is  impossilile  for  him  to 
answer  more  panicularly  to  the  overture  that  has  been 
made  him,  until  he  shall  have  had  time  to  communicate 
with  the  powers  of  the  continent,  with  whom  he  is  engaged 
in  conlirientiil  connexions  and  relations,  and  particularly 
with  UiK  emperor  of  liussia.  who  has  given  tlie  strongest 
proofs  of  the  wisdnni  and  elevation  of  the  sentiments  wiih 
which  he  is  animated,  and  the  lively  interest  which  he 
takes  in  the  safety  and  independence  of  Europe. 

(Signed)  "  Molcrave." 


Peace  was  possible  in  1800,  even  necessary  for 
both  powers.  The  step  taken  at  that  time  was 
therefore  very  well  timed,  and  the  refusal  of  the 
propositions  for  peace,  followed  by  the  victories 
of  Marengo  and  Htjlieiilinden,  covered  Pitt  with 
conlusion,  and  was  even  one  of  the  causes  of  the 
fall  of  that  niinisler.  But  in  1805,  the  two  na- 
tions were  at  the  commencement  of  a  new  war, 
their  pretensions  were  accumulated  to  such  a 
point,  that  they  could  not  be  adjusted,  excejit 
by  force,  a  proposition  for  peace  seemed  visibly  to 
put  on  the  affectation  of  moderation,  or  as  if 
to  afford  an  occasion  to  speak  to  the  king  of  Eng- 
land as  nionarcli  to  monarch. 

That  which  was  much  mure  pressing  than  these 
empty  demunslrations  was  the  definitive  organiza- 
tiiiii  of  the  Italian  republic.  In  1802,  in  the  coii- 
sulta  (if  Lyons,  it  was  constituted  in  imitation  of 
that  of  France,  by  adoiiting  a  government,  repub- 
lican in  form,  but  absulute  in  fact.  It  was  now 
natural  that  it  should  take  the  last  step  by  follow- 
ing France,  and  that  from  a  republic  it  should 
become  a  monarchy. 

In  tlie  preceding  book  there  liave  been  recounted 
the  overtures  that  Cambaceies  and  the  minister 
of  the  Italiiin  republic  at  Paris,  M.  Marescalchi, 
had  been  charged  to  make  to  the  vice-president 
Meh'-i,  and  lo  the  members  of  the  state  consultti. 
Tiiese  overtures  had  been  received  favourably 
enough,  a!ilu)ugli  the  vice-i)resident  Melzi,  in  an 
ill  mood  from  the  state  of  his  health  and  a  task 
above  his  strength,  had  mingled  reflections  suffi- 
ciently bitter  ill  his  reply.  The  Italians  accepted, 
without  regret,  the  ofler  of  tlie  transformation  of 
the  republic  into  a  ninniirchy,  because  they  hoped 
to  obtain  u|)on  this  occasion,  in  part  at  least,  the 
accom|ilislinient  of  their  wishes.  They  wished 
nmch  htr  a  kitig,  and  for  a  brother  of  Napoleon, 
ujion  condititiii  that  such  a  brother  should  be 
either  Jose|ih  or  Louis  Bonaparte,  and  not  Lucien, 
whom  they  ibrm:illy  excluded  ;  that  such  a  king 
should  belong  to  them  entirely  ;  that  he  should 
always  reside  iit  Milan  ;  that  the  two  crowns  of 
France  and  Italy  shotild  be  inmiediately  separated; 
that  all  the  fiiiictionaiies  should  be  Italians;  that 
they  should  no  more  pay  the  subsidy  for  the  main- 
tenance of  a  French  army  ;  and  that,  finally,  Na- 
poleo-n  should  take  uiion  himself  to  make  Austria 
approve  of  the  new  change. 

Upon  these  conditions,  said  Melzi,  the  vice- 
president,  the  Italians  would  be  satisfied,  because 
they  had  not  yet  felt  any  advantage  from  their 
disirancliisenienl,  except  in  an  augmentation  of 
taxes. 

The  idea  that  their  money  was  carried  beyond 
the  niouiiiains,  coninio;ily  filled  the  minds  of  the 
Itiiliaiis,  who  had  been  for  so  long  a  time  subject 
to  powers  placed  on  the  other  side  of  the  Alps: 
However,  they  have  a  better  and  nobler  motive  to 
desire  their  freedom,  which  is  to  live  under  a 
national  government.  These  base  reasons  made 
Napoleon  indignant,  because  though  he  estimated 
men  lightly,  he  never  laboured  to  degrade  them. 
He  had  no  thought  of  debasing  them  when  he 
asked  from  them  only  great  measures.  He  was, 
therefore,  indignant  at  the  reasons  the  vice-presi- 
dent ])ieKented.  "What,"  he  exclaimed,  "the 
Italians  will  then  not  be  ."sensible  that  their  inde- 
pendence   cost  money  !     They  must  be  supposed 


Joseph  Bonnparte  refuses  THE  THIRD   COALITION. 


the  Italian  crown. 


607 


very  base  or  very  dull  :  as  for  myself,  I  am  fjir 
from  believiiiij  them  siuli.  Were  tliey  aljje  to  free 
themselves  ?  are  they  able  to  defend  tlicni>selves 
without  the  French  Si.hliers  ?  If  they  are  not 
able  to  do  so,  is  it  iu<t  just  that  they  siu)ui<l  con- 
tribute to  the  su|i|iort  of  the  soldiers  who  siiill 
their  blood  for  thein  ?  Who  united  in  a  single 
state,  to  make  tlieni  a  nation,  five  or  si.\  different 
provinces,  furnierly  t;oveiiKd  by  five  or  six  dif- 
ferent princes  ?  Who  then,  if  not  the  Fiench 
army,  and  I  wiio  e<iniinanded  it?  If  I  had  wished 
itnjiper  Italy  would  lie  to-day  cut  up,  distributed  in 
shares,  a  part  {^ivi-n  to  the  pope,  another  to  the 
Austrians,  a  third  to  the  Spaniards.  I  might  at 
the  peace  have  disarmed  the  other  ])o\vers,  and 
secured  for  France  th'  peace  of  the  continent.  D) 
not  the  Italians  see  that  the  constitution  of  their 
nationality  be^nn  by  a  state  which  already  coni[ire- 
hends  a  third  of  all  Itiily?  Is  not  this  govern- 
ment composed  of  Italians,  and  founded  ujion  the 
principles  of  justice,  equidity,  and  a  wise  liberty, 
in  fact,  upon  the  principles  of  the  French  reV()lu- 
tion  ?  What  can  tiny  desire  better?  Am  I  able 
to  accomplish  all  tliin>;s  in  a  day  ?" 

Napoleon,  under  these  circumstances,  had  jdainly 
reason  on  his  side  against  Italy.  Withoitt  him 
Lombardy  would,  with  iis  works,  have  satisfied 
the  pope,  tlie  emperor  of  Germany,  Spain,  the 
house  of  Sardinia,  and  served  as  <in  etjuivaient  for 
the  union  of  Piedmont  with  France.  True  it  is 
that  il  was  in  the  interest  of  French  policy,  that 
Napoleon  laboured  to  constitute  an  Italian  nation- 
.ility.  But  was  not  that  a  great  benefit  to  the  Italians, 
that  the  policy  of  France  should  thus  comprehend 
them  ?  Owed  they  not  to  this  policy  the  concur- 
rence of  all  their  ettorts  ?  And,  in  fact,  22,000,000  f. 
per  annum,  to  support  thirty  and  some  thousand 
men,  was  a  tritiing  amount,  because  they  had 
before  been  in  the  hahit  of  supporting  sixty  thou- 
sand at  least;  was  this  then  a  very  heavy  burdeii, 
for  a  country  which  included  some  of  the  richest 
[)rovince8  in  Europe  ? 

Further,  Nap<deon  gave  himself  little  uneasiness 
about  tiie  ill-huni<iured  lemonsirances  of  the  vice- 
president  Melzi.  He  knew  that  he  ninst  not  take 
them  all  in  a  very  seiious  way.  The  moderate 
Italian  party,  with  which  he  ruled,  abandoned  by 
the  nobles  and  the  priests,  who  in  general  were 
inclined  to  the  Austrian  side,  iind  by  the  liberals  who 
were  filled  with  exaggerated  ideas  ;  the  moderate 
party  in  its  isolation,  ex|)erie!ieed  a  degree  of  sad- 
ness at  the  jirospect  of  aH'airs,  and  ])ainted  them 
accordingly  in  sombre  colours.  Napohcn  took 
little  account  of  ihi-,  and  always  occupied  with 
the  idea  of  supporting  Italy  anainst  the  power  of 
Austria,  sought  out  the  means  to  accommodate  its 
institutions  to  the  new  institutions  of  France. 

The  coronation  had  been  the  cause  of  uniting  at 
Paris  the  vice-presid' iit  Me|/.i,  an<i  some  delegates 
from  the  diflerent  Italian  authorities.  Camha- 
I  ce'ies,  Marescalchi,  and  Talleyrand,  entered  into 
I  conferences  with  tlicm,  and  got  into  agreen^ent 
,  upon  all  points,  save  oik?  only,  that  of  thesulisidy 
I  |iaid  to  Fnnicf,  because  the  Italians  demanded  the 
I  Fr<;nch  occiiiiation  for  iheir  security,  but  were  uii- 
'    willing  to  support  the  expense. 

The  arch-chancellor,  Cauibac(?rc«,  was  subse- 
qui  ntly  charged  to  treat  with  Joseph  liona- 
pnrte,  on  the  question  of  his  elevation  to  the  throne 


of  Italy.  To  tlieastonishmentof  Najxileon,  Joseph 
refused  (he  throne  from  two  motives,  one  was  natu- 
ral, the  other  singularly  |irt'Sumptuous.  Josejih 
declared,  that  by  virtue  of  tlie  principle  of  the  sepa- 
ration of  the  two  crowns,  the  condition  of  the  throne 
of  Italy  would  be  the  renunciation  of  that  of 
France,  while  he  wished  to  remain  a  French  ])riiice 
with  all  the  rights  to  the  succession  of  that  empire. 
Napoleon  not  having  chiMren,  he  preferred  the  dis-_ 
tant  possibility  of  reigning  some  day  in  France,  to 
the  certainty  of  reigning  immediately  in  Italy. 
Such  a  feeling  had  nothing  in  it  but  what  was  na- 
tural and  patriotic.  The  second  motive  of  refusal 
given  by  Joseph,  was  that  a  kingdom  had  been 
offered  him  too  near  to  France,  and  from  that  cir- 
cumstance too  dependent,  that  he  could  only  govern 
under  the  authority  of  the  head  of  the  French  em- 
pire, and  that  he  did  not  feel  inclined  to  i-eign  at 
such  a  ])rice.  Thus,  showing  already  the  senti- 
ments that  directed  the  brothers  of  the  em]ieror  on 
all  the  thrones  which  he  gave  them.  It  was  a 
proof  of  great  folly  anil  vanity,  not  to  wish  for  the 
advice  of  such  a  man  as  Napoleon.  It  was  a  very 
impolitic  piece  of  ingratitude  to  endeavour  to  be 
free  from  his  jiower;  because  at  the  head  of  an 
Italian  sttite  newly  created,  to  endeavour  to  be  iso- 
lated, was  to  risk  the  loss  of  Italy  as  nmch  as  the 
weakening  of  France. 

All  the  entreaties  employed  to  overcome  Joseph 
were  in  vain,  although  his  future  royalty  had  been 
aimoimced  at  all  the  courts  with  which  France 
held  relations  at  that  time,  in  Austria,  Prussia, and 
the  holy  see;  it  was  neeessary  to  revert  to  other 
ideas,  and  conceive  some  new  combination.  Na- 
poleon, aware  by  this  last  experiment,  that  he  must 
not  create  in  Lombardy  a  jealous  royalty,  disposed 
to  run  contrary  to  his  great  designs,  resolved  to 
take  himself  the  iron  crown,  and  to  qualify  himself 
"  emjieror  of  the  Ficnch,  king  of  Italy."  He  had 
but  one  objection  to  this  design,  which  was,  that  it 
recalled  too  strongly  the  union  (jf  Piedmont  with 
France.  Ileexposi'd  himself  thus  to  wound  Austria, 
deeply,  iind  to  bring  her  baek  fr<im  pacific  i<leas 
to  the  warlike  desires  of  Pitt,  who  since  his  retui-n 
to  office,  had  endeavoured  to  profit  by  the  rupture 
of  diplomatic  relations  between  France  and  Russia, 
in  order  to  form  a  new  coalition.  In  order  to  meet 
this  objection.  Napoleon  proposed  to  declare  ft)r- 
mally  that  the  crown  of  Italy  would  only  remain 
upon  this  head  until  a  peace;  that  at  this  epoch  he 
would  proceed  to  the  separation  of  the  two  crowns, 
hy  choosing  among  the  French  i>rinces  one  who 
should  succeed  him.  At  the  moment  he  adopted 
Eugene  Beauharnois,  the  son  of  Josephine,  whom 
he  loved  as  if  he  had  been  his  own  son,  and  to  liiin 
he  confided  the  vice-royalty  of  Italy. 

This  delei  ininalion  heing  once  taken,  it  gave  him 
little  trouble  to  make  M.  Melzi  agree  to  it,  whose 
complaints,  sufficiently  mireasonahle,  began  to  bo 
fatiguing,  because  he  perceived  in  him  a  nmch 
greater  desire  to. work  hir  a  species  of  popularity, 
than  any  intentions  to  labour  in  conmion  at  tho 
futiu-e  constitution  of  Italy.  Cambac<Jrcs  and  TaU 
leyrand  were  ord<  n d  to  signify  these  resolutions 
to  the  Italians  then  in  Paris,  and  combine  with 
them  the  means  of  their  execution.  Tiicsu  lUilians 
seemed  to  fear  that  the  three  great  permanent  col- 
leges <»f  the  "  ])osHidenti,"  "  dotti,"  and  "  conimer- 
I  cienti,"  to  whom  was  confided  tho  care  of  electing 


Napoleon  determines 
to  take  the  iron 
Clown. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


The  Italian  deputies  in 
Paris  take  the  oath 
to  Napoleon. 


the  authorities,  and  of  modifying  the  constitution 
when  it  tooU  place,  would  resist  every  project,  save 
that  of  a  Lombard  monarchy,  immediately  sepa- 
rated from  that  of  France,  and  in  the  way  of  resist- 
ance, that  they  would  oppose  an  Italian  indiffer- 
ence, and  neither  vote  for  or  against.  Napoleon, 
under  these  circumstances,  renounced  the  employ- 
mentof  constitutional  forms;  he  acted  as  tlie  creator 
who  had  made  Italy  what  she  then  was,  and  who  had 
the  right  to  do  further  still,  jn  all  that  he  believed 
useful  to  what  he  had  made.  Talleyi\'ind  addressed 
a  report  to  him,  in  which  he  demonstrated  that 
these  de])endent  provinces,  the  one  on  the  ancient 
Venetian  republic,  the  other  belonging  to  the  house 
of  Austria,  that  of  the  dulce  of  Modena,  and  that  of 
the  holy  see,  depended  as  conquered  provinces  upon 
the  will  of  the  French  emperor;  that  what  he 
wished  to  give  them  was  an  e(iuitable  government, 
adapted  to  their  interests,  and  founded  upim  the 
principles  of  the  Fi'ench  revolution;  but  that  for 
the  rest,  he  should  give  to  that  government  the 
form  which  was  most  agreeable  to  his  vast  designs. 
The  decree  constituting  the  new  kingdom  followed, 
a  decree  which  was  to  be  ado])ted  by  the  consultaof 
the  state,  and  the  Italian  deputies  present  in  Paris, 
communicated  afterwards  to  the  French  senate,  as 
one  of  the  great  constitutiimal  acts  of  the  empire, 
and  promulgated  in  an  im|ierial  sitting.  Still  it  was 
necessary  that  it  should  appear  as  if  Italy  went  for 
something  in  these  new  determinations.  It  was 
therefore  conceived  projjer  to  )>repare  for  her  the 
sight  of  a  coi-onaiion.  It  was  resolved  to  draw 
from  the  treasury  of  j\Ioiiza  the  famous  crown  of 
iron  of  the  Lombard  kings,  that  Napoleon  might 
place  it  upon  his  head,  after  having  been  conse- 
crated by  the  archbishop  of  Milan,  conformably  to 
the  ancient  usage  of  the  Germanic  emperors,  who 
received  at  Rome  the  crown  of  the  west;  but  at 
Milan  that  of  Italy.  This  exhibition  could  not 
but  raise  emotion  in  the  Italians,  re-awaken  their 
hopes,  call  back  the  party  of  the  nobles  and  priests, 
who  regretted  above  all  in  the  Austrian  domina- 
tion the  monarchical  forms,  and  thus  satisfy  the 
people,  always  smitten  with  the  luxury  of  their 
masters;  because  luxury,  in  pleasing  the  eyes  of 
all,  helped  their  industry.  As  to  the  enlightened 
liberals,  they  would  fini.^h  by  comprehending  that 
the  association  of  the  destinies  of  Italy  to  those  of 
France  could  alone  give  substantial  assurance  for 
the  future. 

It  was  agreed,  that  after  the  adoption  of  the  new 
decree,  the  Italian  dejiuties,  the  minister  Mares- 
calchi,  and  the  grand  master  of  the  ceremonies, 
M.  de  Segur,  should  precede  Napoleon  to  Milan, 
in  order  to  organise  an  Italian  court,  and  to 
prepare  in  that  city  the  ptmips  of  the  regal  corona- 
tion. 

At  this  moment  a  thousand  rumours  were  spread 
abroad  among  the  European  diplomatists.  It  was 
said  sometimes  that  Napuleon  liad  given  tlie  crown 
of  Holland  to  his  brother  Louis,  sonietimes  that  he 
had  given  that  of  Na|>les  to  Jos(|)h,and  again,  that 
he  was  going  to  unite  Genoa  and  Switzerland  to  the 
French  territory.  There  were  even  persons  who 
maintained  that  Napoleon  would  make  cardiiuil 
Fesch  pope,  and  that  they  already  sjxike  of  the 
crown  of  Spain  as  reserved  to  a  prince  of  the  house 
of  lionaparte.  The  iiatred  of  his  enemies  divined 
his  designs  on  some  points,  iliy  exaggerated  them 


in  others,  they  suggested  to  him  some  of  wjiich  he 
had  not  yet  dared  to  think,  and  certainly  facilitated 
them,  in  preparing  the  opinion  of  Europe  for  their 
reception.  The  sitting  of  the  senate  for  the  pro- 
mulgation of  the  constituted  decree  of  the  kingdom 
of  Italy,  would  not  fail  to  confer  credit  on  all  these 
surmises,  true  or  false,  and  for  the  moment  push 
them  on  too  far. 

The  Italian  deputies  at  Paris  were  first  called 
together,  and  the  decree  submitted  to  them,  to 
which  they  unanimously  adhered;  then  the  impe- 
rial sitting  was  declared  for  the  IJtli  of  March, 
1805,  or  2Gth  Ventose,  year  xiii.  The  emperor 
went  to  the  senate  at  two  o'clock,  surrounded  with 
all  the  show  of  constitutional  sovei-eigns  in  England 
and  Fi-ance,  when  they  hold  a  royal  sitting.  He 
was  received  at  the  gate  of  the  pa  ace  of  the  Lux- 
emburg by  a  grand  deputation,  and  immediately 
seated  himself  on  a  throne,  around  which  were 
ranged  the  princes  and  the  six  grand  dignitaries, 
the  marshals,  and  the  great  i.fficfcrs  of  the  crown. 
He  ordered  the  communication  of  the  acts  which 
were  to  be  made  the  object  of  the  sitting.  Talley- 
rand read  his  i-ej)ort,  and  after  tlie  report  the  im- 
perial decree.  A  copy  of  the  same  decree  m  the 
Italian  language,  clothed  with  the  adhesion  of  the 
Lombard  deputies,  was  aiterwards  read  by  the 
vice-president  Melzi.  Then  the  minister  Mares- 
calchi  presented  those  dejiuties  to  Najioleon,  at 
w  hose  hands  they  took  an  oath  of  fide  lity  to  him  as 
king  of  Italy.  This  ceremony  being  finished.  Na- 
poleon seated  and  covered,  delivered  a  strong  and 
concise  speech,  as  he  well  knew  how  to  do,  atid  of 
which  the  intention  will  be  easily  judged. 

"  Senators, — We  have  willed  under  the  present 
circumstances  to  come  into  tiie  midst  of  you,  and 
make  you  acquainted  with  our  entire  thoughts, 
upon  one  of  the  most  important  subjects  of  our 
state  policy. 

"  We  have  conquered  Holland,  three-foui'ths  of 
Germany,  Switzerland,  and  Italy.  We  have  been 
moderate  in  the  midst  of  the  greatest  prosperity. 
Of  so  many  provinces  we  have  not  kept  but  ua 
much  as  was  necessary  to  maintain  us  in  the  same 
position  of  power  and  consideration  that  France 
has  always  been.  The  partition  of  Poland,  the 
provinces  sequestrated  from  Turkey,  the  conquest 
of  the  Indies,  and  of  nearly  all  the  colonics  have 
destroyed  to  our  detriment  the  general  equili- 
brium. 

"  All  that  we  judged  useless  to  re-establish  we 
have  returned. 

"  Germany  has  been  evacuated  ;  its  pi'ovinces 
have  been  restored  to  the  descendants  of  so  many 
illustrious  houses,  that  were  lost  for  ever,  if  we 
had  not  accorded  to  them  a  general  protection. 

"  Austria  herself,  after  two  unfoitunate  wars,  lias 
obtained  the  state  of  Venice.  At  all  times  she 
would  have  exchangetl  Venice  by  mutual  consent 
for  the  provinces  which  she  has  lost. 

"Scarcely  conquered,  Holland  was  declared 
independent.  Its  union  to  our  empire  had  been 
the  completion  of  our  commercial  sy.^tem,  while  the 
largest  rivers  of  half  our  empire  open  into  Holland. 
Still  Holland  is  iiide])endeiit,  and  its  customs,  its 
commerce,  and  aiiiiiinistration  are  I'cgulatcd  at  the 
will  of  its  government. 

"Switzerland  was  occuiiied  by  our  armies;  we 
have  defended  it  against  the  combined  forces  of 


Address  of  Napoleon  to  the 
senaie  on  the  atfairs  of 
Italy. 


THE  THIRD  COALITION. 


state  of  the  different  naval 
divisions. 


Europe.  Its  union  would  have  completed  our 
military  frontier.  Meanwhile  Switzerland  f^overns 
itself  under  the  act  of  mediation,  at  the  will  of  the 
nineteen  cantons,  free  and  independent. 

"  The  union  of  the  territory  of  tiie  I  talian  republic 
to  the  French  empire  had  been  useful  to  the  deve- 
lopment of  our  agriculture  ;  still  after  the  second 
conquest  we,  at  Lyons,  confirmed  its  independence. 
To-day  we  do  more,  we  proclaim  the  separation  of 
tlie  crowns  of'  France  ami  Italy,  assigning  for  the 
time  of  this  separation  tli*;  instant  when  it  shall 
become  possible  and  be  free  from  danger  for  our 
Italian  people. 

'•  We  have  accepted,  and  we  shall  place  upon 
our  head  the  crown  of  iron  of  the  ancient  Lom- 
bards, to  retemper  and  restrengthen  it.  But  we 
do  not  hesit;ite  to  declare  that  we  shall  transmit 
this  crown  to  one  of  our  legitimate  children,  whe- 
ther natural  or  adopted,  the  day  when  we  shall  be 
free  from  alarm  for  the  indei)endence  that  we 
have  guaranteed  to  the  other  states  of  the  Medi- 
terranean. 

"  The  genius  of  evil  in  vain  searches  for  pretexts 
to  place  the  continent  in  a  state  of  war;  that  which 
11  is  been  united  to  ouremiiire  by  the  constitutional 
,nvs  of  the  state  shall  remain  united.  No  new 
province  shall  be  inc<»rporated,  but  the  laws  of  the 
Batavian  republic,  the  act  of  mediation  of  the 
nineteen  Swiss  cantons,  and  the  first  statute  of  the 
kingdom  of  Italy,  shall  be  constantly  under  the 
protection  of  our  crown,  and  we  will  never  suffer 
that  they  be  attacked." 

After  this  lofty  and  peremptory  speech.  Napoleon 
i-.ceived  the  oaths  of  several  senators  that  he 
ii.imed,  and  then  returned,  surrounded  with  the 
^aine  attendance,  to  the  palace  of  the  Tuileries. 
.M.  Melzi,  M.  Marescalchi,  and  the  other  Italians 
had  an  order  to  proceed  to  Milan,  to  prepare  the 
public  mind  for  the  new  solemnity  which  had  been 
d'Hermiued  upon.  Cardinal  Caprara,  the  pope's 
legate  with  Napoleon,  was  archbishop  of  Milan. 
He  had  only  accepted  the  dignity  tiirougii  obedi- 
ence, being  very"iiged,  worn  down  with  infirmitie.s, 
and  after  a  long  life  |>assed  in  courts,  nuicli  more 
disposed  to  quit  the  world  than  to  prolong  there 
his  existing  character.  At  the  entreaty  of  Napo- 
leon, and  with  the  agreement  of  the  pope,  he  set 
out  for  Italy,  in  order  to  crown  the  new  king, 
following  the  ancient  usage  of  the  Lombard  church. 
.M.  deSegur  went  off  innnediately  with  an  order  to 
histen  his  preparations.  Napoleon  had  fixed  his 
own  departure  for  the  mouth  of  April,  and  his 
coronation  for  that  of  May. 

This  excursion  in  Italy  perfectly  agreed  with  his 
military  plans,  and  was  even  a  great  aid  to  theni. 
Napoleon  had  been  obliged  to  wail  all  the  winter,  that 
his  squadrons  might  bo  ready  to  sail  from  IJrest, 
Itochefort,  and  Toulon.  In  Jaiuiary,  ia05,  tin  re 
had  about  twenty  months  elapsed  since  the  mari- 
time war  lia<l  been  declared,  becauH>'  the  rupture 
with  England  was  dated  from  May,  I80:i  ;  and  still 
the  Heets  of  tlie  ships  of  the  line  had  not  been  able 
to  set  sail.  The  warm  impulse  of  NaiK>leon  had 
not  been  wanting  to  the  adininiHtruiion;  but  in 
naval  affairs  noiliing  is  done  <iuicl.ly,  and  it  is  of 
this  wliich  nations  that  asjiire  to  create  a  naval 
power  are  not  enough  aware.  However,  it  nuist 
be  sail!  that  the  fleets  of  IJrest  anri  I'oiilon  had  been 
■ooner  ready,  if  they  hail  not    wished  to  increase 


their  first  effective  strength.  That  of  Brest  had 
been  carried  up  from  eighteen  sail  to  twenty-one, 
and  was  capable  of  embarking  seventeen  thousand 
men,  and  five  hundred  horses,  together  with  a  con- 
siderable mattrid,  with<iut  the  aid  of  transports 
borrowed  from  commerce.  In  the  design  to  set 
sail  in  winter  during  a  stormy  period,  it  had  been 
seen  necessary  to  renounce  their  accomiianiment 
by  vessels  of  a  small  tonnage,  eijually  incapalde  of 
following  ships  of  the  line  and  of  being  towed. 
They  had,  tlierefore,  taken  old  vessels  of  war, 
which  they  had  armed  eti  Jlute,  ?ini  freighted  with 
men  and  stores.  By  that  inean.s,  the  squadron 
would  be  able  to  go  out  altogether  at  once,  and,  in 
any  weather,  run  over  to  Irelaml,  land  there  the 
17,000  men,  with  stores,  and  then  return  directly 
into  the  channel.  Of  the  rest,  there  had  been 
ready  in  November,  as  was  wished,  at  Rochelort, 
a  squadron  of  five  sail  of  the  line,  and  lour  frigates, 
carrying  3000  men,  4000  muskets,  and  J  ((,000 
weight  of  powder,  all  at  the  same  time.  At  Toulon 
alone  the  fleet,  raised  from  eight  to  eleven  vessels, 
had  occupied  all  the  month  of  December.  General 
Lauriston,  aide-de-camp  of  Napoleon,  had  been  or- 
dered to  prepare  a  corps  of  O'OOO  men,  carefully 
selected,  with  fifty  pieces  of  cannon,  and  materials 
for  a  siege,  and  to  entbark  all  on  board  that  lieet. 
The  same  fleet,  as  already  said,  was,  on  making  its 
voyage,  to  throw  a  division  of  troops  u])on  St. 
Helena,  to  capture  that  island,  to  proceed  to 
Surinam,  and  retake  the  Dutch  colonies,  and  rally 
afterwards  with  the  squadron  of  Missiessy,  which, 
on  its  own  part,  was  to  succour  the  French  West 
India  islands,  and  ravage  those  of  the  English. 
Both  these,  after  haviiig  thus  drawn  the  attention 
of  the  English  to  America,  and  disengaged  Gan- 
teaume,  had  orders  to  return  to  Europe.  Gan- 
teaume,  whose  preparations  were  achieved,  had 
waited  all  the  winter,  that  Missies.sy  and  Ville- 
neuve,  in  sailing  from  Rochefort  and  Toulon,  might 
draw  off  the  English  in  their  pursuit.  Missiessy, 
who  wanted  impetus,  but  not  courage,  sailed  from 
Rochefort  on  the  ]  Itli  of  January  during  a  fright- 
ful storm,  and,  passing  between  the  openings,  got 
out  into  the  open  sea,  without  being  either  seen  or 
rejoined  by  the  English.  He  set  sail  towards  the 
West  Indies  with  five  ships  of  the  line  and  four 
frigates?.  His  vessels  received  some  injury,  which 
they  repaired  at  sea.  As  to  Villemuve,  to  wnom 
the  minister  Decr6s  had  communicated  a  facti- 
tious exaltation  of  mind  of  very  short  endurance, 
he  had  suddenly  cooled  on  coming  near  and  seeing 
the  Toulon  8([uadron.  To  make  eleven  eijuipments 
with  eight,  it  had  been  necessary  to  divide,  and 
consequently  to  weaken  them.  They  had  com- 
pleted the  crews  with  conscripts  borrowed  from 
tiie  land  service.  The  inateri.ils  employed  in  the 
port  of  Toulon  were  badly  eiiosen,  and  it  was  dis- 
covered that  the  iron,  cordage,  .-md  masting,  broke 
easily.  Villeneuvc  j>re-oceupied  himself  a  good 
<leal,  and  perhaps  too  much,  wiih  the  danger  ho 
had  to  brave  in  such  vessels,  an<l  with  such  erews; 
the  vessels  of  his  enemies,  being  compute  ly  inured 
by  acruise  of  twenty  months.  His  mimi  was  troubled 
before  he  was  at  sea.  Still  |)ushed  on  by  Napoleon, 
by  the  minister  Decrcs,  and  by  general  l.auriston, 
he  set  himself  in  readiness  to  weigh  anchor  towards 
the  end  <if  December.  A  contrary  wind  detained 
him  from  the  end  of  December  until   the   lUth  of 


610 


Villeneuve  sets  sail 
aiul  returns  to 
Toulon. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


War  commfnced  be- 
tween England  and 


January  in  the  road  of  Toulon.  On  tlie  I8th,  the 
wind  havinj^  changed,  he  set  sail,  and  succeeded  in 
taking  a  false  course  in  order  to  deceive  the  enemy. 
But  ni;;ht  iironght  with  it  a  heavy  trouble;  the  inex- 
perience of  the  crews,  and  the  bad  quality  of  the 
niateri'ils,  exposed  many  of  the  vessels  to  the  most 
vexatious  accidents.  The  squadron  was  dispersed. 
In  the  nioi-ning  Villeneuve  had  but  four  ships  of 
the  line,  and  a  frigate;  the  rest  were  se|)arated  ironi 
him.  Some  had  their  masts  or  topmasts  broken; 
others  leaked,  and  received  injuries  difficult  to 
repair  at  sea.  Besides  these  accidents,  two  English 
f/igates  hail  observed  the  movement,  and  the  ad- 
miral found  he  should  be  rejoined  by  the  eminy  at 
a  moment  when  he  had  only  five  vessels  with  which 
to  oppose  him.  He,  therefore,  decided  upon  re- 
entering Toulon,  although  he  had  already  run 
seventy  leagues,  in  Sjiiteof  the  entreati  s  of  general 
Lauri-'ton,  who,  reckoning  four  thousand  some  hun- 
dred men  in  the  vessels  remaining  together,  de- 
mand.-d  to  be  conducted  to  his  destination.  Ville 
neuve  re  entered  Toulon  on  liie  27th,  and  happily 
succeeded  in  bringing  back  the  whole  of  his 
sqn.idron. 

The  time  was  not  lost.  They  went  about  repairing 
the  damage  sustiiined,  setting  ii])  the  rigj;ii)g,  and 
rt-nderini;  every  thing  ready  to  stai-t  anew.  But 
admiral  Villeneuve  was  strongly  affected;  he  wrote 
to  the  minister  the  same  day  that  he  returned  to 
Toulon:-  "  1  declare  to  you,  with  vessels  equipped 
like  these,  weak  in  seamen,  encumbered  with 
troops,  having  old  rigging,  or  tlnit  of  a  bail  ((ualily; 
vessels  which,  on  the  least  breeze,  break  tlieir 
masts  and  tear  their  sails,  and  that,  v\  lien  the  wea 
ther  is  tine,  pa^^s  their  time  in  repairing  the  in- 
juries oceasioned  by  the  wind  or  the  inexperience 
of  the  Clews;  we  are  not  in  a  fit  state  to  undertake 
any  tliin;,'.  I  have  had  a  pi-esentiment  before  my 
departure;  1  go  to  make  a  grievous  experiment*." 
Nnpoleon  exhibited  a  sensible  displeasure  on 
learning  this  useless  sally.  What  is  to  be  done, 
he  said,  with  admirals  who, on  the  first  dam:ige  re- 
ceived, beeome  demoralized,  and  think  of  return- 
ing ?  It  is  necessary  to  renounce  navigation,  and 
to  undertake  nothing  even  in  the  finest  season,  if 
an  operati m  is  thus  to  be  thwarted  by  the  separa- 
Irion  of  souii:  of  the  vessels.  They  should,  he  con- 
tinued, give  a  rendezvous  to  all  the  captains  in  the 
latitude  of  the  Canaries  by  means  of  sealed  des- 
|)atchi  s.  The  damage  sustained  should  be  repaired 
on  the  vovage.  If  any  vessel  leai  in  a  dangenus 
manner,  it  might  be  left  at  Cadiz,  turning  over  the 
crew  to  the  Aigle  ship  of  the  line,  which  is  in 
that  ]).irt  riaily  to  set  sail.  A  few  broken  top- 
masts, a  fe>v  accidents  in  a  storm,  are  very  common 
thiri.;H  Two  days  of  fine  weather  would  have  made 
it  up  to  the  squadron,  andsetall  in  order.  *'  But,  the 
giMii  1  evi,  of  our  navy  is,  that  the  men  who  command 
it  are  new  to  all  the  chances  of  commanding^.' 

Unfoitnnately,  the  propitious  time  was  over  fir 
the  expedition  to  Surinam,  and  it  was  neci  ssary 
that  Najmleon,  with  his  ordinary  fecundity  of  inveii 
ti m,  shoiilil  find  another  combination.  Toe  first, 
which  consisted  in  the  passage  of  admiral  Latondie 
into  the  chiiimel  from  Toulon,  had  failed  by  the 
death  of  that  excellent  seaman.    The  second,  which 

'  Desp  itcli  of  the  1st  Pluviose,  year  xrii.  iir21st  Janii;irj, 
1805.  on  I)  'iird  tlie  Buci-iitaure  in  the  mail  ol  TduIdii. 
*  Letier  to  Lauiislon,  of  the  1st  of  Febiuaiy,  Ksuj. 


consisted  in  drawing  the  English  into  the  American 
seas,  and  in  sending  the  squadron  of  Villeneuve  to 
Surinam,  and  that  of  Missiessy  to  the  West  Indies, 
and  to  profit  by  tliis  diversion  to  throw  Ganteaunie 
into  the  channel,  had  equally  failed  by  the  delays 
in  the  organization,  by  the  contrary  winds,  and  by 
a  fruitless  sally.  It  was  needful,  therefore,  to  have 
recourse  to  another  plan.  A  new  loss,  that  of  ad- 
miral Bruix,  different  from  that  of  admii-al  La- 
touche,  hut  liis  equal  in  merit  at  least,  added 
to  the  ditticulties  of  the  naval  operations.  The 
unfortunate  Bruix,  so  remarkable  for  his  charac- 
ter, experience,  and  bent  of  mind,  had  expired  the 
victim  of  his  zeal  and  devotion  to  the  organization 
of  the  flotilla.  If  he  had  lived,  Napoleon  would, 
most  assuredly,  have  jilaced  him  at  the  head  of  the 
squadron  charged  with  effecting  the  great  ma- 
noeuvre which  he  contemplated.  It  might  be 
said  that  destiny,  in  sworn  animosity  to  the  French 
navy,  had  taken  from  it  in  ten  months  its  two  best 
admirals,  both  assuredly  capable  of  contending 
with  the  admirals  of  England.  It  was  then  neces 
sary,  until  the  events  of  the  war  had  discovei-ed 
new  men  of  talent,  to  resolve  on  avai.ing  itself  of 
the  admirals  Ganleaume,  Villeneuve, and  Missiessy. 
A  serious  event  had  recently  occurred  at  sea, 
which  had  modified  the  situation  of  the  belligerent 
jiowers.  England  had  in  an  unforeseen  and  very 
unjust  manner  declared  war  against  Spain'.     For 

'  Nothing  can  be  more  erroneous  than  the  colour  given  to 
the  cliarge  of  unjust  treatment  of  Spain  on  llie  part  ot  Kng- 
lai.d  liy  our  author.  Tlie  treaty  of  St.  Ildefoas(>  bounl  Spain 
to  furni  h  France  with  a  contingent  of  vessels  and  Imops  in 
case  of  war  between  France  and  Great  Britain.  En;;land 
had  a  right  to  declare  war  against  Spain  as  well  as  Fiance 
in  1803,  unless  Spain  renoui'Ced  such  a  treaty,  this  is  clear. 
France  marie  no  demand  of  the  execution  of  this  treaty 
until  Jnly,  1803,  when  Siain  actually  agreed  to  \»<y  a  large 
Bum  oimmiey  to  France  monthly,  in  lieu  of  men  and  ships, 
the  supply  of  which  sliould  or  might  have  been  ti.keii  at 
once  for  a  declaration  of  war  by  England.  Ihe  English 
nlil1i.^try  forbore  pressing  Spain  as  long  as  possible.  At 
length  her  conduct  induced  retnonsl ranees  on  the  pan  I'f 
the  English  government,  they  knew  this  money  was  ein- 
plo\ed  against  itself,  being  effective  in  the  hands  of  Napo- 
leon with  a  contingent  of  any  other  kind.  The  Spanish 
gov.  riniiem  continued  to  urge  the  efforts  it  had  made  to  extri- 
cate itself  from  such  payments.  The  convention  fur  these 
payments  was  pmtesied  against  in  the  fullest  manner,  and 
declared  t>i  be  a  just  gioinid  tor  war.  A  pe^^everance  in  it 
«as  announced  as  a  justifiable  cause  for  war,  and  Spain  whs 
lold  that  Knglanil  would  be  at  liberty  to  commeii<:e  when 
she  pleased.  The  entrance  of  French  troops  into  Spain  was 
(leilartd  a  c;  usf  that  would  inevitably  renew  hostiiiiies. 
That  any  naval  assistance  to  France  would  be  deen.ed  a 
cause  of  war.  That  British  ships  must  have  the  same  treat- 
ment, whether  ships  of  war  or  commerce,  as  tho.^e  of 
France.  On  the  entrance  of  any  French  troops  into  Spain. 
or  on  any  Spanish  naval  armament  being  fitted  out  for 
Fren -h  assis'ame,  the  British  minister  had  orders  to  qmt 
Madrid,  anno'incing  tn  the  British  naval  commanders  that 
the\  were  insianily  to  proceed  to  hostilities,  nor  to  vair 
orders  from  home.  No  other  declaration  was  ti>  be  niai'e. 
EvasivM  ansivers  were  alwavs  given  by  Spain.  From  a  wish 
to  spare  Spain,  anil  no  Spanish  naval  armament  being  lined 
out,  thlng.^  remained  in  this  state  until  July,  180..  when 
Spain  gave  Englind  assurances  of  a  faithful  and  stllfd  neii- 
traliiv,  disavowing  any  intention  to  arm.  Yet  in  llie  rnllnw- 
inu'  nnmth  reinlorci-mfnts  of  French  soldiers  and  sailors 
w  Tr  marched  thrnu^h  Spain:  and  at  the  end  of  September, 
IS  ',  Sianish  armanienis  were  preparing,  and  the  packeis 
ordered  lo  arm.    Representations  were  again  made  to  Spam 


Capture  of  Spanish  frigates        THE  THIRD  COALITION. 


by  the  English. 


611 


some  time,  she  had  perceived  that  tlie  neiiti*;ility  of 
Spain,  without  heiiij;  very  favourable  for  France, 
was  hi<^hly  useful  to  it  upon  several  accounts.  The 
Frencii  s(|ua(lron  harboured  in  Ferrol  was  re)>airtd 
tlure  while  it  was  blockaded.  The  Ai>;le  ship  of 
tlie  line  underwent  the  same  process  at  Cadiz. 
The  Frencli  privateers  entered  the  ports  of  the 
peninsula  to  dispose  of  their  prizes.  England  had 
a  right  to  enjoy  tiie  same  advantaf;es  under  favoin- 
of  the  reciprocity;  but  she  prefeiTed  to  be  deprived 
of  the  advanta};es  rather  than  leave  them  to  us. 
She  had  in  consequence  announced  to  the  couit  of 
Madrid,  that  she  regarded  as  a  violation  of  neu- 
trality what  was  thus  passing  in  tl-.e  ports  of  the 
peninsula,  and  threatened  war  if  the  French 
Hliips  Were  suffered  to  continue  their  armaments 
there,  and  if  French  privateers  contiimed  to  find  a 
shelter  and  a  market  in  Sj'ain.  Siie  had  demanded 
further,  that  Charles  IV.  should  guarantee  Portugal 
against  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  France.  This 
last  demanil  Wiis  exorbitant,  and  passed  out  of  the 
limits  of  neutrality  in  wliieli  it  was  desired  that 
Spain  should  remain.  However,  France  had  per- 
mitted the  court  of  Madrid  to  show  itself  pliant 
towards  England,  and  even  to  agree  to  a  pait  of 
her  tiemauds,  in  oriler  to  prolong  a  state  of  things 
which  was  CMUvenient  to  France.  In  fact,  tlie 
niiiilarv  co-operation  of  Spain  would  not  he  wi.i  tli 
to  Fnii'ice  the  amount  of  a  suljsidy  of  48  000  000  F. 
jier  annum,  and  this  subsidy  could  not  be  acijuiiti  tl 
with>iut  a  state  of  neutrality,  that  alone  allowed  the 
HI  rival  of  the  i>reiious  metals  from  the  new  world. 
They  were   ready  to  c  nsent  to   all;  hut  England 

bee iiig   more    exacting   as   Spain  ceded  lo   lu-r 

ileniauds,  had  demaiided  that  every  armament 
sh<  uld  immediately  cease  in  the  ports  of  Spain; 
and  she  intended  hy  that,  it  was  necessary  to  send 
the  French  vessels  out  of  Ferrol  immediately,  or, 
in  oilier  wi.rds,  to  deliver  them  up.  Violatin,-  openly 
ill  fact  the  rights  »{  nations,  she  had,  without  pre- 
vi.iiis  notice,  ordered  tliestop|)agc  of  Spaiiisli  vessrls 
eiicouiit<  reil  at  sea.  If  it  had  been  tliotiglit  that 
such  an  order  h:id  no  other  object  than  ih.il  of 
seizing  the  blii|is  coming  from  America,  having 
vaigoeB   of  gold   and   silver,   the   thing  might  be 


on  ihe  subject,  while  it  was  further  amioiinred  that  the 
UriiUli  ailmoal  off  Ferrol  would  |irt;\ent  Miiy  8lii|)%  .if  w;ir 
wliat>  ver  f  oni  eiitt-rini;  nr  sailing  from  tha'  port.  No  .-.iili.s- 
fartiiry  rKdre^^  wiis '•fr>r<!ed.  Additional  naval  eq>ii|)niriils 
look  jilare  in  all  the  Spanish  ports.  KeinniiKtiai'Ces  and 
mniii'iMtt  8  followed,  and  in  thu  liut  of  tlit-in  Spain  openly 

Kialril  tiiat  ki  e  lad  ("ntrnipl.ited  war  from  the  iiegni g. 

Ihe  .rdrr<  ({'ven  at  first  l)y  E  g'a  id  «ere  ..iily  lo  det.in 
SpaiiiHli  ^hlps  III  war  if  ilicy  had  lieasnre  on  lioard,  but  not 
litlier  iiliip-..  II  re  Napol.on  was  out«lt>cd  lie  snlfir.-d 
ail  aflrctrd  Spaiiikii  i>eulraliiy  only  that  the  treasuicA  ol 
Mexico  iMi,h  rea:  h  Spam,  and  a  poriiuii  enter  li  s  own  ex- 
I'ltrqutr  1 1  which  8  an  conlributeil.  Il.id  Sprtiii  or  N  pl-H 
pain  Kn  land  a  iiKinthy  subsidy  under  any  previoui.  treaty, 
a  Kfi  ni-h  aimy  wou  d  at  once  have  l)ern  quaitend  on  tiio>e 
countrirs.    England  ju»ily  rtquired  too  uf  Spam,  tliai  Frencli 

ir >  ■!  uuld  I  lit  violate  likr  neutrality,  in  '  rd  r  lo  iiiva  le 

Poittig'l,  a  point  will,  h  England  had  a  r  glit  to  li'sst  upon 
from  any  powi  r  lionestli  neutral,  and  far  fioiii  "exoriiManl." 
I'l.K  colouring  given  hy  our  aiiili'ir  Is  therrfuie  nit.ig.'iher  ..f 
a  wr.iiig  hue.  lie  do.  s  not  perceive  >n  the  e..ii.  e-»io)i  of 
Spa..ish  nemr  lily  wlii.  h  Napoleon,  witli  so  liiu.  h  good 
P'llii  V  perinilled.  how  lie  himself  Jutili.  »  t  c  (omlnri  of 
Kiiglm  d.  liamiR  iaiil  the  ol.Jecl  of  ihe  Kr.-ncli  enii  er  r  so 
plaiiil)  open.     lAee  t/.e  liritish  itate  paiifraA-Tr.n  l,t;r. 


qualified,  without  injustice,  as  a  real  piracy.  At 
that  moment,  four  Spanish  frigates,  caiTying 
12,000,000  of  dollars,  or  about  30,000,000  of  francs, 
had  sailed  from  Mexico  towards  the  coast  of 
Spain,  when  they  were  stopped  by  English  cruisers. 
The  Spanish  commander  having  refused  to  surrender 
his  vessels,  he  was  barbarously  attacked  by  a  force 
immensely  superior',  and  made  prisoner  after  an 
honourable  defence.  One  of  the  four  frigates  blew 
up;  the  other  three  were  sent  into  the  English 
ports. 

This  odious  act  excited  the  indignation  of  Spain 
and  the  censure  of  Europe.  Without  any  hesita- 
ti.iii  Charles  IV.  declared  war  against  England, 
lie  ordered  at  the  same  time  the  arrest  of  all 
the  English  seized  upon  the  soil  of  the  peninsula, 
and  the" sequestration  of  all  their  property,  to  an- 
swer for  the  goods  and  persons  of  Spanish  mer- 
chants. 

.  Thus  in  spite  of  its  supineness— in  spite  of  the 
able  management  of  France,  the  court  of  Spain 
f.imid  itself  forcibly  drawn  into  a  war  by  the  mari- 
time outrages  of  England 

Nap.ileon  could  no  longer  demand  the  subsidy 
of  48,000,000 f.,  and  thciefore  hastened  to  regulate 
the  m.ide  in  which  Spain  should  cn-nperate  in  hos- 
tilities, and  endeavoured,  above  all,  to  inspire  her 
with  resolutions  worthy  of  herself  and  of  her  former 
greatne.ss. 

The  Spanish  cabinet,  in  its  de.sire  to  please  Na- 
poleon, as  well  as  from  a  seiitiinent  of  justice  towards 
merit,  had  chosen  admiral  (uMvina  for  ambassador 
ill  France.  He  was  the  first  .ittieer  of  the  Spanish 
navy,  and  hid  under  external  simplicity,  rare 
intelligence  and  intrepid  courage.  Napoleon  was 
much  attached  to  admiral  Gravina,  and  Gravina  to 
Napoleon.  For  the  same  moiives  which  had  made 
him  to  be  nominated  amllas^ado^,  he  received  the 
commaml  of  the  Spanish  navy,  and  before  he 
quitted  Paris,  he  was  charged  to  conler  with  the 
Freneh  government  upon  a  plan  of  naval  opera- 
ti.iiis.  With  this  view  the  ailmiral  signed  on  the 
4:h  of  .Jamiary,  1805,  a  conveniion  which  specified 
the  ])art  which  each  of  the  two  powers  should  take 
ill  case  of  war.  France  engageil  to  keep  constantly 
at  sea  forty-seven  vessels  of  the  line,  twenty-nine 
frigates,  fourteen  corvettes,  twenty-five  brigs,  and 
to  press  forward  as  much  as  possible  the  comple- 
tion of  sixteen  vessels  of  the  line,  and  fourteen 
frigates,  existing  in  the  doelcyafds;  to  unite  the 
troops  which  remained  eneaiiiped  near  the  ports  of 
embarkation,  in  the  prop..iiiiin  of  five  hundred 
men  to  each  vessel,  and  tw.i  bundled  to  every 
frigate;  lastly,  to  keep  the  I'r.  licit  flotilla  always  in 
a  state  to  transport  mneiy  thousand  men,  without 
com)irising  the  thirty  lliousand  destiiied  for  em- 
barkation in  the  Dutch  Hotilia.  If  the  force  of  the 
fl.iiilla  were  valued  in  v.ss.  Is  and  frigates,  and 
there  were  added  to  it  the  fleet  .d  large  vessels,  it 
mi;;lit  be  said  that  France  had  a  total  eftective 
force  of  sixty  ships  of  the  line,  ami  forty  frigates 
actually  at  sea. 

.Spain  on  her  side  promised  to  equip  immediately 
thirty-two   Bail   of   the    line,    provided   with    four 

'  Spanish  ships  Medea.  42  giin^ ;  Fama,  3fi  puns ;  Clara, 
3r,:  and  Mercedas,  30;  tin-  last  mown  lip.  The  English 
sliips  were  the  Indclaligalil.-,  4H  :  Vledi.ga.  Ainphion,  and 
Llveiy,  of  SU  guns  vacli.— '/>'i«i/'(''(r. 


Conditions  of  alliance 
gl2  between  France  and 

Spain. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Junot's  instructions  at  1805. 

the  Spanish  couit.  March. 


months'  water,  and  six  months'  provisions.  Their 
division  was  thus  indicated.  At  Cadiz,  there  were 
fifteen  sail;  at  Carthagena  eight;  and  at  Ferrol 
nine.  Spanish  troops  were  to  be  united  near  tiie 
points  of  embarkation,  at  the  rate  of  four  liundred 
and  fifty  men  for  each  ship  of  the  hue,  and  two 
hundred  for  each  frigate.  Besides  these,  tiiey  were 
to  prepare  means  of  transport  in  ships  of  war  armed 
en  flute,  in  tlie  proportion  of  four  thousand  tons  for 
Cadiz ;  two  thousand  for  Carthagena,  and  two 
thousand  for  Ferrol.  It  was  agreed  that  aihniral 
Gravina  shouhl  have  the  superior  command  of  the 
Spanish  fleet,  and  correspond  directly  with  I  he 
French  minister  Decres.  This  was  to  state  tliat 
he  should  receive  his  instructions  from  Napoleon 
himself,  and  Spanish  honour  might  without  bhisli- 
ing  accept  sucli  a  direction.  Some  ])olitical 
conditions  accompanied  these  warhke  slipiilatiouH. 
The  subsidy  naturally  ceased  on  the  day  wlien 
hostilities  were  commenced  by  Englaml  against 
Spain.  Further,  the  two  nations  agreed  not  to  cnn- 
clude  a  separate  peace.  France  promised  that 
Trinidad  should  be  restored  to  Spain,  and  even 
Gibraltar,  if  the  war  was  followed  by  a  complete 
triumph. 

The  engagement  taken  by  the  court  of  Mach-id 
was  much  above  its  means.  It  was  so  mucli  above 
them,  that  in  place  of  equipping  thirty-two  vessels, 
it  could  only  reach  the  equipment  of  twenty-four, 
although  maimed  by  brave  crews.  If  then  tiie 
total  of  the  forces  of  France,  Spain,  and  Holland 
be  taken,  it  may  be  considered  that  the  three  na- 
tions could  unite  about  ninety-two  sail  of  the  line, 
of  which  sixty  belonged  to  France,  twenty-four  to 
Spain,  and  eight  to  Holland.  Still  the  flotilla  must 
be  reckoned  as  fifteen,  which  reduces  to  seventy- 
seven  the  effective  line  of  battle-ships  of  the  three 
nations.  The  English  had  eighty-nine  perfectly 
armed,  equipped,  and  experienced,  in  every  tiling 
superior  to  those  of  the  allies,  and  they  were  pre- 
paring to  carry  them  up  in  a  short  time  to  the 
number  of  a  hundred.  The  advantage  then  vvas 
on  their  side.  They  could  not  be  beaten  but  by  a 
superiority  of  combination,  which  has  never  had 
any  thing  near  as  much  influence  at  sea  as  on 
land. 

Unhappily  Spain,  formerly  very  powerful  in  her 
naval  forces,  and  much  interested  in  being  so 
still,  on  account  of  her  vast  colonies,  found  herself, 
as  has  been  many  times  repeated,  in  absolute  des- 
titution. Her  arsenals  were  abandoned,  and  con- 
tained neither  timber,  cordage,  iron,  mu-  co]iper. 
The  inagiiiKcent  establishments  of  Ferrol,  Caiiiz, 
and  Carthagena,  were  empty  and  deserted.  They 
had  neither  materials  nor  workmen.  The  seamen, 
not  very  numerous  in  Spain  since  her  commerce 
had  been  netirly  reduced  to  the  transport  of  the 
metallic  specie,  were  become  yet  more  scarce  in 
consequence  of  the  yellow  fever,  which  ravaged  all 
the  coast,  and  made  them  fly  to  foreign  countries, 
or  to  the  interior.  To  this,  if  a  great  dearth  of 
grain  be  added,  and  a  financial  distress  increased 
by  the  loss  of  the  galleons  recently  captured,  an 
exact  idea  can  scarcely  be  had  of  all  the  miseries 
wluL-h  attlicted  this  country,  formerly  so  great,  and 
now  so  sa<lly  fallen. 

Napoleon,  who  liad  very  often  but  vainly  advised 
this  country  during  the  last  peace  to  devote  a  part 
of  its  resources  to  the  reorganization  of  its  n.ivy; 


Napoleon,  even  without  the  hope  of  being  listened 
to,  wished  to  make  a  last  attempt  upon  the  court. 
This  time,  in  place  of  employing  menaces  as  in 
180H,  he  employed  kindness  and  encouragement. 
He  had  recalled  marshal  Lannes  from  Portugal, 
to  place  him  at  tlie  head  of  the  greuadiei's,  that 
were  designed  to  be  the  first  to  disembark  in  Eng- 
land. He  had  ordered  general  Junot  to  replace 
marshal  Lannes  in  Portugal.  He  loved  Junot,  who 
had  a  good  understanding  from  nature,  too  ardent 
a  character,  but  a  devotion  without  limit  He 
desired  liim  to  stop  at  Madrid,  to  see  the  prince  of 
the  peace  there,  the  queen,  and  the  king.  Junot 
was  to  stir  up  the  honour  of  the  prince  of  the  peace, 
to  make  him  sensible  that  he  had  in  his  liands  the 
fate  of  the  Spanish  monarchy,  and  that  he  stood 
between  the  character  of  a  favourite  disdained  and 
detested,  and  that  of  a  minister  who  profited  by 
the  favour  of  his  master  to  elevate  the  power  of 
his  country.  Junot  was  autliorised  to  promise  him 
all  the  kind  regards  of  Napoleon,  and  even  a  prin- 
cijiality  in  Portugal,  if  he  served  with  zeal  the  com- 
mon cause,  and  applied  himself  to  impress  a  suffi- 
cient activity  upon  the  Spanish  administration. 
The  envoy  of  Napoleon  was  afterwards  to  see  the 
queen,  to  declare  to  lier  that  her  influence  on  the 
government  was  well  known  in  Eurojie,  or  in  other 
words,  over  the  king  and  pinnce  of  the  jieace;  that 
her  personal  honour  was  interested  as  much  as  the 
honour  of  the  monai'cliy,  in  making  great  ett'orts, 
and  obtaining  successes;  that  if  the  Spanish  power 
did  n<it  raise  itself  on  the  present  occasion,  siie  wjio 
was  the  all-powerful  queen  would  be  held  personally 
responsible  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  and  of  her 
children,  for  the  disorders  which  would  have  en- 
feebled and  ruined  the  monarchy.  Junot  was  in 
fact  to  use  every  means  for  insjiiring  the  queen 
with  just  sentiments.  As  to  the  king,  there  was  no 
need  of  doing  any  thing  to  inspire  him  with 
them,  because  he  had  none  that  were  not  excel- 
lent; but  this  feeble  monarch  was  destitute  of  will 
and  of  attention.  He  was  brutalised  by  Ins  fond- 
ness for  hunting,  and  his  attachment  to  mechanical 
labour. 

Junot  was  ordered  to  remain  some  time  in  Madrid 
before  he  proceeded  to  Portugal,  and  to  act  the 
character  there  of  an  ambassador  extraordinary, 
while  attempting  some  little  re-aniuiation  of  this 
degenerate  court. 

it  became  a  question  now  to  employ  in  the  best 
mode  possible,  the  resources  of  the  three  maritime 
nations,  Fi-ance,  Holland,  and  Sptiin.  Tlie  project 
of  bringing  back  on  a  sudden  a  part  of  the  naval 
force,  more  or  less  important,  into  the  channel,  a 
project  already  twice  modified,  occupied  Napoleon 
unceasingly.  But  a  great  and  sudden  thought 
arose  to  draw  off  his  attention  for  a  moment. 

Napoleon  frequently  received  reports  from 
general  Decaen,  the  commandant  of  the  French 
factories  in  India,  wlio,  since  the  renewal  of  the 
war,  had  retired  to  the  Isle  of  J>ance,  and  in 
concert  with  admiral  Linois,  caused  gretit  injury 
to  the  connnerce  of  England,  General  Decaen, 
who  had  an  ardent  mind,  and  was  very  capable  of 
a  distinct  command  in  an  independent  and  liazar- 
dous  situation,  had  formed  connexions  with  the 
Mahrattas,  as  yet  in  a  state  of  ill  submission. 
He  had  procured  some  curious  inlormatinn  u])on 
the  disposition  of  the  princes  recently  subdued  by 


1805. 
March. 


Projected  descent  upon  India     THE  THIRD  COALITION. 


formed  by  Napoleo 


C13 


the  En<;li8li.  and  liad  acquired  a  conviction  that  six 
thousanil  French,  disenibaiived  with  a  sufficiency  of 
warlilve  stores,  soon  joined  by  a  nia.ss  of  insurgents 
imiiatitnt  to  be  rid  of  the  yoke,  would  be  able  to 
shake  tiie  ein])ire  of  England  in  India.  It  was  Napo- 
leon, as  it  tniiy  be  remembered,  who,  in  1803,  iiad 
placed  geiieml  Deoacn  in  this  situation,  anil  he  had 
accejited  it  with  ardour.  But  it  was  not  a  rash 
enterprise  that  Napoleon  wished  to  attempt  ;  to 
atteinja  something  worth  while  it  nnist  be  a  grand 
expedition,  worthy  tli:it  of  Egypt,  capable  of  snatch- 
ing frouj  the  English  the  important  conquest  tlity 
had  made  in  the  present  century,  their  greatness 
and  tlieir  glory.  The  distance  rendered  snch  an 
expedition  very  different  from  the  expedition  to 
Egypt.  To  carry  in  time  of  war  thirty  thousand 
men  from  Toulon  to  Alexandria  was  already  a  con- 
siderable operation  ;  but  to  carry  them  from 
Toulon  to  the  coast  of  India,  doubling  the  Cape  of 
'iood  Hope,  was  a  gigantic  entcrprize.  Napoleon 
;'ioiight,  resting  the  point  upon  his  own  experience, 
liiat   the  innnense    extent  of  the  ocean    rendered 

iieounters  with  an  enemy  a  very  rare  thing,  that 
was  possible  with  a  good  invention  to  dare  the 
■Idest  movement,  and  to  succeed  without  finding 

II  the  way  an  enemy  very  superior  in  number. 
It  was  thus  that  in  1798  he  had  sailed  across  the 
Mngli.sh  fleet  with  some  hundred  vessels  and  an 
.  ntlre  army,  taken  Malta,  and  landed  at  Alexan- 
dria, without  encountering  Nelson.  It  was  thus 
that  he  hoped  to  secure  the  arrival  of  a  fleet  in 
the  chaimel.  The  success  of  such  enterprises  re- 
quired jirofound  secrecy  and  great  skill  to 
deceive  the  British  admiralty  ;  but  he  had  a  well- 
dis|)osed  means  to  throw  tJiat  body  into  mental 
confusion.  Having  troops  assembled  and  ready 
to  embark,  wherever  he  had  naval  forces,  at  Tou- 
lon; Cadiz,  Fenol,  Rochcfort,  Brest,  and  the 
Texel,  he  was  constantly  in  a  position  to  send  out 
an  army,  without  the  English  becoming  acquainted 
with  his  intention,  and  without  their  being  able  to 
guess  either  its  strength  or  destination.  The 
project  for  a  descent  had  this  much  of  utility,  that 
the  attention  of  the  enemy  being  unceasingly  di- 
rected to  that  object,  he  would  always  believe  sucii 
an  expidition  directed  against  Ireland  or  the 
coasts  of  England.  The  moment  was,  therefore, 
favourable  for  attemi)tiiig  one  <if  those  extraordi- 
nary expeditions,  that  Napoleon  was  so  prompt 
to  conceive  and  resolve  upon.  He  thou;;ht,  for 
example,  that  to  takeaway  India  from  England  was 
a  result  sufficiently  great  for  consenting  to  defer 
all  his  othir  proj.;cts,  even  that  of  the  descent;  and 
he  was  dispostd  to  employ  in  that  obj«  ct  all  his 
naval  forces.  His  calculations  upon  this  subject 
were  as  follows.  He  had  in  the  ports  of  their 
equipment,  lusidea  the  scjiiadroUH  ready  tr)  set  sail, 
a  resirve  of  old  ves-sels  little  proper  for  active  ser- 
vice. He  had  also  in  the  crews,  besides  good  seamen, 
novices  veiy  young,  or  conscripts  but  recently  put 
on  board  ship.  It  was  upon  this  double  considera- 
tion that  he  cstablisheil  his  plan.  He  would  add 
to  a  certain  number  of  new  vessels  all  those  that 
were  out  of  the  service,  but  which  were  still  capa- 
ble of  making  a  voyage  ;  the  se  he  would  arm 
enfiute,  that  is  to  say,  he  w<iuld  take  out  their  art  1 
lery  and  replace  it  with  a  large  body  of  troops. 
Complete  the  crewa  with  men  of  every  class  taken 
in  tlie  ports,    expedite  thus  the   Toulon,  Cadiz, 


Ferrol,R(ichefort,  and  Brest  fleets,  which,  without 
taking  a  single  transport  vessel,  would  be  able  to 
throw  into  India  a  very  considerable  army.  He 
proposed  to  send  from  Brest  twenty- one  sail, 
Toulon  thirteen,  in  all  thirty-four,  of  which  half 
would  be  old  vessels,  to  these  thirty-four  adding 
twenty  frigates,  of  which  ten  would  he  nearly  un- 
fit for  service.  These  two  fleets,  sailing  nearly  at 
the  same  time,  and  making  the  Isle  of  Fiance  the 
l)Iaee  of  rendezvous,  were  capable  of  carrying 
forty  thousand  men,  soldiers  as  well  as  sailors. 
Upon  arriving  in  India,  the  old  vessels  wotdd  be 
sacrificed,  and  those  only  preserved  which  were  fit 
to  navigate,  which  number  luight  amount  to  fif- 
teen vessels  out  of  thirty-four,  and  ten  frigates 
out  of  twenty.  The  crews  were  then  to  be  divided. 
All  the  good  seamen  were  destined  to  man  the 
vessels  that  were  preserved  ;  while  the  indifferent 
seamen,  but  men  well  adapted  to  make  soldiers, 
by  turning  them  over  into  the  .skeleton  regiments, 
Would  serve  to  complete  the  army  disembarked. 
Napoleon  sup])osed  that  it  would  reciuire  fourteen 
thousand  or  fifteen  thousand  seamen  to  man  well 
the  fifteen  ships  of  the  line  and  the  ten  frigates, 
which  were  to  return  to  Europe.  There  would 
then  be  in  India  twenty-five  or  twenty-six  thousand 
troops  out  of  the  forty  thousand  sohlii  rs  and  seamen 
embarked  in  Europe,  and  a  fleet  of  fifteen  ships  of 
the  line  would  be  brought  back,  excellent  under 
every  point  of  view,  by  the  quality  of  the  vessels, 
the  selection  of  the  crews,  and  the  experience  ac- 
quired by  a  long  navigation.  Nothiug  would 
have  been  lost,  as  far  as  the  navy  was  concerned, 
but  mere  hulls  unfit  for  service  and  fag  ends  of 
the  equipments,  and  there  would  be  left  in  India 
an  army  perfectly  sufficient  to  concjuer  the  English, 
above  all,  if  it  was  commanded  by  a  man  as  en- 
terjirising  as  general  Decaen  '. 

Napoleon,  besides,  proposed  that  three  thousand 
troops  should  be  embarked  on  l)oar<l  the  Dutch 
fleet  in  the  Texel  :  two  thousand  in  a  new  naval 
division  organizing  at  Rochefort;  and  four  thousand 
Si)aniards  in  the  Spanish  flotilla  at  Cadiz,  which 
made  a  reinforcement  of  nine  thousanil  men,  and 
would  carry  up  to  the  number  of  thirty-five  thou- 
sand or  thirty-six  thousand,  the  number  of  soldiers 
in  the  army  of  general  Decaen.  It  is  extremely 
probiible  that  India,  having  scarcely  submitted,  a 
similar  force  would  have  destroyed  the  British 
power  there.  As  to  the  voyage,  there  was  nothing 
less  ])robable  than  an  encounter  with  the  English. 
It  wouM  have  been  difficult  to  escape  them,  if  the 
sipiadrons  of  ships  of  the  line  had  to  trail  after 
them  some  hundreds  of  transport  vessels.  But 
the  old  vessels,  and  the  old  frigates  armed  en  flute, 
rendered  dispensable  that  means  of  conveyance. 
Tliis  project  rested,  therefoie,  upon  the  principle 
(d'  sacrificing  the  more  indifferent  or  b.id  jiart  of 
the  navy,  as  well  in  men  as  materials,  and  be  re- 
signed to  bring  back  only  the  more  excellent  por- 
tion. At  that  cost  the  miracle  might  be  operated 
of   transporting   to  India  an    army    of  thirty-six 

1  There  were  in  India  at  this  time  above  twenty  thousand 
IJiitiBh  troopii  of  the  line,  and  aliove  ii  hundreil  Ihnusand 
mpoy  regiments,  olliccred  l)y  men  of  llie  grealest  experience, 
together  with  a  line  body  of  European  ariillerj ,  and  all  these, 
a  most  important  thiiig,  inured  to  tlie  ilimate,  and  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  country  and  it*  resources.— TronWalor. 


Temporary  ac'joummpnt 
614  of  the  descent  on  Eng-    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 

land. 


New  combinations  of  180S. 

Napoleon.  March. 


thousand  men.  The  sacrifice,  moreover,  was  not 
as  great  as  it  appeared  to  be,  because  there  is  not 
a  seaman  who  does  not  know  that  on  the  sea  as 
on  the  land,  but  still  more  upon  the  sea,  the  quality 
of  the  force  is  every  thing,  and  that  more  can  be 
done  with  ten  good  vessels,  than  with  twenty  which 
are  indifferent. 

This  project  caused  the  momentary  adjournment 
of  the  descent;  but  it  was  possible  that  it  would 
favour  the  execution  in  a  very  extraordinary  man- 
ner, because, alter  some  time,  the  English, informed 
of  the  departure  of  the  Frencli  fleets,  would  follow 
them,  and  tiius  leave  unguarded  the  European 
seas,  while  thesijuadron  returning  from  India  with 
fifteen  sail  of  the  line  and  ten  frigates,  would  be 
able  to  appear  in  tiie  straits,  where  Napuleim, 
always  ready  at  whatever  moment  the  octasion 
offered,  would  be  in  a  state  to  j)rofit  by  the  shortest 
favour  of  fortime.  It  is  true  that  this  last  part  of 
the  combination  im])lied  double  good  fortune,  in 
reaching  India,  and  in  returning,  and  fortune 
rarely  favours  a  man  to  such  a  high  point,  however 
great  he  may  be.  For  five  weeks.  Napoleon  re- 
mained in  suspeii'^imi  between  the  idea  of  sending 
this  expedition  to  India,  and  passing  the  straits  of 
Dover.  The  overturn  <if  the  English  empire  in 
India  seemed  a  result  so  considei-able,  that  he  hoped 
to  dispense  by  that  with  the  risk  his  person  and 
army  would  incur  in  an  attempt  so  hazardous  as  the 
descent.  He  passed  therefore  an  entire  monili  in 
hesitating  between  the  two  combinations,  and  his 
correspondence  gives  i>roof  of  the  fluctuation  of 
his  mind  between  these  two  exti-aordiuary  enter- 
prises. 

Nevertheless  the  Boulogne  expedition  carried 
the  day.  Napoleon  regarded  the  blow  as  the  more 
prompt,  more  decisive,  and  even  as  little  less  than 
infallilile,  if  a  French  fleet  should  arrive  on  a  sud- 
den in  tile  channel.  He  set  his  mind  at  work  anew, 
and  conceived  a  third  combination,  greater,  deeper, 
and  more  plausible  yet  than  the  two  preceding,  to 
unite  unknown  to  the  English  all  his  naval  forces 
between  Dover  and  Boulogne. 

His  plan  was  arranged  during  the  first  days  of 
March,  and  orders  sent  off  in  consequence.  It 
consisted,  like  that  for  the  capture  of  Surinam,  in 
drawing  the  English  towards  India  and  the  West 
Indies,  to  which  last  the  squadron  of  admiral  Mis- 
siessy,  that  sailed  on  the  11th  of  January,  had 
already  directed  their  attention,  then  to  i-eturn  im- 
mediately into  the  European  seas,  with  a  union  of 
force  superior  to  every  English  squadron,  which- 
ever it  might  be.  It  was  in  fact  the  project  of  the 
preceding  Deceniber,  but  enlarged  and  completed 
by  the  union  of  tlie  Sjianish  forces.  Admiral  Ville- 
neuve  was  to  part  with  the  first  favourable  wind, 
pass  the  straits,  touch  at  Cadiz,  and  there  join 
admiral  Gravina  with  six  or  seven  Spanish  ships, 
besides  the  French  ship  the  Aigle,  then  proceed 
to  Martinique;  if  Missiessy  was  yet  there,  to  join 
him,  and  await  a  new  junction  more  considerable 
than  all  the  others,  that  <if  Ganteaume.  The  last 
admiral,  profiting  by  the  first  equinoctial  gale  that 
should  drive  off  the  English,  was  to  sail  from  Brest 
with  twenty-one  vessels,  the  best  in  that  arsenal, 
proceed  off  Ferrol,  release  the  French  division 
in  that  port,  ami  the  S|ianish  division  which  wjisalso 
ready  to  sail,  and  to  go  to  Martinique,  where  Ville- 
neuve  was  to  await  him.     After  this  general  junc- 


tion, which  presented  few  real  difficulties,  he  would 
have  in  Martinique  twelve  vessels  under  Ville- 
neuve,  six  or  seven  under  Gravina,  five  under 
Missiessy,  and  twenty-one  under  Ganteaume,  not 
reckoning  the  Franco-Spanish  squadron  in  Fen-ol, 
that  is  to  say,  altogether  about  fifty  or  sixty  sail  of 
the  line;an  enormous  force,  of  which  the  concentra- 
tion had  never  before  been  seen  at  any  period  upon 
any  sea.  This  time  the  combination  was  so  com- 
plete, so  well  calculated,  that  it  must  produce  in  the 
breast  of  Napoleon  the  most  lofty  hopes.  The  mi- 
nister Decres  himself  agreed  that  it  ofi'end  the 
greatest  possible  chances  of  success.  To  .sail  from 
Toulon  was  always  possible  during  the  mistral,  and 
the  last  attempt  of  Villeneuve  pi-oved  the  fact.  The 
junction  at  Cadiz  with  Gravina,  if  they  gave  the 
slip  to  Nelson,  was  easy,  because  the  Eiigiish  had 
not  yet  judgtd  it  of  any  service  to  blockade  that 
port.  The  squadron  of  Ttiulon  thus  carried  up  to 
seventeen  or  eighteen  sail,  was  very  nearly  certain 
of  arriving  at  Martinique.  Missiessy  had  arrived 
wiiliout  encountering  any  but  merchant  vessels, 
which  he  captured. 

The  most  difficult  point  was  to  get  out,  and  set 
sail  from  the  road  of  Brest.  But  in  March  there 
was  every  reason  to  count  upon  an  equinoctial  gale, 
Ganteaimie  arriving  before  Ferrol,  which  was  only 
blockaded  by  five  or  si,x  En;;lisli  vessels,  having 
tweniy-one  sail  himself,  would  take  away  every  idea 
of  an  action,  rally  without  a  blow  the  French  divi- 
sion conunanded  by  admiral  Gourdou, and  such  of  the 
Sj)aniar(is  as  were  ready,  and  set  sail  for  Miirtinique 
iunuediately.  It  could  not  enter  the  nnnds  of  the 
English,  that  the  French  dreamed  of  uniting 
upon  such  a  single  point  as  Martinique  fifty  or 
sixty  Vv-ssels  at  one  time.  It  was  probable  that  their 
conj  ctures  would  I3e  directed  towards  India,  In 
any  case,  Ganteaume,  Gourdou,  Villeneuve,  Gra- 
vina, and  Missiessy  once  assembled,  those  of  the 
English  squadrons  which  they  might  encounter, 
not  more  than  twelve  or  fifteen  vessels  strong,  would 
not  brave  fifty,  and  the  return  info  the  channel 
was  certain.  Then  all  the  French  forces  wjiuld  he 
found  assembled  between  the  shores  of  France  and 
England,  at  the  moment  when  the  naval  forces  of 
England  were  going  to  the  east,  America,  or  India, 
Events  soon  proved  that  this  grand  combination 
was  to  be  realized,  even  under  the  circumstance  of 
only  a  middling  execution. 

All  was  carefully  managed  so  as  to  keep  the  plan 
a  profound  secret.  It  was  not  confid  d  to  the 
Spaniards,  who  had  engaged  to  follow  in  a  docile 
manner  any  directions  whatever  fr<jm  Napoleon. 
Villeneuve  and  Ganteaume  were  alone  to  know  the 
secret  among  the  admirals;  but  not  at  their  dejiar- 
ture,  and  cnly  at  sea,  when  they  were  no  longer 
able  to  connnunicate  with  the  land.  Then  the 
despatches,  that  they  had  orders  to  open  in  a  cer- 
tain latitude,  would  make  them  acquainted  with 
the  course  wliich  they  were  to  follow.  None  of  the 
captains  of  vessels  had  been  initiated  into  the  se- 
cret of  the  enterprise.  They  had  only  the  points 
of  rendezvous  fixed  for  them  in  case  of  separation. 
None  of  the  ministers  were  acquainted  with  the 
plan,  except  adnural  Decres.  He  was  exi)ressly 
commanded  to  correspond  directly  with  Napoleon, 
an<l  to  write  his  despatches  himself.  The  rumour 
of  an  expedition  to  India  had  spread  through  all 
the  ports.     They  feigned  to  embark  a  good  many 


1805. 
March. 


Napoleon  prepares  to  set  out 
for  Italy.— Tlie  pi>pe  con- 
tinues in  Paris. 


THE  THIRD  COALITION. 


Proceedings  of  the  pope 
and  cardinals. — Their 
demands. 


CIS 


trii<i|)S,  when  in  reality  the  Toulon  squadron  h;id 
onltrs  to  take  scarcely  three  thousand  men,  and 
tliiit  of  Brest  only  seven  th">usiind  or  eight  thou- 
sand. It  was  prescribed  to  the  admirals  to  leave 
half  of  this  force  in  the  West  Indies  to  strengthen 
the  garris'iis,  and  to  bring  back  to  Europe  four 
thousjind  <ir  five  thousand  of  the  best  men,  to  join 
in  the  Boulogne  expedition. 

The  fleets  by  this  means  would  be  but  slightly 
encumbered,  manageable,  anti  at  their  ease.  They 
had  ail  provisions  f<>r  si.\  months,  in  such  a  way  as 
t^i  be  able  to  remain  a  long  wiiile  at  sea,  without 
b:  ing  obliged  to  enter  a  harbour  any  where.  Cou- 
riers left  for  Ferrol  and  Cadiz,  carrying  orders  to 
prepare  themselves  without  delay,  and  to  be  always 
ill  a  position  to  weigh  anchor,  bccau.se  it  was  pos- 
sible iheir  blockade  might  be  rai.sed  by  an  allied 
fleet,  witlniut  being  able  to  say  which  fleet  or  at 
what  moment. 

To  all  these  preeaulions  for  deceiving  the  En- 
gl sh,  there  was  joined  another  not  less  cahulated 
{••r  I  lie  pinpose,  and  this  was  the  journey  of  Najx)- 
Icnii  into  Italy.  Hesnpposed  that  his  fli-ets,  leaving 
about  the  end  of  Marcli,  employing  the  nKiith  of 
April  in  reaching  Martinique,  the  month  of  May  in 
f.rniing  a  junction,  and  the  month  of  June  to  re- 
turn, would  be  in  the  channel  about  the  cominence- 
meiit  <if  July.  He  might  remain  all  this  time  in 
Italy,  review  the  troops,  give  fetes,  conceal  his 
profound  plans  under  the  :ipi>earance  of  a  vain  and 
suiiiplnous  mode  of  li\ing,  then  at  the  moment  in- 
dicated, leave  Italy  seen  tly  by  jjosting,  and  in 
five  days  transport  himself  from  Alihin  to  Boulogne, 
ami  while  he  was  thought  to  be  still  in  Italy,  strike 
tiie  I1I..W  at  England  which  he  had  menaced  for  so 
long  a  time.  That  blow  she  had  awaited  for  two 
years,  and  now  began  to  have  faith  in  it  110  longer. 
F.urope  saw  no  more  in  the  threat  than  a  feint 
lilanned  to  keep  tile  British  nation  agitated,  and 
olilige  it  to  exhaust  itself  in  useless  efforts.  While 
they  abandoned  themselves  to  this  idea.  Napoleon, 
on  the  contrary,  had,  without  cessation,  increased 
his  maritime  forces,  taking  from  the  different  de- 
jiots  all  that  was  re(|uircd  to  augment  the  effective 
strength  of  his  war  baitali(-ns,  and  filling  by  means 
of  the  annual  conscripiion  the  void  tlius  made  in 
the  ilepots.  The  army  of  Boulogne  was  thus  rein- 
forced by  nearly  thirty  thousand  men,  without  any 
one  knowing  it.  He  had  always  kept  this  army  in 
such  a  state  of  activity,  and  so  dis])osable,  that  it 
was  not  very  ])OS'-ibIe  to  discover  whether  it  was 
more  or  less  eff'ectivc.  The  opinion  that  it  was  a 
simple  demonstration,  destined  to  the  object  of 
rendfring  England  uneasy,  became  every  day  more 
and  more  the  dominant  opinion. 

All  being  thus  disposed,  with  the  firm  determi- 
nation to  attemj)t  the  enterprise,  and  with  a  |)ro- 
foiniil  conviction  of  success,  Niipoleoii  projiosed  to 
journey  into  Italy.  The  pope  had  remained  all  the 
winter  in  Paris.  He  had  at  first  thought  to  set  out 
on  his  way  abont  the  middle  of  February,  in  order 
to  niTive  at  his  dominions.  An  abundance  of  snow 
falling  in  the  Alps,  had  served  as  the  eiccuse  for  his 
longer  detention.  Napoleon  miiigleilso  iimcli  kind- 
ness in  his  entreaties,  tinit  the  pope  gave  way,  and 
consented  to  defer  his  departure  until  the  middle 
of  March.  Napoleon  was  not  displeased  to  let 
Europe  perceive  the  length  of  this  visit,  to  render 
his  intimacy  with  Pius  Vll.  greater  every  day,  ami 


finally  to  keep  him  on  the  Paris  side  of  the  Alps, 
while  the  French  agents  made  the  preparations  at 
Milan  for  the  second  coronation.  The  courts  of 
Naples,  Rome,  and  even  of  Etruria,  did  not  see 
without  regret  the  creation  of  a  vast  Fremh  king- 
dom in  Italy;  and  if  the  pojie  had  found  the  Vati- 
can besieged  by  suggestions  of  every  kind,  perhaps 
he  had  been  induced  to  show  himself  little  favour- 
able to  it.     • 

Pius  VII.,  after  becoming  entirely  in  confidence 
with  Napoleon,  finished  by  avowing  his  seci'et 
wishes.  lie  was  charmed  with  the  iionours  paid  to 
him  per.sonally;  honours  which  benefited  religion 
through  tiie  good  which  his  presence  seemed  to 
produce,  ami  even  that  which  the  n  w  emperor 
had  accomplishe<l  in  France  to  aid  in  the  restora- 
tion of  \v(]rship.  Butall  saint  as  Pius  VII.  was,  he 
was  still  a  man,  he  was  a  ])rince;  and  tlie  triumph 
of  spiritual  interests,  while  filling  him  with  satis- 
faction, did  not  i)erniit  him  to  foiget  the  temporal 
interests  of  the  holy  see,  that  were  greatly  suffer- 
ing since  the  loss  of  the  Lejiations.  He  had  brought 
to  Paris  with  him  six  cardinals,  of  which  number 
one, cardinal  Borgia,  had  diedai  Lyons.  The  others, 
especially  the  cardinals  Antonelli  and  Pielro, 
wei-e  of  the  ultramontane  party,  and  greatly  in 
opposition  to  cardinal  Caprara,  who  had  too  much 
iniellif^ence  and  knowled;;e  to  agree  with  them.  Thus 
they  had  brought  the  iM)]ie  to  conceal  his  proceed- 
ings from  tjiis  cardinal,  who  in  quality  of  legate 
ought  to  have  been  duly  informed  of  all  the  nego- 
tiations j)roceeding  in  Paris.  He  certainly  could 
not  have  taught  ihent  a  mode  of  succeeding  in  their 
designs,  because  all  that  it  was  p<,ssible  to  do  for 
the  church  Napoleon  did  spontaneously,  and  with- 
out being  pressed  to  do.  But  this  personage,  full 
of  experience  and  knowledge,  would  liave  dissuaded 
them  from  useless  attempts,  always  to  be  regretted, 
because  they  afterwards  became  the  causes  of  dis- 
putes and  differences. 

They  commenced  by  dogmatising  with  Napoleon 
upon  the  four  jiropositions  of  Bossuet,  of  which 
Louis  XIV.,  towards  the  end  of  his  life,  had,  it  was 
.said,  promised  the  annulling.  Napoleon  was  mild 
in  manner,  but  inflexible  in  principle,  and  suf- 
fered them  to  sec  that  there  was  nothing  to  ex- 
pect in  the  revocation  of  the  former  organic 
articles.  The  mode  of  executing  them  remained 
to  be  settled.  He  was  disposed  to  listen  to  any 
observations  which  they  wished  to  pics« ut  to  liini 
U|ion  the  subject.  At  first  they  spoke  to  him  of 
the  jurisdiction  <d"  the  bishojis  over  the  ecclesi- 
iisiics,  of  which  liiey  liad  often  conferred,  and 
which  did  not  appear  sufficiently  complete  to  Pius 
VII.  ;  to  that  Napoleon,  settling  his  answer  with 
M.  Portahs,  re|)lied,  that  every  S])irilual  offence 
was  and  should  be  left  to  the  ecclesiastical  juris- 
diction, but  that  all  civil  off'encts  against  the  civil 
law  would  coniinue  to  be  br<jught  before  the  ordinary 
tribunals,  because  the  jiricsis  were  citizens,  and 
under  this  relation  would  appeal  to  the  common 
law.  Then  they  spoke  of  the  seniinarics,  of  the 
smallness  of  the  number  of  miiiisti  rs  of  worship, 
«)f  the  religicnis  edifices  at  last,  negli><  ted  for 
twenty  years  and  falling  intornin.  '1  he_\  snjiposed 
thai  at  least  :tH,0(l(),(l()(»  1.  would  be  reqiiind  per 
annum  for  Iho  necessiii(s  of  religion,  while  they 
had  only  entered  13  00<»  0(10  I.  in  the  budget,  and 
this  left  a  deficiency  of   25,000,0001'.      Napoleon 


616 


Different  topics  THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


answered  by  an  enunieratifin  of  what  he  liad  done 
in  this  respect,  and  of  what  he  would  still  do  in 
proportion  to  the  augmentation  of  the  revenues  of 
the  state.  They  conferred  afterwards  upon  vari- 
ous other  subjects,  forei<;n  to  the  or-janic  articles 
and  to  their  executioji,  and  particularly  of  divorce, 
permittid  by  the  new  French  laws.  Napoleon, 
always  in  concert  with  M.  Portalis,  said  that 
divorce  appeared  indispensable  to  their  legislation, 
to  repair  certain  disorders  in  morals,  but  that 
the  priest  remained  free  to  refuse  the  religious 
benediction  to  the  divorced  who  wished  to  con- 
tract a  new  niiirriage;  that  the  conscience  of  the 
priests  was  not,  therefore,  violated;  but  that  be- 
sides, this  was  not  a  matter  that  invaded  the 
dogma,  seeini;  that  divorce  existed  in  the  ancient 
church.  After  the  discussion  of  this  subject,  they 
spoke  of  the  observation  of  Sundays  and  festival 
days,  which,  in  spite  of  the  re-establishment  of 
the  Gregorian  calendar,  had  not  been  adopted 
generally  enougli  among  the  people.  Napoleon 
answered,  that  even  towards  the  end  of  the  last 
century,  the  manners,  more  powerful  than  the 
laws,  had  caused  a  relaxation,  and  that  there  was 
sometimes  seen,  before  the  revolution,  workmen 
labouring  on  the  Sunday  ;  that  penalties  employed 
in  such  cases  were  of  less  value  than  examples  ; 
that  the  government  applied  itself  always  to  give 
those  wliich  were  good,  and  that  the  workmen 
paid  by  the  state  never  laboured  on  holidays  ; 
that  the  Sunday  was  strictly  observed  by  the 
country  peoi)le,  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns 
only  were  wanting  in  its  observation;  and  that 
in  the  towns  to  oblige  the  workmen  to  be  idle, 
besides  the  inconvenience  of  employing  a  penal  law, 
would  be  to  give  drunkenness  and  vice  the  time 
taken  from  labour;  that  to  the  utmost  they  had 
attempted  every  thing  a  religious  but  prudent 
policy  permitted  to  be  done. 

Tliey  then  touched  upon  another  subject,  that  of 
educati'.n,  and  demanded  for  the  clergy  the  right 
of  superintending  the  schools.  Napoleon  replied, 
that  he  had  chaplains  in  the  Lyceums,  chosen 
from  among  the  priests  in  doctrinal  conformity 
with  the  church.  That  these  were,  in  f:»ct,  the 
ecclesiastical  inspectors  of  the  places  of  educa- 
tion, that  they  were  able  to  designate  to  their 
bishops  those  in  which  religious  instruction  left 
any  thing  to  be  desired,  but  that  there  was  not  over 
these  establishments  of  education  any  other  au- 
thority than  that  of  the  state.  Some  conversation 
took  place  in  relation  to  the  bishops  who  were  not 
in  agreement  with  the  holy  see,  and  it  was  agreed 
to  bring  them  back  to  that  state  of  peace,  volun- 
tary or  forced,  in  which  Napoleon  was  I'esolved  to 
make  the  entire  of  the  clergy  live.  The  series  of 
questions  of  a  spiritual  nature  were  terminated  by 
the  discussion  of  a  project,  which  without  cessa- 
tion had  pre-occupied  the  court  of  Rome,  this 
was,  tliat  the  catholic  church  should  be  declared 
the  dominant  religion  in  France.  Here  Napoleon 
was  immoveable.  According  to  him  that  religion 
was  already  dominant  by  the  fact,  because  it  was 
the  religion  of  the  majority  of  the  French,  be- 
cause it  was  that  of  the  sovereign,  because  the 
great  acts  of  the  government,  as  the  taking  the 
crown,  for  example,  had  been  surrounded  by 
catholic  pomps.  But  a  declaration  of  the  kind 
was  likely  to  alarm  all  dissenting  worshippers;  he 


intended  to  assure  perfect  peace  to  all,  and  he 
would  not  admit  that  the  catholic  religion,  which 
he  had  desired,  and  sincerely  desired  to  re-esta- 
blish, should  operate  as  a  diminution  of  security 
for  any  of  the  existing  religions. 

Upon  all  these  points  Napoleon  showed  extreme 
mildness  of  manner,  but  determined  firmness  of 
principle.  They  from  thence  arrived  at  the  es- 
sential thing,  which  affected  Rome  more  than  any 
points  of  ecclesiastical  discipline,  this  was  the  affair 
of  the  Legations.  They  digested  a  memorial  that 
Pius  VII.  had  himself  sent  to  Nai>oleon,  which 
related  to  the  losses  the  holy  see  had  experienced 
during  a  century  past,  as  well  in  revtnues  as  in 
territories.  There  was  an  enumeration  too  in  this 
memorial  of  the  different  dues  of  the  holy  see 
formerly  collected  in  all  the  catholic  states,  and 
which,  under  the  influence  of  French,  feeling,  had 
been  either  suppressed  or  diminished  in  France, 
Austria,  and  even  Spain  itself.  There  was  recalled 
to  recollection  the  manner  in  which  the  holy  see 
had  been  disappointed  of  its  right  of  return  to  the 
possession  of  the  duchy  of  Parma,  by  the  extinction 
of  the  house  of  Farnese  ;  the  more  early  ))rivation 
of  the  county  of  Venaissin,  ceded  to  France,  was 
then  brought  forward ;  the  most  serious  of  all  the 
losses  was  cited,  that  of  the  Legations,  transferred 
to  the  Italian  republic.  Thus  reduced,  the  holy 
see  was  not  able,  it  was  said,  to  meet  the  obligatory 
expenses  of  the  catholic  religion  in  all  parts  of  the 
world.  It  was  unable  either  to  place  the  cardinals 
in  a  position  to  sustain  their  dignity,  to  su|>pi  rt 
the  foreign  missions,  or  to  provide  for  the  defence 
of  its  weak  states.  They  reckoned  upon  the  new 
Charlemagne  to  equal  the  munificence  of  the 
ancient.  Najioleon  was  placed  in  con)i)lete  em- 
barrassment before  a  demand  so  directly  made. 
He  had  promised  nothing  to  bring  the  pope  to 
Paris  ;  but  at  every  period  of  his  success,  he 
had  given  out  the  hope  in  a  general  manner 
that  he  would  ameliorate  materially  the  situation 
of  the  holy  see.  To  give  back  the  Legations  to  the 
pontifical  court  was  impossible,  or  at  least  it  was 
to  betray  the  republic  he  had  established  in  a  very 
odious  way,  the  founder  of  which  he  had  been, 
and  of  which  he  was  about  to  become  the  mo- 
narch. It  had  been  to  destroy  all  the  hopes  of  the 
Italian  patriots,  who  saw  in  this  new  state  the  com- 
mencement of  an  independent  existence  for  their 
country.  But  he  had  at  his  disposal  the  duchy  of 
Parma,  that  he  would  neither  grant  to  tlie  house 
of  Sardinia  as  an  indemnity  for  Piedmont,  nor  to 
Spain  for  the  aggrandisement  of  the  kingdom  of 
Etruria,  and  which  he  reserved  at  the  moment  for  a 
family  portion.  It  would  have  been  prudent,  with- 
out doulit,  to  give  it  as  an  indemnity  to  the  house 
of  Sardinia,  or  as  well  to  add  it  to  Etruria,  obliging 
this  state  to  indemnify  the  house  of  Sardinia  with 
the  Siennese.  It  would  thus  have  been  possible 
at  one  stroke  to  secure  peace  with  Russia,  and  give 
Spain  the  greatest  possible  pleasure.  But  if  the 
management  of  Russia  were  given  up,  that  had 
wiilidrawn  its  charge  d'affaires,  and  the  satisfaction 
of  Spain,  whose  inertness  had  not  long  been 
awakened  by  good  conduct,  it  had  been  a  destina- 
tion worthy  the  proud  designs  of  Napoleon  to  give 
the  duchy  of  Parma  to  the  pope.  In  granting  it 
to  the  holy  see.  Napoleon  would  overturn  most  of 
the  arguments  used  about  his  designs  in  Italy;  be 


1805. 
April. 


The  pope  sets  out  for  Rome.        THE  THIRD  COALITION. 


A  third  coalition.- 
of  Kussiu. 


617 


would  dtstroy  the  principal  argument  which  served 
Austria  in  her  oliject  of  uniting  a  third  cuahtion  in 
Europe;  and  what  was  not  of  less  importance,  lie 
would  attacli  tiie  pope  to  him  for  ever,  and  iiave 
prevented  the  sad  rupture  with  the  holy  see,  that 
at  a  later  jjeriod  caused  him  a  considerable  moral 
injury,  a  rupture  which  had  in  reality  no  other 
origin  than  the  discontent,  ill  dissimuiatHd,  of 
the  court  of  Rome  upon  tliat  occasion.  All  this  it 
wa-s  of  more  value  to  arrange  than  to  reserve 
Parma,  as  Napoleon  determined  to  do,  for  a  gift 
to  his  family.  Suffering  the  alliance  of  Prussia 
to  esca|>e  him  in  1804  and  in  1805,  sending  back 
the  pope  covered  with  honour,  but  finally  aggrieved 
as  regarded  his  interests,  constituted,  in  our  opi- 
nion, the  first  essential  faults  of  that  powerful 
policy,  of  which  the  error  was,  the  reckoning  only 
with  itself,  and  never  with  otht-rs. 

Napoleon  took  advantage  of  that  of  which  they  did 
not  directly  speak,  namely, the  Legations,  to  make  the 
simple  and  easy  reply  arising  out  of  the  situation  of 
the  tiling  itself.  He  was  unalile  to  betray  a  state 
which  had  chosen  him  for  its  chief — a  reason  legi- 
timate and  well-founded,  as  it  affected  the  Lega- 
tions; while  he  announced  that  he  intended  to  ame- 
liorate at  a  later  period  the  situation  of  the  holy 
see.  He  commanded  cardinal  Fesch  to  enter  into 
an  explanation  with  the  j)ope.  He  was  willing 
at  the  moment  to  lend  his  holiness  pecuniary  aid; 
he  afforded  him  a  glimpse  at  a  time  which  was 
not  tar  off,  of  new  accessions  of  territory,  by  the  aid 
of  which  the  pope  might  be  indemnified,  iiesides 
this,  he  was  sincere  ;  because,  as  to  such  acces- 
sions, he  discovered  them  at  a  future  time  rapidly 
approaching.  He  saw,  in  fact,  coming  war  re- 
awakened upon  the  continent,  and  Italy  this  time 
wholly  conquered,  Venice  taken  from  Austria, 
Naples  taken  from  the  Bourbons;  and  said  to  him- 
self that  he  should  find  easily  among  all  these  a 
means  of  satisfying  the  pope. 

But  these  good  intentions  deferred  left  a  present 
disjileasure,  that  was  soon  to  become  a  source  of 
v:!xation. 

Napoleon  and  the  pope  quitted  each  other  with- 
out being  as  mutually  discontented  as  the  demands 
made  and  refused  might  have  given  ground  to  ap- 
prehend. The  pope,  in  place  of  the  ambuscade 
which  insensate  persons  announced  was  laid  for 
him  upon  quitting  Rome,  had  found  in  Paris  a 
magnificent  welcome,  augmented  by  the  presence 
of  a  religious  impulse,  and  in  fact  he  occupied  in 
France  a  place  worthy  of  the  grandest  eras  of  the 
church.  All  thingR  considered,  if  his  interested 
Counsellors  were  dissatisfied,  he  returned  home 
contented  himself.  He  exchanged  with  the  em- 
peror and  empress  the  most  attcclionate  farewell, 
and  went  away  loaded  with  rich  pieHents.  Ho  set 
out  from  Purls  on  the  4th  of  April,  1805,  in  the 
midst  of  a  concourse  of  people  still  more  con- 
siderable than  at  his  first  arrival.  He  was  to  re- 
main some  days  at  Lyons  on  hia  way,  to  celebrate 
the  feast  of  Kastcr. 

Napoleon  had  disposed  every  thing  to  depart  on 
his  journey  to  Italy  at  the  same  lime.  After 
having  given  his  last  orders  to  the  Heet  and  army, 
an<l  reiterated  his  entreaties  to  the  court  of  Spain, 
that  all  might  be  got  ready  at  Ferrol  and  Cadiz  ; 
after  having  left  to  the  arch-chancellor  Cambactfres 
the  government  of  the  empire,  not  ostensibly,  but 


in  fact,  he  proceeded  to  Fontainebleau  on  the  1st  of 
April,  where  he  was  to  stay  for  two  or  three  days. 
He  left  this  place  enchanted  with  his  designs,  and 
full  of  confidence  in  their  success.  He  had  already 
a  first  pledge  in  the  lucky  departure  of  admiral 
Villeneuve.  This  officer  had  finally  set  sail  on  the 
30ih  of  March  with  a  favourable  wind,  and  they 
had  lost  sight  of  the  heights  of  Toulon  without  the 
fear  of  encountering  the  English.  A  single  con- 
trary incident  prevented  this  satisfaction  from 
being  complete.  On  the  1st  of  April,  the  equinox 
had  not  yet  been  felt  at  Brest;  calm  and  clear 
weather  prevailed,  which  was  not  of  a  nature  to 
keep  oft"  the  English,  or  hide  from  them  the  sailing 
of  the  fleet,  rendering  the  departure  of  Ganteaume 
impossible.  Had  he  been  clear  of  Brest,  the  suc- 
cess of  the  junctions  appeared  to  be  no  more  doubt- 
ful; and  it  must  be  supposed  a  real  phenomenon  in 
the  seasons,  that  the  equinox  did  not  bring  a  single 
gale  of  wind  during  the  whole  month  of  April. 

Napoleon  quitted  Fontainebleau  on  the  3rd,  pro- 
ceeiiiiig  by  Troyes,  Chalons,  and  Lyons,  pushing  on 
rapiilly  before  the  pope,  in  order  that  the  two 
progresses  should  not  be  mutual  obs'.aeles  ou  the 
road. 

While  he  thus  proceeded  towards  Italy,  given 
up  to  his  grand  ideas,  or  sufteriug  his  time  to  be 
diverted  by  receiving  the  homage  of  the  people, 
Europe,  differently  agitated,  was  at  work  upon  the 
third  coalition.  England  alarmed  for  her  exist- 
ence ;  Russia  wounded  in  her  pride  ;  Austria 
strongly  thwarted  by  what  was  prejjaring  to  be 
done  in  Italy;  Prussia  hesitating  without  cessa- 
tion between  contrary  fears,  knitting,  or  suttering 
to  be  knit,  a  new  European  league,  that,  far  fioiu 
being  more  fortunate  than  those  w  liich  pi-eceded, 
was  to  secure  for  Napoleon  a  cohjssal  greatness, 
unhappily  too  disproportionate  to  be  durable. 

The  Russian  cabinet,  regretting  the  errors  of 
w  hich  the  vivacity  of  its  young  sovereign  had  caused 
the  committal,  had  hoped  to  find  in  the  answers  of 
France  a  pretext  for  retracing  its  former  unre- 
flecting conduct.  The  pride  of  Napoleon,  that 
would  not  give  even  a  specious  explanation  about 
the  occupation  of  Naples,  the  refusal  to  indemnify 
the  house  of  Savoy,  or  the  invasion  of  the  house  of 
Hanover,  considering  these  questions  as  matters 
in  which  he  might  have  been  able  to  indulge  a 
friendly,  but  not  a  hostile  court — this  pride  had 
disconcerted  the  cabinet  of  St.  Petersburg,  and  had 
forced  it,  spite  of  itself,  to  recall  M.  Oubril.  The 
emperor  Alexander,  who  had  not  character  enough 
to  support  the  consequences  of  a  first  movement, 
was  disconcerted,  and  nearly  iiUimiilated.  M. 
Strogonoff,  M.  Nowosiltzoff,  and  M.  Czartoryski, 
were  firmer,  but  perhaps  less  penetrating,  and  sur- 
rounding him,  had  made  him  feel  the  necessity  of 
di.feiiding  the  dignity  of  his  crown  in  the  eyes  of 
Europe.  They  had  returned  to  the  ideas  so  little 
of  a  |)ractical  but  seducing  character,  of  a  supreme 
arbitration,  exercised  in  the  name  of  justice  and 
sound  law.  Two  jiowcr-s,  France  and  Kngland, 
troubled  the  repose  of  Europe,  and  oppressed  it  for 
the  interests  of  their  rival  policy.  It  wjus  neces- 
sary for  Russia  to  place  herself  at  the  liead  of  the 
nations  thus  ill  treateil,  proposing  to  them  a  common 
plan  of  pacification,  in  which  their  rights  should 
be  guaranteed,  and  the  litigated  points  between 
France  and  England  regulated,    it  was  required 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


The  Russian  scheme  1805. 

developed.  April. 


to  rally  Europe  around  this  plan,  in  order  to  make 
proposals  in  its  name  to  En};land  and  France,  to 
ananj^e  itself  afterwards  with  that  one  of  the 
two  powers  which  adopted  it  against  the  power 
i-efusing,  in  order  to  subdue  the  last  by  force,  and 
the  conmion  law  of  the  whole  woild.  Men  less 
young,  less  fed  upon  theories,  would  have  seen^  in 
sui-h  a  sclierae  simply  a  coalition  wiili  England 
and  a  part  of  Europe  against  France.  The  scheme, 
in  effect,  conceived  in  a  manner  wholly  favourable 
to  England,  that  flattered  Russia,  anil  unfavourable 
to  France,  that  flattered  her  but  little,  could  not 
but  be  tolerably  accejitable  to  Pitt,  and  unaccept- 
able to  Napoleon,  being  followed  sooner  or  later  by 
war  against  him.  It  led  to  the  third  coalition. 
The  [iropositions  presented  to  the  emperor  Alexan- 
der were  mingled  witii  so  much  of  the  specious  and 
brilliant  in  i<leas,  each  tjeing  at  the  same  time 
even  generous  and  true,  that  the  lively  imagination 
of  I  he  young  Czar,  at  first  affrighted  with  that 
which  they  proposed  to  him,  was  finally  attracted 
and  seduced  to  such  a  point  as  made  him  set  his 
hand  to  the  work  innne<lialely. 

Before  recounting  the  negotiations  which  fol- 
lowed this  plan,  it  is  needful  to  lay  open  the  scheme 
of  European  arbitration,  an<l  to  indicate  its  author. 
It  will  be  seen  by  the  gravity  of  the  consequences 
that  they  merit  to  be  known. 

One  of  those  adventurers,  sometimes  endowed 
with  ilistinguished  qualities,  who  wished  to  carry 
into  the  north  the  spirit  and  knowledge  of  ilie  south, 
had  gone  into  P<ihir.d  to  find  there  employment  for 
his  talents.  He  was  an  abbe,  called  Piatoli,  and 
had  been  at  first  attached  to  the  last  king  of  Po- 
land. After  the  different  partitions,  he  had  passed 
ir.to  Courland,  and  from  Courland  into  Russia.  He 
was  one  of  those  active  minds  that,  unable  to  elevate 
themselves  to  the  government  of  states,  placed  too 
much  above  them,  conceive  plans  that  are  ordi- 
narily of  a  chimerical  character,  but  not  always  to 
he  disdained.  The  man  now  spoken  of  had  medi- 
tated much  upon  the  state  of  Enro])e,  and  lie  owed 
to  chance,  placed  in  relation  with  the  young  friends 
of  Alexander,  liiso|)portunity  of  exercising  there  an 
occult  inHuence,  but  sufficiently  considerable  to 
make  ])revalent  a  portion  of  his  conceptions  in  the 
resolutions  of  the  powers.  Subaltern  thinkers 
rarely  have  such  an  honour.  The  abhd"  Piatoli 
had  the  sad  advantage  of  furnishing  in  1805  some 
of  the  ])rineipal  ideas,  which  terminated  by  their 
being  admitted  into  the  treaties  of  1815.  Under 
this  claim  \u-  is  worthy  of  attention,  and  the  ideas 
which  we  give  as  his  are  not  on  8uppositit)n,  be- 
cause they  are  contained  in  the  secret  memoirs 
then  remitted  to  the  ein])eror  Alexander  '.  This 
foreigner  finding  in  the  prince  Czartoryski  a  more 
thougluful  mind,  and  one  more  grave  than  be- 
longed to  the  other  young  personages  who  ruled 
over  Russia,  was  more  intimately  associated  with 
him,  and  their  views  hiul  become  altogether  com- 
mon, to  such  a  point,  that  the  plan  proposed  to  the 
emperor  appertained  nearly  as  much  to  the  one  as 
to  the  other.     The  following  was  this  plan. 

The  ambition  of  the  northern  powers,  and  the 
con(|uests  >)f  the  French  revolution,  had  for  thirty 
years  overturned  Europe,  and  oppressed  every  na- 
tion of  the  second  order.     It  was  necessary  to  pro- 

>  There  exists  in  France  a  copy  of  these  memoirs. 


vide  for  this  by  a  new  organization,  and  by  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  new  law  of  nations,  placed  under 
the  protection  of  the  great  European  confedei-a- 
tion.  To  this  end  there  was  need  of  a  power 
perfectly  disinterested,  which  made  its  own  disin- 
terestedness partaken  by  all  the  others,  and  which 
would  labour  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  pro- 
posed work. 

A  single  power  had  in  itSelf  all  the  requisites  for 
this  noble  end,  and  that  power  was  Russia.  Its 
real  ambition  ought  to  be,  if  it  comprehended  its 
character,  not  to  acquire  territory,  as  England, 
Prussia,  or  Austria  would,  but  moral  influence. 
For  a  great  state  that  influence  was  every  thing. 
After  a  long  influence,  territorial  acquisitions 
would  come.  This  Italian  had  reason  on  his  side. 
By  appearing  to  ])rotect  in  Europe,  against  that 
which  they  denominated  revolution,  the  princes 
i^reat  <ir  small,  who  had  it  in  fear,  Russia  gained 
Poland.  It  will  not  be  impossible  that  hence 
she  may  yet  gain  Constantinople.  At  first  comes 
influence,  next  conquest  follows.  Russia  was  then 
to  propose  to  all  the  courts,  not  a  war  against 
France,  which  would  neither  be  just  nor  ])olitic, 
but  "an  alliance  of  mediation  for  the  pticitication 
of  Europe."  They  woidd  not  certainly  have  any 
trouble  to  make  Austria  and  England  adhere  to 
this;  but  every  thing  was  dangerous  in  the  concur- 
rence of  Prussia.  It  was  needful  therefore  to  draw 
out  of  its  interested  hesitations  this  crafty  court, 
or  tread  it  well  under  the  feet  of  the  European 
armies,  if  it  refused  to  concur  in  the  common  ob- 
ject. It  implied  no  humouring  either  towards 
Prussia  or  any  other  state  which  should  resist  the 
proposed  plan,  "  because  they  would  have  deserted 
the  cause  of  the  human  race." 

All  the  states  of  Europe,  save  France,  once 
united,  would  form  three  great  masses  of  force; 
one  ill  the  south  composed  of  Russians  and  English, 
coming  into  Italy  in  their  vessels,  designed  to  mount 
with  the  Neapolitans  the  Italian  peninsula,  to  join 
itself  to  a  column  of  one  hundi-ed  thousand  Aus- 
trians  ojjerating  in  Lombardy;  a  mass  towards  the 
east,  composed  of  two  grand  Austrian  and  Russian 
armies,  marrhing  by  the  valley  of  the  Diinube 
towards  Suabiaand  Switzerland;  finally,  a  mass  in 
the  north,  composed  of  Russians,  Prussians,  Swedes, 
and  Danes,  descending  peri)endicularly  from  the 
north  to  the  south  on  the  Rhine.  These  three 
grand  masses  of  force  were  to  act  independently 
the  one  of  the  other,  in  order  to  avoid  the  incon- 
venience of  coalitions,  which  got  themselves  beat 
by  attemjiting  to  act  in  a  concert  that  is  impossible. 
Each  of  the  three  was  to  direct  itself  as  a  separate 
army,  having  only  to  think  of  its  own  security,  and 
its  own  separate  action.  It  was  from  the  desire  of 
combining  their  movements,  that  the  archduke 
Charles  and  Suwarrow  had  met  with  the  disaster 
of  Zurich. 

These  three  masses  of  force  thus  formed,  they 
were  to  speak  in  the  name  of  a  common  congress, 
representing  the  "alliance  of  the  mediation."  They 
would  offer  to  France  conditions  compatible  with 
its  natural  greatness,  conditions  to  which  they 
would  have  previously  bi'ought  England  to  agree, 
and  they  would  not  g"o  to  war  except  in  case  of  a 
refusal.  The  conditions  would  be  these;  the  trea- 
ties of  Luneville  and  of  Amiens_.  but  be  it  well  under- 
stood, as  explained  by  Europe.  One  is  able,  in  other 


1805. 
April. 


French  and  EngUsh  concessions.     THE  THIRD  COALITION.        A  subalpine  kingdom  planned.       619 


respects,  to  conceive  a  grand  idea  of  tlie  French 
power  at  tiiis  period,  it"  onl.v  from  observing  the 
designs  wliich  were  formed  hy  its  jialnus  enemies. 
France  kept  the  Alps  and  tiie  Rhine,  that  is  to 
say,  Savoy,  Geneva,  tlie  Rhfni>h  provinces.  May- 
ence,  C.))i>gne.  Luxemburg,  and  Belgium.  Pied- 
mont was  to  be  restored.  The  new  state  created 
in  Lombardy  was  not  to  be  destroyed,  to  restore 
tlie  shreds  to  Austria,  but  to  l)e  employed  in  con- 
stituting Italy  inde|)en<leiit.  For  tliis  view  tliey 
would  even  demand  of  Austria  that  she  should 
abandon  Venice.  Switzerland  foreseeing  the  or- 
ganization given  it  by  Napoleon,  would  be  closed 
against  ihe  French  troops,  and  decLired  in  a  per- 
petual neutrality.  It  would  be  the  same  wiih 
Holland.  Frame  in  a  word,  maintained  in  its 
grand  limits  of  the  Alps  and  the  Rhine,  would  be 
obliged  to  evacuate  Italy  entirely,  Holland,  and 
Switzerland,  without  counting  Hanov.'r,  that  the 
war  ceasiug,  would  not  be  longer  kept  in  occupa- 
tion. 

In  return  for  these  concessions,  exacted  on  the 
part  of  France,  England  was  to  be  obliged  to  eva- 
cuate Malta,  to  restore  such  colonies  as  she  had 
captured,  and  even  to  second  the  French  in  another 
enterprize  against  St.  Donungo,  becatise  Europe 
had  an  interest  in  snatching  this  magnificent  terri- 
tory from  the  barbarities  of  the  revolted  negroes. 
They  would,  in  fine,  oblige  all  the  nations  to  agree 
to  an  equiUible  maritime  code.  As  a  last  condition, 
all  the  courts  would  acknowledge  Napoleou  em- 
peror of  the  French. 

Certainly,  if  Russia  had  been  powerful  enough 
to  make  Austria  consent  to  the  independence  of 
Italy,  and  England  to  the  indejiendence  of  tlie  seas, 
Napoleon  had  been  highly  culpable  in  refusing  the 
proposed  conditions.  But  far  from  aban<ioning 
Venice  to  the  benevolent  organizers  of  a  new  Eu- 
rope, Austria  was  impatient  to  return  to  Alilan, 
and  to  advance  herself  in  Suabia.  EnL;laud  in- 
tended to  keep  Malta,  and  not  to  acknowledge  the 
rights,  of  neutrals.  If,  therefore,  Napoleon  was  ob- 
stinate in  retaining,  as  there  is  no  doubt  he  was. 
Piedmont,  Switzerland,  and  Holland,  to  use  for  his 
own  advantage  the  countries  which  his  enemies 
wished  to  constitute  against  him,  his  ambition  may 
certainly  stand  excused  in  the  face  of  that  of  the 
other  European  governments. 

This  design,  conceived  at  first  with  sincerity,  and 
from  gi-nerous  intentions,  had  been  in  all  points 
equitable,  if  every  body  would  have  accepteil  it  in 
its  entirety.  But  it  must  be  in  the  hands  of  a  hypo- 
critical coalition,  a  pretext  to  bring  back  France  to 
a  refusal,  that  would  again  place  Kiiropc  in  arms. 
Facts  Soon  occurred  to  pi'ovc  this  true. 

If  France  refused,  which  was  possible,  they  must 
act  against  her  in  a  military  manner.  It  was  nc- 
cessjiry  in  that  case  sooner  to  hide  than  publish  the 
intention  to  change  the  government,  humour  lier 
pride,  secure  the  purchasers  of  the  national  do- 
mains, promise  to  the  army  the  j)riservation  <if  its 
grades  (all  which  was  done  in  1814),  and  if  the 
fatigue  of  a  warlike  and  agitated  governmtnt  re- 
calhd  the  public  opinion  in  France  to  the  ancient 
<lyna>*ty,  then  r)nly  to  seek  to  re-tstablish  it,  because 
this  dynasty,  owing  its  restoration  to  Europe,  would 
content  itsi.lf  with  much  more  ease  than  the  family 
of  Bonaparte,  with  the  little  state  which  they 
wished  to  leave  it. 


War  was  capable  of  offering  different  chances. 
If  it  were  only  half  fortunate,  they  would  take 
from  France  Italy  and  Belgium;  if  it  were  com- 
pletely so,  they  would  take  from  France  the  Rhe- 
nish provinces,  that  is  to  say,  the  territory  com- 
))rised  between  the  Meuse  and  the  Rhine.  It 
would,  however,  be  necessary  not  to  forget  the 
fault  committed  against  Louis  XIV.,  and  keep  clear 
of  renewing  the  luuightinesses  of  the  i)ensionary 
Heinsius,  because  France,  when  too  ill-treated,  will 
never  be  at  nst.  It  would  therefore  preserve  her 
something  among  her  actual  conquests  in  drawing 
the  line  from  Luxemburg  to  Mayence,  and  in  con- 
ceding besides  the  fortress  of  Mayence,  that  which 
is  denominated  Rlu  nish  Bavaria.  It  will  be  seen 
that  the  cond)inati..ns  of  this  jxilicy,  not  having 
been  fingered  by  Pitt,  did  not  carry  the  impress 
oi  a  passionate  hatred,  like  those  which  prevailed 
ten  years  afterwards. 

In  this  double  hypothesis  of  a  war,  more  or  less 
fortunate,  Europe  would  be  distributed  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner. 

It  was  of  the  utmost  importance  to  guard 
against  that  French  nation,  endowed  with  "  such 
dangerous  talents,"  and  a  character  so  enterpris- 
ing. In  order  to  do  this,  it  was  necessary  to  sur- 
round her  with  powerful  stales,  capable  of  self- 
defence.  It  was  necessary  at  first  to  reinf-rce 
Ilidland,  and  with  that  view  to  give  it  Belgium, 
to  make  the  two  countries  that  which  was  called 
"  the  kingdom  of  the  two  Belgiums,"  intemled 
to  he  granted  to  the  house  of  Orange,  that  had  suf- 
fered so  much  in  consequence  of  the  French 
revolution.  Prussia  was  maintained  where  she 
was  upon  the  Rhine  ;  perhaps  there  would  be 
restored  to  her  the  small  provinces  that  she  had 
added  to  the  French  republic,  such  as  the  Duchy 
of  Cleves  an<l  Guehlres,  and  as  much  as  possible 
she  was  to  be  established  in  V/estphalia  around 
Holland,  to  separate  her  from  all  contact  with 
France.  Still  in  virtue  of  the  principle  of  disin- 
terestedness imposed  upon  great  courts,  a  princi- 
])le,  wiihont  wliich  it  would  be  impossible  to 
establish  Europe  on  a  durable  basis,  little  would 
be  given  to  Prussia,  with  the  view  of  having  the 
power  of  organizing  Germany  and  Italy  in  a 
convenient  fashion.  After  the  kingdom  of  the 
two  Belginms,  created  on  the  north  of  France, 
the  kingdom  of  Piedmont  would  be  created  on  the 
south  and  east,  under  the  name  of  the  subalpine 
kingdom,  and  they  would  adjudge  it  to  the  house  of 
Savoy,  then  dethroned,  which  had  suffered  yet 
more  than  the  house  of  Orange  in  this  common 
cause  of  kings.  They  would  not  restore  him 
Savoy,  but  give  him  the  whole  of  Piedmont,  all 
Lombardy,  even  the  Venetian  sUites,  taken  with 
I  this  intention  from  Austria,  by  means  of  the 
indemnification  which  would  follow.  Finally,  to 
this  vast  territory  they  would  add  Genoa.  The 
subal|iine  kingdom,  forming  thus  the  most  con- 
siilerable  slate  of  Italy,  would  be  capable  of 
holding  the  balance  between  France  and  Austria, 
and  serve  at  a  later  period  as  the  foundation  of 
Italian  independence. 

Italy,  that  fine  and  interesting  country,  would 
be  constituted  separately,  in  such  a  mode  as  to 
enjoy  that  existence  so  jiroper  for  it,  and  so 
vainly  desired  by  its  people.  To  unite  it  in 
one    entire    body   was  at    that    time   impossible. 


620     Scheme  of  the  mediation.    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


The  Ottoman  empire   to     ^snu 
April. 


They  would  therefore  compose  it  of  several 
suites  united  in  a  federation  bond,  a  bond  sufti- 
cieutly  strong  to  render  the  common  action  as 
l)r<>mpt  as  it  would  be  facile.  Besides  the  subal- 
pine  kingdom,  comprehending  the  whole  of 
L'pper  Italy  from  the  maritime  as  far  as  the 
Julian  Alps,  and  having  two  ports,  such  as  Venice 
and  Genoa,  there  would  be  the  kingdom  of  the 
Two  Sicilies  preserved  in  its  actual  limits,  which 
would  be  placed  on  the  other  extremity  of  the 
Peninsula;  in  the  centre  would  be  found  the  pope, 
to  whom  the  Legations  would  be  restored,  enjoy- 
ing a  i)erpetual  neutrality,  and  as  the  elector  of 
Jlayence  in  the  Germanic  body,  having  the  func- 
tions of  the  chancellor  of  the  confederation  ;  in 
the  centre  there  would  still  be  the  kingdom  of 
Etruria  left  to  Spain  ;  then  either  in  the  inter- 
stices of  these  states,  or  at  the  extremities,  would 
be  the  republic  of  Lucca,  the  order  of  Malta, 
the  republic  of  Ragusa  and  of  the  Seven  Islands. 
The  Italian  body  in  its  federal  organization  would 
have  a  head  or  chief  as  the  Germanic  body  had, 
but  not  elective.  The  king  of  Piedmont  and  of 
the  Two  Sicilies  would  alternately  enjoy  that 
dignity. 

Tliis  was,  without  doubt,  a  generous  and  wise 
combination,  for  which  France  would  have  lieen 
bound  to  impose  sacrifices  upon  herself,  if  the 
young  heads  that  governed  Russia  had  been  capa- 
ble of  determining  seriously  and  strongly  upon 
a  great  measui'e. 

Savoy  taken  from  the  crown  of  Sardinia,  was 
not  to  be  given  to  France,  but  with  the  Vaiteline 
and  the  Grisons  to  be  converted  into  a  Swiss 
canton.  Switzerland  divided  into  cantons  would 
have  been  united  to  Germany  as  one  of  the  con- 
federated states. 

The  Germanic  empire  was  to  he  submitted  to 
a  system  of  government  entirely  now.  It  was 
oppressed  alternately  by  Austria  and  Prussia, 
that  disputed  their  domination.  These  two 
powers  would  be  placed  out  of  the  confederation, 
in  which  they  played  only  the  character  of  the 
lieaiis  of  an  ambitious  party.  The  Germanic  body 
thus  delivered  over  to  itself,  diminished  by  these 
two  great  powers,  but  increased  by  the  additions 
of  the  kingdom  of  the  two  Belgiums  and  Switzer- 
land, freed  from  all  vexatious  influence,  having  in 
view  only  the  interest  of  Germany,  would  be  no 
more  drawn,  in  spite  of  itself,  into  wars  unjust,  or 
foreign  to  its  true  interests.  The  crown  would 
cease  to  be  elective.  The  principal  states  of  the 
confederation  would  have,  by  turns,  tlie  supreme 
direction,  as  it  was  proposed  should  be  the  case 
in  Italy.  Tlien  would  be  reinforced,  by  means  of 
new  territorial  limitations,  the  states  of  Baden, 
Wurtemburg,  and  Bavaria.  The  (piarrel,  always 
disturbing  to  the  empire,  that  existed  between 
Bavaria  and  Austria,  would  be  terminated  by 
giving  the  frontier  of  the  Inn  to  the  latter  power. 

The  three  great  states  of  the  continent,  Fiance, 
Prussia,  and  Austria,  would  be  then  se|)arated  the 
one  from  the  other  by  three  grand  independent  con- 
federations ;  the  Germanic,  the  Swiss, and  the  Ita- 
lian, thus  connecting  themselves  with  each  other 
from  the  Zuider  Zee  as  far  as  the  Adriatic. 

In  supposing  these  different  combinations  sound, 
and  practicable  in  effect,  we  scarcely  know  how  to 
avoid  these  observations;  that  to  cut  off  Austria 


and  Prussia  from  the  Germanic  body  was  not  to 
set  free  that  body,  because  these  two  ambitious 
powers  remaining  without,  and  unci mnected,  would 
have  acted  towards  it  as  absolute  states  placed 
around  one  which  is  free,  or  as  Frederic  and 
Catharine  around  Poland  ;  they  would  have  di- 
vided and  agitated  it  ;  in  ]>lace  of  merely  wishing 
to  exercise  a  predominant  influence,  they  would 
lean  towards  its  conquest.  The  true  indepen- 
dence of  Germany,  therefore,  consisted  in  a  strong 
organization  of  the  diet,  in  an  equitable  partition 
of  voting  between  Austria  and  Prussia,  of  such  a 
nature  that  the  confederation  should  be  able  to  hold 
the  balance  between  them.  In  addition  to  those 
European  arrangements  which  would  not  render 
Prussia  the  natural  enemy  of  France,  (as  was 
done  in  1815,  by  giving  that  power  the  Rhenish 
provinces,)  the  two  German  powers  remaining 
rivals,  but  held  in  equilibrium  by  the  diet,  Ger- 
many would  be  free,  that  is,  would  be  capable  of 
making  its  resolutions  lean  to  the  side  of  its  true 
interests. 

To  suppress  the  power  of  election  for  the  impe- 
rial crown,  would  not  be  a  step  of  much  value, 
at  least  so  it  would  appear.  Althnugh  for  two 
centuries  this  crown  has  n(-t  passed  aw;iy  from  the 
house  of  Austria,  the' election  was,  nevertheless,  a 
bond  of  dependence,  which  laid  that  Ixiuse  under 
an  obligation  to  the  states  of  Germany.  It  is 
sometimes  hij;hly  useful  to  m;ike  the  great  depen- 
dent upon  the  suffrage  of  the  lesser  powers,  when 
anarchy  cannot  be  expected  to  result  from  such  a 
dept-udence.  Germany,  constituted  as  it  had  been 
in  1803  by  Napoleon,  with  some  votes  given  to 
the  Catholics,  in  order  by  that  to  re-establish  a 
balance,  too  nmcb  changed  at  the  expense  of 
Austria,  presented  an  arrangement  better  and  more 
natural  than  that  which  was  devised  by  the  authors 
of  the  new  European  organization. 

Although  disinterestedness  was  the  essential 
principle  of  the  proposed  plan,  this  same  disinter- 
estedness might  go  so  far  as  not  to  acquire,  and 
content  itself  with  a  better  arrangement  of 
Europe  as  a  unique  indemnity  for  the  expense  of 
the  war,  but  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  it 
should  go  so  far  as  to  make  sacrifices  at  a  loss. 
They  would,  therefore,  owe  an  indemnity  to 
Austria  for  the  states  of  Venice,  of  which  they 
wished  to  demand  the  renunciation  on  her  part. 
In  consequence  they  gave  Austria  Moldavia  and 
Wallacliia,  in  order  that  she  might  thus  extend 
her  territory  as  far  as  the  Black  Sea,  and  secure 
herself  against  the  future  danger  of  being  block- 
aded by  Russia. 

The  Ottoman  empire  was  maintained  unchanged, 
save  in  regard  to  certain  restrictions,  that  they 
would  afterwards  make  known. 

The  north  remained  to  be  considered.  There 
was  much  to  be  done  in  its  regard,  according  to  the 
singular  organizers  of  Europe,  who  worked  with 
so  much  freedom  upon  the  map  of  the  world. 
The  frontier  which  separated  Prussia  from  Russia 
was  bad.  Poland  was  divided  between  these  two 
powers.  In  the  sight  of  the  abbd  Piatoli,  and  in 
that  of  the  young  personages  whom  he  inspired  with 
his  policy,  in  that  of  prince  Czartoryski  above  all, 
even  with  Alexander,  the  dismemberment  of  Po- 
land was  a  great  outrage.  Alexander,  in  his 
youth  idle,  and  oppressed  in  the  time  of  Paul,  had 


1805. 
AprU. 


England  to  restore  Malta. — 
A  kiiij^doni  to  be  funned 
in  Egypt. 


THE  THIRD  COALITION. 


A  cods  of  the  laws  of  nations 
to  be  formed. 


621 


often  said  in  the  midst  of  his  heart's  outpouring.s 
that  the  dismeinbermeiit  of  Poland  was  a  crime  of 
his  forefathui-s,  and  tiiat  he  should  be  happy  to  make 
reparation  for  it.  But  how  was  Poland  to  be 
i-enewed  \  How  placed  ?  a  state  cut  off  and  iso- 
lated between  tlie  rival  states  which  iiad  destroyed 
it.  There  existed  one  mode,  wiiicli  was  to  recon- 
struct it  entirely,  to  render  back  to  it  ail  the  parts 
of  which  it  was  formerly  composed,  and  to  give  it 
afterwards  to  the  emi)eror  of  Russia,  who  would 
grant  to  it  independent  institutions,  in  such  a 
fashion  that  Poland,  destined  in  the  ancient  ideas 
of  Euroi)e  to  serve  as  a  barrier  to  Germany 
against  Russia,  would  be  rather  the  advanced 
guard  of  Russia  against  Germany.  Such  was  the 
dream  of  these  young  politicians,  such  was  the 
ambition  with  which  they  nourished  Alexander. 
This  great  indignation  against  the  outrage  of  the 
last  century,  this  noble  disinterestedness  imposed 
upon  all  the  courts  to  repress  the  ambition  of 
France,  had  therefore,  for  the  definitive  end,  to 
reform  Poland,  that  it  might  be  given  to  Russia  ! 
This  was  not  the  tii-st  time  that,  under  the  vain- 
glorious virtues,  otlered  with  ostentation  to  the 
world's  esteem,  great  vanity  and  great  ambition  have 
been  conct-aled.  This  court  of  Russia,  which  at 
that  time  carried  to  the  liighest  point  the  affecta-  i 
tion  of  equity  and  disinterestedness,  that  pre-  I 
tended  from  the  height  of  the  Pole  to  give  a  | 
lesson  to  England  and  to  France,  was  thinking, 
therefore,  in  reality,  of  the  complete  possession  of 
Poland  !  However,  it  concealed  amid  its  de- 
signs a  feeling  that  must  be  honoured,  that  of 
prince  Czartoryski,  who,  not  seeing  at  the  moment 
any  po.xsilnlity  of  reestablishing  Poland  by  the 
hands  of  Poles  alone,  wished  in  default  of  them, 
to  serve  the  cause  by  the  iiands  of  the  Russians. 
This  at  least  was  a  legitimate  object ;  and  it  is 
not  possible  to  reproach  him  with  but  one  thing, 
often  jterceived  by  the  Russians,  and  more  than 
once  denounced  to  the  emperor  Alexander,  that 
he  thought  less  of  the  interests  of  Russia  than 
those  of  his  original  country,  and  in  this  view 
would  push  his  master  into  an  ill-calculated 
war.  The  ubbd  Piatoli,  a  long  while  attached  to 
Poland,  part«iok  in  all  these  ideas.  It  was  difficult, 
nevertheless,  to  propose  to  "  this  alliance  of  medi- 
ation," founded  on  the  princijjle  of  disinterested- 
ness ;  it  was  dilHcnlt  to  pro|)ose  to  such  an  al- 
liance the  abandonment  of  Poland  to  Russia  ;  but 
there  was  a  means  of  obtaining  that  object. 
Prussia  loving  peace  anil  the  profit  of  a  neutrality 
would  not,  it  was  probable,  consent  to  declare  her- 
self. Then  to  punish  her  refusal,  they  would  march 
over  her  body,  and  take  from  her  Varsovia  and  the 
Vistula;  and  with  these  large  portions  of  ancient 
Poland,  reunite  I  to  those  already  in  the  possessiim 
of  Ru.ssia,  th<-y  would  constitute  the  new  Poland  of 
which  Alexaniler  should  be  the  king  and  legislator. 

To  these  ideas  tlioie  were  some  othei-s  joined,  as 
accessaries  to  the  plan,  sometimes  singular  in 
themselves,  and  hoinetiines  jii.st  and  generous. 

They  would  oblige  England  to  restore  Malta  to 
the  ord<M'.  Russia  would  abandon  Corfu,  which 
from  that  time  wouhl  figure  among  the  seven 
island.s.  England  had  taken  India;  that  it  would 
be  necessary  to  abaudon  to  her;  but  they  woulil  be 
able  to  draw  fniin  Kgypt  an  immense  aid  towards 
civilization,  general  cuinmerce,  and  ihu  balance  of 


the  seas.  They  would  take  it  from  the  Porte,  and 
give  it  over  to  France  in  order  that  she  might 
charge  herself  with  its  civilization.  They  would 
form  an  oriental  kingdom,  which  should  be  jilaced 
under  the  paramount  sovereignty  of  France.  There 
they  would  place  the  Bourbons  to  reign,  if  at  the 
peace  Napoleon  was  maintained  upon  the  throne 
of  France,  and  Napoleon  if  the  Bourbons  were  re- 
established on  their  former  throne.  They  would 
restore  to  the  Porte  the  Barbary  states  ;  they 
would  even  aid  it  to  r-eeontjuer  them,  in  <irder 
that  piracy  might  be  abolished,  a  barbarism  disho- 
nourable to  Europe.  Finally,  there  were  certain 
possessions  contrary  to  tlie  nature  of  things,  al- 
though sanctioned  by  time  and  conquest,  tliat  it 
would  be  humane  and  wise  to  alter.  For  examjile, 
Gibraltar  served  the  English  to  keep  up  in  Spain  a 
contraband  trade,  shameful  and  corrupting  for  the 
nation;  the  islands  of  Jersey  and  Guernsey  aided 
the  English  in  fomenting  civil  war  in  France  ; 
Memel  in  the  hands  of  Prussia  was  on  the  territory 
of  Russia,  a  species  of  Gibraltar  in  fraud.  They 
would,  if  it  was  possible,  through  the  means  of 
certain  compensations,  bi'ing  the  possessors  to  re- 
nounce the  posts  and  places  of  which  such  a  cen- 
surable use  was  made. 

Spain  and  Portugal  were  to  be  reconciled  and 
united  by  a  federal  tie,  which  placed  them  under 
the  shelter  of  French  influence  on  one  side,  and  of 
English  influence  on  the  other.  It  was  necessary 
to  ol/lige  England  to  repair  the  wrongs  that  she 
had  done  towards  Spain,  to  weigh  upon  her,  so  as 
to  force  her  to  restore  the  captured  galleons,  and  in 
thus  conducting  the  mediation,  to  snatch  the  court 
of  Madrid,  which  desired  nothing  more  ardently, 
from  the  overwhelming  tyranny  of  France. 

To  complete  this  great  work  of  European  organi- 
zation, the  emperor  of  Russia  was  to  address  him- 
self to  all  the  learned  men  of  Europe,  and  to  re- 
quest from  them  a  code  regulating  the  rights  of 
nations,  comprehending  a  new  maritime  law.  It 
was,  they  said,  inhuman  and  barbarous,  that  a  na- 
tion should  declare  war  without  having  first  sub- 
mitted to  the  arbitration  of  a  neighbouring  disin- 
terested state,  and  above  all,  that  one  nation  should 
commence  hostilities  against  another  withi>ut  a 
previ<tus  declaration  of  war,  as  had  come  to  pass  in 
regard  to  England  and  Spain,  and  that  innocent 
merchants  should  find  themselves  ruined  or  de- 
l)rived  of  their  liberty  by  such  a  species  of  ambus- 
cade. It  was  intolerable  yet  more,  that  neutral 
nations  should  be  the  victims  of  the  rage  of  rival 
powers,  and  be  unable  to  pass  over  tiie  seas  with- 
out being  exposed  to  the  consequences  of  a  contist 
to  which  they  were  perfect  strangers.  The  honour 
of  this  grand  reforming  court  exacted  that  all  these 
evils  should  be  provided  against  by  international 
laws.  Prizes  would  be  granted  to  the  learned  who 
sh.inid  propose  on  this  subject  the  best  system 
of  the  rigliis  cjf  nations. 

It  was  by  this  medley  of  odd  ideas,  some  of  an 
elevated  character,  others  purely  ambitious  in  their 
objects,  these  wise,  those  chimerical,  that  they  e.'C- 
alted  the  brain  of  the  young  emperor,  fickle,  lively, 
as  vain  of  his  honest  but  fugitive  intentions,  us  he 
would  be,  if  they  wen;  all  of  the  most  approved 
worth.  He  believed  himself  really  called  to  rege- 
nerate Europe;  and  if  ho  sometimes  interrupted 
himself  in   his  fine  dreams,  it  was  ui  thinking  of  a 


Deficiency  of  wisdom 
g22  "'    "'^    plans    01 

mediation. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Interview  of  Pitt  and 
Nowosiltzoff. 


Ap.il. 


great  nixn  who  domineered  in  the  west,  and  who 
was  nut  of  the  hunumr  to  leave  him  to  his  work  of 
regeneration,  neitlier  without  him  nor  against  liini. 
Tiiose  whi)  observed  Alexander  closely,  observed, 
ahliouijli  his  spirit  was  shiken  at  tiie  idea,  that  he 
foresaw  war  with  Napoleon,  as  tiie  last  and  pro- 
bal'le  conclusion  of  all  his  plans. 

This  strange  conception  did  not  merit  to  be  re- 
lated at  such  a  length,  no  more  than  the  thousand 
propositions  with  which  the  Iramers  of  projects  often 
overburden  the  courts  which  have  the  weaUiiess  to 
listen  to  them,  if  it  iiail  not  entered  into  the  head  of 
Alexander  and  of  his  friends,  and  what  is  more 
serious,  had  it  not  become  the  text  of  ail  the  nego- 
tiations wiiich  followed,  to  serve  finally  as  the  foun- 
dation of  the  treaties  of  lii\  I. 

One  thing  is  worthy  of  remark.  It  was  a  I'e- 
proach  at  this  epotdi  that  the  French  revolution 
liad  promised  liberty,  indepemlence,  and  hajipi 
ness  to  ev.-ry  jieople  without  giving  iheni,  and  tiius 
ha<l  broken  its  word  with  mankind.  But  here 
we  have  alisolute  power  at  work.  Young,  spirited 
men,  some  honest  and  sincere,  others  purely  amhi- 
lious,  all  educated  in  the  school  of  philosophers, 
uiiiied  by  their  birth,  and  uniformity  of  tiistcs, 
around  the  heir  of  the  gieiitest  despotic  empire  in 
the  wor.d,  are  taken  witli  tlie  idea  of  rivalling  tlie 
Fnncli  revolution,  and  of  performing  its  gene- 
rous smd  p  ipular  intentions.  This  revolution,  which 
accordiog  to  them  liad  not  even  ])rorured  liberty 
for  France,  because  it  had  given  her  a  master,  ami 
that  had  been  of  no  more  worth  to  other  nations, 
than  ciusini;  them  a  humiliating  dependence  upi>n 
the  French  empire,  litis  revolution  lliey  would 
c  iifound  l>y  opposing  to  it  a  European  regenera- 
tion, founded  upon  an  equitable  distribution  of  ter- 
ritories, and  a  new  law  of  nations.  It  would  have 
an  independent  Italy, a  free  Germany,  a  Poland  r<- 
coiisiiiuietl.  Every  great  power  would  berestiained 
by  u-efiil  counterpoises.  Fiance  itself  would  be, 
not  liumiliateil,  but  brought  back  to  a  resjiect  for 
the  rii^hts  of  others.  The  abuses  of  war  would  dis- 
appear on  land  and  sea;  piracy  would  be  abolished; 
the  ancient  highway  of  commerce  would  be  re-es- 
tjiblished  througii  Egy])t;  science  finally  would  be 
c.illedin  to  write  down  a  public  law  ol  nations.  Ali 
this  was  not  only  libellously  written  down  by  an 
editor  of  memoirs,  but  seriously  proi)osed  to  all  the 
Ct>nrt.s,  iind  discussed  with  Pitt,  the  leiist  chimerical 
of  mankind.  We  know  to-day,  we  who  are  forty 
yejirsold  and  more,  what  has  become  of  all  those 
I  hilanlhropic  views  of  absolute  power.  The  inven- 
tors ot  these  schemes,  beaten,  disconcerted  for  ten 
\ears  by  that  which  they  wished  to  destroy,  once 
\ic-tors,  in  1814,  made  neither  a  code  of  the  hiw  of 
nati' ns,  iior  a  code  of  maritime  l:iw;  they  did  not 
tree  1  taly,  nor  Germany,  nor  Poland.  Malta  and 
Gibraltar  have  not  ceased  to  belong  to  the  Eiif^lish; 
and  the  demarcations  of  Europe,  traced  according 
to  the  iiilercsw  of  the  passing  moment,  witliout  any 
calcul.itioii  about  the  future,  are  the  least  wise  that 
it  is  possible  to  imagine  thein. 

However,  not  to  anticipate  on  the  se(|uel  of  this 
history— to  say  how  all  these  ideas  became  com- 
mon to  the  friends  of  Alexander  iiiid  to  himself, 
would  be  a  useless  detail.  It  ajjpears  certam, 
that  they  were  deeply  penetrated  with  them,  both 
the  one  and  the  other,  and  that  they  |>rouiiseil  to 
make   them  the  basis  of  the  Russian  policy.     The 


prince  Czartfiryski,  seeing  here  a  new  chance  for 
the  re-constitution  of  Polai.d,  very  ardently  desired 
to  carry  it  into  execution.  He  had  become,  since 
the  retreat  of  M.  de  VVoronzoff  into  the  country, 
from  the  simple  adjoint  to  the  minister  of  foreign 
affairs,  the  directing  minister  of  that  department. 
M.  Nowosiltzoff  and  Strogonoff,  the  adjoints,  one  of 
justice,  the  other  of  the  interior,  dedicated  them- 
selves to  very  diHerent  cares  than  those  apparently 
under  their  charge;  they  occupied  themselves  with 
their  young  colleague  and  the  emperor  to  set  the 
world  upon  a  new  basis.  It  w:ts  resolved  that  the 
one  of  their  number  possessed  of  most  dexterity, 
M.  Nowosihzoff,  should  be  sent  to  London  to  con- 
fer with  Pitt,  and  make  him  agree  to  the  designs  of 
the  court  of  Russia.  It  was  necessary  to  convert 
the  ambitious  British  cabinet,  to  bring  it  to  the 
disinterested  views  of  the  ])rojected  design,  in  order 
to  be  able  to  found  that  which  they  called  "  the  al- 
liiince  of  mediation,"  and  in  the  name  of  this 
alliance,  to  speak  to  France  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  be  heard.  A  oiusin  of  M.  Strogonoff' set  out  for 
Madrid,  in  the  double  object  of  pacifying  England 
and  Spain,  and  of  binding  together  Spain  and  Por- 
tugal by  indissoluble  ties.  It  was  decided  that  M. 
Strogonoff  should  visit  London  before  going  to 
Madrid,  in  order  to  commence  in  that  capitjil  his 
conciliatory  ndssion.  In  the  judgment  of  all 
Europe,  the  ))roceedings  of  the  British  government 
towards  the  commerce  of  Spain  had  been  con- 
sidered unjust  and  odious.  He  was  to  state,  that  if 
England  did  not  become  more  rational  in  its  con- 
duct, it  should  be  left  to  engage  alone  against 
France,  and  that  Russia  would  enter  herself,  with 
all  the  continental  powers,  into  a  neutrality  fatal 
to  Great  Britain. 

'I  he  two  young  Russians  charged  to  obtain  the 
adoption  irom  other  powers  of  the  policy  <d  ilieir 
cabinet,  set  themselves  on  the  route  for  London 
towards  the  close  <d'  April,  1804.  M.  Nowosiltzoff, 
presented  at  the  English  court  by  the  Russiini 
ambassador,  Woi-onzott,  brother  of  the  chancellor 
in  retirement,  was  received  with  a  distinction  and 
with  attentions  fitting  to  make  an  impression  upon 
a  ;, ouiig  btatisni:in  admitted,  for  the  first  time, 
to  the  honour  of  treating  upon  the  great  affairs 
of  Eurojie.  It  is  much  oltener  harshness  and 
]iride  than  subiilty  thiit  characterize  the  diploma- 
tists of  England.  Slid  lord  Harrowby,  and  n.oie 
p;iitienlarly  Pitt,  with  whom  the  Russian  envoy 
entered  at  once  into  a  conference,  were  both  soon 
able  to  perceive  with  what  sort  of  persons  they  had 
to  trans;ict  business,  and  conducted  themselves  ac- 
cordiiifily.  Old  Pitt,  old  by  character  much  more 
thiiH  years,  rendered  supple  by  the  danger,  all 
haughty  as  he  was,  esteemed  himself  but  too  loi- 
tunate  to  find  again  an  alliance  upon  the  contii  eni, 
to  be  very  difticitit  in  his  uegoti;iti  n.  He  was  .is 
<()niplais;iiit  as  it  was  needful  lor  him  to  be  towards 
young  pcrson:iges  destitute  of  experience,  and 
feedmg  themselves  upon  chimerical  noti.  ns.  He 
listened  to  the  singular  propositions  id'  the  Unssi;iii 
cabinet,  appeared  to  welcome  them  with  gre;it  con- 
sideraiion,  but  modified  them  as  he  b  uiid  ii  c(  ii- 
veniiiit  to  suit  his  own  political  vii-ws,  took  caic 
not  to  repel  any  thing,  but  limited  himself  to  pi  st- 
piiidng  until  the  time  of  a  general  peace  any  thin;; 
that  was  incompatible  witii  the  interests  ol  Bri  isli 
policy.     He  returned  the  ju-oposilions  of  the  Rus- 


1805.       M.  Nowosillzoff  confers  with 
April.         .Mr.  Piit. 


THE  THIRD  COALITION. 


Views  of  Mr.  Fitt,  and  modi- 
fications. 


623 


siaii  envoy,  writin<j  in  relation  to  tliem  his  own 
obser»ati()iis'.  At  first  Pitt  consented  to  be  brow 
beaten  by  the  ynunji  Russian  envoy;  lie  suffered 
him  to  reimiacli  English  nnUiition,  tlie  harsliness  of 
its  proceedings,  and  its  usurpingsysten),  which  served 
as  a  pretext  tor  tlie  usurping  system  ol  France.  He 
snfteieil  liim  to  say,  that  in  order  to  form  a  new 
alhaiice,  it  must  be  grounded  iipnn  a  great  disin- 
terestedness on  tiie  part  of  all  the  contracting 
ptiWfi-s.  The  head  of  the  British  cabinet,  tlitis 
become  alive  to  the  subject,  approved  strongly  of 
all  the  ideas  of  the  ambassailor  of  Alexander,  and 
d<-clared  that  it  was  necessary  to  exliibit  effectually 
the  most  perfect  separation  from  any  pei-sontil 
views,  if  they  would  tear  off  the  mask  with  which 
the  ambition  of  France  w^s  concealed;  that  it 
would  be  indispens;ibly  needful  that  the  allies 
sh.iuld  not  appear  to  think  of  themselves,  but  of 
the  enfranchisement  of  Europe,  op|)ressed  by  a  bar- 
barousand  tyranni.al  power.  The  gravity  ("f  men, and 
tile  seriousness  of  the  interesis  of  which  they  treju, 
do  not  hinder  them  from  giving  very  often  a  spec- 
tacle but  too  puerile.  Is  it  not,  in  effect,  some- 
thing very  puerile  to  see  diplomatists  representing 
the  ambitions  that  have  agitated  the  wi.ild  lor  ages, 
reproacliiiig  France  with  her  insatiable  avidity? 
As  if  the  English  minister  bad  wished  in  this  any 
thing  more  than  Malta,  India,  and  the  dominion  df 
tlie  sea!  As  if  the  Russian  minister  had  desired 
any  thing  besides  Poland  and  a  dominant  inHiieiice 
tiu  the  continent!  How  lamentable  to  hear  the 
lieails  of  Slates  address  each  other  seriously  with 
Kimiiar  re|)roaches!  Doubtless,  Najioleon  was  much 
too  amiiitious  for  his  own  interest,  and  more  par- 
ticularly for  that  of  France;  but  Napoleon  con- 
sidered, if  it  may  be  so  said,  in  his  n)oral  causes, 
was  he  any  thing  more  than  the  reaction  of  the 
French  power  against  the  usurpations  of  the 
European  courts  in  the  last  century,  against  the 
partiiions  of  Poland  and  the  con(|uest  of  the  Indies? 
Ambition  is  the  vice  or  virtue  of  all  nations  ; 
the  vice,  when  it  torments  the  world  without  doing 
any  good;  the  virtue,  when  it  agitates  and  civilizes 
it.  In  this  point  of  vi.  w,  the  ambition  of  which 
the  nations  have  still  the  lea.st  to  complain,  what- 
ever they  have  suffered,  is  that  of  France.  There 
is  not  one  of  the  countries  traversed  by  her  armies 
which  Fiance  has  not  left  better  and  mure  en- 
lightened. 

It  was  then  agreed  between  Pitt  and  M.  Nowo- 
Hillzofr  that  the  new  alliance  should  profess  the 
greatest  disintiTesteilness,  in  order  to  render  mme 
evident  still  the  insatiable  cupidity  of  tlie  French 
emperor.  In  admitting  that  it  would  be  very  use- 
ful to  disembarrass  Europe  of  this  formidable 
personage,  it  was  still  acknowledged  that  it  would 
be  impi-u<lent  to  announce  any  intention  of  im- 
posing a  new  goverinnenl  upon  France-.  'I'liey 
would  wait  until  the  country  itst  If  Hlioiild  pro- 
D'Mince;  secondly,  if  it  should  itself  be  ilis|iosed  to 
shake  off  the  yoke  of  the  imperial  government  ; 
above  all,  take  great  care  to  assure  to  the 
beads  of  the  army  the  preservation  of  their  rank, 
and  to  the  proprietors  of  the  iiati  oial  domains  the 
preservation  of  their  property.  All  the  proclama- 
tions addressed  to  the  French  nation  were  to  carry 

'  I  have  my«cir  seen  the  diiplirate  of  thcKO  conrcreiiccs, 
i)f  wliicii  one  copy  is  to  l)f  louinl  in  France. — Author. 


the  most  tranquillizing  assurances  upon  tliis  sub- 
ject. Pitt  even  went  as  far  as  to  regard  this 
precaution  so  important,  that  he  said  he  was  ready 
to  make,  with  English  money,  a  jirovision  (w»e  ;i*ro- 
r'mon,  this  was  bis  own  expression,)  to  indemnify  the 
emigrants  remaining  around  the  B(nirbons;  and 
t'r.us  take  away  from  them  every  motive  for  alarm- 
ing the  proprietors  of  the  national  property.  Pitt 
dreamed  therefore  of  the  famous  indemnity  to  the 
emigrants  twenty  years  before  it  was  voted  by  the 
parliament  of  France.  In  willing  to  indenmify 
such  pretensions,  he  could  not  assuredly  have 
known  what  he  engaged  liimself  to  do;  but  in 
showini,'  himself  disposed  to  attempt  it  at  the  ex- 
pens.-  of  the  British  treasury,  he  proved  what  an 
iinmense  price  England  attached  to  the  fall  of 
Napoleon,  who  had  become  so  menacing  an  object 
in  her  sight. 

The  idea  of  uniting  an  imposing  mass  of  force, 
on  the  strength  of  which  they  could  treat  before 
fighiing,  was  naturally  admitted  by  Pitt  with  ex- 
treme eagerness.  Ue  had  consented  to  the  simili- 
tude of  a  previous  negotiation,  well  knowing  that 
it  Would  not  be  of  einisequeiice,  and  that  the  con- 
ditions proposed  would  never  agree  with  the  pride 
of  Napoleon.  He  would  never  suffer  in  any  case 
that  iliey  should  organize  without,  and  against 
him,  Italy,  Switzerland,  and  Holland,  under  the 
spi  cions  pretext  of  ilieir  independ.  nee.  Pitt  there- 
fore loft  the  young  Russian  governors  to  think  that 
he  would  work  for  the  "  grand  mediation,"  con- 
vinced as  he  Was  that  they  were  marching  purely 
and  simply  to  a  third  coalition.  As  to  the  distri- 
bution of  tlie  forces,  he  contrailieted  a  part  of  their 
project.  He  accepted  well  enough  the  three  grand 
masses;  one  in  the  south  conipose<l  of  the  Russians, 
Neapolitans,  and  English  ;  another  in  the  east, 
comjiosed  of  the  Russians  and  Ansirians;  one  in 
the  north  composed  of  Pi'ussians,  Russians,  Swedes, 
Hanoverians,  ami  English.  But  he  declared  lie 
<,-oulil  not  at  that  moment  furnish  a  single  Engiish- 
maii.  He  said  that  they  should  be  kept  on  the 
coasts  of  England,  always  reaily  to  embaik,  and 
they  would  produce  a  very  useful  result,  by  mena- 
cing the  shores  of  the  French  empire  in  all  points 
at  once.  This  signified  that,  living  in  terror  of  the 
expeditions  prepared  at  Boulogne,  the  English 
government  would  not  leave  its  territory  destitute, 
a  thing  \ery  naiural.  Pitt  promised  subsidies,  but 
n  t  as  much  nearly  as  they  asked.  He  offered 
(>.OOII,0(K»/.  sterling,'  or  15(»,6uO,000  f.  He  insisted 
■  Host  particulai'lv  upon  a  siibjict  which  the  authors 
of  the  Ru.ssian  project  seemed  to  treat  very  lightly, 
that  was  the  concurrence  of  Prussia.  Without 
her,  all  appeared  to  him  difficult,  indeed  nearly 
impossible.  In  his  eyes  the  eoncmrence  of  eniire 
Eiuope  was  required  for  the  destruction  of  Napo- 
ItMin.  lie  sirongly  approved  that  they  should  jiass 
over  the  body  of  Prussia,  if  it  were  not  found 
practicable  to  draw  that  country  into  the  alliance; 
because  Russia  would  llius  bind  herself  for  ever 
to  the  policy  of  England;  he  even  offered  in  that 
case,  to  make  the  part  of  the  subside  destined  for 
Prussia  pass  on  to  .St.  Petersburg;  but  he  felt  it 
was  a  very  serious  thing,  and  gave  bis  advice  that 
propositioiiH,  the  most  i.ilvanlageous  possible, should 
be  address(;d  to  tin- cabinet  of  Berlin,  in  order  to 
^ain  it  over.  "  Do  not  believe,"  he  said  to  M. 
Nowosilizoff,  "that   1  am   the   least  in  tho   world 


Interview  between        THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.      Pitt  and  Nowosiltzoff. 


April. 


favourable  to  that  false  cabinet,  crafty,  and  full  of 
cupidity,  that  demands  sometimes  of  Europe,  some- 
times of  Napoleon,  the  price  of  its  perfidiousness; 
no,  but  it  is  iu  this  cabinet  that  the  fate  of  the 
])resent,  and  even  of  the  iuture  reposes.  Prussia, 
jealous  of  Austria,  fearing  Russia,  will  always 
carry  iierself  on  the  side  of  France.  It  is  necessary 
to  detach  her;  unless  this  is  done,  she  will  never 
cease  to  be  the  accomplice  of  our  irreconcilable 
enemy.  It  is  necessary  to  be  wanting  as  relates 
to  her  alone  in  your  ideas  of  disinterestedness ;  it 
is  necessary  to  give  more  than  Napoleon  knows 
liow  to  oft'LT,  sometiiing  befi)re  all  things  else,  that 
shall  embroil  her  with  France." 

Pitt  hail  then  by  his  hatred,  which  sometimes 
cleared  his  siglit,  if  it  often  blinded  him,  imagined 
a  modification  of  the  Russian  plan,  fatal  as  well  for 
Germany  as  for  France.  He  th<iuglit  the  idea 
luminous  and  |irofiiund,  of  constructing  around  the 
French  terriinry  kingdoms  capable  of  resisiing 
France,  a  kingdimi  of  the  two  Belgiums,  and  a 
snbal|)ine  kingdom;  one  for  the  house  of  Orange 
jirotected  by  England,  the  other  for  the  house  of 
Sivoy  protected  by  Russia.  But  he  thought  that 
it  was  an  insufficient  precaution.  He  wished  that 
in  idace  of  separatnig  Prussia  and  France  by  the 
Rhine,  they  should  on  the  contrary  be  placed  in 
innnediate  contact;  and  he  proposed  .^to  grant  to 
Prussia,  if  she  pronounced  in  favour  of  the  coali- 
tion, all  the  country  comprised  between  the  Meuse, 
Moselle,  a.^d  Rhine,  all  that  is  called  at  this  day 
the  Rhenish  provinces.  It  seemed  indispensable 
to  him  if  it  was  wished  in  future  to  drag  Prussia 
from  her  interested  neutrality,  and  from  her  ]>ar- 
ti.ility  forNapoleon,  near  whom  shealways  searched 
and  found  an  uncia-^ing  support  against  Austria. 
'I'hey  exten<led  their  design  in  1815,  by  placing  on 
the  Rhine  Bavaria,  besides  Prussia,  in  order  to 
take  away  fionj  France  all  her  olil  allies  in  Ger- 
many. When  she  will  one  day  have  need  of  a 
support  against  the  dangers  which  will  come  upon 
her  from  the  side  of  the  north,  Germany  will  ap- 
preciate what  services  those  might  have  rendered 
li-r,  who  have  themselves  studied  to  create  subjects 
of  division  between  her  and  France. 

There  came  out  of  these  conferences  a  new  idea, 
destined  to  complete  the  kingdom  of  the  two  Bel- 
ginms;  that  was  to  construct  a  girdle  of  fortresses, 
tfie  image  of  those  which  Vauban  had  constructed 
lormcrly  to  cover  France,  in  that  country  without 
frontier,  and  to  construct  those  fortresses  at  the 
expense  of  the  alliance. 

In  regar  I  /to  Germany  and  Italy,  the  English 
minister  made  theni  feel  how  far  it  was  from  being 
possible  to  execute  their  vast  project  at  the  mo- 
ni'-nt,  how  nmch  it  would  wound  the  two  powers  of 
whom  they  had  the  most  need,  Prussia  and  Aus- 
tria. Tliey  woidd  neither  the  one  nor  the  other 
ci^nsent  to  leave  the  Germanic  confeileration ; 
Prussia  in  particidar  liad  refused  to  agree  that  the 
crown  of  (lermany  should  be  hereditary;  Austria 
would  repulse  a  constitution  for  Italy  which  should 
exclude  it  from  that  country.  Of  the  projects  re 
garding  Italy,  Pitt  admitted  only  the  constitution 
of  the  kingdom  of  Piedmont.  He  wished  that  Savoy 
itself  should  be  added  to  all  that  the  Russian  pro- 
ject already  attributed  to  Piedmont. 

Finally,  they  did  not  discourse  much  about  Po- 
land; all  that  point  implied  war  with  Prussia,  which 


Pitt  held  it  as  above  all  things  best  to  avoid.  The 
Russian  di[)lomatist,  imbued  with  such  generous 
ideas  on  quitting  St.  Petersburg,  dared  not  make 
mention  of  Egypt,  Gibraltar,  or  Memel;  of  all  that 
he  had  there  deemed  the  most  excellent  in  his  pri- 
mitive project.  Upon  two  subjects  very  important, 
Pitt  was  little  satisfactory  and  almost  negative;  it 
may  be  saiil  upon  Malta  and  maritime  law.  Rela- 
tive to  Malta,  Pitt  peremptorily  refused  to  enter- 
tain the  question,  and  adjourned  explanations  upon 
that  subject  until  the  epoch  when  it  would  be 
known  what  sacrifices  France  was  disposed  to 
make.  As  to  the  new  law  of  nations,  lie  said  that 
such  a  work,  moral,  but  little  practicable,  should 
be  left  to  a  congress  which  should  assemble  alter 
the  war,  to  conclude  a  peace  in  which  all  the  in- 
terests of  the  nations  should  be  equitably  balanced. 
The  idea  of  a  new  law  of  nations  seemed  to  him 
very  fine,  but  difficult  to  realize,  because  nations 
would  with  difficulty  adopt  uniform  disi>ositions, 
and  would  observe  them  with  still  more  difficulty 
when  ado])ted.  However,  he  did  not  decline  to 
treat  of  these  matters  in  the  congress,  which 
should  at  a  later  time  regulate  the  conditions  of 
a  peace. 

These  conferences  terminated  by  a  singular  ex- 
idanation.  It  had  for  its  subject  the  east  and 
Constantinople.  Very  recently,  by  her  policy  in 
Georgia,  and  by  her  relations  with  the  insurgents 
on  the  Danube,  Russia  had  given  England  some 
umbrage,  which  had  provoked  on  her  part  a  note, 
in  which  the  independence  and  integrity  of  the  Ot- 
toman empire  were  already  professed  as  principles 
of  European  policy.  "  It  is  not  thus  that  peo])le 
proceed  when  they  would  establish  confidence  be- 
tween allies,"  said  M.  Nowosiltzoff  to  Mr.  Pitt;  "of 
all  men  my  master  is  he  who  has  the  most  noble, 
most  generous  character  ;  it  suffices  that  he  is 
proud  of  his  integrity.  But  to  seek  to  stop  him  by 
menaces,  or  only  by  insinuations,  is  to  wound  him 
uselessly.  He  would  be  excited  rather  than  re- 
strained by  such  means."  At  these  words  Pitt 
made  many  excuses  at  having  suffered  umbrages 
so  ill  founded  to  be  noted,  that  they  were  but  na- 
tural before  they  had  arrived  at  the  period  in  their 
intercourse,  that  inspired  full  confidence  between 
each  other;  but  that  for  the  future,  and  with  the 
intimacy  that  was  established  between  the  two 
coin-is,  it  would  be  impossible.  "  Besides,"  said  M. 
Nowosiltzott',  "  what  inconvenience  would  it  be  if 
Constantinople  appertained  to  a  civilized  peoi)le 
like  the  Russians,  in  place  of  belonging  to  barba- 
rians like  the  Turks  ?  Would  not  your  commerce 
in  the  Black  Sea  gain  considerably  by  such  a 
change  i  Without  doubt,  if  the  east  had  submitted 
to  that  France  wliich  is  so  given  to  usurpation,  the 
danger  would  be  real;  hut  as  to  Russia,  the  danger 
would  be  nothing.  England  could  have  no  objec- 
tion to  make.  Pitt'  replied,  that  these  considera- 
tions had  assuredly  much  weight  in  his  eyes;  that  as 
to  himself  he  had  no  prejudice  in  that  respect,  that 
he  did  not  see  any  very  great  danger  in  case  Con- 
stantinople should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Rus- 
sians; but  that  it  was  a  prejudice  rooted  in  his 
country,  that  he  was  obliged  to  humour,  and  that  he 
must  take  good  care  about  actually  touching  ou  any 
snnilar  subject. 

'  This  detail  is  contained  in  a  very  curious  letter  from 
M.  Nowosiltzoff  to  his  cabinet. 


1S05. 
April. 


Negotiations  of 


THE  THIRD  COALITION. 


Russia  with  Prussi; 


M.  Strogoniiff  obtained  nothini:;  satisfactory,  or 
next  to  notliiiiji,  relative  to  Spain.  She  had 
lianded  over,  according  to  the  English  cabinet,  nil 
her  r.'sourcfs  to  France;  it  was  a  delusion  to  care 
abi lilt  her.  However,  i!"  slie  would  declare  against 
France,  her  galleons  should  be  restored  to  her. 

M.  Strogonc.ff  set  out  for  Madrid,  M.  Nowosiltzoff 
for  St.  PetiTsburg.  It  was  agreed  that  lord  Gower, 
subsequently  viscount  Granville,  then  ambassador 
from  Kngland  at  the  court  of  St.  Petersburg, 
should  be  charged  with  detailed  powers  to  conclude 
a  treaty  on  the  basis  agreed  upou  between  the  two 
courts. 

The  Russian  plan  had  not  been  submitted  but  a 
few  days  to  elaboration  in  London,  when  it  tlius  re- 
turned home,  despoiled  of  all  wliicli  it  had  that  was 
generous,  and  also  of  a  little  that  was  practical.  It 
was  reduced  to  a  project  of  intended  destruction 
against  I-'rance.  No  ujore  of  Italy,  Germany,  or 
Poland,  independent  !  The  kingdom  of  Piedmont; 
the  kingdom  of  the  two  Belgiums  ;  out  of  a  sense 
of  profouiKl  hatred  to  France,  Prussia  upon  the 
Rhine;  the  restitution  of  Malta  evaded;  the  new 
law  uf  nations  remitted  to  a  future  congress;  in 
fine,  before  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  a  si- 
mulation of  negotiation,  a  simulatitin  very  vain, 
because  a  general  and  immediate  war  was  at  the 
foumlation  of  things:  here  is  what  remained  of  this 
vain-glorious  project  for  a  European  reconstitu- 
tion,  grown  out  of  a  sort  of  mental  fermentation 
in  the  young  heads  that  governed  Russia.  Tliey 
then  set  themselves  to  negotiate  at  Petersburg 
with  lord  Gower  upon  the  points  that  were  ad- 
mitted in  London  between  Pitt  and  Nowosiltzoff. 

Whilst  they  thus  leagued  with  England,  it  was 
necessary  to  undertake  an  analogous  work  with 
Austria  and  Prussia,  in  order  to  bring  them  to  join 
tlie  new  coalition.  Prussia,  that  had  engaged  her- 
self with  Russia  to  make  war  if  the  French  passed 
the  limit  of  Hanover,  but  that  in  the  meanwhile 
had  pi'omised  France  to  remain  inviolably  neuter 
if  the  imniber  of  French  in  Germany  were  not  aug- 
mented, was  not  willing  to  abandon  this  ])erilons 
equililirium.  She  ieigned  not  to  com|>rehend  that 
which  Russia  stated  to  her,  and  sheltered  herself 
under  her  old  system,  become  |)roverbial,  "  the 
neutrality  of  the  north  of  Germany."  This  manner 
of  eiuiling  the  (juestion  was  so  much  the  more 
facile,  as  that  in  fear  of  seeing  the  secrets  of  (he 
new  coalition  delivered  over  to  Napoleon,  the  Rus- 
sian diplomatists  dared  not  openly  explain  theni- 
selvcH.  The  cabinet  of  Berlin,  by  its  hesitations, 
had  given  itself  such  a  reputation  for  duplicity, 
that  they  believed  it  was  ini|)oSbible  to  conKde  to  it 
any  secret  without  its  being  soon  connnunicated  to 
Friime.  Thc-y  did  not  therefore  impart  the  design 
carried  to  London,  nor  aught  of  the  negotiations 
that  toll  .wed  ii;  but  tlwy  cited  to  it  every  day  tlie 
new  encroachments  of  Napoleon,  more  particularly 
the  conversion  of  the  Italian  republic  into  a  king- 
dom, wliicli  would  Come  to  be,  they  said,  a  union  of 
Lombardy  with  Franee,  similar  to  that  of  Pied- 
mont. Th'/y  aniiouneed  the  most  gigantic  designs. 
They  reported  that  Napoleon  was  goi.ig  to  make  of 
Parma  and  i'iaccn/.a,  of  Naples,  and,  tinally,  of 
Spain  itseir,  kingdoms  for  his  own  famdy;  that  soon 
H<ill  iiid  would  experience  a  similar  lot;  that  Swit- 
zerland Would  be  incorporated,  uiid(;r  the  pretext  of 
a  reciilication  of  the  French  Ininiiers;  that  cardi- 


nal Fesch  would  be  shortly  elevated  to  the  Papal 
chair;  that  it  was  necessary  to  save  Europe,  me- 
naced with  a  universal  domination  ;  that  the 
courts  whieh  should  obstinately  live  amid  this  in- 
security, would  lie  the  cause  of  the  common  loss, 
and  tinish  by  being  themselves  enveloped.  Know- 
ing more  particularly  that  the  rivalry  of  Austria 
and  Prussia  was  the  principal  cause  which  brought 
back  the  latter  to  the  side  of  France,  they  endea- 
voured to  reconcile  these  two  powers.  They  re- 
quested Prussia  to  fix  her  pretensions,  and  to  make 
them  known;  they  told  her  that  tliey  would  try 
and  entreat  of  Austria  the  avowal  of  her  own,  and 
that  they  would  force  both  one  and  the  other  to  be 
reconciled  through  a  definitive  arbitration  of  their 
differences.  They  aimounced  that  by  means  of 
some  Catholic  voices  more  in  the  college  of  princes, 
a  concession  of  very  small  importance,  Austria 
would  couent  herself  for  ever  with  the  rcccz  of 
1J503,  and  would  s.mction  the  new  arrangements  by 
her  irrevoeable  adhesion,  through  which  Prussia 
had  gained  so  much.  They  even  went  so  far  as  to 
insinuate,  that  if  by  any  misfortune  a  contest  should 
become  inevitable,  E^russia  would  be  legally  indem- 
nified for  the  chances  of  the  war.  However,  they 
did  not  avow  that  a  coalition  was  ready  to  be 
formed  ;  and  that  as  fnr  as  concerned  principle  it  was 
concluded;  they  appeared  to  express  no  more  than 
the  wish  of  seeing  Prussia  united  wiili  the  rest  of 
Europe,  to  guarantee  the  equilibrium  of  the  world, 
at  that  time  seriously  nieniiced. 

In  fine,  to  be  as  near  the  court  of  Prussia  as  pos- 
sible, tliey  sent  to  it  a  Russian  general,  M.  Vint- 
zingerode,  an  enlightened  officer  of  the  staff,  who 
was  to  open  himself  by  little  and  little  to  the  king, 
but  to  the  king  alone,  and  who  having  a  knowledge 
of  the  military  plan  would  be  able,  if  he  succeeded 
in  making  himself  heard,  to  jiropose  the  me;ins  of 
execution,  and  to  regulate  the  whole  plan  and  de- 
tails of  the  future  war.  M.  Vmtzingerode  arrived 
at  the  end  of  the  winter  of  1«04,  the  moment  when 
Napoleon  was  preparing  to  set  out  for  Italy;  ho 
ke|)t  up  a  great  reserve  near  the  Prussian  cabinet, 
but  gained  ground  a  little  near  the  king,  and  ap- 
pealing to  the  friendship  connnenced  at  Memel 
between  the  two  sovereigns,  endeavoured  to  draw 
in  the  king  through  the  title  of  that  fri<  ndship  to 
the  conunon  cause  of  kings.  The  young  Frederick 
William,  seeing  himself  further  pressed,  and  com- 
prehending at  last  what  the  real  <iuestion  was,  pro- 
tested his  strong  affectifni  for  the  emperor  Alex- 
ander, and  his  warm  sympathy  for  the  cause  of 
Europe,  but  objected  that  he  was  exposed  to  the 
first  attacks  of  Niipoleon,  that  he  did  not  believe 
himself  sufficiently  strong  to  combat  with  so  power- 
ful an  adversary;  that  ihe  succours  wiiieh  they  led 
him  to  expect  might  not  arrive  until  too  late,  be- 
ciiuse  they  were  very  far  distant,  and  he  should  bo 
vanquished,  |)erliaps  destroyed,  before  they  could 
couKf  to  his  aid.  He  olisliuiitely  n-fiised  all  parti- 
ci|i:ition  in  a  coalition,  that  they  hail  sulfeivd  him 
to  perceive  without  expressly  avowing  it.  He  made 
nmch  too  of  ilie  danger  of  placiii;;  liimself  in  con- 
nexion with  the  suggestions  of  Kngland,  ami  even 
proposed,  in  order  to  jireveut  a  Kenerid  war,  of 
which  he  was  very  much  afraid,  lo  act  as  tliu  iu- 
termediate  party  between  Russia  and  France. 

In  this  delicate  conjuncture,  the  king  had  called 
into  consultation  M.  llaugwit/.,  who  had  for  some 
Ss 


„nf,      PTUsMa  sends  M.  Zastrow 
*>^"         to  Petersburg. 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


1805. 
AprU. 


time  retired  to  his  estates  in  Silesia,  and  had  dis- 
covered, in  tlie  advice  he  gave,  a  fresh  encouran;e- 
ment  fur  an  ambi'^uons  and  pacific  policy.  If  it 
became  nee  ssary  for  him  to  take  a  positive  reso- 
lution, M.  Haugwitz  would  have  sooner  leaned 
towards  France;  M.  Hanlenberg,  who  was  his  suc- 
cessor, would  have  preferred  leaning  towards 
Russia  ;  but  he  was  ready  to  decide,  he  said,  in 
favour  of  France  as  soon  as  of  Russia,  provided  that 
some  part  was  taken.  With  less  mind,  tact,  and 
prudence  than  M.  Haugwitz,  he  was  fond  of  cen- 
suring his  tergiversations,  and  f)rofessed,  as  a  dis- 
tinguishing mark  between  himself  ami  his  prede- 
cessor, a  taste  for  some  pjirty  strongly  decided. 
It  w;is  necessary,  in  the  sense  of  his  meaning,  to 
take  the  side  of  Fi-ance,  if  it  were  judged  useful 
to  do  so,  and  embrace  her  c;iuse,  but  in  such  a 
case  to  iuive  the  advantages  and  gailier  the  price 
of  a  decided  option.  In  this  view,  he  was  less 
agreeable  to  tlie  king  than  M.  Haugwitz,  who  left 
his  prince  to  taste  the  sweets  of  his  indecision;  and 
it  was  possible  already  to  ))erceive  between  M. 
Haugwitz  and  M.  Hardenberg  that  difference  of 
language  through  which  ruptures  begin  between 
ministers,  wliether  in  courts  or  in  free  states. 

The  king,  in  reply  to  the  mission  of  M.  Vintzin- 
gerode,  wished  also  to  send  a  person  of  confidence 
to  St.  Petersburg,  and  I'e-spatclied  M.  Zastiow  with 
a  commission  to  explain  his  position  to  the  em- 
peror Alexander,  to  make  his  reserved  comluct 
palatable,  and  to  penetrate,  if  it  were  possible,  more 
deeply  still  into  the  yet  veiled  si-cret  of  the  new 
coalition.  While  he  sent  M.  Zistrow  to  Peters- 
burg for  the  purpose  of  stating  these  things,  Fre- 
derick William  boasted  to  Napoleon  of  his  resist- 
ance to  the  suggestion^  of  Russia;  he  spoke  of  the 
neutrality  of  the  north  of  Germany,  not  as  a  real 
neutr.ility,  as  it  was  in  effect,  but  as  a  positive 
alliance,  which  should  cover  France  on  the  north 
from  all  the  enemies  which  she  could  have  to 
conil)at.  This  prince,  moreover, offered,  as  he  had 
offered  Russia,  to  play  the  part  of  a  conciliatcn*. 

M.  Viiitzingerode,  after  having  prolonged  his 
stay  at  IJerliii  so  far  as  to  render  himself  regarded 
as  a  troublesome  guest  at  the  court,  from  its  fear 
of  being  compromised  by  the  prolonged  presence  of 
a  Russian  agent,  proceeded  to  Vieima,  where  he 
made  the  same  efforts  as  at  Berlin.  He  had  no 
need  to  hold  with  .Austria  the  same  dissimulation 
as  with  Prussia.  It  was  not  at  all  necessary. 
Austi-ia  wiis  full  of  h  itred  to  Napoleon,  smd  she 
ardently  desired  the  expulsion  of  ihe  French  from 
Italy.  With  this  court,  it  was  not  necessary,  as 
with  the  king  of  Prussia,  to  cover  himself  with  the 
plausible  semblance  of  disiuterestedniss.  He  might 
speak  plain,  and  say  what  he  wished  ;  because 
Austria  desired  the  same  thing  that  was  desired  at 
St.  Pciershurg.  She  iiad  not  with  her  at  least  the 
illusions  of  youth  and  false  sentitneiitalisin,  which 
agreeil  not  with  her  old  expeiienc.  Yet  further, 
she  knew  how  to  keep  a  sicret.  If,  in  appearance, 
she  li.id  for  France  infinite  care  in  management, 
and  for  the  e;ir  of  Napoleon  the  ci>nstant  l.iuguage 
of  flattery, she  nourished  at  the  b..ttiim  of  her  heart 
all  the  resentments  of  a  mortitied  inubition,  for 
ten  years  coiitimially  maltreated.  She  had,  there- 
fore, secretly  entered,  fr  ni  the  fir-t,  into  the  pas- 
sions of  Russia;  l>ut  remembering  her  defeats,  she 
had  not  consented  to  bind  herself  without  extreme 


prudence,  and  liad  taken  only  conditional  engage- 
ments, and  with  due  precaution.  She  had  signed  with 
Russia  a  secret  convention,  which  was  for  the  south 
of  Europe,  that  which  the  convention  signed  by 
Prussia  was  for  the  north*.  Site  promised,  in  this 
convention,  to  throw  off  her  inactive  character,  if 
Finance,  committing  new  usurpations  in  Italy,  ex- 
tended further  the  occupation  of  the  kingdom  of 
Naples,  actually  limited  to  the  Gulf  of  Tarentum, 
operated  new  incorporations,  like  that  of  Piedmont, 
or  menaced  some  part  of  the  Turkish  empire,  such 
as  Egypt.  Her  contingent  to  the  war  was  to  be 
in  that  case  350,000  Ausirians.  She  had  the  assur- 
ance, if  fortune  were  favourable  to  the  arms  of 
the  coalesced  powers,  of  obtaining  Italy  from  the 
Adda  to  the  Po,  leaving  out  the  Milanese.  They  pro- 
mised her  besides  to  replace  the  two  dukes  of  Ti  s- 
cany  and  Modena  in  their  former  territories;  to 
give  her  thus  the  country  of  Salzburg,  and  the 
Brisgau,  become  vacant.  The  house  of  Savoy  was 
to  have  a  grand  establisimient  in  Italy,  composed 
of  the  Milanese,  Piedmont,  and  Genoa.  Here  again 
appears  the  Russian  plan.  At  Vienna,  as  at  Lon- 
don, there  remained  only  the  party  hostile  to 
France,  and  advantageous  to  the  coalesced  powers. 
Austria  had  desired  and  obtained  that  this  conveu- 
tion^   should  be  buried   in   profound  mystery,  in 

1  Prussia,  in  spite  of  the  game  of  duplicity  which  she 
played  among  tlie  great  powtrs,  through  the  war  conducted 
herself  becomingly,  in  some  circumstances  under  wliicli  it 
could  scarcely  have  been  expecied  she  would  have  done  so. 
Down  to  the  present  period  of  his  history,  our  author,  «hile 
he  nuticeil  the  alleged  ill  loniluct  of  Drake  and  Spencer 
Smith  towards  France  (see  page  5)0  and  note),  passes 
over  the  indefensible  outi  age  committed  by  Napoleon  a  few 
months  afterwards  on  the  person  of  Sir  George  Rumbold, 
British  charge  d'affiiires  to  the  Hanse  towns,  and  the  stales 
of  the  circle  of  Lower  Saxony.  On  the  25th  of  October,  in 
the  same  year,  in  which  so  much  was  said  about  the 
British  agents,  Drake  and  Smith,  that  according  to  our 
author,  operated  in  the  way  it  was  designed  to  opemte, 
"as  a  diversion  to  tlie  deaih  of  the  duke  d'Enghien,"  to 
adopt  our  authnr's  own  words  (which  is  singularly  said 
in  lord  H»wkesbury's  maiiifesfo  (see  note,  page  540  to  be 
so  evident,  hislordsliip  being  thnscorroborated  by  our  author 
in  the  surniise  Ihirty-tive  years  alterwards);  it  was  in  ttiat 
very  year  Napoleon  ghiringly  violated  the  territory  of  Ham- 
burgh, landing  two  hundred  and  fifty  soldiers,  and  seized 
the  British  envoy  and  his  papers  at  his  residence  at  Gr  ndal, 
a  few  hundred  paces  only  from  the  gate  ol  Hamburgh, 
carrying  him  off  to  Hanover,  and  from  thence  to  Paris  to  tlie 
prison  of  the  Temple.  Tlie  French  government  foni  d  no 
papers  coinprcnnising  Sir  George  Rumbold,  and  he  was 
released  a  day  or  two  al'terwaids  by  the  inierfereiice 
of  Prussia,  all  the  foreign  ministers  of  Hamburgh 
instainly  despatching  couriers  to  their  respective 
couits.  Before  Sir  George  was  released,  it  is  said,  be  was 
made  to  pledge  bis  word  that  he  would  not  return  to  Ham- 
burgh, nor  re>ide  within  fifty  leagues  of  the  French 
territory.  He  was  finally  put  on  board  a  British  frigate  off 
Cherburg  tiy  a  flag  of  truce,  lii  order  to  cover  this 
atrocious  outrage,  a  notice  was  issued  by  the  French  min- 
ister for  f. reign  affairs,  that  France  would  not  recog- 
nise the  En;;lisb  diplomatic  corps  in  Europe,  until  their 
government  alistained  from  charging  them  with  "military 
agency."  Tlie  violaiion  of  a  neutral  territory  for  the  pur- 
pose of  such  a  seizure  was  passed  over.  The  conduct  of 
Prussia,  acting  no  doubt  under  the  feeling  whi<h  inspired 
hfr  Russian  convention,  was  spirited  and  honourable.  The 
total  silence  of  the  author  about  all  this  is  singular. 

2  I'his  coovei.ti<in  was  dated  the  6th  of  November  1804. 
The  text  is  here  given,  wbicbuniil  now  was  unknown  to  the 


1805. 
April. 


Treaty  of  alliance. 


THE  THIRD  COALITION. 


Treaty  of  alliance. 


627 


order  not  to  be  too  soon  comproniiseil  with  Napo- 
leon.    Tliis  justice  must  be  reudered  to  Austria, 

world,  as  was  the  convention  of  Russia  with  Prussia  (see 
page  543). 

_     ,      ..  ,  ,,       f25ih  of  October,     ,on. 

Declaration  s.}rned  the   (on,  of  November,  ^^"*- 

The  preponderatiiiR  influenre  exercised  by  the  French 
KOV.-riimciu  on  the  neigiibnuriiig  states,  and  the  number  of 
countries  occupied  bv  its  troops,  inspiring  just  uneasiness  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  tranquillity  and  ihe  general  security 
of  Europe ;  his  nuijesly,  the  emperor  of  all  the  Russias, 
partakes  with  his  majesty,  the  emperor  king,  the  convi  tiiin 
that  rhis  st-ite  of  thing's  demands  Ihe  r  mutual  and  most 
serious  solicitude,  and  renders  it  urgent  that  they  ^hould 
unite  tliemsehes  to  that  tffect  by  a  strict  coticert,  adapted  to 
the  state  of  the  crisis,  and  the  danger  to  which  Euroiie 
finds  itself  exposed. 

The  uiidersigi.ed  •  •  •  »  •  furnished  in  conse- 
quence with  instructions  and  powers  to  negotiate  and  con- 
clude a  work  thus  salutary  with  the  pleiiipi.teiitiaiy  ot  his 
majesty  the  emperor  king  to  treat  wiih  him,  after  having 
mutually  communicated  the  full  powers  in  due  form, 
lias  agreed  with  the  said  plenipotentiary  in  the  stipulations 
stated  in  th  •  following  articles  :— 

Art.  1.  His  maj-siy  the  emperor  of  all  the  Russias 
promises  and  engages  to  establish,  with  a  due  regard  to  the 
crisis  and  the  danger  above  mentioned,  the  must  intimate 
aL'reement  with  his  majesty  the  emperor  and  king,  and  the 
two  monarclis  will  take  care  to  inform  and  to  under-tand  each 
other  mutually  upon  the  negotiations  and  agieements  that 
they  shall  in  the  pres  nt  rase  form  with  ntlier  powers  fur  the 
same  end  as  that  agreed  upon  between  them,  and  any  steps 
they  may  take  in  this  regard  shall  he  conducted  in  a  man- 
ner, not  in  any  mode  to  compromise  the  present  en^'age- 
ments  arranged  between  them,  liefore  they  shall  havedecided 
by  a  common  agreement  to  make  them  public. 

Art.  2.  Ilis  majesty  the  emperor  of  all  the  Russias,  and 
his  majesty  the  emperor  king,  will  not  neglect  any  oc- 
casion or  facility  to  place  themselves  in  a  state  to  co  operate 
ill  a  manner  ethcacions  for  the  active  meiisurcs  which  ihey 
judge  necessary  to  prevent  the  dangers  which  so  imme- 
diately menaoe  the  general  security. 

Art.  3  If  out  of  hatred  to  the  opposition  that  the  two 
imperial  courts  f.  el  to  the  anihitiousobjecis  of  Fr.ince,  in  vir- 
tue of  this  niuiiialco  cert,  one  of  them  shall  find  itself  imme- 
diately att.icked  (the  Russian  troops  st,  tioned  for  the  mo- 
miiit  in  the  seven  Ionian  Islands  making  a  part  oft.  e  pre- 
sent sliptilaiions),  each  of  the  two  high  contracting  powers 
oliliges  himself  in  the  most  formal  manner,  to  put  in  action 
fur  the  common  defence,  at  the  soonest  moment  possible, 
the  lorces  herciiiaOer  announced  in  Art.  8. 

Art.  i.  If  it  happen  that  the  French  government, 
abusing  the  advantages  it  possesses  by  the  position  of  its 
iroops  that  now  occupy  the  leiritory  of  the  Germanic  em- 
pire, invade  the  adjacent  countries,  of  which  the  integrity 
and  independence  are  e  seiitially  allied  with  the  interests  of 
Russia,  and  thai,  cimsequeiitly,  not  being  able  to  see  such 
an  encroachment  with  an  inditfereiit  eye,  his  majesty  the 
emperor  of  all  the  Kus^ias  finds  hiiiiselt  obliged  to 
move  his  forces  thither,  his  inaJeHty  the  emperor  and 
k;n  •  will  regard  such  conduct  on  the  p^rt  of  France  as 
an  aggression  which  will  impose  upon  him  the  diiiy  of 
placing  himself,  at  the  eaniest  nioiiiciit,  in  a  Hituaiion 
t(i  furnish  prompt  succour,  conformably  to  the  stipulations 
of  the  present  agreement 

Art.  5.  His  imperi.>l  majesty  of  all  the  Russias  partakes 
fully  in  the  lively  iiitervsl  that  his  imperial  and  loyal 
apostolic  majesty  takes  in  supporlinK  the  Uttmnan  Poite. 
whiise  vicinity  is  cominuii  to  liittii.and  aa  an  attack  di  cetcd 
against  'iurkey  in  Kurope  by  any  "ther  pnwer  cannot  but 
coinpromisc  the  securiiy  of  Russia  and  Aiisliia,  and  that 
the  Purle  in  his  stale  of  existing  trouble  cannot  himself 
repulse  any  entcrpri-e  fornieil  against  him.  on  the  said  sup- 
position,  and  if  war  on  this  account  happen  directly  be- 


thiit   she   iit    least  did  not  make,  a 
Prussia  did,  a  show  of  ialsu  virtues. 


)  Russia  and 
Slie  followed 


twcen  one  of  the  two  imperial  courts  and  the  government  of 
Fiance,  the  other  shall  immediattly  prepare,  in  order  to 
assi>t  with  the  smallest  possible  delay  the  pnwer  at  war, 
anil  contribute  in  concert  to  the  preser\atioii  of  the  Otto- 
m.in  Pone  in  his  slate  of  existing  possession. 

Art.  6.  The  fate  of  the  kingdom  of  Naples  must  influence 
tlvit  of  Italy,  in  the  inuejiendence  of  whicii  their  imperial 
majesties  take  a  particular  interest,  and  it  is  intended  that 
the  siipiilatioiis  of  tlie  present  at;ieeiiient  shall  have 
iliis  effect  in  case  the  French  shall  wish  to  extend  them- 
selves in  the  kingdom  of  Naples  beyond  their  actual  limits, 
to  take  the  capital,  the  fortresses  o!  the  cnuniry,  or  to  pene- 
trate into  Calabria;  in  a  word,  if  they  lorce  his  majesty  the 
king  of  Naplrs  to  risk  every  thing,  and  to  oppose,  by  force, 
this  new  violation  of  his  neutral  ty ;  and  if  his  imperial 
majesiy  the  emperor  of  all  the  Russias,  hy  ihe  succour  that 
in  this  supposition  he  would  furnish  to  ihe  king  of  the  Two 
Sicilies,  shall  find  himself  engaged  in  a  war  against 
France,  his  imperial  and  royal  majesty  oblifies  himself  to 
cnninience  upon  his  side  operations  against  the  common 
enciny  aciording  to  the  stipuiaiions,  and  specially  according 
to  the  Arts.  4,  5,  8  and  9  of  the  present  agn  emeiit. 

Art.  7.  Seeiiigthe  uncertiiiiity  in  which  the  two  high  con- 
tracting' powers  yet  actually  lind  themselves  about  the 
future  designs  of  the  French  government,  they  reserve 
to  themselves,  besides  all  that  is  stipulaied  above,  to  agree 
ac  nrdiiig  to  the  urgency  of  circumstances  upon  the  dif- 
tereiit  ca«es  which  shall  be  of  such  a  nature  as  thus  to 
rc'iune  the  employment  of  their  mutual  lorces. 

Ar  i'.  S.  In  all  the  cases  in  which  the  two  imperial 
courts  shall  proceed  to  active  measures  in  v.rtue  of  the 
present  afireement,  or  of  those  agreements  which  they 
may  uliimately  form  between  themselves,  ihey  pmniise  and 
engage  to  co  operate  simultaneously,  and  according  to  a 
pi  n  which  will  be  settled  immediately  iH-twetii  themselves, 
wiih  sufficient  forces  to  hope  for  a  sncceslul  combat  with  those 
01  the  enemy,  and  to  repulse  them  in  lull  strength,  their  forces 
not  to  be  less  than  three  hundred  anil  th  rty-five  thousand 
men  under  arms  for  hcith  tiie  imperial  courts;  his  imperial  and 
royal  majesty  will  furnish  two  hunnred  and  thirty-five 
thousand  on  his  part,  and  the  remainder  will  be  given  by 
bis  imperial  majesty  of  all  the  Russias.  Ti  cse  troops  will 
be  sent  and  supported  constantly  on  both  sides,  upon  a  com- 
plete looting,  and  there  will  be  left  besides  a  corps  of  obser- 
vaiion,  in  order  to  be  assured  that  the  court  of  Berlin  slKiU 
remain  passive.  The  resp  ciive  armies  will  be  distributed 
in  such  a  manner,  that  the  forces  of  the  two  imperial 
courts,  that  shall  act  in  concert,  will  not  be  inferior 
in  luimher  to  those  of  the  enemy  whenever  they  shall 
have  to  coinb.it. 

Art.  y.  Conformably  to  the  desire  manifested  by  the  im- 
perial royal  court,  his  majesiy  the  emperor  of  all  the  Russias 
engages  himself  to  employ  his  good  ollices  for  the  object  of 
obiaii.ing  of  the  court  of  London  for  his  imperial  and 
I  oyal  aposiolcal  majesty,  in  case  of  a  war  with  France,  as 
aniiciunccd  in  the  present  declaration,  or  which  may  re- 
sult Irom  future  agreements,  that  the  two  iinperinl  courts 
reserve  to  themselves  to  make,  under  Art.  7,  subsidies 
as  well  lor  the  first  movement  of  the  campaign,  as  annually 
lor  the  whole  duration  of  the  war,  which  would  be  as 
much  as  possible  directed  to  the  convenience  of  the  court 
of  Vienna. 

Art.  10.  In  the  execution  of  the  plans  arranged,  there 
shall  be  a  just  regard  borne  to  the  obstacles  which  result  aa 
much  from  the  actual  stale  of  the  forces  and  frontiers  of  the 
Austrian  monarchy,  as  from  the  imminent  dangers  to 
which  it  will  he  exposed  in  that  state  ny  ihe  demonstrations 
and  armaments  which  may  imnicdliitely  provoke  a  prema- 
ture invasion  on  the  pan  of  France.  In  com<equence,  with 
the  determinution  for  active  measures  of  which  there  will  be 
a  mutual  agreement,  niid  ns  much  as  the  security  of  the  two 
empires,  and  the  essential  interest  of  the  common  object 
will  permit,  the  greatest  attention  shall  be  paid  to  combine 
.Ss2 


Conditions  made  at        THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.     Petersburg  with  lord  Gower.j^""^; 


her  own  interest  without  distraction,  without  fickle- 
ness, and  free  from  charlatanism.     She  is  not  to  be 

the  movement  with  the  time  and  the  possibility  of  placing 
the  forces  and  frontiers  of  his  majesty  the  emperor  and  king 
in  a  situation  to  be  able  to  open  the  campaign  with  the 
energy  necessary  to  attain  the  object  of  the  war.  As  soon 
as  the  encroachments  of  the  French  shall  have  establislied  a 
case  in  which  his  said  imperial  and  royal  apostolic  majesty 
shall  be  engaged  to  take  a  part  in  the  war,  by  virtue  of  the 
present  agreement,  and  of  those  other  agreements  which 
may  be  formed  successively  afterwards,  he  engages  him- 
self not  to  lose  a  moment  to  put  himself  in  a  state,  with  the 
shortest  possible  delay,  which  delay  shall  not  exceed  three 
months  after  the  demand  made  to  co-operate  efficaciously 
with  his  imperial  majesty  the  emperor  of  all  tlie  Russias, 
and  to  proceed  with  vigour  in  the  execution  of  the  plan 
which  will  be  arranged. 

Akt.  11.  The  principles  of  the  two  sovereigns  will  not 
permit  them  in  any  case  to  desire  to  constrain  the  free 
wishes  of  the  French  na'ion;  the  end  of  the  war  shall  not 
be  to  operate  a  counter  revolution,  but  only  to  remedy  the 
dangers  common  to  all  Europe. 

Art.  12.  His  majesty  the  emperor  of  all  the  Russias, 
acknowledging  that  it  is  just  that  in  case  of  anew  wailil<e 
explosion  the  house  of  Austria  should  he  indemnified  for 
the  immense  losses  which  it  has  sustained  in  its  last  con- 
test with  France,  engages  himself  to  cooperate  on  liis 
behalf  to  obtain  this  indemnity  in  the  like  case,  as  far  as 
the  success  of  their  arms  will  permit.  Still  in  the  most 
fortunate  result,  his  majesty  the  emperor  and  king  will  not 
extend  his  limit  in  Italy  beyond  the  Adda  on  the  West, 
and  the  Po  on  the  South ;  well  understanding  that  of  the 
different  mourhs  of  this  last  river,  it  is  the  most  southern 
shall  be  intended.  The  two  imperial  courts  desiring  that, 
in  the  supposed  case  of  success,  his  royal  highness  the 
elector  of  Salzburg  shall  be  replaced  in  Italy,  and  to  this 
effect  shall  be  placed  in  the  possession  of  the  grand  duchy  of 
Tuscany,  or  that  he  shall  obtain  some  other  convenient  esta- 
blishment in  the  north  of  Italy,  supposing  events  render 
this  arrangement  practicalile. 

Art.  13.  Their  imperial  majesties,  under  the  same  suppo- 
sition, have  at  heart  to  procure  the  re-establishment  of 
the  king  of  Sardinia  in  Piedmont,  even  with  a  great  ulterior 
aggrandisement.  Under  t!ie  hypothesis  less  fortunate,  it 
is  agreed  always  to  assure  to  him  a  suitable  establish- 
ment in  Italy. 

Art  14.  In  the  same  case  of  great  success,  the  two  im- 
perial courts  are  in  an  understanding  on  the  lot  of  the 
Legations,  and  concur  to  make  a  restitution  of  the  duchies 
of  Modena,  Massa,  and  Carrara  to  the  legitimate  heirs  of 
the  last  duke;  but  incase  events  prevent  this  design,  the 
said  Legations  or  Modena  will  serve  for  the  establishment 
of  the  king  of  Sardinia.  Tl-.e  archduke  Ferdinand  will 
remain  in  Germany,  and  his  majesty  will  content  himself, 
if  it  be  necessary,  wiih  a  Irontier  in  Italy,  more  approximat- 
ing to  the  Adda,  than  to  that  which  exists  at  present 

Art.  15  If  circumstances  permit  the  replacing  the 
elector  of  Salzlmrp  in  Italv,  the  country  of  Salzburg,  Herch- 
tolsgaden,  and  Passau  will  be  united  to  the  Austrian 
monarcliy.  This  will  be  the  only  case  in  which  his 
majesty  will  obtain  an  extension  of  his  frontiers  in 
Germany. 

As  to  the  part  of  the  country  of  Aichstadt.  possessed  at 
present  by  the  e  ector  of  Salzburg,  it  will  then  be  disposed 
of  in  the  manner  in  which  the  two  courts  sha  I  acree 
among  themselves,  and  more  particularly  in  favour  of  the 
elector  of  Bavaria,  if  hy  the  hide  which  he  may  take  for 
the  common  cause,  he  places  himsell  in  a  position  lo  be 
favoured.  Similarly  in  the  supposed  case  in  tlie  preceding 
article  of  the  re-establishment  of  the  heirs  of  the  dereasid 
duke  ol  Modena  in  his  former  possessions,  the  pr-M-erty  of 
Brisgau  and  of  Ortinau  -vould  become  a  means  of  »-ncou- 
ragement  of  the  pood  cause  for  one  of  the  principal  princes 
of  Germany,  and  specially   for  the  elector  of   Baden,    in 


censured  in  the  circumstances,  save  for  the  falsity 
of  her  language  at  Paris. 

However,  in  signing  this  convention,  she  indulged 
the  hope  that  it  would  only  be  an  act  of  simple 
precaution,  because  she  did  not  cease  to  dread  war. 
Thus,  after  having  signed  it,  she  refused  all  the 
solicitations  of  the  emperor  of  Russia  to  pass  imme- 
diately to  military  preparations;  she  had  even  de- 
spaired, judging  by  her  inertness.  But  at  the  news 
of  the  arrangements  made  by  Napoleon  in  Italy,  she 
was,  all  of  a  sudden,  aroused  from  her  inaction.  The 
title  of  king  taken  by  Napoleon,  and,  above  all,  so 
general  a  title  as  king  of  Italy,  which  seemed  as  if 
it  would  extend  itself  to  the  entire  peninsula,  had 
alarmed  her  in  the  highest  degree.  She  imme- 
diately commenced  military  preparations,  that  she 
had  at  first  determined  to  defer;  and  slie  called  to 
tlie  ministry  of  war  the  celebrated  Mack,  who, 
although  destitute  of  the  qualities  of  a  general  in 
chief,  was  not  deficient  in  the  talent  of  organizing 
armies.  She  listened  then  with  an  attention  alto- 
gether new  to  her  to  the  pressing  propositions  of 
Russia,  and,  without  engaging  herself  immediately 
by  a  written  consent  to  an  immediate  war,  she  left 
it  the  care  of  pushing  forward  the  negotiations  in 
common  with  England,  and  to  treat  with  that  power 
on  the  difficult  question  of  subsidies.  Meanwhile, 
she  discussed  with  M.  Vintziiigerode  a  plan  for  the 
war  conceived  under  every  imaginable  hypothesis. 
It  was,  therefore,  at  St.  Petersburg  that  tlie 
new  coalition  was  to  be  definitively  formed,  in  other 
word.'^,  the  third  in  number,  reckoning  from  the 
commencement  of  the  French  revolution.  That  of 
1792  had  terminated  in  1797  by  the  treaty  of 
Campo-Formio,  under  the  blow  struck  by  general 
Bonaparte;  that  of  1798  was  terminated  in  1801, 
under  the  blows  of  the  French  consul;  the  third, 
that  of  1804,  was  not  to  have  an  issue  more  fortu- 
nate, under  the  blows  levelled  at  it  by  the  emperor 
Napoleon. 

Lord  Gower  had,  as  already  said,  full  powers 
from  his  court  to  treat  with  the  Russian  cabinet. 
After  long  discussions,  the  following  conditions 
were  agreed  upon.  There  was  to  be  formed  a 
coalition  between  the  powers  of  Europe,  compre- 
hending at  first  England  and  Ru.«sia,  and  at  a  later 
period  those  powers  whom  they  were  able  to  draw 
into  it.     The  object  was  the  evacuation  of  Hanover 

favour  of  whom  it  will  be  thence  renounced  by  the 
house  of  Austria. 

Art.  16.  The  two  high  contracting  powers  engage  to 
each  other  never  to  lay  down  their  arms,  and  never  to  treat 
for  an  accommodation  with  the  common  enemy  but  under 
mutual  consent,  and  after  a  previous  engagement  between 
them. 

Art.  17.  In  limiting  for  the  moment  to  the  objects  and 
questions  above  the  present  preliminary  agreement,  re- 
specting which  the  two  inonarclis  promise  on  the  one  part 
and  on  the  other  the  most  inviolable  secrecy,  they  reserve  to 
themselves  without  any  delay,  and  immediately,  to  agree  to 
the  ulteror  arrangements  insomuch  as  concerns  a  plan  of 
operations  in  rase  the  war  should  become  inevitable,  as  well 
as  to  all  which  relates  to  the  mainti-nance  of  the  respective 
firces,  both  in  the  Austrian  states  and  in  h  foreign  territory. 

Art.  18.  The  present  declaration,  mutually  acknow- 
ledged as  obligatory  as  the  most  solemn  treaty,  will  be 
rat  tied  in  Ih-  space  of  six  wneks  oi  sooner,  if  able  to  be 
dote,  and  rhe  arts  of  ratification  be  equally  exchanged  in 
the  same  space  of  time 

In  faith  of  which,  &c. 


1805. 
April. 


Sabsidies  granted  by  England.         THE  THIRD  COALITION. 


England  not  to  be  ostensible 
in  ihe  coalition. 


and  the  nortli  of  Germany;  the  effective  indepen- 
dence of  Holhind  and  Switzerland;  the  evacuation 
of  all  Italy,  comprising  tlie  isle  of  Elba  ;  the  re- 
constitution  and  ajjurandisement  of  the  kingdom  of 
Piedmont ;  tlie  consolidation  of  the  kingdom  of 
Naples,  and  finally  the  esUiblishment  of  an  order 
of  things  in  Europe,  wiiich  shoultl  guarantee  tlie 
security  of  all  the  states  against  the  usurpations  of 
France.  This  object  was  not  designated  in  a  more 
precise  maimer,  for  tlie  purpose  of  leaving  a  certain 
latitude  for  treating  with  France, at  least  fictitiously. 
All  the  powers  were  to  be  afterwards  invited  to 
give  in  their  adhesion. 

The  coalition  had  resolved  to  unite  at  least 
five  hundred  thousand  men,  and  to  bring  into 
action  out  of  those  tiiey  thus  had  at  least  four  hun- 
dred thousand.  England  was  to  furnish  1.250  000^. 
sterling,  or  ;il,'25O.O00f.  i)er  hundred  thousjind  men. 
She  granted  besides  ii  sum  paid  down  at  once,  re- 
presenting three  months'  subsidies,  towards  the 
expenses  of  entering  upon  the  campaign.  Austria 
engaged  to  furnish  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
men  out  of  five  hundred  thousand;  the  remainder 
were  to  be  furnished  by  Ru.ssia,  Sweden,  Hanover, 
England,  and  Naples.  The  question  of  the  ad- 
liesion  of  Pru.ssia  was  resolved  in  the  boldest 
mode.  England  and  Russia  agreed  to  make  com- 
mon cause  against  every  power  that,  by  its  hostile 
mejisures,  or  only  by  its  too  close  alliance  with 
France,  should  oppose  itself  to  the  designs  of  the 
coalition.  It  was  in  effect  decided  that  Russia, 
dividing  its  forces  into  two  ])arts,  should  send  one 
by  Gallicia  to  the  succour  of  Austria,  the  other  by 
Poland  to  the  limit  of  the  Prussian  territory, 
if  definitively  Prussia  refused  to  enter  into  the 
coalition,  to  ])ass  over  the  body  of  that  power  be- 
fore she  could  |)ut  herself  in  a  posture  of  defence; 
and  as  they  did  not  wish  to  give  her  too  much 
suspicion  by  the  union  of  such  an  army  upon  her 
frontier,  it  was  agreed  they  should  take  for  a 
l)retext  the  desire  they  felt  to  come  to  her  aid,  in 
case  Napoleon,  in  defiance  of  her,  should  throw 
himself  upon  her  territory.  They  might,  therefore, 
qualify  these  eighty  thou.sand  llussians  as  au.vilia- 
ries  and  friends,  really  designed  to  trample  Pru.ssia 
under  their  feet. 

This  violence  projected  against  Pru.ssia,  although 
appearing  a  little  bold  to  England,  was  very  acce|)t- 
aijle  to  her.  She  had  nothing  better  to  liave  re- 
course to  that  could  save  her  from  invasion,  than 
lighting  up  a  vast  incendiarism  on  the  continent, 
and  exciting  a  frightful  war,  v;hoever  were  the  com- 
batants, whoever  might  be  the  victors  or  the  vaii- 
qnisheil.  On  the  part  of  Russia,  it  was  on  tite 
contrary  a  j^real  piece  of  rashness;  because  to  ex- 
pose PruHsia  to  throw  herself  into  the  arms  of  Na- 
poleon, w:u»  to  ensure  herself  a  certain  dol'eat, 
should  the  inva-sion  of  the  Prussian  territory  be  as 
prompt  as  they  imagined  it  would  be.  But  prince 
Czartoryski,  the  most  (djstinate  of  tlie.se  young  per- 
sonages in  pursuing  an  object,  saw  in  all  this  only 
a  means  of  wresting  Warsaw  from  Prussia,  in  onler 
to  re-constitute  Poland,  and  give  it  to  Alexander. 

The  military  plan  indicated  by  the  situation  of 
the  united  powers,  was  always  to  attack  in  three 
mas-ses;  in  the  south  with  the  Russians  at  Corfu, 
the  Neapolitans,  and  the  F/iiglif<h,  aKceiidiiig  the 
Italian  ])eniiisiila,  and  joining  a  hundred  thousand 
Auatrians  in  Loinbardy;  iu  tliuea»t  with  the  grand 


Austrian  and  Russian  army,  acting  upon  the  Da- 
nube; finally,  on  the  north  with  the  Swedes,  Hano- 
verians, and  Russians  desceiuling  the  Rhine. 

In  respect  to  the  diplomatic  plan,  it  ci  nsisted  in 
an  intervention  in  the  name  of  the  "alliance  of 
mediation,"  and  in  a  previous  negotiation  before 
proceeding  to  hostilities.  Russia  kept  strongly  to 
this  part  of  her  original  project,  which  preserved 
for  her  the  attitude  of  an  arbitrator,  agreeably  to 
her  pride,  and  it  must  be  said  also  to  the  secret 
feehteness  of  her  sovereign.  She  hoped  vaguely 
still  that  Prussia  would  be  drawn  in,  provided  it 
were  not  too  much  alarmed  by  the  discovery  of  the 
design  arranged  for  a  coalition,  and  that  Napoleon 
were  jilp.ced  between  a  fearful  league  of  all  Europe 
against  him,  and  certain  moderate  concessions. 

There  was  obtained  from  England  her  consent 
to  a  singular  piece  of  dissimulation,  the  least 
worthy  pos.sible,  but  the  best  calculated  for  their 
views.  England  consented  to  be  kept  at  a  distance, 
and  not  to  l)e  named  in  the  negotiations,  more  par- 
ticularly with  Prussia.  Russia  would  in  her  at- 
tempts to  gain  over  that  power,  always  present 
herself  as  not  being  allied  to  Great  Britain  in  any 
design  of  a  common  war,  but  as  wishing  to  impose 
a  mediation,  in  order  to  put  a  step  to  a  stjite  of 
things  oppressive  for  all  Europe.  In  a  serious  pro- 
ceeding in  the  sight  of  France,  Russia  would,  with- 
out acting  ostensibly  in  the  name  of  a  coalition  of 
powers,  offer  her  mediation  by  aftinning  that  she 
would  make  all  the  world  accept  equitable  condi- 
tions, if  Napoleon  would  accept  the  like.  This  was 
a  double  means,  devised  in  order  not  to  frighten 
Prussia,  nor  to  irritate  the  jiride  of  Napoleon. 
England  would  lend  herself  to  this,  provided  llussia, 
compromised  by  this  mediation,  was  definitively 
drawn  into  a  war.  As  to  Austria,  the  greatest  care 
was  taken  to  leave  her  in  the  shade,  and  not  even 
to  name  her,  because  if  she  appeared  to  be  in  the 
plot.  Napoleon  would  fling  hhnself  upon  that  coun- 
try before  Russia  was  in  a  state  to  afford  it  succour. 
Austria  maile  active  ])reparatioiis,  without  mix- 
ing herself  in  any  part  of  the  negotiations.  It 
was  necessary  to  follow  the  .same  system  of  conduct 
in  relation  to  the  court  of  Naples,  which  was  e.\- 
)>osed  in  like  manner  to  the  first  blows  of  Napoleon, 
because  general  St.  Cyr  was  at  Tarentiim  with  a 
division  of  fifteen  thousand  or  sixteen  thousiind 
French.  They  had  recommended  (jueeii  Caroline 
to  enter  into  all  the  engagements  of  neutrality,  or 
even  of  alliance,  that  Napoleon  wished  to  impose 
upon  her.  In  the  meanwhile,  Russia  would  trans, 
port  troo)>s  by  little  and  little  in  vessels  thatshould 
pass  the  Dardanelles,  and  disembark  at  Corfu.  It 
was  there  that  a  strong  division  might  at  the  latest 
moment  unite  at  Naples  with  a  reinforcement  of 
English,  Albanians,  and  others.  It  w  mid  then  be 
time  enough  to  takeoff  the  mask,  and  to  attack  the 
French  at  the  extremity  of  the  peninsula. 

In  jiroposing  to  attempt  a  preliminary  negotia- 
tion with  Napoleon,  it  was  necessary  to  have  at 
least  some  specious  conditions  to  present  to  him. 
There  was  nothing  they  had  to  offer,  unless  it  was 
to  make  a  tender  of  the  evacuation  of  Malta  by  the 
English.  The  Russian  cabinet  had  sent  afar  all 
the  brilliant  portion  of  its  plan,  such  as  the  reorga- 
nization of  Italy  and  of  Germany,  the  rcconstitu- 
tion  of  Poland,  and  the  digesting  of  a  new  code  of 
maritime  law.     If  Russia  conceded  Malta  to  the 


630 


England  refuses  to  resign 

Malta-Character  and    THIERS'  CONSULATE   AND  EMPIRE. 

description  ol  the  Rus- 


sian projects  —  Sum- 
mary of  tlie  Russian 
projects. 


180S. 
April. 


English,  in  place  of  playing  the  character  of  an  ar- 
bitrator between  France  and  England,  it  would  be 
no  other  than  an  English  agent,  or  m<>retlian  that, 
its    docile    ally    and    dependent.      The    Russian 
cabinet  therefore  kept  to  the  evacuation  of  Malta, 
with  an  obstinacy  which  was  not    its   customary 
practice,  and  when   it  was  necessary  to  sign  tlie 
treaty,  it  showed   an   invincible  resolution  on  tlie 
point.     Thus   lord   Gower  was  ready  to  agree   to 
i  all  things,  in  onler  to  compromise  Russia  in  any 
!   kind  of  agreement  whatsoever  with  England;  but 
i  upon  once  demanding   that  she  should  abandon  a 
I  maritime  position   of  the   greatest  importance,   ii 
i   position  which    was,   if  not  the  only  cause,  at  least 
]  the  principal  cause  of  the  war,  she  would  not  give 
I   it  up.     Lord  Gower  believed  himself  too  strongly 
bound    by   his  instructions   to   pass    over   such    a 
!  matter,  and  he  refused  to  sign  the  abandonment  of 
i   Malta.     The  project    therefore   failed.      Still    the 
I   emperor  Alexander  consented  to  sign  tlie  conven- 
tion of  the  llth  of  April,  declaring  that  lie  wnuld 
not  ratify  it,  mil  ss  the  English  caliinet  renounced 
the  islaiKl  of  .Malta.     A  courier  wa-s  then  sent  off 
to  London,  carrying  the  convention,  as  well  as  the 
condition   th  it  was  annexed  to  it,  upon  which  the 
Russian  raiitication  depended. 

It  was  ariaiiged  without  loss  of  time,  that  the 
season  for  military  operations  might  not  pass  by, 
to  take  the  step  agreed  upon  in  relation  to  the 
emperor  of  the  French.  There  was  chosen  for  this 
purpose  the  same  personage  who  had  tied  in  Lon- 
don the  Un<»t  of  the  third  coalition,  M.  Nowosiltzoff. 
There  was  destined  to  accomjiany  him  as  an  ad- 
junct, the  author  of  the  plan  itself  of  a  new  Europe, 
already  so  disfigured,  the  abbe  Piatoli.  M.  Nowo- 
siltzoff was  quite  proud  to  be  soon  in  Paris,  and 
place  himself  before  the  great  man,  who  for  some 
years  had  attracted  the  regards  of  the  whole 
world.  If  in  proportion  as  the  decisive  time  ap- 
proached, the  emperor  Alexander  felt  the  more 
anxiously  a  desire  to  see  this  jn-evious  mediation 
succeed,  iM.  Nowosiltzoff  did  not  less  desire  the 
same  thing.  He  was  young,  and  ambitious;  he 
regar<led  it  as  an  infinite  glory,  first  to  treat  with 
Napoleon,  and  seC(mdly,  to  be  the  negotiator  who, 
at  the  moment  when  Europe  seemed  ready  to  rush 
into  war,  all  of  a  sudden  pacified  it  by  his  able 
intervention.  It  may  be  reckoned,  therefore,  that 
he  did  not  seek  to  aild  to  the  difficulties  of  the 
negotiation  himself.  After  long  deliberations,  they 
agreed  on  the  conditions  that  he  was  to  offer  to 
Napoleon,  and  they  resolved  to  keep  them  a  pro- 
found seciet.  He  wa.s  ordered  to  jjresent  a  first, 
second,  and  third  project,  each  more  advantageous 
for  France  than  that  which  preceded,  but  with  the 
rec<mimendatioii  not  to  pass  from  one  to  the  other 
until  after  great  resistance. 

The  base  of  all  these  projects  was  the  evacuation 
of  Hanover  and  Najdes,  the  real  independence  of 
Switzerland  and  Holland,  and  in  return  tiie  evacua- 
tion of  Malta  by  the  English,  and  the  promise  to 
digest  ultimately  a  new  code  of  maritime  law. 
To  all  this  Napoleon  would  not  oppose  iiny  serious 
difficulties.  In  case  of  a  solid  peace,  lie  had  no 
objection  to  evacuate  Hanover,  Naples,  Holland, 
and  even  Switzerland,  on  condition,  as  regarded  the 
last,  that  the  act  of  mediation  should  be  maintained. 
The  real  difficulty  was  Italy.  Russia,  already 
obliged  to  renounce  her  plans  of  Euro[iean  re-con- 


stitution, had  promised,  in  case  war  should  become 
inevitable,  a  part  of  Italy  to  Austria,  and  another 
|)art  to  the  future  kingdom  of  Piedmont.  Now,  in 
the  hypothesis  of  a  mediation,  it  was  very  necessary, 
under  the  penalty  of  seeing  the  negotiator  sent 
back  from  Paris  the  day  following  his  arrival,  to 
accoi'd  to  France  a  part  of  this  same  Italy.  It 
was  necessary,  in  order  that  the  mediation  should 
appear  serious,  that  it  slioiild  appear  so,  above  all, 
to  Prussia;  and  that  they  should  be  able  to  attach 
and  compromise  her  by  the  appearance  of  a  nego- 
tiation attempted  in  good  faith.  Here  therefore  are 
the  arrangements  tliat  tli^y  would  successively 
pi'opose.  Tliey  would  at  first  demand  the  separa- 
tion of  Piedmont,  save  the  re-constitution  of  a  state 
detached  for  a  branch  of  the  family  of  Bonajiarte, 
and  further,  the  abiindonment  of  tlie  actual  king- 
d(mi  of  Italy,  designed  with  Genoa  for  the  house  of 
Savoy.  Parma  and  Piacenzii  would  remain  to  form 
another  endowment  for  a  prince  of  the  family  of 
Bonaparte.  This  was  no  more  than  the  first  pro- 
position. They  would  pass  immediately  afterwards 
to  the  second.  According  to  this  last,  Piedmont 
would  remain  incorporated  with  France;  the  king- 
dom of  Italy,  adding  Genoa,  would  be  as  in  the  last 
plan  givtn  to  the  house  of  Savoy;  Parma  and  Pia- 
cenza  would  remiiiu  the  sole  endowment  of  the 
collateral  branches  of  the  house  of  Bonaparte. 
Fi-om  this  second  ])roiiosition  they  would  filially 
pass  on  to  the  third,  which  would  be  the  follow- 
ing:— Piedmont  would  continue  to  be  a  French 
])rovince,  the  actual  kingdom  of  Italy  being  given 
to  the  Bonaparte  family,  the  indemnity  of  the 
house  of  Parma  would  be  reduced  to  Piaeeiiza 
and  Genoa.  The  kingdom  of  Etruria,  assigned 
four  years  before  to  a  Spanish  branch,  remained  as 
it  was  then. 

It  must  be  said,  that  if  to  these  last  conditions 
the  evacujition  of  Malta  by  the  English  be  added. 
Napoleon  had  no  legitimate  reasons  to  refuse  such 
a  peace,  because  they  were  the  conditions  of  Lune- 
viile  and  Amiens,  with  Piedmont  over  and  above 
for  France.  The  sacrifice  demanded  of  Napoleon 
was  limited  in  reality  to  that  of  Parma  and  Pia- 
ceiiza,  becimie  French  property  by  the  decease  of 
the  last  duke,  ami  of  Geno;i,  so  far  indejiendent. 
Na]>o!eon  would  have  it  in  his  power  to  consent  to 
such  a  ])roject,  if  besides  they  managed  to  humour 
his  dignity  in  the  form  given  to  the  proposi- 
tions. 

All  these  five  jn-ojecfs  of  the  friends  of  Alex- 
ander turned  therefore  upon  one  very  ju'etty  result! 
After  having  dreamed  of  the  re-constitution  of 
Europe  by  means  of  a  jiowerlnl  mediation;  after 
having  seen  this  re-constiiutiuii  of  Europe  con- 
verted at  London  into  a  project  of  destruction 
against  France,  Russia  affrighted  to  be  so  far  ad- 
vanced, reduced  her  grand  mediation  to  the  obtain- 
ment  of  Parma  and  Piacenza  as  an  iiidemniiy  for 
the  house  of  Savoy;  because  the  evacuation  of 
Hanover  and  of  Naples,  the  independence  of  Hol- 
land and  Switzerland,  that  she  demanded  besides, 
had  never  been  ctaitesied  by  Najioleon,  peace  being 
<ince  established.  But  if  one  thing  so  little  was 
not  obtained,  she  had  under  hand  a  formidable 
war  in  reserve.  A  conduct  thus  unreflecting  and 
rash  liad  conducted  Russia  into  a  defile  sufficiently 
narrow. 

It  was  agreed  besides,  that  they  should  demand 


IMS. 
April. 


Russia  determines  to  negotiate 
at  Paris.-M.  Nowosilizotfsent     THE  THIRD  COALITION. 

to  Berlin  to  obtain  passports. 


Napoleon  arrives  at  Milan.- 
His  reception. 


631 


pa-ssports  for  M.  Nowosiltzoff,  tlirougli  the  media- 
tion of  !v  friendly  court.  Russia  hail  only  to  choose 
for  this  purpose  between  Prussia  and  Austria.  To 
address  herself  to  the  last-named  power  was  to 
draw  ui>on  herself  the  penetratins^  eyes  of  N:ipo- 
leon,  and  she  wished,  as  has  already  been  staled, 
to  have  her  name  forjjotten  as  much  as  possible,  in 
order  that  she  nii^ht  have  time  to  prei)are  herself. 
Prussia,  on  the  contrary,  had  nfft-red  to  be  mcdia- 
tri.\,  which  made  ita  natural  tliinj^  that  she  should 
by  her  interference  obtain  piissports  for  M.  Nowo- 
siltzofF.  He  in  the  meanwhile  had  gone  forward 
to  Berlin,  to  see  the  kinj;  of  Prussia,  and  to  attempt 
near  that  prince  a  last  effort;  to  communicate  to 
him  alone,  and  not  to  his  cabinet,  the  moderate 
conditions  proposed  to  France,  and  to  make  him 
feel  that  if  she  refused  such  arran>;ements,  it  was 
clear  she  must  liave  views  that  were  alarming  for 
Europe.  Views  irreconcilable  with  the  indepen- 
dence of  all  the  states,  and  that  it  was  then  the 
duty  of  the  entire  world  to  unite  and  march  against 
the  common  enemy. 

M.  Nowosiltzoft"  therefore  set  out  for  Berlin, 
where  he  arrived  in  great  haste,  pressed  as  he  was 
to  commence  the  negotiation.  He  had  with  him 
tlie  abb^  Piatoli.  He  showed  himself  mild,  con- 
ciliatory, and  ])erfectly  reserved.  Unforttmately 
the  king  of  Prussia  was  absent,  occupied  on  a  visit 
to  his  provinces  in  Franconia.  This  circumstance 
was  vexatious.  They  ran  a  double  danger;  eitlur 
of  the  refusal  of  England  relative  to  Malta,  which 
Would  render  all  negotiation  impossible,  or  of  some 
new  enterprise  of  Napoleon  in  Italy,  where  he  ac- 
tually was  at  the  mom  nt,  some  enterprise  that 
would  ruin  the  advanc  j  of  the  different  |)rojects  of 
the  approximation  to  oe  carried  on  at  Paris.  The 
prompt  arrival  of  M.  Nowosiltzoff  in  France  was  to 
have  had  in  consenuence  an  immense  influence  on 
the  side  of  peace.  Besides,  the  young  Russians 
who  governed  the  empire  were  so  liable  toimpres- 
sione,  that  their  first  contact  with  Napoleon  would 
attract  them  to  him,  and  seduce  tliem,  as  the  con- 
tact with  Pitt  hnd  drawn  them  away  so  far  from 
their  plan  of  European  regeneration.  Hence  there 
was  ground  greatly  to  regret  the  time  they  were 
about  to  lose. 

The  king  of  Prussia,  having  been  apprised  that 
they  requested  him  to  demand  passports  for  the 
Russian  en\oy,  strongly  a])|>lauded  the  measure, 
and  the  probabilities  of  |>eace  that  he  believed  he 
foresaw.  He  did  not  himself  doubt  that  behind 
this  last  attempt  at  an  approximation,  there  was  a 
war  in  design,  much  more  ripened  thnn  they  h:id 
inlormed  him  of,  riper  than  tliey  tliought  who  had 
»o  rashly  engaged  in  it.  The  pacific  Frederick 
William  gave  an  order  to  his  cabinet  that  they 
Hliould  make  an  imniediiile  demand  of  passports 
from  Napoleon  for  .VI.  Nowosiltzofl'.  This  last  was 
not  to  take  at  Paris  any  official  quality,  in  order  to 
avoid  the  ditlieulty  of  the  acknowledgment  of  the 
imperial  title  borne  by  Nnpoleon;  but  in  addressing 
him,  he  would  style  him  sire,  and  niiijisiy,  and  he 
had  besides  powers  complete  and  pohilive  which  he 
wa8  to  show,  should  they  be  in  accord,  and  which 
Huthorised  him  to  concede  the  acknowledgment  ini- 
Ujediately. 

While  they  were  thus  acting  in  Europe  agninst 
Napoleon,  he,  environed  wiili  all  the  pomps  of  Iia- 
lian  royalty,  abounded  in   ideas  utterly  opposed  to 


those  of  his  adversaries,  even  the  most  moderate. 
The  sight  of  Italy,  the  scene  of  his  first  victories, 
theobjeitof  all  his  predilections,  filled  him  with 
new  designs  for  the  grandeur  of  his  emjiire,  and 
the  establishment  of  his  family.  Far  from  willing 
to  partake  it  with  any  one,  he  thought  on  the  con- 
trary of  occupying  it  entirely,  and  of  creating  there 
some  of  his  vassal  kingdoms,  which  would  sirengthen 
the  new  empire  of  the  West.  The  members  of  the 
Italian  consulia,  that  had  attended  at  the  formality 
of  the  institution  of  the  kingdom  of  Italy,  accom- 
panied by  the  vice-president  Melzi,  and  the  minis- 
ter Marescakhi,  had  gone  in  advance  to  prepare 
for  the  reception  at  Milan.  Although  the  Italians 
would  be  proud  to  have  him  for  a  king,  because  his 
government  rendered  them  more  secure  than  any 
other,  still  the  hope  lost,  or  all  hope  adjourned  at 
least,  of  a  royalty  purely  Itiilian,  the  fear  of  a  war 
with  Austria  in  conseipieuce  of  the  change,  even 
the  general  nature  of  the  title,  "king  of  Italy," 
made  to  be  pleasing  to  them,  but  also  to  be  alarm- 
ing to  Europe,  all  this  had  made  tlieni  uneasy, 
M.  Melzi  and  M.  Marescalchi  had  found  tbein  more 
troubled,  and  yet  less  eager  than  before  their  de- 
parture. The  liberal  party  aggravated,  kept  them- 
selves more  and  more  aloof  every  day,  and  the 
aristocracy  did  not  make  advances.  Najjoleon 
could  al(jne  alter  such  ?  state  of  things.  Cardinal 
Caprara  had  arrived,  and  had  attempted  to  inspire 
the  clergy  with  sentiments  of  attachment  to  the  em- 
peror. M.  deSegur,  accompanying  M  Marescalchi, 
liad  selected  the  ladies  and  the  ofbcers  of  the  palace 
from  the  first  Italian  families.  Some  excused  them- 
selves at  the  beginning.  The  interference  of 
M.  Marescalchi,  and  a  few  of  the  members  of  the 
consulia,  the  general  allurements  pro  uced  by  the 
fetes  which  they  prepared,  had  ended  by  bringing 
back  those  who  had  recalcitivited,  and  at  last  the 
arrival  of  Napoleon  h;id  sufficed  to  decide  every- 
body. His  presence  had  produced,  as  it  did  in  ge- 
neral, a  deep  emotion  jiinong  the  It.ilians;  his  pre- 
sence as  emperor  and  king  would  naturally  affect 
them  yet  more;  because  this  prodigy  of  fortune, 
whom  tliey  loved  to  see,  was  yet  more  aggrandised. 
Miignificent  soldiers,  united  in  the  battle  fields  of 
Castiglione,  were  designel  to  execute  grand  ma- 
noeuvres, and  to  represent  innnorial  baitles.  All 
the  foreign  ministers  were  convoked  at  Milan.  The 
influx  of  the  curious  that  had  been  carried  to  Paris 
to  see  there  the  coronation,  now  flowed  towards 
Li'inbarily.  The  movement  was  given,  ami  the 
imaginations  of  the  Italians  had  returned  to  love 
and  admiration  for  the  man  who  for  nine  years 
had  so  much  agitated  them.  They  had,  in  imita- 
tion of  the  towns  of  France,  formed  out  of  the 
youth  of  the  best  families  guards  of  honour  for  his 
reception. 

Arriv.d  at  Turin,  lie  there  encountered  Pius 
VII.,  inid  exchanged  with  him  a  l:i.-.i  ami  atfeetionato 
farewell.  Then  he  received  his  new  subjects  with 
infinite  kindness,  and  oeciipiiil  himself  with  their 
intereslH,  distinct  yet  from  the  interests  of  the  rest 
of  the  French  empire,  with  that  intelligent  solieitudo 
that  he  carried  upon  iill  his  journeys.  He  luid  re- 
paired ihe  fjiults  and  injustices  of  the  adnnnistra- 
lion,  given  justice  to  a  vast  nnndtc  r  of  re(piest.s, 
and  displayed,  to  seduce  the  people,  all  ihe  attrac- 
tions of  the  supreme  power.  Ho  afterwards  em- 
ployed some  days  iu  visiting  the  strong  fortresbcs 


po£)        Napoleon  agrees  to  re- 
vo^  ceive  M.  Nowosiltzo£ 


THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


1805. 
May. 


which  were  his  grand  creation,  and  also  the  base  of 
his  Italian  establislinient,  that  of  Alexandria.  Thou- 
sands of  workmen  were  assembled  tiiere  at  this 
time.  Lastly,  on  the  5tli  of  May,  in  the  midst  of 
the  plain  of  Marengo,  from  the  height  of  a  throne 
elevated  upon  that  plain,  where,  five  years  before, 
he  gained  the  sovereign  authority,  he  attended  to 
the  fine  manoeuvres  representing  that  battle. 
Lannes,  Murat,  and  Bessieres  commanding  the 
troops.  There  was  no  one  wanting  but  Desaix. 
Napoleon  laid  the  first  stone  of  a  monument  de- 
signed to  record  the  memory  of  the  brave  who  died 
on  that  field  of  battle.  From  Alexandria  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Pavia,  where  the  magisti-ates  of  Milan 
had  come  to  bring  him  the  homages  of  the  new 
capital,  and  he  entered  Milan  on  the  8th  of  May, 
to  the  sound  of  cannon  and  of  bells,  amid  the  accla- 
mations of  the  people,  enthusiastic  at  his  presence. 
Surrounded  by  the  Italian  authorities  and  the 
clergy,  he  went  to  kneel  in  that  old  Lombard  ca- 
thedral, the  admiration  of  Europe,  destined  to  re- 
ceive fi'om  iiim  its  last  archbishop.  The  Italians, 
sensitive  to  the  highest  point,  sometimes  displaying 
emotions  for  sovereigns  whom  they  did  not  love, 
seduced,  as  all  the  |)eople  are,  by  the  power  of 
great  sights;  wiiat  should  ihey  not  feel  in  presence 
of  that  man  whose  greatness  had  commenced  under 
their  own  eyes,  for  that  star,  which  they  were  able 
to  boast,  they  had  been  the  first  to  see  in  the  Euro- 
pean horizon  ! 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  this  intoxication  of  gran- 
deur, that  the  propo!?ition  to  admit  M.  Nowosiltzoff" 
reached  Napoleon.  He  showed  the  best  disposi- 
tion to  receive  the  Russian  minister,  to  hear  him, 
and  to  treat  with  him,  no  matter  in  what  form,  offi- 
cial or  not,  provided  it  was  seriously  intended;  and 
that  in  endeavouring  to  aet  upon  him,  he  did  not 
exhibit  any  partial  condescension  for  England.  As 
to  conditions,  lie  was  far  from  having  any  reckoning 
with  the  Russians.  But  he  was  ignorant  of  their 
offers;  he  saw  only  the  )>revious  step,  which  was 
couched  in  fitting  terms,  and  he  to<ik  good  care  not 
to  be  guilty  of  wrong  in  repelling  them.  He  replied 
that  he  would  receive  M.  Nowosiltzoff  towards  the 
month  of  July;  his  maritime  projects,  with  which 
he  had  not  ceased  to  occupy  himself  in  spite  of  his 
apparent  distractions  from  them,  would  not  demand 
his  presence  in  France  until  that  period.  There- 
fore he  proposed  to  receive  M.  Nowosiltzoff  to  judge 
if  he  were  worth  the  trouble  of  listening  to,  and  he 
would  in  the  mean  time  keep  himself  always  in 
readiness  to  interrupt  this  dipiomtitic  interview,  in 
order  to  go  and  cut  the  Gordian  knot  of  all  the  coali- 
tions in  London. 

Although  he  knew  not  the  secret  of  that  which 
he  had  to  organize,  and  was  far  from  believing  war 
as  far  advanced  as  it  was  in  reality,  he  judgrd  truly 
of  the  character  of  Alexander,  and  the  unrefiectiiig 
allurements  that  drew  liim  rapidly  towards  the 
policy  of  Enghmd.  In  addressing  to  Prussia  the 
passports  of  M.  Nowosiltzoff,  he  ordered  to  be  com- 
municated to  that  court  the  following  observations. 

"  The  emperor,"  said  the  miiiist(;r  for  foreign 
affairs  to  M.  Laforest,  "  the  einperor,  after  having 
read  your  despatch,  has  found  that  it  justifies  fully 
the  fears  which  he  had  manifested  in  his  letter  to 
the  king  o!  Prussia,  and  all  that  recalls  to  his  ma- 
jesty the  languages  held  by  the  British  ministers, 
tends  to  support  him  in  this  state  of  distrust.     Tlie 


emperor  Alexander  is  drawn  on  in  spite  of  iiimself; 
he  cannot  recognise  that  the  plan  of  the  English 
cabinet  in  oft'eriirg  him  the  character  of  a  mediator 
is  to  bind  togetiier  the  interests  of  England  with 
those  of  Russia,  and  to  bring  the  last  some  day  to 
take  up  arms  to  sanction  a  cause  which  will  become 
its  own. 

"At  the  moment,  when  through  his  experience 
in  public  affairs,  the  emperor  had  acquired  precise 
notions  of  the  character  of  the  emperor  Alexander, 
he  had  felt  that  one  day  or  another  he  would  be 
drawn  into  the  interests  of  England,  that  had  so 
many  means  for  gaining  over  a  court  as  corrupt  as 
that  of  St.  Petersburg. 

'•  However  true  this  prospect  of  the  future  ap- 
peared to  the  emperor  Napoleon,  he  has  considered  it 
coolly,  and  has  provided  in  time  for  all  that  depended 
upon  him.  Indejiendently  of  the  conscription  of 
the  year,  he  has  made  an  appeal  to  the  reserve  of 
the  years  xi.and  xii.,  and  has  augmented  by  filteen 
thousand  men  the  appeal  made  to  the  conscription 
of  the  year  xiir. 

"  At  the  least  word  that  M.  Nowosiltzoff  utters 
intending  a  threat,  insult,  or  hypothetical  treaty 
with  England,  he  must  be  listened  to  no  more.  If 
Russia  or  any  other  power  on  the  continent  wishes 
to  interfere  in  the  public  afi'airs  of  the  moment, 
and  presses  equally  upon  France  and  England,  tjie 
emperor  will  not  find  fault,  and  will  with  pleasure 
make  sacrifices.  England  on  her  side  is  bound  to 
make  these  which  are  equivalent,  but  if,  on  the 
contrary,  sacrifices  are  exacted  of  France  alone, 
then  whatever  may  be  the  union  of  the  powers,  the 
emperor  will  help  himself  against  all  their  extended 
power  by  means  of  his  good  cause,  his  genius,  and 
ins  arms  '."  (Milan,  15th  Prairial,  year  xiii.,  4lh 
June,  1805.) 

On  the  2Gth  of  May,  Napoleon  was  crowned  in 
the  cathedral  of  Milan  with  as  much  eclat  as  had 
been  exhibited  in  Paris  six  months  before,  in  pre- 
sence of  the  foreign  ministers  and  the  deputies 
of  all  Italy.  The  iron  crown,  reputed  to  be  the 
ancient  crown  of  the  Lombard  kings,  had  been 
brought  from  Monza,  where  it  was  carefully  kept. 
After  cardinal  Caprara,  archbishop  of  Milan,  had 
blessed  it  with  the  ancient  forms  used  in  respect 
to  the  German  emperors,  for  their  coronation 
as  kings  of  Italy,  Napoleon  placed  it  himself  upon 
his  head,  as  he  had  placed  that  of  tlie  em- 
peror of  the  French,  pronouncing  in  Italian 
these  sacramental  words,  "  Dio  me  I'ha  data,  guai 
a  chi  la  tocchera  !"  or  "  God  gives  it  me,  touch  it 
who  dai-es  *  !"     In  saying  these  words,  he  made 

'  In  a  speech  of  Talleyrand's,  or  one  purporting  to  be  his, 
in  remark  in}.'  upon  the  reply  given  by  lord  Mulgrave  to  the 
letter  of  Napoleon  to  the  king  of  England  (see  page  606).  is 
the  following  passage,  a  portion  of  which  resembles  tlie 
close  of  the  al)ove  eomniunicaiion  :—"  Should,  on  the  con- 
trary, this  first  appearance  of  accommodation  prove  liut  a 
false  light,  intended  only  to  answer  speculations  ot  credit,  to 
facilitate  a  loan,  the  acquisition  of  money  purchases  or  en- 
terprizes,  then  we  shall  know  how  far  the  dispositions  of 
the  enemy  are  implacal)le  and  obstinate;  we  shall  have  to 
banish  all  hope  Irum  a  dangerous  lure,  and  trust,  without 
reserve,  to  the  goodness  of  our  cause,  to  the  justice  of  Provi- 
dence, and  to  the  gaiiius  of  the  emperor."— Speech  of  Tal- 
leyrand, Feb.  4. 

2  As  in  several  other  instances  our  author  does  not  note 
the  inevitable  inferences  that  follow  some  of  his  statements. 
Thus  he  makes  Napoleon  refuse  to  permit  the  pope  to  place 


Deputations  from  the 


THE  THIRD   COALITION.         Italian  cities  invite  Napoleon. 


those  around  him  start  by  the  significant  energy 
of  his  accents.  This  pompous  ceremonial  pre- 
pared by  the  Italians,  and  principally  by  the 
celebrated  painter  Appiani,  surpassed  all  that 
had  been  seen  in  former  times  of  tiie  finest  things 
of  a  similar  nature  in  Italy. 

After  this  ceremony,  Napoleon  promulgated  the 
organic  statute,  by  which  he  erected  in  It;ily  a 
monarchy  in  imitation  of  that  of  France,  and 
nominated  as  viceroy  Eugene  Beauharnais.  He 
presented  afterwards  this  young  prince  to  the 
Italian  nation,  in  a  royal  sitting  of  the  legislative 
body.  He  employed  all  the  month  of  June  in 
presiding  in  the  council  of  state,  and  in  giving  to  the 
administration  of  Italy  the  impulse  that  had  been 
given  to  the  government  of  France,  occupying 
himself  day  after  day  with  all  the  details  of  public 
affairs. 

The  Italians,  to  whom  it  was  necessary  in  order 
for  their  satisfaction  that  they  should  liave  a 
government  present  among  them,  had  one  now 
under  their  own  eyes,  that  joined  to  its  real  value 
a  prodigious  magic  in  its  forms.  Thus  snatclied 
from  their  discontents,  and  from  their  repugnance 
for  strangers,  they  had  already  rallied,  high  and 
low,  around  the  new  king,  'i'lie  presence  of  Na- 
poleon, supjiorted  by  his  formidable  armies  that 
he  had  organized  and  completed  for  every  event, 
had  dissipated  their  fears  of  the  war.  The 
Italians  began  to  think  that  they  should  never 
more  behold  it  upon  their  territory  if  it  took  place, 
and  that  the  sound  would  only  come  to  them  from 
the  banks  of  the  Danube,  and  even  from  the 
gates  of  Vienna.  Napoleon  passed  in  grand  re- 
view every  Sunday  the  troops  of  Milan  ;  then  he 
re-entered  his  palace,  and  received  at  a  public 
audience  the  ambassadors  of  all  the  courts  of 
Europe,  the  strangers  of  distinction,  and  above  all 
the  representatives  of  the  great  Italian  families, 
and  of  the  clergy.  It  was  in  one  of  these  recep- 
tions that  he  made  the  exchange  of  the  insignia  of 
the  Legion  of  Honour,  with  the  insignia  of  the  more 
ancient  and  the  more  illustrious  orders  of  Europe. 
The  minister  of  Prussia  presented  himself  first,  and 
remitted  to  Napoleon  the  orders  of  the  Black  and 
of  the  Red  Eagle  ;  then  came  the  ambassador  of 
Spain,  who  presinted  him  the  order  of  the  Golden 
Fleece;  then  finally  the  ministers  of  Bavaria  and 
of  Portugal,  who  jji-esented  him  with  the  orders 
of  St.  Hubert  and  of  Christ.  Napoleon  gave  them 
in  exchange  the  grand  order  of  the  Legion  of 
Honour,  and  granted  a  number  of  decorations  equal 
to  those  which  he  received.  He  distributed  after- 
wards iiis  foreign  decorations  among  the  principal 
personages  of  his  empire.  In  a  few  months  tlu; 
Italian  court  found  itself  on  the  same  footing  with 
all  the  courts  of  Europe  ;  it  carrieil  the  !«ame  in- 
signia, with  the  rich  costumes,  inclining  towards 
the  military  habit.  In  the  midst  of  this  eclat, 
Napoleon    retained   hia   own    simjdicity  of  person, 

the  crown  on  hi«  head  (see  page  COO),  bicaune  the  nation  and 
the  army  would  be  liurt  at  the  idea  of  liiH  ro  receiving  the 
crown  ;  tliat  tlie  reality  of  things  should  Imj  oliserved,  and 
that  Napoleon  resisted  this  part  of  the  ceremonies  from  the 
public  feeling.  At  Milan,  where  no  such  frcling  could 
cxi»t,  the  error  of  tliat  plea  is  laid  bare,  Napoleon  showed 
that  his  motive  was  liis  own  pride,  and  that  the  reason  given 
at  Paris  must  have  been  a  plausible  deception. — Trarulalor. 


having  for  a  sole  decoration,  the  plate  of  the 
Legion  of  Honour  upon  his  breast,  wearing  the  dress 
of  the  chasseurs  of  the  guard,  without  any  gold 
embroidery,  a  black  hat,  in  which  was  alone  tlis- 
played  a  tri-coloured  cockade,  as  if  he  wished  it 
should  be  well  understood  that  the  luxury  which 
surrounded  him  was  not  made  for  himself.  His 
noble  and  handsome  countenance,  around  which 
the  imagination  of  men  placed  so  many  glorious 
trophies,  was  all  which  he  desired  to  exhibit  to 
the  eager  attention  of  the  natives.  Still  his 
person  alone  was  that  sought  by  every  eye.  He 
only  was  wished  to  be  seen  in  the  midst  of  his 
numerous  retinue,  blazing  with  gold,  and  arrayed 
in  the  coloured  dresses  of  all  Euroi)e. 

The  different  towns  of  Italy  sent  him  deputa- 
tions to  obtain  the  favour  of  receiving  him  within 
their  walls.  It  was  not  merely  an  honour,  but 
an  advantage  they  thus  made  an  object  of  their 
ambition,  because  every  where  his  penetrating 
eye  discovered  some  good  to  be  effected,  and  his 
powerful  hand  found  the  means  of  its  accomplish- 
ment. Resolved  to  give  the  spring  and  half  the 
summer  to  Italy,  the  better  to  divert  the  attention 
of  the  English  from  Boulogne,  he  promised  to 
visit  Mantua,  Bergamo,  Verona,  Ferrara,  Bo- 
logna, Modena,  and  Piacenza.  This  still  more 
increased  the  delight  of  the  Italians,  and  made 
them  all  hope  to  participate  in  the  benefits  of  the 
new  reign 

His  sojourn  in  this  fine  country  soon  produced 
upon  him  those  formidable  allurements  which 
gave  so  strong  a  reason  to  fear  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  general  peace.  He  began  to  con- 
ceive an  extreme  irritation  against  the  court  of 
Naples,  which  giving  itself  entirely  up  to  the 
English  and  Russians,  publicly  protected  by  the 
last  in  all  their  negotiations,  did  not  cease  to 
exhibit  the  most  hostile  sentiments  to  France. 
The  improvident  queen,  who  had  suffered  the 
government  of  her  husband  to  be  compromised 
by  the  most  odious  cruelties,  had  taken  a  step 
very  unfortunately  imagined.  She  h.id  sent  to 
Milan  the  most  clumsy  of  negotiators  in  the  j)rinco 
Cardito,  to  jjrotest  against  the  title  of  king  of 
Italy,  taken  by  Napoleon,  a  title  that  a  good  many 
per.sons  transhited  by  those  words  inscribed  on  the 
iron  crown,  "king  of  all  Italy,  nx  totius  //«//>." 
The  marquis  de  (Jallo,  the  ambassador  of  Naples, 
a  man  of  good  sense,  sufficiently  agreeable  to  the 
imperial  court,  had  endeavoured  to  prevent  this 
dangerous  proceeding,  but  without  success.  Na- 
poleon had  consented  to  receive  the  i)rince  Cardito 
on  the  day  of  the  diplomatic  receptions.  That 
same  day  In;  first  gave  the  most  gracious  welcome 
to  M.  de  Gallo,  then  lie  addressed  in  Italian  the 
fiercest  speech  to  the  prince  Canlilo,  deelaring  to 
him,  in  language  as  severe  as  it  was  contemptuous 
for  the  <|ueen,  that  he  would  chase  her  out  of 
Italy,  and  would  scarcely  leave  her  Sicily  for  a 
refuge.  They  took  away  the  prince  Cardito  nearly 
fainting.  The  noise  of  this  affair  produced  a  great 
sensation,  and  soon  filled  the  despatches  fnmi  all 
the  European  ]iowers.  Napoleon  at  that  moment 
thought  of  making  the  kingdom  of  Naplis  a 
royalty  for  his  family,  and  one  of  the  fiefs  ot  his 
great  empire.  Uy  little  and  little  it  began  to 
enter  into  his  mind  to  exjiel  the  Bourbons  fron« 
all  the  thrones  in  Europe.    Still  the  accidental  zeul 


634      ^?o 'mnce""'"^'  ^"""^    THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE. 


Fault  of  Napdenn  : 
the  annexation. 


tlie  Bourbons  of  Spain  exhibited  in  the  war 
against  the  Englisli,  ])i]Stponed  as  far  as  regarded 
them  tlie  aceomijlishment  of  this  formidable  idea. 
But  Napoleon  did  not  doubt  that  he  should  soon 
have  Europe  to  model  again,  whether  lie  should 
be  all  powerful  by  passing  tlie  straits  of  Dover, 
or  whether  diverted  towards  a  continental  w;ir 
from  that  which  was  ntaritime,  he  achieved  the 
expulsion  of  the  Austrians  from  Italy  ;  he  said 
that  he  would  unite  the  Venetian  states  to  his 
kingdom  of  Lonibardy,  and  that  he  would  then 
efiVct  the  conquest  of  Naples  for  one  of  his 
brothers.  But  all  this,  in  his  designs,  was  for  tlie 
moment  deferred.  Exclusively  occupied  with  the 
plan  of  descent  upon  England,  he  wduld  not  pro- 
voke actually  a  continental  war.  He  had,  how- 
ever, a  disposition  which  he  deemed  opportune 
and  free  from  danger  in  completing,  this  was  to 
place  a  term  to  the  unfortunate  situation  of  the 
repulilic  of  Genoa.  This  republic,  i)laced  on  tlie 
Mediterranean,  where  England  domineered,  and 
Piedmont  that  France  had  joined  to  its  own 
territory,  was  situated  as  if  imprisoned  be- 
tween two  great  powers,  and  saw  its  former 
prosperity  perish  ;  because  it  had  all  the  incon- 
veniences of  a  union  with  France  to  sustain  with- 
out the  advantages.  In  fact,  the  English  iiad 
not  been  willing  to  acknowledge  it,  considering  it 
as  annexed  to  tlie  French  empire,  and  they  jmr- 
sued  the  vessels  that  bore  its  flag.  The  barbarians 
thejuselves  pillaged  and  insidted  it  without  any 
kind  of  respect.  France  treating  it  as  a  foreign 
land,  had  separated  it  from  Piedmont  and  the 
territory  of  Nice,  by  lines  of  custom-houses  and 
exclusive  tariffs.  Genoa  was  smothered  in  conse- 
quence between  the  sea  and  land,  both  of  which 
were  closed  upon  her.  As  to  France,  she  did  not 
gather  more  advantages  from  Genoa,  than  she 
jirocured  for  her.  The  Apennines  that  separated 
Genoa  from  Piedmont  formed  a  frontier  con 
tinually  infested  with  robbers  ;  it  required  the 
most  numerous  as  well  as  the  bravest  gendar- 
merie to  maintain  the  secin-ity  of  the  roads.  In 
relation  to  the  navy,  the  treaty  which  had  been 
recently  concluded,  only  insured  in  a  very  incom- 
plete maimer  the  services  which  Genoa  was  able 
to  rendei'.  The  loan  of  a  foreign  |iort  in  which  to 
found  a  naval  establishment,  without  any  diivct 
authority  over  it,  was  an  attempt  which  called 
for  something  more.  By  uniting  the  i)ort  of 
Genoa  and  the  population  of  the  Two-Rivers  to 
the  French  empire,  Najxileon  obtained  from  the 
Texei  to  the  bottom  of  the  princijial  gulph  in  liie 
Mediterranean,  an  extent  of  coast  and  a  number 
of  .seamen,  (hat  might  be  able,  in  sufficient  time, 
when  united,  to  make  France,  if  not  the  equal  of 
England  on  the  seas,  at  least  her  respectable  rival 
tiiere. 

Napoleon  did  not  resist  all  these  considerations. 
He  believed  that  it  was  England  alone  who  would 
take  any  real  interest  in  this  (|Uestion.  He  had 
not  ventured  to  decide  the  fate  of  the  duchy  of 
Parma  ami  Piacenza,  either  on  account  of  the 
pope,  to  whom  this  duchy  was  a  motive  of  hi>])e, 
or  because  of  S|>aiii  which  coveted  it  to  aggi-in- 
dize  the  kingdom  of  Etruria,  or  in  fact  on  account 
of  Russia  itself,  that  never  wholly  despaired  of  the 
indemnity  of  the  former  king  of  Pii-dinont  in  Italy, 
wiiile  there  i-emained  any  territory  vacant  in  that 


country.  But  Genoa  seemed  to  him  of  little  in- 
terest for  Austria,  for  it  was  situated  too  far 
away,  of  no  consideration  for  the  pope  or  Russia, 
not  important,  according  to  him,  with  any  one  but 
England  ;  and  not  having  any  motive  to  humour 
her,  and  not  believing  her  so  strongly  allied  as  she 
was  to  Russia,  he  resolved  to  unite  the  Ligurian 
re})ublic  to  the  French  empire  ^. 

It  was  a  fault,  because  in  the  disposition  of  the 
mind  of  Austria,  it  was  to  throw  her  into  the 
arms  of  the  coalition,  ai;d  to  settle  a  new  union  ; 
it  was  to  furnish  to  the  enemies  of  Fi-ance,  who 
filled  Europe  with  perfidinus  rumours,  a  new 
])retext  grounded  upon  the  cry  against  the  ambi- 
liiin  of  Franco,  and  above  all  against  the  violation 
of  her  promises,  while  Napoleon  himself,  wlien 
instituting  the  kingdom  of  italy,  had  promised  the 
senate  not  to  add  a  single  province  more  to  his 
empire.  But  Napoleon,  who  knew  enough  of  the 
bad  designs  of  the  continent  to  beleve  himself 
iree  of  the  necessity  of  humouring  it,  but  not 
enough  to  appreciate  justly  the  danger  of  a  new 
provocation,  flattered  himself  besides  that  he  was 
soon  to  I'esolve  in  Loudon  all  the  European  ques- 


1  This  breach  of  faith,  admitted  by  our  author,  is  not  in 
the  sli{!htest  degree  softened  tiy  his  atteniptefi  extenuation. 
There  were  oilier  questions  equaly  as  niuch  violations  of 
acknowleciged  and  implied  eiigngetnents  as  the  foregoing, 
wliich  show  tliat  Naiioleon,  hke  all  great  conquerors,  had  no 
law  but  his  own  personal  anibilion.  Austria,  with  all  her 
faults,  put  forth  iiicoiitrovenil)le  a};grebsions  on  the  part  of 
Napoleon  as  grounds  fur  the  pending  war.  Airi^ng  them, 
in  a  niemorial  issued  at  the  time,  were  the  following : — The 
occupation  of  Hanover,  of  the  i  apal  states,  and  <  f  tlie  king- 
dom of  Naples,  as  well  as  ilie  Helvetian  republic,  contrary 
to  the  solemn  treaties  of  Hatisbon  and  Luneville;  the  incor- 
poration of  Piedmont  with  the  l-rencli  en  pire  ;  the  invasion 
of  the  German  empire,  by  the  seizure  of  the  duked'Enghien 
on  neutral  ground;  the  seizure  of  se\eral  islands  on  the 
llhine,  which,  according  to  the  treaty  of  Katisbon,  beloiiged 
to  the  German  empire,  the  demand  to  occupy  the  sea  ports 
<if  Dalmatia;  the  demand  to  occupy  tlie  capital  of  Naples, 
iis  Ions  and  sea-ports;  the  occupation  of  all  the  sea-poris  of 
Etruria;  the  dtmand  to  occnpy  certain  sea-ports  in  Sicily; 
the  creation  of  a  new  kingdom  in  Italy,  (Ontrary  to  the 
secret  articles  ol  the  trtaiy  of  Lunevilie;  the  incorporation 
of  Genoa  wiih  the  French  tm|)ire;  the  insulting  answers 
given  to  count  Cobentzel,  on  his  represeiitatinns  in  liehalf  of 
ihe  emperor  of  Austria;  and,  lastly,  a  plan  discovered  by 
the  oiht-r  powers  for  placing  the  brothers  of  Najjolcon  ui)on 
thrones  in  the  s  nth  of  Europe.  These  were  strong  circum  ■ 
stances  in  proof  of  the  restle  s  aml)ition  of  the  emperor 
Napoleon,  and  that  the  sole  absorption  of  Genoa  into  the 
French  empire,  and  gilt  of  Lucca  to  his  sister,  in  a  time  of 
peace,  and  contrary  to  liis  own  promises  to  the  French 
senate,  were  not  the  only  legitimate  ground  of  complaint  his 
enemies  could  righilyurge  against  him, while  forming.in  their 
own  defence,  hovvever  deficient  in  skill  its  execution  might 
have  lieen  afterwards,  a  league  which  gave  iliem  some  hope 
of  overturning  a  system  which,  as  the  event  proved,  could 
not  lie  otlierwise  tlian  the  precursor  of  a  never  ending  war 
in  Europe.  Indeed,  his  determination  to  found  an  empire 
of  the  West,  admitted  by  M.  'liners,  liaving  attached  to  it 
vas.^al  kings,  was  quite  enough  to  justi  y  war  to  t.ie  utter- 
most against  a  system  so  destructive  of  peace,  of  national 
rights,  and  oveiwlieimingly  arbitrary.  The  splendid  talents 
of  Napoleon  were  thus  obscured  l>y  an  ambition  it  became 
'he  duty  of  every  people  to  resist.  Every  effort  to  soften 
acts  of  ambit  ous  and  arbitrary  violence,  some  of  tliem,  per- 
haps, adiiiittingof  i>artial  excuses,  are  lost  in  tlie  paramount 
duty  of  a  universal  resistance  to  predominant  efforts  for  per- 
sonal aggrandisement. —  Translator. 


The  senate  of  Lucca  presents 
itself  to  NHpoleon  at  Milan. 
—Lucca  annexed. 


THE  THIRD  COALITION.      Austria  excuses  her  armaments.      635 


tions,  and  therefore  did  not  liesitatc,  indeed  deter- 
mined at  once,  to  give  up  Genoa  to  the  Frencli 
navy.  He  had,  as  minister  at  tlie  republic  ot 
Genua,  his  ccmipatriot  Salicetti,  wliom  he  charged 
witli  tlie  task  of  sounding  and  preparing  the 
l>ublic  mind.  Tliis  task  was  not  difficult,  because 
the  piibhc  mind  in  Liguria  was  very  well  disposed 
for  the  purpose.  Tlio  aristocratical  and  anglo- 
Austrian  party  could  not  be  more  hostile  than  it 
was.  The  actual  prott-ctni-ate  under  which  Genoa 
was  placed,  seemed  to  be  as  odious  to  that  party 
as  the  union  with  France.  As  to  the  po])ular 
party,  it  saw  in  this  union  the  freedom  of  its 
commerce  with  the  interior  of  the  empire,  the 
certainty  of  great  future  prosperity,  the  gua- 
rantee that  it  should  never  again  fall  under  the 
yoke  of  an  oligarchy,  in  fact  the  advantage  of 
belonging  to  the  greatest  power  in  Europe.  The 
minority  of  the  noliility,  borne  away  by  the  revo- 
lutionary feeling,  alone  saw  with  pain  the  destruc- 
tion of  Genoese  neutrality,  but  the  great  extor- 
tions of  the  imperial  court  were  an  inducement 
sufficient  to  indemnify  the  principal  personages  of 
this  class. 

The  proposition  proposed  by  some  senators,  and 
presented  by  the  Genoese  senate,  was  finally  adopted 
by  twenty-two  members  to  twenty.  It  was  aiter- 
wards  confirmed  by  a  species  of  popular  suffrage, 
given  on  the  plan  employed  in  France  subsequent 
to  the  consulate.  Registers  were  opened,  in  which 
each  individual  might  inscribe  his  name.  The 
people  of  Genoa  came  forward,  as  they  had  done 
in  France,  to  enter  their  suffrages,  nearly  all  fa- 
vourable. The  senate  and  the  doge,  on  the  advice 
of  Salicetti,  went  to  Milan,  there  to  present  their 
wishes  to  Napolei>;i.  They  were  introduced  to  his 
presence  with  a  degree  of  preparation  which  recalled 
tlie  times  when  van(iuished  Uiitions  came  to  demand 
the  honour  to  becoiue  a  part  of  the  Roman  empire. 
Napoleon  received  them  upon  his  throne,  on  the 
4th  of  June,  declared  that  he  granted  their 
wish,  and  promised  to  visit  them  upon  quilting 
Italy'. 

To  this  incorporation  there  was  another  added, 
loss  importtint,  being  no  more  than  a  drop  of  water 
that  has  run  over  the  ves.sel.  The  republic  of 
Lucca  was  without  any  government,  and  was  without 

'  The  union  of  Genoa  with  Franre  took  place  at  mid-day. 
The  dope  addressed  the  emperor,  solicituii;  him  to  gram 
the  people  the  happiness  of  being  his  subjects.  Napoleon 
returned  a  very  long  imnwer,  in  which  he  said,  "I  will 
nalize  )our  \vi^h•,  I  will  unite  you  to  my  great  pcoplt;.  It 
will  be  to  me  a  new  meaim  for  rendering  more  eflicacious 
the  protection  I  have  always  loved  to  grant  yon.  My 
people  will  reci-ive  )ou  with  pleasure.  They  knnw  that. 
in  all  circumstances,  you  have  assisted  tlieir  arms  with 
friendiihip.  and  have  sui)poried  them  with  all  your  means. 
They  find  be-iile*  in  jour  porta  an  increanc  of  inariliine 
power,  which  is  ntcei.SHry  to  them  lo  sustain  their  lawful 
rights  atiainst  the  oppressor  of  the  seas.  You  will  find  in 
union  with  my  people  a  continent.  You  have  only  pirts, 
and  a  marine.  You  will  find  a  flag  which,  wliatever  may 
be  the  pretensions  of  my  enemies.  I  will  maintain  on  all  the 
seas  of  the  universe  consian'ly  frre  from  Insult  and  from 
search,  and  exempt  from  tlie  right  of  blnckiide,  which  I 
will  never  recognise  l>ut  lor  place*  really  hlocksded  as  well 
by  sea  a<  hy  land.  You  will  find  yourselves  sheltered  under  It 
fiom  this  shamerul  8la»cry,  the  existence  of  whicli  I  reluc- 
tantly suffer  with  respc(  t  to  weaker  nations,  but  from  which 
I  will  always  guarantee  my  subjects." — Tramlulor. 


ceasing,  tossed  about  between  Etruria  become 
Spanish,  and  Piedmont  become  French,  like  a  vessel 
deprived  of  the  helm,  a  small  vessel  it  is  true,  upon 
a  little  sea.  The  same  suggestions  disposed  the 
little  state  to  off"er  itself  to  France,  and  its  magis- 
trates, in  iinitati'iii  of  those  of  Genoa,  went  to  de- 
mand at  Milan  the  benefit  of  a  constitution  and 
a  government.  Nnpoleon  also  acceded  to  their 
wishes;  but  finding  the  state  too  far  off"  to  be  united 
with  the  empire,  he  made  of  their  territory  tin 
appaiiiige  for  his  eldest  sister,  the  princess  Eliza,  a 
woman  of  judgment,  havinga  fine  mind,  gifted  with 
the  qualities  of  a  governing  queen.  She  knew  how 
to  make  her  authority  be  loved  in  this  little  coun- 
try, where  she  administered  the  government  wi.sely; 
this  caused  her  reception  of  the  title  devised  ap- 
l)ropriately  for  her  by  Talleyrand  of  the  "  Semira- 
mis  of  Lucca."  Napoleon  had  already  conferred 
upon  her  the  duchy  of  Piombino  :  lie  this  time 
therefore  g;ive  to  her  and  her  husband,  the  prince 
Bacciochi,  the  country  of  Lucca  in  the  form  of  an 
hereditary  principaliiy,  de)iendent  tipon  the  French 
empire,  to  return  to  tiie  crown  in  ctise  of  the  ex- 
tinction of  the  male  line,  with  all  the  conditions  in 
consequence,  like  the  ancient  fiefs  of  the  Germanic 
empire.  This  sister  was  to  bear  for  ihe  future  the 
title  of  the  princess  of  Piombino  and  Lucca. 

Talleyrand  was  ordered  to  write  to  Pru.ssia  and 
Austria,  to  explain  these  acts,  that  Napoleon  re- 
garded as  matters  of  indifference  to  the  policy  of 
those  powers,  or, at  least  as  not  being  capable  of 
arousing  the  court  of  Vieinia  from  its  inertness. 
However,  so  far  concealed  as  were  the  armaments 
of  Austria,  something  of  them  had  been  discovered, 
and  the  experienced  regard  of  Napoleon  h;ul  been 
struck  by  it.  Corps  were  in  movement  towards  the 
Tyrol,  and  towards  the  ancient  Venetian  proxinces. 
The  march  of  these  troops  could  not  be  denied, 
and  Austria  did  not  deny  it;  but  she  was  forced  to 
declare  that  the  great  union  of  French  troops  at 
]\lareiigo  and  Castiglione,  iippeaiing  to  her  too  con- 
siderable for  simple  military  fetes,  she  had  caused 
some  assemblages  out  of  pure  prectiiition — assem- 
blages which  had  besides  a  sufficient  motive,  in  that 
the  yellow  fever  had  broken  out  in  Spain  jiiid  in 
TuscMiiy,  above  all,  in  Leghorn.  This  excuse  was, 
as  f:ir  as  to  a  certain  point,  credible  ;  but  it  was 
a  (|Uestion  to  know,  if  the  nioveinellt  was  litniled  to 
the  change  of  place  of  some  troo])H,  or  whether  it 
was  a  real  reel  uiliiig  of  the  army;  whether  they 
were  completing  the  regiments,  and  whether  they 
were  mounting  their  cavalry.  More  than  one  se- 
cret notice  transmitted  by  i'olesiittached  to  France, 
began  to  give  these  things  iiii  air  of  truth.  Napo- 
leon immediately  sent  officers,  disguised  f.r  the  pur- 
pose, into  the  Tyrol,  Friouli,  and  Cariniiiia,  to 
judge  with  tlioir  own  eyes  of  the  nature  of  the  pre- 
liaiations  which  they  thus  cxciiHed,  tind  he  de- 
iniinded  at  the  same  time  from  Austria  decided  e.\- 
pliinations. 

He  devised  another  mode  to  sound  the  disposi- 
tions of  that  court.  Ho  had  exchanged  the  Legion 
of  Honour  with  the  orders  of  friendly  courts;  lie  had 
noi  yet  effected  this  exchange  with  the  Austrian 
orders,  and  he  wished  to  jilace  himself  on  the  same 
footir.g  with  that  power  as  with  all  the  others.  He 
O'ld  therefore  an  idea  of  addressing  upon  this  sub- 
ject an  immediate  proposition  to  Austria  at  once  to 
assure  himself  of  her  real  suntiineiits.    He  thought 


^36         Singular  acuteness  of       THIERS'  CONSULATE  AND  EMPIRE.        English  journalists. 


that  if  she  had  in  fact  decided  upon  an  approaching 
war,  she  dared  not  in  the  fare  of  Enrope  and  its 
•allies  give  a  testimony  nf  her  cordial  friendship, 
which,  according  to  tlie  usages  <>f  courts,  was  tiie 
most  significant  that  could  be  given,  above  all,  to 
a  power  as  new  as  that  of  the  Frencli  empire.  M. 
de  la  RochefoucauM  liad  replaced  at  Vienna,  M.  de 
Champagnj-,  now  become  minister  of  the  interior. 
He  was  coininanded  to  desire  of  Austria  an  expla- 
nation of  i)er  armaments,  and  to  propose  to  her  an 
exchange  of  her  orders  against  ihat  of  ihe  order  of 
the  Le^i'-n  of  Honour. 

Napoleon  continuing  from  the  bottom  of  Italy  to 
keep  the  English  in  the  illusion,  that  the  descent  so 
long  announced  and  so  retarded,  was  no  more  than 
a  feint,  occupied  himself  continually  to  insure  its 
execution  in  the  summei-.  Never  had  an  operation 
determined  before  the  sending  ..ff  so  many  couriers 
as  that  which  was  at  tliis  period  the  subject  of  me- 
ditation. Consular  agents  and  officers  of  the  navy, 
placed  in  the  French  and  Spanis^h  ports,  at  Cartiia- 
gena,  Cadiz,  Ferrol,  Bayonne,  the  mouth  of  the  Gi- 
roiide,  Rochefort,  the  mouth  of  the  Loire,  Lorient, 
Brest,  and  Clierburg,  having  couriers  placed  at  their 
disposal,  transmitted  the  least  news  from  the  sea 
which  reached  them,  and  forwarded  tiiem  to  Italy. 
Numerous  secret  agents,  maintained  in  the  Enghsii 
ports,  forwarded  their  reports,  which  were  innne- 
diately  transmitted  to  Napoleon.  Lastly,  M.  de 
Marbois,  who  possessed  an  extensive  knowledge  of 
British  affairs,  received  the  particular  injunction  to 
read  himself  the  journals  published  in  England  ', 
and  to   tr.mslate  the   least  news   relative  to  navul 


operatK 


id  it 


a  circumstance  worthy  of  re- 


mark, that  it  was  by  these  jcmrnals,  more  particu- 
larly, that  Napoleon  knowing  how  to  anticipate  with 
perfect  correctness  all  the  combinations  of  the 
Jilnglish  admiralty,  came  to  be  the  better  informed. 
Although  oftentimes  stating  circumstances  that  were 


»  At  present  penple  are  startled  at  the  ignorance  in  the 
simplest  results  worked  out  by  the  Enfjlish  cabinet  during 
the  adminisirHtion  of  Mr.  Pitt,  with  iiU  his  ability.  There 
was  a  want  c.f  acquaintance  with  what  was  really  going  on 
in  the  world,  and  of  consequences  ineiitalile  in  the  then 
existing;  state  of  social  life,  that  shows  how  contracted  was 
the  knowledge  of  governtnent  of  the  coninionest  details. 
While  Bonapirte  tints  obtained  and  read  the  English 
papers,  it  had  been  believed  by  onr  rulers  that  during  war 
no  papers  readied  the  enemy,  and  so  perfect  was  this  belief, 
at  least  prior  to  the  treaty  of  Amiens,  that  in  Mr.  Pitt's  act 
of  parliament  for  restricting  the  lilierty  of  the  newspaper 
press,  for  it  can  be  called  nothing  else,  tliere  is  a  penalty  of 
600/.  attached  to  the  parting  with  any  English  new  spaper  to 
an  enemy,  lest  tliat  enemy,  it  was  supposed,  should  ol)tain 
information  al)out  England.  In  existing  times  the  minister 
■would  be  lliought  demented  who  should  make  it  penal  for 
any  one  to  part  with  the  copy  of  a  journal  ol  which  lens  of 
thousands  were  every  .vhere  in  circulation.  The  truth  was, 
that  tlie  government  then  had  no  idea  of  an  enemy  ascer- 
taining the  real  state  of  facts  but  through  such  means. 
Secret  agency  was  believed  scarcely  to  exist,  being  punish- 
al)le  with  death.  The)  hi>d  no  idea  that  the  best  policy  in 
a  strong  country  is  to  make  no  secret  of  its  strength.  The 
suspicion  of  wrong  colouring  that  attached  to  thesUteinents 
of  government  partizans  was  then  never  thought  equal  to 
the  neutralization  of  their  deceptions.  Bonaparte  had  a  regu- 
larly organized  connexion  kept  up  between  the  English  and 
French  smuj-'glers,  who  constantly  exchangt-d  newspapers. 
The  French  papers  being  under  a  strict  censorship,  tie  ad- 
vantage derived  from  tliem  was  comparatively  of  no  moment 
to  England.— rr«H«/u/nr. 


false,  they  furnished  to  his  wonderful  sagacity  a 
means  of  divining  real  facts.  'J  here  was  something 
still  more  singular  yet.  On  the  strength  of  attri- 
buting to  Napoleon  the  m<ist  extraordinary  jilans, 
and  often  the  most  absurd  possible,  some  among 
these  journalists  had  discovered,  without  doubting 
it,  his  real  design,  and  had  said  that  he  had  sent 
his  squadrons  to  sea  at  a  distance  that  they  might 
suddenly  re-unite  in  the  channel.  The  admiralty 
had  made  no  arrangement  whatever  that  implied 
such  a  supposition,  which  was  nevertheless  the  real 
fact.  At  least,  their  combiiiat  ons  leave  it  to  be 
supposed  that  they  did  not  credit  any  thing  of  the 
kind. 

Napoleon,  except  one  circumstance  which  had 
nmch  thwarted  him,  and  that  had  determined  him 
to  modify  for  the  last  time  his  vast  design,  had  no 
reason  to  be  dissatisfied  with  the  progress  of  his 
operations.  Admiral  ilissies.sy,  as  has  been  seen 
before,  had  set  sail  to  the  West  Indies  in  January. 
The  details  of  his  expedition  were  not  yet  fully 
known,  Init  it  w:is  well  known  that  the  English 
were  very  much  tilarmed  for  their  colonies,  that 
one  of  thi-m,  Dominica,  had  been  taken",  and  that 
they  had  sent  reinforcements  into  the  American 
seas,  which  was  a  diversion  at  least  to  the  advan- 
tage of  the  French  in  the  European.  Admiral 
Villeneuve  sailed  from  Toulon  on  the  30th  of 
March,  after  a  navigation,  the  details  of  which  were 
unknown,  he  ajipeaied  before  Cadiz,  and  there  ral- 
lied around  him  the  Spanish  squadron  of  admiral 
Gravina,  with  a  Sjianish  division  of  six  vessels  of 
the  line,  and  several  frigates,  besides  the  French 
ship  of  the  line  the  Aigle,  and  had  then  sailed  to- 
wards Martinique.  There  had  been  no  news  of 
him  subsequently,  but  it  was  known  that  Nelson, 
who  had  been  ordered  to  guard  the  Mediterranean, 
had  not  been  able  to  overtake  him,  neither  on  his 
sailing  from  Toulon,  nor  on  his  exit  from  the  straits 
of  Gibraltar.  The  Spanish  seamen  had  done  their 
best  in  the  state  of  deprivation  in  which  they  were 
.so  unfortunately  left,  under  an  ignorant  govern- 
ment, inert  and  corrupt.  Admiral  Salcedo  jiad 
united  a  squadron  of  seven  sail  of  the  line  at  Car- 
thagena;  admiral  Gravina,  as  already  seen,  had  six 
in  Cadiz;  admiral  Grandellana,  had  a  third  squa- 
dron of  eight  sail  in  Ferrol,  which  would  operate 
with  the  French  division  that  was  in  harbour  ia 
that  port.  But  they  wanted  seamen,  in  consequence 
of  the  fever,  and  of  the  bad  state  of  the  Sptinish 
commerce,  and  they  took  fishermen  and  workmen 
m  the  towns  to  form  the  crews.     Lastly,  a  dearth 

'  This  is  not  correct,  the  island  was  never  taken.  On  the 
22nd  of  February,  the  French  landed  a  large  force  off  the 
town  of  Rosseau,  into  which  the  squadron  of  Missiessy, 
consisting  of  five  sail  of  the  line,  three  frigates,  and  two 
brigs,  one  the  Majesteux,  120  guns,  poured  their  fire.  In 
all,  they  landed  -JOOO  men  ;  tliey  were  resisted  by  about  an 
eighth  part  of  that  number  of  regulars  and  militia,  who  were 
compelled  to  retreat.  The  town  of  Rosseau  was  burned, 
but  sir  George  Prevost  maintained  the  island  in  the  fort  of 
prince  Ru|.ert;  and  the  French,  levying  a  contribution  on 
the  p--ople  of  Rosseau,  embarked  again,  remaining  on  shore 
only  four  or  five  days.  They  landed  500  men  at  Basseterre, 
St.  Kitl's,  burned  some  merchantmen,  and  levied  a  contri- 
bution of  18,000/.  there  being  no  force  to  resist  them,  their 
object  was  to  ravage  wliere  no  opposition  of  moment  was  to 
he  expected.  The  conduct  of  general  La  Grange,  who  com- 
manded the  troops  at  Dominica,  was  humane  and  honour- 
able.— Translator. 


Ganteaume  unable  to 


THE  THIRD  COALITION. 


get  out  of  Brest. 


fi37 


of  corn  jtiined  to  tlic  financial  difficulties,  and  the 
epidemic  fever,  liad  so  nuicli  iinpoverisiied  the 
SpanJsli  rescturccs,  that  they  liad  not  been  able  to 
procure  more  than  six  months'  provision  of  tiie 
biscuit  necessary  for  eaeii  s<[uadroii.  Admiral 
Gravina  had  scarcely  bmu^lit  enougii  for  three 
montlis,  when  lie  joined  Villeneuve;  and  admiral 
Grai:dellaiia  at  Ferrol  had  barelj'  enough  for  fifteen 
daxs"  consumption. 

Happily,  M.  Ouvrard,  who  it  has  been  already 
seen  was  charged  with  business  between  France 
and  Spain,  had  arrived  at  Madrid,  had  deli;;lited  by 
his  very  seducing  projects  a  court  over  head  and 
ears  in  debt,  had  obtained  its  confidence,  had  con- 
cluiled  with  it  a  treaty  of  which  a  description  will 
hereafter  be  given,  and  had  put  an  end  by  his  dif- 
ferent combinations  to  the  horrors  of  the  scarcity. 
He  iiad  in  tJie  mean  time  provided  for  the  Spanish 
fleet  a  certiiin  quantity  of  biscuit.  Things  went  on 
therefore  in  the  pons  of  the  peninsula  as  well  as 
could  be  expected  or  hoped  for  under  tlie  destitution 
of  the  Spanish  finances. 

But  while  admiral  Missiessy  spread  consterna- 
tion through  the  English  West  India  islands,  and 
admirals  Villeneuve  and  Gravina  united,  navigated 
without  accident  towards  Martinique,  Ganteaume 
who  was  to  join  them,  owing  to  a  sort  of  phenome- 
non in  the  season,  had  not  been  able  to  find  a  sin- 
gle da\'  for  the  purpose  of  sailing  out  of  Brest. 
There  had  never  been  seen  in  the  memory  of  man 
a  time  when  the  ei|uinox  had  not  manifested  itself 
by  some  gale  of  wind.  The  months  of  March,  April, 
and  May,  1805,  iiad  nevertheless  passed  away, 
without  the  English  fleet  having  been  once  forced 
to  retire  by  stress  of  weather.  Admiral  Gant- 
eaume, who  knew  in  wliat  an  immense  opi  ration 
he  had  been  called  upon  to  concur,  waited  with  im- 
patience the  miiment  to  get  out  to  sea,  and  at  last 
concluded  by  becoming  ill   from  chagrin  '.      The 

•  The  la»t  two  letters  here  cited  will  prove  the  state  of 
mind  of  this  admiral,  and  tlie  fjraiity  of  the  ^raiid  naval  pro- 
jects, which  persons  who  could  always  see  faults  where 
there  were  none,  have  supposed  to  be  no  other  than  a 
demonstration.  These  le'tcrs  are  no:  the  only  ones  of  the 
same  kind.  But  these  are  selected  from  a  number  for  the 
purpose  of  citation. 

Ganieaume  to  the  Emperor. 

On  board  ihe  Imperial,  llth  of  Floreal,  Year  xiii.     1st  of 

May,  1805. 

Sire,— The  extraordinary  weather  which  has  reigned  since 
we  were  in  communication  is  despairin;;;  it  is  impossible  to 
picture  to  ynu  the  painful  sentiments  that  I  experience  in 
seein;,' myself  thus  detained  i<\  port,  when  the  other  hqua 
drons  are  in  full  sail  towards  their  destination,  and  that  our 
delays  and  crosses  may  most  cruelly  compromise  them; 
this  last  and  afTecling  idea  leaves  me  not  a  momi-nt  of  re- 
pose, and  ai  f.ir  as  up  to  this  day,  I  have  resisted  the  impa- 
tience and  torment  that  devour  me;  ii  arises  from  my  not 
being  able  to  see,  in  our  hazarding  ourxelves  at  sea,  any 
chances  in  our  favour,  when  they  arc  all  for  the  enemy:  a 
disadvantaticons  battle  was,  and  is  again,  inevitable,  while 
the  enemy  khall  remain  in  lii»  position,  and  then  our  expe- 
dition will  be  without  the  resource  required,  and  our  forces 
for  a  long  while  ])ara1yzcd. 

Nevertheless,  at  the  moment  when  I  received  the  dispatch 
of  your  majesty,  of  the  3rd  Florf-al,  I  proposed  to  myself  the 
h.izard  of  seltinir  sail;  all  the  vessels  were  unmoored;  the 
wind  to  the  west,  which  ha/I  blown  with  Utile  sireuKth  for 
twelve  hours,  made  me  hope  that  the  enemy  would  have 
perhaps  sailed  at  large,  when  his  light  squadron  waa  per- 


weather  always  remained  calm  and  serene.  Some- 
times a  wind  from  the  West, accompanied  with  dark 
clouds,  hail  given  them  hopes  of  a  sturm,  when  all 
of  a  sudden  the  heavens  became  serene  and  fine. 
There  remained  no  other  resource  than  to  deliver  a 
disadvantageous  battle  to  a  fleet  which  was  now 
about  equal  in  imniber  to  the  French  s(|uadron, 
and  very  su|ierior  in  appointment.  The  English, 
without  questioning  precisely  what  it  was  that 
threatened,  struck  with  the  presence  of  a  fleet  at 
Brest,  and  another  at  Ferrol,  aroused  besides  by 
the  departures  from  Toulon  and  Cadiz,  had  aug- 
mented the  force  of  their  block.ading  squadrons. 
They  had  twenty  vessels  before  Brest,  commanded 
bp  admiral  Cornwallis,  and  seven  or  eight  before 
Feriol,  commanded  by  admiral  Calder.  Admiral 
Ganteaume  in  tliis  pusition  sailed  from  the  road, 
and  entering  again,  went  to  moor  at  Bcrtliaume,  then 
returning  to  the  interinr  anchorage,  had  kept  fur  two 
months  every  body  snug  (jii  board,  both  .sailors  .and 
soldiers.       He    demanded  in   his  mortification,  if 

ceived  from  our  anchoring  ground,  and  his  fleet  signalled  off 
Ushaiit,  but  the  unct-rtaiifty  and  weakness  of  tlie  wind  pre- 
vented me  from  giving  etfect  to  my  object.  Certain  to  be 
oblii-ed  to  brin^  up  in  the  road  of  Berilieaume,  and  to  lix 
the  attention  of  the  enemy,  1  have  renounced  all  movement, 
and  1  hope  1  liave  made  him  believe  that  our  desire  was  not 
to  go  to  sea. 

I  permit  myself  here  to  reiterate  to  your  majesty  the  as- 
surance that  I  have  already  given  in  respect  to  the  order 
and  situation  in  which  1  keep  all  the  ships;  the  crews 
are  all  at  their  posts,  the  communications  with  the  shore 
only  take  phice  for  such  objects  as  are  indispensable  for  the 
service,  and  at  any  hour  of  the  day  every  vessel  is  in  a  stale 
to  execute  the  signals  which  may  be  made  to  it ;  these  dispo- 
sitions, which  can  alone  enable  us  to  profit  by  the  tirst 
favourable  moment,  will  be  continued  Willi  the  most  perfect 
exactness. 

Ganteaume  to  Decres. 
The  7th  Floreal,  Year  xiil.     S/th  April,  1S05. 

I  judge,  my  friend,  that  thou  parlakest  in  all  1  sustain. 
Every  d^iy  that  passes  is  a  day  of  torment  lor  me,  and  I 
tremble  lest  I  am  <ibliged  at  last  to  commit  some  piece  of 
gross  stupidity !  The  winds,  that  for  two  days  had  been  to 
the  west,  but  feeble,  altliough  accompanied  with  rain  and  a 
stormy  appearance,  went  round  yesterdiiy  to  the  N.N.W. 
fresh ;  and  I  have  been  tempted  to  run  hazards,  in  spite  of 
the  enemy  contmuing  to  be  signalled  in  the  Yroise,  that 
their  advanced  vessels  were  in  sight  of  the  road,  and  that 
the  weather  was  very  clear.  'J'he  certriinty,  nevertheless,  of 
the  dis»dv:intageous  battle,  that  1  should  receive  from  his 
position  and  strength,  has  hindered  me,  and  1  felicitate  my- 
self'o-day;  but  1  do  not  remain  less  horribly  vexed. 

The  lengih  of  the  days,  and  the  beauty  of  the  sea^on,  make 
me  nearly  despair  of  the  expeilition;  and  thru  how  support 
the  idea  of  forcing  our  Irieiids  to  wait  uselessly  at  the  place 
of  rendezvous,